C H I
C H I
that we may judge of a reign by the dances which are uſed in it.
The 21st and laſt king of the 9th period is named Vou hoai-chi; but they relate nothing of this prince which is worthy of notice.
2. This is all that the fabulous times contain. If theſe times cannot enable us to fix the real epocha of various inventions, (as the Chineſe are ſo full of contradictions about the time of theſe different diſcoveries), we ſee at leaſt from them, that the origin of arts has been much the ſame among them as among other nations. We are now come down to Fou-hi, who is conſidered by the Chineſe hiſtorians as the founder of their monarchy. What they ſay of this prince and his ſucceſſors, has ſome more ſolidity in it than what we have hitherto ſeen.
FOU-HI.
The Ouai ki, quoted in the Chineſe annals, thus deſcribes the manners of mankind in theſe days, "In the beginning, men differed nothing from other animals in their way of life. As they wandered up and down in the woods, and women were in common, it happened that children never knew their fathers, but only their mothers. They abandoned themſelves to luſt without ſhame, and had not the leaſt idea of the laws of decency. They thought of nothing but ſleeping and ſnoring, and then getting up and yawning. When hunger preſſed them, they fought for ſomething to eat; and when they were glutted, they threw the reſt away. They eat the very feathers and hair of animals, and drank their blood. They clothed themſelves with ſkins quite hairy. The emperor Fou-hi began by teaching them to make lines for catching fiſh, and ſnares for taking birds. It was for this, that this prince was named Fou hi-chi. He taught them further to feed domeſtic animals, and to fatten them for ſlaughter; for which they gave him the ſirname of Poa-hi-chi."
It ſeems evident, that the ancient Chineſe had at firſt no other habitation than caves, the hollows of rocks, and natural dens. They were then infected with a kind of inſect or reptile called iang; and when they met, they aſked one another, Are you troubled with iangs? To this day they make use of this expreſſion, in aſking after any perſon's health: Couéi-iang? What diſeaſe have you? How do you do? Vou-iang. I am without iang; that is to ſay, I am hearty, in perfect health, without any ailment.
It would be ſuperfluous to relate here, what the Chineſe ſay, in their annals, of the invention of characters, and of coua, after what hath been ſaid by F. Couplet and ſo many others on that ſubject. We ſhall only add, that the treatiſe Hit-ſee bears, that, at the beginning nations were governed by means of certain knots which they made on ſlender cords: that afterwards the ſaint introduced writing in their place, to aſſiſt the mandarins in performing all their offices, and the people in examining their conduct; and that it was by the ſymbol ☰☰ Kouai, that he conducted himself in the execution of his work.
Lopi, whom we have ſo often quoted already, ſays, that Fou-hi extracted from the ſymbol of ſix lines every thing that concerned good government. For example, ☰☰ Li gave him the hint of making lines for hunting and fishing, and theſe lines were a new occaſion of inventing ſtuffs for garments. Lopi adds, that it is a miſtake to imagine, that, in the times of Fou-hi, they still uſed cords tied and knotted, and that books were not introduced till under Hoang-ti.
Fou-hi taught men to rear the ſix domeſtic animals, not only for food, but alſo for victims, in the ſacrifices which they offered to Chine, and to Ki. They pretend that Fou-hi regulated the rites Kiao-chene.
Fou-hi alſo inſtituted marriage: before this the intercourſe of the ſexes was indiſcriminate; he ſettled the ceremonies with which marriages were to be contracted, in order to render this great foundation of ſociety reſpectable. He commanded the women to wear a different dreſs from that of the men, and prohibited a man's marrying a woman of the ſame name, whether a relation or not, a law which is actually ſtill in force.
Fou-hi appointed ſeveral miniſters and officers to aſſit him in the government of the empire.
One of theſe officers made the letters, another drew up the calendar, a third built the houſes, a fourth practiſed medicine, a fifth cultivated the ground, a ſixth was the maſter of the woods and waters.
They pretend that Fou-hi applied himſelf to aſtronomy. The Tcheou-pi ſouane ſays, that he divided the heavens into degrees, Lopi takes notice, that properly the heavens have no degrees, but that this term is uſed with relation to the path of the ſun in the courſe of a year.
The period of ſixty years is reckoned due to Fou-hi. The Tſiene-piene ſays plainly, that this prince made a calendar to us the year, and that he is the author of Kia-tſe. The Sane-fene ſays the ſame thing; and the Hane-li-tchi ſays, that Fou-hi made the first calendar by the Kia-tſe; but the Chi-pene aſcribes this to Hoang-ti. This is one of theſe contradictions ſo common in the Chineſe hiſtorians.
The ſame Fou-hi, they ſay, made arms, and ordained punishments. Theſe arms were of wood, thoſe of Chin-nong were of ſtone, and Tchi-yeou made ſome of metal. Fou-hi drained off the waters, and ſurrounded the cities with walls. In the mean time, as Chin-nong is eſteemed the firſt who made walls of ſtone, we muſt ſuppoſe that thoſe raiſed by Fou-hi were only of earth or brick.
Fou-hi gave rules to muſic. Thoſe who aſcribe this fine art to Hoang-ti are deceived (or vice verſa.) After Fou-hi had invented fiſhing, he made a ſong for the fiſhers. It was from his example that Chin nong made one for the labourers.
Fou-hi took of the wood of Tong; he made it hollow; and of it made a kine (a lyre, or what you pleaſe to tranſlate it) ſeven feet two inches long; the ſtrings were of ſilk, to the number of 27; he commanded this inſtrument to be named Li. Others ſay it had but 25
