SUSPENSION OF ALL BUSINESS.

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the whole of the local mandarins and officers assemble in a body at an early hour in the morning, and visit this temple in great state. Upon their arrival at the temple, they all koo-tow before a yellow screen (which indicates the Emperor's place), knocking their crania on the ground nine times; this ceremony is also performed upon the anniversary of the Emperor's birth.

On the New Year's Day complimentary visits are paid, visiting cards and presents being sent from one mandarin, or head of a family to another, provided they are not in mourning for a parent, for during the time of mourning visits of ceremony can neither be paid nor received.

For nearly a month all business is suspended, and the tribunals are closed throughout the empire; this is termed shutting up the seals, from the fact that at the termination of the old year, the seals appertaining to each tribunal, are locked up in a chest devoted to the purpose, with much form and ceremony; and the seals are not removed from the chest until the termination of the holidays, when business is resumed. During these holidays the shops are closed, and no business is transacted, the time being devoted to festivity, amusements, and visiting; the houses being most gaily decorated with flowers; bouquets and presents of flowering plants, edibles, tea, silk and curiosities being interchanged amongst friends and relatives. Large sums of money are expended in fire-works, at this season, but the finest display is on the night of the Feast of Lanterns, as every dwelling, from the bamboo hut with mud walls, to the

Emperor's palace with marble halls, are all illuminated with lanterns of every size and shape; the lanterns of the poor costing only a few cash, whilst those of the rich are worth many dollars. We have in our chapter descriptive of Canton given an account of many of these lanterns, their extraordinary forms, modes of manufacture, materials of which they are composed, and the practice adopted of sending lanterns as presents, or offerings from equal to equal, or from inferior to superior. At the end of this feast a grand pyrotechnic display takes place, either in the court-yard of the better class of residences, or in the street, before the abodes of the middle and lower classes; each one trying to outdo his neighbour in the magnificence of the display, strangeness of the devices, and brilliancy of their respective fire-works. The air is illumined with myriads of sparks, and the eye rests upon thousands of grotesque monsters, delineated in many coloured flames.

A missionary, who was at the court of Pekin in the seventeenth century, gives a most vivid, and curious description of the feast of lanterns (which is held the first full moon of the new year), and display of fire-works, which he witnessed at the court of Pekin :-"These lanterns are very great, some are composed of six panes, the frame is made of japanned wood adorned with gilding; on every square they spread some fine transparent silk, on which is painted, flowers, trees, animals, and human figures; others are round, and made of transparent horn of a blue colour, and extremely handsome; they put in these lanterns several lamps and a great number of candles,

THE FEAST OF LANTERNS.

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whose light make the figures look very lively, the top of this machine is crowned with divers carved works, from whence hang several streamers of satin and silk of many colours. Several represent spectacles very proper to amuse and divert the people; you see horses galloping, ships sailing, armies marching, dancings, and several other things of the same nature. At other times they cause shadows to appear that represent princes and princesses, soldiers, buffoons, and other characters, whose gestures are so conformable to the words of the folks who are concealed, but who move them with so much artifice that one would think the shadows spoke in reality. That which gives a great splendour to this feast are the fire-works which are seen in all parts of the city, for it is in this that the Chinese are thought to excel. But these matters may be judged of more exactly, from the description of one that the late emperor Kang-ki caused to be made for the diversion of the court, and those missionaries who were in waiting were witnesses of it. The fire-works began with half a dozen large cylinders planted in the earth, which formed in the air as many streams of flame that rose to the height of twelve feet, and fell down again in golden rain, or fire. This spectacle was followed with a covered fire-work carriage supported by two stalks or pillars, from whence proceeded a shower of fire with several lanterns, and sentences wrote in large characters of the colour of burning sulphur. And afterwards half a dozen branched candlesticks, in the form of pillars of divers stories of lights placed in a circle, the light of which was like silver, and which in

VOL. II.

D

a moment turned night into day. At length the emperor with his own hands sets fire to one of the works, and in a short time it was communicated to all sides of the place, which was eighty feet long, and forty or fifty broad. The fire was fastened to several poles and paper figures placed on all sides, from whence proceeded a prodigious number of rockets playing in the air, with a great number of lanterns, and branched candlesticks that were lighted in every place."

Generally, before the commencement of the new year, and during the holidays, robberies and acts of piracy are committed. Many state these criminal acts take place (at this season especially), from the anxiety to defray all claims, or debts; what motive induces any man, to plunder or commit acts of violence, none can tell with accuracy, or pretend to define with certainty; all that is known is, that in China at the close of the old, and commencement of the new year, more robberies take place, and acts of piracy are committed than at any period of the twelve months.

HUMILIATING POSITION OF FEMALES.

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CHAPTER IV.

Woman-Her social and moral position in China-Want of education— Traditions of the subjugation of China-Maimed feet-Personal appearance - Length of nails-Women's apartments-Toilet-tablesSmoking Marriage - Wives - Empress of China - HandmaidsChildren of wives and concubines-Authority of parents over children -Infanticide Foundling hospitals-Extracts from an ancient Chinese philosopher upon the manner of governing the house, and the women's apartments.

WOMAN is placed in a more degraded position in Asia than in any other quarter of the globe, and we believe that in China her humiliation is complete; being rendered more conspicuous, by the extent to which civilization and education has been carried in all connected, with the male population of this vast and mighty empire. In no rank is she regarded as the companion of man, but is treated, and looked upon solely, as the slave of his caprice and passion.

The poorest and lowest male has instruction and education thrust and forced upon him, the most abject being able to educate their offspring gratuitously at the public expense, and it is a matter of surprise when a lad has attained the age of ten years if he cannot read, write legibly, and understand arithmetic (or the use of the swan-paun, which is the calculating machine),