to the young King's Palace to pay their Homage to him in the same manner as they do to the King at Pe kim onely with this difference that they give the Emperour the Title of Van sui or ten thousand years but to these Princes they give no more than the Title of Cien sui or a thousand years The seventh or fourth Oriental Palace is call'd Yuen hoen iten or the Palace of the Royal Nuptials When the King or the Heir of the Crown are pleas'd to marry the Tribunal of Ceremonies makes choice of the most beautifull and most accomplish'd Virgins that are to be found whether they be the Daughters of great Lords or but of mean descent they value not To this purpose the Tribunal employs Women that are well in years and of good Reputation who make choice of twenty which they deem the most accomplish'd The Tribunal being inform'd of this choice order the young Virgins to be carry'd in close Sedans to the Palace where for some days they are examin'd by the Queen Mother or if there be no such Person living by the principal Lady Lady of the Court who visits them and orders them to run on purpose to find out whether they have any ill smell or defect about them After several Trials she makes choice of one whom she sends to the King or Prince with a great deal of Ceremonie accompany'd with Feasts and Banquets distribution of Favours and a general pardon for all Criminals of the Empire unless Rebels and Robbers upon the High-way After this she is crown'd with a splendid Pomp and at the same time she has bestow'd upon her many Titles and large Revenues As for the nineteen Virgins to whom Fortune was not so favourable the King marrys them to the Sons of great Lords of which if there be not anow to serve them all he sends the remainder back to their Parents with dowries sufficient to marry them advantageously This was the Custom of the Kings of China But at present the Tartar Emperours make choice of the Daughters of some great Lords who are not of the Blood-Royal or of the Daughters of some one of the Kings of the Western Tartars for their Wives and Queens The eighth or fourth occidental Palace is call'd Tzu nen cum or the Palace of Piety and serves for the Residence of the Queen Mother and her Damsels and Ladies of Honour The ninth or fifth oriental Palace is call'd chum cui cum or the Palace of Beauty and the tenth or fifteenth on the West side is call'd Ki fiam cum or the happy Palace These two Palaces are appointed for the Daughters and Sisters of the King before they are marry'd For which purpose during the Reigns of the Chinese Kings the Tribunal of Ceremonies pickt out certain young Gentlemen handsome and ingenious and fourteen or fifteen years old Out of which the King chose one for his Daughter or his Sister to whom he gave a vast Dowry in Lands and Jewels These were call'd â—…u mâ—… or the Emperour's Kindred by his Wives They could not be 〈◊〉 However they became very powerfull and were great Oppressours of the People Befâ—… theâ—… had any Children they were oblig'd every 〈◊〉 and Evening to fall upon them Knees 〈◊〉 â—…heir Wives and knock their Heads thrâ—… 〈◊〉 â—…gainst the Ground But so soon as they 〈◊〉 Children they were no longer engag'd to that Ceremony At present the Tartar King marrys his Sisters and his Daughters to the Sons of great Lords who are not of the Blood Royal or with the Sons of the petty Kings of the Western Tartars The ' leventh or sixth Palace to the East is call'd Y hao tien or the Palace of due Title and the twelfth or sixth Palace to the West is call'd Siam nim cum or the Palace of Felicity The thirteenth or seventh Eastern Palace is call'd Gin xeu cum or the Palace of long Life and the fourteenth or seventh Western Palace is call'd Kien nim cum or the Palace of Celestial Repose All which four Palaces were the Habitations of the second and third Queen and the Concubines and several other Ladies belonging to the deceas'd King whom the King never sees nor ever enters into their Palaces such is their respect and veneration for their Predecessours The fifteenth or eighth Palace to the East is call'd Kiao ta tien or the Palace of great Friendship The sixteenth or eighth to the West is call'd Quen nim cum or the Palace of the place of Repose to either of which the King retires when he has a mind to be private with his Queen The seventeenth or ninth to the East is call'd Chim chien cum or the Palace which receives Heaven and the eighteenth which is opposite to it â—… quen cum or the Palace of the elevated Earth These two Palaces serve for the King's divertisement with his other two Queens to the first of which he goes with his second and to the second with the third of his Wives The nineteenth or tenth to the East is call'd Hum te tien or the Palace of abundant Vertue The twentieth or tenth to the West is call'd Kiu en sin tien or the Palace that envelops the heart In these two Palaces are kept the King's Jewels and Rarities of an inestimable Value And sometimes he goes himself to visit his Treasure which perhaps is the largest and the richest in the World in regard that for four thousand twenty five years the Chinese Kings have been always adding to it without taking any thing out of it For though the Reigning Families have so often alter'd yet none of them ever touch'd this Treasure nor those of which we shall give an accompt hereafter because of the rigorous Punishments which the new Kings would have inflicted upon those that should have attempted such a Sacriledge and all their Family Now though the Names of all these Palaces seem very mean and ordinary in our Language certain it is however that in the Chinese Language they are very significative and mysterious as being invented on purpose by their Men of Learning conformable to their Structure their Situation and their Use. Notes upon the nineteenth Chapter THESE Palaces are large and magnificent and seated in the spaces between the twenty Apartment s of the Emperour's Palace and the two Walls of the Inner Inclosure which are describ'd by our Authour in this nineteenth Chapter I. The first Palace call'd Ven hoa tien or the Palace of flourishing Learning Hither the King retires when he has a mind to discourse with his Men of Learning or to consult about his most important Affairs or to keep the Fasts most usually observ'd in China It is plac'd on the East side of the sixth Apartment call'd the supream Imperial Hall. II. The second Palace over against the foregoing to the West of the sixth Apartment call'd Vu im tien or the Palace of the Council of War. III. The third Palace or second on the East side as you
their Studies and write Books upon several Subjects They are properly the King 's Learned People who frequently discourses with them upon several Sciences and makes choice of several of them to be his Colao or Counsellors or for his other Tribunals and generally he commits to their care the Execution of all affairs that require Secrecy and Fidelity In short this Tribunal is a Royal Academy or as I may so say a Royal Magazine furnish'd with Men of Wit and Learning always ready to serve the State and the Emperour They that belong to the first Tribunal are of the third order of Mandarins they of the second of the fourth Order and they that belong to the other three are of the fifth Order Yet though they are of those inferiour Orders nevertheless they are very much esteem'd respected and dreaded The Tribunal call'd Gue Thu Kien is as it were the Royal School or University of the whole Empire and it has two sorts of Employments The first is that when the King makes any Sacrifice to the Heaven the Earth the Sun or Moon or to any one of his Subjects deceas'd to recompence his great Services the Mandarins of this Tribunal present the Wine which is done with a great deal of ceremony Their next business is to take care of all the Licentiates and Undergraduates of the Kingdom and of all the Students to whom for some particular reason the King is pleas'd to confer Titles and Dignities which equal them in some measure with the Batchelour Graduates These Students are of eight sorts The first are call'd Cum Sem who being Batchellors of Art and learned are of an age not to be examin'd or who having been examin'd had not the good fortune to come off with applause and therefore to make them amends the King gives them a Pension as long as they live The second call'd Quen Sem are the Sons of great Mandarins upon whom by reason of the eminent Services of their Parents the King confers employments without suffering them to undergo the rigour of Examinations The third sort call'd Ngen Sem are certain Students whom the King makes Mandarins at his coming to the Crown or upon the Birth or Marriage of the Prince his eldest Son. The fourth is call'd Cum Sem are Students upon whom the King bestows his Favours and advances them to Dignities by reason of their great personal merits or the great Services of their Ancestours The fifth sort call'd Kien Sem comprehends all those who having been Batchellors for some time and after their Examinations not being able to merit the degree of Licentiates or else fearing to lose their degree of Batchelour give the King a Sum of Money for which he grants them the Title of Kien Sem which confirms them for ever into their Batchelour's degree and makes them capable of being elected Mandarins The sixth is compos'd of Students that learn foreign Languages that they may be able to interpret when Strangers come to Court. To whom the King for their incouragement gives this Title with Revenues proportionable and after they have served for some years they may be made Mandarins without any Examination The seventh consists of the Sons of great Lords who in this Tribunal learn Vertue Civility and the Liberal Sciences and when they are of age to be Mandarins the King prefers them to some Employment or other The eighth is accidental and of a peculiar sort for when the Emperour has any Daughters that are call'd Ladies of the Palace or Cum Chu and that he has an intention to marry them he makes choice at Pekim of several young Lads hopefull for their parts handsome and between fourteen and seventeen years of age whether they be the Sons of Mandarins Tradesmen or poor people Out of these the Tribunal of Ceremonies chooses the most accomplish'd for Beauty and Wit and presents them to the King who culls out one that pleases him most and sends the rest back to their Parents after he has given to every one a summ of Money and a piece of Silk But as for those who are thus made choice of to be his Sons in Law he sets over them a Mandarin of the Tribunal of Ceremonies and places him in that College to be instructed The President of this College is of the fourth Order of Mandarins and his Assessors who are Regents in the College are of the fifth Order The Mandarins that compose the Tribunal call'd Tu Cha Yuen are Controllers of the Court and of all the Empire The President is equal in dignity to the President of the six superiour Tribunals so that he is a Mandarin of the second degree His first Assessor is of the third and his second Assistant of the fourth and all the rest of the Mandarins which are very numerous and of great authority are of the seventh Order Their employment is to take care both at Court and over all the Empire that the Laws and good Customs be strictly observed and put in execution that the Mandarins perform their Functions justly and truly and that the people do their duties They punish slight faults in their own Tribunals and inform the King of great offences Every three years they make a general Visitation sending fourteen Visitors abroad that is one for every Province So soon as the Visitors enter the Province they are superior to the Viceroys and other Mandarins as well the great as the petty ones and they controul them with so much majesty authority and rigor that the dread wherein the Mandarins stand of them has given occasion to this usual proverb among the Chineses Lao xu Kien mao that is to say The Rat has seen the Cat. Nor is it without reason that they stand in so much awe of them in regard it is in their power to take away their Employments and ruin their persons The Visitation being finish'd they return to Court generally loaden with four or five hundred thousand Crowns more or less which the Mandarins give them For they that are guilty will bleed very freely for fear they should be accus'd to the King. Others are more sparing but give however to prevent the inventing of accusations against them At their return they divide their spoils with the first President and his Assistants and after that give both them and the King an accompt of their visitation Generally they never impeach any one of the Mandarins but such whose injustice and tyrannies are so publick that it is impossible to conceal them or such who through their virtue or their poverty are not able to gratifie their avarice This Visitation is call'd Ta Chai or the great and General Visitation The second Tribunal makes a second Tribunal every year which is call'd Chum Chai or the middle Super-Visor This Tribunal also sends visitors to nine Quarters of the Frontiers on that side which is next the vast Walls that separate China from Tartary They send other Visitors to the Salt Pits which yield
reason of the Merits of their Ancestours The Tribunal call'd Co Tao or Co Li is that of the Inspecters or Overseers of which we have already spoken which are divided into six Classes like the six superiour Tribunals from whence they take their name and distinction For example the first is call'd Li Co or Inspecters of the superiour Tribunal of the Mandarins The second Hu Co or Inspecters of the superiour Tribunal of the Exchequer and so of the rest Every Classis is compos'd of several Mandarins all of the seventh Order and all equal so that there is not one no not so much as he that keeps the Seal of the Tribunal who has any superiority over the rest of his Brethren Their business is to reprehend the King himself for any miscarriages of his Government and there are some so resolute and undaunted that they will rather expose themselves to Death and Banishment than forbear when they have Truth on their side which they will tell him sometimes to his face and sometimes in writing without any mincing of the matter And of this freedom as we meet at present with several examples so is there a far greater number to be seen in the Chinese Histories Many times also it happens that the Kings will amend their defects and magnificently reward those that have been so liberal of their Reproofs They are also entrusted to inspect the Disorders of the six superiour Tribunals and to inform the King by private Memorials The King likewise makes choice of the Mandarins of this Tribunal for the execution of several Orders of Importance that require Secrecy And every year he culls out three to be Visitors The first of which is call'd Siun Cim who visits all the Merchants of the Court or in the City of Pe Kim and takes notice of all Merchandize that is either sophisticated or prohibited The second is call'd Sium Cam who visits the Burners of the King's Lime The third who is call'd Sium xi nim ym is present at all the General Musters The Mandarins of this Tribunal are only of the seventh Order however their Authority and Power is very large The Tribunal call'd Him gin su consists of several Mandarins all Doctours all equal and all of the seventh Order like those of the preceding Tribunal Their Employment is to be sent abroad either as Envoys or Embassadours either to distant parts of the Empire or to Foreign States As when the King sends them to carry Titles of Honour to the Mother or Wise of a Mandarin slain in the Wars or after he has done the King and Kingdom eminent Service in the discharge of his Employment Or when the Emperour is pleas'd to confer or confirm the Title of King to the Prince of Corea or any other neighbouring Sovereign These Embassies are very honourable and sometimes no less gainfull The Tribunal of Tai li su i. e. of Supream Reason and Justice is so call'd because they are entrusted to examine all doubtfull and intricate Causes and to confirm or annihilate the Sentences of other Tribunals especially in reference to Crimes that concern the Estates the Honour and Life of the King's Subjects The President of this Tribunal is of the third Order his two Lateral Judges or Assessors of the fourth and the other inferiour Mandarins of which there are a great number of the fifth and sixth When the Tribunal of Crimes condemns to death any person of Quality or other person of mean condition and that the King finds the reason of the Sentence dubious he refers it always to San fa su which is as it were his Council of Conscience Then three Tribunals assemble together the Tai li su the Tu li yuen or the superiour Tribunal of Visitors and the Tribunal of Crimes All these together re examine the Process in the presence of the Accusers and the Party accused and many times revoke the Sentence For that the Prosecutor not having gain'd the Tribunal of Crimes nor having Money nor cunning enough to corrupt the other two they judge according to Reason and Justice and generally the King confirms the Decision of those three Tribunals The Tribunal Tum chim su takes care to have the King's Orders and Commands proclaim'd at Court and diligently to inform themselves of the calamities oppressions and necessities of the People and exactly and privately to inform the Emperour They are likewise entrusted to send to the King or else to bury in silence as they shall deem most proper all the Memorials of the Miâ—…itary Mandarins and the Letters of the fourteen Provinces of the Veteran Mandarins who are dispens'd with from all manner of Employments of the People Souldiers and Strangers that come from Foreign Countries The Mandarins of the Province of Pekim present their Memorials immediately to the King himself never taking notice of this Tribunal the President of which is of the third Order of Mandarins his first Assessor of the fourth his second Assessor of the fifth and the rest of the inferiour Mandarins of the sixth and seventh Order The Tribunal Tai cham su is as it were an Associate and Assistant to the supream Tribunal of Ceremonies The President is of the third Order his Assessors of the fourth and the rest of the Mandarins of which there are a great number of the fifth and sixth Orders They take particular care of the King's Musick and Sacrifices and in regard these Sacrifices are perform'd in the Temples dedicated to the Heavens the Earth the Sun and Moon to Rivers and Mountains this Tribunal takes care of all those Piles which are very vast and magnificent They also take care of the married Bonzes who are generally Alchymists and Fortune-tellers Two of these Mandarins are appointed to give orders for the Reception and Lodging of Strangers that come to Court. Lastly they have the oversight of the publick Courtesans of the places of their Habitation and of those that govern and direct them in their infamous Trade The Chineses to shew their aversion to those miserable Creatures call them â—…am â—…a that is to say Men that have utterly bury'd in oblivion eight Vertues viz. Obedience to theâ—… Fathers and Mothers Affection for their Brethren and other Kindred Fidelity toward their Prince Sincerity Honesty Justice Modesty Chastity and all manner of laudable Sciences and Customâ—… This is the signification of those two words which the Chineses mark with only two letters by which it is easie to see the Force of their Language and the esteem which they have for Vertue though for the most part they follow their own deprav'd Inclinations that carry them headlong into vice The Tribunal Quan lo su or of the Royal Inns takes care for the provision of Wine Cattel and all other things necessary for the King's Sacrifices Banquets and for the entertainment of such as are treated at the King's charges whether Chineses or Foreigners This Tribunal is an Associate to that of the Ceremonies The President is of the
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