THE CHINESE MANDARIN.

WE suppose most of our young friends have heard of the Chinese, who are a very singular people, living at the other end of the world. They are very numerous; some say three hundred millions, or one-third of the whole earth's population. And they are a very clever people in many things, but, alas for them! they know not God. Missionaries, however, from England and America, have gone to instruct them in the knowledge of the gospel; and the Holy Scriptures have been translated into their curious language.

On the opposite page is a representation of one of the great men of that land, who are called Mandarins. The Religious Tract Society has published a beautiful book with many pictures, called "The People of China," from which we have taken a few extracts. The engraving on the opposite page represents a Mandarin sitting attended by his servant.

"Mandarins and official persons are carried in their sedans by four bearers; they are likewise accompanied by a train of attendants, who are marshalled in two files before the chair. Two of these carry gongs, on which they strike at regular intervals; two others carry chains, which they jingle in concert; and two more are armed with the bamboo, or bastinado. Others there are, who utter a long-drawn shout at intervals, to denote the approach of the great man; while the retinue is made up of servants and other followers, some of whom carry red umbrellas of dignity; and others, large red boards, on which the titles of the officer are inscribed. The populace who meet this procession, are compelled to stand aside, with the arms hanging close to their sides, and their eyes on the ground. A departure from this custom

would insure them an infliction of the bastinado, without any ceremony."

As our young readers, the boys and girls of the British Isles, may be pleased to know something about the amusements of the Chinese, we give the following from the same interesting volume :—

"The Chinese, living in uninterrupted peace, and bearing no part in public transactions, relieve the dull monotony of their lives by games at once frivolous and puerile. This contrariety in the national character of the Chinese compared with that of Europeans, as well as other customs, has been thus noticed in a work printed at Macao:-' On my landing, the first object that attracted my attention was a military mandarin, who wore an embroidered petticoat, with a string of beads round his neck, and who besides carried a fan; and it was with some dismay I observed him mount on the right side of his horse. I was surrounded by natives, all of whom had the hair shaven from the forepart of the head, while a portion of them permitted it to grow on their faces. On my way to the house prepared for my reception, I saw two Chinese boys discussing with much earnestness who should be the possessor of an orange. They debated the point with much gesture, and at length, without venturing a combat, sat down and divided the orange equally between them. At that moment my attention was drawn by several old Chinese, some of whom had grey beards, and nearly all of them wearing huge goggling spectacles. A few were chirruping to singing birds, which they carried in bamboo cages, or perched on a stick. Others were catching flies to feed the birds; and the remainder of the party seemed to be delightfully employed in flying paper kites; while a group of boys were gravely looking on, and regarding these innocent occupations of their seniors with the most serious and gratified attention.'

One of the few athletic diversions of the Chinese takes place on the occasion of a public festival, held on the fifth day of the fifth moon, which usually occurs in June. Long narrow boats, built for the purpose, and manned by from forty to eighty men with paddles, meet in the rivers of China, and race against each other with great heat and emulation. They row to the sound of the gong, and the paddles keep time to its beat. In their contests accidents frequently occur from the upsetting of the boats, which, from their great length, are called 'dragon boats.'

Another entertainment is given in the feast of lanterns. This takes place on the first full moon of the new year, and it is a display of ingenuity and taste in the construction and mechanism of a variety of lanterns made of silk, varnish, horn, paper, and glass; some of which are supplied with moving figures, of men galloping on horseback, fighting, or performing various feats, together with representations of birds, beasts, and other living creatures, all in full motion.

The Chinese are celebrated for their fire-works. Some of these are ingenious and entertaining, on account of the variety of moving figures which they exhibit. Such are the 'drum,' which is a cylindrical* case, containing a multitude of figures so contrived as to drop in succession on strings, and remain suspended in motion during the explosion of fire-works contained within the cylinder; and their figures of boats, which are constructed so as to float upon the water by means of a stream of fire issuing from the stern. The brilliancy and skill displayed in these contrivances, however, are inferior to those exhibited in European fire-works, and their rockets are of very indifferent manufacture.

Dramatic entertainments are frequently given at public feasts, for which purpose some of the Chinese

* round.

officers of state have private theatres in their houses. Scenery seems to be altogether dispensed with; on which Barrow observes:- The want of scenery is sometimes supplied by a very unclassical figure, which, just the reverse of the personifications of grammarians, considers persons to represent things. If, for instance, a walled city is to be stormed, a parcel of soldiers, piling themselves on a heap across the stage, are supposed to represent the wall over which the storming party is to scramble.' The same writer, after having described the frivolous nature of the Chinese drama, adds, of their general diversions, in continuation: In short, the greater part of the amusements of the Chinese are at the present day of a nature so puerile, or so gross and vulgar, that the tricks and the puppet-shows, which are exhibited in a common fair of one of the country towns in England, may be considered as comparatively polished, interesting, and rational. In sleight of hand, in posture-making, ropedancing, riding, and athletic exercises, they are much inferior to Europeans; but in the variety of their fire-works, they perhaps may carry the palm against the whole world. In every other respect the amusements of the Chinese appear to be of a low and trifling nature, neither suited to the affected gravity of the government, nor to the generally supposed state of civilization among the people.'

Conjuring, sleight of hand, and other species of dexterity, form the in-door amusements of the Chinese. These are invariably practised at feasts, if theatrical entertainments are not available. The mind left uninformed, thus seeks enjoyment in the most foolish amusements.

Among the out-door amusements of the Chinese is a species of shuttlecock played with the feet; the hand being allowed occasionally to assist in the game. Kite-flying is also universally practised, and in this

the Chinese excel all other people, both in the various constructions of their kites, and the heights to which they make them rise. They are constructed of paper made of refuse silk, and split bamboo. They assume every possible shape, and sometimes it is impossible, when they have reached the highest point of ascent, to distinguish them from birds. When ascended, by means of round holes, supplied with vibrating cords, on which the current of the air acts, they issue a humming noise similar to the hum of a swarm of bees.

The nature of the amusements of the Chinese is the same generally, both in the palace and the cottage. Farces, tumbling, and fire-works, are the usual diversions with which the emperor and his guests are regaled. In this respect, the Tartar dynasty has become much degenerated. In the days of Kang-he and Kien-loong, hunting expeditions and falconry were in vogue, by which the hardy and warlike habits of the Mantchoos were maintained; but these are now laid aside. The only amusement, exhibiting the spirit of the Tartars, now practised by the emperor's court, is skating. A scene of this description has been thus described by Van Braam, who was one of the Dutch mission which proceeded to the emperor's court soon after Lord Macartney's embassy-The emperor made his appearance on a sort of sledge, supported by the figures of four dragons. This machine was moved about by several mandarins, some dragging before, and others pushing behind. The four principal ministers of state were also drawn upon the ice in their sledges by inferior mandarins. Whole troops of civil and military officers soon appeared, some on sledges, some on skates, and others playing at football on the ice, and he that picked up the ball was rewarded by the emperor. The ball was then hung up in a kind of arch, and several mandarins shot at it, in passing by on skates, with their bows and arrows.