Thus, without the dreadful alternative of overthrowing the powers that be, a way is opened to ambitious youth, by which he may reach the highest station in the empire; the throne only excepted. Usually the most distinguished statesmen are those who have risen to eminence by intellectual efforts: they are at once the philosophers, the teachers, and rulers of the land. These distinctions they cannot however maintain, without yielding implicit obedience to the will of the monarch, which is most absolute and uncontrolled. Let them honour and obey the power that is over them, and they stand; dependant indeed on the one hand, but on the other, in proud and envied distinction. [Sidenote: LITERARY EXAMINATIONS.] High rank in the state is the brightest glory to which this people aspire; with them, learning derives its chief value from the simple fact, that it brings them within the reach of that dazzling prize. Strict examinations, regulated by a fixed code of laws, have been instituted and designed solely to elicit from the body of the community the “_true talent_” of the people, with the ulterior intention of applying it to purposes of government. At these examinations, which are open to all except menial servants, lictors, players, and priests, it is determined who shall rise to distinction and shed glory on their ancestors and posterity--who shall live on in obscurity and die and be forgotten. The competitors of the Olympic games never entered the arena before the assembled thousands of their countrymen, with deeper emotion than that which agitates the bosoms of those who contest the palm of these literary combats. The days on which they are held, and their results published in Canton, are the proudest which its inhabitants ever witnessed. A brief notice of them may be interesting to the reader, and at the same time enable him to understand more fully the nature and object of the schools and colleges of the provincial city. The highest literary examinations in the empire are triennial, and take place at Peking. Besides these, there are also occasional examinations granted by special favour of the emperor. Up to these contests, the most distinguished scholars go, from all the provinces. This privilege is not gained without long, patient, and successful endeavour; the examinations at which it is determined who shall enjoy it, occur also triennially and are held in the metropolis of each province. These examinations are of incomparable interest to great multitudes of the people, in every department and district of the empire. High honours, rich emoluments, and in a word, every thing that the young aspirant and his numerous kindred most esteem, are at stake; a long season of preparation has been endured, heavy expenses incurred; and now the decisive hour approaches.