Among other remarkable things told of this Emperor, it is said that he first taught the people to cultivate, sow, and manure lands, and divided his dominions into nine provinces, causing as many great brazen vessels to be made, on each of which a map of a province was engraved. In succeeding times these vessels became very precious, for it was believed that the safety of the state depended on their security, and that whoever obtained them would also obtain the crown. A qualification rare amongst kings was possessed by this useful prince. He hated flatterers, and the only way to gain his favor was to tell him of his faults. Moreover, Yu thought no employment so becoming a sovereign as doing justice to the people; thus he gave access to his subjects at all hours, and that no obstacle might be thrown in their way, he had affixed to his palace gates a bell, a drum, and three tables, one of iron, one of stone, and another of lead, upon either of which people who wanted an audience were to strike. The bell was to distinguish civil affairs, the drum for matters relating to law or religion, the leaden table for the ministers, the tablet of stone to denote a complaint of wrong done by some magistrate, and lastly the iron tablet was to denote any very serious trouble. So rigorously did Yu adhere to this rule, that it is said that he arose from table twice in one day, and another day came three times out of his bath at the sound of the bell. Another story is, that when wine, which was first invented in his reign, was shown to him, he expressed great regret, "for," said he, "this liquor will cause the greatest trouble to the empire." But wise and powerful as he was, Yu could not conquer sensuality; for in China, as in most other countries, the love for strong liquors is potent. CHAPTER IV. THE INNKEEPER.--ALARMING NEWS. For six more days the boys sailed along this canal till they came to Hang-tcheou-fou, the terrestrial paradise of China, of which, in conjunction with another great city, the people have a saying, "Heaven is above, but Hang-tcheou and Foo-tcheou are below." As a combination of work and pleasure, a great manufacturing city, and a fashionable and healthful watering-place, this spot has not its equal in the world; for as the province of Tche-Kiang is the most celebrated in the empire for its growth of mulberry-trees and the finest silk-worms, so is its capital, Hang-tcheou, celebrated for its looms and the quality and quantity of those rare silks, satins, and taffetas, which no less gladdened the eyes of the moderns than they surprised and delighted the wealthy Romans, who, not knowing from whence they came, believed them to be the handiwork of "furthest Ind."