The Yellow river was crossed, and Nguajua-unprepared to fightsurrendered with his mother and over a thousand families. He was created a chin-wang. The Chahar districts all submitted during this same year, and Inner Mongolia became entirely subject to the Manjows. But this expedition was remarkable for a richer conquest than that of men and women. When the last Yooen emperor fled beyond the Great desert, he took with him the imperial jade seal which had been handed down from dynasty to dynasty. Somehow it got lost, and was out of sight for two centuries; after which, a certain shepherd was so much disconcerted at his sheep eating no food for three days, that he dug the ground to discover the charm, when he found the long-lost jade seal. It became the property of his chief Lin Danwoo, whose widow handed it to the Manjows. On it are inscribed in ancient characters (jwandsū), #Ź★, the "Precious (Agent) of Rule and Command." It was encased in fanyü,* with a clasp in the form of a scaly dragon, all of a dazzling brightness!

The possessor of this charmed seal is said to be sure of sovereignty over China, which is probably true as long as he can keep it and its locality is known. It was therefore fortunate for the Manjows that the lucky shepherd was not ambitious. No sooner did the forty-nine Mongol beiluas hear of the news, than they hastened without exception to acknowledge the sovereignty of the possessor of the seal.

Chahar has not always been so faithful an ally as Kursin; for when Woo Sangwei revolted in the south-west, Boorni, younger brother and successor of the deceased Nguajua, refused to obey the summons of Kanghi for aid; whereupon he himself was immediately attacked by a combined Manjow and Mongol force, which got to Chirhatai, where all heavy baggage was left behind; so that the men could ride lightly to Daloo, where Boorni was encamped amid hills and gullies. His ambushes were first driven in, and then his army defeated. He had however another army in readiness, with which he renewed the fight; but in vain, for he had to flee with three thousand horse. He did not flee far, for a Kursin arrow brought him to the ground. His land was converted into a common, the survivors of the tribe banished to beyond Hüenwha and Daitoong to the south-west of Dooshu kow, where his territory had extended north and north-west of Peking, over a thousand li, beyond the outer wall.

We have seen how Gweiwha chung west of the Yellow river was taken. In 1636, a number of Mongols of that district revolted, flying beyond the Great desert. They were pursued by Woobahai who had been made commandant of Gweiwha. For some score of days no trace of the rebels was obtainable. One day while some men went to pick *, which Williams-transposing-supposes to be a "veined agate.”

up a wild goose which had been shot by them, they suddenly came upon the rebel camp, which however broke up immediately, continuing the flight northwards. At Wundwo ling they were overtaken. Yelei one of their leaders raised his bow to let fly, when a fox which had risen in front, ran against him and his bow was knocked out of his hand. He was taken, and on him was found the seal of Shwunyi wang of Gweiwha.

Inner Mongolia however seems to have taken kindly to Manjow rule, for there has been no such serious risings as under the Ming dynasty.

For some years the hands of the last Ming emperor were paralyzed by the gigantic scale at which robbery and rebellion had arrived; so that China was now like a stranded vessel surrounded by wreckers, which could not possibly act on the offensive,―could not even successfully repel every attack, while every moment made her weaker. The well-intentioned but weak emperor found everything against him; the Manjows on his east successfully resisting every attempt to keep them within bounds, a hungry populace converted into fiendish robbers on the soil of his kingdom, a greedy selfish ministry in his conncil chamber, who disregarded whatever tended not to their own immediate advantage, and a famine over the northern provinces, which not only converted hungry men into robbers, but gave proof to all friendly disposed, that Heaven was wroth with and had forsaken the emperor. The Manjows therefore could chose their point, mode and time of attack or retreat.

The year 1636 passed over without any important military operations. A raid was made through Mongol territory into Shansi in the end of the preceding and beginning of this year which resulted in a total of six thousand Chinese troops slain and seventy-six thousand two hundred head of human and four-footed animals taken. A second in summer was followed by a more serious raid in autumn, when the Manjows, again marching through Mongol ground, entered Changan, passed Baoding and got to Anjow, reporting successful contests in fiftysix so-called battles and the plunder of twelve cities with the capture of a hundred and eighty thousand head of men and cattle. But from a military stand-point, all this was mere robbery; for the places taken could not be retained. In the end of the year, an expedition against the Coreans ended in subduing that kingdom.

Civil affairs occupied some attention; for besides ranks bestowed on all having the blood of Taidsoo in their veins, and golden knobs or buttons, with distinctive pearl or other appendages, given to the higher officials, an attempt was made to put down Buddhism or rather the "Yellow" or lama form of it. It was publicly proclaimed that the

lamas confined their food to vegetables only with the intention of deceiving the people; for if they governed their food they did not restrain their unruly thoughts, but coveted, cheated and did nothing but deceive. It was lamented that the Mongols were such implicit believers in the lama exhortations, and their doctrine of speedy transmigration promised to such as perfectly attended to those exhortations. The use of the wheel of transmigration and the cloth soulleader† used by lamas and Buddhists at funerals was strictly forbidden.

The secretariat was divided into three (the Nei san yooen),—the Nei gwoshu yooen, "Inner History Hall,” the Nei mishoo yooen, "Inner Private Secretariat," and the Nei hoongwun yooen, "Inner Dispatch Office."

year

The sovereign of Manjow was styled Tsoongdua, this being the first of that style, and the name Ching (clear) was given to his empire; while his remotest ancestors, the petty headmen of the Huatooala villages, were adorned with grand names; the deceased Taidsoo had a long string of magnificent adjectives prefixed to his name, while his tomb, on a small, beautifully wooded eminence, east of Moukden, was called Foo-ling (Tomb of happiness); his "empress," also lying there, had a nearly equal and equally appropriate number of epithets, and the beiluas were all made wangs.

A dream of Taidsoong's is thought worthy of historical record. He dreamed that he was on his way to Hingjing to worship Taidsoo whom he saw riding swiftly. Daishan (son of Taidsoo) laid hold of the bridle, but could not hold in the horse. Then Taidsoong entered the Ming palace (probably in pursuit of his father). In the palace was a man who held out and handed to him a string of coral. The man seemed to be the emperor Wanli (long dead). His first thought was to refuse the coral, on closely looking at which he saw on it the images of the Jin dynasty. He received it, Wanli saying,-This is the history of the Jin dynasty.

On waking, the dream was laid before the wise men of the Nei san yooen by this Nebuchadnezzar; and they explained, that as he had formerly dreamed of going into the Corean palace, and afterwards took Corea, so now the entering the palace of the Ming signified, that he was to gain possession of China, and the coral that he was to be entrusted with the imperial duty of issuing the imperial yearly book.

The numbers of Chinese under Manjow colours were now so great, that they too were this year divided into two separate wings, under a dark blue flag. Two years after, they were divided into four banners,

*hüen-jwan-lwun, not now in use.

†jie-boo-fan the "spirit-leader," still carried by a son before a coffin.

-bordered yellow, bordered white, bordered blue and pure blue. In 1642, the numbers having risen to twenty-seven thousand and fifty men they were subdivided into eight banners. The two yellow and bordered white were considered the best troops.

The Mongols in 1635 numbered sixteen thousand eight hundred and forty soldiers, and were then divided into eight banners. Every three hundred men had a dswoling, equivalent to Chinese showbei,— Manjow, niwloo (roo) jangjing. To five dswolings there was one tsanling, or youji, or jiara jangjing; to five tsanlings, one dootoong, or dsoongbing, or gooshan jangjing. Each dootoong had a right and left foo dootoong, or foo jiang, or meirun jangjing.

North of the Great desert, stretching away to Russian Siberia for three thousand li, and east to west five thousand li, is Outer Mongolia, at that time under three chiefs, the principal of whom was Karka in the east. When Chahar was annexed, Karka sent messages of concord to the Manjows, who sent the envoys away with sable robes, court pearls, bows, swords, gold and silks. They brought as "tribute" in the following year, strange beasts, celebrated horses, armour, sables, the diao or "great vulture (monachus)," matchlocks made by the Russians,. bow-bags from Whiboo, and saddles and hatchets from Urmasu. Black foxes, white squirrels, and robes were given them in return. They afterwards presented every year a white camel and eight white horses, which was called the "tribute of the nine whites." But they were not always very good friends; for Taidsoong had to march against and have them defeated in 1638.

This same year every board had six members each with his distinctive duties, and the duty and work of the various boards were clearly defined. The first chungjung of the Board of Rites was a Manjow jooshuchang a jiara jangjing. He presented a memorial praying that wives or maidens taken in war should not be ill-treated. He was examined and rebuked, because, though his body was with the Manjows his heart was with the Chinese, and as being no better than a spy who should be put to death. His life was saved however.

Taidsoong issued an order, somewhat more conformable to humanity, through the Board of Rites, to the effect that any person found clothing like the Chinese, retaining their hair, and binding the feet of their children, would be severely punished. This of course had reference only to those Chinese who were within the jurisdiction of Taidsoong. Several edicts were afterwards issued against cramping the feet, yet all in vain. It is a curious fact that of the three customs referred to, the two belonging to men, the fashion of the garment and the cutting of the hair, were easily abolished, while the one which belonged to women, though one would suppose much more serious, has

been persisted in up to the present day in spite of threats by emperor or magistrate. Is the Chinese woman more obstinate or conservative than her husband?

In September, Dworgwun the Zooi chin-wang was nominated chief commander, and sent with a body of men, while Ywotwo was at the head of another, both to act against the Chinese.

Ywotwo marched by the valley of Chiangdsu ling, and taking a city of that name, passed on by four different roads. By the way they came upon a body of six thousand Chinese under Woo Ahung, dsoongdoo (governor) of Ji and Liao, who was a confirmed drunkard; and as he was therefore wholly unprepared, he was easily defeated. The Mongols called that valley Dajiboola.

*

Dworgwun broke down a ruined portion of the Great wall east of Doongjia kow and west of Chingwan shan, through which he passed. The two brothers united their armies at Toongjow (Tungchow) below Peking. Arrived at Jwojow, they separated and marched by eight roads, one by the hills, one by the Ywun-hwo "Grand canal" and six between these two.

The Ming general Loo Siangshung and the shangshoo (president) of the Board of War were on bad terms; hence, though Loo had the title of commander-in-chief of all the troops, he had under him scarcely twenty thousand men, the bulk of the men of Gwanning being under Gao Chichien. Of his men Loo Siangshung placed half under Chun Sinjia, and with the remainder marched on Baoding. He fought a most severe battle at Chingdoo (rebels?), where many were slain and wounded on both sides; and then advanced on Yinloo-swo, where he found he had lost half of his divided force. Here with five thousand men he had to encounter several score thousand Manjows, who surrounded him three deep.

Gao Chichien at the head of the main army about fifty li distant, would not move to his aid, but left him to repel the Manjows for two days; and, after his last grain of powder was gone, he threw himself, sword in hand, into their midst, and slew over a dozen men before he was cut down.

Believing that the Chinese would draw men from Ningyooen and Jinjow, as soon as they knew of the march of the two Manjow armies into the interior, Taidsoong resolved to keep those men where they He therefore sent several armies of Mongols to occupy the road between Ningyooen and Jinjow, and some of the Manjow rear-guard with Mongols, to that between Ningyooen and Chientwun. He himself led an army by Yijow. The three recent deserters-who had mean-time

were.

, Ji Liao,-indicating the north-east of Chihli, and what remained of Liaosi.