die skies with heir coihplaints,*'the conqueror enters. Of this Stêfie th e '
plate is a representation. : He approaches her with respect» addresses h er iti
a gentle tone, attempts to soothe her sorrows, talks of love and adoration $
and, like Richard thfe TMrd and Lady Ahne in Shakspeare, in less than
half an hour prevails on her to dry up her tears., to forget a dead husband*
àûd tô 'éMsdle hefSelf with a living Une. ,Thè persuasiohs of her dWn’-àf-
fic'êrs and attendants in favour of the general, have more weight with the
lady than the s'upplicating priest, who,* prostrate on the ground, intreats
her not to marry the murderer of her husband. The piece concludes- as
usual with the nuptials, and a grand procession.
The dfeSSes worn by the ancient Ghinese:are still prfeserved in the
drama. -The feud o f ïnu-sic has its situation am thte back part of the’stage-;
there is no change of scene ; and, in general, the front- of the theâtrè ’is'ex-
posedto the opfen air.
XXXI. View o f a Pai-loo, or, as h'hasinsuâJly befenea^d.’-a triumphal
ardh. Thèse sort n f 'ornsffiîëftteà 'building's are ccftnrnonrirr^ewiy,^i*t'<iif
Ch in a ; some of-sttine, and -others tff Wood. Most ‘ôfAem"*Bave'beefi
erected at the public expence , for perpetuating thé memory of such'persons
as have rendered public services to fhèir country, b u t been
CkK'saiaeær4iiàhi&. of
a similar kind, the characters'dendte them to'be -of no ffirffiér'dise than to
point dût,’’like Our guide-poèts, the distances u f plaeesTromMfc spot -on
which they Stand. The btfildihg b ir the Mghfcfeand-coraer-®f die plaie is
la't&Wer ofToMfess; 'a h d th a t 'o a lf e left,‘a .p^ce'&theatrical-s^iiWBte-
"ridhs, which afe always entirely Open in front. In-the'etstreymear the foot
o f the triumphal arch, the punishment'of the .bastinado, or bamboo, lis inflicting
on a person for mribëhaviêaW; ^ o f ( i e r ’0f;ait:ivil®a'agistrate.
XXXII. A ‘Quan, Or Mandarine; bearing a letter frontthe -Emfreror of
China. These may be considered as exact portraits of both man and horse,
The letter bound across' his shoulders in a wooden case, covered with
silk, was one from the Emperor of China to the King of Great Britain, and
was carried before the .Embassador along the paved road from Pekin to
f!o®g,-fchao. i AH passengers on o n meeting the pj^oef(charged
With this imperial letter, were sbljg&'i'stel shew proper respect tp it, by
stepping o ff die paved ugld, .and if on horseback ,-hy jdi^gJPuiUiqg, while it
passed.
X X X III. A view near the city ofLin-tsin, on the banks of the grand
canal. The principal building in this view is a Ta, or Pagoda; as it has
usually but improperly been called. These buildings generally consist of
five, seven, or nine stories, and as many projecting roofs.; and their height
is from four to seven of their diameters. They are never intended for places
of religious worship, as the Indian term given to them seems to imply, and
as has been generally imagined; hut have either been erected as monuments
to the memory of some great person or .event, or is merely as objects
for ’the termination of a .view; and for this latter puipose they very'frequently
crown the summit of the highest hills. The buildings on each side
of the .plate, with pillars erected in front, arc houses; inhabited by public
officers of the district;: and. the figures, are groups of peasantry assembling
on die banks of the canal, to see the-barges of the Embassy pass. 4
XXXIV. Plan and section of a sluice, orfloodgate, on the grand canal
of China,, and of an inclined plane between two canals of different levels.
The canals of China ha^eCiio locks, like those of Europe.; and their floodgates
are totally different. These consist nterely of a lew planks let down
separately, one upon another, by grooves, put into the sides of ffie-twogstone
abutments' that project from each hank,, leaving a.sjijafe i n the middle just
wide enough to admit a passage-foi- tfih;l ai'gest of their vessels. As few parts
of a Chinese canal are level, but have .a current one way or the .other, the-
use of these sluices, assisted by others cut through the sides of the banks,, is to