Public-domain ebook
Language: en1,877 downloads on Project Gutenberg
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In: History - Other
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #57868.
The work is a scholarly survey of China, written by Samuel Wells Williams, a Yale professor of Chinese language and literature. Its opening plunges the reader into a detailed description of the imperial altar complex at Peking, naming the various shrines, tablets and celestial symbols that structure the ritual space. From this richly specific illustration the book expands into a systematic overview of the empire’s geography, government, literature, social life, arts and history, as outlined in the preface and contents. The author explains that the second edition incorporates recent political changes, newer travel accounts, and expanded maps, while preserving the original chapter order. The text therefore promises a comprehensive, citation‑rich reference that blends firsthand observation with the latest scholarly research of the late‑19th‑century.
Williams writes in a formal, academic voice characteristic of turn‑of‑the‑century encyclopedic studies. The prose is dense, laden with footnotes, and assumes a reader comfortable with historical terminology and classical references. It will appeal to historians, sinologists, and serious students of Asian studies who seek a thorough, period‑specific synthesis of China’s physical and cultural landscape rather than a popular travelogue.
The opening · free to read
Upon the triple altar, or TIEN TAN (Volume I., p. 76), the central temporary shrine is dedicated to HWANG-TIEN SHANGTÍ, or ‘Imperial Heaven’s Ruler above.’ Upon the Emperor’s right, nearest the chief pavilion, are tablets to his ancestors, Tienming, Shunchí, Yungching, and Kiaking; the corresponding opposite house is similarly devoted to Tientsung, Kanghí, Kienlung, and Taukwang. The small buildings behind and below these are the TAMING CHÍ WEI, the ‘Altar of the Sun’ or ‘Great Luminary’ (on the right), and the YE-MING CHÍ WEI, or ‘Altar of the Night Luminary.’ The last structure on the worshipper’s right contains tablets to the CHAU-TIEN SING, or ‘All Stars;’ to the URH-SHIH PAT SUHSING, or ‘Twenty-eight Constellations in the Ecliptic;’ to the PEH-TAN SING, or Ursa Major; and to the MUH, KIN, SHUI, FO, and TU, or Five Elements--‘Wood, Metal, Water, Fire, and Earth.’ Facing this building on the left are shrines to SIUEH-SZ’, YÜ-SZ’, FUNG-SZ’, and LUI-SZ’, the superintendents of Snow, Rain, Wind, and Thunder.
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