without either the eafe or elegance o f good-breeding. An inferior
makes a iham attempt to fall on his knees before his fuperior, and
the latter afiecls a flight motion to raife him. A common falutation
has its mode prefcribed by the court o f ceremonies ; and any
negleil or default in a plebean towards his fuperior is puniihable
by corporal chaftifement, and in men in office by degradation or
fulpenfion. In making thus the exterior and public manners o f
the people a concern o f the legiflature, fociety in many refpedts
was confiderably benefited. Between equals, and among the
lower orders o f people, abufive language is very unufual, and
they feldom proceed to blows. I f a quarrel ihould be carried
to this extremity, the conteft is rarely attended with more ferrous
confequences than the lofs o f the long lock o f hair growing
from the crown o f the head, or the rent o f their clothes. The
adt o f drawing a fword, or prefenting a piftol, is fufficient to
frighten a common Chinefe into convulfions ; and their warriors
ihew but few fymptoms o f bravery. The Chinefe may
certainly be confidered among the mod timid people on the
face o f the earth ; they feem to poflefs neither perfonal courage,
nor the leaf! preience o f mind in dangers or difficulties j confequences
that are derived probably from the influence o f the
moral over the phyfical character. Yet there is perhaps no
country where acts o f filicide occur more frequently than in
China, among the women as well as the men : fuch a its being
maiked with no difgrace, are not held in any abhorrence. The
government, indeed, ihould feem to hold out encouragement to
fuicide, by a very common pradice o f mitigating the fentence
o f death, in allowing the criminal to be his own executioner.
T he
The late viceroy o f Canton, about two years ago, put an end
to his life by fwallowing his ftone fnuff-bottle, which ftuck in
the oefophagus; and he died in excruciating agonies.
In a government, where every man is liable to be made a flave,
where every man is fubjedt to be flogged with the bamboo at
the nod o f one o f the lowed rank o f thofe in office, and where
he is compelled to kifs the rod that beats him or, which amounts
to the fame thing, to thank the tyrant on his knees for the trouble
he has taken to correct his morals, high notions o f honour
and dignified fentiments are not to be expedted. Where the
maxims o f the government commanding, and the opinions o f
the people agreeing, that corporal punilhment may be in-
flidted, on the ground o f a favour conferred upon the perfon
punifhed, a principle' o f humiliation is admitted that is well
calculated to exclude and obliterate every notion o f the dignity
o f human nature.
A flave, in fadt, cannot be difhonoured. The condition it-
felf o f being dependent upon and fubjedt to the caprice o f
another, without the privilege o f appeal, is fuch a degraded Hate
o f the human fpecies, that thofe who are unfortunately reduced
to_ it have no further ignominy or fenfe of ihame to undergo.
The vices o f fuch a condition are innumerable, and they
appear on all occafions among this people celebrated (rather un.
defervedly I think) for their poliihed manners and civilized government.
A Chinefe merchant will cheat, whenever an opportunity
offers him the means, becaufe he is confidered to be
a A 2 incap ab le