Volume 1

The Chinese empire : forming a sequel to the work entitled "Recollections of a journey through Tartary and Thibet" / by M. Huc.

  • Évariste Régis Huc
Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Chinese empire : forming a sequel to the work entitled "Recollections of a journey through Tartary and Thibet" / by M. Huc. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    » e • formally recommended his people to have nothing to ao with any. The whole system of society and govern- ment appears to be calculated with as little reference as possible to the moral and spiritual nature of man. As one example, among many others, we may mention the extraordinary idea entertained in China of the re- sponsibility of public officers, making the punishment for misconduct in any department in the inverse ratio of the rank of the offender ; clerks and other mere in- struments being punished most severely, and the highest officers scarcely at all : thus making it evident that the law takes cognisance only of the mere physical fact, and not of the evil intention, in which the whole moral offence consists. Christianity alone, we conscientiously believe, can heal this inward corruption, and arrest the downward progress of this mighty nation, now no longer separated from us by almost impassable distance. Not merely the statesman and the merchant, but the humblest among us, are now often connected by strong and tender ties with countries equally remote. A breach too has been made in the hitherto impenetrable barrier surrounding these distant Asiatic Empires. The United States have obtained important commercial privileges in Japan; Kussia is striving for the same, and the secluded popu- lation of China have come forth to mingle (in California and Australia) in some of the busiest haunts of men, and take part in the newest movements of the time.* ^ Uecent accounts from Melbourne mention the arrival of Chinese immigrants in such numbers as to cause some serious apprehension on the part of the English residents.
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