This account corresponds too closely, in several particulars, with Vericus, to be considered wholly fiction. Besides, there is a corroboration or two. Geoffrey of Monmouth pronounces his name to be British, and so it is; though even Cambrian scholars have tried to Latinize it (see Roberts' Tysilio, 4to., 1811, p. 85). Amwn is a name known in British annals in the sixth century (see Williams' Eminent Welchmen), and Lilius is our title illil again, suggested by Lelewel in the passage we have before cited, as equivalent to REX, and which has done so much service in identifying the Eppillus of British coins with one of the ancient kings of the island mentioned by Julius Cæsar in his Commentaries. Only here the supposed illil precedes the personal name, while in all other known cases it follows after. And why not? Euphony might have been the cause. structure of the word Amwn is such, that this consideration may have been best consulted by the title preceding; and we find that the cognate title, rex, came indifferently either before or after personal names. There should be The then no difficulty in this, and Amwn, or Vericus, may the rather have preferred the title illil to rex, as implying hereditary right. Thus etymology comes powerfully to aid; and as we hear nothing of Vericus in the remaining books of Tacitus, as we do of Cogidubnus; and, indeed, as this last was appointed king by the Romans to the very territories which, it appears, had been those of Vericus, there is the greater probability that the account in the chronicles is true, that he, described there as the illil Amwn, or Amwn the king, was killed in the early part of the Roman invasion; that is, in the year of the Christian era 43. There is yet one more particular connected with the account in the chronicles. These all declare that Southampton was named after Amwn, or Vericus; and Gervaise of Tilbury further adds, that Northampton was named after him too (see the Chronicle of Gervaise of Tilbury, as printed in Roberts' Tysilio, p. 234). But in neither instance is there the slightest probability of the fact, as the names of both those places have most certainly, topographically, other derivations. Another town in that quarter, however, may have been very probably named after this chief, Amwn, Bericus, or Vericus; that is, Caer Peris, the modern Portchester, where this leader landed. This Mr. Roberts notices (Chronicle of Tysilio, p. 84). Singularly enough, the chronicles say nothing on this point; and it would seem a proof that none of the three chroniclers, Tysilio, Geoffrey, or Gervaise, were acquainted with the titular name of the personage to whom our observations now relate. It is not impossible that Tysilio, the earliest of them, might have found a statement that Port Peris was supposed to be named after the British chief, Amwn, and not being able to explain it, had transferred the tradition to another place in the neighbourhood. Nevertheless, after all, it is possible that both the traditions may have been current in Tysilio's time. E. Lhuyd, the antiquary, however, who notes that Caer Peris is Portchester, does not allude to its supposed derivation from the name Bericus; and in the Dublin edition of Nennius, from Erse manuscripts, the orthography is Caer Pheus. Before concluding these observations, it may be noticed that, misled by the obvious titular import of the name Vericus, and the deceptive proximity of the legend COM. F. to Comius, this title, Vericus, has been assigned to the Comius of Cæsar at a former page. This error is now sufficiently rectified; and this title, or addition, is now restored to Amwn, to whom it is due. Amwn, indeed, when accompanying his Roman friends in their invasion, seems to have been contented with the more modest title of illil, simply king; as his former title, ver rix, or high king, might perhaps have sounded too lofty in the ears of his new associates. BEALE POSTE. VOL. VIII. ON ANCIENT CHINESE VASES. BY THOS. JOSEPH PETTIGREW, ESQ., F.R.S., F.S.A., VICE-PRESIDENT AND THE ancient vases of China, particularly those bearing inscriptions, are worthy of the attention and investigation of the archæologist. They possess claims to our notice beyond that simply derivable from their antiquity, for they will be found, in many instances, to prove illustrative of the practices and customs of the Chinese, and also in themselves to exhibit designs of taste and elegance. Taken as a whole, however, they can scarcely be considered as fully entitled to this meed of praise, yet, in some particular examples, their claim to these qualities must be admitted. We are indebted to the knowledge and industry of Mr. P. P. Thoms, whose attainments in the language and literature of China were such as to induce the Hon. East India Company to send him thither to conduct the printing of the Rev. Dr. Morrison's dictionary, for the notice of an ancient Chinese work entitled Po-koo-too, from which he has, with much judgment, selected various specimens of vases, jugs, bottles, mirrors, etc., belonging to the SHANG, CHOW, and HAN dynasties, embracing a period of about 1,784 years B.C. The work alluded to1 is said to consist of no less than nine hundred plates, offering a great variety of vases possessing different degrees of excellence. Of the SHANG dynasty, to which Mr. Thoms's illustrations are confined, and which extends from 1756 to 1113, B.C.-a period of 643 years, under twenty-eight successive sovereigns-there are specimens of Ting (vases), Tsun (wine 1 See "A Dissertation on the Ancient Chinese Vases of the Shang Dynasty, from 1743 to 1496, B.C." By P. P. Thoms. London, 1851; 8vo. In the “Mémoires concernant l'Histoire, les Sciences, etc., des Chinois," by the missionaries of Pekin (tom. i, p. 56), it is said that the reigning emperor had engraved, in forty-two volumes, all the vases he could obtain; that among these the most ancient did not date prior to the dynasty of Shang; that they had but few characters, very difficult to decypher; that they threw no light upon history; but served only the purposes of the etymologists and the grammarians; and it is added, that these ancient vases had been imitated to deceive the curious. jugs), E(large cups, or small basins), Yew (jugs for fragrant wine, having a handle extending over the mouth), Hoo (teapots, and also bottles for wine), Tseo (wine-vessels with three legs and a long lip), and Tung (small, slender vessels with wide mouths). Those belonging to the CHow dynasty have frequently long inscriptions, and are also covered with various devices. The handles of sacred vessels, Mr. Thoms acquaints us, are ornamented with what may be termed the lynx head, and not unfrequently with only the eyes, admonitory of reverence in their use, and may be to the Chinese what we understand by the "all-seeing eye", But it is remarkable that, amidst these hundreds of representations afforded by the Pŏ-koo-too, there does not occur a single instance of a representation personifying a god; although a state religion--the worshipping of the great powers of heaven and earth-existed at this time, with much superstition, among the lower classes of the people. From Chinese history it appears that there have been, at all times, and under all dynasties, individuals engaged in seeking for and preserving ancient objects. The celebrated minister, LIN-TZE, according to Confucius, distinguished himself by his antiquarian researches. Not less remarkable for zeal in obtaining specimens of interest or value, was the ambitious minister, TUNG-CHŎ (A.D. 200), who, when appointed governor of Mei-too, despatched emissaries throughout the empire to procure ancient vases and other articles of importance in the illustration of history, the arts, and manufactures. But it is not only to so early a period that such researches have been confined; a similar spirit actuated the wellknown YUEN-YUEN, the viceroy of Canton, who as recently as A.D. 1820 collected together a museum of antiquities, among which are most esteemed a variety of ancient inscriptions, particularly on bells and coins. Of these, the late viceroy published an account, and gave fac-similes of the inscriptions, by which it has been ascertained that the ancient and modern significations are often widely dissimilar to each other. The Chinese, however, are not all distinguished by so conservative a spirit, and it is on record that the tyrant TSIN-CHE HWANG-TE, who is renowned as the builder of the great wall of China, ordered all memorials of antiquity to be destroyed, and, like Omar the de stroyer of the celebrated Alexandrian library, all documents and books to be consigned to the flames. Various are the cruelties recorded of this tyrant, which he inflicted upon those who disobeyed his commands; many were imprisoned, and others buried alive. Expedients were consequently resorted to, to preserve the sacred vases, ancient works, and records of the HEA, SHANG, and CHOW dynasties. They were, in many instances, buried, and by this means concealed until the death of the tyrant, when they were exhumed, and brought forth to aid in the illustration of Chinese history. Mr. Thoms observes that, in the early periods of Chinese history, "a custom seems to have prevailed of interring with the dead honorary vases, which reposed with them for ages; but during the civil wars, more particularly that about A.D. 200, the graves of the ancient monarchs and eminent statesmen were dug up, and their ashes dispersed. Then were many of those ancient relics discovered, and a new order of things having been established, they have been preserved to the present period." From this statement it would appear that the vases are entitled to consideration, if simply from their antiquity, that being a period of not less than 3,600 years. It is impossible, therefore, to look upon these relics without veneration, and at the same time admiration of the taste and symmetry by which many are distinguished. One of the most valuable considerations connected with them probably arises from the inscriptions found upon them, demonstrating, as they do, that the present Chinese character is derived from hieroglyphical representations. The representations are also to be regarded as symbolical, and convey to us some information as to the philosophy entertained by the Chinese. Thus those vessels which are of a round shape are called Yang, which literally means the male energy, the active principle; whilst those of a square form are denominated Yin, which signifies the female energy, or the passive principle. Vases with three feet have allusion to Three kung, or three stars, which preside over the prime ministers and people; those furnished with four are in honour of Sze-foo, or four higher civil officers. 1 For particulars of the funeral ceremonies of the Chinese, see my "History of Egyptian Mummies," etc., chapter iii,-"On the Theology of the Ancient Egyptians, and Funeral Ceremonies of different Nations." |