Chronology Entry
Year
1794-1796
Text
Wakefield, Priscilla. The nature of true riches [ID D27202].
Persons
Ti-hoang, Emperor of China.
Kang-hi, a Mandarin.
Yang-ti, a Merchant.
Chiang, a Manufacturer.
Hio, a Farmer.
Ti-hoang, seated on a throne, attended by Mandarins, administering justice.
Kang-hi, (boring to the ground) Sacred emperor, true fountain of honour, your late proclamation, promising to bestow rewards upon those who can produce inventions that shall be useful, either in science or in art, has drawn many claimants, who boast of being entitled to your bounty, and are waiting without till you pleas to examine their pretentions.
Ti-hoang. The throne which supports us, is the seat of Mercy and Justice. We are entrusted with power, in order to do good. Can we perform that pious office more effectually, for the benefit of our people, than by encouraging industry and punishing idleness ? The man, of whatever rank, who devotes his time and talents to the improvement of those arts which contribute to the happiness and accommodation of the human race, may truly be called a benefactor to his species, and is entitled not only to the gratitude of his fellow-citizen, but to the rewards of royal munificence. Order these persons into our presence, that we may form a judgment of the merit of their claims, and appoint to each one a recompense proportioned to the utility of his discovery.
Kang-hi withdraws, and returns soon after, introducing Yang-ti, Chiang, and Hio.
Chiang. Mighty sovereign, the woollen manufactory is the employment in which I have been brought up. The property I inherited from my father has preserved me from the servility of manual labour, and has afforded me sufficient leisure to apply my mind to the improvement of the art by which I gain a livelihood. Stimulated by your patronage of useful inventions, I redoubled my efforts to facilitate the process of spinning and weaving wool into stuffs of the finest texture, and have succeeded, by the construction of a machine that produces yarn of more exquisite fineness than that spun by the most skilful hand. By this means I am enabled to excel my competitors in the same branch of business, both in the superior quality of my goods, and the reduction of my prices. The advantage resulting from the use of this machine is so evident, that I cannot entertain a doubt, that, as soon as it is made public, it will be universally adopted.
Ti-hoang. What is your profession, and the merit that urges you to make this application ?
Hio. Agriculture has been my occupation from my infancy, and continues to be my delight and amusement. The superfluities of my emoluments have been always applied to the perfecting my favourite study, by making experiments in husbandry ; and I have appropriated a certain portion of my land to the same purpose. After many expensive projects, I have discovered a method of artificially watering my rice-grounds, whenever I think them too dry, and of draining off the water again after they have received sufficient moisture. The success has repaid me with interest, by the fertility which crowns my fields. Smiling harvests mark the boundaries of my farm, whilst those of my neighbours are blasted by unpropitious seasons, and languish from continued drought.
Ti-hoang. Let the next claimant declare his title to our favour.
Yang-ti. My title, most powerful of monarchs, surpasses those that have preceded me. Their improvements have their value, but are employed upon gross commodities, and are more important to low manufacturers and peasants than to the great ; whilst my discovery will not only enrich myself, but will bring vast treasures into the public coffers.
The object of my researches is the hidden wealth of mines ; and I challenge any one to come forward, and prove himself superior in the art. Many veins of the inferior metals I have found out, that have produced large profits to their possessors, who have recompensed me liberally for my skill and perseverance ; but never did I raise my hopes so high as to suppose that fortune would direct me to so invaluable a source of riches. There is a certain mountain in one of the distant provinces, that I was exploring for gold ; but who can speak my raptures, upon discovering that it was filled with mines of diamonds of the finest water, the largest size, and the purest grain ! With full confidence in your majesty's approbation, I submit my pretensions to the highest prize, to your generous decision, not doubting that you will dispose of your bounty according to merit.
Ti-hoang. Come forward, Hio, and receive from our hand a reward, at once honourable and profitable. The utility of your pursuits elevates you above the rank of your equals : besides the prize destined to the most excellent invention, we shall ennoble you, by raising you to the order of Mandarins. Manufacturers are secondary to agriculture, therefore we adjudge the next prize to Chiang. Industry and ingenuity are not sufficient to render a man useful to his country, unless they are directed to objects that are of public benefit : if these talents are perverted to trifling or pernicious designs, they become baneful to the community they were intended to serve, as well as to the individual who is in possession of them. The finder of diamonds may depart, and close up those avenues to luxury and false wealth, the advantages of which he has so much boasted, tending only to corrupt the morals of the people, by converting that labour which should procure bread for the hungry, and clothes for the naked, into useless toil, for the glittering toys of pride and ambition. A mine of diamonds may amuse the curious, and gratify the taste of the opulent, but cannot supply a bushel of corn to alleviate the wants of a starving people.
Persons
Ti-hoang, Emperor of China.
Kang-hi, a Mandarin.
Yang-ti, a Merchant.
Chiang, a Manufacturer.
Hio, a Farmer.
Ti-hoang, seated on a throne, attended by Mandarins, administering justice.
Kang-hi, (boring to the ground) Sacred emperor, true fountain of honour, your late proclamation, promising to bestow rewards upon those who can produce inventions that shall be useful, either in science or in art, has drawn many claimants, who boast of being entitled to your bounty, and are waiting without till you pleas to examine their pretentions.
Ti-hoang. The throne which supports us, is the seat of Mercy and Justice. We are entrusted with power, in order to do good. Can we perform that pious office more effectually, for the benefit of our people, than by encouraging industry and punishing idleness ? The man, of whatever rank, who devotes his time and talents to the improvement of those arts which contribute to the happiness and accommodation of the human race, may truly be called a benefactor to his species, and is entitled not only to the gratitude of his fellow-citizen, but to the rewards of royal munificence. Order these persons into our presence, that we may form a judgment of the merit of their claims, and appoint to each one a recompense proportioned to the utility of his discovery.
Kang-hi withdraws, and returns soon after, introducing Yang-ti, Chiang, and Hio.
Chiang. Mighty sovereign, the woollen manufactory is the employment in which I have been brought up. The property I inherited from my father has preserved me from the servility of manual labour, and has afforded me sufficient leisure to apply my mind to the improvement of the art by which I gain a livelihood. Stimulated by your patronage of useful inventions, I redoubled my efforts to facilitate the process of spinning and weaving wool into stuffs of the finest texture, and have succeeded, by the construction of a machine that produces yarn of more exquisite fineness than that spun by the most skilful hand. By this means I am enabled to excel my competitors in the same branch of business, both in the superior quality of my goods, and the reduction of my prices. The advantage resulting from the use of this machine is so evident, that I cannot entertain a doubt, that, as soon as it is made public, it will be universally adopted.
Ti-hoang. What is your profession, and the merit that urges you to make this application ?
Hio. Agriculture has been my occupation from my infancy, and continues to be my delight and amusement. The superfluities of my emoluments have been always applied to the perfecting my favourite study, by making experiments in husbandry ; and I have appropriated a certain portion of my land to the same purpose. After many expensive projects, I have discovered a method of artificially watering my rice-grounds, whenever I think them too dry, and of draining off the water again after they have received sufficient moisture. The success has repaid me with interest, by the fertility which crowns my fields. Smiling harvests mark the boundaries of my farm, whilst those of my neighbours are blasted by unpropitious seasons, and languish from continued drought.
Ti-hoang. Let the next claimant declare his title to our favour.
Yang-ti. My title, most powerful of monarchs, surpasses those that have preceded me. Their improvements have their value, but are employed upon gross commodities, and are more important to low manufacturers and peasants than to the great ; whilst my discovery will not only enrich myself, but will bring vast treasures into the public coffers.
The object of my researches is the hidden wealth of mines ; and I challenge any one to come forward, and prove himself superior in the art. Many veins of the inferior metals I have found out, that have produced large profits to their possessors, who have recompensed me liberally for my skill and perseverance ; but never did I raise my hopes so high as to suppose that fortune would direct me to so invaluable a source of riches. There is a certain mountain in one of the distant provinces, that I was exploring for gold ; but who can speak my raptures, upon discovering that it was filled with mines of diamonds of the finest water, the largest size, and the purest grain ! With full confidence in your majesty's approbation, I submit my pretensions to the highest prize, to your generous decision, not doubting that you will dispose of your bounty according to merit.
Ti-hoang. Come forward, Hio, and receive from our hand a reward, at once honourable and profitable. The utility of your pursuits elevates you above the rank of your equals : besides the prize destined to the most excellent invention, we shall ennoble you, by raising you to the order of Mandarins. Manufacturers are secondary to agriculture, therefore we adjudge the next prize to Chiang. Industry and ingenuity are not sufficient to render a man useful to his country, unless they are directed to objects that are of public benefit : if these talents are perverted to trifling or pernicious designs, they become baneful to the community they were intended to serve, as well as to the individual who is in possession of them. The finder of diamonds may depart, and close up those avenues to luxury and false wealth, the advantages of which he has so much boasted, tending only to corrupt the morals of the people, by converting that labour which should procure bread for the hungry, and clothes for the naked, into useless toil, for the glittering toys of pride and ambition. A mine of diamonds may amuse the curious, and gratify the taste of the opulent, but cannot supply a bushel of corn to alleviate the wants of a starving people.
Subjects
Literature : Occident : Great Britain