Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 2.djvu/79

of departed monarchs, sages, and worthies, and in "saving the sun and moon when eclipsed," which phenomena popular belief supposes to be due to a dragon that consumes the luminary. "The details of all the multifarious ritual duties of the Board occupy fourteen volumes of the Statutes,' for it may truly be said that so far as history tells, no nation ever paid such minute attention to etiquette and ritualism as the Chinese have paid during the past three thousand years. "Connected with the Board of Rites is a Board of Music, containing an indefinite number of officers whose duties are to study the principles of harmony and melody, to compose musical pieces and form instruments proper to play them, and then suit both to the various occasions on which they are required."^[1]

The fourth Board is that of War (Ping-po). Its name explains its duties, but does not prepare the reader to learn that naval affairs also used to be under the control of this Board. The Board of War has a narrower range of duties than might be supposed, for it exercises no authority over the Twenty-four Banners (to be presently spoken of) and very little over the provincial troops. These two sections, together with bodies of "braves" or irregulars, raised from time to time as occasion requires and disbanded when the need for them ceases, constitute the army of China, about which it will be convenient to speak here in some detail.