Both of those emperors
may be imagined as calling up their ministers and saying to one,
"Go and invent the art of writing," and to the other, "Work out
a system of chronology."
In the same way, the inception of the culture of the silkworm and the
discovery of the magnetic needle are attributed to the predecessors
of Yao, probably on the principle that treasure-trove was the property
of the King and that if no claimant for the honour could be found
it must be attributed to some ancient monarch. The production of
silk, as woman's work, they profess to assign to the consort of one
of those worthies--a thing improbable if not impossible, her place
of residence being in the north of China. Their picture-writing tells
a different tale. Their word for a southern barbarian, compounded of
"silk" and "worm," points to the south as the source of that useful
industry, much as our word "silk," derived from _sericum_,
points to China as its origin.
[Page 78]
CHAPTER XV
THE THREE DYNASTIES
_The House of Hia--Ta-yu's Consideration for His Subjects--Kie's
Excesses--The House of Shang--Shang-tang, the Founder, Offers Himself
as a Sacrificial Victim, and Brings Rain--Chou-sin Sets Fire to
His Own Palace and Perishes in the Flames--The House of Chou_
The Hia, Shang and Chou dynasties together extend over the twenty-two
centuries preceding the Christian Era. The first occupies 440 years;
the second, 644; and the last, in the midst of turmoil and anarchy,
drags out a miserable existence of 874 years.
Pages:
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89