DS 902

.R82
1891
I
 2

Coordinator cf kftn

LIBRAEY
Founder of Ban—II. Century B.C.
 GANCELLEC:i
a, M.

HISTORY OF COREA
Ancient anb Bobern

WITH

DESCRIPTION OF MANNERS AND CUSTOMS,

LANGUAGE AND GEOGRAPHY

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

BY

R EV. JOHN ROSS ,

of?
Seven years resident in Manchuria.

CHEAPER EDITION.

LONDON:

ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW.

1891.

1
JAPAN REFERENCE
LIBRARY
NEW YORK
 \S C;\

Copy -

070$1-1

1Mr 49
 PREFACE.

THE author was made painfully aware, at an early stage of his

residence among the Chinese, of his own all but total ignorance
of this "peculiar people," who are aworld to and in themselves;
and he knows that this ignorance is characteristic of his country-
men. Books written by travellers to China abound; but avisit
to the Celestial Empire no more entitles aman to write on this
people than the knowledge of simple arithmetic warrants aman
to enter the arena of the most abstruse problems of mathematical
astronomy. Travellers relate the odd, the grotesque; for this
only is sufficiently notable to make it impossible to escape their
passing notice. But the knowledge that the Chinese wear
"tails," are olive-eyed, eat birds' nests, and consider bears' paws
the greatest delicacy, no more explains this people than beef-
eating accounts for the history of the English; for it is not from
the eccentricities of a people we can understand them, but by
our knowledge of those principles which they esteem most
highly, and which they are always ready to praise, though perhaps
slow to practice ;—for it is only asmall minority in any country
which is found honestly endeavouring to embody in their life,
up to the measure of their ability, those principles of right
conduct which are all but universally professed by that country.
This knowledge we can acquire only from the national and every
day life of apeople.
vi. PREFACE.

An excellent summary, from which to glean some knowledge

of the Chinese, is the "Middle Kingdom" of Dr. Williams; but
to one ignorant of the Chinese people, it is but a skeleton
sketch, needing flesh and colour to make it a living picture.
Dr. Legge's noble work in his translation of the Chinese classics
provides amore thorough and satisfactory means of judging this
people, for those who are willing to take the pains to draw
inferences, to learn the cause from the effect, and from
philosophical principles to search out the national life producing
those principles. But this is again the work of but a few; for
general readers must have all the thinking done for them.
The present work is an attempt to show what China is, by
drawing, from Chinese national history, as life-like a represen-
tation as the author is able to present of the exact position in
the human family which we must assign to the Chinese people.
This representation should unfold all the various shades of
character which go to make up the Chinese people,—the noble
and the base, the mean and the honourable,—and should picture
the unselfish patriot, as well as the man who acts only with the
view of advancing his own private interests; for all these will
be found in China as in Britain. As Philosophy or Literature
and Government are, and have always been, indissolubly wedded
together in China, we should also thus see Chinese philosophy
exhibited in actual life, and be able to reveal the causes and
explain the process of political revolutions in that country. But
as it would require scores of volumes to detail Chinese universal
history, the author believed his purpose would be most effectually
accomplished by giving an account of the rise and progress of
the reigning dynasty of China, from its earliest dawn to the
zenith of its power. But in preparing materials for this history,
it was found so inextricably blended with the history of
 PREFACE. vii

Liaotung, where it originated, and this again so indissolubly

connected with Corea, that it is deemed advisable to give the
history of Corea and Liaotung in aseparate and introductory
form, and to make it as complete as can be done from the
authorities at the disposal of the author. This plan was all the
more readily adopted, because the recital of the Chinese ancient
history, centering around Liaotung, will suffice to show as much
of the past of China, as will prepare the reader for more easily
comprehending its present, and approximately forecasting its

future.
That future is yet to wield a mighty influence for good or
for evil upon the whole world. The political throes of ancient
China burst up the old Roman empire; and those who know
the internal state of China, are aware that changes are going on
which will make her power more actively felt by the world at
large than ever before. The main condition for the manifes-
tation of that power, is either Truth, which shall teach the
Chinese mutual trust,—or aNapoleon, who shall compel united
action. Christians are especially bound to interest themselves
more in this China, so that when she does appear in her
awakened Samson strength, it may be as a Christian power.
China is still weak, but at the present moment she is assuming
a bold attitude on the borders of Russia; and has compelled
Russia to agree to cede over to her Eastern Turkestan, which
the Russians had declared inalienably" annexed.
In preparing this volume on Corea for the public, the author
had to follow one of two courses,—either to cast the principal
material at his disposal into the smallest possible bulk, and to
give afew essays on the past history of the countries illustrated,
or to present those materials in fuller detail, to be more literally
exact if less interestingly written; and he has chosen the latter.
Viii PREFACE.

The author would recommend the reader to begin with

chapter X, and to become somewhat familiar with the Corean
people, before beginning their past history under the chapters,—
Chaosien, Gaogowli, Sinlo, and Corea. Chapters II, III, and
IV, are given not only because the Ilienbi belonged to the
country called Liaosi, but because they present atrue picture of
the world of China, which has often been represented as a
country whose history is so unifolin and quiet; no wars, no
passions The condition of China represented in those chapters,
and in others of this volume, though not a chronic, is one of
frequent and periodic occurrence.
The two maps, given in the beginning of this volume, are
intended to show the relative positions of States, Provinces, and
Cities, in Corea and Liaotung. The illustrations are inserted to
enable the reader to see modern Corean costumes, and must
by no means be supposed to index the intellectual portion of the
Corean's person, for the paintings are by an indifferent Corean
artist. When names of China proper are given, it were well to
consult a Chinese map, which is sure to be accessible to all
readers. And as the names of Chinese are neither very
euphonious to the ear, nor attractive to the eye,—and as they
are useful only to differentiate individuals, so much only of the
name is used as will suffice to distinguish the various actors
from each other.
 CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.
Page
Aborigines—Sishun—Chaosien—Savages—Immigrants—Bird's-Eye-View . 1

CHAPTER L—CHAOSIEN.

Boundaries—Original Inhabitants—Savages—Civilisation—Nine Yi—Tsin

Great Wall—Chaosien Defeated—Han Conquest of Ch.—Protracted
Siege—Division of Ch.—Mahan—Chunhan—Their Customs—Whi—
Tiny Horses—Wojoo—Wo or Japan—Amazons—Chinese Troubles and
Emigration—Liaotung Faithful—Disorganisation—Universal Anarchy
—Tatars—New Dynasty—Drunkenness—Liaotung Selfish—Emperor
of Woo—Treachery—Revolt and Flight of Woo Exiles— /Rojo° Cash—
Wei against Liaotung—Liaotung Conquered 9

CHAPTER II.—HIENBI.

Huns —Jang Slain — Geographical—Battles — Chinese Weakness — Bao's

Integrity—He Dies—Duty—Hienbi Revolt—Murdered Father-in-law—
Hienbi Divided—Moyoong Kwei—An Imperialistic Hun—Quarrelling
Ministers—Moyoong Han—Literary Refugees—Chinese Cancer—Triple
Alliance—Kwei's Successful Stratagem—Liaotung under Kwei—Kwei
a Chinese Magnate—Moyoong Dissension—Increasing Civilisation—
Dwan Hienbi against Moyoong—Liaotung Revolts and is Recovered—
Duke Yin Defeated and Forsaken—Fratricidal War . . 35

CHAPTER III.—YEN WANG.

King Whang and Prince Stone Tiger—Dwan Swamped—Prussia and

,Austria—Stone Tiger Defeated—Brave Gwan—Title of Yen Wang-
X CONTENTS.

Page
His Capital Loongchung —Enormous Conscription—Mind against
Matter—Casus Belli—Yen or Moyoong against Corea or Gaogowli—
Coreans Defeated, and their Dead King a Hostage—An Army of
Wolves and Foxes—Curious Wooing—Yiiwun Hienbi Defeated by Yen
—Fooyii—Stone Tiger an Emperor—He and Whang Die—Terrible
Massacre of Bearded Men—Yen into China—Night Surprise—Wei and
Yen absorb Chao or Jao—And then Quarrel—Homeric Chief—Yen
Annexes Wei—Three Months' Cannibalism—Faithfulness . . . 59

CHAPTER IV.—IMPERIAL YEN.

Moyoong Becomes Emperor—Dwan Finally Absorbed—Chin Fights Tsin—

A King with aTemper—The Poor Doctor—The Brave Old Archer—A
Powerful Dream—Mixed Blood—Yen Pushes South—Young Yen
Emperor and Gun's Discontent—Yen Dissension—Loyang Falls—The
Hun Dai Wang—Go as Commander—He Dies, and Yen begins to Ebb
—Opium—China and Yen—China and Tsin—Tsin against Yen—Chin
supports Yen—Tsin severely Defeated—Yen Ruled by Women—Prince
Woo's Flight—Yen Taunts and Defeats—Yen Speaks and Chin Acts—
Yen Capital Falls—Yen Collapse—Chin Ambition—A Million of
Soldiers—Chin Ruined—Yen Re-established—Two Yen Kingdoms—
They Fight—The Hunnish Wei—Yen shrinks before Wei—Corea
Growing—Wei in the North, Sung in the South—Feasts and Fights—
'—ilceachery in Yen—Corea to the Rescue—Yen King a Fugitive—Is
Conceited and Murdered—Sung Revenges him—Skill versus Bravery—
Cotemporary with Britannia .Rontana—" Sweetness and Light "—
Effeminate Luxuriousness—Danger Ahead—Inevitable end of Luxurious
Selfishness 85

CHAPTER V.—G-AOGOWLI.

Origin of Corea—Fooyii and its Customs—Gaogowli— Position and Customs

—Growing Audacity—King Goong—Fooyii Interferes— Gaogowli
Defeated—Gaoli Increase—Baiji and Sinlo—Baiji repels Wei—Seventeen
Emperors—Swi Dynasty—Corean King Dies of Fear—His Son Bolder—
Chinese Army and Navy against Gaoli—Baiji suffers—Emperor Yang—
Huge Preparations against Gaoli—Shantung Famishing—Stores—.
Enormous Army—Chinese Xerxes—Corean Fabius—Frightful Defeat—
Second Campaign—Collapse and Silent Retreat—Rebels in China—
Turks besiege Emperor Yang—His Bravo Daughter—Yang's Libraries
and Literary Work—Great Wan—Suicidal Conquest . . ., .122
 CONTENTS. xi

Page-
CHAPTER VI.—SINLO.

Origin of Tang Dynasty—Learning Fostered—Lovely Tribute—Chinese

Spy—Annexing Spirit—The famous Aristocrat, GAISOOWUN—King-
Slayer and Maker—Shantung Poverty—Sinlo begs Chinese Aid—New
Corean Expedition—Imperial Example—Daring Spy—Gaimow Falls—
Bisha or Haichung—Liaotting City and Horse-head Hill—Burning
Tower—Baiyen City—Furious Charge—Generous Conqueror—Gaoli
Provinces—Corean Host—Conceited Commander—Hue Yingwei—
Innumerable Spoils—Emperor's Exultation—Corean Spy—Stubborn
City—A Great Mound—Gallant Coreans—Emperor Mourns—Redeemed
Captives Dancing—Desultory Warfare—Ship-Building—Rest—Kitan
against Corea—Baiji Attacked—Baiji's Patriot Priest—The Famous
Empress—Biter Bit—Japan and Baiji—A Tall Soldier—Military
Rewards—A Fatal Comet—Rigorous Rule—A Terrible Man—Aggressive
War—Military Glory—Historical Novel—A Wonderful Bird—The
Magic Sword—The Staff and the Sword—Centipedes and Gold-Birds .147

CHAPTER VII.—KITAN.

Origin—Turkish Strife—Chi against Kitan —Great Wall Rebuilt—

Troublesome Kitan Chastised—Great Wall Again—Gaoli Crushed,
Kitan Rises—Buddhist Revival—Mogo—" Old Wife" Commander—
Turks Attacked —Kitan King-maker—A Clever Chinaman—The
Remarkable Career of An Looshan—Turkish Chinese Officers—The
"Forbidden" Apartments—China Broken Up—Census of China—
Abaoji and Liao—A Strong-Minded Woman—Election of Chief—A
Dashing Charge—The Iron Dynasty—A Chinese Traveller—Dog-
Kingdom—The Oinos—Spirits versus Spirits • . .19r.

CHAPTER VIII.—Ni:TJUN.

Dynastic Titles—Their Meaning—Bohai—Rival Mogo—Extension of Bohai

—Niijun Helps Corea—Sung and NUjun—Fishing Expedition—A
Proud Youth—Independent NUjun—Origin of Civilisation—Agooda
Aggressive— Gold Dynasty—Kin Overflows— Liao Famines—Two
Kings—Son of Heaven—Liao Struggles—And Dies—Peking Falls—
Sung changes Masters—Tribute—Incompetent Emperor—Liao Ends
and Agooda Dies—A Blushing Prince—Great Wealth and Small
Wisdom—The Cunning Jack—Kin Cross Yellow River—Shansi Falls—
A Brave Officer—Hallam's Mistake—Insane Emperor—Vacant Throne
— SOUTHERN SUNG—Extent of Kin—Universal Mutual Security—Origin
of Kin—The Name China . .. . .229
xii CONTENTS.

Page
CHAPTER IX.—COREA.
Repeopling—The Buddhist Priest—Growth of Gaoli—Eastern Pearls—
Questionable Friendship—Medical Professors—Mongols or Munggoo—
Corea against Japan—Another Brave Buddhist—The "Bright"
Dynasty—Corean Revolution—Modern Capital—Eastern Vikings—
A Lava City—The Neutral Territory—Japanese Romanists against
Corea—A Remarkable Japanese Slave—Chinese to the Rescue—Japanese
Retreat—Manchu Conquest of Corea—Reconquest—Corean Isolation—
Jesuits—First Corean Converts— Romanists Murdered— Reasons—
M. De Bellonet Dethrones Corean King—The "General Sherman "—
"Our Boys "—Corean Future—Important Treaty with Japan—Opium 261

CHAPTER X.—COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

The People—Houses—Kang—Food—Dress—Birth—Small-Pox—Education
—Social Grades—Marriage—Death.— M OURNING RITUAL — Dying—
Dressing Body—Bedding—Coffining—Complete Mourning—Offerings—
Absent Relations—Grave—Funeral—Sacrificial Offerings—Spirits
Offering: First, Second, and Third—Food Offerings—Second and Third
Sacrificial Offerings—End of Heavy Mourning—Change of Garb—
Second Funeral—informing Ancestral Temple—Sorting Grave—
Beautiful Theory 299

CHAPTER XL—RELIGION.
The Supreme—Booldo—Priest—Immortality—Four Sections .355

CHAPTER XIL—GOVERNMENT.
Laws—Punishments—Incognito—Royal Family—Privy Council and Six
Boards—Provincial—Census 361

CHAPTER XIII.—THE COREAN LANGUAGE. 373

CHAPTER XIV.—GEOGRAPHY. 391

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,
 INTRODUCTION.

THOUGH Chinese history carries us far enough back into the

thickening mists of a hoary antiquity when treating of purely
Chinese subjects, it is matter of regret that the historians of the
"Centre" of the Universe treat of their barbarous neighbours
only when the latter come into contact with the Chinese
government by tribute or by war. And even up to the present
moment, Chinese literati have failed to regard ethnography or
philology as subjects worthy of their attention. Max Miiller com-
plains of the ancient Greeks, Hebrews, and Romans, because of
their literary isolation and their pride of race; so the Chinese,
even in this nineteenth century, continue to consider their land as
the centre of the world, outside of which are barbarians, scarcely
distinguishable from each other; their language as the only
civilized medium of communication; and their literature as the
only writings worthy of the serious thought of the scholar.
Hence it is that, though full, and apparently accurate, accounts
are given of China's contact with the various barbarians forming
the "Four Seas" around her, we search in vain for any critical
grappling with either the language or race of the "barbarian"
kingdoms treated of; and only in rare instances is an unsatis-
factory list given of the manners and customs of some of those
peoples. If this is true of the "barbarians" north and west of
China, much more is it true of those of the north-east; which is
all the more regrettable, inasmuch as this region has played, for
many ages, so important apart in the role of Chinese history,
and has had so preponderating an influence over China's fate.
That this region was inhabited long before the Chinese became
anation of any consequence, we have no hesitation in believing;
for we read ancient Chinese history very inaccurately indeed if
it does not imply that the Chinese people were preceded every-
A
2 INTRODUCTION.

where by arace, or races of nomads, whom they gradually drove

out of their agricultural path; and that there was horde upon horde
of such nomads, far beyond the reach of their influence, of whose
very names or existence they were ignorant. It was only in the
thirteenth century that the Chinese first sent an officer to
Formosa; and it is not, therefore, to be wondered at that they
were for many centuries ignorant of the existence of peoples
away in the north and north-east, much farther removed,
separated from them by uncultivated plains and mountain wilds,
more difficult to traverse than the Formosan channel.
There is so much that is apocryphal in the dawning of Chinese
history that, though doubtless based on fact, it is difficult to say
where fact ends and fiction begins. But the notices of the
country improperly called Manchuria are of so general a nature
that there is nothing to question.
Over twenty-three centuries before the Christian era, and four
centuries before Abraham was born, when the paternal govern-
ments of Yao and Shwun are gravely said to have filled the land
of China with the blessings of the golden age, Liaotung, and the
country generally known as Manchuria, was peopled by the
Sishun Shu, or Sooshun, whose descendants at the present
moment rule the destinies of the half of Asia. This ancient
Shun Family is said to have occupied the regions around and
north of Hingking. We are left to infer that the rest of
Liaotung was occupied by them, or possessed only by the deer
and the tiger.
The Chinese entered their present lands from the west,
apparently by the main route along and across the Yellow River,
for the south-west of Chihli, and the northern centre of Shansi,
including Taiyuen, have always been an integral portion of
China proper. When Yil (B.C. 2200) is said to have divided the
land into Nine Chow or Departments, that of la embraced the
south-west of Chihli and the northern centre of Shansi; that of
Tsing included the north-west of Shantung and the south-east
and east of Chihli, extending north into Liaosi. The northern
portion of Ki was afterwards formed into an independent
 SI SHUN. a

Department, called Yowchow,* and the north of Tsing was

called Yingchow, the site of which is placed both in Chihli
and Liaosi; but all the best authorities agree that it was beyond
Shanhaigwan, and consisted of the modern prefecture of
Kingchow. -1- Yowchow was, for many subsequent centuries,

known as Liaosi Kun, or Province of West Liao, and Yingchow

as Liaotung Kun, or Province of East Liao. In reading
Chinese ancient history this has to be particularly noted,
otherwise Liaosi and Liaotung may be taken to signify the
same as now, when they apply to the west and the east of the
Liao river.
It is not till the beginning of the Chow dynasty (12th
century B.C.) that we hear of a kingdom in the south of
Liaotung proper. This was Chaosien, occupying the fine lands
east of Kingchow to Datong gang, including the rivers Liao and
Yaloo. It touched the sea on the south, and extended north
to the borders of the modern Mukden. The people of Chaosien
were, without doubt, the Sishun, who had gradually increased,
and hived off to the south. At that same time there were over
a hundred "kingdoms," or independent clans, east and south-
east of the Bei shwi or Datong gang. These were also, most
probably, various swarms of the savage Sishun. The northern
portions of Chihli were then, as for two score centuries after,
occupied by Mongolic nomads, or their house-dwelling descend-
ants. In the 18th century B.C., the name Sishun is known to
have been changed to Sooshun; and, six centuries later, the
lands to the north and north-east of Chaosien were, as they
have been ever since, occupied by the Sooshun savages.
If, therefore, Chinese history gives us positively but scanty
information regarding the early history of that extensive
region between the Gulf of Liaotung and the Frozen Ocean,
and between the -Ural Mountains and the Pacific, we are able to
infer that the people were savage nomads. Indeed, at acompara-
tively recent period, much of that land was occupied by people
*The modern Peking.
tSo written on maps, but written and called Jinchow by the Chinese.
4 INTRODUCTION.

who did not till the ground, and knew not how to use afire;
who in summer lived on the hill sides, and dug deep pits for
winter accommodation; whose clothing consisted of a square
foot of cotton before and another behind; and an inch thick of
lard smeared over their bodies formed their winter coat. I
think we are therefore justified in believing the Sooshun to
have been savages in every sense of the word, for they must
have not only eaten flesh as their only food, but eaten it uncooked.
The example said to have been set by Kitsu has been
abundantly imitated; for from the time he fled to Chaosien,
Liaotung became subject to irregular immigration from China—
never more so than within the past century. Many fled to the
inaccessible nomads for shelter from oppression, many for
asylum from justice. But though these might and did
introduce a degree of Chinese civilization, the character of the
people and the nature of their customs remained mainly
stationary. It is now impossible to ascertain the resemblances,
or differences, in the customs of the numerous kingdoms into
which this region has almost always been divided. The
languages, if not indeed originally of the same species, were, as
they still are, of the same genus. For however different their
various languages now, there is no positive proof that they
were as distinct from each other, three or even two thousand
years ago, as they now are. Analogy would lead us to suppose
the reverse, and to infer that the Turanian languages
of this region were at one time one and the same, but as unlike
Chinese as now. During the Han dynasty—prior, contem-
poraneous with, and subsequent to the time of our Lord—the
names of men and places among the Turanian peoples of the
modern Mongolia, Manchuria, and Corea, were polysyllabic as
they are now. Much more we cannot learn; nor is it possible
to find such traces, at so early a period of Chinese history, as
would justify us in expecting proofs of a common original
Turanian language over all that region.
Long after Kitsu is said to have introduced Chinese civiliza-
tion among the Sishun who formed the kingdom of Chaosien,
 HAN. 5

Yow and Ying Chows remained in their original savage state.

But in the time of the "Fighting Kingdoms" (5th century B.C.),
those regions—then Liaosi and Liaotung—became organised
into the Kingdom of Yen; implying an improvement in manners,
and, possibly, the ability to till the ground.
When, after centuries of misrule, anarchy, and bloodshed,
China was again welded into one by the Founder of the Tsin
(Chin) dynasty—him who began the building of the Great Wall,
B.C. 239,—Yowchow was renamed Liaosi Kun, and Yingchow,
Liaotung Kun. The Tsin was overturned by the first really
powerful dynasty China has ever produced—the Han,—
which began to reign B.C. 206, and whose name dates Chinese
affairs of state for nearly five centuries. It is after this
dynasty the Chinese delight to call themselves the "Han
People."
As soon as the Han was firmly seated on the throne of
China, a formidable expedition was hurled on Chaosien, which,
though doubtless always fighting in the east, never had any war
with China till this second century B.C. A stubborn resistance
was of no avail against overwhelming numbers and better
discipline, and Chaosien ceased to be. It was about the very
time of the destruction of Chaosien that Fooyii men laid the
foundation of the ancient and modern Corea, giving first the
name Gaogowli, afterwards of Gaoli, to the head waters of the
Yaloo, where they originated. Sooshun produced another
powerful kingdom, that of Yilow, north-east of Fooyii, before
which the glory of Fooyil paled.
The power of Han no sooner extended its wave into Chaosien
than it began to subside. And the Eastern Han had to yield,
to the regions formerly called Chaosien, the rank of a feudal
kingdom. The dynasty, towards its close, nominated Goong
Swundoo Commandant of Huentoo. But the dynastic influence
having waned so that it scarcely extended so far, Goong assumed
first the title of Liaotung How (Marquis), and afterwards
Liaotung Wang or Feudal King. He got possession of all
Liaotung and Liaosi, and divided his kingdom into West Liao,
 INTRODUCTION.

East Liao, and Central Liao provinces; and the neighbouring

small kingdoms had to acknowledge his sway.
When the Han state ship burst up, numberless living planks
struggled for the uppermost place. Among them the Wei
became dominant in north-east China, marched against, over-
threw the grandson of Goong, and annexed Liaotung to the
northern dynasty. With the waning of the Wei dynasty
Gaogowli, which had been steadily growing among the south-
western slopes of Changbaishan, gradually spread over all
Liaotung;while Baiji, which was east of ancient Chaosien, and
south-east of Gaogowli, seized Liaosi. Both powers were,
however, driven off by the Tsin dynasty (3rd century A.D.),
which established the feudal kingdom of Liaotung. The power
of Tsin vanished very speedily, and Moyoong Kwei took
possession of Pingchow and the west of the Liao river. And in
the Swi dynasty (6th century AD.), Gaogowli again overran all
Liaotung, and held it in spite of the overwhelming forces of the
Swi Emperor sent against it. Taidsoong of Tang drove the
Gaoli across the Yaloo. But Gaodsoong Emperor afterwards
annihilated Gaoli, as the Han had effaced Chaosien, and
divided all its lands into 9 Doodoo foo, 42 chow, and 100 hien
cities. The Tang reached its zenith in crushing Corea, and
was soon unable to hold its own. The Emperor Kaifung was
compelled to recognise the kingdom of Bohai, which sprung
into being on the ruins and at the north of Gaogowli. It
extended southwards to the Gulf of Liaotung, and westwards to,
or beyond, Shanhaigwan. Bohai filled the land with walled
cities, agricultural villages, and literary institutions; but though
it swept the Chinese beyond the bounds of the modern
Kingchow, it did not, like its succeeding Sooshun kingdoms,
penetrate into China proper. It was in its turn swallowed up
by the Kitan, who spread southwards and south-westwards, and,
under the name of Liao or "Iron," drove the Sung dynasty
south of the old Yellow River, and threatened to extinguish it
altogether.
The power of Bohai was no sooner faded away than the
 MANJOO. 7

Niijun, or Sooshun, gradually arose, aphcenix out of the burnt

out ashes. It followed the track of Bohai, from the northern
slopes of Changbaishan and the beautiful wilds of Ninguta,
driving the Liao out of Liaotung, then out of China, bearing
absolute sway of all China north of the Yellow River, and
becoming virtually masters of the northern bank of the
Yangtsu, dictating for a considerable time its own terms, under
the title of Kin or Gold, to the effeminate Sung dynasty.
The Mongols, from the north of Shamo, and the north-west
of Manchuria, swept with an irresistible flood all Asia, from the
sea of Japan to the heart of Russia, swallowing up the Kin,
crushing out the lingering death of the Sung in South China,
and setting up the Yuen dynasty. They made Liaoyang the
capital of all Manchuria, dividing the country into seven "Loo "
or Circuits. But the Yuen dynasty soon made itself hateful
by its vices, and a Chinese monk drove out the Mongols,
establishing the Ming dynasty. Liaotung fell with astroke of
his pen. But this Ming dynasty never established its rule
in Manchuria further north than Kaiyuen, having to rest
content with the lands now shown in maps as enclosed by
palisades of wood, which may have at one time existed, and,
according to Du Halde, did exist in the seventeenth century.
This dynasty was again displaced by the largest wave of
Sooshun adventure; for it is apetty clan of that widely extended
family which has ruled the Chinese world for over two centuries.
They sprang from the narrow, beautiful, but savage glens far
south-west of Changbaishan and east of Mukden. They are
known as the Manchu dynasty—the word Manjoo, in their
own language, meaning "Clear," as their predecessors were
Ming, or "Bright."
This bird's-eye view will help to show the important role
played by Liaotung, beyond all proportion to its wealth and
resources, over the destinies of the great Chinese world; and
will explain the chief cause why the author has considered a
history of Liaotung—in reality the history of Corea—a necessary
prelude to the history of the rise of the present Manchu empire.
8 INTRODUCTION.

Hundreds of Chinese volumes have been carefully ransacked

for this work, the sources of principal information being the
General History of Su Magwang; that of Joo Hi, brought down
to the end of the Ming dynasty; the Shungwoo ji or History of
the Holy Wars of the Manchus; the Doong hwa loo or Annals
of the Manchu dynasty; the History of Liaotung, more bulky
than satisfactory; and some books of travel calculated to throw
some light on Ancient Liaotung. The information regarding
Corean Customs, Government, &c., was derived partly orally and
partly from Corean books written in Chinese.
The result is what appears. The process of digesting so
much material is sure to leave some crude matter; but if the
author has succeeded in more clearly explaining what the
intelligent and civilized races of Eastern Asia are; and if he is
able to make his fellow-countrymen take a somewhat more
lively interest in the Chinese, apeople possessing many elements
of sterling nobility, his purpose shall have been amply fulfilled.
And the fact that his efforts to ferret out the origin of the Tungusic
races of North-Eastern Asia have produced so little, will be the
less regretted if the work helps to give a hint to those better
qualified to conduct such investigation.
 ,..:,,,Aili.
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 C OREAN. COSTUMES
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4

KING S. OUEEN.
PRIVY COUNCILLOR &WI FE.
 CHAPTER I.

CEIAOSIEN.

THAT mountainous peninsula in the north-east of Asia, west of

Japan, and east of Manchuria, is known to westerns under the
name of Corea or Korea, but to the Chinese, whose emperor is
liege lord of that kingdom, it is known under the name of
Chaosien.* The Coreans themselves employ both names; the
official designation being Chaosien, but in common speech the
name Gori or Gaoli is general. The modern name Chaosien is
arevival of the name under which the country was known in its
earliest contact with China. But the Chaosien of those days
was not co-extensive with the Chaosien of the present day, for
the greater portion of the modern Chaosien extends eastwards
far beyond the original Chaosien.
But that original Chaosien stretched much further westward
than the present, embracing all Liaotung, and, for a time, whose
duration is unknown, agreat part of Liaosi as well. It stretched
east little beyond the Ping or Datonggang river. To its east
were many independent tribes, afterwards amalgamated into two
kingdoms, those of Baiji and Sinlo. A straight line from
Kwangning, through Liaoyang to the Yaloo river, would point
out the extreme north of Chaosien, and the sea washed all its
southern bounds.
From Chinese history it is impossible to say whence came the
inhabitants of Chaosien, for the statement that they are the
descendants of Kitsu, brother of Woo Wang, can apply at most
only to aline of kings over Chaosien, and not in any way to the
people forming his kingdom. The people were there before he
went, and had been there for ages unknown. They were

"The Chaohien of Du. Halde, whose brief account of it is inaccurate. (See Map I.)
 10 CIIAOSIEN.

doubtless of the Tungusic people around them. But whence

they came, and when they emigrated, history will never inform us.
That they were savages, to begin with, is pretty certain. The
first historical ray of light—creating, however, only aquestionable
twilight, is that Woo Wang, son of Wun Wang, and founder of
the Chow dynasty (B. C. 1122), invested his younger brother Kitsu
with the feudal sovereignty of Chaosien. But Chinese scholars
state that the "investment" is a euphemism to shield the
character of the ancestor of Confucius,—the truth being that
Kitsu, a faithful and upright man, found it necessary to leave
his elder brother's court; and having fled to Chaosien, was there
elected king. He refused to acknowledge the supremacy of the
new emperor, or king Woo, as the ruler of China was then styled.
Both Chinese history and Corean tradition agree in representing
Kitsu as the civilizer of the aborigines of Chaosien. But Corean
tradition, written or oral, is dependent on Chinese history; for
as we shall see, the present Corea is inhabited by the descendants
of men who had no connection with Chaosien. Kitsu is said to
have taught Chaosien propriety or etiquette (/i), uprightness or
integrity (yi), agriculture, the rearing of silkworms, the spinning
of silk and its weaving. He established eight laws, which were
so well observed that theft was unknown, no house was barred,
no store locked, and no woman unfaithful.
The wide plains and innumerable vallies of inner Mongolia,
Manchuria, and Corea were peopled in the time of Confucius,
full five centuries before the Christian era. When he was
travelling about among the kingdoms of China, he is said to
have desired to visit and live among the "Nine Yi."

*The "Investigation into the Men and Things" of the Four Books, allocates the
Nine Yi and their countries as follows the Knee Yi in Hlientoo; 2. Yu Yi in
Lolang; 3. Pang Yi in Gaoli; 4. Whang Yi in Manjie; 5. Bai Yi in Fooyii;
6. Chu Yi in Swokia; 7. Hhen Yi in Doongtoo; 8. Fang Yi in Wo Yin (Japan);
9. Yang Yi in Tienbi. The first five were east and north-east of Liaotung. Some
of the others Icannot localise. The name Yi is variously interpreted. The word
means to "squat," hence "without propriety or manners." It also means to
"ward off," "butt," and is applied to "working the ground," hence supposed to
mean "benevolent," from the desire to see things live. This latter is the common
rendering.
 YEN. 11

These nine barbarians were all to the east of China.

Liaotung and the regions then occupied by Chaosien were
included among them; and if civilization had been introduced
among these full five centuries before, it is strange that they
were then undistinguished from the Nine Yi, of whom it is said
that they folded their hair in a bunch on the top of their head,
painted their bodies, ate food without cooking, and knew nothing
of grain. The story of Kitsu is not impossible, but it is to be
received with suspicion.
In the beginning of the Han dynasty, two centuries before the
Christian era, How Dsun, who was king, is said to have been
the fourteenth generation occupying the Chaosien throne. The
emperor who had welded China into one empire, under the title
of the Tsin, is known to military men as the original builder of
the Great Wall* as a barrier to the Nomadic hordes beyond;
and to literary men as the author of the conflagration, which
consumed the Confucian classics, which teach that the prince is
for the people, not the people for the prince. He was no sooner
dead than his empire crumbled to pieces, like that of Alexander
acentury before. A frightful anarchy then lorded it over China.
The capital of the kingdom of Yen was bounded by Yiigwan, in
the neighbourhood of Shanhaigwan, 900 lit to the east, by
Yunjoong t. (cloud-mist) 700 li to the west, by Hiwngchow 240
li south, and by Goobeikow 300 li to its north. This kingdom
was thrown into the same disorder as the rest of China; and
most of its people sought the protection of Junfan and Chaosien,
which divided the kingdom of Yen between them. But Wei
Man, a chief of Yen, with an army of his fellow-countrymen,

*We find it needful to state that the modern wall is by no means that built two
centuries B.C. In the article "Fire-arms," in "Chambers's Cyclopedia," aBritish
officer is quoted inferring the existence of fire-arms in China in the Tsin dynasty,
because there are loopholes in the great wall! The loopholes, constructed of brick,
existing now in good condition after passing through 2000 winters with acold below
zero, and summers with aheat of 90°, would certainly be curiosities! The wall has
been twice rebuilt since its foundation was first laid.
tAnciently there were four li to an English mile, now a fraction over three.
1:Tatung of Shansi.
 12 CHAOSIEN.

came into collision with How Dsun, fought with and conquered
him, and became king of Chaosien. He built a city for his
capital east of the river Bei, as the Datonggang was then called.
This city he called Wanghien. North-east of him, north of
Chunhan, and south of Wojoo, was the kingdom of Whi, which
extended eastwards to the sea. In B.C. 126, Whi gave in its
allegiance to the Han dynasty.
As soon as this Han* dynasty established itself without a
rival over the turbulent waters of China, it began to look around
its frontiers. The kingdom of Yen was remote and difficult to
govern directly from the capital. The emperor, therefore,
established the frontier on the Bei river; thus including not
only Liaotung, but the present Corean province of Pingyang as
well. We hence learn that if Chaosien had been so long
co-extensive with Liaotung, the inhabitants were not very
numerous; for had there been any fortified cities, the authority
of Han would have been contested before crossing the Bei.
Yow Jii, the grandson of Wei Man, was then king, and was
repeatedly invited to shelter himself under the warmth of the
Han wings. He believed himself more comfortable as he was,
and declined the honour as often as proffered. Not only so, but
he took the liberty to stop the heir of Chunhan when passing
through his territory to acknowledge the Han as his master.
At length (B.C. 109) the emperor sent Ho, a special ambassador,
who sailed down the Bei river, went eastwards to Wanghien,
and used every argument to induce Yow to better himself, by

*The successful rebel or revolutionist in China, who ousts the reigning dynasty,
always assumes a dynastic style for the rule of himself and descendants, which
style covers the whole period during which his family is able to retain the throne.
Each ruler of this dynasty has his own special style. If the former may be called
the dynastic style, the latter may be termed the chronological style; for as we date
by the Christian era, the Chinese date by the style of the emperor, just as
Parliament dates by the year of the sovereign's reign. If an emperor dies even on
the second day of anew year, his style dates that year; and though his successor is
immediately enthroned, the new emperor's style begins only with the first new-
year's day after his accession. The present is the Ching or Tsing dynasty in China,
as it is the Hanoverian in England; and the fifth year of the Emperor Gwangsu, as
it is the forty-second of Queen Victoria.
 KING YOW. 13

acknowledging the Han. But as Yow refused to be convinced,

Ho returned, and his unaccomplished object put him in no good
humour. A Chaosien chief, with an escort, was sent to
accompany him, to prove their respect for the Chinese emperor.
When, however, they got well west of the Bei, instead of
expressing his gratitude to his escort, Ho had the chief put to
death, and hastened to the Chinese court to announce the victory
in which he had cut off the head of a Chaosien general! His
bravery was rewarded by the glad emperor, who appointed him
governor of eastern Liaotung. This incident pictures the
political morality which rules the Chinese court ever since that
murder of 2000 years ago. Chaosien, however, did not regard
the matter in the same light, but considered the appointment of
Ho as much a threat as it was an insult. The men were
therefore mustered; crossed the Bei; marched westwards ;•
attacked, defeated, and beheaded Ho; and then returned to
their own capital. But to avenge this insult to its offended
dignity, the Han court got ready without delay an expedition in
Bohai, as the north-west of Shantung was then called. The
naval force set sail for the Chaosien shore, where it landed in the
beginning of B.C. .107; while a land army passed through the
modern Shanhaigwan, Liaotung, by Funghwangshan, across the
present Yaloo, marching eastwards to act in concert with the
naval force.
As soon as the ships got to shore, an army of 7000 men was
pushed on in advance. It was encountered by Yow, who broke
it up completely; the survivors fled to the mountains, where
they had to remain for ten days. The van of the land army
suffered the same fate on the west bank of the Bei. This had
not been anticipated by men who had so lately overcome large
kingdoms, and taken great cities. An imperial messenger was
ushered in before Yow, who deeply bowed in the presence of the
representative of Chinese majesty; and stated that he had been
always anxious to acknowledge the lordship of his Chinese
majesty, but he could not trust himself to the two generals
whose armies had just been defeated. In proof of his readiness
 14 CHAOSIEN.

to show his loyalty, he prepared to at once send his heir to the

Chinese court with apresent of 5000 horses, together with the
plunder and prisoners taken after the defeats. This heir had an
escort of 10,000 armed men; the number of which led both the
messenger and Dso, the commander of the Chinese army, west of
the river, to suspect a trick. The heir was on his part quite
as suspicious of them, so that when he got to the east bank of
the river he determined not to risk the crossing. Nor was his
caution at all groundless, after the former experiences of his
country of the value to be placed on Chinese honour. The
messenger returned to court empty handed, and was executed
for his share in the blunder.
Dso was more fortunate. He had crossed the Bei, defeated
the northern Chaosien army, and set up his camp to the north
of the city; while Commander Low, at the head of his
disembarked naval troops, pressed it on the south. Though the
Yen* men of Dso's army behaved well, and died bravely in great
numbers, many months passed away making no impression on
the city. The chief attention of the besieged was directed to
Dso; while they endeavoured, secretly, to form a treaty with
Low, who, after his first defeat, was not eager to press nearer.
The manceuvring came to nothing, for the Chinese commanders
and the Chaosien king were all mutually suspicious.
Being at a loss to account for the length of time spent in
taking asingle city, the emperor sent the Taishow or governor of
Tsinan in Shantung to investigate. To him Dso stated that the
reason why the siege was not long ago at an end, was that
he was not properly seconded by Low. The naval commander
was therefore summoned to appear at Dso's camp, where the
Taishow imprisoned him. All the forces, on both sides of the
city, were put at the disposal of Dso, who pressed the siege with.
redoubled vigour. Five Chaosien officers, seeing that their king
was determined never to yield, and knowing, because of the
wasted strength of the garrison, that the siege must end
disastrously, sent trusty men secretly, who murdered their king,

*See above description of Yen kingdom, p. 11.

te

Chinese Woman—II Cent. B.C.

 WANGHIEN TAKEN.

after which they fled with all their men to Dso. The city
opened its gates immediately.
Thus was finished the first war between China and any portion
of the land now known as Corea,. The country of Chaosien was
immediately divided into four provinces or circuits—lst. Lolang,
which the Coreans call Norang, the present Pingyang, in which
was the captured city Wanghien; 2nd. Lintwun, kingdom of
Whi; Lintwun was the modern Gangwan Do; 3rd. Hiientoo,
the original Gaogowli, and the eastern portion of the present
Liaotung; and 4th. Junfan, the western half of Liaotung
bordering the Liao river. (See Map I.)
The great bulk of the modern Corea was still beyond this
tract. To the east of the conquered regions was Mahan, with
fifty-four "kingdoms," or independent clans. Still east was
Chun han, divided into twelve independent "kingdoms ";Bien
han was south of it, and bordering the kingdom of Wo, as
Japan is known in Chinese history, which, too, had twelve
"kingdoms." On the northern border of Chun han was the
kingdom of Whi, extending eastwards to the sea. North
of it was Wojoo, also stretching to the sea.
Mahan, east and south-east of Lolang, had among its fifty-four
kingdoms one called Baiji or Baijiachi, a name which Chinese
writers hesitatingly derive from the fact that ahundred families
fled thither from China. It afterwards gained supreme power
in Mahan. This land produced pears of enormous size, and does
so still; long-tailed fowls; and large pearls, which the people
stitched on their clothes in rows, and of which they made neck-
laces. Those of them who were very robust bound pieces of hide
to their back with strong cords. To this hide they attached a
long pole, with which they made merry antics. They had no
formal etiquette, nor could they ride on horse or ox back; they,
therefore, had neither horse nor ox at that time. Their houses
were made of earth, in appearance like a pig-stye, with a door
above.
Chun hart was also called Chin (Tsin) han, a name
originating from a supposed immigration of Chinese, who
 18 CHAOSIEN.

remained faithful to the Tsin dynasty when it was overthrown.

When a son was [born among this people, a heavy stone was
pressed against his head to flatten it.* Bien han, to the south of
it, can have had no distinctively peculiar customs, for none such
are related. Both these Han became merged afterwards into
the kingdom of Sinlo. Its grades of officials numbered sixteen,—
the highest of which was called Dsoping, and the second Daswai.
Each of the provinces was under aFangling, who was aDaswai.
Each province was divided into five districts (Kun), each of
which had three military officers of the fourth grade, called
Duswai. Baiji officials were similar in all respects. Hence
those who know Chinese will at once infer, that though there
may have been Chinese immigrations, the population was not
Chinese, for Chinese official ranks have always been nine.
Whi kingdom was south of Gaogowli and Wojoo. At one
period of its history it extended west to Funghwangchung.
Originally it was under the rule of Chaosien; and with it, is said
to have received, through Kitsu, the civilization of China. In
B.C. 169 it had 28,000 able-bodied (Ding) men. When Chaosien
was broken up, Nan Lii, a prince of Whi, established an
independent kingdom there. The land produced cotton and
silk, and very small horses,f—called under-fruit-tree horse,
because it could pass under the branches of afruit tree with its
rider on its back. It was about three feet high. Gaogowli, to
the north of it, produced the same minute horse. And as no
mention is made of it either among Chaosien products, or those
of the Three Han, we must conclude that this diminutive horse,
now so common all over western Corea, came from the north of the

*In Manchuria at this day, even the Chinese follow the ancient'Manchu custom
of tying apiece of board behind the head to make it straight up and down. What
will phrenologists say to the practice? Certainly no remarkable result is ever
manifest, though the back of the head rises up in aline with the nape of the neck.
tThis horse is of the same height as the Shetland pony, but much more strongly
and less gracefully formed. The author was astonished to find a small horse very
like the Corean in Singapore, on the Malay coast; this, however, was anative of
the islands south of Singapore. We have never heard of any such diminutive horse
in any portion of China proper.
 JAPAN. 19

country, and has its home on the eastern slopes of Changbaishan,

The mountains of Whi were invested with leopards (Bao); while
the sea, on its east, produced the beautiful Ban, or vary-coloured
fish. When a man died his house was forsaken, left to rot to
pieces, and anew one built by the survivors.
Wojoo was east of Gaogowli, stretching to the shores of the sea of
Japan. One peculiar custom is recorded of this people. The head
of afamily provided agreat tree, ahundred feet long, which was
burnt and scooped out hollow, till only sufficient wood was left
at the unburnt end to securely seal it. When one of the family
died, the body was buried elsewhere till the flesh was consumed
away, and then the bones were taken up and put into this tube.
All the members of the family were re-interred in this peculiar
tomb. There is apractice much like this in use to the present
day among the Sibo Manchus, north of Mukden.
East of the Three Hans, in the midst of the sea, was the
kingdom of Wo (Japan). There were over thirty kings and
kingdoms; the most powerful of which was in Yematai. This
land produced white pearls and dark blue jade. There were no
oxen, horses, sheep, or birds. Their arrow barbs were of bone.*
The men coloured their faces black, and covered their bodies
with flour. The extent and depth of the colour showed the rank
to which the man belonged,—the first advance beyond Carlyle's
clotheless king! Women left their hair unbound to flow behind,
and painted their bodies with a red dye. They ate food with
the fingers,1- and wore no shoes. They were extremely fond of
strong spirits. They were long livers; living often beyond a
hundred years. They assumed a half sitting posture to show
respect. The women were more numerous than the men, those
who could support them having four or five wives.1.- They sent

*Human or fish ?
tThis would imply that the Chinese in the time of Han, and most likely much
earlier, used kwai-d, or chop-sticks, and were probably the only people then on
the face of the earth who did not eat with the fingers.
By the same, which is a blundering test, China has always had more women
than men.
 20 CHAOSIEN.

messengers with tribute to Han dynasty. In the beginning of

this dynasty, a large force of Japanese made a plundering
expedition into Chaosien, as they have often done since. The
greatest anarchy prevailed in Wo during the years 147-170 A.D.
There was no supreme ruler till a woman, Bei mi /too, old and
unmarried, credited with the possession of magical powers, was
made queen. She had a thousand servants; but only one man
saw her face, who brought her food, and took forth her orders.
To the east of Wojoo, in the great sea, was the "Kingdon of
Women." These were, however, of nature more gentle than
their western sisters,—the Amazons of world-wide fame, the
ancient advocates of women's rights, who advocated at the point
of the sword, and dealt death blows on the battle-field. The
successive generations of our eastern Amazons were secured by
the women looking down into a certain well in their island
kingdom. If the result of this look was a boy child, he was
destroyed, if a girl, she was preserved,---so thoroughly did they
detest the male tyrant of their sex. Whatever the object of the
ancient author of this romance, the Chinese continue to this day,
with aslight inclination to scepticism, to believe in the existence
of the "Kingdom of Women."
Four thousand li south of the Kingdom of Women was Jodi
Kingdom; the men of which were only three to four feet high.
To its south-east was Lo ("naked") Kingdom and Heichu
("black teeth") Kingdom. This was the most remote point
reached by Chinese in the time of the Han dynasty. Did they
reach Singapore ?or did its women then stain their teeth ?
All this is seriously written by the Chinese historians as the
state of eastern Asia, contemporaneous with the Han dynasty.
The exaggerations and fabrications are easily discounted by
any reader. Though the notes on Japan are beyond the scope
of this book, they will not be regarded wholly out of place by
those interested in that kingdom, which has been aroused from
its dream of ages by the whistle of the steam ship, and the
screech of the railway engine.
But to return. It is stated, and with an appearance of truth,
 GOONG SWUN. 21

that the never-ending strife, war, murder, and pillage by

taxgatherer and robber drove many Chinese into voluntary exile
before the Han dynasty bound up the wounds of the rent empire;
and that some of those found their way not only into Chaosien, but
into the Three Hans. They were scarcely sufficiently numerous to
form anew element in the ethnological character of the people.
They were so thoroughly absorbed by the original inhabitants of
the land, that the manners, laws, and customs of the people
there remained unchanged and markedly distinct from the
Chinese.
We leap over nearly three centuries, and find the Han dynasty
still struggling for life, but reeling on the throne. Every man
was left to do as he could, and most did as they liked. Jang
Wun raised an army of 3000 men at Yowchow and Woohwun
in June 187 A.D., to march against Liang Chow. Jang Twun
desired to be commander, but was rejected; the command being
given to the Duke of Liaosi. But when it got to Kichow, most
of the Woohwun men deserted, and went home; and Twun, in
his anger, joined the old Taishow of Taishan in Shantung, Jang
Jii, and was strengthened by the adhesion of the chief of
Woohwun. They raised a force with which they marched on
Kichow, slew many men, and captured the remaining Woohwun
men. Another camp of 10,000 men was located at Feiyoo,*
under the Taishows of Yowbeiping t and Liaotung. Jii was
proclaimed emperor, and Twun the heavenly general and peace-
restoring Wang. For universal peace is always to come when
the man crying out for peace, like the modern international,
crushes to death all rivals.
The Han emperor, therefore, appointed Goong Swun, Taishow
of Liaotung, giving him the powers of dictator over those regions.
He was to march eastwards against Gaogowli, and westwards
against Woohwun, his two neighbours, and to behead and
destroy as he saw proper. He began his career successfully;
for in November he had Wun beheaded, and defeated 300,000 (I)
men who were plundering Bohai. He attacked them with fury
*The present Looloong, Lien of Yoong ping. tThe modern Tsunhwa.
22 CHAOSIEN.

at the head of 20,000 horse and foot at Doonggwan hien, the

modern Tsangchow in the south-east of Chihli. 30,000 of the
rebels were slain. They abandoned their heavy baggage, and
fled across the river, eastwards, closely pursued by their conqueror,
who took 70,000 (I) prisoners. Waggons and stores of all kinds
were taken in immense quantities. There can be little doubt
that the robbers were arabble, and that Swun was at the head
of an army; but even then the story will appear strained, though
something like it occurred in the defeat of the Taiping rabble,
which was marching on Peking, afew years ago.
China had become so thoroughly disorganised, that it was
impossible to distinguish friend from foe, for all alike robbed
and desolated the country. It was indeed only what happens
usually in this country after along series of famines, such as had
then happened. Then riot ran loose, and for many years the
country was under the Lord of Misrule. Every province and
every city, nay every village, had its own battle to fight against
its own people. Fighting men would, of course, still be imperial
as long as it paid better; but they became robbers as soon as it
was more profitable.
In AD. 199, Nan Low, achief or "excellency" ("great man ")
of Shanggoo ;* Soo Pooyen, an "excellency " of Liaotung; and
Woo Yen, an "excellency" of Yowbeiping, united with
Woohwun against Goong Swun, who, doubtless, gave them some
trouble in preventing them from plundering as freely as they
would like to do. From their title Iwould infer that these were
petty chiefs of the aborigines of those places; for it was no title
of aChinese official, though it is now used as a term of respect
in addressing higher officials; nor could it possibly be applied
to an untitled Chinaman; besides, Woohwun had nothing
Chinese about it, and the north of Chihli and Liaotung were not
then inhabited by Chinese, as we shall see further down. Those
allies placed themselves under the leadership of Yuen Shao, who
proclaimed himself emperor of all north of the Whang river.
By this coalition Swun's army was crushed, and himself slain.
"The modern Huenhwa, near Peking.
 UNIVERSAL ANARCHY. 23

Lowban, the son of Chin Lijii, late King of Woohwun, was

but a child, and the government devolved upon his illegitimate
elder brother Tadun, who was made Regent. After the victory,
all the leaders were rewarded by the "Emperor" with titles—
that of Shanyit, with its proper official seal, being given to
Tadun and the other chiefs. This is another and conclusive
proof that these men were aborigines, for only the Hiwngnoo,
or Huns, i.e., the ancestors of the present Mongols, had ever
adopted the title of Shanyii, which, in their language, signified
exactly what Whangdi does to the Chinaman; for the Shanyii,
is "King of Kings."
In 204, Liaotung was equally disordered with China proper.
Many officials, some lately appointed by the Emperor, others
self-elected, threw off all restraint, and acted every man for
himself, saying that the Emperor had ceased to be emperor; and it
was true, for he could not cut off the heads of these men. From
time immemorial it has been, and continues to be, believed in
China, that when evils, such as were countless then, are poured
out upon the country, it is because Heaven has forsaken the
existing dynasty, and does not recognise the reigning Emperor
as the "Son of Heaven." One of them, who said that the
Emperor was no Son of Heaven, stated there were over a
million of soldiers in motion in Liaotung alone, i.e., in attack
and defence, plundering and saving. This is not impossible, as
Liaotung had then been under Han rule for three centuries;
and the history of Liaotung under the present dynasty shows a
similar increase of population in two centuries, having risen
from a few fugitives skulking among deserted villages to be a
Crowded country of twenty millions of souls, Fooyu and
Whimai were also under arms, which they did not allow to rust.
Over 100,000 Chinese families had fled across the border to
Woohung, to escape the terrible anarchy of their native land.
Woohung marched south and plundered the regions of
Chilenchow.* To stop those northern ravages, Tsao Tsao, a Han
General, collected a large army; but in marching north he
*40 li south-east of the modern Wooching Men of Peking.
 24 CHAOS [EN.

found the country so flooded by rains that no cart could move,

and yet too shallow for boats to float. In the autumn of 207,
he marched from Hiiwo shan, 500 li, to Bailan shan by the
Ping gang road, past Looloong; and in September, he passed
Bailangs ban* (white-wolf mountain) in search of the foe. As
soon as he came in sight of the enemy, he sent forward his van,
under Jang Liao, to an immediate attack. The van pressed in
with fury, and the enemy was routed with great slaughter.
Tadun and some other commanding officers were slain. 200,000
men submitted; but afew under Aisiaishang, king of Woohung,
fled towards Liaotung, whither they were pursued, and most of
them cut down by Swunkang, who had succeeded his father
as Taishow of Liaotung. Tsao returned from Liwchung in
October in extremely cold weather. To add to the sufferings of
his men, he had to march 200 li without water, for which he
had to dig 30 feet ;-r• and he was compelled to kill thousands of
his horses for food. But when he got home, he lavishly
rewarded his surviving men.
The overstrained and water-logged vessel of state had now
burst up, and a Wei dynasty rose out of the northern portion of
China, with a Woo to its south4 reviving the Confucian
kingdoms on their ancient sites. The Han, however, retained a
large portion of Central and Western China. Such was the
final resultant of innumerable opposite forces acting and reacting,
clashing and combining for acentury. And the power of each of
the rival thrones proved conclusively to itself and its adherents that

*Said to be west of Yowbeiping. Liwchung was in the neighbourhood of the

modern Kingchow, whither he might be drawn in pursuit. In the Toongkien,
carried down to the end of the Ming dynasty, occur the following notes by authors
of the Ming dynasty. Liwchung was south-west of Loongshan and north-east of
Beiping. Bailan was south of Beiping and east of Hilwoo; it was 25 li south of the
modern Miyun hien. Bailang was in Woohung land, and north-east of Yowchow.
Looloong was under the jurisdiction of Yowchow, and is still known as Looloong
hien; in the language of the "men of the north" (Woohung), Loo was black and
bong water; hence Looloong, the Black water. The river there is said to be very
dark.

tThe history says 30 fang, or 300 ft.; but this is absurd.

:Shanghai is in Woo.
 DRUNKENNESS. 25

it should reign; but the imperial title it demanded as its own

heaven-given right, it denied to its rivals, which it called
rebels, as it was called by them. Thus, like the rival popes,
the sole heads in the west, as the Chinese Emperor is in the
east, each anathematized his rivals, and did all he could—
fulfilling, of course, the will of Heaven, to bring his rivals down.
The Han dynasty has now, however, to drop out of our sight, as
it has nothing further to do with Corea or Liaotung.
Not so the Founder of the Woo dynasty, south of the
Yangtsu; for, in 231, he sent General Gow Ho, by sea, to
Liaotung, to purchase horses from Swunyuen, who had succeeded
his brother Swunkang as Taishow of Liaotung; but Swun was
now without a master. The "Emperor" of Woo had an
official, Fan, who was often drunk, as was common enough
among the Chinese then, and who believed in no spirits save
those of the still. When drunk, he was of a violently
irritable temper, and his speech was of the most bitterly
sarcastic kind, and interlaced with much irreverent swearing;
yet he was an able minister. His master was, on the other hand,
a firm believer in gods and genii, of which he delighted to talk.
On such occasions, Fan would turn to some other minister, and
make a scoffing allusion to, or irreverently question the
existence of, the gods, intentionally loud enough for his
majesty to hear. This conduct frequently roused the ire of the
Emperor, who at last became so unbearably offended, that he
banished Fan to Kiaochow.
When, in his exile, Fan heard that Ho was to be sent to
Liaotung, he complained bitterly, that, at atime when the kingdom
was in need of all the talent it could command, aman of first-class
ability, like Ho, should be sent so far as Liaotung, on such an
errand as the purchase of horses. He wrote out a memorial to
that effect; but fearing the Emperor would not look at it, he
asked a friend to be sure to report his sentiments to the
Emperor. This was faithfully done, with the result of sending
Fan further away to Munglin hien (Woochow).
It was known at the court of Wei that Swunyuen was not to

1 JAPAN REFERENCE
LIBRARY
 26 •CHAOSIEN.

be relied on; and the northern Emperor determined to despatch

an army into Liaotung, under the Governor of Tsingchow* and the
Commandant of Yowchow.f One of his ministers strongly urged
him to desist from this policy, and stop the expedition; for that
even if successful, Liaptung was insufficient to form akingdom,
and its resources inadequate to make wealth; and if it was now
hostile, it was only latently so; but it would become an open foe,
as soon as it heard of active movements against it. Better first
master the new and more formidable enemies, then take account
of the remote; for when the "tiger and the wolf meet one on
the road, it is no time to attack the fox ";but once remove the
greater danger, the lesser will disappear of itself. To this
advice the Emperor would not listen. The army was sent, for
the order had been already given. It got defeated, and had to
be disbanded, with the disgraceful brand of failure.
But Mang, Governor of Tsingchow, in Shantung, knew from
the force and direction of the wind that Ho, who was then
leaving Liaotung, would be driven right across the Gulf, and
could land only on or about Chungshan, a mountain near
Laichow. He therefore planted his men behind Chungshan
mountain, and had not long to wait, for the stormy waves drove
Ho and his fleet right across to their feet. Ho was compelled
to land, and was immediately attacked and slain with all his men.
When the Woo Emperor heard of the calamity, he immediately
sent for Fan to Court. But the messengers found him just
dead. They brought back his body, and buried it with every
mark of respect.
In spite of the catastrophe of the horse-buying expedition,
Swunyuen rightly believed that Woo would not be altogether
ungrateful, if he proffered his allegiance; and, unaware of what
Wei might be preparing for him, he wisely considered it
prudent to make Woo his ally, even if at the cost of apparently
losing his independence. The messengers tendering his
allegiance were right royally received by Woo, who, in the
warmth of his pleasure, sent Jang Ur the Taichano. one of his
*In Shantung. tThe modern Peking.
 SWUNYUEN. 27

best men, with costly presents, to confer on Swunyuen the title

of Yen Wang. He was in this step opposed by almost all his
ministers, from Goong Yoong down, who persisted that
Swunyuen should not be trusted; for though he was aggrieved
with Wei now, Wei was near and Woo far; he would therefore
in time turn round again, and Woo would become the laughing-
stock of the world; it was therefore impolitic to create him a
vassal king, though it was quite proper to regard him as a
friend. Woo was angry; but he hesitated and vacillated as the
remonstrances continued to be pressed, but not sufficiently so,
however, to recall the embassy which had already gone.
When Woo's mother was on her death-bed, she called old Jao
to her bedside, and said to her son, who was standing near her,
that for external affairs he must listen to the advice of Jang Ur,
and for internal to that of Jang Jao. In the present emergency
old Jao wept because his advice was not listened to; and Woo,
remembering the death-bed scene, wept also, and dropt to the
ground the sword which he had taken up. When Jao retired,
he was so offended at the rejection of his advice, that he,
feigning illness, ceased attendance at court. The Emperor was
angry at Jao's disappearance, and as commands to appear were
of no avail, he sent men who broke in the old man's door; but
they found it barricaded inside with aheap of earth.
The messengers of Woo started in the spring of 233. Yuen
reasoned that as Woo was far, and troops difficult to move
thence, he was absolute master of the persons of the embassy,
and could act towards them as was most conducive to his own
advantage. Therefore, in the January of the following year, he
had the chief members of the embassy beheaded, and their
heads sent to Wei as a peace offering. This offering Wei
gladly received, conferring upon the donor the title of Duke
(Goong) of Liaotung.
The Emperor of Woo was sixty years old when he received
the news of the treachery of Yuen. He was terribly enraged,
and would have an army sent on at once to revenge the death
of his messengers, and the insult to himself. Again was he
28 CHAOSIEN.

vehemently opposed by his ministers. One President presented

a memorial, stating that the Yoongmai (savages) of Liaotung
formed but a small kingdom without cities; if, therefore, an
enemy of superior numbers attacked them, they had only to
retire inland, and the enemy would have to march through an
empty country. He recalled the fate of Ho, and urged, as the
Wei minister had done, the importance of attending to the
nearer and greater dangers, when the remote would take care of
themselves. The long paper, of which that was the substance,
together with the longer discussions which followed, had the
desired effect, and Liaotung was left unmolested.
Woo, now laying aside his warlike intentions, summoned Jao,
to speak kindly to the old man. But Jao was lying down and
could not move—so reported the messenger. Woo then went
himself to Jao's door, where he called out the old man's name
repeatedly and loudly; Jao at last replied, but said that he was
too weak to get up, and it would be a crime to receive his
Emperor except with the proper etiquette, which his weakness
made it impossible for him to perform. The Emperor still
refused to go, and Jao would not come out. Believing that Jao
was, as formerly, feigning illness, Woo had the door set on fire
to frighten him out. But the crackling of the burning wood, with
the smell of it, had no influence on the sick man. The fire was
therefore extinguished, and as the Emperor would not go, Jao's
sons supported the old man, so that he could properly receive
his sovereign. He felt he could not but do so, as Woo was
unceasing in his self-reproaches for his former conduct towards
the old minister.
As soon as Jang Ur and his companions got to Hiangping of
Liaotung, Yuen at once saw his way, by sacrificing them, to
make his peace with Wei. He set about his object early but
cautiously. He first separated the men. He sent Dan, Chun,
Dua, Kiang, with over sixty men, to Hilentoo, 200 li east of
Liaotung, on pretence of helping to govern and garrison that
place. They were, by the Commandant, and doubtless under
orders, boarded apart among the citizens. Dan and Chun got
 REVOLT. 29

opportunities of consulting together. Exile was becoming

intolerable to them. The city was but small, and by aunited,
sudden stroke they might put to death the Commandant,
and avenge their insulted country. All their comrades
were gradually brought into confidence, and all heartily
acquiesced in a plan, in the execution of which they were
willing to die, rather than live any longer away from their
friends.
They had fixed the night of the 19th of 8th moon (Sept.)
for their rising. But on that same evening one of the number
gave information to the Commandant, and the gates were
instantly closed. All those named above, however, leapt over
the wall, and fled eastwards among the hills 600 or 700 li.
Chun got very unwell, and had to be assisted along. At last,
when hiding by day among the tall grass, they wept from sheer
fatigue. The sick man said that, as he was so weak that he
might die at any moment, he would infinitely prefer if they .
went on and left him to die where he was. To this they would
not listen, declaring that they must live or die together; Dua
saying that if they had travelled together amyriad li they were
not now to separate. Dan and Kiang were at last prevailed
upon to go on before, Dua remaining with the invalid to pick
herbs and wild fruits for him to eat. In afew days Dan and
his companions reached Gaogowli, 1,000 li east of Liaotung.
The king, Weigoong, and his minister, Jooba, received them
with great hospitality. The grandfather of this Weigoong was
of wonderful intelligence, able to notice even at his birth. He
became apowerful king; and was an unusually brave man, and
frequently pillaged the borders of the Han country. When his
grandson was born, he was observed to be exactly like his
grandfather in feature, as well as in the ability to take notice
at his birth; he therefore received his grandfather's name,
Weigoong. He gladly furnished Dan with a number of men,
with whose aid to search out and bring back his sick companion.
The rovers all got safely back to their native land; and Emperor
Woo was so overcome, at once with grief and joy, that he was
 SO CHAOSIEN.

unable to control himself, but shed tears profusely; a most

notable and noteworthy matter for aChinaman.
Before leaving Woo, we may note here that cash of 16 joo
weight, and one and ahalf inch wide, each counting 1000 small
cash, were cast by this dynasty. The Han dynasty had
frequently cast woo joo, or 5joo cash. There are 24 joo to the
Chinese hang or oz., which is now equal to 1.33 oz. avoirdupois.
Each joo was subdivided into 20 equal fun or parts. From the
specimens of those cash still in existence, we find that good
copper was then used instead of the inferior brass metal of
modern times.*
Though Yuen had sent to Wei the heads of Woo ministers, he
had not given his own heart, which was considered of more
consequence. Therefore, in 237, Wei despatched an army of
40,000 men from Changan, the capital, towards Liaotung,—the
commander in chief of Wei forces being left in charge of Changan
against the possible attack of the kingdom of Tsu.
During the preceding year the Tsushu of Yowchow, Ma
Chiwjien, was ordered against Yuen to chastise him for the
insolently independent language he was always uttering. This
expedition was sent, like the first, against the earnest
remonstrances of the best ministers, who considered it both
impolitic and imprudent to notice Yuen, when the powerful
states of Woo and Tsu were butting the southern side of Wei.
Jien, however, got to Yowchow, raised an army, and summoned
Hienbi and Woohung to his side. Reinforced by these, he
marched eastwards and camped south of the city of Liaotung.
In reply to the message sent him to yield, Yuen marched out,
and drew up over against Jien at Liaoswi f Men, at the junction
of the great and small Liao rivers. It was August, and the
rainy season of Liaotung. It had rained for ten days, and rained
as it only can where it rains but seldom, and has to make up for

*The kingdom of Woo included the modern Kiangsu and Chikiang provinces, in
the south of China.

tThis must have been on the east side of the river, at the present Sanaa ho,
west of Newchwang,, where the "ou t
er " an d "inner" 'Liao unite.
 HIANGPING ATTACKED. 01

lost time. The Liao, never asmall river, was therefore amighty
one; and the current and tide, never weak, were very powerful.
Jien had, therefore, to retire; all his battling being in vain.
Thereupon Yuen set himself up as Yen Wang, and assumed the
title of Shanyu of the Hienbi, whom he summoned to his standard
to march with him to plunder Wei. Hence the present
expedition, which was now certainly justifiable; but was as
much as ever opposed by the Wei ministers. The emperor,
however, was inflexible. The opposition against this expedition
arose chiefly from the difficulty of transporting grain and other
necessaries from the capital, Loyang,* 4000 li to Liaotung.
The emperor, in reply to their arguments, simply asked what
line of defence Yuen was likely to adopt. They said he had
three courses. His best plan would be to forsake his walls,
retire into the wilds, and thus weary the army before striking a
blow; his second best plan was to contest the crossing of the
Liao river; and his third and worst, to stake the issue on holding
the city. The emperor agreed, and then asked the time necessary
for the successful termina'tion of the war. To this they replied,
that in the most untoward circumstances ayear would suffice.
Yuen heard of the formidable preparations made against him,
and in his terror sent messengers to implore the aid of Woo.
So bitter was still the feeling against his former treachery, that
many demanded the heads of these messengers in revenge for
Jang Ur. But minister Yang urged that though this would be
good revenge, it would be bad policy; and at his recommendation
the messengers were sent home again.
It was July when the Wei army got to the Liao river. They
found that Yuen had prepared for them, having sent an army of
several myriad men to fortify themselves, with an earthen
rampart 20 1- li north to south, along the river bank. The
various generals, second in command, urged an instant crossing

*Near the modern Kaifung foo, in Honan, which province, with Shantung, formed
the best part of the Wei kingdom.
tYuen history. Tsin history has 70 li, but this seems too long a line, unless
there were detached bodies spread over so great adistance.
32 ClIAOSIEN.

and attack. Su Ma, the commander, reasoned with them that

the main object of the rampart was to provoke attack, and wear
out the army; and concluded, that as so large an army held the
ramparts, there must be few left to garrison the city. He,
therefore, gave the order to outflank the ramparts, and march
(Erect on the city.
He flied his banners to the south of the ramparts, as if he
intended to cross there; compelling Yuen's men, under Bi,
Hienbi man, to issue southwards, beyond their fortifications, to
prevent his landing. But while carrying on this manceuvre, his
•chief object was accomplished; for the main body of the Chinese
army crossed the river to the north of the ramparts, and marched
straight for the capital, Hiangping.* Bi soon discovered his
mistake; and, in great alarm, hasted on after the army which
had already pitched camp under Showshan. His furious attack
was easily repelled. He had to retreat, and found no resource
except to enter the city, which was then besieged. For two
months rain fell in torrents, and the land was deluged. Boats
came overland from the ferry to the very walls of Hiangping.
The Wei army was in terror, and began to move away, for the
water was three t feet deep on the level ground. The commander
threatened to behead the first man who spoke of moving from the
ranks,--a threat which he executed on the person of asuperior
officer. In discussing the matter with his generals, Ma said that
they were few, and the foe numerous; they had provisions in
superabundance, the besieged must be already in a famishing
state; before leaving Changan they were afraid the enemy
would fly and not fight, and now they themselves talked of
retreat; and concluded saying that ashort time must now bring
the siege to an end. This speech rallied the spirits of his men.
The besieged were indeed in great straits; for two months
within closely invested walls had reduced them to live by

*Where Liaoyang now is.

tin Aug.-Sept., 1878, the country of Liaotung was exactly similar. In some
places, for nearly a month, boats were sailing over the fields to save the windings
of the river.
 LIAOTTJNG CONQUERED. 33

cannibalism. Yuen sent an ambassador to bargain terms of

surrender. That ambassador was beheaded by Ma's orders,
who said there were five courses open to a soldier. He could
fight; if he could not fight, he could hold his fort; if he could
not hold his fort, he could flee; beyond these were the
alternatives, unconditional surrender or death. A few days more
reduced the besieged to desperation, and all discipline was lost.
Yuen and his son, with a few hundred men, burst through the
besiegers, and fled northwards. They were overtaken and slain
at the Daliang* river.
Su Ma now entered the city, and put to death all under the
rank of Goong and Ching, 7000 soldiers. The whole of Liaotung,
with Huentoo and Lolang, gave in their allegiance.
During the period of unbridled anarchy between A.D. 220 and
420, scores of kingdoms rose and fell; and war seems to have
been the pastime of the broken up Chinese empire and its
neighbours. But among them all, perhaps the history of the
Hienbi, a small Mongolic or Hunnish tribe in the north of
Liaotung, is the most remarkable, both in its speedy elevation
and its sudden collapse. In the year 337, it had atussle with
Gaogowli and others in Liaotung, in which it snatched victory
more by stratagem than by numbers. But on its fall Gaogowli
could boast of an empire, for it embraced all Liaotung and some
of Liaosi. As the history of the Hienbi gives as good apicture
of the times as anything can, it is given below, though it has
not always adirect bearing on our proper field. But the reader,
interested only in Corea, may pass it over and go on to Ch. V.

*A note to the original says that "The Siao (small) Liao" flows from Huentoo,
Gaogowli hien, the mountain of Liaoshau, flowing south-west, passing Hiangping,
joining the Daliang, which comes from beyond the northern borders; the united
river flowing south-west, and falling into the Da Liao. The small Liao is, therefore,
the Taidsu or Teksa, the Daliang the Hwun, and the Da Liao, the outer Liao from
Mongolia.
 CHAPTER. II.

HIENBI.

FROM time immemorial the military affairs of China have been

bound up with the history of her nomadic neighbours. And of
all the many empires founded on her northern frontiers, not the
least terrible was that of Hiwngnoo, or Huns as they are more
generally called. With the interesting early history of Huns
we have, however, nothing to do here, as they were far removed
from our country of Liaotung. Suffice it to say, that they were
the bitter scourge of the Han dynasty from its commencement
to its close; frequently penetrating far into China, ravaging its
country, sacking its cities, putting to death countless numbers of
its people, and ofttimes becoming virtual masters of the empire.
For some time after the Han dynasty was founded, it resisted
with youthful vigour the plundering hordes of its northern
borderers. But, as in all the dynasties of China, that vigour was
short-lived. Even before the Christian era, the senilty of a
long-established government clouded the faculties and weakened
the hands of the Han rulers. So much so that in A. D.51, when
British savages were occupying the attention of Cesar's successors
in London, a minister of the Han emperor urged his master to
summon the forces of Hienbi and Gaogowli to attack the eastern
flank of the Hiwngnoo; the Chiang Hoo or barbarians of Tibet
to march against the western portion of their dominions; while
aChinese army should march north, and attack them in what
is now the north of Chihli. The plan was urged just at that
time, because of the frightful famine and pestilence devastating
the Hiwngnoo, and carrying off all their cattle, and was hoped
to be successful in completely breaking up the Huns in a few
years. The emperor, however, did not act on the suggestion.
36 HEENBI.

We are chiefly concerned with this abortive proposal of the

then weakened Han, because it shows that Hienbi was already
apower worthy to be ranked with Ga,ogowli, which was east of
Hienbi, and occupying the north of the present Corea and
Liaotung. This Hienbi, an "east Hoo" tribe, had arisen from
very small beginnings. They lived on the borders of the present
Yichow and Kingchow of Liaosi, among the mountains and glens
of south-eastern Mongolia. Because of Hiwngnoo troubles, they
rapidly increased in number and daring; and in 109 A.D. we get
another glimpse of them falling upon Liaosi, but they got
defeated, ere they retired, by the Liaosi army, assisted by a
contingent of Woohung men. In that battle the Hienbi lost
1300 men, which shows them possessed of a respectable army.
This check was not lasting, for in the atumn of next year they
were again plundering the country round the city of Yiiyang.
Jang, the taishow, or commandant and magistrate of that city,
drove them off, and pursued them among the mountains beyond
the frontier. In looking for them next morning, he saw their
camp smokeless, and ordered an immediate advance, lest, in their
hasty flight, they should escape him. He pushed rapidly on,
when, all of a sudden, he found himself completely surrounded
and vehemently attacked on all sides; for the Hienbi army had
retired only to lie in ambush. Notwithstanding the wildest
valour, Jang was slain and his army shivered to pieces. As
there was now no obstacle before them, the Hienbi army marched
far inland, and got to Shanggoo,* where they broke up the army
set in array to oppose them. They still advanced-20,000
strong—carrying, fire and destruction in their path; almost
exterminating the population of the cities and villages in their
line of march. They passed through Yoonggwan, 35 li north-
west of the present Changping of Peking, bearing down all
opposition up to the gates of Machung city; called Sochow by
the Sung and recent dynasties. The commandant of Machuno.

*Which some authorities make the modern Paoting; but the Chinese Imperial
Directory makes it Huenhwa,—the more probable position, as it is in the far
north.
 GEOGRAPHICAL. 37

was slain by them; and they threatened to do further damage,

but were, in August 111, defeated by Commander Dung at the
head of an army of Shanyii soldiers,—proving the demoralization
of the Chinese soldiery.
Ever since Chaosien was broken up, the old lands known
under that name were, up till this period, more or less closely
bound to China proper. This Chinese portion would stretch
along the west of the present Kingchow and Kwangning, east
to the Liao, and run along the south side of the Taidsu river to
the hills on the east; including all the plain south of Liaoyang
to the sea, and the southern portion of eastern Liaotung up to
the Yaloo; perhaps to the Ping river. The country was not
well cultivated; nor was the land crowded with large villages,
and defended by many walled cities, as it now is. The
inhabitants were Chinese in only a very small proportion;
though the few forts erected after the conquest of Chaosien, east
and west of the Liao, were garrisoned by Chinese soldiers.
Skirting the west, north-west, and north sides of Liaosi was
Hienbi, from Yoongping on the south to Kaiyuen on the north;
and Gaogowli bordered the north-east and north of Liaotung.
Both powers grew in importance yearly. In 121 A.D., a
combined Hienbi and Gaogowli army broke into Liaotung, and
drove the Liaotung army before them south to Sinchung,* where
it was defeated with great slaughter,—the Chinese leaders all
falling in the van of battle. The Gaogowli seem to have been
satisfied with what they attained; but Hienbi pushed westwards,
again penetrated into and plundered Yoonggwan, and defeated
the commandant of Yunjoong.-1- They were, however, driven
eastwards by the combined forces of Yowchow (Peking) and
other commandants. They ravaged Hiientoo, the south-eastern
portion of Liaotung, in December of the same year; and several
myriads of them penetrated to Taiyuen in the following year.
As proof that the governmental machine of the Han was loosely
jointed together, we find that the commandant of Hanyang city
joined the Hienbi. The Hienbi victories were both the result
*South of the modern Kaichow. tModern Tatung o Shansi.
38 HIENBI.

and cause of a more compacted state, and a more civilized

community. They were, however, far from being able to cope
with their powerful cousins the Hiwngnoo, part of whose people
then occupied the north of Shansi; for they got worsted in a
tussle with them while on that Taiyuen raid. They found it
easier and more profitable to make yearly incursions into
northern China and Hiientoo.
Corruptions and necessary weakness within the Chinese
Court invited encroachments from without. The cleaving
open of many hills, and the twenty-three earthquakes in the
Han capital and provinces, indicated the anger of Heaven
against the reigning dynasty, and were ominous of great evils
about to fall upon the empire. And more serious than the
earthquakes, was the succession of famine years in several
provinces ;—which moral fear and physical sufferings made easy
the active aggressions of the Hienbi, whose troops, combined
now with those of Whimai, now with those of Woohung, and
again alone, penetrated far into Chinese soil. The condition
and resources of Liaotung may be judged from the fact that Soo
Booyen proclaimed himself its king at the head of 1,000 men, at
the same time as Woohung moved southwards with 8,000 men
and occupied the north of Liaosi. One, Woo Yen, with 800
men, assumed similar rank at Yowbeiping.* But of all the
eagles hovering over the dying body of the Han, Hienbi was
the strongest, most active, and daring, ranging, almost at will,
for nearly acentury, over the north of China.
Their power had gradually assumed such proportions, and the
troubles caused by them were becoming so alarmingly serious
along the east, north, and north-west frontiers of China, that, in
177, agreat effort was made to crush them. It was not before
time; for China was losing all influence over her north-eastern
neighbours, and already had Huentoo Commander to acknow-
ledge the supremacy of Gaogowli to prevent annihilation.
Jao Bao, the Chinese Commander of Liaosi, had collected an
army of 20,000 men, with whom he was keeping Hienbi in check.
le Modern 'Tsunhwa, north-east of Peking.
 FAITHFULNESS. 39

He had already sent for his mother, wife and family, from the
capital, to come and join him. His family had got to the
neighbourhood of the city of Liwchung,* when they fell into the
hands of a Hienbi army of 10,000 men, then ravaging that
district, and against which Bao was directing his troops. As
soon, therefore, as Bao came up with the enemy, they informed
him that his family were prisoners, and would be put to death
if he assumed the offensive. At the same time they brought
his mother and wife to the front to let him see them. They
desired to escape his overwhelming numbers, by giving up his
family in exchange. Bao was thrown into a state of the most
bitter grief, saying aloud that he was in a terrible strait; he
would much rather lose his own life than be the means of his
mother's death; but if he preserved his filial duty he would
sacrifice his public trust. As long as he had been a private
man, he had only to consider the duty involved in the
relationship of mother and son, but now was superadded the
relation of prince and minister; private affection would ship-
wreck official duty, and better amyriad deaths than permit the
country to be ravaged. When he was thus cogitating with his
officers, the brave mother of a brave son cried out, in a loud
voice, from her distant standing-place, "Every man has his
destiny, and all must once die. Why hesitate a moment, or
harbour the remotest design of acting contrary to your duties of
Faithfulness to your prince, and Integrity in your trust?" Bao
immediately ordered an attack. The Hienbi were defeated;
but, before retreating, they put to death the mother, wife, and
children of Bao.
When the pursuit was brought to an end, Bao returned to
the battle-field to bury his family; the Emperor, who had
heard of the tragedy, having sent special messengers to condole
with the mourner. While burying, the heart-broken Bao said
to the villagers aiding him: "To eat the Emperor's bread and
to avoid danger is to be unfaithful; to slay amother in order to
preserve integrity is to be unfilial. Whither, then, can I look?
*North of Kingehow. (See Map I.)
40 IIIENBI.

For me earth affords no place of shelter." After which speech

his mental strife brought on a vomiting of blood, of which he
died.
This incident, occurring when the canon of the New Testa-
ment was scarcely completed, serves to illustrate the perfection
of the Chinese moral system from the most ancient to the
present times. The one word "duty" is the sum and essence
thereof; and it is elevated to so high a rank above all other
words or things as would delight the heart of the author of
"Sartor Resartos." This duty not only involves self-abnegation,
but even the smothering of the affections; and it confines the
use of the word "love" to eatables and drinkables. It is cold,
steel-hearted, inflexible duty which should rule all human
relations, and not the warm, impulsive, beating heart of love.
The minister and officer is bound, not to love his prince and
country, but to be faithful to his trust; the child is commanded,
not to love his parents, but to yield them reverence and
deference. Conjugal and parental relations are on precisely the
same footing. This stoical teaching is perfected in the annihila-
tion of passion of all kinds, and of warmth of feeling in all
degrees. Ages of such teaching are, doubtless, the cause of the
present Chinese social life, which is perfectly pictured in the
case of Bao, where, theoretically, duty to parents is everything,
and wife and children count for nothing; hence the universally
low ebb of family affection. From the same teaching, too, has
sprung the intensely conservative nature of the Chinese; for
duty is negative and defensive, while love is positive and
aggressive. Hence, it appears to me, the great and characteristic
difference between the forwardness and ever advancing civiliza-
tion of those nations which have most thoroughly received the
teachings of the religion of love, and the stagnation and
conservatism of those which either preach a beautiful but cold
duty as the sum of morality, or fail to appropriate, in its
simplicity and actively benevolent character, the religion of love.
In the general disorder and universal strife which, for scores
of years, devastated China, equally with famines from flood,
 ABINUNG. 41

drought, and locusts; in the greater movements and more

terrible events further south, Hienbi was forgotten. This was
not, however, because they had begun to assist their southern
neighbours, nor because of peaceful inactivity; for with the
waning of the Han power grew that of Hienbi in strength and
temerity, and they had made frequent raids into and ravaged
the prefectures of Yowchow and Bingchow.* They at last com-
pelled, first the Han, then the Wei,t dynasty to purchase their
forbearance, by nominating them guardians of the Borders,—for
which honorary position a considerable yearly sum of money
must have been given. They faithfully observed the duties of
their post, and prevented all the northern peoples, whether
Hiwngnoo on the west, Woohung or Gaogowli on the east, from
entering in to plunder Chinese soil.
But in 233, Abinung, an independent chief of a portion of
Hienbi, intrigued with, and drew from his allegiance, Boodoogun,
who was then the Hienbi Guardian of the Border. He had
married a daughter of Boodoogun's, and the latter had given
him pasture lands on the Chinese side of the Border. The Wei
dynasty, which ruled in the north of divided China, had sent
two generals in succession against Abinung in his original
independent seat, and both were defeated. Hence the general
desertion of Boodoogun and all his men, who first crossed the
border to join Abinung, aiad then, with and under the
independent chief, re-crossed the border to harry and destroy what
they had been paid to protect. A third general ordered against
them was more successful. He attacked and defeated the Hienbi;
and Abinung, seeing there was no escape from the close pursuit,
murdered his father-in-law, and submitted with all his men. Next
year the commander of Yowchow engaged the celebrated warrior
Han Loong to cut down Abinung. The terror of this warrior's
name went before him, and this portion of the Hienbi scattered
ere he had time to strike ablow.

*The modern Taiyuen.

tAs noticed above, the Wei, founded in the north of China by Tsao Tsao, was
one of the powerful kingdoms formed out of the. disrupted Han empire.
42 HIENBI.

While Chiang or Tibet on the west, and Hienbi on the

north-east, continually harassed their Chinese neighbours, many
individuals and families from both states crossed, for reasons of
their own, into Chinese territory, acknowledging the sway over
them of first the Han and then the Wei emperors. They were
granted lands on the Chinese side of the border, and gradually
became an important factor in the political game. They proved
that "blood was thicker than water" by keeping up communi-
cations, generation after generation, with the free descendants
of their ancestors; and many a plundering horde, at the proper
time, was guided into the proper route by these refugees and
their descendants. The Wei dynasty had fallen into the shade
before the rising star of the dynasty of Tsin (Jin), which
assumed imperial style in A.D. 265, having sprung from the seat
of the ancient Tsin kingdom in the south of Shansi. In 280,
its census embraced two and a half million families, or about
twenty million souls. The Hienbi immigrants had proved so
vexatious a portion of Chinese people, that the advisers of the
Tsin Emperor urged him to drive them all beyond the border,
back to their original home. But, nothwithstanding their oft-
proved treachery, he refused meantime to meddle with them.
The Hienbi were spread over a great extent of country,
all along the western border of the present Liaosi, and were
divided under anumber of chiefs; one of whom, Mohoo, moved
southwards, and, after some fighting, established a separate
kingdom, making a capital in the neighbourhood of Changli,
which is now 110 li west of Shanhaigwan in Chihli, but which
was then included in Liaosi. He added Loongchunghien soon
thereafter, but died without accomplishing anything great;
succeeded by his son Mooyen, and he by his son Boogwei, who
attacked the northern parts of Liaotung, and, in 281, ravaged
the Chinese neighbourhood of Changli. Moyoong Shan, his
brother, succeeded him two years after, and sought to put to
death Hwi, or Kwei, the son of the deceased king. Kwei, having
got timely warning, fled into Liaotung, whence he was summoned,
in 286, to take his father's throne, for the people had risen
 MOYOONG KW
. EL 43

against and put Shan to death. The kingdom over which Kwei
was now elected king was known by the dynastic title of
Moyoong,—the surname assumed by the reigning family. A
second nimbi kingdom was set up to the north and West of
Moyoong, with the dynastic title of Dwan; while the original
Hienbi, west of Kaiyuen, took the distinctive name of Yiiwun,
because it had in its possession the imperial despatches, letters,
presents and seals of office granted to the Hienbi by the Chinese
emperors for several generations. The Hienbi were bounded
on the north-east by the kingdom of Fooyii, whose southern
border touched the present Kaiyuen.
Kwei was ambitious and eager again to amalgamate all the
Hienbi, over whom he desired to be king. He petitioned the
Tsin emperor for permission to march against and annex Yiiwun.
He was then quite ayoung man just raised to the throne; but
his aggressive nature was plainly enough manifested in this
one ambitious desire; and even were no other evidences of his
ambition forthcoming, the Tsin emperor judged wisely, that a
divided Hienbi was a much more agreeable neighbour than a
united one would be. But this refusal to countenance him in
his ambitious projects, roused the anger of the young barbarian,
who let loose on Liaosi the armies he had collected against
Yiiwun. His rage found expression in indiscriminate slaughter,
and his troops seized great quantities of spoil. But in his
westward march of blood and rapine, he was encountered
•by the commandant of Yowchow, and completely defeated
at Feiyoo.* His defeat was only atemporary check however;
for he made yearly inroads into China, east, west, and south
of him.
Liaotung seems to have been unable to offer him any
resistance, for he repeatedly attacked the kingdom of Fooyil,
which he could attack only from the south, as its west was
defended from him by the other Hienbi kingdoms. Liaotung
was indeed then little better than adesert, for it seems to have
had not a single city, while all the Hienbi and Fooyii had
*The modern Looloonghien.
41 HIENBI.

strong forts. Fooyii was reduced, in one of these campaigns, to

so low an ebb, that its king, Yiloo, committed suicide, and his
sons fled eastwards into the kingdom of Wojoo. Kwei took
several cities, and retired to his own country with 10,000
captives. On his departure, Yilo, son of the dead king, returned
to Fooyii to assume the government; and as numbers of those
who had fled beyond the frontier now desired to return to their
native land, Yilo asked Hokan, a chief of the Eastern Hoe
barbarians of Liaotung, to escort the Fooyil men scattered south
and east in Liaotung. Hokan sent one of his officers to lead
home the fugitives, but, while on the way, Kwei pounced
upon and defeated him, again sacked Fooyii, and then
wheeled round and drove home a quantity of spoil out of
Liaosi.
Some time after, he sent messengers to the Chinese court to
tender his allegiance, which was gladly accepted; and he was
nominated, by the emperor, Doodoo of Hienbi. The comman-
dant of Yowchow was also a Doodoo, so that the rank at that
time implied a combination of civil authority with the military
rank of Lieutenant-General. The rank was what is now called
Dootoong, or Military Lieutenant-Governor. To be formally
invested with his new rank, it was necessary to go to court; and
as he learned that Hokan and all the ministers were to receive
him in state, he appeared in his best official robes. But finding,
on arrival at the palace gate, a band of soldiers drawn up, not
in the attitude of welcome to a guest, but of caution, as if to
receive an enemy, he retired immediately, quickly changed his
apparel, and presented himself in ordinary garments. He was
asked why he had thus acted, and replied that, when received
as a guest, he desired to act the guest; but if the host forgot
to act the host, what could the guest do ? Instead of anger, his
reply gained him much credit—as such replies do in China to
this day; for nowhere is etiquette better understood than in
China, and no people are so sensitive to criticism on their
etiquette as the Chinese. Kwei had already married adaughter
of King Dwan, and with her he took up his abode at
 LIWYUEN. 45

Chingshan* 190 li east of Yingchow. But he stayed there only

ashort time, retiring to Jichung (Tsichung), which he made his
capital.
In the convulsive anarchy within the Chinese empire and the
distraction caused by the constant floods of the fierce Huns and
the wild Hienbi from without, the Doodoo of Yowchow found
himself compelled to form treaties of alliance on his own account.
He made an alliance with the Dwan Hienbi, by giving one of his
daughters to wife to the chief; and he gave another daughter to
the chief of Yiiwun. This was much as if a British General
were compelled to sell his daughter, for peace, to aNew Zealand
chief or the leader of a Kaffir tribe. He also nominated the
Dwan chief, Duke (Goong) of Liaosi. The Hienbi must have had
large accessions from the Huns prior to this date, for Liangchow
was plundered by Yolobanung, achief of an independent branch
of Hienbi, whose following was so large, that when he was ulti-
mately driven back, over 100,000 of his people were taken
captive.
In this same year, 304, Liwyuen, whose surname was Hooyen,
chief of the Huns, who had some time before been nominated
Doodoo by the Tsin Emperor, assumed the more honourable
title of Shanyii, the Hunnish equivalent of the Turkish Khan,
or, more properly, Kokan. Shanyti, or Kokan, in Mongol is
the same as "Whangdi" in China; for the Shanyti is the "King
of Kings." The emperors of the Han dynasty had for genera-
tions been compelled, in order to save themselves, to give the most
beautiful of their imperial daughters to be the wives of the wild
Shanytis of the Huns. Hence this Liwyuen had in his veins
not a little of the blood of the imperial house of Han. He
therefore added to his native title the Chinese one of Han Wang
(king, prince). He desired to attack the Hienbi, and desisted

*Chingshan was north-east of Yingchow, and Jichung must have been south-
west of Yingchow, though the Toongkien places it 170 li south-east; and the
Gangkien, calling it also Dajichung, sites it in Honan, in the present Ninglinghien.
But as Chinese geography is not always correct when treating of places outside
China, we must grope our own way out of the darkness. (See note p. 47.)
46

only when his ministers told him that these Hoo were his
own relations, who should be employed and not attacked; and
instead of attacking them, he ravaged north-western China up to
the walls of Taiyuen. In this army of his were numbers of Hienbi,
who had enlisted under him. But the Chinese, themselves unable
to cope with him, employed aHienbi contingent to aid them; and,
in Dec. 308, the Huns were completely defeated and driven back
by Hienbi,—whose fellow-countrymen in the Hun army
deserted to them during the action. It was in the beginning of
this year that Liwyuen, the Han Wang, proclaimed himself
Whangdi—Emperor; Kwei also then assumed the rank and
style of Great Shanyil of Hienbi, and was acknowledged as such
by the governors of the three northern Chinese provinces.
Every man at that time did what was right in his own eyes,
for there was no real "king in Israel." And every man acted
on the "simple rule, the good old plan"; for it was right that
any man should, if he could, rob every other man. Among
other incidents showing the collapse of authority may be
related the following. Li, the Wang or Feudal King of Bohai,*
hated bitterly Wang Chinyo, one of the principal ministers of
the Tsin Emperor. Wang Ting, the Prince-Wang of Changli,
sided with Prince Li, and urged him to send an army against
Chinyo. The advice was acted upon, and Li's son marched
against the minister of his own master. Bun, the Governor of
Liaotung, knowing that the best of Bohai's troops were gone,
immediately set out with his army against Bohai, to take up the
quarrel in behalf of Chinyo. Li was not able to prepare against
this sudden inbreak, and he was soon taken and put to delth.
Another army of Bun's fell upon aBohai army which had been
sent against Liaotung, and had penetrated to Woolii hien of
Liaotung (now Liaosi). This city and fort was at the foot of the
temple-crowded Yiwoolii mountains, whose beautiful shadows are
thrown over the present city of Kwangning. The Bohai army
was completely defeated; and Prince Ting, whose men formed
part of it, fled to Kwei for vengeance. Bun, elated with his
*North-west of Shantung and south-east of Chihli.
 LITERARY FUGITIVES. 47

success, was eager to gain possession of Li's successor. The latter

pretended to be willing to acknowledge Bun his superior; but
while he sent friendly messages, he set an ambush. Bun was
gladly advancing to receive the submission of that official, when he
was pounced upon by this ambush, seized and put to death, along
with all his family.
Chinyo had more important matters to attend to than avenging
the death of his self-constituted, ambitious protector. For the
internal anarchy of China had reached a climax, and the power
and terror of the Huns increased in proportion. Chinyo was in
such straits for men that he applied for aHienbi army to revenge
the death of the imperial commander, Li Jwun, who had been
defeated by the Hun chief Shulua, taken and beheaded. The
Dwan Hienbi, to whom he first applied, were in no hurry to go to
the appointed rendezvous; and Chinyo, in his anger, commanded
Kwei to raise the neighbourhood, and chastise Dwan. Kwei was
only too ready to do what he was ordered to, and immediately sent
off his son Han with an army, which defeated that of Dwan;
pursuing the latter from Hosinchung to Yanglo, an ancient city in
the neighbourhood of the present Kingchow. But Han, hearing of
the defeat of a Chinese contingent sent to second him, retired,
leaving agarrison in Chingshan, whose site was near the present.
Yichow of Liaosi.*
The success of Han increased the renown of his father Kwei,
who was already famous as a warrior and as a ruler, and
especially celebrated as arefuge and hospitable entertainer of all
fleeing from the anarchy inside the Chinese borders. At first,
Chinyo was the centre to which literates, and people with much
to lose, were attracted from northern China. But when he himself
was struggling in deep waters, they began to look elsewhere for
shelter. They first tried Dwan, both in Liaosi and Liaotung;

*As Dwan was north of Moyoong, it is most likely that Hosinchung was south
or south-west of Yanglo, and Yanglo was apparently north or east of Chingshan;
for as Han ultimately "retired" to the latter, from which (or Tooho) he was
summoned to his father's aid, all these places were to the north of the modern
Kingchow.
48 HIENBI.

but as they were not very cordially received, they essayed Kwei,
who welcomed them with open arms, giving the more eminent
literates posts of importance. Among the Chinese—in all
generations the generous patrons of learning—this conduct raised
at once the fame and the power of Kwei.
The governor of Huentoo died in 313; and his son had
to go to court, as usual, to receive investiture, for the office was
then, and long after, hereditary. His road led him through the
jurisdiction of Kwei, who treated him with the greatest respect,
and escorted him part of his way when he took his departure.
When the young man was taking leave, he said that going into
China at present was like running into a tiger's mouth; for
though there were roads enough, not a single step was safe by
any one of them; considering this state of affairs, and that the
rule of Kwei was just, benevolent, and everything a good
king's should be, he urged him to extend that rule over the
Dwan tribe. Still another flattering proof of his fame came to
Kwei by messengers from Daifang and Lolang, east of the Yaloo,
praying for his aid against the king of Gaogowli, with
whom they had fought a losing battle for many years. But
this very fame, and the power accompanying it, made Chinyo
jealous; for he saw the people of the Chinese provinces, which
were under his own care, fleeing to Kwei for ashelter which he
was himself unable to give; his weakness, like a cancer, thus
increasing itself.
The Dwan Duke of Liaosi died in 318, and was succeeded by his
son, who was immediately murdered in a revolt, whose leader
became chief of Dwan. In January 320, the governor in Pingchow*
sent men to enquire into the condition of Liaotung; and the
report they gave of the numbers flocking to Kwei alarmed him.
He sent messengers to those fugitives, ordering them to their
homes; but not one would return. Believing that Kwei's power
was becoming dangerous, he made overtures to Gaogowli,f Dwan,

*Yoongping, in the north-east of Chihli.

tThis is the original form of the name Corea; it was afterwards abbreviated to
Gaoli or Gori, whence Cora or Corea. (See below Gaogowli.)
 TRIPLE ALLIANCE. 49

and Yiiwun to combine, march against, ruin Kwei, and divide

his lands among them. This plan the three powers were only
too willing to carry out; for not only were the dominions of Kwei
conterminous with the Hienbi—south and south-west of them—
but the other two portions of Hienbi were as eager as the
imperial agent to crush the ever-growing power of Kwei, which
threatened them all; and Gaogowli—small, but compact and
ambitious—was eager for spoil. The three, therefore, forthwith
formed an alliance, summoned their clans, and marched to a
common rendezvous in Liaosi.
Knowing it would be madness to think of facing the combined
army of the three kingdoms—any one of which had more men
than he—Kwei had recourse to stratagem. He provided agreat
and splendid feast;, for which he got ready an unlimited supply
of beef and spirits.* He then gave the warmest invitation to the
Yiiwun army, officers, and men, to come and partake of the feast
provided for them; the invitation being given as if he and they
were on the most friendly terms. The trick had the desired
effect; for Dwan and Gaogowli at once suspected Yiiwun of
playing them false, and of waiting only till actual fighting had
begun, to join Kwei and turn against them. Knowing that the
odds—with Kwei's generalship and Yiiwun's numbers—would
then be against them, Dwan and Gaogowli armies believed it
most prudent to retreat to a distance. The Yliwun chiefs were
indignant at this imputation on their honour; and in their angry
vexation, swore they would advance alone, if their allies would
not second them. This they did; for several hundred
thousands of them (so says history) marched and camped 40
li from Jichung, his capital, where Kwei awaited the storm.
As soon as Yliwun began their independent march, Kwei
despatched a summons for Han from Tooho f in the north,
where he had been stationed ever since his victory over

The Chinese largely use both distilled and brewed liquors. The distilled is very
strong, but more resembles Irish than Scotch whisky, for it retains the fusil oil.

tAs Han had camped at Chingshan, south of the present Yichow, this Tooho is
likely to be Siaoliangho. It was within the bounds of the modern Kingchow.
50 HIENBI.

Dwan. Han was informed of the advance of Yiiwun, under

command of Si Doogwan, to plunder the land of Moyoong;
and ordered to fall on the rear of Yiiwun from the north,
while Jichung garrison rallied to attack them in front; for that
such attack would throw Yiiwun into disorder, as they could not
suspect an enemy from their rear. But Doogwan had heard of
the summons to Han, and, believing that Han's design would
be to enter the city and strengthen the garrison, he sent off
several thousand picked horse to intercept him. Han, having
put his troops in motion immediately on receipt of his father's
urgent message, was well on his march when that detachment
had gone to meet him, and his scouts informed him of its
approach. He continued his march, sending on messengers
ahead to this army sent against him, to report himself as
acontingent of the Dwan men, on the way to join the Yiiwun
to take vengeance on Kwei for the numerous insults suffered by
Dwan at his hands. The Yiiwun cavalry division went on their
way, rejoicing to find a friend where they were looking for a
foe; and in their eagerness to meet and welcome this unexpected
reinforcement, they hasted rapidly past a place where Han had
already laid an ambush, which rose and rushed upon the rear of
this cavalry. Han immediately hemmed them in on three sides
before they could recover from their confusion, and not a horse
escaped. Han sent forthwith on fleet messengers to his father,
asking him to attack Yiiwun at once, while stunned by this
sudden and unlooked-for blow. He ordered one of his sons,
along with the former chief of Lolang, to advance in the van while
he himself led on the main army. As Doogwan had not
placed, nor deemed necessary to set, sentries, Kwei's men in
person were the first to make him aware of an aggressive
attack from the garrison. But hearing that Kwei was upon
them, the Dwan army ran out of their camp in the
hurry of fear, thinking of nothing else. Just after the
last soldier had left the camp, the Dwan men looked round
and were completely bewildered by seeing their camp one blaze
of fire; for they had barely issued out of the south end of it
 DEFEAT OF YUWUN. 51

ere a thousand of Han's horse galloped in by the north end,

and set it on fire. As they were wholly unable to account for
the attack in that quarter, they became stupified and were
easily defeated and broken up. Doogwan escaped alone, and
most of his men fell into the hands of Kwei, who found among
the spoils the three seals of office given by former Chinese
dynasties to the chiefs of Hienbi,—from which seals they took
the distinctive name of Yiiwun, when Hienbi was divided into
three. The allied army had its eyes opened now when too late;
for the moral effect of that battle, and the skilful stratagems by
which it was gained, made it impossible for Dwan and Gaogowli
to hope for any success, and they hastily withdrew. The
instigator of the war was also terrified, and sent a nephew to
Jichung, to act as mediator between Kwei and the three
kingdoms, to overture peace in their name, and to declare, on
the part of the Chinese commander, that this war was none of
his private seeking; for that it was only the urgent appeals of the
people of Pingchow which had constrained him to act as he had
done. Kwei sent the nephew back with a message, declaring
to the Governor that surrender was his wisest policy, and flight
his next best. Kwei followed this messenger with his army; and
the governor, choosing the second suggestion as his best plan,
fled, with a few dozen horse, to Gaogowli.* As he was unable
to remove his family out of Pingchow, they fell into Kwei's hands,
along with the city and all its inhabitants.
Kwei appointed his son, Yin, Governor over Liaotung, leaving
officials, markets, and everything else as he found them. The
Gaogowli army, seeing Kwei now encroaching on their borders,
drew up their army, but with the spirit "of slaves," and Yin's
army completely routed them; while Jang, the former Governor

*This would seem to imply that Kwei advanced against Pingchow from the west
or north-west, in a way rendering it impossible for Pingchow Commandant to
retreat into China. This would place Pingchow very much to the east of
Yoongping; perhaps in the neighbourhood of Shanhaigwan, or between that and
Ningyuen. Shanhaigwan is now under the jurisdiction of Yoongping; and if
Pingchow were located on any portion of the soil now subject to Yoongping, it
would be said to be in Yoongping foo.
52 HIENBI.

of Liaotung, now serving under Kwei, took many prisoners. Of

the captive officials, Kwei made a number officers of his own,
after he returned to Jichung. One of them, faithful to the old
state of matters, died of grief, showing that the ancient Corea
had now adopted Chinese governmental ethics. As soon as the
terrible Kwei removed his army westwards to his capital, the
Gaogovvli men prepared to drive out the new governor; but Han
and Yin successfully resisted every expedition, and at last the
Gaoli King was compelled to sue for peace.
At that time, one Pung was Commandant of Laichow, on the
north coast of Shantung. He was fiercely attacked by the
Commandant of Tsingchow to the south-west of him; but as he
defended himself with spirit, the assault failed. The two
combatants found themselves equally matched, and neither
would yield to the other. At last Pung said, with a sigh of
grief, "Why, in the present distracted state of the country,
should we two fight and make bad worse?" He ended his
speech by proposing that he should abandon his post, and, for
the sake of his country, become an exile. At the head of over
1,000 families, he embarked for Liaotung, and, for patriotism,
forsook his country. His original design was to make for
Pingchow, which he believed to be still Chinese soil. By the
way, he came in contact with General Jung Lin, whom he
suspected of designs upon him; and, to prepare against these,
he drew up his men in battle order. But before actually
beginning the fight, Lin said that they should not suspect, but
trust each other; and the result of his speech was that they
combined their forces, and went over to Kwei, who gave them a
hearty welcome, and offered each an important post in the
country. This they declined, preferring to go further on into
Liaotung and break up the unoccupied grounds there. This
was perhaps the largest Chinese immigration into Liaotung at that
early period, but it was not the only one.
In January, 321, Kwei was nominated Doodoo of Yowchow
and Pingchow, Goong of Liaotung and Shanyii. This was the
manner in which the feeble Emperor revenged the defeat and
 DUKE KWEI. , 53

flight of his own officials, who had held those places, now placed
under the orders of Kwei. Kwei made his son Han Governor of
Liaotung, and Yin of Pinggwo,—which was known afterwards,
during the Sung dynasty, as the city of Jienan* of Gaoli.
These made excellent governors. But in 333, Kwei died full of
honours and of years, having established an independent, compact,
and formidable kingdom, consisting of the north-east corner of
Chihli, all Liaosi, and most of Liaotung up to the Gaoli borders.
Kwei was succeeded by his third son; Whang, who began his
reign by enacting severe laws, which alienated many of his
people, and caused general uneasiness. This apparently means
that, hitherto, laws and modes of life were of a somewhat rude
and misshapen kind, and that Whang began a system of
civilization, approaching the Chinese form of life and govern-
ment, which was as uncomfortable to the wild sons of the
mountains, as western tights would be to the loosely clothed
Chinaman. His brothers Han and Yin, who had already
proved themselves able rulers, were much beloved by the
soldiers, whom they had so often led to victory, and, doubtless,
to booty; and another brother, Li, was equal in sagacity to the
father. It is said, and we can readily believe, that Whang was
jealous of them, especially as they were all in a state of society
where Whang's assassin would become his successor; and they
were aware of Whang's jealousy. Han said, with asigh, that,
during the time of his father, the first duke, he did his duty to
the best of his ability, but that he could no longer remain where
he was. Taking his son with him, he therefore fled to the
Dwan Hienbi, as did his brother Yin from Pinggwo.
Having been taught, by bitter experience, the ability of these
men, the Dwan rulers received them with open arms, and were
prepared to act generously towards them. Li and Yin,
however, plotted to recover their proper position in their own
land. The former urged Yin, to compel Whang, by force of
arms, to deal generously by them; and Yin went to Pinggwo,
raised forces, and marched westwards.
*See Map 1.
54 HIENBI.

Whang heard of the plot, but did not believe it. He sent
messengers, however, to make enquiry. They got to Hwang-
shwi* (river), to which Yin had already marched. Yin had
these spies seized and put to death; but he himself fell back on
Pinggwo, apparently not meeting the encouragement he had
expected by the way. As soon as Whang discovered the truth,
he sent off several of his generals against the revolted Yin,
who, however, completely defeated them. The result of
this victory was that the commandant of Liaotung city—the
chief fort of Liaotung, and not far from the present Liaoyang—
declared for Yin. Many men from the defeated army joined
him; and the remainder, faithful to Whang, were therefore
unable to enter the city. The other officials, scattered over
Liaotung, followed the example of the chief city, and all the
former province of Han was now united to that of Yin. Liao,
King of Dwan, rejoiced in Yin's good fortune; and his northern
neighbour, Yiiwun, was none the less pleased with this blow to
Moyoong.
Liao, Shanyu of Dwan, to take advantage of the strain
on 'Whang, had an army sent against Tooho, which, however,
had to retire. He then sent Lan, his younger brother, with one
of Han's men as guide, to attack the city of Liwchung, which
was north of Yingchow. But the city was well defended, and
again Lan had to retire. Liao upbraided him for his inefficiency,
and ordered him back. For twenty days and nights he rested not
from his works, raising mounds to overtop the walls, and
preparing scaling ladders. The repeated sallies of the besieged
cost him over 1,000 men; but in spite of all he could do, the
city was as strong as ever.
Whang at length sent his brother Kan to raise the siege,

*North-east of Jichung and 400 li from Yingchow, and in the neighbourhood of

Hiendoo, aCity of the Han dynasty. Apparently the Liao west of Kaiyuen, which
is even now called the Sira or "Yellow "River by the Mongols. The river 400 li
from Yingchow, or the modern Kingchow, would be either the Outer Liao to the
east of Sinmintwun, a region then under Dwan; or the united Liao at Sanchaho
near Newchwang, which is the more likely position, as it was in the direct line
between Pinggwo or Kaichow and Yingchow.
 REVOLT OF YIN. 55

ordering him to send a body of a thousand horse in advance to

scout, and to discover the position of the enemy. This he failed
to do; and as he entered the gully of Niv; tvei goo,—"Ox-tail
Valley,"—he was suddenly attacked, and completely defeated,
with half his men slain. Hereupon Yin felt secure in his new
dominions, and therefore styled himself Prefect of Pingchow and
Duke of Liaotung. He also seized and retained Wang Chi and
other officials, whom the Tsin Emperor had sent across the sea,
to take command of and in Liaotung, and who were then on
their way to Whang to pay their respects, and to deliver to him an
order from the Tsin Emperor to march upon Liaotung, along
with the Chinese officials named in the imperial document,
which they were to deliver.
Whang did not receive the message; but he was not dilatory
in making formidable preparations on his own account. For
though he was the vassal of the Emperor, the fealty due was a
merely nominal one; and Liaotung was of much more conse-
quence to him than to the Chinese Emperor. The Commandant
of Hiangping* opened its gates to the large army of Whang,
and his example was again followed by all the fortified cities of
Liaotung. Whang was eager for vengeance on Hiangping because
of its desertion, and desired to put the entire city to the sword. His
advisers, however, proved that this would be bad policy; and
his anger was satisfied by having the inhabitants all moved to
the west of the Liao river. This example of wholesale
transportation was followed by the Manchus, thirteen hundred
years later, at that same river, and still more extensively on the
Liaotung, Fukien, and Kwangtung sea-coasts. It would appear
as if Yin had retired before Whang into his own province of
Pinggwo, among the numerous mountains of the Liaotung
peninsula, and that Whang was not prepared to pursue him
further; for the armies of the two brothers did not come into
collision.
In 335, Yin dismissed the imperial messengers, Wang Chi
and his companions, to find their way home by sea. But, once
*Called above "Liaotung city."
 56 HIENBI.

at sea, they steered westwards instead of southwards, and made

for Whang, who then, for the first time, was made aware of the
imperial commands. This was in January, 336, two years after
the messengers had touched Liaotung shores. The character of
the message was soon known to both Dwan and Yiiwun; and
both, jealous of the power of Whang, and desirous, therefore, to
support and prepare Yin, sent on messengers to let him know
the nature of the embassy he had detained and let go. Whang
heard of their interference, sent a band, in hot haste, after the
Yliwun messengers, and killed ten of them. Whang, now
assured of imperial sanction to his enterprise, hurried on large
preparations to crush his brother, and had his plans ready by
February, 337. One of his ministers said that the gods were in
league with him against Yin; for that ever since by his
rebellion Yin had deserted his country and betrayed his friends,
the sea had been frozen over every winter,—a thing unheard of
to such an extent before. Such a portent was, manifestly, a
declaration of the mind of the gods, and, doubtless, meant
urgency to punish the rebel; for the road thus provided for the
faithful people was adirect one across the sea. Other ministers
objected to making use of the ice as aroad, and.expressed doubts as
to its safety. But Whang received the supernatural explanation
with great gladness; and when several of the councillors still urged
the use of the land road, which, if longer, was perfectly safe,
Whang angrily declared that his plans were formed, and the
daring man would be slain who would venture to oppose them.
He ordered his younger brother to march on the ice from
Changli to Lilin Kow,* also called Haipo Kow, a distance of
300 li.
Yin was unaware of the march of this army till it got within

*300 Ii east of Changli, if measured across the sea, would point to the modern
Newchwang or Ying,tsu, as the destination of the daring adventurers; or, better
still, to the mouth of the Kaichow river, whence the distance to Ping,g,wo would
not be great, and the route taken would account for the ignorance of Yin. The
sea is now frozen every winter along the shore of Liaotung between Kingchow and
Kaichow, and the winters were necessarily more severe when asparse population
was unable to contend with the forests and marshes of the plains.
 YIN DEFEATED. 57

seven li of Pinggwo city, when he apprehended two scouts. He

immediately drew up his army at the north-west of the city, and
waited the arrival of his brother. But the 1VIoyoong men in his
army deserted to their fellow-countrymen under Whang, and
Yin, with his Liaotung men, was totally defeated. The men Of
his own tent revolted after the battle, seized and brought him a
prisoner to the victors. His most trusty friends and advisers
were slain, and he himself permitted to commit suicide; for,
unlike the Turks, no member of any royal or imperial family in
China can be executed, but one may be ordered to execute
himself. Many of Yin's men, who at first fled, returned and
joined the conqueror; and, of all the officers, only two fled into
Gaogowli. Gao, the general of this successful expedition, was
created aDuke by Whang.
To keep Dwan in check, Whang now built the city of
Haochung,* to the east of Yilien,—the easternmost city of
Dwan. Bo was made commandant, with a force sufficient
to keep a sharp look-out on both Dwan and Yuwun. Next
month after the city was finished, some thousands of Dwan men
approached to ascertain whether they could not pull it down.
Bo drove them off; and the Dwan commander of asecond larger
army was afterwards seized.
King Liao of Dwan was, however, not to be beaten, but sent yet
athird army, numbering fifty thousand men, which camped at
Hwishwit river, west of Liwchung. The commander of this
army hearing that Whang was marching against him with an
equal number of men, retreated quickly without striking a blow.
Whang, therefore, marched northwards to a city he had built
some years before. A general of Yuwun, who had set out for

*This city would needs be somewhere in the vicinity of Kwangning.

tin early Chinese history "river" is always translated "Sinai" or water,—Ho
being a modern generic name, it having been anciently applied to the Ho, the
Yellow River. This Hwi river is also called the Chit Shwi, north-west of
Haochung coming from Mongol land, passing Yijunchung in anorth-west direction,
then north-east passing Gooshan, then south-east,—so says a note to the original
history. Liwchung was north of the present Kingchow, so the river must have
been the Daliang.
.58 HIENBI.

the south with another army, also hastily withdrew, abandoning

his heavy baggage and waggons. Whang was, however, not
at all satisfied at the bloodless character of his victories. He
set an ambush, therefore, of some thousand men among the hills,
which fell in with, and completely defeated an army of some
thousands of Dwan men, who were stealing in to plunder. The
.commander of the Dwan army was slain. Dwan, nothing
daunted, and wild for revenge, sent still another army against
Tswun, son of Whang, at Hinggwo chung. This, too, had to
beat a retreat; and the chief of Beiping * clan of the Dwan,
grieving over the fratricidal strife, pleaded against this ceaseless
bloodshed, saying that marriage alliances, benevolence, and
virtue were the most precious gems of a government; and that,
as the Dwan family had for generations intermarried with the
iVloyoong, he did not see why they should not all agree to restore
peace to the kingdoms, and rest to the people, by ending this
•ceaseless war. King Liao refused to listen to this advice, which
is very unpalatable to some kinds of rulers, ancient and modern.

*The modern Tsunhwa, only recently in possession of the Chinese.

 CHAPTER III.

YEN WANG.

W HANG was now as much feared, as strong, and in the east more
powerful than his father had ever been. His success in crushing
all internal strife, and defeating all external attack, had been
complete; and, as yet, he had the full approbation of the
Chinese emperor, which freed him from anxiety as to the attitude
towards him of the higher authorities in the northern provinces
of China, bordering his own territory. His dependence on the
Chinese court of Tsin was, however, a very slight one; and he
revived for himself the ancient title of Yen Wang. Indeed, by
this time the court of Tsin was real master of only a fourth of
China, and the new Yen Wang simply added a fifth to the
number of virtually independent kingdoms into which China was
divided. His southern neighbour was Shu Hoo ("Stone Tiger"),
Prince Wang of the ancient kingdom of Jao (Chao). King Liao
of Dwan was unceasingly sending armed bands into Whang's
borders to plunder; and in order to put an end to the nuisance,
Whang sent General Soong Whi to his southern neighbours to
ask their assistance in chastising the common robber: for we
have seen that Whang had established laws, and, doubtless,
urged the cultivation of the land; so that he differed less from
the Chinese than from the original Hienbi, who were still, for
the most part, apparently nomadic, as are their descendants to
this day. "Stone Tiger" responded to the summons with an
army of 30,000 men to march by land, and 10,000 more to
embark at Pictoyiljin, which is apparently the mouth of the
Tsing ho in Shantung, the Whang ho, then flowing east. The
commander-in-chief of the combined army would thus have
70,000 men under him. The "Tiger," as we shall see, had his
own reasons for assisting Whang.
 60 YEN WANG.

In May, 338, Han, who was still at the court of Dwan, urged
King Liao to take advantage of the isolation of the 30,000 men
ere reinforced by the other contingents, and at once attack
them. But Lan, who had been so often defeated, was angry at
this interference, and refused to act on that suggestion, choosing
to go his own way, which led him into an ambush prepared for
him by Whang. There he had several thousands of his men
slain, and five thousand families taken captive; which, with
similar hints, goes to show that Dwan was still at least partially
nomadic. Much spoil also fell to the conqueror.
Jao Wang then marched in with his army and camped at
Jintai. Yfiyang and over forty other fortified cities of Dwan
opened their gates to him. Yang, chief of Beiping,* retired
with several thousand families to Yenshan,f where he strongly
fortified himself. The various generals, fearing that, if left in
their rear, he might cause trouble, urged the necessity of rooting
him out before advancing further. But the Stone Tiger did not
think it was worth the trouble. He therefore ordered amarch
past; and the army went by Yilwoo hien, the Ytttien hien of
Kichow of Tang. Because Lan had been so often defeated,
Liao dared not risk all to the chance of one battle. Instead of
fighting, he took one thousand families, his wife and relations,
and made for Miyun sham, which afterwards became Miyun
hien. Han, of whom he took leave in tears, fled north to
Yiiwun. The various other officers left behind made their
submission, and Jao and Yen Wangs sent a combined force of
20,000 men against Miyun, which took Liao's wife and mother,
slew over 3,000 men, and scattered the rest. A son of Liao,
riding a famous horse, prayed to be received, and was. Over
20,000 Dwan families were transported to Suchow, Yoongchow
—the ancient name of Singan, &c. Seeing no help for him,

*Now Tsunhwa.

tNear Peking, anciently called Yen King. From the position of Tsunhwa,
Yutien, and Miyun, Iprefer to locate Yenshan east or north-east of Peking, rather
than in Sishan, where Dr. Bretschneider sites it; for in Sishan, Yang would be far
removed from the scene of action, and would have caused no uneasiness.
 DWAN BROKEN UP. 61

Yang also tendered his submission, and was received by Hoo at

his tent door, who said to him, "You were formerly a slave;
you are now afree soldier."
Whang was nominated Mooling—" Shaper and Guide "—of
Yowchow and Prefect of Pingchow. But Jao Wang was jealous
of the reputation of Whang. He was now aware of the number
of his forces, his resources, and the extent of his country.
Dwan, the nearest neighbour and relation of 1VIoyoong, was all
but annihilated, and Jao Wang saw his way clear to extend his
own dominions. His first step was to separate his men from
those of Yen Wang, who, however, was aware, long before this
step was taken, of the real sentiments of Jao Wang. He, too,
had prepared, on his side, for the struggle which he had seen
coming. He first of all dismissed all questionable officers. He
then asked Commander Gao as to the condition and spirits of
the army. Gao replied that the city must be kept to the death;
implying that the city was more reliable than the army. And
while internal China was lorded over by misrule, every man's hand
against every other, Jao Wang began his march against Yen Wang.
This duel, like that of Prussia and Austria after Denmark's
defeat, was not entered upon without careful preparation; both
sides not only straining their own resources, but striving on all
hands for allies. Jao Wang's kingdom at that time contained
the original kingdom or "Empire" of the earliest Chinese.
He had seven chow cities—Suchow, Yichow, Tsingchow,
Kiichow, Yowchow, Bingchow, and Yoongchow. It extended
from the west of Shantung inclusive, and included the southern
half of Chihli, and the central portions of Shensi and Shansi.
As it was the oldest, it was, as now, also the most wealthy and
thickly peopled portion of the empire. It was, therefore, no
matter for surprise that when, instead of, as hitherto, supporting
the power of Whang and the house of Moyoong, the resources
of that populous and wealthy land were to be hurled on the
head of the doomed Yen Wang, many of his followers believed
it best to make sure of the friendship of the Stone Tiger, rather
than encounter the avalanche which was being let loose to
62 YEN WANG.

overwhelm them. Hence thirty-six cities belonging to Yen

Wang opened their gates at the sunimons of Jao Wang. Few,
on the other hand, replied to the invitation which Yen Wang
had sent to all the neighbouring tribes to join him. And
Gaogowli prepared for the inevitable destruction of Whang, and
the certain dissolution of his power, by marching in force into
Lolang to defend themselves against Jao Wang, after he should
have crushed Yen Wang. Swun Yoong, Whang's commandant
in the fortified city of Changli, discovered aplot by some of his
officers—Lolang men—to open the gates to Jao Wang. The
conspirators he put to death, freeing those who had confessed
their crime.
Our old friend Pung, now a Taishow, hurried with 200 men
into Jichung when he heard of Jao Wang's sudden march
against it; for the latter believed he could take it with aspring.
The city was soon completely invested. A brief but successful
sally of a few hundred men raised the spirits of the garrison.
"Stone Tiger" closely pressed the siege on all sides; but the
spirit of the besieged was as desperate as Gao could wish it. So,
incessant and daring were their sallies for ten days running,
that the siege had to be raised. The rear of the retreating army
was so mercilessly cut up by 2,000 of the best horse in
Whang's army, which hung upon it like hornets, that the
retreat became a rout, and the assailants, every moment
becoming more numerous, threw the troops of Jao Wang
into such disorder, that 30,000 (?) of them became prisoners or
were slain.
All fear of any damage from Jao Wang being now at an end,
the victorious and jubilant Whang marched at once against the
revolted cities, all of which fell in a brief space. The principal
agents in the revolt fled to Gaoctowli. The revolted soldiers
Whang put to death, and handsomely rewarded his army. But
though defeated in his first attempt, Stone Tiger was by no
means at the end of his resources, nor would his grand
design fall to the ground because of one failure. He sent
his men across the gulf to Liaotung; sent three million
 DWAN ABSORBED.

hoo* of grain for their use by road, and as much more, in three
hundred vessels, to Gaogowlif These preparations point to a
rear attack from Liaotung, which could be only by vessels; and
afront attack by the modern Tientsin, whither the grain must
have been sent by land. He also ordered Tsingchow to provide
athousand vessels to march on Yen kingdom. His son, with
20,000 horse and foot, made an expedition, in which he took,
or slew, 40,000 Hienbi.
In the following January, King Liao, still at Miyun, shan,
sent messengers, imploring Jao Wang to help him; and
Ma Chiw was sent to receive his submission with 30,000 troops.
Chiw said that men surrendering should be received, like an
open enemy, with caution. He was to prove the wisdom of his
observation; for Yen Wang Whang marched out with all his
men to intercept his army, and Liao forwarded messengers to
Whang, telling how Jao Wang's army could be ruined. Whang
sent 7,000 horse as ambush to Miyun shan; and when Chiw got
to Sandsangkow,—the meeting of the "Three Waters" in
Anchow and Miyun,—he got involved, attacked, and defeated.
Six-tenths of his men were cut to pieces. Chiw escaped
almost alone, and one of his generals, Yang Goo, was left a
prisoner in Whang's hands. He was a Shangshoo, or President
of one of the Boards; for Jao Wang had, ere this time, assumed
the title of Whangdi. Yang Goo was made a general by
Whang; and the last of Dwan Hienbi became the subjects of
•
Moyoong Whang. Jao Wang lost another battle next year, and
his two commanders were slain by Moyoong Ping; but, to be
revenged, he sent 30,000 men against Fanchung of Yen Wang.
Whang hurriedly threw a thousand men into the city under
Gwan. This small garrison trembled at the approach of Jao

*Hoo is a variable measure, the common one being 2pecks of about (of millet)
40 lbs. each. This would give an average of 800,000 lbs. per vessel, which is out of
the question. If we divide by ten, and make the hoo two pints or 8lb., it gives us
amore reasonable quantity; and this is the actual hoo in use at Shanghai now.
Shanghai is therefore highly conservative! The imperial or standard hoo consists
of 5pecks.

tThe peninsula of Liaotung, then under Gaogowli.

64 YEN WANG.

Wang's army, and pleaded to be allowed to withdraw, for the

odds were so enormously against them. Whatever he felt, Gwan
became very angry at this demand, saying, "Who does not
know that, in holding a city, one man is equal to a hundred
assailants." And he threatened instant beheading as the fate of
the man first to move. Under this bold speech the garrison
rallied; and, to encourage his men, Gwan himself stood in the
thickest of the arrows and ballista stones which came showering
in. A vigorous defence of ten days compelled Jao Wang
to raise the siege; and, as he might now fear an aggressive
movement on the part of Whang, he had the men of Liaosi
moved to the south of Yichow to prevent them falling under the
power of Yen Wang.
For the title of Yen Wang, Whang had not yet received
imperial sanction; and he believed his victory over Jao Wang
would be a good opportunity for pressing his claim to the title;
for the Tsin Emperor could dispense titles and names, if he could
not wield authority. As proofs of his right to the title, Whang
recited at length, by his ambassador, all he had ever done in support
of the majesty of the empire! But he was unsuccessful, whether
because the Emperor believed all that he had done was rather
for the majesty and grandeur of Whang, or for some other
reason, does not appear. But after other victories, he sent
another embassy in 341. The Emperor, in consultation with
his ministers, again declined to bestow the title, for the
characteristically Chinese reason, that no such title had been
bestowed on any stranger (i.e., foreigner) since the periods of
Han and Wei. The lengthy and persistent remonstrances of
the embassy were at length successful, and the imperial patent
was made out, conferring the title of Yen Wang with other
high-sounding names upon Whang; his son was nominated
Governor of the Eastern Hoo, and appropriate titles were
conferred on all the superior officers who had behaved well
under Whang—even though these honours were gained in wars
against the lieges of the Emperor conferring the titles. But the
policy of the weak, tottering, decrepit Tsin has been, in every
 LOONGCHUNG. 65

particular, the policy of every weak, tottering government in

China from the first to the present.
The first capital of Moyoong was Chingshan. on the Tooho
river, where was the ancient kingdom of Goojoo of the Chow
dynasty, and the kingdom of Shangwoo and Feidsu of the Spring
and Autumn Annals. Chingshan was 190 li east of Kunchung,
south-east of which, 170 li, was Jichung, the second capital.
After the first successful raid into Jao Wang's land (see p. 76),
Whang built a new city, which he called Loongchung,* to the

*There is, at first, some difficulty in determining the site of Yingchow and
Liwchung, on whose position depends the site of the capital of the Moyoong
Family. The natives of Yoongping foo in Chihli point out the street named after,
and which was anciently the property of, the two famous brothers of Goojoo
kingdom. The kingdom they also locate in the same place; and, according to the
Tang history, Goojoo was, during the Shang dynasty, where Yingchow was
afterwards built; and the After Wei built Yingchow on the grounds of Holoong-
chung. The literates of Yoongping point out aLangshan, 40 li north-west of their
city, on which Loongchung was built. The historians of the Sung dynasty also
located Loongchung within the bounds of Pingchow, an ancient name for Yoongping.
Yingchow was first of all called Liaosi Kun by the Tsin dynasty, before the
Christian era. The first Wei dynasty had a Yingchow over the six Kun of
Changli, Jiendua, Lolang, Yiyang, Yingkiw. Swi dynasty again called it Liaosi
Kun. Tang renominated it Yingchow, and placed Liwchung Kun under it. This
Liwchung was originated by Han, but had fallen in abeyance. The After Wei
placed under Yingchow, the K UJS of Jiendua, Liaotung, and Lolang, the hien of
Hiangping, Sinchang, and Liwchung. In the beginning of the Swi dynasty.
Liaosi Kun was established where had been the ancient city of Yoolo, and it was
over the hien of Liaosi, Loolm, and Hwaiyuen, where the Swi garnered grain for their
expedition against Gaoli. In the beginning of the Tang dynasty, but after the
conquest of Gaoli, there were only the cities of Jiendua and Loongchung,
Liwchung was soon after re-established and taken by the Kitan during the reign of
the Tang Empress Woo. They, however, soon lost it again. In A.D. 786, the Tang
dynasty established Junan Kun on the site of the ancient Yenkun city; Yenkun
was 80 li north-east of Yingchow. Under Yingchow were placed Woolii, Hiang-
ping, Yoolo, and Hwaiyuen. Woolii was at the eastern foot of the Yiwoolu
mountains, which are near Kwangning; and Hiang•ping was east of the Liao river.
All these names, as far as they are known, belong to Liaosi and Liaotung; and
Lolang was in Korea. Changli is an exception, for it is somewhat to the west of
Shanhaigwan; but the following figures, also from Tang history, are conclusive.
To the north-west, 100 li from Yingchow, was Soongjing, which was on the eastern
border of the people called Si, who were then in what is now south-eastern
Mongolia. They would thus be north, and not west, of Yoongping. Again,
Yingchow was 400 li south from the Whangshwi, on which the Kitan then lived.
This is the Siramuren as it flows eastwards towards Kaiyuen. The road from
66 YEN WANG.

north of Liwchung, and west of Loong shan mountains. Just

then he was successful in extorting from the Tsin Emperor the
legal and legitimate use of his assumed rank of Yen Wang;
and he built a royal ancestral temple, with palaces and
government offices, in his new capital, whither he removed from
Jichung, as soon as the imperial warrant arrived. Loongchung
was therefore in the land which had belonged to Dwan Hienbi,
and Whang was moving northwards as if to command the
Yiiwun, and to occupy a centre whence to unite all Hienbi into
one kingdom.
Whang was meantime engaged in the more congenial air
of the battle-field. He had marched eastwards to attack
Sinchung, the Gaogowli city nearest his Liaotung border, and
which lay south of the present Kaichow. Gaogowli, believing
itself scarcely amatch for the powerful Whang, made a treaty
acknowledging its own subjection, instead of fighting over acity.
The army was therefore sent north against Yiiwun, the original
division of the Hienbi, under a son of Whang's, then thirteen
years old.
But a tremendous storm was brewing against Whang, of
which he was not aware when re-opening the old strife with

Yingchow to the capital of Manchuria, Andoong doohoo foo, went through Yenkun,
distant 80 li, and Yoolo, near the Liao river. The foo was 500 li distant; and
from the foo Pingyang was 800 li. Now, Pingyang, in Corea, is 500 li east from the
Yaloo at Aichow, which is nearly 100 li from Funghwang-chung, which, again, is nearly
500 from Liaoyang. The foo, then, had control of over all Gaoli, as well as Liaotung.
The modern King-chow is more than 400 li west of Liaoyang, and Yoong,ping is more
than double that from the Liao river. This is sufficiently conclusive; but one
other figure should decide beyond a doubt the site of Yingchow. Yiigwan was
480 Ii "west " of Yingchow; and Yfig,wan is in the neighbourhood of the modern
Linyii hien, 40 li west of Shanhaigwan. The middle of the road between Yligwan
and Hiangping (or Liaoyang) cannot be anywhere near Yoongping,, which was west
of Yiigwan, but it must be very near Kingchow. Again, the History of Liaotung
places Langshan 20 li north-east of Kwangning, and says it is now called
Hoolangshan. All which is decisive in favour of the neighbourhood of the modern
Kingchow, where we have sited Loongchung, &c., in Map II. This question is
perhaps of no interest to any one but the writer; but we like to locate the head-
quarters of our worthies as far as this can be done. And it is perhaps necessary
to give proof for locating cities in Liaosi, which many Chinese scholars locate
in the centre of northern Chihli.
 CONCSCRIPTION. 67

Yiiwun. China has always been divided, and its census always
been taken from amilitary point of view. Its census-unit is the
able-bodied man capable of bearing arms in defence of the state.
This unit is called aDing, every ten of whom, in ordinary wars,
are supposed to supply and support one of their own number as
an active soldier. But in the end of the harvest of 340, Jao
Wang summoned all the chow cities to send to an appointed
rendezvous three out of five, and two out of four Ding, thus
collecting half the able-bodied men of his kingdom, then in good
health and able to carry arms. This enormous conscription
brought together 500,000 men, for whom he provided eleven
million Hoo* of grain, stowed away in ten thousand vessels, to
start from Longan chung.1- He removed over ten thousand
families from Yilyang and Beiping, and other districts of Liaosi,
which he had taken from Dwan, to replace the men taken from
Yoong and other chows to the south. There, too, they would be
out of the way of temptation from Whang. He then marched
eastwards from Yowchow, by Tahing and Tuntien to Bailang
river, appropriating, on his march, 40,000 horses from the people,
for the use of his army. He hoped thus to sweep Yen off the
face of the earth. But he knew he had to deal with askilful foe.
In consultation with his ministers, Whang said that the Stone
Tiger was in great force at Longan, where he had set the most
careful watch and kept the most strict discipline, but that both
the south and the north of Kichung were most likely left
unguarded; and as that city was therefore most vulnerable, and an
attack thereon gave promise of the greatest success, he
gave orders for an immediate attack. He marched by the
western route past Loongchung, seized a good many of Jao
Wang's men by the way, and got to Kichung, whose

*This, at two pints, would give each man four dew, or Chinese pecks, for two
months; an ample allowance; which again goes to prove two pints the proper
quantity of the loo. It gives over 8000 lbs. to each boat.
f80 li east of Linchi of Tsinan foo in Shantung.
3:There are three Kiehow cities in Chihli; but this is, doubtless, the city east of
Peking, which would be nearest Whang, for he marches west to it.
68 YEN WANG.

commandant, though at the bead of some myriads of men,

did not dare to make even a sally, for Whang's was a
dreaded name. Yen men then attacked and broke down the
fort at the ford of Woosoong,* entered Gaoyang, burning
and destroying all round, and taking back with them 30,000
captive families. This clever stroke compelled the huge army
of Jao Wang to move west from Longan to save the bare
country from destruction.
Jao Wang was apparently unable to make use of the
tremendous army which he had banded together; and the
sudden move of Whang, destroying so much of his stores, opened
his eyes to the damage, incalculable, which a sudden inroad of
Whang might cause by a flank movement, especially as the
defensive resources of his kingdom were almost all collected for
that enormous offensive weapon. Had he been as good a
general as Whang, be could have quickly settled the matter;
but his knowledge that his own powers were insufficient to cope
with the ability of Whang, on anything like equal terms, made
him nervous. Hence we learn that even then, when bows and
arrows were the artillery, and javelins the rifles of fifteen
centuries ago, generalship—that is, mental power—ability to
intuitively see the best move, and to see it at aglance; ability
to work out in theory, and carry out in practice, the most
probably successful of all possible plans—was then as important a
factor in gaining avictory, as when the tactics of Napoleon dumb-
foundered the Austrians, or the movements of Von Moltke
disconcerted the French. It was in all ages the wise general,
rather than the brave soldier, who won the day. Or perhaps
it would be more proper to say that it was the wise general who
made the brave soldier, by inspiring confidence, and compelling
unity and obedience. History never shows that "Providence is
on the side of the biggest battalions ";but it does show that, as
arule, the general, though at the head of the smaller army, who
is able to concentrate agreater number of men on agiven point,
who therefore attacks and pierces through the weak point,
*25 II west of Ansoohien of Paoting,.
 MIND. 69

which his less able adversary presents him—who, by stratagem

or forethought, can surprise and disconcert his enemy—is as
sure of victory when fighting with swords and javelins, as when
concentrating the fire of parks of artillery. The few soldiers of
Fanchung, referred to above, would have fled, but, by a sentence
or two from their undaunted commander, they fell into their
places, were obedient, and therefore successful. So of the large
armies. Whang could judge the best point, the most expeditious
manner, and the most critical time, for setting his troops in
motion; and asmaller number of troops counted for more in his
hands, than alarger under any of his adversaries. The warfare
of the "Middle "and of the "Former" ages was, in this respect,
what the warfare of the "Latter" ages is. Mind has always
been, mind will always be, master, whether the age is Gold,
Silver, or Iron. Jao Wang could easily have collected an army
of half amillion men, as the servant of the magician summoned
the Spirit, but it is another matter to command an army of that
number; and it depends on the head of that army whether it is
to be an army—a well knit, compact, and workable unit—
carrying all before it, or a disorderly rabble, more dangerous to
itself and its friends than to its foes. It is more easy to collect
half amillion men than to command them. Jao Wang's army,
from these or whatever reasons, did not sweep Whang and his
soldiers into the Gulf of Liaotung, nor even drive them out of
Loongchung; though we shall meet it again.
But he sent a fleet across the gulf to Anping of Yen in
Liaotung. The men who manned this fleet were Tsingchow men,
with the addition of men taken off the island of Woo when passing
it. These took the city of Anping; and to prevent the loss of
Liaotung from that quarter, Mo Yoong Go was ordered to hurry on
and take Pinggwo, where Yin had been governor, but which had
been abandoned since. Go had already been successful as acom-
mander, and it was believed he could spring into Pinggwo. And he
did; and protected the old residents, and welcomed all new comers;
while he so belaboured the various Gaogowli armies, which had
come to retake the city, that they ceased marching his way.
70 YEN WANG.

Whang had sometime before sent a messenger, in the guise

of a merchant, to Yuwun, to invite his brother Han to return.
The invitation was accepted, and Han was welcomed with
demonstrations of the greatest joy. As the Yen kingdom had
then its hands free, Han, now ageneral, advised Whang to take
the offensive against one or other of his northern neighbours.
He said that Yuwun was again very powerful, and might march
in at any moment; while Gaogowli was constantly prying into
the eastern borders, and would be certain to take advantage of
an inroad from the Yliwun side on the north, to push in and cut
off Liaotung on the east. This was well on in the spring of
311; but there is no reference to any threatened danger from
the unwieldy host of Jao Wang. Whang believed the advice
a good one; and determined to anticipate danger, by at once
marching in upon Gaogowli, into which there were two routes,—
the northern being the easier; the southern, by Moodichung,*
difficult and very hilly. Thus we learn that war was then waged
by those belligerents, without any apparent casus belli, other
than the opportunity and the ability by one power to damage
another power, which might possibly at some future period
attack it. So that, as in the case of some more recent wars, or
war-cries, might was all, and right nothing.
The Gaogowli men were expected to mass their troops on the
north route, as that by which the Yen men would be sure to
attack them. Whang, therefore, marched 40,000 of his best
troops by the hilly south route, where the Coreans or Gaogowli
were certain to be weakest; sending only 15,000 men by the
north route. The Gaogowli had 50,000 men on the north route;

*As Moodi was in the neighbourhood of Kaichow, and then a Corean or

Gaogowli city, the southern route must have been that via Siwyen, which certainly
is the most mountainous, among the sources of the Yang river. The northern must
therefore have been that from Liaoyang by Saimaji and Kwanclien, which is all but
level, though winding out and in among mountain ranges passing east and south
along the Taidsu; for the route through Moukden, by the Hwun river, is too far
north and more difficult, and was indeed unknown then. Loongchung, besides,
was right west of Liaoyang, and the Saimaji route was the most direct as well as the
most level.
 COREA ATTACKED. 71

while the south one was occupied by the Gaogowli king, who kept
the passes with some thousands of old and decrepit men, just as
Whang had expected. It was Han again who proposed this mode
of attack; knowing that if the army pushed through in force to
Wandoo, the capital of Gaogowli, it must open its gates at once, the
heart of the country would be laid bare, the northern Gaogowli
army would be too late on the scene of action, and no serious oppo-
sition could be apprehended. Han himself, with Moyoong Ba, was
in the van of this southern army. He attacked the Coreans as soon
as he came in sight of them; his vigorous attack being seconded
by Whang with the main body. But old though they were, the
Coreans fought with the valour of despair, knowing that all was
lost if they were forced. They fought so bravely, that notwith-
standing a general assault by Whang's army, they obstinately
held their own. YUliang, an officer of Whang's, said that he
had received many favours at the hands of his sovereign, and now
had come the opportunity of showing his gratitude by his death.
Taking with him a few resolute horsemen, he plunged into the
Gaogowli ranks. This sudden shock staggered them a little;
and as soon as the momentary movement slightly opened their
ranks, the main body of Whang's troops pressed in, threw the
Corean ranks into utter disorder, and their defeat was almost
instantaneous, with afrightful slaughter necessarily ensuing from
such close quarters. One of the Gaogowli generals was slain;
and Whang pursued the fugitives even into the city of Wandoo,
where he took prisoners the mother and wife of the Gaogowli
king. This news soon reached the northern army; and the
moral effects of it defeated them with ease, and Whang did not
need to press the pursuit. Jao, the Gaogowli king, was now a
homeless fugitive, without any central point of government.
Whang sent messengers after him to treat of peace, but he would
not see them. But when Whang would have retired, General
Han declared that without some guarantees, the campaign would
turn out a barren one; for the Gaogowli men would again
re-appear from among the mountain gullies, where they were
hiding, and cause much mischief. He, therefore, advised to
72 YEN WANG.

open the grave of the late king, take the dead body* and the
living mother of the king, and then return; this plan, together
with the plunder of every specially valuable public article and
ensign of government, would bring King Jao to his senses.
This was done. The dead king was disentombed, and brought
away along with his living widow; together with all the palace
valuables, and 50,000 men and women captives. The palace
was then burnt, the city walls levelled with the ground
and Whang returned. The plan was successful; for King
Jao sent his younger brother, early next spring, with the
largest and finest pearls, praying for a treaty. Yen Wang
sent back the coffin along with the messenger, but retained
the queen mother as a hostage; and she was retained for
long.
The enormous army of Jao Wang had long set sail. The
long camping had, doubtless, debilitated many of his huge host,
and made a bad preparation for a stormy passage of several
days across the Gulf of Liaotung. Two-thirds of his 500,000
soldiers and 170,000 sailors perished without striking ablow,—
most of them at sea. After he landed, his rear was hunted
down at every step by an army of a thousand or more wolves
and foxes, aided by some tigers; no bad representatives of the
human armies and their officers. He was therefore unable to
face Whang, and did not attempt a westward march. But his
son and heir marched against the north Hienbi under Hoogooti,
whom he defeated, slaying 30,000 men. He must therefore
have marched north through the present Liaoyang and
1VIukden, to the north of which was the seat of the Yiiwun
Hienbi.
A curious family incident occurred at this time. Shu Yijien
also a Hoo "barbarian," but a Hiwngnoo, or Hun, was then

*A knowledge—imparted by aB. C. priest—of the extreme value attached by the

present reigning house of Corea to the dust of their dead ancestors, led to a
disgraceful attempt at body-snatching, to hold to ransom, by a young American
citizen, which, fortunately for so-called civilization, signally failed—the resur-
rectionists being driven away by an outraged people, ere they could complete their
designs.
 YUWUN DEFEATED. 73

Wang of Dai* in the west. He sought, a second time, a

relation of Yen Wang's in marriage; probably because the
Moyoong family had become so powerful, and marriage alliances
counted then for much, if not for all. Yen Wang sent a
messenger to receive 1000 horses as a present in exchange for
the bride; but Dai Wang refused to give such present. As
this refusal was regarded not only as a breach of etiquette, but
as a defiance, Whang sent his heir westwards with an army
to meet any possible attack by Dai Wang. The latter had not
intended to fight; but hearing of the march of the Moyoong
men, he hasted on with his army. He met no enemy, and
returned home again. The true reason appears to have been,
that the powerful Hunnish Dai Wang regarded it as a great
honour done the 1Vloyoong family to take a bride out of it, and
never thought of making the usual present.
Whang was not needlessly early in his desire to break up the
Gaogowli power, if he desired to prepare for eventualities; for
scarcely were the Gaogowli messengers gone with the coffin,
ere Yiiwun marched southwards in great force. The Yen men
were eager to go to meet the foe, and give immediate battle ;
but Whang, fearing they might be overpowered by numbers,
forbade it. Yiiwun army, seeing no foe, and believing Whang
therefore afraid, became careless, wandered about, and neither
set aguard over the camp, nor sent scouts to feel for the enemy.
Whang was not the man to let slip such an opportunity;
but sent out Han, who fell upon the disorganised Yiiwun. The
commander escaped alone; most of his men falling an easy prey
to Han. This battle must have taken place not much north of
Loongchung, and on the west of the Liao river.
The kingdom of Fooyil, the original home of Gaogowli, had
Hiientoo on its south-west, Yilow on the east, and Hienbi on
the west. Baiji, the kingdom east of Gaogowli, made a raid
northwards into Fooyii, breaking it up completely. The Fooyii
people fled hither and thither, but mostly westwards, where

*On the banks of the Yellow River, hi the north of Shansi. He had made
Yunjoong his capital some time before.
74 YEN WANG.

they nearly touched the lands of Yen. There they dwelt

negligently, thinking of no evil. Whang, therefore, sent 17,000
cavalry, which attacked them suddenly; and took captive their
King Hilen, and 50,000 of his people. Whang made Hiien a
chief commander; giving him one of his own daughters in
marriage.
We now turn again from these Liaotung digressions to Jao
Wang, in the north of China proper, who had long assumed the
imperial title, and whose family was said to be the chief cause
of the miseries which were then rending China in pieces. The
Tsin Emperor, himself utterly unable to cope with his difficulties,
sought the aid of Whang in the east, and of Jang Jwun in the
west, at once to put down the arrogant Jao Wang, and to drive
the Iliwng,noo out of Chungtu, which they had taken. He
also nominated a day and place for the junction of their troops
with those of the empire. But the proposal came to nothing at
that time.
In Feb. 349, Jao Wang, the "Stone Tiger," took unwell in
the midst of preparations against a proposed attack by Jwun,
on and heir of Whang. In May he died, and was buried with
imperial pomp. Jwun was urged to march in upon Jao Wang's
land; the distracted state of the empire being pressed upon him
as areason. He was not unwilling, now that the man chiefly to
be feared was gone; and he got ready 200,000 men under his
well tried generals, Ba, Ping, and Go. Jwun was now lord of
Yen; for his father, the talented Whang, died before Jao Wang;
both thus leaving their respective heirs to fight out their strife.
The Tsin Emperor nominated Jwun also governor of Yowchow
and Pingchow. And all his councillors urged him to war;
placing the imperial crown before his eyes as an easy prize. He
laughed; but made his arrangements in earnest: for if the
dragon throne was at the top of an arduous climb, it did seem
nearer than ordinary, and its attainment appeared not at all
impossible, for the kingdom of Jao was bled almost to death,
and Moyoong had been steadily growing. He also made an
alliance with Jang Joonghwa of Liangchow in Shensi, who joined
 MASSACRE. 75

him with all his men. He was freed from alarm from his
eastern frontier; for just then the king of Gaogowli, probably
to curry favour with the now powerful Yen Wang, sent on
as prisoner one who was formerly acommander of Liaotung Hoo
barbarians, who had fled into Gaogowli when Whang marched
eastwards. Jwun freed and made this prisoner an officer.
We have already incidentally seen that many Hienbi and
Chiang families took up their abode on Chinese soil from the
time of Han down, and that many more were carried thither
captive by Jao Wang. There were,. doubtless, also not a few
Hiwngnoo families. These had caused trouble in the early days
of the Tsin empire, acting as spies and guides to their plundering
relations from beyond the border. Jao Wang began to prepare
for the coming storm by ordering all the "Hoo "* within his
territories to be put to death. Over 200,000 families were thus
put to the sword to prevent their becoming traitors in the hour
of danger. The work of slaughter had to be done speedily, like
another St. Bartholomew massacre, else many would escape.
As all those people spoke Chinese like the original natives,
their tongue could betray only very recent arrivals. Hence the
marks given by which aHoo could be discovered were, "Much
hair on the face and ahigh nose." Every man possessing these
unlucky marks was cut down, be he what he might, and in spite
of his strongest asseverations, often doubtless true, that he was
no Hoo, but a real Chinaman. Thus many Chinese perished
among the Hoo; for the Chinese wore better beards then than
they do now. Having thus put to death a whole army of
civilians, Jao Wang had a brief breathing space before the
storm burst upon him. But that frightful butchery would,
doubtless, hurry on the northern preparations, and steel the
hearts of Jwun's men with a cry of revenge. If Britain went
mad for blood over the atrocities of the brutal Sepoys, what
would she have done if so many of her children were cut down
and maltreated as only Asiatics and Turks know how to do!

*Thus the term will be seen to embrace all the strangers resident among the
Chinese, from whatever tribe of nomads.
76 YEN WANG.

In March, 350, Yen Wang ordered General Ba to start with

20,000 men by the east route via Tooho. He would, therefore,
march south along the sea shore through the modern Shan-
haigwan. Moyil was sent by the west route through Yiwung
border, and Jwun marched at the head of the main body by the
central route through Looloong* (which was 200 li north-west
of Pingchow). Go and Yuhang commanded the van of this
army. And Loongchung was left in charge of the Heir-
Apparent.
As soon as Commander Ba got to the neighbourhood of
Sanhing, Dung, the Commandant of Anlo, or Longan, abandoned
the city, after setting fire to the heaps of stores. He then
joined Wang Woo, Commandant of Yowchow, to protect Kichow,
which had been formerly plundered by Whang's forces. This
Kichow is now called Tahing hien, in the neighbourhood of
Peking. He had fled too soon, however; for Swun, the
Doe y12 of South Tooho, entered Longan, extinguished the fires,
and saved enormous stores of grain and silk,—all the grain of
Beiping and Anlo having been stored up there. Swun then
joined Jwun at Linju city,—now called Sanho, full thirty miles
east of Peking.
The Yen men got to Woodsoong in April, and Wang Woo,
leaving Wang Two with a few thousand men in Kichow,
hastened, with Dung in retreat, to protect Lookow.f Kichow
was assaulted in a few days and taken by htorm. Wang Two
was seized and beheaded,—a fate which Wang Woo and his
second wisely avoided, by seeking to fight another day. Jwun,
like his father at Hiangping, but with less provocation, was
about to order a massacre of all the soldiers of Two, but Ba
reasoned with him that it was just such conduct which prevented
Stone Tiger from becoming Emperor of China. Soldiers who
will not fight for their incapable rulers will fight to save their

*These two would enter China from the north-east and north of the modern
Peking, through those main gullies which resounded so many centuries later to the
Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan and the Banners of the Liaotung Manchus.
1- The modern Tingchow.
 SURPRISE 77

lives. This is but another form of the Golden Bridge. Not a

soul in Kichow was put to death; and the wisdom of this step
was immediately apparent, for the literates and women (curious
combination I) crowded out of their hiding places, far and near,
for protection.
When Yen men got to Fanyang,* its commandant was eager
and determined to hold the place to the death. His men,
however, refused to fight, compelled him to open his gates, and
gave Jwun another proof of the wisdom of Ba's advice. The
Taishow was still retained in his old post, but his son fled to
Wang Woo, urging him to recede further. The advice was not
very well received, and Woo sent the youth back to his father;
and Jwun made him an officer.
Leaving agarrison in Kichow under Moyii, Jwun pressed on
to attack Lookow, hoping to pierce through to Chingliangchung.
When the Yen army was nearing, Dung threw out a few
thousand men by night, half of whom, as no proper watch was
set, got into the vanguard camp. The noise which they made
when pushing into Ba's tent aroused him out of his slumbers.
He seized a weapon, and with his own hands killed a dozen
men. The alarm then became general, and Dsao with his men
had to beat a retreat. The general disturbance roused Jwun
out of his sleep, and the surprise made him nervously uneasy.
Commander Yiigun, to whom he expressed his uneasiness, told
him that the enemy had taken advantage of a time when they
believed there would be no watch; but that as they (Yen) had
come looking out for the enemy, they should be glad they had
found him. But Jwun did not look the least glad. Yiigun
therefore advised him to lie down again and rest, while he
would act the king for the night, and guarantee no further
molestation. But Jwun continued ill at ease; and, instead of
lying down, went outside the camp, and, surrounded by a few
hundred men, stood on a high grave to look out as far as he
could see. He gave orders that Dsao should be pursued; and
so thorOughly were they carried out, that Dsao joined Dung
*The modern Shwunyi hien.
78 YEN WANG.

alone,—his followers all scattered or slain. Jwun, however,

having tasted the sweets, as well as the cares, of regal life, had
no ambition to add to them those of the soldier; he therefore
returned to Kichow. He is but another example of every
conquering house in the east. The founder of the b.ouse must
be a man of extraordinary military and political abilities, his
successor must be not an unworthy second; but, as arule, that
exhausts the hereditary ability in the direct line. It is difficult
to harmonize history and Darwin.
Lan* of Dwan, the Commandant of Lingju, died in July, and
his successor, Ho, seeing the universal anarchy prevailing
throughout the kingdom of Jao, and in the other Chinese
neighbouring states, marched southwards to Gwanggoo with his
men, and there assumed the rank of Chi Wang,—the ancient
Shantung kingdom. Some districts of Chinafied Hienbi came
under Jwun's power; and one, Jao Gai, after professing to
submit to Yen, fled back with 300 families into the country of
Jao. Fearing that other Hienbi chieftains might also return to
their Chinese homes at the first opportunity, Jwun sent the
companies (Boo) from Kwangning and Shanggoo t to the
districts of Hii and Woo, and those of Dai east to Wanchung,
removing all temptation for ahomeward march.
Sinhing Wang was created Emperor of Jao in his capital of
Hianggwo in the early summer. But while his attention was
directed to the ravages by Yen on his north, the gradually
growing power of Min, king of Wei, suddenly attacked and took
Hianggwo with 100,000 men in it. This was in December; but
in the following April, Jao again marched in force against Min in

*This Lan had sent a present of 10,000 horses, and fugitive Ytiwun, to Jao
Wang, when the latter was attacking Liaotung. Lan was therefore made
Commandant of Lingju, with agarrison of his own Hienbi men under him.

tShanggoo is said by one authority to be the ancient name of Paotingfoo of the

present Chihli. But the Chinese Directory makes Huenhwafoo the ancient
Shanggoo, and makes the present Huenhwa hien to be Gwangning. Woo is
Woojoong afterwards, and now the Yittien hien of Chihli.

:The modern Shwunte foo.

 JAO BROKEN UP. 79

Hianggwo, completely defeated him, slew over 100,000 men,

and broke up his army.
Jao enacted very severe laws, which drove large numbers of
Chiang and Hoo (Tibet and Hunnish) families out of the
country; for, notwithstanding the massacre, many had again
collected. As these were on their way to their respective
countries they heard that their native lands were at war. They
"fell out by the way," and scarcely a fifth of those departing
ever saw their native country. But if Jao's laws were severe, the
power to equally and justly enforce them was gone. And it was
not severe laws, but anarchy, which drove Bohai into making an
alliance with Wei, which power was making great preparations
to restore its lost prestige. And, in the following spring,
General Hoong started as Chin (Shensi) Wang, thus making
another ominous gap in the defensive power of Jao.
After the precautions taken to prevent desertion of Hienbi
(p. 78), the Yen General Ping marched south, and captured
Yichow, then took Changan, whose Commandant had fled. Jwun
returned thence to Loongchung, where he, by sacrifice, informed
his ancestors of the extension of the Yen power. After Ping, at
Nanan, defeated aforce sent against him by the Commander of
Lookow, he pressed on to Looltow. Kooyoo, with its magistrate,
opened its gates; and General Yijoong, seeing that the power of
Jao was about to gasp its last, made his peace with Jwun, and
was made Great Doodoo of the Six Yi (barbarians of the west),
his son being made a Commander. Bohai was also hesitating
whether it should not join Yen; while Joongsban* had fallen
before General Go, who sent many of its ministers and people to
Kichow.
It was now evident that the absorption of the rich country of
Jao into the poor country of Yen was only a matter of a few
months, and as there was no Congress of Berlin to compel an
unscrupulous Power to disgorge, Wei rushed in to scramble for
a share of the spoil. The attack was again directed on the
Capital, and, as might be expected, with more complete success
*The present Tingchow.
SO YEN WANG.

than formerly; for as this spring found Jao everywhere

exhausted, Hianggwo easily fell, after the defeat of an army
marching to its relief; and in it were captured ahundred nobles.
The palace was burnt down, and the young "Emperor" taken,
with his wives and concubines. They were all beheaded. The
family of Stone Tiger, who was within sight of the Dragon
throne of all China, was exterminated; and the whole of the
kingdom of Jao was divided between Yen and Wei, each taking
what he could.
Now that Jao kingdom was gone, Yen and Wei became
neighbours. The advice of his councillors to the king of Wei to
be satisfied with his condition, and not meet Yen in battle, only
angered him; and he declared he would not only defeat Yen,
but take Yowchow, thus showing that he believed himself able
to annex all the lands which had formed the kingdom of Jao to
his own. He camped at Ansi of Jingchow, whither Go was
pressing upon him. He went to Changshan; Go keeping close
in his rear, and camping at Weichang hien* of Joongshan.
They had meantime engaged ten times; but as both were
excellent generals, neither gained any advantage. Go had a
considerable advantage over his opponent, inasmuch as his men
were all mounted; but the forests which covered the country
were in favour of the infantry of Wei. Wei withdrew to the
forests whenever Go got to any place where his horse could be
employed to advantage; and Go took the advice of those who
urged him not to pursue into the woods, but to patiently wait
till this military chess-play gave him a chance opportunity on
the open plain. When they at length did get into the level
country, Go divided his men into three; two divisions to remain
inactive till he, with 5000 horse, drew the entire attention of the
enemy, when they would attack, one each flank of Wei, and
secure the victory. Go himself led the attack, at the head of
5000 capital archers, mounted on horses, which he clad in chain
armour.
*The present Woochi hien was anciently called Weichang; but we have seen
that Joongshan is now Tingchow.
 MIN'S DEATH. 81

Min was mounted on a splendid charger named Jooloong,

which could run 1000 li a day In his right hand he held a
double-edged sword; and in his left along spear, hooked and
barbed at the point. With these weapons he slew over 300 Yen
men. Seeing the Yen standard floating before him, and making
sure it covered the Yen commander, he dashed his horse at it.
When he was thus hotly engaged, apparently much more than
amatch for Go in single combat,—surrounded by enemies, and
closely followed by his own men, all of whom had their eyes and
attention eagerly directed to their Homeric chief—the reserve
divisions of Go flew upon his flanks, and with the first charge
threw them into disorder, and drove them into adisastrous flight_
Another victory of brain over bravery. Wei was soon surrounded
by a deep circle of foes; through which, however, he cleft his
way, and fled eastwards for twenty li, when the gallant and
faithful Jooloong sickened and died. He was then seized, and
with other commanders sent on to Kichow. Tsao, one of his.
sons, got to Lookow. Jwun saved the prince of Wei alive; but
asked him how he had dared assume the title of emperor.
He replied that the empire was in utter confusion. "And if,""
he continued, "abarbarian like you, who are as ignorant as the
birds and beasts,* can assume that title, how much more abrave
Chinaman." The reply gained him the anger of Jwun, and
three hundred lashes, with transportation to Loongchung, where
he was shortly after put to death. But as the summer set in
with a great drought, followed by swarms of locusts, which ate
up everything, Jwun believed it was the spirit of Min taking
revenge, and therefore built a sacrificial temple for him! He
offered sacrifice to the departed and troublesome spirit, and
gave him the posthumous title of "The Brave Warrior, the
Heavenly King."
Almost all the cities of Wei now acknowledged Yen except

*" Like the birds and beasts" is a common Chinese simile for barbarians, awl
means that, like the animals, there is no knowledge of etiquette or propriety. Min
would not have used that simile had the Yen men been the equals of Chinese in
literature and civilization, and we must infer that they were still semi-barbarous.
82 YEN WANG.

the capital, Ye,* which was so closely and long invested, that
the besieged ate human flesh. The new Wei emperor was here
along with Jiang Gan, one of the Wei ministers, who had chief
command. After they had eaten up every soul taken in
Hianggwo, the capital of Jao, Gan sent out men to make
overtures of peace; but chiefly to see whether no help could be
found. Ping had an additional 20,000 men sent him to make
sure the fall of Ye; and as the Tsin Emperor failed to forward
a relieving army, Gan made a sally at the head of 5000 men.
Desperate was his condition, and he fought desperately, but in
vain; for he escaped within the city almost alone, leaving 4000
of his men dead or prisoners. The army, which was at length
sent to aid the gallant city, was defeated, and Jwun went to
Joongshan to be near his expected prey. After sufferings within
more cruel, and sights more terrible than the battle-field in
August,—when the garrison had been three months living on
human flesh, Ma Yuen, an inferior officer, opened the gates to Yen
men. Gan let himself down the wall by arope. Ping got pos-
session of the heir apparent--not yet enthroned—of the empress,
the chief officials, the imperial carriage, raiment, and all the
official paraphernalia; all of which he sent to Ki. Some of the
officials, however, carried out the Chinese idea of faithfulness,
and committed suicide rather than live after their empire.
Go had, meantime, gone to Changshan and directed his
attention to Wang Woo, who, since he heard of Wei's destruction,
had assumed the title of Angwo Wang. Go pressed hard upon
him. But he was murdered by one of his own commanders,
who was, in his turn, slain by the officer of Woo's body guard;
and this latter took the reins of power. Go defeated and slew
Ji Lin of Joongshan, another aspirant to imperial honours, at
Woochi hien, having marched from Lookow against him.
The following incident gives an accurate representation of

*Ye or Nie, the present Linchang hien of Changte foo in Honan. It had been
the capital of Jao (Chao) in 335. In 352, Wei annexed Hianggwo and occupied Ye.
In the autumn of the same year Go crushed Wei, ended his dynasty, and, in 357,
Ye was the Capital of the Yen "Empire." So rapid was the march of successive
armies, and the rise and fall of rival kingdoms.
 FAITHFULNESS. 83

Chinese ideas regarding faithfulness to one's prince and obedience

to parents, as acted out by the common-class people, who are not
enthusiastic enough to be ready to sacrifice themselves, nor base
enough to sell themselves to the highest bidder; but who strive
to carry out duty as far as self-interest will permit them:
the majority of educated Chinese, it need scarcely be added,
being of this description. Yijoong was one of the brave men who
had done their best to set Stone Tiger on the throne of China. His
life was valued chiefly because he could, by his deeds in the
field, prove his gratitude to the master who had been so generous to
him and his. He had, with eager bravery, done what he could
to stem the overwhelming flood of Yen's power, and to save his
country. He was unsuccessful. His country was gone, and,
with it, the main object of his life. In the same spring, when
the capital of his country became Yen property, he took unwell,
and lay down on his dying bed. He summoned his forty-two
sons to his bedside, and, after recapitulating the favours
bestowed by Stone Tiger, and confessing his inability to repay
them, he ordered his sons to make their way, with their army,
to the aid of the Tsin Emperor in the south, who was not only
threatened by Chin and Yen from his west and north, but was
struggling with formidable rebellions in his own lands; one
rebel, with 40,000 men, being at that moment master of the road
to the large and important city of Woochang. Yijoong died
soon after giving this charge; and after his dutiful sons saw him
decently buried and properly mourned for, they moved south-
wards at the head of 60,000 families. They besieged and took the
cities of Yangping, Yuenchung, and Faping; then camped at
the ford of Gaonao, near Tsiyangkun, on the Yellow River,
where they were fiercely attacked by the forces of Chin (Shensi),
and 30,000 of them were slain in the terrible battle. The
survivors, under hang, one of the brothers, marched southwards
to Soongyang; and had to fight another serious battle at
Matien, where they bootlessly threw themselves on death, and
the commander was compelled to send his fifth brother to the
Tsin Emperor to profess his goodwill, and to leave hostages as
 YEN WANG.

proof thereof; for he found it impossible to cut his way across

the Yellow River to the court of Tsin. Thus we can easily
perceive that China was then wholly cut up, and its available
resources absorbed by conflicting camps, all having one object,
though of all dimensions; from that styled imperial—fighting to
retain the power of taxation—to the small band of petty robbers
plundering the poor of the nearest villages.
 CHAPTER IV.

IMPERIAL YEN.

AFTER the absorption of the Kingdom of Wei, Jwun felt himself

warranted in assuming the rank of Emperor, which he received
from his supporters, with many other honorary titles. He also
bestowed, according to Chinese custom, imperial rank on several
generations of his predecessors. In 353, his queen was
proclaimed Empress, and removed to Kichow, which, as the
capital, was known simply as Ki. Go opened Lookow for him
after a three months' siege. In the spring of 351, Hoo Wang
iubmitted, and was made Governor of Honei, or "inside" the
Yellow River, which name was given to the lands east of the river
on its southern stretch along Shensi. Yen empire would,
therefore, embrace all Chihli and Honan, with some of Shansi,
besides Liaosi, Liaotung and aportion of south eastern Mongolia.
Yen was, however, not free from trouble, for the great extent
of its empire, and the heterogeneous character of its political
elements, made aconsolidated peace all but impossible. One of
the first to make trouble within was Gow, son of the brave Han,
and Governor of Loling, who believed himself as worthy of the
name of Emperor as Jwun. His ambition was short lived
however; for, in autumn, he was murdered, and his murderer
fled to Kan of Dwan. Jwun was urged to crush the evil spirit
of disaffection which was suspected to exist in the iniportant
cities of Yowchow and Yichow, ere it developed into strife for
independence; but he refused to move, as it would be impolitic
to attack cities whose submission had been accepted. Kan,
king of Dwan, next roused the ire of Jwun by refusing to style
him Emperor, and Go was sent north to bring him to reason.
Go feared that Kan would meet him at the river bank, and
86 IMPERIAL YEN.

prevent him from crossing. Kan's younger brother, a wise

and brave youth, declaring his belief that, as Go was so able a
man, the people, if he were allowed to approach, would open
the gates of the city to him, proposed to take the step which Go
feared. He offered himself to march to the river bank and
prevent the crossing, while Kan should firmly hold the city.
Kan would not agree to that plan; and as his brother persisted
in urging it, Kan got angry and slew him. The way was
therefore open to Go, who crossed the river in February 356.
Kan, with 30,000 men, marched out 100 li from Gwanggoo, his
capital, to oppose him, but was defeated, and had to retire.
Go sent messengers after the retreating army to state that as
many as submitted would be received into his own ranks; and
several thousands joined him. Kan therefore hurried into the
city, which was soon besieged, while all the other cities under
his rule opened their gates to the summons of Go. Seeing no
way of escape, Kan threw himself on the Tsin Emperor, who
sent a General into the southern frontier of Yen's lands, and
took two cities, but did not do sufficient damage to divert Go to
the south. In November, Go was recommended by his officers
to carry the city by escalade. He agreed that this would be the
proper plan, if he could make sure of preserving all his men, and
said he had long known of a plan which would inevitably have
taken the city, but at the loss of too many of his own men. This
reply soon spread over his camp, and gave universal satisfaction.
The garrison was now compelled to eat human flesh, and Kan
made a bold and desperate sally with a large force, which,
however, was repulsed; and, meantime, Go had bodies of men
posted outside each gate. In his retreat, Kan had to cut through
these, and he had to enter the city with the loss of the greater
number of his men, who were slain or taken. He was
compelled to open his gates in December; and was sent with
3,000 Hienbi families to Ki. The original inhabitants and
strangers in Gwanggoo were well treated, and Kan was employed
as a commander elsewhere; but he seems again to have given
dissatisfaction; for, in the following spring, he and 3,000 of his
 TEMPER. 87

immediate followers were put to death. Thus the Dwan

division of the Hienbi became finally incorporated in the Yen
kingdom, originated by the Moyoong, the smallest of the Hienbi
tribes. And if Yen was absorbing its barbarous cousins in the
north, it was pushing down among the Chinese in the south;
for the Yen men had cleft their way, like atrap dyke in granite,
between Chin on their west and Tsin on their east and south.
The kingdom of Chin in Shensi had been all these years at
war, chiefly with the yet imperial house of Tsin (or Jin). In
354, agreat battle had been fought, in which the Tsin General,
Wun, gained a complete victory over Chin's forces. Just about
the time when the battle was fought, the prince of Chin lost one
of his best generals by death; and, in mourning over him, he
complained that Heaven did not desire him to restore peace
within the "Four Seas." His idea of peace was that which
all warriors have always desired,—peace, after war had utterly
rooted up every existing government, he himself to be the
Rooter up. He had one general, Yonur, who was extremely
obstinate, and latterly roused his ire so that he gnashed his teeth
every time he saw him. At last his rage became so great, that
he put to death the general, his nine sons, and his twenty-seven
grandsons. As Yonur was a Chiang (Tibet) man, all the
Chiang men in Chin, and they were many, became uneasy.;for
there was no crime assigned, nor state reason given, for the
execution.
In 356, the prince of Chin was in great straits for money, because
of the drains of his ceaseless wars; but in his rage he put to death
aminister who recommended peace, and counselled him to have
some regard for the good of the people, as well as for his own
interests. Just then Wun gained another signal victory over
him; but Jang Ping, one of his generals, defeated Hiang. The
conqueror and his defeated foe became sworn brothers, and made
an oath not to fight each other any more! One day the prince
of Chin ate quantities of dates (dsao), and became very unwell.
His principal physician was summoned, who frankly told him
there was nothing seriously wrong; that his trouble sprang
.88 IMPERIAL YEN.

entirely from his having eaten too many dates, and from his
hasty temper. Chin became very angry; giving proof of his
hasty temper, or, as we might call it, of his violent passion, for
saying: "Are you aprophet? How did you know Ihad eaten
dates?" he ordered the physician to be led out to instant
,execution. He was known as a ferociously cruel monarch, and
was very frequently drunk. These instances suffice to prove it,
and also to show the condition of law and order. In 358, he
had to carry on an unequal contest against both Tsin and Yen;
the latter of which powers seized much of his land. In 359, he
nominated his General Wang Mung, "Kingdom-Separating
Commander." We shall meet him again.
In the spring of 358, the Tsin commandant of Taishan,* in
the west of Shantung, attacked the eastern flank of Yen; but
Go compelled him to beat a hasty retreat, crossed the river in
pursuit, and ravaged the southern banks. When General Ping
was marching south (p. 79), between the rivers Jang (Chang) and
Woo, he summoned old Chief Jien and his Bohai -I- men to
submit. These had seceded from Jao, on the defeat of the latter
by the rising Wei, and had not yet acknowledged any master.
Old Jien compelled the Yen army to fight for mastery; but he
was easily overpowered. Jien was seized; and the bravery, skill,
ability, and the strength of the old man of sixty were highly
praised. General Go set an ox as a target for the old man, at
a hundred paces I distance. Jien said that "when young he
could at that distance hit without wounding; but he was afraid
his eye was now uncertain, and his hand unsteady ;"—at the
same moment letting fly an arrow which grazed the shoulder of
the ox, and in an instant, another arrow grazed the belly. Each
arrow cut away the hair, but left the skin unhurt; both marks

*The famous mountain south of Tsinan, the Capital of Shantung.

1
-The modern Nanpi hien, south-east of Chihli, was the centre of Bohai.

TA Chinese pace is 5ft., astep being taken by each foot to make apace. Frond,
in his History of England, was staggered at the 220 yards demanded by law as
the nearest target for manly archery in Old England. But as he found that the
English archer was certainly ordered to hit at over 600 ft., we may allow 500 ft. as
not impossible distance for Jien.
 OLD JIEN. 89

being exactly the same. A loud burst of admiration from all

beholders rewarded the old man's skill. He was made com-
mandant of afrontier station in the neighbourhood of Taishan;
his garrison consisting of only 700 men. He was attacked from
the east by an army ten times as numerous, under Tsu, a Tsin
commander; yet he ventured battle, in spite of remonstrances
that so small a force was suited only to act on the defensive
within the walls of their fort. He, however, believed it was
better to assume abold face; and fight in the open, rather than
defend well aplace out of which there was no hope of escape.
He himself marched at the head of his men; but though they
fought furiously, they were driven within their ramparts, after
having slain a thousand of the enemy. Tsu then besieged the
fort; his lines being several deep all around. Jien sighed, and
said there was no hope. He urged his men to submit, and save
themselvess; that he would remain alone, and die inside. The
men, bursting into tears, swore they would not part from him;
but would do whatever he did, and live or die with him. He
replied that it was better to march out and die in battle, than be
strangled in their hold. He, therefore, rode out at the head of
his men; but though he bravely pushed against the foe, his men,
in spite of their own bravery and his magnificent archery, could
not cut their way through the thick set, deep lines before them. He
and his band were soon surrounded and taken. Tsu admired the old
man's courage, and asked why he was not serving the true emperor.
He replied that it was through no fault of his that Tsin had lost the
empire, and that there was then no real emperor. He was again
and again urged to revolt; and he at length angrily asked if he were
taken for achild. The sneer in this reply offended Tsu, who ordered
him to be chained up. After afew days he died of indignation.*
It is a very common belief that the Chinese are a dull, phlegmatic, passionless
race. Neither acquaintance with their history nor knowledge of their family and
social life gives any countenance to such belief. Many die from the effects of afit
of passion like old Jien; numerous suicides, murders, and dangerous and bloody
attacks arise from the same cause. Their usual nonchalance springs partly from
their national education inculcating strict self-control, and partly from the
selfishness which so strongly pervades their life and principles of action, leading to
acareless indifference regarding either the welfare or the sufferings of others.
90 IMPERIAL YEN.

Tsu had to repent the death; for the Yen men demanded
vengeance, poured upon him, retook the citadel, and drove him off.
Jien's son was ennobled for his father's sake.
Soon after the defeat of Tsu, Jwun, feeling infirmities
approach, and observing that his hair was becoming grey, was
anxious for the future of his kingdom. His heir was constantly
and loudly praised for the excellent qualities already developed,
or beginning to show themselves ;but he continued ill at ease.
He dreamed that Jao Wang was gnawing his elbow,—a dream,
doubtless, arising from his anxiety, connected with his conquests,
which he had wrenched out of Jae Wang's hands. The dream
made so profound an impression upon him, that he sent to have
the body searched out, but he was unsuccessful. He then
offered the reward of ahundred ounces (liang) of gold (there was
no silver in use then) to the person who should find the body.
This reward brought forward an old woman, who pointed out the
grave to the south of the city. When the body was disinterred,
it was found stiff and uncorrupted. Jwun stamped his feet
in anger, reviled the body, and said, "How dare a dead Hoe
frighten the living 'Son of Heaven '" and than ordered the
body to be whipped, and thrown into the river Jang. But the
body stuck against one of the pillars of the bridge, and would
not float away! Afterwards, when the Chin empire was
overturned, the poor woman Too, who had discovered the body,
was executed, and the body buried. So much for the curious
mixture of superstition and bravery; seen not in China alone,
and seen even more recently than fifteen centuries ago.
Jwun had, in 356, sent an army of 80,000 men against the
Huns, on the north of his kingdom, which defeated their army,
slew over ahundred thousand men, took over amillion of horses,
over ten million of sheep and oxen, and 35,000 Hunnish families,
who, with their Shanyii chief, gave in their allegiance. These
were all sent to Bohai in Shantung, where land was given them.
It may not be out of place here to draw attention to the constant
influx of strange blood into China. The Miao and Man, the
inhabitants of China preceding the Chinese, could not fail to mix
 MIXED BLOOD. 91

largely with their conquerors; and in the present history we

have noted large immigrations, or bands of captives, from Tibet
on the west, the Huns on the north, and Hienbi on the north-
east. All these amalgamated with the Chinese, whose blood, as
apeople, cannot by any means be considered pure. Are the
physical and mental differences between the short, small, 'cute
south Chinaman, and the tall, stout, solid, and slow inhabitants of
northern China, to be ascribed to these admixtures of blood,
which have been going on in all ages ?
The Tsin emperor was seriously alarmed at the rapidity and
greatness of the Yen conquests. He issued a proclamation,
calling upon his people to rise en, masse and hurl back the
northern barbarian. Yen, meantime, with a force of 50,000
men drove back the governor of Taishan, who had advanced
with 20,000 men; and elsewhere city after city fell before Yen
troops, which added district after district to their southern
frontier. But Jwun was still disquieted for the future, as the
conquest was not yet rounded off completely, nor were the
conquered districts firmly welded together. Go tried to pacify
him, by showing him the support which his son and heir would
have after he was gone. This seemed to raise his spirits, as if
he had been formerly suspicious of the designs of Go; for he
said, "If my brother's mind be so, why should I grieve?"
Chooi the Woo Wang was then recalled from Liaotung, where he
was governor for Yen.
In February, 360, while in the midst of preparations for alarge
expedition, Jwun fell ill, and died on the following day. His
son Wei, only eleven years of age, was made emperor; Go was
nominated prime minister; and among others, Gun received
high honours and place. But he was discontented, and advised
Go to assume the imperial rank, which step, he assured him,
would delight all the people. His expressed reason was perhaps
not far wrong; but Go severely condemned the suggestion, and
the spirit which gave it birth. He also declared that it would
save much future trouble if the discontented, intriguing Gun
were executed, as he deserved to be. Gun, to be revenged, then
92 IMPERIAL YEN.

tried to poison the boy emperor's mind against Go, accusing him
of plotting for the empire. The young "emperor" refused to
believe, but urged the two chief ministers, left by his father, to
peace and friendship.
When Go discovered Gun's double dealing he was very angry ;
and especially so when Gun recommended the Court to retire to
Loongchung, for there he could be master, as Go must necessarily
remain in the south with the main army, which was then stationed
at the modern Kweite foo in the north of Honan, where it had
to watch Tsin on its south and Chin on its west. Go therefore
set forth, in aformal memorial, the crimes of Gun, and prayed
for the execution of him and his clique to prevent the evils which
his agitations must inevitably produce. It was certainly no time
then for disunion; for the Tsin emperor, rejoicing that Jwun
was gone, was determined to raise his people en masse against
Yen. But the Tsin General Wun, who seems to have been abetter
politician, as well as an abler general, than his lord, said that if
Jwun was dead, Go was living; and the living brother would be
as formidable an enemy as the dead one had been.
The internal dissention at Court soon became known to the
Yen people, and large numbers of the soldiers retired, each his
several way. But Go restored order by posting an army of
20,000 men at Lin and Whi to watch the southern border
against the known designs of the empire of Tsin ;though Chin,
which, if small, was united—was reinforced by many myriads of
Hienbi, who feared the unquiet future which court intrigues and
selfishness threatened to bring upon their own country, as they
do upon every country under the sun. These and others who
followed their example greatly influenced the destinies of Chin,
as we shall see below. Chin, though the smallest, was the most com-
pact and united, of all the rival kingdoms struggling for mastery in
disrupted China. Hence this influx, as well as the professed
submission of large numbers of Huns from the north of Chin,
who entered the "Inner Land" in spring and returned to their
home in autumn; thus appearing to have entered China to hire
themselves out as agricultural labourers. Some of these were
 LOYANG FALLS. 93

seized when passing Yen lands; but the Yen General released
them in response to the angry messages of the Prince of Chin.
Pingyang, garrisoned by .Yen, was attacked by Jang Ping, who
had several times crossed and re-crossed between Chin and Yen,
and was now in the Chin interest. But he behaved so ill to his
own men, some of whom he put to death for awhim, and acted
altogether in such amanner that Chin felt compelled to punish
him. An army was sent against him; and again, when in straits,
he prayed for Yen's interference, offering his allegiance. But as
he had turned coat so often, they left him to his fate, and he was
destroyed,—a military Vicar of Bray, who got his proper reward.
In March 362 Lii Hoo, who had rebelled against Yen in
Honei, been defeated, and restored to another but inferior office,
attacked Loyang.* In August he had to fall back and hold the
ford of Siaopingjin. In July of next year, Go marched against
the city, calling to his standard all the people whom he passed.
He was well received everywhere. He could have taken Loyang
by assault, but the walls were high, and an escalade would cost
too many men, while by aregular siege he could starve out the
garrison. Meantime Yoongyang city had opened its gates, and
Michung of Honan had long been taken. Numbers of Honan
cities fell before the Yen armies, but still Loyang held out. In
April 364, Go discovered that, from want of provisions, the
commandant of Loyang had already forsaken the enormous city,
with most of his troops. As he was aware of the weakness in
number and physique of the garrison, he made an attack, and
easily carried the place by storm. The chief defender was Ying,
aliterary man, whom Go highly esteemed for his abilities, and
whom he would have employed. But his officers said that,
though abrave man, his countenance gave rise to suspicions of
future trouble,—and he was put to death. Go permitted all the
people to go whither they would,—a "barbarian "virtue, for the
Chinese delight to sack cities and murder their inhabitants;
invariably so when a city is taken after a stubborn resistance.

*One of the Capitals of Tsin, and in the neighbourhood of the modern Kaifung
foo. It was for centuries one of the finest, if not the best city in China.
'94 IMPERIAL YEN.

He then marched his army to the passes of Yao and Mien rivers;
and all the interior of the Tsin dominions was in terror.
But Yen was surrounded on all sides by enemies ready to take
advantage of any slip. On the north-west, Dai* Wang was
himself a "Hoo," or aman of Hunnish descent, and married to
adaughter of Jwun; but none the less ready and eager to plunder
the lands of his matrimonial relations. Dai Wang had twice
attacked the Hun chief Gaochua, so called because he went to
battle in ahigh chariot. Yen men were, in 367, returning from
asuccessful expedition against the same Huns, and when passing
by Dai Wang's fields, wantonly destroyed quantities of his
standing corn. The angry Dai Wang marched eastwards against
the General of Yowchow, who was posted at Yunjoongt to be
prepared for any possible attack from the west, and completely
defeated him, annihilating the division of Mo Yiijia, another Yen
general. The Yen men were being taught what defeat was in the
south as well; and their prosperity had already reached its zenith
when Go felt the advance of age and weakness creeping over him,
and indicating the approach of his end.
As commander, he was never severe; but was just, merciful,
truthful; and delighted rather in conferring favours on the worthy
than in inflicting punishment upon the guilty. But if he was
beloved by his men, the chiefs had, one by one, slunk from his
side; the result, doubtless, of court cabals, or of envy. He was
compelled, sometime before, to return to Ye, leaving the army in
the hands of Woo Wang, who was aworthy substitute. He said
to the young emperor, that Woo Wang was amuch abler man,
and amuch safer guide in policy than himself; and warmly recom-
mended the emperor to place him at the head of affairs, when
the time came to nominate a Prime Minister. Two or three
months afterwards he took unwell, and was frequently visited

*The region known as Dai was on the borders of that portion of the Yellow
River, west of Peking, which runs through the Mongol territory now called Ortous.
The prince, or Wang, was, as in the Chinese kingdoms, and like Scotch "lairds,"
called after the land over which he ruled.

tThe modern Tatung foo of Shansi.

 CIO'S DEATH. 95

by the Young "Emperor" Wei, who was deeply grieved on

account of his uncle's severe illness; for he had learned to love
him as aman, as well as to trust him as a counsellor. He was
also greatly alarmed for the future of his kingdom, which had
been hitherto so ably sustained against numerous and powerful
foes, by the vigorous and wise administration of the dying Prime
Minister. He, therefore, enquired minutely as to the proper
mode, of carrying on the Government, when he should be left
entirely to his own guidance. Go answered as minutely; and
drew attention to the fact, that not internal administration alone,
however excellent, was needful; for both Tsin and Chin were
constantly spying out the frontier, and making ready for
territorial aggrandisement. This able man and good soldier
then passed away, leaving no successor. For Ping assumed the
control of affairs, and the young Wei was apparently of too weak
amind to carry out the measures proposed by Go. Prince Woo
was left at the head of his army as before, ignored by Ping.
This conduct of Ping gave rise to some unpleasantness; and if
there was strife at court before, the selfish conduct of Ping, and
the apparent weakness of the young ruler, greatly exaggerated
the confusion. Tsang, Longan Prince, well aware that Ping
was weak, jealous, and unfit for the position he had assumed, at
atime when all the resources of the kingdom would be strained
to meet the attacks of Tsin on the east and south, and Chin on
the west,—formally memorialised the throne, praying that Go's
counsel should be carried out, and Prince Woo recalled from the
camp to take the helm of state. Ping refused to listen; but
shortly thereafter got Joong, younger brother of the emperor,
nominated Dasuma, or Prime Minister; thus securing to him-
self the real if not the nominal power.
Just then the Emperor of Tsin was under the spell of a
literary man, Fang, who was giving him a medicine, the eating
of which would ensure him life for ever. He daily ate the
medicine, which so stupefied him, that he could not attend to
business, which had to be transacted by his mother. Was this
Opium? The Chinese in Manchuria began opium under the
96 IMPERIAL YEN.

delusion that it would lengthen life; and opium has for centuries
been in use in the pharmacy of Corea, and applied in much the
same cases as it is used now with us. And if the Tsin Emperor
stupefied himself out of business power, the drunken lord of
Chin had at last brought his kingdom into almost that same
state of anarchy, which the Tsin Emperor was lamenting as the
normal condition of things in China. This anarchy had indeed
continued to exist for sixty years,—ever since Stone Tiger began
his independent career. A revolt had sprung up in the Chin
palace, which was put down only by the promptitude and bravery
of Tiensi, who was rewarded with an iinmediate promotion.
A certain official, Jang, sought the death of Tiensi as well as of
the lady who was recently elevated to be "Empress" of Chin.
Tiensi was again too quick for the traitors, and had all the
agents of Jang put to death. Jong himself was in terror, and
offered to retire in favour of Tiensi, who refused to have
anything to do with him. Jang then employed a General to
instigate Tiensi to revolt for independence and imperial power.
But Tiensi ordered the same General to the house of Jang, and
the latter was murdered that night. Both the states of Tsin
and Chin were pure Chinese, and though Yen men had learned
civilization from their Chinese subjects of Chihli and Honan,
China was then certainly no desirable place of residence!
On the death of Go, Chin messengers were sent, nominally,
to deplore the loss of Go, but really to discover the exact
condition of affairs. The report given by these messengers of
Ping's character and conduct delighted the Court of Chin,
and an immediate levy of troops was ordered. During these
years Tiensi had to face and to crush several insurrectionary
movements in Chin. But just as the above levy was being
drawn out, Wei Wang, of the city of Shenchung in Shensi,
revolted from Chin, and prayed for Yen help. This frightened
Chin; and Jien, who had by this time succeeded to the Chin
throne, reinforced the army at Hwayin, to the west of Shen, in a
pass as strong and difficult as the famous Toonggwan. In his
eagerness to strike Yen, during the feebleness in which it was left
 CHIN ACTIVE. 97

by the death of Go and the weakness of Ping, he sent another

army under General Goong, who, however, was defeated by Duke
Woo, the Yen General; and asecond division was defeated by
Hing. Duke Woo pressed on after his victory, his van being
led by Hing. Though the latter , exposed himself several times,
Gsvang, who now commanded the Chin troops, declined taking
advantage of the false moves, preferring to draw the Yen men
after him away from the base of their supplies, and to wheel
round upon them only when the failure of their provisions
compelled them to retire. Twenty days' march exhausted
Hing's provisions, and he was forced to retreat. Gwang now
faced round and so warmly pressed this retreat that it became a
rout, and Hing's army was completely broken up. Duke Woo,
with the main army, was immediately attacked and defeated,
losing 15,000 men. He abandoned the city of Anding; * and
his flight to Shanggwei did not save him, for the city was taken
and he slain.
While Chin was thus pushing back the Yen power from its
eastern frontier, Wang Mung, already mentioned, was fighting
against the empire of Tsin in the south. He was defeated by
Duke Liw of Tsin, who eagerly pursued him. He watched his
opportunity, wheeled round and utterly defeated Liw, pressing
after him up to Pooban, which city he attacked and took, with
Liw, whom he put to death. He sent Dung and a force from
Pooban to Shenchung, which fell before him, and the revolted
Wei Wang was at last seized and sent to Jien, who asked him
why he had revolted. He pleaded necessity; for that his
brothers were plotting in the city, and had he not revolted, the
city would have become abattle field and acharnel house. The
king wept at his sad fate, and gave him his own choice as to the
mode of his death, promising to give his sons office.
Wun had by this time climbed to the summit of his ambition,
and was Dasuma, or Minister of War, to the Tsin Empire. He
was now eager for ageneral rising of the people against Yen in
its weakness, to break its power and seize its lands. His design
*The modern Pingliang foo of Shansi.
98 IMPERIAL YEN.

was to go in overwhelming force, flood everything before him,

and suddenly fall on and take Ye, the Yen capital. He was all
the more in earnest as he foresaw that, if Yen got control of the
Yellow River, on which Tsin was dependent for supplies, the
days of Tsin were numbered. As a preparatory step, he had
his Tsingho* river fleet embarked on the Whangho, or Yellow
River. His counsel to rise en masse was, however, not adopted;
but all the troops he could muster he sent on to Hooloo city,
which he seized, with its commandant, Moyoong Joong. He
also defeated a force of 20,000 Yen men, though they fought
desperately at Whangchung. Li, with his defeated army, fled
to Gaoping, whose Taishow, however, revolted to Tsin; and
Dung Dwan, with Tsin vanguard, defeated another Yen army.
The Yen arms were as strong as ever, but the mind was gone.
Tsang exerted himself to the utmost to stop Wun, but found
his crippled resources utterly inadequate. He therefore sent
urgent messengers to Chin for instant aid. Wun continued to
press on, and, in July, got to Wooyang or Chaochang, receiving
into his ranks one of Yen's generals, with all his division. On
approaching Fangtow, both emperor Wei and prime minister
Ping proposed, in their terror, to retire at once on Loongchung.
But Woo Wang objected stoutly, protesting that it was time
enough to think of retreat when they found it impossible to stem
the advancing tide. Just before this storm burst so furiously,
in 369, two hundred thousand Yen families retired to their
northern homes because of the weakness of the central govern-
ment; for there was no strong man at the helm. They gave as
their reason that the imperial family was so small in numbers and
so limited in resources. This exodus from the far south, which
shows how rapidly and largely the Yen population had grown, so
affected the minister Gwan, who was unwell before, that he died.
Thus, one by one, the true pillars of the Yen State were being
removed, when only aregular succession of such men could have
upheld the incohesive structure. Though there were still good
men among the Yen people, the mean minds in power preferred
*This Tsing, river will be that of Kiangsoo, not the Shantung river.
 WUN DEFEATED. 99

to stake the wellbeing of the State rather than, by yielding up

the power they wielded so inefficiently, to sink into their proper
insignificance.
Yen had 50,000 men in the field; but as these were
considered insufficient to stop Wun, a messenger was sent to
Chin from the Court to make the same request made by Tsang
from the army. King Jien summoned acouncil of his ministers
to consider what should be done in the exceptional circumstances.
The general concensus of opinion was decidely opposed to giving
any help, but to let Yen stand or fall, as Yen had left them in
similar circumstances. But Mung gave a totally different
advice in private, saying that though Yen was inherently
powerful, Ping was no fit opponent for Wun, who, by summoning
Shantung in the east, could swamp Yen; which result would
have serious consequences for Chin; for it could scarcely hold
out against Tsin, if the latter were enlarged by all the lands and
power of Yen. His advice, therefore, was to support Yen so
far as to prevent its becoming the prey of Wun; and after the
Tsin army was driven away, Chin could move in and take easy
possession of the Yen lands. Jien agreed that the suggested
plan was the best; and was so highly gratified with the wisdom
of the advice, that Mung was nominated a Shangshoo, or
President of aBoard. Dung was therefore sent on with 20,000
troops to Loyang to help in turning back Wun, who was rapidly
advancing under the guidance of Yen deserters; just as any
conquering army has been, and will be, conducted by any
number of Chinese, if the reward is sufficiently tempting.
In October, abody of 5,000 Yen men was sent from Yiichow
to make a flank movement, and cut off Wun's supplies. Dua,
the Yen prince of Fanyang, sent forward 1,000 of his 10,000
men as his van. The commander of the thousand sent ahead
200, dividing the 800 into three ambushes. The 200 fell in
with the van of the enemy, and, after afeigned defeat, began to
flee, enticing Wun's van after them into the ambush; and most
of those who pursued were slain. From that moment Wun had
to march, fighting in adesultory manner but gaining no decided
100 IMPERIAL YEN.

advantage. Hearing that Chin was in league with Yen, he

burnt his stores and vessels, and returned. In his retreat, he
had to dig wells for water, the supply of which had failed.
This delayed and occupied him; and the Yen men hung by his
rear and on his flank, giving him no rest. Most of the Yen
generals urged a closer engagement; but Woo Wang objected,
preferring to harass the retreat, giving the enemy no breathing
space, himself risking nothing. He kept a body of 8,00a
capital horse always on Wun's rear, thus pursuing him for seven
hundred li; but at length, when, by incessant marching, Wun's
army was thoroughly worn out, he ordered up the main army to
close quarters for a general assault. Wun was then at
Hiangyi hien. Duo laid an ambush of 4,000 excellent horse
east of Hiangyi. In the succeeding battle Wun was frightfully
defeated, losing 30,000 men. The Chin men now came up,
gave chase, and cut down 10,000 more. Wun got to Shanyang
in November with the scattered remains of his army. Be
ascribed his disaster to the lack of provisions, laying the blame
on Jun, the Commandant of Shumun* (Stone-Gate). Jun was
well aware of •
the fate in store for him, in being made the
scapegoat of the failure, and fled to Yen, sending friendly
messages at the same time to Chin, thus securing a double
retreat. This conduct would not, just then, be displeasing to
Yen, which was on the best of terms with Chin, messengers of
peace and good will constantly coming and going. Chin's
friendship, as is understood, was by-play,—all the while serious
preparations were being made for acrushing assault on Yen.
As the men at the Court of Yen were unfit for their post, the
women assumed the guidance of affairs; and, as is common in
such circumstances, they were actuated by private feelings
rather than by the common weal. The "Empress " hated Woo
and loved Ping. Therefore, all the glory of the victory over
Wun belonged to Ping. She was eager, also, to have Woo
removed by murder,—whether or not instigated thereto by Ping
is left to conjecture. As Woo was still out in the cold,
The ancient name of Sanshwi hien.
 WOO'S FLIGHT. 101

notwithstanding Go's dying advice and his own proved abilities,

he was unaware of the plot against his life till told of it by ason
of Go. Such base ingratitude so disgusted and grieved him, that
he was ready, by suicide, to grant the eager wish of his enemies.
His friends, however, urged him to save himself by flight. With
anumber of his own men, he therefore set out for Loongchung,
but was pursued, and most of his men, by force or argument,
were got back to Ye. He however escaped, probably with the
connivance of his enemies; and after much wandering, found
himself at the Court of Chin, whose lord gave a right royal
welcome to the one man of Yen of whom he was afraid. Both
he and his son were ennobled on the spot. Mung, whether from
jealousy of aman who might be his rival, or, as he pretended,
from fear that Woo Wang would return to his native land and
give trouble to Chin,—quietly hinted that the Woo, father and
son, were dragon and tiger, and the sooner they were out of the
way the better. Jien refused to act so base a part, after the
warm welcome he had given them, declaring it was far better to
employ their bravery in acquiring peace for the Four* Seas.
Ping, the absolute controller of the Yen court, was daily
reminded of the bravery of the men whom first to last his
jealousy had driven from court and country. Rumours were also
ceaseless of the accumulation by Chin of stores on the border,
east of Shenchung, on the south-western frontier of Yen; and he
was told that peace would not be of long standing. But, like
all inferior men, neither Ping nor his lord was capable of seeing
anything great or formidable in either Mung or his lord. And
when urged to make some preparation, he refused to act, because
of the present good relations subsisting between the two countries,
which could not but be immediately broken if he began active war
preparations. Besides, he angrily said, that he did not think it
proper to hazard the rupture of their present amity at the
suggestion of a stranger; for the fugitive Jun was his chief
adviser.

*A common name for China, which is the "Middle Land?' between the Four
Seas, these being the barbarians east, west, north, and south of her.
 102 IMPERIAL YEN.

Yen men were always boasting of the defeat of Wun as their

own unaided work; and expressed their regret for the amount of
territory which they had to sacrifice as the price of Chin aid.
They were right as to the actual fighting, but they forgot the
moral power which the league had given them; and Jien was
much offended at the Yen taunts. He made this the excuse, as
soon as he was ready, for sending off an army of 30,000 men,
under Mung, to Loyang. But in his eastward march this
general was repulsed. More bitter to him than his defeat,
however, was the presence of the living Woo at his master's
court, and he could have suffered anything to have him out of
the way. On his return to the capital, he invited Woo to a
feast, plied him with spirits to intoxication, and then reviled
him in mocking language. Angry words passed between
them; and when Woo cooled down, he determined to escape to
his own country. On pretence of going out to hunt, he made
off; but was overtaken, and brought back. Jien, naturally
enough, upbraided him with ingratitude; but instead of taking
his life as Mung desired, he banished him to Shachung, 600 Ii
north-east of Loongchung. The banished man must have gone
there on parole; for Chin had no authority over any place within
hundreds of miles of that remote city, which was in the north of
Liaotung.
Mung soon after gained avictory over the Yen; and probably
to appease him for keeping Woo alive, he was created aMarquis
(How), and other honorary titles were conferred upon him; all
of which he declined. His first victory over Yen men was,
however, considered of such consequence, that he had the
command of 60,000 men given him. The effect produced on
the court of Yen, by this investment of command, may be judged
of from the fact that one of the Yen imperial family, Moyoong
Ling, thought it his best plan to bribe a few thousand soldiers,
with whom to make off for Shachung. He never got there,
however; for he was pursued, his men slain or scattered, he
taken, afterwards put to death, and his body sent to Loongchung.
These and other symptoms so alarmed Wei, that he at last
 CHINESE HATRED. 103

ordered Ping to get 300,000 men under arms, and crush the
now advancing _Hung. He also summoned aCouncil of State to
advise upon the matter. Li Fung, one of the ministers, said
that the men of Chin were few and poor, and in no respect a foe
worthy of the Yen power. Ping might have used the same
words. Gao, another minister, replied that the safety of a state
did not so much consist in the number of its soldiers, as in the
quality of its generals; that not numbers but strategy secured
victory; and that if Mung was to be prevented from advancing,
strategy* alone could do it.
But while Yen officials were speaking, Mung was acting; and
as they were deliberating, he entered the city of Hoogwun, taken
after astorm. And the estimation in which Ping was held by
the country, may be inferred from the fact that every city of
every district, through or by which Mung was passing, opened
its gates. And, at last, Yen Court was aroused to a sense of
danger; one minister being bold enough to declare that Ye
itself could not stand. Yang An was besieging Kinyang; but
as it was well stocked with provisions, it defied him. Mung left
agarrison in Pooban, and went himself to the assistance of An.
A local country magistrate entered the city with a few hundred
countrymen, pretending to be afriend; but once inside, he fell
upon the guard with a great shout. He opened the gates to
Mung, whose army marched in, took possession, and seized the
chief officers in command. To partially account for this and
similar incidents, let it be remembered that the Chinese hate
the rule of any other monarch than one of their own people;
and would gladly exchange the rule of outer barbarians,
even if the better rulers, for anative dynasty of China, which was
Chinese, if it was but poor; they would joyfully see the forces
of the northern Yen barbarians driven back into their native
wilds, and would hail with delight anative dynasty.

*It is unnecessary to say that this opinion was that of all the able men then,
before that time, or since in China. Nor can we well understand how able modern
writers bring themselves to believe that brute strength decided all the wars of the
middle ages.
 104 IMPERIAL YEN.

Wun had sometime ago marched into the field again from the
south, had defeated the Yen army before Showchwun, and
besieged the city. Mung Gao was on his way to raise the siege,
when the floods of Chin, pouring in from the west, recalled him;
and to add to the Yen difficulties, local rebellions rose up on all
hands.
Ping; now that matters had come to this push, manifested his
knowledge of his own incapacity, by showing the greatest terror,
though at the head of an army immensely larger than that of
Mung. He dared not remain in Loochuen, but began aretreat
thence. But if Ping was terrified, Mung was cautious; for he
knew what the descendants of the Hienbi could do, if irritated.
Dung, his impetuous second in command, urged an immediate
attack, and was quite angry at the delays of Mung, who refused
to risk all in a single battle. Mung said to him that he did
deserve to die; but as his fault was eagerness to fight, his life
would be spared. Dung returned to his own quarters in high
dudgeon, and prepared to attack Mung as a traitor, saying,
"Did we not receive orders to fight the far rebels; and now that
they are near, should we lie here permitting them to escape?"
But he was finally pacified by Mung.
The cowardice and incapacity of Ping were severely censured
by his lord Wei; and he was driven, against his will, to face
Mung in the neighbourhood of the modern Taiyuen hien, close
to the capital of Shansi. When Mung saw the numbers of his
opponents, and their well-kept ranks, he sent amessage to Dung,
saying: "Without your excellency's assistance, I cannot break
through these; and you know it is from no fault of mine that
we are brought into this pass,"--be had evidently pushed ahead to
please Dung, farther than his better judgment recommended.
But Dung boldly took all the responsibility upon himself. As
soon as the Yen men came near enough, Dung charged them
furiously, breaking through and through their ranks; now in, now
out, just as he pleased. The few hundreds he slew were nothing
to the havoc he made of the enemy's line, which he threw into
the utmost confusion. Yen had no head, though arms enough.
 YE CAPTURED. 105

They therefore, for the first time in their history in such

circumstances, began to retreat: first slowly and orderly; but the
vigorous arm of Dung, with his body of horse, thrust so forcibly
at their rear, that the retreat became a rout, and a scene' of
slaughter ensued such as Yen men had often inflicted but never
before endured; for 50,000 men were taken or slain, and as many
more deserted. So much for generalship. Ping fled alone on
his horse to Ye, which was immediately besieged, and Mung sent
ahurried message to summon an immediate large muster of Chin
forces; and in response Jien left his capitals, Changan and
Loyang,* in charge of garrisons, and marched east with ahundred
thousand men. He reached Anyang,t in the north of Honan, in
seven days. Dung attacked the city of Sindoo; and five
thousand Hienbi rats fled the sinking ship, and made for
Loongchung.
In the city of Ye were the Corean hostages sent when their
queen was restored, some years before, and hostages from
Shangdang; I in all, with an addition of Fooyii men, about five
hundred men, who got avice-president to head them, and opened
the north gate to Mung. When Wei and his officials heard of
it, in the early morning, they fled towards Loongchung, followed
by afew thousand men. These gradually dropped of, till at last
he had only ten men left. At Fooloo he fell in with aband of
robbers much stronger than his own, who attacked the fugitives.
Gao, his former trusty general, was still at his side, and fought
valiantly with the robbers; but though he killed several with his
own hand, he saw it was impossible to get away. He therefore
pinned one robber to the ground, thus drawing around him the
whole band, who let fly their arrows at him alone. Wei thus got

*Loyang was the name of the present District city of Changtsu hien in the south-
east of Shansi; the characters being different from the Loyang of Kaifung.

tThe Yen Capital, Ye, stood where now stands the District city of Linchang, or
Linjang, in the north-east of Honan, bordering Chihli. Anyang is but a short
distance to its south-west, and Taiyuen is north-west of where the large city of
Ye was.
1:Loongan foo of Shansi.
106 IMPERIAL YEN.

abreathing space and fled, getting off his horse and running on
foot till he got to Gaoyang, where one of a band of men from
Gao Ching, who had been sent in pursuit, overtook the fugitive,
and laid hold of him. He spoke out loftily :—" How dare a
mean man like you lay your hands on the Son of Heaven?"
The soldier replied that he had imperial orders to seize arebel,
and asked who was that Son of Heaven. Every competitor for
the imperial crown was of course the Son of Heaven, and every
other competitor arebel and traitor. Wei had proved himself a
usurper; for he was weak and unfortunate—a proof that Heaven
had forsaken him. Failure is the Criminal, and Success the
Honest Man. When he was brought before King Jien, whom a
few days ago he regarded with contempt as a petty chief, he
refused to acknowledge him as emperor. Whereupon Jien
angrily said, "You solitary dead head, do you so eagerly long for
the grave of your forefathers ?" But he had pity on the youth,
and ordered him to be restored to the palace of his father.
This he could afford to do; for not only was the youth weak, but
all the officials of the city at once acknowledged Chin as their liege
lord. Thus the power of Yen, left by Go so strong that it was
more than amatch for Tsin and Chin, is now crumpled up by a
power in numbers and resources no proper competitor, but which
had aman at the head of affairs. Chin was therefore master of'
all Yen lands, the Chow cities and the "Six Barbarians" having
acknowledged his sway. In all, he made an addition to his
kingdom of one hundred and fifty-seven Prefectures (Boo), two
and ahalf million families, and nine million, nine hundred and
ninety thousand head of people. All Wei's officials were retained
in their posts, the only difference made being one of master.
Wei was sent to Changan with 40,000 Hienbi families, which
would join those who had already fled westward, from the
destruction which they had foreseen. (p. 92).
So complete was the collapse of Yen, that Gao Ching went
on his way to Loongchung without encountering the slightest
opposition. Before he got to Loongchung, dastard Ping fled
to Gaogowli, by whom he was, however, handed over to Chin,
 CHIN'S AMBITION. 107

who had good reason to regard the contemptible with friendly

feelings ;—for Ping was the real author of Chin's greatness..
Another fugitive, who had murdered Bohai Wang, had fled with
his men to Liaotung; but Liaotung had declared for the winner,
and would not open the gates to the fugitive, who therefore laid
siege to the city. But Gao Ching marched eastwards, drove off
the assailant, pursued, overtook, and slew him. ,
In 372, Woo Wang is still at the court of Chin; his Wangship
gone, but trusted as a great commander. Ping was also there,
with the rank of Taishow of Fanyang, to the great disgust of all
the Yen men, who wished the author of their disgrace in his
grave. Next year the original Hienbi of west of Kaiyuen heard
that Chin was making preparations to march against them; but
they prevented the expedition by sending in their messengers
proffering allegiance. Woo lived in an atmosphere of suspicion
and distrust. His old enemies were never weary of attempts ta
have him slain; but Jien refused to listen, believing he would
be useful in carrying out his plans against Tsin. But Woo was
exposed to the greater danger, that the entire confidence of all
the Yen men was reposed on him; and as there were the
materials for alarge army in the neighbourhood of Changan, he
was invited to set up for himself. He was, however, deaf to
such temptations, which appealed more powerfully to others.
The Yowchow commandant started a kingship in 380, and
summoned all post-holders in the north to his standard. He
was doomed to disappointment; for from Ki in the west to Sinlo
on the Japan sea, aunanimous reply was sent, that they were the
servants of the emperor, and would have no connection with
rebels. He was frightened, and sought to draw back; but he
was too late, for Gwang was already upon him; his men were
defeated, some hundreds slain, he himself seized and banished.
Sinlo, along with Gaogowli, had acknowledged the supremacy
of Chin three years previously, by sending in presents, which
were, as now, counted tribute; so that, ivith the exception of
Shantung, the empire, of which Changan was the capital,
embraced all China north of the Yellow River, and extended
108 IMPERIAL YEN.

over Liaotung and the three Corean kingdoms. It was now

so powerful, and its lord so ambitious, that he longed at once
to let slip his "million soldiers" on Tsin,—sure of swamping
that power, and again re-uniting all China under his own rule.
He was, therefore, mortified at the firm opposition of his
ministers, who declared that the soldiers were worn down by
their past exertions, and unfit for so arduous atask; while the
people were restless under their heavy taxation. He waited for
two years, when his heart was made as proud as Nebuchadnezzar's
ever was; for sixty-two independent tribes, from the east of
Mongolia to the west of Turkestan, acknowledged him their lord,
by sending embassies and presenting tribute. This was proof
sufficient that others as well as himself regarded him as virtually
the Master of China. To gain the actual mastery, he would delay
no more than one other year; and therefore, in 383, he collected
an army at Changan of 600,000 foot, and 270,000 horse,
-determined to strike a bold and terrific blow for universal
empire. Before this army started, many of his ministers again
conspired to have Woo Wang dismissed from all office, because
they knew not how he would act. They were never sure of his
allegiance, though always sure of their own jealousy of him.
But spite of all, Woo Wang was placed over the van of 250,000
men, along with Yangping Duke; but Wang 1VIung was not
there. The line of march covered by this army, from the head
of the van to the 'tail of the rear, was over athousand li, or three
hundred miles.
Woo Wang was successful in taking anumber of cities; but
in December he was overwhelmed by the crowds of fugitives
rushing into his camp from another portion of the army, which
had crossed the Whi river, got defeated, lost 15,000 men, and
fled across the river, hotly pursued by the power of Tsin. For,
though Tsin was full of internal trouble and never ending wars,
it made amighty heave to throw off these invaders front without.
Tsin now got to Chinggang, thirty li east of Showchwun, where
a terrific battle took place, and Chin power was shattered to
fragments. Broken up as they were, scarcely a third of that
 CHIN RUINED. 109

vast host survived the bitter cold. When the day was lost, the
king of Chin leapt off his chariot, mounted ahorse, and galloped
off; and if the Tsin Court had bit its fingers over the clever
stroke by which Mung had outflanked them in taking Yenp
they could now rejoice in having checkmated this momentous
move; which they would have found more difficult had Mung
been living, but he had been dead eight years.
Woo was the only general who had kept his men together;
and he had 30,000 men unhurt, and in good order. He was now
again urged to independence, as his was the only army then in
Chin; and again he declined to be ungrateful to the prince who
had treated him so well. The lord of Chin retired into Loyang,
and soon found himself at the head of 100,000,—the remains of
his million men. So terrible adisaster—similar to that inflicted
by his lost General Mang on Yen—affected him so much, that
he took unwell and died.
Three years after, in 386, Woo Wang, whom we shall have to
call by his name of Chooi, was ordered northwards to look after
the borders. He was too powerful, since the great defeat, to be
again molested by the Chin ministers, who, however, now
believed that he could not but desert, as King Jien was gone.
Their belief was justified; for he felt that he was indebted to
the individual .king who was gone, and not to the court, which
would have had him slain athousand times over. He, therefore,
set up an independent kingdom, making his capital at Joongshan,*
where Yen had begun its meteoric career.
There was, as we have seen (pp. 92, 106), alarge number of Yen
men located and scattered in the neighbourhood of Changan.
As Chin was now so utterly paralysed, they declared their
independence, calling themseves the West Yen; naming Joong
Wang their king, under the title of Yoong, dropping the first
syllable of Moyoong. Chin was still in possession of the cities,
and Changan was still the capital. But it was in such ariotously
disordered state—fightings and murders being of daily occurrence
—that Joong Wang believed he could easily pass east beyond
*The modern Tingehow of Chihli.
 110 IMPERIAL YEN.

the city; so with 40,000 Hienbi and Moyoong men he moved

eastwards. However, Lii Gwang pursued with 20,000 men from
Changan, and defeated him. This experience was not lost on
Joong Wang; for though defeated, he saw that he could easily
force his way. All the West Yen men, therefore, moved east-
wards; and when they came before Changan, sent in a humble
supplication to be permitted to pass the city, and go through
Chin territory. For reply, Chin marched out against them with
a large army, which was utterly defeated; the Chin new king was
slain, and his heir taken.
Some of Chin's generals survived the wreck, with a few
myriad men, but were utterly unable, even if willing, to uphold
the house of Chin. Thus Chin got broken up, in its turn, by
the men whom it had overthrown. And Yoong proclaimed his
.own eldest son "Emperor" instead of Chin, taking the Empress
Yang of Chin for his chief wife. She, however, was not well
pleased with the change, and sought to murder her new lord,
but got killed herself instead. Though Chin was thus broken
up, fragments yet remained. One set himself up at Anting,
calling himself the After-Chin; but Dung set up a scion of the
"Imperial" house, to whom the Nanan barbarians and 30,000
Chinese families gave in their adhesion. The two Chins strove
for supremacy; and After-Chin was wounded on a battle-field
by Dung, who remained conqueror. Gwang also assumed
imperial style, adding a seventh to the number of competing
"Emperors." A few years before, China was reeking all over
with the bloodshed caused by seventeen independent Emperors,
each of whom had his court, his army, and his day.
After Yoong entered Changan, his men marched on to
Tsingho, whence Chooi's troops, which had gone south from
Joongshan, ineffectually attempted to drive them out. As years
rolled on, the two Yen powers became bitter rivals; and Yoong
converted rivalry into deadly hate, by putting to death a
number of the chief men of Yen, who probably believed it would
have been better to have a united Yen under Chooi. Among
those killed were. sons and grandsons of Chooi. He was
 YOONG'S DEATH. 111

therefore eager for instant vengeance; and though there had

been, as yet, not ayear of peace, he marched, in 391, to Lookow.
He could do nothing then but look on and prepare; but even
three years later, his impatient spirit had still to chafe in vain
against the remonstrances of his ministers, who objected to a
general war against West Yen, as the men were over fatigued.
Here he was joined by Nung, the Liaosi Wang; and as this
accession made him feel morally as well as numerically stronger,
he marched through Shating, south-west of Ye, in the north of
Honan, to attack West Yen, which waited for him at Taibi.
West Yen was defeated in two battles, and Taibi besieged.
) Yoong himself marched at the head of 50,000 choice troops to
raise the siege; but many of his men deserted to Chooi. He
prevented similar desertions, by putting to death the wives and
families of those who had gone over. Chooi was on the south
of the city; but when Yoong approached he retired several li,
planting an ambush. When he had drawn Yoong after him,
beyond the ambush, he wheeled round and furiously attacked
him; while the ambush rose in the rear, as soon as the tumult
of battle roused it to action. Yoong was defeated with great
slaughter; and as he was hard pressed, he prayed for succour
from the new kingdom of W EI, which sent him 50,000 men;
but too late, for he was taken and slain before that army arrived.
In 376, afew years after the collapse of the Yen empire, and
when Chin was at its strongest, Dai Wang,* Shuyijien, attacked
Liw Weichun, who appealed to Chin for an army, which was
sent, Liw acting as guide. Dai Wang was defeated, and his
kingdom fell into disorder. His son, whom he had nominated
heir, had already died, leaving a young child, Jubagwei. A son
of Dai Wang's, by the 1VIoyoong wife, killed his brothers, had
his father murdered, and would have slain the infant, had not
the mother fled and concealed him. The Chin army had remained
in Yunjoong (Tatung), and was now again appealed to by the
ministers of Dai, who deplored the change. It appeared on the
scene, and easily took the parricide, who was sent a prisoner to
*See pp. 72, 73, 94.
112 IMPERIAL YEN.

Changan, along with his ministers, now his accusers. Chin Wang
asked what should be done; and the latter said there was only
one way of dealing with the case. The parricide was therefore
broken to death, and the kingdom of Dai divided into two
Provinces,—East of the (Yellow) River under the rule of Liw
Kooyin, and West of the River under Weichun. The mother
of the child Gwei turned up, and craved the protection of
Kooyin, who was a faithful official. The boy was much
admired, and favourable prognostications were made of his future.
But a Yen man murdered Kooyin, and ran away with his
horses. A younger brother succeeded Kooyin in the government,
and three years after, in 387, Juba Gwei was enthroned as Dai
Wang, when the Yen power was again rising and throwing its
shadow over the north. Moyoong Liw lien was commander of an
army in the north; and as it was in disorder in that year, Gwei
believed it was best to attack it, lest, after atime, it came down
upon him. He did, and defeated it, driving lien to take
refuge with the West Yen. The god of war now summoned
Dai Wang into the arena of competing emperors, who were
cutting and hacking all China within and without. That he
did, assuming the imperial style of W EI. But he was not to be
permitted to march further south while Chooi lived; for Lin, the
Jao Wang, and one of Chooi's commanders, drove him back again
into his northern quarters.
With the defeat of West Yen, Chooi was now face to face with
Wei, whose kingdom, taking advantage of the civil strife among
the Yen, had spread itself over the north of Shansi, and west
of Chihli. For two years Chooi slowly fought his way, from
victory to victory, up to the walls of Ye; but one defeat there
so thoroughly upset him, that he had to retire to Joongshan,
where he died, and his body was buried in Loongchung. Wei
next defeated Liaosi Wang at Yangchu of Taiyuen; and in the
flight, several thousand men were scattered, while the Yen com-
mander, his wife and children, fell into the hands of Wei. In
397, Wei pressed the siege of Ye so closely, that the Yen men,
in their fear, sought from the feeble Chin a help which never
 MURDER. 113

came. A fire broke out in the camp of Wei, however; and a

Yen man, who had joined the volunteer army of Wei as a spy,
declared it was the act of the garrison. Wei's army, therefore,
retired in confusion; afraid of further and more serious night
sallies. But the Yen army which pursued was again and
again defeated; and large numbers of them perished by the
cold winds. Sindoo or Tahing had fallen, with other cities, to
Wei; and the internal divisions and weaknesses of Yen a
second time wrecked their empire; all the south of which had
fallen to Wei by the year 401.
Shung, the grandson of Chooi, now reigned in Loongchung;
his territory having shrunk before the fierce rays of the sun of
Wei to its original barbarian extent. He had, in 400, to send
an army against Gaogowli, which had renounced allegiance, and
declared independence. Shung's army took Sinchung and
Nansoo,* with 5,000 families, prisoners; but had to return
without making athorough conquest. Shung was obnoxious to
many of his officials, whom he believed should be executed as
traitors to their country. These engaged five hundred men to
murder him. They burst open the palace gate by night, and
entered with a loud shout, which wakened Shung out of his
sleep. He had already given proofs of uncommon bravery; and
it was on .these the general public rested their hopes for the
welfare of their country. He got up; and, with the men near
him, so vigorously belaboured the conspirators, that they were
glad to find the gate still open. All except one, who hid himself
in the king's bedchamber, where he lay still till the gates were
all bolted, and the sound of the last footstep had died away;
and when all the inmates of the palace were sound asleep, this
bold conspirator stole out of his hiding place quietly, advanced
to the couch, and struck the sleeping king. It was only in the
morning at dawn, when going to present their respects, that the
ministers found anew "emperor." This was both an evidence
and a cause of weakness; a weakness of which Gaogowli took
instant advantage. For, having retaken Sinchung and Nansoo,
*South of Kaichow of Liaotung. (See Map II.)
 114 IMPERIAL YEN.

and annexed all Liaotung, they crossed the Liao, scoured the
country up to Harm, acity north-east of Loongchung. They
even terrified the commandant of Pingchow, illoyoong Gwei, into
flight.
Again, in 404, the Gaogowli men repeated their western
expedition, and swept the land of Yen. Next year Yen Wang
made an effort, collected an army, and marched eastwards to
chastise Gaogowli, and bring it back to its proper allegiance.
He got to Liaotung city, which he besieged; but in vain, for
he was compelled to recross the Liao and get home. Liaotung
city had to stand, and stood, much more formidable sieges, as we
shall see. Another expedition, in the following spring, suffered
great hardships on the march; many men and horses dying from
the extreme cold.* The survivors of the army, after marching
3000 li,f got to Moodi city, which they attacked in vain; and
again Yen had to beat an inglorious retreat, which was morally
as injurious to the state as a great battle lost. In 408, Yun,
the king of Yen, nominated Gwei Duke of Liaotung; but his
was an empty title, for he was never able to occupy his dukedom.
Seven years after, Yinti was made Taishow of Liaotung; but
after collecting his army, he thought it easier to set up akingdom
for himself. He was, however, taken and slain before his
measures were completed.
Thus did Yen drag out a slow existence in the land of its
birth; and our old acquaintance Chin had many days of bitter
fortune, sufficient to cause it to rue the day it refused to listen
to Yen appeal for aid. For as soon as the Yen buffer was gone, it
had to feel the full weight of the arm of Wei, which was a very
rough one. In one siege of Changan, a hundred thousand
persons died of famine, and the survivors lived only as cannibals.
But Chin, too, existed, though in a frail condition. Wei alone

At present Fahrt. goes down, for a few days in the depths of winter, to 14°
below zero in Liaotung, and it is now not so cold as it would have been when the
mountains were forests and the plains marshy woods.

tThis is ten times too much. Sung writers were ignorant of Liaotung,. Moodi
was near the present Kinchow in Regent's Sword of Liaotung.
 FIGHTS AND FEASTS. 115

was healthy, and in robust vigour; fattening on the spoils east

and south of it; fighting, and successfully, against the powerful
YOWYAN, which had replaced the Hiwngnoo or Hunnish power;
sometimes driving its northern cousins out of its own borders,
sometimes pushing far into theirs,—even up to the great sandy
desert, "Shamo."
We draw a veil over the death agonies and obsequies of the
Tsin dynasty, and pass on to 435, when we find the SUNG
established as primus inter pares; for Wei was a most
formidable rival on the north and north-west, notwithstanding
its gigantic struggles, alternated with intermarriages with the
Yowyan. Wei marched into Liaosi; and Yen Wang, still
monarching in asmall way in Loongchung—or Holoongchung as
it is as often called—met him, not with an army of soldiers, but
with ahost of oxen and waggons of spirits, and feted the army
which had come to take his crown. This had been done once
before; for Yen Wang could not meet him. on fair terms in the
field, and Wei could not take Holoongchung. The visit of 435
was important only because Gaogowli king then first acknow-
ledged the supremacy of Wei, which was occupying the post
lately filled by Chin "emperor," and ruling over all the north of
China. Gaogowli king was re-invested by Wei as king of
Gaogowli and duke of Liaotung, all of which was then under
Corea.
The meetings of Yen and Wei were not always as pleasant;
for if there were two feasts, there were as many score of battles,
in all of which Yen was worsted. But, against the advice of his
ministers, the weak king obstinately held out for independence;
trusting, if the worst came, he could fall back on Gaoli ;—and here
the gow is first dropped in the name, and the modern Corea has
its origin. His councillors still objected, that if Wei, as looked
likely, became supreme in all China, neither Gaoli, nor any
other place, would dare afford shelter to an enemy of the court.
But Yen Wang was obstinate; and sent Yang Yi, apresident, to
the Corean court, to secure asafe retreat and to smooth and
prepare away for afuture refuge.
116 IMPERIAL YEN.

In May 436, Wei again marched in force against Holoong,

and on his way took Bailangchung, an important city of
Bingchow. The alliance of Gaoli was not an empty name; for
the eastern king sent Goloo Munggwang with an army to the
relief of his ally. They camped at Linchuen, east of Holoong.
The Yen President, Shung, turned traitor, and opened the city
gate for Wei, who, fearing atrap, dared not enter. Shung then
attacked Yen Wang in the city. The latter had the east gate
opened, and brought in the Gaoli troops, with which he defended
himself. The battle was fought under the palace walls, and
Shung was wounded by an arrow which took his life. After the
struggle was over, the Gaoli Commander ordered his men to
strip off their ragged garments, and re-clothe themselves out of
the public stores of Yen. The Gaoli men continued for several
days to help themselves to whatever they thought best in the
city. Notwithstanding this questionable help, Yen Wang
prepared to abandon the city left him by his forefathers.
He set fire to the palace, which continued burning for ten
days, and consuming the wealth and finery which war had
taken north from Ye and Honan; he then led out the whole
population, marching eastwards. The women occupied the
centre of this immigration, Yang Yi led the van, and the Gaoli
brought up the rear. The whole spread over a distance of
80 li.
Gao Gowdsu, asmall official of Wei, collected aband of horse
to pursue; but his superior officer, Goo Bi, who was drunk,
drew his sword and stopped him. The Prince of Wei was
extremely wroth at hearing of the escape of Yen Wang, and
had Bi and Wo Ching, the commander in charge, back to
Ping* city, where he degraded them into doorkeepers. Wei
demanded the surrender of Yen Wang, but Gaoli refused. Wei
was very angry, and about to order an advance into Gaoli,

*The modern Linyu, west of Shanhaigwan, in the N.E. corner of Chihli, is said,
by the Imperial Directory, to be the ancient Pingchow; some authorities place
it in or near the modern Yoongping further west; but either position places
Loongchung in Liaosi and beyond Chihli.
 FUGITIVE KING. 117

but a serious engagement with Yowyan prevented him. He

garrisoned Holoong in 437.
When Hoong, the fugitive Yen Wang, was yet on his way,
the Gaoli King, Lien, sent messengers to Liaotung to welcome
him. The fugitive was bitterly offended, however, at the taunting
mockery of the words addressed to him by the messengers.
They probably were unable to suppress their satisfaction at the
thought that Gaoli was now revenged for the sufferings inflicted
upon their country by the forefathers of Hoong. His fir'st
location was in Pinggwo. He was moved afterwards to
Beifung, where he made himself most disagreeable, by the
contemptible manner in which he spoke of the government and
laws of Gaoli,—exhorting them to adopt those of his country.
The Hienbi were themselves "barbarians till they came in
contact with the Chinese, afew generations before bong's time;
yet here we find him with all aChinaman's pride of superiority.
We can also see that Gaoli had not then attained to full Chinese
civilization; but the people were imbued with the pride of
conquerers, and were not pleased at the airs of superiority
assumed by one who was a fugitive among them. They
therefore punished him by decreasing the number of his
attendants, and by retaining his son and heir as ahostage for
his good behaviour. It was more easy to widen the breach than
to heal it; and hot blood became hotter, till his voluntary exile
was hateful to Hoong. He sent messengers south to the Sung
Court to plead for an asylum there. The emperor was pleased, and
sent men to welcome the fugitive king. But King Lien was
anything but gratified at this new insult to his hospitality, and
ordered acompany of soldiers to remove Hoong further south.
Whether he had given them orders to have Hoong quietly put
out of the way, or whether the officers, Swun and Gao,
commanding the soldiers, did, on their own responsibility, what
they believed would be welcome news to their master, it is
difficult to determine; but bong was killed by these men on
the way, and before they got beyond the jurisdiction of Beifung.
His sons and grandsons were slain along with him; and thus
118 IMPERIAL YEN.

miserably perished the Moyoong family, which had risen by

prudence and bravery; by their abilities had acquired an empire
and shaken all China; and by imprudent selfishness had so
suddenly come to this fate. [bong was honoured after his
death more than during his life,—King Lien canonizing him
with the title of "Jaochung Emperor."
The Imperial Sung Commander Baijii, sent with 7000 men to
welcome bong, was angry at his fate, attacked the two Gaoli
commanders, slew Gao and took Swun alive. A Gaoli army
ha.sted to the rescue, seized Baijii, and threw him into prison.
As Gaoli was so far away, the Sung emperor did not meddle
with the matter; hence the prisoner was by and by permitted to
return to his own southern home. And this was the last of Yen.
We have followed the Yen in their rise, progress, and
decline; both to give a living picture of the times, and
to show how an insignificant border tribe gradually increases,
by wise skill rather than by bravery, into a large kingdom;
and how easily a large kingdom is broken up by selfish
incompetence, which keeps worth from its proper position;
and calculates and works, not for country, but for the minister.
When passing judgment on the facts here given, let the
reader remember that they took place when Britain was
divided into Britannia _Romana and Britannia Barbara,
when Carausius assumed imperial rank in Britain; when
Constantine assumed the titles of Cmsar there, and afterwards
withdrew the Roman troops, leaving the enervated south open
to the ravages of the savage Picts and Scots. It was when the
forefathers of the Prussians were called Goths; and when, in
their southward migration, their eyes first beheld the civilization,
the walled cities and the fertile fields of rich corn of Pagan Rome.
Germania was then known as an extensive foraging ground
for its numerous independent nomadic and savage tribes; and
the Suevi, Cimbri, Alemanni, Franci, &c., were still ignorant of
a world where orders could be given in writing, and thoughts
and deeds preserved on skin or paper. It was before there was
a Greek empire, before Russia was known to exist, and a full
 SWEETNESS AND LIGHT. 119

century before Clovis entered Gallia. And it was not ignorance

of all or any of those civilizing influences which are the glory
of Ancient Greece and Rome, which caused China to be torn
up and tossed about as it was; but, it was the effeminacy
which luxurious habits invariably and inevitably produce in spite
of, nay, by means of, what is commonly called civilization; for
communities must necessarily be civilized before they become
luxurious; for civilization in the past, as in the present,
ministers to luxury, and luxury to effeminacy, to political decay
and to national destruction. If Britain is desirous to glide down
the smooth slope, she requires only to be guided by her new
school of namby-pamby "sweetness and light," and decry all
earnestness of purpose as Philistinism. In the pulpit and in the
press, in religion, in politics, and in the social circle, the leaven
is already actively at work, changing our national character. It
has framed our recent foreign policy, it dictates to our home
authorities. It proscribes earnestness except for dinner, it
denounces enthusiasm except for the fine arts. It is a universal
laissez faire in all kinds of religious opinions, in all manner of
moral conduct, in all modes of existing political government, and
in all variety of existing unequal legislation. It is the essence
of conservatism, of selfishness, of self-seeking, at whatever cost to
others, at whatever hazard of morality. No man should be
hated, but the man who stands in the way of my interests; no
opinions should be despised, but those of the man of conviction,
who endeavours to propagate his own; and no man should be
laughed to scorn, but the bigot who is willing to sacrifice his
life for his beliefs, or spend that life in endeavouring to spread
them.
This spirit of easy good-will to all forms of iniquity; this
smiling, dainty self-complaceny, which is satisfied as long as
oneself is not injuriously affected by the evils in the world, has,
over and over again deluged China with blood. It has brought
to the dust every proud kingdom which has fallen; and it is
working now in the Christian countries of Britain and America,
and will, if it becomes as general among the middle classes as
 120 IMPERIAL YEN.

we fear it is already among our higher classes, bring these

countries to grief, as it has brought others. The destroyer which
this luxurious selfishness raises up comes sometimes from abroad,
but always exists at home. For no one powerful kingdom has ever
been destroyed, till luxurious selfishness roused a hating enemy
within the bosom of that kingdom. It is this internal enemy
who is to be dreaded. He may be powerful enough, as once
before in Europe, to overturn existing society; he may prepare the
way directly or indirectly for that overturn, by opening the
gates to an external foe; but he will be always sufficiently
powerful to deluge the land with blood, to snatch its loved ones
from the bosom of luxurious selfishness, and to give it sackcloth
for its joyous robes. And the rise of this enemy is as certain as
the spread of that spirit of universal laissez faire, and the
disappearance or weakness of robust, manly, just, and active
Philistinism. But if China has so frequently recovered, and will
again recover herself, on account of her enormous territories,
her internal self-sustaining resources, and her homogeneous
population; it is no proof that Britain, lacking all those
qualities, would ever again occupy her present proud position, if
that growing, luxurious, easy self-indulgence, becomes as powerful
as it is eager and threatening to do, so as to command her public,
and sway her social life.
 CHAPTER V.

GAOGOWLI.

THE history of the "Three Kingdoms" of China in the third

century, A.C., states that 1,000 li north of Huentoo, and 1,400 li
north-east of Liaotung city, (the present Liaoyang,) was the king-
dom of FOOYU. To its north again was the kingdom of Gaoli,* in
times so ancient, that even Chinese writers mention it with a
degree of scepticism. Tradition said that the first king of this
northern Gaoli, had amaid slave who was found to be with child.
The king desired the death of the boy who was born, but the
mother said that she had conceived him by an influence which
came upon her, and which she felt to be like air (chi), as if of
the form of ahen's egg. The king, at once afraid to kill, and
fearing to keep alive a prodigy like this, which boded him no
good, had the child cast into the pig-yard, whereinto refuse and
filth of all kinds were thrown. But the swine breathed into the
boy's nostrils, and thus kept him in life. As the child still lived
when he should have died, he was next banished into the stables;
but the horses followed the example of the swine, and sustained
him with their breath. Because he was not thus got rid of, the
king ordered the mother to have him into the palace to be
nourished, for the fates evidently determined to keep him in life.
The name given to the boy was Doong Ming, "Eastern
Brightness;" and when grown, he was made Master or Feeder of
the horse to his majesty. He became a most expert archer,
which again made the king seek his death, lest he should revolt
and take the kingdom;—so that the kingdom must have been of
very inconsiderable dimensions, if one skilful archer could

*The Chinese characters in which the name is written are wholly different from
the Gaoli of Corea.
 122 GAO GOWL I.

endanger it. Doongming was aware of the king's intentions,

and fled southwards to Shuyen shwi,— apparently the Songari,
—and with his trusty bow, so shot the waters of the river, that
he formed a living bridge of fish, which crowded together to
avoid his lightning arrows. He was scarcely on the other side
when his pursuers came up, but the temporary bridge had again
separated. He became king of Fooyii. This story, if of no other
use, serves to show that both Gaoli and Fooyti were but miniature
kingdom s.
Fooyd extended north to the Yao or Yuen Shwi, which is
apparently the Songari on its eastern course; on the west it
touched Hienbi, and Yilow on the east. It was 2,000 li in
extent. The land had many mountains, though much of it was
level. Its fields were rich, fertile, well watered, producing
abundance of food of great variety for the people, who made
and drank agreat deal of spirits, of which they were very fond.
They used vinegar and ate with Kwaidsu (chop-sticks), out of
wooden bowls. They practiced the code of etiquette belonging to
the Yin dynasty (fourteen hundred years B.C.), and made the
Yi. " They made polite demonstrations of resigning the post of
honour to others, and used the Yin Rites in sacrificing to
Heaven. In mourning, both men and women clothed in white,
laying aside all ornament. The dead body of the king was
buried in acoffin made of fish scales, prepared during his life, and
sent to Huentoo, where it was kept till the king's death. When
travelling, they went day and night, singing all the way. Before
abattle, an ox was sacrificed to Heaven, and the hoofs afterwards
examined for an omen. If the parted hoof remained open, it
betokened evil fortune, if it closed of itself, victory was sure to
follow.
It was akingdom of palaces, many cities with wooden walls,
houses, granaries, royal treasuries, and had public prisons. The
magistrates and officials were of six grades, designated by various
animals, as the Horse, the Dog order, &c. Strange to say, the

*Chinese form of salutation, placing both closed hands together, raising them up
at arms length above the head, which is bent down with the body at the same time.
 ORIGIN OF COREA. 123

present Manchu Government shows the rank of its various

civil officials by the figure of a large bird sewed in gold on
both back and front of their outer robe ;while the rank of a
military officer is indicated by the figure of a beast sewed in
the same manner. This peculiakly Manchu custom may possibly
be connected with the ancient Fooyii customs.
Fooyii produced all kinds of grain, and pulse was universally
used. Their capital horses were widely famed and very
numerous. Strange that the horses of its eastern neighbour
should be so extremely diminutive. Every wealthy man had
horses, oxen and dogs. Crimson jade was found in its borders,
with pearls as large as a small gooseberry, and the finest sable
was trapped in its wide forests.
Pearls are found no further south than the Songari, after its
junction with the Nonni; the sables found anywhere south of
Sanhing are regarded as inferior, the best coming from the
neighbourhood of the Usuri. The northern bounds of Fooyii
can thus be determined. Its lands were then, as often since,
better cultivated than they are now,—but promise soon to be
again, if alife and death struggle for empire in China does not
stop the tide of immigration, which is fast opening up an
abundant food supply in the fertile plains and vallies on both
banks of the Songari, to the overflowing population of the
northern Chinese provinces.
The people of China must, therefore, have considered Fooyti a
civilized people, as compared with its neighbours, especially with
Yilow, the ancestors of the present ruling dynasty of China, whose
people wore only apiece of cotton, about a foot square, on the
loins, one before and one behind. In the wane of the Han
dynasty, Fooyil was in the zenith of its power, Yilow being its
tributary. Had the Chinese made Fooya the scene of the civiliz-
ing influence of Kitsu, it would have been apparently more
justifiable than placing him in Chaosien.
Such was the kingdom, afew families of which, moving south,
laid the foundations of the kingdom of Gaogowli, sometime before
the beginning of the Christian era. It received that name from
 124 GAOGOWLI.

the fact that the surname of its first king was Gao; which was
also the surname of the clan which founded it. This looks as if
afew men had retired, or fled south from Fooyii, to secure greater
independence, and thus founded Corea.
When it became more powerful, Gaogowli was said to be
1,000* li east of Liaotung city. Now, the road from Mukden,
via Hingking right east to the Corean border on the banks of
the Upper Yaloo, is in round numbers just that distance; and we
cannot be far wrong in locating the original Gaogowli among
the hills and rivers under the south-west shoulder of the
Changbaishan, and immediately west of the river Yaloo, which now
shuts in their descendants to the east of it. For the growth and
operations of Gaogowli point to an origin west, and about the
head waters of the Yaloo, rather than east of it,—especially as
it was placed by the Han dynasty under the control of Hiientoo.
We also find it stated, that it was only after the destruction of
Chaosien, the Gaoli people crossed the Yaloo eastwards. At the
time, therefore, when Chaosien was broken up as a decrepit old
kingdom, Gaogowli was an infant in swaddling clothes.
We find the customs of Gaogowli, as described in the Han
histories, diverging from those of Fooyii, and still further from
those of Yilow. Instead of the Chinese mode of salutation, they
bent the knee, as the Manchus still do,—possibly after their
example; for the Gaogowli originally occupied purely Manchu
lands. They were remarkable for extreme personal cleanliness,— v
atrait noticed at this day by the Chinese who have seen Coreans
at home. But there were no proper "barriers" between men
and women. They used to meet in midnight assemblies, and
had joyous times and unlimited license.
Their chief men, in flowered robes, met in public to transact
and deliberate upon national business. The bridegroom went to
his father-in-law's to live, remaining till a son was born and
bred to maturity, when he returned with his family to his
father's house—vestiges of which custom remain even now.
Each man, while living, prepared the coffin in which he was to
*See Map I.
 COREAN GROWTH. 125.

be buried, as we have seen country people in Scotland prepare

their grave clothes.
In the third century they had three capitals; their officials
were of twelve grades, the chief being Dadooiloo and the next
Soogoodo. They had then the Five Classics of China; Odes,
History, Changes, Rites, Spring and Autumn Annals. There is
no serious argument against the possibility of this, yet Iquestion
its truth, especially as a History of the "Three Kingdoms" is
also mentioned as one of their books. It seems rather too soon
to have so much Chinese among them; but the question can be
decided only when free access is had to Corean history on Corean
soil. From its geographical position, it was, unlike Chaosien,
beyond the reach of Chinese immigrants or refugees, whose roving
propensities could be fully gratified and spent within the bounds
of Liaotung, Chaosien, and Mahan.
In A.D. 9, Gaogowli was, politically, so insignificant that it was
placed, as a small district, under the supervision of Hi:lento°,
one of the four divisions into which Chaosien had been broken
up. But it soon manifested signs of vigorous life; for in 32, it
had not only aking, but one who considered himself sufficiently
important to send "tribute" to the Imperial Court of Han.
And in 51, it was thought advisable by the emperor to call in his
aid, with that of Hienbi, to attack the eastern flank of the all-
powerful Hiwngnoo,—the scourge of his own and preceding
dynasties. But the actual march westwards of Gaogowli began
only in 70, when they had the audacity to plunder Liaotung,
whence they were driven back by Gung, the Liaotung governor,
after he had allowed them to scour the country for half a year.
In the summer of 110, they harried the kingdom of Whi, when
Hienbi, sometime their ally, was ravaging Liaosi. In 121, their
power and audacity had so grown, that the governor of Yowchow
was compelled to march east, to the side of him of Liaotung and
Hiientoo, to compel this upstart kingdom to behave itself. The
king feigned submission, sent his son to Court as guarantee of
sincerity; and, as soon as the Yowchow contingent withdrew,
he attacked and defeated Hlientoo and Liaotung troops, slaying
126 GAOGOWLI.

over 2000 men. He then, in conjunction with Hienbi, harried

the lands of Liaotung, again putting to flight its army with
great slaughter, having defeated it before the city of Sinchung,
the site of which remains among the hills in the vicinity of
Kaichow. All the Liaotung commanders died fighting bravely,
but vainly, in the van of their army.
This rapid progress is accountable only when we reflect that
great numbers of Chaosien people would have fled from the
destroying forces of Han; some north, some east. These would
either at once put themselves under the protection of Gaogowli,
or cultivate the mountain gullies in the north of the modern
Corea, and submit to Gaogowli as soon as that power crossed
the river to the east. Their descendants would become wholly
amalgamated into Gaogowli, and would forget the weakness of the
old Chaosien in the hopeful vigour of the young state. These
would have no hesitation in demanding vengeance for the
destruction of their old country, especially when that vengeance
could enrich themselves.
The Gaogowli king, Goong, had not only greatly enlarged his
own kingdom, but gained an overwhelming influence over some
of his neighbours. For the army was chiefly composed of Hwi
and Mahan men, with which he had all but swallowed up
Huentoo; which he failed to annex only because of the interference
of the king of Fooyii, his northern cousin, and probably jealous
neighbour. The Fooyii army, which thus stopped his progress,
numbered 20,000 men. Goong died soon after that unsuccessful
fight; and Gwang, the governor of Hiientoo, in mentioning the
circumstance to his liege lord, his imperial majesty of China,
prayed to be permitted to take advantage of the fact, and break
up the kingdom. This request was not granted, on the ground
that "propriety" forbade his fighting against aman when dead,
whom he had not dared to face when living. Whether the real
reason was the belief that he would not succeed, or because it was
believed to be not altogether undesirable to have apower to the
east, which might balance Rienbi, we cannot say; but neither
then nor since would any doctrine of propriety prevent the
 COREAN EXTENSION. 127

Chinese court from clutching an advantage of which it was

certain. But if the governor did not get what he desired, he
and the governor of Yowchow got what they did not want; for
permission was granted them to use asword on their own bodies.*
The young Gaogowli king, from gratitude or policy, sent to
Huentoo all the Chinese prisoners in his hands.
In 169, Baigoo, the Gaogowli king, ravaged Liaotung; and
the governor of Hilentoo saved his head by acknowledging the
supremacy of Baigoo. Then, for the first time, the name
Gaogowli embraced the lands of the much more ancient Chaosien;
for with Hiientoo, most, if not all, of Liaotung was annexed
by Baigoo. Yen was defeated shortly after, in their attempts
to drive Gaogowli eastwards from Sinchung, etc., which was in
the westernmost of the four divisions of Chaosien. Hence-
forth the name Chaosien does not appear again for thirteen
centuries.
As Weigoong, king of Gaogowli, was never done plundering
his western neighbours, the governor of Yowchow marched with
all the forces he could muster across the Yaloo up to Wadoo,f
the capital of Weigoong. The king was defeated in the one
battle he was tempted to fight; but though over athousand of
his men were slain, he would not listen to the advice of his
minister, Dualai, who urged him to submit. This minister, in his
disgrace, starved himself to death, and the Chinese army was
ordered to hallow his grave; and when they seized his wife and
children, they escorted them safely to their home. Weigoong,
with his wife and children, fled far north to Maigow, his chief
city, 800 li south of Wojoo. The new governor of Hiientoo was
sent to hunt him out; and drove him beyond the Toon-bun

It would be interesting to know whether the Japanese Harikari is not of

Chinese origin. It is pretty certain that China set the example of regarding suicide
as the mildest and most honourable form of capital punishment.

t"Sailing 100 Ii up the Yaloo, then in smaller vessels up another river; in all, 530
li was Wadoo." There is asmall tributary running into the Yaloo below Aichow;
but though there is a port for small vessels south-east of Aichow, I have not
heard of vessels being able to go far up, though they may be able to do so in
floods.
128 GAOGOWL I.

river, where he took refuge among the savage Sooshun. This

governor took or slew 8000 people, and then returned.
In 435, of the many rival kingdoms into which China was
divided, one of the most powerful was the Hunnish one of Wei,
which had overthrown or amalgamated their relations, the
Hienbi.* To save himself from being called to account, the
Corean King sent an embassage with tribute to Wei, and Wei
confirmed him as (vassal) King of Gaogowli and Duke (Goong) ,
of Liaotung. But when, soon after, Wei besieged the last
strong city of Yen,* Gaogowli sent a considerable army to raise
the siege. But it was inadequate.
The internal troubles of China, and the never-ending wars
between Wei and the new and strong Chi in Shantung, on
his east, varied by wars in defence from an attack on the
Yowyan,—which had arisen out of the ashes of the Huns, on
his west, —made Gaolif stronger than ever. This was, partly,
because they had themselves respite from war, except in
voluntary attacks on neighbours, all of whom were weaker; and
partly because there were numberless fugitives from the
increasing bloodshed of China, to the comparative repose of
Gaoli. It found, therefore, no difficulty in stretching its border,
westwards, embracing the whole of Liaotung, and forming ai
empire. We find Gaoli in 479, in the neighbourhood of the
present Yoongping, breaking up the tribe of Mohofo, the ( I

Moogan of Kitan4 which numbered 10,000 (heads? or tents?). 4

The Kitan fled southwards to crave the shelter of Wei's arm.
But in 484, the Gaoli King Lien sent tribute to both Chi and
Wei; for it was difficult to foresee which of the two was tc
become supreme in northern China. Wei created him King o'
Gaoli, Duke of Liaotung, and Governor of the military affairs ol 1
the Liao Sea, which title was more honorary than substantial
as there was no fleet. But though on such excellent terms with

*See Ch. IV.

tThe pow is now dropped, and the name is generally henceforth Gaoli, which the
Coreans themselves always pronounce Gori, whence Corea or Korea. p. 115.
See Kitan, Chap. VII.
 BAIJI. 129

Wei, he declined to send his son to Court, sending his uncle

Shun Chien instead, to Pingchung, then the capital of Wei.
The name of BAIJI became prominent in 245 A.D., by which
time it had gradually swallowed up all its fifty-three neighbouring
clans of Mahan, and it was now able to hold its own against
Gaogowli. It occupied the lands east of the Datong Gang, and west
of the Han Gang, its capital being in Giungi Do, in which Sheool,
the modern capital, is situated. Bien han,* and Cha han were
compelled to unite into one kingdom in the extreme east and
south of the Corean peninsula; for otherwise they would have
been wholly unable to cope with Gaoli on their north-west, or
Baiji on their west. The name adopted by these two Han was
SINLO, whose lands were and are the warmest and richest in the
peninsula. In the year 345, Sinlo suffered severely at the hands
of Baiji ;but at asubsequent period of its history, it extended
far north, and embraced agood deal of Baiji soil.
In the fifth century, Baiji incurred the displeasure of Wei,—
probably because it dared to be independent. A large Wei army
was sent to teach it proper manners; but Baiji stoutly refused
it admittance, and the army had to retreat. They became better
friends after the fight; for, two years after, the King of Baiji
was nominated by Wei, "Great General Protector of the East."
For over five hundred years, the affairs of China were in a
most deplorable condition. There were never less than three,
there were often seven, and once seventeen, self-styled Emperors,
competing for power; and the "dogs of war" were never asleep.
Perhaps it was not much, if any, worse than the condition of
Europe at the same time; but it was anything but the picture of
awell-regulated, peaceful country, such as some western writers
have for their own purposes declared it to have been. In the very
end of the sixth century, however, the native Swi dynasty, succeded
in trampling down the last of its competitors, and the rent gar-
ment of China was again, with bloody fingers, stitched together,
—but the needle was acoarse one.
As soon as Tang, king of Gaoli, heard of the complete success
*See Map I.

II
/
, Toc e:t
130 GAOGOWLI.

of Swi, in 587, A.D., he became alarmed for his own possessions,

and began to store up grain, and to drill soldiers to be ready to
defend his border. The rumour of those preparations reached
the Swi court, and the emperor despatched a messenger imme-
diately, who stated, that "the Liao river was not so wide as the
Yangtsu, nor the men of Tang so numerous as were those of the
recently destroyed Chun." The arrival of the messenger with so
threatening amessage caused Tang such terror, that he took ill
and died. The Swi emperor conferred upon his son Yuen, who
succeeded him, the title of Duke of Liaotung. Yuen sent
messengers to court to express his gratitude, and to pray for the
higher title of Wang. To this also the emperor agreed; and
never, thenceforth, did he let Gaoli slip out of his thoughts, and
on this rock he broke his head.
If Yuen succeeded to his father's kingdom, he did not inherit
his father's fear. He believed he might as well exercise his
soldiers on foreign soil, and therefore sent 10,000, chiefly Mogo
men, across the Liao, who ravaged Liaosi, under which designation
alarge portion of the modern Chihli, was even then included.
This force was ultimately driven back by the commandant
Governor (Tsoonggwan) of Ying-Chow.*
This insult at once enraged the Emperor, and gave him the
longed for opportunity of annexing Corea. He set about pre-
paring an army of 300,000 men to attack Corea, by land and
water. The main army marching through Linyligwan, 480 li
west of Liwchung,* got to the Liao river before their provisions,
with the result of thinning their ranks by araging epidemic, for
it was hot July weather. The provision carts could not wade
through the mire, into which the heavy rains had converted the
roads. Eight-tenths of the army are said to have died before
they saw an enemy.
The navy which sailed from Laichow, under Jowlo How, fared
no better; for it encountered terrific gales, which foundered a
large proportion of the vessels on the way to the capital of Corea.
The Coreau capital then was Pingyang on the Datong, a city
*See note, p. 65.
 BAIJI RAVAGED. 131

which was six li in length, running along the side of an inacces-

sible mountain. Thus Corea was saved from that overwhelming
force, without striking ablow; mid only one fifth of that army
ever saw Chinese soil again. Wars at a distance have been
always unpopular amongst the Chinese, and that war would be all
the more spiritlessly entered into, because the country had not
anything like recovered itself since the conclusion of its long
continued civil wars. Yuen was none the less afraid; for there
was the fact that ahost was sent against him, so great that .he
could not possibly resist, if it came to his doors with hearts for
its work. He therefore sent in messengers to acknowledge
his crimes, and crave forgiveness; which the Emperor, calling him
the "Manure and Mud minister" of Liaotung, was then glad
enough to give.
Baiji had heard of the projected expedition, and as she had
old scores to settle with Gaoli, she offered her alliance to the
Emperor, who gladly accepted it, and gave Baiji all the war
material requisite. Though Baiji had never had the opportunity
to move, her proposed action came to the ears of Yuen, who
therefore ravaged the western coast of his neighbour's kingdom.
The Swi first Emperor died, and was succeeded by the famous
Emperor Yang. He happened to be visiting Chimin, the
Kokhan* of the Tookue, as they were called, whom we call
Turks, at atime when there was aGaoli messenger in Chimin's
tent; but the latter did not dare to introduce him to the Emperor.
One of the Emperor's officials saw this messenger, however, and
in mentioning the circumstance, repeated the early history of
Chaosien and Gaoli, as detailed above. He also informed the
Emperor of the designs of the deceased Emperor on Gaoli, and
urged that those designs should not be forgotten. The hot-

*What is usually written Khan in English, or rather in French, whence it was

taken, is never written so by the Chinese, from whom it was translated; it is always
Kokan, and, to the ancestors of the Mongols, was synonymous with the Chinese
Whangdi, "Supreme Ruler." The Tookiie, successor of the Yowyan and Hiwng,noo,
are generally translated "Turks," and distinguished from Mongols. But these
names are only dynastic titles of the same peoples, and not distinctive names for
different peoples or races of men.
132 GAOGOWLI.

tempered monarch was not slow to act on this suggestion; and on

such a scale were the preparations for war carried on, that a
horse sold at 100,000 cash,* the price of a capital horse even
now. There were many murmurs in court and country against
this enormous expenditure; for the nation was still staggering
under the results of its former wars, and at that moment, famine
was carrying off myriads of the people in many places throughout
the empire. But orders were given to have the first man
beheaded, who dared oppose this war; and in 611, all
preparations were about complete. But instead of marching on
Gaoli, the army had to go northwards against Choolo (or Nolo),
son and successor of Chimin, who had offended by abstaining
from presenting his new year's salutations and tribute. He
suffered adefeat and had to flee with afew thousand men. This
brought him to reason and to Court, where the Emperor
graciously received him, and the army was free to march against
the east.
Shantung had been deluged on the preceding year by floods
which had all but annihilated the crops, and the people were in
the greatest straits for food. Notwithstanding which, an
imperative mandate, admitting of no evasion or delay, was sent
to the governor of that province, ordering him to fill the
granaries of two given cities with grain. That grain was
not only to be sent out of the famishing province, but sent by
the labour and at the expense of the people. One of these
stores was Loo ho, or Port of Loo, said to be in Liaosi. The
other was Whaiyuen,f or Whiloo, said to be 7 li north of
Loyang; to which locality, however, it is unlikely that Shantung
would be required to send grain. The Loo port is apparently
to be looked for in the north-east of Chihli, on the Peiho or the
Lan ho. The stores at Whaiyuen amounted to twenty-four
million Dan; each of about four cwt. of grain; and Loo ho stores
were to be atithe of that quantity. This grain, and the amount

*1,000 to atael or liang of silver, worth about 6/.

tThere was aWhaiyuen to the N.E. of Kingchow of Liaosi, which is likely the
depot referred to.
 REBELLIONS. 133

of labour required to carry it over a country lately flooded, and

across roadless mountains and rivers,'gave rise to misery beyond
conception; and the number of those who died beneath their
loads became so alarmingly great, that the emperor had six
hundred thousand "Deer" or small carts provided, each of
which could carry one dam and a half. These, too, broke down
on account of the bad roads.
The terrible sufferings of the people, aggravated by the
heartlessness of their "father and mother," as the emperor is
called, drove numbers into rebellion. These took up their,
head quarters at Changbaishan, now Changshan hien of Tsinan
foo. Arms of any kind were forbidden the people; but arms
were soon made, and the "rebels" foraged for food to keep
them from starving. Other people suffering in the same manner
formed into bands and became "robbers," to save themselves
from the starvation which obedience to selfish and needless
whims of an absolute autocrat brought upon them. The previous
campaign against Toogoohwun, in the west of China, had
exhausted the treasury; and the strain on the people, by such
enormous taxation, over a second year of famine, would be so
terrible, that all his ministers urged the emperor to delay; but
their reasons were urged in vain. When the army was collected
together, the emperor proudly asked how Gaoli could oppose it.
One minister, who was himself to accompany the army, replied
that the army might take Gaoli, but that it would be highly
advisable for the emperor to remain in his capital. The advice
roused the anger of the emperor, and nearly cost the official his
head.
The army consisted of twenty-four divisions; each under its
own general, and with its appointed route and destination. The
emperor chose Choolo and five hundred Tookue for his guard;
proving that he was not quite sure of his own people. The army
consisted of a right and left wing; each of twelve divisions.
The left was to march for Lowfang, Changling, Junhai, Gaima,
Jienan, Nansoo, Liaotung, Hiientoo, Fooyii, Chaosien, Wojoo,
and Lolang. The first three places were under the jurisdiction
134 GAOGOWLI.

of Lolang; the others can be seen on the map. The right was
to march for Hwunur, Lingtsu, Lintwuu, Howchung, Tisi,
Sooshun, Daifang, Hiangping, and Lintwun in Liaotung. Most
of these places were in Corea proper; but it is impossible now
to trace them.
When this Chinese Xerxes set in motion probably the largest
army ever congregated in China, it amounted to 1,133,800
men. Over a length of 960 Ii were heard the blast of their
horns, and the roll of their drums; and the flying banners waved
an unbroken line for more than three hundred miles. It took
forty days for the "tail" to pass the spot where the "head"
had rested. In May they got to Linso, the modern Chochow of
Chihli. They thus avoided the mistake of marching in the
rainy season, which had brought the former expedition to grief.
When they got to the west bank of the Liao, they found the
Gaoli in force on the other side; and their attempts to cross in
an easy manner failed. The president of the board of works
was therefore ordered to construct three bridges, which he did;
but when afloat they were short of the east bank by ten feet, for
the river is little, if any, less than half amile wide at any point
where they attempted to cross. Both horse and foot crowded ,
each other on the bridge. Both jumped off and fought in the
water, and those who waded or swam to the foot of the bank
fought there. But the bank was steep, the foe numerous, and
the current strong, and every soul of them was swept off by the
rapid river. General Mai Tiejang said to his three sons, that
the "day had now come when he could manifest his gratitude
to his bounteous sovereign,"—a common Chinese phrase in
volunteering for the forlorn hope. He, therefore, pressed forward;
and with many another brave man, he was carried away by the
devouring river, in spite of his all daring valour. He was,
however, ennobled on the spot; such being in strict accordance
with Chinese custom : for up to the present, the crowning
honours of an able minister are posthumous. His sons were
also promoted to higher offices. But many myriads of the great
army uselessly threw away their lives before the bridges could be
 CHINESE XERXES. 135

cleared; so great was the ardour of the army, and so imperfect

its discipline. It took two more days to lengthen the bridges
sufficiently to touch the east side; and that once done, the
Chinese swarmed across, and soon compelled the Gaoli to prove
their swiftness of foot.
The Gaoli left 10,000 of their men on the bank or fields
before they got within the walls of Liaotung, as their city near
the present Liaoyang, was called. The flying Gaoli were pursued
to the very gates. But though the siege was warmly pressed,
the defence was so stubborn that the spirit of the besiegers began
to cool down; yet they never failed in driving back every one of
the numerous sallies of the besieged. Even after some months'
siege, there was no impression on the walls, nor sign of yielding
in the garrison. The sarcasms of the emperor could do no more
than bring the colour into the cheeks of his generals; and after
a more than usually bitter inuendo on their inefficiency and
want of military spirit, he retired to a city west of Liaotung, as
if ashamed of his men. Some of the other divisions had gone
their several ways. •
One army had been sent by sea from Laichow, which city
had alone to provide 800 vessels. The navy was large, as the
land army was numerous; and the sea was covered with the
ships on their way east to Pingyang. These ships had been
built, as the grain had been stored, by compulsory labour, on the
coasts of Shantung and Fukien, on the rivers Whang and
Yangtsu. Both in the north and south of China myriads of
lives were sacrificed in the incessant labour of the navy yards,
where work did not cease with daylight. This fleet of transports,
now brought together at enormous expense to the country, in
life as in money, was put under the command of General Hoor;
for there were no admirals, as there were no fighting ships.
floor landed his men 60 li south of Pingyang, on the Beishwi,
where a Corean army was posted. This army he attacked
immediately, defeated, and pursued. His second in command
urged caution in pursuit; but floor was angry at the cautious
counsel, pushed rapidly ahead, came again up with the Gaoli
136 GA.OGOWLI.

whom he defeated, and then his pursuit became warmer than

ever. But this second flight was a trap to throw him off his
guard; and just when his men were in the disorder of ardent
pursuit, an ambush rose on his flanks suddenly, closed, and
completely defeated him. Of the large army, only a few
thousand returned to their ships. But the array was still so great
there, that the pursuing Gaoli dared not venture an attack.
Yu Wun had marched overland with his division far to the
north, very likely by the route from Kingchow to Mukden; for
he is said to have skirted the west and then the north of Gaoli
land, going through Fooyii (Kaiyuen) and south-east, probably
by the present Hingking and along the lovely mountain road
from Hingking to Funghwang Chung and the magnificent and
crystal clear Yaloo,* on the west bank of which he joined and took
command of other eight divisions; forming, in all, the large army
of 305,000 men. These men had each received ahundred days'
provisions, given out for man and beast, when the army got to
Looho and Whaiyuen. As such a weight of grain would needs
be a grievous burden, orders were given that the man should be
beheaded, who was found throwing his grain away. But from
whatever reason, provisions were all but exhausted when they
got to the Yaloo banks.
Gaoli had sent Wundu, one of the best ministers, to pretend
to desert to this Chinese army; but his real business was to spy
out the state of the army. Joonggwan, one of the generals,
strongly suspected the designs of Wundu, and gave orders to
have him apprehended as soon as he came within his ranks.
This was done. But apresident of one of the boards strongly
objected to such treatment Still retaining his suspicions, Joong-
gwan was, therefore, compelled to release his prisoner; who was no
sooner liberated, than he made great haste to get out of the way.
This haste roused the president's suspicions also. He sent
messengers after Wundu, who overtook him, and said that the
president had an important communication to make, and was

*Yaloo, originally called the Mad= river, and, according to Tang history, called
Yaloo, because the colour of the water is that of aduck's (Ya) head.
 COREAN FABIUS. 137

anxious to see him immediately. Wundu was not at all anxious

to hear the message; but made off in the wrong direction, and
was soon at the head of his army on the east bank of the Yaloo.
Ile had run great risks, and had deserved success.
The trick greatly disconcerted both Joonggwan and Wun;
and the former urged an instant attack with light troops, while
yet their grain lasted; his object being to acquire some renown
by seizing Wundu. Wun was strongly opposed to any such
move in their present circumstances; but Joonggwan angrily
asked with what face could they again see the emperor, if with
such an army they returned empty handed. From his manner,
the other generals believed he had a good plan of operations,
which he would develop in the face of the enemy. They,
therefore, sided with him, and Wun was compelled to order the
army to advance. The fact that he had judged so correctly the
nature of the Corean general's visit, would tend to cause the
others to lean on his judgment.
Wundu, seeing the hunger-bitten faces of the Chinese,
determined to give them exercise. Instead of engaging in a
pitched battle, in which he would be overwhelmed, he carried
out the tactics of the petty vessels which scattered the Armada,—
retreating, wheeling round, engaging, and again retreating.
Seven sharp, but short, battles were fought the first day. The
Chinese marched further and further away from their base;
crossed the Sa river, and pitched camp on the hills 30 li from
Pingyang, always closely watched by Wundu. If he thus proved
himself acapable general, he must have greatly lacked experience;
for he made frequent overtures to Wun to surrender with his
army; and this in the then condition of Wun' sforces was simply
absurd. He might have done so as a coarse joke; but that he
meant Wun to take his messages in good faith seems certain,
from the fact that Wun found in the repeated proposals an
excuse for retreating; for he would not otherwise have dared to look
his passionate master in the face. floor, not so bold:since, as
before his defeat, was meantime to the south of the city no
more than thirty miles from Wun; but the two commanders
138 GAOGOWLI.

seemed wholly unaware of each other's existence. They did not,

at all events, open communications with each other; for if they
had done so, there seems no reason why the fleet should not feed
the two armies for a brief time; and the combined army, well
fed, would overturn anything Corea ever could put in the field.
But Joonggwan's bold language had ended in nothing.
Provisions were now wholly gone. The city of Pingyang, was
so strongly situated by nature, and fortified by art, that there
was no hope of a successful attack; while Wundu, the Corean
Fabius, was always wide awake, never coming near enough to
give the enemy an opportunity of grappling with him, never
going far enough to let the Chinese breathe freely. Wun had,
therefore, with heavy heart, to order the retreat, which his better I
judgment had decided on at the west side of the Yaloo. His
state was desperate in any case, for Liaoyang was four hundred
miles away; and how could he, without provisions, retrace the
steps of that large army over all that distance? The difficulty
of his situation may have made him lose his head, otherwise
he must have thought of floor only thirty miles away; and even if
Pingyang stood in the direct way, there was no reason why he
could not send messengers to make enquiries, and both could
then easily concoct aplan by which Pingyang must needs fall.
He had an army large enough for the conquest of all Corea, but
the fact that he yielded to the advice of his subordinate generals,
proves that he was not the proper man to lead such an army.
He was not without bravery, however ; a quality much more
common than wisdom. He took command of the rear himself,
in the retreat which he ordered in August.
The Coreans no sooner beheld the great hosts retiring, than
they swarmed like bees from all corners and directions, clinging
like so many hornets to flank and rear. Wundu was, of course,
the head of all that swarm; and while giving all liberty to
skirmishers, he kept his army well in hand till half of the
Chinese were across the Sa, when he rushed with fury upon the
rear. The general in command of the rear fell fighting; and his
fall was the signal for a helter-skelter flight of the large but
 FRIGHTFUL DEFEAT. 13 9
,

already dispirited and famishing army. The rear rushed upon

the centre, the centre pushed against the van; and that army,
a few weeks ago so formidable, became a confused rabble of
fugitives, without any attempt at order, and the exercise of
authority was impossible. Every man ran at his greatest speed,
fled for twenty-four hours on end, and in their terror, rested.
only on the east bank of the Yaloo, having run 4501i. Only one
man, Yinhoong, proved his capacity for his post; for he retained.
his division in form sufficient to check the Gaoli in the rear.
But of those 305,000 men, only 2,700 got to Liaotung city. In
their famishing condition the deaths in that flight must have
been enormous; for there was no possibility of obtaining pro-
visions. But large numbers were taken prisoners; for many
Chinese, left in Gaoli hands by the Swi Emperor, were released.
again to the Tang dynasty. The Coreans who prevented com-
munication while the Chinese were on the offensive, would
doubtless send some Chinese prisoners to Hoor, with the news
of the overwhelming disaster; for he heard, when too late, of the
arrival of his colleague and of his fate, and beat a retreat. The
Chinese army was lost by imbecility. The arms which fell into
the hands of the Coreans, with other spoil, are mentioned as
"myriads of myriads of myriads."
This undreamed of collapse roused the Emperor to a frenzy of
fury, and the chief officers concerned in the flight, who set the
example, or did not set a better, were publicly executed.
Joonggwan was degraded to rank with the common people, but
Wun, though degraded at the time, was regarded as more
unfortunate than guilty, and restored to his command. The
grain of the besieging army was also all but exhausted, and
the Emperor, in his spleen, ordered every man to find his way
home as he best could.
Soon after the return of this wrecked army to the capital, the
President of the Board of Works died, probably from his internal
worry; for his imperfect bridges began the series of misfortunes
which befell, perhaps, the largest army which China ever brought
together to one place, and which had. been set in motion at an
140 GAOGOWLI.

expense of personal suffering and loss of life such as no other

campaign in Chinese annals can furnish.
If floods had destroyed the hopes of northern Chinese farmers
for that year, a drought blighted their crops the next, and an
epidemic,—probably what is known as the Famine Fever,—
carried away multitudes of people, especially in Shantung. The
consequent disaffection of the people may therefore be readily
understood; for spite of their wretched state, and the abyss of their
poverty, the Emperor Yang, whose name is still ahissing and a
bye-word, urged on preparations for another campaign against
Liaotung. And no man dared speak reason, for it would have
been at the risk of his life.
In the beginning of 613, little more than a year after his
return, he sent men to rebuild the ancient Hiangping of Han,
some distance west of Liaotung city, in order there to lay in
stores, so that the next siege would not be broken up from
exhausted provisions. And though large bands of robbers
traversed the country, and Shantung was in the extremity of
distress, the Emperor crossed the Liao in May, Yiiwun and
Yang Yi were again sent to Pingyang, to undo the evil effects of
their former campaign. Yingoong got to Sinchung, west of
Nansoo, having apparently gone by sea, drove back some myriads
of Gaoli, by asharp attack of 1,000 horse; but he invested the
city in vain.
In this second attack on Liaotung city, the Emperor got ready
"Flying Towers" and "Cloud-ladders," which can mean no more
than high towers and scaling ladders. These were placed all round
the city, and the garrison was kept on the qui vive, both day and
night. But so obstinate was the defence, that after twenty days
constant fighting, the city was just as it was on the first day; great
numbers, however, fell on both sides, or of "host" and "guest,"
as the original puts it (hospes et hostis). At the top of one
"Cloud-ladder," 150 feet long, most obstinate fights took place;
one man killing as many as adozen Coreans before he was cut
down.
Notwithstanding secret disaffection and internal discord in the
 SILENT RETREAT. 141

Chinese camp, whose causes are easily discoverable, the siege was
prosecuted with unabated ardour, and repelled by the Coreans
with undiminished vigour. The Emperor had just got completed
an earthen rampart sixty paces wide, close to and flush with the
city wall, and a high storied movable tower on eight wheels,
higher than the city wall, whence missiles could be thrown down
into the city; and these were about to be put in action, and would
infallibly have taken the city, when a breathless messenger
hurried into the camp by night and brought in news of the
rebellion of Yang Hiiengan, President of the Board of Rites,
who was besieging the Swi capital with a large volunteer
army. The Emperor was cowardly as he was obstinate, and in
his terror gave immediate orders to forsake the camp with every
thing in it, just as it stood.
So well was the order carried out, and so far had the army
gone by daylight, that the Gaoli observed no change, beyond
the unusal respite from fighting. It was mid-day ere they
ventured to inspect the formidable Chinese camp; but though not
asoul was visible, as everything was in its place, they feared a
trick, and permitted the second day to appear, ere curiosity got
the better of fear. So great was their caution, that it was the
third day ere they discovered the Chinese army making
preparations to recross the Liao. After keeping at a distance
for atime, they became more numerous, and ventured up to the
rear, which they found very weak and ill guarded. They were
too late, however; for their increasing numbers cut down only a
thousand men before the whole army was across.
Hoor was, fortunately for Emperor Yang, still at Laichow, and
Yil Wun was hurriedly recalled; for Yang's volunteer army had
run up to ahundred thousand men in afew days. He was defeated,
however, and committed suicide to escape the hands of the
executioner. His was not the only rebellion, though the most
formidable, from the object of attack and the rank of the
leader. For universal disaffection found vent in universal
rebellion, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of fighting bands or
armies spread disorder and terror over every province. And this
142 GAOGOWLI.

was the result of the three great expeditions against Gaoli by

the Swi emperors.
Gaoli was not just yet left at peace, however; for even the very
next year (614), the Emperor again consulted with his ministers as
to the propriety of marching on Gaoli. For days together not one
43,
fthem would express an opinion,—which was an emphatic way of
showing their opinion. That silence ended in the Emperor giving
forth the order, "Collect the soldiers of the Empire." Soon after
came the news that Li Hoongju had rebelled and declared war
against the Emperor. He styled himself Tang Wang, and
afterwards became the first Tang Emperor. Rebels in numerous
armies of scores of thousands, rose up in all directions; the
empire was in the greatest confusion; and at length the Emperor
gave yeluctant orders to retain at home the army collected for
Gaoli.
The fleet was, however, sent under Hoor to Bisha ch,ung,
nearer the sea than Pingyang. In the obstinate battle which
took place there, the Gaoli were defeated and the Chinese again
marched on Pingyang. King Yuen, in great dread, sent
messengers to treat of peace; and to smooth their way he sent
to the Emperor some fugitives, who had fled into his kingdom
during the preceding year. The Emperor was delighted to have
Yuen on his knees at last. He at once agreed to conclude peace,
and recalled Hoor. But the latter would not be recalled; saying
to the imperial messenger that the armies at home were scattered
all over the country against rebels, and that if he went home now,
he would never be permitted to come back again; that neither
glory nor reward had the soldiers gained during their late
campaign; and that as Gaoli was in great straits and Pingyang
sure to fall in a few days, better first take the city and then
return home. The messenger first ordered him, then pleaded
with him to return, but all in vain. He at last said in great
anger: "The man is atraitor who does not listen to the orders
of his Emperor, and must risk the responsibility." The messenger
then went back alone to court. The Emperor brought the first
Gaoli messenger into the Ancestral Temple, there to present him to
 EMPEROR BESIEGED. 143

his ancestors as the representative of the new kingdom annexed

to their dominions. He was, however, still bent on the thorough
conquest of the country. Pingyang was still standing, at the
end of the year; and as the Emperor's thoughts were insanely
fixed on that conquest, to the neglect of every other consideration,
one minister, with the profoundest deference, deprecated an
immediate attack on Gaoli, because of the deep poverty and
unspeakable misery of the Chinese people; stating that after a
peace of three or five years had given rest and restored prosperity
to the country, Gaoli could be attacked and easily conquered.
The Emperor, in atowering passion, ordered the adviser to prison,
where he died ;—one authority stating that the Emperor ordered
his secret death.
Next year the Tookiie pushed in to Yen mun,—the Taichow
of Taiyuen,—whither the Emperor had just gone. There were
in the city 150,000 souls including the soldiers, and they had
provisions for twenty days. There were fourty-one fortified cities
in the region known as Yen mun, of which thirty-nine had already
fallen before the Turks, and as they had failed to capture the
fourtieth, they besieged the city of Yen mun, in which the
Emperor was located. He was in the utmost terror, which is
another proof, if any more were necessary, to show that the
heartlessly cruel are cowards. In this dilemma there were, of
course, many advices. Yil Wun, who was there, gave asoldier's
advice,—urging his majesty to take a few thousand of the best
horse and pierce through the besiegers' lines. The best, however,
was the statesman's advice, who was bold enough to say, that the
people were meantime careless whether his majesty escaped or
not, as they feared the strain of another Gaoli expedition: but
let, advised he, "aproclamation be immediately issued to declare
that the Emperor had no intention of marching on Gaoli at
present, and the people will rise from all directions and hurl the
invaders across the border."
Shubi, son of Chimin, was Kokhan of the Turks. He proposed
apeace if the Emperor's daughter were given him in marriage.
The Emperor believed that the cheapest way out of his scrape,
141 GAOGOWLI.

and would agree; but the Princess, more noble than her father,
raised an army in Loyang, which marched against the Turks,
raised the siege and drove them out of the country.
Though large tracts of country were in possession of the
numerous rebel armies, the Emperor clung as tenaciously as ever
to his mad desire to trample Corea under foot, and every
expostulation only put him into afrenzy of fury. .
If the last of the Swi Emperors was an insanely selfish
monarch, he was an ardent devotee of literature, and agenerous
patron of literary men. He employed one hundred and twenty
of the ablest literary men, under the superintendance of
Dasiaosu, or Grand Secretaries,—the highest dignitaries of the
Empire. These were employed, for over twenty years, in making
new books; works on the Classics, on Essay Writing or Literary
Style, on War, Agriculture, Geography, Medicine, the Eight
Diagrams, Buddhism, Taoism, Chess, Fishing, Falconry, Hounds
and the Chace. The new works formed 31 Tao, and consisted of
17,000 rolls,—one to four of which rolls or jwan, forms a
modern volume. From the name, we are entitled to infer that
ancient Chinese writings were in long rolls like ancient Jewish;
and such scrolls well written are now hung up on walls as we
hang pictures. In Changan he had a library of 370,000
rolls. He was himself adiligent annotator, as well as an eager
reader. His annotations, afterwards revised by his literary
assistants, extended over 37,000 rolls in Loyang, his second
capital. No expense was spared to make his extensive libraries,
and especially his reading rooms, as magnificent as art could
make them. Every three rooms had a square door, over ‘which
were two "Flying Genii." Outside the door was a mechanical
contrivance ("machine"), which yielded to the pressure of the
first step over it, and brought down one of the genii, which
opened the door and held it open, till his majesty passed through.
An attendant bearing a censer, burning with fragrant wood,
went before him. When he retired, the various automatic genii
which he passed, returned to their places above their doors, and
the doors were thus locked. In his new capital of Loyang he
 SUICIDAL CONQUEST. 145

had built magnificent palaces, which he surrounded with extensive

gardens as splendid as the exercise of taste and the expenditure
of money could make them. And to the incalculable miseries
produced by his Corean expeditions, are to be added the sufferings
caused by the forced labour of amillion of men in rebuilding the
Great Wall in the north.
Better had he, in those unsettled times, attempted to read
men more wisely, and had left book-making to those who
neglected no greater duty in confining themselves to literary
work. The emperor Yang is to this day regarded as an example
in, and patron of literature; but even more emphatically, and
with justice, is he pointed out as abeacon in political life. His
attempted Corean conquests failed, only because they were
ill timed and madly carried on, regardless of the terrible
sufferings inflicted upon his people, already in the depths of misery.
But they cost Yang his own life, his family the crown, and China
countless myriads of lives, which no conquest could have repaid.
Probably because of the frightful distress, the famines and
the wars, which reigned supreme over China; probably because
aware that the people regarded himself as the cause of all these
trials; chiefly because, coward that he was, he was utterly
incapable of meeting the dangers which his reckless and
thoughtless cruelties had aroused; most likely from acombination
of all three,—emperor Yang became a sottish drunkard; and
when Li, the Tang Wang, with Turkish aid, was rapidly
pushing eastwards, Yang never let strong drink leave his side.
His commander, Yii Wun, seeing there was absolutely no hope,
as long as Yang was at the head of affairs, put him to death, and,
with the hope of saving the Empire, proclaimed his son. He
was too late. Yang had lost the hearts of the people long ago
He had lost large portions of his empire; and if he could not
himself keep the crown, not a hand outside his court would be
raised to save it. Thus terminated his Corean wars for Yang,
and the Swi dynasty dashed out its brains against the walls of
the petty Liaotung city,—the modern Liaoyang. The Coreans
had arespite for many years, besides the fame which they had
K
146 GAOGOWLI. •

acquired of being splendid garrison soldiers, though but a poor

army on the field; a character which, in Chinese history, they
have retained to the present day.
 CHAPTER VI.

SINLO.

THE kingdom of Sinlo occupied the southern portion of the

Corean peninsula. It spread up along the east coast, from Fusan
in the south, to the Toomun in the north, and ruled over much
of the northern portion of modern Corea. It was established last
of the three kingdoms; Gaoli being before Baiji, the latter before
Sinlo. Sinlo was originally one of the twelve tribes of Chunhan,
sometimes called Chin (Tsin) han, from the belief that its original
inhabitants were adherents of the Tsin dynasty, who fled thither
when the dynasty was broken up by the Han. It is said that
Mahan gave up that land to them, and that the fugitives divided
into six, then into twelve "Kingdoms." Sinlo, one of the twelve,
gradually became supreme in Chunhan as Baiji had done in
Mahan. The first king of Sinlo was a Baiji man, which caused
Sinlo to regard Baiji as its superior. But, having gradually
become powerful, extending its borders northwards, it refused to
act as a dependant, and instant enmity was the result. Baiji,
wishing to enforce its authority, borrowed Gaoli help and
overthrew Sinlo in battle, but was unable ultimately to retain the
lands it had then secured. This only increased the mutual hate,
and Sinlo was at one time so powerful that it slew a King of
Baiji. A state of war was the normal condition between the
two.
One of the Swi magistrates of Shensi, was the Li yuen mentioned
above.* He was aworthy man, who mourned over the lamentable
condition of his ruined country. His son was afiery young man,
who had no sympathy with agrief which, in such circumstances,
did not lead to action; and if he grieved, he burned with desire to

p. 142.
148 SINLO.

rid his country of the root of those miseries; or he might see in

the then condition of his country an easy way for changing the
reigning house. At any rate, he urged his father to rebel, and
the father would not rebel; nor was he bold enough for such a
step. But the son, who appears to have been master, got his
father drunk at a feast he provided, and by night had two
concubines of the Swi Emperor, left in the city, brought to his
father's bed-room, where they remained till next day. The
father on ascertaining next morning the character of the ladies
who had been in his room all night, was in great terror, for he
must perish. His son urged him to rebel as his only chance of
life. And he did rebel. His son was the soldier; but the work
of conquest was very slow. He, however, engaged the Turks as
his allies, by whose aid he laid the foundation of the Tang dynasty,
—one of the greatest China has produced. The Turks were there-
fore masters of the father—the first Tang Emperor—all his life;
and it cost many atough battle after the accession of the soldier-
son to the throne, ere they could be made to acknowledge the
supremacy of the Chinese emperor.
As soon as order was restored within the Chinese border, the
Tang emperor sent aGrand Secretary to Gaoli, Baiji and Sinlo,
who acted so judiciously, that the three kingdoms acknowledged
the Tang dynasty and sent in tribute. This is doubtless the
"Messenger" whom another history states was sent in 622 by
Tang to Gaoli, to bury the bleaching bones of the slain soldiers,
left by the Swi Emperor on the plains of Liaotung, and to
perform the customary funeral rites and sacrifices to set to rest
and appease the spirits of the departed. By this act the emperor
gained great repute for good-heartedness. Living Chinese were
perhaps less numerous in Corea than the dead; and China
contained Corean prisoners not afew, whom the emperor sent to
their homes in 624, under charge of an ambassador who was com-
missioned to confer the title of Liaotuno• Walla on Jien Woo, king
6

of Corea. This Emperor fostered learning, and welcomed students

from all quarters; and among the 3260 youths collected in the
capital to acquire the best learning of China in the Gwodsu jien,
 CHINESE SPY 149

or Imperial Academy, were men from Gaochang and Thibet* on

the west, and from Gaoli, Baiji, and Sinlo on the east.
In 630, Sinlo sent to the Chinese court two lovely damsels as
tribute; but one of the principal ministers objected to receive
them. The emperor was pleased; and said that the other day
two vary-coloured parrots were returned to Linyi (Annam),
their native country, because they longed for their homes; how
much more should two young virgins be thus treated. Two
years after, the king of Sinlo died; and as he had no son, the
people elected his queen, Duashan, to rule over them.
In 640, the emperor sent the senior secretary, Chun Dadua,
to the eastern kingdoms, to spy out the land. He brought with
him quantities of silk and other articles, intended as presents
to open locked doors; his object being to see all the chief cities,
mountains, and rivers, and to observe their manners and customs.
He was to describe himself as aman eager to see the beauties of
the country. He was well received by the Coreans; and when
they heard that the remote Gaochang had fallen before the arms
of Tang, their politeness was doubled. Wherever he went, he
found men who had been left behind in the various Swi expeditions,
or who had fled to avoid the evils invariably attending the throes
of achange of dynasty in China. These made eager enquiries
about their friends at home; and he made apoint of telling every
enquirer that not only were those friends alive, but well and
happy His presence and words made them all long for home,
and they wept bitterly wherever he parted from them.
The emperor listened with rapt attention to all the traveller
had to report; and then said that the present Gaoli land was
originally Chinese soil; that a few myriads sent to Liaotung,
and a fleet to Pingyang, would restore those refugees to their
native place, and those provinces to China; and added, "but
Shantung is still staggering under its load of starvation."
Hence the courtiers inferred that the emperor had designs on
Corea; and sooner than be had anticipated, he found another

" Toofan" which came first into contact with China five years before, as a
foe,
150 SINLO.

and amore solid grievance to form acams belli, for the Corean
king was next year murdered by asubject.
Then, and in more ancient times, there was a hereditary
aristocracy in Corea. It existed in the time of the Manchu
conquest of Corea two centuries ago; and though Coreans have,
to the author, denied its existence now, the Jesuits are probably
correct in asserting its present existence, though it it is certainly
not now so extensive as in olden times. Of these aristocracy,
there was, at the time we write of, one CHUEN GAISOOWUN, whose
lands and people were in the eastern bounds of the kingdom.
He is said to have been a powerful, unscrupulous man, who
defied the law. It is not impossible that the laws deserved to be
defied. The king consulted with his ministers as to the best
means of putting an end to him. He heard of it; laid under
arms every man he could muster, keeping them meantime in the
back-ground. He then provided agrand banquet for the king and
his ministers to the south of the capital, whither he invited them.
The ministers were on their way to the banquet when Gaisoowun's
men fell upon and murdered over a hundred of them. He
himself thereupon rode into the palace, and with his own hand
killed the king, throwing the body into a ditch. He then
proclaimed as king, Dsang, the nephew of the murdered king,
himself becoming Moliju, equivalent to the Chinese Presidents
of "War" and "Appointments ;" thus securing all power into
his own hands, and "the far and the near" submitted to him.
He was a man of large and powerful body, and of great
eloquence. He carried five swords on his person. Those who
attended him on his right and left, dared not raise their eyes to
his face. When mounting or dismounting his horse, a great
minister bent his body down to serve as a footstool. A large
band of well trained men followed him wherever he went; and when
their warning voices were heard at agreat distance, every person
had to clear off the road; and even in narrow gullies no person
was allowed to stand at the side,—he must get completely out of
the way. The roads were deserted, and all bitterly lamented
the pass to which matters had come. Such is the Chinese story,
 A KING-SLAYER 151

which we feel very much impelled to call an exaggerated one.

The king may have been aman whom the people were not sorry
to be rid of. At any rate, future events, which we shall have to
record, prove that there was no such general ill-feeling towards
the king-slayer. The Chinese historian has a purpose to serve
in thus blackening the character of Gaisoowun. The horribly
unhuman face, ascribed to him by the historical novels of the
Tang dynasty, is proof rather of Chinese hatred than of Corean
fear.
A messeger was sent into Gaoli, who advised that a Chinese
army be at once posted in Whaiyuen jun,* to be ready for any
possible move on the part of Gaoli; in reference to which the
emperor said it could not be endured that Gaisoowun, who had
murdered his king, should continue to act as absolute lord over
the land; but the crushed down condition of Shantung meantime
presented an insuperable obstacle to active measures against
him. The emperor had evidently learned from experience,
though he was eager to follow in the steps of Emperor Yang.
One minister advised that Mogo on the north, and Kitan on the
west, of Gaoli should be incited against the latter; but another
objected that Gaisoowun was well aware of the greatness of his
crime, and fearing the vengence of agreat power, was doubtless
prepared; better therefore wait on till China could herself send
an army against him. To this the emperor agreed, and sent a
messenger conferring the title of Liaotung Wang on King Dsang,
thus virtually ratifying the deed of Gaisoowun. When
expressing his gratitude, Dsang sent the state records to have
the emperor's exact words written therein.
Three months after, Sinlo sent an embassy to the Chinese
court, praying for help; for that Gaoli and Baiji, were forming a
treaty to plunder her land, and that Baiji had already taken
forty cities. An ambassador was therefore at once sent on to Gaoli
to demand that Sinlo be left unmolested, as she was afaithful
kingdom, and any wrong to her would be punished by instant

*This again shows that Whaiyuen must be sought not on the Whangho, but to
the north-east of Chihli. Note, p. 154.
152 SINLO.

war. The ambassador was honourably received by the king, but

found Gaisoowun already gone with his army, before which two
Sinlo cities had then fallen. His king sent for him. He
returned, and in self-justification said that Sinlo had taken
advantage of the troubles of Gaoli in her western borders during
the Swi dynasty, to cut off 500 li* of land on her east side; and
that Gaoli wanted now only the restoration of her own land.
The ambassador replied that the occupation of that land was now of
long standing and the matter should be let slip; that all Liaotung
lands were once Chinese soil; but though now in Gaoli hands, the
Chinese said nothing about it. Gaisoowun did not see the force
of the reasoning. He knew if Liaotung was not recovered to
China, it was not from want of effort; and he was well aware
that if the Tang Emperor did not press for its restoration, it was
not from want of will. If Tang were then able to take Liaotung,
as Gaoli could compel Sinlo to disgorge, he would not be slow in
putting in his claim, on the ground that it was Chinese soil
centuries ago. He was not ignorant that Tang had the will, but
not the power to take Liaotung; while he himself had the power
as well as the will to recover Gaoli bounderies, and to push back the
lines of an enemy, and to weaken him in the rear, before the great
approaching struggle came on in front.
His refusal to obey the imperial mandate still further enraged
his majesty, who as usual consulted with his ministers, of whom
one took one view, one another; though they were aware that he
was as bent on this war as ever was Emperor Yang. He was
also determined to go in person, though it was universally
objected to; for it was urged that it was highly improper for
him, after restoring rest to China, to abandon his well earned
repose, and to again take the field. He objected on his part
that the ministers never spoke of the righteousness of his cause.
Just then Gaisoowun sent in a quantity of silver as tribute.
A minister said that this man had slain his prince, that the

*This land would be in the north-east of Gaoli, as Baiji was immediately east;
and Sinlo had for long the north of the present Corea in her borders; so that the
north of Sinlo would be east of Gaoli, and the centre of Sinlo east of Baiji.
 TANG COREAN EXPEDITION. 153

nine barbarians* had renounced him, and that war was about
to overtake him: how then receive his tribute? The emperor
agreed to send it back, saying to the messenger, that he was
astonished the Gaoli permitted the murderer of their king to
live, and to rule over them in so high-handed a fashion. To a
remark by an old Swi minister, as to the difficulty of taking a
Corean city, he replied that times were changed now, for the
throne was not occupied by the Swi.
An army of 40,000 men was placed under Jang Liang,
President of the Board of Punishment, and 500 vessels were to
sail from Laichow for Pingyang. Another army of 60,000
infantry and cavalry, besides "Hoo" barbarians from Lanchow
and Hochow, who had lately given in their allegiance, marched
towards Yowchow, and at Anloshan were joined by volunteers
from "the far and the near." Of these, the emperor received
some and rejected others. At this point a proclamation was
posted up to the effect that these preparations of war were not
against the people, but against a regicide; the army on the
march, or in their tents, would not injure the inhabitants or
compel the country people to toil for them; the Emperor Yang
had trampled upon his subjects, while the late Gaoli king loved
his; the hearts of his soldiers were not with Yang, and victory for
him was impossible; but success was in the present instance
assured for five reasons The greater was marching against
the lesser; 2, Obedience against rebellion; 3, Well-trained men
and an orderly people against a rabble; 4, fresht roops against
weary ones; and 5, troops in high spirits against troops who
hated their commander. An author's note sagely remarks, that
the emperor believed it an. easy matter to overrun Gaoli, but he
never broke it.
To set a good example the emperor cut down his personal
expenditure to the lowest possible. When .starting he put his
waterproofs on his saddle with his own hands, took abow in his
hand and slung aquiver over his shoulder. In marching, he ate
plain meat and rice, refusing all dainties. He had the sick
*See note p. 10.
154 SINLO.

soldier before him, to ask kindly and minutely after his ailments;
and if he found aman very unwell, he left him in the hands of
the nearest magistrate, while the dead he saw properly buried.
He got to Tingchow in April 645; having two months before
sent messengers to Sinlo, Baiji, and the Si (west) Kitan to
summon them to his standard.
A remarkable man, the Duke Li Daliang, died about this time
in Changan, the capital. He had all along emphatically
denounced this Corean expedition. When he died all his
inheritance consisted of five pecks of rice and thirty pieces of
cotton, for he was as good as he was great, supporting all his
poor relations with his salary.
The main army was placed under Li Shuji, who got to
Yowchow, 1600 li from Loyang, in March 645, a month before
the emperor started from the capital. Li started from Liwchung in
the following May, passed through Whaiyuen,* passed Toongdao;
and at Toongding crossed the Liao, taking aroute by which the
Gaoli could not expect him, and marched for Hfientoo; thus flank-
ing Liaotung city, and pushing into the heart of the country,
necessarily from the north. This was with the evident design of
cutting Gaoli communication, and isolating Liaotung city. Jang
Hien had been sent on to the Liao before, but dared not cross.
He now crossed eastwards, marching by Jienanchung, and
defeated, with his van of Hoo troops, the Gaoli army opposing him.
At an earlier period Wang Daodsoong, the honorary Taotai of
Liaotung, prayed to be permitted to take a hundred horse,
promising with these to explore the enemy's land. The emperor
agreed, and asked what time he would require—"ten days to go,

*Liwchung was in the jurisdiction of Yingchow, and so was Whaiyuen, which

must be sought for north of Yingchow. Toongding jun was established by Swi
Emperor when there, and the floating bridges were cast over the river at Toongdao.
Hiientoo was, as we have seen (ch. 1.), established by Han, and as a counterpoise
to:Wojoo; but as it was afterwards taken by the "Savages," its magistrate was
moved to Gaoli hien, passed which the (small) Liao flowed. Toongding was
doubtless Sancha ho, west of NewAwang, where the river is easiest to cross, for the
outer and inner Liao rivers there meet. Whaiyuen must be located somewhere to
the west of that and east of the Daliang river.
 DARING SPY. 155

ten to spy, and ten to return—I shall be back in thirty days,"

was the reply. He started, got by byeroads to the very south of
Liaotung city, where his retreat was cut off. But he cut his way
through the Coreans, and returned in the time specified. The
emperor was delighted and, with a sigh of pleasure, said:
"Wherever was bravery like this ?" He rewarded him with 50
catties (over 60 lbs) weight of gold, and 1000 pieces of satin.
From the time taken to get to Liaoyang, he must have started
from the rendezvous at Anloshan. This same Taotai got to
Sinchung, among the several thousand men under Jianghia
Wang, who was second in command. A few score horse rode up,
to the gate, but the besieged would not be tempted out. The
successful crossing of Shuji had thrown the Coreans out of their
calculation, and given them much uneasiness; so that every city
in Liaotung closed its gates, and there was neither ingress,
nor egress.
Shuji, with his 60,000 men, got to Gaimow and joined the
Taotai. The city fell before them next day, containing 20,000
people and over 100,000 dan of grain. The name Gaimow was
then changed to Gaichow (present Kaichow). The Yuen dynasty
afterwards established it as commanding city over the four cities
of Jienan, Tangchu, Hiwngyao, and Siwyen.
General Jangliang had crossed from Laichow, sailed up the
Liao river and marched on Bishachung, which was accessible only
on the west. Its remains are in the south-east corner of the
Haichung, on asmall hill inside the city; the modern city
being at least six times as large, for it was scarcely one li square.
Chun, one of Jangliang's officers, got to the walls by night,
seconded by Wang Dadoo. Dsoonggwan was first on the wall,
and Bisha fell, with 5000 people in it.*

*The old wall of that city is the only trace of Corean occupation which we have
found in Liaotung; for though there are popularly hundreds of "Gaoli" cities, we
have traced them almost all to the end of the Ming Dynasty, or the beginning of the
present Tsing, i.e., they are ruins of cities built within three centuries. The
hardened masses of concrete which stand on the face of that small hill inside
Haichung are very different. To the best of my belief they are real Corean remains.
That concrete is studded with broken pieces of large, hard tiles; of long, wide, but
156 SINLO.

When the emperor was journeying after the army towards

Liaodsai, he came across apiece of country of impassable mud,
200 li wide. This is doubtless the low lands between the
Daliang ho and the Liao ho, which are very low, and often
marshy; the roads being often impassable even now. After the
march across of so large an army, in the beginning of the rainy
season, it is no matter of surprise that the emperor's escort found
it impassable for man or beast. They had to raiSe the level of the
ground to form aroad, and thus got to the Liao. When he crossed
the river he had the bridges destroyed; as much as to say to his
men, that there was only one thing they must do, which was to
conquer.
When he got to Mashow shan (Horse-head hill),the most western
point of the Chien shan prolongations, he discovered that Shuji
had been some time at the foot of the city of Liaotung; and
that 40,000 Coreans had marched out of the city just before he
-

arrived. Taotai Wang, with 4000 horse, pestered the rear of

this army; and when he was advised to entrench his few men,
he replied that he had come to open the road for the emperor.
Shuji agreed with him, that it was best to keep on fighting. Yi
had led the van against the Coreans, was defeated, and fled.
Wang received the fugitives into his ranks; and seeing the Corean
lines waver slightly, he hastily picked out a few dozen of his
best horse, and galloped in, piercing the Gaoli lines where and
when he pleased. Shuji, by that time, came up with his army,
and the Gaoli fled, losing several thousand men. As soon as the
emperor heard the story, he rewarded Wang and the most dis-
tinguished brave; while he ordered Yi to be beheaded. He
then went with several hundred horse to the foot of the city;
and finding the men bard at work preparing a mound, he asked
for the largest piece of earth which they had cut, took it up,

thin and equally hard brick and of coarse glazed earthenware. One side of the tiles
and bricks is dotted peculiarly, as if the soft mass had been placed on very coarse
canvas or matting to dry. We have unfortunately never had the opportunity to
find ancient cash picked up there. Cash in my possession found in a ruined city
called Corean, are of the Sung Dynasty, and of the 10th and 11th centuries, with a
solitary one of the Tang.
 BURNING TOWER. 157

galloped with it to the foot of the wall, and threw it down on the
rising mound. This sort of conduct in the east or the west is a
piece of affectation; but so wise is man, that nine-tenths of the
beholders lose themselves in admiration.
For twelve days and nights there was no rest for Shuji, and
less for the garrison; but the city stood out stoutly. The
emperor himself led so many men up to the city wall, that they
were several hundreds deep. Yet, though their shouts "rent
the heavens and rocked the earth," they were likely to suffer the
same fate as Yang's men. But the emperor ordered some men
forward with torches fixed to long poles, to apply to the south-
west gate tower, as there was a strong south-west wind at the
time. This set the tower ablazing; and so thick was the smoke
there, that the garrison could not see what was going on in its
vicinity. Under shelter of this smoke, the Tang men scaled the
wall; and notwithstanding afierce defence, the city was taken,
with over 40,000 Coreans, besides the soldiers. The Coreans
lost over 10,000 slain in the city, and as many soldiers were
taken prisoners.
Baiyen* city was next attacked. The unexpected fall of
Liaotung must have paralyzed the Gaoli, but as soon as the siege
of Baiyen was reported, an army of 10,000 men started from
Woogoof chung, to raise the siege. This army was opposed by
Chiral Holi, at the head of 800 capital horse. Holi galloped
into the midst of the advancing Gaoli, and was soon wounded
in the back by a spiked, three-pronged spear. The emperor's
charioteer rushed in and carried him off. He had his wounds
bound up; and then, himself infuriated and his men enraged,
they galloped madly, pell-mell, into the Corean host. The
impetuous charge staggered, then broke up the Gaoli; who

*It is now called Yenchow, and is 50 Ii north-east of Liaoyang; there are the
ruins of astone walled city on the north bank of the Taidsu.
Woogoo gang or river is described thus: Leaving Tungchow (of Shantung) you
go across to Woohoo island; then 500 li east by Chingni poo, Hingyin poo, Shuyin
gang, Toto Wan, you come to Woogoo gang. But as these names are all ancient,
we cannot trace them. Woogoo city could not be very far east from Baiyen; so
that the river Woogoo may not impossibly be the Yang.
158 SINLO.

retreated, fled, and were pursued some scores of li,—leaving over

athousand slain. Holi sounded the retreat at dusk.
Shuji was posted at the south-west corner of Baiyen; the
emperor directing the main attack from the north-west. General
Li Sumo was wounded by a catapult, and the emperor secured
the applause of all the army by sucking the blood from the
wound. Swun Daiyin, commandant of Baiyen, intimated
secretly, that it was his desire to surrender, but he was opposed
in the city. The emperor, as reply, sent him a flag; ordering
him to unfurl it on the wall, if he were sincere. This was done;
and when the people saw it, they believed the city was already
in possession of Tang soldiers, and all expressed their readiness
to surrender. Shuji, leading a few dozen common soldiers,
went to the emperor before he accepted the capitulation, and
expostulated with him; saying that the soldiers pressed forward
amid showers of arrows and stones, not thinking of death, only
because they hoped to secure the booty of the city. Baiyen was
now about to topple over into their hands; and to receive its
submission at that stage was to cheat the men out of their due.
The emperor dismounted and said, that the general had right on
his side ;but to let slip the soldiers to work their unbridled will
was what he could never permit: if the soldiers under the
banner of the general deserved well, they would certainly be
rewarded; but the reward would come out of the imperial
treasury, and thus this one city would be redeemed. Shuji was
originally a robber chief, as were a great many more in that
army.—The chief difference between the ordinary soldier and
the robber in China is, that the former robs to support the law,
the latter to support himself. Lately the condition of the
military has been so far improved, that it is better paid than
any handicraft. But far the greatest number of the nominal
soldiery of even the present day, is asort of irregular army with
little discipline and less pay; and the men must live.
When the emperor had finished his little speech, Shuji
departed, and his majesty, immediately after, received the
submission of 10,000 men and women, in the tent which he had
 COREAN HOST. 159

erected by the river side. Every man of them, over eighty,

received apiece of silk; and to each of the soldiers among the
garrison, who were natives of other cities, were given a staff and
some provender, with permission to return to their native place.
Among the captives was the wife of Jangshu, the late command-
ant of Liaotung city, conducted to Baiyen by a trusty servant.
Because her husband had been so faithful a minister, the
emperor gave her five pieces of silk, and afast cart to take her
husband's dead body to Pingyang.
What the effect of this generosity would be upon those who
surrendered unconditionally we may imagine, and can be inferred
from the fact that 700 men who had been sent by the Moliju, to
throw themselves into Gaimow, who were taken prisoners by
Shuji, now offered to serve his majesty. The emperor refused
to recieve them as his soldiers, on the ground that if the IVIoliju
heard of it, he would put to death every soul belonging to them.
Gaoli was then, and since the third century, divided into Five
Banners or Provinces; 1st, NEI (Inner) BOO or Whang Boo,
anciently Gwedow; 2nd, BEI (North) or How (Behind) BOO,
anciently Jitenoo Boo; 3rd, DOONG (East) or Dso (left) Boo,
the ancient Shwunnoo Boo; 4th, NAN (South) or Chien (Front)
Boo, the ancient Gwannoo Boo; 5th, Si (west) or Yow (right)
Boo, the ancient Siaonoo Boo. Over each of these was an
Owsa, equivalent to the Tang Doodoo or Governor.
When news of the fall of Baiyen reached Gaoli, and with it all
the plain of Liaotung, Yenshow the Owsa of Bei Boo and
Whijun, marched westwards with an army of 150,000, composed
of Gaoli and Mogo men, in order to cover Anshu, which was
north-east of Kaichow. He found the city already invested, the
Chinese having camped before it on the preceding day.
• It was now July, both the hot and the rainy season in Liaotung;
hence the emperor was anxious to discover the plans of Yenshow.
He said that his best plan would be to make the walls of Anshu
his camp-fence, rest on the hillside, feed his army out of the
plentiful stores of the city, act entirely on the defensive, and give
the Mogo full liberty to pounce upon the Chinese oxen and
160 SINLO.

horses, where, and how they could; this strategy would inevitably
prolong the stay of the Chinese, whose provisions were not
inexhaustable, and who would have extremely bad roads, already
miry, in retracing their steps. His second best plan would be, to
steal away by night with all the inhabitants of the city; and his
worst, to attack the Chinese, while yet ignorant of their fighting
qualities. "Now do you consider ;" concluded the emperor, "as
for me, Ibelieve he will adopt the worst plan, and then the city
is ours." Meantime, he has found it not so easy a matter as he
had imagined to get the head of Gaisoowun.
An aged official in the Gaoli army said to Yenshow, that Chin
Wang—the original title of the reigning emperor—had already
compacted all the "Inner land" into one family; that all the
surrounding barbarians were yielding themselves up to his
wisdom or his arms; and that he had proved his ability too
great for them (Coreans) to hope snccessfully to cope with him.
He therefore urged the plan, which the emperor had mentioned
to his officers as the best,—to keep the army well in hand, never
to meet, but always to watch the Chinese; thus to prevent
them from carrying out any great measure; to pick out the best
Coreans to be constantly on the move, cutting off the Chinese
provisions. Thus they would foil the object of the Chinese who
would have to retreat; and the time to attack them was then, when
they began to retreat on those bad roads. This was exactly the
strategy of Wundu, by which the Swi army so miserably perished.
But Yenshow had much faith in himself, and little in the
advice offered. He therefore ordered an immediate advance,
drawing up at adistance of forty li from Anshu. A band of a
thousand Turkish horse was sent to tempt him out, as the
emperor feared he would come no nearer. The Turks fled after
afew blows, and were pursued by the Gaoli, who said, "See!
how easily these men are beaten!" And Yenshow showed the
manner of man he was, by moving his whole army to the hill
eight li south-east of Anshu.
The emperor now had his desire, and collected his generals to
deliberate as to what should be done. They replied that, before
 BATTLE OF ANSHU. 161

the emperor began to wear the "cap of manhood,"* he had taken

the lead in the fight, and all his plans and attacks had been
successful; that now, therefore, they were come to hear his
decisions, and to carry out his plans. After a pleased laugh, he
said that General Wooji would have meantime to go with a few
hundred men to the higher points, to discover good places for
ambush and ascertain the lines of Gaoli and lifogo, which must
be over forty li in length.
The impetuous Taotai Wang volunteered his opinion that, as
so large an army was collected here, Pingyang must have been left
comparatively empty. He would therefore guarantee the speedy
capture of Pingyang if he had but 5000 good horse; and the
Corean capital once taken, this large army would surrender
without a blow. The emperor dissented at the time, but
afterwards acknowledged that this was the best plan, and would
have been successful.
The emperor after this council sent a messenger to Yenshow,
stating that he had come so far to punish a regicide, that if he
had taken cities on the way, it was because they refused to give
him provender; and if they (Coreans) would now submit, all that
was already taken would be given back. Yenshow believed this
manifest falsehood, and became lax in his watch in consequence.
By night the emperor gave orders that Shuji should march
with 15,000 men and draw up in battle order at Siling (west pass) ;
Wooji with 11,000 choice soldiers to second him from the north of
the hill by the valley of Giayii; while the emperor himself would
march at the head of 4000 cavalry and infantry, and with beating
of drum, blowing of horns, and flying banners, ascend the north
hill; and all the army was to be ready to move as soon as the roll of
the drums and the blow of the horns were heard. He also ordered
asmall official to prepare a tent, to receive those surrendering;
so sure was he of success. If these forces consisted only of those
30,000 men, the imperial army had already suffered frightful
losses; or the historian is misstating the forces disposable, to
further glorify the emperor. The latter we believe.
*Before nineteen years of age.
162 SINLO.

Next morning—the first after his arrival—Yenshow could see

only the army of Shuji, drawn up over against him. But as the
emperor saw by the clouds of dust raised, that Wooji was in
motion, he ordered the drums to be beaten, the horns blown, the
banners set flying. And as soon as these signals were given, the
various divisions pressed on with great shouts, throwing the
unprepared Yenshow and his officers into the greatest terror.
He desired to arrange his forces to meet the attack of the divisions
advancing against him from various directions; but he was too late,
as his ranks were already in great disorder, both from the
suddenness of the attack and his own carelessness on the preceding
evening and night. Hiie Yingwei, the hero of the historical novels
of Tang, a private soldier of Loongmun, clad in white, entered
the battle with agreat roar. So tremendous was the sweep of
his arm that all gave way before him wherever he went, and the
main army followed him. The Gaoli were thrown into the
greatest confusion, and 20,000 slain. Yingwei was made a
yotuji, kiangkun (colonel) on the spot. He was the sixth
generation from Andoo, the famous soldier of Wei, and a native
of Loongmun of Shensi. He had already made his fame in the
peninsula of Liaotung, where he had landed.
Yenshow drew up the remains of his army against the side of
the mountain, and strengthened his position there. Wooji was
ordered to cut off his retreat, and the other divisions to press him
hard. But attack was prevented by the trembling Yenshow on
the following day, for he came praying for capitulation with his
36,800 men. He approached the emperor on his knees, and
bowing to the ground. The emperor said to him that the
eastern barbarians were but children and petty thieves, who had
lately become great robbers, and asked if they would dare again
revolt against the Son of Heaven. Yenshow thought it best not
to reply to this honest commentary on the emperor's first message.
All the officials, civil or military, below Owsa, in all 3,500 men,
were sent captive into Chinese soil; the others were freed and
ordered to return to Pingyang. Every man set his two hands to
his chin, bowed his head to the ground, and raised ashout ofjoy
 COREAN spy. 163

and gratitude which was heard over a score of li. The 3,300
Mogo men who surrendered were all slain. Spoils innumerable
were taken, with 50,000 horses and 10,000 iron coats of mail.
The hill on which the emperor had camped was afterwards called
Jobishan, the Imperial Halt. This defeat threw Gaoli into a
state of extreme terror. The cities of Howhwang and Yinchung
were emptied, the country people fled, and not ahouse smoked
within several hundred li of Anshu.
The emperor sent the fleetest horseman to inform the heir
apparent, then in charge in Loyang, and with exultant vanity to
ask, "what think you now of me as ageneral?" On the forty-
fifth day of the siege of Anshu, after that battle, a spy of
Gaisoowun's was taken, and brought bound before the emperor,
who ordered his fetters to be removed, and then asked him why
he looked so thin; to which he replied that he had been days
without food. The emperor ordered attendants to prepare and
give him food, and then said that he might inform Gaisoowun
that, if he desired to know the condition of the Chinese army,
he might send a man openly to enquire and to see. After
giving the spy apair of wooden pattens, the emperor dismissed
him.
After this incident, another month passed, but the city gave no
sign of yielding. The emperor recalled the advice of Shuji while
yet at Yenchow, to the effect that Anshu was a well protected
city, and its chief* an able man, who successfully defied
Gaisoowun, when the rest of Gaoli acknowledged him; that
Jienan was not strong, nor well provisioned, and could be taken
with arush, after which Anshu would not stand long. An objector
said, that as Jienan was on the south, and Anshu on the north,
between it and Liaotung, where their provisions were collected,—
Anshu would be in their rear, and might be able to cut off their
communication,—and what then ?
The emperor, referring now to that plan, said: "The Duke Shuji
for aleader! Ha! Anshu would have long ago opened its gates
at sight of the imperial banners, but for the plundering sentiments
*Every city had its own hereditary noble till comparatively modern times.
164 SINLO.

of Shuji at Yenchow. Anshu is now simply defending its

families from captivity, and its property from plunder."
Yenshow, and his second in command, Whishun, were retained
by the emperor as officers. They now came before him saying,
that "his slaves dare not but give their best counsels. The men
of Anshu are fighting to preserve their wives and families. But
the city of Woogoo is under the rule of an old chief who cannot
be vigorous in his measures. With a sudden attack one night
and aday would be sufficient to take Woogoo. The surrounding
small cities, hearing of its fall, would be deserted, and the army
could march all the way to Pingyang to the roll of the drum, and
Pingyang would soon fall." Some ministers, desirous to follow
this advice, said, that as Jang Liang was in Bisha, he could be
ordered to make adash on and siege Woogoo,* and to go on to
Pingyang. But the emperor believed that the counsel of Wooji
was best, which was to press on the siege of Anshu to its fall,
then march on Jienan, and all would soon fall.
The emperor one day heard agreat and unusal noise inside the
city, and said to Shuji: "We have long surrounded this city, and
the ascending smoke is daily less. The besieged are, doubtless,
preparing for anight sally; let the army therefore be in good
order to receive them." That night several hundred Gaoli were let
down by ropes over the wall. They were, however, heard by the
emperor, who got below the city, and summoned his men. Some
scores of Coreans were slain, the rest retired back into the city.
Daodsoong set about building an artificial hill at the south-east
corner of the city, and was determined to make it higher than the
wall. In order to prevent the rise of this mound, which would seal
the fate of the city, the garrison made daily sallies for six or seven
days in succession. But in vain; for neither day nor night was
there any rest in raising the great tumulus, till it became a hill
which commanded the city; and the city was now in the grasp
of Tang. This mound represented 500,000 unit days' labour,
and was the work of sixty days, so that about 8,500 men were
daily at work on it. A tower was erected over it. Foongai was
*Note p. 157; apparently somewhere about Siwyen.
 STUBBORN DEFENCE. 165

put in command; and a feeling of exultation, arising rom the

certainty of the fall of the stubborn city on the morrow, was
general in the Chinese camp. But suddenly, several hundreds of
Gaoli rushed out of the city, took possession of the fosse at the
foot of the new hill, up which they scrambled, and furiously
attacked and drove back Foongai, hurling him out of his tower.
The hill was theirs, and they could again breathe freely. The
enraged emperor had Foongai slain, and ordered the hill to be
attacked. But three days successive fighting left the Gaoli in
possession of the hill, for they determined bravely to keep what
they had so pluckily won. Daodsoong presented himself before
the emperor, confessing his crime, in that his subordinate was
defeated, and praying for punishment. The emperor said: "You
have erred greatly, but Ibelieve Woo, Emperor of Han, was not
so wise in slaying Wang Kwei as Tsin in pardoning 1VIung Ming,
who recovered his lost reputation. Nor have I forgotten your
bravery in taking Liaotung and Gaimow. You are pardoned;
but our further stay here is useless,,as the garrison will not come
out." Thus the crisis which threatened its destruction, saved
Anshu. The season had been very dry on the east of the Liao.
Water, grass, and provender for the horses became very scarce,
and now that frost had come, the emperor determined to raise the
siege. When he was getting ready to depart, the commandant
of the city came upon the wall, and made his obeisance before the
emperor, who so admired his bravery, that he gave him ahundred
pieces of waterproof silk. And he deserved it.
Li Shuji and Daodsoong brought up the rear with 40,000 men.
After crossing the Liao, eighty-six days after the defeat of
Yenshow, they came up to Liaodsai, which they again found
impassable mud. 10,000 men were sent on ahead, with bundles
of straw to form abridge over the mud; the bridge beams were
formed of the army carts, and the emperor set an example of
diligence. On the 11th day from Liaotung city, they got to
Poogow, and crossed Botso river, both within Liaodsai.* Here
*Probably the low land between Liao and Kingchow; Botso would then be
Daliang ho. There was aBochow city not far from Kingehow.
 166 SINLO.

they were overtaken by agreat wind, which drove upon them a

terrific snow storm, and great numbers perished of cold. The
result of the vanity of Yenshow prevented the further evils of a
rear attack by the way, for the Coreans dared not meet the
emperor in the field.
The emperor deplored the unfinished nature of the campaign,
and could not regard it as a worthy task, that the ten cities of
Hiientoo, Whangshan, Gaimow, Momi, Liaotung, Baiyen, Bisha,
Maigoo, Yinshan and Howwhang had fallen into his hands, and
that 70,000 Liaotung, Gaoli, and Yen people were removed
captives into Chinese soil,—while his main object, the humiliation
of Gaisoowun, was unsecured. This should have proved, together
with the obstinate defence met with everywhere, that the Corean
people did not hate Gaisoowun, as the emperor either believed or
professed to believe. The estimated Gaoli loss at the three great
battles of Sinchung, Jienan, and Joobi, was 40,000 soldiers and
2,000 officers. The bones of those Chinese soldiers who had died
in Liaotung were brought into Chinese soil, buried south-east of
Liwchung just outside the city, and sacrificed to, while the emperor
himself made great lamentation over them. This so pleased the
parents, that they said, "Why grieve over the:loss of our sons
since the:Son of Heaven laments them so bitterly?" The emperor
said to Yingwei that he must have young generals next time;
and that he was delighted, not at the reconquest of Liaotung, but
because he had found out true nobility.
There were over 14,000 Gaoli collected in Yowchow, to be
distributed as prizes among the soldiers, and separated,—father
from son, husband from wife. While the army was still on its
homeward march, the emperor redeemed those captives, paying
a certain sum to his soldiers in exchange, and permitting the
captives to live as Chinese subjects. The noise of their grateful
shoutings ceased not for three days. This was while he was yet
on the way to Yowchow. On his arrival there, all these redeemed
Coreans met him, made their obeisance, shouted, sang, and
danced for joy in his presence. If all is fair in war, then this,
the second Tang Emperor, may be favourably compared, and
 SHIP BUILDING. 167

sometimes contrasted, with many conquerors belonging to

Christian countries.
In the autumn of 646, Gaisoowun sent in tribute, but his
"words were false if fair," for his spies were never out of Chinese
soil, and he never desisted from warring on Sinlo. Hence his
tribute was rejected, and the emperor had frequent thoughts of
repeating his Corean campaign. A very serious illness put all
such thoughts away for atime. But with returned health and
anew year, his thoughts again reverted to the subject, and again
his ministers opposed him as strongly and directly as they dared.
They hinted that afew years of good government in the country
already acquired, would bring the north of the Yaloo to his feet.
But next month (April) he sent an army of over 10,000 across
the sea under Niw Jinda, the Taotai of "Chingchin," (supposed
to be a kingdom 300 li east of the sea !) ;and another of 3000
under Li Shuji, now nominated Taidsu and Liaotung Taotai, both
to march in by Sinchung, and to practise assiduously naval warfare.
They thought it best to practise on Corean soil, doubtless with
the private sanction of their lord. Niw Jinda fought a hundred
battles, in all of which he was victor. At Jaili chung, his army
encountered aGaoli host of 10,000, utterly routing and slaying
2,000 of them.
In order to be ready for striking a good blow, the boat
carpenters of twelve Chow or Sub-Prefectures of Kiangnan (south
of the Yangtsu) were impressed to build several hundred large
vessels; each being 100 Chinese feet long, and half as many
broad. Yet the ambassadors of the Gaoli king were received a
few months after, though hostilities of that semi-piratical kind were
still carried on. In May, a body of 5000 Gaoli cavalry and
infantry was defeated at Yishan; and anight attack by 10,000
Gaoli on the ships was repulsed. This obstinacy of Gaoli, in
prolonging the unequal struggle, angered the emperor; and he
began scheming to raise an army of 300,000 to crush this tiresome
little neighbour. His only obstacle was the earnest opposition
of his ablest ministers, who pressed him to leave Gaoli alone to
look after her own business; for that it was a great pity to
168 SINLO.

sacrifice the lives of so many innocent men for the sake of one
or two guilty ones. Towards the end of this year (648), General
Wan Chua returned from Gaoli. The discreditable fact that he
had been driven out by defeat, is left to be guessed at from the
fact that he was transported to Hiangchung; for defeats which
can be glossed over are invisible in Chinese history. He had
sailed with 30,000 men from Laichow the preceding year; but
how many he brought back is unknown.
Sinlo was in distress at the same time; for only afew months
before did she get the emperor's appointment of anew king, and
now she had to report thirteen of her cities taken by Baiji. In
this same year (648), with Tookiie actively hostile on the west
and north-west, and Gaoli defiant in the east, Koogo, a Kitan
general, submitted to Tang, and was made Doodoo of Soongmo;
a prefecture created for him north of Liwchung, the original
seat of Kitan.
Meantime ship building was going on without cessation, to the
great distress of the carpenters, who complained of their grinding
slavery; and the emperor complained in his turn, as he had done
oftener than once before, of the persistency with which his
ministers deprecated war on Gaoli. And this emperor, the
ablest of the Tang dynasty, and its real founder, passed away
with Corea unconquered, and Gaisoowun still in power. His
ninth son began to reign in the summer of 649; and though he
was so attached to his father that he would not leave him day
nor night in his illness—tasting no food for several days, his
hair becoming grey with anxiety—he at once reversed his father's
policy; disbanded the Liaotung armies; and stopped the expense
of "building with earth, and working in wood." Two years
after, Baiji sent in ambassadors with tribute; to whom the
emperor said, that they must desist from fighting with Gaoli and
Sinlo, else he must march against them. And in the following
year, all the three eastern kingdoms forwarded tribute.
But in 554, Gaoli sent their General Angoo at the head of
native and Mogo troops against Kitan, in the north and north-
west of Liaotung; the Kitan being then very steady adherents
 BAIR ATTACKED. 169

of the empire. Soongmo Doodoo of Kitan completely over-

threw Gaoli at Sinchung; showing that Gaoli had again regained
possession of Liaotung peninsula. The combined army marched,
therefore, eastwards; and picking up additional forces from
Baiji, fell on the northern district of Sinlo, taking thirty-three
cities. And Chwunchiw, the new Sinlo king, pressed hard for
assistance; in response to whose call, the Doodoo of Yingchow
was ordered eastwards. He crossed the Liao, and the Gaoli
crossed the Gweida* to meet him. After a desperate fight, the
allies had to beat aretreat; and the Doodoo marched up to and
burnt the ramparts of their city before retiring.
In the summer of 658, the emperor sent aforce against Gaoli,
under the Doodoo of Yingchow, and Hiie Yingwei the Langkiang.
They took the city of Chufung, slaying 400 men, and capturing
100. Dow Funglow met them at the head of 30,000 Gaoli; but
the Kitan king, Chung Mingjun, was at hand to repay former
aid, and completely defeated the Gaoli at Gweidwanchung,
slaying 2500 men.
In 660, in answer to the renewed prayer of Sinlo against the
encroachments of Gaoli and Baiji, Soo Dingfung and Liw Baiying,
with 100,000 men, sailed across the gulf to attack Baiji, which
had hitherto been unmolested. Soo took ship at Chungshan of
Shantung; and Baiji men were collected at the mouth of the
Hiwngjin gang, or Lin Kiang, to receive them. They were,
however, easily defeated,—leaving several thousands slain; and
as the survivors fled, Soo marched direct for the capital,
Hiwngjin, the modern Gwangchow. When yet 20 li off, he was
again opposed by the reunited Baiji army; which was again
broken up, with over amyriad slain. The survivors fled within
the walls. Yitsu, the king of Baiji, with his heir, Loong, fled
to the northern part of the kingdom; and his second son, left
in the city, assumed the title of king. The son of Loong was
also in the city; and seeing the ambition of his uncle, and
fearing for his father and grandfather's lives if the Tang army
*Supposed by Chinese authors to be south-west of Sinchung; but there are only
small streams there.
170 SINLO.

was defeated, he deserted with his immediate followers; a

nd

the new king was unable to stop the people from following the
example. Soo sent some men, who planted his standard on the
city wall; and the king, seeing no mode of practicable defence,
opened the gates.
The kingdom of Baiji was originally divided into five provinces,
afterwards into thirty-seven districts (Kiln), with 200 forts and
760,000 families. Over the provinces were the cities of Doofoo,
Hiwngjin, Mahan, Doongming, Jinlien, and Duangan. The
officials of these cities were now made Doodoo and Tsushu,
under the Chinese government. The capital was also called
Goomachung; and outside it were the five districts—I st, the
central one, Gooshachung; 2nd, the east, Duangan chung,—the
modern Unjin; 3rd, the south, Jiwjuhia chung; 4th, the west,
Daohien chung; 5th, the north, Hiwngj in chung.
The emperor received the adhesion of Baiji king in the capital;
and, retaining him, permitted all the others to return to their
country. He promoted all the officers concerned. Hue Yingwei—
the man who was common soldier and commander in one day,
and had been made magistrate of Tsingchow of Shantung—got
possession of adisabled vessel, repaired it, set out as avolunteer
in mourning as if doing penance for some crime, and followed
the army to Baiji. This was probably because he had been
overlooked in the appointments.
In the beginning of the following year, the emperor ordered
the soldiers of Honan and Whi to prepare for an attack on
Gaoli; but they had to divert their course to Baiji. For
Daoshun, an enthusiastically patriotic Buddhist priest* of Baiji,
collected anumber of men, and besieged the city of Jowliwchung,
along with General Foosin. He sent an embassy to Japan, to
summon thence the son of the late Baiji king, whom he appointed
king. He made rapid progress in the reconquest of the country; and
soon besieged, in the capital of Foochung (the modern Swishun),

*Probably because of many such instances in Corea, Buddhism and priests are
so highly respected there; though the battle-field is scarcely consistent with
Buddhist notions regarding life. (See ch. XI.)
 EMPRESS WOO. 171

the Langkiang Liw Yinyuen, left in command of Baiji.

Wundoo, who had been nominated Doodoo of Hiwngjin, died
at sea, when crossing to his post; and the volunteer, Hi:1.e
Yingwei, to his great joy, was made Tsushu (Chihfu) of Daifang
chow, on the borders of Baiji, to take charge of Wundoo's men,
and to coalesce with Sinlo to save Yinyuen. The Sinlo men,
however, preferring to have their battles fought for, rather than
by themselves, made an excuse of want of provisions, and
retreated. They were ordered on again by the emperor, advanced,
and were thoroughly defeated by Foosin; whereupon they fled,
and would not again put in an appearance.
Baiji men prepared two barricades across the mouth of the
Hiwnjin; but they suffered a terrible defeat, with the loss of a
myriad men in slain and drowned. Daoshun raised the siege
therefore, and retired on Yintswun Chung, beside amountain of
this name, in the west of Baiji. This permitted Yingwei to join
Yinyuen; while Foosin was plotting to get entire control of the
army by murdering Daoshun.
Thirty-five divisions were collected in China, including the Hoo
companies, and ordered off for Pingyang and Gaoli; the emperor
giving out that he would himself march with them. To this
step he was incited by the never-ending entreaties and remon-
strances of his brave but unscrupulous empress; the afterwards
famous Woo Dsaitien, the most remarkable and masculine
woman in Chinese history. But before the arrival of these
troops, Soo had already besieged Pingyang, after several times
defeating a Gaoli force at the Bei river. Gaisoowun sent his
son, Nan shung, to the Yaloo, who prevented the Chinese from
crossing there. But in November, when the river was frozen over,
Holi crossed with all his forces, chased the Gaoli, who would not
wait to fight, and who lost 30,000 men,—Nanshung fleeing alone.
But Pingyang would not fall, and Soo had to raise the siege on
account of heavy snow falls; while Holi had been recalled before
arriving there. Chwunchiw of Sinlo had meantime died; and
his son was made Lolang Kun Wang, and king of Sinlo.
In the spring of 662, Pang Siaotai, the Taotai of Wojoo, was
172 SINLO.

utterly defeated by the Gaoli at Shua (serpent) river; himself and

thirteen sons all fell in that battle. In the summer, Yinyuen
and Yingwei revenged this defeat, routing the Baiji east of
Hiwngjin. They took the city of Junhien chung; moving
their camp thither from Hiwngjin chung, where they had
preserved aprecarious and narrow foothold. Yingwei said to the
army, which had been sometime clamouring to return home,
that "as for himself he had no private interests to seek; that he
desired only to carry out the desires of his majesty, which were
that Gaoli should fall; and as Baiji was the heart of Gaoli, he
was eager to see Baiji at their feet before he returned home.
Baiji once taken, Gaoli could not stand; and his majesty was
sure to send men to fill up the ranks of his weakened army."
Hence weakness was likely one main reason why the soldiers
desired to re-embark. He urged, also, that "if they retreated
like the Pingyang army, Gaoli would be more powerful than
ever. Their departure would be the signal for afierce attack on
their ally Sinlo; while, if they remained in the heart of Baiji,
they could always prevent mischief, and give Baiji occupation
sufficient. Foosin had murdered the priest, and was acting in
so high-handed amanner as to cause general uneasiness among the
people. The king and ministers all sought their own private
gain; and in such circumstances it would be folly for them to
depart." This speech of Yingwei's convinced all that it was
advisable to remain.
About this time King Fung and Foosin sent sarcastic
messages to Yinyuen, asking when he was to return home, that
they might escort him. But as, from their long inactivity,
Yinyuen and his colleague were certain that Baiji believed an
offensive movement on their part impossible, they now made a
spring, and took the cities of Julo, Yin, Dashan, and Shajing
barriers, leaving garrisons in each.
Junhien chung was naturally well protected, and difficult of
access; and Foosin garrisoned it strongly. After his victory,
Yingwei sent messengers to order Sinlo to send on at once its
army and provisions. The combined army marched up to Junhien,
rid
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 THE BITER BIT. 175

and by night piled up straw against the wall. Early next

morning they entered and took the city, opening up direct
communication with Sinlo; indicating that Junhien was in the
east of Baiji, and that they had swept from its west to its east
side in the south. This, also, gave Yinyuen new reasons to
plead for the army of 7000 men lying idly in Laichow.
The affairs of Baiji were in bad hands; and the king and
Foosin, now commander-in-chief, were mutually suspicious, and
with reason; for if Foosin could murder Daoshun the king-
maker, he would not hesitate to murder the king. Foosin's own
conscience could not but be uneasy, when he reflected that the
man he had murdered was the king's best friend, and that it was
very probable that the king would, on a favourable opportunity,
avenge the murder. To bring matters to a crisis, Foosin
feigned sickness, lodged in a cave, informed the king, and set
men in readiness to murder the king as soon as he came to
enquire after him. The king guessed Foosin's intentions; and
sent trusty servants before him, who entered the cave and
murdered Foosin. The king, freed from this man, then sent
messengers to both Gaoli and Japan for assistance to repel the
Tang men, who were also soon after largely reinforced.
In the following year the Japanese responded to the appeal of
King Fung, and sent aconsiderable army. The siege of Jialin city
was, therefore, raised by the Chinese army, which, augmented by
the arrival of Swun Yinshu, took the land route under Yinyuen;
while Yingwei embarked on the provision vessels, sailed from
Hiwngjin to Bai Kiang river mouth, where he joined the over-
land army. As the Hiwng river is west of the present capital,
formerly Baiji land, the Bai river is doubtless the Han to the
east; both rivers thus forming the boundaries of Baiji. The
allied army, principally Japanese, formed at the mouth of the
Bai; but were defeated in four successive battles. The Chinese
army burnt 400 Japanese ships; the smoke of which mounted
up to the very heavens (I), and the sea was crimson with blood.
The consequence was, that Fung fled alone, and two sons
of the Gaoli king surrendered with their men. Baiji was thus
176 SINLO.

completely quelled; and was instantly at the feet of the con-

queror, with the exception of the one city of Yintswun chung,
whither the priest Daoshun had retired, where he began his brilliant
war career, during which, in spite of his Buddhism, he caused the
sacrifice of ever so many human lives,—priests having formed a
large proportion of his first army. This city was now in command
of Chu Showsin.
When Soo had first conquered Baiji, all the native officers and
men submitted. Soo bound the king and his sons, discharged
the men to pillage their fellow countrymen, but put to death
many of the best men. Among those who submitted was
Heichu Changju, over 7ft. high (I), powerful, brave, and full of
strategy. He was aDaswai in Baiji, the equivalent of the Chinese
Tsushu (Chihchow) ;and when he saw so many chief men slain,
Changj u, fearing for his own life, fled with afew followers, his nearest
dependants. Returning to his native province, he collected all
the scattered troops, retired to and fortified Yintswun shan with
barricades. Within ten months he had 30,000 men, and
completely defeated Soo, when marching to crush him. He
then assumed the offensive, retook 200 forts, which Soo was
unable to recover, and then returned to his native district. His
example was imitated by Shaja Siangyoo in another province,
and both were prepared to support Foosin. But both these
warriors surrendered themselves after Yinyuen's victory at the Bai,
and Yingwei sent them to take the city of Yintswun. But when
they got there, they sent in grain and arms to the besieged.
Yinyuen stormed when he heard of this, and declaimed against
them as traitors, who had the hearts of beasts, not of men.
Yingwei said that their submission had been accepted, and that
he could see no reason why they should act treacherously; that
they were probably acting a part to take the city, and that, at
all events, they should have afair trial. And they did take the
city, Showsin fleeing into Gaoli with his family.
When Yinyuen, who had been commander, returned to the
capital, the emperor was delighted at the news he had to relate,
and highly complimented him on his ability and good fortune.
 MILITARY REWARDS. 177

He, however, disclaimed all the honour, saying that this belonged
entirely to Yingwei, who had planned every successful move.
The emperor therefore advanced Yingwei six grades; annulled
his office of Tsushu of Daifang, to make him a great minister;
built afine house for him in Changan; presented his wife and
children with numerous and splendid gifts; wrote an autograph
letter, stamped with the principal seal of the empire; and
appointed him ruler of Baiji, and commander of all the forces
therein. A eunuch said that Yingwei must have been guilty of
some great crime, when he went to the wars in a white
(mourning) dress; but that he deserved all his honours, having
proved himself faithful to the last degree. He added that Yinyuen
would never have so readily disclaimed all honour for himself,
were he not himself agreat minister and an able man.
The condition of Baiji after the war was deplorable; all her
cities were destroyed and the houses burnt down. Yingwei
ordered the innumerable bones and dead bodies to be decently
buried; and then commanded the people to build their houses and
till their lands. And in ashort time Baiji was as flourishing as
ever, and the people rejoiced over the land; while Yingwei
constantly dangled Gaoli before the eyes of his soldiers, who could
attack from the east, while the Liaotung Chinese could second
them from the Yaloo.
The Tang soldiers were successful at the same time in their
expeditions against Dashu, where glass was discovered (in
Arabia ?), and the east of Persia, districts of Ansi, as well as
over Solomun, beyond the southern border. These various Tang
armies mustered 400,000 men. But the emperor's domestic
affairs were not so prosperous; for Empress Woo, long plotting
in secret for supreme power, had her plans now discovered,
and several of her accomplices were brought to justice. The
empress was wild with indignation, and was not in the least
appeased by the weak avowal that the emperor, her husband,
had been urged to extreme measures by his ministers, who were
now punished, while the plotters, her favourites, were set at liberty.
In 661, the affairs of Gaoli became complicated by the death
178 SINLO.

of Gaisoowun. His oldest son, Nanshung, succeeded him as

Moliju—for Corean office was hereditary. But as he desired
supreme power, he had designs on the lives of his two brothers,
Nanshan and Nanjien. They were informed of his purpose, but
did not believe it. Nanshung was in his turn told that his
two brothers feared that he would destroy their power, and were
therefore ready to oppose his entrance into the capital. This he
believed, and sent some of his adherents into the capital to pave
his way, and form a strong party. They were discovered, and
the two brothers, believing now in the former report, seized these
men and imprisoned them. The brothers then got the king's
warrant to order Nanshung into the capital, but he dared not
venture into Pingyang. The post of Moliju was therefore
occupied by Nanjien, who, with an army, marched against
Nanshung; but the latter fled into Baobie city, and sent into
Chinese territory to plead for help. To this appeal a ready
and a glad response was given, and Holi was sent eastwards,
received Nanshung into his army, and employed him as guide.
Other troops followed as soon as they were got ready.
In the autumn Gaoli was defeated; and Nanshung was made
great Doodoo of' Liaotung, Pingyang Dao and Duke of Hiientoo.
Next year Liji was sent to take command of the Chinese army,
and the grain and tribute of Honan were forwarded to Liaotung.
The various generals consulted together that, as Sinchung was the
most westerly city of Gaoli and strongly situated, it was dangerous
to pass, and leave it in their rear. They resolved to attack, and
Liji led the army thither, when Shufoochow, the lord of the city,
opened its gates. Sixteen other cities followed the example.
This shows that Gaoli had recovered at least the south-east
portion of the plain of Liaotung, lost by them in 645.
Sinchung was immediately garrisoned by the Chinese, and
Nanjien, marching westwards, soon afterwards was defeated by
Hue Yingwei and pursued to Ginshan* Here they made another
stand, and, while fighting, Hue rushed upon their flank, threw

*This "gold mountain" is a few miles south-west from Kinchow in Liaotung

peninsula, and by the sea-side. See Map IL
 A FATAL COMET. 179

them into confusion, and defeated them. Nansoo, Moodi,

Tsangyen, all chow cities, fell. But the Chinese army having run
short of provisions on the banks of the Yaloo, were in terror;
which seems to imply that they had received severe checks, if
they had not been actually defeated. One advantage gained by
adetachment over the Gaoli, restored their confidence.
In the spring of 668, Hue defeated the Gaoli troops at
Ginshan, and sent on 3,000 men against the city of Fooyii. But
the various officers refused to march, because the men were
insufficient. Hiie, however,—saying that victory did not depend
on numbers,—led the van, with which he broke the Gaoli, taking
a myriad men; whereupon Fooya fell. The forty cities in
Chilenjoong (between the rivers), sent officers to tender submission.
A messenger was sent to Loyang to report this, who, in reply to
his majesty's words, said that Gaoli must fall now, as there was
so much division since Gaisoowun was gone; that the people
were, besides, ill at ease because of asuccession of bad harvests.
The messenger replied to his majesty's questions that Rile
Yingwei was undoubtedly the chief strategist. A comet was seen
at the same time in the "Five chariot "* star; which as it was
in the north-east, indicated the extinction of Gaoli. But the
emperor said that in spite of the comet, he would save the people
of Gaoli, though chastising their rebellious chiefs.
In the summer, Nanjien sent 50,000 men to retake Fooyil;
but they were slain, captured, or scattered at Hiiho river; and
Liji pressed on their heels, taking Dahing, combining the various
Chinese contingents into one army, which broke the Gaoli army
holding the barricades on the Yaloo, pursuing them for 200 li,
and taking Chwunyi chung. The Gaoli forsook their cities, which
were found emptied. Holi led the van of the army to Pingyang,
which was soon besieged. The king, thinking that the time had
now come to cease hostilities, sent out Nanshan and 93 principal
men with a white flag to surrender. Liji received them with
proper ceremony.

*The chariots of the five emperors and the five soldiers of the reigning house,
north of Bi constellation and east of Taurus.
180 SINLO.

But Nanjien still held out, closed the gates, and sent repeated
sorties, which were always defeated. He employed as trusty
agent the Buddhist priest Sinchung, who at length sent aprivate
messenger to Liji, expressing his willingness to act as confederate
and open the gates. Liji agreed. The Chinese entered and set
fire to the city, which continued burning for four months.
Nanjien stabbed himself. He did not die, but was taken, and
Gaoli was at last in Chinese hands.
The king was, by imperial orders, sent to the capital, where he
was sacrificed at the Jaoling, i.e., his ear was cut off at the tomb
of the former emperor, who had fought against Corea so persist-
ently and so futilely. Dsang, this king, was afterwards pardoned
and made &aping taiehang Bai (President of Board of Works) ;
Nanshan was created Sudsai shaoching (lord) ;Sinchung the
priest was made Daifoo (magistrate) of Yinching and Gwangloo;
Nanshung aGreat General; Nanjien was banished to Chinjoong
and south of Fooyil and Fungliwling. Liji and all under him were
suitably rewarded. Gaoli was divided into 5 Boo provinces,
176 cities, and 690,000 families. There were 9Doodoo, and 42
Chow. Pingyang was made the capital, and Hiie Yingwei, with
20,000 men, was appointed governor. The Nine Doodoo were
SINCHUNG,. LIAOCHUNG, Gowoo, W EILO, SHUALI, JUSO,
ESI, KUDAN, and JIENAN,—names mainly in Liaotung.

Of the 42 chow or sub-prefectures established, 13 were in

Liaotung.
The Gaoli had asaying that, after they should be in existence
nine hundred years, they would be overthrown by an old man of
eighty. And they had both statements fulfilled,—for nine
centuries had passed since Gaoli began its independent existence;
and Liji was over eighty years of age.
In 670, a Gaoli noble, Jien Mow, attempted to rebuild the
kingdom, and to set up agrandson of ex-king Dsaug as king.
General Gao was told off to put him down, but young king Anlin
had already slain Mow, and then fled to Sinlo. This did not,
however, put a stop to the effort after independence; for the
Gaoli suffered defeat at the hands of Gao at Anshu Chung, west
 RIGOROUS RULE. 181

of Pingyang; and ahalf year later at Baishwi Shan, in the east

of Baiji, whither Sinlo, fearing its own speedy dissolution, sent
an army to succour the Gaoli. It was, however, of no service,
for it, too, got defeated.
In 674, Empress Woo, who had most of the imperial power
before, now took full sway; for the emperor was sometime unwell
and his son was proclaimed regent. Her sway was one of "vigour
and rigour." Her will was carried out over the bodies of dissenting
ministers, and she assumed the most extraordinary titles.
Chinese titles are never very modest, but she could find no title
sufficiently suitable, if lower than heaven, god, &c. She sent Liw
Yingwei to attack Sinlo, which had sinned in receiving many
myriad refugees from Gaoli, who were now crossing the river,
occupying and tilling the east of Baiji. The king of Sinlo was
pronounced deposed, and a brother, then in the Chinese capital,
proclaimed king and sent to his native land. Yingwei told more
effectually, for he defeated the Sinlo army at Chijoongchung, and
gave orders or permission to Mogo to go by sea to destroy the
south of Sinlo. After hearing of the plunder and slaughter by
Mogo, Yingwei recalled his army.
Jinhing was sent to quarter in Maishungchung of Sinlo,
therefrom to harass the kingdom. The war was soon brought to
an end; for in three successive battles all the Sinlo armies were
broken up, and Sinlo "confessed its crimes, and prayed forgiveness"
which was granted, and the old king was re-established. Indeed
Sinlo never did appear to advantage in its connection with China,
for it was always getting worsted by its neighbours. The seat of
government was changed to Liaotung.*
The "emperor" sent back Dsang, the old Gaoli king, to his
country with the title of "Chaosien" King,—reviving the ancient
name. All the captive Coreans were collected and entrusted to
him, and the capital was again removed from Liaotung to

*The name of th e capit alwas A n doong D oo ,"Cap. tranqu illi ng th e eas t;" an d
its site is supposed to be near present Tiding. Possibly it was Angbang chung, in
Manchu "Great City," 80 Ii south-east of Tieling, and with ruins of an ancient city,
though this city is said to have been subsequent to Andoong.
182 SINLO.

Sinchung, the destination of Dsang. As Baiji was trampled under

foot and waste, Baiji men were permitted to settle on the eastern
borders of Gaoli. This desolation proves that Baiji had made
another effort for freedom and had been defeated.
When King Dsang got to Liaotung, he either meditated revolt
in hopes of Mogo support, or was believed to do so. He was
therefore recalled, and banished where "he died,"—a phrase
which is ofttimes a euphemism for being secretly put to death.
His immediate followers were banished to various Honan cities,
and the returned fugitives fled into the lands of Mogo and the
Turk. Loong was afraid to return to his former kingdom, and
the families of Gao and Fooyii became extinct. The Empress
Woo was desirous to exterminate Sinlo in the same manner.
But an aged minister rose off his dying bed, to expostulate
seriously, as great danger threatened in the west. His counsels
prevailed. The army was sent westwards instead of eastwards;
but the effort killed the old minister. Sinlo was therefore
allowed to follow its own customs and set up its own king, two
of whom died within ayear.
So thoroughly had the work of destruction been done in Corea,
that for two generations Gaoli is left in the dark womb of
unhistorical time. But she was growing, if silently. Many
exiles, and children of exiles, returned to her lovely glens and
green hills. During that time much has happened in and
around China proper. Just then the frequent census showed
China proper possessed by full eight million families, or about
50,000,000 souls or "mouths," as the Chinese characteristically
phrase it. On her north, north-west, and north-east, were
always hovering dark clouds .of hostile armies, every now and
then pouncing; now on her cities, anon on her granaries, and like
harpies, ruining the fruits of her fields. The Turks, in immense
numbers in the north-west and north of her border, never
desisted during the whole Tang period from plundering Chinese
territory. Next to them in numbers and despoiling proclivities
were the Kitan, the eastern neighbours of the Turks. East of
them again, north-east of Chinese soil, was Mogo, with its now
 A TERRIBLE MAN. 183

powerful kingdom of Bohai; powerful by the influx of innumerable

Coreans. It was to fight this kingdom, which began early to
develop its, plans against Chinese rule in Liaotung, that Sinlo
was summoned to marshal her army; the Chinese court sending
messengers for that purpose in 733 A.D.
In 733 A.D., Sinlo did send an army across the mouth of the
Tooman, from her north border, on to the southern lands of Bohai;
but they were miserably defeated,—leaving the greater half on
the fields of Bohai. But thenceforth, down to A.D, 827, indeed
to the end of the Tang dynasty in 905, the only notice taken by
Chinese history of Sinlo, is the succession of her kings. But we
can infer from the weakness of her neighbours, that Sinlo was
then far the most powerful of the Corean states, and that she
had climbed to the summit of her greatness.
The Tang emperor's estimate of the character of Gaisoowun
looks more like that of aman who has an interest to serve, than one
drawn from life. Their stubborn resistance, and the many years of
bitter war defending him and their land, prove that the Coreans did
not hate him, as the emperor had pictured. There was no Corean
who took the opportunity of Tang's presence to flee; aiid it was
the former most determined foe of Gaisoowun, who turned back
the tide of the Chinese success. If the historical novel, Shwo
Tang, is of any service, it proves the same thing; for the great
size, ugly face, terrible manner, enormous strength, and magic
sword, ascribed to Gaisoowun, together with the total and terrible
collapse of Corea after his death, prove first of all his abilities,
but also the willingness of the people to have him at the head
of affairs. For if they all, or a small minority of them, hated
him so bitterly, it was an easy matter for a band to rush upon
and kill him, and then flee to the Chinese from revenge.
Thus fell, one after the other, the three kingdoms whose
territories now form one Corea, after thirty-three years of blood-
shed, since the Tang emperor first meditated and began to prepare
for the conquest of Gaoli. Like all wars of mere conquest,
the prize did not repay the cost; for though history is silent as
to the number of Chinese victims sacrificed to that ambitious
 184 SINLO.

movement, the number could not be less than that of the Coreans.
The private misery endured over all China would not, perhaps,
at any one point of time be equal to, or be so keenly felt as the
sufferings caused by the Swi expeditions; but it was in the
aggregate much greater. And after the lost lives and wretched
existence of countless numbers of men, women, and children;
after the infinite cost in money, labour, and grain; the rich fields
unploughed, the happy homes burnt down, the peaceful com-
munities extinguished, the flourishing cities razed to the ground,—
what was the grand gain secured? It was only,—it was
neither more nor less than every vain, shallow, and selfish so-called
conqueror has attained in all ages and countries. It is the
"glory" of having destroyed the liberties of another people;
the "renown " of doing to others what the conqueror would not
wish done to himself. This wicked war of aggression is always
carried on by abilities which, properly directed, would benefit
mankind. This war, so "glorious "in the eyes of the thoughtless
and cruel mind, of the nature pertaining to the savage bull, or
rather to the vain and conceited dunghill cock ;—this war will
cease only when men shall learn, as first, private individuals and
then castle-building barons had to learn,—that the taking of what
belongs to another individual, society, or state, is robbery, and a
breach of the fundamental laws God has given to man, whether the
culprit be an individual or anation. The principle of the "greatest
happiness of the greatest number," which is a fair aim of all
government, may demand that a people rise against their
oppressors with arms in their hands; or may even justify armed
interference by a foreign nation, when such interference is for
the welfare of the people against whose rulers it is directed.
For there have been, and are, people to whom victory proved a
curse, and defeat would have been ablessing; for whom national
independence means the baneful blight of absolutism, or the
devastations of civil strife, and to whom conquest by a foreign
power might secure national peace and true liberty. But
all war is indefensible, when it has for its object the annexation
of the territory, the destruction of the liberties, or the humiliation
 AGGRESSIVE WAR. 185

of the people of any nation. China vainly boasted, and continues

to boast, as many another nation, which should know better,
boasts of similar conduct—that she so thoroughly defeated Corea,
made its crowded vallies the homes of the tiger and the wolf,
and slew so many myriads of Corean lives.
Offensive warfare rarely pays in the long run, however
successful for atime. It is unnecessary to allude to the well-
known aggressive character of the first French Republic,
culminating and decaying in Napoleon. Alexander the Great
reads us the same lesson. Spain lost herself in the Netherlands;
and Rome fell to pieces because of its unwieldy and heterogeneous
character. Every large empire which has been, has fallen
because it was too aggressive; and every empire now being
founded in the same manner, will assuredly fall to the ground.
Chinese history is full of lessons to the same effect. But
confining ourselves to Liaotung and Corea, we saw that the Swi
dynasty dashed out its brains against the petty city of Liaotung,
as Liaoyang was then called. And the varied success with which
the Tang dynasty, emperor after emperor, fought against Corea,
till it submitted or was annihilated, simply dug their own grave.
Had the Tang dynasty, instead of sending so many hundreds of
thousands of Chinese to leave their bones bleaching on every
field and valley between the Liao river and the sea of Japan,—
directed its energies to crush internal abuses, and to enforce a
strict, full, impartial justice,—placing wise ministers in the
cabinet, and upright judges in the courts of law, the present
occupant of the Dragon Throne might be a Tang. For agreat
change of policy has never upset a dynasty in China; nor has
the introduction of novel ideas, more enlightened or less
enlightened, ever set anew man on the throne.
The fighting against Corea was as much for what the French
call "glory," as was any war of modern times. Corea could have
done the Chinese no serious harm. It was then divided into three
mutually hostile kingdoms. On its north was Bohai, friendly to
Corea only because weak; but quite ready to be hostile by asub-
sidy, which China has always been able and willing to give. Gaoli
186 SINLO.

was bounded on the west by the Liao river; but supposing all
Liaosi under its control, it would not have injured China proper,
whose lands were then more than sufficient to sustain her own
population. For south-west was Shanhaigwan or Yiigwan,
which the Manchoos found impossible to force, though they were
very much more powerful than ever Gaoli was, and though they
were fighting against the Ming dynasty at its weakest,—weaker
than Tang ever was, till it ate off its own head. Of Shanhaigwan,
the Emperor Kienlung, who knew, said that his ancestors could
not hold an inch of Chinese soil as long as Shanhaigwan stood;
and Shanhaigwan could be opened only by treachery. Hence
the Manchoos had to force apassage into China, by conquering
southern Mongolia, and cutting their way in by Tatung of
Shansi. And even then they could only raid and harry, but
could not retain afoot of soil. Besides this pass, the Coreans
would have to cut their way over the bodies of the brave Kitan.
And after the Kitan were annihilated, the greatly more
formidable Turks had to be dealt with, ere China could be
seriously touched. At the time when the Tang emperor, brave
but unwise, started his expedition against Gaoli, the latter could
not in the least have injured his people. He had no casus belli, nor
was it easy to have. There might have been such, if, as at a
subsequent date, Gaoli had first swallowed up Baiji, Sinlo and
Bohai, in the east; and had several times defeated Kitan, in the
west. It would then be ample time for China to look to the
rising power, and go to war, not as the conqueror of Gaoli, but
as the defender of Kitan. And it would then be sufficient to
expend only as much blood and treasure as would defeat and
curb Gaoli, instead of turning its lands into deserts, and its cities
into dens for wolves. Instead of this defensive policy, which
would compel Kitan to be on good terms with China, the Tang
marched his men, and threw away his millions of money, year
after year, to annihilate Gaoli. The dynasty succeeded. And
what was the gain ?
While he was needlessly murdering his own and Gaoli subjects
in the remote country of the latter, the Annamites, the Miao,
 HISTORICAL NOVEL. 187

and the Man tribes were harrying his southern frontiers; the
Tibetans were plundering the west; the Kitan were helping
themselves in the north, and, worst of all, the formidable Turks
were devastating the north-west, both on the northern and
western frontiers. Gaoli, utterly ruined, and an empty husk, was
nominally annexed to China, only to make Bohai a powerful
kingdom in the north, which speedily overran all Liaotung to
the gulf of the same name; and to remove all pressure from the
east of Kitan which could therefore, and did, throw its undivided
and constantly increasing strength upon the north of China,
till, as the Liao Dynasty, it occupied the northern half of China
proper. Thus, while the Tang Emperor was glorifying himself
on the numbers of Gaoli whom he sent to the wolves, he sent
at least as many of his own subjects to abloody grave; and he
spread, for a century, miseries and calamities over all his land,
such as no "glory" could ever repay. Such vain boasting of
mere animal courage, cruelly aggressive, cannot but make a
thinking man disgusted with the silly race of man who can apply
the name of "glory" to any victories gained in any battle, save
what is to preserve the lives and to uphold the liberties of the
people of his country.
It may not be uninteresting to give a brief , summary of the
manner in which the Shwo Tang, or historical novel of that
dynasty, treats of the conquest of Liaotung and Corea. The
contents of each chapter are given in a poetical stanza, just like
the modern novel of the west. The hero of the story is Hile
Yingwei, acommon man, forced to marry a lovely young lady,
high above him, because her guardian sees from his face that he
is to rise to high rank. Unlike western love stories, he is loth
and the young lady is the suitor,—or rather she informs her
guardian privately how gladly she will consent. So, married they
are, in spite of his bashfulness. He is, also from the warmth of
the lady's desires, afterwards obliged to marry another young
beauty, the daughter of awealthy man,—whom he saved by his
prowess from the band of robbers come to take her for their chief.
He does not live much with either, however, for the brawny
 188 SINLO.

armed, but poor man, performs many other exploits in his

private journies, and at one time takes the life of an immense
tiger which is pursuing a nobleman on the way to Loongmun,
where Tang is gathering his forces for his Liaotung expedition.
This incident introduces him to the army; he becomes asoldier,
but is again and again driven from the camp, for some curious
and fanciful reason. But he does at last get permission to go in
the van. He has some wonderful adventures before crossing the
sea from Tungchow of Shantung, whence 1,500 vessels sail for the
promontory of Liaotung.
He is in the van with his eight Hwositow, "Fire-head"
comrades. When they come to "Tienshan," he, with three of
his arrows, shot dead three of the best men in the Corean garrison,
with such effect that the Pass was his, and the army had only to
follow after him. For some unknown reason he clothed in
mourning—a robe of white ;—a statement which, we have seen,
is historical. From that day at Tienshan, the Coreans are in
terror, when they see the man in white. His officer now pushed
on to Funghwangchung where Hwan Gaisienmo, the most
powerful soldier in the Gaoli army, was commandant. He had
heard of the fall of Tienshan and ordered his men to be on strict
guard. The officer receiving his orders had just left the yamun.
when he heard the "noise of the cannon rending the heavens"—
(it is unnecessary to say there were no cannons then, nor long after).
Yingwei, with his horsemen, was already at the foot of the wall.
The commandant, astonished at the speed with which they had
marched, goes on the wall and has speech with Yingwei. At
last the bargain is struck that, if Yingwei hits with an arrow
the tip of the lash of the whip the commandant holds in his hand,
the city would be given up; but if he did not hit, Yingwei and
his men would return to the shores of China. He holds out the
whip; but as the small end waved in the wind, Yingwei objects
that it is impossible to hit it when it so waved. The Corean,
novel-like, agrees to turn his back and hold the whip behind him.
Just as he turns with the whip over his shoulder, which steadies
it, Yingwei lets fly and strikes the tip of the whip-cord. The
 THE FUNGHWANG. 189

commandant, in terror, says, "Against this man it is impossible

to war here. Better retire into the forest." And this they do,
though it is sometime after, before Yingwei ascertains that the
compact has been really carried out. The garrison retires to
Hanmach,ung, where the brother of Gaisienmo is commandant.
He is astounded at the surrender of Funghwang chung, and
is upbraiding his brother, when a messenger comes in informing
him that the dreaded man in white is outside. For twenty days
does Yingwei fight there, never fighting by day, but always
attacking at some time of the night; thus giving the garrison
no sleeping time, for they dare not sleep by day, and constant
alarm keeps them awake by night; and this watchfulness was all
the more imperative that strictest orders have been given to
behead the man found asleep at his post. But on the twentieth
night Yingwei refrains from attack to lull their suspicions.
The garrison, believing that the Chinese were worn out, and gone
to take absolutely needed rest, one by one fall asleep, and when,
in the early dusky morning, Yingwei with his comrades gets to
the top of the wall on their scaling ladders, every soul of the
garrison is as sound asleep as if already dead. There were
3000 men stationed at each side and gate of the city; but
not asoul awakes till the great sword and tremendous shout of
Yingwei rouses some of them; but only to flee hither and
thither. The Chinese, fast clambering into the city, slay the
greater half; many are killed in falling over the city, and
many drowned in the moat. Such, in outline, is a part of a
well told novel.
The emperor had gone from Liaoyang to visit the famous
Funghwang shan, where the Funghwang, the Chinese phoenix,
lived in her nest. And we are thus introduced to the scene.

THE FUNGHWANG'S NEST.

"Red green the flowers which fail not all the year;
Pure white the spots which dot the brownish deer;
Snow white the birds, sweet was the song they made,—
The pine-clad hill, the cypress covered shade.
190 SINLO.

The dragon's voice disturbs the pool so deep;

On the high steppes you see the tiger leap;
The heaven-made rocks so strange, the gems so rare,—
Such forest scenes you fail to find elsewhere."

We may be allowed here to say, parenthetically, that the Chinese

poets manifested apassionate love of nature thousands of years
before Scott or Wordsworth; and Chinese philosophers loved the
grand and the beautiful ever so many centuries before Samuel
Johnson made his ill-natured remark about a "huge pro-
tuberance."
When the emperor got to the mountains, he found them so
vast and wide, and so covered with forests, that he appointed
many separate bands of men, each to go in afixed direction, to
find out the wondrous nest. 'Tis pity those forests do not now
ornament the bare flanks of those fine mountains. Chi Gwoyuen
and his companion went in an eastward direction, till they got
to the shoulder of the mountain, where they were much
astonished to find the talented scholar, Mr Ru Maogoong. In
answer to his query, they inform him why they came thither.
"Who does not know," said he, "that the Funghwang builds
her nest under the Wootoong tree; and as those trees are before
your eyes, where else would you go seek? "—" Can it be here?"
asked Gwoyuen.—" Go and see," said Mr flu. So they went,
and searched on till they came to the last Wootoong tree, under-
neath which they saw little stones. Over those stones was alarge
slab, as if of crow-black gold,—an intensely jet, gleaming black,
which threw out agreat light like a reflecting mirror. Its face
could reflect the persons of ever so many people. It was high
as a man and a hand, and five feet wide. At its base were
variegated stones, scarcely a foot long, tapering at both ends,
thick in the middle, somewhat like an olive. Stepping back,
and looking attentively about under the glossy slab, they
observed ahollow cavity, and were assured they had found the
Funghwang's nest. They were, therefore, to return and report
their discovery to his majesty; and Gwoyuen bent down to take
up one of the tapering stones, as proof. He found it heavy
 A CURIOUS NEST. 191

He put down both hands; he could not move it. He was

astonished; and exerting all his strength, said: "A dozen
hundred-weight I can move ;—what is this little thing, that I
cannot move it ?" They had to go without; and on coming to
Mr RU, informed him of the weight of the stone. He laughed
at them for a couple of fools, who should have known that
if human strength could remove them, these precious gems of
Funghwangshan would have been taken away long ago.
The emperor joyfully went to the spot, and asked, saying:
"Mr RU, What slab (bei) is that?" "That is no bei," he
replied; "it is called the Funghwang's stone." The emperor
complained that if he had seen the nest, he had failed to see the
Funghwang, and had not even seen the eggs. "Those are her
eggs," said Mr Hii, pointing to the variegated stones lying at the
foot of the slab. "Can the Funghwang be in her nest now?"
asked his majesty. "The exalted Son of Heaven," said Mr Hii,
"may look at the Funghwang, and be none the worse; but if we,
your servants, see the Funghwang, what is it but terrible
calamities and judgment from heaven ? But it is not likely that
we can see her."—" Idon't believe in the impossibility of seeing
her," said the matter of fact Gwoyuen, "moreover we want lo
see her very much" ;—whereupon he thrust along bamboo pole
into the hole, and poked about with it recklessly. Thereupon
arose the sound of many birds fluttering inside. First came out
acompany of Bai niao or mosquitoes; then some scores of
Machiao or sparrows, and both flew eastwards. After them came
four peacocks, followed by apair of Manchurian Cranes; and in less
than aquarter of an hour appeared the Funghwang. Its body
was gorgeously spotted all over, the five colours complete.
Its tail was of three feathers, each two feet long. It alighted on
the glossy slab, faced the emperor, and nodded three bows.
Mr Hii said that this was paying court to his majesty, at which
he was overjoyed. He had no sooner expressed his delight,
than the Funghwang spread out its wings, and sped east-
wards, after its varied retinue. The emperor then said that
the bird with the three tails must be the cock; there should be
192 SINLO.

a hen also inside. "If there is a hen," said the forward

Gwoyuen, "we shall soon see,"—and in went the bamboo again,
poked about more vigorously than before. A great noise
succeeded, like the sound of crashing up of bamboo; and this
made Gwoyuen withdraw his pole, when forthwith came out a
(Treat thing with aman's head on a bird's body, which perched
on the glossy slab, turned towards the emperor, and uttered three
wailing shrieks. None knew what this bird was, except Mr HU;
who, with a face pale as a corpse, cursed Gwoyuen for his
meddlesomeness, in endeavouring to find out more after the
Funghwang was gone. Then addressing the emperor, he said:
"Your majesty, the judgment of heaven is already manifest;
and not small in the calamity foreboded by this bird of evil
omen. Its name is the Bird of Woe; and except when aterrible
woe is to fall upon the empire, it is not seen." The emperor,
covered all over with cold perspiration, asked what the
calamity might be. To which Mr Hii replied, that Wang Mang,
of the Han dynasty, had anotable flying sword; and it was to
snatch this sword away in its mouth, that this bird is historically
reported to have been seen. Immediately after, Mang began his
rebellion, and the evil course written of him. The bird now took
up one of his majesty's arrows, and fled eastwards. Mr Hü
urged the emperor to retire immediately, for that evil was at
hand.
Gaisoowun had early known of the prowess of Yingwei, and
sent to Fooyii for assistance. An army of 500,000 men was
nearing Hanmachung on the very day the emperor was on
Funghwang mountains. Gaisoowun's white horse neighed as if
startled, and, on looking up, the rider saw agreat flight of birds
following in the wake of the Funghwang. He was greatly
enraged, for he believed the Funghwang then at rest in her nest,
and strictest orders had been given not to molest her. His
anger was because now that she was gone, Gaoli soldiers would
never succeed in taking China. As the mountain was occupied
by his own men, he could not understand how she had been
(disturbed. But in the midst of his meditations on this subject,
 THE MAGIC SWORD. 193

he suddenly heard a wailing sound over his head, and, looking

up, he saw the Bird of Woe, which dropped an arrow as it passed.
On picking it up he found on the arrow four characters, Jun,
gwan, tien, dsu, indicating the emperor; and thus he was made
aware that the emperor was himself on the mountain. He,
therefore, urged on his army at its quickest, and surrounded the
mountain. The emperor was in terrible straits. One after
another of his best generals was slain by Gaisoowun. The
sceptical Gwoyuen, himself a lieutenant-general, went out to
single combat, but was slain. Twenty-six of his friends, of equal
rank, were ashamed to leave his death unavenged, and therefore
went out. Some before, some behind, some at each side,—many
of them wounded; but Gaisoowun sat in their midst unhurt.
He saw they were too much for him, however, and took out his
three-inch flying sword. Mr flU saw it, and called out, "Retire,
retire! that's the sword which devours life!" They had the
utmost confidence in Mr Hii's wisdom, and, therefore, began to
retreat up the hill,—but not a man of them entered the
extemporised camp alive: The greatest consternation prevailed
in the imperial camp, many of whose general officers, and alarge
proportion of whose men, had already fallen. At last Yingwei
was thought of as the sole hope, for Gaisoowun had already said
that the emperor's only safety was in acknowledging the Gaoli
king as his master. The son-in-law of the emperor was, therefore,
commissioned to go to Hanmachung, and summon the army
there to raise the siege. He had to ride and fight through seven
lines of the enemy; and he carried away seven arrows in his body,
two in his legs, two in his shoulders, which he did not consider
painful; but one had sunk deeply into his back, where he could
not reach his hand Lo pull it out. With some difficulty he got
to the city, delivered his message, and fell down dead.
An army of 100,000 men started immediately to deliver his
majesty; and under advice of Yingwei, the camp was made
with six empty for every four occupied tents, to make them
appear more numerous.
After a description of the armour in which the heroes were
191 SINLO.

clad, three chapters relate the encounters between the private

Yingwei and the generalissimo Gaisoowun. One hundred and
forty times did they engage; but the great sword of the general
could not cut through the tremendous staff of Yingwei, nor could
the staff shiver to pieces the sword. Gaisoowun, seeing there
was no way of ending the strife on equal terms, at last produced
his three-inch magical sword, which fled, and was about to alight
on Yingwei's head; but he heard its hissing sound as it was coming,
and with an arrow, the gift of the Nine Sable Heavenly Maidens,
he shattered it to pieces. Its owner recovered it, and sent it whole
again in the same direction, but accompanied by eight willow
leaves out of his magical box. But its sound was again heard
coming; and eight arrows, the gift of the Sable Nine, defeated the
nine. As magic was out of the question, they set to again with
their ordinary weapons; but they retired at night, none having got
the better of the other. There are many dialogues between the
two; in which the private speaks in very disrespectful language;
but in which the great leader is very humble, and anxious to
gain the white-robed soldier to his side. Next day, however, a
female, Mei Yueying, of thirty years of age, who had spent all her
life in studying magic, avenged one blow received by Gaisoowun,
by throwing into the air amagical flag, out of which crept ever
so many centipedes, which bit Yingwei and his eight comrades,
all of whom were taken into camp as if dead. The pain made
him fly madly about the hill, till he came to aspot where he was
about to die; but ahermit, Li, appeared, and made him drink the
decoction of a certain plant, which healed him immediately.
He also gave him some to heal his comrades, together with two
flags, which would counteract Mei's flag. Next day her
centipedes were eaten up by gold birds out of this flag; and
Yingwei put her to death, running a spear through her throat.
Gaisoowun, in great wrath, rushes upon Yingwei, saying that
one of them must die that day. Again and again they come to
close quarters; but none gains the least advantage. But the
arts of Li, who was above the combatants in the clouds, were too
much for Gaisoowun, who got wounded, and retired in rage and
 VERY MAGICAL. 195

disgrace. He raised the siege immediately after, and retired to

the Corean capital. He is described with amost hideous face.
It is unnecessary to say that the emperor never saw Funghwang
chung, nor did Gaisoowun himself lead an army against him;
the story being founded on the attack on Yenshow at Anshu,
where Yingwei displayed such extraordinary prowess, and was
so greatly rewarded. But our novel does not permit him to get
rewarded; his white dress concealing some secret which compels
him to keep out of preferment's way, and is more tantalising
than the iron mask. He is, however, feared by the Coreans to
this day, and regarded by them as the one man who conquered
their country, and without whom they would have been able to
defend their independence.
The account of the Funghwang is given at length, as it is the
"phcenix" of China. It is usually painted with an intensely
bright scarlet head and neck; the head somewhat resembling a
cock's. There is infinitely more magic in this novel than
divinities in Homer.
1
 CHAPTER

KITAN.

"ON the north bank of the Liao river, aman riding awhite horse
met awoman riding agrey ox, and the two became husband and
wife. They had eight sons, Danlijie, Yisho, Shuhado, Nawei,
Pinmo, Nahwiji, Jijie, and Siwun, each of whom in turn became
King of Kitan." This is one account of the rise of Kitan in the
land of Yelimili, on the south of the river Hung, 1,100 li from
Yiigwan, the modern Linyii; the ancient Hung being thus
identified with the modern Sira muren. Whatever their origin,
there, on the south bank of that rapid, rocky river, they were
feeding their flocks when the Moyoong family began to strike
for empire, and thence they were driven away by the Moyoong,
who compelled them to move westwards, to the very edge of the
desert of Shamo. They recovered themselves rapidly in their
exile; and, when the Moyoong Kingdom ceased to be, Gaoli, then
at the height of its power, believed them worthy of a plundering
expedition. To the number of over ten thousand souls, under
their chief, Woogan Mohofo, they had, in 479, to flee southwards
with their tents and what else of their property was moveable, to
seek the protection of W EI, which was then the most northerly
of the kingdoms into which China was divided; Shantung and
Chihli forming its principal portion.
The Kitan were originally under the sway of the Yowyan, which
was the style assumed by the chief Kokan, who had re-united the
dismembered Hiwngnoo. Toomun, achief of the rising Toogiie,*
attacked and overthrew the Yowyan Kokhan, Towling, who

*Tuktie or Turks, who are still the same people as the Yowyan and Hiwngnoo,
differing only in their leaders.
198 KITAN.

thereupon committed suicide. In 532, Towling's son, Dungjoo,

and other leaders with all their men, fled for protection to the
newly-erected northern Chinese kingdom of Chi (Tsi), which had
assumed, in Shantung, the power lately possessed by Wei; thus
quickly did dynasty succeed dynasty. Tiedai, the second son of
Dungjoo, was elected Kokhan by those who remained in their own
land. But he was not ayear on the throne, ere the Yowyan mur-
dered him, placing on the throne his father, who, along with one
Kooti, had been shortly before escorted to his own country by Chi.
Another chief, Afti, murdered Dungjoo, and Kooti was elected.
The once terrible Yowyan were thus dwindling down from
internal decay, when Kitan began to venture, on its own account,
into the territories of Chi, though the latter power had still, in
unabated vigour, the energy which every new dynasty displays
in China. Kitan had probably received large accessions from
the dying Yowyan, and thus believed itself able to deal a
blow.
The kingdom of Chi followed the example of that of Wei in
paying special attention to its northern borders,—for the north
being defended against those restless nomads, the other parts of
the kingdom were easily defended; while if the north fell, no
power could save the kingdom. The first care of Chi, therefore,
was to place powerful garrisons from Looloong* gwan to Jwundoo
gwan; Tan, commandant of Yowchow, occupying Loonggwan.
The Lord of Chi then combined the armies of Yichow, Tingchow,
Yowchow, and Anchow,f at Pingchow, and marched westwards
through Looloong pass, determined to chastise the bold Kitan
plunderers. He sent 5000 picked horse by the east road to
Chingshan I. passing Bailang chung and Chang-li. Another

*"Looloong is in Feiyoo Men of Liaosi,"—" 200 li N. W. of Looloong hien of

Pingchow." "N. 15 li from Changping, hien of Yowchow is Jwundoojing; N. W.
of which, 35 li, is Nakwungwan, the former Jwundoogwan." Tang History; are
these the Passes Kalgan and Sifungkow? Looloong is still so named.

tAll the chief cities of modern Chihli.

T. Chingshan was near Kingchow. (Map IL)

 GREAT WALL REBUILT. 199

of 4000 light horse was sent still further east to cut off the Kitan
retreat. These got to Yangshwai* river.
As this Lord of Chi was able to undergo agreat deal of fatigue,
he rested not day nor night, but pushed on for Ylieshan ling, 1000
lit distant (from Pingchow?) ;and as his men ate only flesh, and
drank only water, they were of giant strength and in splendid
spirits. As soon as they came up with the Kitan they rushed
upon and completely defeated them, taking over 100,000 captives
with millions of cattle. Another force broke up the Kitan tribes
on Chingshan, and Lord Chi returned to Yingchow. Hence we
learn that Kitan bordered all the north-east, and most of the
north, frontier of China; as well as all the western border of
Liaosi. But, notwithstanding this victory, so frequent and
serious were the irruptions from the north, that the Lord of Chi
followed the example of the former Tsin emperor, and sent
1,800,000 men to build the great wall from Hiakow of Yow-
chow to Hungchow II adistance of 900 ii. The Kitan were soon
eclipsed by the rapidly rising power of Tookiie to their west in
Inner Mongolia, who made incessant and terrible raids into
China; though its divisions were healed by the Swi dynasty,
which, like Moses' rod, had swallowed up all the other rods.
In the larger events distracting China, it was not till 605, the
Kitan again made themselves sufficiently troublesome to deserve
a place in Chinese story. They then plundered the country
round Yingchow of Liaosi. A Chinese general, Wei Yunchi,
was ordered against them, in company with aTookile commander,
who had 20,000 horse. Yunchi divided his army into 24 camps,
each marching one ii distant from the other. They marched

*Daliang? A note says that Kitan Shiwei tribes ruled from Shwaichow, which
is the "Yangshwai hien and station of Yingchow."

±This would go to show the Kitan on the Daliang river W. of Jinchow or Ying-
chow then, as when Anlooshan attacked them in the last days of Tang (see below).

T. This N doubtless the Nankow pass, for a "stream springing N.W. of Jwundoo
hien, and flowing S.E. of Dsooyang hien of Shanggoo (Shangchow, Huenhwa)
flows through Hiakow." For building of the Wall, see note p. 11.

Ii Hungchow is Tatung foo of Shansi.

200 KITAN.

when they heard the drum; and the sound of the horn was the
signal to halt. And, as the Tookiie and Kitan were formerly on
good terms, Yunchi got into the Kitan border, by ordering the
Tookiie to give out that they were on the way to Liwchung to
attack the Coreans.* They therefore marched on to within 50
ti of the Kitan camp, before the latter were aware of their real
intentions. With a dash forward they took 40,000 men and
women prisoners, the former of whom were slain, the latter
equally divided, with the seized cattle, between the Chinese and
the Tookiie camps. The emperor was greatly rejoiced; and
Yunchi was promoted; for the Kitan had received so serious a
blow, that their harrying raids were prevented for aconsiderable
time.
In 608, the Swi emperor sent 200,000 men to build the great
wall from Yiigoof eastwards. Just then, when the Swi had
attained the acme of its power, not satisfied with having a
splendid empire, which could be defended with ease against all
comers, the emperor began to lay his plans for the conquest of
Gaoli, which could have done him no harm as a foe; and
infinitely small would be the gain of a thorough conquest. He
set the example, which lost his dynasty the throne, China
millions of lives, and led into wars which cost millions more in
the next reign.t_
We have seen the rapid and great growth of the Kitan since
the Wei period. Coming to A.D. 648, we find that the Kitan
acknowledged the supremacy of the Chinese court. From the'
previous weakness of China, they had found it hitherto more
profitable to make ceaseless raids into Chinese soil. The Tang
emperor formed their eastern portion into the prefectural
department of Soongmo, with nine sub-prefectures. Their chief
was named Doodoo or governor. This Soongmo was north of,
and not far from, Liwchung. The west Kitan were formed into

*This shows the extreme western limit of Gaoli rule, for Liwchung was
immediately N. of Yingchow or Kingchow. (Map II.)
t "A gully west of Yiilin." This wall would extend to Shanhaigwan.
.
;See chapters V. and VI.
4
 BUDDHISIVI GROWS. 201

the prefecture of Yo/ofoo, with five sub-prefectures,—their chief

also being nominated governor. All those magistrates, who
presided over the eastern half of what is now called Inner
Mongolia, were placed under the care of the Yowchow governor.
In the winter of 654, the governor of Soongmo routed acombined
Gaoli and 1VIogo army at Sinchung of Liaotung, which was on
its way to harry his lands.
After the Tang dynasty had exhausted itself in crushing Gaoli
to the ground, the Kitan gave evidence of a desire for a course
of independent action, which boded no good to the north of
China. The Tang emperor was compelled, in 714, to order the
governor of Yingchow to march. But the watchman slept; and
before he got to his post at Yingchow, the Kitan pounced upon
and defeated him, driving him westwards to the city of Yliyang;
as the modern Pingku, 150 ii north of Peking, was called.
Both Yingchow and Liwchung fell into the hands of Kitan, who,
having "drawn blood," saw greater things before them.
Just then Buddhism, introduced some time before from India
through Tibet into China, where it took centuries to make itself
felt, received an extraordinary impetus. A universal craze
spread among high and low to become the inmates of devotional
and chanting monasteries. Generals forsook their armies,
ministers their portfolios, members of the imperial family their
palaces, and merchants their business and their families, to
build or dwell in monasteries, away from the clash of arms,
the cares of state, or the din and bustle of life. So general did
the contagion become, that memorial after memorial came
pouring in upon the emperor, who felt compelled to take action,
and to send out orders which recalled 12,000 vowed monks to
their duties, and prevented the building of additional monasteries.
No European monarch acted so during the monkish crazes.
Mogo,* in the far east, was, it was reported to the emperor,
as eager as ever to lean on the arm of the Tang, for they were
more than ever exposed to the fiery visits of the Tookiie chief
Mocho; but now that Yingchow was fallen, they had no place
*The then name taken by the ancient Sooshun. (Map II.)
202 KITAN.

to look to for aid, and even their visits to the court were rendered
impossible. The ministers who had vainly protested against the
former expedition against the Kitan, remained silent now; and
the emperor resolved to make an effort to recover the remote
city of Yingchow, and open up the communications with Liaotung
and the Mogo country. The officials who had fled from Yingchow
were, of course, warm in their approval of a fresh expedition
which might recover them their post.
The army, which was to take Yingchow from the Kitan, was
placed under the command of Hue Na, and 60,000 men marched
on to Tanchow * in June. The sub-prefect of Yingchow
protested against marching them in the heat, when the soldiers
had necessarily to carry so much provisions, and for so great a
distance. Hue, however, retorted that now,—with good grass,
plenty of it, sheep and cows grazing fat with their young by the
way as they went,—was just the time to march; and as to grain,
the Kitan had plenty, and would have to disgorge. They there-
fore marched on, and came upon the river Lan, in Chihli. They
got among the mountains, north-east of the Lan, and were
advancing cautiously on the southern border of the enemy, when
the Kitan made arapid move, and sent aforce on flank and rear
of the camp, attacking it just as athird force came against it on
the run from the hill above. The Tang men were completely
defeated, four-fifths perishing. The commander fought his way
through the force on his rear, and escaped with afew men. He
was hooted on the road as he fled, and called an "old wife."
The commander threw all the blame upon the generals under
him; one of whom had retired with his men, before he had been
able to strike ablow, when he heard of the catastrophe in front
of him, and of the flight of the commander. Him, with six other
generals and one Hoof general, the commander put to death in

*The modern Kaichow of Chihli.

tThe term Hoo embraced many barbarians, over awide extent of country. It is
difficult to distinguish it and the other Chinese terms for barbarians, from each
other. The distinction seems based on locality rather than on etymology. The
Kitan were Hoo: so were the Si or Koomosi, and so were also tribes in the north-west
of China. (See An Looshan.)
 THE TURKS ATTACKED. 203

Yowchow. He himself was spared by the emperor, but stripped

of all his titles; the only responsible officer found blameless being
the sub-prefect, who recommended delay. Hue Na immediately
after redeemed his character by defeating the Toofan, as the
inhabitants of the modern Tibet were then called.
The Kitan were now established beyond dispute in their new
territories, including the best of Liaosi, as the Tang could not
afford to make athird attempt at ousting them, for the dynasty
had already passed its meridian. Communications were there-
fore opened, which resulted in the appearance of Li Shuho, chief
of Soongmo Kitan, at the Imperial Chinese Court, to be invested
with the vassal kingship of his former territories and recent
conquests. He was created a Kanun Wang and Doodoo or
Soongrno, to rule over the eight *clans formerly under his sway,
now converted into so many sub-prefectures; their eight chiefs
being nominated.tsushus or sub-prefects. Li Dafoo of (west)
Kitan was also invested with the vassal kingship, and created a
Kiinwang and Doodoo. But before Shuho was king ayear, he
left his new dignity to Sogoo, his younger brother; and the
young great grand-daughter of the second Tang emperor, given
him in marriage, became awidow.
As the Tookile had for many years been the scourge of the north
and noth-west of China, they being conterminous with the Kitan,
Wang Jwun, the commander in the northern districts of China,
promised to attempt to crush them by acombined attack by the
Basimi from the north and the Kitan from the east, threatening to
drown the Yajang Pijia, Emperor or Kokhan of the Tookiie, in the
Jib o river. Pijia was in great fear when he heard of the
combination; but an old counsellor said that there was no reason
for fear, for that Basimi was in the northern regions far

*These eight were supposed to be the representatives of the "eight sons"

mentioned at the beginning of this chapter; though the legend of the eight sons is
more likely to have arisen from this division of the kingdom into eight clans or
departments.

Basimi is therefore the original Mongols, or immediately to their east about

Hingan ling. It is difficult to decide between the two; though if they were from
 204 KITAN.

removed from Kitan; that the Chinese general Jang Jaijun was
on bad terms with the Chinese commander, and would put every
obstacle in the way of aquick march; and that as Basimi was light
armed and greedy of spoil, it would be in the field long before its
allies and would be easily defeated, after which the Chinese
would not dare advance. And it turned out as he foretold.
Basimi marched south-wards to find neither Kitan nor Chinese
in the field; and as they were thus alone against the warriors of
Tookiie, they retreated in fear. They were 1000 li from home;
but Pijia, though eager to attack at once, listened to the same
counsellor, who advised to harass them in the rear, and to attack
only when they were within two days of home, when they would
be weary with their marchings, eager to gain their home, and
therefore not ready to fight so desperately as when every
individual life depended on success. When they were within
200 li of their city of Venting, general Dun, who had given the
above advice, set off by forced marches and a circuitous route.
He got to Yenting before the Basimi men, and destroyed it.
The main body of the Took iie fell upon the rear of the retiring
foe, completely routing and almost annihilating the wearied
troops, the survivors fleeing towards their city to find it already
in the hands of the enemy.
Kitan had internal affairs to settle just then; for one of the
chiefs, Kotoogan, had won the hearts of all the people by his
bravery. King Sogoo was both jealous and afraid of him, and
therefore aimed at his destruction. Kotoogan got timely
warning, collected some troops, marched against and defeated his
king, who fled to Yingchow, to which the nominal, but remote,
Doodoo of Yingchow sent aforce of 500 Chinese to aid him. This
force was waylaid, entirely destroyed, and its leader taken alive by

Karka, the real Mongol land, they would have to cross Shamo, which is not men-
tioned; and again if they lived east of Gobi, why did they not communicate with
Kitan on the way ? Their way back was aweary one; and it is not impossible that
the Great Desert may have been the cause of the weariness. Probability would
therefore place Basimi to the north of Gobi, and not far from Hingan ling, for the
"Turks " occupied all Inner Mongolia not under Kitan; and that land became the
birth-place of the formidable Genghis.
 KITAN KING-MAKER. 205

Kotoogan; and Yingchow was in the greatest terror. The

Doodoo retired with his own army to Yilgwan.*
Kotoogan therefore placed Toogan, a nephew of Sogoo, on
the throne, at the same time sending messengers to the Chinese
Court to acknowledge his crimes, which the emperor graciously
forgave,—like the popes of western lands,—because he could not
help himself. Toogan was nominated Soongmo Doodoo; and
Loosoo, brother of Dafoo, was made Yolo Doodoo. This was in
719, and six years after, this eastern king-maker and his king
were again at daggers drawn. The king escorted the princess t
back to China, and dared not himself return to his native king-
dom. He was nominated Liaoyang Wang, and sent thither to
look after the country. But Kotoogan had meantime enthroned
Shaogoo of the regal family. Next month (Feb. 726) the
emperor invested Shaogoo with the vassal kingship of Gwanghwa
Wang, giving him the princess, his own grand-daughter, in
marriage. Another princess was given at the same time to
Loosoo of the west Kitan.
Kotoogan had been sent as the bearer of tribute in the days of
Sogoo, and his manner led several of the Chinese ministers to
infer future trouble from Kitan. His reception seems not to
have satisfied him; for when, in 720, the second king of his own
creation ordered him on the same errand, he refused to go; and
on the king persisting, Kotoogan killed him and fled to the
Tookiie, carrying with him to the last the affections of the
people. As the Tookiie or Turks were the neighbours of west
Kitan, Loosoo was now thrown into a state of terror, and
fled with the two princesses to the Chinese Court. Kotoogan
did not remain long inactive among the Turks, but descended
into China with a plundering Kitan horde, and defeated a
Chinese army at Kinloo shan. The commandant of Yowchow
was therefore ordered to march against and take him at all costs,

This Yiigwan, is the very defensible pass at Shanhaigwan, just west of;which is
the city of Lin Yii, almost certainly areminiscence of the Yii Pass of Tang.

}Apparently the widow of the first king.

 206 KITAN.

and large armies were ordered to be mustered and sent from east
and north of the Whang river to exterminate the regicide. But
the first army was insufficient, and another was marched
two years after. As soon as the van appeared, the west Kitan
retreated, "not," as one Chinese officer said, "from fear, but to
entice the van after them." This officer counselled caution; but
the commander thought he knew better, and marched on. He
at length came upon them at Baishan, ashort distance north of
the modern Kaiyuen in Liaotung; and though his main army was
thoroughly defeated, with aband which he had kept in order,
he fiercely attacked their right, and stopped them in their
victorious career. A short time thereafter he gained acomplete
victory over the Kitan, Kotoogan fleeing with only a few men;
and 5000 Kitan tents submitted to the conqueror. The Chinese
then returned home.
The Kitan again gathered their forces, against which the
Taotai of Yowchow* marched, but his army was broken up, and
he lost over 6000 of his men. The result of that battle was that
the Kitan marched up to Yfigwan. Thenceforward Kotoogan
became the terror and scourge of the border, defeating all the
armies sent against him. At length Jang Showgwei, the
Jidooshn, or commandant of Yowchow, was pitted against and
defeated him, in several engagements, pressing him so hard that
he pretended to be willing to surrender. Showgwei sent the
officer Wang Whi to receive his allegiance, but the messenger
found that the Yajang had no intention of surrendering.
Instead of yielding himself prisoner, he moved his army towards
the north-west in the direction of Tookile, from whom he prayed
for assistance, designing to put Whi to death; but the latter was
aware of the treachery.
Dividing the command of the army, both cavalry and infantry,

*It will have been observed that the official in charge of any District or Pre-
fecture on the border, is bound to exert his utmost endeavours to defeat any hostile
demonstrations from beyond his part of the border. He must appeal for assistance
less or more, from the interior of China, only when he is called upon to fa)e over-
whelming odds.
 A CLEVER CHINAMAN. 207

with Kotoogan was the Yagwan Li Gwoja; and the two were
not on good terms. Him, Whi employed to serve his purposes,
and Gwoja went by night with a trusty band of men, killed his
king and the king-maker Kotoogan, with their chief supporters,
and, with the remaining troops, submitted to the Chinese.
Showgwei marched out to Tsumungchow at the head of all his
army to meet and welcome him. The heads of the king and of
Kotoogan were exposed on the south wall of Tientsin. Pijia, the
Turkish Kokhan, was poisoned at the same time by one of his
ministers, but he did not die before he put to death the minister
and his clique.
Gwoja was invested King and Doodoo of Soongmo for his
noble deeds,—for the secret dagger is usually as honourable as
the sun-light sword, in the politics of China. He did not long
enjoy his blood-got crown, for he was slain, in that same year,
with all his sons, save one who fled to Andoong, the Tang
Capital of Liaotung. Niefung, the chief who murdered him,
sent amessenger and a memorial to the Chinese court, setting
forth the heinous crimes which had brought deserved death on
Gwoja; and he received in reply, the title of Soongmo Doodoo,
and the pardon of his crime, though he was reprimanded for it,
and told that it was an evil example which might endanger his
own life. Niefung was apparently able to defend what he had
thus obtained, for he drove back an army of Tookiie which had
come to plunder his land.
From the conduct of Kotoogan and its long success, together
with his subsequent fate, we can learn both the lawlessness then
prevailing among the ancestors of the Mongols, and the utter
weakness which had crept over the once powerful Tang dynasty,
which felt unable to challenge, or attempt to correct, the many
reckless changes among its vassal kingdoms.
The morality and gallantry of war may be estimated from the
following incident. Shu Soogan, aChinese official, was censured
by his superior official for some fault. Whether from fear or
pride he fled to Kitan, where he was about to be put to death,
when the happy thought occurred to him, that he should declare
 208 KITAN.

himself asuperior minister of Tang come to make terms of peace.

His captor was, therefore, afraid of imperial vengeance if he put
this man to death, and saved him alive. To carry out his deceit,
the fugitive would not bow to the king when presented; and
though the king was very angry, he treated him - with the respect

due to aminister from the Tang court. When he was about to

depart, the king ordered an escort of ahundred men for him;
but instead of being thankful, he said that this was wholly
inadequate to manifest respect to the honour of the Chinese
court; and though the escort men were good men,—when they
appeared at court, the emperor would not have ahigh estimate
of the ability of Kitan. The king, therefore, ordered three
hundred of his best men to attend on Soogan.
When they were near the Chinese city of Pingloo, Soogan sent
amessenger with aletter before him, stating that three hundred
of the best men of Kitan were coming, nominally on terms of
amity, but in reality to take Pingloo by surprise. Pingloo
should, therefore, be ready to receive them. Acting on this
information, an army was marshalled as if to honour the escort;
which, when it came up, was butchered to the last man, the
commander alone being kept aprisoner and sent to Yowchow.
Showgwei, commandant of Pingloo, considered the act of Soogan
as one of extraordinary merit, and recommended him to the
emperor, who agreed as to the merit of the perfidious liar,
praised him and gave him the name of "Brilliant-thought," with
more substantial rewards.
It is impossible here to overlook the remarkable career of a
man saved froth execution to shake all China to its centre. An
Looshan was anative of Yingchow. When his father died, his
mother returned to her original home with her boy, among the
Tooktie in Anting, which was sometime after broken up, and she,
again with her boy, fled back into China. This boy, and Soogan
the "Brilliant-thought," were born on the same day, and the two
were bosom friends.
Looshan was aman of undoubted parts, for he appears first on
the scene as an officer, sent by Showgwei, at the head of a force
 AN LOOSHAN. 209

against Kitan. He was defeated, and sentenced to beheading.

When sentence was about to be carried out, he turned round and
said, "Does not General Showgwei desire the extinction of
Kitan ? Why then kill Looshan?" The general pitied his
young officer, respited and sent him to the capital for examina-
tion. The old minister, Jiw Lingpi, strenuously objected to
any annulling or abatement of the original sentence, pleading
ancient history to prove such clemency dangerous. The emperor,
seeing that Looshan was a young man of parts, pitied and
reprieved him. Jiw, however, persisted in his opposition,
avowing that in the man's appearance there was indicated danger
for the future, if he were permitted to live. The emperor
quietly rebuked the old man for his suspicions, and pardoned
Looshan. The latter returned to Yowchow, and with a
few horsemen seized, one day, some dozens of Kitan, and
drove them into camp; and Showgwei loved him as his own
son.
His dashing bravery got Looshan the command in Pingloo,
whence every one brought excellent reports of his conduct,—so
much so that he was elevated to the rank of Yingchow Doodoo
to look after the four foo of Bohai, Heishwi, and the two Kitan,
whose raids into Chinese soil had given great trouble,—a trouble
which was yearly increasing with their gathering power. And as
Looshan was successful in parrying those attacks, the emperor
raised him to be Jidooshu. In 742 he had under him 37,500
men, stationed chiefly at Yingchow and Pingchow," to guard
against Shiwei in the north, and Mogo in the east. There were,
besides, 30,000 men camped in Yowchow, and 61,400 in the
chows of Ki, Wei, Tan, Yi, Hung, Ting, Mo,-1- and Tsang, all
in Chihli. These 128,900 men were set to guard against Kitan and
Tookiie. There were then in camp on the frontiers of China,
and in more or less severe active service, 490,000 men, with
over 80,000 horses. Thirty years before, the war expenditure was

*Linyu in N.E of Chihli (Chinese Imp. Directory).

tPaoting foo.

0
210 KITAN.

two million taels,* in this year ten and aquarter, besides four
million Chinese pecks of grain. This is the most conclusive proof
we can have of the power to which the Kitan had grown on the
north of China.
Next year Looshan went to pay his new-year's respects to the
emperor, who received him with great favour. He reported that
there had been aterrible visitation of locusts in Yingchow; that
he had burned incense and prayed to heaven, saying, "If Iam
not upright in business and faithful to my prince let the locusts
eat all up; if Iam faithful and upright let the spirits above and
those of the earth cause the locusts to scatter; "—and
immediately there came an immense flock of birds from the
north, which completely ate up all the locusts. He prayed that
this memorial might be put on record, and the emperor agreed,
and raised him, besides, to ahigher rank.
In order to distinguish himself, Looshan, in 745, scoured the
country of the west Kitan; and they retaliated by murdering
their queen, the Chinese princess, as the signal of revolt. Loo-
shan defeated them and pursued them to Beiping District.f
Four years after, at a time when there was no hostile action
going on, he invited the principal Kitan men to afeast, at which
he provided a great deal of spirits. Chinese were themselves
then much addicted to drunkenness, and •the Kitan were
not likely to be more moderate drinkers than the present
Mongols, who get drunk on every possible opportunity. They
drank themselves drunk at this feast, when he had them all
murdered, sending the head of their chief officer to the emperor.
He got leave to visit the capital soon thereafter, and took with

*The Chinese tael or ounce is equal to 1 oz. English, and the tad lof silver is, in
round numbers, equal to 6/ stg., though then it was at least double that value; for
gold was then cheaper than now; and silver was so scarce that we believe the weight
here to be of gold and not of silver. At that time silver was not used, except in
extremely rare instances. There was copper cash and gold ingots, but no silver
currency. Hence silver, which is the only currency now, is often called so ninny
ounces of "gold," or at times "white gold."
tTsunhwa, north of Peking. Then, and long after, the country immediately
north of Peking was in nomad hands, spite of the great wall.
 DEFEAT OF LOOSHAN. 211

him 8000 Kitan captives. He was highly rewarded; among

other gifts receiving agold sword. He also was given the title of
"Gwojoong," the "Most Faithful of the empire."
Two years thereafter he marched at the head of 60,000 troops
through Yowchow, Pingchow and Hodoong,* against Kitan; his
van consisting of 2000 west Kitan cavalry as guides. After
passing 1000 li beyond Pingloo, he came up to Toohojunf river,
where heavy rains were falling; and pressing on day and night
for other 300 II, he got up with the Yajang .1. of Kitan, and Kitan
was thrown into astate of terror. The uninterrupted torrents of
rain had, however, rendered useless the bows and catapults of his
army, and his lieutenant, Ho Sudua, urged him to rest his men,
many of whom were faint and weary; and declared that in three
days the Kitan, from sheer fear, because of the size of the army,
would surrender themselves. Looshan was very angry, and was
about to order Ho's death; but the latter said that if they were
to fight, he would prove himself not afraid to die, by fighting in
front of his commander. Thus he did fight, and soon fell. He
was alarge bodied and astout man like Looshan, whom he also
resembled in feature. When the Kitan saw him fall, they
fought with redoubled vigour and in great spirits, believing they
had slain Looshan.
Just at that critical moment Looshan was repaid for his many
mean treacheries, by the desertion, bodily, of the west Kitan men,
who fought by the side of their own people. The Chinese were
all but annihilated. Looshan had his saddle pierced through by
an arrow. He threw away his official hat, so that he might not
be recognised, and losing his shoes, he galloped off the field
with 20 men and fled into Shichow. He blamed Gosie, a
Tookfie, who had deserted to the Chinese, for the defeat,-.-

*East of River is north-east of Shansi, whose troops went to swell his army.
tMoukden is over 1500 li from Peking ;—the Toohoojun is therefore the Daliang
flowing from Mongolia, the Liao being too far north. And the Daliang must have
flowed right through Kitan land. Ifind, too, there was aTooho at Kingchow.

T.Yajang,, from its use, seems to indicate a chief commander or general. (See
Kotoog,an's death.)
212 KITAN.

making the commander of the Hodoong contingent share the

blame with him. Both these:he beheaded. The commander of
the Pingloo contingent, fearing a similar fate, fled to the
mountain gullies, where he remained 20 days, during which time
700 of the run-away soldiers gathered about him.
Looshan's old friend, Brilliant-Thought, was the magistrate of
Pingloo, and sent on 3000 picked men to take Looshan off.
When he got to Pingloo, he wept that he had not asingle soldier
of his own; but when the magistrate went to call upon him, he
rose off his seat, took Brilliant-Thought by the hand saying,
"Why should I grieve now that I have found you?" But
Brilliant-Thought was not easily deceived; for on going out he
said, "Had Ibeen with him in the field, my head would have
followed Gosie's." As Shichow was besieged by the victorious
Kitan, Brilliant-Thought was ordered against, and compelled
them to raise the siege.
To wipe out his disgrace, Looshan collected an army of 260,000
men to march against Kitan, and prayed the emperor to order
Aboosu, achief of the Tookiie, who had joined the Court cause,
and was by the emperor made aWang, to second him with several
myriads of horse. He was a man of considerable ability, for
which reason Looshan desired, on aformer occasion, to have him
as asubordinate; but, for the same reason, Aboosu would not
have a subordinate position. Knowing that Looshan heartily
hated him for previously refusing to become a subordinate, he
was afraid of foul play if once he were entirely in his power. He
therefore, through one of the ministers, none of whom was very
friendly towards Looshan, prayed the emperor to permit him to
remain at court; but fearing his prayer would not be granted, he
fled to the Gobi desert with all his followers. Looshan was
therefore compelled to camp his men, and could not march
against the Kitan,—partly perhaps from lack of proper
lieutenants, partly doubtless for fear that Aboosu would descend
upon the unprotected north. And Aboosu justified the latter
supposition by scouring the country round about Tatung of
Shansi.
 QUARRELING. 213

There seems to have been more Tookiie generals and other

officers in the Chinese army then, than Gothic officers in the pay
of decrepit Rome. There were two, Gosoo Han and Ansu Swun,
on bad terms with Looshan. The emperor did what he could to
reconcile them, and they met for the purpose of settling their
quarrels. Looshan, who as the greatest, had the greatest need of
friends, made the first advances, saying to Han, "My father was
aHoo, my mother aTookiie; my grandfather was aTookile, my
grandmother aHoo; why is it that you and Icannot be friends?"
Han replied that the ancients had a saying :—" The fox,
however far away, always dies looking towards his den.' If you
claim kinship with me, it is impossible for me to refuse being
with all my heart your friend." Looshan interpreted this to
mean that Han was taunting him with being, after all, a
barbarian; and in the most violent passion began to abuse Han
with the most opprobrious epithets. Han was about to reply in
asimilar strain, but abystander winked at him to hold his peace,
and he pretended to be drunk. They parted, but their enmity
was deeper than ever. Han was afterwards sent against Toofan,
where he was very successful. Looshan repeatedly defeated the
Kitan, and was made commandant of Fanyang,* which city, in
759, was changed to the name of Yenking, a name which the
present Peking bore often and long.
The officer Wang Joongsu was bravely pushing to the front
rank of Chinese warriors; and his daily increasing fame
roused the jealousy of Li Lin, asuperior officer, who, fearing the
eclipse of his own reputation, made Looshan his friend to pull
down Joongsu, if at all possible. Looshan told Joongsu that
the city of Hiwngwoo was attacked by rebels, and asked the loan
of his men to drive off the enemy; his object being to amalgamate
those men with his own army. Before returning an answer,
Joongsu went in to make his obeisance to the emperor; after
which he went out to consult with Looshan, who had meantime
disappeared. He went in again to the emperor, and stated his

*One authority makes Fanyang to be the modern Chochow; but the Imp. Ch.
Directory is more likely to be correct in locating it in Tinghing of Paoting.
211 KITAN.

conviction that Looshan was preparing for rebellion. Li Lin was

with the emperor when this bold speech was uttered, and became
extremely angry at the imputation on his friend's honour.
Joongsu was general of north of the (Yellow) river, and with
the aid of several excellent subordinate officers, among them at
least one Kitan, he kept Toofan at bay,—on one occasion annihi-
lating araiding Toofan army, by a simultaneous front and rear
attack. The capital of the Toofan was their only strong city.
The Chinese general did not march against it, inasmuch as the
capture of so strong acity would cost him more men than the
conquest was worth. His caution was made the ground of a
charge against him of neglect of duty, and the emperor ordered
him to attack the city. He saw the emperor in person, and said
that he had not attacked the place, because its capture was of no
practical utility, while it would cost many lives. Another officer
undertook to take the city; and Joongsu refused to act as second
in command, because the assault would throw away so many
good lives for nothing. Though supported by one or two able
ministers, his enemies gained the day, and he was sent to fill a
secondary post in adistant part of the empire. Another brave
officer, originally aCorean, was similarly served.
These instances will serve to show the relationship between
these soldiers of fortune and the emperor in the eighth century.
Indeed, the same state of matters existed acentury earlier; for
from the beginning of the Tang dynasty, the Chinese common
soldier, without distinction of parentage, rank, race, or education,
carried a "marshal's baton in his knapsack."
Success and applause had long intoxicated Looshan. His
conduct had, for years, caused uneasiness and suspicion as to his
intentions, in the minds of the ministers. As early as 747, being
in the presence of the emperor, who had all along treated him
with uniform kindness, the imperial heir came in, and while all
the ministers made their customary obeisance, Looshan failed to
take any notice. His neglect was pointed out to him, when he
excused himself as a man ignorant of proper etiquette. But
when the emperor stated that he himself, as heir, had always
 LOOSHAN'S MOTHER. 215

received the honours due to the emperor, Looshan at once made

his obeisance, and the emperor was delighted at the docility of
his favourite soldier. Looshan always seated himself above the
ministers; afact that was the more noteworthy and significant,
because in China, the civil has, at all times and in all reigns,
taken unquestioning precedence over the military official.
Another notable feature of Looshan's conduct, was his relations
to the imperial private apartments. In the harem were several
concubines related in some way to Looshan, through whom he
had free access to the "Forbidden" apartments; and to one of
whom he stood in the relation of son,—a relationship which,
like that of apope or cardinal's "nephew," implies more than is
apparent. To this "mother," if in presence of the emperor, he
invariably made his obeisance before doing so to the emperor;
and gave as his reason that, "we Hoo men pay our respects
first to our mother, then to our father."
When, therefore, another emperor began to reign, probably
the heir to whom he had found it so hard to make obeisance,
Looshan found no difficulty in casting off his allegiance and
setting up for himself, first as Wang, then as emperor; but his
glory was short-lived, and his end a miserable one; for he was
murdered for his crown by his own son. We find Brilliant-
Thought occupying the high place formerly held by Looshan,
and the new Tang emperor again changing his name,—this time
raising him to be the "Equal-of-Heaven." In 761, when he
received this name, he marched against the son of Looshan,
overcame and slew him,—and then, true to himself, assumed the
title taken from Looshan and his family. He marched south-
wards, and compelled the emperor to abandon Loyang and flee
for the west, leaving Loyang the capital of Brilliant-Thought; who
did not long enjoy the fruits of his rebellion, for he was murdered
before the close of the year; and his son, whom he had proclaimed
heir, was also put to death in Loyang with his empress-mother.
Such was the strange career of those two men,—and such the
lamentable results of the glorious war against Gaoli.
Just then the West Kitan, with an overwhelming force,
216 KITAN.

poured down to avenge their past losses, and swept all before
them, compelling the new Jidoo of Pingloo, with his 20,000 men,
to flee before them.
From the blow inflicted by Looshan, the Tang dynasty never
rallied. Kitan, in the north-east, annexed mile after mile of
territory. Toofan, in the west, was making incessant plundering
raids into the interior. And the Tookile, in the north-west, though
not so powerful as they had been, were able to inflict heavy
blows; and in 831 entered the capital, which could not oppose
them, and there put men to death in the streets; the emperor
daring not even to enquire into the matter. Yet as they had
then no man able to occupy the throne, they found it more pro-
fitable and easy to make the Tang dynasty their Tulchan calf.
In the history of the Tang dynasty there are interesting, but
not satisfactory, accounts of arough census several times taken.
Families. Head.
In A.D. 723, there were said to be-7 861 236 45,431,265.
„ 739, „ 8412,871 48,143,690.
„ 742, „ 8525,763 ... 49,909,800.
755, „ 9069,154 52,880,488.
781 ) „ 3,085,076 ... (18,000,000.)

Military Expend. in Chow and

Soldiers. Money. Foos. Hiens. Villages.

In 731 — Tls. 2,000,000 — — —

742 490,000 „ 10,200,000 — 1528 16,829.
755 — — 321 1538 16,839.
781 768,000 — — — —

It is quite probable that eleven centuries ago the Chinese did

not number more than fifty million head, while avery large pro-
portion of even those were either engrafted nomads or their
hybrid progeny. The family is, it may be safely assumed, just
as now, apoll-tax unit. It is properly a"main-door," and inside
aChinese main-door there may be, and often is, what we would
call several families; for the patriarchal great grand-father may
see all his descendants, a hundred or more persons, all in his
 CENSUS. 217

f
am ily. Ten "families" occupied a li,—there might be more,
there might be less; but the li for taxing purposes, as for military,
had only and had always ten families. These ten were also, as
now, called Ding; each ten of whom should produce asoldier,
each li being understood, in times of dire necessity, to be able to
send out a soldier.* The average given above for every main-
door is about six, which will certainly seem not too large to one
acquainted with the present crowded state of China, and the
conditions of its family life.
It will be observed that there is a gradual increase of the
number of taxed families up to the time when Looshan became
an actor on the political stage, and that with his rebellion astate
of frightful collapse occured, the number of families acknowledging
the Tang dynasty—i.e., the number of doors open to Tang tax-
gatherers—being just one-third, in 781, of what they were 26
years before. The number of individuals, of cities, &c., is not
given in 781, but the families are aguide.
The military expenditure of 742 was five times what it was 30
years before, but little more than half of that which crushed the
reduced empire in 781.
In 609, when the power of the Swi had reached its zenith, the
number of families was 8,900,000, of hien cities 1,255, and of
Kiln (Chow and foo) 190. But we infer that this included some
beyond China proper, as the extent of the land was "9,300 li E.
to W., and 14,815 li N. to S."—the latter term spreading from
Yunnan to Shamo.
The history of the Liao dynasty states that the Kitan were the
direct descendants of the Emperor Yen, who flourished nearly
three thousand years before Christ. Of course no famous people,
and no famous man, can proceed from the low muck of
mediocrity—Darwinism to the contrary notwithstanding. But
they must have long lost the art of Agriculture, on account of
which their assumed great ancestor was deified; for after many
generations of their people had come and gone, appeared Owlisu,
aman of wonderful talent and,—rare combination !—without the
*Cf Shung Wooji on War.
218 KITA.N.

least desire for personal aggrandisement. He had but to speak,

and the savage became civilised, the lawless good citizens. We
may interpret this to mean that he was the first to impose fixed
laws. He was called the Soo or Firm Ancestor; his son Salidua,
the 17i, or Generous Ancestor, whose son again taught the people

to plow and sow, to tame aud feed domestic animals. An easy

inference is drawn from the fact that under him wealth began to
accumulate; for patient agriculture is much more productive
than would be the conquest of Constantinople. Houses and
fixed abodes, with villages and cities, necessarily followed the
policy of this, the Yuen or Original Ancestor. His son,
the Dua or Meritorious Ancestor, was the Tubal-Cain of the
Kitan, teaching them to work in iron, to cast metal, to make
musical instruments, both stringed and drum; in all of which he
himself took great delight. He was the father of the Yi
Ancestor, Abaoji, who was contemporary with the famous An
Looshan.
The mother of Abaoji, the Great Ancestor or founder of the
Liao dynasty, dreamed that she embraced the sun, whence the
birth of Abaoji. When he was being born there was an
unnaturally bright light in the room, and a strange, unknown
kind of fragrance floated in the air. He could walk at three
months old. The light of his eyes was so powerful that none
could stand his look. He fought in the east and conquered in
the west, and over a myriad li was spread the terror of his
name. He assumed the title of Emperor in 907. He built the
capital of Shangking in the land of the ancient Anping of Han.
Three years did it take in building. He occupied the throne for
twenty years, dying at fifty-five years of age.
Such is the summary of alife of one of the great conquerors
of mankind ;—strange feature of Chinese story, that every man
who is more able than his contemporaries to slay, harry, and
destroy, is the specially born of heaven, which sends such
prodigies to indicate the coming greatness of the new-born child!
The prodigies, however, are always written after the fulfilment of
their prophecy—never during the undeveloped youth of the man
 NISIONS OF POWER. 219'

who is to become "glorious " by shedding rivers of blood; and

in this idea of greatness, China is only in unison with European
ideas.
In the period of Gwangchi of the Tang dynasty (885-8), Chinda
the Kokhan of Hundajin, ravaged the Si and Shiwei (or Si
Shiwei). He then led all the tribes to Abaoji, who was elected
king. Then were the eight tribes first united into one. These Si
were originally known as Koomosi. As Si they had been of
filthy manners; but were excellent archers, and had frequently
harried the northern bounds of Wei. They, with the ancient
Kitan, were called Eastern Hoo, and were both broken up by
Moyoong, and had to flee for shelter to the regions between Soong
and Mo. As Mo is Shamo, and Soong their own first inheritance
on the Sira waren, river, the locality is easily fixed. The Si
were driven to seek shelter on the Wei border by the over-
whelming forces of the plundering Gaoli.
In 926, after the consolidation into a compact kingdom of
eastern Mongolia—the site of Moyoong—the Kitan began to take
steps for laying an empire. They marched eastwards against
Fooyii city, of Bohai, and gradually annexed all there was of Bohai
west of the Hoorha river.
Abaoji, the real founder of the Kitan power, was then reigning.
He appointed his eldest son Governor of East Dan, the name
which he gave to the conquered Bohai; and Duagwang, the second
son, was made General of Silow, the original Kitan capital. He
himself lived in Fooyii city. To this city came Kwun, a
messenger sent by the Chinese new emperor (p. 215) to report the
decease of the late emperor. King Abaoji wept his formal grief
according to etiquette; and on learning the distracted state of
China, said he was grieved he could not at once march with all
his men to aid the emperor, but he had too much on hand
fighting Bohai on his east; for it had not yet wholly yielded.
Kwun lamented the possiblility that the new heir-apparent might
never be crowned. But, like the Pard which has drawn alittle
blood, the king became less polite as conversation went on; the
desire doubtless growing in his mind to bury his claws deeply in
220 KITAN.

the Chinese weakened empire. He ended by imprisoning Kwun

for ten days, at the end of which he had him brought into the
royal presence, paper and ink set before him, with first the desire,
then the command, to have Yowchow ceded over in writing. If
Kwun was weak, he was no traitor; and neither smiles nor
frowns, neither promises of advantage nor threats against his life,
moved him from his fixed purpose not to betray his country.
He was therefore again locked up, and in afew days thereafter
Abaoji died in the city of Fooyii.
Shoolii, the wife of Abaoji and mother of Tooyii, was a
masculine woman of extraordinary abilities but fiercely cruel,
delighting in bloodshed. When her husband was dying, she
summoned all his principal officers to his bedside along with
their wives, and said to the latter, "To-day Iam to be awidow:
it is not well that you should have husbands." Whereupon she
ordered ahundred of the chief officials to be put to death, saying,
"Let them follow and serve their former lord."
One military officer of the household, both an able man and
apowerful, was greatly beloved by Abaoji, and was nominated
to Mooyeshan (" Hill of Graves "), along with the others. He
was apparently warmly objecting to the honour, for Shoolu said
to him, "Your former master delighted in you, why is it you
will not go?" He replied, "My late lord loved no one as he
loved you, why do you not go ?" She said she was most willing
to go, but that her son was a child, and that most important
affairs relating to the welfare of the kingdom detained her. She
then turned towards her attendants, and, stretching out her right
arm, ordered them to cut it off from the shoulder, and send it to
be buried with her husband. The attendants fell on their knees,
and implored her not to do such athing. She at last consented
to have it cut off as low as the elbow joint, and the arm was
buried with her husband, to shew her affection; but the officer
had saved his life, for he was liberated, and no more were slain.
Abaoji's body was buried in Illooyeshan, 300 li from Shangking.
We know that the splendid Yiwoolii mountains of Kwangning in
Liaosi, just bordering Mongol land, was the burial place of some
 ELECTION OF CHIEF. 221

members of the imperial house of Liao, and it is natural to look

thereabouts for the burial place of the founder. Liaotung
history states that when sacrificing to their founder; they always
looked in the direction of Kwangning, which was south-east of
Shangking. Shangking was also called Silow (west Tower),
because Abaoji raised a great tower in the centre of the city.
Another, called the Doonglow, he erected in Bohai land, 1,000 li
to the east. The north Tower was 300 li to the north; and the
south Tower as many to the south, which south Tower was on
Mooyeshan.
Tooyil was the eldest son of Abaoji, and Duagwang the second.
The former was nominated his successor by the father; but the
mother preferred the latter, who was amost filial son, and never
ate, when his mother was out of sorts, till she had first eaten.
The eldest son had been nominated "Man-imperial king," by
the father, and sent to rule over East Dan, as Bohai was called.
Thence his mother led him and the army to Silow, where his
younger brother was stationed as general. On her arrival, she
sent away her eldest son to prepare her tent, and after he was
gone, she addressed the chiefs, saying, that she loved both her
sons extremely, and found it very difficult whom to chose for the
throne. The chiefs knew well and long what her desires were,
and answering accordingly, said that "The General would make
the better king." She at once responded, that she could not
trifle with the unanimous consent and assent of the ministers,
and therefore had the second son proclaimed king. Tooyil,
believing his life endangered, fled by night with a few hundred
horse towards China, to go to the court of Tang. But he was
overtaken, brought back, and sent, but not banished, to east Dan.
The new king received from his mother the title of "Heavenly-
imperial" king, "Tienhwang Wang," in contradistinction to the
more humble one conferred on her eldest son by the deceased
king. The queen dowager was the real ruler, however. She
released Kwun from his captivity, and sent Asumoo along with
him to report the decease of the king to the imperial court.
Lu Loongwun, the commandant of Looloong, had murdered his
222 KITAN.

younger brother, which greatly offended the Chinese emperor.

To escape punishment he fled to Kitan, by whom he was placed
over aconsiderable number of Chinese soldiers in Yingchow. He
had secret overtures made to him, hinting that, as the former
emperor was dead and anew one on the throne, it might be an
easy matter to annul the past if he presented himself at court
without delay; but that it might be more difficult after the
emperor was sometime on the throne. He took the hint; and as
the Chinese under him were also eager to return to their native
land, they rose with him against their masters, slew the Kitan
commander and his men, driving before them 100,000 people
and 8000 tents and carts as captives from Yingchow. These
they made apeace offering.
The Kitan had their revenge however, for in 928 they
attacked and took Pingchow with its commandant, Jang
Sijoong. He was much trusted by the Kitan commandant.
His men, who were also preserved alive, got home-sick when
there ayear and half, and bitterly wept before him, praying him
to find some means of returning home. He told them he could
deceive and kill the commandant, and that they could easily
fight their way off in the consequent confusion. He therefore
provided afeast, and when the commandant was drunk, had him
killed, and the body thrown into a well, into which he had
previously poured a quantity of quicklime. He then marched
his men against the barracks in the north of the city, the soldiers
in which, being wholly unprepared for such an attack, were
easily thrown into confusion and flight. He therefore made his
way with his men and 20,000 people into Chinese soil, and was
highly complimented and rewarded by the emperor.
The Kitan, however, did not lose any of their main posts; for they
had taken Tingchow, and were then plunderingYunchow.* And as
they had so strong and firm afooting in the north of China, they
interfered, and effectually, among the struggling rivals for the imper-
ial crown. They had, however, suffered two crushing defeats when
assisting Woo, one claimant, to retain Tingchow, against Choo,
*The modern Kihien of Taiyuen.
 A DASHING CHARGE. 223

another claimant. They had on one occasion marched to and

entered Tingchow, whence they issued by night, and with arush
took Sinlo, acity built hurriedly by the Choo general. He with-
drew and prepared to attack the Kitan, telling his men that
"the day had come when they should repay the goodness of their
sovereign." He ordered them to throw away their bows and
arrows, to take their sword and dash among the foe, thus
to render useless the formidable arrows of the latter. He led
the way himself on his horse, and the Kitan were cut up in a
frightful manner, leaving half their men on the field. A similar
defeat overtook them afew months after, when the few survivors
were pursued by the villagers with white staves, as they fled
northwards, and scarcely aman ever returned to his home.
The survivors captured of the Kitan were sent to the
"emperor" by the victorious general with the desire to have
them executed. But as there were many of the elite of the
Kitan among them, he wisely detained them to act as a check
upon the Kitan, first by the hope of receiving them back again, and
secondly, by the fear of revenge upon these captives for any loss by
the Kitan upon the Chinese. This effectually checked them for
three years, during which repeated embassies were sent to the
Chinese Court to have them liberated; and a most serious and
persistent effort was made in the third year of their captivity.
The emperor, in deliberating with his ministers, mentioned the
peace they had enjoyed ever since the capture of those men, and his
fear that with their liberty would doubtless commence the same
old scenes. The commandant of Kichow gave astill more potent
argument for their retention; because they were now aware of the
hollowness of the empire, and would not fail to muster all their
forces on their return and overflood the laud, when a dire
repentance would come too late. A few of the less important
prisoners were permitted to accompany the messengers; but as
the Kitan did not get what they wanted, they repeatedly ravaged
the districts of Yunchow and Junwoo. Their raids were so
frequent and sudden, that Yowchow men dared not go for fuel
and fodder 10 li east of the city. The grain convoys were often
221 KITAN.

taken by them, and frequently plundered at the very gates of the

city. A fortified city had to be erected on Yengow,* in order to
keep open the communication with Yowchow. A fort was also
built at Loochung, another at Sanho, a hundred li north-east of
Yowchow. On Sanho fort all the border people leaned, and not
in vain; for the commandant drove back many forays of the
Kitan. Tatung also gave them such a warm reception, and its
commander made such formidable preparations to resume the
offensive, that the Kitan thought it best to retire to their homes.
But anative of Shamo, highly esteemed by the emperor, opened
the gate of Weichow f to Kitan, because he had a private feud
against Shi Jingtang, generallissimo of the large army marching
north. Jingtang afterwards himself founded 'a short lived
dynasty of Tsin.
We have followed the Kitan closely enough from their dawn
till we find them masters of the north of the present Chihli, and of
all Inner Mongolia; of Liaotung which they wrenched out of the
hands of Bohai; and of the province of Kirin or Ninguta west of
the Hoorha, then distinguished from those districts east of the
Hoorha, as the civilized Niijun. We need not detail the
assumption of imperial state and power by Kitan under the title
of the Liao or "Iron "dynasty; its harshness to the emperor of
Tsin which it overthrew, its bargainings and profits among the
contending aspirants to empire, and its subsequent incessant wars
with the Sung dynasty, in defiance of which it established a
powerful kingdom north of the Yellow river; akingdom which
extended northwards to the Songari and the Hoorha rivers.
Abaoji built, as we have seen, Shangking or Silow on the south
of the Sira muren. His second son and successor began to
reign in 927. He seems to have made Silow or Shangking his
capital; for, when three years after, he built the capital which
stood where Liaoyang now stands, he called it the East City,
Doongping Kiln. It was afterwards named Nanking, or South
Capital, when he must have been living in Fooyii, which is north of
it. But the name was again and finally changed to Doongking or
*The modern Lianghiang hien. tThe modern Linchiw of Chihli.
 THE IRON DYNASTY. 225

East Capital, when Shangking was again made the chief residence.
The walls of this East Capital, or Liaoyang, were thirty feet high
and thirty li in circumference. The palaces were in the north-
east of the city, and the walls enclosing them—a fort within a
fort—were also thirty feet high. Within the palace grounds
were towers so high that every portion of the city could be seen
thence,—a very excellent idea, when the first leader of any
rabble, murdering the reigning king, stepped into the vacant
throne. This city he called "Heavenly Happiness," and to
dwellers in tents and feeders of cattle on the grassy slopes of eastern
Mongolia, the fertile plain lying all round and far beyond
Liaoyang, covered with waving green crops far as the eye could
see, would certainly seem aparadise.
He was nominated a How (Marquis) by Tsin Emperor, and
was the first to assume the title of "Liao" or "Iron" for his
dynasty. The fifth ruler from Abaoji built Joongking, or Central
Capital, in the land of Anping of Han. It was west of
Kwangning, just within the border of modern Mongolia,—
hence the name "Central." It was changed by the succeeding
Kin dynasty to Beiking or the "North Capital "—the name
given to the modern capital of China.
The Kitan are said to have delighted in drinking human
blood. The husband cut open asmall slit in his wife's back and
drank !—a novel mode, if true, of showing the superiority of the
male sex! Strange that Chinese story makes no mention of
talented females advocating Woman's Rights ;—they should have
at least demanded reciprocity. The Kitan were, nevertheless, very
hospitable, and lovers of strong drink. They were painters:
and when they entered China they had a literature of several
thousand volumes, among which were medical works unknown
to the Chinese.
In the beginning of the tenth century, Hoo Jiao, the Ling or
Chi hien of Goyang, in company with Sioshan, visited the land
of Kitan, and minutely related what he saw. Some of the
curious stories of this traveller we give below.
Ten days' journey north from Yowchow (Peking) was the
2,26 KITAN.

Pass* of "Scale-the-heaven ";to the east and west of which is

a series of mountains. Clouds were so dense on the pass, that it
seemed as if darkness had set in, and nothing could be seen at
even ashort distance. The only things visible were yellow clouds
and white grass in endless succession. This Pass is called by
those going to Kitan the "Home-sick" Pass; for, looking south-
ward, it seems to the traveller as if it were impossible ever to
return. The attendants wept bitterly as they went down its
north side. Twenty days further journey brought him to
Shangking f (Upper Capital), called Silow, with villages round
about. In the city he found a Hanlin magistrate, besides
Siwtsai, (graduates), Buddhist and Taoist monks and nuns, handi-
craftsmen, actors, conjurors,—all Chinese, mostly from Pingchow,
Fungchow, Yowchow, and Kichow; cities in Chihli and Shansi.
There were houses, and merchandise by barter, but no money.
From Shangking, several hundred li eastwards, is Pingchuen,
where he first tasted water-melons. It was said the Kitan got
the seed when devastating the land of 1Vhichi to their north-
west. Eastwards still was Hiangtan, where the traveller first saw
willow trees, and where wild flower and water scenery was very
beautiful. There was one plant, Siji, of great beauty, ten of
whose roots sufficed to feed a horse. Still advancing, great
mountains were entered; and twenty days further on were houses
and tombstones, indicating the Kitan imperial burial-place.
Beyond this to the east, not far from the sea, was Tiedien, the
water of which is brackish and of abloody colour, requiring to be
left long standing in jars ere drunk. The Niijun are further
east still, excellent archers, who imitated the sound of the deer

*In 1690, an army went against the Mongols, marching north through Jangjiakow
(Kalgan) pass; one day's march, 50 Ii beyond, was Jolomiao; next day, 60 Ii, to
Shubalatai; third day, 50 Ii crossing Dabahan ling or Pass, 30 Ii high; the path, for
aconsiderable distance, being only 4 or 5 feet wide. Height is estimated by the
time taken from the foot to the top of the mountain. This is probably "Scale-
Heaven" Pass. And the hon. Mr Hoo could not have gone more than 50 Ii aday.

tHist. of Liaotung states that this capital was north-west of Gwang,ning. If so it

must have been difficult of access, for the ordinary 60 li per day will bring the
traveller in 20 days from Peking to Moukden.
 CURIOUS COUNTRIES. 227

so well that they enticed them to approach, when the archer let
fly his arrow, killed, and ate the flesh uncooked.
Far to the north is the Ox foot Tooktie, with men's bodies and
Ox-feet! North-west of those Ox-feet was the kingdom of
Wajiedstc, the heads of whose inhabitants rise straight up.
They were excellent archers,—hit, killed, and ate uncooked,
every man they saw. They were the terror of the neighbouring
kingdoms,—and no wonder!
Still further north was the Dog kingdom, whose males had
men's bodies but dog-heads; whose women were like ordinary
mortals and could speak Chinese! Every male born resembled
adog, with much hair and no clothing; every female, a woman.
The male and female mate by their own individual choice. The
women pitied every Chinaman wandering so far away; and
warning him of his danger, gave him ten chopsticks, telling him,
as he fled, to drop one every few hundred yards. When her
dog-headed husband came home, or ascertained before coming
home that a human male was there, he pursued,—and as he
pursued he came across his own chopstick, which he recognised,
took up, and ran back with it to his own house; when he again
pursued and again met in with a chopstick, and thus the
Chinaman escaped!
This points, apparently, to the hairy Oinos, the original
inhabitants of Japan, and possibly of north-eastern Asia; for
there were Oinos in the north of the "Maritime Province," and
in the Island of Saghalin, two centuries ago; and probably do
still exist there. Indeed, it is more than likely that the Oinos
peopled Japan, crossing from the main-land to Saghalin, and
from Saghalin to Yesso; while the Mongolic Japanese appear to
have crossed the sea from Corea; or, not impossibly, from the
Man or Miao tribes, who were then sole occupants of the south
of China. A comparison of the Man and Japanese languages
might help in deciding the question.
Toyi kingdom was north of the Dog tribe, and still more
barbarous. On the occasion of the death of father or mother,
they thought it noble to manifest no trace of sorrow. The dead
228 KITAN.

body was placed on the top of atree, where it was left for three
years, when the bones were picked up and burnt. The son poured
out alibation and prayed to his deceased parent: "In summer to
look south, in winter to look north, and to .help him to more wild
boar and venison." The spirit is apparently abird of passage I
In the centre of Shamo (Gobi) the winds were most bitterly
cold. The people had no houses, but lived on carts or on horse-
back. In summer and autumn the desert was as extremely hot as
it was cold in winter. The people dwelt where abundance of
water and grass found them subsistence. There was aparticular
gathering-place for each of the four seasons, called Tsabua. The
spring Tsabua was at Yadsu ho,* where willows and elms cover
the lands. On the first moon, tenth day (Feb.-March), their
king went thither just before the arrival of the migrating Swan,t
and pitched his tent on the ice. Men were placed as sentries in
all directions, to look out for the arrival of the swans; and as
soon as a swan flock was seen, the lucky observer unfurled a
flag to inform his king, who, in his regal robes and hat, led out
his men to shoot the swans with arrows as they flew overhead.
In the beginning of spring, women cut out the character for
"spring" and some other similar ones. They also made aflag,
on which they painted adragon and afrog. On the sixth day of
the first moon, they ate wheaten loaves in the central hall of the
house. On the fifth of fifth moon, the cook prepared adessert of
Whangmi (a glutinous small millet) and milk. The people then
strung cash on afive coloured thread, put it over the shoulder,
and called it the String of Concord and Happiness. Another
coloured thread was worked into the form of aman and placed on
the head; this was called the Braid of Immortality.
On the ninth of the ninth moon (Nov.), the king went out
with all his great officials to hunt, choosing a high place for his
tent. When all was ready for the hunt, the king handed round

*Yadsu River is an ancient name of the Songari flowing north. (Hist. Liaotung.)
I have seen several flocks of swans, though in Manchuria they are rare com-
pared with those of ducks, geese, and Manchurian cranes. If the swan here
was agoose, it would more resemble present facts.
 SPIRITS VERSUS SPIRITS. 229

to his followers spirits in which the sun-flower has been

steeped. Some of these spirits poured out before the door keep
away all evil spirits. At the winter solstice awhite sheep, awhite
horse and awhite wild goose were killed, and their blood mixed
in the spirits which were drunk. The king then, at a great
distance, worshipped Heishan (Black mountain), a very high
mountain in the extreme north of the kingdom, and so sacred
that it was approached only by sacrifice; for there congregated
the deceased ancestors of his majesty, and the spirits of all the
dead Kitan.
 CHAPTER VIII.

NT../JUN.

THE fertile plains, beautiful valE es, and innumerable mountain

ranges radiating from Changbaishan or the Long White Mountains,
stretching northwards from Liaoyang by the east of the Liao
river, up to and along the Songari throughout all its course to
Saghalin, formed the home of the savage Tungusic nomads, asmall
branch of which gave its present dynasty to the Chinese world,
and reigns over the most populous empire on the earth. Like the
Mongols, that wide region has had many periods of great power
and longer intervals of disintegrated rest. It is during those
quiescent unhistorical periods of disintegration that the people
has been known under the generic names of Sishun, Sooshun or
Niijun. A man of strong character would appear, who, after
establishing himself chief over a few tents or villages, was
succeeded by a son and grandson worthy of him. These
could, by sharp swords and good laws, extend the bounds
of the incipient state. A dynastic title was then assumed,
which soon became the designation for the whole people.
This change of title among both Mongolic and Tungusic peoples,
has given rise to much error; for the "Huns," "Turks,"
and "Mongols " differed only as the Han, Tang, and Sung of
China differ. They are but dynastic titles of the same people,
just as if we described the English as the people of York,
Leicester, Tudor or Hanover, according to the dynastic family
which happens to rule. The same is true of the Tungusic people
which occupied, for scores of centuries, those extensive regions
known as Manchuria. The first name given to that people in
Chinese history is the Sishun, under which name the Chinese,
three thousand years ago, included all the nomadic savages
 232 NUJUN.

occupying the extensive lands of fruitful plains and forest-covered

mountains between the gulf of Pechili and the Amoor.
A thousand years after, they are incidentally mentioned as the
Sooshun; and the Han dynasty, just before the Christian era,
knew those regions lying beyond the conquered Chaosien, as
Fooyit and Yilow; the latter of which had its headquarters at
the sources of the Hoorha and Songari, under the northern
shadows of the mighty Changbaishan. In the third century, the
well organized kingdom of Wooji, had displaced the Yilow
dynasty. Wooji was divided into seven provinces: Soomo,
Baitsoo, Anjugoo, Foonie, Haoshu, Heishwi, and Baishan.
This division was still retained by the kingdom of Mogo (Map II.),
which had overturned Wooji. But Mogo stood for little more
than acentury. It was broken up in the convulsive times which
introduced the Tang dynasty to China; and this dynasty knew
two independent Mogo kingdoms, the Heishwi* or Black Water
Mogo, stretching southwards from the Amoor, and the Soomo
Mogo, with its chief seat where that of Yilow had been. The
Soomo touched Gaogowli, and is frequently mentioned as its ally,
and was not infrequently its foe.
Soomo was long known as Dashu, the "Great Family" or
"Clan," but an increasing power warranted it to assume the
dynastic title of Bohai. The conquest and devastation of Gaoli
by the Tang dynasty, necessarily threw large numbers of Coreans
north into Bohai; and, when the pressure of the power of Tang
was removed, Bohai rapidly grew in the north as Corea did in
the south. The capital of Bohai was to the south, and not far
from the modern Ninguta, where that of Yilow had been.
In 719, Dadsoyoong, king of Bohai, died, and was succeeded
by his son Wooyi. Eight years after his accession, the Black
River Mogo sent an embassage to the Imperial Chinese court on
business, which got their land acknowledged under Chinese pro-
tection by the name of Heishmi chow. Because, in former
embassies, the Black Water Mogo always passed through

*The Manchu name of the Amoor is still the same; Saghatin being' "black," and
4ola, "River ;" the Chinese Heilung is "Black Dragon."
 RIVAL MOGO. 233

Wooyi's lands, and without any attempt at concealment, but

had this year passed through a portion of his land without
informing him, and had, contrary to their usage, applied to the
Turks in their west for permission to pass through their land,—
it looked to Wooyi as if aplot were being prepared against him,
by which the Chinese would attack his south, and the Black
Water Mogo his north. To forestall their supposed attack, he
prepared' to crush his northern neighbours. The latter left a
hostage in the Chinese court to prove their fidelity, and to
secure Chinese aid. They were all the more anxious to lean
upon China, beause the fall of Gaoli and the flight of many of
its people into Bohai had naturally and greatly increased the
power of the latter, and proportionately disquieted the peace of
their northern kinsmen. It was, therefore, no mere vanity which
induced Wooyi to dismiss from his presence the imperial messen-
ger, who had come to bid him remember that it was the Tang who
sent an army of 300,000 men into and swept Gaoli with the besom
of destruction, while Bohai was not one-fifth as powerful as
Gaoli had been, and could not stand asingle day of the wrath
of the Imperial Court.
He was aggravated still further by the report that Munyi,
uncle of the chief of Heishwi Mogo, was welcomed on the border
by amost friendly letter from the Chinese emperor. He ordered
off Dayihia, his brother, at the head of an army, to pursue and
slay Munyi; but the latter could fly as fast as his cousin pursued,
and got to the Chinese court, where he was made a Kiangkun,
or general. Wooyi was not to be so easily got rid of, however;
for he sent messengers at once to the Chinese court, to accuse
Munyi of crimes which deserved instant death at the hands of
his imperial majesty. The emperor sent Munyi secretly to
Ansi, retained the messengers of Wooyi, to whom special Chinese
messengers reported that Munyi had been sent off to Lingan,
but had died on the road. Wooyi, aware of what had occurred,
sent back the messengers, stating that he knew the truth, and
again emphatically declared that Munyi was guilty and should
be slain. He upbraided the emperor for lying as he had done,
231 NU
.JUN.

and demanded that justice should even yet be executed. Su

Magwang, the learned and stately author of the history we quote,
enters astrong protest against the subterfuge of the emperor,—
though those who know of Chinese modern policy, will see in
the Tang emperor's tricks the exact counterpart of what has
again and again appeared in recent Chinese history.
It was in the year 733, however, that the emperor got Munyi
with an army to march against Bohai, whose king, Wooyi, no
sooner heard thereof, than he at once advanced on Madooshan,
of Black Water, and exterminated that city. Imperial orders
were also sent to Sinlo to enter Bohai,* but Sinlo marched only
too soon, for her troops had scarcely crossed the southern border
of Bohai, before Wooyi, with his undivided forces, fell upon and
slew the greater half of them. 1VIunyi was, meantime, whiling
away his time at Tientsin, probably unable to get his men to
march. As he would not obey imperial commands to do away
with himself, the emperor sent aband of Honan robbers against
him, and had him killed. This will not seem so strange if we
reflect that, according to Chinese writers, it has been a question
with "brave" Chinese, from at least the beginning of the Tang
dynasty, whether they should betake themselves to the robber
haunts on the mountains, or to the emperor's regiments in the
barracks. Indeed at the present, the difference between the two
is not very great. Chinese officers believe that many of their
men have been robbers, and would be so again, did they regard
it as safe as formerly. The chief difference between the two is
that when the soldier is underpaid, he robs in name of the
emperor, and in virtue of his uniform; the robber in his own
name and by the dread of fire and sword. The very high wage
of the foreign drilled troops will, we hope, inaugurate a better
spirit and system.

*The position of Bohai is thus described: The south-east of the kingdom touched
the sea over against Japan; to the south was the sea leading to Sinlo; the tribute
route was by the Yaloo. Fooyii was between it and Kitan. The Maritime Pro-
vinces, now Russian, would therefore compose most of the kingdom. Indeed,
Bohai would be, just then, coextensive with M OGO. (Map II.)
 EXTENSION OF BOHAI. 235

Wooyi died in 738, succeeded by his son. But after him

Bohai, with its doings, fails to find aplace in Chinese story for two
centuries. It had, however, been active. Order and military rule
were necessary in the "struggle for existence." It had early
annexed its northern neighbour; and the combination made a
powerful and well compacted fortified kingdom, to which the
emperor Kaifung of Tang was compelled to bestow the rank of
afeudal sovereignty. Having extended its power to the south-
ern bank of the Amoor, it found it an easy matter to appropriate
alarge portion of what had been the lands of the once formidable
Gaoli,i—ts old master. For an itinerary of 930 A.D., states, that
sailing from Tungchow of Shantung, passing such and such
islands, east from the point now known as Regent's Sword, up
the Yaloo 100 li, about the present Aichow; there disem-
barking, and travelling 30 li north-east, the port of Posha was
reached, which port was then the border of Bohai land. South
of which, 500 li, was the city of Wandoo, the ancient Gaoli
capital.
Bohai also found it an easy matter to spread over the whole of
Liaotung and part of Liaosi, even though it had lost aconsiderable
slice of pasture land about the present Kirin, at the hands of
Kitan. It had then five capitals, 15 prefectural and 62 sub-
prefectural cities, and every glen was peopled and every plain
cultivated between the gulf of Liaotung and the Amoor; indeed
Manchuria was then more populous than it has ever been since,
but not more so than it promises shortly to be again. Then
learning flourished and literature abounded. Kitan was extremely
anxious to secure land in Chihli, but the powerful Bohai in his
rear, prevented Abaoji from penetrating far into China, lest his
own lands should be harried or seized. Therefore to drive Bohai
back, he sent an army against Liaotung, which returned covered
with a shame, which it wiped out on Chinese ground. Kitan,
however, sent expedition after expedition, year after year, against
Bohai, till, as the Liao dynasty, they ruled over all Liaotung, and
annexed the fine plains and mountain ranges between Hinganling
and the Hoorha river. The name of Bohai ceased to be, and the
 236 NIT
" TUN.

kingdom was broken up into a number of "savage" or

independent clans, each with its own petty chief.
The former name of Mogo was now replaced by that of Niijun,
which general designation embraced the scattered inhabitants of
what had been the kingdom of Bohai. The Kitan, or Liao
dynasty, never conquered the regions east of the Hoorha; which
were therefore called unripe or savage Niijun; the west of that
river being called the ripe or civilized Niijun, because subject to
Liao; and not because, as Du Halde states, they were in reality
more civilized. But the Liao gradually lost its dominating
influence over those remote regions, and that portion of the
"unripe "Niijun which dwelt around the foot of Changbaishan,
east of Ninguta, in the land of the original Bohai, and the older
Yilow, gradually assumed form again. The Shangking (upper
capital) of Bohai had been somewhere in this neighbourhood.
In the end of the tenth century, the Niijun of this district became
so important as to send tribute to the Sung emperor.
Immediately after Kitan made the present Yoongping of
Chihli (then Liaosi) their central capital (Joongking), they had a
tussle with Gaoli. The latter had been, ever since the disruption
of Bohai, subject to the insults of Kitan; and, seeing no hope of
deliverance from the Sung dynasty, yet unable to stand alone,
they found it necessary to acknowledge the supremacy of the
Liao dynasty. To this effect they sent messengers to Joongking,
the arrival of whom much delighted the Kitan; who, however,
desired the king to come in person to render homage. Not
knowing what sort of reception he might meet there, he feigned
illness. On this refusal, the Kitan demanded all the country
still belonging to Corea west of the Yaloo, together with the
chow cities of Iring, Tie, Dong, Long, Gwei, and Go.
Some Niijun men, intimately acquainted with the state of
Gaoli, had previously gone to the Liao court, and laid before it a
plan whereby the treasures and arich portion of the country of
Gaoli could fall into its hands, if it marched along the Niijun
border. This, perhaps, had some influence in determining the
Liao to march an army against Gaoli, when the latter refused to
 NUJUN ACTIVITY. 237.

surrender so much territory. Gaoli, aware of the coming storm,

made timely friends with the Niijun, who sent south an army to
its aid The combined forces laid an ambush; into which the
Liao men fell, and were utterly defeated. This was the commence-.
ment of Niijun activity.
In 985, before this raid, the Sung dynasty had sent messengers
to stir up Gaoli to join in acrusade against the Liao, which had
so often chastised the Chinese. And Gaoli agreed. The Sung
had previously sent an embassage—certainly not empty handed—
to Niijun, with the proposal for a combined attack on Liao;
after the destruction of which, Yowchow and the regions of south
of Chihli would belong to Sung, and all beyond to Niijun. Hence
the "tribute" sent to Sung, mentioned above. And this was
the beginning of a connection between Nanking and Chang-
baishan, pregnant with great events. Niijun would not be slow
to take advantage of a treaty promising her such fruits; for
Fooyil city, which used to be a capital of Bohai, was then
Doongdanfoo, the capital of East Dan of Liao; and the Nujun
seemed but an insignificant tribe beside the powerful and extensive
kingdom of Kitan, which ruled from the Yellow river to the
Songari.
During the eleventh century, Nujun had little to do witli
China proper; whose history is too lofty to take any note of the
petty warfare of "savage" tribes, except when for or against
herself. During that period the Liao were constantly encroaching
on Sung, and driving them out of the south of Chihli. The Sung
dynasty enjoyed its only quiet by being in fact the tributary of
Liao; though the large sums of money and the enormous
quantities of silk sent north of the Yellow River were "gifts,"
and the few furs sent south were "tribute"! But on more
than one occasion, both by the Sung and their predecessors,
the king of Liao received the title of "Whangdi" Emperor;
which many Chinese scholars say can possibly be given to only
one person on earth—the emperor of China—who is ex-officio
monarch of all the round globe.
In the beginning of the twelfth century, two important events
 •
•
238 NUJUN.

took place, which small in themselves, as the head stream of a

river, gave rise to great and serious consequences. One of these
was the flight of aLiao man from Yowchow south to the court
of Sung, to lay before that dynasty aplan for overthrowing the
Liao. This plan was to form aclose alliance with the Nfijun,
whose growing power was proved by the annexation of the tribe
Hoshilie, on its west; whose chief, Ashoo, was compelled to flee
to Liao for refuge. The alliance could be consummated by sending
Chinese messengers from Tungchow and Laichow in Shantung,
to Changbaishan. This suggestion was well considered, much
approved, and attempts made to carry it into effect. The Gaoli
king, favourably disposed to the Sung dynasty, urged the
emperor to take no such step, but rather to support the Liao
against the Niijun,—for if the former were dogs, the latter were
tigers; adding that the Chinese should be thankful that the Liao
were there as abuffer. But like the horse which prayed the man
to ride him to be revenged, the Sung emperor was eager for
vengeance on the northern barbarian, who had so disgracefully
humiliated his family and people; and no consideration would
move him from looking with a friendly eye to the barbarian
further removed, and who had as yet done him no harm.
The second event was the sporting expedition of the Liao king
to the Songari* to fish. The chiefs of the "savage" Nlijun
collected there to pay their respects to their powerful neighbour.
The king, in his good humour, ordered the sons and younger
brothers of the chiefs to get up and dance. One young man, the
heir of the Changbaishan chief, silently refused, even though
thrice ordered. The ministers of the king, seeing the stubborn
spirit of the youth, quietly urged the king to apprehend him and

*His residence was said to be 1500 li north of Kaiyuen, and called "Chuanchow,
on the Hwuntoong," which is the name of the Songari as it flows east. The
modern Petuna, the Jaochow of Kin, is still the centre of amost extensive fishery,
which supplies all Manchuria, a good deal of Chihli, and especially the imperial
table, with alarge variety of fresh-water fish, of which White fish, the Sturgeon
and the Carp, are the principal. Chuanchow, from its distance, would not be far
from Petuna, but somewhere to the south, and on the west of the river, which
Agooda had to cross in his flight.
 ORIGIN OF KIN. 289

thus prevent future possible border troubles. The king was agood
natured drunkard, and whether or not he would follow the advice
next day, no one knows; but he did not take immediate steps,
though that young man, whose name was Agooda, did. For he,
fearing the resentment of the king for the insult offered him,
made off by night with his followers eastwards across the Songari.
The hot blooded young man Agooda had doubtless often brooded
over the loss of the large kingdom possessed acentury before by
his fathers; and as the king of Liao in his love of drink neglected
the defences of his country, Agooda quietly but steadily prepared
troops, and while yet aminor, made great changes in the discipline
of the army. But to show the extent of these changes, we must
go back to the origin of this new power.
Among the numerous tribes of Independent or Savage Ntijun
was one which was located on the banks of the "Poogan river in
the province of Wanyen." Hwihanpoo was the first chief of any
note there. His grandson, Swiko, the fourth chief, was the first
of this new line who paid any attention to tillage. He built a
palace and city, and had, therefore, afixed place of abode on the
banks of the Hoorha river. Hence we learn that the ancient
civilisation, tillage, cities, palaces and literature of Bohai, had been
overturned with the loss of empire; and that defeat, and perhaps
terrible carnage, had driven the Ntijun into their primitive nomadic
state, whence they began to emerge, when they again became
numerous, and when the chase began to yield an insufficient
amount of food. Except Corea, all the Mongolic and Tungusic
dynasties have gone through these three stages. At first
nomadic, they began, as the commencement of an undreamt of
coming greatness, to cultivate the ground, build houses, raise
cities surrounded by walls and moats,—all of which necessitated
agreater or lesser acquaintance with letters. Then war, victory,
conquest, and learning rapidly increasing and lavishly patron-
ised ;—to be followed by wars and defeat, when the vices of luxury
had made the conquerors incapable of defending the possessions
acquired by the hardihood of their primitive life. Defeat drove
them in thinned nnmbers into their primitive wildnesses. Their
240 NU
" JUN.

decreased numbers found abundance of sustenance on the game-

crowded mountains, long neglected for the richer prey of Chinese
plains and cities; and fear of attack compelled them to live in
tents, which could be moved at amoment's warning, when flight
was amuch more secure defence than the best walls. And the
former nomadic state, with its loss of literature, became aspeedy
consequence. This formless, incohesive condition, continued
undisturbed till alargely increased population again necessitated
the cultivation of the soil; when houses, hamlets, cities, magis-
tracies, and literature, again sprang up.
Shiloo, the fifth chief of Wanyen, established fixed laws and
ordained customs to instruct the people. Henceforth his
possessions became consolidated, and assumed the appearance of
aunited kingdom. Because he was affectionate in dealing with
his people, the Liao bestowed upon him the title of Jiedooshu.*
It was reconferred on his son Wooyoonai, and on Holibo his son.
The last was succeeded by abrother; and Wooyasoo, the eldest
son of Holibo, was the ninth chief,—during whose reign the
fishing episode, above narrated, occurred.
In 1113, Wooyasoo, who had received the title of Jiedooshi
from Liao, died, and Agooda became chief, assuming the title of
Doobojilie.f The Liao sent Asibao as messenger to enquire why
Agooda had not given notice of the death of his predecessor.
Agooda replied, "Mourning we have; is it a crime to lack
condolence ?"—intimating his independence of the Liao.
He began his aggressive movements the very next year, and
took the city of Nungjiang chow. The Liao king no sooner
heard of this outrage, than he sent Soosisien with a powerful
army to crush the young upstart. He camped at Choodien ho.
Agooda, at the head of all his men, hastening to meet him,

*Lieut. General. It was the change then introduced which appeared so extremely
great to a Corean messenger, who, on his first visit, found the Ndjun a formless
rabble; and on his second visit, aperfectly regulated and formidable kingdom whose
good friendship was to be secured by Corea at any price.

"Chief of chiefs."

.T.Near the modern Petuna.

 THE GOLD DYNASTY. 241.

had not got to the Hwuntoong, when night overtook his

army. About midnight he roused his men with the cry that the
gods had appeared to him, and marched them off by torch light.
By dawn he got to the Hwuntoong; and taking advantage of a
great wind which arose as he approached the Liao camp, he
attacked immediately, and with fury. The Liao could not resist
the impetuosity of the attack, but broke up and fled. Great
numbers fell, and more were taken prisoners. So terrible was
the defeat, that the Liao men had a saying, that if the
Niijun numbered a myriad men, they should not be fought.
Hence it was inferred that Agooda had about that number with
him.
In February 1115, Agooda had made such progress towards
founding a powerful state, that his younger brothers and
subordinate chiefs urged him to assume the rank of emperor
(whangdi) ;and, with more or less show of reluctance, he agreed.
As the Liao had assumed the name of "Iron," to indicate
"strength," he took the title of "Gold" for his dynastic title;
"for iron, if strong, rusted; while gold always remained bright."
Hence his dynasty is known as the Kin (now pronounced Jin),
the Chinese word for gold. But gold in their original language
was "Anchoo." * Woo-Chiwmai was made Yenban-Bojilie,
Sangai and Kaye "Golun-Bojilie." The tiger, the chief of
beasts, in their language was "Yenban." Golun meant "Prime
Minister." Kaye was ayounger brother of Agooda, and Sangai
a cousin. In the autumn of the same year, appeared acomet
of a scarlet yellow colour, which foreboded bloodshed and
political changes. And in October, the Kin marched against
and took the Hwangloongfoo of Liao, which was a very large

*This is on the authority of the Chinese history. In Manchu, gold is aisin, tiger
tatsa. Bojilie may be the same as the Manchu "Batooroo ";but the Manchus, to
begin with, used this term not as ahereditary title like "chief," but as an honorary
designation, the equivalent of our "knight." It means "brave," and was con-
ferred only on the distinguished brave. Ifind it difficult to reconcile these words
for "gold" and "tiger," with the assumption that the Kin spoke precisely as the
Manchus, except on the supposition that Chinese history has given Liao or
Mongol words as if Kin.
242 NUJUN.

city on the west bank of the Songari, somewhere north of Kirin.

They were guided by a man on a cream coloured horse, who
went ahead; the rest following, without question, whither he led.
When they got to the deep river, they had no ferry-boats; but
the cream horse went ahead up to the belly in water, the army
wading after him. After Whangloong had fallen the river was
attempted; but the depth was beyond sounding I Hence the
Kin raised atemple on the western bank; dedicated to the god
of the river for his miraculous interference.
Immediately on the fall of Whangloong city, the hardy Kin
pushed southwards; Agooda only then permitting the return of
the messenger who had come from the Liao, four months before.
He desired him to say to his lord in Peking, that if Asoo the hiding
chief were handed over, the Kin would return to their homes
aaain
n • The messenger b doubtless understood as well as Agooda
what the worth of such apromise was, and that the Kin could
now "return "only by the defeat of their army.
There was no withstanding the fury of the Kin attacks, and in
the beginning of 1118, the joyful Sung emperor sent messengers
to Kin by way of Tungchow of Shantung, to heartily congratulate
Agooda on his frequent victories, and on the capture of fifty
walled cities of Liao. This message was intended, like preceding
overtures, to form an alliance which Agooda was now only too
glad to make. To add to the difficulties of the Liao, there were
then, as so often, and again as we write, terrible famines in
northern China, which compelled men to eat human flesh as
their only food. Indeed, in West Shantung, Shansi, Shensi, and
Honan, this cannibalism, caused by severe famine, has been
repeated at irregular intervals for thousands of years, and is not at
all the uncommon portent it is believed to be; though the authori-
ties have always been most severe in their prohibitive measures.
-In 1120, atreaty was concluded between Sung and Kin, after
several messengers had come and gone, by which, as the
"land of Yen" was originally Chinese, all the lands up to and
including Yen* would become Chinese, while the Liao
*Modern Peking.
Mailed Warrior, 11th Century.
S
 TWO LIAO . KINGS. 245

Joongking,* with all east of it, would belong to Kin. The treaty
powers were to make acombined attack on the Liao from both
sides, the Kin through Goobeikow, the Sung through Baigow.
This treaty was formed against the earnest advice of the Corean
king, who urged the Sung emperor to retain the Liao between
him and the Kin. In that treaty both the Sung emperor and
Agooda, are called "Whangdi "1- emperor.
In December of next year the Central Capital of Liao was in
the hands of Kin, with some important deserters—flying rats.
The Liao king had therefore to retreat on Yuncbow jas his
capital, taking with him 15,000 men. He had to slay his own
son, who was preparing to assume the government; and he had
to learn that he was no sooner gone west than his uncle
assumed the imperial name in Peking. The Kin pressed on
after this king Yensi, who again fled to Jiashan, and Tatung
was besieged. The attack was furious and the defence desperate;
now this side gaining a slight advantage, now that, but both
suffering heavily. At last the obstinate defenders heard of the
new king in Peking, and, seeing their cause deserted by their own
kinsmen, they lost heart, opened the city gates, and joined the
ranks of the Kin.
The new Peking king did what he could. He sent an army
against the Sung coming through Baigow, and defeated them. At

*The locality of Joongking, or the "Central Capital," may have been under the
jurisdiction of Yoongping foo, but it could not be at or near the present city.
Hist. of Liaotung places it, with more probability, west of Yichow, in the south-east
corner of Inner Mongolia. This treaty would therefore make Kin the masters of
Liaotung and Liaosi.
tIt is authoritatively and dogmatically asserted by more than one eminent
Sinologue, that there can be only one Whangdi; but whatever may be argued from
the two words whang and di, the term is in history only atitle, and is several times
bestowed on two independent powers by each other. Thus in the text, and on various
other occasions, Sung and Kin bestow the title on each other, and so did the Ming
and Manchus, before the latter owned a foot of soil in the Eighteen Provinces.
Etymologically, it is synonymous with "Son of Heaven," but practically it is so only
when the Chinese emperor, tie only "Son of Heaven," is unquestionably supreme
over all rivals.

1:Kihien, 140 li south-west of Taiyuen.

246 NU
— JUN.

the same time he sent messengers to the Sung emperor, to upbraid

him with ingratitude in taking advantage of the hour of their
extreme peril for attacking them. He also charged him with
carrying out asuicidal policy. This, however true, was of small
weight then with the Chinese emperor, who gloated over the
crushing defeats and desperate condition of the foe, who had held
him and his house so long in bondage ;—for "revenge is
sweet."
The Peking king died in June 1122, his widow assuming the
reins of government, with the scarcely concealed intention of
opening the gates to the Kin. She therefore put to death the
commander of the capital, who had made her late husband king.
Against this city alarge Chinese army was getting ready; but
Agooda, fearing this army should reach and take the city ere he
got there, sent messengers to the court of Sung, to by any means
delay the departure of that army. His designs were favoured by
events; for just then the Sung generals were again defeated by the
army of Liao, but the commandant of Chochow and Yichow of
Chihli opened their gates to the Chinese.
In December, the Kin court sent messengers to the Sung
emperor to treat of the partition of the countries of the Liao, as
if there had been no previous understanding; but that under-
standing was still believed in and adhered to by the Chinese,
who sent messengers in return, demanding Lanchow,* Pingehow,
and Yingchow, which were included in the treaty as among the
sixteen chows to become the portion of Sung. But Agooda
refused to be bound by the treaty, saying that those cities had
all been taken by the sword of the Kin, and must remain their
property. Tatung was refused on the same plea, as well as
Peking, which was soon taken by Kin by assault, the widow
fleeing,—proving that she was prevented, or had resiled from
her design of opening the gates to Kin. Thus all the five capitals
of the Liao were in Kin hands, with nine-tenths of all their late

*At the mouth of the Lanho, with Yoongpingfoo and Kingchow according to
the treaty. Hence, too, we can see at once that Joongking was not at Yoongping,
which is Pingchow; for Joongking, by treaty, belonged to Kin (p. 245).
 CHINESE PRESENTS. 247

Ominion. The Kin called Pingchow their Nanking, or south

capital.
The eyes of the Sung emperor were at last partly opened, and
he found he had only changed masters. He therefore agreed to pay
400,000 pieces of silk per annum as he had done to the Liao, and
to give one million tiaos* for the disputed cities of Yenking, &c.
Agooda was overjoyed, and agreed to write out an oath to hand
over Yenking and six chows to Sung, reserving all the north-west
and all the mountains and rivers of the north to himself. He
was short of grain, and the Chinese ambassador, Liangsu, agreed
to send on at once 200,000 dant of grain. The cities of Yenking,1:
Chochow, Tanchow Shwunchow, Kingchow, Kichow, with all
their lands were handed over to Sung. The Chinese army, there-
fore, was moved south. And Kin sent in tribute 1 Such is the
pomposity of Chinese history even in such circumstances, when
ten times the value of this "tribute" had to be sent to Kin as
"present ! "
Two months after the treaty to surrrender the six cities to
Sung, Janggoo, the Kin commandant of Pingchow,§ deserted with
the city to Sung. He had been commandant under Liao and
deserted to Kin, who left him second in command. He now
again ch,anged sides. Dso, the Kin commandant of Yenking,
formerly one of the chief ministers of Liao, drove out of the city
the wealthy people and great families, who had to go eastwards.
They journeyed in the greatest distress; got to Pingchow, where
they were received by Jang, to whom they said that Dso could
not hold the city, and that it would require only asmall body of
troops to recall the Liao dynasty again. They also reported
that they had heard of the probable speedy arrival of a

*Strings of cash each equal to one tael, or 6/ stg.

tDan of 10 Chinese pecks, each about 40 lbs weight of millet, or 30 of
rice.
:Peking.

,II Miywun hien and Shwunyihien, both near Peking.

§The modern Linyu of Chihli (Ch. Imp. Directory).
 248 NUJUN.

Liao* army, which was said to be then in the south of Meimo.

If that army were but welcomed by Jang, the crime of Dso's
desertion would soon meet with its proper reward. It was these
fugitives who advised the surrender of Pingchow to Sung in order
to gain the good will of the latter. Li Shu, a Chinese grand
secretary, recommended the Sung to accept the cession, and his
advice was seconded by other ministers.
But Liangsu opposed the measure with every argument he
could think of, and with the utmost energy of which he was
capable; for, he rightly argued, such a course would at once
destroy the mutual, good understanding arrived at with the Kin,
who could not but deeply resent such abreach of faith immed-
iately on the completion of the treaty, which was as yet only
partially carried out, and a subsequent repentance would come
too late. The author of the Chinese history adds anote strongly
condemning the covetousness which opened the flood gates of
such dire calamities for China. The emperor was, however,
scarcely competent for his post; and it is not surprising that the
man who was unable, with the wealth and resources of China, to
successfully curb his northern neighbours, was also unable to
perceive the grave issues involved in so manifest a breach of
faith, at atime when more than usual care was needful to avoid
giving any unnecessary offence to a nation of conquerors, who
had scattered his masters to the four winds. He, therefore,
eagerly grasped at the keys of Yoongping.
Jang carried out his plans immediately. He sent an officer
with 500 men to apprehend his superior Liw, proclaimed the
third year of Baoda, the Liao king, and set forth, in a public
proclamation, ten crimes of Liw's, deserving death; on account
of which he slew him. He sent messengers to the Sung with

*The Liao dynasty was then es .tablished to the west of Kansu, in what was called

the Hia country. The "Holy wars" describe Hinganling in the north-west of
Manchuria as the home of the Liao, and the Solon people there as their descendants.
We have already seen that the Liao had sprung as Kitan to the south of the Sira
muren, but after their loss of empire, when some of them fled westwards to Hia,
others might have departed across their former home to the north of the Sira muren,
and nestled under the shadows of those extensive mountains, the Hingan.
 END OF LIAO. 249

the keys of Yoongping; and the Yenking fugitives were escorted

westwards, under the care of the "Ever Victorious" army, which
was wholly composed of Liaotung men, formed by the Liao, but
which had lately deserted to Sung. The last king of the Liao
on Chinese soil was captured by Kin in the north of Shansi,
in 1125, and by them made an honorary Wang. The main
portion of the Liao had before that time moved far to the west,
to the ha country, and there established the West Liao. Their
seat was called Chirman. They had reigned in one unbroken
line for two hundred and twenty years; and they first made the
modern Peking the capital of akingdom.
The illness and death of Agooda prevented that sudden
revenge, which the Kin were able enough and willing enough at
once to take. He was succeeded by his brother, Woo Chiwmai,
the "Tiger Chief." And two months after his death, in
November 1123, the Kin general, Doo Moo, was ordered against
Jang with 3000 horse. Jang met him with a much superior
force, and Moo had to retire. When Jang reported his victory,
he was made a lieutenant-general, and had many myriad taels
forwarded him by the glad Sung emperor. But next month a
stronger force was marched against him; and to prove himself
worthy of his new honours, he advanced, as before, to meet them;
but, taken unawares, he was completely defeated, and fled to
Yenshan. The Dootoong of Pingchow took possession of the
city, to hand it over to Kin. He was killed by the inhabitants,
who prepared to stand asiege to the death; and it was July of
next year before the Kin again occupied the city.
Immediately on the defeat of Jang Goo, the Kin sent
messengers to the emperor, upbraiding the court with breach of
faith and unfriendliness, in receiving and harbouring a rebel.
They also demanded the head of Jang Goo. And the Chinese
court exposed its contemptible weakness and hollow worthless-
ness, by sending amessenger, who had Jang's head off and sent
to Kin. This event bore its immediate and natural fruits; for
the men of the "Ever Victorious" army went into the presence
of their commander, Gwo Losu, weeping, and saying: "The
250 NU
" JUN.

Kin asked for the head of Jang Goo; it was given them. If
they ask the head of Losu, will it be given up also ?" A Sung
minister was with the commander at the time, and he was terrified
at the serious aspect of affairs. He could do nothing, however,
to save the mutinous army, which melted away,—each man
going his own way; but the ranks of Kin received considerable
accessions. There was, therefore, now no army to stand between
Kin and the object of their wrath, so senselessly kindled, and of
their contempt so richly deserved. Their irritation was intensified
into glowing rage, when the messengers, sent to receive the grain
promised by Liangsu, returned empty handed. And the
troubles of Sung were not lightened by the rebellion of 100,000
men in Shantung, and of one-third that number in Honan.
The Chinese general, Toonggwei, who had been so often
beaten by the Liao in their dying struggles, was nominated a
Wang, and commissioned to go to Taiyuen by the imbecile Sung
court to meet messengers of the Kin there, who had been sent
to surrender the southern portion of Chinese lands then in Kin
hands. And the Sung, notwithstanding so many lessons,
believed the offer was made in good faith. Experience teaches
the wise. But no sooner did the two ambassadors meet face to
face, than the Kin one bitterly upbraided the Chinese one for
harbouring rebels, and for breach of faith. The new Wang,
conscious of his dignity, was so thoroughly ashamed of the part
he had to act, that he knew not where to look; while the Kin
said that the River* must be made the boundary between the
two kingdoms. Thus, instead of giving up to the too credulous
Chinese court afew cities in the south of Chihli, three provinces,
sufficient to make apowerful kingdom, were demanded by Kin.
Toonggwei knew not what reply to make, other than that he
would return to his government and consult. The governor of
Taiyuen urged him to remain; for now that Kin had broken
faith, if the commander-in-chief returned to the south, men's
minds would become agitated; while, if he remained, his presence

*The Hwangho is always called the Ho "River," par excellence, It then

flowed into the sea south of Shantung, as shown in old maps.
 GREAT WEALTH AND LITTLE WISDOM. 251

would be aguarantee that the people, in defending themselves

from the Kin, would be supported by their government. The
red-tape ambassador became very angry, saying that he had
come with orders to receive territory, not to defend cities! The
governor in vain reasoned, that if the east of the river (Shansi)
fell, the north (Chihli and Shantung) could not stand. When
he saw all was useless, he sighed and said: "It is a losing
game."
The Kin had, meantime, taken Swochow and Taichow, in the
north of Shansi, and soon besieged Taiyuen; which was, however,
gallantly defended by its governor. Another Kin army marched
south from their capital, passing by •
Tanchow and Kichow, as
not affecting their line of march. When they got to his vicinity,
Losu deserted to them with Yushan foo; and all the cities under
its jurisdiction opened their gates.
Next year aChinese army was sent north to keep the south
bank of the River, towards the north bank of which the Kin
pressed, leaving several cities in their rear untaken; for Losu
knew the hollowness of all the defences. As soon as the Kin
got to the north of the river, and floated their banners along its
banks, the southern defenders fled, all except one Yen man!
The Kin took five days in crossing, as it was difficult to find
boats. When they got across they laughed, and said that the
southern court might be said to be without a single man; for
that one or two thousand men at the river bank could have
effectually prevented them from crossing. Thus where men were
many, arms strong, and money plentiful, a large and wealthy
empire was going to pieces from want of a head to guide. We
cannot too emphatically repeat that the one great lesson taught
by Chinese history is, that extent of country, the strength of
numbers and of unbounded wealth cannot save acountry, without
wisdom to guide those resources; and it is no nursery tale to be
laughed at, that the wise or the cunning Jack becomes the killer
of the strong but stupid giant. The histories of all nations
repeat the same story. No one can say that want of bravery or
enthusiasm prevented the French from realising their hearts'
252 NU
"JUN.

desire and shearing Prussian locks in Berlin; and what was that
Prussia which entered Paris, as compared to France in men or
money? And who could have believed that it was Spain, the
most powerful, wealthy, and extensive empire of her time, which
would perish by the Armada expedition ? The bravado of even
a Napoleon Bonaparte is foolish. What shall be said of the
bravado of lesser men ?
The Kin took Kuchow, and marched on the capital.* They
would not at first attack the city, saying that all they desired
was a treaty. In this treaty they wanted, however, the bulky
items of, first, five million Chinese ounces (hang) of gold, ten
times as many ounces of silver, with the cities and territories of
Taiyuen, Hokien, and Joongshan (Tingchow), with an imperial
prince as hostage. A few days after, they made an attack on
two gates. The commander, Li Gang, himself led the defence
against them, at the head of picked men, who cut down ten of
the Kin chiefs and some thousands of their men. Some advised
the emperor to make acovenant at once, but Li Gang said, truly
enough, that all the gold and silver in the country would not
suffice to meet the Kin demands; and the emperor could scrape
together only 200,000 ounces of gold, and four million ounces of
silver; and said that if those three Chows were handed over to the
Kin, could it be possible afterwards to regard China as an empire?
The general also made a most successful sally through
Swuntien west gate, on seeing the Kin men plundering
the neighbourhood. Li Gang determined to give them no rest,
but to make adaily sally with 1000 good fresh men. He was
eager to have an army formed in the north, to attack them in
the rear, while he would march out of the city. Wonderful to
relate, Li Gang was removed from office to please the Kin! But
one of the ablest of the ministers gave the emperor no rest till
he was again reinstated; saying, that otherwise the empire was
lost. At last aprovisional agreement was made to cut off the
three Chow cities and give them to Kin, who, doubtless, were
not loth to raise the siege, as their rear was wholly exposed.
*Kaifung.
 SHANSI. IN TROUBLE. 253

Meiho, the Kin general, had been pressing the siege of

Taiyuen all this time with vigour, but with no shadow of success.
His force against Pingyang of Shansi was more successful; and
when he entered the city, and found the gates and walls in such
splendid condition, he could not understand how the city could
have been surrendered, and said: "Of a truth the Sung are
without aman." Loongan (then Loongdua foo) fell immediately.
Joongshan and Hokien were as obstinate as Taiyuen, and not
one of them would open their gates ;—thus acting like the
Turkish commandants after the treaty of San Stefano.
The Chinese officer, Joong Shwaijoong, defeated the Pingyang
army of Kin; and following up his victory, took the two cities
of Showyang and Yiitsu. In his eagerness he still pressed on,
though his commissariat was badly attended to. He got to
Shahiwngling (Kill-bear Pass), where Meiho himself, at the head
of fresh, strong troops, lay to receive him, well knowing the
weakness of his men from want of sufficient food. Meiho
ordered an immediate onset, which drove back Joong's right
wing, scattered his left, and soon surrounded himself with the
small band which clung to him. He fought with desperation;
and even after receiving four great wounds, he fought on till he
dropped down dead.
Toonggwei, not before time, was executed; and Liangsu,
apparently because too urgent in praying for peace, followed him.
Li Gang was elevated to be governor of the Two Rivers,* and
ordered to Taiyuen to strengthen the brave men there; but he
had not got beyond Hwaichow, when other counsels prevailed,
and he received orders to disband his army. His men mostly
scattered; but he was able to strengthen the garrisons of the
various cities—Fungchow, Liaochow, &c. He had delayed the
disbanding, by an earnest appeal to be permitted to hold his
army together. But his prayer was in vain. The cities of the
north of the river were almost emptied, the citizens flying across
to the south. Li Gang was recalled at his own request, on the
ground that he had been unsuccessful; and another governor
Of "East" and "North" of Yellow River.
351 LT.JUN.
'

was nominated, who, however, did not prevent the fall of

Taiyuen, whose brave defender had at last to yield to the long
continued, constant, and fierce attacks of Meiho.
No sooner was Taiyuen fallen (Oct. 1126) than Meiho drove
the Chinese army north of the river southwards, pursuing it and
taking Loyang,* the western capital. This caused the imbecile
and vacillating Chinese court to issue amourning proclamation,
inviting soldiers from all quarters to save the country; and to
deliberate as futilely as before, on the propriety of throwing the
three chows as asop to this ferocious Cerberus. But the same
minority strongly protested against such cession, because that
was the birth place of the dynasty; and for the wiser reason that
it would be unavailing, for the Kin would not stay their southward
course one day. The emperor decided he would not cut off the
northern cities, his "naked children." But he had to change his
mind again; for Meiho pressed on, desiring to dictate his terms
at the gate of the capital. The emperor was in a state of terror
when Meiho approached the capital; but on learning that all the
Kin desired was atreaty and the cutting off of some land, he went
out to their camp and had their chiefs into his palace, feasting
and drinking together with them!
Orders were twice sent to the cities north of the river to open
their gates to Kin, but the citizens refused. A diversion was
made by commander Kang Wang, brother of the emperor, who
took 30 forts of Kin in the north, in the beginning of 1127, hut
in February he felt himself compelled to retreat. He therefore
ordered the various divisions to combine and to fall back on the
capital. One of the divisions refused to join the rest, but set out
for the south of the river Wei at Weikwun foo of Honan. The
scouts of the division soon reported the enemy ahead, and in camp.
The whole division was soon engaged, but defeated; and, while
retreating eastwards, it was discovered that the camps of the enemy
environed them on all sides,—advance being as difficult as retreat
was impossible. The commanding officer then issued abulletin,
stating that march or retreat was alike impossible, and that they
*Near the present Kaifung, of Honan.
 HALLAM'S MISTAKE. 255

must now snatch life out of the jaws of death. The men, seeing
death inevitable, attacked the camp in front of them like so many
furies, slew many thousands of the enemy, and cut their way
eastwards beyond the circle of swords some scores of li. The Kin
did not know the adage of alater age—to build abridge of gold
for aflying enemy; which was all the more necessary in other
days when Sedans were impossible, because there was no artillery.
In this connection Iam astonished to find a mistake made by
Hallam; all the more remarkable in so able aman and so pains-
taking an enquirer into the middle ages. In mentioning the
slain in acertain battle he questions the number, chiefly because
those were not the days of improved and scientific firearms.
With these, battles are necessarily decided within ashorter space
of time, and perhaps more are slain within agiven time. But it
requires no great reflection to see that the hand to hand combats
of early battles, though occupying much more time, must have
slain a larger proportion of those engaged in them than modern
battles do. Besides, the greatest slaughter was not during the
fight, but when the defeated turned his sword from his enemy
and fled, with the enemy's sword a few inches behind him.
Chinese history is full of such battles.
Dsua, this brave Chinese officer, believing that the Kin men
would return to the captured camp at night, and might inflict
serious injury upon his rear, had the camp entirely gutted. The
Kin men did return by night, but finding their camp destroyed,
were afraid to venture ahead. They retreated, and Dsua got on
his march unmolested.
The capital of Sung was still besieged by the Kin, though the
imbecile emperor would allow no active fighting. He, his heir,
his empress, concubines, and household, 3,000 in all, had to go to
live in the camp of Kin, outside of the city. The Vice-president
of the Board of Appointments, seeing all was lost, bitterly reviled
the Kin, with the hope that they would put him to death. He
therefore reviled all the more when they threatened to kill him;
and when he found his efforts to secure the most honourable of
deaths unavailing, he cut his own tongue and died. The Kin
256 Nil.JUN.

grieved over the loss of this man and said of him, that when the
Liao was lost, athousand faithful men died for it; but only one
was found willing to die when the Sung empire was destroyed.
The Kin army was now saddled with the difficulty of finding
aproper successor to the emperor in their hands, and were at a
loss whether to nominate one of the imperial family, or one of a
different surname. The first they nominated would accept if
compelled to, but threatened that he would die on the day of his
enthronement. And members of the emperor's family said they
would murder with their own hand any one outside the family
nominated emperor. One Jang Bangchang was at last
nominated with the title of Choo emperor. An official, Wooko,
led afew hundred men against the new emperor to murder him,
but was himself killed, with over a hundred of his men. In
May 1127, the Kin retired northwards, leading with them both
the old and the new emperor, with the family of the former,
3,000 persons, and took them to Yunjoong. In 1130 they were
banished to Woogwo chung on the Hwuntoong, acity supposed
to be near the modern Sansing.
Commander Prince Kang, a younger brother of the emperor,
after he had united the various divisions of his army, but while
still at Tsining chow of Shantung, had secret messages from the
•capital, urging him not to march southwards to the capital then, but
to remain where he was, and wait the course of events. And
next month after the dethroned emperor was taken away a
captive, this prince, whom all the people desired to be emperor, was
enthroned in Nanking; and there he established the "Southern
Sung" dynasty. He at once sent Dsua to garrison Hiangyangfoo.
Li Gang at first refused office, but was soon installed as Lamp
Censor. He drew up new army regulations; and was so useful,
that he was quickly made president of aboard. But in spite of the
more healthy tone of the new court, no efforts were made to
strike a decisive blow to save the country north of the Yellow
river; every city of which fell, one by one, after a longer or
shorter struggle with the Kin.
The Kin had askilful and brave opponent in Dsua, who had
 EXTENT OF KIN EMPIRE. 257

been nominated governor of the eastern capital (Kaifung). At

one time he laid an ambush, and gained a most signal victory.
Meiho, however, had his revenge after; but so much did he
suffer himself, that he did not again march eastwards, contenting
himself with taking the cities west of Kaifung. But Dsua, died
in August 1128, after having over twenty times vainly prayed
the new emperor to return to his proper capital, in order that he
might re-assure the minds of the people.
In January 1180, anew Chinese general, Yao Fei, appears on
the scene after all Kiangsi had fallen to Kin. He repeatedly
defeated them; and on one occasion he set fire to their camp,—
gaining amost thorough victory over them in the ensuing confusion.
Another officer, Shijoong, at the head of 8000 men, kept
100,000 (!) of the Kin at bay for forty-eight days, and at last
completely defeated them. Such were the losses sustained by
the Kin in their expeditions south of the Yangtsu, that after
this year they did not again attempt to cross it; and the
Yangtsu became the real boundary of the Kin and South Sung
empires, as the Yellow River had separated the Liao and Sung.
The southern empire was in every part of it infested with
robbers, and the law and magistrate were wholly inadequate to
cope with the evil. The emperor, therefore, instituted a system
of universal police, similar to that which put down robbery in
England. Each twenty-five families were formed into a Bao or
"security," with a chief; sixteen Bao formed one Doo or
"capital," over which there was a "Doo Bao" and "Baojang,"
or chief of the Baos. These were responsible for the peace of
their own districts ;and the measure was so far successful.
We have now got the Niijun family firmly seated on the
throne of their extensive empire,* extending from the Amoor to

*Geographical notes are interesting to some readers, and most people like to
localise the origin of great historical developments. To gratify this interest as far
as possible, the following notes are given, culled from the Manchu Great Imperial
Dictionary, the History of Liaotung, the Holy Wars, Chinese General History and
the History of the Kin. All accounts agree in placing the original seat of the Kin
in the same locality as that occupied long before by their predecessors the Bohai
and Yilow,—at the headwaters of the Hoorha and the Songari, and to the north of
258 N.C
. JUN.

the Yangtsu, over which they reigned for more than a century,
when they in their turn were overwhelmed by the Mongol flood,
which established the Yuen dynasty over the whole of China,
and made ashort-lived empire, extending from Japan into Russia.

the Long White Mountains. Their Shangking, or Upper Capital was in Whining
foo. But we find the most contradictory statements as to the site of this Whining
foo. The "Holy wars," which appears upon the whole to be a trustworthy book,
places Whining foo 200 or 300 li east of Petuna (Baidoona). A note to the same
states that "Ninguta is 700 odd Ii east of Hwangloong foo, and the lands under its
jurisdiction touch those under Whining foo of Corea." "It is on record that a
hundred Ii west of Ninguta is Shaling, where was the upper capital (Shangking) of
the Kin; and east of Ninguta 3 li is the village of Giaro, the birth-place of the
present dynasty." "Whangloong foo of Liao had jurisdiction of both sides of
Hwuntoong River."
"Sixty li south-west of Ninguta, on the south (east?) bend of the Hoorha River,
is the site of an ancient city 30 li in circumference, which had seven gates. The
Inner city (citadel) was 5li in circumference, and had three gates,—east, south, and
west. The foundations of palaces and royal halls are distinctly traceable, and the
site of aTemple of a stone Buddha. Perhaps this is the Shangking or Whining
foo of Kin, which was north of Changbaishan, and on the bank of the Hoo River.
But there is a Whining foo in Chaosien, which might have been the ancient
Shangking; only the remains of imperial palaces, &c., would seem to favour the
Ninguta city. The natives call this city Goodachung, the 'Ancient Large city."
"Whining foo was originally the Whining chow of the Liao dynasty. Taidsoong
of Kin erected his capital here, raising it to afoo city. It was afterwards called
Shangking, with jurisdiction eastwards to Hooligailoo 630 li, westwards to Jaochow
550 li, northwards to Pooyii Loo 700 li, and south-eastwards to Hiipin Loo 1600 li."
"Jaochow was the ancient Ch,00ho dial . . It was east of the Hwuntoong River;
the Kin 'afterwards changing its name to TVooking.' Heiloong kiang was within
its jurisdiction, and it was over the district city of Shaking."
"Whining hien was originally the Foogo hien of Kin, where Kin Taidsoo made
his oaths and vows to heaven before he began his wars against the Liao; and whence
he set out on his first expedition. Within its bounds were Ching ling and Maji-ling
Passes, with Boye ding and Yooen ye ding Peaks of Changbaishan with the
mountain of Duashung two; and the rivers Hoo, Hwuntoong, and Lailiw."
"The 'Water Lily Pool' is 80 li south-west of Ninguta, and 20 li west of the
Shangking of Kin. It is handed down by tradition that here was the Chujiang
hien of Kin, which city was just beyond the outer walls of the capital."
"The present Yoongji chow or Kirin, south-west of the Shangking of Kin, must be
in the Circuit of the ancient Hiipin Loo."
"Shangking was the first capital of the Kin, who called it Shangking whining foo.
When the Kin built a capital in Yen (Peking) they dropped the name Shangking,
retaining the foo name; but they soon restored the more honourable title. It was
north of Changbaishan, and by the side of the Hoo water. There is now near
Ninguta the site of an ancient city in which there were palaces, and which the
natives call Doongking '—East Capital. After the orginal capital had crumbled
 THE NAME CHINA. 269

It is generally believed that the Kin dynasty gave its origin

to the name China. The Chin dynasty is more likely, as far as
pronunciation of the name goes,—for the word Kin is pronounced
Jin (sometimes, but erroneously, written Chin), only since the

down, the 'Emperor' Dading (A.D. 1161—) built splendid palaces with extensive
temples, the ruins of which form the Doongking' of Ninguta."
The Kin history states that 1000 li north-east of Shangking,, was Woogwo
chung,—the city of the Five Kingdoms. The Ming history locates Woogwo
chung, in lands more than 1000 li north of San wan wei, and states that the name
is derived from the fact that there were five kingdoms there. "There is aWoogwo
chung in the neighbourhood of Sanhing." "As Kin history states that Hooligai
Loo was over 500 li north-east of Whining foo, it must necessarily be where the
Hoorha falls into the Dakiang," or "Great River."
We have the following clear facts: that Jaochow was east of the Hwuntoong River,
and some of the lands under its care touched the Heiloong Kiang; that the Kin
Shangking was 550 li east of it; that Pooyii Loo, 700 north of Shangking, was
wholly or partly north of the Whuntoong; that Hiipin Loo, 1570 li south-east of
Shangking was west of the Hwuntoong,—and anote states that the south-east border
of Hilpin Loo would touch the north-west of Hingking; Hiipin Loo would theeafore be
in the region of the present Kirin; that Holan Loo was 1800 li south-east of Shangking
on the north Corean border, from which it was then 500 li distant; and that Hooligai
Lock was east of Shangking 630 li, and north-east of Hilpin Loo 1100 11, while
Ninguta is supposed to be in what was aportion of Hooligai. We are thus compelled
at once to throw the Corean Whining foo aside, and to pronounce Shangking to be
outside the land which was originally under Kin. It is distinctly stated in Kin
history that Whining foo was over the District cities of Whining, Yichwun, and
Chiijiang; also that the rivers Hoo and Hwuntoong or Songari, with several of the
northern peaks of Chan,gbaishan were in Whining hien,which therefore must be placed
at the point where the Songari and Hoorka head waters are nearest, and also so that
part of Changbaishan be south of it. Chiijiang is again said to have been immediately
to the south-west of Ninguta. Hence Whining foo cannot have been distant.
There are great difficulties however in the way of locating it beside Ninguta, for it is
"1800 li north-west of Holan Loo," which is again "500 north-west of Gaoli." But
in the history of Liaotung, the sea, where the Toomun enters it, is said to be "right
south of Ninguta and distant over 1000 li;" and at Si/iota shan, south-east of
Ninguta, the sea is distant only 1600 li, We feel compelled therefore to give up the
fine old ruins beside Ninguta.
Again the regions east of the Hoorka were "uncivilised," those west of it
"civilised," because subject to the Liao. And Shangking was originally the Whining
chow of Liao. Hence we must look for it west of the Hoorka. Jaochow is east of
Hwuntoong at Petuna, and 500 odd li west of Shangking,which would throw Shangking
into the not distant neighbourhood of Ninguta; and renders probable the tradition that
the Shaling, 100 li west of Ninguta, is the site of Shangking. My own impression from
various conflicting notices is, that there were two Shangkings. The first at Shaling,
which was the actual capital for atime, and from which the above measurements were
taken, fell into ruins during the southward march of conquest of the Kin. Then the
260 NU
" JUN.

present Manchu dynasty ascended the throne of their Niljun

predecessors; the word for gold having been formerly pronounced
gin (of begin), and is still so pronounced, except in Peking,
Mookden, or wherever the Manchus are numerous.
That short lived dynasty which preceded the Han, and which
built the first Chinese great wall, was the Chin. Its reign in the
latter half ofthe third century was styled the Jin, sometimes written
Chin or Tsin. This style the Coreans always write with that con-
sonant which may be either jor ds, Jin or Dsin; to this day they
use this Jin to designate Chinese writing; and this Jin sound has
always hitherto been written by westerns, Chin. It is, there-
fore, much more probable that the name China, which we now
"aspirate," is the unaspirated Ch, or J of the Tsin or Chin dynasty.
Ifeel inclined to reject the Tsin of three centuries B.C., because it
existed only afew years; and the great wall roused so universal a
hatred against that dynasty that the Chinese would never call
themselves by that title, as they do to this day by that of Han.
For the latter was apowerful, long-lived and popular dynasty.
Though the Arabians call China Sim, and the Syrians Tsini,
it is absurd to derive the Siniin of Isaiah from either Ts'in or
Tsin, or Chin dynasty. For Isaiah died five centuries before Ts'in
She Whang began his reign.

name of Shangking was dropped, and the lands under it were placed under the
prefectural city of Whining, which city was probably the former Foo, or district city
of Whining ;—for the Chinese and their eastern imitators have frequently only one
city, though widely varying jurisdictions, for the foo and the hien. This Whining
foo would still be regarded as in the place, though not on the site, of the first
Shangking, because it had charge of the three hien cities which had been originally
under Shangking; and the term foo does not signify the city alone, but all the pre.
fecture over which the magistrate (Prefect) has authority, his head quarters being
in the foo city. Then after the Kin were firmly established in Peking, and enormous
wealth poured in upon them, they bethought themselves of their original home, sent
men and money to build grand palaces and extensive temples,—not to the first
Shangking, which was formerly Liao soil and which was now in ruins,—but to their
own original home at the head waters of the Hoo and the Hwuntoong, and on the
north of Changbaishan, whose grand peaks overshadowed them. And this city
would be just where stand the very extensive ruins in the vicinity of Ninguta.
This is the only manner in which I can reconcile the various statements made in
Liao, Kin, and Ming histories, and it appears to me anatural explanation; while
the name East Capital points in the same direction.
 CHAPTER IX .

COREA.

DURING the interval since the Tang dynasty swept like atornado
over Gaoli and Baiji—levelling the cities, rooting out the
villages, and converting the cultivated fields to blood-stained
wastes till, in 905, that dynasty ceased to rule over China,—the
foundations of the modern Corea were being quietly, slowly, but
steadily laid. The Tang broke up Gaoli; and those who could,
fled across the Toomun, and to Changbaishan into Bohai land.
Kitan destroyed the extensive kingdom founded by Bohai; which
doubtless, in its turn, threw many myriads of fugitives south into
Gaoli soil, which was then at peace because adesert.
What with immigration, and what with the natural increase
of its inhabitants, when acres were numerous and men few, Gaoli
had, in 918, so far recovered that Goongcha, a Buddhist priest,
believing that the affairs of cities and country required the
control of monarchy, assumed the title and power of king of
Gaoli in Kaichow city, north-west of the present capital, and
south-east of Pingyang, the ancient capital. It would appear,
however, that he was scarcely able to keep order in his dominions;
for, in 923, he was murdered by his general, Wang Jien, who
reigned in his stead; making Kaichow his eastern and Pingyang
his western capital. He was ascion of the ancient Gaoli royal
house; and what was better, was of a generous and merciful
disposition, "and the people had rest." This not merely proves
the re-peopled state of the country, but shows its former lawless-
ness; which indeed was but the rule universal over all those
countries subject to the influence of the decaying power of Tang,
which were once welded together by its living vigour. But the
history of every dynasty is similar in China. Each in its turn
262 COREA.

is like alittle boat, from the bottom of a sea trough beginning

gradually and painfully to climb to the top of the billow, which
it no sooner reaches than it begins to go down again.
The lands to the west and north-west of the Yaloo, once in
Gaoli hands, were now, and almost ever since the crushing conquest
of Gaoli, along with all Liaotung and most of Liaosi, in the
power of Bohai to the north, whither many myriads of
Gaoli had resorted. But if Gaoli found it impossible to march
westwards, it made itself amends by crossing the Datong,
Hiwngjin, Han, and other rivers ;* and, in 936-7, annexing,
under king Jien, the whole of Baiji and Sinlo, whereupon Jien's
right to the throne was acknowledged by all the "eastern
barbarians." He thus united, for the first time, into one
compact kingdom, the peninsula now known as Corea; which,
subject to much plundering from Japan and to the spent force
of revolutions in China, has remained intact to the present day,
and has long been firmly welded into one. Jien had six foo,
nine jidoo, and one hundred and twenty kun cities; imitating the
Chinese classification of departmental, sub-prefectural, and
district cities. His descendants ruled over Gaoli for 400 years.
He made his capital at Soongyao; Pingyang being called the
west capital.
In 946, the then Sung emperor, having heard of the renovated
life of Gaoli, sent messengers to form an alliance with them to
march against the now powerful Kitan, who had lately taken
most of Bohai. The messengers found the Corean king willing
to undertake the task in order to recover those large tracts of
Bohai which formerly belonged to Gaoli; but they pronounced
the Gaoli soldiers so thoroughly inefficient, that they would not
dare look at the Kitan. The Kitan had soon thereafter become
agreat power in the north of China, occupying the old kingdom
of Wei and Han, and commanding eastern Mongolia, Liaotung,
and the Niijun. They did not pay much respect to the king of
Gaoli, who was often insulted by the presence of their brave
troops. As he could not however gain any hopes of aid from the
*See "Modern Corea" Ch. XII.
 COREA SUEJECT TO MAN. 263

Chinese government, which was then very weak and badly

conducted, he thought it, best to acknowledge the suzerainty of
Kitan. His messenger was, in 1012, well received by the Kitan,
who expressed their pleasure in having Gaoli their tributary, and
asked the king to come and make his submission in person.
Suspecting they meant him no good, he declined the journey to
Peking, or Yenking as it was called, on the score of illness.
As he refused to pay homage in person, the Kitan demanded
the restitution of the country west of the Yaloo, with its six cities
of fling, Tie, Dong, Long, Gwei, and Go, all chows, which they
had formerly granted to the Gooli. And as the latter refused to
deliver them up, the Kitan prepared to take them by force.
We have already glanced at the manner and causes of the
successful establishment of the Nlijun dynasty of Kin over so
much of China. Before they came into collision with China, the
Niijun, or men of Bohai, were necessarily thrown into contact
with the Coreans. The country of the latter would seem alarge
kingdom to their Niijun neighbours during the period before
1114, when the latter crossed the Songari. Compared with the
northern nomads, the settled, agricultural Coreans, would also
seem awealthy people,—though then, as now, they were poor as
compared with China. Among those possessions which consti-
tuted the wealth of Corea, was one article widely famed for
generations before and after the twelfth century,—large pearls of
a size and brilliancy not to be equalled by the pearls of any
country then known to China. These were called "Eastern
Pearls," a name given to large pearls even now. The Niijun
were well acquainted with the existence and the value of those
pearls. One IViijun, hoping to derive personal profit from the
state of ill-feeling between the Liao or Kitan and Corea,—both
countries being then much larger and more wealthy than his
own,—went to the Court of Liao, and informed it that alarge
collection of those valuable pearls was stored up in a fart seven
days journey to the east of Kaichow, the Corean capital. That
fort enclosed a city much more splendid even than the capital,
and it stood in the vicinity of the waters where alone those
 264 COREA.

large pearls were found. This man also gave the bearings of
other two forts south of Shung and Lo chow cities, containing
the magazines and valuable stores of Corea. To these cities,
with the splendid country in which they were situated, he offered
to guide a Liao army along the unoccupied southern border of
Niijun lands, and promised them certain possession of the rich
prizes at extremely little risk. He would take them "across
the Yaloo, and lead them by the city of Gochow,"—which route
would have most probably been that one recently opened, passing
through Hingking, and going in anearly due east direction into
the barren wilds of northern Corea. We do not learn whether
the inducements held out by the Niijun man had any beneficial
results to himself; but the Liao preparations for an eastern
campaign went on, not improbably accelerated by the visions of
wealth in Corea; which visions have acted on some European
nations of our own day. But the storm did not break upon
Corea without indications of its approach; and to prepare,
timely overtures were made, in 1014, to the chief of Niljun for
assistance. The Niijun willingly marched to the help of their
southern neighbour. The combined army laid an ambush, into
which the Liao army was drawn by a feigned flight, and the
Liao men were cut to pieces.
Ten years thereafter aGaoli official travelled north to examine
into the condition of the Nfijun, and aprofound impression was
made upon him by the extraordinary changes wrought in those
few years since the defeat of Liao. They were then rude, wild,
lawless, ungoverned savages; but they had become awell regulated
nation, were under excellent laws, and possessed of most
formidable acquirements (p. 237). He urged upon his king the
immediate adoption of a friendly relationship with the infant
but powerful kingdom, as the only means of warding off future
troubles. The king followed the advice, and took the initiative
in drawing the two kingdoms nearer to each other; and among
other measures he instituted barter markets for the mutual
exchange of the productions of the two peoples. But the same
friendly relations did not always exist. We have already seen how
 QUESTIONABLE FRIENDSHIP. 265

rapidly and widely was extended the kingdom and power of the
Niijun by Agooda, whose reign was begun soon after the changes
referred to by the Corean traveller were introduced. It is, we
believe, impossible for any people who have been remarkably
successful in war, to prevent the growth of anational vanity from
such success. The Niijun were undoubtedly elated to an extreme
degree at their unheard of military successes; and they would
certainly not regard the Coreans as their equals. In 1117, a
party of Niijun or Kin soldiers approached the city of Baochow
on the Corean frontier. As the two countries were on the best
of terms, the commandant readily opened his gates; but once
inside, the Niijun took possession, and the Corean messengers
got no redress at the court of Kin, nor did Corea dare to quarrel
or call in question the high handed acts of its friendly
neighbour.
Yii, the king of united Corea, had, a short time before, in
acknowledging his suzerain lord, the Sung emperor, petitioned
for medical instruction, and had two doctors sent, who were
retained two years, and then sent back again. King Yii, having
heard of Sung preparations to march against the south of Liao,
while the Niijun were to pour in from the north, sent his advice
to Sung, to regard and treat the Liao as his younger brother;
for the Liao were his best protection against the Niijun, who
were wolves and tigers. The physicians were too late, for the
treaty had been already completed, and the Chinese army had
already marched. The Liao were ultimately crushed between the
two; and the Sung dynasty had ample reason to regret that
they had not carried out the policy recommended by king Yil.
Corea itself had to acknowledge the supremacy of the powerful
Kin: and thus, for 400 years, it passed a comparatively
quiet life, as far as China was concerned; for it never was
able to raise its hand against its powerful western neighbours.
And it had especial reason to treat the Niljun with respect;
for before the appearance of Agooda, it had suffered two
defeats, in two attacks upon Niijun,—the latter being an
attempt to capture nine cities which the Niijun had planted on
266 COREA.

the southern border, right opposite asimilar number of Corean

cities.
After the Kin Niijun had fattened on the rich soil of China,
they became subject to repeated attacks and plundering raids
from the north; for Genghis Kokhan had collected into one
whole the various hordes of restless cavalry on the north of
Shamo, and the west of Hinganling. Of the numerous defeated
tribes he formed a conquering army, crossed the wild desert of
Shamo, spread the terror of his arms and the sphere of his reign
in all directions. His sons were able successors of the father; and
in addition to their other numerous conquests, they drove the Kin
off the throne of northern China, and put an end to the weak
empire of the Sung in the south. He called his kingdom by the
name of Mongol,—Munggoo as it is written by the Chinese;
and Munggoo or Monggoo in eastern Mongol language means
"silver "*—which title he may have assumed, as he was preceded
in China by Kin or the "Golden" dynasty, which had displaced
"Liao" or the "Iron" dynasty,—all three being Turanian
people, though each very different from the other. The Mongols
spread everywhere; and long before they established themselves
on the Yellow River, all Liaotung and all Manchuria were
compelled to acknowledge their sway. Corea did so, as usual,
without fighting.
That branch of the Mongols which settled in China assumed
the dynastic title of Yuen. The Mongols seem to have
meditated the conquest of the world. At all events, in 1299,
they ordered Corea, as their vassal, to bring Japan under their
rule. But the Yuen emperor had miscalculated both parties.
Corea had been sent on asimilar expedition some years before,
but had to return unsuccessful. This second expedition was
much more powerful than the first; and Chwunjiantaha, the
Corean king, found himself master of 500 ships, built on the
south of the Yangtsu. But it was easier to procure vessels fitted
for such an expedition than men; for the Japanese have always

*Howorth, in his "Mongols," translates the name "brave" ;but on whatever

grounds he prefers that translation Iprefer the above.
 COREA AND JAPAN. 267

been good soldiers. This fleet had to be recalled after three

years service, as it completely failed to accomplish its purpose.
And to retrieve disaster to Mongol arms in the land of the
sunrise, an army was sent south to Annam, which defeated
every Annamese force encountered.
In the beginning of the Yuen dynasty, Corea seems to have
been in complete subjection; for Yooen, the new king, was
ordered into Peking for the purpose of investigating serious
charges against him. For he was reported to have put to death
anumber of the best officials of his father. Five years after, a
member of the Hanlin Academy was sent to Corea with secret
instructions on the same subject. He sent to Peking Woo,
the minister chiefly concerned in and responsible for the
government of the young king. And it was more than matter
of suspicion, that Yooen's father had been foully dealt with, and
a wicked plot successfully executed. Woo was, therefore,
banished to Singan. And eight years after he left the borders
of his own kingdom, Yooen was again allowed to cross the Yaloo
eastwards, as commander of the forces of the "Eastern Province,"
where an army was still under arms, probably with the view of
subduing Japan. The Corean king had a very good reason to
plead for the abolition of this heavy tax on the east when a
severe famine pressed hard upon his country. His prayer was
granted, and he was relieved from the responsibilities of the
"Eastern Fighting and Travelling Province." Perhaps he was
all the more readily freed from the, to him, impossible task of
conquering Japan, as there was then much internal discord among
the conqueror Mongols, not to speak of the extreme dissatisfaction
universally abroad among their Chinese subjects. Some Mongols
found plotting against the empire were banished to Corea, but
others actually took up arms against their own dynasty. And
henceforth, Corea's connection with China was a very nominal
one, till the Buddhist priest rose in his might, and, doffing his
cowl and donning his helmet, exchanging the chanting of his
prayers for the shouts of maddened warriors, and the melancholy
noise of his small bell and mallet for the clang and crack of sword
268 COREA.

and spear, marched from victory to victory, driving back the

successive armies of, and taking city after city from, the Mongol,
who had become as weak as he was wicked, and weak because
wicked. This Chinese monk rapidly rose in power, assumed the
imperial title of Ming or "Bright," and took awife to found a
family. What with the widely extending "rebellion" of this
monk, whom the Chinese welcomed as a deliverer, and with the
dissatisfied Mongol princes raising the standard of rebellion in
various directions, instead of supporting their own dynasty,—
the Yuen family thought it high time to look out aquiet retreat
where they could be able to defend themselves and their accumu-
lated treasures, "if the worst came to the worst." This is the only
explanation we can think of giving to the fact that, at this
critical juncture, Tasutumor was sent from Peking with the title
of king of Corea, and with aforce to suppport it. News of his
approach flew before him; and when he got to the banks of the
Yaloo, Coreans rose up from all sides and gave him such a
reception that he fain had to flee to his native capital again; thus
weakening instead of strengthening the imperial cause.
In 1368, six years after that abortive attempt, the warrior
monk was enthroned in Peking, emperor of all China.* Next
year Wang Jwan, the king of Corea, sent an ambassador with
letters of congratulation to the new emperor, to his new capital
of Nanking, and the pleased emperor formally acknowledged him
king of Corea. Some great men were soon after banished by

*The Yuen commandant of Liaotung gave in his submission at the summons of

the new dynasty; and the new emperor divided Liaotung into districts. The
Circuit of Woolangha, north of Yd yang sai, and south of Heiloong kiang, was the
Daning Circuit or Loo of Yuen; San Wei was north of the Hung shwi, and included
the present Kirin. From Sifung Kow, via Kwangning to Hiienfoo, was called
Toyenboo; and Fooyii booloo stretched from Whangniwa via Mookden, and Tieling
to Kaiyuen. Deming loo was the regions of Liaosi, now called Kingchow, Yichow,
and eastwards across the Liao to Baiyun shan; this was the ancient Woolangha; the
people there lived wherever they found grass and water. This, therefore, is the south-
eastern portion of Inner Mongolia, where the people still—except the numerous
Chinese settlers—" live where they can find grass and water." The country districts
between Shan hai gwan and Kingchow were very largely occupied by Mongols, even
in the seventeenth century.
 MODERN CAPITAL OF COREA. 269

the Chinese court to Corea; and in token of his good will, the
Corean king sent his sons and younger brothers to the Gloodstt,
College to learn Chinese. This king was succeeded by his son
Yii, who had the misfortune to have aminister more able than
himself, and unscrupulous to boot. Yii was therefore thrust
aside ;—first imprisoned, and then murdered; and his son Mao
was placed on the throne. This minister, Li Yinyin, had a son,
Li Chunggwei, who made away with Mao, and occupied the
throne himself; thus finishing the story of the Corean Mayor
of the Palace. He repeatedly sent messengers to Nanking to
have his title confirmed; and at length had his prayers granted.
He founded the dynasty which still rules Corea, and which has,
therefore, swayed the Corean sceptre for more than four cen-
turies. He moved his capital to its present site, to the city of
Hanchung, on the Han river,—the name Seool or Sheoul simply
meaning "The Capital." He also changed the name Gaoli,
which had prevailed since the Tang dynasty, to CIIAOSIEN, the
oldest known name of Corea, or of any portion of it. This is the
name by which it is now called. The, land has remained exactly
as he left it,—bounded on the north-west by the Yaloo, on the
north by the Niljun, and elsewhere by the sea.
The Japanese were probably emboldened by their repeated
victories over the Chinese or Corean armies sent to annex their
land, and were inclined to cross the sea and to retaliate. It was,
doubtless, their ascertained superiority over their wealthy
neighbours which tempted them to build their ships, and assume
the part of eastern Vikings; for immediately on the accession of
the Ming, a band of Japanese descended upon the coasts of
Shantung and pillaged them. Their visits must have repaid the
trouble, and been more frequent than welcome; for in 1387,
many fortified cities had to be built along the eastern Chinese
coasts to watch them. They were not so successful in a raid on
Liaotung; which, most probably, was then not so wealthy along
the coast as it is now, and the Japs may have been tempted to
march too far from their ships. At any rate, they were
thoroughly defeated by Lieutenant-General Liw Yoong; but
270 COREA.

whether from the severity of their chastisement or their

experience of the poverty of the land, they did not pay a second
visit to Liaotung. They were, however, the scourge of the
whole coast of China, from Canton to Chifoo, all through the
Ming dynasty; and held Formosa as piratical headquarters for
many years.
In the latter half of the Ming period, Liaotung was the scene
of frequent fighting. The Tooman, a Mongol people, from the
north-west of Liaotung, took the city of Fooshwun, and attacked
Funghwangchung, when the founder of the Manchu dynasty was a
boy of about adozen years of age, enjoying the quiet mountain life,
and delighting to join in the sport of the chase some few score
miles east of Fooshwun. At Ftmghwang, Lieutenant-General
Heichwun fought the Tooman for three days and nights, and at
last fell in the battle.
At the recommendation of the able Li Chungliang, commandant
of Liaotung, of the six "poo" or fortified small towns east of
Liaoyang, that of Gooshan was moved to Changchihala dien,
Jienshan to Kwandien and Jiang; Jao, Sin, and Ngan to the
neighbourhood of Changdien and Changling, to look after the
borders and the agricultural interests of the neighbourhood.
But though all the six were in narrow vallies, east and south-
east of the more recent Hingking, that of Kwandien alone seemed
to me to be of any strategical importance; for it is on one of the two
routes into Corea, in the midst of asplendid valley covered with
immense blocks of lava, of which six feet of the city walls were
built; and flanked by magnificent mountains, before which the
other mountains all around seem hillocks. Thirty years after,
those fortified cities were abandoned as useless; indeed, personal
inspection has shown the writer only four to have been finished,—
the north wall of Kwandien being only half finished; and of
the sixth, never a stone was laid. There were then 64,000
families in those glens, which have for three centuries, under the
name of "Neutral Territory," been the homes of the deer and
the tiger, the leopard, the wild boar, and the wolf, and the still
more destructive robber bands—only three years ago annihilated.
 THE NEUTRAL TERRITORY. 271

For those families were recalled westwards, where they could be

protected; .and only two and a half centuries after, and acouple
of years ago, was the land known as "Neutral territory" again
thrown open to the Chinese plough. It is now, however, no
longer "neutral," but almost all occupied by Chinese farmers.
During that interval of thirty years much had happened in
Liaotung. The Tooman Mongols had again and again pillaged
the country, and plundered the towns; and before they were
quieted down, the "city" of Joolwun was taken by the young
founder , of the Manchu dynasty at the head of 130 men,—thirty
of whom had coats of "mail," consisting of many folds of
cotton. Because of the Tooman ravages, Chungliang was
degraded; but when thicker clouds began to gather, he was, ten
years after (in 1601), reappointed generallissimmo of Liaotung,
with the title of count; for though seventy-six years of age, he
was considered the best man for that troublesome post. His
future belongs to Manchu history.
In 1592, atremendous storm broke upon Corea from the east.
There were then numerous converts to Romanism in Japan
among all ranks of society; and, as usual, where Jesuits are
present, and have many to listen to them, the civil government
found itself greatly embarrassed. It is supposed that this was
the true reason of the expedition against Corea; both officers
and men of which expedition were largely composed of Romish
converts, who could remain in Corea if they conquered it, and
who must remain if they were conquered. Thus victors or
vanquished, the Japanese government believed, or is supposed
to have believed, it could get rid of a difficulty which it
afterwards got rid of by wholesale massacre, as Louis XIV. and
St. Bartholomew Charles, in France, of their Protestant troubles.
Some time before, Sinshang, agovernor of aprovince in Japan,
was travelling and came across ayoung slave peasant lying under
a tree. As he did not get up and pay his respects, Sinshang
ordered the boy to be put to death, but with so much grace of
manner and eloquence of speech did he defend himself, that the
governor, instead of slaying him, attached him to his own person.
272 COREA.

His abilities raised him from post to post, and innumerable

favours made him adevoted adherent of the governor. Sinshang
was murdered; and the former slave so effectually avenged his
death, that he was made his successor. He extended his
authority over six provinces in the west and south-west of Japan,
and he ultimately became Tycoon, with the title Taiko-Sama.
His name in Japanese history is Fashiba: the Chinese called him
Ping Siwgi. It was in Siwgi's name that a Japanese army
sailed from the rendezvous of Dooima dao* (island) into Fooshan
of Corea, where they broke up the Corean army there. Army
after army came from the eight Do or provinces of Corea, all of
whom were annihilated. The Corean king, aweak debauchee, had
fled before ablow was struck, from Hanchung to Pinyang, and then
to Yichow or Aicho- w on the Yaloo, from which he crossed the
Yaloo into Chinese soil and implored Ming protection. His
second son was left in charge of the capital, but was unable to
save it; for the Japanese were soon masters of it, together with
Linjin, Bundao, and Bongda. The Japanese army was soon
reinforced; while aChinese army was sent eastwards in response
to the call of the king. This army got to the neighbourhood of
Pingyang, but was completely defeated. The commander in
chief, when reporting the loss at Peking, pleaded for a larger
body of troops to put down the powerful Japanese. This prayer
was warmly opposed by the President of war, who had all along
objected to the movement of forces towards Corea, as an expen-
diture of blood and treasure wholly profitless to the well being
of the empire. He had perhaps not dreamed that Fashiba had
designs on the dragon throne. He therefore, instead of an army,
sent Shun Weijing aChikiang man, who, it is most likely, could
talk Japanese; for there was then constant intercourse, by way of
Formosa, between Japan and Chikiang. This man was to feign
to be adeserter from the Chinese, and to sound the Japanese as to
the possibility of peace. He returned to Peking with the reply
that if the Chinese desired peace they could have it on condition

*This Ma island is that point of Japan nearest Corea; Fooshan was the first
Corean port opened to Japan by the recent treaty.
 CHINESE TO THE RESCUE. 273

that all the lands east of the Tonggang river and Pingyang, already
under Japanese arms, should remain in their possession. They
were willing to renounce all claim to the lands westwards of that
river. They thus demanded the ancient Sinlo and Baiji. The
President of the Board of War at last understood that peace
could be obtained only after war. He, therefore, prepared a
considerable force, which he placed under Li Yoosoong ,and his
lieutenant-general, who had been well trained, and had proved
their prowess in the suppression of the rebellion of Ninghia.
Yoosoong found it extremely hard marching past the magni-
ficent ranges of Funghwang shan, on the top of one peak of
which are the ruins of an ancient Corean city,—but got to
Pingyang and the Tonggang, in Feb. 1593. He found Pingyang
well protected on the south-west by the Tonggang, on the west
by a mountain; while the Japanese, most brilliantly dressed,
occupied the most important post,—an eminence on the north
of the city. Li attacked this eminence, and quickly drew off as
if in flight, to tempt the Japanese to follow him; which they
did at night, when he drove them back with considerable
loss. Two days later he made a general and determined
assault on the city, and adesperate fight ensued, in which Li's
horse was killed under him, and in which his tenacious
bravery alone prevented his men from flight. He mounted
a fresh horse, and plunged into the thickest of the melee.
At length the walls were scaled, the Chinese poured into the
city, and the Japanese crossed the Tonggang at night,
retreating eastwards. They were pursued by Li, and turned
upon him, wounding and all but taking him. The battle was
fought with surpassing bravery on both sides, and was a drawn
one. Li was, however, compelled to retire on Gaichung, as he
found it impossible just then to force his way to the capital.
In April, Li surprised great stores of rice, &c., which compelled
the Japanese to treat. The Chinese agreed to recognise Siwgi
as Japanese king, on condition of the total withdrawal of
Japanese troops and claims from Corea. The Corean king sent
as ambassador—to congratulate Siwgi on the recognition by China
274 COREA.

of him as king—a very inferior official, with apoor retinue and

mean presents. Siwgi declared this an insult, not only to him,
but to the emperor, and was deeply offended at the indignity
offered him. He sent magnificent presents to the emperor;
but refused, in the face of that insult from the Corean king,
to withdraw any of his forces. 20,000 Chinese had fallen; and
the Japanese at length withdrew from the capital, only after
their provisions had failed them. They, however, retained fast
hold of Fooshan; and the Chinese could not therefore retire
out of Corea.
In the fourth year of Japanese occupation, a kind of peace
was patched up, when the Corean king was acknowledged by
the Japanese; and the Chinese had agreed to the tribute to be
paid the Japanese by Corea. The peace was nominal, however;
for aCensor, appointed from Peking to Corea, to look after the
interests of that country, was recalled in disgrace; for after he
lost 20,000 men, he was in terror of the Japanese. It was only
in 1598, after severe fighting with the Chinese troops, sent east-
wards the preceding year, that the Japanese made terms of
peace, and finally withdrew,—Siwgi dying that year. During
those seven years' war, the Coreans lost hundreds of thousands of
men, and many millions of taels. In connection with this
conquest, it is strange that the Coreans persist in believing and
stating that Japan has always paid them tribute. We can
account for it only on the supposition that the Japanese brought
some presents for the Corean king, and that Corea followed the
example of China in calling these by the name of tribute.
The preceding account of the Japanese occupation of Corea is
proof sufficient of the character of the Coreans as drawn by the
Ming historians,—that they were apeople timid and weak, though
excellent students and capital scholars, full of veneration for their
numerous priests, much afraid of demons; and hating the slaughter
of men or animals. The same historians state of the Coreans
that, when going outside, the least wind would blow off their hats,
—implying that they wore three centuries ago the same broad
brimmed, high, conical, horse-hair hat worn now. Their dress
 COREA. IN SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 275

sleeves were enormously wide, as they are still. Marriages were

then, as in Britain now, consummated by the young people
themselves, who were free to see and to choose for themselves. In
this they have changed to the Chinese style (see Customs, below)..
Burials took place only three years after death. Their officials
and lower ranks of soldiers and lictors were extremely polite.
All public officers were paid in land, as in ancient China. In
punishing offenders, they never beat a man to death (comp.
customs). Their clothing was made of flax, and they still use a
coarse linen; and their houses were built of straw (comp.
customs).
The following narrative of the conquest of Corea by the
Manchus is translated chiefly from the "Holy wars," which
introduces Corea in the following manner :—
"Corea, from north to south, is two thousand li. It is divided
into eight provinces, containing forty-one circuits, in which are
thirty-three foo, thirty-eight chow, and seventy hien, cities, i.e.
in all ahundred and forty-one walled cities. It is bounded on
the north by Liao, and on the east, west, and south by the sea.
The whole of its sea coast is locked in by very high mountain
ranges and islands cut off the main land, there being only Fooshan,
opposite to Madao (island), into which vessels can sail, and which
was anciently the resort of Japanese pirates.
"Going to the capital from Fooshan, it is necessary to pass
through the two provinces of Chiienlo and Chingshan* between
which provinces is a very high range of mountains, precipitous
in the extreme, and easily defended. Liw Ting kept Chiienlo
for two years with only five thousand men, in the time of Wanli,
and cut out all to the east of him.
"The capital is in the heart of the eight provinces, its north
protected by Tsoongshan, and its south by Tsangchiao mountains.
"Joongchow has on its right and left Jinling and Maling, with
awinding path where only one man can walk. Here at the south
side the Japanese held the path against the Chinese with afew
men; while at the north end, a few Chinese blocked the way
*Julta and Giungshang.
276 COREA.

against the Japanese. These are most important natura

defences.
"Their (walled) cities are few, and they are ignorant of the
proper style of etiquette for their king and great men, as also of
the art of defence in war. Their soldiers mostly wear long
garments of fine linen, and are not properly drilled. Office and
honour are hereditary, and they have their hereditary servants (or
serfs). The common people always remain the common people;
for no amount of ability will entitle a man born outside the
official class to become amagistrate.*
"On the east of Corea is Japan, and on its west Liao, so that
it is encompassed by difficulty and danger, and is the refuge for
the fugitives of both.
"Pingyang stands between the Yaloo on the west, and the
Jinkang on the north, both which run into Bohai on the south.
When therefore the Japanese barbarians fought in Corea, they
took Pingyang, and cut off all succour from the south-west.
"If akingdom is able to take care of itself by its own strength,
well; the next best thing is to have a sure ally. The Coreans
have therefore, under the Ming and Tsing dynasties, looked to
China for assistance, which was sure to be given; for the reputa-
tion and skill of China were at their disposal. The helmet and
coat of mail of Corea is faithfulness; propriety and rectitude are
its surest defence."
Corea has been more or less under Chinese influence and
control ever since the first emperor of the Tang dynasty drove
the Coreans eastwards out of Manchuria or Liaotung, and across
the Yaloo river, which he made the boundary of Corea proper.
The first contact of Coreans with the Manchus was in 1619, at
the great battles of Hingking, where twenty thousand of the
former, marching westwards to Kwandien, joined that division of
the Chinese army which threatened Hingking from the south.
The Coreans were defeated with the Chinese, and their leader
with five thousand men deserted.1-
*This is not absolutely the case now. (See Literature, below).
'1' See "History of Manchus."
 MANCHUS AGAINST COREA. 277

The Manchu Taidsoo sent ten of these deserters to the Corean

king, Li Hwi, with an epistle, stating that, because of old the Chinese
sent assistance* to the Coreans, it was very natural and right
that the Chinese should now be assisted by them; that he was,
therefore, not the least offended by their fidelity to their allies;
and in proof of his goodwill, he would send to his home every
man of the Coreans who had deserted. But his generosity had
not the desired effect; for Corea remained firm, and did not
even give thanks for the men sent back.
One of the divisions of Doonghai, or Maritime Province, right
across the north of the Yaloo, south of Hingking and bordering
Corea, was Warka, against which Taidsoo sent several expedi-
tions, and took many of its sparse population. Coreans crossed
the border to assist the men of Warka. They also abetted
Boojantai, chief of Woola, in the north. When Taidsoo died,
they sent no letter of condolence, as even the Chinese and
Mongols did. They permitted the Chinese Lieutenant-general,
Mao Wunloong, to land on their shores with agood many thou-
sand men of Liaotung, whom he had collected at Pit (Skin)
island; for in Corea he had avantage ground, whence he made
incursions into Manchu territory, and annoyed them much and
long.
As the Manchus found it impossible to take Ningyuen from
the Chinese, while it was under governor Choonghwan, they made
the above casus belli against the Coreans; and employing two
fugitive Coreans as guides, four Beiras led alarge army against Corea
in 1627, the first year of the Manchu Taidsoong, the seventh of
the Chinese Tienchi, and the third of the Corean Li Dsoongsu.
They crossed the Yaloo on the ice in February, and first attacked
Mao Wunloong, in Tieshan, or the Iron mountains in the west
of Corea, at the mouth of the Yaloo. He was defeated, and fled
back to Pi island. Yichow was next attacked and taken, then

*Referring, doubtless, to the assistance against the Japanese.

An island off the port of ridsuwo in the south-east corner of Liaotung
peninsula, which has often since—perhaps always since—been the head-quarters of
thousands of robbers, only lately driven off. .
278 COREA.

Dingchow, and Hanshan chung. Many myriads of the people,

soldiers and citizens, were slain; and incalculable quantities of
grain and stores burnt.
That same month they crossed the Chingchiien kiang, and
took Anchow, which had been taken by the first Tang emperor,
under the name of Anboo. The large city of Pingyang was then
besieged. The officials and citizens all fled, and the army
crossed Datong kiang and entered Joongho. Next month they
arrived at Gwangchow; and the whole kingdom, in great terror,
prayed the Chinese to send urgent aid. And in response,
Choonghwan despatched anumber of large vessels and soldiers
to support Pi island; and nine thousand picked men to Sancha
ho, on the west of the Liao, just above Newchwang. This move
terrified the Manchus, lest the weakness of their position in
Liaotung should be discovered, for their army was far away.
They, therefore, collected every available man, and kept the most
careful watch over the Liao river.
Meantime the Corean capital was besieged; the queen and her
children, with all the great ladies, were removed to Ganghwa
island, south of the city of Kaichow, and at the mouth of the
Han river, which was inaccessible to the Manchus, who were
destitute of vessels.
The attacking army encamped on Pingshan, to which the king
sent ayounger brother, the prince of Yuenchang, with a peace-
offering consisting of ahundred horses, a hundred tiger-skins, a
hundred leopards, ahundred pieces each of satin, pongee, and linen,
with fifteen thousand pieces of cotton cloth. Messengers were
thereupon sent to Ganghwa island to make a treaty, at the
ratification of which awhite horse and ablack ox were sacrificed,
and apaper with the treaty provisions was burnt to inform Heaven
and Earth. The principal part of the treaty was that by which
the two kingdoms were called "elder and younger brothers."
The treaty was first sought by the Corean king, but the Man-
chu chiefs were not slow in making it; for they were becoming
apprehensive lest the Chinese or Mongols should advance upon
Liaotung in their absence. But the Beira Amin, coveting the
 END OF FIRST WAR. 279

beauty of the situation of the capital, and its noble palaces and
halls, refused to be a party to the treaty. The other Beiras,
therefore, ordered the division of Amin to camp on Pingshan,
concluded their treaty separately, and then made it known to
Amin, who, replying that he was not satisfied with the provisions,
led out his army and laid waste the country. He afterwards
concluded atreaty of his own with the prince of Yuenchang at
Pingyang.
Taidsoong sent acourier to order Amin never again to destroy
the produce of autumn, and also.to order him to garrison Yichow
with three thousand men. This garrison was left to make sure
that the provisions of the treaty would be carried out; and the
rest of the army was recalled from Corea.
In May, Li Jiao, the prince of Yuenchang, accompanied the
army to court; and in the following autumn the Corean king
pleaded the recall of the garrison in Yichow, promising to redeem
all the prisoners. The amount of tribute to be paid yearly was
fixed, and an agreement was made to hold amarket for exchange of
products on the west of the Joong kiang, or "Middle river," as
the Yaloo is now called.*
This same year Choonghwan put to death, on Shwang
(Double) island, Mao Wunloong, who had gradually risen to
power by frequent and successful raids against the Manchus
along the south, and east, and north-east coasts of Liaotung.
One authority states that this was because Choonghwan suspected
Mao of treachery; another, that it was for private reasons of his

*A wide and deep ditch was cut through a loess hillock on the west side of
Funghwang shan, across the narrow gully, westwards. A village was founded by
the trade which grew there; and if the city of Funghwang chung was not originated
by Corean traffic, it increasen largely by the roads thus opened. This original ditch
is about three miles directly south of Funghwang chung, and is known as the "Old
Border-Gate." The present border-gate, commonly called the "Corean Gate," is a
long straggling street running east and west, under the shadow of the south peaks
of Funghwang sham, and at right angles to the once wide 'ditch east of it. Here
Chinese and Corean merchants exchange their mutual products thrice, and some-
times four times ayear,—the Corean exchanges his excellent ox-hide, paper, silks,
ginshing, gold and lead, for the best English cotton, Chinese cotton, sugar, &c. The
yearly merchandise amounts to several hundred thousand pounds on each side.
 280 COREA.

own, fearing his reputation might by and by be overshadowed by

Mao. This latter is probably the correct reason; for the death
of Mao so shocked the Chinese emperor, that he recalled
Choonghwan to Peking. He was, however, again employed by
the succeeding emperor; but, in 1629, he was put to death by
one of the cleverest stratagems of the Manchus.*
The death of Mao deprived the islands of the south-east coast
of Liaotung and south-west and west of Corea of their master, and
most of his soldiers disbanded and crossed to Shantung. The
Manchus were eager to take possession of the islands, and ordered
the Corean king to provide the necessary vessels. On the third day
after the arrival of the ambassador, the king, who was ready to
submit to have his hands bound down, rebelled from the idea of
active hostility against the Chinese, who, he said, had been to
him afather; and how could he attack his own father? By this
act he annulled the former treaty.
In 1633, adespatch was forwarded to the Corean king, accusing
him of neglecting to pay the promised tribute, of harbouring
fugitives, of encroaching on Manchu ginsheng and pasture land,
of deliberating to withdraw and send no more ambassadors, and
of threatening to stop the Yaloo market. But in the summer
of this year, the assistance of the Coreans was rendered less
essential by the desertion of three men, afterwards very famous,
who had served under Mao Wunloong, and who had, at his death,
gone across to Shantung, got commissions, revolted, were
defeated, took ship, and recrossed the gulf to join the Manchus
with twenty thousand soldiers. These were Koong Yoodua,
Shang Kosi,f and Gung Joongming; afterwards occupying such
important positions under the Manchus in the south of China.
Immediately on their arrival, some vessels were laden with
grain, and sent to Corea with an epistle stating :—" Your

*See Manchu History.

tProfessor Douglas in his article on "China" in Brit. Encyclop., divides, in

some mysterious manner, the Chinese empire between this "Shang Kohe" and the
rebel Li Tsze Ching, both agreeing to fight against the Manchus. But this is only
one of several incorrect statements in that article.
 COREA. DISAFFECTED. 281

kingdom has looked upon the Chinese government as your

father, yet it has entirely ceased to give you any grain. We
wish now to act the part of elder brother for once. Even
though we know you are unwilling to recognise this relationship,
when Koong and Gung came over to us with ships, we at
once seized the opportunity, and now forward you corn in these
vessels. We look in return for the restoration of those fugitives
from Hwining,* and the men of Boojantai, about whom we
have so frequently sent you detailed information, and whom you
have employed in rebuilding Hwang, Hai, Ping, An, and other
cities, twelve in all, in three different provinces."
The Coreans were also upbraided for stopping the market for
exchange at the "Gate," for ceasing to deliver the tribute of
satin and cotton, and for deteriorating the quality of ginsheng.
The original price of this article, mutually agreed to, was sixteen
ounces of silver per ounce. The Coreans afterwards stopped the
tribute of ginsheng, and gave instead nine ounces of silver;
hence the complaint. The ginsheng of Ninguta known to Han
dynasty, produced violent diarrlicea if half a catty were eateff!
The Coreans were also blamed for interfering with Manchu
operations against Warka, because the people were Niijun; and
therefore of the same "family" as the Manchus. The Manchus
set up the plea now so common in wars, of aggression in
Europe,—that of identity of race.
In the spring of 1634, Taidsoong was desirous to come to
terms with the Chinese emperor; and asked the Corean king to
transmit his letter, for his former letters had all miscarried.
The king, instead of doing so, informed the Chinese commandant
of Pi island, that he was anxious no terms should be made with
the Manchus; and sent amessenger to Taidsoong, stating that
he could neither deliver up the fugitives, nor open the market
at the gate. This messenger also assumed an arrogant tone, and
desired to seat himself above the Manchu ministers in order to

*Hwining is an ancient city east, and in the neighbourhood of Ningguta; and

Boojantai was the last prince of Woola in the same neighbourhood.
282 COREA.

mark their inferiority. This conduct enraged Taidsoong, who

refused to accept his presents, and detained the minister.
When formerly the Coreans sent ambassadors to the Manchu
court, the Manchus returned the visits, and gave "presents " in
return for the Corean "tribute." Special ambassadors were
sent to condole with the Corean king, on the death of his
mother and wife. His "petition" the Corean king now called a
"letter," and to the "tribute " he gave the name of "presents."
He also wished the term "honourable and humble kingdom,"
to be exchanged for the term "neighbouring kingdoms";
and that mutual presents be given by the two courts.
Taidsoong, still desirous to gain Corea by kindness, was
anxious that all the Beiras should combine in forming a treaty.
They agreed, and worked away at terms for a treaty; but after
much and angry discussion, it was rejected by the Corean
ministers. The Coreans, besides, set aguard over the ambassador
Yingwortai, who, probably apprehensive of murder, at the head
of his party rode against, pushed open the gate, and fled. The
Corean king sent a messenger with a despatch after him, and
another to the officer commanding on the border, to warn him to
be watchful.
Negotiations were broken off in 1636; and when Corean
ambassadors came to the court at Moukden, they refused to pay
the accustomed reverence, but handed in their credentials as all
that was necessary; there was, therefore, no return embassy
sent. Just before that coldness on the part of Corea,, the Manchu
army had overrun and taken the Mongol Chahar, where the
long-lost imperial seal of the Yuen dynasty was found in the
possession of an old Mongol princess. The forty-nine Beiras of
Inner Mongolia hereupon all tendered their submission to the
Manchus. Those Mongols, who have always been excellent
horsemen and made capital cavalry when well led, were attached
to the Manchus; and the combined army had completely routed
the Chinese army in Liaosi. As there was, therefore, no
immediate danger of an attack from China, preparations were
made to march asecond time into Corea.
 SECOND WAR. 283

In January 1637, Mongol and Manchu forces were told off;

some to keep watch over internal affairs, and some to guard the
Liao and seaside from any possible Chinese attack.
The army formed for the conquest of Corea numbered 100,000
men. Dorgun, who had been made Zooi chin-wang, with the
Beira Haogo, was ordered to march from Kwandien through
Changshan pass* with the left wing. Taidsoong himself led the
right wing, which crossed the Jun gang, arrived at Gokshan
city, received the keys of Dingchow and Anchow, and marched
to Lingjingang, more than a hundred li north of the Corean
capital; while a portion of the same wing, told off for the
purpose, seconded them from the Han gang river, south of the
capital. The season had not yet arrived when the river should
be frozen over; but on the arrival of the carts and horses, it
became fast frozen all of 'a sudden, and the whole army crossed
over, which was, of course, aspecial miracle.
Yti chin-wang Dodo, who led the van of the right wing,
composed of fifteen hundred men, came up with the Corean
picked soldiers, to the number of several thousands, and
defeated them just outside the gate of the capital. The king
sent out messengers to welcome and to feast the enemy's soldiers,
in order, doubtless, to gain some little goodwill; while he himself,
after sending away his queen and children with the principal
ladies of the court to Ganghwa island, started off with his best
troops to reinforce south Hanshan
The right wing now entered the capital, and was soon
joined by Yti chin-wang and the Beira Yoto, who had taken
Pingyang. The reinforced army marched against and surrounded
south Hanshan. Thrice were relieving armies defeated; and two
sallies by the city army were driven back. Thereupon over three

*This long and geologically singular pass runs east from the rich minera district
of Saimaji; so that this wing could enter Corea at its remote north-west corner,
while Taidsoong passed down by Funghwang-chung and entered by the west side.

tAnother name given to Han gang, or "river," is Hiwngjin gang, on which is

Hanshan city. By it all provisions enter the capital, and its preservation was of
the first importance to the kingdom.
281 COREA.

hundred families who had entered Corea from Warka, its

northern Niijun neighbour, came over to the Manchus.
Taidsoong ordered the capital to be plundered, while he crossed
the river and routed the relieving army from Julla and Joong-
ching. Messengers were sent to the Corean king, complaining
of his chief ministers, who had caused the misunderstanding,
and who were now demanded as prisoners by the Manchus.
In March, the Manchus encamped on the north bank of the
river, twenty li from the capital. Zooi chin-wang, who had
marched eastwards through Changshan pass, took Changchow,
and defeated the relieving armies from An, Hwang, Ning, and
the border cities, numbering 15,000 men. He now joined the
main body at the capital. The Beira Dodo also arrived with
the heavy artillery, having come down by the Linjin river, and
reunited with the main army.
The Corean king had early sent messengers for aid from the
Chinese; who, however, had their hands too full, because of the
robbers then covering the land with their plundering armies. The
lieutenant-general of Tungchow and Laichow in Shantung was
ordered to cross over; but as acontrary wind was blowing at the
time, he dared not set sail. The Coreans had therefore no hope
from outside; and their own armies from the east and south,
raised to relieve the capital, dispersed; while those on the west
and north dared not advance. The city was running short of
provisions, while the Manchus were plundering the country
around in all directions. What they did not take they burnt,
and the greatest terror prevailed. This brought the king at last
to reason; and he sent ambassadors to pray for peace, who,
however, would be listened to only on condition, that the
ministers who urged the king to renounce the former treaty, be
handed over to the Manchus. The king was unwilling to grant
those terms, and pleaded to be permitted to remain in the
city,—to prevent the humiliation of acknowledging formally the
sovereignty of the Manchus.
While all this fighting, robbing, and burning were wasting
Gingi Do, and while all the mainland was in terror of the Manchu
 GANGHWA STORMED. 285

arms, the queen and her children, with the wives of the great
ministers, were safe in the stronghold on the island of Ganghwa.
Zooi chin-wang embarked in small boats; took with him some
great guns, by means of which he shattered thirty large vessels
of the enemy guarding Ganghwa; and crossing to the island in
his small boats, he defeated the thousand odd guards who defended
the fort. He then entered the city, seized the queen, the heir to
the throne, and seventy-six members of the royal family, with a
hundred and sixty-six wives of the principal ministers, whom he
treated with the greatest respect and kindness. Taidsoong reported
to the Corean king what had happened. The king, now completely
vanquished, besought leave to go to see his family, and sent to the
Manchus the principal ministers, who had advised the annulling
of the treaty.
Taidsoong demanded that the Coreans should renounce their
allegiance to the Chinese, and hand over two of the king's
sons as hostages. In war they were to assist the Manchu, and if
attacked, to feed the army sent to their aid. Every year they
must send congratulations and presents, as they did formerly to
the court of the Ming. No city was to be built or fortified
without permission; but the customs left by the three centuries
of ancestors, and the limits of their country, were to remain
unaltered ;—and they have continued unchanged. The king
received these conditions, bowing to the ground. In March,
several scores of horsemen marched out of the city, and set up an
altar at Santien doo, on the east bank, and prepared a yellow
tent for Taidsoong; who, after arranging the order of procedure,
crossed the river with a guard; and, while music was being
played, ascended the altar through the lines of soldiers already
drawn up in order.
The Corean king, at the head of all his ministers, started from
Nanshan; and when within five li of the altar, came forward on
foot. Messengers were sent more than a li from the altar to
welcome him, and to inform him as to the proper ceremonies to
be observed.
Taidsoong came down from his high seat, conducted forward
286 COREA.

the Corean king, who, with his sons and ministers, joined Taid-
soong in worshipping Heaven. When this ceremony was over,
Taidsoong again sat down; while the king, at the head of his
inferiors, prostrated themselves on the ground, confessed their
crime, and were pardoned. The king, with all his sons and
ministers, then bowed nine times to the ground, returning
thanks; after which he was made to sit down at the left hand,
facing west," above all the Manchu wangs. After the ceremony
of conferring these favours was over, all the ministers and the
king's family were permitted to enter the capital. In this same
month, the separate bands of the army were recalled and
ordered westwards; the king, his sons and ministers, accom-
panying them ten li, and kneeling when taking leave.
Because Corea had suffered so much recently from his army,
Taidsoong remitted the tribute of the next two years, fixing the
autumn of the third year for the first payment; and if, there-
after, they should find themselves unable to meet their engage-
ments, the king was informed that the abatement or nonpayment
could be settled at the time. Just below the altar at Santien
d.00, the Coreans, ministers and people, set up a slab, with an
inscription in praise of Taidsoong's clemency.
Two months after, the king forwarded his two hostage sons to
Moukden; and next month Koong Yoodua, and the other
deserters, guided the Corean vessels against the island of Pi, took
several myriad men on that and the neighbouring islands, and
terminated the reign of this Manchu scourge; for the Chinese
made no subsequent attempt to garrison those islands during
that long-continued war.
At the command of the Manchus, the Coreans, in 1638,
attacked and took prisoners the people of Koorka, a tribe of
Niijun living on their northern border, beyond the Toomun and
east of Changbai shan, who had rebelled against Manchu rule, and
had fled to Hiwng (Bear) island, north-east of the Corean coast.
This was their first service under their new masters; but they

*The emperor and gods are all represented as facing south; the post of honour
is on the left hand facing west; the next on the right hand facing east.
 COREA. SULLEN. 287

served with a bad grace, for in 1641 they were reprimanded,

because that, having been entrusted with the conveyance of ten
thousand clan of grain to Kingchow, where the Manchus were
at war with the Chinese, the thirty-two Corean ships, in which
the grain had been stowed, had never been seen. The same
quantity was again transmitted in ahundred and fifteen ships
from the mouths of Daliang and Siaoliang rivers, east of Kingchow,
for Sanshan dao,* on which over fifty ships were dashed to pieces
by the wind, or taken by the Chinese. Of the whole, fifty-two
made their way across the gulf eastwards to Kaichow, but failed to
enter the small river. The Corean officials petitioned to be per-
mitted to forward the grain overland, but received an angry reply.
To complete the sum of their sins, three Corean ships, under some
pretence, sailed into Chinese waters, where they naturally acted
as friends; but it was known to the Manchus that these ships
had sailed out of their proper course, and had, therefore, sought,
and not avoided, Chinese waters. The Manchus, therefore, wrote
an angry disapproval of this conduct, stating that the Coreans
were at liberty to do what they would with their grain; to throw
it overboard, or recall it to their own country at their pleasure.
The Corean minister, Li Chingye, was terrified, and entreated
to be once again permitted to brave the dangers of the sea in
transporting the grain. He was allowed, however, to transport
it over land. A thousand Corean soldiers, bearing firearms, with
five hundred camp followers, were retained in Manchu service,
and the rest sent home. But soon thereafter, messengers were
again sent to Corea to reprove the ministers, and to make
investigation why it was that, after they were long overdue,
neither grain, soldiers, nor horses appeared. Several of the
principal Corean ministers were apprehended as guilty of
treachery.
In 1612, after the crushing defeat at Kingchow, the Chinese
sent an ambassage for terms of peace, which the Manchus were
willing to grant, on terms, however, which the Chinese could
not, or would not accept. Immediately afterwards, a despatch
*An island, forty-five li south of Kingehow.
288 COREA.

was forwarded to the Corean king, complaining that two Chinese

vessels had been welcomed in Corean waters, and strictly
forbidding such conduct for the future. The king was also
commanded to cease from slaying his people, and rather to calm
them by useful and wise administration ;—an admonition not out of
place now, if one half the stories of official atrocities spoken of
in that overcrowded land be true.
A deputation had been sent to Funghwang chung some time
before, to examine into the truth of acharge made by the Corean
king* against two of his own ministers, who were said to be in
secret communication with the Chinese. The charge was proved;
for Tsooi Mingji and Lin Chingye, two of the principal ministers,
had, in the temple of ancestors at Pingyang, with Lin Shangho,
the governor of that province, forwarded aletter to the Chinese.
They were now handed over to the above ambassage, along with
the messengers who delivered the letters and presents. They
were all punished ;—Mingji was imprisoned; Chingye fled; his
wife was imprisoned; and Shangho was degraded.
The Corean king had sent eight messengers with presents of
silver, rice, ginsheng, and friendly letters to the Manchus. The
messengers sold the presents at Tungchow in Shantung, and in
Ningyuen. The king put these men to death. In the end of
the year he sent soldiers to Taidsoong, who were met, welcomed,
and feasted. Thus terminated the struggling of the ancient
Corea against the fetters imposed upon her by the upstart
Manchu kingdom.
The Coreans had a third of their tribute remitted in 1643,
after the aeath of Taidsoong; and in the following year, when
sending home the king's son, who had gone to Peking to have
his title to the crown confirmed, a half was remitted, and a
pardon proclaimed to all in Corea who were condemned to die.
Kanghi, Yoongjung, and Kienloong, frequently remitted the
tribute, demanding only a tithe, treating the Coreans like

*In the Doong lava loo this and several remarks of asimilar nature already made,
seem to imply that the hereditary ministers lorded it over the king, which is
probable enough.
 COREAN ISOLATION. 289

Chinese. Since the time of Kanghi, whenever Corea has been

threatened with famine, grain has been sent them by sea. If a,
rebellion has cropped up, soldiers have been sent to their aid,
with ten thousand taels to support them.
"When at dinner, the Corean ministers used to pass the time in
making verses; and the ambassadors sent to the Manchu court,
made impromptu verses superior to those of the Manchu ministers,
whether native or Chinese; for though ignorant of the art of war,
the learning of the Coreans is of the highest class; a character
imprinted on the nation ever since the time of Kidsu, younger
brother of king Chow, who founded the kingdom.*
"The Corean mountain chains run south-east at right angles to
and from the south of Changbai shan, and extend over two
thousand li to Fooshan, on the coast, ahalf-day's sail from the
Japanese Ma island."
In 1638, the Japanese sent ambassadors to demand an
increased tributet of the products of the soil. The Corean king
replied by referring them to the change in his position, as being
now under the Manchus. The ambassadors, having satisfied
themselves that the Manchus were aterrible lot, and not to be
trifled with, thought it best to return to their own country,
leaving the Coreans unmolested.
The modern history of Corea has brought it into contact and
collision with western nations; but up to the present, it has
been able to retain its fondly cherished isolation. In an excellent
article on Corea in the "Edinburgh Review," No. 278, the
writer states that—" The stringent severity with which Chinese
and Coreans are kept as much as possible apart, arises, in great
measure no doubt, from the ingrained distrust and dislike of
everything non-Chinese, which forms so important an element
in the character and policy of the Celestial Empire; but it is
partly due to the traditions of enmity, which have grown out of

*Shung woo ji, and Corean tradition. We have seen how much truth there is in
that statement, for Chaosien and Gaoli were certainly no more akin than the
Saxons and Normans in England,—probably much less so.
fImplying there had been aprevious tribute.
290 COREA.

centuries of warfare, dating from times anterior to the Christian

era, when the kingdom of Chaohien, . . . in the second
century B.C., gave abundance of trouble to the Chinese emperors
of the Han dynasty."
This paragraph, coming from one so able, and usually so well
informed as the reputed author, greatly astonished me. The
statement regarding "the ingrained distrust and dislike" is
much too general. The "stringent severity" does not exist at
all as far as the Chinese are concerned; it is all on the Corean
side; for the laws or customs of the Chinese on this subject are
made in deference to Corean wishes. The Chinese, like the
Manchus in Moukden, have always desired closer bonds of
relationship; the hostility to which is on the Corean side. The
Chinese people welcome all Coreans who fly across the Yaloo;
and the Chinese magistrate winks at the presence of Corean
subjects, until the fugitive comes under the searching gaze of his
native magistrate, or until acrime of more than common gravity
compels him to send the Corean back to his own country. All
Coreans are gladly received on the west of the Yaloo; but the
Chinaman crossing it eastwards is put to death. The small
power fears for its independent existence; the large neither fears
nor hates. As to the "centuries of warfare," we have seen
what they were; and yet we have observed how much the Coreans
suffered from Manchu hands for their faithful attachment to the
cause of the "Ming" or Chinese, the descendants of their cruel
oppressors; yet with the Manchus up till that time they never
had any wars. This proves that whatever ill feelings existed
during those early wars had long died out. The isolation of the
Coreans is their own deed, not the act of the Chinese; and it is
caused by fear for the future, not by hate from the past.
Yet one other extract and we are done with the distasteful
work of fault-finding :—" When . . . Peking was given up
to the victorious Manchus, the reigning king of Corea, who had
been taken prisoner some time previously by the conquerors in
one of their inroads into his country, was brought in their train
to the capital of China, and became acquainted with the
 JESUITS. 291

celebrated Jesuit, Adam Scha11." . . . This is a strange

statement, apparently made upon Roman Catholic authority.
The "reigning king" of Corea, who was, as we have seen,
in the hands of the Manchus, never entered Peking; otherwise
the "Annals," which contain accounts of the appointment of
every trifling embassy, and of the visit of every king's son received
at court, could not possibly have passed the remarkable event in
silence, even though the "Holy Wars" might. The son of the
"reigning king," who himself afterwards became "reigning
king," was probably in Peking; not as actual king, but as heir-
apparent, and we presume this is what is meant.
Few men outside their own order regard the Jesuits with
unmixed respect; but whatever our judgment regarding their
religious tenets, and the peculiar system of ethics they have
evolved, none will deny them the praise due to zeal, bravery, and
perseverance in carrying out ascheme which they have resolved
upon. Their missions to the heathen began long before those
of Protestants. They have been carried on with more system
and vigour; and we think they wrought with much more
efficiency, and over afar larger base. Taken man for man, we
believe too that they have sent far more able men into this
work; and Ido not know if Iam far wrong in considering their
average mental capacity, in spite of their intellect-warping
system, superior to the average Protestant missionary of even
the present day.* If the Protestant missionaries changed places
with the Romish, we believe that no such fruits could have been
shown in the east as the Romanists can show in their past. And
if those Romish priests had worked under the Protestant system,
we believe the indelible work done would have been immensely
•
greater than it has been under the Romish. Indeed, the Jesuits,
to begin with, in the days of their greatest success and triumphs,
were in asense Protestants. They acted independently of, some-
times in antagonism to, Rome; yet the Romish system clung to

*The opposite of this is proclaimed in the "Taiping Rebellion,"—the author of

which had far better opportunities of judging. But Icannot change my opinion of
the early Chinese history of the Jesuits, though Imay be wrong as to its modern state.
292 COREA.

them; and the castles they raised so highly and nobly, tumbled
down over their ears in every eastern country. What is true of
China and Japan, where they were pampered and loaded with un-
unheard of honours, is equally true of Corea. But long before
Romanism gained afirm footing in Corea, it had been discovered in
China that converts to Romanism were the subjects of Rome and
not of the Chinese emperor. It is needless, and would be out of
place here to enquire, by what acts the converts everywhere
proved, or were ready to prove, their attachment to a foreign
civil power; but the consequence was the deportation of the
priests from China, and latterly the most frightful persecution of
their converts; so that at length there was not asingle public
professor of Romanism in China, though many remained true at
heart. Corea, therefore, never took political notice of the
converts, who by and by became numerous within her borders.
The presence of foreign priests has always been forbidden, since
the very first suspicions in China of political designs by the
priests or their converts.
We learn from M. Pallet's "Church in Corea," that the first
Corean converts were made during the Japanese expedition
above narrated. These were baptised and died in Japan. But
soon thereafter one or two Coreans became acquainted with the
learned Jesuits in Peking....-Science at first attracted them; but
thus began aseries of events which has resulted in considerably
leavening Corea; for, according to the statements of the priests,
there is scarcely acity or large village in central and eastern
Corea, without its quota of converts, ranging from the lowest to
the highest ranks of society. European priests have again and
again lived in the country, sometimes in considerable numbers,—
but always compelled to remain in hiding; and the best biding-
place has been the capital. How they remain in hiding, may be
explained by the words of M. Berneux, the murdered Bishop of
Corea: "The abodes of the nobility are hallowed ground. To
violate their precincts would be acapital crime. . . . Iwished
to be aCorean noble, in order to be able to cross rivers and lodge
in inns, without fear of being recognised. . . . But inasmuch
 ROMISH CHURCH IN COREA. 293

as Ishould have been obliged to wait too long, in order to obtain

letters patent from the Corean government, I issued them to
myself."
This Iquote from the article above referred to. The bishop
must have thought it a capital joke to think of the possibility
of the Corean government conferring on him the patent of
nobility, at atime when he had, by every means in his power, to
avoid seeing the face of a single Corean, except those whom he
confessed, confirmed, or baptised. To those to whom the end c.
justifies the means, this conduct will appear highly laudable;
and he had the example before him of many of his brethren in
China, who had not had the same excuse. But its results were
lamentable to him.
"Prince Kung," . . . we again quote from the same
authority, "in 1860, ceded to Russia the enormous tract of
territory between the Amur and the mouth of the Tumen. . . .
Passiett, alarge trading town and military settlement . . . at
the junction of Russian, Chinese, and Corean frontiers. . . .
The Corean king died in 1864; and in the end of 1865, Russian
ships were in harbour in the north-east of Corea, asking for a
treaty of commerce. M. Berneux was asked by the Corean
government to get the Russians put off. He declined, though,
in case of success, he was promised perfect religious toleration.
Soon after he was seized, tortured, and soon put to death, along
with several other missionaries,—in all, two bishops and seven
missionaries."
The course taken by M. Berneux seemed, doubtless, best to him;
but it is surprising he did not make the attempt to negotiate for
Corea, even if he should have been unsuccessful; for the attempt
would show that his interests were not one with those of the war
ships, and that he was not in Corea as the spy of aforeign power.
The Coreans believe that all those people who cultivate long beards,
and wear tight and short clothing, are, if not the same nation, bound
up by the same interests; and "foreigndom" is to them one country.
And no wonder, seeing that after such long contact and inter-
course with foreigners, there are very few in China who under-
294 COREA.

stand even now that there are national differences and conflicting
interests in the west. Hence the missionaries would have been
supposed to be in league and communication with the war ships.
And need we be astonished if men, supposed to be the secret agents
of aforeign power, having designs on Corean land and freedom,
were put to death, and perhaps thousands of their converts, or
"Corean-foreigners," made to suffer the same fate? The Coreans
should, undoubtedly, know better; and they cannot be excused
for murder on such grounds, yet their conduct becomes explicable,
when we understand its cause.
M. de Bellonet was French minister in Peking at that time;
and in his natural anger at the murder of his fellow-countrymen,
he "bullied" the Chinese government, and declared the Corean
king dethroned from the day of that murder. He ordered up
the French squadron, under Admiral de Roze, who sailed with
seven men of war to Ganghwa, the island taken by the Manchus.
He took this island; but on 26th October, 1866, he was driven back
from an attempt on the river towards Seoul. He had to retire,
and the Coreans rejoiced in their triumph. M. de Bellonet was
recalled for his violent language and hasty conduct. But if M.
Ballet is an authority, France is not yet done with Corea.
The American ship, the "General Sherman,"—with her owner,
master and mate, American subjects; her supercargo, and Rev.
Mr Thomas, ayoung missionary, British subjects, and acrew of
Malays,—sailed from Chefoo for the Pingyang river, after they
had heard of the French massacre. She sailed up the Pingyang
river (Datong) in August, 1866, going up four tides. All
accounts agreed that ,she had been left high and dry, having, in
a high tide, diverged from the channel of the river; that the
Europeans were kindly treated for some days; but after news
from the capital, they were enticed on shore and put to death,
the ship surrounded, and set on fire. In 1868, another vessel
went up the Han river under charge of ayoung American, eager
to immortalise his name as asuccessful body-lifter. But he was
an unsuccessful one; though aFrench priest told him he could
hold the body of adead king to any ransom.
 AMERICAN EXPEDITION. 295

In May, 1871, an American squadron, under Admiral Rodgers,

occupied the same anchorage as Admiral Roze in 1866. He
took the fort of Ganghwa, but did not enter the city; and had
ultimately to retire like the French.
The Datong gang river is outside the east gate of the large
and hill-defended city of Pingyang. A native scholar of Corea
in my service was there in 1876, and saw a large foreign ship
lying on the bank of the river, 100 li from the sea, just outside
the east gate. This man's story is, that the vessel went up
thither with aflood tide "about ten years ago"; and as there
had been no rain for long, the ebb tide stranded her: the
Coreans manned innumerable boats, set fire to the ship, and
killed every soul on board who was not drowned. The Coreans
have often put to death every soul on board China junks which
sought their shores to do business, but we have never heard of
their putting the shipwrecked to death. They dearly love their
isolation; though we trust that this barrier to their own
advantage will soon be broken through.
The Coreans heard of the French expedition against them
with the greatest terror. They gave themselves up for lost.
Their subsequent joy was proportionately great. For they
attributed the withdrawal of that and the later American navy
not to the low tides in their river, which rendered useless the
larger vessels of the expedition, but to their own hitherto
undeveloped bravery. In the east they were considered and
considered themselves as the poorest of soldiers; but after the
Americans retired, they carried their heads as high as the
donkey who pursued the fleeing lion, whom he believed he had
frightened. When the writer was explaining the powers and
speed of the railway to a friendly Corean magistrate, how it
climbed mountains and bored through hills, he, thinking it was
something carried about by an army, said, with an angry toss of
the head and snap of the fingers: "What care we for your
foreign inventions I Even our boys laugh at all your weapons."
Clearly the effect of the two naval expeditions has not been
very satisfactory. The third attempt will be necessarily more
 296 COREA.

difficult. Corea is said to be the object of solicitude now to

England, as well as to her two friends. France talks about
moving, America talks about sailing, England proposes avisit;
but there is one other power never speaks but acts. What will
Russia do? We imagine that the naval power owner of Corea
could not only rule the Gulf of Liaotung and Pechihli, but have
agood deal of influence over all the Chinese coast; her shadow
would fall darkly over Japan; and if that power is to be Russia,
we would look for aspeedy termination to the abnormal friend-
ship existing between her and America. The immediate future
of Corea is certainly ariddle; but whatever it is to be, it must
be a complete severance from her past. Already has the
beginning of the end appeared. For not only is Russia acting
magnetically upon her north, but the Japanese have at length
"dared," in spite of the "majestic terror" of the Manchus, to
inaugurate a new system, which, for the sake of the Corean
people, let us hope will speedily open up Corea to modern
thought and civilisation, impart the blessings of a just govern-
ment, and introduce the religion of righteousness and peace.
We may close this sketchy history of Corea with the treaty
concluded between it and Japan; which, however, is not mean-
time loyally carried out by Corea. This treaty is called "Treaty
of Peace and Friendship between the empire of Japan and the
kingdom of Chosen,"—the modern Chaosien. In the first article,
Chosen is declared to be on an equality with Japan; and all
future intercourse is to be carried on in the spirit of this equality.
The second provides for the settlement of envoys from each
kingdom to the other. The third enacts that the Japanese
shall use the Japanese language in official communications,
accompanied by aChinese translation; Chosen using the Chinese
language. Article four opens Sorio, of Fusan (Fooshan), to
Japanese trade, together with two other ports to be mutually
agreed upon; these article five allows to be chosen out of any
of five coast provinces. The necessities of Japanese ships on the
Corean coast—compelled to seek the shore for wood, water, or
shelter, or driven ashore and wrecked—are provided for in article
 JAPANESE TREATY. 297

six. The seventh binds Corea to place no impediment in the

way of Japanese vessels surveying the unknown coasts of Chosen.
The eighth provides aJapanese consul to look after the interests
and conduct of Japanese merchants in the newly opened ports.
The ninth prevents official interference with merchants in their
transactions; and ordains that the person guilty of fraud or in debt,
is to be brought to justice by the officer of either country; but no
government will be responsible for any such debts. The tenth
article establishes the right of any criminal to be tried by the
laws of his own country. The eleventh prepares for trade regu-
lations, and the appointment of commissioners to draw them up.
The twelfth, and last, binds the former eleven from the date of
signature ;—which signature was on the twenty-second day of
the second month of the two thousand five hundred and thirty-
sixth year of the Japanese Zimmu Tenno; and the second day
of the second moon of the four hundred and eighty-fifth year of
Chosen (26th February, 1876).
A "Supplementary Treaty" was added on 14th October,
1876, ordaining—(1), That Japanese government agents in
Corea may visit the scene of any wreck of a Japanese ship;
(2), Japanese subjects may despatch letters, or other communi-
cations, to any place in Corea; (3), They may lease lands from
the people, or those belonging to government, at the rates
charged to natives; and the watch-gate and barrier existing near
the Japanese establishment in Sorioko, Fusan, is to be removed,
and a new boundary established; (4), This boundary shall be
distant, from the Japanese settlements in all the ports, ten
Corean ri (1i), within which space Japanese can buy or sell; the
same applies to the town of Torai, though beyond the limits;
(5), Japanese may employ Corean subjects, and the latter shall
le free to visit Japan; (6), Suitable ground will be provided to
inter any Japanese dying in Corea; (7), Japanese coin may be
exchanged for Corean products; and Coreans will be at liberty
to use that coin among themselves; if such coin is counterfeited,
punishment shall be accorded by the laws of the criminal's
country; (8), Any Japanese articles, by purchase or gift, in the
 298 COREA.

possession of aCorean, is his absolutely; (9), Any boat from a

surveying ship, unable to return to the ship, shall be provided
with necessaries by the headman of the place, who shall be
afterwards refunded; (10), If the ship of any foreign country be
wrecked on the Corean coast, the men shall be cared for, and
handed over, if they so wish, to the Japanese agent, to be sent
to their own country; for "Japan has entered into friendly
relations with foreign nations, though Corea has not"; (11), The
preceding ten articles are equally binding with the original
treaty; but if the working of any article is found prejudicial to
the interests of either country, after a year's notice it can be
reconsidered.
rThe "Trade Regulations" demand the production of ship's
papers, manifest, capacity of vessel, and other particulars, before
goods can be landed; the manifest is in the Japanese language
only. Goods are landed by the permit of the Corean authorities,
on the receipt by them of the description and value of the goods,
which, if examined, must be in acareful manner, so as not to
damage them. Exported goods must pass through the Corean
government office. Ships desiring to clear, must give notice to
the Corean authorities before noon of the day of sa'iling; rice
and other grain may be exported; tonnage dues are fixed, from
which ships of war are exempted. The government, or subjects
of Corea, may charter Japanese vessels to any Corean port.
Japanese ships smuggling shall be seized by the Coreans, handed
to the Japanese; and the goods attempted to be smuggled shall
be forfeited to the Corean government. Opium is strictly
prohibited. And the last article provides for the mutual
revision of any of the trade regulations at any time. We are
sorry to know that the Corean government, which was compelled,
under threat of war, to form that treaty, has almost nullified it,
by enormous prohibitive customs. Corea could not possibly
defeat aJapanese invasion; and it is highly impolitic to keep
the relationship an open sore.
 CRAFTER X.

COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

THE origin of the isolated people called Coreans, almost the

only people completely shut in from all intercourse with western
nations, is as unknown as that of all other peoples. For though
its present high state of civilisation is of much older date than
that of the leading nations of the world, its infancy and first
tottering steps are as much a dead blank as the infantile,---
experiences of all nations and men. The most reliable statement
is apparently that which points to the northern portions of
Manchuria as their last resting place, previous to their progress
south and south-east into Liaotung and across the beautiful
Yaloo, into their own present more beautiful but overcrowded
and hilly country. It is more probable, however, that what is
now one Corea, which was three kingdoms in the sixth and
seventh centuries, and scores of petty kingdoms, more properly
independent clans, in the centuries before, had not one source
nor was peopled by the same race of men; certainly not at one
time. The fortunes of war—now permitting them to overflow
into other lands and mingle with other peoples, now driving
them back across their boundary rivers, anon introducing myriads
of captives into their midst, and again driving other peoples
among them for shelter—have been so varied, oft repeated, and
spread over so many centuries, that it is impossible the Corean
of the present day should be of unmixed blood; yet his language
proves him only less different from the Manchu at his side than
from the more remote Chinaman. The face of the Corean
approaches many degrees nearer the western than that of the
northern Chinese, who are again still nearer than their southern
fellow-countrymen. They are black haired like the Chinese;
 300 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

but Ihave seen ten Coreans with a yellowish brown beard for
every Chinaman Ihave seen whose hair was not adecided black.
The colour of the skin, the contour of the face, and often the
form of the eye, all point to arelationship more akin to the west
than the Chinese can claim, though the eye is decidedly the
Mongolic oval. Ihave seen many grey-headed and bearded men
among them, not one of whom, in foreign dress and with silent
tongue, who would not pass for respectable and passable, if not
handsome, westerns. But like the Japanese, and all the nations
of eastern Asia, the Coreans have always bowed down before the
greatly superior mental power of the Chinese; and have borrowed
from them some of their customs, more of their words, and,
perhaps, all the principal books in use between the Yaloo and
the western shores of the Pacific. Having already glanced at
Corea's history, • we shall now describe the principal social
customs of this little known people.

HOUSES.
The houses of the Coreans, in the cities in their western
provinces, are chiefly of stone; and as the land is one of
"mountains and valleys," the valleys narrow enough everywhere,
there can be little doubt that the houses in the several hundred
cities of Corea, as well as the better class of houses in their
thousands of villages, are all of stone. The house is built in
very much the same style as the Chinese,—a roofed gateway and
gatehouse in the outer wall; a compound or yard; a second
•
wall, with smaller covered gate leading into asecond or, perhaps,
even athird compound, each inner compound having several rows
of houses,—the main portion looking south, the secondary rooms
flanking in two lines of houses facing east and west. There are
never two different families living in the same compound, or
entering by the same gate, though there may be over ahundred
individuals, forming four generations, in the one family; for the
married sons, as in China, live on with the father if they can
afford it; but even then, unlike the Chinese, each wife has her
own room or rooms, in which her husband is the only man she
 THE KANG. 301

ever sees: for even his father does not enter into the
daughter-in-law's rooms. But if the father is unwell, she
goes into his room to nurse and attend to him. The house is
never adouble one. From eave to eave it is from 25 to 30 feet
wide, the rooms from 15 to 20, the rest of the roof projecting so
far on each side as to cover from the sun a wooden platform, 6
feet wide, along the whole length of the house, on which, in the
heat of summer, the inmates take their food and often sleep.
It is roofed with tiles. The inside is partitioned into rooms,
like the Chinese houses, and with "kangs" instead of beds,
couches, or sofas.

BED.
This kang is, in Chinese houses, of six feet wide, built
two feet or more high, with a facing of burnt brick; or in
the better houses, of fine wood covering the brick, and always
with a coping of good strong wood on the edge of the
kang. This kang is internally divided by brick partitions into
many flues, running from one central hole in one end of the
kang, outside the partition wall, to the other end, where they
converge into the chimney. Over these flues is placed one layer
of burnt brick, 2i inch thick, which has over it a coating of
clayey earth mixed with water into mud, making the flues air
tight. Outside the partition wall, is a low square frame of a
few rows of brick, on which rests the great circular wide-mouthed
iron pot or boiler, in which all the household cooking is done.
This is the fire-place, where the most of the straw grown in the
fields is utilised in boiling and the pot heating the kang; for the
flame and hot smoke pass directly from under the pot into the
flues, so that, with thermometer below zero, the surface of the
kang can be so heated at a trifling expense as to make it
unbearably hot. A straw mat, woven of the slit-up, outer skin
of millet stalk, covers the mud, so as to prevent any dust flying
about after the heated kang bakes it dry. A rug of fur, thick
felt or padded cotton on the mat, forms the seat or bed; the
hardness of which is compensated for by the warmth from the
302 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

kang in winter; and, as we know from experience, a kang

makes acomfortable bed after the first night or two.
This•is the•Chinese kang, which occupies athird or ahalf of the
width of the room, the rest of the floor being covered with brick.
But the floor of the Corean room is all kang. The door of the
room is in reality a window, opening directly from the wooden
platform, where man and woman take off their shoes, which
never by accident touch the beautifully clean mat on which they
sit cross-legged, tailor-fashion, as the Chinese do on their kangs.

FOOD.
In eating, each person has a small round table—one foot in
diameter, and as much high—placed before him, with alarge
silver, brass, or pewter bowl, containing rice enough for two
meals. This is eaten with asilver or pewter spoon, similar in size
to our dinner spoon; and Chinese chopsticks are used only to pick
up the sliced meat, and other accompaniments of rice, off silver
or brass plates. In giving a dinner, the small circular table is
cast aside, and a long one, seating four, brought from China,
used in its stead. There are as many dishes brought in as there
are guests at one table, the host being the first to receive and to
taste the food. As the rice is always prepared by steaming, and
never by boiling, and is therefore "dry," a large bowl of hot
water is placed on the table, that the rice may be soaked
according to taste.
They eat the beef of their enormously large shorthorns, and
pork,—mutton being a rarity, as Corea, like Japan, has no
sheep of its own. Yearly there are many sheep crossing the
Yaloo, purchased at the Corean gate, but are all intended to be used
in the various cities as sacrifice to Confucius. Their large rivers
produce many varieties and endless quantities of fish; and in
winter, wild boar, venison of many kinds, pheasant, and
occasionally, as in Manchuria, a delicious variety of ptarmigan
and partridge, make a cheap addition to the table fare. The
poultry yard supplies fowls, ducks, and geese. Their vegetables
are varieties of pulse, French bean, garden turnip, cabbage, radish,
 DRESS. 303

spinach, garlic, and onion; no potatoes or carrots. The fields

produce wheat, barley, buck wheat, and the large millet of
northern China, in addition to the more common rice, of which
there are five or six varieties, some very fine, grown principally
in the hot south; and small golden millet, the only food of the
sparsely peopled cold northern provinces.

DRESS.
The style of dress is unlike that of the present Chinese, because
the latter is changed, since the accession of the Manchu dynasty,
from the ancient Chinese style still worn by the Coreans. The robe
is very full in front, tied by asmall piece of the material of the
dress under the right arm; and one can imagine the queer figure,
when that fullness is further distended by a free application of
starch. This applies, however, only to the white cotton robe, made
principally of English best cotton; for the Coreans, unlike many
of the Chinese, will not have, at any price, the trashy English
cottons in our Chinese markets. The common man, merchant
or farmer, dresses in arobe, which we call white, but which is
divided from the colour of mourning by atinge of blue. A long
strip of blue at each side of aman's white robe, is a badge of
literary degree; and the man with a blue entire robe, is a
mandarin. Silks of all colours and qualities are in use by men
and women; yellow, the present imperial colour, being the only
forbidden shade. The enormously baggy trowsers, tightly tied
round the foot with a white string, is invariably white; the
woman's trowsers differing from that of the man, in that its
"bagginess" begins above the knee, at and below which it is
as close fitting as our western trowsers, and not tied at the foot.
Women dress unlike the men. Their dress, as compared with
that of Chinese women, is always said to resemble that of the
women of the west (see pictures). For the first two years every
child is clad in only asingle garment,—a jacket reaching to the
knee; his first walking steps being rewarded with a pair of
trowsers and ashorter jacket, of the same shape as those of men;
but he has no long robe. Girls' dress differs from boys' only
301 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

after they are five years of age. Underneath, the women wear a
small jacket, reaching just below the breast; having, however,
nothing in common with stays but the length; for though aclose
fit, it never causes consumption by compressing the lungs. A very
wide pair of drawers reaches up and ties above the lower part of
that jacket. Over this are two trowsers, the outmost as described
above. The ordinary outer dress of the married woman is what
we might call a petticoat, of the same length and hung in the
same way as the western petticoat. It is so stiffened with starch,
that it looks as if distended by crinoline; thus differing in tote
from the more graceful Chinese dress. The feet of the common
women appear beneath the petticoat; but the petticoat of the
higher classes touches the ground. Thus their general appear-
ance in the house will bear out the assertion, that they dress
somewhat similarly to western women. They must never be
seen by any man, except their husband; hence, when they go
to the street, as they do freely, they throw over them along robe,
which they pull over the head and face, leaving only the smallest
space open before the eyes, necessary to see their way; and their
eyes always look to the ground.

BIRTH.
The Corean first sees the light, not on the mat, but on aheap
of soft rice straw, which has displaced the mat. The new-born
child is washed in warm water by one or two of the mother's
female relations, the only persons present. These also prepare
immediately some food, which they throw outside the door for
luck. The mother has a drink of honied hot water, or a
preparation of bear's liver, extremely bitter and expensive,
intending to act the part of Simpson's chloroform, though not by
insensibility. The child is first fed on rice water; and on the
third day the mother is able to feed it. Then, also, the rice
straw is removed, and the mat restored. The mother's food
consists of rice washed down by soup, made of acertain dried
sea-weed. The hour of birth is carefully noted, for horological
purposes. For seven days no person enters the house, the doors
 SMALLPDX. 305

of which are barred against all; sometimes for even ten days.
On the first visit, congratulations are usually accompanied with
presents. When the child is one year old, a great feast is pro-
vided, swine slain, rice prepared, and all friends invited. These
guests all give presents,—some clothing, some money. Age is
reckoned as among the Chinese :—the year in which he is born,
is the child's first; and he is two years old on the next calendar
year, even if it begins when the child is only two days old. Only
when he begins to speak does he get his first name, by which be
is known up till marriage, when he assumes or receives asecond,
which he retains all his life,—he choosing athird, by which he is
known among his friends ;—in all this, the Coreans follow the
Chinese customs.
As in China, the mortality among infants is very great,
smallpox especially causing dreadful havoc; for a very large
proportion become the subjects of this foul disease,—the greater
part of those attacked succumbing. Innoculation, however, is
said to have been known and practised for many centuries. It
is effected in amost peculiar way, sufficient to shock more than
maternal sensibility; for the matter taken off asmallpox patient
is put up the nostril and left to adhere to it, thus saving the use
of alancet, so painful to the mother's heart. The richer people
give aliquid medicine; but in either way the pox appears on the
third day after the administration of the medicine, whether that
has been put up the nostril or down the throat. Nine tenths of
the innoculated live, i.e., the proportion of deaths and life is
reversed by the presence or absence of innoculation. There can,
we think, be little doubt that clean houses, pure water, and
untainted air, are beyond comparison the best preservation
against smallpox, as against any other infectious fever or disease;
and we have often thought that the greater attention paid to
sanitary questions has been the real cause of the infrequency of
dangerous smallpox attacks in Britain. But the facts here
adduced, together with the experience of China, tell in favour
of innoculation, much more of vaccination; for neither in
China nor in Corea is any attention given to sanitary measures,
306 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.
s
4rp

yet in both countries the value of innoculation is

questionable.

EDUCATION.
If aboy is precociOus, he is sent to school at five years of age,
the others up to eight; for education is more common in Corea
than even in China. The first book is the Ch,iendsu mun, the
"Thousand character door," which is asort of vocabulary of so
many words, beginning with "Heaven, earth, black, yellow, &c."
The work is originally Chinese. Like the Three-character
classic, it is in rhyme; but the line is of four, not of three words.
It is a very clever production, no two characters being alike.
First comes the Chinese character, below it its meaning in
Corean, followed by its Chinese name transliterated in Corean
letters, as "Heaven, Hanul, Tiun."* This book is "read" by the
youngster three times over,—first, as just mentioned; next,
dropping the Corean signification, retaining the Chinese
character with its Chinese name in Corean letters; and the
third time, he reads the character alone: and at this stage the
scholar begins to write. Thus they have an immense advantage
over the Chinese scholar, who commits many hundreds of
characters to memory, so as to be able to repeat them glibly,
and to recognise the hieroglyphics at sight, while he is entirely
ignorant of their meaning, for at least two years of his scholar-
hood. The other books which follow this "Thousand character"
book, are the ordinary Chinese school books.
At fifteen years of age, it is possible to obtain the degree of
Siwtsai, which the Coreans call Tsoshi; a title which they
acquire in their district city. In the three hundred odd cities
of Corea there are over 1000 Tsoshi, who have, every third year,
to go up to the capital to compete for the higher title of Jinsa,-
200 being the greatest number that can pass. The remaining
800 are not only unsuccessful, but are said to lose their Tsoshi
into the bargain ; which they have to regain ere they can again

*" Heaven" being the Chinese character; Hanul, the Corean for "heaven";
and tittn, the transliteration of Chinese word in Corean letters.
 LITERARY DEGREES. :307

compete for Jinsa; many taking the first degree a dozen times
and never gaining the higher, without which there is no hope of
official employment. There is still the third and highest degree
of sounjit, and woojit (literary and military), which entitles to
literary or military officership. Favoritism, however, acts
powerfully. Pingyang province, which borders China, is divided
into north and south; the highest literary degree will gain no
mandarinate for the northern, and only up to the fifth grade for
the southern; and almost all the first, second, and third grades are
in the hands of the big officials in the capital.* The principal
offices are hereditary.
The following remarks on literature are translated out of a
Corean book, whence a good deal of other useful information
has been derived. The remarks apply in toto to Chinese
literature; for though there is agood deal written in the Corean
alphabet, the acquisition of it is so easy -I- that it is not regarded
as worthy the name of literature, nor the knowledge of it as
deserving the name of education.
There is first the YIKING (Book of Changes), transmitted from
Foohi or Paosi (B.c. 2832), who invented the eight diagrams.
Tun Wang (B.c. 1150) invented the six Yao, thus multiplying
the diagrams to forty-eight. And Confucius completed the
work by annotations. He made the book a unit, by knitting
together the detached words and sentences. The literary style

*The numbers who had superior degrees twenty years ago are appended:
Hanchung (capital) 110 Jiiyin. 260 Jinsa.
Joongching Do. 25 90
Chingshang Do. 30 100
Julia Do. 25 90
Gangwan Do. 15 45
Whanghai Do. 10 35
ringan Do. 13 45
Hamging, Do. 10 35

Total 238 Jilyin. 700 Jinsa,.

Of whom are Toongdoo 30 30 additional for capital.
48 superior Jinsa.

tSee below "Language."

308 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

is his, and the explanation of the diagrams.* It is, therefore,

said that each of the three kinds of divination was originated by
asage.
SHOOKING, or Ancient History. In B.C. 140-86, Goong
Wang of Loo (south-west of Shantung, birth-place of Confucius)
was pulling down the house of Confucius, in order to have no
rival to his own establishment, when, in the broken wall, were
discovered the Sltangsitoo (or Shooking), the Lai (Book of Rites),
'the Lwitnyii, (or Analects), and the Hiaoking (or Book of
Filiality) ; all in the ancient or seal character.t Goong Wang
then entered the house, and heard the solemn strains of the
ancient music proceeding from the partition wall. In terror he
went out and ordered his men to leave the house untouched
The SHUKING, or "Book of Odes," was collected, to the
number of 305, by Confucius, who arranged them chronologically,
from the Yin period (B.C. 1400) downwards to the period of the
Loo kingdom (B.C. 7th century). They were originally written on
slips of Bamboo, for paper was then undiscovered. They escaped
the ravages of Shu, emperor of Tsin, because men committed
them to and transmitted them from memory.
LIKI (Book of Rites). In the time when Han dynasty was at
the summit of its power, there was, in Loo gwo, a man, Gao
Jangshung, who wrote seventeen essays on the "Proprieties of
Literature." Later on, when Han was waning, How Tsang, a
man of great understanding, wrote on the same subject. Among
his pupils were Dai Duadsai and Shung Chingpoo, who
contributed their share. .The "Liki " was thus the offspring of
the talents of many men.t_

*How far this is true it is as unimportant as difficult to know. When the

Chinese are critics enough to distinguish and extract all the handiwork of Confucius,
they will have learned to place less faith in divination by numbers.
tHidden under Tsin emperor, who ordered all the works of Confucius everywhere
to be burnt. It is unnecessary to say that these statements are made only as a,
translation.
fact which accounts for its most fragmentary, irregular, and undigested
character; a character which my colleague and friend, Rev. John lVfacintyre, is
amending.
 LITERATURE. 309

In READING the beginner never doubts. When further

advanced, he begins to doubt; and when his education is
thorough, he ceases to doubt.* Doubt succeeds ignorance, and
certainty follows after doubt;—this is the course of true
learning.
The object of Music is to display the harmonies of gods and
men ;—of Poetry, clearly and simply to recite the subject ;—of
Ritual (propriety, etiquette, &c.), to prevent men from acting
unbecomingly ;—of the Shacking (ancient history), to understand
and hear the long past ;—of the Spring and Autumn Annals,
written by Confucius, to set forth, in actual life, the value and.
necessity of Faith; for in this book the Five Constant (virtues)
are complete (viz., Benevolence, Integrity, Propriety, Wisdom, and
Faith) ;—and the design of the Book of Changes, is the discovery
of the origin, and the knowledge of the end. If these six books
are thoroughly studied, it is impossible to limit the beneficial
influence produced on the mind of the student.
Of CHARACTERS there are six kinds—lst, The pictorial,
indicating the object by a picture; 2nd, Those whose form
indicates an action; 3rd, Those whose form is explanatory of an
idea, or whose composition explains the meaning; 4th, Onoma-
topoetic; 5th, Compound words, the simple elements of which
are mutually explanatory; and 6th, Compounds,—one element
of which is indicative of the meaning and another the of
sound.
PAPER, PENCILS, and INK. Anciently bamboo was cut up
into thin slips, covered over with adark glaze, and written upon.
Mung Tien of Tsin, the general who began the first great wall
of China (second century B.C.), made pencils of hare lair, and
ink of the soot of burnt pine. In the After Han, Tsai Lwun, a
minister, made the first paper of the inner bark of the Sang

*The reading child believes everything, As Ile advances in knowledge, he

begins to entertain doubts; but with the greater growth of knowledge, he
again ceases to doubt; for, as if by instinct, he knows the true and the false.
The nation which can write thus is one which cannot be classed with the
savage.
310 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

(mulberry) tree.* There are many varieties of paper, pencil,

ink, and of the stone slab on which the ink is ground. Writing
ink is now made almost wholly of lamp-black.
The liberal branches of Education are six—lst, Rites;
2nd, Music; 3rd, Archery; 4th, Charioteering; 5th, Literature;
and 6th, Reckoning. The first includes rites (1) of marriage,
(2) of death, (3) hospitality, (4) war, and (5) puberty. The
second includes (1) Ywun, that of Whangdi (B.C. 26971);
(2) Hienchu of Yao (B.C. 2357) ;(3) Dashao of Shwun (B.C. 22515);
(4) Dahia of Yii Wang (B.C. 2205) ; (5) Dahoo of Tang Wang
of Yin (B.C. 1766) ;(6) Dawoo of Woo Wang (B.C. 1122) ! The
third includes (1) Shooting with the white (willow) arrow;
(2) with the three arrows (two of which were attached to the
one in the bow) ; (3) with a sharp pointed arrow which can
penetrate; (4) afoot grace ;-1-:(5) asquare of four archers. The
fourth includes (1) abell on the cart, and another on the horse ;1-
.
(2) to-drive beside the stream; (3) to leave aclear way for the
superior man; (4) to drive along the high road; and (5) in
hunting, to drive up to left of quarry. The fifth has been noted
above. The sixth is applied to all kinds of Reckoning in which
numbers are used, of which nine are enumerated :—Fangtiev,
square measure; Sooboo, proportion; Powfun, division;
Shaogwang, evolution; Shang goong, solid mensuration; Jwun,
Shoo, allegation; Yingniw, addition and subtraction; Fang-
chung, equation; and Gowgoo, trigonometry,—the names only

*This industry is at the present time extremely common over all the prefecture
of Yoong,ping, in Chihli; and large tracts of rich country are laid out wholly in
young mulberries, cut down in their second year, and their inner bark converted
into an extremely strong and cheap paper; used there, and in all Chihli, to paper
windows; and in the various Yamens and great shops for writing, as it is almost
indestructible. The common printer's ink is in Liaotung still made of burnt pine
soot, mixed with water and alittle glue. The wood is set on fire in an underground
tunnel, and the soot afterwards collected. This ink is extremely cheap, and well
fitted for printing.
I" One foot ahead allowed the prince.
1:Probably to warn.
II Possibly to prevent injuring ground or crops. There are no game laws in China :
and the only laws of trespass are those of custom.
 SOCIAL GRADES. 311

of which are known both in Corea and China; and these names
must have been introduced by the Mahornedans into Peking,
though they are ascribed to aminister of Whartg Di twenty-
seven centuries B.C.

GRADES OF SOCIETY.
As in England, the people are divided into three classes,—the
upper, middle, and lower. First, are the magistrates; second,
farmers and merchants; and third, handicraftsmen, tailors,
shoemakers, players, the lictors, and other yamen attendants.
Lowest of all is the Belding, the ox-butcher,—this classification
being probably the result of Corean Buddhism; and next to him
is the pig-sticker, in company with harlots. The third rank
never dare sit in the presence of a member of the first; and
the second, if in the presence of a small magistrate, must sit
far inside and very stiffly, as if ill at ease. The son will not sit
in presence of his father; but as he cannot always stand, he
raises one foot so that the sole is on the kang as if standing.
He dare not smoke in his father's presence, or show his pipe.
The three classes do not intermarry.

MARRIAGE.
In the large city of Hiwngdow poo (Chinese, foo), and the
capital, parents generally betroth their children at the age of
seven or eight; mandarins of first and second rank always doing
so. But in the rest of Corea such is not the custom. As in
China, marriage is now consummated at a much earlier age
than was permissible some centuries ago. Fourteen is the
common age for a man (!), the bride being almost invariably
from three to eight years older; in this also following Chinese
custom; though all subsequent marriages, whether by widower
or polygamist, reverses the order,—men of sixty marrying girls
of sixteen,—perhaps one reason being that he cannot find an
older unmarried woman, except awidow; and the "rights " of
widows in Corea and China consist in remaining unmarried,
or marrying with a stigma, and to an inferior.
 312 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

Ordinarily, the father of young hopeful begins the preparations

for marriage; but the father of agirl may look out ahusband
fox her at pleasure. Fathers and mothers are even, if possible,
more absolute than in China. The father makes enquiries as to
who, of all his acquaintances, possesses a daughter eligible in
years, appearance, character, and position. Having ascertained,
be consults with his wife, who gets on her long robe, pulls it
over her face, and starts for the house of the young lady. If the
interview does not satisfy the old lady, the procesS is repeated.
When agood match is met with, a mutual friend of the two
parental parties is engaged to perform the task of sounding the
girl's parents, who may stop all further advances at once; or the
father of the girl may, in his turn, visit the house of the aspirant,
and have an unofficial interview with the young man, in the
same manner as his daughter was visited before. When both
parties are agreeable, formal negotiations are opened by the
father of the young man writing along red-paper letter to his
friend; first giving his own name and address, then asking
carefully about his friend's health, &c., and expressing the warmest
wishes for his welfare; and last of all, like some postscripts,
he mentions that he has one, two, or three sons, as the case may
be; that number one is unmarried, and of marriageable age; that
after careful enquiry among his many friends, lie has discovered
that his friend has amarriageable daughter, &c., &c. This letter
is written in presence of the middle man, to whom it is handed
for delivery to the girl's father. There is, however, no engage-
ment on either side, and either may draw back, until the girl's
father replies in an equally formal manner, accepting the
proposal for his daughter, after which acceptation the young
people are virtually married; for, if before the final consummation
of marriage the young man dies, the girl is awidow, and acts as
such, never marrying except with disgrace. It is aqueer custom,
and amost unequal and unjust one; for if the woman dies, the
youth can marry when he chooses. The custom is borrowed
from the Chinese, and is first cousin to Suttee.
An auspicious day is discovered by horology, on which the
GIORAN cos -r CTNI
 THE YATOW. 313

bridegroom sends presents of female clothing, and of materials

for a"man's "clothing, to the bride, including stuff for the long
outer, wider, manly robe, which he assumes on his marriage-day
for the first time in his life. After these are sent, the bridegroom
is permitted to tie up his hair in a knot on the crown of his
head, in old Chinese style; his uncut hair having been previously
plaited in a queue similar to the present Chinese or Manchu
fashion. The Corean never cuts off any of his hair and never
shaves. There is, however, on the middle of the crown of his
head alittle spot, which could be covered with asixpence, which
was burnt on the occasion of his first childish illness; and that
spot is made a little larger when the knot is tied, as the
.accumulation of hair on the top of his head makes the head
uncomfortably hot, and causes sore eyes. And the bridegroom
having become a man, now goes round to pay his humble
respects to all the relations and friends of his father. On the
night of the day on which the bridegroom sent his presents, the
friends of his father collect at his house, sit up all night, and eat,
drink, and make merry.
As Corea is an extremely poor country, there are many who
cannot afford to get wives for their sons, and there are many
men who grow up bachelors of a respectable age; hence we
imagine the notion prevalent in China that women are more
numerous than men in Corea, as polygamy is so common. The
male human being who is unmarried is never called a "man,"
whatever his age, but goes by the name of "yatow"; aname
'given by the Chinese to unmarriageble young girls: and the
"man" of thirteen or fourteen has perfect right to strike, abuse,
.order about the "yatow" of thirty, who dares not as much as
-open his lips to complain.
Another auspicious day, perhaps the third after present-day,
is found for "diang gaighanda"—the marriage. On the night
before the marriage, the bride sends back her husband's garments
made by herself, being her first wifely duty done. An auspicious
hour is fixed for the departure of the bridegroom and his party
from his own house to that of the bride. In front of the
314 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

procession is aservant on horseback, carrying alife-size likeness

of a wild goose, covered by red cotton cloth, which he holds
with both hands. Then follows the bridegroom, also on
horseback; his groom riding after him, all his other servants
following on horseback. The bridegroom's father brings up the
rear, with his servants behind, all riding,—the number of horses
and amount of display being bounded only by the purse of' the
parties, but in all cases implying great expense.
Arrived at the house, the wild goose man first dismounts,
enters and places the wild goose on the top of a huge bowl of
rice, and then retires. The father then dismounts outside the
main gate, and the bridegroom last of all. Etiquette demands
that all the company should stand facing the east, in which
position they doff their grand official hats, richly embroidered
outer robes, and boots, worn by permission on this day by
plebeian as by my lord. In their ordinary apparel, they are
now led into the house by the bride's father, who has come out
to welcome them, the bridegroom advancing first of all. No
sooner are they comfortably seated, than ascene of the greatest
confusion and uproarious mirth takes place. The bridegroom
is ascholar, and has been accompanied by all his fellow-scholars,
who now suddenly dash on him in abody, and carry him off in
spite of all striving and remonstrance on his part. They hold
him aprisoner till his father-in-law redeems him with ahandsome
bribe, on which they hand him over, and depart to make merry
with their plunder.
The bridegroom's party is then regaled with food, after
partaking of which they all depart, each of the servants with a
little present of money, leaving the bridegroom alone to pay his
respects to the ancestral tablet of his bride. And in the evening
he is introduced into the bride's chamber, which is decked out
with flowers, two bowls of rice on the kang, in each of which is
stuck a yellow candlestick and a burning candle. There he
remains alone, till the bride is by and by escorted by her
mother and female relations in the house, and the married
people see each other for the first time. They are at once left,
 DIVORCE. 315,

alone and the door closed. On the next day the bride divides
the one queue, in which her hair had been hitherto done up, into
two; each containing half her hair, and plaited back on the crown
of the head, one on each side, towards the forehead, in which
fashion she wears it ever after. On the third day, the young
couple may return to the bridegroom's father's house ;but if not
then, awhole year must pass ere they go thither, many allowing
two years. When they do arrive at the young husband's house,
they both worship his ancestral tablet.
At marriage, a red paper with written characters 'is handed
them, which is afterwards cut in two,—each retaining half; for in
case of future trouble, the husband cannot marry again, if he has
not the half showing him independent; for many married people
separate in Cores, from "incompatibility of temper," or other
reasons; nor need we wonder at the fact. The separated
husband, with his half of this red paper, can easily obtain another
wife, but not without; while she is supposed never again to
marry.
One of the lower class informed me that the youth went to the
father-in-law's house, amonth before marriage, and saw the girl.
That if both, or either, were dissatisfied, they could break the
match, by persistent opposition, in spite of parental chastisement (I)
which is likely enough; for mutual choice was the ancient custom
of the country.
A man may marry as many wives as he can support; and the
mandarins, besides having several wives, are allowed, or rather
bound, by custom, to retain several harlots in their yamen. All
the women make their own clothes, and those of their husband
and children,—they who cannot afford to keep servants, doing
the cooking and household drudgery besides. "The woman is
no woman who does not make the family clothes," said aCorean,
laughing, who was once wealthy.
The poorer women go to the river with uncovered face, and
carry the water for the family in a large jar on their head,
Egyptian fashion. Though never at school, they can all, or
almost all, use the Corean alphabet, which is the most beautiful
,316 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

and complete:we know; for one can learn it almost at asitting.

From the faces of the men we infer that Corean women are more
beautiful than the Chinese,—though we have seen many very
pretty Chinese faces. They are, from all accounts, very much
more cleanly, both in house and person, than are the Chinese;
though no one, seeing the Coreans in Peking or in other parts of
China, would infer so. •
The following is from the book already quoted, and is again
dependent on China :—Anciently, there was no distinction
-or separation between man and woman. It was Foohi (2852
B.C.) originated the system of marriage, i.e., the departure of the
woman to the house of one husband. The skin of the Li* (or
Lan) bird was presented to form the marriage contract. Then
also was there a division into distinct families and surnames.
Match-makers were also then instituted!
The points to be desired in a husband and wife are thus
illustrated :—In the time of Jin (Tsin), A.D. 265-419, there was
a prime minister, Wang, who had several sons. Another
minister, Si Jien, had alovely daughter, whom he was anxious
to see married in Wang's family. He sent one of his subordinate
officials to make overtures to the prime minister. The sons
heard with pleasure of the beautiful maiden, and each vied with
the other in the magnificence and costliness of the robes in which
he was to appear before the middle-man, that, when he returned,
lie might give agood report of the handsome person of so-and-
so,—each hoping to excel. But Sidsu, one of the sons, when he
heard of the story, still kept the couch on which he had been
reclining,—his body half naked.-J- He listened to the story
of the middle-man, as if he did not hear,—while he never
,ceased attention to the books which he had been studying. The
middle-man returned, and praised the persons of all the sons;
but especially praised the son who listened as if he heard not,

*Of the Phcenix tribe, and more beautiful than any existing now. It was also
Foohi who instituted clothing; for men and women had only a pair of large oak
leaves for covering before his time.
1- This is invariably the undress of Chinamen in summer.
 WIFELY QUALITIES. 317"

which indicated the possession of great mental superiority.

The damsel's father at once decided to have Sidsu as the husband'
of his daughter, and the marriage was consummated. Sidsu
afterwards became famous as the first writer in China; and to
this day, scholars are then most highly gratified, when their pen
is compared to that of Sidsu. The Chinese say that some of
his hand-writing is now extant.
In the time of the East Han A.D. 25-220) there was a Liang
bong who married a woman, Mung Gwang, who came
magnificently dressed, and her hair beautifully done up, as she
entered the house as abride. bong said: "I dont want this
woman to wife." By and by she appeared without any
ornaments in her hair, clothed in cotton garments, and with
household utensils in her hands, with which she was working.
bong was delighted, and said, "This is my wife."
Woo Yilwei had a daughter whom he advised, on going to be
married, to manifest no special love. The daughter asked, if she
was not to love, whether she should hate ? The mother replied:
"You should neither love nor hate, according to your private
inclinations." This simply means that she should love what her
judgment proved to be right and good, and hate what was
similarly proved to be wrong; permitting herself to be swayed
neither to love nor hate by her own passions.

DEATH.
When a child or young unmarried person dies, there is little
expense connected with interment. He is wrapped up in the
bed clothes on which he died, with an outer covering of rice
straw, and buried. But married persons after death are coffined
and buried with much ceremony, and at great expense.
When the father dies the son closes the glazed eyes; hence
the phrase, noon gam gimda upda—" he has no eye closer"—
equivalent to, "he has no son." Immediately the person is
dead, all the men and women of the family undo their hair and
let it fall about their head; while they "weep and wail," as do
the Chinese, and as did the Jews. The dead body lies where
 318 COR,EAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

and as it died, and is not, like the Chinese, put on a matless

floor. A small table is at once laid out with three bowls of rice,
three bowls of pea-curd, three bowls of the spirit made of rice,
three pairs straw shoes, three feet cotton cloth, three feet linen,
three pieces of paper, and one jacket. The dead man's name is
then called out three times; if a woman, she is called out as
"Mrs Jin," "Mrs Li," as the case may be; for the women have
no name. The eatables are then thrown outside; and the
paper, cotton, linen, jacket, and shoes are burnt outside the door
for the use of the departed spirit.
The body is then washed with fragrant water, the hair combed,
and the nails cut; each cut nail is put into a little bag, and the
hairs taken out by the comb are put into another. These
twenty-one bags are placed in the coffin with the body. After
washing, the body is clad in clean every-day clothing, then
swaddled in Corean fine silk, next bound in finest linen. The
,dutiful sons of the deceased long before prepared the "wonoong,"
or burial clothing; made of the costliest, finest, and most
beautifully flowered satin that can be had. Robes, jacket, and
trousers have been made and held in store. These are now put
on over the linen. A rug made of the same satin is placed in
the coffin, and the gorgeously arrayed body put over it. The
,coffin is placed at right angles to the position in which the
man died, and a screen made so as to shut in the coffin from
sight. Inside the screen is placed a table, with a censer con-
taining burning incense.
At the ordinary hours of the day at which he used to take his
food, dishes are prepared and offered, and then wailing and
weeping follow. During the time the coffin is in the house, the
inmates of the family eat the poorest food, and little of that.
On the fourth day the hair is again done up, and mourning
Shungbog put on. The mourning consists of the coarsest linen
ap and robe, and the coarsest straw shoes, in shape much like the
Chinese shoe. Everything on the person is white,—called so ;—
but coarse Corean linen is of a dirty yellowish white. On the
same day, the friends of the dead man come to prostrate
 FUNERAL. 319

themselves before the dead body, thus paying their respects.

Large loaves of bread are prepared, and, with many varieties of
fruit, placed on a table before the body; while afeast is got up
for the friends, almost all of whom send presents of paper to be
burnt, or some money, or long sheets of the strong Corean
parchment-like paper, covered over with the praises of the dead.
The mourners sleep by turns; for candles burn and wailing is
kept up day and night.
The poor bury on the fifth, seventh, or ninth day after death.
The wealthy may retain the body for three months; which
matters not, as the pine coffin, like that of the Chinese, is air
tight, though, unlike the Chinese, it is made to fit the body.
Those who bury a few days after death, never consult the
horologer; but if the burial is months after death, an auspicious
day is chosen for the funeral.
A good deal of paper is used up in cutting out fac similes of
Corean cash, about the same size as the old Peking cash, or
much like our new penny. Many of these are burnt, and
thousands are scattered along the road by which the funeral
marches.
The coffin is placed on aframework of beams, and carried by
thirty hired men. These are coffin carriers by profession, and
belong to the lowest of the people. The coffin is covered, top
and sides, with finely carved pieces of wood, and with a whole
piece, of about twenty yards, of satin, black, blue, or red,—
quality, not colour, being considered.
When the coffin was being closed, aliterary friend offered up
prayers for the well-being of the dead ;again when the coffin
crosses the door, again when the carved work and satin are put
on, frequently along the road, and on returning.
Before the coffin is a procession of hired men, one of them
carrying abox containing agarment or two belonging to the dead
man, and scattering paper cash on both sides; while lamps and
tablets are raised aloft by others. The sons, in mourning, follow
the coffin; then friends and acquaintances on horseback, and in
sedan chairs.
320 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

The graves are on hill-sides, are dug out, and the coffin is
placed below the level of the ground, and avery slight mound of
earth distinguishes the spot from the empty ground as in western
graveyards; being thus unlike the great mounds covering the
shallow Chinese grave. These graves are ornamented at great
cost. A small temple is built, where the deceased is mourned;
the front of the grave is paved with cut flag-stones, which are often
guarded by upright stones carved into human and other figures.
The geomancer has to fix the site and bearings of the grave, and
according to his decision it faces any point of the compass.
The box borne at the head of the procession is carried back to
the house, where it is retained. Before it, worship is made for
three years; after which time it is cast outside, and the days of
mourning are ended with its disappearance. For a mother, one
year is the period of mourning if she dies before her husband,
three if after.
If the son has no son, it is believed that the buried father is
in an unlucky spot or position. The grave is opened at great
expense, and the coffin also, to see that the colour of the body
is not black, the most unlucky of all; and anew grave is dug
according to geomancy. No expense is spared; as much as
1?1000 being paid, when the man can afford it, to get a lucky
grave.
M OURNING.
The preceding is an account of Corean mourning, taken down
from one who was recently a principal actor. It is sufficiently
full for the ordinary reader; but the full translation of aCorean
book of ritual, written in Chinese, containing all the Corean
mourning ritual, is given below, as it is interesting for comparison
with Chinese, from whose ancient, but not most ancient, ritual
it is taken. It is entitled the "Funeral Rites of Adults"—
every adult being amarried person.

DYING.
When death seems at hand, anew suit of clothes must be held
in readiness, with fresh cotton wadding and acoverlid. A board
 WAILING. 321

must be set in a proper position* by a servant, on which the

dying man is to be placed ;—he must on no account die on the
kang. There should be amat on this board, a coverlid, and a
pillow for the head, which must point south. No noise is to be
permitted in or outside the house. New cotton should be held
ready, over the upper lip, so as to close the mouth after death,
to prevent the exit of the yang chi,—the fetid breath,—which is
sure, if permitted to escape, to kill the first person, tree, or other
living thing with which it comes in contact; and while it is
retained, there is ahope of recovery. A dying man must not be
supported by awoman; nor awoman by aman. Before finally
pronouncing him dead, afork or other piece of wood is employed
to force open the teeth, to show that he is really dead. At
the same time his feet are placed on the kang table (a foot
high).
Wailing, with beating on the breast, begins immediately on
the departure of the breath,—the duration of which is at
pleasure, and not bound by rule; but it should not be excessive,
lest it might prevent the possible return of the spirit.
During this first mourning, aserving person takes a garment,
formerly worn by the deceased, and goes with it to the highest
point on the top of the house, where—holding the garment, the
neck in his left band, the hem in his right, and looking north-
wards,f whither the spirits (Yin) flee—he thrice calls loudly
the name of the deceased; if aman, calling him by the highest
title he had when living; if awoman, by that by which she was
commonly called. This is the last effort to bring back the spirit
to the body. This calling over, the man descends and places the
garment, which he has folded up, over the dead man's body.
One garment, which the deceased had several times worn, and
which should be first buried, is placed on the Hwun-bua, or

*Chinese place the dying person on the floor; but the Coreans have only
"kang," see above.

tThis fact fixes the date when the Corean Ritual was borrowed from the Chinese,
ac not being much, if any, before the time of Confucius; for the spirits were, earlier
than that period, supposed to be Yang, and to have their habitation in the south.
322 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

Title-banner. A screen is put between the body and spec-

tators,—if nothing better is procurable, adoor will do.
A man must be at once appointed Shangjoo, or male Chief
Mourner. The eldest son, if living, or, failing him, his son
rather than his brother, is the proper Shangjoo. A.n elderly
man, of the family surname, is also nominated to look after
mourners, guests, &c. The widow of deceased, if there be one,—
or failing such, the eldest son's wife,—becomes Joofoo, Chief
Female Mourner, standing to the women in the same relation as
the Shangjoo to the men. Any present of paper money &c. is
to be made through aman of the same surname as deceased, i.e.,
by arelation by the male side. All ornaments and gay clothing
must be laid aside. Wives and concubines of deceased dishevel
their hair and go barefoot. But sisters, daughters, or other
female relations, married into other families, do not dishevel the
hair, nor uncover the feet.*
During the first day of mourning no food is eaten by the
family mourners. Sons of deceased eat nothing for three days.
Grandsons, who have to mourn (JO ayear,—and their children,
who mourn nine months (Dagoong),—eat nothing for the same
period. Those who have to mourn for five months (Siaogoong),
and those for three (Saima), eat nothing for two days. All
other relations presot, and the neighbours come to mourn, eat,
but only of the coarsest fare. But if there are old people among
these more distant relations, they may be urged to partake of
somewhat better food.
Mourning cardst (Foogaoshoo) are sent out to all relations
and friends, inviting them to the mourning. When these friends
arrive, they mourn altogether, with. the Shangjoo at their head.
After the mourning, they present their offerings to the dead, and
enquire into the mode of his death, his illness, &c. Enquiries

*This paragraph shows the position of woman ;—even the betrothed girl belongs
to her mother-in-law.
tThese are white or cream coloured; red, the colour of happiness and joy, being
the colour of ordinary calling and marriage cards. Mourning garments are white
long robes, like Jewish sackcloth.
 DRESSING DEAD BODY. 323

as to his final illness and death may be made again when the
body is being carried to the grave.
Outside the door, but inside the outer wall enclosing house
and yard, a tent is erected, with a table at the inner end of
it, on which is placed a piece of meat, some soup, two plates,
a candlestick, and a duster to wipe the table. A screen
before the table hides it from the view of any standing at the
tent door. At each side of the tent is left apathway, for entering
into the house, in aroom of which the dead body is lying. A
straw mat is placed on the floor of this tent, and afine one forms
its roof.
DRESSING THE BODY.
Two basons are to be provided filled with fragrant water; one
towel to dry the head, another to dry the body, each of cotton
cloth, one foot squre; acomb; ablack satin cord to bind up the
hair on the top of the head; and small bags of "five-coloured "
(vary-coloured) silk are to be ready. A small pit is dug in the
compound or yard within the outer wall, to the south of the dead
man, of two cubic feet, into which water &c. is to be thrown.
A serving man takes the fragrant water into the room. Every
person, except the Shangjoo, goes outside, stands at the south side
of the tent, and weeps, looking northwards. The same servant
takes away all the old clothes from off the body. The hair is
combed, the comb carefully wiped, and all the hair combed out
is put into one of the little silk bags. The coverlid is then
moved down, and the body washed with the fragrant water. If
the dead was a woman, a woman must perform these offices.
The body is washed properly with the cotton towel.* All the
nails are then pared off both fingers and toes, and each is put
into a little silk bag by itself; the twenty bags, with that
containing the combed out hair, are to be put into the coffin.
The towels, water, and comb are thrown into the little pit.
Then the dressing is commenced.

*When Chinese "wash," it is always in the form of wiping with a handkerchief

or towel, rinsed out of hot water. Apparently washing the dead also consists of
this "wiping."
324 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

The serving man provides a second board, lays it outside the

screen, but close to the first, which is inside on the other side
of the screen. This board has, like the first, a mat, a pillow,
and a coverlid. All the garments to be used in dressing the
body are placed on the board, which is then moved inside the
screen. All buttons must be on the right* side of the garment.
The body is then put on the second board and dressed. The
feet are first covered, and the head last of all. The stockings
are wadded, and the shoes are of black silk, stiffened with paper;
those of women being such, however, as they had always used.
The Dangwa is a wadded garment to cover the loins, and is
next the skin. The Hansan or shirt, over this, may be of cotton
or silk. Outside the Hansan is the long outer robe, which may
be a court t dress, or one in imitation thereof, or the collar may
be straight up. There is no difference between that for aman
and that for awoman. Outside is awider robe, which is wadded;
but for women, that part of it is alone wadded which is below the
breast. A large girdle is provided, and asash of red satin, if the
dead had been an official; of silk or other material of a blue
colour, if he was not a magistrate; but it is always red for
women.
After the body is covered, the serving man, with cleanly
washed hands, takes the table of sacrifice or offering, puts on it a
piece of meat and some soup, as also apaper containing alist of all
the troubles and trials the deceased had to endure during the life
now ended,—the more doleful this list is the better, as it tends
to deepen sorrow. He then takes some spirits in a measure,
which he pours out on the east side of and close to the body;
after which he covers up all the sacrificial offerings with atowel.
If this offering is made at night, acandle must be lit to reveal
the things offered to the dead; and when the offering is
completed, the candle is put out, and the things are covered to
prevent the flies settling on them.
The mouth of the dead has now to be filled with boiled
whangmi, asmall glutinous pannicum; three holeless pearls,
*Inverting the practice of the living. tSee above, verbal description, p. 318.
 FILLING THE MOUTH. 325

and a piece of jade. It must on no account be left empty.*

When these are to be put into the mouth the Shangjoo weeps,
laying hold with his right hand of his left shoulder, which is
bared, and the left side of his clothing he draws forcibly towards
his right.1- He washes his hands before taking the box con-
taining the pearls; and he is followed by the serving man
carrying the vessel which holds the whangmi or millet. The
pillow is removed on which the head rested; and the chief
mourner, from the east side of the body, facing west, puts some
millet into the mouth. He then goes to the west side, facing
east, and repeats the process; which he does a third time,
standing right in front of the body4 His left shoulder is bared
the while; and when finished, he goes back to his own position,
and the serving man puts everything into its proper place.
The first face-covering is now taken away. To prevent those
things in the mouth from falling out, apiece of cotton, two feet
square, called Ming-gin, is provided. A muslin Wanggin
(face napkin) covers the face; and covering face and head is the
Foogin (head napkin), of black silk, and slightly fringed. The
Ming-moo (eye-cloth) is of black silk, to cover the eyes; to
each corner of which is attached acord to tie round the head. The
sash is then tied, its end passing below the head-napkin, to the
end of which it is to be tied behind the neck. The ears are
closed with fresh cotton wool, and the eye-cloth tied round the
head. The shoes are put on, and the official robe buttoned.
The back of the right hand is then covered with the end of the
hand-napkin (of black silk) ;the other end of it is to be brought

*This ensures the body from want of any kind; and the pearls, if large, prevent
the body from decay !—Vox populi.
tIf he does not rend, this appears to be a reminiscence of "rending their
garments" (see 0. T. passim). The official robe of Buddhist and Taoist priest
passes under the left arm. And the Rev. John Macintyre, who has thoroughly
mastered the ancient Chinese Ritual, informs me that, in that Ritual, the "baring"
of the left shoulder simply means that the outer robe is made to pass under the left
arm, like the official robe of the Buddhist priest.
The three pearls are doubtless put in similarly. It seems to imply completeness
from all directions; for the head is south and the spirit north.
326 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

round, underneath the palm, by means of a string attached.

The palm is then turned upside, and the strings tied with aknot
above the middle finger. The left hand is similarly covered.
And, last of all, the coverlid shuts all out of sight.
The piece of wood used to open the jaws (see above, p. 321) is
buried in the little pit, along with the napkin which first covered
the eyes. A candle must be burning in the room all night.
The three-year mourners sleep on the kang quite close to the
body,—grandsons sleeping beyond them. Women also sleep in
the same order, but in aseparate and adjoining room.
Beside the body must be placed achair with amat seat, and
on it some clothing, worn, but not worn out, by deceased. A
table is set out with incense burner, abox for incense, spirits in
acup, acomb, awash-bason, afringed towel, and acandlestick
with ahandle.
The articles belonging to the Spirit-Flag are,—three or four
feet of white silk or linen, and abox for holding the paper to be
burnt; a high flag-staff, with a red silk flag, on which are
inscribed the dead man's titles, and the flag is long in proportion
to his rank; also, white powder, for writing or painting; a hair
pencil; glue made of deer's-horn; and a long pole, high in
proportion to rank.
On achair" is placed amat, and on the mat the clothing of
the deceased. Over the clothing is the Spirit-Flag. The censer
is placed before the chair, the box holding the incense, and the
spirit-cup. The serving-man also places abason of fresh, clean
water, morning and evening, before the chair, with atowel and a
comb. All eatables are also presented on a table before this
chair. The flag-staff (Ming-ging) is set up at the right hand
of the chair; and as this staff is red, the name, rank, and
birth-place of deceased are painted on it in white. The deceased
wife is accorded her husband's rank.
In mourning, every man is arranged in his proper place of
nearness to, or distance from, the body, according to relationship
and age,—the Shangjoo, at the head of the men on the east side,
*This chair is supposed to seat the spirit departed.
 THE COFFIN. 327

facing north; the women all similarly arranged under the Joofoo
on the west, also facing northwards. There is a straw mat
prepared to sit on; and if there are very honourable men, they
must have their separate mats in honourable places. The sons
must each have abacon, in which to wash their hands and face,
on every occasion of mourning and sacrifice.

THE COFFIN.
Ten ounces (hang) of resin, and three of bees-wax, are
required to fill in the seams of the coffin, and make it air tight;
lacquer or varnish to blacken the coffin, as much as the buyer
chooses ;—the poor are at liberty to blacken with anything;
twelve feet black or blue silk to line the coffin ;—instead of which
the poor may use the thickest kind of paper. The inside corners
are lined with green or red silk, and the inside of the lid with
the same material, which lines the body of the coffin. The
joiner should be ordered to provide the very best wood which
can be afforded.
Before the actual coffining, there is apreliminary form to be
gone through, preparatory to coffining. This is called SIAO
LIEN; we may call it the BEDDING. For the board, on which
the body is now to be placed, in order to carry it to the coffin, is
(called the Bed. For it, twenty feet white fine cotton, two rugs,
one pillow, one board, are provided. The Sa,nyi, or outer robe,
of any colour, according to choice, is then put on the body ;—if
a woman, this is a petticoat. The Shangyi, upper garment,
without button-holes, is also put on; but for women, this is a
long robe. New cotton must be at hand to fill in all the spaces
and interstices in the coffin at the shoulders, about the feet &c.
Three sashes are provided to bind the clothing on the dead body;
and the garments are carefully laid out, each in its proper place.
The bedding may take place next day after death. When the
serving-men wash their hands and place the body on the bed
the pillow is taken away first, and abundle of the clothing of
deceased is used instead, and so made up as to fill in the spaces
on each side of the head over the shoulders. Other of his
 328 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

garments are used to pack the legs, the body being laid out very
straight; and some of the remaining garments are used to cover
the face. The buttons of the deceased man's clothing, formerly
tied on the right, are now placed on the left, but left untied.
The sash around his middle, as well as those over the shoulders,
are left untied, signifying the desire of the mourners that he
would even yet return to life. And the rug is then placed over
all. The Shangjoo and Joofoo are close at hand weeping,
tearing their hair and pulling their clothes,—all the men looking
west, the women looking east; but grandchildren &c. stand out
at alittle distance. The Shangjoo has his left shoulder again
bared; and those who mourn for one year, with their hair done
up, have also the left shoulder of their outer robe dropped
underneath their left arm; but they are further removed from
the body.
A long sash of cotton, like that used for mourning, or a
hempen rope covered with cotton, is worn round the loins by the
mourners.
The hair of the mourners is now done up, and askull cap*
put on. The cord tying up the hair must be of hemp, not of
silk, and be long enough to come down over the neck. The
mourner should have his head covered with awhite napkin, but
the use of the hempen cord renders this napkin unnecessary.
Every mourner in the family must have a hempen sash; and
the cap he wears must be of ragged cotton, with holes in it.
Besides the waist sash, there is another from the middle of this
sash over the right shoulder, and athird over the left:
The board on which the body had been resting is taken back
into the hall, and the mourners return to their posts; the aged
and more honourable sitting down, the younger and meaner
standing.
Four literary men (Confucianists) now appear to chant the
Ritual, in accordance with the book of Rites. They stand
outside the tent, where they wash their hands; then go to the

*This is made of horse hair, with ahole in the crown to let out the "top-knot,"
into which the male Corean's hair is always done up after marriage.
 COFFINING. 329

coffin, and stand before it. There they recite their chant, which
is as doleful an account as possible of the troubles endured by
the deceased while in life, to rouse the feelings of the hearers
into bitter mourning. Just before these chanters, incense is
being burnt, and paper, on which are poured spirits, to be burnt.
Then all dependants and the younger people bow twice. The
spirit cup is wiped with atowel, and replenished. The sound of
mourning is kept up without abreak by all the mourners, under*
the Shangjoo.

DA LIEN, OR COFFINING PROPER.

There are four or five pecks of the ashes of millet stalk
prepared, and five or six sheets of very thick paper,t to be placed
above the ashes; a lined rug of silk, a pillow, twenty feet of
white cotton; other two rugs,—one to cover the body on the
board, another to cover it in the coffin. All these are wadded.
Six sheets of oiled paper of the common size, and four of larger
size; fifty small cords, ten stout cords; three thin boards, to put
inside the coffin for a covering; two small footstools; cloth to
cover the coffin; and in winter, apiece of felt to cover coffin;
and ascreen to hide it,—are all to be ready for the coffining.
For laying out the body, aboard is required, ascreen of wood,
arug wadded with straw, astraw mat, ascreen of cloth, apillow,
arug of silk, clothing (see preceding, p. 318), acoverlid, acomb,
awash bason, and atowel.
The coffining of Dalien is on the third day after death; all the
things being arranged in order in the early morning. The coffin
is brought into the middle of the hall by the servants, and placed
on the two stools, made perfectly level, and the ashes put in.
The Shangjoo is not to weep then. The white thick paper is
placed above the ashes; and above the paper is the board called

*The original has, "All under Shangjoo," which may or may not include
himself. During the whole ceremony in China, Buddhist and Taoist priests chant
alternately; and as Corea is still more fervent a believer in Buddhism than China,
this portion cannot fail to be imitated. Confucianist chanters or reciters are the
only ones authorised by the Ritual proper.
tCoreans make paper so thick that it is used for rugs on the kang.
330 COBEAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

the seven-star board,—there being seven holes in imitation of

the Bear. The wadded rug is put over the board, then the
pillow, and the three thin boards,—one at the bottom, one in
the centre, and one at the top. The cotton sash then ties the
clothing over the body; and the other two sashes, in the form
of across, are tied over the shoulders.
The serving men, sons, and younger brothers (of deceased)
now all wash their hands, carry the body, and place it on the
board in the coffin; covering first the feet, then the head, then
the left side, and lastly the right side. The cross sash is first
tied, and then the middle (or waist) one; and several men carry
the body to the coffin. The teeth and hair which fell off during
the man's life, together with the little bags containing the
pared-off nails of fingers and toes, are put into a corner of the
coffin. The empty spaces in the coffin are packed full with the
clothing of deceased. When the coffin is full the second rug is
placed over it, and a third, called the "Rug of Heaven," over
all. During all this operation, the Shangjoo and Joofoo mourn
and wail without cessation ;and the women retire into the inner
apartments. The serving men cover the coffin, light a candle,
and set the coffin to face directly south; and then the cloth
covering is put on the coffin.
The flagstaff is set up east of the coffin, and the board (Lingdso)
on which the body had been resting is replaced in its original
position inside the house. The Lingchwang or bed is also
placed east of the body. On it are acloth screen, awadded rug,
straw mat, screen door, pillow, washing articles, and coverlid.
The wash bason, towel, and comb are to be placed on the
Lingchmang, in the position and arrangement constantly used
by deceased while in life. Food is offered as in Siaolien. The
reciters and the various functionaries, washing their hands,
place the sacrificial table, with food &c., before the coffin; with
chanting, burning of incense, pouring out spirits as before, and
the younger and meaner people twice bow to the ground. The
utensils used in sacrifice are those of every day use,—except the
vessels for containing spirits, which may be of gold or silver.
 MOURNING APPAREL. 331

The Shangjoo does not bow in worship, but he weeps and wails;
while each occupies his proper place. The Shangjoo, during
this period, occupies the meanest room, in the poorest section of
the servants' quarters, outside the second gate, where he does
nothing but weep and wail.

CHUNGFOO OR COMPLETE M OURNING.

The poor simply change the cord binding the hair to white,
and use their ordinary clothing after the third day; the wealthy
after seven sevens (forty-nine days) pass. For mourning robe,
twenty-five feet of white cotton are used, tied with a sash of
same material A white cotton cap, lined with paper, with
awhite cotton knot on the crown; the garment over the loins is
also of white cotton, without buttons. Grandsons, who mourn
for one year, may wear a finer material. The mourner has a
staff of wood, or millet stalk, covered with paper. The son has
a staff of bamboo, and the grandson of the Wootoong* tree;
arope of hemp, long and stout, from the waist, to trail along the
ground; a cap string, also of hemp: the straw hat must be
square. Women also wear white in mourning. A straw mat is
laid on the path before the house. Mourning garments are
provided for the servants also.
Next day after Dalien, the fourth after death, all the five
generations, wearing their proper mourning apparel, enter the
room in the early morning; and each person, standing in his
proper place, weeps and wails; then an offering of food &c. is
made to deceased. The son, grandson &c. go to the oldest
living representative of the family, and kneeling before him,
weep and wail; the women do likewise before the oldest female
member of the family.
The sons of the family now first eat food,f and that of the
coarsest, when mourning is assumed. The early morning

*The Elococoeca Sinensis (Williams). The fall of its leaf indicates the approach
of winter.
tThis, however, must signify that they now, for the first time, take a regular
meal, for it is the fourth day since the death.
.332 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

weeping and wailing is continued every morning by all under

the Shangjoo,—the older sitting, the younger standing. And
the morning food is daily offered to the dead just at sunrise,—
when also the servants place abason of water and acomb beside
the coffin. The things used in the evening sacrifice are to be
removed, especially in summer, for fear of smell, but spirits and
indestructibles may remain.

OFFERINGS.
The man in charge takes the Hwunbua (Title-banner) and
places it beside the coffin. He also places several plates of
meat, of food, of fruit, of soup, on the table, which is always
before the coffin, and there is chanting (as above). He then
washes his bands, burns incense, pours out spirits on the fire,
and all the mourners below Shangjoo kneel down, to bow the
head to the ground and to weep bitterly.
At meal times some food is placed before the body, the
Title-banner, which was meantime removed, being again produced
outside. The bearer of the Title-banner advances forward one
step, and offers food to deceased; and there is chanting, washing
of hands, burning of incense, and pouring a libation as before.
A spoon is placed in the food (rice &c.), the handle pointing
west, and chopsticks beside the meat; and the mourners, under
the Shangjoo, bow down twice and mourn. The things are
then removed; and during the removal, the Shangjoo, leaning
on his staff, weeps bitterly because his father cannot eat.
In the evening offering of food, all the meats &c. used in the
morning are removed. The Title-banner is again produced, and.
placed on the left of the body; plates of various food—fruit, meat,
and soup—are again placed before the body; there is chanting
and washing of hands; incense is burnt, and alibation poured out;
and all below the Shangjoo again twice bow down and mourn.
At the Evening Weeping the Title-banner is taken inside and
placed on the bed. All below the Shangjoo enter and take up
their proper places, and weep and wail. This weeping is not
restricted to any particular length of time.
 MONTHLY OFFERINGS. 333

On the First of the Month,* in the early morning, meat, fish,

cakes, soup, and rice, each in aseparate vessel, are placed before
the coffin, arranged by the bearer of the Title-banner. Chanting,
washing of hands, incense-burning, libations, &c., as before.
The handle of the spoon ± beside the food points west, and one
end of the chopsticks are placed on the edge of the spoon-plate.
The double bow and bitter weeping are repeated. If there is
any new variety of eatable in the market, whether game, fish, or
vegetable, it is to be placed on alarge plate and laid before the
coffin.
ABSENT RELATIONS.
If a son is abroad when he hears of the death, he takes a
square piece of ragged cotton, or cotton with a hole in it for a
cap; puts on awhite outer robe; ties on arope for asash; and
puts on hempen shoes. His reply to the mesenger who brings
him the news of the death of father or mother, is a burst of'
weeping and wailing, which is repeated when he hears of the
manner of the death. As soon as he gets mourning apparel, he
is to start for home, walking 100 li a day. But he is not to
travel by night, lest he meet with people who might molest or
kill him. He travels along bye-ways, avoiding streets and
ordinary thoroughfares. He is to weep and wail by the way,
but not when people are near him. When he sees the border of
his native sub-prefecture he weeps, and again when he sees the
border of his district. He weeps again when he sees his native
city or village, and when he first sees his home.
When he enters, he twice kowtows before the coffin. He then
changes his garments to mourning, and again goes to the coffin
to mourn. However long the person is dead, the new-coiner
first assumes the mourning worn immediately on the death of
the person. He then changes in accordance with the rules of

*"Month" and "moon" are the same word in the Chinese, and the Coreans
follow the Chinese in having alunar month, new moon being always the first of the
month. This was naturally the first mode of dividing the year.
tCorean spoons are of silver or brass or pewter, as in western lands; "pointing
west" means that the spirit-guest is facing south.
S31 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

coffining. When he is at home four days, he puts on complete

mourning (Chungfoo). The family take hold of each others'
hands and weep; guests mourn, taking one of the hands of a
member of the family.
If the son, whether on account of public or other business,
finds it impossible to return, he is to weep and wail in the
position he would occupy if present before the coffin; but he
cannot offer the sacrifice of food. But if there is neither son nor
grandson at home, he may then sacrifice. His Chungfoo is on
the fourth day after he hears the news.
If the body is buried before be gets home, he goes to the grave
before going home, and weeps and kowtows. His Chungfoo is
made at the grave, if it was not made before. Grandsons and
other relations not at home, simply take the position they would
occupy at the mourning, and weep and wail,—the older in their
own room, the younger in another room. Morning and evening,
mourning is observed for three days after hearing of the death;
and on the fourth is Chungfoo, whether the mourner goes home
or not. There is weeping and wailing also on the first of each
month, which may be continued for many months.

GRAVE.
A stone about one foot high, called Toodi, is already standing
in the ground* behind the grave, but not directly north of it.
Seven pieces of wood of the plum tree are chosen, of about two
feet long, and of any thickness. There are four recitators
(literates) who chant out the order in which the various duties
are to be performed. Men are appointed to superintend the
various offices. Two straw mats—one for offerings, the other
for kneeling upon when bowing—are provided, as well as the
various articles already mentioned for Siaolien, food, spirits,
incense, &c. The "chant" is now written out on a board,

*Each family has usually its own burial place on its own estate; the great mounds
outside Chinese cities being the graves of people whose relations are not sufficiently
wealthy to have the body removed to the family burying place.
 GRAVE. 335

instead of on paper, and a"good " or auspicious* day is chosen

to open the grave.
The Shangjoo, in the early morning, weeps and wails in the
house; then leading the various managers and the geomancer
to the site of the grave, he takes three of the seven plum sticks,
puts them in the ground, one at each end, and one in the centre
of the plot of ground, and the other four at the corners.
At the left (east) of the central pin the recitators take their
stand, facing south, and put down spirits, fruit, meat, and soup
before them. They now, as always, in their ordinary garments,
step in front (south) of the central pin,—the meeting point of
all the lines, the site of the grave, and which is called Shun
wei, "the seat or throne of the spirit" ;—the managers standing
behind them. They twice bow to the ground, and all together;
and then wash their hands. The recitators then step before the
incense table, which is at the side of the grave,—and kneeling,
burn incense, and pour out the spirits in the vessel on the ground
in front_ of the burning incense. Paper is being burnt in alarge
pan at the same time. They then twice bow to the ground.
More spirits are placed before the grave, and the chantert goes
to the left of the recitators, and facing eastwards, kneels and
recites achant; after concluding which, the recitators again bow
twice. The chanter and all the managers do the same after.
When these finish, the Shangjoo approaches before the grave,
weeping and wailing, and twice bows to the ground. If there
are graves of ancestors in that place already, the Shangjoo
sacrifices before them also, informing them of the new arrival.
The grave is then dug, and alayer of lime, covered with sand or
earth (i lime, Asand), is
• strewed over the bottom. If the
deceased is asecond, or secondary wife of a man buried there

*Though many scholars, and the more intelligent of the people in China and
Corea, believe that "every day is alike," yet all are subject, as were the Romans,
to the choice of lucky days.
tIn distinction from the literates whom we call recitators. This chanter recites
several pieces of composition, and is ason of deceased, if he can act; if he cannot,
one of the recitators acts.
336 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

with his first wife, it is not necessary she should be buried in her
husband's grave, though she may.

FUNERAL.
There must be provided a frame for the coffin: four thin
pieces of board, like astandard; asmall piece of wood, having
the name of deceased inscribed, and therefore called a Shunjoo;
asmall box or shrine called Doo to enclose it ;and apiece of
three-feet-wide cotton for front of coffin, black silk, a straw
mat, fifteen feet of cotton to go round the lower edge of the
coffin; a very thick board of pine, another to be laid across
underneath coffin ; lanterns, a lingchua, or "spirit-cart"
(shaped like aminiature house), to enclose incense; chairs,
table, alarge umbrella, ascreen to go before the coffin, and mats
to cover the ground.
On the day preceding the funeral, offerings are prepared, and
the coffin is moved. The recitators and the managers come out of
the house with the Title-banner, placing it at the left of the
coffin, and laying out food, fruit, meat, and soup. The chanter
then washes his hands, burns incense, and pours out a libation.
When finished, he looks to the north, kneels, and in an audible
voice speaks thus, addressing the departed spirit :—"As this is an
auspicious day, Itherefore make bold to inform you." He then
slowly rises, his eyes bent reverently to the ground, and all under
the Shangjoo weep and wail, and twice bow to the ground. The
coffin is then borne into the presence of the family ancestors
(who have atemple fitted up for them in or beside the house;
this is to inform the ancestors of an addition to their numbers).
In this temple there is more weeping and wailing, which
continues till the coffin is borne out again.
On the rising of the sun the offerings are presented. The proper
man takes the Title-banner, goes out of the room, and places it at
the left of the coffin.* Food, spirits, meat, and soup are placed

*Which is now in the lobby over against the ancestral tablet; this tablet having
a room for itself inside the dwelling house, into which room the coffin cannot be
carried because of its unwieldy size.
 EVERLASTING SEPARATION. 837

before the coffin, incense burnt, a libation poured out, and then
the chanter, looking north, kneels and says: "For ever must
you be sent away, according to the rule of propriety; not even
over this forenoon can you be left here. To-day, according to
the laws of our ancestors, the coffin cart will surely come." He
then slowly rises, his eyes bent to the ground, and all below the
Shangjoo weep and wail and twice bow to the ground.
This takes place before sunrise, and before the stretcher has come.
When the coffin frame or stretcher is brought, the appointed man
places edibles before the coffin, and then takes them away. At
sunrise, offerings are again made; the chanter, facing north and
kneeling, chants, saying: "To-day the stretcher is come to the
door, Imake bold to inform you." Then a table (Lingdso) is
placed beside the coffin; all the women retire out of sight, and
the waiters approach and place the coffin on the stretcher or cart.
The proper man then places the Lingdso before the coffin—the
Lingdso faCing south—and orders presentation of the offerings.
Its bearer now approaches with the Title-banner, and stands at
the left of the coffin; placing food,* spirits, meat and soup,
burning incense, and pouring out spirits. The chanter kneels
and says: "The cart is now ready, and is about to start towards
the grave. All the necessary arrangements are made, and we
can never see each other's face again." Then all under the
Shangjoo weep and wail, and twice bow to the ground. The
proper men then remove the sacrificial things, with the papers
on which the chants were written, and place the Title-banner in
the centre of the cart over the coffin.
On reaching the grave the Lingdso is placed before the coffin,
which is set down on amat south of the grave, the head of the
coffin pointing northwards. Spirits, fruit, meat, and soup, are

*Repetition is necessary, as a long journey is to be made. The frequent

information given, is to make sure that the spirit in the Yin or Negative state of
existence will know whither the body goes, and where it rests. For though it leads
to no good practical results, the belief that the spirit is undying has amost powerful
hold of all the nations of the east. And all these punctilious observances are to
ensure aquiet rest to the departed, so as not to trouble the living; quite as much
as from respect or affection for the departed.

W
.338 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

again placed before the coffin; and the Shangjoo, lying on the
ground east of the spirits, is weeping and wailing. Great care
must be taken to let down the coffin at a perfect level. The
Shangjoo and the others cease weeping, and go to see the coffin
let down. The flag of the Ming ging is taken off the pole, and
thrown over the coffin; but it must be laid out quite evenly,
without acrease. The four thin boards are placed, one at each
side below, and one at each side above. The Shangjoo puts a
piece of black silk at the side of the coffin, bows twice and then
kowtows, while all the surrounding relations weep and wail.
The manager then arranges all the mourners in their proper
places, beside the grave, to worship the god of the Toodi, or stone
above mentioned; which god has charge of the grave. This
stone, formerly to the north of the grave, was previously
removed and placed beside the grave ;—and spirits, fruit, meat,
and soup, are now set before it. The recitators advance in their
ordinary clothing, and stand before the Toodi, the manager
standing behind them. These all bow twice, wash their hands;
and the recitators burn incense, place the spirits on the ground,
and bow twice. Spirits are placed before the Shun wei; and
the chanter, at the left of the recitators, facing east, kneels and
recites achant to this guardian god of the grave, praying him to
look after the quiet sleep of the deceased.
Immediately above the coffin is a layer of lime, of charcoal,
and of pulverised white stone, so that when the grave is being
dug for wife (or husband), the position of the preceding coffin
may be known, without actually touching it.
On the return journey from the grave, they weep, all except
the Shangjoo, being seated on the cart which carried away the
coffin; and they look towards their home while weeping. They
weep again on dismounting, and wail going into the house,
where the mourning chant is again read.
The Shunjoo is brought back from the grave and placed on
the Lingdso, and all below 'the Shangjoo weep and wail in the
house. The serving-women wail before the Lingdso. When
this wailing ceases, the guests come to burn paper, are met and
 OFFERINGS. 339

bowed to, but received with weeping. All the near relations are
brought together, and again weep. Then those who have to
wear mourning for only a year or nine months (grandsons,
nephews, &c.), are provided with meat, food, and spirits; the
family, however, cannot eat or drink, but wait on the others.
But though acting the host, they wear the aspect of mourners,
and not of those who rejoice in feasting.

OFFERINGS (
JI).
The mere presentation or pouring out of spirits, is not
regarded as a sacrificial offering. Sacrifice consists in the
offering of the four dishes, so often mentioned, and in the double
bow. The first sacrifice, called YUJI,* is offered on the day of
the burial, on which day all below the Shangjoo wash -I- the
face and body.
There is aman specially appointed to manage all the affairs
belonging to sacrifice. There are three varieties of fruit; one
piece of meat, offered to the dead man as food; one dish of
boiled vegetables; of soup, one plate; one dish of unboiled
vegetables4 or dish of seasoned sauce; one of vinegar, beside the
uncooked .vegetables; one of fish, which must be very fresh;
one dish of meat containing three II varieties, cut into small
pieces; five dishes of differing soups (the poor may have but
three) ;biscuit and boiled flour; soup, with pieces of meat in it;
one spoon, and one pair kwaidsu; some of the mao§ grass;
sand; aslab for acenser; acenser; incense box; candle; spirit
cup; and asecond spirit-flagon on the table, with the edibles. The
Ding is alarge vessel for holding edibles; and Dsoo, asmaller,
for the same purpose ;—both must contain flesh and fish as their

*YU—seven clays' mourning.

tIt will he observed that "clean hands" are requisite before every offering. It
is unnecessary to draw attention to the antiquity of the practice, or of other
customs mentioned.
1:Onions, garlic, or any kindred vegetable, is not offered.
II Pig-liver, fish, and pheasant —three kinds of life.
§Of white colour; grows in water, but is not areed.
240 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

principal dishes; for those things possessing (animal) life are the
immediate product of heaven, and are, therefore, of the Yang*
(or positive) principle; and the less common kinds are the most
valuable for sacrifice. Bien and Dow are wooden trays to
contain the produce of the earth (fruit, grain, and vegetables).
These are the Yin (negative) principle, and must be laid out
with more than a single specimen of each. Other plates are
provided, with varieties of food, fruit, spirits, and jwan.
The serving-man places the fruit vessel to the east of the
Lingehwang, Spirit-Bed, on the outer edge of the table; the
plates containing the piece of meat, the boiled vegetables, sauce,
meat-soup, uncooked vegetables, are arranged inside the fruit in
one row. The third row is, meantime, left an empty space, to be
filled with the jwan when the "spirit" descends I. to eat. To the
north of the Bed the spirit-cup is placed, with aspoon beside it;
this is on the west side of the table; a plate of vinegar, with
another spoon on its own plate, is on the east side, forming the
first row with the spirit-cup. The flagon containing the spirits
is at the south-east corner of the Bed.
The chanter produces the Shunjoo, opens the shrine
exposing the Shunjoo to view, and places it on the left of the
bed. All below the Shangjoo enter the room, and weep and
wail; the Shangjoo, with his brothers, stands outside holding
his staff. These, with the family man, who is to act as the
"priest," or offerer of sacrifice, enter the house all together,

*According to Chinese teleology, the limitless produced the great beginning; the
great beginning produced the yang and yin,—the positive and negative, or active
and passive principles,—the type of which is the male and female; the former being
yang, the latter yin. Heaven is also yang (sun, rain, &c.), the earth is yin. From
this yang and yin acting and reacting upon each other came all life, animal and
vegetable.
Jwan is acollection of dishes of meat, fish, flour, biscuit, soup with meat in it,
and rice, each on aseparate dish.
*The spirit is supposed to descend on the burning of incense and paper, and to
begin to eat the food already on the table. A feast in China, reversing western
custom, as in almost everything, begins with the fruit, and finishes with light soup
and rice.
 ARRANGEMENT OF FOOD. 341

weeping and wailing, and stand before the Lingdso, looking

north, each in his proper place; those in heavy mourning before,
in light mourning behind; the older and honourable sit, the
others stand. The various husbands are on the east facing west,
the women on the west facing east. In going out, the older
retire first, the youngest last, and the servants in the rear.
When the spirit descends there is chanting, but no mourning.
The Shangjoo washes his hands, goes before the Lingdso, burns
incense, and twice bows. He then kneels, and a servant pours
out some spirits into a vessel, brings it, and, kneeling, gives it
to the Shangjoo, who pours it out, three several times, upon the
mao grass. He then hands the cup back to the servant, slowly
rises, his face bent to the ground, and in the same slow manner
retires afew paces, and again twice bows; after which he goes to
his first standing place.
The jwan is now presented. The serving man places fish,
meat, roast meat, liver, flour, biscuit, meat soup, and rice with
vegetable soup, at the left of the Lingdso but alittle in front of it.
A small portion of each dish is thrown on the paper which is
being burnt; thus etherealising the food, so that the spirit of
deceased can partake of it.
The (boiled?) meat is set south of the spirits, the flour west of
the meat, the fish south of the vinegar, the biscuit east of fish,
the roast meat south of spoon plate, the meat soup is east of
vinegar, the rice west of spirits. Then the various kinds of soup
are placed in the third row; and the serving man or "priest"
retires to his former post.

THE FIRST SPIRITS OFFERING (

CHOOHIEN).
The Shangjoo goes in two or three steps, and kneels before
the incense table. The serving man takes the spirit vessel from
off the table, fills it, approaches to the side of the Shangjoo,
kneels beside him, and presents the spirits. The Shangjoo takes
the vessel, and pours out asmall quantity on the mao and sand.
He then rises slowly, his head bent to the ground, hands the
342 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

spirit vessel to the serving man, who goes and places it in its
place before the Lingdso. The Shangjoo again kneels, and
again slowly rises. He steps back a few paces, again kneels,
and all kneel together.
The chanter takes the chant board, and goes with it to the
right hand of the Shangjoo, facing west, kneels and recites his
chant. When finished he rises, and the Shangjoo and all under
him weep and wail; after which they slowly rise, bow twice, and
return to their former position.

SECOND SPIRITS OFFERING (

YAHIEN).
Either the Shangjoo or any of his brothers may be the offerer.
The offerer goes before the incense table and kneels. The
serving man goes before the Lingdso, takes the spirit vessel, and
pours the spirits into another vessel. Then putting fresh spirits
into the first vessel, he goes as before, kneels, presents the spirit
vessel, with the fresh spirits, to the offerer, who pours a little
on the niao and sand, and then slowly rises as in the first
offering; the serving man taking the spirit vessel back to its
own position. The offerer then twice bows, and returns to his
former post.
THIRD SPIRIT OFFERING
may be by ason or ayounger brother. The offerer goes before
the incense table as before, receives fresh spirits, and performs
exactly the same ceremonies as mentioned for the first offering.

FOOD OFFERING.
The serving man takes some spirits, with which he goes before
the Lingdso, and pours the spirits into the vessel; he also puts
a spoon into the food dish, the handle of the spoon pointing
westwards. The Kwaidsu or chopsticks are placed quite straight
beside the spoon. The Shangjoo and all the others go outside, and
the door is closed by the Gao or chanter. If there is no door before
the Lingdso, a screen is drawn down. The Shangjoo stands
east of the door, looking west; the younger and inferior standing
 RITE COMPLETED. 343

behind him. The Joofoo stands west of the door, looking east;
and the most perfect silence is to be observed. The more
honourable mourners stand apart from the others. The food is
all arranged in order (p. 341) ;and the chanter (Gao) goes in,
standing over against the door. He looks north, sighs audibly three
times, and calls the spirit, inviting him to eat of the food prepared
for him. He then calls out, ordering some one to open the door,
or to fold up the screen before the Lingdso. The Shangjoo then
goes in with all the mourners, by the opened door, and all weep
and wail. The serving man then takes away the meat soup,
and presents tea, placing it beside the spoon; he also places
three dishes of biscuit as dessert. In a short time the
serving man again takes these, places them before the
Lingdso, and throws all the various dishes together; mixes
them, and covers them up, placing a spoon beside the
mixture.
The chanter then stands at the right of the Shangjoo, and
proclaims that the rite is completed. This whole ceremony is
intended to feed the deceased, who is represented by ason; and
this son, on hearing the words, "Lichung," "Rite completed,"
rises off the seat on which he sat representing the deceased.
Anciently this representative was an essential actor in the
proceedings, not necessarily so now.
The Shunjoo is then replaced in the shrine, taken inside and
placed on the Bed. When this is being done, the Shangjoo and
all the others weep and wail, and twice bow. They wail bitterly
for some time; and when they cease, the chanter takes the
paper on which his chants were written, and burns it. He then
goes out; and with his departure, all the serving-men go out,
and the service is finished by all the members of the family
bowing twice.
This Riji is the work of one day subsequent to the funeral ;.
and after it an offering, such as that presented before the funeral,
is offered every morning and evening. This offering may consist
of burning paper and alibation of spirits; while it may be more
elaborate if desirable.
344 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

SECOND YUJI.
The forms are precisely similar to the first. A lucky day,
called a Yo, or "soft" day, is chosen for this second service.
The Yo days are those whose names contain any of the syllables,
yi, ding, su, and sin,*--each of which occurs every tenth day.
The first of these four, after the funeral, is chosen for the second
service. On the preceding day, there are presented various
dishes of food, fruit, spirits, and jwan. In the early morning
the chanter takes the shrine, exposes the Shunjoo on the
Lingdso, and the first Yuji is repeated in every particular.

THIRD YUJI
is on a gang, or "hard" day; those days whose names have
any of the syllables,--jia, yin, woo, or gung,—are gang days.
These are yang days; while the soft are yin (note, p. 340).
The third sacrifice is arepetition in all particulars of the first
and second.
DSOOK00, OR AFTER M OURNING.
Three months after the Yu sacrifice and mourning, the
Dsookoo begins on a gang day. On the preceding day the
various vessels, utensils, and jwan, are prepared and arranged.
In the early morning the food is laid out, with spirits, fruit,
and jwan ;avessel is set with fresh water, drawn in the early
morning,—for this is the original, unadulterated wine, and is
placed on aseparate small table. This water is on the west side,
the real spirits on the east side.
At daybreak the chanter opens the shrine, places the Shunjoo
on the Lingdso; the Shangjoo, and all under him, enter, and
weep and wail. The jwan is set out properly when the spirit
descends. The first offering is in every respect like that of the
YUji, except that the chanter takes the chant board, goes to the
left side of the Shangjoo, and kneeling, recites, facing the east.

*These are four of the twelve horary characters, which the Chinese combine in
couplets to form distinctive marks for their beautiful cycle of sixty years; the first
half is used to denote the days of the month.
 LIGHT MOURNING. 345

The second and third offerings are also exactly like the first, the
chanter still facing east. Henceforth there is no weeping and
wailing at morning and evening; but grief should be manifested
by the countenance.
On the day following the Dsoolcoo, is the FOOJI, or sacrifice
to all the ancestors, which must be offered by the principal
member of the family. If the family can afford it, this sacrifice is
like the other great sacrifices; but if not, avery small offering is
sufficient.
LIGHT M OURNING.
The Siaohien, or light mourning, is after one complete year's
mourning. The chanter uses the same words as in Choohien.
The gwan or cap is apiece of coarse white cotton; four rounded
sides, resembling a four-leaved shamrock leaf. The clothing
must be that of the Dagoong—of those who mourn nine months.
The skirt of the outer garment must have an unhemmed hole in
it, and be of white cotton. The sash is to be of boiled flax, a
cross sash (over the shoulders) is made of the same material;
the shoes of hempen cord, and the staff, are as in full mourning.
The lien (garment for the loins) must be of a quiet colour. If
the father lives, and the mourning is for the mother, the lien is
worn at the end of eleven months. The Dah,ien, or "great
mourning," is worn till after the completion of the thirteenth
month. After the thirteenth month is over, mourning may be
laid aside, and, after asacrifice, ordinary clothes assumed. The
Siaohien means, however, twelve full months in mourning.
On the day preceding the completion of the full twelve months,
the Shangjoo and the other mourners wash the head and body;
then the vessels and utensils are prepared, and jwan got ready.
The lien, or change of clothing, is also provided, and laid out in a
separate place. The males put off their head napkin, and rip
open the seam of their collar; the hem of their skirts is also cut
away, so as not to touch the ground, and they each carry asmall
board. Within this full year of mourning, no gold ornaments
are to be worn, or pearls, embroidery, or scarlet, purple or any
reddish colour ;—for red is the colour of rejoicing.
346 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

In the early morning of the day after the completion of the

full year, dishes of vegetables, fruit, spirits, and jwan are got
out. The chanter opens the shrine, and places the Shunjoo on
the Lingdso; all under the Shangjoo enter and weep and wail,—
the Shangjoo standing against his staff outside the door. All
the members of the family enter in their ordinary mourning
clothing. Those more distant relatives who had changed their
mourning at the end of five and nine months, also enter to the
sacrifice; but their gay clothing is laid aside, and they mourn
bitterly, till their grief finds full expression, when they desist.
They then go outside to their proper positions; and when they
change their mourning for ordinary clothing, they re-enter, and
again weep and wail till the recitator cries "Stop."
During this weeping and wailing, paper and incense were
being burnt, and the spirit descended. The offerings are again
in all respects similar to those of the Yüji. Then when the
three offerings are over, the Shunjoo is locked up.
During the period of mourning—whether for father or mother
or both; or whether from thirteen months to two full years—no
spirits of any kind are drunk, no flesh or fish of any kind, and no
garlic or any of the garlic tribe eaten. But if a member of the
family is unwell, and unable to eat the ordinary coarse food, and
is therefore in danger of death, he may take both spirits and meat,
which he ceases to use as soon as he is better. Old people over
fifty may also eat meat to support their infirmities. Neither is
it proper to go beyond the premises; but if unavoidable business
demands his departure, the mourner must have both saddle and
stirrups covered with white cotton, in token of mourning.
After Siaoh,ien is completed, the morning and evening offerings
are stopped; but food is presented morning and evening before the
Shunjoo; and though no sound of weeping is heard, there should
be mourning in the heart and on the face. Thenceforth there is
no restriction as to the kind of food to be eaten. The women
mourning father or mother now also return to their husband's
home, and the unmarried women of the family may be
married.
 TWO YEARS' MOURNING. 317

DAHIEN, OR GREAT MOURNING.

The chant at the Dahien, or the end of two full years' mourning,
is that of Choohien, and the cap or gwan as in Siaohien. The
clothing must have a straight up collar, and the shoes be of
boiled hemp.
On the day preceding the completion of the two full years, the
head and body are washed, and everything prepared as in
Siaohien. The offerings, as in Siaohien, are laid out before
sunrise; and in the twilight, the chanter opens the shrine &c. (346).
When the three offerings are completed, the chanter takes the
Shunjoo and places it in the temple devoted to ancestors, which
every wealthy family possesses. All below the Shangjoo wail
on the way to the door of the temple, where they desist.
When all is finished, the Shangjoo should offer sacrifice at the
temple of his ancestors; the Shunjoo should be placed in the east,
looking west; and after three full years, put in its proper position,
facing the south.
The Lingdso is then taken away. The staff is broken, and
thrown out into the compound. The mourning is then ripped
up, and given to the servants and the gravekeeper.

DANJI, on SACRIFICE ON CHANGE OF CLOTHING.

The Danji is offered ahalf month after Dahien. Ordinary
clothing is prepared, ablack cap, and ablack sash.
On the preceding day the head and body are washed; aplace
is provided for the Shunjoo, on the spot previously occupied by
the Lingdso before it was destroyed; and vessels, utensils, and
jwan are arranged.
In the early morning before daybreak, vegetables, fruit,
spirits, and jwan are orderly arranged. The Shangjoo then goes
to the ancestral temple. The chanter takes the shrine, places the
Shunjoo at Lingdso, and all below Shangjoo weep and wail, till
their grief finds adequate expression, when they stop. They
then go out to their places, lay aside their mourning apparel,
put on their ordinary garments, and again enter, standing in
their proper order. The three offerings are then made, as
.348 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

already described; but there is no audible mourning till the

"spirit" is sent away (i.e., the Shunjoo replaced), when all weep
and wail bitterly. But there is no wailing when it is being sent
to the ancestral temple. Then, for the first time, meat may be
eaten and spirits drunk by all the family.

SECOND FUNERAL, OR CHANGE OF GRAVE.

The site must be carefully sought out by the eight diagrams;
and the ceremonies to be performed are exactly as at the first
burial.
If the first coffin is rotted away, a new one is required; but
if the old one is good, it may be used. In the event of change
of coffin, the bones, which have now lost all their flesh, are
,

arranged each in its place to form a skeleton, which must be

clothed again. A stretcher is required for coffin; some cotton,
a sash, arug, and clothing. But these are not required if the
old coffin is entire. Each man is to be dressed in proper
clothing; the three-years mourners (sons) in linen, and no one in
gay clothing. When opening the grave, the Toodi, or small
stone behind the grave, is first sacrificed to, as at the first burial.
A good day must be selected to open the grave, and to sacrifice
to the Toodi. Lime &c. are used in the same way as in the
original grave.
The ANCESTRAL TEMPLE is INFORMED by placing spirits and
fruit in the temple on the day preceding the second burial. The
Shangjoo and the others stand in their proper relative positions,
and the shrine is opened. The man who is to lead the procession
takes out the Shunjoo, which, on its appearance, is kowtowed to.
When, on the burning of paper and incense, the spirit descends,
the Shangjoo washes his hands, and stands before the incense
table; burns incense, and twice bows; places the spirits, and
pours some out over the mao grass, and again twice bows. After
pouring out the spirits he rises slowly, his face towards the
ground, and again kneels. The chanter (a member of the family)
takes the chant-board, and kneeling, recites that " . . is to
 SECOND BURIAL. 3.19

be buried on the . . . year, in the . . . moon, on the . . .

day, the dutiful son (or grandson, as the case may be), &c., &c.,
informs . . . (name), . . . (relation), that on this day, at
such an hour, the grave is to be changed ; " and now he
tells the spirit, so that he may be aware of the change, and not
be ignorant of the resting place of his body; that thus he may be
saved from the future trouble which he would experience if he
knew not whither the body had been removed.
Then the Shangjoo and all the others stand in their proper
places, and twice bow. When the Shunjoo is put away, the
Shangjoo again twice bows. He then places the Shunjoo in the
shrine, and retires backwards, facing it.
A tent is erected at the old grave, so as to be able to arrange
the men and women in their proper positions. In the early
morning of the funeral day, all go to this tent, and are arranged
in their order,—the Shangjoo clothed in coarse linen; all the
others in ordinary garments, but none in gay clothing. All weep
and wail, and sacrifice to the Toodi.
Before the grave is opened, aplace is prepared for the coffin on
the left (east) of the grave, in front of which are arranged spirits,
fruit, meat, and soup. The Shangjoo then washes his hands,
advances, kneels, burns incense, and twice bows. He then pours
out some spirits on the earth, and again twice bows. A second
time he pours out spirits, and slowly rises, facing the ground;
and then again kneels. The chanter then kneels, recites,
addressing the Toodi, mentioning the name of the person to be
removed, with his title, with the name of the chanter, and prays
the god to aid those now in his presence, and offers him food.
As the grave is about to be opened, all are standing in their
proper rank, and weeping bitterly. They twice bow. The
Shangjoo kneels, burns incense, and twice bows. ,He places the
spirit vessel, pours out some upon the earth, and again twice
bows; a second time pours out spirits, and slowly rises. The
chanter then sighs thrice audibly, as if calling the departed; after
which he takes the chant board, kneels and recites his chant,
addressing the dead man, informing him of the change and
350 COREAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

telling him to "be not afraid, be not troubled," for that he will
find asure resting place.
The servants then open the grave; and during the process
both men and women weep and wail. The coffin is laid on the
stretcher placed for it, men and women wailing in the tent; the
men in the east side, the women in the west. The chanter wipes
the coffin with aduster, and throws arug over it. Offerings of
vegetables, fruit, meat, soup and rice, as usual, are placed before
the coffin. All wail bitterly and bow twice; then the incense
table is approached, incense burnt, spirits placed in position,
some poured out; and the actor slowly rises, wailing bitterly, and
again twice bows. In ashort time the things are all removed,
the spirits and fruit alone being left behind.
The new coffin was brought to the tent door, facing south. It
is now carried to the grave mouth. The proper man then places
aboard to the west of the new coffin; opening the old coffin
and placing the body on this board; and the new coffin is laid
on the stretcher. And the man removes the things offered in
sacrifice, the chanter kneeling as before, reciting whither the
dead man is to be removed. And again an offering is presented.
All below the Shangjoo weep and wail. The chanter washes
his hands, burns incense, pours out spirits, kneels, and says,
"The carriage of the ling * is ready to go to the new house."
The funeral cortege is precisely similar to the first funeral.
Men had gone ahead who prepared atent and aLingdso, at the
new grave, by which men and women could be again separated.
When they arrive, weeping and wailing are indulged in, as at the
first funeral. And sacrifice is offered to the new Toodi.
The proper man places spirits, fruit, meat and soup at the
left of the grave. The Shangjoo washes his hands, kneels, burns
incense, twice bows; again places spirits and again twice bows,
pours out the spirits and slowly rises, and again kneels. The
chanter takes his board, kneels and speaks, addressing the god of
the Toodi, (Toodi ju sh,wn), informing him of the arrival of the
new visitor, praying him to look after the dead man come thither,
*Ling is used for both "coffin "and "soul."
 SORTING THE GRAVE. 351

and to prevent his being troubled in time to come, adding that the
spirits &c. now offered are for his own (the god's) use. The
Shangjoo twice bows; and the chanter and manager bow twice.
Yuji is offered at the Lingdso, in a manner precisely similar
to that of the first funeral. The only difference being, that in
the first offering, of the second funeral, the chanter says that
"If they had not changed the grave, they would not have dared
to make offerings and worship as at the first." The second and
third offerings and the "departing " of the Shunjoo are exactly
as at the first funeral.
Next day after the second funeral they inform the Ancestral
Temple, the Shangjoo and the others observing their proper
order; the foremost opens the shrine and all thrice bow .towards
the Shunjoo. When the "spirit descends" the Shangjoo washes
his hands before the incense table, bows twice, pours out spirits
and slowly rises. Again, just before the Shunjoo, he pours out
more spirits, kneels, and all kneel. The chanter then addresses
the Shunjoo, informing him with the proper dates and names
where his body had been buried. The Shangjoo rises slowly, bows
twice and goes to his proper standing place. The Shunjoo is put
away and the Shangjoo and all under him twice bow. After
placing the Shunjoo in its proper place, he walks out backwards.
Three months after, there is a change of clothing. It is
proper the family should have an appointed place for mourning.

SORTING THE GRAVE, OR "CHANGE OF SWOTSAO."

Though the preceding is in itself complete, it is well that this
addition be attended to. A good day must be chosen (fifth of
fifth moon,—June; and fifteenth of eighth moon,—September,
are the best), and spirits, fruit, meat, and soup, are arranged
before the grave. The Shangjoo washes his hands, approaches,
kneels, burns incense, pours out spirits upon the ground, and
twice bows; pours out alittle more spirits in front of the grave,

*Swotsao, sedge (Williams); but here simply the grass growing on the grave.
This is certainly an addition to Chinese Ritual, for they leave their graves in a
disgraceful state of neglect.
352 C011EAN SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

and slowly rises, and again kneels. The chanter makes three
sighs, kneels, and speaks, saying, that as many years have gone
by since the burial, and as none has been looking after the
grave, it now requires to be repaired, &c., &c.
When changing the Swotsao, sacrifice is again offered to the
Toodi. Spirits, fruit, meat, and soup, are placed by the proper
man on the left of the grave; the Shangjoo washes hands,
approaches, kneels, burns incense, pours spirits upon the ground,
and twice bows; pours out alittle more before the grave; slowly
rises, and again kneels. The chanter also kneels, addresses the
Toodi god, mentioning names and dates as before, saying that
as the grave had fallen into disrepair, they had now come to
repair it; "we, therefore, pray the god to help us, and to aid
the deceased to avoid future trouble, &c." The Shangjoo then
bows twice; the chanter and manager (who laid out the
offerings) also now twice bow. Afterwards, they wish the buried
to be at rest. When the labourers are finished, the manager
places spirits, fruit, meat, and soup, before the grave. The
Shangjoo washes his hands, burns incense, pours out spirits
before the grave, and slowly rises. He again kneels; the chanter
kneels, and informs the deceased that now the grave has been
renovated, and that afterwards he will never again be molested.
From the preceding may be inferred, at aglance, the immense
inferiority of woman to man, according to Corean notions. Her
position is not merely secondary, but she has any actual position
whatever, only as wife and mother. It will have been observed
in the article on "Dying," that the daughters and sisters of a
man dying, are not to go into mourning, i.e., they are not to be
treated as the near relations of deceased, but as the wives of
their respective husbands. So much so, that in Corea, awoman
living or dead, has no name of her own, but is called Mrs so and
so,—the name of her husband. Women call themselves by the
term "slaves," in China,—it is even worse, apparently, in Corea,
though in both countries there are clever women, who, by dint
of an eloquence unknown where woman is esteemed, compel
some respect to their wishes. It is an undoubted fact that
MERCHANT 8, WIFE. CHILDREN & HOUSE.
 BEAUTIFUL THEORY. 353

Christianity alone can place women in China and Corea,—in

number more than all European women,—in their proper social
position; Christianity alone can confer upon them the dignity of
that position, and enable them to perform its duties pleasantly
and beneficially to wield its influence. And if women demand, as
they are justified in demanding, the removal of all real inequalities
between the sexes in western lands, should Christian women
not be more earnest still in their endeavours to ameliorate the
wretched condition of those eastern women, whose state is now
of such anature, that their earnest prayer is, that in the next
life they may be born men? Only Christianity can save them.
The excess of mourning, the accumulation of ritual, the calling
upon the departed spirit, and any other custom referred to above,
which may seem strange to western notions, are to be understood
as implying profound grief at the loss to the survivors, and the
expression of the wish that their dead might return to life again; .
and must not be supposed to imply any hope of an actual return
to life, or a belief that the departed can indeed partake of the
offerings. The origin of it all is not superstition, but the idea
of filial devotion, which stands out as the first of all the virtues
in China, and in all countries which have borrowed Chinese
moral philosophy. If therefore the various rites and customs may
appear ludicrous, the true meaning of those rites is one to be highly
respected; though alas! like every other virtue in the east, it is
beautiful in theory, but lamentably lacking in practice; for the
man who may have killed his parents by his vicious courses,
regards himself amost filial son, if he wails sufficiently over the
coffin, and burns some paper before the grave.
.
 CHAPTER XI.

RELIGION.

THE Coreans have one native name, and one borrowed from the
Chinese, for the Supreme Being. The former is Hannonim,
from hanul, heaven; the latter Shangde. The name Hannonim
is so distinctive and so universally used, that there will be no fear,
in future translations and preachings, of the unseemly squabbles
which occurred long ago among Chinese missionaries on this
subject ;—even though the Romanists have introduced the name
which they employ in China. The idea conveyed by the term
Hannonim is much like that of Tien laoye, the popular Chinese
name for the Almighty, the all-present, but invisible One.
Taoism, which divides Chinese attention with Buddhism, is
almost unknown in Corea; while Confucianism is a moral
system, and not properly a"religion." Hence Buddhism has no
rival, unless indeed Romanism, which has had many adherents
for nearly three centuries, may be regarded as such.
Booldo or Buddhism is profoundly believed in, and the celibate
Jocyng or priests or monks are so numerous, that they are said to
form afourth of the male population; several myriads of them
are said to be in the capital alone. The principal images, Bootte,
are of brass; the secondary, miriug, of carved stone; none being
of clay, as almost all Chinese images are. The priests are held
in greater esteem than in China; and apparently a better class
of men shave their heads in Corea than in China, for they are
frequently ministers of State, commanders of armies and governors
of Provinces, and occupy other important magisterial posts. The
priest Samiungdang, celebrated to this day, was commander-in-
chief, during the Japanese invasion three centuries ago. The
Governor General (Tsongdo) of Pingyang in 1877 was apriest.
356 RELIGION.

This magisterial priest is addressed, not Joong, but Desa, "He,

the Temple."
The dress of the priests is black or grey, their trousers being
as universally black as that of the rest of the populace is white.
Their official robe, gasa, which they wear at worship, is in shape
like the Chinese; passing over the right shoulder, and under the
left arm. They also use a crooked staff in their chanting.
Their rosary consists of one hundred and eight beads, which they
diligently count over in prayer. Their remarkable similarity
to the various ecclesiastical grades and the ordinary forms and
ceremonies of Romanism, is very extraordinary; so much so,
that the priests accuse the devil of having stolen the rites of holy
mother church and of teaching them to Buddhism. The priest
is severely beaten if discovered breaking his strict rules of
vegetarianism and chastity. In this respect they seem to be
superior to the Chinese.
The believers in Buddhism are not in equal proportions over
the kingdom. In some places scarcely athird follow the priests;
in others, almost all the people. Fervent believers assiduously
frequent the temples; others once a month, or once ayear, at
the great festivals. There are more believers in the god of the
mountains than in Buddhism. This god is the representative
of the mountains, and his temples are on the highest and most
precipitous slopes. This god is worshipped once a year; the
family making it the occasion of a picnic. Seven days before,
and as many after the day of worship, no meat is eaten; and
the cereal and vegetable food must be of the cleanest possible
kind,—the rice being pounded many times more carefully than
during ordinary times, and the vegetables are washed with seven-
fold care. Everything on the person and in the house must be
without spot. It is in this respect like the Pongol of India.
Though the mode of worship differs in toto from the Chinese, we
imagine the idea of gods for the mountains came from China,
where it exists and has long existed much as it did in ancient
Greece.
Loongwang, the god of rain, is believed in by all the believers
 IMMORTALITY. 357

in the mountain god; comprising all the believers in Buddhism,

in addition to many more who do not believe in Buddhism.
The god of war is worshipped only in the capital, where there
are two temples in his honour; but China has one in every city.
Confucius is worshipped twice a year,—once in spring, and
again in autumn; but only by the magistrate who is over each
city. The king worships him in the capital. Some of his
disciples are also worshipped. The magistrate in all cases
sacrifices sheep in the stone built temples. There are no sheep
in Corea; those sacrificed are purchased at the "Corean gate"
from the Chinese.
The doctrine of immortality is necessarily believed in, wherever
the Chinese form of Buddhism flourishes; for the ambition of
priest, monk, or vegetarian believer, is that, by his abstinence
and his diligent chanting of litanies, he may become a "god,"
the equivalent of the Roman Catholic saint,—attained in much
the same fashion. But the highest aspiration of Buddhism, is
that the soul should be absorbed into Nirvana or nothingness,
which really means annihilation; for the soul is to cease to exist
as aseparate entity. Yet that the soul of every man is immortal,
does not seem to be a universal,—it is certainly not among the
Coreans universally apractical,—belief. The first Corean with
whom the writer ever came in contact, regarded the notion that
all had souls destined to endless existence, one to be ridiculed;
for only the priests and pious people could thus live. True, he
was avery ignorant youth; but when the Corean scholar, who is
with me now, came under my notice, he was about to drink some
opium, to end a life of poverty among strangers; and to one
capable of such adeed, immortality can be only afiction.
The sacrifices and addresses to the departed, as recorded
above, might seem to imply a belief in immortality; and it
cannot be denied that there is, of necessity, a hazy kind of
spiritual existence, after death, believed in wherever Buddhism
prevails; and especially where dead ancestors are sacrificed to,
in the belief that the departed spirits can exert an influence for
good or evil upon the living. We do not believe that any of the
358 RELIGION.

eastern people have yet attempted to solve for themselves even

an approximation to an idea of the nature of that disembodied
state. It is very evident from the above Burial Ritual, that
death is regarded as an eternal separation between the dearest
of friends and the best of men. The bitter wailing of survivors,
to whom the departed was .very dear, is the necessary accom-
paniment of that black despair, which says to the departed, that
he must go hence "for ever ;" and what a contrast this, "We
shall never see your face again," of eastern philosophy and
religion, compared to "Not dead, but gone before," of the
Christian. Even supposing it could be false, the belief that
death is but atemporary separation of those dear to us as life,
is one full of soothing comfort to the living one, for which we
owe deep gratitude to Him who has "brought life and
immortality to light," if even He had done no more for mankind.
The condition of Corea, as of all eastern lands, proves that the
most ordinary morality has no foothold, apart from the belief in
an endless existence hereafter, whose character is to be decided
by the "deeds done in the body."
The following is again atranslation from aCorean treatise on
Religion :—
There are four sects in Corea-1*, THE RELIGION OF REASON.
Its teaching is summed up in the two words: "Clean "1'and
"Empty." -1- It teaches its disciples to be humble and not
arrogant. But if a man join them who is of a disreputable
character, he ceases prayers and music (which can restore aman),
and forsakes benevolence and uprightness.
2nd, GEOMANCY, originated with HU and Ho, two ministers of
Yao Wang. -1,- If a man joins them who is of some mental

*" Clean " in heart, in person, in temple.

tVoid of thought and desire of any kind, either good or evil; for perfection is
the absolute serenity of mind consequent on the total absence of all thought.
Ergo, the man who did not waste his talent but kept it in a napkin, should have
been agood man. And therefore ceasing to exist as a separate individual is the
perfection of happiness. Though called Tao here, the name and description really
belong to Buddhism.
T
.This gives Geomancy amuch more recent date than the Fula, of the Chinese.
 TRUTH AND ERROR. 359

capacity, he induces men to act according to his rules, as to

when there is alucky opportunity of doing anything, and when
he should abstain from doing. If aman of very limited capacity
joins them, he forsakes the rules of human conduct, and becomes
a devoted servant of gweishun—" demons and gods,"—or
superstition.
3rd, LAWYERS or LAW SECT, consisting of those appointed to
be magistrates over the people, to reward the good and to punish
the evil, and to act according to principle and law. But if a
selfish man is in office, he ceases to instruct the people, and casts
away benevolence and love.
4th, INK SECT. Ink is that by means of which every man
gains knowledge. Ink is therefore most valuable and highly to
be honoured.* The founder of this sect, contemporary of
Mencius, called himself Modsu (Son of Ink), and instituted the
Alojiao. He regarded a poor house or a mountain cave as a
proper home. One of their tenets orders the younger people to get
up at the fifth watch (2 a.m.), and wait upon the Three Elders
(father, mother, and elderly guest) ;and they teach all to "love."
But if anarrow-minded man join this sect, he follows out the
doctrine of universal love too logically, and makes no distinction
between his nearest relations and the outer world.
"But," says one writer, "under heaven there is only one true
doctrine, and all the rest are false; the true man must be treated
according to his truth, and the false according to his falsehood."
"That," says the Annotator, "is the speech of achild; for who
can equalise the unequal? Among one hundred men there is
one thief; but if you dont know who it is, how is it possible to
treat ninety-nine of these as honest men? One cock pheasant
crows, one hundred hens follow him. Swift as the wind, quick
as the lightning, man has no standing ground. Who is there in
this world who has not at some time been the object of groundless
suspicion and back-biting? This is what is hard to endure. Wun
Joongdsu said that in rectifying the conduct, the mind must be
inflexibly bent in one direction (i.e., regardless of the vox populi).
*Compare the English saw about the "Pen and Sword."
 360 LAWS.

This is a statement of the utmost consequence. It should be

thought of constantly, and acted out always till knowledge is
added to knowledge; each sentence more pregnant of meaning
than each last; branch should spring from branch, and bud
increase on bud, till, when you hear words hard to bear, you
will resemble Boo Yi when accused of stealing the silver, and
Bo Yen when charged with designs on the revenue; who
continued faithful to their post, even though charges were made
against them by the hundred cart load. The bird wounded by
an arrow afterwards fears every crooked stick; and the ox who
has suffered from the sun will bellow when the moon appears."
Here we stop the Corean moraliser while proving the difficulty
of distinguishing the true from the false, and only wish that all
men "calling themselves Christians" had as much real
knowledge; and were ready to cultivate the same forbearance.
 CHAPTER XII.

GOVERNMENT.

LAWS.
ON the subject of Corean laws, we can give no special infor-
mation, and must be satisfied 1 vith general remarks.
. The
Coreans permit no intercourse with other nations,—not even
with the Chinese, except by special government permission,
and under the most stringent supervision. At the time of their
greatest power in Pekircg, the Jesuits were encouraged to go to
Corea, into which their science was opening as wide adoor as it
had done in China; but as the Jesuit fatal tendency to meddle
with state affairs manifested itself in the latter country, with
an unfortunate effect upon their mission work, they were
forbidden Corea; and as lately as the last few years, the Jesuits,
hiding among their converts in Corea, were subjected to abitter
persecution, from which only two French priests escaped, and
which carried off large numbers of their followers. China had
done otherwise in persecuting; for the government took the
utmost precautions to save the western priests from the populace,
and had them safely escorted to the Portuguese in Macao; while
they persecuted only their own subjects who refused to submit
to the ordinary laws and magistrates of their native land.
The Corean successful defence against the French fleet,
which steamed up the Han to revenge the murder of these
priests, led to stricter rules than ever against any contact with
the "foreign nation,"—for all westerns are lumped into one
"outer kingdom," both in China and Corea. On this notion was
based the law forbidding the introduction of cottons, which,
though English, were supposed to be in close connection with the
kingdom whose ships they had driven off and which kingdom would
362 GOVERNMENT.

suffer materially by shutting up the Corean-gate market! Two.

Corean merchants, who smuggled in those cottons at that time,.
lost their heads, as did two assistants. It was only on the
accession of the present young king that the prohibition was.
removed, and western Coreans were again permitted to dress in
their beloved English cottons. If aChinaman is known to have
landed on any part of the coast, accessible to the knowledge of .
the nearest local magistrate; this magistrate is responsible for
his apprehension, and must answer with his head if he connives
at the Chinaman's escape.
Once a year there is an important national tribute, under
charge of high officials, sent to Peking; which is taken advantage
of largely by Corean merchants, who act as the retinue of these
tribute bearers, or are permitted for agratuity to do so, in order
to sell their gold and ginshang in Peking. There are other less
important embassies during the year. The chiefs of the embassy
get apassport for each man in his train; and if it is known that
any follower overstays his term, he is punished on his return to
Corea; but those who do prolong their stay after the return of the
tribute bearers, always take care to return with the following
embassy, and thus escape detection. A man Isaw with afront
tooth knocked out was more unlucky. He went in the usual manner
to Peking with abundle of medicines; for Corean medicines are
in high repute in China. His story was, that having got to
Tientsin he was called in to see the sick son of the viceroy, Li
Hungchang. He treated the youth successfully; and remained
three years under the roof of the grateful father, who, when he
was starting for home, gave him Tls. 100 (..e30) to buy himself a
horse &c. Mr Tien got to the west bank of the Liao on his way
home, when he was beset by robbers and plundered, after losing
that tooth. The story may or may not be true, but we know
that then all Manchuria was infested with robbers, and
the story did not appear on that account improbable.
As the local magistrate is nominally responsible for everything
which happens in his district, Tien went to the Yamen, and
demanded the restitution of his lost fortune; whereupon arose a
 LAWS. 363

wrangling and disputing, which ended in many communications

from and to the Corean government, which ordered Tien to be
brought in custody to his native home, where be was sentenced
to three years transportation for overstaying his passport leave.
He, however, got his younger brother to take ins place, and fled
back into China till his term should expire. It was then he
related to me his story, which is curious if true.
The Coreans are extremely fond of the strongest spirits, and
invariably get drunk on the strong whisky of northern China,
when they can get it. They themselves make astrong spirit of
rice, on which they often get drunk. The government levies a
malt tax on it. But in the year 1876, when there was only the
third of aperfect crop, distillation and the sale of spirits were
strictly forbidden in Corea under severe penalties. This is
always done when grain is scarce. As in the one city of
Aichow alone, over 1500 families were supported by the sale of
intoxicants, it is not wonderful that some sold in spite of law,
and got banished.
Beating on the shank with a heavy stick is a very common
mode of punishment; which is said to end in immediate death,
if abadly aimed blow comes down just below the knee cap,—
the result of awkwardness on the lictor's part. A murderer is
tied down on apiece of wood, and beaten to death; the thief is
punished in the same way: hence theft is unknown where the
magistrate is known to enforce the law. The gambler, and the
man unable or unwilling to pay his debts, are also beaten;
sometimes on the shank, and to death. The man known to be
an opium smoker is beheaded; yet we have seen many slaves to
the bewitching and pernicious drug. The opium flower was
grown in Corea, on account of its "beauty," long before it was
known to contain the seductive "smoke ;"though the juice and
plant were used long ago in the apothecaries' shop to relieve
pain, and very much as opium is now employed in modern
medicine. The Coreans, indeed, seem to have used it before we
did in the west. We hope foreign cannon will never open a
way for opium into Corea; after which we would be told, as we
364 GOVERNMENT.

have been told of China, that the government is not in earnest

in its professed desire to prevent the traffic. In the treaty
between Japan and Corea, the opium traffic is strictly forbidden.
And death is the legal penalty now to any Corean known to
smoke opium.
Smuggling is variously punished. Beheading is the sentence
against smuggling ginsheng and ox-hide. This ginsheng
the Coreans grow extensively in their gardens; but the
root grown by cultivation is regarded as nothing like so
efficacious as the old roots on the wild mountains, which sell at
enormous prices. Other kinds of smuggling are punished by a
more or less severe beating, or by banishment. People caught
fighting, are beaten in the same way as naughty children,—but
with a bamboo instead of the palm of the hand. And for
disobedience to parents, aman is severely beaten.
To prevent the magistrates from condoning offences for a
consideration, there is a periodical visit, at irregular intervals,
paid to some city or district, by a very high official in plain
clothes, called Usa. U is the king, and Umiung the law. As
soon as the Usa has made all his enquiries among the common
people of the district, where he is investigating the magistrate's
conduct, his followers, also scattered about in plain clothes, shout
out, at a sign from him, Umiunga, Umiunga, and with the
shout collect around their chief, whose presence is first suspected,
only when thus discovered. He wields absolute power, and
immediately proceeds to the yamun to transact his business. If
the magistrate is found guilty of receiving bribes, be is sent to the
capital, where he is beheaded. The Usa can go anywhere, and
punish on the spot any crime,—as disobedience to parents,
reviling one's elders, &c. He is unusually active in years of
scarcity. The power of this tremendous spy is greater far than
that of the Chinese censor, who can do no more than
memorialise the throne. But in spite of all, the Corean
mandarins, like most of their neighbours, from highest to lowest,
have their market value; and the laws, well intentioned as they
are, serve but as thumb screws to squeeze out silver out of the
 ROYAL FAMILY. 365

lower officials. "The big fish eat the little fish, the little fish
eat shrimps, and the shrimps eat mud."

ROYAL FAMILY.
Since the Tang dynasty overwhelmed Corea, it has had only
glimpses of absolute self-government; but, at the same time, it
has had only brief intervals when it had not virtual self-
government. Its vassalage to the Manchu government, secured
at asacrifice of afew years' dispeace and slaughter, and of some
further years of somewhat severe taxation, has mainly been
virtuEgly nominal. For, from pity or policy, at one period after
another, the taxes were lightened, till the amount is now one
which is, on account of the merchandise accompanying it, more
profitable for the Coreans to pay than not to pay. In treating
of the government of the country, therefore, it is unnecessary to
refer to its nominal dependance upon China, further than to say
that a yearly or half-yearly tribute is sent in to Peking,
accompanied by a host of merchants, who bring back profits
much greater than the amount of the tribute. The Chinese
emperor has also to acknowledge the heir to the throne, ere he
can be regarded as such; though the choice of the king is always
sanctioned. The Chinese emperor also invests the new king
with his title, sending a special ambassador for the purpose.
The Coreans, however, are masters of the situation; for it is the
Corean government, not the Chinese, which prohibits intercourse
between the two peoples, and which demands and receives any
of its subjects known to be hiding on Chinese soil; while
absolutely forbidding access of Chinese subjects to its shores on
pain of instant death.
The Corean king is perhaps the most absolute in the world,—
at all events among peoples who are wholly or semi-civilised;
and however cruel the king, revolution has been impossible, for
Chinese resources are pledged to support him. But like all
kings who grind the bulk of their subjects to the dust, he is
considerably at the mercy of his hereditary nobility, who, though
not so numerous as in ancient times, nor possessing so much of
366 GOVERNMENT.

of the actual government of the country, and administration of

the laws, in their hands,—are yet too powerful for a king of
ordinary stamina. In ancient times they were, indeed, absolute
lords of their cities, like the barons of England. Yet though
fewer in number, and shorn of much of their ancient power, they,
or aclique of them, can usually dictate to the king.
The present dynasty was founded by a man surnamed Li,
by the murder of his sovereign, as appears in its proper place
in the history (p. 269). He was Taidsoo, or founder. The
following is acomplete list of the dynasty up to the present :—
A scended Had Daugh- Died
Throne. Sons. ters. at.
Taidsoo Kanghien, Great King, - - A.D. 1392 15 8 71
Dingdsoong Goongching „ (2d son) - - 1398 15 8 63
Taidsoong Goongding „ (5th son of Taidsoo) 1400 12 17 56
Shudsoong Gwangdua „ (3d son of last) - 1418 18 4 54
Wundsoong Goongshwun „ (eldest son of last) 1450 1 2 39
Dwandsoong Goongyi 11
(son of last) - 1452 17
Shudsoo Whijwang (son of Shudsoong) 1455 4 1 52
Duadsoong Hwajun (eldest son of last) 1468 2 1 20
Yooidsoong Hiangdao „ (son of Shudsoo) 1468 2 1 20
Chungdsoong Kangjing „ (son of Duadsoong) 1469 16 11 38
Lord Yenshan* - - - (eldest son of last) 1494
Joongdsoong Goongsi „(2d son of Chungdsoong) 1506 9 11 57
Yindsoong Yoongjing „ (eldest son of last) 1544 — — 31
Mingdsoong Goonghien „
(son of Joongdsoong) 1545 1 — 34
Iluendsoo Jaojing t (Hochung Prince) 1567 14 11 57
Lord Gwanghai t (3d son of last) 1608
Yuendsoong Goonghiang „ (6th son of Huendsoo) 1623 3 0 46
Yindsoo Hienwun (eldest spn of last) 1623 6 1 55
Hiaodsoo Hienwun 7, (241 son of last) 1649 1 6 41
Hiendsoong Janghiao 11
(son of last) 1659 1 3 34
Sodsoong Yuenhiao 11 (son of last) 1674 6 0 60
Gingdsoong Hiienhiao (eldest son of last) 1720 37

*He was "banished" to Gaotoong, after 11 years' reign; hence he is styled

"Lord," not king; the former being the title of kings' Sons, not their successors.
tSon of Mingdsoong should have succeeded, but the Prince of Hochung became
king instead. It cannot have been arevolution, yet his name is not among the
royal line ;
— perhaps he was royal by female side.

.T. Was banished after fourteen years' reign.

 ROYAL FAMILY. 367

Ascended Had Dough- Died

Throne. Sons. ters. at.
Yingdsoong Hienhiao (4th son of So dsoong)1724 2 12 83
Jundsoong Hiaojang 17 (eldest son of last) 1776 11
Jungdsoong Jwanhiao - - 1776 2 2 49
Chwunjoo Chinghiao 0 - - - - 1800 2 3 45
Yid.soong IIiaomin 91 (eldest son of last) 1834 1 0 22
IIendsoong „ (son of last) 1834 no child
Chuadsoong, or Chiuljong „ (next of kin) 1849
Dang Jie (adopted by widow of Yidsoong) 1864 ;
—was then an
infant. During his infancy occurred the two wars with France and
America. He has only recently assumed the reins of government. His
title of Dang Jie is that of every Corean king while living, the historical
title being invariably posthumous. The dsoong of Chinese is always
Jong in Corean.

The above list will serve to illustrate the statement, that the
reigning king chooses which of his sons he pleases, or even passes
them over for a cousin or an uncle, according to pleasure. If
the king has many children he has many wives; SOO being the
"round number" of his secondary wives or concubines. If a
chief queen has ason, the son of a concubine cannot ordinarily
succeed; but the son of a concubine is considered the proper
heir if a chief queen has no child or daughters. The present
king, son of Dewun Goon, adopted when the late king despaired
of an heir, had a son by a secondary wife, who was three years
(four swi) old, and would, on the following year, be proclaimed
heir; but that the queen was pregnant, and in due time gave
birth to ason, who is heir. This heir is seven years old (1879),
and the other eleven. The heir is a Wang, the other sons are
Hun princes; in Corean, Goon.

DEPARTMENTS.
To advise and consult with the strong king, to guide and
command the weak, there are three great councillors, called
Yijung, and six presidents (Pansie) of as many state depart-
ments. The Prime Minister is Niungijung—in Chinese, Ling
Siang—" Chief Councillor." The second is Dso Siang—in
*See note 1-, p. 366.
368 GOVERNMENT.

Chinese, Dsoijung—" Left or Senior Councillor." The third

is Vow Siang—in Chinese, Wooijung—" Right or Junior
Councillor." The Corean king, like his imperial Chinese
majesty, has three queens—chief, left, and right—each in a
separate palace, and with a separate establishment. The Left
councillor superintends the left palace, and the right the right
palace. When a new king is proclaimed, or the choice of the
heir to the throne is to be ratified by the emperor, the chief
councillor is the ambassador to Peking. A Pansie or Tsampan,
is head of the ordinary tribute bearers. Dso and Vow
Tsandsan„ or Left and Right Tsandsan, are ministers inferior
to the three councillors. The Li Pan, President; Li Tsan,
Senior Vice-President; and the Li Vi, Junior Vice-
President of Board of Appointments, complete the list of the eight
members forming the Privy Council, or "Inner " Government.
The chiefs of the other departments or boards are "Iiroo," or
Ho Pan, or Pansie, President of Revenue; Li Pan or Pansie,
of Rites; Bing Pansie, of War; Hing Pansie, of Punishment;
Goong or Gong Pansie, of Works. These six are each assisted
by a Vice-President or Tsampan, and a Tsame or Secretary.
The Pan is of the second grade, the Tsampan of the third, and
the Tsame of the fourth. The eighteen members forming the
six departments are called the "General Council" of the king;
but the first three, corporately called Jiungsung, hold the real
power. Each of the six departments, however, has a body of
soldiers and amint of its own.
M. Dallet, in his "Church in Corea," calls the presidents
"Pantso"; but my Corean book authority calls them merely
"Pan," while my Corean teacher calls them "Pansie." Tso
is the name given, in the book to which Irefer, to the offices of
the various departments—as Bingsto, offices of Board of War;
Litso, offices of Board of Appointments &c. Though therefore
M. Dallet had doubtless some authority for his rendering, I
prefer to follow the Corean book published by the authority of
the Corean Government.
"Left " is place of honour, adopted from Chinese.
 APPEALS. 369

The Panyijin is the official in charge of the Lamps and Lights

of the Palaces, and who has aJin Foo, Lamp-lighter's Palace, as
his office. The Dasusien, Da sujien, Da suchung, appear to
be grades of Censors. The Doochungju is the Keeper of the
Rolls. There is a Hanlin academy, a Y2 Tang (Precious
Hall), or the "Ocean of Sages," probably the Temple of
Literature; and a Yingkiao (Must-be-learned), apparently the
offices where newly appointed magistrates go to learn their
duties. The offices of the Privy Council are called Kweijanggo;
the two chief censors have "palaces" -called after their office;
the Jungfoo is the Palace of the Royal Secretariate; the
Huweisu, the headquarters of the Royal Guard; the Chungwun
Yuen, of the Recorder; and the Chungjingwun (the Gwodsujien
of China), the Royal Academy. There is a Medical Hall;
offices of the Royal Kitchen, of the Ritual Officials, of Superin-
tendents of Royal Servants; an Armoury; an Astronomical
Board; Eunuch offices; offices of Music; aNational Granary;
and aTreasury.
The Provincial Officials and Magistrates are—Gamsa, the
Governor; Pooyuen, Seyuen, Taipoosa, Moksa, Poosa,
Goonshon, Hienling, Hiengam—in their order. "The dignity
is for life; actual office for a limited period. Governors are of
the fourth grade, and Prefects of the sixth. Theoretically, office
is open to all who have taken the Doctor' degree; actually, the
higher offices are in the hands of the nobles "—(Dallet). This
agrees with what we have learned privately from Coreans.
An appeal may be carried from a local magistrate to the
Gamsa; from the Gamsa to the King; who, however, is not
accessible in the palace. The petitioner waits till the king goes
out to the Ancestral Temple to worship, whither he goes once a
month or so. The petitioner has in his hand a piece of hollow
wood or something else to make a noise. This he strikes by
the roadside, as the king is about to pass. The king hears this,
stands, enquires into the business of the petitioner, and acts in
it.
370 GOVERNMENT.

MILITARY.
As in civil matters, so in military, there are three chief
officers. 1st, Hoolien Dejang (Ch. Hun giang) ;2nd, Uyung
Dejang (Ch. Poogiang); 3rd, Hoyung Dejang (Ch. Ginkiin);
who are superior to the Board of War. Each province has a
commander for the province, called Biungsa, who may be
compared to the Chinese Taotai; the Gamsa may also hold the
office of Biungsa. Each province has an army and strongly
fortified camp, or ying, of its own;—Giying is that of the
capital; Goonying, of Choongchung; Lingying, of Giungshang;
Gienying, of Julia; Doongying or Yuenying, of Gangwan;
Haiying, of Hwanghai; Beiying and Giying, of Pingan; and
Hienying, of Hamgiang. There are, besides these, four camps
in each of four Prefectural cities ;—Soongying, in Kaichung;
Chinying,* in Ganghwa; Swichung, in Hwachung; Nanchung,
in Gwangchow foo. Each province has also afleet of its own;
the capital having three,—one north and one south of the city.
There are, besides, five small fleets in remote stations, as
Yichow, Dongtsai, &c.
POPULATION.
CENSUS.

Cities. Cantons. Families (11oo). Soldiers (Ding).

Province.

Giunggi Do - 36 409 136,600 106,573

54 552 244,080 139,201
Choongchung Do
Julia Do - - 56 740 290,550 206,140
Giungshang Do - 71 990 421,500 310,440
Gangwen Do - 26 202 93,000 44,000
Hwanghai Do - 23 295 138,000 153,800
Hamgiana Do - 24 233 103 ,
200 87,170

Pingan DO - 42 440 293,400 174,538

332 3,861 '1,720,330 1,221,862

Of the cities, only some are fortified, being unlike China in

this respect. The Cantons are composed of groups of small
*Which was taken by the French and American expeditions.
 CENSUS. 371

hamlets; large villages being uncommon, nor are the large cities
numerous. From the above Census, it is as difficult to compute
the true population as from the same basis to infer the exact
population of China. In China aIwo supplies ading, or perhaps
two, who may become asoldier; but acertain number (10 ding)
furnish one soldier; the nine being supposed to be able to
support an actual fighting man and his family, besides their own
families; which is very nearly the proportion in which the
Israelites were to support the Levites, though for other than
fighting purposes. But Corea averages 1 hoo to a ding; the
proportion changing in each province. It is unnecessary to say
that not a fifth of those called soldiers are actually drilled in
Corea, and that scarcely ahundredth portion have firearms. In
China there are more families than there are hoo. The hoo is a
military term,—arbitrarily dividing the country into so many acres
to an efficient soldier,—for China has never known what perfect
peace means. The Corean arrangement is borrowed, like so much
else, from the Chinese; and, to estimate ahoo at six members,
would, from the peculiar family life in both countries, be certainly
too small, while ten would, we think, be too much. The average
might be taken as aproximately correct estimate; and that would
give to Corea apopulation of about fourteen to fifteen millions.
And as we know the country is swarming with population, this
is probably not an excessive estimate.
 CHAPTER XIII.

THE COREAN LANGUAGE.

SUPPOSE aclever Bengalee, who knew Hindee well and Chinese

fairly, came across abook in Hindee purporting to represent the
English of the "Three Character," or "Thousand Character
Classic," and suppose him ignorant of any other English
language different from this transliteration, it would be a very
natural mistake for this clever Bengalee to infer that the
English language was monosyllabic like the Chinese. It is in
some such manner that the Corean language has been classified
among monosyllabic languages in our Cyclopedias, and not later
than ayear ago by Professor Douglas of London. The mistake
is all the more readily fallen into, inasmuch as the Corean
pronunciation is so unlike that of northern China, whether
Pekinese or Nankinese Mandarin,—approaching much more
nearly to that of Canton. This difference, however, instead of
proving the monosyllabic character of the Corean language
proper, serves only to justify the belief of those Sinologists who
maintain that Cantonese more nearly resembles the ancient
pronunciation than does Mandarin, either northern or southern; for
the Coreans, having an alphabet independent of the Chinese
hieroglyphics, were able to stereotype that pronunciation of those
Chinese hieroglyphics which they first learned. China, on the
ether hand, destitute of any such stereotyping process, if we
except the uncertain and inadequate one of hymnal rhythmic
terminology, seems to have changed its pronunciation with every
succeeding dynasty, and to have changed it less in those regions
of the empire remote from the immediate influences of such
dynastic changes; for, as far as memory serves me, no dynasty
has ever been given to China from the south of the Yangtsu.
374 THE COREAN LANGUAGE.

It is necessary, however, to know only two or three sentences

of Corean to at once explode the notion of its monosyllabic
character. Indeed, Chinese itself is gradually losing its
monosyllabic nature; for a dissyllabic or polysyllabic language
is now spoken over sixteen of its provinces, and over the three
"East Provinces," of which Liaotung is the principal. Though
the pronunciation of these polysyllables of Mandarin varies in
each province, the collocation of "syllables " and the accent are
all but, if not wholly, identical over all. And the tones, of
essential importance where monosyllables prevail, are the less
necessary in proportion to the distinct articulation and correct
accent or "rhythm " of these collocations.
If the Corean language was, as probably all languages at one
time were, monosyllabic, it lost this feature long ago; and it is
now no more so than English: perhaps less so than pure Anglo-
Saxon. And though the subject is to be treated superficially in
this paper, as full an account will be given of this long-sealed
language of a still-sealed people as will suffice to place the
Corean language in its proper pigeon hole in the philological
library, and a comparison with its chief neighbours may not
prove uninteresting to readers interested in language.

THE ALPHABET.
Coreans are unwilling to acknowledge to strangers the existence
of awritten national language, always declaring that they write
only Chinese; and when it is known to exist, they are unwilling to
teach it, and more unwilling to write words in it. This is, of
course, because of their jealousy of foreigners, and their fear that
the latter are yearning to acquire their billy lands. Besides,
they do not regard the ability to read and write their own
language as sufficient to entitle to the rank of an educated man.
This term is applied only to those familiarly acquainted with
Chinese; and if the "Holy Wars" of the Manchus is trust-
worthy evidence, Coreans excel the Chinese themselves in the
dexterity with which they manipulate Chinese characters. Their
 COREAN ALPHABET. 375

alphabet is so beautifully simple, that half-an-hour's study is

sufficient to master it; and as, like Pitman's Phonography, it is
employed phonetically, it is universally known and used by men,
women, and children. So much so, that a Corean, who "did
not know a single character "—implying Chinese—sat down to
aMS. copy of John's Gospel, and left it off only when he had
read it all, not asingle word having escaped him. This proves
the great superiority of Corean over Chinese for the purposes of
translation.
This alphabet consists of thirteen initial consonants, which, in
the order of the Corean alphabet, are—g, n, d, r, 9Th, b, s, It, ds
(j), ts (eh), t, p and k;—five simple vowels—a, u, o, oo,
nine compound vowels—in, in, io, iw, (i-oo), wa, wo, wi (Eng.
we), wit (Eng. won), woo ;—two composite vowels—e of let, by
combining a and i; and el, the a of made, by u and i. There
are besides, nine finals proper, though any vowel may be afinal—
g, n, d, r, m, b, s, i, and ng; and as the vowel always rests
upon a consonant, a circle or cypher stands before the vowel,
which initials asyllable. D final is, however, never employed;
the letter for s occupying its place. The following notes are
extracted from my Corean Primer :—" The same letter stands
for ds and j, for ts and oh, for /and r. But Chinese /is trans-.
literated by n, not by r. Our w (double oo) is formed by
prefixing o to the vowel." When closing a syllable the finals
b, g are pronounced like English final p, Jo; and sfor final d,
like English t, holding an intermediate position between Corean
p, b, Jo, g, t, d, which are like the Chinese; d and tare as in
Chinese, pronounced from the edge of the upper row of teeth
instead of from the roof of the mouth." "In pronouncing lip,
the Chinaman is compelled to make two syllables, li-pu; the
English speaker opens his lips after forming the p, but utters no

*All the vowels are named with the uniform and constant value which is given
them in my Mandarin Primer—a of far, u of fun, even when closing a syllable; a
of lot, oo of moon, and iof it. Ifelt compelled to adopt oo to avoid the inevitable
confusion arising from the double power of u, from which duality Japanese alone
seems happily exempt.
876 THE COREAN LANGUAGE.

audible sound. The Corean keeps his lips closed on every final
consonant, permitting no breath to escape; neither audible like
the Chinese, nor inaudible as in English. This renders some
finals very indistinct."
"Euphony plays curious tricks with these finals, especially
with the final s, which remains an s only before another s. It
is assimilated by the succeeding consonant, becoming English t
before d or t; k before g and k; n before , n, and sometimes
even r; bfinal is usually English p, but becomes m before 91;
and initial b becomes v before i, sometimes before a; g
occasionally becomes lig. If initial n succeeds after final r, both
are pronounced 1; and an initial r after final n is reversed, for
it becomes n. A final and initial rcoming together are, as often
as not, pronounced by a double 1. "To indicate a very acute
accent, the initial consonant is repeated, or the sign of the letter
sprefixed. Hard g between two vowels, becomes mollified into
a gh. But ogat is as readily understood as oghat." '"The
Corean alphabet, though always written in syllables, is from top
to bottom, and right to left, like Chinese; and the current hand in
English is no more unlike the printed letter than it is in Corean."
Neither the alphabet nor the language of Corea contains the
letter f; nor are there letters for the sounds 1, v, w, which are
spoken. The Corean cannot, however, pronounce r at the
beginning of aword, any more than the Chinaman; and he much
prefers the sound 1at the end. But, unlike the Chinaman, he
almost prefers the sound r in the middle of a word, whether
beginning or closing asyllable. The three sounds, 1, n, and r,
are, however, interchangeable. One strange feature of the
spoken language is, that the man who invariably translates the
Chinese initial 1by ,
n, as ni for Chinese li, turns the tables; and
for ni (you), also says li. The Corean often softens the bbetween
two vowels into v, as does Celtic with band m. This hmolliens,
if Imay be allowed to call it so (v=bh), is extremely common
in the spoken language, but unnoted in the written language;
for though pronounced gaghassum, gaghatda, these words are
written gagassum, gagatda.
 SYLLABARIES. 377

This h molliens is probably a feature of all languages. In

Hebrew we have the softened forms of the Daghesh forte, bh,
ph, dh, th. In English we have oh, sh, zit, (azure), dh, and th;
for it seems quite reasonable to suppose that the soft th of the is
but the old German article die; and any one can observe the
difference in the breathing of th in the two words, that thing,
the former corresponding to ad with hmolliens, and the latter
to a t with the same. This softening is more marked in
Celtic than perhaps in any other language,—Hebrew not
excepted,—for every one of its consonants is subject to it.
With the exception of the few defects pointed out, the Corean
alphabet, for simplicity and utility, is the best known to me. In
simplicity it is greatly superior to the complex alphabets of its
neighbours, Manchu, Mongol, and Japanese, for these are
Tables of syllables; so that in the majority of instances the
"letter" of the Manchu and Mongol syllabary is composed of
two consonantal sounds with an intervening vowel, the Japanese
syllabary being more simple, inasmuch as it includes in it only
syllables ending with a vowel, while these form but a small
proportion of the Manchu, in which shwa, shang, ehoong, chiwng,
are each a separate letter. Thus the so-called Manchu twelve
Radicals, which are really finals, are multiplied into many
hundred letters. But while it is all but perfect in its table of
syllables, the complexity of Manchu is quite acontrast to the
beautiful simplicity of Corean. Besides the invariability of its
vowels, Corean has the advantage over English of possessing
separate letters for ds, ts, or eh, and ng; but it has to represent
sit by inserting the double vowel beginning with iafter s; as for
sha, s-i-a, for sho, s-i-o, &c. Like Manchu, it lacks a sign for
French 'a so common in Chinese; but while Manchu clumsily
supplies the vacancy with the vowel combination i-o-i, the
Corean uses one of its two forms of the letter n (of fun).
Manchu, on the other hand, has separate letters for f, ut, /, r,
and the zh, or French jof Chinese. It has letters for ds and ts,
which, however, appear as if supperadded long after the
formation of the alphabet proper, and were possibly formed to
378 THE COREAN LANGUAGE.

represent Chinese sounds, and after the Manchu conquest of

China. If it be so, it would partially account for the softening
process through which the Nanking dialect passed at the hands
of the Manchus; the result being the present Pekinese, which,
as was natural, is developed at least as fully in Moukden as in
Peking. This will not wholly account for the softening, for
Manchu has separate letters for king and chivy, for ging and
jing; but south of Kaiyooen, the Manchus have lost their own
language, except for state purposes, and they, therefore,
pronounce both forms with the same sound. So much has the
Chinese superseded the Manchu, that the best Manchu scholar
in Moukden can no more close asyllable with a consonant than
can a Chinaman ;—all that the Manchus have retained of the
vocal peculiarities of their language is the ability to trill the r
sound.

THE VERB.

The Corean verb has properly three tenses,—the Present

Imperative, the Past, and the Future; but both past and present
are subject to certain modifications to express past-definite,
past-indefinite, &c., time. Many verbs have also a form for the
present indicative. From root gal (English go, German gangen,
Scotch gang), is gashi,* imperative; gassumme, pft., "has
gone ;" gaghatdapde, fut., "will go ;" muggushi, eat;
mughussume, has eaten; moghatdapde, will eat. The interro-
gative of Past and Future is formed by terminating the verb
with the vowel a, the vowel 4is affirmative; as gassumma? has
he gone? gassumme, he has gone. The imperative is used for
infinitive, as boollu ona, "call (him to) come."
The verb has properly no persons, though sometimes the first
person differs,—as mughussum, I have eaten. But each verb
and each tense has three various forms, according as the person
addressed is superior, equal, or inferior in rank or age, to the
speaker. The middle form is ordinarily applicable to all,

*The sh, ss, t, are changed by euphony from the same letter s(see above).
 VERB. 379

excepting very old persons and parents. In this matter the

Coreans are much more particular than the Chinese.
There are three Negatives in Corean, all verbal, implying the
verb "to be," or incorporated in that verb. The Chinese
negative mei is used at once as the negation of existence and
of possession. The Corean an is the negation of.existence, and
up of possession. The Chinese boo or puh, always connected
with the future tense, has, as pointed out in my "Mandarin
Primer," adouble farce according to its position relative to the
verb; in one position being the negation of ability to (=cannot),
in the other, the negation of will (=will not). The Corean uses
an for the latter, and mot for the former, e.g. :—
Dioti anta.—Good not=it is not good.
Bumun issumma upsumma ?—Tigers are are-not ?=are
there tigers ?
Bumun, upsowel—Tigers not=there are no tigers.
Bumun, manta upsowd.—Tigers many not=there are not
many tigers.
Bumun manta anta.—Tigers many not=tigers are not
numerous.
Dalliji, mothaghe.—Ride cannot=cannot ride (as horse is
wild).
Sarami gami derul tami upsummunni.—Man dare him
ride not=there is no man dare ride him.
Muggushi.—Eat (Imperat.).
Mugdi ansupdel—I shall not eat (Simple future).
Mugdi mothummuni.—I will not eat (Implying inability).
Mugdi ankatdupdel—I will not eat (Implying unwillingness).
This brief sketch of the main features of the verb must
suffice, for it will be supplemented by the following complete
sentences; which are written because it is now a philological
axiom that the grammatical construction of alanguage, and not
any number of mere verbal resemblances or differences,
determines the character and philological position of that
language. The few following sentences will present variety
sufficient to show this construction :—
380 THE COREAN LANGUAGE.

That dog bites is translated, de gai sarara moonda, that dog

man bites.
His Excellency sat in Court and examined him (the prisoner)—
Sadonun dangd antsusa desaram, moonundd
Exceny Court sat him examined.
He who in heart is aman-hater knows not what it is to pity man—
Maum sanaoongusun saramul boolsiangi anniammd
Heart hate men pity not-know.
The father dearly loves his child--
Avani arunarul gukki saranghanda.
Father child dearly loves.
He is old and cannot travel—
Degha milgu nungi gil gadi mothanda.
He old can road go not.
Ihave come to meet you— Igo along with you—
iVe nut gwahangd ghapsd _Ye wasa nerul madsa oghassumme.
Icome you meet have come. I you together go.
Order the smith to do the iron work—
Dejiung boollu tint mod mendurushi.
Smith order iron work do.
We ought to bear with bad men to see whether they will not repent—
illatdangijiongne dioti anwa saram ddrul boni gottighassupda,
Ought bear good-not man him see repent
gottiji-mot-haghassupda.
repent-not.
The grammatical comparison of Corean with Chinese will,
perhaps, be most simply represented in giving asentence (1st)
in its English, (2nd) in its Chinese, and (3rd) in its Corean
construction :—
English—This house is not very large.
Chinese—This house not very large.
Corean—This house large very is-not.
English—Invite agood teacher to teach me (to learn) Corean
well.
 TURANIAN NEIGHBOURS. 381

Chinese—Invite one good teacher (to) cause me well learn

Corean.
Corean—Good teacher invite me Corean well cause learn.
Though there are expletives in Corean corresponding to our
marks of time and emphasis, these, as well as many of our
prepositions .and adverbs of place, are supplied by particular
affixes to the noun or verb, e.g., the first verse of John's Gospel
reads thus :—
Chu-ume dogha isuni donan Hanunimuro dubooru
Beginning (in) word was; word God company
hangge isuni donun got Hanunim-uro.
together was; word just God.
The words singly being ch,u, do, isu, Hanunim, &c.,—the affix
representing emphasis and time. Indeed, the beautiful
flexibility of the Corean verb, can find no equal in the west
among modern languages; old Greek being the only language,
it appears to me, which can compare with it.
Leaving out of sight its polysyllabic character, it is evident at
a glance that the Corean is a language entirely different from
Chinese. Judging from grammatical construction, the true test,
English can claim amuch closer relationship with Chinese, if it
has any ambition that way, than Corean can. And it is scarcely
necessary to draw attention to its numerous terminative additions,
in order to at once classify it with the Turanian or agglutinative
family of languages. Indeed any man seeing the Corean
physiognomy would almost unhesitatingly so classify Corean
even if he knew nothing of the language.

COMPARISON WITH ITS TURANIAN NEIGHBOURS.

More interesting than the grammatical relationship of Corean
with Chinese, is a comparison of this language with Manchu,
Mongol, and Japanese; from some one of which one could
readily suppose Corean to have sprung. And we would look for
the closest possible kinship between it and Manchu; for all the
382 THE COREAN LANGUAGE.

best Chinese writers, whose works bear on Corea, agree in stating

that the people moved into their present beautiful country of
mountains and of floods from the kingdom of Fooyii, which was
powerful in the time of the Han dynasty; though the emigration
must have taken place ages before the Han. They would then
have moved southwards and south-eastwards along the north-
east and east of Liaotung; which province they occupied for
long, and which they still regard as their proper patrimony.
Thus they would pass from and over the lands afterwards
occupied by the savage but vigorous Sooshun or Niioun stock,
which gave the Kin (gold) and the present Tsing (clear) dynasties
to China. And though Dr. Williams can be regarded as
scarcely accurate in stating that the Kin are the ancestors of the
Tsing, except in as far as the Prussians are the ancestors of the
English; yet all the iNgun spoke substantially the same
language, which language still prevails over immense tracts of
country away from Chinese influence, and which is now called
Manchu, and is daily heard in the country said to have been the
home of the Coreans. Hence we would naturally look for a
•close resemblance, if not a thorough identity, between the two
languages. We have noticed the great difference between the
alphabets of the two peoples; but as both began to write long
after the Coreans had settled down in the north of their present
lands, differences in detail would not materially affect the
question of their original unity. We shall now compare these
languages in atable of common words, where resemblance should
be expected, and where difference is the more easily detected;
and then append Manchu, Mongol, and Japanese sentences to
compare their grammatical structure with that of Corean given
above. The Mongol is Eastern Mongol.

English. Chinese. Manchu. E. Mongol. Corean. Japanese.

one Yi umoo niga banns, htotsz

two ur jwo hoya door ftatsz
three san Ran goorba suit mitsz
four su dooyin torbu nuit yotsz
five woo swunja taboo dasut itsztsz
six liw ninggwun jirkok yusut mootsz
RPVPII chi nadan tolo nilzo nanatsz
 COMPARATIVE TABLE. 383

English. Chinese. Manchu. E. Mongol. Corean. Japanese.

eight ha jakwun naiman yadul yatsz

nine giw wooywun yiso aoop kokonotsz
ten shu jwan arba yul te
eleven shu yi jwan umoo larban niga yul hanna taamarih'to
twelve shu ur jwan jwo arban hoya yul door teamarifta
twenty ur shu worm n hori sumool hatachi
thirty san shu goosin gochi shiurun misoji
forty su shu dusi tochi maoon yosoji
fifty woo shu swundsa tabi shooiun isoji
sixty liw shu ninggwun joo chira esoon moosoji
seventy chi shu nadan joo dara nirun nanasoji
eighty ha elm ja,kwun joo naya yadun yasoji
ninety giw shu wooywun joo yinran ahun kokonosoji
one hundred yi bai umoo tangwoo jio yil beg Hyak
two hundred ur bai jwo tangwoo hoya jio yi beg ni b'yakoo
one thousand yi chien umoo mingga mingka yil chiun sen
ten thousand yi wan umoo toomun toman man man or ban
heaven tien abka tunggali hanul ten
earth di boihon siro da chi ham
man zun niaman goong goong saram hto
house fang bow guru up takoo
father foo ama yichika abani chichi
mother moo umu or aja yika amooni haha
son ur ju kokan adul goshisokoo
daughter niir sarhan wochin dara —
girl yatow sarhanjooi wochin yimina onango
he ta Yi taro. de anohto
Tou ni si chi me anata
wo hi hi na washi
head tow woojoo tologai murri atama
eye yen yasa nidoo nun, me
mouth kow anshan ama ip . --
ear ur shan chiki gwi. —
eat chu juaku idi muggushi tabe
food fan boodu booda bap gozen
water shui mooku woosoo mool midz
south nan joolargi womona name —
west Si warg,i omora sheniug
gold jin (gin) aisin alto so or gum
silver yin munggwun monggoo un
copper toong sirm gaolin toong
11"011 tie sulu tamoli tiul tetsz
wood moo mow motoo namoo ki
fire hwo twa guru bool hi
tobacco yenye tamagoo tamaga dambe tabako
sun uz, zutow shoon nara nar hinata
moon yooe bin sara dal ngatsz
year nien aniya on niun nen
wind fung ucloon salkin baram ka,ze
rain anan boro hi —
Yii
is yoo bisiru hi yisul imas
is not woo akoo oogwi upda nai
know judao sa, maduko adi ronji
walk dsow yaboo yaboo gal yooke
it rains, hia yu, anambi, boro oroba, bionda, —
eat food,* chu fan, boodu juaku, booda idina, bap muggushi, gozen nasare

*For the purposes of this comparison, Ithink it needful to retain the new system
of spelling Pekinese, which I took the liberty of introducing to the public in the
384 THE COREAN LANGUAGE.

This table, because of the universal and constant use of its

words, may be regarded as affording as fair an idea as is needful
as to the mutual relations of the four Turanian languages. Yet
we find in it no resemblance whatever between Corean and
Manchu words; though, in a few instances, as in thirty, forty,
thousand, I, walk, food, &c., we can trace amutual acquaintance
between Manchu and Mongol, arelationship whose existence can
be shown in other instances. Corean shows traces of kinship
with none of them, but gives proofs of having borrowed largely
from the Chinese, from which, curious to say, all the numbers
above ninety are taken. But an acquaintance with the old books
of Corean literature will probably show that Corean, like
Japanese, anciently had names for all numbers; for Japanese
now borrow Chinese numbers for everything above ten, and often
for units. The Japanese numbers given in the table are the
ancient names, the better to compare with the kindred language.
The Mongol for come, says ira; come quickly, ootooi ira;
you sit here, chi ata sao, you here sit; eat hot food, kaloon booda
ida, hot food eat; drink lukewarm tea, bookan chai ida, luke-
warm tea drink; whither going? kana uchina; whither do you
go ?chi kana yiliba, you whither go ?Iknow, bi maduko; you
dont know, chi wooly, maduko. Manchu is sa Iknow, sarkoo
Idont know; Corean adi mothamme, Idont know.
A few phrases from the Manchu verb to go, with asentence or
two, will show considerable difference from Corean gwn,u;
if (I) go, gunuchi; gone, ganuhi; about to go, gunutalu; all
who go, gunuhutu,; all who have not gone, gunuhukoolu, ;will
you go? gunumow; let him go, gunaini; if he wants to
go let him go, gunuchi gunukini; going, gwn,uranggi; has he
gone, gunuhisumow; will you not go, gunurakoon; you will

"Mandarin Primer." For as every language has its b, p, &c., while no two nations
pronounce them all with exactly the same breathing,—and as Manchu, Mongol,
Corean, and Japanese, have their b, d, and g letters, I think it most illogical to
reject the use of those letters in transliterating Chinese, for the only reason that
they happen to be pronounced with astronger breathing than is common in English;
especially as such use gets over serious difficulties, arising from the system hitherto
employed.
 MANCHU VERB. 385

not go, gunurakooni; I shall not go, gunurakoonggi; I will

not go, gunurakoo; cannot or must not go, gunuchi, ojorakoo;
may go, gunuchi ojoronggi; to go, gunumbi; cause to go,
gunuboombi; there are some gone, gunurunggi bi; there
are some who will not go, gunurakoonggi
There is no hindrance to your going—
gunuchi ojorakoonggi akoo
if-go may-not (is) not
There is no place whither you may go—
gunuchi ojoroo bi akoo
if-go may is not
Better not go than go—
gunusu angala gunurakoo dua yisirakoo
can-go rather go-not equal-to-not
Has gone, but if so, better not have gone—
gunufl, hono oottoo badu gunurakoo bu
gone moreover thus beyond go-not
al hadooru
pity better-not
The dua and bv, of the last two sentences are expletives,
marking emphasis and time.
These examples, which do not exhaust the changes rung on
the Manchu verb, are sufficient to show a wide gulf between
Manchu and Corean,—Manchu verbal modifications being much
more numerous, more like Turkish. Though too much space is
already occupied with examples, one or two more will show that
Manchu changes the verbal suffix where Corean would introduce
a second verb:—habshan, is a lawsuit; habsha, accuse;
habshambi, to accuse; habshaboombi, cause or employ another to
accuse; habshanambi, to go to accuse; habshanjimbi, to come
to accuse.—Ambi or iambi indicates the active indic., -boo
preceding -mbi, denotes the causative.
The most marked distinction between these three is the
manner in which the negative is used. The Mongol inserts the
negative between the subject and predicate; the Manchu affixes
 386 THE COREAN LANGUAGE.

the negative to the verb, and incorporates it in it; the Corean

prefixes the negative to the verb, also incorporating it in the
verb, while the Mongol prefixes, but causes the negative to stand
an independent word. Thus all three differ, while it is Mongol
and Corean, and not Manchu and Corean, that approach nearest
each other. But they all, with Japanese, agree in placing the
object between the subject and the verb.
There is no distinction of gender in any of the four Turanian
languages; and in this respect Chinese keeps them company.
But all, including Chinese, though destitue of a regular plural
termination, have words possessing aplural number. In Manchu
the names of all human relationship have aplural, and Corean
follows suit. But the plurals of Greek and Latin are much more
alike than those of Manchu and Corean.
I am indebted to Brown's "Colloquial Japanese" for the
opportunity of comparing this language with Corean. From it
is culled the list of Japanese words in the "Comparative Table,"
but a thorough search over all the book has still left several
blanks in common words. The original spelling is retained, as I
find it corresponds with my own,—except that the u of Brown is
changed to oo for the sake of uniformity; and the further liberty
is taken of marking the sign of the lengthened vowel (5) instead
of repeating it (o5). Nor is it clear to me what the author
means by saying that dz, &c., &c., have no vowel sound, unless it
be that those finals are pronouced as su of Chinese, often written
sz' ;but neither this nor any consonantal sound can be enunciated
without the aid of some vowel.
The Japanese alphabet differs from the Corean, chiefly in that
it is not an alphabet properly speaking, but, like Manchu, atable
of syllables; and it possesses a z sound of which Corean is
destitute. The Japanese softens the hard g of Corean, Chinese,
&c., into gig; it has no Isound, so that London becomes Rondon,
dollar, dora; and it wants the sound askvell as the letter v,
Victoria becoming Bictoria. Japanese could borrow the Corean
alphabet with very great advantage and profit, for radically, -
filo
syllabaries are the same.
 JAPANESE. 387

Like Corean, Manchu, and Mongol, all Japanese nouns

referring to human relationships have a plural, though of
irregular form. And like them it has several forms of the verb
employed according to the rank of the person addressed; Japanese
apparently making this amatter of as great importance as the
Coreans.
But in attaching the negative (na, , nai) to the verb, it
resembles Manchu, and not Corean,—as kikoo, to hear; kikanoo,
hears not: koo, to eat; koowanoo, eats not. The verb is, like
that of the other Turanian languages, without gender or number,
but is inflected according to time and mode. The interrogative
form of the verb is like the Corean—a, for it affixes the syllable
—lea to the verb, as: anata nand, wo nasarimaoka, what
are you doing?
Japanese syntax also resembles the other three, as :—
Get ready my attendants—
Watakski no tomo no shtakoo wo shiro.
My attendants get-ready.
Vaccination was first introduced into Japan about thirty years
ago by the Dutch—
Ireboso wa san jiw nen izen Oranda jin Nipponye
Vaccination three ten year before Holland man Japan
mochiwatarimashta.
introduced.
He does not understand his business ,well—
Ano okata wa kangio no miehi wo wakimaete oraremasenoo.
He business well understand not.
He is an American not aJapanese—
kno okata, wa Amerika no hto de Nippon no hto de go
He American man Japan man
zarimasenoo.
is not.
He denies that he did it=he says that he did not do it—
Ano okata wa itashimesenoo to osshiyarimas.
He did not says.
388 THE COEXAN LANGUAGE.

This last sentence is peculiar, as the Corean would begin it

with the word "says."
The grammatical construction of these sentences is exactly
like the other Turanian languages, nom., obj., verb. The
preposition of Aryan becomes a postposition here; Corean
resembling Japanese in this respect. The adverb also precedes
the verb. But the position of the negative in Japanese resembles
that of Manchu, and Corean approaches nearest to Mongol; the
latter placing the negative before the verb, Manchu and Japanese
after it.
One notable difference among these four languages, is their
various degrees of obligation to Chinese,—which, it is scarcely
necessary to say, never borrowed from any of them. Notwith-
standing a diligent search, comparatively few Chinese words
proper have turned up in Manchu; Mongol is equally free from
admixture. But it is curious that while the Chinese call tobacco
by the characteristic name of yen ye, "smoking leaf,"—Mongol,
Manchu, Corean, and Japanese, give it the same name as
English.
The proportion of Chinese words and phrases now embodied
in the Corean language is very large; and the same is generally
true of Japanese also. This remarkably large proportion of
Chinese words in Corean, proves the truth of the Chinese
historians, who ascribe so early aconnection with and dependance
upon China; and is evidence of the large and constant influx of
Chinese fugitives, from justice or injustice, fleeing for shelter to
the then thinly peopled and remote mountains of Chaosien,
Gaoli, Baiji, or Sinlo,—the various kingdoms into which the
present Corea was anciently divided. How much of the learning,
civilisation and manners of China, were possessed by the first
Chaosien, shattered to atoms by the legions of Han, it is and
will be impossible to say. The second kingdom, that of Gaoli,
had better facilities, if it availed itself of them, of borrowing
from the Chinese; but neither the former nor the latter had
much more to do with creating the modern Corea, than had the
Celts who opposed Cmsar's landing in making modern London.
 CHINESE SOURCE. 389

It was during and after the Tang dynasty, about the period
when Buddhism was introduced into China, that those Chinese
influences began to penetrate the social and literary life of
Corea, which have made the modern Chaosien as different from
the Chaosien of Han, as Paris is different from the ancient court
of the roving Franks. The immensely superior literature of the
Chinese, and their higher civilisation, necessitated changes in,
and additions to, the Corean language, which were most readily
supplied by the language which revealed to the Corean people
their deficiencies. These additions to and displacement of their
ancient language, also shows what we learn from history,--that
Corea became subject to the Chinese form of civilisation ages
before the Mongols, who received their civilisation directly from
Buddhistic lands, and many more ages before the Manchus
became the disciples of their subjects. And this addition
remains in the Corean language as distinctly different from that
language, as fossils in their older rocky bed, and cannot be
disguised by the ancient pronunciation still retained, or by the
affixed particles which represent punctuation, emphasis,
declension, and conjugation.
•
 C 11APTER XIV.

GEOGRAPHY.

THE name Korea or Corea is, as we have seen, derived from the
Gaogowli of the beginning of the Christian era. The first
syllable was ultimately dropped, and the kingdom was known as
Gaoli even before the 7th century. The descendants of those
who survived the wholesale butcheries of the Tang empress Woo,
pronounce this name Gori, which name was, acouple of centuries
ago, written Corea in the west. The Coreans now call themselves
Gori people, but give the name Chosen—the ancient Chaosien—
to their country.
The beautifully clear waters of the wide and deep Yaloo
separate Corean from Chinese soil, along its course from its
source in Changbaishan to the point where it falls into the
Yellow Sea near Takushan. The Toomun, also rising in
Changbaishan, separates the northern border of Corea from both
Chinese and Russian territory. The Japan Sea divides it from
Japan, and the Yellow Sea washes its south and south-west
coasts.
On both its east and west seaboard coasts, its shores rise in
high precipitous mountains, and are flanked by numerous
uninhabited and desolate rocky islands. On the east of the
southern promontory, there is the one fort of Foosan, opposite
the Ma Island of Japan. It was by this port the Japanese were
wont of old to make predatory incursions into the country. It
is now one of the few ports opened by Treaty to Japanese trade.
From it there is aroad leading direct to the capital, through the
provinces of Julia and Giungsang, between which provinces the
road runs between high, precipitous, and un scalable mountains;
 392 GEOGRAPHY.

and the path is there so narrow that one man can block it.
Here the Chinese and Japanese armies confronted each other,
nearly three centuries ago, neither being able to damage the
other.
The following notes on the coasts of Corea are gleaned out of
the "China Pilot," published by the Admiralty, London. Those
on the east coast are principally from the surveying voyage of the
Russian frigate Pallas, which sailed along the shore in 1854;
which survey was, indirectly, the cause of the murder of the
French missionaries (p. 293).
Chosan harbour, another name for Foosan, is pronounced one
of the most important of Corean ports, because it is the entrepdt
of the Japanese trade ;—but that was in the end of the eighteenth
century, when Broughton gave it that name. The neighbouring
shores are populous, spotted with many villages, by which
numerous streams fall into the sea. The coast for full sixty
miles N.E. of this harbour is very mountainous and barren desert.
CAPE CLONARD, in lat. 36 5i' N., is the south side of the Bay of
Unkofsky, which is four miles wide at the mouth, trends south-
west with good anchorage in deep water, though the neighbourhood
of the cape is unsafe. PINGHAI harbour, sheltered by an island,
is 30 miles further north than Clonard, the shores steep and the
waters deep. The high mountain Popof is west of CAPE
PELISSIER, to the north of Unkofsky bay. Thence the desolate
coast runs 120 miles N.N.W. to Cape Duroch. Sedlovaya, or
Saddle-mountain, rises high in lat. 38° 10y N. DUROCH is the
cape forming the southern point of Broughton Bay, which is
ninety-three miles wide and fifty-five miles deep. Twenty-four
miles W.N.W. from CAPE PETIT THOUARS, the north of
Broughton Bay, rises Mt. Hienfung, 8,113 feet high; the
Belavenz mountains, fifteen miles S.W. of Cape Duroch, being
6,092 and 5,884 feet. Immediately to the north of Broughton
Bay is YUNGHING BAY, with the excellent harbour of Port
Lazaref, into which falls the large Dungan river, its various
branches occupying the whole plain between two ranges of hills,
and winding from one side to the other. The extraordinary
 WEST COAST. 393

statement is made that this river "probably extends to Seoul,"

the capital, which is only "30 miles distant from Yunghing"
From CAPE BRUAT, or Boltin, sixty miles north-east of Petit
Thouars, is the eastern extremity of along range of mountains,
in which Mt. Taokwang rises 6,309 feet. The coast thence is
very mountainous and inaccessible. Kolokzev point is very high,
and in lat. 41° 47' 40" N. The coast, leaving the small bay here,
trends north-east again to GOSHKEVICH BAY. CASY point,
the south extreme of the peninsula of Susora, forms the south
end of this bay. Eighteen miles west of this point, and rising
4,215 feet above the sea, is Mt. Chienlong; four miles to the
east of the point a large river enters the sea. This is the
Toomun, whose mouth is in lat. 42° 19', its southern bank formed
of high mountains for at least ten miles; but to the north no
high hills are visible. Here the Pallas finished her survey.
The Island of CHODO lies in abight of the south-west coast in
lat. 38° 27' north, long. 124° 341.• east. The island is populated,
and the neighbouring coast crowded with villages. JOACHIN
BAY is in lat. 36° 53i north, and long. 126° 17i east. The coast
there is also teeming with villages, and the sea is mostly a
lagoon. CAROLINE BAY is a narrow one in lat. 37° 1 north,
long. 126 ° 25' east, with numerous villages on the shore.
DECEPTION BAY is in lat. 37° 3' north, long. 126° 33' east. A
few miles further north is the PRINCE IMPERIAL ARCHIPELAGO,
whence were seen junks anchored before every village,—some of
them of 150 tons,—and everything betokened the presence of a
large river, which, however, was not explored by the French
Virginie. From the great crowds of people on the shore, the
numbers of mandarins looking on,—many of them professedly
from the capital,—and from the native information that the ship
was within the provincial jurisdiction of the capital, the Virginie
implied that Seoul was not far distant. The mountains also
seemed to indicate that the river went south-east then east. As
the French ship gives little further information interesting to
general readers, we may bid her farewell, stating that she
inferred that the coasting trade was important to the Coreans,
394 GEOGRAPHY.

because they have well kept beacons along the shores at Shoal
gulf: QUELPART island is oval, with apleasing variety of hill
and dales, and agriculture carried on to aheight of 2000 feet
above the sea. Forests cover all heights above that, even to the
peak of Mount Auckland, 6544 feet above the sea. The city is
in the centre of the northern coast of the island; but there are
other two cities on the island not seen from sea. And with this
we leave the "Pilot."
Corea is essentially aland of mountains and of rivers,—the
principal mountains running south-east from Changbaishan, and
at right angles to that great water-shed of eastern Asia.
Corea's greatest length is from north-west to south-east,—
extending, according to Chinese geography, to 4000 li; north
to south it stretches 2000 Ii, and measures about two-thirds of
that in its greatest east and west breadth.
Corea is divided into eight provinces, called Do. From
Funghwangchung of Liaotung, skirting the west side of the
splendid pile of high, precipitous mountains of the same name,
the road to the Corean-gate is thirty li south-east. This is the
western point of what has been, up till lately, the "Neutral
Territory;" and at the village is the Barter market, between
Coreans and Chinese. South-east, from the gate, is the western
bank of the noble Yaloo, on the eastern bank of which, crowning
the summit of around hill, is the pretty Corean city of Aichow,
surrounded by awhite granite wall, and in the neighbourhood of
magnificent mountains. To the south of the city is the high,
serrated, extensive range of Bengma, affording almost boundless
forest shelter to innumerable game, large and small; fowl and
quadruped, ruminant and carnivorous. The nooks and corners
of the Gumgang range to' the east, are crowded with numerous
and well filled temples or monasteries,--the monks of the east
having, for many centuries, been as fully alive to the grand and
the beautiful, indeed perhaps more so, than their monastic
brethren of the west.
Aichow is the city nearest China, of the large province of
Pingan Do, which skirts the Yaloo from near its source to its
 YALOO TO CAPITAL. 395

entrance into the sea. Journeying south-east from Aichow,

crossing ariver navigable for small junks, the city of Bagchien
is entered. Another river also navigable for small craft
interrupts the road between Bagchien and Anchow, 160 li; south-
east of which is the large city of Ping,yang, the capital of the
province, well fortified by art, where undefended by the unassailable
mountain sides on which it partly rests. It is 500 li, south-east,
from Aichow, and was the capital of the country of Gaoli, till it
fell before the Tang dynasty in the beginning of the seventh
century. Outside the east gate of this fine, hill-fended city, is
the large river of Datonggang, up which the American ship
sailed, and on the east bank of which the hull still lies.
This river separates Pingan Do from HWANGHAI DO,
the capital of which, Whangjoo, is crossed on the road; and 400
li from Pingyang, bring the traveller to Hiwngdao city. The
large river Linjang is only thirty li south-east of Hiwngdao, after
crossing which Sheool (" The Capital") is entered,—in all, 1000
Ii from Aichow. Sheool, the ancient Hanchung, which name it
still 'retains as aprefectural city, is the capital of the province of
GIUNGGI Do.*
South-east of the capital, and in its immediate vicinity, is the
large Hamgangf river. CHOONGCHUNG DO is south of this
river, its capital being Gongjoo. GIUNGSHANG DO is both east
and south of the last, its capital being Giungchow. itZit of this
province, and a'§-etlf Giunggi Do, is JULLA DO, to the north of
which, and east of Whanghai, is GANGWAN Do. HADIGIANG
Do, the most northerly of all, is extremely mountainous,
cold, and unproductive. Giungshang is very hot, and is the
most populous of the eight Do,—having 71 cities; the others
but from 30 to 50 each.
The modern is the third capital of Gaoli, if we do not include
the capitals of Baiji and Sinlo. The first was Pingyang; the

*Williams, in his Dictionary, translates Kingki Tao, the Chinese of Giung,g-iDo,

as the capital of Corea. This mistake is the more remarkable, inasmuch as China
was at one time also divided into so many Do or Dao.
tCh. Hankiang.
396 GEOGRAPHY.

second, from the seventh to the fifteenth century, was Kaichow,

200 li west of the modern capital. Sheool is well guarded by
nature, being delightfully situated in nearly the heart of the
eight Do, and surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. The
city furthest east of it is Ninghai, 745 li; west, Gangwen,
525 li; south, Hainam, 896 li; and north, Onseng, 2102 li.
Corea stretches from 33° 15' to 42° 31' N. lat; and 122° 15' to
131° 10' E. long. Hence the greatest length of its mainland is,
as the bird flies, about 600 miles, and greatest breadth, east to
west, over 300 miles. The Chinese account is therefore not so
far out, when we remember that the calculation is along the road,
which, in so mountainous a country, has necessarily many
winding turns between Onseng and Hainam.
The following complete list of all the cities, or magisterial
towns, of Corea is translated from a Corean geography, written
in Chinese, from which, and not from Corean, the pronunciation
is taken. The map gives the Corean pronunciation. The first
column contains the modern name of the city, the second its
ancient name, and the third the distance of that city from the
capital in li. The map is indebted to M. Dallet's "Church in
Corea"; but his map, judged by the native geography, is very
inaccurate, very many of the cities being either too far or too
near the capital as compared with other cities.
Chinese cities are divided into three classes, after the provincial
Capital, which itself also belongs to the first of the three classes,
being only primus inter pares. This division is into Foo or
Prefecture, Chow or Sub-Prefecture, and Hien or District city.
The Corean classification, though founded on the Chinese, differs
greatly from it; for the Coreans divide into six classes. Yin is
the first grade of city, and of this there are extremely few.
After it comes the Moo city, with an hereditary nobility for its
magistrate; anciently almost every city had its hereditary lord.
The third is the Foo or Prefecture; then the Kan or Sub-
Prefecture, akin to which is the Lin,g, and last of all comes the
Hien or District, as in China. The KVA and Ling were also
anciently used in China, but then there was no Chow or Hien,
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 EXPLANATION OF NAMES. 397

From the scrappy notes appended to the list of cities for each
Do, it will be seen that the full history of Corea must be
ransacked out of Corean books on Corean soil. For example, in
the notes below the list of Pingan cities is the name of the
mountain "Miaosiang shan or Taibo, 130 li east of Ninghien,
where Tan Jwun submitted to Gaoli." This seems to point to
the time when, after the destruction of Chaosien, the Gaogowli
men began to move downwards and eastwards from the head
waters of the Yaloo. Of this, however, and most of the merely
internal ancient history of the Corean history, we must be content
to be, meantime, kept in ignorance. For, as already stated,
Chinese history is too dignified to notice anything beyond its
borders which did not have an immediate reference to the
"Central Kingdom."
The names in the following list are spelled according to the
Chinese pronunciation of the Ming dynasty. When compared with
the names written on the accompanying map (III.) as pronounced
by the Coreans, these names will help to show the great difference
between the Chinese and Corean pronunciation of the same
words. The Chinese f becomes p or b in Corean; chum and
chwan become chien; chung, seng; yoong and ying, yeng;
1at the beginning of aword is changed to n, and 1and n are
transposable ad lib.
The title Yin is given to a secondary national capital. Moo
is acity held hereditarily by anoble; anciently all walled cities
were baronial. The Foo is a prefectural city as in China, and
the Kun and Ling correspond to the Chinese Chow or Sub-
Prefecture; while the Hien, as in China, indicates a District
Judgeship. Only aportion of these cities are walled in, while
every one of the Chinese cities are enclosed within high
substantial walls.
Shan or Ling in the names of cities, or in the notes following
the names of cities, mean mountain; gang or kiang is river;
and gtvo is kingdom.
Of the Eight Provinces, Hamgiang and Pingan are the largest,
but they are very mountainous, covered with forests, thinly
398 GEOGRAPHY.

peopled and poor; and, as will appear from the map, the
southern portion of Corea is thickly peopled, and crowded with
cities. The Gamsa of Hamgiaug, because it is the home of the
present dynasty, is the highest in rank; the Gamsa of Pingan
is the most luxurious; Giungshang provides the largest income,
and Gangwan the lowest.

COMPLETE LIST OF THE NAMES OF THE COREAN CITIES.

The Notes which follow the city list of each province give the names of the ancient
kingdoms (gwo) and their location; the more remarkable mountains (than, gang, or ling), and
the larger rivers (gang or kiang).
I. — GINGGI DO. - 34 Cities with Magistrates.
Distant Distant
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital
in Ii. in U.

Moo cities Keen cities—con.

Lichow Hwangli 180 Jinpool Jinling 60
Pochow Hwang,ping 80 Jiaoho Huenchung 80
Yangchow Ginchuen 60 Jiaping Jiaping 130
— -- — Yoongping, Yoongping 140
Poo cities —— —
Fooping Gweiyang 50 Ling cities
Nanyang Tangchung 105 Loong yin Jfichung 70
Yinchuen Jwanchung 50 Jun wei Ginshan 120
Lichuen Nanchuen 140 -- -- —
Changtwan Twanchow 120 Hien cities
Foongjin Funjun 100 Yangchuen Baling 30
Chiaotoong Gaolin 180 Diping Dihi en 160
Jooshan Joochow 170 Baochuen Chingho 100
-- -- — Gichung Choongchung 100
Keen cities Gwochwen Foolin 30
Yanggun Hungyang 120 Suhing Chinchuen 30
Nanshan Lienchung 57 Lienchwan Jangchow 140
Swoning Nanswo 200 Yindsoo Hiiechung 190
Nanchung Baichung 170 Yangju Chiwsi 120
Matien Meishan 160 Yangchung Chuahung 150
Gaovanp: Duavang 40

NOTES.—NANPING YANG, the present Be-than than dung, where the first king of
Baiji erected his capital.
BEIHAN SHAN, the Beihanshan Kfin of Gaogowli. Sinlo changed its name to
Hanyang Kiln. Gaoli Soodsoong king made it his south capital—Nanking.
NANHAN SHAH, the present Gwangchow, whither the first king of Baiji moved
his capital. Sinlo changed it into achow city.
TIENMO SHAH, north of Soongging. Its peaks are extremely high; hence its
name of "Touch-heaven mountains."
SHUNG JU SHAH, west of Soongging; so steep that streams course down its sides
in all directions.
LICHUNG GANG, west of Soongging 30 II, where the Sung ambassador saw the
Gaoli king.
 NAMES OF CITIES. 399

SOONGYAO SHAN, in the jurisdiction of Kaichung, which Foosoo and Jiadoong„

kings of Gaoli, divided into two kun. GaOli Taidsoo (founder) changed his capital
from Tieyooen to this place.
GIANG DOO, the present Ganghwa (island), whither Gaoli king, in fear from the
Mongols (Yooen dynasty), fled, and made his capital; calling it G—. South of the
foo 25 li is Monishan (Mount Auckland), with aTemple of Heaven.
M ICRO HOO, present Yinchuen, where Biliw, elder brother of Wundsoo (king),
made his capital.
LoormmuN SHAN, 10 Ii east of Yauggun Kiln.
LINJIN DOO Ford), south of Changtwan Foo, rising in Hamgiang Do, in the
borders of Anbien.

II.—JOONGCHING (CHOONGCHUNG) DO.-54 Cities with Magistrates.

Distant ['extant
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital
q'n 1). in li.

Moo cities Hien cities—con.

Joongchow TaiyOoen 280 Gishan Shushan 180
Chingchow Shangdang 290 Hwaiyin Moogoo 350
Goongchow Hiwnggin 320 Dingshan Yooechung 350
Hoon,gchow Hoongyang 300 Chingyang Chingwoo 320
— --- • — Yewfung Changyen 320
Poo city Yinchung Hiiechang 240
Chingfung Shaye 340 Chingng,an Daongan 280
-- — • — Unjin Duangun 400
Keen cities Whaidua Bifung 340
Linchuen Gialin 400 Junchwan Suchung 340
Danyang Danshan 370 Lien shan Whangshan 400
Jainan Chwunchung, 390 Loochung Nichung 370
Hanshan Mashan 440 Fooyii YUchow 380
Shoochuen Sichow 300 Shuchung Shushan 390
Mienchuen Mienchow 310 Piyin Bihiang 420
Tien nan Ning,shan 210 Lanpoo Mashan 370
Wochuen Wochow 410 Giwchwan Changshan 240
Whaishan Whaichow 280 Giechung Giechow 310
Swishan Foochung 350 Baoning Sinchwun 350
Wunyang, Wunchuen 230 Haimei Junmei 310
Dahing Yinchung 280 Tangjin Foodsu 350
Baongun Sansan 380 Sinchang Wunsai 220
— — — Li shan Miaoshan 250
Ling city Moochwan Daloo 240
Wunyi Yimow 330 Chwan yi Ginchi 240
-- — — Yenchi Chuenchi 390
Hien cities Yoongchwun Dsuchwun 470
Hoongshan Dashan 410 Hwang gien Hwangsi 510
Dichwan Naidi 310 Chingshan Chishan 420
Duasan Duagung 280 Yashan Yachow 220
Pinadsai Hovoo 160 Yoonatoong Gishan 470

Ancient Cities, Sc.

WEILICHUNG, present Gishan, where Wundsoo made his first capital.
HIWNGJIN or HIWNGGIN, present Gongchow, the Hiwngchwan Kun of Baiji.
King Wunjow removed his capital from Nanping,yang thither.
CHUALING SHAN, 50 li west of Gongchow.
SUTSU, present Fooyii, whither Baiji moved its capital from Hiwngchwan. In
this hien is Baima gang R., west of which is Lohwayen mountain.
400 GEOGRAPHY.

SOOLISHAN, 44 li east of Baongun. On the top is the tower of Wuntsang Tai;

in the Tai is adeep "hole," vomiting water in three directions, forming the head,
of three rivers,—one flowing east called Lodoong R., south called Kun gang R. s
west called Dachuen.
GILOONGSHAN, 27 li north of Lienshan.

III.—JULLA DO.-56 Cities with Magistrates.

Distant Dzstam
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name, Capital Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capita,
in li. in li

Moo cities Ling cities—con.

Chuenchow Wanshan 500 Wanching Dooshan 510
Lochow Jwunchung 750 Gingow Fungshan 520
Gichow Danlo an) -- —
Gwangchow Wooyu 720 Hien cities
Lingchow Lingchung 750 Gwangyang Siyang 815
-- -- — Sienyooe Sienlo 440
Foo cities Foonan Fooning 570
Nanyooen Loong,chung 630 Hienping Mowyang 770
Changhing Gwanshan 860 Kangjin Danjin 880
Shwuntien Shungchow 770 Yugwo Hueshan 660
Janyang Chiwchung 607 Gaoshan Fungshan 470
Lishan Hoostan 430 Tai yin Taishan 570
Changchung Aoshan 670 Wogow Yushan 530
Maojoo Joosi 480 Nanping Yoongping 750
-- — — fling dua Hingchung 630
Keen cities Ging yi Gingchwun 590
Baochung Sanyang 850 Gaochang Mowyang 640
Yishan Ginnaa 450 Loongan Shangchung 420
Goofoo Yingchow 600 Maochang Changsha 670
Lingyen Langchow 820 Woongan Gunchow 790
Linggwang Woohing 710 Chiwlili Fungchung 760
Jundao Wochuen 1030 Goochung Lochwen 670
Lonan Lochwen 780 Ywunfung Ywunchung 687
Chwunchang Wangchow 630 Yinshu Ywunshwi 570
Gunshan Gunsi 480 Changshwi Changchow 645
Junshan Wangsi 450 Junan Yoochang, 580
Ginti Bigoo 530 Joongfoo Wungchung 730
— — — Hingyang Gaohing 890
Ling cities Hainan Haijun 900
Changping Sinyang 700 Dag,ing Nilai 130*
Loongtan Yu chwen 530 Huenyi Hoongloo 140*
Linni Giwshan 490 Hoshwun Yoowei 760

WANsnAlsr, present Chienchow; of old the abode of Jun Huen.

GINMAJOO, present Yishan; of old under Gijwun, then called Mahan.
DANLO, present Gichow; the island (Quelpart) is 400 li in circumference; Hanna-
sham, 20 li south of the chow, contains alake called Bailoo Pool.
DUAYI3SHAN, in the border of Maojoo, Changshwi, and Nanyin.
WOODUNG SHAH or YOOI SHU, east of Gwangchow.
YOOECHOO SHAN, 5li south of Lingyen; also called Liaogin gang.
JuxisHAN, 60 li east of Nanyooen, has two very high peaks—Tienwang and
Chwenyao—holed with many deep caves. ..
BIENSHAN, 25 li west of Foonan.
LOOLING, 30 li north of Changchung.
GUNCHUNG SHAH, in district of Lochow.
TIENGWA.•,I SHAH, west of Hingyang.
*From Gaichow.
 NAMES OF CITIES. 401

IV.—GIUNGSHANG DO.-71 Cities with Magistrates.

Distant Distant
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital
in li. in li.

Yin city Ling city

Chingchow Nguachu 760 Yichung Wunshow 590
— — — — -- —
Moo cities Hien cities
Shangchow Shanglo 480 Chingshan Jangshan 700
Ginchow Ginshan 850 Yingdua Yechung 790
Hingchow Hingshan 600 Goochung Goochow 900
— Nanhai Haiyang 910
Foo cities Kaining Ganchow 550
Changyooen Hopoo 880 Sangia Chishan 770
Andoong Yoonggia 540 Yining Yichwun 770
Ginhai Punchung 880 Hoyang Hochow 680
Ninghai Lichow 750 Loonggoong Loongchow 450
Miyang Michow 810 Funghwa Fungchung 510
Shanshan Shanchow 550 Chingho Duaching 810
Chingsoong Ching,yi 620 Yenyang Hienyang 810
Dakiw Dachung 670 Chiyooen Chidi 770
Shwunhing Hingchow 460 Junhai Banshan 840
Jugi Chichung 1080 Junbao Junan 620
Yushan Yuchow 880 Wunchang Gwanshaia 380
{Tsaishan Hienchang Henning 440
Doongtsai 1000 610
Pungying Juli Gweichung
Hodoong Honan 820 Nan yi Hwalin 750
Guchang Juto 710 Gaoling Lingchwen 650
Yintoong Yushan 590 Huenfung Baoshan 720
Chigoo Baju 660 Sanching Sanyang 840
— — — Danchung Junchung 880
Hun cities Yihing Gweishan 610
Hienyang Hienyang 710 Jwunwei Tsulo 570
Shanchwen Daliang 710 Binan Ping,shan 540
Tsaosi Dasi 700 Sinming Hwashan 640
Chingdao Aoshan 740 Linan Huenchung 510
Yoongchwen Yoongyang 680 Yenyi Linding 770
Lichwen Yuchwen 480 Chan ki Kikiw 810
Yoongchwen Yoongchow '480 Lings an Giw chung 740
Hinghai Hwig,iang 750 Chang,ning Changshan 710
Liangshan Liangchow 900 Suchwen Doongchung 880
Hienan Hienchow 800 Gijang Chuachung 950
Ginshan Ginling 590 HiwnrP,chwen Pingshan 860
Funggo Gichwen 430 Chuym Yusha 720
Kwiinvang Kwun an 900 Yinzyang Yen yang 640

H ULOFA, present Chingchato; originally the land of Chunan and the capital of
Sinlo. It is now called the Doongking or east capital; hence it is a Yin city, as
Moukden to the Manchoos.
GIALO GWO (kingdom), Oinked; originally the land of Bienhan, and capital of
king Lo Sholoo.
DAGIAYE, the present Gaoling.
Goo (ancient) GIAYE, present Hienchang.
ALOGIAYE, present Hienan.
SIAOGIAYE, present Goochung.
BIJUNGIAYE, present Hingchow.
CHANGSHAN GWO, at present called East Kilo, in the district of Kishan.
SHAOWUN GWO, the present Yichung

A1
402 GEOGRAPHY.

YISI GWO, the present Chingdao.

Y AHOO GWO, the present Chingsban.
SHAFA LIANG, the presentAShangchow.
GANWUN GWO, the present Kaining.
CHANGNING GWO, the present Andoong.
CHINGLIANG SHAH, with thirty-six peaks, west of Fang,shan.
YUSHAN GWO, also called Yuling dao Island, 100 li in circumference off the coast,
east of Mingchow.
SIAOBAI SHAH mountains, afew Ii north of Shwunhing.
GIAYE Kies, with two enormous caves, 30 Ii north of Shanchwen.
NIAOLING, beneath which is the Dragon Pool, 27 li west of Wunching.
DSOOLING, 24 Ii west of Funggo.
GIMAO SHAH, north of Changki.
LWUNSHAN, south of Yenyang.
NANKIANG R., south of Ginchow; springing in Juyishan—one stream from north
of mountain, another from south—enters the Lodoong.

V.—WHANGHAI DO-23 Cities with Magistrates.

Distant Distant
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital
in IL in U.

Moo city. Ku ncities—con.

Whangchow Ginan 460 Swingan Swichow 430
-- — — Baichwen Yinchwen 240
Foo cities. Sinchwen Shungchow 460
Haichow Showyang 380 Ginchwen Ginling 200
Yennan Haigow 250 -- — —
Tingshan Yoongfung 260 Ling City.
„Fungchwen Siho 550 Sinsi Sin ngun 330
Gooshan Giashan 440 -- — —
Changyuen Changtan 520 Hien cities
Wungj in Wungchien 480 Wunhwa Sinchow 520
Yooihing Loongsi 340 Changlien Changming 570
-- — — Soongho , Giaho 510
Kun cities Kanghing Yoongkang 450
Fungshan Nguahing 410 Yingli Lichwen 550
Nanyooe Yangyooe 530 Tooshan Yooechung 230
Dsaining Nanling 460
GIWYOOESHAN, 10 li west of Wunhwa, where Tan Jwun was deified.
SHOWYANGSHAN, 5li east of Haichow, on which is the temple of Yiki.

VI.—PINGAN DO-42 Cities with Magistrates.

Distant Distant
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital
in Ii. in Ii.

Yin city Foo cities

Yichow Loongwan 1080 Gianggie Shuchow 1300
— - — — Ningbien Yooeshan 770
Moo cities Changchung Changchow 1080
Pingyang Gichung 550 Hiienchwen Toongchwen 910
Anchow Anling 720 Chungchwen Soongy?ng 710
Dinvehow Dineyooen 880 Swochow Ningsa; 1020
 NAMES OF CITIES. 403

PINGAN DO—continued.
Distant Distan,
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capita
in li. tee ti.
Poo cities—con. Kun cities—eon.
Shoochwen Pingyooen 660 Ywunshan Ywunchow 880
Gweichung Gweichwen 880 Bochwen Boling 760
Dsoongho Tangshan 500 Weiyooen Mishan 1300
Tsushan Tsuchwen 640 Mingyooen Liaoyooen 800
Tieshan Toongshan 960 — — —
Loongchwen Anhing 990 Ling cities
Chooshan Lichow 1170 Loonggang Wooshan 640
Sanho Niwshan 660 Yoongyow Yoongching 630
Hientsoong Yashan 620 Giangsi Wooho 600
— — — Shandung Nungchung 640
Kun cities Giangdoong Soongyang 610
Hiangyooen Chwenshan 620 — — —
Duachwen Duachow 820 Hien cities
Giechwen Chaoyang 820 Jungshan Siho 640
Giashan Fooling 780 Shwunan Pingjiao 600
Gwoshan Dingsiang 880 Yangdua Doongyang 900
Shwunchwen Gingyoong 705 Mungshan Mungchow 750
Sichwen Weichung 970 Taichwen Gwanghwa 810
Bitoong Yintoong 1090 Yinshan Yinchow 670
JOOBUN, where King Doongming of Gaoli made his capital on the Fooliw R.,
west of Chungchwen.
HINGYIN GWO, the present Ningbien.
WHANGLOONG GWO, the present Loonggang.
MIAOSIANG SHAN or Luso, 130 li east of Ningbien, where Tan Jwun submitted
to Gaoli.
DiraiNG, 169 li south of Gianggie.
DATONG GANG or BEIKIANG, 1Ii east of Pingyang.
CHINGCHWEN GANG or CHANSHWI, north of Anchow.
YAI,00 GANG or LooNGwAN (Dragon's windings), north-west of Yichow,

VII.—GANGWAN DO-26 Cities with Magistrates.

Distant Distant
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name. Capital Modern Name Ancient Name. Capital
in Is, in li.

Foo cities Kun cities—eon.

Giangling Lintwun 530 Pingchang Looshan 370
Yooenchow Sihing 240 — — —
Hwaiyang Hiangshan 380 ' Ling city
Hiangyang Hiangshan 540 Ginchung Daochung 270
Chwunchwen Showchwun 205 — — —
Tieyooen Tiechung 200 Hien cities
Shanju Juchow 650 Yiijun Hiencha 800
Ningyooe Aichung 410 Higoo Holin 470
Yichwen Hwashan 280 Pingkang Pinggiang 250
— — — Ginhwa Fooyoo 220
Kun cities Lanchwen Shungchwen 230
Pinghai Gichung 880 Hoongchwen Liiyao 220
Toongchwen Toongchow 440 Yangkow Yangloo 370
Hiienshan Taoyooen 430 Linti Joojoo 370
Gaochung Fungyen 510 Hungchun,g Whangchwen 240
Ganchung Swichung 550 Anjia Answo 220
401 GEOGRAPHY.

Hw4 owo, present Giangling; the Lintwun Kun of the Han period.
MAI GWO, present Chwunchwen; the Niwshowchow of Sinlo.
SIJU GWO, present Sanju; the Sijuchow of Sinlo.
BEIYOOEN, present Yooenchovi; the Beiyooen Siaojing of Sinlo.
TAIFUNG GWO, present Tieyooen; at first the Goongyi barbarians lived here; Gaoli
called it Doongchow.
GINGANG SHIN, 167 li east of Hwaiyang; also called GIEGOO and FuNoY00E. It
has 1200 peaks.
HANSI SHAN, 50 li east of Linti. On this mountain are rivers which come down
like snow for several hundred feet (cataracts).
WOOTAI max, 140 li west of Giangling, with five great peaks forming acircle.
TAIBO or TAIBAI SHAN, 120 li west of Sanju. On it is apool of yellow (mineral?)
water. Sinlo named it JUYO.
TIELING, 39 li north of Whaiyang.
DAGWAN LING, 45 li west of Giangling. This chain winds out and in 99 times.
JAOYANG GANG, 5li north of Chwunchwen; rising in Linti and Yooiho hien&

VIII.—HAMGIANG DO-24 Cities with Magistrates.

Distant Distant
from from
Modern Name. Ancient Name Cupital Modern Nme. Ancient Name. Capital
in li. in U.

Moo city Foo cities—con.

Gichow Gichung 395 Maishan Sanshan 1850
— — — Nanbien Dungchow 520
Foo cities Sanshwi Sangiang 1365
Hienhing Hienchow 770 Dwanchwun Foochow 1215
Yoonghing Liyang 680 Mingchwen Mingyooen 1465
Gingchung Juchung 1600 Giashan Giachwen 1275
Chingyooen Giachow 2195 Changgin 1525
Whining Aoshan 1940 — — —
Dsoongclumg Chowchow 2040 Kun cities
Wunchung Janchung 2110 Wunchwen Wunchow 590
Chinghing Whaichung 2310 Gaoyuen Shangchow 630
Foomng Fooyti 1690 — — —
Beiching Chingchow 1010 Hien cities
Duayooen Yijow 560 Hoongsien Hoongsien 920
Dinguing. Joong,shan 720 Liyooen Gwanchung 1115

DOONG W OJ00, present Beidao, east of Gaimashan; on the north-east it touched

on Sooshan, afterwards Bohai and Niijun territory. (See history above.)
HUENTOO KwurT, present Mienhing,.
BAITOW SHAN, west of Hwining foo, the border of Niijun.1 There are three
ranges of mountains, each higher than the last. From the foot of the first to the
top of the third there is aheight of 200 li. Embosomed in the top of the mountain,
is alake 800 li in circumference. (c. f. 1VIanchoo history.)
CHANGBAI SHAN, west of Gingchung.
MOYWUN LING (Touch-cloud mountain), 37 li south of Dwanchwen.
MOTIEN LING (Touch-heaven mountain), 66 li east of do.
LOONGHING GANG, 2li north-east from Yoonghing; anciently called HUNGICIANG.
The reigning house of Corea sprang hence; therefore the name, "Rise of the
Dragon."
DOOHANGANG (Tumun), 25 li east of Chingyooen, springing from Taibaishan.

THE END.
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