Chapter XXXIV: Eunuchs, Human Sacrifices, Food

Eunuchs and their origin--criminals with feet chopped off as keepers--Noseless criminals for isolated picket duty--The branded were gate-keepers--Eunuchs for the harem--"Purified men"-- Comparative antiquity of Persia and China--Eunuchs in Tsin--Ts'i eunuchs and Confucius--Eunuchs in Wu--Ts'u's uses for eunuchs-- Eunuch intrigues in connection with the First August Emperor--The First Emperor's putative father--His works--Eunuch witnesses assassination of Second August Emperor--General employ of eunuchs in China--Human sacrifices in Ts'in and Ts'u: also in Ts'i--Doubts as to its existence in orthodox China--Han Emperor's prohibition-- No fruit wine in ancient China--Spirits universal--Vice around ancient China rather than in it--Instances of heavy drinking in Ts'i and Ts'u--Tsin drinking--Confucius and liquor--Drinking in Ts'in--Ancient Chinese were meat-eaters--Horse-flesh and Tartars-- Horse-liver in Prussia--Anecdote of Duke Muh and the hippophagi-- Bears' paws as food--Elephants in Ts'u--Dogs as food.

CHAPTER XXXV

_KNOWLEDGE OF THE WEST_

The Emperor Muh's voyages to the West in 984 B.C.--The question of destroyed state annals-Exaggerated importance of the expedition, even if facts true--King Muh's father was killed in a similar expedition--Discovery of the Bamboo Books of 299 B.C. in 281 A.D.-- Imaginary interpretations put upon King Muh's expedition by European critics--The Queen of Sheba--Professor Chavannes attributes the travels of Duke Muh of Ts'in 650 B.C.--Description of first journey--Along the great road to Lob Nor-Modern evidence that he got as far as Urumtsi--Six hundred days, or 12,000 miles-- Specific evidence as to distance travelled each day--Various Tartar incidents of the journey--The Emperor's infatuation on the second journey--Lieh-tsz, the Taoist philosopher, on the Emperor Muh's travels--Arguments qualifying M. Chavannes' view that Duke Muh, and not the Emperor Muh, undertook the journeys.

CHAPTER XXXVI

_ANCIENT JAPAN_

Wu kingdom--Name begins 585 B.C.--This is the year Japanese "history" begins--The first king and his four sons--Prince Ki- chah--War with Ts'u and sacking of its capital--King Fu-ch'ai and his wars against Yiieh--Offered an asylum in Chusan--Suicide of Fu-ch'ai--Escape of his family across the seas to Japan--China knew nothing of Japan, even if Wu did--Story reduced to its true proportions--Traces of prehistoric men in Japan--Possible movements of original inhabitants--Existing evidence better than none at all--East from Ningpo must be Japan--Like early Greeks and Egyptian colonists--Natural impulses to emigration--Refugees from China compared to Will Adams--Natural desire to improve pedigrees-- No shame to Japan's ruling caste to hail from China--European comparisons--How the Japanese manufactured their past history-- Imagination must be kept separate from evidence.

CHAPTER XXXVII

_ETHICS_

Peculiar customs--Formalities of surrender--A number of instances of succession rules--Status of wives-Cases where the Emperor himself breaks the rules--Instances of irregular succession in various states--Customs of war--Cutting off the left ear as trophy--Rewards for heads--Principles of facing north and south-- Turning towards Mecca--Left and Right princes--Modern instances of official seating--North and south facing houses--Chivalrous rules about mourning--Funeral missions--The feudal yearnings of Confucius explained--Respect even of barbarians for mourning--Many other quaint instances of funeral and mourning rules--Promises made to a dying _non compos_ of no avail--Mencius and the diplomatists.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

_WOMEN AND MORALS_

Rights of women in ancient China--The legal rule and the actual fact--Instances of irregularity in female status, both in ancient and modern China--Instances of incest and irregular marriage even in orthodox states-Women, once married, not to come back--The much-married Second Protector--Hun and Turk customs about taking over Wives--Clan marriages of doubtful legality--Succession rules-- Ts'u irregularities and caprice--Elder brothers by inferior wives--Paranymphs, or under-studies of the wife--Women always under some man's power--Incestuous fathers--_Lex Julia_ introduced into Yiieh by its vengeful King--The evil morals of the Shanghai-Ningpo region of ancient Yiieh--No prostitution in ancient China, except perhaps in Ts'i--No infanticide--Incest and names.