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C H I Chou-king, gives Fou hi, Chine nong, Hoang-ti, for the three Hoang, and that he takes Chao hao, Tchouene-hio, Tio, Yao, and Chune for the five Ti; but that we know not on what foundation he does this, ince Confucius, in the Kia yu, ditinguihes by the title of Ti, all the s after Fou hi. The ame thing is proved by ome paages of To-chi and of Liu pou-ouei; from whence they conclude, that Fou-hi, Chine-nong, and Hoang ti are not the three Hoang, and that there are no other Hoang but, , and.

Tchine-huene retrenches Hoang ti from the number of the Sane hoang, and puts in his place Niu-oua, whom he ranges between Fou-hi and Chine nong. Others trike out Niu-oua, and put Tcho-yong in the place of Hoang-ti. Niu-oua was the iter of Fou-hi, and Fou-hi, they ay, reigned 115 s. At what age mut this have mounted the throne, for they make her ucceed her brother?

The famous Se ma-tiene, to whom the Chinee, from their high eteem of him, have given the name of Tai e-cong, or father of, will have Hoang-ti, Tchouene-hio, Cao-ine, Yao, and Chune to be the five Ti; and he gave thee s for their predeceors Soui-gine chi, Fou-hi, and Chine nong, who, according to him, were the three Hoang. This opinion, ince his time, has been embraced by everal other writers, who depended upon his authority more than upon proofs which he could not produce.

Confucius ays in his Kia yu, that the s who had governed the began at Fou hi to take the name of Ti or. The ame ays further, in the treatie Hi-tee, or commentary upon the Y-king, that anciently Fou hi , that Chine nong ucceeded him, that after them Hoang-ti, Yao, and Chune were eated on the. From o deciive a, Hou-ou-fang, and everal others with him, have not doubted, that thee five s named by Confucius were the Ou-ti, or five s. As to the Sane hoang, they admitted Tiene hoang chi, Ti hoang chi, Gine-hoang chi, as three of the people who had  the  before Fou-hi.

As it is from Tao-e, that the everal authors we have now quoted, have borrowed their idea of this diviion of the eight first Chinee s, into three Hoang and five Ti, it is neceary to relate what thee  think themelves. They have opinions peculiar to themelves about thee firt ages of the. They believe, that at the firt there were three Auguti, Sane-hoang; then five s, Ou ti; next three s, Sane-vang; and latly, five Pa, Ou-pa; that is to ay, five of Regulos.

This order o regularly oberved of three and then five, which is repeated twice, hews plainly, that all this has no foundation in truth, but that it is a ytem invented at pleaure. Wherefore Tou-chong-chu, who lived under the Hane, explained this in an allegorical manner. The three Hoang were, according to him, the three powers, (,, and ); The five Ti were the five duties (the duties of and ubject, of father and children, of huband and wife, of elder and younger brothers, of friends); the three Vang were the three lights, (, , and ); finally, the five Pa were the five s, four of which are ituated at the four cardinal points of the , and the fifth at the centre. Thus Tong-tchong chu allegorized this this pretended ucceion of s. But Lopi, who relates this explanation, adds, it was not his own. This is a point of criticim of little importance to us; let them, if they pleae, acribe it to ome other than Tong-tchong-chu; we have till ground to ay, that it came from ome writer who lived in an age not far from that of Tong-tchong-chu. This is enough for our preent purpoe, ince we ee from hence the little regard they then paid to this diviion, which they conidered as. It would be in vain to attempt to reconcile all thee contradictions. All thee imaginary reigns are in the manner of the Tao-e, who have darkened the origin of the Chinee by their s and. The ten Ki or periods are of their inventing; they gave them between two and three millions of s duration. But before thee ten periods, they place three, viz. the of Thiene-hoang-chi, that of Ti-hoang-chi, and finally, that of Gine hoang-chi. If we attend to the ignification of thee names, they mut be interpreted thus: the  of , the  of , the  of . We ee from hence, that the allegorical explanation of Tong-tchong chu, which made the three Hoang ignify the three powers, that is,, , and , is not without.

Thee three Hoang ucceeded to Pouane-cou, otherwie Hoene tune, the chaos, the origin of the world, which everal of the Tao e take for the first, or the firt  who.

The of Thiene hoang-chi had thirteen s, who reigned, ay they, 18,000 s; then came the  of Ti-hoang chi, whoe s, to the number of eleven, make up a like duration of 18,000 s. Finally, to Ti-hoang-chi ucceeded the Gine-hoang-chi, whoe, compoed of nine s, furnihes a pace of 45,600 s. Thee three ums added, give us preciely 81,600 s. But if we add to thee three , thoe which are comprehended in each of the ten Ki, and which amount, according to ome calculations, to more than 230; we hall find that the pretenions of the Chinee very much exceed thoe of the ns and ians. For if we believe the calculations of various authors, from Pouane-cou to the death of Confucius, which happened in the 479 before  there is elaped 276,000 s, or 2,276,000, or 2,759,860, or even 3,276,000; or, finally, which is a great deal more, 96,961,740 s: for we find all these different calculations.

It is viible enough, that thee extravagant numbers can be nothing ele but periods, contrived to give the conjunction of the s in certain s, or calculations which have ome relation to the ideas of the Tao e, concerning the perpetual detructions and reproductions of s. In fact, ome have endeavoured to make thee numbers agree with the period of Tchao-cang-tie, a famous  in the s of Song, who had undertaken to determine the period of the duration of the ; for the ytem of the  No. 38.