animals by anything else than vague terms." A work like that which Remusat contemplated by the aid of Cuvier and others, is greatly needed-but Remusat and Cuvier are both dead. The Nouveau Journal Asiat. ique for last July and August has a long "Notice de l'En. cyclopedie litteraire de Ma Touan lin," par M. Klaproth. And from Paris also has been issued a Chinese play, called Hoei-lan-ki-par M. S. Julien, who we understand, has been appointed to succeed the late Abel-Remusat in the professorship of Chinese. This trans lation was printed by the Eng. lish Oriental Translation Fund. M. Julien has attended to the poetry of Chinese, and purposes to continue the study of it, with the design of compiling JOURNAL OF OCCURRENCES. THE HIGHLAND REBELLION; or Leën. chow mountaineers. From the Peking gazette of October 28th, 1832, we perceive that five persons, the kindred of Chaou, the Golden Dragon, have been sentenced to immediate death by the slow and ignomin. ious process of cutting to pieces.' Their names were Chaou Fuhkin, Chaou Fuhyin, Chaou Kinwang, Le Tihming (who was declared king by the insurgents), and Tang Tinghing, of whom we do not remember to have read anything. The imperial sen. tenee directed that their heads should be carried about among the multitude, and a Tartar of high rank was ordered to go and witness the exe. cution. We have before us a paper which was written by a scholar, and which represents the submission of the moun. taineers to be a mere farce; and the conduct of Hengăn,-the emperor's brother-in-law, who was one of the imperial commissioners on the occasion, a gross imposition on his majesty, and a disgrace to the nation. The wri ter expresses great indignation against, and contempt for the high authorities, who by bribery induced the high. landers to allow his majesty's troops the empty forms of victory and triumph, where there was none of the reality. We are surprised that any Chinese should choose to risk his personal safety by writing such a seditious paper, merely to give vent to his feelings, for that is the only object which he seems to have had in view. Speaking of the money of the government, which, he says, is procured by the toil and sweat of the people, and is the very marrow of their bones, -he adds; the commissioner gave five hundred thousand taels weight, (for that was the sum given in silver,) for a sham surrender and submission of the rebels, and a flourish of drums! He wonders at the commissioner's andacity and utter want of shame, which prevented his blushing when he received the rewards of victory, finger rings, peacock's feathers, &c. He affects however respect for his majesty, whose displeasure be calls heaven's anger;" and deeply regrets that the emperor has been so imposed on, in a matter originated by these despicable and detested highlanders. It has been recently reported, that already they descend to the plains in parties to plunder as before, and that local officers refuse to ac as knowledge the fact. The 500,000 taels given to bring over a few, who were constituted Chinese officers and received commissions with the cap knob insignia, is represented thrown away; for the hill-men will not submit to their new made of. ficers, and have forced them to resign their commissions and return their knobs. Private rumors state that old Sunkeun, Lord Macartney's friend, has impeached Hengån for deceiving the emperor, for usurping all power at court in the distribution of office throughout the empire, for taking his daughter home at midnight from the imperial palace, &c. FORMOSA.-The sudden declaration of the government that tranquillity is restored on this island, is no less surprising than the hasty submission of the mountaineers of Leënchow. A very short time ago, two Tartar generals were dispatched poste-haste from Peking, taking with them thirty veteran officers, and possessing power to bring experienced troops from various provinces, even so far as Sze. chuen on the opposite side of the empire. Now all at once the troops GOVERNOR LE-Extracts from the Peking gazette of February 15th, 1833, contain the final decision concern. ing our late governor, magnate Le, and confirm the account given in onr last number. He has been compelled to pay from his accumulations a sum equal to three-tenths of the expenses of the highland war. But his majesty says this punishment is not enough to cover his crimes, of mismanage. ment; procrastination; specious but untrue representations; and the indulgence of the Canton military in opium, by which their strengh was destroyed. He is therefore transported to Oroumtsi in western Tartary to exert himself and atone for his offenses. It is supposed he will be restored in a year or two. A poor native, who was standing by while we read these "extracts concerning governor Le, said, “Ah; in our country, it is a bad casehe that can give money, may exert himself meritoriously; he who has none, all his exertions are in vain." This seems verified in the present instance; for general Lew who acted under governor Le, for the same offenses as were alleged against his superior, is condemned, though upwards of seventy years of age, to transportation to, and hard labor at Ele, without any hope being held out that his sufferings will be considered an atonement. In China, it is the law that old men may pay a pecuniary fine as an "atonement," (the gazette uses this same word in the decision against governor Le,) but the sentence expressly forbids any being accepted in the case of ge. neral Lew. Indulging his troops in opium, and a precipitate ill-judged attack at five passes, in all of which he was repulsed with great slaughter, are the crimes alledged against him. It is remarkable that during Le's trial, our present governor wrote up to the emperor, that of late, his predecessor had written frequently to the king of Cochinchina about pirates, &c., which intercourse Le had not laid before his majesty. This was brought against Le as an additional offense; inasmuch as all intercourse with foreign states is deemed of the highest importance at the imperial court. ABDALLAH, a captive.-The 124th No. of the Peking gazette contains an article in reference to the descendants of " Khodzijan," the Mohammedan rebel against Keënlung, mentioned in page 52 of the Asiatic Journal for September, 1832. When the two princes Boolatoo and Khodzijan were defeated and perished, many of their kindred according to the barbarous usage Asiatic conquerors, were put to death; this was in 1759. The gazette before us notices that there was an infant son, who could have no knowledge of, nor take any part, in his father's rebellion. His life was spared and he was given to be a slave to an officer of merit who was engaged in the war. His name was Apotoohale (Abdallah? "the slave or servant of God"). During the third year of the present reign, Abdallah having conducted himself in a quiet inoffensive manner, was, according to the law respecting Mohammedans, with all his family permitted to enter the white 'standard' of Mungkoos, and to be employed in the service of government. Only three years after this, the rebellion of Jehanguir broke out at Cashgar, and Abdallah and his family, (for he was related to Jehanguir,) were again implicated, though they were perfectly innocent of any con. nection with the rebel. He and his children were separated and sent, some to Yunnan province, some to Canton, to Kwangse, to Fuhkeën, &c.,-to be imprisoned for ever, in solitary cells. The female part of the family were sent to Keängnan, Hangchow, &c., to be slaves. In this state they remained the last six years. Abdallah and Pihpakin (a son we suppose) died in the meantime. Jehanguir having perished, and these helpless prisoners and slaves having "behaved quietly," his Ma. jesty in order to imitate the clemen. cy of his grandfather, and exhibit his own mercy beyond the law," has decreed that Abdallah's coffin be permitted to enter Peking for interment, and his family, male and female, be restored to the Mungkoo standard. ANONYMOUS ACCUSATIONS.-A case of this kind has occurred in Peking, which has drawn forth a long memo. rial from one of the censors. Somebody threw into a stable an anony. mous impeachment of several officers in one of the supreme courts. The rule of proceeding in such cases, requires that the document shall be immediately destroyed by the finder. He who wrote, and he who attempts to act upon it are both liable to punishment. In the present case the libel came to the knowledge of the emperor, and he wished the allega. tions, which were rather of a serious nature, to be examined into. His censor remonstrates, and wishes the law to be adhered to, because of the evil effects that must arise from opening a door to malicious selfishness by a contrary procedure. Postscript.-Early in the present month it was announced in Canton, that the rebellion on the island of Formosa was at an end, and that the orders for more troops had been countermanded; but no account was given of the manner in which peace had been obtained. T Fuhkeen junks, which have recently arrived at Macao, bring reports that the insurgents, 200,000 strong, are in possession of Luh-urh-mun, and that the governor of Fuhkeën and other officers are at Keih-tsze-lan endeavoring to subdue the rebels by offers of money and of office; and this system (the same that was finally adopted at Leënchow,) has, it is said, been partially successful. The history of that great and renowned Monarchy of China, wherein all the particular provinces are accurately described; as also the disposition, manners, learning, laws, militia, government, and religion of the people; together with the traffic and commodities of that country; lately written in Italian by Father ALVAREZ SEMEDO, a Portuguese, after he had resided twenty-two years at the court and other famous cities of that kingdom. Now put into English by a person of quality, and illustrated with several maps and figures to satisfy the curious and advance the trade of Great Britain. London, 1655. WE are much pleased with this book, because it presents us the observations and reasonings of an intelligent man, made at a time when the history of a great, and remote empire began to excite at tention in Europe. For in later years, when more dissensions had arisen among those who were best able to write this history, or when the various theories which learned men had formed respecting China and her policy, required any certain statement and coloring of facts to support them, such coloring and such peculiar facts are often found in the histories. Our author gives us the results of his own observations on the various subjects embraced in his work, and with so minute and circumstantial description as exhibits the work of an eye-witness. Much of what he relates was gained by personal observation for his own purposes of intercourse with the people; much knowledge of the nobility and officers, from intimacy with Christian mandarins; and much information respecting the government, laws, punishments and prisons, from painful personal experience. As he himself remarks in his description of the courts, prisons, and punishments:-" but some will ask me how I came to be so expert in these points. Truly I must answer him in a word, that though this knowledge be not worth much, yet it cost me very dear." Et quorum pars magna fui. Alvarez Semedo, procurator of Japan and China, after spending above twenty years in Peking and in the provincial cities, returned to Europe about 1734 to obtain recruits for the service of the society of Jesuits. While in Europe he published this volume, which attracted so much attention that it was done into English" a few years after. Although some of his accounts which were then fresh, have become antiquated and obsolete in the course of two centuries, and though many points of which he treats have been subsequently illustrated more at large, still "great stores of information" remain uninjured. To the friends of China, everything concerning her past or present condition or future prospects, will possess peculiar interest. To nothing which affects her best welfare do we feel indifferent; for on this we concentrate our highest earthly hopes, and to this we wish to direct all our earthly labors. The work is divided into two parts, in the first of which is a description of all the provinces; of the persons of the Chinese; of their literature; their arts; |