1000000030

218 / 1042

e H 186 e H
The 9th, ~he dynanyof Ki·kiu·chi ' .
Thc 10th, the dynally 01 Hi· ouci·chi ".
'me 1\lh, the dynany of Yeou.tfao·chi.
1be I~th, the dynafiy of Soui.gine.
Tht t3th and lal~, the dynafty of Yong.tching.chi.
Of thef~ C~veft kings, or founders oC dyoanies, which
remain to be coor,dcred to complete the numbcr of dy·
nafties included in this righth period, oothing is faid of
Ihofe Olarkcd - Ihal has any rdation 10 our (ubjefl.
As lOYeou·lfao·chi, fouoder of the eleveoth dynany,
whofC reign, fay they, larled more than 300 years, and
",hofe family, they add, continued more tllOO 100 ge·
mentions during tbe fpace of 12 or 18,000 years: here
is whal we find recorded.
Hane·tfee fays, that, in Ihe 6rft ages of the world, a·
JlJinals muhiplied .ery fa(l; and that men being but few,
Ihey could oot fubdue tbe bea(ls and ferpeols.
Yene·tfee (a)'! alfo, that the anciems, either perched
en Irm, 01 llrelched in ·ho!Jow caves. poITeffed tbe uni·
verfe. (Tiene.hia, that is tOfay, China) . TheCe good
kings (continues he) breathed nothing but charity wim·
out any Ihadow of baued. They ga"e much, and took
nothiog. The people did oot go to pay their eour! tO
tbem, but aJl the 1V0rld fubmiued to their vi¡tues.
Lopi aod Ouai·ki C~y almoll io the {ame \\'ords, that,
in the mo(l remote aotiquity, men Ihehered themCelves
in the hollows or rocks, that they dwelt io deCens, aod
lived io Cociety with all the other creatures. They had
00 thou~ht of doing aoy injury to the bea(ls, and the
bt:¡(/\, did nor Ihink of hurting Ihem. But in the fue·
ceeding ages tbey beeame too wife, which made lhe ani·
mals « bel; armed withdaws, teeth, horns, and veoom,
they arraulted man, aod man was not able to refill them.
Yeou t(ao reigned then. He \Vas Ihe fir(~ who built
houCes of wood, in the formof 'bird, nens; he perCua.
oed men tO retire into them to avoid the wild bea(ls.
Thy did oot );oowas yet how to euhivm the eanh.
they lived 00 herbs and fruits. They drank tbe blood
of aoimals, they devoured their flelb quite faW, they
fwallowed the hair and the ftatbers. This ís what Ihey
{ayof Yeou·l(jO ehi: after him cOlDes Soui gine, founder
of Ihe lllh dynallY.
Soui.gine ebi is efleemed the inventor of 6re.
On the Cummit of the mountain Pou.teheou, (ays an
author, are to be feen Ihe walls of Ju(lice. The (un
and lhe 01000 eannot ~pproaeh Ihem; there is no dilfe·
rence oC (eaCons Ihere, nor viciffitudes of days and ~ights.
TIti, is the kiogdom of Iight on the confines of Si·
ouaog mou. A {aiol (a great man) went to make a tour
beyond Ihe bouods of the fun and moon: he beheld a
tree, and upon that me a bird, who made fi,e come out
of it by pickingil. He was furprifed·at Ihis; he tooka
braneh of this tree. and from thence nruck fire; from
whence Ihey ealled Ihis great per(onage Soui-gine.
Other aUlholS fay al(o, that Soui.gine made 6re with
a eerlain kind of wood. and taught men to dreCs their
viDuals. By Ihis means all di(eaCes, and all Ji(orders of
the (lomach and bowels were prevenled. In tI,is he
followed the direflion of laeaven, aod from thenee w~s
oarued Soui gint.
They f"y (unher, that. in tbe days of Soui.gi.c,
Ihere w~s mueh water upon the catth, and that Ihis
prince taught men the art of fifhing. He mun, of con–
Icquence, have inventro nets or line~, whieh ioventioo
is .fter this aCerihed 10
One Lon~'Ola, or·Oragon.horCe, brought him a kind
of table. and the tonoi(e leuers. Soui·gine il the firfl
tO whom they arply Ihis evenl, but me fame thing wiJl
be faid in the fequcl of (everal others.
Soui.gioc was the {¡rfl who gave oames 10 plants and
animals ; and Ihefe Dames ((ay mey) were (o expreffive,
that me nature of every thing was knowo by ils oame.
He invented weichls and Olea(ures for tbe regulatioo oE
eommetce, whieh bad beeo uoknown before him.
Anciently ((ay' an aUlhor) men married at fifly, and
"'amen at thiny years of age: Soui.gine Ihorteoed Ihis
period, and appointed tbat youog men fllould marry at
tbi rty, aod girls .al twenty.
Laflly, the Liki [ays. thal it was Sow'gine who 6ra
taughl men brbaniry and politenefs.
11 now remains 10 fpeak of Yong tehing·ehi, Ihe
founder of the thirteenth aod la(l dynally of tbis periodo
1n his time, they u(ed aeoder cords on which tbey
tied various knots. and thi. (erved tbem iDflead of wri–
ting. But. after the inveolion of leneJ1l, how could Ibey
returo again to the ufe of thefe eords, which is (o limi·
ted and imperfcfl ¡ Tbis evidently implies ~ eontra·
diflion I .
We eome oow 10 tI,e nioth JCi or period, named
ChwHowg. This ointh period will bring us dowo tO
the times of FOÍl hi. 1t eomprehecids twenty·ooe kiogs,
wbofe oames are as follow :
l . SCe hoaog, or Tfan bie,
~ . Pe.hoang.chi.
3. Tehong hoang.ebi,
4- Tai-ting·ehi.
5. Kouene·liene,
6. Yene·ehi,
7. Tai ehi.
8. Tching hoei·ehi,
9. Li lou, or Hoei·ehi,
10. Sohoang chi,
11 . Nuei·touane chi,
12. Hiene·yueoe,
13, He fou,
14. Kai·tieoe,
IS . Tfuoe·liu ehi,
16. Teho jong,
17. Hao.yng,
18. Yenu·l(ao·ehi,
19, Tehu.Gang.ehi.
20. yne khaog·chi.
21. Vou·hoai·chi.
Liu.pou ouei {ay' phinly. Ibat SCe.hoangmade letters.
This Sre·hóang, is called al(o rfong hit. Some hilla–
riama plaee him under Hoang-ti, who(e minifler mey
make bim; while omers make bim a fovereign prinee,
aod mueh ~nterior to
Tbe fir(l inventor of leners was Tfang.hie. men me
king Vou·hoai made them be engraved on me cbin. and
Fou·hi ufed them in the publie aéls for Ihe goveinment
of the empire. But obferve, Ihat tbefe three empero"
were even before Chini·nong; how ean it be faid lben,
thal letters were not invented till under Hoang·ti ¡ 'Sueh
i. the realOning of Lopi, wbo was quite coofounded wito
thefe fabulons limes.
To this critici(m il may be an(wered, You have tol!!
us, Ihat Iwm had been invented in the reign of Soui–
gin~, the 12th king of ule eighth perioJ; how theo can
you prelend tQ gil'e tbe bonour oE Ibis inl'ention 10
Tf,n,-