under which every Manchu high official, when memorializing the throne, was to speak of himself to the Emperor as “your Majesty’s slave,” whereas the term accepted from every Chinese high official was simply “your Majesty’s servant.”  During the early years of Manchu rule, proficiency in archery was as much insisted on as in the days of Edward III with us; and even down to a few years ago Manchu Bannermen, as they came to be called, might be seen everywhere diligently practising the art—­actually one of the six fine arts of China—­by the aid of which their ancestors had passed from the state of a petty tribal community to possession of the greatest empire in the world.

The term Bannerman, it may here be explained, is applied to all Manchus in reference to their organization under one or other of eight banners of different colour and design; besides which, there are also eight banners for Mongolians, and eight more for the descendants of those Chinese who sided with the Manchus against the Mings, and thus helped to establish the Great Pure dynasty.

One of the first cares to the authorities of a newly-established dynasty in China is to provide the country with a properly authorized Penal Code, and this has usually been accomplished by accepting as basis the code of the preceding rulers, and making such changes or modifications as may be demanded by the spirit of the times.  It is generally understood that such was the method adopted under the first Manchu Emperor.  The code of the Mings was carefully examined, its severities were softened, and various additions and alterations were made; the result being a legal instrument which has received almost unqualified admiration from eminent Western lawyers.  It has, however, been stated that the true source of the Manchu code must be looked for in the code of the T`ang dynasty (A.D. 618-905); possibly both codes were used.  Within the compass of historical times, the country has never been without one, the first code having been drawn up by a distinguished statesman so far back as 525 B.C.  In any case, at the beginning of the reign of Shun Chih a code was issued, which contained only certain fundamental and unalterable laws for the empire, with an Imperial preface, nominally from the hand of the Emperor himself.  The next step was to supply any necessary additions and modifications; and as time went on these were further amended or enlarged by Imperial decrees, founded upon current events,—­a process which has been going on down to the present day.  The code therefore consists of two parts:  (1) immutable laws more or less embodying great principles beyond the reach of revisions, and (2) a body of case-law which, since 1746, has been subject to revision every five years.  With the publication of the Penal Code, the legal responsibilities of the new Emperor began and ended.  There is not, and never has been, anything in China of the nature of civil law, beyond local custom and the application of common sense.