Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/471

CHINA 459 science and art ; Siuen-ti (73), who subjected the Tartar country as far as the Caspian sea ; Ming- ti (A. D. 58-76), under whose reign the Bud- dhist priest Ho-shung, from India, introduced the Buddhist creed, while the apostle Thomas is believed by the Armenian Christians to have been in China; and Ho-ti (89-106), who intro- duced the culture of the grape. About A. D. 200 a Eoman embassy is said to have come to China. From 220 to 260 the empire was di- vided into three kingdoms, which were reuni- ted by Wu-ti, the founder of the second dynasty of the Tsin (260^20). The Tartars, who had been kept in check by the former dynasty, now obtained a firm foothold in the northern por- tion of the empire, where they established an independent kingdom (386). Four dynasties (Sung, Tse, Liang, and Chin) ruled the south- ern empire till 590, a period replete with do- mestic wars, religious dissensions, and palace revolutions. In 590 the prince of Sui, having subjected the Tartar kingdom, conquered also the southern empire and reunited them. He was a wise ruler, a promoter of science, educa- tion, industry, and commerce. During the dy- nasty of the Tang (619-907) Christianity was preached by the Nestorian, Olopen (636). The emperor Kow-tsung extended his conquests to the boundaries of Persia. His son Tai-tsung was the Charlemagne or Haroun al-Rashid of China. His successors became abject tools of their eunuch courtiers (9th century), who were destroyed by Chow-tsung (890), but too late to save the dynasty. Once more the em- pire was torn by the feuds of contending dy- nasties, and the Tartars, whose relation to the Chinese empire was strikingly similar to that of the German tribes to the declining Roman empire, increased in power and importance. Tai-tsu, the founder of the dynasty of the Sung, and his successors (960-1279), under whose reign the arts and sciences flourished, were unable to keep the Tartars down. They were compelled to seek the aid of one tribe against another, but were in turn assailed by their al- lies, until the Mongolians overran the empire. Genghis Khan advanced on Peking in 1215. Kublai Khan (Chinese, She-tsu) established the first Mongol dynasty in China, having Peking as the capital city (1279-1368). The last em- peror of the Sung dynasty drowned himself and family near Canton. The conquerors did not attempt to change the national customs and institutions, but favored Buddhism. Kublai conquered Cochin China and Tonquin. In his reign the European traveller Marco Polo came to China. In 1294 the first Roman Catholic missionaries appeared at Peking. In 1342 a famine having destroyed 13,000,000 people, a general revolution broke out. In 1358 a Bud- dhist monk of low birth, Chu Yuen-chang, as- sumed the lead of the revolution, overthrew the Mongolian dynasty, and ascended the throne under the name of Hung-wu. His dy- nasty (Ming) lasted 276 years (1368-1644), and gave to the country 16 rulers, most of them efficient. About the middle of the 15th cen- tury the Tartars again invaded the empire, but were repelled. The invasions of the Mantchoos commenced under the reign of Shi-tsung (1522- 1567). About the same time the Portuguese began to trade with the neighboring islands. In 1583 the Italian Jesuit Ricci was allowed to preach Christianity in China, and by con- forming it in many respects with the traditions of Confucius he made many converts, even among the mandarins. In 1604 the Dutch sent three vessels to China, but were not ad- mitted. When, in 1622, they tried to enter the empire by force, they were defeated ; still they succeeded in establishing themselves on one of the Pescadore islands, which they afterward exchanged for Formosa. In 1615 the Man- tchoos, exasperated in consequence of the assas- sination, by order of the Chinese emperor, of their king, had commenced hostilities, and when in 1 635-' 44 the empire became again the theatre of bloody internecine wars, they took sides with the defeated imperial party against the insurgent usurper Li-tse-ching, defeated him, entered Peking, and proclaimed Shun-chi, the youthful son of their own king, emperor of China. He was the founder of the present Man- tchoo dynasty, which has succeeded well in over- coming the strong national antipathies of the Chinese. In 1653 the Dutch were once more refused admission, while the Russians were al- lowed to trade with the northern portion of the empire. Shun-chi was educated by the German Jesuit Adam Schall, who, as president of the board of mathematicians, became in fact the prime minister. In 1661 Kang-hi succeed- ed to the throne. He conquered Formosa and Thibet, improved the financial condition of the government, promoted science and literature, established schools and colleges, had the dif- ferent provinces of the empire surveyed and mapped by Europeans, and restored the Chris- tian churches to the missionaries (1671). Two Frenchmen, Gerbillon and Bouvet, were his favorite advisers. During his reign the city of Peking was destroyed by an earthquake, when, according to native accounts, 400,000 perished among the ruins. Yung-ching (1722-1736) expelled the missionaries from the schools, in consequence of his suspicions of their de- signs and dislike of their overbearing conduct. His son Kien-lung (1736-1796) extended his dominion over the largest portion of cen- tral Asia. Although in general just and well meaning toward his subjects, -he for a time persecuted the Christians, and turned a deaf ear to the requests of European powers (Russia excepted) to be admitted to commer- cial intercourse with China. His successor Kia-king (1796-1820), a voluptuous and cruel monarch, was unable to check the anarchy created by insurrectionary movements against his tyrannical rule. In 1807 Mr. Morrison, the first Protestant missionary, came to Can- ton, translated the Bible into Chinese, and in conjunction with Mr. Milne established the