SUPREME POWER IN THE UNIVERSE.

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perish in the flames or in the water without effort to save it. Life and death, riches and honours, depend, it is averred, on the decree of heaven, which, like wise sayings of great men, is an object of profound veneration with virtuous minds. Confucius, on occasion of the death of a favourite pupil, exclaimed, "Heaven has ruined me! Heaven has ruined me!" Mencius, in reply to an inquirer, who asked whether Yaou did not confer the government of the empire on his successor, denied that it was in his power to do so, when the following conference ensued between them, in which the philosopher is respondent. "Who, then, disposed of it?" "Heaven." "In what manner? with reiterated distinct commands?" "No: Heaven revealed its will not in words, but by conduct and circumstances." "What do you mean?" "The emperor had the prerogative to introduce, or recommend, a person to heaven, but had no power to determine its choice: heaven, however, approved Shun, and the people unanimously received him." "How does that appear?" "When he presided over the imperial sacrifices, the gods graciously accepted his offerings in token of heaven's approbation; and when he assumed the direction of public affairs, tranquillity prevailed among the people indicative of their good will: it was not, therefore, the emperor, but heaven and man who had the disposal of the vacant throne." Hence while heaven is appealed to first in a system of universal government directed by this power in conjunction with man, the latter in reality takes precedence, according to the sentiment generally acknowledged -"the voice of the people is the voice of God." Moreover, it is said, "Heaven hears and sees as the people hear and see;" on which passage a commentator remarks,

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DIFFERENT TERMS TO DESIGNATE

"This is necessarily the case since heaven is without figure."

To every one acquainted with Chinese sentiments on the First Cause, it is evident that the terms Shang-te, "Supreme Ruler," used in the Shoo-king, and Teen, "Heaven," have the same meaning, so far as either is reducible to any definite conception. This opinion is corroborated by the following passage from the She-king, the most ancient collection of odes extant in the Chinese language; it is quoted in the works of Mencius, a part of the celebrated" Four Books: "-" The descendants of the Shang dynasty numbered more than one hundred thousand persons; Shang-te, 'the Supreme Ruler,' decreed their subjugation by Chow; for heaven's decree is not invariable: that is, is not always in favour of one family."

In this extract, "Supreme Ruler" and "Heaven" are used, as synonymous terms, to point out the all-controlling energy to which the actions of individuals, and the fate of nations, are subjected; which energy seems in many respects equivalent to the Jupiter Optimus Maximus of the ancients, both in the prerogatives it assumes and the attributes with which it is invested. If there be properties attributed to it at all descriptive of the character of the Supreme Being as he is revealed in the Scriptures, they are those of the god of providence ; albeit in connection with this idea other sentiments are entertained which nullify the conception of an almighty, ever-living, unchangeable existence. According to the meaning of the words "Supreme Ruler," the prerogatives of this personage are restricted to the single act of ruling the world. But Shang-te is the same as teen, "heaven;" and teen, "heaven," is synonymous with le, " principle ;"

while le, "principle," according to Chinese philosophers, is but another name for the abstract essence, tae-keih— the anima mundi of the Platonists-which originated, pervades, and animates the material universe. Now things that are equal to the same are equal to one another; wherefore, since Shang-te is synonymous with heaven, and heaven is explained by le, Shang-te must also be the same as le; whence this epithet, supposed to be descriptive of the true God, and to be derived by tradition from the patriarchs, is in reality no more than a personification of the invisible principle, le or tae-keih, according to the opinions of modern commentators on the subject. Again: heaven, earth, and man, are denominated san-tsae, three powers of which this one principle innate in matter is the essence; and from the language of native authors, as well as the opinions of foreign Chinese scholars, I am strongly inclined to think that Shang-te and teen are but different terms for the same mysterious Supreme, who sways the destinies of mortals, whose name is used to overawe the public mind for political purposes, and who is to be approached but seldom-as on great national occasions lest the people should contract too great familiarity with such august titles, and cease to reverence them. Confucius admonishes his disciples to treat the gods with respect, and to keep at a distance from them.

It has been common for the emperors of China, in modern as well as ancient times, who are arrived at a peculiar epoch of their history, or have received marks of celestial favour in a lengthened and felicitous reign, to offer solemn sacrifices to the Supreme Ruler, the azure heavens, the earth, and the spirits of departed ancestors, all which deities share equal honours, though precedence

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IMPERIAL SACRIFICES

is given to Shang-te, under the pretext of evincing their gratitude, and avowing their dependence for the future, but rather to avail themselves of the popular influence acquired by such an appeal to the prejudices and superstitions of their subjects. The coronation of a young prince, and the celebration of a jubilee at the close of an aged emperor's reign, are occurrences befitting munificent sacrifices, and solemn exercises of public and national devotion. Both events happened in the life of Keenlung, whose conduct furnishes an illustration of the manner in which these festivities are observed. At his own coronation, while burning incense and silently praying to the high heavens, he made a vow, that since his ancestor Kang-he-his immediate predecessor but one - had reigned sixty-one years, so he, if he should be permitted to reign sixty, would then transfer the crown to his heir. Accordingly, at the winter solstice, during the great sacrifice, the emperor says he prayed to the Supreme Ruler; and mentioning the name of his intended heir, desired that if he were not fit for the throne, judgments from heaven might fall upon him, and another selection be made. He announced his intention to his deceased ancestors also, who, he imagines, look down from heaven and observe what is doing on earth. The heaven he prayed to, and the heaven where his ancestors are supposed to dwell, though the same word is used, seem to have proceeded from different ideas in the emperor's mind, the one inferior to the other; but heaven, supreme ruler, and ancestors, are all treated as if possessed of equal powers; and, indeed, his holy mother, then an old woman, is placed as high as Shang-te; for he told her also of his intention, and then, probably to enable the

He was

deity to decide, reported her answer to him. advised by his attendants not to raise his son to the throne during his own lifetime; but his prayers, his vows, his secret intercourse with high heaven, the supreme ruler, and the souls of his ancestors, determined him to carry his purpose into effect.

I have previously adverted to two meanings of the word teen-that of "material heavens," and "supreme presiding power,"-both which are connected in this passage with a third-" the supposed residence of departed spirits." The difficulty of attaching precise notions to such terms in native authors arises from their being ambiguously used in a special sense, when the context would seem to indicate the ordinary signification. It appears, however, that the term Shang-te, in its application to the invisible power by which the affairs of the universe are controlled, is borrowed from its common use to denote supreme authority and government on earth; and that teen, suggested by the overshadowing material heavens, is appropriated to the same invisible Supreme, probably because the works of creation inspire the thoughtful beholder with impressions of an existent, eternal godhead. This sentiment would be especially produced by the celestial portion of the divine workmanship, to the study of which the Chinese, as well as the Arabians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, have been remarkably addicted from the earliest ages. For this reason also it is that astrology—the pretended science of the stars-coupled with the assumed decision of a numerical fate, has enthralled such masses of intellectual being through so many ages. Kung-ming, a celebrated personage in the civil wars of the three kingdoms, the third century after Christ,-was much devoted