of them and does upon several occasions laugh at those things which they enjoyn for Principles of Religion as Extravagancies and Fables He often sends those who speak to him of them to the Missionaries Hear says he those Fathers who reason so well I am sure they will not be of your mind One day he said to Father Verbiest his Mathematician Why do not you speak of God as we do People would be less set against your Religion You call him Tien-tçhu and we call him Cham-ti Is it not the same thing Will you leave the use of a good word because People give false Interpretations of it My Lord said the Father I know that your Majesty does follow the old Doctrine of China which several Doctors have forsaken and if we should use their words they would fancy we believe as they believe But if your Majesty will by a Proclamation publickly declare that the word Cham-ti signifies the same in effect that the Christians mean by Tien-tçhu we are ready to make use of any one of them as soon as the other He liked the Fathers answer but reasons of State hindred him from following his advice When the Queen Mother was dead those who had the care of the Funeral committed to them informed the Prince that it was necessary according to antient Custom to pull down part of the Palace wall that the body might be carried thro' the breach because that the Royal Family would be exposed to a great many misfortunes if the body was carried thro' the ordinary passages You do not talk rationally said the Emperor to them your heads are full of whimsies What folly is it to think my good or bad fortune depends upon the way by which my Mother goes to her Tomb It was my unhappiness to lose her and to fear any misfortune after so great a loss would be to dishonour her after her death by superstitious Rites and ridiculous Ceremonies Some time after several Maids of Honour to the Empress came and fell at the Emperors feet and begged with Tears that he would suffer them who had served the Empress here to follow her into the other World where their services might be needful to her He said to them I have taken care of that already you need not therefore put your selves to farther trouble about it And for fear lest a cruel zeal might prompt them to lay violent hands on themselves he commanded their Hair to be immediately cut off and that they should be confined When they are shaved they fancy themselves useless and unfit to serve Persons of Quality in the other World These Examples are enough to let us see that the Emperor is very far from giving himself up to all these popular extravagancies He honours Confucius as the first and wisest Philosopher in the World in several things he follows Custom when he judges it much for his interest at certain times of the year he offers Sacrifices in the Temples according to antient practice yet he says it is only in honour of the Cham ti and that he adores no other but the Supreme Lord of the Universe Thus far the instruction of the Missionaries have worked upon him He believes in one God but State Reasons and the gratification of his Passions which are opposite to the Spirit of JESUS CHRIST have never suffered him to open his Eyes to the truth of the Gospel The rigidness and severity of Morals which this requires oftimes stops the most resolute and we see every day persons in this World who have a greatness of soul enough to deserve the name of Hero's who do yet want courage when they ought to behave themselves as those who bear that of Christians Nevertheless this Prince would not have any one think that he rejects our Religion for want of courage He told his mind to Father Verbiest one day in these words Your Law is hard yet whatever difficulty was to be undergone I should not stick one minute to be of it were I convinced of the truth of it If I was once a Christian I am pretty well satisfied that in three or four years the whole Empire would be so too For I am their Master We might have some hopes from these Sentiments of the Prince if we were not on the other side persuaded that the love of pleasure and the fear of giving occasion to some Revolution in the Empire were not almost invincible hindrances to his Conversion But who can find out the Almighty's designs And who has hitherto penetrated into the mysteries of his eternal Councils Are not the Hearts of the greatest Princes as well as of the meanest People in his keeping It is from that Almighty hand that all our hopes are which has already confounded an infinite number of Idols and overthrown many of their Temples it has made Vice-Roys Ministers of State Princes and one Empress submit to the Yoak of Christianity The more the Conversion of the Emperor requires Miracles the more worthy is it of the great power and infinite goodness of God who is called Great for no other reason than for the great and mighty things which he hath done Thus my Lord if Europe continues to send into China fervent and devout Missionaries we may hope that God will vouchsafe to make use of their Zeal for the accomplishment of his great Work I am in the most profound manner My Lord Your Eminence's most obedient and most humble Servant L. J. To Monsieur Rouillié Counsellor of State in Ordinary Of the Establishment and Progress of the Christian Religion in China Sir THE Ardent Zeal which you have always shewed towards establishing and promoting the Christian Religion in China makes me hope that you will be pleased with the Letter which I now take the boldness to write to you You will not only read therein those things which I have already had the honour to discourse with you about so often but also many other useful remarks which I hope may be worthy your curiosity and attention It will without doubt bring you a great deal of comfort by shewing you that your Care your Prayers and your Bounty have been seconded by Heaven and that in contributing so much as you have done to the Conversion of so many Souls you will at the end of the World be accounted a Father of many faithful But if in spight of all that I can say you will not be made sensible of the great good you do there for it is with the greatest difficulty that you are brought to believe you do good you will at least see that the fervent Missionaries who for more than an Age have laboured in the large field of the Gospel are not altogether unworthy their Employment and that the Fruits which they gather there should be an encouragement to all Europe to perfect this great Work which by them has been so happily began Among other things which the Emperor objected against us when discoursing of the
niu no nou noui noum nouon nun o ou pa paï pam pan pao pe peou pi piao pié pien pim pin po poi pou pouen poum pouon qua quoué quouai quouam quoueï quouen qouo qouon sa saï sam san sao sé sem sen seou si siam siao sié sien siéou sim sin sio siou siuè suien siun so sou siu soui su soum sun souon ta taï tam tan tao te tem teou ti tiao tie tien tieou tim to tou touï toum tun touon tsa tsaï tsam tsan tlao tle tlem tléou tsi tsiam tsiao tsié tsien tsieou tsim tsin tho thu thué â—â—uen thoum thou tso tsou tsu tsui tsoum tsin tsouon tcha tchaï tcham thcan tchao tché tchen tcheou tchi tchim tchin tcho tchoua tchouam tchu tchouâ— tchouen tchouè tchoum tchun üa va vaï vam van ven ve vi vo von vou voum oum 328.           Place this between Fol. 180 and 181. THE Present State OF CHINA A Letter to my Lord Pontchartrain Secretary of State to his most Christian Majesty The Voyage from Siam to Pekin My Lord THO' Men generally take no little Pride in recounting their Travels and that of China be the most entertaining to this part of the World I could never yet be reconciled to the thoughts of writing a Formal Account of my Voyage thither That Subject indeed is worn so thread-bare that People have little Curiosity after New Relations and indeed the World is sufficiently taken up with the Business of the Times the Wars Negotiations and divers Movements Europe is in at present take 'em off from enquiring into the Affairs of Remote Countries But you my Lord whose Genius is as far extended as your Zeal and who no less rejoyce at Victories obtained by Christ's Doctrine over Idolatry then at those by our Arms will I dare hope give us his Ministers a patient Hearing I have already had the honour to be heard by you on this Subject at spare hours and I may say that besides those Divine Helps which support us in all our Labours nothing could more encourage our Industry then that Goodness with which you are pleased to countenance it The Project of sending Missionaries skill'd in the Mathematicks into the utmost parts of the World was conceiv'd of that Glory for his Majesty's Reign and that Advantage to our Religion that his Ministers have ever used their best Endeavours to carry it on Monsieur Colbert not only brought the King to approve of the Design but also himself gave Orders for the preparing of all necessary Instruments for a considerable number of Mathematicians who were all bound for China some thro' Muscovy and Tartary others thro' Syria and Persia and the rest on Board the Vessels belonging to the East-India Company His Death put some stop to this great Design but the Marquis de Louvois no sooner succeeded him in the Super-intendency of Arts and Sciences but he did by Order from his Majesty command our Superiours to look out for Men whose Zeal and Capacity might enable them for such an Undertaking for whom he procured all sorts of Instruments and furnished them with Money Letters of Commendation and in short all that might contribute to the Success of the Enterprise Monsieur De Seignelay judging that these new Missions needed the support of the Admiralty desired they might be intrusted to his Care but tho' Monsieur De Louvois gave up to him the Management of them yet did he not wholly abandon them but largely and bountifully contributed to the making their Journey the shorter thro' Poland Russia Siberia and the greater Tartary to the Eastern Ocean Thus my Lord has Providence led three great Men to forward so Noble a Work the perfecting of which it has left to you The several Reasons which induced them to it will no doubt be as prevalent with you who are no less desirous of the Honour of Religion the Glory of our King and the Advantage of his Subjects and no less careful in your Employments which respect both to Arts and Sciences and Trade and Navigation Your Protection has hitherto been so Benevolent to those Zealous Missionaries that they cannot doubt of a happy Success But besides this Acknowledgment they are bound to give you an exact Account of their Actions their Travels and the Use they have made of his Majesty's Bounty These Memoirs my Lord I offer to you on their behalf The King about Ten years since commanded Six of his Subjects Jesuits for China with the Character of his Majesty's Mathematicians that under cover of that Learning they might the easier insiâ—uate the Gospel I was one of them and set â—aiâ— with the rest in the beginning of the Year 1685. in the same Ship on Board which was Monsieur Chaumont sent by his Majesty on an Extraordinary Embassy to the Court of Siam Our Voyage thither was very fortunate but the Season forbad our going farther and we were detained there near a Twelve-month till the time of year proper for our Design The K. of Siam a Pretender to Astrology desired to be a Sharer in our Astronomical Observations He admired above all our exactness in foretelling an Eclipse of the Moon and from that time had thoughts of keeping us at his Court But having informed him what our Orders were he consented that Four of us should depart for China provided Father Tachard should return to France to request the King for more Mathematicians and that I the whilst should remain with him Accordingly he went for Europe and I continued at Siam while the Fathers Fontaney Gerbillon De Visdelon and Bouvet took Ship for Macao a small City situate on the Point of an Island adjacent to China where the Portugueze have a Fortress Father Tachard arrived safe at Paris with the Siamite Ambassadors But those who were failed for China were in a few days after their departure surprised by a Tempest which put a stop to their Voyage they were in a stout Vessel of Monsieur Constance's but it was so terribly shattered that in a little time it began to be leaky The Shipwreck being inevitable it was thought better to strand on the Shoar with some hopes of Life then by Loosing up against the Wind to keep the Sea and Founder in a desperate Condition So before Night they reached an unknown Land The Ship often run upon Shoals but did not split and with much ado they got to the Leeward of an Island near Câ—ssomet a Province of the Kingdom of Siam bordering upon that of Camboja The Captain then despaired of proceeding on his Voyage being fallen under a Wind which according to the Season was like to keep the same Corner for several Months and hindred him from doubling the Cape of Camboja the Ship being very much disabled The Missionaries more concerned at this loss of time than at
to West is little less so that on the whole China which is almost of a Circular Figure is very near Fourteen hundred Leagues in Circuit This Account My Lord I can warrant to be just and grounded on very exact Remarks You see My Lord that I have left out the Islands Formosa Haynan and others of less Note which of themselves would make a very great Kingdom as also all the Province Leauton because it is without the Wall As for the Corea Tunquin and Siam they depend indeed on China so far as that they pay a Tribute to that Crown and that their Kings at their admission are Confirmed by its Emperor but they are separate Kingdoms and differ much from that of China which whether in respect of the Product and Fertility of its Soil or the Beauty and Number of its Cities the Wit Politeness Religion or Manners of its Inhabitants is quite another thing The Chineze know it and are so proud of it that they call all the rest Barbarous Nations taking great care in their Marriages not to match with them or any of the other Indians and fearing nothing more then that their mean Blood should run in a Noble Chineze's Veins I also omitted a great part of Tartary which belongs to this State to the great increase of its Power for the Tartars are Valiant and withal Men of Sence and besides tho' Tartary be full of Woods and Sandy Desarts yet it is not wholly unfruitful those sine Furs of which they rob their Zibelines Foxes and Tigers a great diversity of Simples useful in Physick and the fine Horses which come from thence are Commodities China could not be without Yet tho' they reap so great a Profit by it it cannot be imagined what a Vexation it is to them to be so strictly united and mixt with that Nation and one must be well acquainted with the Excess of their Vanity and of the Conceit they have of their Grandeur to know how grievously the Tartarian Conquest has humbled them I question not My Lord but you have heard of it but perhaps have not had the leisure of inquiring into Particulars and therefore a short Account of that great Revolution may not be unwelcome One of the Petty Kings of the Eastern Tartary for there are not afew whose Subjects called Mouantchéou had settled a Trade near the Long Wall having complained at Pekin of some Knaveries committed by the Chinâ—se Merchants and having received no Satisfaction resolved to right himself and entered the Province of Leauton with a numerous Army The Emperor presently sent some part of his Forces to oppose him and the War continued some time with equal advantage But one LI a Chineze took that Opportunity to hatch a Rebellion in the Provinces which were most remote from Court Great numbers of Malecontents flocked about him who having made themselves Masters of the greatest Cities like a Torrent overflowed the whole Country driving all down before them The Sacred Majesty of their Emperor could not save Pekin from their Fury the Rebel who knew the best Forces were drawn out of it marched directly to attack it There was indeed a Garrison of Seventy thousand Men but most gain'd upon by the practises of Li's Emissaries so that while some with a pretended Zeal perswaded the Prince to remain in his Palace others open'd the City Gates to the Traitor who solemnized his Entry by a Cruel Slaughter The unfortunate Monarch finding himself betrayed would have marched out against him with Six hundred Guards who still remained with him but at the mentioning of this Heroick Proposal their Hearts failed 'em and they ungenerously abandoned him Then knowing no greater Evil then that of falling quick into the Hands of his Enemies he retired into a Garden with an only Daughter he had and having wrote with his Blood these words on the bordure of his Vest My Subjects have basely forsaken me spend thy Rage on my Body but spare my People He first stabb'd the Princess whose Tears must needs have rent a Heart of Flint and then hang'd himself on a Tree more Unjust to his Daughter and Cruel to Himself then could have been the most barbarous Foe The Emperor being dead all bowed to the Usurper except Ousanguey whom the late Prince had intrusted with the Command of the Forces he had sent against the Tartars who never would acknowledge him and chose rather to pull down his Tyranny then ignobly to accept of a share in it The new Monarch having in vain besâ—eged him in the Province Leauton to engage him to Surrender himself shewed him his Father loaded with Irons protesting he would put him to Death in his sight if he did not immediately submit But that generous Lord more Faithful to the Memory of his deceased Prince then tender of his Father's Life suffered the Duty of a Subject to prevail over of that of a Son and seeing that Blood spilt of which his once was Part resolved to dye or revenge at once his Fathers and his Emperor's Death He made his Peace with the Tartar who having joyn'd him no sooner enabled him to Cope with his Enemy but he marched against him But the Tyrant whose Cowardize was even greater then his Cruelty durst not appear against those two Armies He fled to Pekin where having burned the Palace and all that had not perished at his first Entry he retired into the Province of Chensi loaded with the Spoil of the Empire and the Curse of all He was pursued but in vain for he met with so private a Retirement that all the Art of Man could never find him out In the mean while the Tartars entered Pekin and so imposed upon the poor Chineze that of themselves they begged their new Guests to take care of their distressed State The others too Cunning not to improve so favourable a Hint whether by Force or Policy are since grown absolute Masters of it And here it is hard to determine which is most to be wondred at the Courage and Conduct of that Nation which gave them Success in so Noble an Enterprize or the Supineness or ill Management of the Chineze who thus basely submitted to a People so inconsiderable for their Number that they would have been ashamed not long before to own them for their Subjects So true it is we ought not to look on any thing as beneath us since all Temporal Grandeur is subject to Change and that nothing is Constant in this World but Inconstancy The Tartarian King Tsouté had not the leisure to enjoy his Conquest scarce had he taken Possession but he died leaving the Administration of the Government and Care of his Son who was then but Six years old to his Brother This Brother of his named AMAVAN conquered all the Provinces which had not yet submitted a Prince deservedly admired not only for his Valour and Conduct ever attended with Success but also for his Fidelity and Moderation For the young Prince being come
amends for all the Troubles we had undergone But how great was our Bliss when we were at liberty to receive the Caresses of the Father Intorcetta whom God had made use of to procure our Admittance into that Empire We already bore him a Veneration due to the Glorious Name of Confessor which his Imprisonment and Sufferings at Pekin had intitled him to but his Goodness Meekness and Charity entirely won our Hearts and made us respect him as the true Pattern of a Perfect Missionary The Character we bore of Persons sent for to Court as Considerable as that of Envâ—y obliged us to visit and be visited by the Chief Mandarines The Viceroy our Enemy was ashamed to see us which he sent us word the multitude of Business he had then on his Hands would not permit but the General of the Tartars received us with all Civility and among other Demonstrations of his Kindness made us a very considerable Present However when we were going the Viceroy who was affraid least he should be informed against sent some Chairs to carry us to the Imperial Barge he had provided for us he order'd some Trumpets and Hautboys to attend us presented us with ten Pistols and gave us an especial Order from Court intituled a Cam-bo in pursuance to which all Places we passed thro' were to find us Boats well man'd while we went by Water or sixty two or more Porters in case the Frost obliged us to go by Land and each City to give us about half a Pistol the same being allowed to the Chief Mandarines who are reputed to have their Charges born by the Emperor tho' this will not amount to the tenth part of their Expence Besides he order'd a Mandarine to accompany us and see all due respect was paid us We would gladly have avoided it but were forced to go thro' what we undesignedly had engaged in The Barge we were on Board was a Second Rate containing in Breadth sixteen feet and in Length seventy and proportionable in Heighth Besides the Cook-room the Master and his Family's for they have no other Dwelling Apartment that of his Crew and another for our Men there was a pretty large Parlour where we dined and three Rooms in which six Persons might lye at ease all which were Vernished Gilt and Painted Now for the manner of our Travelling As soon as Anchor was weighed the Trumpets and Hautboys founded a March then they took their Leave with a kind of Chest wherein were three Iron Barrels which made a greater Report than so many Muskets they were discharged one after another and between each the Musick founded and so continued playing for some time Whenever we met a Mandarine's Barge or some Town in our way the same thing was repeated as also when Night or a contrary Wind obliged us to come to an Anchor This to a Mandarine had not only been a great Honour but a very entertaining Consort As for us we thought it a very inharmonious one whose tediousness made us pay dear for our Honour We had besides a Watch every Night to guard us the manner of which was this About Eight at Night ten or twelve Inhabitants of the Town nearest to the place we anchored in appeared in one Row on the Shoar then the Master came upon the Deck and thence made them a fair Speech concerning the Obligations they lay under of preserving all that belonged to the Emperor and watching for the Mandarines Safety who themselves did so for that of the State Then he descended into Particulars of all the Accidents they were liable to Fire Thieves and Storms exhorting them to be Vigilant and telling them they were responsible for all the Mischief which might happen They answered each Paragraph with a Shout and then retired as a form to Corps de Garde only one Centry was left there who continually struck two Sticks one against another and was hourly relieved by others which made the same Noise that we might know they did not fall asleep which we would gladly have permitted them to do on condition we might have done so our selves But this is the Custom when any Mandarine travels by Water How teazing soever all these Ceremonies might be I must confess that I never met with any way of Travelling less tiresome than this for after Thirteen days Voyage we arriv'd at Yamt-chéou on Ianuary the 3d as fresh as if we had not stirr'd out of our House There we found Father Aleonisa a Franciscan ProVicar to the Bishop of Basilea and Father Galiani a Jesuit who were come thus far to meet us the one from the Bishop to proffer us that Prelate's Assistance and the other by his Credit and Experience to make the rest of our Journey as easie as he could Both knew we had Letters of Commendation from the King and were willing to shew us all the Respect due to those who are under his Majesty's Protection This was not the only Civility we received from them but they have since obliged us so highly that we never can enough express our Gratitude Here the Frost forced us to leave the Great Canal and we had Horses found us for our Men and Porters for our Goods As for our selves the great Cold and Snow which we were unaccustomed to made us choose to go in Litters some of our Horse-men riding about us that we might be the more Secure We shifted our Porters at each City or pretty big Town and what may be wonder'd at is that we could get above a hundred with as much speed and ease as in France we might five or six The Cold increased hourly and became at last so violent that we found the River Hoambo one of the greatest in China almost frozen over a whole Day was spent in breaking the Ice and we passed not without much Trouble and Danger We left Nimpo on the 27th of November 1687. and arriv'd at Pekin the 8th of February following but we rested so often by the way that indeed we had not spent above a Month and an half in our Journey These Honours paid us by so potent a Prince and the good Success of so long and perillous a Voyage together with a prospect of the Benefit our Religion might reap by it would have occasioned in us a well-grounded Mirth had not our Thoughts been cruelly diverted from it Scarce were we in sight of Pekin but we received the most afflicting News of Father Verbiest's Death It struck us with an Astonishment which lessened but to make our Grief more sensible He it was who had procured our Admittance into China who besides in delivering us from the Viceroy of Hamt-chéou had saved our Lives and which we looked on as a greater Kindness was ready to assist us with his Credit in the Designs we had to promote God's Glory and the Interest of our Holy Faith We were not the only Loosers by his Death but I dare say that every Body mist him To his Care
even in their Capital City over Pagan Superstition When we were come to the Burying place the Missionaries in their Surplices read the Prayers of the Church before the Mandarins The Body was besprinkled with Holy Water and perfumed with Incense in the usual manner then it was let down into a very deep square Vault enclosed with four good Brick Walls It was like a Chamber under-ground and in the Scripture Phrase became to him an Everlasting Habitation Having pray'd near it some time we remained on our Knees to hear what the Emperor's Father-in-law had to say to us which was this Father Verbiest has been considerably serviceable to the Emperor and the State of which his Imperial Majâ—sty being sensible has sent me with these Lords to make a Publick Acknowledgment of it on his behalf that all the World may know the singular Affection his Majesty did ever bear him while he lived and the great Grief he has received by his Death We were so moved with the Dismal Ceremony the Christians continual Lamentations our own great Loss and the Emperor's surprising Bounty that we were not able to Reply Every one melted into Tears but that Pâ—ince who expected another Answer from us was obliged to press us for it when at length Father Pereiva thus spoke on our behalf My Lord our Anguish was not so much the cause of our Silence as the Emperor 's unparallel'd Goodness for what can we say or think when we consider that so great a Monarch uses us who are Strangers Unknown Useless and perhaps Troublesome to him as if we had the Honour to be in his Service Were we his Children he could not love us more he takes care of our Health of our Reputation of our Life He honours our very Death not only with his Elogies his Liberality the Presence of the most Noble Lords of his Court but which never can enough be prized by his Grief What Return My Lord can we then make not to all his Favours but to that alone which your Highness has been pleased to deliver We will only be bold to beg your Grace would acquaint his Majesty that we Weep because our Tears may indeed make known our Sorrow but that we remain Silent because no Words can express our Gratitude The Emperor was informed of what had passed and some days after the Chief Court of Rites presented a Petition That his Majesty would suffer them to Decree some new Honours to be paid that Illustrious Father's Memory The Emperor not only granted it but willed them to consider that Stranger of so extraordinary a Merit was not to be look'd upon as an ordinary Man In the very first Meeting they ordered seven hundred golden Crowns should be laid out on a Tomb for him and the Encomium which the Emperor had wrote should be ingraved on a Marble Stone and that some Mandarines should be once more deputed to pay him their last Devoirs in behalf of the Empire Then they promoted him that is gave him a higher Title than any he had enjoyed during his Life While the Emperor honoured the Saint on Earth he no doubt pray'd for him in Heaven For it is very observable that that Prince never was more inquisitive about Religion then at that time He sent one of his Gentlemen every Minute to the Fathers to inquire about the Condition of Souls in the other World about Heaven Hell Purgatory the Existence of a God his Providence and the Means necessary to Salvation So that God seemed to move his Heart after an extraordinary Manner and to affect it with those Holy Doubts which usually precede our Conversion But that happy Moment was not yet come However who knows but Father Verbiest's Prayers and the Care of several zealous Missionaries who have succeeded him may hasten the Execution of those Designs which Providence seems to have on that great Prince I am most respectfully Madam Hour Highnesses most humble and obedient Servant L. J. LETTER III. To his Highness the Cardinal of FURSTEMBERG O fthe Cities Houses and Chief Buildings of China My Lord AMONG the several Empires into which the World has hitherto been divided that of China has ever obtained so considerable a Place that a Prince cannot be wholly ignorant of what concerns it without neglecting one of those Sciences which seem a part of his Prerogative This My Lord was no doubt the Motive that induced your Highness to inquire so particularly into the State of that Country and to desire an Exact Account of the Number and Bigness of its Cities the Multitude of its Inhabitants the Beauty of its Publick Buildings and Manner of its Palaces By this it plainly appears that the vast Genius you have for Business does in no wise lessen the Acuteness of your Judgment in the Sublimest Arts and especially in Architecture of which the most Excellent Works raised by your Directions at Modave Saverne Berni St. Germans and above all in the famous Cathedral of Strasbourg are several Instances It having been my Business to run over all China where in Five years time I have travelled above Two thousand Leagues I may perhaps satisfie your Highness with more ease than any one besides and shall give a Description of what has seemed to me most worth my Observation Pekin that is the North-Court is the chief City of China and the usual Seat of its Emperors It is so named to distinguish it from Nankin the South-Court another very considerable City so called from the Emperor's Residing there in former Ages it being the Finest the most Commodious and best Situated of the whole Empire but the continual Incâ—rsions of the Tartars a Warlike and very Troublesome Neighbour obliged him to settle in the most Northerly Provinces that he might be always ready to oppose them with the numerous Army he usually keeps near his Court. Pekin was the place fixed upon being Situate in the 40th Degree of Northern Latitude in a very Fertile Plain and not far from the Long Wall Its Neighbourhood to the Sea on the East and the great Canal on the South afford it a Communication with several fine Provinces from which it draws part of of its Subsistence This City which is of an exact Square Form was formerly four long Leagues round but Tartars settling there forced the Chinese to live without the Walls where they in a very short while built a new Town which being more Long than Large does with the old one compose an irregular Figure Thus Pekin is made up of two Cities one is called the Tartar's because they permit none else to inhabit it and the other the Chinese as large but much more full than the first Both together are Six great Leagues in Circuit allowing 3600 Paces to each League This I can aver to be true it having been measured by the Emperor 's special Command This My Lord will seem strange to those who are acquainted with Europe only and think Paris the Largest as
Sacred Vessels of the Duty of Children to their Parents and Wives to their Husbands Rules of real Friendship Civilities at Feasts of Hospitality Musick War of Funeral Honours and of a thousand other things that regard Society These five Books are very ancient and all the others that have any Authority in the Empire are nothing but Copies or Interpretations of them Amongst abundance of Authors who have taken pains about these so famous Originals none is so conspicuous and eminent as Confucius they have a great esteem especially of that which he compiled in four Books upon the ancient Laws which are lookt upon as the Rule of Perfect Government There he treats of the grand Aâ—t of Reigning of Mediocrity Vertues and Viccs of the Nature of Things and of common Duties This last Tome notwithstanding is not so much the Work of Confucius as of Mencius his Disciple of a Life less regular than that of his Master but of a Stile more eloquent and pleasant Besides these Nine Books there be some others much in vogue as the Universal History of the Empire the truth of which is no less confirmed in China than it is in our most noted Histories in Europe The Books that treat of the Education of Children of Obedience of Loyalty are ascribed to Confucius Some of them may be met with that Discourse of Medicine Agriculture Plants of the Military Art of Arts Liberal and Mechanick of particular Histories Astronomy Phylosophy and a great many other Parts of Mathematicks In short they have their Romances Comedies and what I place in the same rank a plain abundance of Treaties composed by the Bonze's concerning the Worship of the Deities of the Country which they alter diminish and increase according as they find it necessary to inveigle the People and swell their Revenues Of all these Books they have compiled numerous Libraries some whereof were composed of above Forty thousand Volumes but all these brave Works that Antiquity took so much pains to bring forth which private Persons had amassed with so vast Expences were well-nigh all destroy'd by the Tyrannical order of one Emperor Three hundred years or thereabouts after the Death of Confucius that is to say Two hundred years before the Birth of our Saviour Christ the Emperor Chihoamti illustrious by his Valour and Military Science of which he was Master beyond all his Predecessors and still more conspicuous by the prodigious Wall he caused to be built to secure his Territories from the Irruptions of the Tartars resolved to extirpate all Sciences and not satisfied with putting a great number of Doctoâ—s to death he ordered his Subjects upon pain of death to set fire on all the Books in the Empire except those that treated of Agriculture Medicine and Sorcery This Conslagration the most remarkable that ever the Republick of Letters suffered was like to have utterly ruined the Empire and would have made in time of the most polite and accomplisht State the most barbarous and ignorant Kingdom in the World if after the Tyrant's death the Love of Sciences that began to Revive in all Men's Breasts had not in some measure repaired this loss The old Men who according to custom had during their youth learnt almost all these Books by heart received order to write them faithfully over They found some of them in the Tombs that the most zealous had concealed to which they gave a Resurrection by publishing them in another Edition Some of them they fetched from the Graves and Holes of Walls that indeed suffered great Damage by Moisture and Worms however in a Condition to serve their turns that laboured after their Restoration what was defaced in these latter being pretty intire in some others All this Care did not hinder the new Edition to be defective there remains in some places Lacuna's and there hath been inserted into others some Pieces by the by that were not in the Originals The Chineses themselves take notice of these Faults and of some others of less moment but they are so Superstitious in pâ—eserving what was handed down to them from Antiquity that they even pay Reverence to its Faults I should not My Lord afford you a Light diffusive enough into the Chinese Literature should I not speak more particularly of Confucius who makes the principle Ornament of it He is the most pure Source of their Doctrine he is their Philosopher their Lawgâ—ver their Oracle and albeit he was never King one may nevertheless avouch that during his Life he hath governed a great part of China and that he hath had since his death a greater share then any one in the Administration of the Affairs of State by the Maxims that he hath promulgated and the fair Examples that he hath exhibited so that he is still the Model of all honest Men His Life hath been writ by several Persons I shall report what they commonly say of it Confucius whom the Chineses name Coum-tse was born in the Province of Chauton the Thirty seventh year of the Reign of the Emperor Kim Four hundred fourscore and three years before the Incarnation of our Saviour the Death of his Father that preceded his Birth made them call him Tcesse which signifies Child of Sorrow he derived his Pedigree from Tiny Twenty seventh Emperor of the Second Race How illustrious soever this Family might be by a long Series of Kings it became much more so by the Life of this great Man He eclipsed all his Ancestors but he gave his Posterity a lustre that still continues after more than Two thousand years China acknowledges no true Nobility but in this Family equally respected by Sovereigns who have derived from thence as from the Source the Laws of Perfect Government and beloved by the People to whose Happiness he hath so successfully contributed Confucius did not proceed by the ordinary degrees of Childhood he seem'd Rational a great deal sooner than other Men for he took delight in nothing that other Children are fond of Playing going abroad Amusements proper to his Age did not at all concern him he had a grave a serious Deportment that gained him respect and was at that very time a Presage of what one day he was like to be But that which distinguisheth him the most was his Exemplary and Unbiassed Piety He honoured his Relations he endeavoured in all things to imitate his Grandfather who lived in China all that time and whose Memory was precious for his Sanctity And it was observable that he never eat any thing but he prostrated himself upon the Ground and offered it to the Supream Lord of Heaven Being yet a Child he heard his Grandfather fetch a deep Sigh he came-up to him and when he had saluted him bowing several times to the very ground May I be so bold says he without losing the respect I owe you to ask you the occasion of your Grief Perhaps you are afraid that your Posterity may neglect the Care of Vertue and may dishonour you
by their Vice What put this Thought into your head says Coum-tse to him and where have you learnt to speak after this manner From you your self replyed Confucius I attentively hear you every time you speak and I have often heard you say that a Son who by his manner of living does not keep up the Reputation of his Ancestors degenerates from them and does not deserve to bear their Name When you spoke after that manner did not you think of me and might not that be the thing that troubles you This good old Man was overjoy'd at this Discourse and after that seemed not to be disquieted Confucius after his Grandfathers death was a constant adherer to Tcem-se a famous Doctor of those times and under the Conduct of so great a Master he became in a short time a considerable Proficient in the Knowledge of Antiquity which he lookt upon even there as the most perfect Model This Love for the Ancients had like â—ne day to have cost him his Life tho' he was then but Sixteen years of Age For discoursing with a Person of the highest quality who spoke of the obscurity and unprofitableness of the Chinese Books this Child read him somewhat too seveâ—e a Lecture concerning the respect that is due to them The Books you speak of says Confucius contain profound Doctrine the Sense of which is not to be penetrated but by the Learned the People would undervalue them could they comprehend them of themselves This dependance of Spirits by which the more Stupid are subject to the more enlightened is very profitable and useful in Humane Society Were all Families equally rich equally powerful there would remain no form of Government But there would happen yet a more strange disorder if Men were equally knowing every one would be a governing and no body would believe himself obliged to obey Some time ago added this witty Child one of the Skum of the Vulgar spoke to me as you do I did not wonder at it but I admire at present that a Doctor as you are should speak to me like this Man of the Dregs of the People This Discourse was capable to gain the affection and respect of the Mandarin But Confusion that possest him to be thus gravelled by a Child did so nettle him that he resolved to be revenged He caused his House to be invested by his Menial Servants and without doubt he would have flowen out into some Extremity had not the King who had notice of it given him order to withdraw When Confucius was a little more advanced in years he made a Collection of the most excellent Maxims of the Ancients which he intended to follow and inspire into the People Each Province was at that time a distinct Kingdom that a Prince who depended upon the Emperor governed by particular Laws He levied Taxes disposed of all Places of Trust and made Peace as he judged expedient These petty Kings had sometimes Differences amongst them the Emperor himself stood in fear of them and had not always Authority enough to make himself be obey'd by them Confucius being perswaded that the People would never be happy so long as Interest Ambition and false Policy should reign in all these Petty Courts resolved to preach up a severe Morality to prevail upon Men to contemn Riches and worldly Pleasures and esteem Temperance Justice and other Vertues to inspire them with Grandeur and Magnanimity proof against all Humane Respects a Sincerity incapable of the least disguise even in respect of the greatest Princes in fine a kind of Life that should oppose the Passions and should intirely cultivate Reason and Vertue That which is most to be admired is That he preached more by his Examples than by his Words so that he every where reapt very considerable Fruit of his Labours Kings were governed by his Counsels the People reverenced him as a Saint every Body commended him and even those who did not comply to follow his Examples did nevertheless admire them but sometimes he took upon him such a Severity that made his very Friend have an aversion for him Being chosen to fill a considerable Place of Trust in the Kingdom of Lou in less than Three Months time after he exercised the Charge he introduced such a prodigious Change that the Court and Provinces were quite another thing than they were before The neighbouring Princes began to be jealous they perceived that a King ruled by a Man of this Character would quickly render himself too powerful there being nothing that can be more capable to make a State flourish than Order and an exact observance of Laws The King of Tci assembled his Ministers and propounded to them an Expedient to put a stop to the Cariere of this new Government After a long deliberation this was the Expedient they bethought themselves of They chose a great Company of young Maids handsome well educated and perfectly well instructed in whatsoever might please Then under pretence of an Embassy they presented them to the King of Lou and to the principal Officers of his Court the Present was joyfully accepted and obtained its desired effect They thought of nothing but of divertising the fair Strangers for several Months together there was nothing but Feasting Dancing and Comedies and Pleasures was the whole Business of the Court. Confucius perceiving that the Publick Affairs would suffer by it endeavoured to bring Men to themselves again but this new kind of Life had so charmed them that all his endeavours proved ineffectual there was no remedy the Severity of the Philosopher whether he would or no must give place to the Gallantry and Irregularities of Courtiers So that he thought it did not stand with his Reputation to remain any longer in a place where Reason was not listened to and so he resigned up his place to the Prince and sought other Kingdoms more inclinable to improve his Maxims But he met with great Obstacles and run from Province to Province almost without reaping any advantage because the Politicians dreaded him and the Ministers of Princes had no mind to have a Competitor that was in a capacity to lessen their Authority or deprive them of their Credit So that forsaken by all the World he was often times reduced to utmost Extremity in danger of being starved or to lose his Life by the Conspiracy of mischievous Men. Nevertheless all these Disgraces did not move him and he would often say That the Cause be defended was too good to apprehend any evil Consequences from it That there was not that Mâ—n so powerful that could hurt him and that when a Man is elevated to Heaven by a sincere desire of Perfection be is so far from fearing a Tempest that he did not so much as hear the noise in this lower World So that he was never weary of instructing those who loved Vertue Amongst a great Company of Disciples that put themselves under his Tuition he destined some to write a fair hand others
apply'd themselves to argue exactly and to deliver themselves eloquently in Publick He would have others to study to frame to themselves a true Idea of a good Government But he counselled those for whom he had a more particular kindness to govern themselves well to cultivate their Mind by Meditation and to purifie their heart by Vertue Humane Nature said he often to others came from Heaven to us most pure and perfect in process of time Ignorance the Passions and evil Examples have corrupted it all consists in the re-instating it and giving it its primitive Beauty and that we may be perfect we must reascend to that point from whence we have descended Obey Heaven and follow all the Ordâ—rs of him who governs it Love your Neighbour as your self never suffer your Senses to be the Rule of your Conduct but hearken to Reason in all things It will instruct you to think well to speak discretely and to perform all your Actions holily He sent Six hundred of his Disciples into different places of the Empire to reform the Manners of the People and not satisfied to benefit his own Country he often took a Resolution to pass the Seas and extend his Doctrine to the Extremity of the Universe There is scarce any thing can be added either to his Zeal or to the purity of his Morality they were so Superlative Methinks he sometimes speaks like a Doctor of the New Law rather than like a Man that was brought up in the Corruption of the Law of Nature and that which perswades me that Hypocrisie had no share in what he said is That his Actions never bely'd his Maxims In fine his Gravity and Mildness in the Use of the World his rigorous Abstinence for he past for the soberest Man of the Empire his Contempt of the Good Things of the World that continual Attention and Watchfulness over his Actions and then what we find not amongst the Sages of Antiquity his Humility and Modesty would make a Man apt to judge that he was not a meer Philosopher formed by Reason but a Man inspired by God for the Reformation of this New World The Chineses report that he had frequently this saying in his Mouth It is in the West where the True Saint is found And this Sentence was so imprinted upon the Spirit of the Learned that Sixty five years after the Birth of our Saviour the Emperor Mimti touched with these words and determined by the Image of a Man that appeared to him in a Dream coming from the West sent Ambassadors that way with strict order to continue their Journey till they should meet the Saint whom Heaven had acquainted him with It was much about the same time that St. Thomas preached the Christian Faith in the Indies now if these Mandarins had followed his Orders peradventure China might have received benefit from the Preaching of this Apostle But the danger of the Sea that they feared made them stop at the first Island where they found the Idol Fo or Foe who had corrupted the Indies several years before with his damnable Doctrine They learnt the Superstitions of the Country and at their return propagated Idolatry and Atheism in all the Empire Confucius lived secretly Three years but spent the latter end of his days in Sorrow in seeing the Wickedness that reigned amongst the People He has been often heard to say The Mountain is fallen and an high Machine was destroyed to denote that the grand Edifice of Perfection that he had Erected with so much Care in all the Realms was as good as overthrown Kings said he one day during his last Sickness do not follow my Maxims I do no good in the World so it is time I should depart out of it At that very Moment he fell into a Lethargy that continued Seven days at the end of which he gave up the Ghost in the Embraces of his Disciples He was Lamented by the whole Empire that from that very time honoured him as a Saint and influenced Posterity with a Veneration of him which in all probability will never have an end but with the World Kings have built Palaces for him after his death in all the Provinces whither the Learned at certain times go to pay him Honours There is to be seen in several places these Titles of Honour writ in huge Characters To the great Master to the head Doctor to the Saint to him who taught Emperors and Kings However what is very extraordinary never did the Chineses Deifie him they I say who have given the quality of God or as they speak the quality of pure Spirits to many Mandarins not so eminent as he as if Heaven that had given him Birth for the Reformation of Manners was unwilling that such a well-ordered Life should after his death administer occasion of Superstition and Idolatry They preserve to this day in China Anticks that represent him to the Life and pretty well agree with what History hath left us concerning him He was no handsom Man he had moreover upon his Forehead a Swelling or a kind of Wen that disfigured him which he made others often to take notice of to humble him As for the rest his Stature was so comely and proportionable his Behaviour so grave his Voice so strong and shrill that if he was but never so little pathetical one could not choose but be affected and hear him with respect But the Maxims of Morality he hath scattered here and there in his Works or which his Disciples took care to collect draw a much more lively and advantagious Pourtraiture of his Soul There would need an entire Volume to relate them all Here are some of them that came to my knowledge that I have taken out of a Book composed by one of the principle Mandarins of the Empire who Rules at present in Pekin Maxim I. Beauty is not to be desired by a wise Man Confucius going to see the King of a Province he found him with his Favourite that was a Lord wonderful handsome The King so soon as he saw him come in said to him smiling Confucius if thy Countenance could be changed I would willingly give you all the Beauty of this young Courtier Sir answered the Philosopher that is not the thing I wish the exterior form of a Man is of little use to the Publick Good What do you desire then said the Prince I desire My Lord says he in all the Members of the Empire that just Symetry that makes up the Beauty of the Government and hinders the Body of the State to be deformed Maxim II. A Man must confine himself if he means to be happy So soon as he understood that his Mother was dead he came into his Country to pay his last Devoirs to her he wept for her bitterly and spent three days without eating that was perhaps too much yet a Philosopher of that Country thought it not enough As for me says he I have been seven days without
slightest Faults their Punishments are adequate to their demerits The usual Punishments is the Bastinado on the Back When they receive but forty or fifty blows they call this a Fatherly Correction To which as well Mandarins as others are subject this Punishment is not accounted very scandalous and after it is executed the Criminal must fall on his Knees before the Judge and if able bow three times down to the ground and give him humble thanks for taking this care of his Education Yet this Punishment is of that Violence that one stroke is enough to fell one that is of a tender Constitution and oftimes persons die of it it is true there are ways of softening this Punishment when the Execution of it is in Court The easiest is to Bribe the Executioners for there are many of them because lest the Executioners weariness should lessen the Punishment after five or six strokes another succeeds and so till the whole be performed But when the Criminal has by mony made them his Friends they understand their business so well that notwithstanding all the care which the Mandarins present can use the Punishment becomes light and almost nothing Beside this in the Courts there are persons to be hired who keep a good understanding with the Officers Who upon a signal given take the place of the Criminal who escapes among the croud and receives his Punishment For mony there are every where these sort of Vicarious Persons to be met with For it is a Trade at China where several Persons are maintained by the blows of the Cudgel By such a trick as this Yam-quam sien a famous Persecutor of Christianity escaped the just Sentence of the Judges He engaged a paltry Fellow for a large sum of mony to take upon him his name and go to the Court of Justice in his stead He told him that let it come to the worst it was but a good Cudgelling and if after that he was imprisoned there should be found out a way to redeem him thence The poor Fellow went according to agreement and when the Cryer called out aloud Yam quam sien the Fellow answered as loud Here his Sentence was passed and the Mandarin condemned him to death The Officers who had been bribed seized on him immediately and according to Custom gagged him for after Sentence the Criminal is not suffered to speak Afterward he was brought to the place of Execution where the poor Wretch suffered a miserable death The second soâ—t of Punishment is the Carcan which differs from the former only in the place where the Bastinadoes are given in this they are given the Criminal at one of the City Gates or in the High-way the Punishment here is not so sharp but the Infamy is greater and he who has once undergone this Punishment can never more recover his Reputation They have several different ways of inflicting death Mean and ignoble Persons have their Heads cut off for in China the separation of the Head from the Body is disgraceful On the contrary Persons of Quality are Strangled which among them is a death of more Credit if the Crime be very notorious they are Punished like mean Persons and sometimes their Heads are cut off and hanged on a Tree in the High-ways Rebels and Traytors are punished with the utmost severity that is to speak as they do they cut them into ten thousand pieces For after that the Executioner hath tyed them to a Post he cuts ofâ— the Skin all round their Forehead which he tears by force till it hangs over their Eyes that they may not see the Torments they are to endure Afterwards he cuts their Bodies in what places he thinks fit and when he is tyred with this barbarous Employment he leaves them to the tyranny of their Enemies and the insults of the Mob Often Criminals are cruelly whipped till they expire Lastly the Torture which is the cruellest of all Deaths is here used and generally the Hands and Fingers suffer most in it Ninthly They think it good Policy to forbid Women from all Trade and Commerce which they can only benefit by letting it alone all their business lies within Doors where they find continual Employment in the careful Education of their Children They neither Buy nor Sell and one sees Women so seldom in the Streets that one would imagine them to be all Religiouses confined to a Cloyster Princesses never Succeed to the Crown nor ever have the Regency during the young Princes minority and tho' the Emperor may in private consult them it is reckoned mean and ignoble to do it In which thing the Chinese seem in my Opinion less reasonable than in others For wit and foresight is equally the Portion of the one as of the other Sex and a Prince is never so understanding as when he knows how to find out all his Treasures wheresoever Nature has placed them nor ever so Prudent as when he makes use of them Lastly Their tenth Maxim is to encourage Trade as much as possible thro' the whole Empire All the other Policy is conducive to the plenty or convenience of their Country but this is concern'd for the very lives of the People who would be soon reduced to the last extremity if Trade should once fail It is not the Peoples care only but the Mandarins also who put out their mony to trusty Traders to make the best advantage of it By this private way Ousanguey the little King of Chensi who brought the Tartars into China made himself so rich and powerful that he was able himself to support for a long time the War against the Emperor To encrease Commerce Foreigners have been permitted to come into the Ports of China a thing till lately never known On the other side the Chinese spread themselves over all the Indies where they carry Silk ' China Physical Drugs Sugar Japanned Works Wine and Potters Ware They go to Batavia Siam to Achim Malacca and especially to Iappon and Manilla from which they are distant but a few days Sail. From all these places they bring Silver all of which that is brought from Mexico to the Philippine Islands by the Pacifick Ocean is carried from thence to Canton whence it is spread thro' the whole Empire But the greatest part of their Trading lies within themselves from one Province to another which like so many Kingdoms Communicate to each other their Riches That of Houquam sends Rice that of Canton Sugar from Chequiam comes good Silk from Nankin neat and handsome pieces of Workmanship Chensi and Chansi are rich in Iron Horses Mules Cammels and Furs Tokiem yields Tea Leautom Drugs and so the rest This mutual Commerce unites the People and fills their Towns with plenty These my Lord are not all the Chinese Maxims there are a World of others but I have wrote down these as the most known and most essential ones for the Publick Good Good order in the Inferior Governments is as useful a part
Monsters and other Emperors about that time have discovered by their actions a good sense of Religion Vou-vam the first of the third Line did himself according to antient Custom offer Sacrifices and his Brother who bore him a passionate love and thought his life still necessary for the good of the Kingdom seeing him one day in danger of dying prostrated himself before the Divine Majesty to beg his recovery It is you O Lord said he who have given him to his People he is our Father he is our Master If we fall into any disorder who can set us to rights again so well as he And if we follow exactly what thou hast inspired him to teach us why punishest thou us by taking him As for me O Lord continued the good Prince I can be but little serviceable in this World if you desire the death of a Prince I offer up my Life with all my heart for a Sacrifice if you will be pleased to spare my Master my King and my Brother The History says his Prayer was heard for he dyed as soon as he had put up this Petition An example which demonstrates that not only the tenour of Religion was preserved among those People but farther that they followed the dictates of the purest Charity which is the very quintessence and perfection of Religion But Tchim-vam his Son and Successor gave such bright marks of his Piety toward the end of his life that it leaves us no room to doubt of the truth of what I have advanced You shall hear what the antient Chinese Books say of him This Prince say they who had always regulated his behaviour according the Ordinances of the Supreme Governour of Heaven fell dangerously ill in the fiftieth year of his Age and thirty seventh of his Reign When he knew the danger he was in he called together the principal Officers of his Court with a design to nominate his Successor and that he might omit nothing which was usually performed on such occasions he arose from his Throne where he had ordered his Servants to set him He made them wash his Hands and Face Cloath him with his Imperial Habits and put his Crown on his Head and then leaning on a Table of precious stone he spake to the Company in this manner My sickness is every day worse and worse for thus has Heaven ordained I fear Death will seize upon me and therefore thought my self obliged to acquaint you with my last Will. You know how great the Reputation of my Father and Grandfather was and how bright the Examples of Virtue which they set the Empire did appear I was very unworthy to fill the place in which these great Men sate notwithstanding I did succeed them I do nevertheless acknowledge my ignorance and unfitness It is for this reason perhaps that Heaven has shorten'd the days of my Reign I ought in this as well as in all other things to acquiesce for you have all seen that I have hitherto received its Orders with an humble fear and a profound respect I have endeavoured to follow them without ever deviating from them the least in the World I have also all my life time had in my Heart my Ancestors instructions touching my Duty to Heaven and to my People On these two Heads I cannot accuse my self of any fault and if my life has had any Reputation it is all owing to that teachableness which has brought down upon me the blessings of the Sovereign Master of the World It is on your account that I speak this addressing himself to his eldest Son it is on your account O my Son be you the Inheritor of your Ancestors Virtue rather than of my Power and Crown I make you a King 't is all that you can have of me be a wise vertuous and unblameable Prince this I command you and the whole Empire expects from you Under the Reigns of this Prince and his Son it was that Peace Honesty and Justice reigned in China so that they oftimes sent their Prisoners to dig or plough the Grounds or get in the Corn without thinking that the fear of punishment would make them run away After Harvest they came again to receive that punishment of their faults which the Mandarins had appointed Lastly If we examine well the History of China we shall still find that for three hundred years after that is to say down to the times of the Emperor Yeou-vam who reigned eight hundred years before Christ Idolatry had not corrupted this People So that they have preserved the knowledge of the true God for near two thousand years and did honour their Maker in such a manner as may serve both for an Example and Instruction to Christians themselves They had all along a strict care to breed up Beasts for Sacrifices and to maintain Priests to offer them up besides that the internal Worship of the mind was prescribed they did oblige themselves to a nice observation of even the smallest Ceremonies which might in any ways be serviceable to the Peoples Edification The Empresses did themselves breed up Silkworms and with their own Hands worked coverings for the Altars and Habits for the Priests The Emperors have oftimes Tilled the Ground which produced the Corn or Wine destined for Sacred uses Again the Priests never dared to offer Sacrifices before the People unless prepared for it by an abstistinence of three or seven days from Conjugal enjoyments They have had their solemn Fastdays and days of Prayer in Publick especially when the Empire laboured under any publick Calamity either by Barrenness by Floods by Earth quakes or Wars from abroad With this outward Worship it is that the Emperors prepare themselves for Wars for taking upon themselves the Government or resisting the Provinces and that Heaven may favour their Enterprises with success they inquire of their Subjects of their own Faults that they may amend them beliving that all publick Calamities are occasioned thro' their ill Government We meet with a signal instance of this in History which I cannot forbear reciting An universal barrenness having continued over all the Provinces for seven years together which time seems not far distant from the seven years of barrenness of which the Scripture speaks and perhaps this thing a little looked into may serve to amend or confirm our Chronology the People were reduced to extreme want and when Prayers Fasts and other acts of Humiliation were used without success the Emperor not knowing any means proper to be used to gain relief from this publick misfortune after having offered to God several Sacrifices to appease his indignation he resolved at last to offer up himself for a Sacrifice For this purpose he called together the chief Persons of his Kingdom in the presence of them all dismantled himself of his Royal Apparel and cloathed himself meanly In this Habit with his Head and Feet bare in the same fashion that a Câ—iminal appears before a Judge he marched attended
by his whole Court to a Mountain a good distance from the Town When prostrating himself before the Divine Majesty to whom he paid his Adorations nine times he spake in these words O Lord you know the miseries to which we are reduced It is my sins which have brought them upon my People I come bither to own and acknowledge it in the presence of Heaven and Earth That I may the better amend my faults give me leave O Lord of all the World to ask what Action of mine has more particularly given you offence Is it the splendor of my Palace I will take care to retrench what is superfluous Perhaps the profuseness of my Table or the delicacy and Voluptuousness of it have brought this scarcity hereafter nothing shall be seen there but thristiness and temperance The Laws permit to me the use of Concubines but perhaps you dislike that I have too many I am ready to lessen the number And if all this be not sufficiâ—nt to appease your just indignation and you must have an Oblation behold one O Lord I am heartily willing to dye if thou wilt spare this good People Let Rain come from Heaven on their Fields to relieve their necessities and thunder on my Head to satisfie your Iustice. The Princes Piety pierced the Clouds for the Air was presently overcast and an universal Rain immediately fell which did in due season bring forth a fruitful Harvest When Idolaters seem scandalised at the Death of IESUS CHRIST we use the Example of this Prince to justifie our Faith You not only approve of this Action say we to them in which one of your Emperors disrobed himself of all that was magnificent and offered himself as a Sacrifice for his Subjects but you admire it and recommend it to Posterity as a fit Pattern for all the Princes of the World how then can you dislike that the excessive love and kindness which made IESUS CHRIST offer himself an Oblation and Sacrifice for all Men and despoil himself of the brightness of his Majesty to invest us one day with his Glory and Divinity These footsteps of the true Religion which we find in China for so many Ages together carry us naturally to make a reflection which will justifie the Providence of the Almighty in the Government of the World People are sometimes amazed that China and the Indies have been overshadowed by the clouds and darkness of Idolatry almost ever since the birth of our Saviour while Greece a great part of Africk and almost all Europe have enjoyed the clear light of Faith but they never consider that China for two thousand years had the knowledge of the true God and have practised the most pure Morality while Europe and almost all the World wallowed in Error and Corruption God in the distribution of his gifts is not an unjust respecter of Persons yet he has laid out his times to let his Grace shine forth in due season which like the Sun rises and sets in different parts of the World according as People make a good or bad use of it I do not know whither I may make bold to add that as the Sâ—n which by its constant motion hides itself to some to shew itself to others has notwithstanding at the years end distributed to every Country its equal Portion of light and warmth so God by the secret and hidden course of his Grace and Spirit which have been communicated to the World hath equally divided them to all People in the World tho' in different manners and at different times However it be that God has made his wise distribution of Grace I am sure of all Nations China has the least reason to complain since no one has received a larger Portion than she The knowledge of the true God which lasted many Ages after the Reign of Cam vam and in all probability along while after the time of Confucius was not always supported in the same purity Their minds were possessed by Idolatry and their manners became so corrupt that the true Faith being but the occasion of greater ill was by little and little taken away from them by the just judgment of God Among all the Superstitions which followed hereuponâ— there were two sorts which were principally established and do between them at this present comprehend almost all the Empire Li-Laokun gave rise to the first of these He was a Philosopher who lived before Confucius his birth was prodigious if you believe what his Followers say of it for his Mother carried him more than fouâ—score years in her Flanks from whence a little before her death he sprang out of her right side which opened itself This Monster to the sorrow of his Country survived his Mother and by his pernicious Doctrine in a short time grew famous nevertheless he wrote several useful Books of Virtue of the good of avoiding Honour of the contempt of Riches of that incomparable retiredness of mind which separates us from the World the better to know ourselves He often repeated the following Sentence which he said was the foundation of true Wisdom Eternal reason produced one one produced two two produced three and three produced all things which seems to shew as if he had some knowledge of the Trinity But he taught that God was Corporeal and that he governed other Deities as a King governs his Subjects He applied himself mightily to Chymistry of which some pretend he was the inventor He beat his Brains likewise about the Philosophers Stone and did at length fancy that by a certain sort of Drink one might be immortal To obtain which his Followers practice Magick which Diabolical Art in a short time was the only thing studied by the Gentry Every body studied it in hopes to avoid death and the Women thro' natural Curiosity as well as desire to prolong their life applied themselves to it wherein they exercise all sorts of Extravagancies and give themselves up to all sorts of Impieties Those who have made this their professed business are called Tien se that is Heavenly Doctors they have Houses given them to live together in Society they erect in divers parts Temples to Laokun their Master King and People honour him with Divine Worship and altho' they have Examples enough to have undeceived them from these errors yet they vehemently pursue immortality by his Precepts who could never gain it himself Time which strengthens and confirms what is ill did at length gain these false Doctors such a Reputation as made them almost innumerable The Covenants which they make with the Devil the Lots which they cast their Magical wonders whither true or only seeming make them dreaded and admired of the common Herd and whencesoever it comes to pass there is no body who does not give some credit to their Maxims or does not hope to avoid Death by their means One of these Doctors got himself so great a Reputation that the Emperor gave him the name Cham ti which is
the name by which they call God himself and signifies Supreme Emperor This piece of Impiety gave the killing blow to the antient Religion for 'till then the Chinese as much Idolaters as they were did always make a distinction between the Cham ti and the other Gods But by a just judgment from God the Family of that Prince was extinct and the Empire which had hitherto observed its own Rules of Government was the first time forced to submit to those of the Western Tartars This a famous Colao who printed a Book could not but acknowledge In this time says he the Emperor Hoei tçoum did against all manner of reason give the attributes of the Supreme God to a Man This most powerful and adorable God above all the Spirits in Heaven was sensible of the wrong done him for he punished severely the wickedness of this Prince and utterly rooted out his Family The second Sect which is prevalent in China and is more dangerous and more universally spread than the former adore an Idol which they call Fo or Foë as the only God of the World This Idol was brought from the Indies two and thirty years after the Death of IESUS CHRIST This Poyson began at Court but spread its infection thro' all the Provinces and corrupted every Town so that this great body of Men already spoiled by Magick and Impiety was immediately infected with Idolatry and became a monstrous receptacle for all sorts of Errors Fables Superstitions Transmigration of Souls Idolatry and Atheism divided them and got so strong a Mastery over them that even at this present there is no so great impediment to the progress of Christianity as is th â— ridiculous and impious Doctrineâ— No body can well tell where this Idol Fo of whom I speak was born I call him an Idol and not a Man because some think it was an Apparition from Hell those who with more likelihood say he was a Man make him horn above a thousand years before JESUS CHRIST in a Kingdom of the Indies near the Line perhaps a little above Bengala They say he was a Kings Son He was at first called Che-Kia but at thirty years of Age he took the name of Fo. His Mother who brought him into the World thro' her right side died in Childbirth she had a fancy in her Dream that she swallowed an Elephant and for this reason it is that the Indian Kings pay such honour to white Elephants for the loss of which or gaining some others they often make bitter Wars When this Monster was first born he had strength enough to stand alone and he made seven steps and pointed with one Hand to Heaven and the other to the Earth He did also speak but in such a manner as shewed what Spirit he was possess'd withal In Heaven or on the Earth says he I am the only person who deserve to be honoured At seventeen he married and had a Son which he forsook as he did all the rest of the World to retire into a Solitude with three or four Indian Philosophers whom he took along with him to teach But at thirty he was on a suddain possessed and as it were sulfilled with the Divinity who gave him an universal knowledge of all things From that time he became a God and began by a vast number of seeming Miracles to gain the Peoples admiration The number of his Disciples is very great and it is by their means that all the Indies have been poysoned with his pernicious Doctrine Those of Siam call them Talapoins the Tartars call them Lamas or Lama-sem the Iaponers Bonzes and the Chinese Hocham But this Chimerical God found at last that he wâ—s a Man as well as others He died at 79 yeaâ—s of Age and to give the finishing stroke to his Impiety he endeâ—vouâ—ed to persuade his Followers to Atheism at his Death as he had persuaded them to Idolatry in hâ—s Life time Then he declared to his Followers that all which he had hither told them was enigmatical and that they would be mistaken if they thought there was any other first Principle of things beside nothing It was said he from this nothing that all things sprang and it is into this nothing that all things must return This is the Abyss where all our hopes must end Since this Impostor confessed that he had abused the World in his life it is but reasonable that he should not be believed at his death Yet as Impiety has always more Champions than Virtue there were among the Bonzes a particular Sect of Atheists formed from the last words of their Master The rest who found it troublesome to part with their former prejudices kept close to their first Errors A third sort endeavoured to reconcile these Parties together by compiling a body of Doctrine in which there is a twofold Law an interior and an exterior One ought to prepare the mind for the reception of the other It is say they the mould which supports the materials 'till the Arch be made and is then taken away as useless Thus the Devil making use of Mens Folly and Malice for their destruction endeavours to erase out of the minds of some those excellent ideas of God which are so deeply ingraved there and â—o imprint in the minds of others the Worship of false Gods under the shapes of a multitude of different Creatures for they did not stop at the Worship of this Idol The Ape the Elephant the Dragon have been worshipped in several places under pretence perhaps that the God Fo had successively been transmigrated into these Creatures China the most superstitious of all Nations increased the Number of her Idols and one may now see all sorts of them in the Temples which serve to abuse the folly of this People It is true they sometimes do not pay to these Gods all that respect which seems due to their Quality For it often happens that if the People after worshipping them a great while do not obtain what they desire they turn them off and look upon them as impotent Gods others use them in the most reproachful manner some load them with hard names others with hard blows How now Dog of a Spirit say they to them sometimes we give you a lodging in a magnificent Temple we guild you handsomely feed you well and often offer Incense to you and after all this care which we take of you you are so ungrateful as to refuse what we ask of you Then they tye him with Cords pluck him down and drag him along the Streets thro' all the Mud and Dunghils to punish him for the expence of Perfume which they have offered up to him for nothing If in the mean time it happens that they obtain what they did desire then they take the Idol and with a great deal of Ceremony carry him back and place him in his Nich again after they have washed and cleansed him They fall down to him and make
excuses for what they have done In truth say they we was a little too hasty as well as you was somewhat too long in your grant why should you bring this beating on your self Were it not better to have granted our Petition of your own free will rather than be forced to do it But what is done can't be now undone let us not therefore think of it any more if you will forget what is passed we will guild you over again A few years ago there happened a passage at Nankin which does very well discover what an Opinion the Chinese have of their Gods A Man whose only Dâ—ughter was very ill tryed all the Physicians but without effect he thought it therefore his best way to betake himself to the assistance of his Gods Prayers Offerings Alms Sacrifices and all other means were used to obtain relief The Bonzes who were greased in the Fist promised that an Idol whose power they mightily boasâ—ed should grant her recovery For all this the Woman dyed the Father out of measure grieved resolved to revenge himself and to bring a formal accusation against the Idol He put in his complaint therefore to the Judge of the place in which after he had livelily shewed forth the deceitfulness of this unjust God he said that he deserved an exemplary punishment for having broke his word If this Spirit said he could cure my Daughter it is palpable cheating to take my mony and yet let her dye If he could not do it what does he signifie And how came he by his quality of Godship Do we Worship him and the whole Province offer him Sacrifice for nothing at all So that he concluded it to be either from the Malice or Weakness of the Idol that the cure was not performed wherefore his Temple he judged ought to be pulled down his Priests shamefully dismissed and the Idol punished in his own private Person The Business seemed of Consequence to the Judge wherefore he sent it to the Governour who desiring to have nothing to do with those of the other World desired the Vice-Roy to examine into it After he had heard the Bonzes who were extremely concerned at it took their part and advised him not to persist in the Cause any longer for said he to him you are not wise to concern your self with these sort of Spirits They are naturally ill tempered and I am afraid will play some ill trick Believe me you had better come to an agreement The Bonzes assure me that the Idol shall do what is reasonable on his part provided you on your part do not carry things too high But the Man who was almost mad for the death of his Daughter did constantly protest that he would sooner perish than relinquish his just rights The Sentence is given for me said he the Idol fancied that he might commit any sort of injustice without punishment because he thought no body would be bold enough to take him to task but he is not so safe as he thinks and a little time will shew which of us is the most wicked and the most a Devil of the two The Vice-Roy could not now go back and was fain therefore to grant a Tryal he sent the case to the Sovereign Council at Pekin who remitted the Tryal to him again he therefore Subpoena'd the parties The Devil who has but too many friends among all sorts of Men had also his share among the Lawyers and Proctors those of them to whom the Bonzes gave largely found their Cause good and spoke with so much concern and vehemence that the Idol itself could not have pleaded better its own Cause Yet they had to deal with a subtil Adversary who had been before hand with them and had cleared the Judges understanding by a large Bribe being thoroughly persuaded that the Devil must be very cunning indeed to withstand so clear an Argument as this last was to the Judges In short after a great many hearings the Man carried his point The Idol was condemned to a perpetual banishment as useless to the Kingdom and his Temple was to be plucked down and the Bonzes who represented him were severely chastised they might notwithstanding apply themselves to the service of other Spirits to make themselves amends for the damage they had received for loving this Can any one who has not lost his senses adore Gods of this Character weak fearful and whom one may affront safely But alas We may flatter our selves that we are never so wise yet how much is our Wisdom distant from Reason when it is distant from the true Faith Instead of coming hereby to a knowledge of the weakness of their Gods the People grow more and more blind every day The Bonzes are above all obliged to keep up their Credit and Reputation because of the advantage they make thereby To bring this about the better they make use of the following Maxims of Morality which they take great care to propagate We must not think say they that good and evil are as confused in the other World as they are in this there are there rewards for the good and punishments for the bad which has occasioned disterent places to be set apart for the souls of Men according to every ones Merit The God Fo was the Saviour of the World he was born to teach the way of Salvation and to make Expiation for all our sins He has lest us ten Commandments The first forbids the killing of any living Creature of what sort soever the second commands not to take another Mans Goods the third not to give up ones self to Impurity the fourth not to Lie and the fifth to drink no Wine Besides these they recommend to the Peoples practise several Works of Mercy Entertain and nourish up say they the Bonzes build them Monasteries and Temples that their Prayers and voluntary Penances may obtain for you exemption from that punishment which your sins have deserved Burn Paper gilt and washed with Silver Habits made of Stuff and Silk All these in the other World shall be turned into real Gold and Silver and into true and substantial Garments which shall be given to your Fathers faithfully who will make use of them as they have occasion If you do not regard these Commands you shall be after your death cruelly tormented and exposed to several Metempsycoses or transmigrations That is to say you shall be born in the shape of Rats Horses Mules and all other Creatures This last point makes a great impression upon their minds I remember that being in the Province of Chansi I was sent for to Christen a sick person It was an old Man of threescore and ten who lived upon a small Pension which the Emperor had given him When I came into his Chamber O my good Father says he how much am I obliged to you who are going to deliver me from a great deal of torment Baptism answered I does not only deliver from the torment of
under pretence of preaching the Gospel secretly managed a Conspiracy and had a design to seize upon China by the force and assistance of the Iaponnese Hollanders and Christians of that Country It must needs be a great amazement to any one who observes the rage and bitterness of these false Brethren who altho' engaged by their Religion to propagate the work of God even with the loss of their Lives were yet resolved to destroy it by such vile and false Aspersions This Ridiculous Story which was set forth with Heat and Violence and built upon some Circumstances which carried some shew of Truth easily found Credit among the Chinese naturally excessively Suspicious and very well satisfied by a long experience that the least Commotions or Rebellion might bring the most powerful Empires to ruin The Persecution was very sharp the weak Christians were scandalized and did Apostatize from the Faith Father Martinez was taken up imprisoned and bastinado'd till at length he died thro' his Torments and if this Accusation of the Christians had ever came to the knowledge of the Court it is very probable it would have been the utter overthrow of Christianity here But our Lord stop'd the growing Evil in its bud and by the means of a Mandarin a particular Friend of Father Ricci gave Peace to the Mission and Liberty to the Evangelical Workmen After having surmounted a great many Obstacles of this nature and preached the Gospel to an infinite number of People this fervent Missionary died The Heathens judged him the wisest and most understanding Man of his Age the Christians lovâ—d him as their Father and the preachers of the Gospel made him a Model whereby to form themselves He had the satisfaction of dying in the midst of a plentiful Harvest but was disturbed that there were so few Workmen to get it in So that he recommended nothing more earnestly to his Brethren who assisted him in his last Sickness than to receive with all imaginable joy and comfort all those who should come to partake of their Labours If they find says he to them when they arrive here Crosses from the Enemies of Christianity do you sweeten the bitterness of them by demonstrations of the most tender Friendship and most inflamed Charity The Churches of China of which he was the main support were shaken by his Fall for altho' the Emperour for some Years afterward shewed himself somewhat favourable to the Christian Religion yet in 1615 there arose against it the cruellest Tempest that it had ever yet suffered It was occasioned by one of the principal Mandarins of Nankin They chiefly set upon the Pastors thereby the easier to disperse the Flock Some were cruelly beaten others banished almost all imprisoned and carried afterwards to Macao after having the honour of suffering a thousand injuries and reproaches for the love of IESUS CHRIST The Tempest lasted near six Years but at last the Persecutor being himself accused was by Gods Judgment deprived both of his Offices and also of his Life His death gave the Christians some respite who after that multiplied more than ever thro' the labours of a great many Missionaries It was about this time that the Right Reverend Fathers of the Order of St. Dominick joined with us many of whom do at this time labour in China with a great deal of Zeal and Success About this time Father Adam Schaal a German appeared at Courts and added a new Lustâ—e to Christianity which had but newly sprang up again He was perfectly skilled in Mathematicks and made use of his knowledge therein to obtain the Emperors kindness he was in a little time so highly in the Emperours favour that he thought he should be able by his own Interest alone to Establish the Christian Religion solidly He began to make use of his Interest with good success when an Insurrection overturned the whole Government and with it all his promising hopes This great State whose Power seemed to be enough to secure it from the most violent Shock whatever was made sensible then that there is nothing constant in this World Some Robbers being met together by the access of multitudes of Male-contents who joined them formed vast Armies they burned Towns and plundered whole Provinces China presently changed its Aspect and from the most flourishing Empire became the Stage for the most bloody War Never were there seen so many Murthers and Barbarities The Emperour being surprised at Pekin strangled himself for fear of falling into the hands of the Victors The Usurper was soon drove out of the Throne by the Tartars who seiz'd upon it The Princes of the Blood who in different places were proclaimed Emperours were vanquished or killed Then all the Mandarins rose some declaring for Tartary others for Liberty others only carried on the Fighting Trade in hopes to make their private Fortunes from the publick Ruin Some of those last were rather Monsters than Men who giving themselves to all that Licentiousness which the most inhumane Cruelty and Barbarity could prompt them to made whole Provinces desolate and shed more blood to satisfie their Brutality than the most ambitious Prince in the World would for the Conquest of an Empire Religion which groaned amidst those Troubles had the comfort nevertheless of seeing many great Persons Converted one Empress with her Son were Baptised scarce either of them lived after their reception of the Faith the fruits of which they could not enjoy but in the other World Lastly the Tartars by their Valour and by a Conduct equal to the Policy of ancient Rome made themselves Masters of China and in a few Years obliged all the Provinces to submit to a foreign Yoak Then we thought Religions Case desperate but God who needs not the assistance of Men when he hath a mind to support his own Work inspired on a sudden this new Prince with a greater affection for the Christian Religion than we dared hope for from the Chinese Emperours He not only took away the Government of the Mathematicks from the Mabometans which they had possessed for 300 Years and gave it to Father Adam but by a special Privilege he suffered that Father to apply himself to him immediately in all things which concerned the Missionaries without first passing thro' the Formalities of the Courts of Justice who are very severe to Strangers This signal Favour joined with many others raised up the Courage of the Christians and gave the Heathens greater liberty to close with the true Religion Many Persons of the best Quality at Pekin desired Baptism the Provinces follow'd the Example of the Court and the Harvest became so plentiful that the Workmen were too few to gather it in Those who were employed therein laboured with such an hearty Zeal that we do at this present feel the effects of it There were found Persons of eminent Vertue Prudence and Understanding whom God had formed during the Troubles and Civil Wars and which the Spirit of the Almighty drew
out of the Chaos like so many Stars to shed forth the Light of the Gospel unto the most hidden parts of this vast Empire accompanying their Preaching with Signs and Wonders Among those extraordinary Men Father Father a Frenchman distinguished himself above the rest I had the happiness to tarry some time in that Province which was allotted to his care and I have after so many Years found the precious remains there which are the necessary consequences of Holiness Those who were witnesses of his Actions tell to their Children the Miracles which he wrought to confirm them in their Faith and altho' one need not believe all which they relate of him we cannot nevertheless deny that God did in many occasions give an extraordinary concurrence in several great things which he enterprised for his Glory It is worth knowing after what manner he founded the Mission of Ham-tçoum a Town of the first Rank in Chensi two days Journey distant from the Capital He was invited thither by a Mandarin and the small number of Christians which he found there made him the more laborious to encrease their Number God put into his hands a means of doing this which he never expected One of the great Boroughs which in China are as big as the Towns was then over-run by a prodigious multitude of Locusts which eat up all the Leaves of the Trees and gnawed the Grass to the very Roots The Inhabitants after having used all imaginable means thought fit to apply themselves to Father Faber whose repute was every where talked of The Father took from thence an occasion to explain the principal Mysteries of our Faith and added that if they would submit themselves thereto they should not only be delivered from the Present Plague but that also they should obtain innumerable Blessings and Eternal Happiness They embraced it willingly and the Father to keep his word with them marched in Ceremony into the Highways in his Stole and his Surplice and sprinkled up and down holy water accompanying his Action with the Prayers of the Church but especially with a lively Faith God heard the Voice of his Servant and the next day all the Insects disappeared But the People whose minds were wholly bent upon the things of this World as soon as they saw themselves delivered neglected the Counsel which the Missionary had given them They were therefore immediately punished and the Plague grew worse than it was before Then they accused one the other of their want of Faith they ran in Crouds to the Father's House and casting themselves at his Feet we will not rise up Father said they till you have pardoned us We confess our fault and protest that if you will a second time deliver us from this Affliction with which Heaven threatens us the whole Borough will immediately acknowledge your God who alone can work such great Miracles The Father to increase their Faith made them beg a great while At last inspired as before he sent up his Prayer and sprinkled his holy water and by the next day there was not an Insect to be found in the Fields Then the whole Borough being brought over to the Truth followed the guidance of God's Holy Spirit they were all instructed and formed into a Church which tho' it was abandoned for some years is still reckoned one of the devoutest Missions in China They say also of this Father that he has been carried over Rivers thro' the Air that they have seen him in an extasie that he foretold his own Death and did several other such Wonders but the greatest Miracle of all was his life which he spent in the continual exercise of all the Apostolical Virtues in a profound Humility in a severe Mortification in a settled Patience proof against all sorts of Injuries in a flaming Charity and a tender Devotion to the Mother of God all which he practised to his death to the Edification and I may say the Admiration even of the Idolaters While Christianity spread its Root deep throughout the Provinces it flourished every day more and more at Pekin the Emperor did not seem far from it He came often to our Church and did there adore the Divine Majesty in such an humble manner as would have been commendable in a Christian There are still Writings from his own hand wherein he acknowledges the beauty and the purity of our holy Law but a Heart set upon sensual plâ—asures can never follow the directions of the Spirit When Father Adam has been pressing upon him You are said he in the right but how can you expect that any one should be able to practise all these Laws Take away two or three of the difficultest and after that perhaps we may agree to the rest Thus this young Prince divided between the Voice of human Nature and Grace thought that we might favour Nature at the expence of Religion but the Father gave him to understand that we were only the Publishers not the Authors of the Gospel Nevertheless my Lord says the Father to him one day tho' we propose to the corrupt World a body of Morals which surpass their forces to comply with and Mysteries which are above their Reason to comprehend we do not from thence despair to have our Doctrine received because we do it by his order who can enlighten the most darkned Understanding and strengthen the most weak Nature These difficulties which the Emperor looks upon as insuperable did not take any thing from that kindness and respect which he bore to Father Adam He always called him his Father placed always his confidence in him he made him twenty visits in two years and gave him leave to build two Churches in Pekin and order'd those which in the Persecution had been demolished in the Provinces to be rebuilt nay granted him whatever could any ways contribute toward the solid establishment of the Faith which without doubt would have made an infinite progress had not a violent Passion changed the temper of that Prince and took him away from us at a time when we had the most need of his Protection we may justly say that his death was owing to an extraordinary grief for the loss of a Concubine This Woman whom he had taken from her Husband inclined him to the worship of false Gods to that excess that he was wholly altered from what he was before as to his Opinions of Religion And that time it was that he fâ—ll sick his mind being full of Notions from the Bonzes who swarmed in his Palace and being vehemently tormented by his Passion so that he could not get a Moments rest In the mean while as he loved the Father extremely so was he desirous to see him once more before he dyed At this last meeting the good Missionary's Bowels yearn'd upon him He was kneeling at the Prince's Beds-feet whom he had Educated as his own Son in hopes one day to make him Head of the true Religion He saw him there under the
load of a violent Distemper disturbed with the impure desires of unlawful Love given up to Idols and their Priests just upon the brink of death and that death an Eternal one The Emperor who saw him in this concern would not let him speak upon his Knees but raised him up and heard his last advice with somewhat less prejudice against it than usual ordered him afterward a present of Tea and dismissed him with such marks of tenderness as touched him to the bottom of his Soul of which he was the more sensible because he never could bring it about to work in him a true Conversion His death was equally fatal to the Bonzes who were thereupon driven from the Palace and to the true Religion which was thereby brought within a nails breadth of destruction Many Churches built upon the Coasts of the Maritime Provinces were destroyed by an Edict which commanded that every body on the Coasts should retire ten or eleven Miles within Land and destroy all Habitations within that compass all round the Coasts because a famous Pirate made use of them in carrying on a War against the Emperor They were also just going to ruin Macao and order was given to drive the Portuguese thence when Father Adam used his utmost effort to save it At this time all his Credit and Interest which he had employed so much to the advantage of Religion ended For in a little time he became the object of the most bloody Persecution that ever the Church sustered The four Mandarins who had the Regency during the Emperors minority moved upon different Topicks and especially animated against the Christians to whom this Father was the main support put him and three of his Companions into Prison Other Preachers of the Gospel were summoned to Pekin who met with the same treatment and were loaded each with nine Chains They burned their Books their Beads and Medals and whatever else carried the Face of Religion nevertheless they spared the Churches as for the Christian Flock they met with a more mild usage Those famous Confessors had the honour to be dragged before all the Seats of Judgment There it was that their Enemies did admire their Courage But they were above all moved by the miserable condition of Father Adam That Venerable old Man who but a day or two before was the Oracle of the Court and the Favourite of a great Emperor now appeared in the form of a Slave loaded with Chains and oppressed with Infirmities dejected by the weight and burthen of Age but much more by that of calumny which labour'd to blemish his Innocence He had a sort of Catarrhe which hindred him from making his defence but Father Verbiest forsook him not and answered for him to his Enemies in so sensible a manner that the Judges could not enough admire the Constancy of the Peâ—son accused nor the heroical Charity of the Person who defended him However as innocent as he was he was condemned to be strangled which is in China an honourable kind of Death but afterwards as tho' they repented that they had not been unjust enough they repealed the Sentence and gave another wherein the Father was condemned to be publickly exposed in the Market place and be hacked alive into ten thousand pieces The Supreme Court sent the Sentence to the Regency and to the Princes of the Blood to have it confirmed but God who had till then seemed to have relinquished his Servant began to speak in favour of his Cause by a terrible Earthquake The whole Land were confounded at this Prodigy Every body exclaimed that Heaven itself would punish the injustice of the Magistrates who therefore to appease the People opened all the Prisons in the Town and made an Act of Oblivion for all Criminals excepting the Confessors of JESUS CHRIST who were still kept in Chains as tho' they had been the only Victims for whom Heaven had no concern But because there arrived divers Prodigies and in particular fire consumed great part of the Court of Justice at last fear obtained that from these unrighteous Judges which innocence could not They set Father Adam at liberty and permitted him to go home to his House till the Emperor should otherwise dispose of him This great Man blemished indeed to outward appearance by an ignominious Sentence which was never repealed but in truth full of glory for having defended the honour of Religion by exposing his own life dyed a little while after worn away by the toil of an Apostolical life but more by the hardships and inconveniences of a troublesome Prison His death was too precious in the Eyes of God to be unaccompany'd with some signal blessing upon the sorrowful remains of persecuted Christianity It is true that the Missionaries of the Provinces were banished to Canton among which three were Dominicans one a Franciscan and another of the same Order dyed in Prison and one and twenty Jesuits yet four were kept at the Court whom the Providence of God made use of afterwards to settle Christianity again in its pristine splendor God himself revenged the innocence of his Servants Sony the first Mandarin in the Regency the most dangerous Enemy the Fathers had dyed a month or two after The second named Soucama was afterwards indicted and condemned to a cruel death his Goods Confiscated his Children in number seven had their Heads cut off excepting the third who was cut to pieces alive the punishment which that wicked Judge had design'd for Father Adam and with which God chastised his Crimes in the Persons of his Children Yam-quam-sien who had been the chief Instrument in the Persecution fared no better than them After the death of Father Adam he was made President of the Mathematicks and had the charge of the Kalendar of the Empire committed to him Father Verbiest accused him and plainly made appear the ignorance of this pitiful Mathematician This was a bold stroke because the Presidents Party was very strong and the flames which had caused the Persecution were not yet quenched But many things concurred to give good success to this Enterprise The understanding of the Father the kindness which the new Emperor had for the Europeans but especially the particular Providence of God which did secretly manage this important Affair For it is certain that in the several tryals whereby they proved the goodness of our Mathematicks the Heavens did so exactly agree with what our Fathers had foretold even above the certainty which our Tables and Calculations could promise us that it seemed as tho' God had guided the Stars in such a course as was necessary to justifie our Missionaries account of them The President of the Mathematicks used his best endeavours to defend himself and because he could not hide his Ignorance in Astronomy he endeavoured to put upon the Judges and persuade them that the Christian Religion contained much greater errors than those he was guilty of In the midst of some meetings where the Emperor
the Bishop who after this happy beginning made ready according to his former notions to new Till this Vineyard of the Lord whether he thought himself sent like the Prophet heretofore Ecce constitui te super gentes ut destruas disperdas dissipes c. But God Almighty was satisfied with his good Intentions and took him to himself a few months after his arrival His death greatly surprised all the Faithful it did especially afflict the fervent Ecclesiasticks who were the Companions of his Voyage the other Missionaries submitted with resignation to the Will of God being perswaded that whatsoever Providence appoints is always for his Glory and for the good of the Elect if they make a right use of it This was sweetned by the arrival of two other Bishops who a little while after supplied his place under the Title of Vicars Apostolical The first was Monsieur d' Argolis an Italian of the Order of St. Francis noted among those of his Order for his excellent Vertues and extraordinary Knowledge He had been employed in the chiefest business there and our Holy Father thought he could not make choice of a wiser Man than he to place at the Helm of so flourishing a Mission As he went by Siam Monsieur Constance understanding his worth presented him to the King who would fain have kept him in his Kingdom but because the Orders of the Holy See obliged him to go farther he resolved at least to shew him some marks of his esteem and affection toward him in ordering him and two of his Companions of the same Order a considerable Pension So that had it not been for the Revolutions which a little while after happened in his Kingdom this Prince worthy of a better Fortune would have had his Missionaries in China as well as the most zealous Princes in Europe Since this wise Prelate hath been in China the natural sweetness of his Temper hath very much contributed to the comfort of the Faithful and conversion of the Heathen He hath visited all the Provinces which the Holy See committed to his care consecrating Priests teaching and exhorting them administring the Sacrament of Confirmation uniting all their affections as much as possibly he could whose different interests seems to have cooled their mutual Charity to one another in JESUS CHRIST And tho' one would think that the Portuguese could never have a respect for him because their pretensions are wholly opposite to this institution of Vicars Apostolical yet he has behaved himself with so much Prudence that all Nations here think themselves particularly obliged to him The second Bishop whom the Holy See has dignified with the Title of Vicar Apostolical is Monsieur de Basilee a Chinese educated by the Fathers of Saint Francis's Order afterwards taking upon himself the Order of St. Dominick When he was only a Missionary he had a flaming zeal for the Conversion of his dear Country and during the Persecution of Father Adam he was the main support of Religion in all the Provinces which he travelled through and strengthned in the Faith When he was consecrated Bishop he performed all his Duties perfectly well and the Holy See did so far approve of his Conduct as to lâ—t him nominate his Successor He nominated his Vicar-General the Reverend Father de Leonissa an Italian of St. Francis's Order who in his private Life might have been a Pattern to the most strict Religious and in the important Employment of Vicar Apostolical has shewn that he has all that Zeal all that Prudence and all that Constancy which the Government of a great Church requires My Lord Bishop of Basilée after he had thus chosen this worthy successor of his Apostleship fell sick at Nankin and died full of those happy Visions which God gives even in this World to his Saints At his Death that Faith shined brightly which had animated him in his Life-time and his last minutes wherein he appeared to be fulfilled with the most sensible touches of Christian hope seemed to give him an antepast of the Joys of Paradise All his trouble was for the Missionaries by whom he was affectionately beloved and for the Christians who lost in him the first Priest the first Religious and the first Bishop that ever China had yet given to Christianity And as his blessed Memory was every where spread abroad they have set up his Picture in several places which the Reverend Father de Leonissa sent to the sacred Congregation to preserve the Memory of a Prelate whos 's own Merit as well as our particular Obligations to him ought to make eternally respected Besides this the Pope honoured Mr. Maigrot and Mr. Pin with the Title of Vicars Apostolical both of them Doctors of the Sorbon diligent zealous and set upon following the Intentions of the Holy See and in a word Companions of Mr. Heliopolis and Inheritors of a double portion of his Spirit If the number of Missionaries had been answerable to that of the Pastors the Churches in China had now been perfectly filled but as I have said the over care which every one has taken to provide for it exclusively of others has rendered People less desirous of going Good men nay even those who have occasioned these disorders have mourned for them in secret Some zealous Persons have endeavoured to remedy this My Lord Bishop of Munster and Paderborn whom the care of his own Diocese did not hinder from extending his care even as far as the East gave a settlement for six Missionaries for ever to China but dying a little while after his last Will was never executed Others in France in Spain in Italy took a great deal of pains to help this forsaken Mission but they could never compass their designs Lewis the Great who is himself as zealous for establishing the Gospel as all the other Princes put together among the great Designs which he has been intent upon to make Religion flourish in Europe thought that he ought not to neglect that good which he might do in Asia He was very sensible of the Necessities of China which Father Verbiest had represented to him in one of his Letters in the most sensible manner in the World and although he very well knew that he could not make Missionaries a quality which no body can give us but the Vicar of JESUS CHRIST he doubted not but that Religiouses who were exactly skilled in Mathematicks in attaining according to his Orders an exact knowledge in Astronomy might at the same time with good success labour according to the design of their Institution in the Conversion of Infidels He was very well satisfied that of all the means which human prudence could advantageously make use of in the most holy Actions there were none which promoted the concerns of Religion in China more than the Mathematicks Being therefore willing at once to satisfie his zeal for the advancement of the Gospel and the desire which he had of bringing the Sciences to perfection
Mission better than all others is the hope one day to Convert the Emperor the change of whose Religion would infallibly be followed by the intire Conversion of the whole Nation so that although we should wait for this happy moment three or four Ages without any other profit than what we hope for in time to come we should be too happy in preparing by our patience the way of the Lord in this New World which perhaps will make better improvement of the Faith that our Successors shall bring to it than Europe does at present of that our Forefathers intrusted it withal In short altho' amongst the Christians that are in China we can reckon no more Princes and Ministers of State since the last Persecution of Father Adam yet for all that we Baptise every Year Mandarins Doctors and other Persons of Quality yet it is true that the common People make up the greatest number Non multi potentes non multi nobiles And it is no news to own that the Poor have always been the elect Portion and precious Inheritance of JESUS CHRIST in the Church The main body of Christians is in the Province of Nankin and more especially in the Territory ChamHai but the Faith is more lively in the Provinces of Chanton Pechely Chensi and Chansi There are in proportion as many Tartarians as Chinese Christians these are more docil and much easier to be Converted yet in time of Temptation they have not half so much Courage The Tartars on the contrary being naturally of a brisk temper do not easily stoop under the Yoak of the Gospel but those over whom Grace hath once triumphed are enduod with a Vertue that is proof against the sorest Persecutions As for Women which we see more rarely altho' they be less instructed than the Men yet their Innocence their constant attendance at Prayer their blind submission to the Precepts of Faith and the most harsh and severe Practices of Christian Piety does in some measure supply their defect of Knowledge as to the particulars of our Mysteries It were to be wish'd that the Beauty and Ornament of our Churches might answer the devout Fervour of Christians But besides that the Chinese are no great Architects this novel Christianity so frequently shaken by Persecutions composed for the most of the poorer sort of People only tolerated by the by and always fain to observe a great many punctilio's and keep within bounds hath not yet been in a condition to rear magnificent Temples Nevertheless it is matter of astonishment that the Missionaries with such a pitiful Fund as theirs is should be able on this score to do so much The Church of Pekin is very well built the Fronâ—ispiece the Stones of which were laid by the Missionaries themselves is very proportionable and pleasing Those in Kiam cheou Cham-bai and Fou-tçheou that which the Fathers have at Canton and divers others are as fine as our ordinary Churches of Europe but the Church of Cham-tçheou was so very pretty and neat that one could not enough admire it You could see nothing but Gildings Paintings and curious Pictures it was all over adorn'd with them yea and there was a great deal of Symetry and Order in the whole That delicate red and black Vernish which the Chineses are so expert at to which they give a particular relief or embossment by the Flowers of Gold and other Figures wherewith they enrich it did produce the finest Effect in the World to compleat the whole But this goodly Church the product of Christians Devotion and of Father Intorcetta's Zeal is lately reduc'd to ashes by a dreadful Conflagration that consum'd one quarter of the City and in all probability we shall not be in a capacity a long time to perform any thing like it Nevertheless it will be our comfort to support us after this loss if it shall please our blessed Lord to destroy at the same that pack of Idols which have overflow'd the whole Empire and that he will vouchsafe to raise himself Living Temples in the hearts of the new Believers where he may be worshipped in Spirit and in Truth wherein for want of ours they may offer to him the sacrifices of Praise and Thanksgiving I shall not entertain you most Reverend Father concerning the Transactions of the Indies where the Revolution of a huge Kingdom the Jealousies some Europeans together with the continual 〈◊〉 of Hereticks have broken all the measures 〈◊〉 Christian prudence obliged us to take for the 〈◊〉 of Religion so that the most part of the French Missionaries have been hitherto more conspicuous their Sufferings than by their Conversion of Idolaters Some of them after having lingerd out several Years in the most darksom Prisons scarce begin to see the Light and are not yet in a condition even to exercise their Functions with any freedom Others droven from their settlements wander up and down upon the most tempestuous Oceans carrying along with them the miserable remainders of their ruin'd Missions and that they may return to the remotest parts of the World they commit themselves a fourth time to the mercy of the Waves and their Enemies Several buried in Shipwracks or worn out with Toils have gloriously finished their course and tho' their Companions live still it is only to consume by little and little the sacrifice of their Lives by the ill habit of body they have contracted by their first labours You see most Reverend Father what sort of Persons they be I speak of you know their names you understand their worth and since they were chosen from amongst a great many other Candidates for the East-Indies you have been pleased always to honour them with a most particular affection and may I be bold to add that you were not satisfied with only sending of them you followed your self in some respect and became the Fellow or rather the Head of their Apostleship sharing like one of the most zealous Missionaries in the success of their holy undertakings zealously lending an helping hand to their Labours delivering them from their Chains by a powerful protection or at least lightning the weight by consoâ—â—tory Letters full of that lively hope that makes a Man take delight in the most rigid Persecutions This Courage most Reverend Father which you 〈◊〉 inspired into us does not only alleviate our Sufferings but also assures us that the ruins of this grand â—â—ifice that we have laid the first Stone of to the 〈◊〉 of God will one day serve for a Basis to another Work yet more considerable and solid than the first So that neither the Shipwreck of three of our Brethren buried in Sea nor the loss of three more who Sacrificed their lives a board the Vessel in relieving the Sick nor yet the death of a great many more whom the Fatigues of the Mission have snatch'd from us in the Indies nor the Prisons of Pegu Siam Moluccas Batavia Roterdam nor Middleburg where Pagans and Hereticks
us to be beaten in open Courts That Vice-Roys banish us from their Provinces that they exile us shamefully from his Empire We lay out our selves for him our Cares Studies and all our Watchings are given to him One part of our Brethren are already dead by their Labours others have impair'd their Health by the same and we who are still alive enforced by the same desire of pleasing him willingly and freely sacrifice all the precious moments of our Life to him We hoped to merit by this Zeal that he would at length approve of the Religion which we preach to his People for why should we dissemble the matter to you to you who have so long known the real sentiments of our hearts that was you know the only motive of all our Undertakings How Powerful how Magnificent soever this Prince may be we should never have had the least thoughts of coming so far to serve him if the Interest of our most Holy Faith had not engaged us therein Nevertheless he proscribes it at this day and Signs with his own Hand the shameful Decree of our Condemnation There you see my Lord what all our hopes come to there is the fruit of all our Labours with how much greater calmness would we have received the sentence of Death than an Edict of this nature For do not imagin that we are able to survive the loss of Christianity This Discourse attended with a great deal of trouble and a torrent of Tears made great impression upon the Officers spirit he went immediately to report it to the Emperor and described to him the Fathers sorrow in such lively colours that this good Prince gave way to some emotion I have always said he sought out all occasions to do them a kindness but the Chinese have traversed all my good designs I could at this time forbear following the stream but in short however the case stands they may make account that I love them and that I shall not forsake them In effect he began more than ever to employ them in his Service but yet he no longer found the same eagerness in the execution of his Orders nor the same sereneness and alacrity upon their countenances The always appeared before him dejected mournful and as if their Heads had been out of order by the shrewd blow they lately received However he was so far from being disheartened that he proposed to them to send for a Doctor of Physick to Court who was newly arrived at Macao who that he might be the more serviceable to the Missions had turned Priest of our Company The Fathers made answer that this Doctor had wish'd and that two with a great deal of Passion to employ his Skill and all the Arcana of his Art to preserve such a precious Health as that of his Majesty but being amazed at the Decree thaâ— had past against the Christians he was quite off from any design to come into China and that he was preparing to return into Europe that nevertheless since his Majesty ordered it should be so they would write with all expedition to Macao to have him come Whilst the Missionaries were over Head and Ears in their melancholly the Vice-Roy of Ham-cheou triumphed at his first success and cast about how to take new measures to finish his Work He set all the Commissioners of the Offices at work for several days to draw out Copies of the new Decree to have them disperst throughout all the Provinces at last he issued out more severe Orders against the Christians than the former In fine not longer doubting of the Victory he sent to the Emperor an ample request against the Missionaries to accomplish their undoing but this request came a little too late and when it was presented the Face of Affairs was already altered For Prince Sosan not being able to withstand the Solicitations of the Fathers and especially of Father Gerbillon whose particular Friend he was resolved to Solicite afresh on our behalf wherefore he went and found the Emperor and represented to him whatsoever the most Zealous Christian could possibly have spoken on the like occasion He set before him again the Zeal and Devotion of the Fathers in whatsoever respected his Person the Services they had rendered the State during the Wars their being intent to perfect the Sciences and to rectifie the Kalendar In a word Sir said he they are a sort of People that make no account of their lives when serving or pleasing you is in question 'T is true all this could not deserve that your Majesty should approve of their Faith if it be otherwise dangerous but was there ever a more wholsome Doctrine than theirs or more beneficial to the Government of a People The Emperor who joyfully heard this Discourse yet for all that persisted in his former determination It is done now said he to him I should have done my self a Kindness to have favoured these honest Missionaries but the outragious carriage of the Mandarins against them did not permit to follow mine own inclination ' How Sir replied the Prince are not you the Master And when the business was to do Iustice to Subjects so eminent as these are could not you interpose your Authority I will go my self if your Majesty thinks fit to these Gentlemen and I am not without hopes of bringing them to terms At last the Emperor not being any longer able to hold it out against so pressing solicitations causes a Letter immediately to be dispatched to the Calaos their Assessors and to all the Tartarian Mandarins of Lipoâ— and this is the purport of the Letter The thirty first year of the Reign of Cham-hi the second day of the second month of the Moon Yi-sam-ho Minister of State declares to you the Will and Pleasure of the Emperor in these terms The Europeans in my Court have for a long time been Directors of the Mathematicks During the Civil-Wars they have rendered me most effectual service by means of some Cannon that they got cast their Prudence and singular Address accompanied with much Zeal and indefatigable Toil obliges me once more to consider them And besides that their Law is not Seditious and does not induce People to Revolt so that it seems good to us to permit it to the end that all those who are willing to embrace it may freely go into the Churches and make publick Profession of the Worship there performed to the Supreme Lord of Heaven Our Will and Pleasure therefore is that all and several the Edicts that hitherto have been published against it by and with the Advice and Counsel of our Tribunals be at present torn and burnt You Ministers of State and you Tartarian Mandarins of the Sovereign Court of Rites assemble together examine the matter and give me your Advice upon the whole with all speed Prince Sosan himself was present at this Assembly according as he and the Emperor had agreed and albeit he was no Christian yet did he speak after