have they any Right of succession to the Crown though they should have several heirs males which custom is also observ'd among the people For in China to marry a Daughter is to exclude her for ever from her Fathers Family and graft her into the Family of her Husband whose Sir Name she assumes at the same time instead of her own Thence it comes to pass that the Chineses when they would say that a Maid is ally'd to the Family of her Husband never make use of the word Kin to goe but of the word Quei to return asmuch as to say she is not gon but is return'd to her Family Thus they explain themselves also when they speak of the dead for they do not say such a one is dead but such a one is returned to the earth By the same reason when a Grandfather speaks of the Children of his Son he calls them barely Sun Su my Grand Children but when he speaks of his Daughters Children he calls them Vai Sun Su my Grand Children without for they look upon them to be of the Son in Laws Family The second sort of the King's Kindred by the Female side are the Fathers Brothers Uncles and other Kindred of the Queen the King's Sons in Law their Fathers Brothers Uncles and other Kindred Out of these two sorts the King makes choice of some of the most considerable to compose this Tribunal and to act the same things as the Officers of the Tribunal of the Royal Bloud They differ onely in this that the latter are of none of the nine Orders the former are Mandarins of the first and second Order Though they esteem much more honourable the Titles of Hoam Cin and Fu Ma or the King's Kindred than that of Mandarin though of the first order But this second sort of Kindred was also extirpated by the Tartars with the preceding Family Thus far concerning the Tribunals of the Mandarins and of the Government of the Court. We are now to give a short accompt of the Tribunals of the Provinces Notes upon the fourteenth Chapter He causeth a choice to be made at Pe Kim of several young Gentlemen c. Here we are to observe that in this place the Author onely speaks of what was practis'd in the time of the Chinese Emperours for the Tartar Emperours have alter'd this Custome and never marry their Daughters but to Kings Princes or Great Lords as our Author himself acknowledges a little lower CHAP. XV. TO every one of the fifteen Provinces there belongs a supream Tribunal which has the oversight of all the rest The President bears the Titles of Tu Tam Kiun Muen Tu Yuen Siun Fu with several other names which all signifie no more than Governour of a Province or Viceroy with us These Presidents are of the first second or third order according as the King is pleas'd to regulate them when he sends them into the Provinces They are intrusted with the whole Government as well in times of Peace as in War and with the command of the People and Souldiers as well in civil as criminal matters They give notice to the King and the six superiour Tribunals of all matters of importance On the other side all the Kings orders and dispatches with those of the Superiour Tribunals are directed to this Tribunal and all the Mandarins of the Province are bound to repair to this Tribunal in all affairs of moment There are other Viceroys that govern two three or four Provinces and are call'd Tsum To as Leam Quam Tsum To or Viceroy of the Provinces of Quam Tum and Quam Si. Quam Tum signifies the Province extended toward the East and Quam si the Province extended toward the West There are other such like Viceroys in China as in the Provinces bordering upon Tartary and other places of importance And besides the Viceroy there is in every Province a Visiter call'd Ngan Tai or Ngan Yuen of which we have spoken formerly Lastly there is a third considerable Officer call'd Tsum pim who commands all the Forces of the Province and is of the first Order of Mandarins These three supream Presidents of the Tribunals of the Provinces have under them several inferiour Mandarins who assist them in the dispatch of business and though these three Tribunals general have their Palaces in the Capital City nevertheless they are not always resident there but keep their Circuits from place to place as business requires But for the particular Tribunals of the Capital Cities they are these that follow Every Capital City has two Tribunals in which properly consists the whole Government of the Province the one for Civil the other for criminal affairs The first is call'd Pu chim su the President of which is a Mandarin of the first degree of the second Order The Palace belonging to this Tribunal like those at the Court contains on both sides two other Tribunals which are not inferiour but Assistants to the first Tribunal That on the left hand is the most considerable and is call'd Tsan chim having two Presidents both of the second degree of the third Order The other on the right hand is call'd Tsan y the Presidents of which are both equal and of the second degree of the fourth Order To all these three Tribunals belong a great number of inferiour Mandarins call'd Xeu lien quen whose business it is to decide all Civil matters and to pay and receive all the Revenues of the Province The Criminal Tribunal is call'd Nghan cha su and the President who is of the third Order has no Assessors but two Classes of Mandarins under him Those of the first Classis who are call'd To su are of the fourth Order They of the second Classis who are call'd Cien su are of the fifth Order and the Mandarins of these two Classes are call'd Tao li or Tao tusâ—… These Tao li are the Visiters of all the Quarters of the Province in which they have their Tribunals Some of them take care of the Post Horses the Royal Inns and the King's Barks so far as their Jurisdiction reaches and are call'd Ye chuen tao Others that are call'd Pim pi tao are intrusted to inspect the several Troops and Companies of the Province others to drain the Lands and level the Highways who are call'd Tun tien tao This Tribunal has power to punish Criminals by banishment as also by confiscation of Goods and loâ—…s of Life And if there be no Visiter in the Province it has an eye over all the other Mandarins and gives notice to the King of what passes in the Province when business requires their information In a word these two Tribunals do the Office of the six supream Tribunals of the Court and are as it were their Substitutes Every Province is divided into Districts and to every District belongs a Mandarin call'd Tao â—…i who is as it were a Visiter or Inspeâ—…er into the manners and behaviour of the Officers within his
Title of Court put down all the Tribunals and alter'd the name of the City calling it Kiam nim and the Province Kiam nâ—…n which are the Names that they had in former times The third superiour Tribunal is call'd Li pu which has the oversight and ordering of Rites and Ceremonies Arts and Sciences This Tribunal takes care of the Royall Musick to examine the Students and to give them power to be admitted to the Examination of the Learned give their advice in reference to the Titles and Honours which the King vouchsases to bestow upon the deserving what Temples and Sacrifices the King ought to erect and make to the Heaven and the Earth to the Sun the Moon and his own Ancestours They order the Banquets when the King feasts his Subjects or Foreigners They receive entertain and discharge the King's Guests and all Ambassadours They take care of the Liberal and Mechanick Arts And lastly of the three Laws or Religions which are observed throughout the Empire of which the first is that of the Learned the second that of the Tao su or the Married Bonzes and the third of the Batchelour Bonzes 'T is in the power of this Tribunal to apprehend whip and punish them all and in this very Tribunal it was that we were all of us imprison'd for two months during the Persecution and bound every one with nine chains that is to say the Fathers Iohn Adam Lewis Buglio Ferdinand Verbiest and Gabriel Magaillans and afterward deliver'd over to the Secular power On each side of this Tribunal stand four other inferiour Tribunals among which the care of those things already mention'd is divided The first is call'd Ychi su or the Tribunal of Important Affairs as of the Titles of Petty Princes Dukes Great Mandarins c. The second Su ci su which takes care of the King's Sacrifices the Temples the Mathematicks the three Laws c. The third Chu ke su which takes care to entertain and dispatch the King's Guests whether Natives or Foreigners The fourth Cim xen xu which has the ordering of the Banquets which are prepared for the King or for those upon whom the King is pleas'd to bestow that favour When the Chineses were Masters of their own Countrey none but Doctours and those two onely such as were of most repute for their knowledge and merit were admitted into this Tribunal So that they were the most esteem'd and such as stood the fairest for preferment for out of their number it was that the King made choice of the Colao and his Counsellors of State. But now Tartars are put in who dispose of all things at their own pleasure while the Mandarins signifie no more among them than onely dumb Statues and so it is in the rest of the Tribunals So truly may we believe it to have been the will of God to chastise and bring down the incredible pride of this Nation by subduing and subjecting them to a small handfull of poor ignorant rustick Barbarians as if God for the punishment of Europe should deliver it over into the power of the Cafers of Angola or Mozambique But though the name of this Tribunal be altogether like that of the former nevertheless there is a great difference in the Chinese Language for the Characters of the first Sillable Li are nothing alike and the pronunciation also is very different the first is pronounced by shrilling and raising the voice which we therefore mark with an accute accent Li. On the contrary the second is pronounced by falling the voice and therefore marked with a grave accent Lì Thus according to the first signification Li signifies Mandarins and Pu Tribunal and both together the Tribunal of the Mandarins according to the second pronunciation Lì signifies Rites or Ceremonies and joyn'd with Pu the Tribunal of Ceremonies This Equivocal Signification is no where to be met with among the Tartars who call the first Tribunal Hafan xurgan or the Tribunal of the Mandarins For that Hafan signifies a Tribunal and Xurgan Mandarins and the second Toro Xurgan or the Tribunal of Ceremonies The fourth superior Tribunal is call'd Pim pu which has the ordering of War and Military affairs over the whole Empire This chuses and advances all the Officers disposes of their Commands in the Armies in the Garrisons upon the Frontiers in the Inland Fortresses and in all parts of China This orders the Levy's and Exercises of the Souldiers Replenishes the Grand Arsenals and a great number of Magazins with Arms offensive and defensive with Ammunition and Provisions and all things necessary for the defence of the Empire And to the Palace of this Tribunal belong four more that are inferiour The first is call'd Vu siven su and takes care to make choice and to confer upon the Military Mandarins their Commands and to cause them to exercise their Souldiers The second is call'd Che fam su and takes care to distribute the Souldiers and Military Officers into all the Places and Posts of the Empire for the pursuit of Robbers and to prevent the disturbance of the publick Peace The third is call'd Che Kia su and takes care of the King's Horses as well those that are upon the Frontiers and in Places of importance as those that are appointed for Postage and the service of the Royal Inns. They have also the ordering of the Waggons and Boats which serve for the Transportations of Provisions and Souldiers The fourth is call'd Vu cu su and takes care for the making of all sorts of Arms offensive and defensive and that they be kept in good order and fit for service in all the Magazins and Arsenals of the Empire The fifth superiour Tribunal is called Him pu like the Tournelle or Parliamental Criminal Court in France and extends its power over the whole Empire They examine try and punish all Criminals according to the Laws of the Empire which are almost all of them very just and conformable to reason So that if the Mandarins of this Tribunal and consequently of all the rest did but rightly observe them there would not be those acts of injustice and tyranny which are committed every day For now there is hardly a Cause that is try'd according to reason and justice He that gives mony is always in the right till another gives more and then he has more Right on his side Gold Silver pieces of Silk and other Presents govern there instead of Laws Reason and Justice are there put to sale as in an open Market by Portsale or outcry who gives most This Nation suffering themselves to be so blinded by their Avarice that they cannot be diverted from it by all the rigorous punishments which the King sometimes orders to be inflicted upon those that are convicted of their Corruption and Extortion All the Tribunals of this Court take cognizance of all the Crimes and Offences of such as are under their Jurisdiction by reason of their Employments However when the Crimes deserve more than ordinary
the King a great Revenue and if the general Visitors greatly enrich themselves by their spoils and robberies of the Mandarins and people these latter commit much greater robberies upon the Farmers who distribute the Salt into the Provinces and who are the Richest men in China as being commonly worth four or five hundred thousand Crowns a man. The third Visitation is call'd Siao Chai or the Petty Visit this Visitation is made every three months by sending Visitors frequently unknown and in disguise sometimes to one Province or City sometimes to another that he may be able to give true information against some Mandarin famous for his Tyranny and Extortion Besides these Visitations this Tribunal sends into every Province every three years a certain Visitor call'd Hio Yuen and to every City another call'd Ti Trio to examine the Batchelours of Art and suppress the violences which confiding in their privileges they act upon the people These have power to apprehend to condemn all such Offenders to the Whip and when they prove incorrigible they degrade and punish them with an extraordinary severity Lastly this Tribunal sends forth whensoever it is thought requisite a Visitor call'd Siun Ho to survey the famous Canal of which we have already spoken and to take care of the Barks which are employ'd therein By means of which Visitation he reaps more honour and profit than all the other Visitors which this Visitation sends forth The Judges of this Tribunal are lodg'd in a vast Palace where they have under them five and twenty inferiour Tribunals divided into five classes of which every one has five Tribunals with five Presidents and many Assessors and inferiour Officers The five of the first Classis are call'd Uchin Chayuen or Visitors of the five Qurters of Pe Kim The first is the Visitor of the South Walls and that Quarter of the City next adjoyning The second visits the Walls on the North side the third the Walls on the East the fourth the Walls on the West side and the fifth the Walls in the middle The Authority of these Mandarins is very great for they have power to try and punish the misdemanours of the people and the Domestick Servants of the Mandarins and great Lords But if the Offender deserve Death Confiscation of Estate or Banishment then they send him to the Criminal Tribunal Those of the Second Classis are call'd U Chin Pim Ma Su or Grand Provosts of the Five Quarters Those of the third Classis are call'd Tam quen or inferior Provosts of the five Quarters The two latter Classes make it their business to apprehend Theives and Robbers Malefactors Gamesters Vagabonds and the like and to detain them in Prison till they resign them to the Superiour Robbers It is likewise their business to keep watch and ward in the day time to go the Rounds in the Night and to set Sentinels to give notice when any fire happens in any house The Captains of the Watch are also subordinate to these two Classes For to every ten houses there belongs a Captain call'd Pai and every Pai teu have another Captain call'd Stum Kia who is oblig'd to inform the Tribunal of what is done in his District contrary to the Laws and good Customs of the City when any Strangers come to Town or of any other Novelty He is also oblig'd to exhort the several private Families by singing with a loud voice at the beginning of every night a Song consisting of five verses containing the most necessary Precepts of Morality in these words Hiao xum fu mu Tsum Kim cham xam Ho mo Hian Li Kiao tzu Sun. Mon tzo vi That is to say Obey your Parents reverence old Men and your Superiours live together in Unity instruct your Children and do no acts of Injustice In petty Towns where there are no Mandarins the care of this duty is committed to four or five of the honestest old Men call'd Lao gen who have a Captain call'd Hiam yo or Ti fam This person also sings the same Song every Night and the first and fifth of every month assembles the Inhabitants and explains the meaning of those Instructions by Similes and Examples Of which I thought it not amiss to relate some few to let the Reader see the vertuous disposition wit and good government of this Nation Obey your Parents as Lambs obey their Ews as they teach us by their extraordinary humility in kneeling when they suck and submitting to them exactly in acknowledgment of the nourishment which they receive from them Reverence the Aged and your Superiours in imitation of wild Geese who by the Order which they observe in their flight shew plainly the respect which is to be given to Seniority Live together in peace in imitation of that Love and Unity which is observ'd among Deer for when any one of them has met with a good piece of Pasturage he will not feed by himself till he has call'd together the rest of the Herd to take their share Instruct your Children like that ancient Matron call'd Tuen Ki who being a Widow every day whipp'd the onely Son that she had till she dispossest him of all his evil inclinations so that at length being renown'd for his knowledge and his vertues he came to be Chuam Yuen or chief of the Doctours of the Empire and afterwards for his Vertue and Heroick Actions was advanc'd to be Co Lao or Chief Minister of State to the Emperour Commit no acts of Injustice like that same wicked and disobedient Heu ci who out of his extraordinary Ingratitude designing to kill his Father in Law that reprov'd him for his Misdemeanours kill'd his own Mother unexpectedly whose Indulgence had been the Perdition of her Son by supplying him with Money which he spent in all manner of debauchery and by concealing the early lewdness of his Life But Heaven to make him an Example to all as wicked as himself and to deter others crush'd him to the Earth and cleft him in sunder with a Thunderbolt The Tribunal call'd Iu Hio is a mixt Tribunal which takes care of Batchelours of Arts and Military Probationers Two Presidents belong to it of which the one has the oversight of the first the other of the latter These exercise themselves in making Discourses upon the means of preserving the Estate and governing the People The other discourse of Warlike Discipline when to give Battel how to attack and defend Fortified places and other matters of the same nature The Mandarins of this Tribunal who are dispers'd over all the Provinces and Cities give them frequent occasions to exercise their wits upon these Subjects and those Mandarins are respected by those Batchelours and Probationers rather as Professors than Magistrates The two Presidents which reside at Court are Doctours both the one of Civil Learning the other in Military Discipline The other Officers are such out of whose number the King makes Mandarins out of his meer Grace and Favour or by
Five Years ago by a certain Prince whose Name was Yao Which last Opinion being held among them as an Article of Faith should any Chinese refuse to believe he would be lookt upon as a Heretick and as such a one be severely punish'd So that should the Preachers of the Gospel but once testifie either by Writing or by Word of Mouth that they make a doubt of it that alone would be sufficient to shut the Door upon our Sacred Religion and cause us all to be sentenc'd to Death The very bare suspicion without any Foundation of a Man's Incredulity in that point being a sufficient ground for Banishment For this reason it is that the Fathers of the Mission have obtain'd leave from the Holy See to stick to the Version of the Seventy approv'd by the Church in the Fifth General Council as well for that the Two latter Opinions are very probable as to avoid the foremention'd Inconveniences and many others which may be easily imagin'd And indeed it must be acknowledg'd that there is not any Kingdom in the World that can boast a Train of Kings so Ancient and so well continu'd Those of the Assyrians the Persians the Greeks and Romans have had their Periods whereas that of China continues still like a great River that never ceases rolling along the streams that fall from its first Fountain This long continuance and other Excellencies of China of which we have already spoken and of which we are to speak in the Progress of this Relation infuse into the Chineses a Pride most Insupportable They put the highest value imaginable upon their Empire and all that belongs to them but as for strangers they Scorn 'em to the lowest pitch of Contempt and all the advantages of their Wit and Learning tho' they themselves have little or no Knowledg Which is not so much to be wonder'd at since Pride proceeds from Blindness and Ignorance In their Maps they allow a vast Extent to China but represent all other Kingdoms round about it without any Order Position or any other Mark of good Geography small contracted and with Titles Ridiculous and Contemptible As for Example Siaò gîn que or the Kingdom the Inhabitants of which are all Dwarfs and so little that they are constrain'd to tie themselves several in a Bunch together for fear of being carry'd away by the Eâ—…gles and Kites Niù gîn que or the Kingdom where all the Inhabitants are Women who Conceive by looking upon their Shadow in a Well or in a River and bring forth none but Girls Chuen sin que or a Kingdom where the Inhabitants have all a Hole in their Breasts into which they stick a piece of Wood and so carry one another from place to place A Kingdom where the Inhabitants have Bodies like Men and Faces like Dogs A Kingdom where he Inhabitants have such long Arms that they reach down to the ground with many other such Descriptions of the same Nature In short they represent the Neighbouring Kingdoms such as are those of the Tartars the Iapanners of the Peninsula of Corea and those other that border round about upon China under the Title of the Four Barbarous Nations They say that besides China there are Seventy Two Kingdoms which they paint all very Diminutive in the middle of the Sea like so many Nutshells and their Inhabitants all Deformed and Monstrous with Gestures so ridiculous or terrible that they resemble rather Apes and Wild Beasts then Men. Of latter times having understood something of Europe they have added it to their Maps as if it were the Island of Tenariff or some Desert Island And therefore it was that the Vice-Roy of Quam tum in the Year 1668 after he had spoken of the Embassie of the Portugueses in a Memorial which he sent to the Emperor added these words We find very plainly that Europe is no more then only Two little Islands in the middle of the Sea. They divide the Heaven into Eight and Twenty Constellations and China into so many Quarters to every one of which they allow one of these Constellations and call them by their Names not leaving so much as one for the rest of the Kingdoms They give to their own most Loâ—…ty and Magnificent Titles but to Foreign Countrys most Barbarous Disagreeable and Scornful Names on purpose to Exalt their own Empire by Disgracing all other Kingdoms At what time I resided with Father Lewis Buglio in the Capital City of the Province of Su chuen there was a Persecution begun against the Christian Religion at the Instigation of several Thousands of Bonzes who assembled together from all parts of the Province and the same time accus'd us in all the Tribunals of the Province more especially before the Tribunal of Crimes which is call'd Gán chan su the President of which made answer to the Petition of the Bonzes in this manner If these Strangers remain in their Habitations without stirring forth or teaching new Inventions Chum que chi tá vû sò pù yûm that is to say This Kingdom is so vast that it is able to contain both the Natives and the Foreigners there being room enough for as many more but if they Teach any new Doctrine different from the Sacred and True Doctrines which we profess in this Great Empire or if they go about to surprize and delude the People let them be Punish'd with every one Forty Lashes and Expell'd the Province Father Nicholas Longobardo having discours'd for some time concerning the Law of God to some of the Eunuchs and with those solid Reasons and Arguments that it was apparent enough that they were inwardly convinc'd They gave no more then the following Reply Chum que chi vâi hûan yeù tao that is to say What is this that we see what is this this that we hear Is it possible that without the Limits of this Empire there should be any Rule or any Path whereby to arrive at true Vertue Is there any other Belief or any other Law And I have many times observ'd that when I have been discoursing with the Learned concerning the Christian Religion and the Sciences of Europe they ask'd me whether we had their Books To which when I answer'd No they reply'd altogether surpris'd wavering and scandaliz'd If in Europe you have not our Books and our Writings what Learning or what Sciences can you have However these Insidels deserve both to be pity'd and excus'd since it is impossible to imagine the high Idea which not only the great Lords and Learned Men but also the Vulgar People have conceiv'd of this Empire And certainly besides that our Nature enclines us always to put a Value upon our selves and all that belongs to us the extraordinary Grandeur and Advantages of this Kingdom contribute very much to puff up the Minds of the Chineses with foolish Imaginations and unparallel'd Pride Notes upon the Third Chapter A. P. 59. THE Chronology of China is of extraordinary Importance
Significancy that in some measure they equal the Greeks and Latins At the end of the Treatise of the Chinese Letters and Language which I have already mention'd I have Collected Alphabetically all the Theological and Philosophical terms which our Fathers made use of in the Books which they compos'd for the Chineses And I have observ'd that there are a great number of words that express their Signification much more happily and easily then ours so curious and eloquent is that Language It may be demanded of me perhaps how it can be that one and the same Word should have so many significations and how they who understand them can distinguish them To which I answer that the variety of Signification arises from the various couching of the Monosyllables together as we have shew'd in the Syllable Mō and the difference of the Accents and Tones as we have demonstrated in the Syllable Po. This distinction is so natural to the Chineses that without making the least reflection upon the tones or accents they readily understand all the different significations of the same Monosyllable I say without the least hesitation or reflection For that indeed the People know not what either tones or accents mean which are only understood by the Poets and our Fathers that travel into China who having acquir'd that Knowledge come to understand the Language with Ease which else they could never do without an extraordinary deal of Trouble We are beholding for this curious and profitable observation of the tones to F. Lazaro Catanco And I have endeavour'd to explain it by the Comparison of a Musician who by labour and skill has acquir'd a readiness to know and express the six tones ut re mi fa sol la which another Man born with necessary abilities naturally expresses and distingnishes without the help of Rules or Art. It does not follow nevertheless that the Chineses sing out their words when they speak as one of our Fathers of Macao imagin'd or that they carry a tablet about their Necks upon which they write down what they would say when we do not understand them as I was made believe when I first travell'd into the Empire Or that the Chineses cannot whisper a Man in the Ear as once I thought imagining it was necessary for them to exalt their Voices to express their tones and accents The contrary to which may be easily evinc'd by this Example Should I say in Europe that there was a difference of tone in the Syllable to of the Latin words totus and totaliter perhaps I should hardly be believ'd and yet there is nothing more certain For in totus to is pronounc'd with a clear and strong Voice by opening the Lips but in totaliter the same Syllable is pronounc'd with a weaker sound and with the Lips more close So likewise in the Chinese Language the Syllable to pronounc'd with an acute and elevated Accent has the same sound that to in totus and signifies slothful or to fall in regard a slothful Man seems as if he were tumbling every step he takes but to in the Chinese Language pronounc'd with a Circumflex mark'd with a Point has the same Sound with to in totaliter and signifies to study or a solitary Person because that a Man must be retired that will read or study to advantage The Chinese Language has many other Qualities and Advantages that shew the Wit and Industry of those that invented it But I pass them over in silence for brevities sake However I cannot forbear to assert that the Chinese Language is more easie then the Greek the Latin or any of the other Languages of Europe At least it cannot be deny'd me but that it is much more easie then the Languages of those other Countries where our Society is employ'd in Missions which is an Advantage not a little considerable Nor is this a thing to be question'd in regard my Sentiments are conformable both to reason and Experience for in the first place it is most certain that there is nothing which more condnces to the acquiring of a Language then the Memory and by consequence that Language must be the most easie which has fewest words in regard a small number of words is more easily retain'd then a more Copious quantity Now the Chinese Language is the most concise of all others as not being compos'd of above a hundred and twenty Monosyllables whereas the Greek and Latin contain an infinite number of words of Tenses Moods Numbers Persons c. But the Chinese Language requires only a Memory to retain the Accents which are as it were the form that distinguishes the signification of Words and to learn how to pronounce the three Hundred Monosyllables In the Second place it is most certain that he who will Industriously and under a good method apply himself to study the Chinese Language may be able in a Years time to understand and speak it very well And we find by experience that our Fathers that are at present employ'd in the Mission at the end of two Years became so perfect in the Language that they were able to Confess Catechize Preach and Compose with as much ease as in their own Native Tongue tho' there is not the least resemblance between their Language and ours and that the Fathers are generally persons far advanc'd in Years Which they could never attain to in Europe where the Languages generally have a dependance one upon another That there is no question to be made of this apparent truth when we consider the great number of Books which the Fathers have made and translated and daily make and translate into the Chinese Language which are esteem'd and admir'd by the Chineses themselves Such as are those Books which Father Matthew Riccio compos'd upon our Sacred Law and upon several other Subjects Of whom the Chineses speak to this Day as of a Prodigy of Knowledg and all sorts of Knowledg So that there is not any Person of Quality in the Empire that does not know and speak of him with Applause The Learned quote him in their Writings as one of their most famous Doctors and the Handicraft-Workmen to put off their Wares and sell them at a higher Rate assure the Buyers that they were the Inventions of that Illustrious Person Father Matthew Riccio In short they esteem'd and honour'd him to that degree that several believe that as Cum fu ci us was the Prince the Saint the Master and Doctor of the Chineses so Father Matthew Riccio was the same among the Europeans Which was the highest Praise those Idolizers of Cum fu ci us could give him Father Diego Pantoja has also compos'd several Learned Treatises of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Seven Vertues which are their Contraries upon the Pater Noster upon the Ave-Marie and the Credo The Fathers Alfonso Vanhone and Iulio Aleni wrote several Tomes upon the Christian Religion upon the Life of Christ of the Holy Virgin and the Saints
and upon several other subjects Father Manuel Dias the younger translated all the Gospels with the Commentaries and Explanations of the Fathers which makes a Work no less Large then Pious and Learned Father Francis Furtado publish'd a Treatise of Rhetorick and Logick with certain other Books de Coelo and de Mundo as also of the Soul of Man. The Fathers Iohn Terencio Iohn Roo and Iohn Adam have written a great number of other Books upon our Holy Law and upon all the parts of the Mathematicks Father Lewis Buglio who was always my chiefest Consolation and inseparable Companion in all my Travels Afflictions and Imprisonments for Thirty Years together translated the first part of St. Thomas which the more Learned Chineses esteem and admire to that degree that I heard one of them who had read the Treatise of God declare his thoughts in these words Certainly this Book is a Mirror wherein to let us see our own Ignorance The same Father Buglio wrote several other Pieces upon several other subjects among the rest that Eloquent and Learned Apology in answer to a Book which Yam quam siem that wicked Infidel publish'd both in this Court and over the whole Empire against the Christian Religion and the Preachers of it and which he Entitl'd Pu te y Because I could no longer Whereupon the Father that he might conform himself to the Stile and Language of the Country Entitl'd his Answer I have Answer'd because I could no longer forbear Both Titles are very significant in the Chinese Language But the Fathers was more highly esteem'd because it carries two significations The First I refute because I could no longer forbear the Second I have refuted a Book Entitl'd Because I could no longer forbear And which was more to be wonder'd at the Father compos'd the greatest part of these Books in the Boats upon the Roads and in the Inns under the Power of Rebels and Barbarians in Prison with Three Chains upon his Legs Three about his Neck and Six upon his Hands and in a word in the midst of continual Persecutions I could say much more in praise of that person truly Pious and oâ—… great Reputation did I not fear that the shâ—…e which I had in his Sufferings and the strict Friendship that was between Us would render me suspected of too much partiality Father Ferdinand Verâ—…st â—…t the same time wrote a Learned Answer to 〈◊〉 or rather a Satyr full of Mistakes aâ—…d Dolâ—…â—…norance which the same Yam quam siem wrote against the European Mathematicks Father Anthony Gouvea compos'd a Catechism Father Iohn Monteiro wrote two Books the one of the Law of God and the other of True Adoration Father Francis Sambiesi wrote Four Treatises Of the Immortality of the Soul Of Morals Of Painting and Sounds all very short and highly esteem'd I my self wrote a Treatise of the Resurrection of Christ and another of the Universal Resurrection Nicholas Trigaut Lazaro Cataneo Gaspar Ferreira and Alvaro Semedo all Fathers of the Society have compos'd Dictionaries very large and very exact and Gaspar Ferreira has written above Twenty Treatises upon several Subjects Father Soeiro made an Abridgment of the Christian Law and Father Nicholas Longobardo who Dy'd but a few Years ago in this Court Fourscore and Sixteen Years old has written several Godly Treatises besides a Treatise of Earth-Quakes highly esteem'd by the Learned of this Empire In short there have been a great number of other Books written concerning the Christian Religion and of all Sciences and Subjects which amount in all to above Five Hundred Tomes Printed besides Manuscripts There is Printed in China a Catalogue of all the Fathers that ever Travell'd into the Country to Preach the Gospel wherein are also the Names set of all the Books which they have written From whence I conclude that so many Books could never have been translated and written in a Foreign Language and in so short a time had not the Language been very easie So that it follows that the Chinese Language is more easie to learn then any other and that it is withal very Elegant very Copious and very Expressive since it wants for no terms to explain and unfold the Subtilties and Mysteries of Theology Philosophy and the rest of the Sciences I will conclude this Chapter with the first Paragraph of the first Article of the Commentary which I made upon the Works of Cum fu cius with which our Fathers always begin when they first set themselves to study the Chinese Letters and Language to the end that by this short Sample the Beauty of the Language and the Wit of the People may be the better display'd They read the Letters beginning from the top down to the bottom and from the right to the left but that I might the better conform to the Customs of Europe I have plac'd the first Column upon the left-hand To explain them you must put them together according to the Order of the Cyphers The Marks or Zero which are to be seen at the bottom of some Letters are the Points and Accents of the Chineses The Order of the Letters and the Explanation of the Text are taken from two Chinese Commentators of which the one who liv'd about Three Hundred Years ago was call'd ChuÌ„ hi and the other who was a Colao was nam'd ChaÌ„m Kiù Chim who Dy'd in the Year 1610 at what time Matthew Riccio arriv'd at this Court of whom I have already spoken in this Chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4 Great men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 consists in the second place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3 teach 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 to renew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3 the People 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 the Rule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4 consists in the 3d place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5 consists in the first place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5 to stop 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 6 to enlighten 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 6 at 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 7 reasonable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 7 the Soveraign 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 8 Good The Commentary and Explanation of the Text. THE Method for Great Men to Learn consistâ—… in three things The first is to unfold the Rational Nature The Second is to reform Mankind And the Third to stop at the Soveraign Good. As to the First the Rational Nature is the Heart of Man for the Chineses make no distinct on between the Understanding and the Will but attribute to the Heart what ever we attribute to those Faculties The Heart is a substance pure and intelligent without any Darkness or Obscurity and where Man has always ready all requisite Reasonings to answer to all difficulties that present themselves But because that at the very moment of our Birth this Intelligent and Rational Nature is cag'd up and enclos'd within the Prison of the Body and for that our inordinate
establish'd and confirm'd them shar'd their Employments and regulated their Functions with so much prudence that there is not one which is so absolute in the Affairs which are under their jurisdiction but they depend one upon another For Example the first President of the fourth Tribunal which is that of War had it an independent Authority had an easy opportunity to rebell because all the Forces of the Kingdom are at their disposal But they want money and therefore of necessity they must have the King's leave and order to require it from the Tribunal of the Exchequer The Pioneers Barques Boats Waggons Tents and other instruments of War belong to the sixth Tribunal to which the fourth must address themselves besides that the Horses are under the jurisdiction of a petty separate Tribunal of which we shall speak hereafter The Military Mandarins make five Tribunals which are call'd U Fu or five Casses Their Palaces are plac'd Westward on the right hand of the Palace Royal and are thus distinguish'd by their Names The first is call'd Heu Fu or the Rereguard The second Tso Su or the Left Wing The third Yeu Fu or the Right Wing The fourth Chum Fu or the Main Battel and the fifth Lien Fu or the Vanguard The five Tribunals are govern'd by fifteen great Lords as Marquisses Counts c. three in each Tribunal of which the one is President and the other two his Assessors They are all fifteen of the first Order of the Mandarins but the Presidents are of the first degree of that Order and the Assessors of the second all the Officers and Souldiers of the Court being under their care These five Tribunals have one superiour Tribunal above them which is call'd Ium chim fu that is to say the Supream Tribunal of War the President of which is always one of the greatest Lords in the Kingdom The Authority of this Tribunal extends it self over all these five Tribunals and over all the Officers and Souldiers of the Empire But to prevent their abusing so large a power they are curb'd by an Assessor set over them who is a Mandarin of learning with the Title of Supreme Regent of Armes and two Royal Controllers who are equally concern'd in the management of Affairs Under the Reign of the preceding Family these Tribunals had a very great Authority and were much more highly honour'd and esteem'd nevertheless they had much more reputation than real power in regard the Execution of Business belong'd to the superiour Tribunal of Arms call'd Pim pu It may be objected perhaps that these five Tribunals were superfluous because they depended upon the fourth of the six superiour Courts But in answer to this it is to be observ'd that there were at Court at that time a great number of Lords which the Chineses call Hium Chin or Vassals of great merit whose Ancestours had assisted the first King of the preceding Race to make himself Master of the Empire Besides it is most certain that there is no Passion so prevailing over the Chineses as the violent ambition of Rule and Command as being that wherein they place all their chiefest glory and happiness as may appear by the Answer which a Mandarin made to Father Matthew Ricci For that same Father discoursing of our Holy Law and of that Eternal Felicity which they who embrac'd it enjoy'd hereafter Come come said the Mandarin hold your tongue and lay aside these idle conceits your greatest glory and happiness as a Stranger it is to abide in this Kingdom and this Court. And for my own part all my glory and happiness consists in this same Girdle and Habit of a Mandarin all the rest is nothing but fables and words which the wind blows away meer stories of things invisible or rather never to be seen That which is visible is to command others Gold and Silver Wives and Concubines and multitudes of Servants of both sexes these are visible Noble Houses great Wealth Banquets Divertisements these are to be seen In a word Estate Honour and Glory are the consequences of being a Mandarin This is all the felicity which we desire and enjoy in this large Empire and not your vain felicity which is as unprofitable as it is invisible and impossible to obtain These are the carnal sentiments of men no less blind than proud and haughty which being so the Kings who understand the humour of that Nation especially of the Grandees for their satisfaction be thought themselves of these Tribunals which they erected and regulated in such a manner that they gave them an opportunity to satisfie their Ambition with the Honours and Profits belonging to their Offices and prevented them from doing mischief by the small authority which they had allow'd them Now as there are some Mandarins who are not of any of the Nine Orders which are call'd Vi jo Lieu or Men not settl'd there are others which are call'd Vu Pin or such for whom there is no degree high enough or such whose Merits are so great that they are above all Orders and Degrees These are the Petty Kings Dukes Marquisses c. which govern the two Tribunals of Arms. But though they are honour'd with Titles and some small authority which they enjoy by virtue of their Quality of Mandarins nevertheless the dignity of Dukes and Marquisses which their great Services have purchased is far more valu'd and esteem'd And thus much for the Eleven Superiour Courts or Tribunals we shall now briefly give you a Prospect of the other Tribunals of the Court and whole Empire CHAP. XIV Of several other Tribunals at Pekim THE Licentiates of all the Kingdom whom the Chineses call Kiu Gin or men famous for Learning meet together every three years at the Court at Pekim and are there examind for thirteen days together A month after the degree of Doctor is given to three hundred and sixty six who have display'd the most pregnant of Parts and Ingenuity in their Compositions Out of these young Doctors the King makes choice of the youngest and most ingenious and prefers them to a Tribunal call'd Han Len Iven that is to say a Garden or Wood flourishing in Learning and Knowledge This Tribunal contains a great number of Mandarins all very learned and the most sprightly Wits of the Empire which are divided into five Classes and compose five Tribunals with the Names and Employments of which I shall not trouble the Reader for fear of being tedious but onely give a general accompt of their Functions They are Tutors to the Prince who is Heir to the Empire whom they instruct in Vertue Civility and the Liberal Sciences By degrees also as he grows in years they teach him the true arts of Governing and the methods of good Conduct They set down all the remarkable accidents that happen either at Court or throughout the whole Empire and which most deserve to be deliver'd to Posterity They compile the general History of the Kingdom they are always at
FATHER Gabriel de Magaillans a Native of Portugal was born in the year 1609. He spent his first years in the House of one of his Uncles who was a Canon and who took care to educate him in Piety and the fear of God. Afterwards he studied in the Schools of the Society of Iesus in the famous University of Conimbre where mov'd by the good example of those Fathers he resolv'd to forsake the world and was receiv'd into the Society at seventeen years of age Being as yet but a Noviciate he begg'd leave that he might be sent to the Missions of the East Indies which would not be granted him however till he had compleated his Studies of Rhetorick and Philosophy He arriv'd at Goa in the year 1634 where he was immediately employ'd to teach Rhetorick to the young Religious of the House Two years afterwards he earnestly desir'd that he might be sent to the Mission of Iapan which was with great reluctancy at length consented to by his Superiours in regard of the great progress which their Scholars made under such a Master When he arriv'd at Macao the Father Visiter order'd him to teach Philosophy to which he thereupon began to settle himself but at the same time there came a Christian Mandarin who discharg'd him from that employment And indeed the Father Visiter was willing to lay hold of the opportunity of such an Officer by his means to get the liberty of sending a person of merit into China to assist the Missionaries there For at that time there was no person in the whole Colledge who was proper for that Countrey Which was the reason that F. Magaillans observing so favourable a conjuncture earnestly begg'd the Employment which was granted him as soon Thereupon he departed with the Mandarin and arriv'd at the City of Han Cheu the Metropolis of the Province of Che Kiam where the Vice Provincial then resided At the same time also there came Intelligence from the Province of Su chuen that Father Lewis Buglio who was gone to lay the Foundations of a Mission there was fallen sick and wanted a Companion Thereupon Father Magaillans offer'd himself and obtain'd leave to goe and assist him and though it were a Journey of above four months from Ham cheu to the Capital City of Suchuen nevertheless he fortunately arriv'd there and became a great help to Father Buglio and then it was that he apply'd himself with great Industry to the study of the Chinese Language and Letters which he learnt with an extraordinary ease Two years after there happen'd a violent Persecution against the Preachers of the Gospel rais'd by the Bonzes of that Province who assembling together in great numbers from the neighbouring Cities accus'd the Fathers of Rebellion in all the Tribunals of that Metropolis The chief Mandarin therefore of the Tribunal of Crimes fearing a Revolt at a time when the Kingdom was turmoil'd with several Insurrections order'd that the Fathers should be well drubb'd and then expell'd out of the limits of the Province But they putting their confidence in God's assistance and the protection of the Mandarins of which the greatest part were their Friends would not forsake their Station Thereupon the Bonzes hung up Libels every day in the principal Quarters of the City against the Fathers as also against the Mandarins But one of the Military Mandarins who was a Christian took care to have them pull'd down by the Souldiers On the other side the Fathers writ several Books wherein they explain'd and asserted the truth of their Faith and refell'd the Impostures of their Adversaries This Persecution lasted three months but then the Bonzes whether it were that they were afraid of the Mandarins who protected the Fathers or whether they wanted money to maintain them any longer in the Capital City retir'd home one after another and then the Governour of the City who favour'd the Fathers discharg'd the Superiour of the Bonzes from his Employment which put all the rest to silence and absolutely stifl'd that uproar In a short time after they were expos'd to a Persecution much more formidable than the former For the Rebel Cham hien chum follow'd by a numerous Army and filling all places where he came with fire and slaughter advanc'd toward the Capital to make himself Master of the place and there take upon him the Title of Emperour of China as he really did Upon this a great number of people fled for shelter to the Mountains and the Fathers among the rest with a resolution to expect the issue of these disorders In the mean time the Rebel took the Capital City where he made a bloody havock and three months after understanding that great numbers of people were fled to the Mountains and among the rest the Fathers he sent several Companies of Souldiers who brought back a considerable part of the people of which number were the Fathers But when they came into his presence he receiv'd them with extraordinary honours and promis'd them that as soon as he had secur'd himself in the quiet possession of the Empire he would erect magnificent Churches in honour of the God of Heaven In the mean time he gave them a magnificent House where the Fathers hung up the Picture of our Saviour and baptiz'd several persons and among the rest the Tyrants Father in law And indeed during the three years that he usurpt the Government for the first year he behav'd himself with much Justice and Liberality But being provok'd by several Insurrections in several parts he resolv'd to subdue the Province of Xen si the Inhabitants of which are a warlike sort of people and before his departure so to secure the Province of Suchuen that it should not be in a condition to revolt In pursuance of which cruel resolution he put to death an infinite number of people by all manner of Torments Some were cut into quarters others flead alive others were cut in pieces by bits and others were mangl'd but not suffer'd to dye A hundred and forty thousand Souldiers also of the Province of Suchuen he caus'd to be massaker'd so that the Province was almost depopulated Thereupon the Fathers observing these horrid Butcheries and despairing to make any farther progress under the Government of so barbarous a Tyrant presented a Petition to him wherein they desir'd leave to retire till the troubles that harrass'd the Kingdom were appeas'd But the Tyrant was so enrag'd at this Petition that about two hours after he sent for the Domestick Servants belonging to the Fathers and order'd them to be flead alive accusing them that they had instill'd those thoughts into their Masters heads Presently the Fathers hasten'd to save their lives and told the Tyrant which was no more than the truth that those poor people had not the least knowledge of their design However after some discourse the Barbarian order'd the Fathers to be lay'd hold of and carry'd to the place of execution and there to be cut
him his own Orders what to do Accordingly within half an hour he sent three Persons the most considerable in his Court with an Elogy in honour of the Father two hundred Taels or about fourscore pounds and ten great pieces of Damask for his Shroud with command to perform all the customary Ceremonies before the Corps of the Deceas'd and to bewail him after the usual manner which the two Messengers did shedding a great number of Tears in the presence of the whole Assembly The Elegy which the King gave the Father was in these words I understand that Nghan uen su for by that Name they call'd the Father in China is dead of a Distemper I make him this writing in consideration that while my Father liv'd who was the first Emperour of our Family this same Holy Person by his ingenious Pieces of Art delighted the genious and humour of my Father and for that after they were invented he took care to preserve them with an extraordinary Industry and beyond his Strength But more especially for that he came from a Region so far distant and on the other side of the Sea to abide several years in China He was a Man truly sincere and of a solid Wit as he made appear during the whole Course of his Life I was in good hopes his Disease might have been overcome by Remedies But contrary to my Expectation he is remov'd for ever from us to the great sorrow and sensible grief of my heart For that reason I make him a Present of two hunder'd Crowns and ten large Pieces of Damask to shew that my design is never to forget our Vassals that repair to us from Places so remote Below was written the Emperour's words The sixtteenth year of the Emperour Cam hi the sixth day of the fourth Moon which answers to the seventh of May in the year of Christ 1677. the next day after the Father's death This Elogy was printed as also an abstract of the Life of the Father and giv'n about to all the Princes great Lords Mandarins to our Friends and all that were Christians Which was of great consequence and mainly contributory to the Credit and Reputation of our sacred Law when the World should understand the high Esteem which the King had of the Preachers of the Gospel Two days after the King sent again the three same Persons to weep before the Corps of the deceas'd because he had order'd them to accompany it to the Grave which was an extraordinary Honour However the Fathers had not as yet given notice to their Friends of his death for fear of the disturbance it would be to their Minds and yet there was a great Concourse of Friends and Mandarins who came with their Presents to perform the usual Ceremonies while others sent their Elogies and Encomiums upon the Father written up on white Satin Some days before he was buried the same three Persons came to tell us that it was the King's pleasure his Funeral should be very magnificent So that the Fathers as well to conform themselves to the Will of the Prince as to shew their high value of the Elogy which the Prince had sent them made more than ordinary preparations Upon the day of the Funeral the same three Persons came in very good time to accompany the Corps according to the King's command There came also a great Number of Mandarins Acquaintance and other Persons to pay the same respects And as for the Ceremony it was perform'd after the following Manner Ten Souldiers march'd before with their Armes to clear the Streets they were follow'd by ten Ushers of several Tribunals that carry'd Tablets wherein was written an Order of the Mandarins to give way under pain of punishment Twenty four Trumpeters and Hoeboys with several Sorts of other Instruments follow'd them and preceded the King's Elogy that was written upon yellow Satin and carry'd in a Litter surrounded with four and twenty Pieces of Satin of various Colours This Elogy was attended by several Christian Eunuchs of which there were some that waited upon the King's Person Afterwards appear'd three other Litters adorn'd with several Pieces of Silk In the first was carry'd the Cross in the second the Picture of the Holy Virgin and in the third the Picture of St. Michael These Litters observ'd a convenient distance one from the other and in the spaces between there went a great number of Christians of which some carry'd Lantherns some Banners and others Censors others carry'd wax Tapers sweet Odours and other things After that in another Banner was carry'd the Portraiture of the Father surrounded with Pieces of Silk which the King had order'd to be drawn to the Life three years before together with the Pictures of all the rest of the Fathers by a famous Painter of the Palace This Picture was attended by a great Multitude of Christians among which there were above threescore in Mourning The Fathers came last and just before the stately Coffin which was â—…t into an Herse varnish'd over with God and Vermillion under a Canopy of a rich Piece of red Velvet which was environ'd with certain Pieces of white and blew Damask and was the King's gift The Coffin was carry'd by seventy Men who had every one a Mourning Bonnet upon their Heads and the number of those that follow'd the Coffin was so great that the Front was distant from the Rear above a Mile When they came to the place of Enterrment the Responses were Sung with other usual Prayers and Ceremonies of the Christians To which purpose eight Christian Mandarins in Surplices assisted the Father that perform'd the Office. The Christians also Sung with great Devotion the Letanies of the Holy Virgin and then the Body was put into a Sepulchre made of Brick So soon as the Ceremony was over you might hear the Lamentations and Moans of the whole Assembly accompany'd with Tears that shew'd the reality of their grief the three Persons also sent from the Emperour perform'd their parts And three days after they return'd by the King's Order and pay'd the same Funeral respects as upon the burial day Never was seen in this Court a Funeral so Magnificent whether you consider the Multitude of those that were at it their Modesty their Tears and their sincere sorrow or the Honours done to the Party Deceas'd by the King and the Elogy which he gave him contrary to the usual custom So highly had this good Father merited all a long the marks of esteem that were bestow'd upon him by the Modesty which he shew'd in all his Actions by his extream charity for all the World and particularly toward the Poor by his Affability to all sorts of Persons by the hardship which he suffer'd for the love of God â—…d his Zeal for the Advancement of the Christian Religion though at the expence of his Life and Reputation The King understanding by the Persons whom he had deputed to be present at the Ceremony the Solemnity of the Funeral and with what Pomp and Decency it had been perform'd was extreamly satisfi'd so that when the Fathers went to return their thanks to his Majesty he made them approach very near his Person entertain'd them with a particular sweetness and favour and chear'd them for their loss with expressions full of goodness and sincerity FINIS Letter of Peter Ferdinand de Verbiest Pag. 221. Pag. 250. Pag. 265. Pag. 265. Pag. 265. Pag. 267.