OUR YOUTH'S DEPARTMENT.

CHINA AND THE CHINESE.

As the present state of China is exciting much attention among Christians, and great events are likely to follow from the rebellion which now agitates that vast empire, it may be interesting to give our young friends some information respecting the Chinese and their country. By referring to the map of the world our young friends will see that China is a very extensive country, occupying the eastern portion of Asia. Perhaps there is no country under Heaven which is invested with greater interest than China.

In this country, you know, we think ourselves to be a great nation, and so we are. In intelligence, morality, and commercial enterprise, we stand, perhaps, on a loftier eminence than any other nation under the blue vault of Heaven. But what will you think when I tell you that China, or the Chinese empire, is much larger than the whole of Queen Victoria's dominions, and that the Emperor of China sways the sceptre over one third of the entire population of the globe?

Very extravagant notions prevail throughout the empire on the subject of its antiquity. Like some other nations, China has what may he called a fabulous history. The empire is said to be the offspring of Yang (Heaven) and Yin (Earth). After the Heavens and the Earth were sepa rated, it is stated that Pwankoo appeared, and that he reigned over the empire for the period of 45,000 years. Pwankoo, it is then stated, was followed by three other emperors, whose names are so difficult for one not acquainted with the Chinese language either to remember or to pronounce, that I must be excused from mentioning them; and the united reigns of these three emperors are made to fill up another period of 36,000 years in their history. There are many other fabulous and foolish stories told in China, respecting the origin and antiquity of the empire; nothing before the time of the Emperor Woo-wong, who reigned about 1,100 years before the birth of Christ, is worthy of credit.

You have all, I dare say, either heard or read about the Great Wall of China. After the Emperor Wooowongy China was governed for about 800 years by the race of Chow. Under the Chow dynasty, it is said, the empire began greatly to improve. The Tsin dynasty followed; and it was under

this dynasty, and somewhere about 230 years before the Christian era, that the Great Wall was constructed with a view to prevent the frequent invasions of the Tartars. The wall itself is about 25 feet in height, and in breadth is sufficient to admit of six horsemen to ride abreast upon it. The whole length of the wall, with all its windings, is thought to be near 1,500 miles, running all along the three northern provinces of Pekeli, Shausi, and Shensi, crossing hills, and rivers, and marshes, and sandy hollows, such as, in some places, would appear utterly incapable of admitting a founda tion for so weighty a structure. What a magnificent undertaking! and how wonderful, considering the crossing of hills and the sandy hollows along which the structure has been erected, that such a mass of stone, and brick, and mortar, could have been conveyed thither; or that the Chinese could so successfully construct vast forts on such spots, or even attempt to raise the smallest buildings. To assist our view of the extent of this wall, it has been estimated that the mass of matter of which it is composed, including its 3,000 square towers, "is more than sufficient to surround the globe with two walls, each six feet high, and two thick."

For the accomplishment of this stupendous undertaking, almost every third man throughout the whole empire was employed; and being but poorly supplied with provisions, many of them died in the work. Hence the Chinese, when speaking of the Great Wall, call it "The ruin of one generation, and the salvation of thousands." But alas! how vain is the help of man! and the most powerful barriers which he may erect for his defence and safety, how utterly insufficient are they, unless the blessing of the Most High rest upon them! Tsinshicohang, thinking to fix up a powerful barrier against the invasions of the Tartars, set about the erection of this magnificent structure; but the Tartars, notwithstanding this brick and mortar defence, have several times invaded the empire, and even at the present day a Tartar is on the throne..

The people of China are a very superstitious people. That, perhaps, is not at all to be wondered at when it is considered that they are without the Bible that blessed book which alone reveals the character of the true God, and the proper method of worshipping him. The form of religion. which probably prevails most throughout the empire is Buddhism, or Boodhism, the founder of which is said in Burmese books to have been a son of one of the kings of Benares, and that he flourished about 600 years before the Christian era. The gods which the Boodhists worship are the three

precious Boodhas, very singular looking idols, "carved by the cunning skill of the workman," and they are usually represented half naked, with woolly hair, in a sitting posture, one holding an egg in his lap, one adorned with a sacred thread, and one with his finger upraised, as though employed in the work of instruction.

Were you, my young readers, to be transported some Sabbath morning from the neat and comfortable chapel in which you assemble to worship, to one of the thousands of temples which are erected in China to the worship of Boodha, I can well conceive what would be your amazement as you crossed its portals and cast your eye around upon its furniture. Instead of the pulpit and the Bible, and the sacramental table, you would see the three precious Boodhas of whom I have been speaking, set forth to your view; and in the front of them, and on either side, you would behold other singular looking images one of which they call the Goddess of Mercy, another the God of War, and the other the Protectress of Seamen. Your attention would next be directed to a high table standing before these idols, on which candles and incense are placed; and in the centre of the table you would see a large iron cauldron for burning gilt paper in. You feel amused, I dare say, with such a representation of the interior and furniture of a Boodhist temple, and especially at the idea of the priest burning gilt paper before the precious Boodhas, surrounded with lighted candles and burning incense, as an acceptable sacrifice. But, dear children, let us lift up our hearts in grateful praise to that Providence which has favoured us with clearer light and superior privileges; and, in our prayers, let us not forget to make mention of China and the devotees of Boodhas, that at a period not far distant they may be brought to embrace "the gospel of the blessed God."

Boodhism, however, although the general religion of the empire, is not the only system by which the people are enslaved. Other forms of religion prevail, and sacrifices and worship are offered to other gods than to the precious Boodhas. Confucius was an eminent philosopher, born under the Chow dynasty, about 552 years before the Christian era. According to the precepts of this philosopher, children are bound to offer sacrifices to their deceased parents, and hence, in the 1,560 temples which are dedicated to Confucius in the Chinese empire, offerings are presented by children to their parents on the anniversary of their death, as also on what is called the annual feast of the tombs. Would you believe it, my young readers, that these very wise, yet very

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superstitious people-the followers of Confucius-believe those who have departed this life require offerings of food, &c., for their sustenance? Yet such is really the fact. Well, you say, but how is food to be conveyed to them? We never heard of such a thing, that children should present offerings of food to support deceased parents. This is the way these very wise people get over the difficulty: the spirits only of the departed, they say, feed on the provisions offered up, and they are contented with the more subtle and imperceptible parts of the food, leaving the remainder to be devoured by the worshippers. Dr. Medhurst gives the following description of these extraordinary offerings:-These offerings, says he, consist of fruit and confectionery, with rice and vegetables, piled up in basons and baskets, which, to the eye, appear full to overflowing, but, in reality, he tells us, the hollow of each vessel is filled with coarse paper or plaintain stalk, and the provisions are only thinly scattered over the top. Did you ever hear of such a thing? and yet this is the true character of Heathenism. In their holiest exercises you observe the practice of deception and hypocrisy. They would make the spirits of the departed believe that an abundance of provision has been offered, when just the tops only of the basins and the baskets have been thinly scattered over! And on being remonstrated with for the deception, Dr. Medhurst tells us, their only reply is, that the spirits invited to the feast know no better.

But this is not all. Those who wish to benefit their departed friends must not only feed them once a year, but they must supply them with cash for unavoidable expenses: and how is this to be done? The following is the plan adopted :-Small pieces of paper are procured, about four inches square, and in the middle are fastened patches of tin foil, or gilt leaf, to represent gold and silver money. Fire is then set to the paper; and it is believed by these poor deluded followers of Confucius that, whilst burning, the patches of tin foil or gilt leaf are transformed into real money, and that it passes through the smoke into the hands of their relatives in the invisible state.

In addition to the sects of Boodha and Confucius, there is a third-that called Ta-on. But I must close. The heart is made sad to think that so vast a nation, comprehending about 365 millions out of the 900 millions of the earth's population, are thus sunk in superstition and vice.

With the editor's permission, I will resume this sketch of China and the Chinese in the next number of the JUVENILE.

J. H.

EARLY RISING.

"Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet

With charm of earliest birds."-MILTON.

In order that our youth of both sexes may become wise and useful men and women they must be early risers.

Consider the advantages of early rising with respect to health. Nothing tends so much to invigorate the frame. The genial air of the morning braces the nerves, strengthens the lungs, and exhilarates the spirits; but the lazy custom of lying late and long in bed beclouds the understanding, impedes the circulation, generates diseases of various sorts, but especially nervous disorders.

The face once glowing with health retains a sickly paleness; the frame once strong and lusty as an eagle, trembles enfeebled by disease.

With respect to devotion. No season affords such matter for praise as the morning. The body, raised refreshed and strengthened, the preservation from the many dangers of the night, the peace in which we lay down, and the safety in which we have risen up, are abundant causes of astonishment and gratitude. The state of man when asleep, the striking resemblance between sleep and death, the lively picture of the morn of the resurrection, which our rising from a bed of repose portrays, afford abundant subjects for reflection. "He," says Bishop Taylor, "who is in earnest in the work of salvation will take advantage of the sweet hour of prime, before the busy world are awake, to perform his devotions, and set himself in order for the business of the day."

Its necessity to the despatch of business. In every business | there is a multiplicity of affairs which should be laid out in order, and arranged in a regular train. This requires clearness and precision, and for this no season is so opportune as the morning. The student has a more powerful considera tion to prevail on him to adopt this wholesome practice, the extension of his time, which he can employ for the improve ment of his understanding. The kings of Egypt sensible of its importance that at daybreak, when the head is clearest and the thoughts most unperplexed, they read the letters they received, to form a more just and distinct ides of the affairs that were to come under consideration that day.

were so

But consider its pleasures. The sun now rises from his couch, and by his vivifying beams dispels the mists that overhang the face of nature. Each hedge, each tree, each shrub re-echoes the notes of warbling songsters. The