. Pictorial history of China and India; comprising a description of those countries and their inhabitants. ess, and solidity, as to be proof against any attempl:? which iniLrlit be madeeither to scale or to effect a breach in it. The means by w !.:• this granddesign was carried into execution were cruel and arbitrary in thet%tfeme,yet not more so than those frequently adopted by monarchs of much T^erages, and of -countries esteemed infinitely more civilized than China; fo^what could be more tyrannical, more arbitrary, than the laws of conscription,or custom of impressment, by which the armies
. Pictorial history of China and India; comprising a description of those countries and their inhabitants. ess, and solidity, as to be proof against any attempl:? which iniLrlit be madeeither to scale or to effect a breach in it. The means by w !.:• this granddesign was carried into execution were cruel and arbitrary in thet%tfeme,yet not more so than those frequently adopted by monarchs of much T^erages, and of -countries esteemed infinitely more civilized than China; fo^what could be more tyrannical, more arbitrary, than the laws of conscription,or custom of impressment, by which the armies and navies of Europe weresupplied with men during the late extensive wars ? In order to obtain a sufficient number of workmen for so vast an under-taking as the building of the Great Wall, the emperor ordered that everythird laboring man throughout the empire should be compelled to enter hisservice; and they were forced to labor like slaves, without receiving anycompensation beyond a bare supply of fbod. It was by a similar exercise b3 CD C=3 O o C=l P3(O»^ •-^ PQ •-do w •-3 1-3 t?3POt^ :^c-i. THE HAN DYNASTY. 35 of rank, is highly valued. A yellow girdle has the same degree of impor-tance in China as a blue riband in England, and is always a sign that thewearer is nearly related to the emperor. The prince chosen by Chi-hoang-tias his successor happening to be absent at the time of his fathers death, ayounger son took advantage of the circumstance to seize on the sovereignty,and contrived to have his brother secretly strangled. But the usurper didnot long enjoy the fruits of his crime, for he made himself so unpopular byneglecting the affairs of the state, and attending to nothing but his ownpleasures, that a formidable insurrection broke out in the country, headedby the chief of a band of freebooters, named Liu-pang, a man distinguishedby many noble qualities, although he was no better than a robber. It isrelated of this adventurer, that just after the breaking out of
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Keywords: ., bookauthorsearsrob, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookyear1851
