H istorical
E pochs.
Antiquities.
greateft princes who hawfitied the Chinefe throne! /Th^Mandfliursi .
tö'the nöïth of’China repeatedly influenced ithe fucceffionl to the empire
^ ? but the;MönguIsunfier his fucceffors feized.the five
northern provinces. ’Höaïtftrig, who^beganrtp reign 'A. D. 1627, was
the-laft prince óf the Chinefe;.dynafties. -Some unfuccefsfolwars againft
theMandflhte&Thad-rendered.this.emperor m^ai|<^oly andofugU.and
infurreaions arofe, the moft formidable bring condqdfcedby two chiefs
L i and Tchang. The former befieged Pekin, -which wasffur^enrd e ^
by the: general difcontent, and the.empetbr retiring .io haarden firft
flew his daughter with his febre, and afterwards han,ged-tlrimlrif on a--
jj-ee,,having only-lived 36 years. The uforper. Teemed, fipnly feated on
tjie throne, when a prinqe of the royal family invited t^e l^andlhurs,
who advanced under their kin^Tfong Te. The Mandfour mon|cji-
had; fcarcely entered China when he died* and his fon-of fix, years of
'age.was declared emperor, the regency being.,ëntrufletï to his^uncle^
T h i s y o u n g prince, named Chun-Tchig, was the firft emperor_of the
prefent dynafty, and has been followed by four princes-ef the fame
Mandfhör family.
Among the remains of Chiaefe^ antiquity may be mentioned >the éqins
óf thé ancient dynafiiesi of which arranged cabinets are; formed by the
curious natives. Du Halde haspublifhcd manyi ofthefe ancient corns,
and to i is work the reader- is referred. :Tbere are alfo feveralS pagodas,
or ornamented towers, ..fometimes ereflted in. commemoration o f great
events; many temples,, which are low buildings:.pf.a; different conftrucr
tion from the pagodasand fome triumphal arches,'which boaft- con-*
fiderable antiquity. -
But the chief remain ofiancient art in. China is that ftupendous wall,
extending acrofs the northern boundary,’ This.' work, which is defer?
edly efteemed among the grandeft labours of art, is cdndufted over
foe fummits of high mountains, fome of ydnch rife to. the height of
5225 feet, acrofs the deepeft vales, over wide rivers by-means of arches';
and in many parts is doubled or trebled to command important paffes:
and at the diftancé of almoflr every hundred yards is a tower or mafly
i Sir G . Staunton, ü, 360, 8vo,
4 baftion.
baftion.. The extent.is computed at miles; -but in.fome parts of- Antiqui-
finaller- danger ' it jiiàï equally -.ftrong^or cdfriplefo, "and towards the TIES‘ ’
N. W. -only a rampart o f earth. For the pretife height and dimenfions
o f -this amazing fortification the reader is referred to-the work already
qùotfed, whéncetitrirbpears’ that near Koopekoo the wjftT'is 25 feet in
height, dnd at the top about 1|| feet thick fome of the towers, which
are fquare, are 48 feet' high,’and' aboil t* 46 feet wide. The ftone employed
in the.foundations, angles, &c. is a ftrong grey granite ; but the
greateft part confifts of bluifti bricks, and the mortar is remarkably pure
.and whitè, • 1
Sir George Staunton considers the era of this great barrier as. abfo-
lutely ascertained, and. he afterts - that it has éxifted?far-:tw6 thoufand
years. In this afleveratiom he feems to- have followed Du Halde*who |
informs us that “ this prodigious work was conftruifted, 215 years before*
the birth of Chrift, by the orders of the; fir ft emperor of the family
of Tfia, to proterif three large provinces *from thè irruptions of the Tatars.”
9 But in the hiftory of China, contained in his firft volume, he
afcribes this érection to thé fécond' emperer of the-dynafty. of Tfin,
namely Chi Hoang Ti and the date immediately preceding,the narrative
tif this, conftruriion is the,, year/ 1:37* before the birth of Chri f t ' . ,
Hence fufpicjons may well ari-le, not only1 concerning thè‘ epoch of this
work, but even with regard to the purity and preciftoh ■ of the Ghtnefe ;
annals in general. Mr. Bell, who refidéd for fome time, in China, and
whofe travels are defervedly efteemed for the accuracy of their intelligence,
afiures us” that this wall was built abouf -tioo years ago, (that is
about the year, i by tine of the- empërors; 'tti'prè'vent Ahë, fréquent
inc-urfions of the Monguls, whole numerous ^cavalry ufod i’to; ravage the
provinces, and efcape before an army could be affembled :tti\ oppofe
them. Renaudot obferves that no Oriental geographer, above-300 -years
in antiquity, mentions this wall:1*’ and; itis4 forprifing that it fliould .
have efcaped Marco Polo; who,<Tuppofing that*hti!hkd entered China
by a different routé, can hardly be conceived; diirihg-his long refideuce
r 'v Tûme u.Jÿ.'54, ; , 10 Tome I- 34b,.
t ” Travels-ÎK n a . 8vo. >* ' ’ •' 11 U t fupra, 137.
in