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A STREET IN CANTON.

 
LIFE IN CHINA.

BY

REV. WILLIAM C. MILNE, M.A.

FOR MANY YEARS MISSIONARY AMONG THE CHINESE.

With Original Maps and Allustrations.

THE THIRD THOUSAND.

LONDOW:
G. ROUTLEDGE & CO. FARRINGDON/STREET,
NEW YORK: 18, BEEKMAN STREET.

1858.

[The Right of Translation is reserved by the Author.]

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PREFACE.

——_

Piepeep to the cause of Protestant missions in China
by his earliest associations, the writer embarked for
that country in the summer of 1839; and, with the
exception of an absence of two years, continued to
labour there till near the beginning of 1854, under
the auspices of the London Missionary Society.

In prosecuting his mission, it was his lot to visit
various places in China, e. g. Macao, Hong-Kong,
Canton, Choosan, Ningpo, Shanghai; and to travel
through the heart of three of her provinces, Chih-
kiang, Kiangse, and Canton. A partial result of the
observations, during this long period, made upon
the Chinese as they are, is given in the following
pages, arranged under five parts. The first part
discusses the common notions current in Europe and
America about China and the Chinese, some of them
really untrue, and very unjust to the inhabitants of that
empire; and in the other parts there is presented a
variety of positive information regarding Chinese life
and habits, which had been collected during a long
residence at Ningpo and Shanghai, as also in a journey
of 1,300 miles across the interior. The sources of
information were chiefly personal inquiry on the spot
and examination of native writers; and, except the
vi PREFACE,

short scraps acknowledged in the body of the work,
and a few fragments in the second part now entirely
re-written, but which, originally were inserted by him
many years ago in the pages of the “Chinese Reposi-
tory,” since defunct —nething of what follows has
appeared in print from the author.

The four maps which accompany the work are, on
the whole, the most accurate hitherto published, being
prepared by the writer himself after a very. careful
collation. That of the mland tour is the only one of
the same route issued from the press so minute and
correct ; and as it is to be hoped that our relations
with China, about to be materially improved, will like-
wise afford foreigners access into the interior of the
empire, he trusts that this map, with his jottings en route,
may form in future a valuable itinerary to Western
travellers and adventurers. The names of places are
given after Morrison’s system of orthography—save such
as have become part and parcel of the English gazetteer
vocabulary, though mutilated imitations of Chinese
sounds, ¢. g. Amoy, Chinchew, Canton, Macao, &c.
In the map of China Proper, only the provincial capitals
and departmental cities are inserted, also some import-
ant places known commonly to foreign readers; e. g.
Shanghai, Swatow, &c.

The appearance of this little work has been delayed
by circumstances over which the writer had no control;
though perhaps fortunately, as it is issued at a time
when public interest in matters bearing upon China is
more eager than ever.

In concluding this prefatory note on the plan ané,
PREFACE. Vil

-design of the book, the humble hope may be expressed:
first, that it may do its part in diffusing in this country
a more faithful and a juster knowledge of the Chinese
people, and help to rid us of those false, as well as
ridiculous, impressions so long encouraged regarding
that nation and its social state, &c.; and, secondly,
that this attempt may likewise aid a little in increasing
or awakening the desire among the true philauthropists
of the age to promote the cause of Christian civilization
and pure Christianity in China. Should this manual
in any manner forward these objects, the author will
deem himself singularly happy.

Wipiram C. Mine.

SLOANE-STREET, CHELSEA,
February, 1858.
CONTENTS

 

PART FIRST.
WESTERN NOTIONS CF LIFE IN CHINA.

 

CHAPTER I.

ODD MANNERS—PIGTAILS—CRAMPED FEET.— Page 1.

CHAPTER II.

LONG NAILS—THE FAN—PICTURES AND RICE-PAPER DRAWINGS—PRO-
CESSIONS—IVORY BALLS—-LANTERNS—CHOPSTICKS—RAT-EATING AND
BIRD’S-NEST sOUP.—Page 14.

CHAPTER III.

WHAT OF INFANTICIDE, AND THE WANT OF BENEVOLENT FEELINGS
AMONG THE CHINESE {—Page 32.

PART SECOND.

REAL CHINESE LIFE AT NINGPO.

 

CHAPTER I.

MY FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE CITY—CALLS ON THE NATIVE OFFICIALS.
— FLOWER-GARDENS—TEA-HOUSES—MILITARY GROUNDS—CITY WALL
—MOSQUE —TAOUIST, BUDDHIST, AND CONFUCIAN TEMPLES — ICE-
HOUSES.— Page 62.
x CONTENTS.

CHAPTER II.

PUBLIC FEELING TOWARDS FOREIGNERS AFTER THE LAST WAR—RESI-
DENCE IN A CHINESE FAMILY—LODGINGS IN A BUDDHIST MONASTERY
—IN A BUDDHIST NUNNERY—AT A CHINESE MERCHANT’S.—Page 94.

CHAPTER III.

A MANDARIN DINNER—INTERVIEW WITH A FAMOUS KIDNAPPER—NEW
YEAR FESTIVITIES—CHINESE ALMANAC—WHIPPING IN THE SPRING—
FEAST OF LANTERNS—APPEARANCE OF A COMET.—Page 123.

CHAPTER IV.

MARRIAGE PRELIMINARIES AND CONCLUDING CEREMONIES—MARRIED LIFE
IN CHINA—REGARD FOR DECADES IN LIFE—RESPECT FOR AGE—BIRTH-
DAY FESTIVAL—THBATRICALS—ESCAPE FROM FIRE—CONFLAGRATIONS
AND CONFUSION—WATCHMEN AND THEIR NOISES—CHINESE MODES OF
KEEPING TIME.—Page 146.

CHAPTER V.
RELIGIOUS WORSHIP TO THE DEAD—MILITARY AND LITERARY EXAMINA-
TIONS—FAST-DAYS—CHOLERA—TRIP TO A LAKE, AND TO TWO LARGE

TEMPLES IN THE COUNTRY—HISTORY OF FOREIGN INTERCOURSE AT
NINGPO SINCE 1842.—Page 177.

PART THIRD.

A GLANCE AT LIFE IN THE INTERIOR OF CHINA.

CHAPTER I.

NARRATIVE OF TRIP FROM NINGPO TO PIH-KWAN—FROM PIH-KWAN TO
E-KIA0U.—Page 216.

CHAPTER II.

TRIP THROUGH CHIHKIANG PROVINCE CONTINUED—FROM E-KIAOU TO
CHANG-SHAN—FROM CHANG-SHAN TO THE BOUNDARY-POST BETWEEN
CHIHKIANG AND KIANGSE.—Page 242.
CONTENTS. Xl

CHAPTER JIT.

TRIP THROUGH KIANGSE AND CANTON PROVINCES—FROM THE BOUNDARY
BETWEEN CHIHKIANG AND KIANGSE TO YUHSHAN—FROM YUHSHAN
TO THE CAPITAL OF KIANGSE, THE CITY OF NANCH‘ANG—FROM THE
CITY OF NANCH‘ANG TO THE TOWN OF NANK‘ANG—THE OVERLAND
ROUTE ACROSS THE MEILING PASS—FROM MEILING PASS TO NANHIUNG
—FROM NANHIUNG TO CANTON AND HONG-KonG.—Page 272.

PART FOURTH.
SHANGHAI.

CHAPTER I.

SHANGHAI—GROWTH IN IMPORTANCE—GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION—VA-
RIETY OF NAMES—WALKS ABOUT THE CITY AND SUBURBS—TIDES—
BUBBLING WELL—EGG-HATCHING—DEAD-HOUSES—FRUITS OF THE
- EARTH—CLIMATE—NATIVE THEORIES OF NATURAL PHENOMENA—FALL
OF DUST—CHARACTER OF POPULATION.—Page 309.

CHAPTER II.

COLONY OF HEBREWS IN THE INTERIOR—MOHAMMEDANISM AMONG THE
CHINESE—INFLUENCE OF BUDDHISM, AND STRIKING SIMILARITY TO
POPERY.—Page 336.

CHAPTER III.

PAGODAS IN CHINA—A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THESE EDIFICES—A
DISCUSSION TO SHOW THAT PAGODAS IN CHINA ORIGINALLY WERE
INTRODUCED BY INDIAN RELIGIONISTS.—Page 357.

CHAPTER IV.

ROMISH MISSIONS AT SHANGHAI—OPENED MORE THAN 250 YEARS AGO
—THEIR FIRST CONVERT A MANDARIN—VICISSITUDES IN THE HISTORY
OF POPERY HERE—THE VILLAGE OF ZEE-KA-WEI—THEIR MODES OF
OPERATION.—Page 392.
xi CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

PROTESTANT MISSIONS AT SHANGHAI—COMMENCEMENT—OPERATIONS
STUDYING THE LANGUAGE—PREACHING—TRACT DISTRIBUTION—SORIP-
TURE TRANSLATION—SCHOOLS—ROMANIZING THE CHINESE LANGUAGE
—MEDICAL MISSIONS—A REVIEW OF FIFTY YEARS’ PROTESTANT
MISSIONS IN CHINA—ENOOURAGEMENTS IN THE WORK.

PART FIFTH.
STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

CHAPTER I.

NATIVE INSURRECTIONS IN CHINA—LOCAL RISINGS AT CANTON, AMOY,
AND SHANGHAI, AND THEIR SUPPRESSION—THE TAIPING REBELLION :
RISE, PROGRESS, CHECK, RELIGIOUS CHARACTER, AND PROBABLE
RESULTS.—Page 428.

CHAPTER II.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF HONG-KONG, MACAO, AND CANTON.—Page 438.

CHAPTER III.

CANTON RUPTURE WITH FOREIGNERS : DELAY IN SETTLING IT FORTUNATE
ON TWO GROUNDS—THE POPULAR FEELING AT NORTHERN PORTS
FAVOURABLE TO FOREIGNERS—ACCOUNT OF BRITISH ACTION AGAINST
CANTON DOWN TO BEGINNING OF 1858—caPTURE oF YEH.—Page 446.
LIFE IN CHINA.

<>

PART FIRST.

WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

CHAPTER I.
ODD MANNERS —PIGTAILS—CRAMPED FEST.

Or ideas that most people in the West entertain
about the Chinese, some of the elements may be said
to be, odd manners, “ pigtails,” cramped feet, long
nails, fans, paintings, rice-paper drawings, processions,
concentric balls, lanterns, chopsticks, eating rats, mice,
and bird’s-nest soup, popular infanticide, and an utter
want of benevolence.

In 1839, I carried with me to China notions such as
these. From the first of my arrival I was curious to
prove their truth; and now, following the order above
given, I offer to the reader the result of observations
continued during a residence of nearly fourteen years,
hoping hereby to correct or confirm his preconceptions
of the manners and customs of the Chinese.

Oddness of Chinese Manners.—In watching the
“ every-day life” of the Chinese, it is impossible not
to detect analogies to habits everywhere else. Thus,
other people dress, live in houses, eat, drink, marry,
give in marriage, bury their dead, are courteous to
strangers, are fond of fun, love their progeny, &c.;
igs 8
2 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA,
and so do the Chinese. These are, as it were, instincts
in the human race, which, like the instincts of the ant
or the bee, have never changed since the creation of
the world.

However, in habits general as these, there are
incidental forms that may differ; and in China they
do differ oftentimes so remarkably from the ordinary
types amongst us, that, to one visiting that country, of
all odd things there a Chinaman appears at first sight
to be the oddest.

Not only in geographical position, but in notions and
in practice, he seems to be at antipodes to “ Western
barbarians ;” and what you have heard bruited abroad
in your home circle of the strange contrariety in his
habits to yours, you will, in time, find confirmed by his
ways and manners.

To mention a few commonly noticed :—

In paying calls, you take your hat off, he keeps his
cap on; you advance and offer a hearty shake of the
hand to your friend; but he, as he advances towards
the host, closes his two fists, and shakes his own
hands. .

At dinners (when you can afford it), you commence
with fish and soup, &c., and end with a dessert of
wines and fruits; but he just turns the tables, beginning
with fruits, wines, and biscuits, and winding up with
fish and soup.

At weddings, English ladies wear white; Chinese
ladies cannot wear white, but other colours. Instead
of young blooming bridesmaids trimmed in white, you
may see old matrons rigged in black attendant on
the anxious bride; and, for a honeymoon, the bride
. dispenses with a flight about the country to this and
that spa, and satisfies herself with being caged up for
the first month in her husband’s house, and there is
no need of any announcement when she may be “at
home.”
ODD MANNERS. 3

At funerals, black is not worn, but white; and the
dead are shrouded not in white, but in the gayest
dresses.

In amusements, it is not uncommon to see adults
flying kites, and little urchins squatted on the ground
looking on; and shuttlecocks are battledored generally
not by the hand, but the heel.

In books, the name, when written outside, is inscribed
on the bottom edge. The beginning of the book is
what you would count the end. The running title is
on the edge of each leaf. The paging is near the
bottom, not at the top corner. Marginal notes are
written at the top, not at the foot of the page; and in
reading, you proceed from right to left, reading each
column from top to bottom.

Miscellaneous.—The surname announced does not
follow “the Christian name,’ but precedes it. In
kissing, the fond mother holds up her lovely babe to
her nose to smell it, as she would a rose. In moon-
light, no matter how bright, you bear your lighted
lantern about with you. The seaman, in naming the
points of the compass, says, “ East, west, south,
north.” In launching a vessel, she is sent into the
water sideways. The horseman should mount his horse
on its right side. The scholar, in reciting his lesson,
does not face his master, but turns his back upon him.
In parties, do not wear light pumps, but as thick-soled
shoes as you can get; and, for blacking, they must be
whitened with white-lead, and only the edges of the
sole.

The Pigtail—In the imagery of a Westerner, the
badge by which the males in China are characterized is
on his head. No sooner is the word Chinaman pro-
nounced, than he stands before the mind’s eye,—as
delineated on the willow-pattern china vases, rice-
paper pictures, &c.,—with a flow of hair depending
from the back of the head. To produce such an appen-

B 2
4 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

dage, the head is clean shaven in front and behind,—
the crown alone being left untouched, from which the
hair grows to its full length ‘“ unshaven, unshorn.”
This “pigtail”? (as it is unceremoniously called by
people from the West) on an average measures about a
yard long; but it can be elongated by lengthening the
braid of silk with which the hair is twisted, or by adding
a tress to be purchased for a mite at any barber’s shop.

Although in truth they belong to the exception, I
have met with many natives who seemed really careful
of the cleanliness and neatness of their coiffure,—early
in the morning combing out the tufts, dressing them
with an oleaginous stuff, and braiding the long black
hair with their own fingers. In good society, the rule
is to shave the head once in ten days. This is con-
sidered necessary both tor comfort and respectability.
To let the frontal hair grow long marks a man to be in
mourning or in the depths of poverty.

On the pate of a newly-shaven youth, there is occa-
sionally a peculiarity that may attract the notice of a
keen-eyed visitor. When your table-boy comes from
the barber’s hands, with a well-glazed face and forehead,
there is sticking round the border of his crown a circular
ridge of bristles,—each hair short and stiff, and turned
up like a fine-toothed comb. This that at first looks so
odd, is explained on finding that the wearer is desirous
to let the hairy border grow long enough to be braided
with the main tress that flows gracefully behind. A
very different solution this, certainly, from what I have
seen in a book, published shortly before I reached
China, entitled “Fanqui in China,” in which the
author remarks, “This I imagine to be the usual way
of dressing the head by single unengaged youths, and of
course must be very attractive,” 7. e. to the fair sex.

The common labourer often finds this ornamental
plait inconvenient; yet, if at work, he can keep it
out of the way by twisting it into a thick knot, or
USES OF THE TAIL. 5

twining it about the head. Though at times an incum-
brance, the poorest man is proud of this national badge,
his queue. It is not unusual for a raw Briton on
landing, to draw some sport from “ John Chinaman’s
tail;” but very soon he is made to learn that he must
not meddle too freely with a badge so sacred to his
Chinese friend. ‘Noli me tangere,” is the order of
the tail as well as of the thistle. Yet vain as a native
is of his appendage, he can turn it to purposes,—some-
times useful. A sailor at sea lashes his rough cap
round his head with his tail. A crotchety pedagogue
with no other rod of correction at hand, on the spur of |
the moment lays his tail over the head and shoulders
of the stubborn scholar. And, for a bit of fun, a wag
will play a trick on his companions by tying two or
three tails together, and suddenly starting his comrades
off in opposite directions.

The impression in Europe that the tail is uviversally
worn by Chinese males, is on the whole correct,—being
fashionable among native Chinese as well as Mantchoos.
However, there are a few exceptions. The complete
shaving of the head is distinctive of the priesthood in
the Buddhist religion; while to let the hair grow long
and bound up on the top of the head is the coiffure of
the regular priests of the Taou sect. Very commonly
you meet with wretched beggars who allow the hair
to grow any length without cleaning or platting it;
and the unsubdued mountaineers, called Afiaou tsze,
are said to be proud of what they consider a sign of
independence, the unshaven head.

The long hair, worn perhaps in the manner of the
Taouist priesthood, was from early times the habit of
all China, until 200 years ago, when the new fashion
was introduced by the Mantchoo dynasty on its taking
possession of the throne. Two centuries have recon-
ciled the natives of China to this badge of allegiance,
and at the present time, more than ever, it has become
6 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

the distinction between “royals” and “rebels.” The
insurrectionary movement—headed by the chieftain
Taiping—goes by the name of “ the rebellion of long-
haired rascals,” inasmuch as it insists on the re-adoption
of the old style as the sign of admission within its
ranks, namely, the natural growth of the hair upon
the entire head, without being shaven, or cut, or platted,
but bound in atop-knot. In one of the earliest pro-
tests issued by that brigand chief, with a catalogue of
ten or twelve serious complaints against the supreme
government, the first is, “that the Chinese from the
outset had their own style of wearing the hair; but
these Mantchoos have compelled them to shave their
heads and wear a long tail, so as greatly to resemble
the commonest beast.’’ Upon this the following obser-
vations deserve to be quoted from the Edinburgh
Review :*—

“As to this charge against the Tartar government,
it must be observed that at its commencement, it only
adopted the rule of almost all other dynasties in China
at their foundation—the introduction of a slight altera-
tion in the attire of the male population. The griev-
ances here alleged might have been felt with some show
of reason, and, indeed, in some places were avenged
with great fury, by that generation of Chinese which
had first to submit to wearing the tail, a badge of sub-
jection under the sceptre of the Tartar conquerors, now
adopted both by Chinese and Mantchoos. But, after
a term of 200 years, to bring up this as the first in their
list of grievances, sounds much like an effort to inflame
the pride and animosity of the populace. This, indeed,
cannot be denied, when we read their appeal in another
part of their proclamations :—‘ Ye Chinese, ze do most
earnestly wish to save you. The majority of you are
Chinese: yet how can you be so silly and stupid as to

* Art. “ Political Disturbances in China,” Oct. 1855.
 

 

     

SS
ee

==

   

A BARBER’S SHOP,

 

 
THE CRAMPED FOOT. 7

shave off the hair of your heads in submission to these
Tartars, and adopt their style of dress? How can you
be content to remain the slaves and dogs of the Mant-
choos ?’”’ &e.

The Cramped Foot.—While the badge of the man is
in the head, that of gentility in the woman is in the
foot. One of the earliest inquiries of a foreigner, when
he visits that monster curiosity-shop—*“the flowery
land,’—is anent this point; and any new-comer from
the West, be he never so modest, is sure to watch the
pedicles of the first Chinese beauty or ugly he meets.
But, should he bring up in the southern waters of China,
the impression (common throughout Christendom) that
the stinted foot is wniversal among Chinese women, is
at once broken. The Canton boat-women (who are
most expert at the oar) are the earliest to hail your
approach to their shores, and they show by their naked
foot that they find it more convenient to suffer this
member to grow to its natural size. And, generally
speaking, the female domestics of the Canton province
prefer this freedom of nature. With truth, too, it may
be averred, that among the lower classes, the popularity
of this objectionable fashion is often but local. Thus,
in Chusan and Ningpo, where I resided for eighteen
months in 1842 and 1843, I can scarcely recall a single
instance of a natural-sized foot among the women, even
the maid-servants. But a subsequent residence in the
north, particularly my travel through the interior of
the Canton, Kiangse, and Chihkiang provinces, daily
brought under notice females to whom the undistorted
foot seemed indispensable for the sake of livelihood.

Among the camp-followers of the insurgent chief,
who has been disturbing the heart of the empire, it
was computed, in 1853, that there were, in the city of
Nanking only, about half a million women, collected
from various parts of the country. These females were
formed into brigades of 18,000, under female officers.
8 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

Of these, 10,000 were picked women, drilled and
garrisoned in the citadel. The rest had the hard
drudgery assigned them of digging moats, making
earthworks, erecting batteries, &c. Presuming that
a good-sized foot would be a necessary qualification
for a soldier’s life in the Nanking garrison, or for
engineering exploits in that singular campaign, we
must give these Chinese Amazons credit for having the
foot undeformed.

It appears that the Tartar families discountenance
such a malformation among their daughters. Although
Dame Fashion has occasionally tempted some of them
to follow the manners and customs of the conquered
race in compressing the feet, these misdemeanours (it
is said) have been checked by the vermilion pencil of
the emperor. Both in 1838 and 1840, his majesty
had to sigh out, “ O tempora! O mores!” and, issuing
his orders for reform, he threatened the heads of
families with degradation, if they persisted in irregu-
larities of this stamp, and likewise warned the fair
ladies, that, by falling into such low and vulgar habits,
they would unfit themselves for selection as ladies of
honour for the inner palace.

These remarks and instances go to show that there
is a large and respectable minority of females in China
with undistorted feet.

But as it is an error to say that the cramped foot is
universal in China, it is no less a mistake to state,
what I have seen in print, ‘‘that only parents of the
wealthier sort can afford to their daughters the luxury
of small feet.” The streets and houses, in every town
accessible to foreigners, abundantly testify how this
fashion is mimicked by all classes. Even among the
poor, who are likely to appreciate the value of pre-
serving it in its natural size, there is another mode of
calculating the profit and loss of the bandaged foot.
When their daughters are given in marriage, “the
ORIGIN OF THE CRAMPED FOOT. 9

golden lilies” (as their delicate feet are politely called)
come in as a matter of no trifling pecuniary con-
sideration. It is not at all improbable that many who
have submitted to the torture till marriage, have felt it
absolutely necessary to unloose the bandages and set
themselves free, to assist their husbands in the garden
or in the fields, &c. Yet it is unquestionable that
among the lowest orders too, as well as the richer, the
custom is popular and fashionable. In gangs of female
beggars which have passed me in the streets of some
of their cities, I have seen those whose bodies were
covered with rags and vermin, but whose feet were
bound as tightly and squeezed to as minute dimen-
sions as you might witness in any wealthy family.
Not unusually what to your eye seems a foot duly
bound and bandaged, is all sham, and got up for the
sake of aping respectability. A nurse in the family, in
her evolutions by day, will sport quasi-cramped feet ;
but, when suddenly called up at midnight, will expose
feet of ordinary and unmutilated dimensions. The
pretence is admirably kept up, in some instances, by
wearing short stilts, with small wooden feet in elegantly
embroidered shoes. The writer has seen the part of a
Chinese actress played, one of whose chief attractions
was a remarkably small and elegant foot. The gait, the
manner, were entirely feminine. However, it turned
out to be nothing, but imitation to the very feet,—all
performed by a youth!

No one has ever been able to explain satisfactorily
the reason for introducing this singular custom among
the Chinese,—whether to imitate small delicate feet,
or to keep women from gadding about, or to denote
gentility and freedom from toil and hard work. Nor
are the Chinese themselves agreed as to the precise
date of its introduction, or the real originator of the
hideous deformity.

Certain it is that the fashion is not derived by tradi-
10 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

tion from the first descendants of Noah’s family. Some
Europeans, I see, who conceive that there is no species
of monstrosity but what must be laid at the door of
the Tartar conquerors, boldly assert that the cramped
foot was introduced by them 200 years since, when
they mounted the throne of China. There is not the
slightest foundation, however, for such an assertion.
The written accounts of the natives, in tracing this
eustom, go much further back than 200 years. One
author ascribes its origin to an infamous woman,
Tankey, who lived s.c. 1100. She was empress at the
time. Having been born with club-feet, she, by her
marvellous influence over her husband, induced him
to adopt her form of foot as the model of beauty,
and to enforce by imperial edict the compression
of the feet of female infants down to this imperial
standard.

Others are of opinion that the detestable custom
arose 1700 vears after her, or 4.p. 600. According to
them, the then reigning monarch, Vangte, ordered
a pet concubine to bandage her feet. On the sole of
her shoe he had stamped the lotus flower; and each
step this royal mistress took, she left on the ground
a print of the lotus, or water-lily. On this account,
to the present day, the bandaged feet of Chinese ladies
are complimented as “ golden lilies.”

But another account maintains that the fashion owes
its existence to a whim of Le-yuh, a licentious and
tyrannical prince of the Zang dynasty, who held his

‘court at Nanking about a.v. 916. It seems that one
‘day, as he was amusing himself, the thought struck him

he might improve the appearance of the feet of a choice
favourite in his harem, by bending the instep, and
raising if into an arch, in his imagery something
resembling the new moon. How a resemblance was
effected it is difficult to imagine. Nevertheless, the
courtiers were so taken with admiration of this contor-
THE FASHION CONDEMNED. La

tion, that the novel form was immediately intreduecd
into their families.

There can be no daqubt, I think, but in the estimate
of the Chinese nation this artificial deformity is an
essential among the elements of feminine beauty,—or,
as a native writer says, “not to bind the foot is a
disgrace.” Mr. Lay has justly observed, “ A. foot two
mmches in length is the idol of a Chinaman, on which he
lavishes the most precious epithets which nature and
language can supply.” In reciting the ravishing charms
of their ladies, they seldom, if ever, forget to mention
the extreme smallness of the foot. Indeed, the more
reduced it is, the more graceful and becoming it is
thought to be. But for us to trace out any physical
beauty in this odious cramping of the female foot,
would be an impossibility equal to that which a Chinese
would feel in trying to detect any beauty in the shock-
ing squeezing of the waists of English women into
taper forms.

There have been amongst theChinese themselves those
who have been humane enough to deplore the unnatural
mutilation, and have possessed the courage to condemn
it. A talented writer, in the end of last century, in
expressing his abhorrence of a custom so vicious, repre-
sents the Prince Le-yuh as the introducer of it, and
on that account condemned him to endure a term of
700 years’ punishment in one of the Buddhistic hells,
which, he says, is but the first of a series of penalties
awaiting the culprit through an interminable cycle of
years to come. During the anarchy that prevailed at
the opening of the present dynasty, a notorious robber-
chief, who had a particular detestation of the club-feet
of Chinese women, chopped off the feet of a very large
number of females, and raised a vast pile of them. But
the manes of those injured women are described not as
crying for vengeance upon the bandit chief, but upon
the head of that unpopular and unlucky Prince Le-yuh,
12 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

whom they regard as the real occasion of their suffer-
ings. Heaven is represented as responding to the
appeal of these unfortunates by sentencing the tyrant
to make 1,000,000 pairs of shoes for the women of
China with his own fingers ! .

As to the age at which the foot of the poor girl
is subjected to this cruel operation,—ordinarily it is
about the sixth or seventh year; although, among the
wealthier classes, shortly after the child has begun to
walk. The notion of “iron shoes” and “ wooden shoes”
being used is, I apprehend, sheer figment in the brain
of an over-imaginative foreigner. Only bandages are
used. The object is not so much to make the foot
smaller, as to cramp its growth into a certain shape.
To force a contracted form, and to keep it in that
shape, plain tight bandages are found quite sufficient ;
and these are not permanently to be removed until the
desired figure be brought out. In notices of China,
given a few years since, in “ Annales de la Propagation
de la Foi,” the Journalist observes: “As they wear
two pairs of shoes, one upon the other, and always
keep one on, night and day, their feet are in the
shackles.” ‘This does not agree with the custom of the
people among whom I resided; and it is probable that
the Romish mssionary mistook the bandage on the foot
for a pair of shoes.

Geuerally, the result of such binding is, that four of
the toes are bent under the sole, the big toe only being
left free, and the instep is forced up into a bulge.
Accordingly, the walk of “ the little-footed celestials ”’
is a short and quick step, with a swinging of the arms,
—preciscly as in walking on one’s heels. The Chinese
compare this to the waving of a willow before a gentle
breeze! Frequently, to support themselves in walking,
these “ waving willows” use an umbrella, make a walk-
ing-stick of an attendant, or lean upon the shoulder of
a respectful grandson.
2

EFFECT OF THE DISTORTION. 13

it cannot be doubted that cases of gangrene have
occurred from such severe compression of the foot ; and
loss of both feet, or of life, and other evils, might be
detailed as arising out of this pernicious rule of fashion.
But, from all I have seen, I incline to the opinion that
the injurious effects to life and health from this tor-
tuous position, are not so certain as has been imagined.
Mr. Lockhart, in his “ Medical Missionary Report of
his Hospital at Chusan, in the year 1840-41,” observes:
“Though several females came to the hospital affected
with various diseases and with ulcers of the leg, only in
one or two instances was there seen any ulcer or other
disease apparently caused by the compression of the
foot and the forced distortion of its bones. It cannot
be said with any degree of certainty how far this prac-
tice is injurious to health; but it would appear, from
the observation of numerous instances among different
classes of society, both in children and adults, that it
does not cause so much misery as might be expected
from the severe treatment to which the feet are sub-
jected in infancy. And torturing as this treatment of
the feet would appear to be, and unsightly as are its
consequences, it 1s, perhaps, on the whole, not more
injurious to health and comfort than are the practices
inflicted by fashion on the female sex in Western
nations.”

If there really be pain or distress in feet so tightly
bandaged, it is marvellous to watch the evident freedom
from both, shown by women who can walk several miles
a day,—or by nurses, that seem to bear about their
infant charges without discomfort,—or by maid-ser-
vants, who with apparent ease perform more than the
ordinary amount of duties undertaken by English ser-
vants. There is nothing like the distress we should
expect shown by the young women, who, with feet like
hoofs, go through strange posture-making dances, or
by the little girls that play about the streets and lanes.
14 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

Women are fond of playing at shuttlecock, and, for the
battledore, use the cramped foot, but apparently without
annoyance. I have seen, in a company of travelling
jugglers, a woman raise a four-legged table upon her
two club feet, balance it in the air, and turn it round
and round upon her two extremities, but without mani-
festing pain.

To conclude this long paragraph on the foot fashion-
able among the fair sex in China, I must declare that
any one acquainted with Chinese society should hesitate
in saying, as has been said in the “ Annales de la Propa-
gation de la Foi,” that “it is a great act of indecorum
to look at a woman’s foot;”? and to such a one the
fable will sound equally ludicrous (given in Murray’s
“China,” vol. ii. p. 266), “ that a lady presents her
feet as the surest darts with which a lover’s heart can
be assailed.”

CHAPTER IL.

LONG NAILS—THE FAN—PICTURES AND RICE-PAPER DRAWINGS—Pro-
CESSIONS—IVORY BALLS—LANTERNS—CHOPSTICKS—RAT-BATING AND
BIRD’S-NEST SOUP,

Long Nails.—In a European picture of a fashionable
Chinaman, his fingers are tipped with lengthy nails.
Certain specimens have come under my eye of nails
cultivated to extraordinary dimensions, both among
men and women in China,—to be interpreted as signi-
ficant of an easy life, or of devotion to literature. Not
unfrequent samples of affectation of gentility like this
occur, especially amongst custom-house officers, copyists,
writers, or pedants, that haunt the houses of wealthy
foreigners.

Ihave met with one fellow who went by the name
USES OF THE FAN. 15

“ silver-nailed ;” for, from their liability to be broken,
he had to shield his talons in silver cases; and in one
place I used to stumble on another, whose claws were
so long that, when he walked abroad, he had to “ sleeve
them,” or tuck them under his wide sleeves. Chinese
do not clip, pare, or bite their nails, as foreigners do.
But to wear inordinately long nails can, by no means,
be said to be a very common practice in China. It is
the exception to the general rule.

The Fan.—In the use of this there is no exception.
It is a universal appendage with both sexes and all
ranks,—in the southern parts, almost all the year
round ; in other parts, only in summer.

To a European, on his arrival, few articles will be
more novel than the fan seen in the hand or the belt of
male and female, rich or poor, soldiers, scholars, and
priests.

The workman who can spare a hand, is industrious
in flapping his fan with the one and labouring with
the other. I have seen an officer going to battle
waving his fan; and, on the authority of eye-witnesses
of the attack on the Bogue forts in 1841, the native
military were observed on those battlements coolly
fanning themselves “amidst showers of shot and shell.”
Instead of a switch or cane, the fop in China flourishes
his fan; and the schoolmaster turns it upon the cra-
nium or knuckles of the offending pupil. It appears
that the Japanese employ the article for a purpose
never witnessed in the Celestial country, as Dr. Sie-
bold says, “In Japan, a fan presented upon a kind of
salver to the highborn criminal, is said to be the form
of announcing his death-doom, and his head is struck off
at the same moment he stretches it towards the fan.”

The labourer, when he cannot use it, sticks it into
the back of his collar or girdle, or “sleeves it;” but
the man who can afford the luxury, slings upon his
belt a worked silk case for his fan.
16 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

The innocent article now spoken of, has less variety
in shape than in the material of which it is made.
Generally it is round, or leaf-like, or in the form of a
sector. The pattern is either stiff and open, or pliable
and folding; the former made of silk, palm-leaf, or
feathers,—the latter usually of paper, sometimes of fine
goose-feathers, or of beautifully carved ivory. Besides
being fashionable, one of the principal uses to which
the fan is appropriated, is that of @ screen. Every-
where, where people cannot afford something better,
they may be seen treading the streets under a broiling
sun, at 98° in the shade, with naught between their
bare heads and the scorching sun but a plain fan.
Natives fan themselves and their children to sleep.
Quite as commonly it answers the purpose of a refrige-
rator to cool the person. But so employed, it is not
flapped in the quick, hurried fashion of Europeans,
which must occasion much exertion, and actually raise
the temperature of the body. It is worked quietly,
gently, regularly, without exhausting one’s strength.
If I mistake not, i the season of heat and musquitoes,
no punishment could be severer to a Chinaman than
to deprive him of this valuable implement. The bulk
of the people, living as they do in narrow lanes, low
houses, and unventilated rooms, during the extreme
summer months find this article indispensable to their
comfort.

The native passion for pictures, drawings, and auto-
graphs, has large scope in the various fans abroad.
Made of silk and satin, they admit of a great deal
of embroidery-work. Paper fans have fancy sketches
on them, chiefly flowers. An infinite lot is constantly
on sale with maps and outlines engraven of one or
other principal city in the empire,—Nanking, Peking,
or Canton; and, having every street and lane named,
it forms a useful “guide” to a traveller visiting those
cities. Others have the “lions” and scenes of parti-
CILINESE PICTURES. 17

cular localities sketched out. There are few that are
without choice and classic sentences written on them.
The English taste for preserving in albums che souvenirs
of select friends, has its counterpart in the passion of
gentlemen in China, who, to obtain the autograph of a
friend, have only to purchase a plain fan, in which the
“elder brother”? is requested to pen a sentence or
two, sign and stamp it with his seal. This done, it is
kept or carried about by the owner as a valuable trea-
sure,—a rare curiosity.

Pictures and Rice-paper Drawings. The first few
days of my sojourn at Macao convinced me of, what
must be evident to a visitor at any Chinese port, the
native taste for pictures, and the desire of shopkeepers
to gratify what they well know to be a passion too
among all strangers, for drawings, paintings, &c. But
the best specimens to be obtained at Macao are not
to be taken as fair samples of the native unassisted art.
At Canton, Macao, and Hong-Kong, there has been
for years so much imitation of foreign productions, and
not a little improvement has gradually crept over the
designs of the native artists, from the influence of
Chinuery, an Englishman now deceased. That gentle-
man was for many years resident in Macao, and, much
to his credit, lent his aid in suitable suggestions and
instructions to some of the Canton draughtsmen;
Lamqua, for instance, known to foreigners for his
portrait-painting, and his younger brother, Tingqua, for
his sketches and miniatures. The effect of this upon
the native artists of Canton may easily be guessed.

Nevertheless, genuine specimens of uneducated artists
are to be found in the south, but especially at the ports
farther north.

The rude designs of their pencillings are such as
may be seen on the commonest ware, the finest porce-
lain, wood-engravings, or wall-scrolls. Although the
want of perspective is a glaring blunder in all their

c
18 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

delineations, yet, from the wood-engravings in their
topographies, or landscape sketches in their works on
husbandry, which every foreigner meets with now-
a-days, it is clear that experience has taught some of
them, that, in describing the more distant objects,
these should lessen in dimensions as they recede from
the point of view. But they have not detected, that the
more remote the objects become, to give effect to them,
the more should their outlines diminish in distinctness.
Well does Dr. Williams of Canton remark,* “ Objects
are as much exhibited as possible on a flat surface, as if
the painter drew his picture from a balloon, and looked
at the country with a vertical sun shining above him.”
Accordingly, in the grouping of different figures toge-
ther, they fail ridiculously. Only in single parts and
objects do they hit any likeness. In the ideography of
their written language, the pictorial representations of
some of their characters, though in short-hand, show
a singular similitude to the objects intended; as E
for “horse,” where the mane, tail, and legs, are
marked, and Fa for “door,” where the two posts of
a gateway are outlined.

For fidelity in sketching séngle objects, and setting
them off in colours, perhaps they are most happy in
the painting of dresses, birds, insects, and flowers.
Here they appear to copy nature with tolerable exact-
ness, and are greatly assisted by their various bright
and gay colours. Everywhere you find, from the pencil
of Chinamen never instructed by a European master,
pictorial representations of the attitude of birds and the
position of shrubs, that will surprise and please you, as
unexpectedly natural and drawn to life.

In their unassisted éssays at portrait-painting they
are certainly unsuccessful; their delineations of the
“human face divine” are so expressionless, and of the

* «Phe Middle Kingdom,” vol. ii. p. 173.
PORTRAITS OF THE EMPEROR. 19

human figure so out of all proportion and unnatural.
A piece with a group of human beings in it presents
to your eye a caricature ludicrous in the extreme.
Still, the Chinese are fond of pictures of men and
things. Many a family, bereaved of its paterfamilias,
is particular to have a portrait of the deceased hung up
in the centre hall of his residence.

These may be had at any hour and any place for a
mere trifle. Pictures for such an occasion are always
on sale, though the only similitude they bear to the
encoffined is a distressing opacity and lifelessness. Of
course their great men come under the pencil of the
artist; the fabulous heroes particularly. Recently,
foreigners of all grades—sailors and soldiers especially
—have not been less honoured, although presented in
the most comic shapes and costumes; and British
men-of-war, and “ smoke-ships” or steamboats, are
painted on paper fans and on cloth in shapeless forms
and outrageous daubs. The fantastic forms and colours
in which British subjects figure on their picture-books
might suggest that the pencil had purposely drawn
pasquinades and caricatures of Englishmen, if we were
not convinced that the native artists are so far in the
rear.

The local government of Peking has an “ Imperial
Hall,” in which there hang “ portraits of emperors,
empresses, sages, worthies, and celebrated ministers.”

Sir John Davis, in his “Sketches,” observes: “ It
would be the highest and most criminal act of dis-
respect in the greatest of his subjects to possess a
portrait or a visible representation of the ‘Son of
Heaven,’ the Emperor.” I apprehend this is not
quite correct; for I am personally acquainted with
native gentlemen, official and private, who have had
possession of portraits of the Emperor, and have not
concealed the matter. But, although they possessed
these pictures of imperial majesty, there was no pre-

c 2
20 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

tence that they resembled the person on the throne.
Since my return to England, I find that, on the break-
ing out of the Taiping insurrection, the Nuropean world
(certainly no¢ the Chinese) has been entertained with
portraits of the present reigning emperor and of his
insurgent antagonist.* It is not at all improbable that
the Chinese themselves have never seen those portraits :
and, from the general style of portraits taken by the
Chinese, it may be confidently asserted that these pic-
torial illustrations offered to the English public have
nothing of similitude to the grand personages intended.
Yet the writer of ‘ Christianity in China,” with the
two pictures before him, separately engraven on his
title-page, quietly sits down to elicit out of them the
Individual characters of the Emperor Hienfung and his
rival Taipingwang, and draws a contrast in the follow-
ing quotation: “Two portraits, one of the emperor in
China, and the other of the insurgent chief, the crowned
and the uncrowned; and, if we may judge from the
physiognomical representations, we had almost said the
woman and the man, the poltroon and the hero. Sup-
posing the accuracy of the representations, we should
deem the boy-emperor a weakling, and the insurgent
chief a man fit to lead the armies of an empire against
a Cesar or a Napoleon. Commanding intellect, deep
penetration, reflection, comprehension, intellectual
resources, directness, determination, dignity, daring,
—these are some of the attributes which the portrait
of the insurgent betokens. It is the finest Chinese
head we have seen; in fact, it can hardly be said to be
Chinese.”

Picture-painting in China is done on almost every
kind of surface. On ivory, glass, and paper they are
very successful. Paintings on leaves are remarkably
curious, but rare, and high in price. The tissue on

* Vide Callery’s “‘History of the Insurrection,” &c., and “ Chris-
tianity in China,” published by Orr & Co., Edinburgh.
CHINESE PROCESSIONS. 21

which this latter style is wrought is obtained from
various kinds of trees, —Jeaves of very close net-
work being preferred. After the soft part has been
removed from the leaf by maceration, the reticulated
skeleton is thoroughly dried and covered with isinglass,
and then the colours are laid on with pretty effect.

But of their drawings those on “rice-paper” are
most admired in Europe. By the name “ rice-paper”
the idea is conveyed that the soft, brittle ground of
velvety surface on which the brilliant colours are laid,
is made from rice-pulp. This, however, is incorrect. It
is apith of a plant of the bread-fruit genus, brought
from the western parts of China, chiefly to Canton,
where the manufacture of this paper and painting gives
employment to several thousand hands. The outline is
first laid on in Indian ink, by pressure. Then the
rough delineation is filled up with the varieties of exqui-
site colouring matter.

Processions.— Without question the Chinese are fond
of processions. But, from what I saw, they appear to
me to be more au fait at them in the south than the
north. Both at Macao and Canton, there are corpora-
tions that go to enormous expense in the outfit of these
parades. Chiefly they are got up in honour of the
genii loci, which for the occasion are ornamented and
promenaded. The members of the clubs are dressed
out very gaily, and march forth as attendants on their
penates, with all the pomp and tinsel they can muster ;
silk and satin flags, most elegantly embroidered ; bands
of music; tables laden with sacrificial offerings, decked
with flowers, images, and curiosities of every variety.
To add to the diversions, groups of pedestrians are
equipped in various military uniforms,—boys mounted
on ponies or hobby-horses not larger than wastiffs,
and aping the air, dress, and authority of mandarins,
and young girls, like fairies, perched on twigs and

branches of trees resting on men’s shoulders,
%
22 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE 1N CHINA.

Ivory Balls—Next, what shall we say of the carved
concentric ivory balls,—ten, twelve, or more, cut out,
one within the other? Jt has long puzzled people how
so intricate a piece of workmanship is fabricated. It has
been conjectured, that originally they are balls cut into
halves, so strongly and nicely gummed or cemented toge-
ther, that it is impossible to detect the junction, And
I have seen it deliberately stated, that attempts have
been made by some to dissolve the union by soaking
and boiling a concentric ball in oil,—of course, to no
purpose.

The plain solution, obtained by myself from more
than one native artist, is the following :—A piece of
ivory, made perfectly round, has several conical holes
worked into it, so that their several apices meet at the
centre of the globular mass. The workman then com-
mences to detach the innermost sphere of all. This is
done by inserting a tool into each hole, with a point
bent and very sharp. That instrument is so arranged
as to cut away or scrape the ivory through each hole,
at equi-distances from the surface. The implement
works away at the bottom of each conical hole succes-
sively, until the incisions meet. In this way the inner-
most ball is separated; and to smooth, carve, and
ornament it, its various faces are, one after the other,
brought opposite one of the largest holes. The other
balls, larger as they near the outer surface, are each
cut, wrought, and polished precisely in the same man-
ner. The outermost ball of course is done last of ail.
As for the utensils in this operation, the size of
the shaft of the tool, as well as of the bend at its
point, depends on the depth of each successive ba!
from the surface. Such is their mode of carving one
of the most delicate and labyrinthic specimens of work-
manship to be found in China or elsewhere. These
“wheels within wheels” are intended chiefly for sale
CHINESE LANTERNS. 23

to foreigners: and numerous specimens annually are
sent to England and America.

The Lantern.—There is another article on which
there is no little ingenuity shown by the Chinese,
namely, that which figures with some prominence in
European notions of China, —the lantern. Probably no
article of furniture in “the Celestial Empire” is more
in use. Upon it, as upon other things, the native work-
man illustrates the skill and industry with which he
can elaborate, and at the same time display a degree of
taste in the variety of forms and the fanciful colourings
in which the lantern appears. I am not now speaking
of what is everywhere to be found—the plain candle or
the simple lamp,—but what they call “tung loong,”
“lamp-basket,” “candle-cage,” the cage or basket in
which the light is lodged. Itis of all sizes and shapes,
and constructed of every sort of material. In dimen-
sions, it ranges from the half-farthing toy fora child, or
the penny hand-lantern for a poor man, up to the gor-
geous specimen as large as a moderate-sized sitting-
room, and measuring twelve or sixteen feet in diameter,
or valuing about £100 sterling! As for shape, this article
may be had in every imaginable form, round, square,
irregular, and like to birds, beasts, and fishes. So,
likewise the variety of material: the frame is generally
of wood, or bamboo, or wire, or basket-work,—overlaid
with silk, or paper, or glass, or horn, or cloth, or gauze,
or glue; upon which we have decoration, or carving, or
embroidery, or gilding, or painting.

In these “cages” oil or candle is used; but ot
gas-light they are totally ignorant. Their surprise
and ecstasy in witnessing a “good specimen of it is
unbounded. A native of China, himself a great traveller
in his own country, on visiting England in 1844, in
company with me, was remarkably taken with this mys-
terious hght. And in a few fugitive notes on England

 
Q4 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

and the English, published among his countrymen, he
makes the following remarks on this great curiosity :*
—“On the roadside there stand lamp-posts, with beau-
tiful lanterns, that, when lit at night, illumine the
whole expanse of the heavens. The gas which burns
in these lamps is produced from coal, and, without
question, is a most wonderful discovery; it jets forth a
flame of light brighter than either the wax candle or
the oil lamp can give. By it whole families enjoy
light, and thousands of houses are simultaneously
illuminated. In all the market-places and public
thoroughfares, it is as clear and bright at midnight as at
noontide, and, if I mistake not, as gay as our Feast of
Lanterns. In fact, a city that is so illuminated might
well be called ‘a nightless city ;’? for you may wander
about it till break of day without carrying a lantern, and,
go where you please, you meet with no interruption.”
Some lanterns are peculiar in construction. There
is a handy one, the frame of which is upon hinges, or
clasps. When not used, it can fold up, to be put into
a corner or a travelling-chest. The one in general use
is the transparent Jantern. This is constructed of long,
thin splinters, slit from bamboos, and woven into a
network upon a plain frame. Such work gives employ-
ment to innumerable hands. Care is taken to have
the open meshes of the lattice-work nearly of the
same size. The whole frame is glued over, to keep the
splints together; and when dry, a sheet of fine thin
paper is gummed over the frame. A coat or two of
glue and varnish is then brushed over the whole. This,
on drying, gives a transparency to the lantern. To
finish the article, a piece of wire is tied over the top,
by which it is slung on a stick, long enough for the
purchaser to hold it by as he walks about. Both the
top and the bottom of the lantern are open. The

* See Chambers’s Journal, No. 62, 1855, where almost the whole
paper is translated,
THE DRAGON LANTERN. 25

socket for the candle is fitted in at the bottom, to be
taken out and in at pleasure. To fix it in its place,
this socket has a light frame of wire stuck in it, which
rises up through the larger opening at the top, where it
is hooked on to the lantern-stick.

There is what is called “the dragon lantern.” This
is brought out only in spring and autumn, at a festival
observed throughout the empire, for propitiating some
fabulous monsters of the deep and the valley. This
huge “dragon” representative is composed of sixty or
eighty painted lanterns, jointed together, each of the
size and shape of a beer-barrel, with large tapers stuck
in the middle. The length of the symbolical figure
often exceeds 100 feet. At the one end there is an
enormous head with gaping jaws; at the other a
tremendous sweeping tail. To each joint there is fixed
a pole for supporting the lengthy train. In that man-
ner it is carried at night through the streets, or from
village to village, the bearers as they walk in procession
conveying to the corpus of the “dragon” a remarkably
undulating movement, sometimes wriggling, sometimes
writhing. As I have watched the “ dragon proces-
sion”’ at night crossing a flat country and through dark
lanes, it has had a most singular appearance, accompa-
nied as it always is in Chinese waits, by men and boys
shouting and screaming, with drums, gongs, and crackers,
all out of tune.

Among lantern-curiosities in China, I must mention
the tsow-na-tung, “the stalking-horse lantern,” occa-
sionally used on festive occasions. It is large, and
sometimes made of glass, with sockets for lighted tapers
interspersed within the massive form. The interior has
three or four light circular frames of wire, the one
above the other, according to the size of the whole
figure, each balanced upon small pivots. In these wiry
globes there are small wind-flaps, so arranged that the
draught of air rushing up from beneath sets them in
26 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

revolution ; and upon these light cylinders there are
perched figures of gaily-dressed women or warriors,
horses, and other animals. It is a fanciful automaton,
in certain localities very popular.

The common uses to which the lantern in China
is put are numerous,—some quite unknown in the
European world. At night, it is unusual for the
humblest individual to go the length of a street without
this article. Even when the moon is at its full, the
lantern is considered indispensable. After a purchaser
has selected his lantern, he has a painter to adorn it
with flowers or figures, or some wise maxim, or he writes
his own name uponit. Sedan-bearers and night watch-
men always carry their lanterns; and officers travelling
at night do not fail to display their titles upon huge
“cages” borne before them. The lantern is made
into toys for children, in the form of fishes, birds, and
horses; and not unfrequently an urchin, yet scarcely
able to walk, has his lantern-horse or phcenix.

But, will you believe it? Ihave been told by English
officers, who themselves took part in repelling a mid-
night attack on the British troops in possession of the
city of Ningpo in 1842, that, as the Chinese enemy, to
the number of 3,000 or 4,000, attacked the city gates,
they carried lighted lanterns overhead, so that they
became marks for the British muskets !

Chopsticks and Food.—An essential utensil with a
Chinaman is a pair of “chopsticks,” as foreigners call
them, from the nimbleness with which the instruments
are used.* For the same reason, they go among the
natives by the name kw’ai tsze, “quick lads.” Origi-
nally they were designated choo, the character for
which is compounded of the two signs for “‘ bamboo”
and “to help,” meaning “ bamboo aids;” called so,

* “Chop-chop” being used in the Canton-English brogue for
“quick, quick.”
EATING RATS, ae:

probably, because at first they were made of bamboo.
In these days they are made of common wood, or the
best ivory or silver. Chopsticks consist of two smooth
sticks of the size of a long lead-pencil, the upper half
square, the lower rounded. The two are taken up by
the middle, and in the right hand. They are adjusted
‘thus: the one “ nimble lad,” at its upper end, hes in
the hollow of the thumb and forefinger, and at its lower
is fixed in between the tops of the middle and third
fingers. This one is stationary. The other “lad” is
movable; it igheld only by the tips of the thumb and
forefinger. The couple act the part of pincers, and
serve for picking up meat, fish, or vegetables already
minced. In eating cooked rice, or any other grain, the
bowl is brought to the mouth, and “ the sticks” are
used in a particularly dexterous fashion to shovel in
mouthfuls of the grain.

In the higher ranks, Chinese tables are sometimes
supplied with a kind of spoon, generally porcelain,
rarely silver,—in shape resembling a child’s “ pap-
spoon.” It is fashionable, too, with the Chinese dandy
to sport his “quick-lads’ sheath” dangling from his
girdle. Often this is a case ornamented with tortoise-
shell, and not unusually it carries a long knife.

The question is oft repeated: “ Don’t the Chinese
eat rats? Do they devour mice?” &c. On this, I
observe, that in their cooking, and their articles of diet
too, they can impart to us some suitable lessons, and
instruct even a Soyer,—especially in places and times
of scarcity. At the same time, I might give facts
which would compel all to exclaim,—doubtless as a
Chinese would exclaim of the English, if he were
positively assured that we eat ox-flesh, or if the con-
tents of our huckster sausages were exposed to his
view,—‘ Non est disputandum de gustibus!” But of
roasted rats and stewed mice, or of animals of this
order cooked or eaten in any shape, I have never seen
28 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LITE IN CHINA.

the semblance, never heard a hint among the Chinese
themselves.

A man may be cast down to the lowest depths of
poverty, when he is glad enough to scrape and swallow
the dregs and offscourings about him; and, in a season
of sore famine, hundreds in a town may be driven to
devour what reptiles they may be able to catch. This
may happen in any country ;—but, for that reason, to
rank such abhorrent articles among the daily provisions
at a Chinese mess, is not only heedless, it is unfair.*

I find from the Alta California of Jume, 18538, that
a crusade was commenced against the Chinese in
California, and one ground of assault was the reported
addiction of the Chinese folk to rats, lizards, &c. The
editor of that paper wrote a leader on the 15th of June,
of which the following is an extract :—

“Tf there is one class of ‘nasty furriners’—as Paddy
pronounced all the Mexicans during the late war—more
il-favoured, unfortunate, and forlorn among us than
another, it certainly must be the Chinese. The length
and breadth of popular sentiment against them in
California is as a wide gulf, separating them more and

* In the Quarterly Review, January, 1857, there is a long and
curious article on ‘ Rats,” in which the following instructive passage
occurs :—“‘ The chiffonniers of Paris feed on them without reluctance.
Nor is rat-pie altogether obsulete in our own country. The gipsies
continue to eat such as are caught in stacks and barns, and a dis-
tinguished surgeon of our time frequently had them served up at his
table. They feed chiefly on grain ; and it is merely the repulsive idea
which attaches to this animal under every form, that causes it to be re-
jected by the same man who esteems the lubster, the crab, and the shrimp
a delicacy, although he knows that they are scavengers of the sea. In
the navy, they are not alwaysso nice. An old captain in her Majesty’s
service informs us that on one occasion, when returning from India,
the vessel was infested with rats, which made great ravages among
the biscuit. Jack, to compensate for his lost provisions, had all the
spoilers he could kill put into pies, and considered them an extra-
ordinary delicacy. At the siege of Malta, when the French were hard
pressed, rats fetched a dollar apiece ; but the famished garrison marked
their sense of the excellence of those which were delicately fed, by
offering a double price for every one caught in a granary.”
BIRD’S-NEST sour. 29

more every day from the hope of obtaining established
rights and privileges as citizens in the state. The
depth of degradation to which they are fallen in public
opinion is as the bottom of a deep pit, considerably
beyond the reach of means of extrication. They are
sunk immeasurably lower than the native Indians, in
the estimation of the miners,—lower than the beasts
that prey upon the flesh of inferior animals; for the
bear, it is said, will turn from tainted meat, whereas
‘John’ despises nothing of the creeping or crawling
kind. Rats, lizards, mud-terrapins, rank and indiges-
tible shell-fish, ‘and such small deer,’ have been, and
continue to be, the food of the ‘no ways particklar
Celestial,’ where flour, beef, and bacon, and other fare
suitable to the stomachs of ‘ white folk’ abound. It is
not to be wondered at, therefore, that the habits of the
Chinese in California should excite ineffable disgust,
and turn the stomach of the stoutest Anglo-Saxon.”

A week after, areply from a Chinese appeared,—writ-
ten, I believe, by a former pupil of the Morrison school
at Macao. I make the following selection from it :—

“Mr. Epiror,—I am a Chinaman, and thank
Shangti [God] that Iam. I was taught to read and
write after the English custom by‘a missionary at
Macao, whom I also thank, as I can understand and
appreciate the numerous acts of kindness shown to my
countrymen by the great Fa Kee [American] people,
especially the newspapers, whose delight it is to stigma-
tize my poor countrymen as a set of ‘nasty furriners
(Alta, 15th June), who are sunk so low in the depth of
degradation that extrication is impossible—lower than
the digger Indian, or the beasts of the field that prey
upon the flesh of inferior animals ;’ ‘ despising nothing
of the creeping or crawling kind;’ ‘rats, lizards, rank
and indigestible shell-fish, have been and still continue
to be the food of the no ways particklar Celestial ;? ‘utter
inapplicability and aversion to follow those pursuits

 
380 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

which our people insist they can only be useful in
filling” Now, what I want is your proofs to make good
your unkind statements. When or where did you ever
see any of my countrymen eat rat, lizard, or earth-
worm? Have you ever visited any of our provision
stores? Did you ever see anything of the kind? Did
you ever take the trouble of investigating, as you ought
to have done before condemning in such unfeeling
language our manners and customs? Or why do you
wish to create a feeling of prejudice against my country-
men through the columns of your paper? Are we not
already sufficiently ill-treated by those that profess to
know better—so much so that we cannot pass along
the streets without being subject to insult many times
of the vilest kind? Now, that you may know the truth
concerning some of our customs, know then (which
likely you do know), that our empire numbers nearly,
if not quite, one-half of the inhabitants of the earth; in
many places it is so densely populated that it should
not be considered a thing of such monstrosity that some
would be compelled to eat rats to prolong their lives.
But I have never seen it done, and I ought to know
and understand as well as any one the manners and
customs that have been handed down to us since the
days of Hu-LouTue. Then, why should our whole race
be reproached for doing what but a few ever did? and
what you think are worms, &c., are nothing more than
a species of crab or lobster, and other kind of meat cut
fine and dried, which you are pleased to term rank and
indigestible, fit only for the ostrich stomachs of ‘ John’

“Now, is it not an admitted fact, that good health
depends upon the kind of food used? Compare then
the sickness and deaths of our countrymen to that of
the would-be Christianized and civilized nations in
California—their number is as eight to one. Now,
who eats the indigestible food ?””

It is not my object to lengthen this paragraph by
BIND’s-NEST SOUP. od

additional remarks on the diet of the people. I have
only to add a word or two on “ bird’s-nest soup.” The
natives are doubtless fond of gelatinous stews and
broths. On this account, jfish-maws and sharks’ fins
stand high in the estimate of gourmands; but neither
so high as the edible “ bird’s-nest.””, When stewed,
made into a soup, or mixed with other meats, this is by
no means unpalatable, if my own taste can be trusted.
“Much misconception formerly existed in regard to
the substance of which these nests are composed ; but
recent scientific experiments have established the fact,
that they consist of a species of seaweed [or rather of
the mucilage of a seaweed], only found on the coast of
Java and other islands of the Indian Archipelago. The
quality of the nest varies considerably, according to the
situation in which it is found. Those who are connois-
seurs in the trade will select those nests which are found
ia the deepest recesses of the rocks. These are remark-
able for their great transparency, and, from being con-
tinually exposed to an atmosphere that is impregnated
with nitre, they necessarily imbibe a nitrous taste.” *

The bird that supplies this whimsical luxury for the
Chinese table is a small swallow, the Hirundo esculenta,
which builds its nest on steep precipices and rocks that
overhang the sea. It is found almost only in the
islands of Malaysia. But the price paid to gratify
this curious Chinese taste is very high. To procure
the delicacy, the risk to life alone is tremendous,—
from the lofty, deep, and dangerous caverns frequented
by the swallows; —and, when brought to the Chinese
market, the value is enormous,—the finest kind often
being sold at £800 for only a hundredweight, or about
twice the weight in silver! For this reason it can
appear only on the tables of the wealthy, and is not a
common dish with other classes.

* “Rambles in Java and the Straits,” 1852,
32

CHAPTER III.

WHAT OF INFANTICIDE, AND THE WANT OF BENEVOLENT FEELINGS
AMONG THE CHINESE ?

Infanticide in China.—The crime of infanticide is a
grave charge, which, for many many years, has been
brought against the Chinese nation with some array
of authority and solemnity.

It is thrown out from all quarters at random, and
without the slightest reserve or hesitation. It has
been the custom to expose it as the most horrible
feature of Chinese life,—indubitable and not to be
questioned, — that infanticide, especially of female
children, is a universal crime among all classes, the
poorer in particular. As a specimen of the accusa-
tion, take the following from a pamphlet published
three years ago, entitled ‘‘The Chinese, a Book for the
Day :’—

“There is, however, one crime which deserves more
than a passing notice, because it shows that ‘the dark
places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.’
Female infanticide is perpetrated among the Chinese
to a degree almost beyond belief. The practice is
carried to such an extent, that it may almost be said
to be patronized by the government, which does not
interfere to prevent it. According to Barrow, it is
tacitly considered a part of the duty of the police at
Pekin to employ certain persons to go their rounds at
an early hour in the morning with carts, in order to
pick up the bodies of such infants as may have been
thrown out into the street during the night. No inqui-
ries are made, l-ut the bodies are carried to a common
pit outside the city walls, into which all those that are
living, as well as those that are dead, are said to be
BARROW ON INFANTICIDE. 33

thrown promiscuously! The same author states that
the Roman Catholic missionaries attended daily at the
pit for the purpose of rescuing some of the victims, and
' bringing them up in the Romish faith. Mr. Barrow
further observes, that those of the missionaries with
whom he had daily conversation, during a residence
of five weeks in the emperor’s palace, assured him that
the scenes sometimes exhibited are such as to make
the feeling mind shudder with horror. Dogs and
swine are let loose into the streets at an early hour,
before the police-carts go their rounds. He calculates
the number of infants thus destroyed, in Pekin alone,
to be not less than 9,000 every year.

The testimony of Barrow is of the last century. His
visit to China was before 1800; and it is rather sin-
gular that not one, among the writers on China
who have travelled in the interior since his day, has
supported his statements by real facts. Not one has
spoken of seeing carts running through the streets in
the morning to clear away the dead bodies of these
outcast innocents, &c.—not one. Besides, if the evi-
dence of Barrow, like that of other writers, be examined,
it is not of what he had seen, but only what he heard.
Although he says he was resident in the imperial
palace for some weeks, he never took the trouble to
verify this rumour. He used to take walks and rides
about the capital, but he does not mention ever having
seen a single corpse of babe or adult.

Barrow asserts that police “carts go round the
streets,” &c.; but the streets in Chinese cities are
generally so narrow that no cart can pass along the
thoroughfare. As Tradescant Lay observes of Canton,*
“The streets are so narrow, that no cart could pass
through the principal thoroughfares; and, in the
absence of sewers, all the excrement of the city is

* « The Chinese as they are,” p. 47.
D
34 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

carried in large baskets, suspended from a pole, borne
upon the shoulders of men who get their living by this
kind of labour. I have met them more frequently
than I wished at this necessary yet filthy task, but °
never saw the dead infants in their vessels, nor heard
any of my friends say that such sights had fallen in
their way.”

Again, observes Barrow: “Swine are let loose into
the streets,” &c.—for what purpose, but to mutilate
the helpless little ones by satisfying their ravenous
cravings with their flesh and marrow ?

But (to quote my lamented friend Mr. Lay once
more) “in dealing with such a statement, one has
only to remark that pigs have always the honour of
being carried by two men when they happen to form
a part of the passengers in the streets. It was never
my good fortune to see any of these animals afoot, for
reasons which will be obvious to any one who has
visited a large town.”

I would not knowingly conceal aught of the cruelties
and sufferings of the Chinese; but, until I have better
evidence than Barrow’s, and as his bold assertions are
entirely opposed to my personal investigations on the
point, I have no hesitation in giving a flat denial to
any assertion like his, intended to impress the Euro-
pean public with the notion that infanticide is practised
among the Chinese with a shocking kind of system.
Indeed, it is a question that gives room for inquiry
whether this crime is proportionably greater in China
than in some countries nearer home.

From what I have seen, in their families, of their
parental affection, love of their offspring, and care of
their female children, I assert it to be a foul slander on
the Chinese people, to perpetuate in our publications
stories which impress the youthful mind especially with
the idea that they are so unnatural, wanting in feeling,
and given to the slaughter of infants, that hungry
INFANTICIDE NOT PREVALENT. 385

hogs and dogs are trained to watch the dawn of morn
as the hour for being let loose into the streets to cram
their stomachs with shreds of outcast babes, and that
dead-carts follow in their wake to scrape together the
mangled remains of the poor unfortunates.

But “is there no infanticide in China?” Although
T cannot recall a single instance of child-murder to
which I can bear witness, from personal observation
during my long residence in that country, and while
I cannot relate one specimen of “ the indifference
with which the crime is regarded,” I dare not say that
this unnatural crime has not stained the hands of the
Chinese. But that is not the question. It is averred
that this is “a common practice” in China, and treated
with levity by the people.

Are there no babe-murderers in England, or Scot-
land, or France, or Austria? Yet, who will presume
to ground a general accusation against the daughters of
Great Britain or France, upon the bloody crimes of a
few who deserve only to have their names blotted out
of the book of remembrance ?

Suppose a native of China, a reader of English (of
whom there are several now in China), were to peruse
our daily journals for a month, and to note down the
various cases that come up at the London police-courts
of infant-exposure or infanticide—what should we
think of his fairness and honesty, if he were to an-
nounce to his countrymen that the women of England
and the fathers were a set of the most heartless
wretches under the sun, for they were murdering their
infants, male and female, right and left? Not less
unjust is the fallacy to which many have come about
the prevalence of infanticide in the Chinese empire, on
grounds even more slender and shallow.

It is matter of regret to find that some who had
learned this popular notion at home, although they
have visited China, have not unlearned it there; which

D2
36 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

they might have done by impartial inquiry on the spot,
and by the use of their eyes as well as their ears. That
they adhere to it, can proceed from no other source
than from either ignorance, or prejudice, or the
tendency to retail fables,_not from personal observa-
tion. With all candour and frankness does Dr. Williams,
of Canton (a gentleman longer resident in China than
myself), observe of the Cantonese :*—“ Investigations
have been made about Canton, and evidence obtained
to show that this crime is comparatively rare, and not
at all countenanced by public opinion. The bodies of
children are not as often seen in the lanes and creeks
of Canton as those of adults; and the former are as
likely to have died natural deaths as the latter.”

There are well-meaning,. but not judicious, philan-
thropists that have visited China, who may have ascer-
tained from the lips of some natives that they have
murdered one or two of their infants; but they have
jumped to the conclusion, “ Ergo, all the Chinese are
babe-murderers!’? They may have gone to other dis-
tricts, the natives of which have scouted the idea of
perpetrating this horrible crime; but why have the
people in the former instance been believed, while the
denials of the natives in the latter have been regarded
as evasions of the truth, from fear of disgusting a
foreigner or from shame of detection, and the entire
population of 400,000,000 has been set down as giving
countenance to infanticide ?

Admit only that some parts of China, which are
regarded by the nation itself as the poorest and most
degraded of the eighteen provinces, have been fouled
by this diabolical sin ; then, it is published to the world
(as Sir John Bowring has done recently), “it is @ com-
mon practice in many provinces!”

Let it be granted, that, in certain places, at one time

* Middle Kingdom,” vol. ii. p. 260.

,
INFANTICIDE NOT PREVALENT. 37

or other (say 150 years ago, when Kanghi sat upon the
throne of China), what from sheer want or destitution,
the lowest classes of those districts have been found
guilty of this horrible enormity; but then (as Dr. Wil-
liams also justly remarks), from the conduct of these
wretches of that date, “the whole nation (up to the
present day) is branded as systematic murderers of their
children !”

Let the real fact be announced that, in some parts of
China there are conical mounds, or low buildings of
brick (which I myself have seen), used as depositories of
dead children; but the inference at once is made, that
these must be the slaughter-houses of the little inno-
cents of China: whereas the object of such erections is
to provide poor parents with convenient places in which
to bury out of sight infants that have died at birth or
from disease. A statement to this effect was made
two years ago by Sir John Bowring: “In many parts
of China there are towers of brick or stone, where tooth-
less—principally female—children are thrown by their
parents into a hole made in the side of the wall.’’*

That sentence was penned evidently to confirm his
notion that this inhuman practice is fearfully common
in China; although, with the same pen, he writes that
Chinese “ parents are generally fond and proud of their
children.” But his Excellency does not appear to have
inquired, and gives no room to the reader for a moment
to suspect, if the “toothless children” died a natural
death or not; but writer and reader summarily decide

* Journal of the Statistical Society.

+ In English law infanticide is a grave offence, but it treats the
accusation with equal gravity (Taylor’s ‘‘ Medical Jurisprudence,”
p. 378); and ‘‘to provide against the danger of erroneous accusations,
the law humanely presumes that every new-born child has been born
dead until the contrary appear from medical or other evidence. The
onus of proof is thereby thrown on the prosecution ; and no evidence
imputing murder can be received, unless it be made certain by medical
and other facts that the child survived its birth, and was actually
38 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

that they all did die by violence at the hands of parents ;
or, as the Times,* on quoting the above passage, infers,
“by a horrible inversion of custom, the Chinese seem to
make arrangements for the death of children as other
nations do for their lives. We have all heard of Pound-
ling Hospitals, and of those apertures in the doors
where an infant may be deposited when its parents
discharge themselves of its care; but from the recep-
tacles provided for discarded infants in China there is
no return.”

Further, it bas been often said, and is extensively
believed in Europe, that infanticide is treated with
indifference both by the government and the people in
cases of detection.

There is no doubt that, in some places, where ter-
rible scarcity and famine have visited the people, many
parents have, in a fit of desperation, exposed and even
slaughtered their children ; but at that the public mind
has revolted, as will be shown in the next section.
Foundling hospitals have long existed in China, and,
on an emergency, temporary asylums have been set on
foot.

Native tracts and official edicts (some of them of
rather antique date) are met with against “ the drown-
ing of female infants”’ These may naturally excite
suspicion that the crime has, at certain seasons and
places, existed to an alarming extent; but their very
publication, and those very institutions above-named,
forbid the hypothesis that a practice so shocking to
humanity “is regarded with indifference by the public
generally, and is patronized by the government.”

Sir George Staunton gives the following translation
of a part of the 319th section of the Penal Code of
China, and annexes a very appropriate note on the
living when the violence was offered it.” Be the accusation against
a nation as well as a person, “the onus of proof is thrown on the

prosecution.”
* March 12, 1857.
INFANTICIDE NOT COUNTENANCED. 39

charge of infanticide against the Chinese :—“ If a father,
mother, paternal grandfather or grandmother chastises
a disobedient child or grandchild in a severe and
unaccustomary manner so that he or she dies, the
party so offending shall be punished with 100 blows.
When any of the aforesaid relations are guilty of killing
such disobedient child or grandchild designedly, the
punishment shall be extended to 60 blows and one
year’s banishment.”

“It is manifest from this article,” says Sir George,
“that parents are not in any case absolutely intrusted
with a power over the lives of their children, and that,
accordingly, the crime of infanticide, however prevalent
at may BE SUPPOSED to be in China, is not, in fact, either
directly sanctioned by the government, or agreeable to
the general spirit of the laws and institutions of the
empire.”

The Want of Benevolent Feelings and Institutions in
China.—But, besides the vague charge of infanticide,
there is a general impression abroad, that a Chinaman
is utterly destitute of the softer and generous feelings
implanted in the human race. Cases are cited, the
truth of which may not be questioned, of instances of
inhumanity perpetrated by Chinamen. But acts of
certain villains (be they ruffians in high life or among
the humbler classes) are not to be charged on the
entire people. Unfortunately, however, there has been
too long encouraged, even among religious communities
in our country, a taste for illustrations of “ horrid
cruelty”? among the heathen, which tend much to
breed disgust and dread, rather than awaken godly
compassion or a fraternal concern to meet them as
men and brethren on the same platform of probation.
Indeed, is it not revolting, that, in our school-books,
juvenile magazines, and addresses to children, there is
too much done to pamper to this greed for stories of
the cruel and heartless features in heathen nations?
40 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE 1N CHINA.

Can this have a beneficial effect on the youthful mind?
Tales of horror are not likely to move the fine and
tender feelings of a juvenile heart. Besides, it is any-
thing but fair to the rising race to choke their minds
chiefly with monstrous and hideous notions of their
fellow-men ; as it is alike unjust to the pagan to pre-
judice the benevolent public by selections only from the
dark side of his nature.

During my residence in different parts of China, one
special topic of inquiry with me related to the existence
and conduct of benevolent institutions among the Chi-
nese; and, in giving in full the results of my observations
on this point, I have no scruple whatever.

Having just dealt with the question of popular in-
fanticide, I will now refer particularly to the existence
of institutions for the protection of foundlings of both
sexes, that exist in almost every chief city in the
“Flowery Land.”

The first of this class that I inspected in 1842, was
in the city of Ningpo.

As I reached the building, I observed on the left of
the outer porch there was a crib, large enough to
deposit an infant. Over the chief gate there were
emblazoned the characters for ‘“‘ nurture and protect
infants,” a sufficient index to the precise object of the
institution.

On crossing,the threshold, there opened a finely paved
square. Totheright and left, there were side doors with
a tablet on each, denoting “ milk-room,” or nursery.

A number of coarse-looking women were peeping
through the lattice, with babes at their breasts, and
boys and girls at their heels. These poor foundlings
formed a collection of the most dirty, ragged, little
objects I have ever beheld. The nurses each had charge
of two or three. At that time there were about seventy
male and female children on the foundation. I gained
admittance into the girls’ nursery, where there were
FOUNDLING HOSPITALS. 4t

thirty domiciles, in two or three rows, running the one
behind the other. The apartments occupied by the
housekeeper formed a great contrast in order, &c., to
the other parts of the establishment.

The object of the institution is to afford to outcast
babes, or the children of destitute parents, the protec-
tion and nurture of a home. Boys remain under its
roof until the age of ten or twelve, when they are hired
cut to service, or adopted by some childless parents ;
girls, until the age of fourteen or fifteen, when they
are engaged as domestic servants, perhaps taken into
concubinage, or oftener betrothed by a parent in behalf
of a son or grandson. ‘The institution is above 100
years old. It was erected in the first year of Kien-
lung’s reign, when it numbered twenty-four small
cabins. Since then it has been much enlarged, and
now consists of 100 rooms, with public halls and super-
intendent’s quarters.

The support it derives is from various quarters. Its
annual income is from money laid out at interest, private
donations, rent of houses, lands let out for return in kind
or money, and yearly contributions made by each of the
six districts in the department of Ningpo.

From “The Annals of Ningpo,” published nearly ten
years ago, it appears that the institution at that time
owned more than 200 acres of land granted by the
generosity of its supporters; and, in the fortieth year
of Kienlung’s reign, his majesty ordered the city and
district of Ningpo to contribute annually forty stone
of paddy, and the other six district towns of the same
department respectively thirty-six stone of paddy, “so
that the nurses and foundlings might be supplied with
monthly rations, and whatever medicine they may
require.” Besides the resident manager, there is
appointed a government inspector, who takes general
cognizance of the affairs of the institution, principally
to check extravagance, or prevent embezzlement.
42 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

Foundling hospitals in China are by no means of
recent origin. A native writer, in one of the reports
of the Shanghai Foundling Institution, observes: “I
regard the plan of this asylum as similar to the method
adopted during the Chow dynasty (B.c. 1120—B.c. 250),
of relieving orphans in the spring and summer seasons.
So likewise, during the Han dynasty (B.c. 220—a.p.
250), the emperors used to supply, from the public
granaries, both orphans and those who had children
which they had no means of supporting. Again, in the
Sung dynasty (4.p. 960—1270), im one place and at one
time, 500 acres of land were appropriated by govern-
ment to the erection of buildings for the reception of
castaway children.”

Nor is it rare, as already intimated, to meet with
institutions of this nature in other parts of China.

In Shanghai, there is one founded in the year 1710.
The following description of it, taken from notes made
during my last visit to it, in 1852, is extracted from
Chambers’s Journal, No. 185, in which I was permitted
to insert it :—

“Tt stands in the south-east part, and near the centre
of the city, in a retired lane; where, over an unpre-
tending gateway, there is the inscription on stone,
Yuhyingtang—‘ The Hall for Nourishing Infants.’ The
first thing that attracts your attention is a drawer at
the right side of the entrance. Curiosity led me to pull
it out, and I found it nicely wadded with cotton. On
shutting it, I heard a bell tinkle inside the building ;
and it was explained to me that this drawer was meant
for the deposit of any babe brought there by day or
night. That due notice may be given to the inmates,
the drawer, as soon as it slides back, touches a
spring that pulls a bell; and then the porter hastens to
open it, and introduce the live contents to the resident
director.

“ Upon entering the building, I counted twenty-four
FOUNDLING HOSPITALS. 43

indoor foundlings, chiefly infaut girls, and among them
maimed, blind, and idiots. To one child in particular
my attention was called—a deaf mute eleven years of
age. Of outdoor patients they had at that time 100 on
their books. The nursery apartments were small, with
cots humble, but sufficiently comfortable for the nurses.
Some low empty barrels were pointed out, which, I was
told, were used for lodging the little creatures, to relieve
the nurses’ arms when their charges became too heavy,
or began to creep about. These child-barrels are about
the ordinary height of a crawling infant, and full of
straw, into which the piccaninny is put, and kept erect
and out of harm’s way. Of hired wet-nurses, I saw
several, some of them in charge of two or three babes ;
and all were young, and appeared more healthy, clean,
and good-looking than women generally of the lower
orders. I was introduced to two resident officers, onea
medico in his surgery, rather respectable in appearance
and bearing. They informed me that, as the children
grow up, they are adopted into families, or betrothed,
or sent out to service. But no more accurate descrip-
tion can be given of the establishment, its objects and
working, than in its annual reports, of which I have
two specimens, one (for the year 1849) presented me on
my last visit.

“ Perhaps the most curious and instructive part of
that report is the rules of the institution. A list of
fourteen of these is given, which are too long and
minute for more than a brief summary of the more
important. These provide that the friends of the
society shall meet every fortnight in the building,
when, after paying their respects to the patron idol,
they shall inspect the children, inquire into the conduct
of the nurses, and give them their allowances in money
and food. Under another head, the examination to be
given to each foundling on entering is detailed in the
following terms:—‘ The officers of the establishment
44 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

must try to find out the year, month, and day of the
child’s birth; the lines and form of the fingers must
be inspected; * likewise whether all the senses and
members be perfect, and if there be on the body any
scars or sores: all these particulars must be registerea,
and the child may then be given to cne of the nurses
to suckle.’

“Special attention is called to the hiring of wet-
nurses, on which subject a whole paragraph is bestowed.
‘Nothing can be so important in the rearing of infants
as to select suitable wet-nurses. This ought always to
be attended to with caution. Should any woman wish
to obtain such a situation in our establishment, her
own husband may come and give in her name, or a
relative may do so, or a neighbour: but they must
likewise stand security for her. The resident officers
must then see that she is really able to suckle. If she
be approved of, let her full name be entered on the
lists ; and when the foundlings are brought in, let them
be distributed among these wet-nurses, as need be.
Let there be constant vigilance to ascertain whether
these women prove neglectful of their charge, or pass
the children over to other hands, or exchange the
children amongst themselves, so as to avoid trouble,
or, what is worse than all, whether they have sent their
own children into the building, and then offered them-
selves as nurses, for the sake of gain... .. It is the
duty of the officers of the establishment to make all
these inquiries. Should any of the nurses be charged
with light offences, dismiss them at once, and appoint
others in their stead; but for more serious offences, let
them be handed over to the justice of the law.’

“The eleventh rule requires due clothing to be pro-

* The object of this is to prevent or detect any kind of smuggling or
exchanging children belonging to the institution. Thus, prisoners and
exiles have generally the wrinkles and lines upon their hands carefully
examined and registered, to prevent evasion, &c.
FOUNDLING HOSPITALS. 45

vided for the children, and prescribes that ‘in the third
month there shall be given each foundling a calico
shirt and a pair of trousers; in the fourth, a breast-bib
and mosquito curtains; and in the eighth, a cotton
jacket and petticoat, a cap, stockings, and a wadded
coverlet. All these articles must have the mark of the
establishment stamped on them, and whenever they
are given out, must be registered in the books. The
nurses are forbidden to pawn them. Each year,
exactly as each season expires, the clothes must be
duly changed, and should any child die or be adopted,
they must be restored to the establishment.’ Again :—
‘ An infant that has been deserted, has been deprived
of the regard of both father and mother; but our
institution engages to receive and train it up. Now,
after that child has by adoption been transferred by
us into other hands, if any one should falsely assume to
be its father or mother, and by force carry it off, the
only appeal against such savage villany is just to lay
the written engagements between the board and the
adopting family before the magistrate, and hand the
offenders over to justice. Moreover, ‘ our asylum pro-
vides only for taking charge of deserted infants; so,
should any persons recommend their own child to be
suckled by the nurses of this house, on the plea that
the mother is sick or dead, or bring any child of three
years old and upwards that can feed itself and walk—
no such case can for a moment be entertained, and we
shall appeal to the magistrate for support.’

« Finally, ‘as to the adoption by families of found-
lings from our establishment—the male children must
be adopted according to all the rules and rites of legi-
timacy, as if the adopting parents were childless ; then
there need be no more trouble about them. But about
the girls, to prevent their being taken away merely to
be reared for concubinage, or made objects of purchase,
or reserved for other vile purposes, the superintendent
46 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

of the institution, unless he be already thoroughly
acquainted with the contracting parties, must first of
all inquire about the occupations of the said persons,
so that he may be quite certain that the child is not
to be doomed to debasement of any kind. But even
then, previous to any formal transfer of the girl, let
due securities be taken from the relatives and neigh-
bours of the parties. This being a point of first-rate
importance, let the utmost caution be exercised in it.’
** One of the annual reports of this institution winds
up with an appeal for increased support from the public
in these words : ‘ Suppose that, for the sake of kindness
to our fellow-men, especially those destitute creatures
that are fatherless and motherless, every one among
the benevolent in this neighbourhood were each day to
contribute only one cash (or about one-seventh of a
farthing), this would be sufficient to support all the
foundlings in this house for one day. Now, it would
be well if each person were not to set down a little
good as unmeritorious, or the most trifling donation as
useless. Who knows but by this act you may lead
others to follow your example? By the vernal breath
from your own lips, either you may nourish a blade of
benevolence in the field of happiness, or you may
cherish the bud already sprouting. By promptly taking
advantage of any opportunity when offered, for accom-
plishing your object, you may greatly promote the kind
aims of this institution, at which we shall be mightily
pleased.—Respectfully addressed to the public by the
committee of the Shanghai Foundling Hospital’ ”
Although infanticide and “the drowning of female
infants,’ may have been, in certain places, or at parti-
cular times, the occasion of such solicitude and generosity
on the part of the thinking public as to encourage the
erection of Foundling Asylums,—it is scarcely to be
doubted that the human heart in China, asin other parts
of the earth, has had the spark of kindness Hit up, if not
FOUNDLING HOSPITALS. A7

fed, by the harrowing scenes that have often occurred,
and unfortunately still happen in times of starvation
and flood along the river banks. By these frightful
visitations whole districts have been swept away, and
hundreds of infants have been, not cast away, but left
in the neighbourhood and grounds of “ well-to-do
people,”—in the last moment of desperation, by parents
who could no longer endure the infant cries of hunger,
and hoped that an unknown Samaritan might pass by
to pick up the little charge and satisfy its cravings.

I remember well the spring of 1850, when, in con-
sequence of severe famine in the interior, Shanghai and
its environs were haunted by thousands of beggars.
They were not people of the locality. They came from
farther up the country,—many from the banks of the
Yangtze and Yellow rivers. They covered the face of
the country like locusts. And the wretched beggars,
forming gangs and parties pressed with hunger, made
their vociferous demands.

To relieve the distressed multitudes, charities were
solicited by the provincial and local governments, and
the smallest contributions were encouraged. The rich
gentry and the middle classes all united in the good
work,—opening subscription-lists and grain-stores. In
some instances, contribution-lists were opened in shares
not exceeding 100 copper cash, or about fourpence.
The foreigners were glad to throw their mites into the
benevolent scheme. But not the least important and
effective was a temporary asylum got up by the native
gentry of Shanghai, solely for the shelter and support of
destitute children. It lay outside the south gate of
the city, and was called the “ Asylum for Outcast
Children.”

Having had a good opportunity, by personal inspec-
tion, of acquainting myself with its object and opera-
tions, I can readily speak of it. The asylum was but
temporary,—only for a few months, to meet the peculiar
48 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

exigencies of the juncture. The range of buildings was
run up in a few days,—extending over four acres of
land. It was divided into one hundred apartments, all
on one floor,—some fifteen feet square, some thirty feet.
They were flagged below, where the children ate and
played; had lath partitions, and were fitted up with
sleeping-compartments raised a few feet above the
ground. The number of children, when I visited it,
amounted to 2,000, one-third of them girls. Each child
was well clad, and seemed well fed. <A ticket was put
on each, and a minute registry kept of the place from
which the child was brought; so that, on the breaking
up of the asylum, it might be restored to its proper
guardians. They were portioned off in twenties for
each compartment, and placed under an aged matron,
who had the charge of their food, clothing, medicine, &c.
The average ages were between three and ten. It was
said, those found under three were sent to the Shanghai
Foundling Hospital already spoken of, and any above
ten years were declined. Wherever the innocent little
sufferers were found, they were taken up and minutely
questioned as to age, surname, and parents. I fully
believe that of this family of children, numbers were
not cast out by the parents to the intent that they might
not live, but were sent out or left on the roadside in
the expectation that their offspring might live on public
bounty, fed and clothed, as was done in this institution.
This act of benevolence on the part of the Shanghai
natives was unsuggested by foreigners. It was set on
foot by themselves, encouraged by the local magistracy,
and carried out by the united effort of a kind-hearted
public. And I must add that the entire order in the
establishment was, as far as my inspection served, most
surprising, and the arrangements admirable.

Of other philanthropic societies, I give the follow-
ing, as found during my residence at Ningpo, with
additional notes collected subsequently.
PROVIDENT ASYLUM. 49

Ist. The Tsing Kiehtang, or “ Virtuous Hall,” is a
retreat for poor widows that have lost their earthly
ali. The building at Ningpo had been erected under
the sanction of government, but chiefly by private con-
tributions. Admission is also granted to maidens whose
intended husbands have died prior to marriage, and who
have, in consequence of their bereavement, taken upon
them the vow of perpetual virginity.

In most of their principal cities, some provision is
made for destitute widows. At Canton, for instance,
there was a fund for the relief of this class, which was of
comparatively recent origin, opened only in 1820. The
government united with the gentry in supporting and
managing the fund. The allowance to the widow was
small, only £1. 13s. per annum, but enough to supply
her with some food for a time. The number on the
fund has amounted to 1,500 women. Not long ago,
the public authorities made loud complaints that some
of these widow ladies, on getting married again, sold
their tickets instead of returning them, and that the
relatives of others who had died had done the same.
This formed a kind of parish relief in Canton; yet
those who had kindred on the spot did not like the
exposure of their names and circumstances—points
elicited in getting these alms; so that the chief appli-
cants were widows whose relations lived at a distance
from the city.

2nd. The Yangtse-yuen, or the “ Provident and Relief
Asylum,” at Ningpo, was a government building, de-
signed to afford shelter to the infirm and disabled. Here
the halt, the maimed, the lame, &c., met to sympathize
with each other and receive a slight expression of
paternal concern from the heads of government.

The larger cities throughout the empire—where both
poverty and wealth are stalking through the streets—
offer some such refuge to the numberless objects of
pity that float about the lanes and alleys. However, as

E
50 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

in every other land under the sun, the arrangements
are by no means adequate to meet the necessities of
indigent refugees, or to suppress beggary. According
to some intimations, it appears that only “a lmited
number” is statedly favoured with provisions from
the Imperial treasury, while “the excess” only just
tastes of the good things the Imperial heart would con-
fer if the coffers of the nation were fuller. As soon as
those on the list die off or disappear, their places are
readily filled up out of the mob of clamorous candidates.
There seems to be one individual appointed by the local
authorities to superintend and keep in order the inmates
of this retreat. If these, his protégés, be found beg-
ging in the streets, or rather, if complaints be reported
of their noisy alms-begging, he has authority to check
their vagrant and violent dispositions.

Thrown as they all were into one building, itself com-
fortless, inconceivably so from the dirty and irregular
habits of its occupants,—respectable natives of Ningpo,
though themselves not of the “ first water,” spoke of it
with significant shrugs and gestures, so that I cannot
hold out the notion that, in neatness, order, and clean-
liness, it can resemble the “ poor-houses” of Great
Britain. However well becoming a patriarchal govern-
ment as that of China, various circumstances render
this provision for the outcasts of society almost useless
and inefficient. Not the least drawback is the notorious
and devilish cupidity of the managers, who do not
hesitate to enrich themselves by drawing largely upon
the public allowances for the famished and helpless.
Doubtless, too, this passing remark may fall on most of
the philanthropic institutes in the empire of China.

As a natural consequence, observe the crowds of
pitiful objects in human form that haunt the streets
and parade from shop to shop, house to house, raising
their importunate and ceaseless din for “cold greens,”
“cold rice,” “ cold tea.”

 
me

at
AS

 

STREET BALLAD SINGERS: Curnese AIR.

 

Shwoh fung yang hwa fung yang fung-yang yuen she ko haou te fang:

 

Tszetsung chuhliaow choo hwang te shih nien taou yew kew_ neen hwang:

 

San neev shuy ta san neen han san neen hwang chung kiang tsai yang:

 

Ta hoo jin kia mai teen te siadu hoo jin kia mai urh lang:

 

Ngo kiamuh yew urh-lang mai pei liaou hwa koo shang kiai fang.
LIBERAL ALMSGIVING. 51

Early in the morning, no sooner has the bustle of
business begun to wake up within the city walls, than
(as I have repeatedly witnessed, at Ningpo for example)
bands of blind, lame, and scurvy beggars enter in Indian
file, and divide off at certain points in gangs, to press
their claims on the pity and the purses of shopkeepers
and householders.

The utility of music is fully appreciated by these
beggars, as valuable in expressing their wants and in
exciting the pity of passengers; but to European
notions of harmony, it does not deserve the name of
music. Nevertheless, however unscientific Chinese
music may be, its power of association over the people
is marvellous; for a native of the “middle kingdom”
would far rather hear a band of their ballad-singers
whining their unearthly twangs, than listen to the
heavenly warblings of the nightingale of the West, the
far-famed Jenny Lind.

If you can master it, as a specimen of their vocal
music, take the Chinese air in the opposite page set to
English notes. The Chinese words are placed under-
neath, and the followmg may be given as a general
translation. :

THE SONG OF THE FUNG-YANG BEGGAR.

Fung-yang* bright,—fair to view,

During ten years’ reign of the Emperor Choo:
Then came deluge, three years’ drought too—
Three years’ locusts,—woe after woe.

Rich man field sold, poor man child sold ;
Childless and landless, too, wretched I,

A houseless wanderer, must beg or die.

Besides vocal music, playing on instruments is also
ealled into use by these pilgrim-beggars, in order to call
the attention of passers-by, and dispose them to the
exercise of charity. On approaching, you are flattered

* A district in Nganhwuy province.
E2

 
52 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

and entreated. Should your hand move quickly and
be liberal, ten thousand blessings are lavishly poured on
your happy head; but ill-luck to the hard heart and
hand that withhold a cash.

Liberal almsgiving is not unusual in China. At
Canton, a rich lady, during the cold weather of 1832,
distributed 500 warm jackets among the aged and
infirm poor of that capital; and at Shanghai, in the far
north, it was no uncommon thing, in the depth of winter,
to find a merchant, or some benevolent family, or a
committee of natives, subscribing to supply the desti-
tute with clothing, and get up “kitchens” for boiling
rice and tea, to be distributed by tickets among the
poor multitudes.

In this manner, the wealthy occasionaliy devise liberal
things for their fellow-creatures, and gain for themselves
the smiles of the emperor, as well as the benedictions
of the poor.

Drought, inundation, hailstorms, pestilence, and war
call forth from time to time the special benevolence of
the imperial government, as noticed in the Peking
Gazettes, along with the sums of money or supplies of
grain granted.

Thus, in 1842 and 1843, owing to the distresses in
which especially Ningpo and its neighbourhood had
been involved in the broils with England, the emperor
resolved on soothing the people there with tokens of
royal bounty, and distributed a sum of money among
the unfortunate classes in the several cities of Ningpo,
Chinhai, and Tinghai, where they had been haunted
by the horrors of war. Those whose claims were
acknowledged by duly appointed commissioners, had
the character A marked over their doors, denoting
“‘examined and approved of.” And in my daily
walks in Ningpo and its suburbs, my eye used to fall on
hundreds of these official marks. The distribution was
LIBERAL ALMSGIVING. 53

to continue for three months in succession. In the
department of Ningpo, it was calculated, by one in
authority, that, in 1843, there were 200,000 of these
beneficiaries. Farther north, in the province of
Kiangsoo, that same year, and in consequence of similar
disasters, notwithstanding the enormous draught made
on the imperial treasury by the demands of the British
government, in consideration of the distresses of the
people the government sold rice out of the public
granaries at half-price for four months, which tended:
much to the relief of the lower classes.

With the Kwangse insurgents, it has been a.
favourite accusation against the reigning dynasty,
published in their national protest, that, “ Whenever
there is famine from drought, the emperor does not
show a particle of commiseration for the people; but,
while multitudes are starving to death or wandering
about in search of food, and the bones of those that
have perished lie about exposed like grass on the earth,
these Mantchoos just sit and look on, only too glad to
see the Chinese population gradually diminishing.”
The facts I have already mentioned give the lie to
this. It is known, also, among the people, that the
policy of the imperial government is to exhaust all
means to soothe and supply tke people in distress.
Doubtless, in many cases, through the knavery of the
intermediate agents, embezzlement and oppression
exist, so as completely to thwart the intentions of the
imperial heart. But more facts on the other side could
be given indicative of the paternal regard of the throne
for the people. It is only in 1849, that, on account of
a violent inundation near Soochow, the Paris of China,
the poor outcast peasants there, and others, had, for
four months successively, 2 monthly allowance from
the imperial treasury of 900 cash, or 2s. 6d., to each
adult in distress; and 600 cash, or ls. 8d., to every
young person.
54 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

One line of conduct pursued by the military leaders
of the English forces in 1842, at such places as were
visited by them,—that proved successful in reconciling
myriads of the poor to their misfortunes, and in
gaining a good name for the conquering heroes,—was
the liberal and cheap distribution among them of rice
found in the government granaries which fell into
British hands. On more than one occasion, I have
been present at a “rice-dispensary,” opencd at Chinhai,
during our occupation of that citadel. The claims of
hunger, as well as the low price of the rice, urged the
starving population of every age and sex to hasten to
their “barbarian” friends, from whom they received
this timely token of concern for their terrible wants;
and the name of Lopat-tan (Robert Thom), then acting
Chinese interpreter and magistrate at Chinhai, who
headed this charitable movement, is deeply engraven
on the memory of hundreds and thousands in that
vicinity.

3rd. Medical Dispensaries exist in this country for
the purpose of examining the sick and diseased, and
administering medicine free of charge. I was not able
to find any special institution of this character at
Ningpo, except a branch department connected with a
general benevolent society mentioned below; yet I
have good native authority for saying that they exist in
cities of the first magnitude. But, from all accounts, it
is to be apprehended they are inoperative, on account
of the narrow and illiberal principles on which they are
worked.

In a native description of the city of Canton, I find
that, “some centuries ago, a public medical dispensary
was got up, with a view to furnish the poor sick with
medicines ;” but, adds the author, “for a long time the
establishment has been closed.” Up to 1853, there
was a public dispensary at Shanghai, raised, supported,
and managed only by the native residents. It was set
MEDICAL DISPENSARIES. 55

on foot in 1845. The report for that year observes:
“In the rivers about Shanghai, we have the day and
night tides; but in the branch streams and canals, where
there is no tide, the water becomes stagnant. The
water of the wells is affected in the same way; and,
accordingly, the people who live in those vicinities
suffer from the damp and malaria, and are cut down
by disease... ... Hence, during the summer and
autumn, much sickness prevails among them. Those
who have the means perhaps call in a physician. This
is all very well. But, when the poor are victims to
these malignant influences, and are unable to procure
medical aid, how terrible are the consequences! Now,
is it not far more praiseworthy to provide for people
when they are alive, than to do so by procuring coffins
for them when they are dead ?”

These imperative reasons, it is stated, induced many
benevolent individuals to open the dispensary. By the
printed report of 1845, above 13,000 patients attended
during the first three months. The regulations of the
establishment are most punctiliously laid down on
black and white, of which I can only offer the reader
the essential points; namely, that “as it is a benevolent
society, in the expenditure there must be marked pru-
dence and rigid economy :” that “the physicians, on
giving advice, are not to take fees:” that “ each patient
must be attended to in turn, and not strive to be seen
before his turn:” “the physicians must not either, on
account of wind or rain, absent themselves from their
posts.” Twenty-nine practitioners are named as having
severally given their aid for the year. The subscrip-
tions for the year exceeded £150; still a small balance
remained after deducting the expenditure. Two-thirds
of the expenditure went to defray medicines; the re-
maining third was spent on “ miscellaneous expenses,”
or expenses on account of the officials about the estab-
lishment—the list of which may amuse the reader :—
56 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

“ Dinners for physicians and attendants ; flour cakes
for dinners and luncheons; dinners to the apothecaries ;
physicians’ boat-hire and postages ; altar candles; tea;
tobacco ; 200 writing-pencils, and 400 ink-sticks ; five
subscription-books ; paper for writing prescriptions on ;
folding paper for making up medicines; red placards ;
seventy prescription-books ; registry-books ; powder-
envelopes ; tickets for patients ; cooks’ wages; paper on
which to put plasters; seven teapots; twenty towels;
subscription-papers ; engraving physicians’ stamps; rice-
baskets ; and twenty-two tobacco-pipes,” &c.

4th. An Asylum for the Blind existed in Canton in
1832, a notice of which I extract from the first volume
of the Chinese Repository :— “The magistrates have
issued a proclamation concerning this governmental
institution, requiring all the blind to appear in person
and show their tickets for examination. There appear
to be 2,394 blind people, both men and women, that
receive an allowance of something under one shilling
a week. This is insufficient for food, and they are
allowed to beg, sing, &c., for the sake of additional
subsistence.”

5th. There has been also a Leper Hospital, or Ma fung
yuen, at Canton, where leprosy of the most hideous and
incurable form has numerous victims. In 1882, the
patients here numbered 341; supported at an expense
of only £100 per annum !

6th. A Vaccine Establishment has been maintained
at Canton by the natives since 1805. Vaccination was
first introduced among the Chinese by Alexander Pear-
son, surgeon of the East-India Company’s factory at
Canton. Dr. Pearson also opened this “ Vaccine Insti-
tution,” and wrote a short treatise on the theory and
art, which was translated into Chinese by Sir George
Staunton. Since then, however, it has been entirely
maintained by the natives themselves, who learnt the
art from Dr. Pearson of checking small-pox by vaccina-
BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES. 57

tion. Native practitioners attend regularly. The merits
of this novel introduction are wide-spread through the
most important districts. In other parts of China, inocu-
lation is said to be practised among the Chinese, occa-
sionally on the’ tender lining membrane of the nostrils.

7th. There used to be at Shanghaia Humane Society,
or Kew-sang-chuh, a society to rescue drowning people.
I know not whether it exists now; but, previous to the
occupation of the city by the piratical brigands of 1853,
the institution stood on the bank of the river outside
the great east gate.

It provided that, in case any person fell into the river,
boats should be at hand to pick him up. If picked up,
means for restoring life were adopted,—such as placing
the unfortunate man on his back, and inverting a
large boiler over his abdomen! ‘The result expected
from this operation is, that the water by which the
patient has been choked will ooze out at the nose, “on
account of the connection between his distended abdo-
men and the empty space of the boiler!” Another mode,
recommended in the prospectus, for restoring animation,
is to “hang up the patient by his feet on the shoulders
of another man, and then stop up the anus with a lump
of cotton, as a motion might prove fatal. The conse-
quence will be, that water will flow out of the mouth,
and thus life will be saved !”

8th. Almshouses for old men, erected and supported
by public contributions, exist in most of the principal
towns. At Hangchow, in 1848, they boasted of 500
“ destitute aged men” belonging to such an institute,
enjoying the shelter and protection necessary and
suitable at their time of life.

9th. At Shanghai, the writer found two benevolent
institutions of a general character,—the one in the
south part of the city, called Tung-shen, or “ United
Goodness Hall;”? the other outside the north gate, the
Tung-jin, or “ United Benevolence Institution.”
58 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

The latter seemed: to be the more prosperous, yet
their objects were one and the same; the following
for instance:—To show pity to the widow; to provide
for aged men; to distribute coffins among the poor;
to look after the cemetery for the poor; to supply
water in case of a conflagration ; to support the free
schools; to supply the poor with warm clothing and
food in winter.

10th. But at Ningpo there was the Te-jin-chuh,
or “ Practical Benevolent Society,” which particularly
attracted my attention.

It was set on foot in 1834, chiefly at the instigation
of two native gentlemen, who contributed largely of
their own property, and induced many wealthy citizens
to join them in some effective measures for the relief of
the popular misery, then aggravated by the hard times
of that year. Its precise views may be understood from
this digest, drawn out of its report of 1836, which I
have lying before me. Its objects are: —

“ To take care of outcast infants.”’—The report states
that the founders had their pity moved by the harrowing
scenes of famished, screaming, and pining babes which,
having been deserted by parents in consequence of the
severe famine of the season, they saw lying along the
roads and highways.

“To provide raiment for the poor during the cold
winter”’—The report intimates that, in 1835, grants
of clothes were made to the Foundling Hospital and to
numerous beggars in town and country,—to the latter
especially, a coarse paddy-sack covering the whole person.

“ To supply the poor with coffins.””—By printed state-
ments in my hands, it appears that, in that same year,
151 coffins were provided for destitute families, at an
average expense of five shillings.

“ To bury those found dead, at least those unrecog-
nized.”’—Under this head the society had, in 1835, to
provide for 279 adults and children.
BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES. 59

“To gather the scattered bones of the dead,” lying
about the burial-grounds. This is a mark of respect
periodically paid to the relics of those who already
have been committed to the dust, but whose coffins,
from age, have broken up. When the bones are col-
lected, they are transported to the cemetery belonging
to the society. The coffins in which the scattered
bones are placed are not large, and one year they num-
bered 647.

Perhaps the most forbidding spectacle witnessed in
the neighbourhood of a Chinese city (e. g. Ningpo) is
the exposure of coffins, many of them old, dirty, and
dilapidated. Those I encountered in 1842 and 1843 lay
chiefly along the foot of the ramparts. Some had gone
to pieces from sheer rottenness, and others (especially
the more recent) had been rummaged by thieves and
hungry dogs. But these coffins, which form so unplea-
sant a part of a traveller’s prospect in China, generally
contain the remains of the poor. The respectable
portion of the community, so religiously careful of the
relics of departed friends, erect “ family tombs,” which,
both within and without Ningpo, are denoted by small
conical mounds, in the shape of a sugar-loaf, covered
with green sod, and encircled with junipers or the
common pine.

Charity Hills, under the supervision of the above
society, are appropriated for the burial of the friendless
and moneyless.

In Ningpo, there are two lots of ground—one to the
east, the other to the west—both the property of this
society, and set apart for the purpose specified. While
walking on the walls of Ningpo, it was no unusual
thing for me, at different parts within and without the
ramparts, to stumble on heaps of coffins that seemed
recently collected. This was soon explained by meeting
with the report of this society, which at certain times
sent its agents out to pile together the coffins of the
60 WESTERN NOTIONS OF LIFE IN CHINA.

poor, for the purpose of transporting them by boat to
the “Charity Hills,’ where they were buried at the
expense of the society.

“To dispense medicine to the sick poor.”

“ To distribute tea in the summer, and provide fire-
wood for preparing it.”

One more object of the institution is, “ To gather,
jor burning, paper with written characters.”

Accordingly, the society sends forth its bearers, to go
from house to house, lane to lane, street to street, and
pick up all the scraps and fragments of written or
printed paper that are lying about. In this way, one
year it collected fifty hundredweight of such paper
rubbish. Nor is this “good deed” (for so the Chinese
believe and designate it) confined to any particular
society. There are many private individuals who, sup-
posing it to ,be in the eye of their gods a meritorious
act, of their own accord distribute collectors of paper
scraps round the city, pay their wages out of their own
pockets, and, on getting the gleanings, have a regular
bonfire. The bearers employed carry large hampers,
with the announcement written on them, King-sik
tsze-che, “ Be respectfully careful of paper with written
characters.” This explains a sight occasionally noticed
in the city streets,—a man carrying huge baskets of
loose paper. The respect of the Chinese, the well-
bred especially, for written or printed paper exceeds
all bounds: it is sacred to an extreme. Hence the
complaints often made at the outrageous treatment of
written and printed paper at the hands of foreigners.

But, in winding up a list of benevolent movements
among the Chinese themselves, I must not omit an
important item—

lith. Educational Charities— At Ningpo there was
a _two-hundred-year-old building, originally named
“The Charity-field College,” whose prime object was
to assist the poor and illiterate in their education.
BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES. 61

During my residence I saw little but its ruins; for,
having in the war with Britain been temporarily occu-
pied by a Chinese officer, it shared the fate of all other
official residences when it fell into the hands of the
victors. Throughout the country, as in places like
Canton, Hangchow, &c., charity schools are entirely
supported by private subscriptions. The native descrip-
tion of Shanghai mentions several free schools there,
although little trace of them at present remains.

From the preceding notices, it will be seen that the
sweeping charge against the Chinese, as having no
notion of, and never providing means for, relieving the
poor and destitute, is unjust—it is unfounded. Here
we have various schemes for the protection of infants,
widows, and the aged, to provide for beggars, to shelter
the houseless, to rescue life from fire and water, to meet
the wants of the blind and the leper, to check smallpox,
to supply medicine, food, and clothing, to aid the indi-
gent scholar, and to afford to the destitute the rites of
sepulture. Although it must be allowed that the
demand for relief is not adequately met, and that the
good intentions of the institutions named have been,
in many cases, wofully thwarted through the venality
of the managers or the indolence of the supporters;
yet, it must be obvious, that the dictates of human
instinct have been whispering in the hearts of the
Chinese, long before China was opened to foreigners,
and have suggested schemes of philanthropy really
judicious and appropriate. Let Gospel Christianity
enter with its generous influences into the empire of
China,—let but Christianized civilization insinuate
itself into that “hive of nations,’’—then, instead of
streamlcts, the flood-gates of genuine benevolence shall
be opened among the people; and through them shall
issue the pure rivers of charity, humanity, and “ bro-
therly love.”
PART SECOND.

REAL CHINESE LIFE AT NINGPO.,

 

CHAPTER [.

MY FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE CITY—CALLS ON THE NATIVE OFFICIALS,
—FLOWER-GARDENS—TEA-HOUSES—MILITARY GROUNDS—CITY WALLS
—MOSQUE—TAOUIST, LUDDHIST, AND CONFUCIAN TEMPLES —ICE-
HOUSES.

Havine canvassed and discussed the general views
entertained by “ outer barbarians”? about “ the Celes-
tials,’ may I invite the reader now to accompany
me to some parts of China, hitherto rarely visited by
foreigners, where he may have an insight into the real
condition of “the Chinese as they are.”

The years 1840 and 1841 had been spent at Macao;
the greater part of 1842 at Tinghai, during the occu-
pation of Chusan by the British troops; and, on the
termination of the rupture between Great Britain and
China, I embraced the earliest opportunity of seeking a
residence at Ningpo, one of the chief cities of Chih-kiang
province. Any good map of China presents a coast-
line approaching a semicircular curve, near the centre
of which, in lat. 29° 58’ N. and long. 121° 22’ E., lies
the said ‘city. During my stay at Tinghai, I had made
friends with a few of the leading men at Ningpo, and
felt encouraged to take the step. In forming my plan,
I was fortunate to have the aid of Woo,* a native tutor

* This is the Chinese native whose paper on “ England and the
English ” appears in Chambers's Journal, March 10, 1855.
 

 

 

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ARRIVAL AT NINGPO, 63

of the language, in whose judgment I had good reason
to confide, and of whose uniform kindness and fidelity
during a term of eleven years, J am happy to bear a
grateful testimony.

In taking this course, the objects were to increase
my knowledge of the colloquial dialect, and—intercourse
with the people being less fettered—to carry out the pur-
pose of my mission.

Accordingly, I embarked at the Tinghai wharf, in a
common passage-boat, on the morning of the 7th of
December, 1842. The boat having taken in its com-
plement of passengers (all natives but myself), passed
under “ Joss-house-hill” at eleven o’clock, and, with
fair wind and tide, entered the mouth of the Ningpo
river at four that afternoon.* By six, we landed at
“the Chusan wharf,” just by the fork of the river, called
Sankiang-kow, or “the mouth of three rivers.” +

As soon after landing as possible, I made my way for
the west gate of the city, within which there is a
lagoon called Hoo-se, on the eastern bank of which
stood the family residence of Dr. Chang. This was a
native practitioner I had met some months previously

* The distance between Tinghai and Ningpo is reckoned by the
natives at 180 lee, or, giving 3} lee to a mile, 54 miles.

+ Called so from there being at this point a junction of three streams.
To the north-west there isa large stream running down through the
districts of Yuyaou and Tszeke, variously called the Yaou river, the
Shun river, or the river of T'szeke. To the east there is another stream,
known as the Yung river, which name it retains only the distance of
ten miles above Ningpo, when it branches off in two lines, one to the
south-west under the name of Ying river, another to the south-east
towards Funghwa, borrowing its name from that district. Where the
Ying river unites with the /unghwa stream, it occasionally is spoken
of as the Pzhtoo or ‘‘ North-ford river.” At the eastern angle of
Ningpo, this twin tributary joins the river of T'szeke, and these joint
waters flow north-east and north in a deep channel, until they enter
the open sea at Ch'nhai, at a distance of eleven and a half miles from
the point of confluence. From Ningpo to Chinhai, the river has
various names: the Yung river, the Yatsieh, and some parts the
Stiautsich. In English charts I find it called Takiah and Tehiak ;
correctly given, it is Tatsteh.
64 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

at Tinghai, between whom and myself there had
grown a warm friendship. The sight of a solitary
Englishman in the streets, a good while after sundown,
created some stir. Curiosity was awakened; and
police-runners hastened with most pressing inquiries,
who I was, and what my object in visiting Ningpo?

I jostled through the crowds, and at length, after a
weary trudge through innumerable streets and lanes,
reached my friend’s house safe and sound, heartily
welcomed by himself and family. However, I had
scarcely been seated, when messenger after messenger
from the principal offices arrived, repeating the in-
quiries about my name, objects, and attendants.
Perceiving the anxiety that was abroad in consequence
of my sudden appearance, I thought it advisable offi-
cially to apprise the chief officer, the prefect of the
department, of my arrival, and intrusted my host’s
eldest son with my card and compliments for his
worship. The youth returned in an hour with the
prefect’s card and congratulations ; and, in. the course
of the same evening, one of his confidentials came
with kind messages, and an invitation to wait upon
him the following day.

On awaking next morning, I was rather taken with
the pleasant site of my host’s cottage, built on the
side of a busy road and the brink of a city lake, at
times the scene of much life and gaiety, and its open
front set with a row of overhanging willows that threw
an agreeable shade over the humble dwelling.

While we were at breakfast, the few, who from an
early hour had been loitering about the house to catch
the first glimpse of the foreigner, became a multitude.
The door-screen was of no avail; and the paper win-
dows were all pierced. Hach hole and corner showed
an eye of curiosity.

The venerable doctor entreated his fellow-citizens to
be a little more polite to an English visitor, and tried
A NATIVE OFFICIAL. 65

to remonstrate with some for their want of good
breeding. But it was all unavailing. The people
would gratify their curiosity if they could; and the
crowd still increased. However, there was no noise,
no rushing, no crushing. They looked on in silence,
wondering, as they made observations, how unlike the
foreigner was to the representations they had seen in
paint or read in proclamations ;—his face a little
different from theirs; his hair and his dress very
different. But he was not “red-haired.” He was not
“without joints.” He was not “black-faced.” He
was not “a bear” nor “a monkey.” He was not
“ fierce,’ nor was he “a devil.” He could sit and
talk Chinese. He was there eating Chinese food with
Chinese friends, and could use the “ quick lads ”
as well as any of them. “Well! is this really an
Englishman ?”

After breakfast I started on foot to the office of
the prefect, Shoo-Kungshow, whom I had yesternight
promised to visit. My aged friend Woo-siensang and
Dr. Chang accompanied me. As all the official residences
in the city and neighbourhood had been destroyed
during the war with England, his worship was occupying
a temple not far from the west gate, “the Wanchang
Koh.’ The outer court of the building was very noisy
with the hum of attendants, eagerly rushing forward
to get a glance at the new arrival. In due form I was
ushered into the audience-room, by having cards sent
in, &c. The room was quite cheerless and cold, desti-
tute of ornament, and possessing only a row or two of
cumbersome chairs. On his worship entering, he
seemed greatly pleased to see me, and, what satisfied me
more, he treated my teacher with marked respect ; for
before the treaty at Nanking, a native teacher would
probably have been seized and imprisoned for being seen
in company with a foreigner. The ¢a-laouyay (the style
of addressing him, equivalent to “ your worship”) was

F
66 REAL LIPE IN CHINA.

a short thick-set man,—head large,—face round and
honest-looking,—features deep,—countenance intelli-
gent and agreeable,—eyes large, black, quick, and ex-
pressive,—beard jet, long, and pointed, and his upper
lip overhung with tremendous moustaches. He wore an
official cap, which had a fine plume of peacock-feathers
behind, and was topped with a transparent crystal ball
denoting the fifth rank of nobility. His dress was not
gaudy, though of rich dark-coioured satin; around the
neck there was slung astring of large elegant beads, that
fell over a square breastpiece of beautiful embroidery,—
a duplicate of which was sewed upon his tunic, the one
in front, and the other behind. On this breastpiece he
had the badge of his order embroidered, the pihhien,
“silver pheasant.” His voice was musical; and, when
he spoke, it was with an air of authority. At first his
utterance was to me indistinct,—partly from not being
accustomed to the accent of Kiangse, his native pro-
vince. He was only fifty-three years of age, —an
inquiry on which point (according to Chinese etiquette)
was almost the first question that passed between us.

In his deportment, he was dignified but not super-
cilious; bland and affable, but by no means familiar;
and even now the favourable impression on my mind is
as fresh as on the day it was made. Shoo-Kungshow
was an officer often spoken of among the English
during the war, and doubtless is still remembered by
some as “ the fine old fellow.”

Two topics in particular engrossed our conversation
at this interview. One was geography. He showed
me a Chinese manual of geography in his library,
which was exceedingly imperfect and_ erroneous.
Accommodated entirely to the narrow and exclusive
views of the Chinese, it contained a most defective
outline of the divisions of the world. The other subject
was suggested by his being informed that I was neither
a merchant, nor a soldier, nor a civilian. ‘“ What
A NATIVE OFFICIAL. 67

then?” “A minister of Jesus Christ’s religion.” On
finding that I was not a Romanist, he expressed sur-
prise that, in Western lands, we should have two different
religions professing the name of Jesus. He asked
what was the real point of difference,—at the same
time conjecturing it might consist in the one system
inculcating the worship of the cross as he had witnessed
among the Papists in China, and the other declining to
pay such homage. I endeavoured to explain a few of
the prominent features of disparity, and entreated him
to discard the notion that Popery was one with the
genuine religion founded by Jesus himself.

On leaving the prefect, his worship expressed gratifi-
cation in at last meeting with one who was not a
soldier; for he had seen too many of that rank during
the last two or three years.

Koo, an officer inferior to the prefect, though one of his
official confidants, then led me into his worship’s sum-
mer-house, where I was entertained with great urbanity,
as well as with a profusion of tea, wine, cakes, fruits,
&c. While sitting there, a man rushed in and dropped
on his knees before Koo-laouyay. He was a Han-Kan or
“ Chinese traitor,” that had been proscribed during the
late war, for aiding and abetting the British. By the
treaty of Nanking, the imperial reprieve had been
obtained for all this class, and passes had been sent to
each. Mr. Koo immediately requested him to rise
from his kneeling posture, and handed him to a seat,
when he joined us in tea and talk. This officer, Koo,
called on me next day; and, in his manner and inquiry,
evinced no little candour and curiosity. He was
particularly searching in his questions about England
and other Western countries.

Having gone the round of etiquettish visits, the rest
of the day was spent in looking round the city, my
friend the doctor volunteering to act as guide. This’
was somewhat to my advantage, for the aged man did

F2
68 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

what he could, by suasion, to keep at a distance the
crowds that collected round to see a single stranger
from a far country treading through the heart of their
city.

In the course of my wanderings I called at the

residence of Mr. Lin, a gentleman of extensive repu-
tation and large property. He chanced not to be at
home, yet I was invited to look through his flower-
garden, so highly spoken of by the citizens. The taste
displayed in laying out these narrow grounds was
certainly wonderful, as well as the skill in grouping
together in becoming proportions a complete epitome
of rural scenery. Here there was a lake with its islets,
there mountains, hills, and dales, orchards and jungles,
barren rocks and green swards, pebbly paths and chu-
nam walks, all compressed within less than half an acre
of land. Everywhere the eye fell on elegant slate slabs,
squares of marble, needles of petrified wood, stunted
firs, forced peach-trees, Japanese dwarf cedars, and bam-
boos, green, black, speckled, square-stalked and round-
stalked, &c. &c.
_ The rich, when they can afford it (and if they have
a taste for it), have their grounds laid out much in the
style I have described, not improbably for the sake
of affording the females and children in their establish-
ments means for recreation. Such attempts to bring
within a narrow space an epitome of rural nature have
been highly successful, and present an agreeable minia-
ture of the picturesque scenery in country life to those
that are confined within closed doors. In the midst
of these tasteful arrangements, it is not unusual to
erect a summer-house for study or amusement. A
small lagoon will invariably be found in such charming
resorts, where goldfish and other varieties are reared,
and the water-lily in particular, a favourite with the
Chinese for its wide open leaf and its fragrant flower.

Leaving the elegant mansion of Mr. Lin, I called
TEA-HOUSES. 69

on another gentleman of property, Mr. Tang, famous
among his townsmen for his pencillings of the chrysan-
themum. His manner was dignified and kind. The
ladies of his family seemed curious to have a look at
the stranger. It would of course have been out of
place to introduce me to their gaze; yet, ever ingenious
in devices to gratify inquisitiveness, they contrived to
prick the paper windows and peep through. Mr. Tang
observed this, but made no objection to it.

Wearied with my walks, I hastened back to my
lodgings; but at even I wandered abroad to have a
look at the “tea-houses” of Ningpo, generally fre-
quented after sunset. Being at a distance from the
heart of the city, where “tea-houses” and “ eating-
houses” abound, some of them very respectable, I
found myself iv one of a low order, with furniture
wretched, tea poor, and company low. This is not to
be taken as descriptive of the general character of
these convenient establishments ;—by no means. And
although those of the lowest rank may bear an affinity
to the grog-shop in England, there is the marked dif-
ference in the beverage. I have without doubt seen strong
drinks too freely used in some of these nominal “ tea-
houses ;” yet the common draught is that which “ cheers
but does not inebriate.” Very large shops appropriated
to tea-drinking are to be met with everywhere in Chinese
towns, occupying extensive flights. On the floors of these
yooms there stand square wooden tables, with benches
and chairs sufficient to accommodate four or six people;
and at the further end, there is the kitchen with ovens
and stoves duly arranged, and bearing huge kettles,
massive teapots, monster caldrons as large as yourself,
all filled with hot water. Usually there is a goodly staff
of waiters moving about, vigilant in their attentions,
carrying small trays, with teacups of the warm decoc-
tion and plates of cakes and dried fruits, &c. Less than
a farthing will obtain a refreshing cup of comfort. At
70 REAL LIFE 1N CHINA.

every hour, morn and evening especially, the rooms are
crowded. There is no prohibition of tobacco-smoking or
gambling, but the reverse. Nor is there any restraint
on loud and noisy conversation. Labourers and passen-
gers are constantly dropping in for such appropriate con-
veniences, as are offered in the shape of basins of warm
water and rough (rather coarse) towels, for washing
hands and face. Often music is conducted within, and,
much like resorts of the same class in Europe, the tea-
drinking houses in China form the evening refuges of
the working classes for news and gossip, amusement or
recreation. Accordingly, at that hour, you may see
whole tables occupied by dice-playing and other games.
Frequently, on winter nights, they are converted into
rooms, where a man, popular for his powers of mimic
and comic, is invited for a few pence to hold forth, and
will rivet an audience for an hour or two by his recitals
of strange legends and tales from ancient history. Be-
sides, it is not uncommon for disputants to refer their
quarrels to a “ tea-shop assembly ;” and I have known
cases of libellous slander taken by the plaintiffs to a
gathering in a tea-drinking establishment for adju-
dication.

“Hating-houses” sometimes are connected with tea-
houses. In these a substantial meal can be had at.a
moment’s notice. Some of them occupy large and
commodious buildings. JI have been in several that
were two stories high, with the restaurants above and
kitchens underneath. The bill of fare offered every-
thing in season, at moderate charges. Those of the
better class that I visited were well fitted up, and in
most points corresponded to establishments of the same
name amongst ourselves.

One word or two about tea and the mode of making it.
They have varieties of tea; but an officer I once visited
produced a valuable packet of “ strengthening tea,’
prepared in Yunnan province, and of great repute as a
TEA-HOUSES. 71

medical preparation. It looked much like common
black tea, made up into round balls with paste or gum.
But the taste of the infusion was exceedingly bitter.
After descanting at some length in a rhapsodical strain,
on the virtue of the beverage, he abruptly proceeded to
assure me that there was another species superior still,
indeed unequalled by any other tea for flavour, fineness,
and scarcity; namely, “the monkey tea.”’ This, he added,
could be obtained only in small quantities, and in select
spots. Growing on heights inaccessible to the foot of
man,and approachable only by the sagacious brute whose
name it bears, he said it was collected by certain of the
monkey species trained first to climb up the most lofty
precipices, and, after fillmmg their pouches with the deli-
cious herb, to descend again to empty their contents
into their master’s baskets! The delicacy of the tea he
pronounced to be beyond exception, and its value very
high. Having himself tasted its sweets, he deplored that
he had it not in his power to treat me with a cup of the
prime draught. On referring to Le Breton’s “La Chine
en Miniature,” I find the following notice of the same
article: “Dry and elevated situations are much more
suitable for the cultivation of tea than low and damp
ones; the consequence is, that the in-gathering is often
very difficult, especially that of the best kind of tea.
Men could not, without the greatest difficulty, hold on
at the sides of the peaks; one false step might be the
cause of severe wounds, or at least injure or tear up
the young trees. Sometimes the sides are so sharp and
pointed that it would not be possible for men to climb
up.* To overcome this difficulty, a singular expedient
has been resorted to. Monkeys are dressed so as to be

* I have been told by some natives, who believed it, that there are
tea-shrubs whose situation is so much elevated beyond the reach of
man, that their leaves can be found only by the wind driving them from
the top to the base of the mountains, where they are picked up by the
proprietors of tea-plantations.
72 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

able to climb, and to gather the leaves off the tea-
branches. One can easily conceive how difficult it is
to have to make use of such helps, for the monkeys can
only be guided on such occasions by an instinct purely
mechanical. When they have descended the mountain
that they have climbed with the help of cords, they
receive for a reward some dainty for their taste.”

The common mode of “making tea,” among the
“tea-drinkingest people on the face of the earth,” is
simply to put into a cup as much tea as you can pinch
up with your fingers, pour upon it water at the boiling
point, and cover the cup. The beverage is then sipped
at pleasure, and a second edition obtained by repeating
the application of boiling water.

In families and shops, where visitors are constantly
pouring in, a commodious teapot full of the decoction
stands on a counter or a convenient side-table, sur-
rounded by a bevy of teacups, to oblige the thirsty
customer. Rain-water is the universal favourite for
preparing the draught; hence, in economical families,
huge monster jars are constantly standing under the
eaves of the houses, to catch every drop of the “ heavenly
rain.” Strong tea is not preferred by the Chinese,
black tea being the rule, green the exception. When
decocted, it is drunk without any admixture of milk
and sugar. These are used only by foreigners, and
probably to mollify the désagrémens of the “ black
draughts” they are so fond of “masking.” As to sugar
and milk, the former is superabundant in China, and
used for every imaginable purpose except tea-drinking ;
but you will live long enough in the “ flowery land”
before your ears are startled by the milk-whoop, which
in England is the morning salute to wake up the
kitchen and nursery-maids. I am now speaking of the
Chinese, not of the habits of foreign visitors, who in
this respect show that they will not always do in Rome
as Rome does; for they will have milk even in milk-
~

WOMAN’S MILK. 73

less China, and at length those tremendous water-
buffaloes (which one at first sight scarcely knows what
to call, — hippopotamuses or rhinoceroses) have been
trained and are drained to supply foreign tables at the
several settlements, with thick milk for tea and coffee.

The first time I caught sight of milk in a Chinese
street, it was in the hands of a female carrying a cup of
what I thought to be the genuine uncha‘ked article.
“Excuse me, but what is that?” said I. “It is
milk,” she replied. “ What milk? cow’s or goat’s?”
“Woman’s milk, sir”? “ Woman’s milk! for what
use?” “Tt has been bought for an aged neighbour.”
“ And what’s the price of that cupful?” “ About
eighty cash.” Subsequently I discovered that it is not
unusual for nursing women to sell their own milk, for
motherless babes or octogenarians in second babyhood,
the nurses drawing their own milk to vend it at 2d.
or 3d. a cup.

After my first day at Ningpo had passed off in ram-
bles among official residences, flower-gardens, and tea-
houses, the second was occupied with another series
of excursions, all diverse and instructive. Only two
minutes’ walk from my habitat, there was a parade-
ground for military exercises. Ascertaining that the
horse-archers were out, I hastened to the spot imme-
diately after breakfast. The ground occupied was
perhaps 200 yards long by 50 broad. The officers
present were of an inferior grade, ensigns and serjeants,
except the military judge that was seated under a
canvas canopy. The archers were drawn up two deep,
and called out in companies ‘of eight men, to receive
orders on their knees. They then went onward to the
spot marked off, one after the other mounting his steed,
setting it at full gallop, and firing his arrows. As each
man shot off his handful, he returned, and kneeling
before the superior, received his reprimand, or instruc-
tions, or approval. The bull’s-eye, about sixty yards
74: REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

off from the canopy, was represented by three red balls,
painted one above the other upon a square sedge-mat
nailed to a bamboo frame. The aim was to hit any of
the balls, especially the centre one, while the horse
was racing along the course. Some proved bad shots,
others good, and every successful hit was announced by
drum-beating.

The freedom I had in watching this review, formed a
marked contrast to the restraints that not long before
were laid on foreigners at Canton, who had expressed
a wish to be present at one of their grand military
exhibitions. As that proclamation reads,—“ The local
authorities think, very properly, that it is their duty
to keep a strict guard against their foreign visitors:
accordingly, the Cheheen of Nanhae a few days ago
issued a proclamation forbidding them to repair to the
parade-grounds to witness the military reviews which
were there soon to take place. Two reasons were offered
for this prohibition : first, lest having swords with
them they should suddenly get into a rage and injure
the by-standers; and in the second place, lest they
themselves should amidst the crowds be trodden under
foot: for these considerations, the Cheheen orders the
hong merchants and linguists to do their duty, and
prevent the foreigners from transgressing their proper
limits.”

Ten years after, I had an opportunity at Shanghai of
attending a military parade of infantry and artillery, got
up in preparation of the descent of the Kwangse rebels;
but the continued want of discipline was astonishing.
There were five companies of the red, blue, white,
yellow, and black flags respectively ; with fifty privates,
also one piece of artillery and gunners, in each. The
evolutions and revolutions were destitute of rule and
order. Besides artillery, there were ginjall and musket
bearers. The muskets were of horrid material. The
guns (130 lbs. in weight) were dragged by six men.
CITY WALLS. 75

The cleaning-rods were bamboos pointed with stiff hair ;
the ramrods nothing but bare poles; and the cannon-
matches cords of tow. The ginjalls were heavy, like
field-pieces, and had to be borne on two men’s shoulders.
The soldiers had no regimentals to distinguish them,
except perhaps that they had no rags. They wore red
tasselled caps, each with a bit of cloth hanging on to
his tassel, and coloured according to the red, blue, &c.
company to which he belonged. The officers literally
were of the “Society of Odd Fellows,” all tucking up
their petticoats and robes, flaunting about, cutting
military capers, shouting out the word of command in
a most discordant fashion, and breaking up to refresh
themselves with tea and tobacco.

To return to Ningpo: When the “ archer-parade ”
was over, accompanied by Woo-siensang, I sallied forth
to the great city walls, intending to make their circuit.
The entire circumference approached five miles; the
average height twenty-five feet, exclusive of a parapet
five fect high ; the width of the wall on the top fifteen, at
its base twenty-two feet, the matériel solid,—the lower
part of stone and granite, the upper brick. Some parts
were greatly dilapidated; and occasionally the ram-
parts so overrun with grass and weeds that I could
with difficulty thread my way. In the wall there are
six gates, each of them double, the inner supported
by an outer one at a distance of at least twenty yards.
The line of wall that runs off from the one side of the
inner gate towards the outer, is the leading wall. This,
describing a section of a parallelogram, meets the inner
gate round at the other side. At the point of the
inner gate where the two parts of the leading wall
approach each other, an arch is thrown across to join
them, called the “ moon-wall.” Over each gateway—
inner or outer—a guard-house stood, that on the former
being the larger, and two stories high. During my resi-
dence of seven months in Ningpo, these stations were
76 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

unoccupied by guards, even at night. The city gates were
generally closed a little after sunset,—though opened to
any one who would pass a bribe of a few cash into the
porter’s fist. I did not find here, as I subsequently
found in other Chinese towns, that many dwelling-
houses were built on the walls, or even contiguous to
them. On this account there was a clear walk along
the base of the wall within the city, eight and ten feet
in width.

Casting my eye over the interior of the several
guard-houses as I passed along the walls, it was
impossible not to scan the traces of Englishmen that
had been there. Our British soldiery, many months
stationed there during the war with China, had beguiled
their tedious moments by scribbling lines with lumps
of charcoal, or scratching ungainly figures with their
bayonets. Nor is this a trick confined to Europeans.
Side by side with their delineations, 1 deciphered the
figurings of Chinese too, who seemed equally off-hand in
writing names on walls, or cutting them out upon wood.

Nor was I less surprised here, as in other cities in
China, to witness on the gateways numerous placards
of different sizes and attractive shapes,—pasted up to
apprize the “ gentry and citizens,” or “ladies and gen-
tlemen,” ~{ “religious services,’ “theatrical shows,”
“ magisterial orders,” “ medical feats,” &c. The rage
for advertisement in China is quite as prolific as else-
where; and among other curiosities in this class of
production, I have seen fiery squibs on public charac-
ters, sober admonitions on sundry subjects, and quack
puffs in every line of business. As in Europe, so in
China, objection is taken to the placarding of bills
upon private premises; and you meet with notices to
the effect, that “ Bills pasted up will be daubed over,”
— ‘Placards will be torn down,’ — “You are not
allowed to placard,” and sometimes the polite request
“Pray do not paste your bills here.”
 

 

 

 
A DRUM-LOFT. ay

During these perambulations, on spying a large lofty
building in the heart of the city, I made for it. It was
“the Drum-loft,’? an arch of wide span, surmounted
by a guard-house. Standing as it does in the centre
of the city, where the principal streets meet, the scene
around was bustling and lively. According to the local
records, this loft existed prior to the fifteenth century,
and has undergone a variety of changes. The object
of the monument is denoted by its singular appella-
tions, “the observatory,” “the sea-sun radiance loft,”
and “ the clear distance ;” showing that the building was
originally built for a guard-house, or a prominent part
from which the surrounding country could be watched,
in protecting the interests of the city and inhabitants.
The popular name ** Drum-loft” is given to it from a
huge drum kept there, to be used by the city watchmen
in their ordmary night beats, especially in cases of
emergency from foe or fire.

From the “ Drum-loft” I hastened back to the walls,
where, as before, I met with few people,—these only
such as had run up from the streets below, with a
vacant curiosity gazing at a plain Englishman. More
frequently I came upon lean horses, here and there
grazing in solitude on the ramparts. Outside the walls,
there is a moat of some extent that well nigh encircles
the city. The northern and eastern faces of the city,
supposed to be well enough guarded by the river, have
no moat. But commencing at the north gate, it runs
along the foot of the wall, west, south, and south and
south-east, until it stops at what is called “the Bridge-:
gate.” This gives it a length of about three miles. It
is deep, in some places perhaps forty yards wide, well
supplied with water from the neighbouring fields and
river, and daily navigated by small boats.

“The Bridge-gate,” one of the two eastern gates in
Ningpo, is called so from a floating bridge thrown
across the river right opposite. The bridge measures
78 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

200 yards in length and nearly six broad. It consists
of planks firmly lashed and laid upon lighters, of which
I counted sixteen closely linked by iron chains. Occa-
sionally it was opened at a certain part for the passage
of boats plying up and down. There was a busy
market upon it, and the passengers were so thickly
jostled, that no man had time to gaze about him. It
led into a bustling and populous suburb on the other
side of the river.

On this first visit to the walls of Ningpo, the scenery
around was, I must say, agreeable; nor was it less so in
my subsequent strolls here. The vast plain around the
city was a magnificent amphitheatre, stretching away
twelve, fifteen, and eighteen miles on the one side, to
the foot of the distant hills, and on the other to the
verge of the ocean. Many a pleasing and curious
object arrested the eye. Turn it from the north-west,
round by the south and south-east, there lay before me
canals and water-courses, cultivated fields, snug farm-
houses, smiling cottages, family residences, hamlets
and villages, family tombs, monasteries, and temples.
Towards the east, the vision was bounded by rising
mountains; but between them and me the land
scenery was much the same as already described, only
that I could see more distinctly the river swarming
with boats, and its banks studded with ice-houses.
Nor was my curiosity less amused or gratified as I
turned the eye from without to look within the city.
There, there were single and double-storied houses,
low and irregular; heavy prison-like mansions, family
vaults, temples with their glittering roofs, official resi-
dences, examination-halls, and the sombre pagoda of
Ningpo, to all which I must defer my visits to another
day; for, worn out with this weary tramp on the
city walls, I had to return to my host’s dwelling for
refreshment.

I have been particular in giving my jottings on the
A VISIT FROM AN OFFICER. 79

walls of this city, that I might acquaint the reader with
what may be regarded a good sample of a walled town
in China; for almost every town, even of “the third,”
or lowest class, is, or has been at one time, walled.
Yet it is not pretended that my rough description of
Ningpo, though it be a city of considerable importance,
can approach the reality in such large capitals as
Nanking, Nanchang, or Peking.

On reaching my lodgings, I found awaiting me a
mark of respect unexpected though agreeable. Shoo
ta laouyay, the pretect, had called tosee me. Itisarule
among officials to return calls, in person or by proxy,
the second day after the visit. I looked for nothing
beyond the proxy. But while I felt honoured by his
worship’s personal attentions, I was specially pleased at
it as an additional sign of the breaking up of official
exclusiveness and vanity. The prefect came with his
usual retinue of criers, lictors, chain-bearers, and other
attendants.

Chinese magistrates rarely, if ever, go out, on duty
at least, without a crowd of attachés of various orders.
First, you have “ragged rascals,” with ornamental
flags and poles, large lanterns, and red boards having
the rank of the officer painted on them, running and
shouting to the street passengers—“ Retire, retire! keep
silence, and clear the way!” Gong-strikers follow, de-
noting at certain intervals by so many strokes, their
master’s grade and office. Next come chain-bearers,
rattan-bearers, whip- bearers,—significant of his judicial
power. Alongside of the magisterial chair there are
servants trotting on foot, with umbrellas, pipes, and
card-cases. The rear is brought up by one, two, or
three seedy bamboo chairs, occupied by secretaries,
scribes, and hangers-on. The number of chair-bearers
depends on the rank of the officer. Most of the
attendants wear red-tasselled caps. During the war
with China, the English entertained the notion that
80 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

every Chinaman that flourished a red tuft on his bonnet
must be a soldier, or one connected with native officials.
So firmly did this idea seat itself in the minds of some
of the British leaders of that expedition, that not a
single individual on the island of Chusan was permitted
to wear a tasselled cap; and whoever might be seen with
it in his hand, or in his house, was at once suspected
and seized. If the hovel of a native happened to be
searched, and a red-tasselled cap—never so torn, dirty,
or musty—was found in a closet or a corner, it was
concluded indisputable that the poor inmate was a
soldier, a kidnapper, or a disturber of the public peace.
Indeed, for some time after the close of the war, while
Chusan continued in the hands of the British, not a
man of peace was allowed to sport such caps, not even
the messengers from Ningpo sent by native officers with
messages to the foreign authorities at Tinghai. Sucha
course was followed in consequence of an erroneous
impression. This kind of cap is worn not by the sol-
diery only, but by gentlemen’s servants, the messengers
of officers,—even the lowest menial when he pays a visit
of ceremony or celebrates a festive season. The cap
is of cloth in winter,—of straw in summer,—with a
tuft of red silk on the crown. As festivities are by no
means unfrequent during the year, a cap of this sort
is an appendage necessary to the wardrobe of every
police-runner, or chair-bearer, who ranks in the lowest
of the plebeian classes.

On the first Sunday after reaching Ningpo, I had an
interesting visit early in the morning from one of the
two Mohammedan priests connected with the mosque
in the city. It was quite a treat to hear a Chinaman
converse about the One living and true God, the com-
mandments of Jehovah, and some of the patriarchs of
the Old Testament. He spoke decidedly on the irra-
tionality and wickedness of worshipping a plurality of
gods, adducing the express command of Jehovah that
A MOHAMMEDAN MOSQUE. 81

he himself alone should be the object of adoration. Of
Jesus Christ this individual appeared to know little
beyond the name.

My interview with this junior priest encouraged me
much on a subsequent occasion to visit the mosque
itself. Over its entrance were engraven the characters
“ Hwuy Hwuy Tang,’ “The Mohammedan Temple.”
In the first visit, | was fortunate to meet the senior
priest, a native of Shantung, though of Arab descent,
his ancestors having come from Medina. He himself
was able to read the Koran, and talk Arabic with a
degree of fluency; but of Chinese reading and writing
he was as ignorant as an Englishman in England,
although he had been born in China, could talk Chinese,
and was a minister of religion among the Chinese. He
lamented much that there were so few adherents to his
creed at Ningpo, where they did not number more than
twenty or thirty families, one or two of them of official
rank. From this interesting man I learned that the
stronghold of Mohammedanism lies in Hangchow, the
capital of Chihkiang province, in which there are
several mosques. His reigning desire was to make a
pilgrimage to Mecca; and with this view he put the
minutest inquiries as to the distance of that city, and
the length of voyage, &c.

He took me into the place of worship, adjoining his
private residence. On ascending a flight of steps, I was
brought under a plain roof. Beneath this I observed
scattered up and down, a quantity of old furniture and
agricultural implements covered with dust. ‘To support
the roof there were pillars, ornamented with sentences
from the Koran. As soon as I entered, my attention
was attracted by a pair of small doors in the wall, within
which I was told was the sacred seat, and on one side
of it a little book-case, with the Mohammedan Scrip-
tures in twenty-four parts. He showed me his cano-
nicals,— simply a white robe and a pointed turban,—

G
82 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

never worn but at religious services. He told me they
professed to hold one day sacred in seven; but if the
followers of the Prophet had any urgent secular busi-
ness on that day, they did not trouble themselves to
attend service. Happening to see on the threshold a
tablet, called Lungpai, the “‘ Dragon Tablet,” similar to
that found in any Chinese temple, with the inscription
upon it—Hwangti, wansui wansui, wanwansui, equiva-
lent to ‘The Emperor, the Everliving,” &c.,—I pointed
it out and asked him how, if he regarded the spot as
consecrated to the worship of Aloho,—the name he gave
to the One living and true God,—he could permit such
a tablet to stand there. He protested that he did not,
and never would, pay religious homage to such a tablet
or to any human sovereign. In evidence of the truth
of his asseverations, he pointed to the low place given
it on the ground floor, so far removed from the sacred
seat. Further, he explained, that it was placed within
the precincts of the mosque only for expediency’s sake;
for, if he and his disciples were charged by the enemies
of Mohammedanism with disloyalty, they had only to
appeal to the presence of the tablet.

On the fifth day of my residence at Ningpo, I had a
message from the commander-in-chief of the Chihkiang
province—his head-quarters being then at Ningpo,—
inquiring if I could supply him with a glass for a
damaged telescope. It was entirely out of my power
to meet this request. I could only offer to send it to
Hong-Kong to be repaired. But this did not suit
his excellency. When, subsequently, I called upon the
commander-in-chief, I found him an aged man, of a tall
figure, and affected with paralysis of the right eye. His
speech was slovenly, his manner indolent, though his
notions sounded high and aristocratic. He wore a
handsome red dress, and his official cap had a red coral
button, with a slender plume of peacock-feathers. The
attendants immediately about his chair were ensigns,
MANDARINS AT NINGPO. 83

sergeants, and corporals, with brass and opaque
buttons.

About the same time I took the opportunity of
waiting on several other mandarin authorities in
Ningpo,—of which visits I offer the following sum-
mary. There was one of the name of Luh, who, during
the peace negotiations with Great Britain, had fallen
under the Imperial ban and lost his honours and office.
Although the flush of health was diffused over a fine
oval countenance, it was evident he was much depressed
in consequence of his recent degradation. The repu-
tation in which he stood among his countrymen as a
scholar was high. He was spoken of by the Ningpo
citizens as one who had been very efficient in his
department, and his removal from office was much
regretted by the people. Ever since his return from
Nanking, whither he had been summoned in the
summer of 1842 by the Imperial commissioners to
assist in forming the treaty, he had conducted himself
towards the English with uniform courtesy, as I can
testify from personal knowledge; and in losing him
they also were deprived of the services of an enlightened
Chinese friend.

While I was seated in Mr. Luh’s audience-room,
Le-joolin, the successor of my friend Shoo-kungshow,
entered. Being not above thirty-three years of age, he
was considered one of the fortunate men of his day, to
enter at so early an age upon an office of such high
importance. I was informed it was his literary attain-
ments that had obtained for him favour at court. At
nineteen he took the second degree of literary honours,
and was at once appointed to the mayoralty in a neigh-
bouring city. In his remarkable intelligence and
unassuming kindness, there was reason to hope that
he would aid in promoting a liberal policy towards
foreigners.

But my visit to a neighbour of Messrs. Luh and Le

G2
84 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

was attended by impressions the reverse of all made in
my interview with those gentlemen. His name was
Lung, then acting the part of mayor in Ningpo. His
long, lank figure,—supercilious look, and affected con-
descension to speak with a foreigner,—chilled me, and
awakened a suspicion that he was a man capable of doing
dark deeds. Of this I had a melancholy proof that very
day on leaving his office. In front of Lung’s visitors’
room, my eye caught a group of people collected in the
middle of an area. As I approached the spot, I saw an
unfortunate culprit, with his knees bared, kneeling on
a coil of iron chains. He was fixed in that horrid pos-
ture by having his hands tied behind his back to a stake
that was held firmly in the ground by two men. If he
swerved to the right or the left, a man on either side,
armed with a whip, forced the tortured culprit back to
his perpendicular position, by a lash or two on his bare
head. The agonies of the poor fellow were evident,
from his quivering lips, pallid countenance, and tremu-
lous voice imploring relief, which was refused with the
cold mocking command, “ Confess or suffer.” I left the
spot speechless.

To leave this “ chamber of horrors :’—Situate within
the north gate of Ningpo, there were under one roof
two temples of the Taou sect, called the Yushing Kwan,
which I repeatedly visited. Though the flight of build-
ings was extensive, and there were not many priests
about, everything seemed in good order, probably
owing to its having been recently tenanted by some
officers of state; for when official residences are scarce
or in ruin, temples, monasteries, and even nunneries,
are converted into officers’ apartments. The authorities
of Ningpo, having by the ravages of 1841 and 1842
been thrown out of house and home (for our British
troops, although they spared private, did not spare offi-
cial residences), were for a year or two obliged to bury
themselves in the halls and cloisters of the priesthood.
A CHINESE TEMPLE. 85

On my first visit, I found the Yushing temple lay close
under the walls, and sheltered at the back by a thick
grove of trees. The avenue from the outer lodge to
the sanctum sanctorum was clean and cool,—overhung
by the branches of lofty trees that rose up on each side
of the walk, and threw a sombre quiet over the whole
place. The chief priest, a man of short stature and
slender make, but venerable in appearance and genteel
in manners, politely volunteered to show me round
the building. I passed from one corridor to another,
but, throughout the immense building, met with only
half a dozen inmates of the sacerdotal order. The spa-
cious chambers and halls were occupied by sculptured,
carved, or merely painted images, of all sizes, shapes,
‘and ranks, young and aged, animal, human, devilish,
and imagino-divine. A few of the inscriptions were
awfully misapplied. At the entrance-gate, for instance,
this line ran below an ugly three-eyed monster, “ The
three eyes that neither good nor evil can evade.”

A little way on from this I observed another large
gateway, belonging to the temple of Lew-tsoo. Within
that entrance, and under cover, there were seated four
huge figures, “the four great Kin-kang,’—probably
standing there to the present day. One carries a lyre,
“at the notes of which,” they say, “the ears of the
whole world are awakened.” Another, with a black
and ferocious face, flourished a drawn sword. A third
sported a big umbrella, and is said by the simple
elevation of this instrument, to have power to draw
down to earth storms of thunder and rain. The fourth
twists a long snake round his arm, to denote skill to
tame wildness into submission. They were arranged
two on each side of the passage. In the centre gate-
way, an image faced you exactly as you entered, very
stout and with the breast and upper abdomen exposed,
seated on a large cloth bag, laughing and looking night
jolly, with the two words inscribed overhead, Chih
86 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

siaou, “the ever-laughing one.” This is a repre-
sentation of “the Buddha that is to come.” Behind
him there was an erect idol, called “ the Wei-to image,”
or “the Hoofah wei-to,” as he is said to be “ the
protector of the Buddhist faith.’ He was clad in
armour, and seemed ready for the offensive or the
defensive. Within there was a crowd of other images,
chiefly canonized heroes and disciples of this popular
superstition.

Passing from that point, I made for a Buddhist
monastery close by,—the Yenchingsze. There I found
fifty priests. Adjoining it there was another, called
Kwantang, still larger than any I had seen, and more
ornamented. The images of Buddh here were the
most gigantic I have ever set eyes on in China—the
three principal representations of Buddh—the Shihkia, |
the Wanshoo, and the Poohien. Just behind that
triad, there stood the “Thousand-handed Kwanyin,”
the Shiva of the Hindoos. On each side of these dit
majores, there was a row of nine figures to represent
some celebrated hermits and deified genii, called “the
Lohan,” all in various postures and with different
features. The priests spoke with regret at having lost
an enormous metal bell that belonged to their temple,
and which was carried off by the British when Ningpo
fell into their hands. “That bell of Ningpo” now
figures in the British Museum.

When I visited this temple, there were only fifty or
sixty priests, who had come from different parts of the
empire. Occasionally there are above 1,000 within
these walls, whose sleeping-berths seemed destitute of
every vestige of comfort, while the mess-room and
kitchens looked the very reverse. In one of the
kitchens a huge boiler was pointed out, in which, they
said, as much rice could be boiled at one time as to feed
about 2,000 persons. The head priest invited me into
his sittizg-room, where we conversed on a variety of

e
A CHINESE TEMPLE. 87

subjects. He and his attendants listened to my re-
marks on the existence of the only true God and his
claims to our homage; and, touching the Saviour Jesus
Christ, it appeared they had obtained, at different times,
some portions of our Sacred Scriptures and of Christian
tracts in Chinese.

Without speaking of the difference in their doctrines,
ceremonies, and canonicals, the marked distinction
between the Taouist and Buddhist priests that I en-
countered on this occasion was this:—The priests of
Buddha had their heads clean shaven, without a relic
of hair left. Those of the Taouist religion, however,
shaved as their countrymen generally did,—nourishing
the hair upon the crown of the head, until it became
long enough to make a kondeh, which they fixed with a
hair-pin; so that the only difference from the com-
monalty was in the Taouist priests tying up the hair in
a tuft on the crown, while the people generally let it
dangle in the form of a queue.

To pass on to other buildings in this city worth a
visit: There was “ the palace of the God of the Eastern
Range.”’—-In China there are “Five yoh,” or ranges
of lofty mountains, that have given rise to a good deal
of fabulous matter; the Eastern chain, the Taishan
mountains, in Shantung; the Western chain, the
Hwashan, in Shense; the Southern chain, the Hung-
shan, in Hoopih; the Northern chain, the Hanshan,
in Shanse; and the Central chain, the Sungshan,
in Honan. Each is supposed to be the residence
of a presiding deity—To the resident genius of the
Eastern range this building is consecrated. It lay to
the south of the “ Bridge-gate,” from which I disco-
vered a path close under the city walls leading direct
to it. The range of the edifice was long. It bore an
elegant front, decorated with a group of handsome
reliefs, among which was embossed in gilt its name. On
entering, I found it almost deserted. None of the
88 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

regular priesthood made their appearance, nor were
votaries to be seen. The only persons to be descried
(except the door-keeper) were mat-makers. It appeared
to be more a mat-mart than a sacred building. The
images were dusty and filthy, besides showing other
signs of disuse and neglect. On pushing my way to
the extreme end, I espied a gallery of idols, and
attempted to ascend the staircase. As the doors were
barred, admission could not be gained, and my atten-
tion was called to two notices, the one placed at the
bottom of the right-hand flight of steps, warning
“(those that eat) strong meats (and drink) wine not
to enter :” the other upon the opposite side, advising
“the unclean” person hastily to retire. Passing out to
the street, I perceived a wicket on the right hand of the
principal gateway. It was opened to me, and I was
invited to look on illustrations intended to depict the
terrors of hell. The apartment, a dark, dreary cell, is
called teyoh, “the earthly dungeon.” In the centre of
the ground-floor there were images of hideous aspect
in threatening attitudes, and behind them groups of
small figures in stucco relief plastered upon the wall,
to exhibit the pains and penalties of hell. These were
arranged in three or four rows, rising one above the
other until they reached the ceiling. Each group had
its judge, criminal, executioners, and peculiar form of
punishment. The judges were attired as officers gene-
rally are, and the executioners as police-runners. The
grade of penalties was varied according to the heinous-
ness of the culprit’s crime, and the horrors of future
punishment were depicted before the spectator in every
possible form. To be whipped, to be bastinadoed, to
be seared with red-hot irons, to be strangled, to be
speared, to be beheaded, to be sawn asunder, to be
flayed alive, to be squeezed, flattened, and crushed be-
tween two thick planks, to be slit up, to be Lored through
and through, to have the eyes dug or chiselled out, to
PAGODA OF NINGPO. 89

have the limbs torn off one by one, to be plunged from
a cliff or a bridge into a dungeon below, or into a
rapid torrent, to be pounded in a heavy mortar, to be
boiled in a hot-water caldron, to be burnt up in a fur-
nace, to be baked at the stake, to have hot liquids
poured down the throat, &c. &c., constitute the ideas of
future punishments indulged in the books of this school,
a counterpart of the torments inflicted by the Inquisi-
tion in Europe upon the magnanimous adherents to the
Protestant faith.

En route I visited the Tienyih-koh, a valuable repo-
sitory of Chinese works, chiefly those published anterior
to the opening of the present dynasty,—a collection
said to belong to the Fan family, a member of which
was keeping it. The works were arranged in 300
classes, and the cases in which they were deposited were
closely shut, to be opened only on special occasions.

Turning from this spot, I bent my steps to the Ten-
fung t‘ah, named by foreigners the “ Tower of Ningpo,”
the “ Pagoda of Ningpo,” or the “ Ningpo Obelisk.”
As you ascend the river from Chinhai and come within
five miles of Ningpo, this is the most prominent object
that arrests the eye; and, to foreigners who visit the
city, it is a point of no little attraction. As soon as
they enter the east gate of the city, they make for it,
and wend their way in a south-west direction. After
shaping their course through numberless streets, it
abruptly bursts upon their view, rising 160 feet over
their heads, and towering high above the surrounding
houses. This pyramid is hexagonal, and counts seven
stories and above twenty-eight windows. At every
window there is a lantern hung up; and when the
obelisk is illuminated, which I have seen only once
during my stay, the scene is very gay. On my visit,
the building was in much need of repair, as it was daily
becoming more dilapidated, and had already deviated
considerably from the perpendicular, so that it might.
90 REAL LIF IN CHINA.

not inappropriately be called “ the Leaning Tower of
Ningpo.” As it was in the keeping of a Buddhistic
priest who lived in a monastery behind, I was under
the necessity of awaiting his arrival. He, poor man,
found it advantageous to keep the keys. It was in
that way alone he could secure the largesses of his
foreign visitors. By ascending a flight of narrow
wooden steps that ran up in a spiral course through
the interior of the column, I reached the uppermost
story, from which one of the finest views one could
desire opened :—the entire city and suburbs beneath ;
the valley of Ningpo, with its hamlets, villages, hills,
mountain rivulets, and rivers all around; and, away
in the distance, bounding the horizon, chains of moun-
tains on the one hand, the sea with its islands on the
other. Within the tower itself there was nothing to
interest a visitor except the scribbling of Englishmen,
some of whom seem to have been very solicitous to
register their names on its dome for the benefit of pos-
terity. The following was one of the many scratches :—
«P. Anstruther, prisoner, Sco
«PP. Anstruther, free and master, October 13th, 1841.”

in which a lapsus manus had entered an ante-date of
1839 and 1840, for 1840 and 1841. On descending
from the lively spectacle I had been witnessing above,
I found myself among “ heaps of the slain ;”’ the poorer
classes haviug selected the outer base of the edifice, as a
suitable spot on which to deposit the coffins of their dead.

The date at which this tower was founded is exceed-
ingly antique, indeed more ancient than the city itself.
The district of Ningpo, in the time of the original
Han dynasty, or at the opening of the Christian era,
was very small. During the seventh, eighth, and ninth
centuries, it rose in importance. At the commence-
ment of the tenth century, and in the reign of Taitsoo—
LITERARY HALLS. 91

the first monarch in the line of “the Five Dynasties”
which successively contended for the mastery—it was
organized a larger district. During that emperor’s
short sway, the foundation of the city walls was laid
by Hwangshing, a native of the place. But the “Tower
of Ningpo,” had been reared one hundred or one
hundred and fifty years previous to that event. In
raising this superstructure at that anterior date, the
object sought for accorded precisely with the belief,
which at the present day obtains through the whole
‘empire, that the presence of such an edifice not only
secures to the site the protection and favour of heaven,
if it already bears evidence of enjoying it, but represses
any evil influences that may be native to the spot, and
imparts to it the most salutary and felicitous omens.
The tower has stood for the last 1,100 years. But its
history during that period, as given in “the Annals”
already referred to, has been much chequered. It has
fallen to ruims and been rebuilt. It has been burnt
almost to the ground and been reconstructed. It has
been struck by lightning and been repaired. Its
pinnacle has been blown down in a hurricane and has
been restored. Some portions of it are now undergoing
amendment. But its days appear to be numbered, and
ere long its downfall may be announced.

Still pursuing my walk, I came to Hien-Hiohkung,
“ the District Literary Hall.” Each department in the
empire owns a literary hall; so also does each district.
Accordingly this city, being both a district and a
department city, has two such halls. The district
college was laid in ruins amid the disasters of 1841,
and, when I visited it, was rising out of a mass of
wrecked materials into a neat, orderly, attractive range
of buildings. In these days, there is more name and
show than reality or utility in such an institute. It
was originally designed to be the residence of the literary
officer, or government superintendent appointed to pre-
92 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

side over the interests of learning in the district, but
especially to patronize and promote the studies and
views of those candidates who should be so successful
as to take the first degree. Here they were to pursue
their daily studies, and to undergo their monthly exami-
nations, under his immediate inspection. But, from
the degeneracy of the age, it has almost become the
seat of a sinecure.

The Department Hail, dedicated to Confucius, is a mag-
nificent flight of very roomy buildings in the northern
quarter of the city. It was occupied by the British
officers in 1841. Its first foundations were laid in
another part of the city, in the eighth century of the
Christian era. It was removed to its present site
three hundred years afterwards. There was little to
interest the eye here beyond the extensive grounds, the
capacious and vaulted halls, the gilded, carved, and
decorated roofs, the pillars, walls, and tablets, comme-
morative of the virtues and honours of Confucius and
his earliest and most renowned followers. The central
tablet of all, raised upon an elevated stone pedestal,
bore the following inscription :—“ The Spiritual Seat of
the Most Holy Teacher, Conrucius.” There was no
image; but before this tens of thousands have paid
divine adoration and worship, and a native of Ningpo
informed me that “annually, at the opening of the
spring and the autumn seasons respectively, before this
shrine they offer up to the most holy sage one cow, one
sheep, one pig, with a certain number of pieces of silk
and a variety of sacrificial vessels filled with grain, dried
fruits, and vegetables.”

Rambling out of the city, I got into lumber-yards,
dockyards, &c. and, among other curiosities, found
ice-houses, on the banks of the river. Most of these
ice-depositories were not built under but above ground,
generally on a platform of earth, so elevated as to be
out of the reach of the freshes of the river and neigh-
ICE-HOUSES. 93

bouring swamps. Upon this mound a bamboo frame
was thrown and closely thatched over with paddy-straw.
The ice had been taken from the surrounding fields,
tanks, and ponds, which the proprietors of the ice-stores
filled with water during the frost. When of a sufficient
thickness, it was collected; and as it was brought in
each layer was covered with dry straw, to preserve it
during the summer. Every ice-house had its drain to
carry off the meltings. The article was not used by the
natives at Ningpo, except as an antiseptic for flesh and
fish during the heats of summer. The people knew
nothing of cooling liquids, except as they had observed
foreigners use ice for that purpose; and they were quite
content to sell me a basket of it for 3d. or 4d., a charge
by no means extravagant during the dog-days. The
population of Ningpo was supplied with fish caught
several leagues from the coast; and as without ice it
would have been altogether impracticable to bring it to
town in an eatable state, the fishermen were regularly
supplied with it from these houses. To keep the article
from dissolving, the hatchways of the ice-junks were
covered with straw and mats, constantly kept moist with
sea-water. Ina journal kept during one of the Burmese
embassies from Ava to Peking,—translated by Lieut.-
Colonel Burney,—the followimg odd paragraph is to be
found :—*“ For the use of the Chinese emperor in the
hot season, the ice in the lake to the north-west of his
palace-inclosure is broken open, as we saw, with
hatchets, and axes, &c.; and pieces about three or
four cubits thick and two or three long, have holes
made at one end, as is done by us to logs of timber,
and are conveyed by ropes and put into the moat sur-
rounding the palace-inclosure. This ice melts and
becomes water, in consequence of the increasing heat
in the month of March.” In this manner his Imperial
majesty is iced during the summer !—at least so imagi-
nation would have it.
O94 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

CHAPTER II.

PUBLIC FEELING TOWARDS FOREIGNERS AFTER THE LAST WAR—RESI-
DENCE IN A CHINESE FAMILY—LODGINGS IN A BUDDHIST MONASTERY
—IN A BUDDHIST NUNNERY—AT A CHINESE MERCHANT'S.

Picture to yourself an Englishman 17,000 miles away
from home, residing in a large Chinese city that was
surrounded by a ponderous wall of five miles’ length
and occupied by a population which till recently had
been driven out by British fire and sword,—an English-
man living among a people, not only unable to sympa-
thize with him, but totally different in language, habits,
dress, religion, and notions, many of them too (in con-
sequence of the late disasters of war) overwhelmed with
sorrow, or overawed with fright, or burning with hatred,
or gnawed with envy, or reeking with vengeance,—a
single solitary Euglishman living there alone and com-
panionless; and by sympathy you may be able to realize
something of the position in which I found myself at
the close of 1842.

When I had been some time there, it was of no little
interest to watch their various expressions of feeling
about foreigners.

Once, as I tramped down a long lane between two
rows of heavy-built mansions, I met a party of rough
stalwart Chinamen, and passing them, saluted them
with a friendly word. They did not return it, but look-
ing back at me, said to each other, “Oh, but for the
Nanking treaty, what a chance to catch that fellow ! ”
I replied with a smile and a bow.

At other times, a term of reproach like fan-kwei,
“ foreign devil,” fell on the ear. I could forgive this.
DISMAY AT THE SIGHT OF ENGLISII. 95

It was only a traditional vocable, which most of them
had got from their fathers, but was not intended by
themselves as an insult: so that generally I took no
notice of it, except with a significant look or by asking
the offender if he knew the meaning of his language.

More frequently I was struck with symptoms of
excessive terror shown by the commonalty, particularly
during the first part of my stay. Indeed it was painful
to observe the undue timidity that men, women, and
children of all classes evinced at the sight of the
foreigner. Everywhere I was at once recognized by
the tight trowsers, long black coat, and English hat.
At fifty yards off, my appearance was the signal for
women to bolt into their houses with their screaming
children and bar the doors. When I trudged along
the paved street, every passenger seemed as if he wished
he could shrink into a nut-shell. One dared not look
me straight in the face. Another stole a side glance
at my hand or umbrella, imagining that my stick con-
cealed a spring gun, or my very fingers could be turned
into pocket-pistols. A third, as he shuffled past, would
put his coat-sleeve (or, if he had such a thing, his
handkerchief) up to his nose, and when he had got
clear of me, he would spit; for he had heard, and sus-
pected it was too true, that about “ these outside barba-
rians” there was a dangerous and infectious malaria.
A crowd of gaping mouths and staring eyes would
follow at a distance; but the least halt I made scattered
the multitude, and sometimes I found myself standing
alone wondering and amused at the strange effect.

No doubt, much of this probably was to be traced to
the prowess and triumph of the foreign sword. But
certainly the marvellous tales, circulating among them
about their formidable foes, must have added no little
to their consternation when they saw them face to face.
Thus when Chusan was first taken by the English, in
1840, of the stories their appearance occasioned some
96 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

were supremely ridiculous;—such as, that they had
legs without joints,—their limbs were so stiff that if
they fell, they could not rise,—they were stone blind,—
their faces were perfectly red, and the hair of the head
fiery,—in their native country they had no moon, no
sun, no stars, no sky,—being destitute of the medicinal
rhubarb, they were affected with eternal costiveness,—
the troops of India (which accompanied the expedition)
were amphibious animals, living seven days in the sea
and seven on shore,—and the British troops were so
easily affected by cold, that the winter frosts of Ningpo
and Shanghai would assuredly destroy them. Other
more extraordinary descriptions of the English were
given out by the government officers, purposely to fire
the soldiers with courage and fill the people with
contempt of foreigners, though really more calculated
to frighten them. The consequence was, that, when
the Chinese “ braves”? went out to meet those English
monsters, they were taken with more than sudden
amazement at finding them so sleek, nimble, hardy,
dexterous, dauntless, and victorious,—the very reverse
of what they had heard or expected,—and the nervous
system of people and soldiery sustained a shock from
which they could not soon recover.

The cowardice which the Chinese military in general
showed during the struggle with England, certainly
lowered them much in public estimation ; and ever since
that trial of strength and courage, the native soldiery,
always dreaded for its oppression, has been despised for
its want of manliness. The citizens of Ningpo themselves
related some amusing stories of their military leaders
disguising themselves in sackcloth, or coarse hempen
garments, and straw sandals, to elude the pursuit of the
British. A Chinese eye-witness of the scene used with
great humour to recite the following story :—While
H.M.S. Cornwallis and other vessels of war lay abreast
of Nanking during the truce, when the negotiations
CHINESE COWARDICE. 97

for peace were in course of deliberation, the garrison of
that capital was, on one occasion, thrown into tremen-
dous confusion from the roar of British cannon sud-
denly bursting upon their ears. It was a salute. But
imagining that, in defiance of truce engagements, the
English broadsides were opening on the citadel, the
brave-hearted sons of Han threw off their heavy boots
in the open streets, rushed through narrow lanes
and dirty canals, and ran for their lives as they best
could.

On a certain evening I went to a temple, as spectator
of some religious ceremonies, accompanied by the
native who was fond of telling the above anecdote.
There happened to be two petty officers there who were
anxious to get on the same gallery with me; but, as
there was no room, claim for admission was refused by
my friend, who well knew who the applicants were.
Upon this, however, their quiet request rose to a stormy
demand that the gallery-doors should immediately be
opened, as the gentlemen outside were of such and such
a family and rank, &c. There was no denying this.
But my guide, who was sitting by, whispered to me,
loud enough for them to hear as they walked in, “ Yes,
you press these claims now; but ’tis no sooner p’uny
than you p’ang!” This was to them very cutting, but
occasioned much merriment to the crowd around, as
it was accompanied by gestures remarkably expressive ;
pung in the patois denoting the firing of a gun, p’ang
the flight of defeat. Next day, a town policeman
appeared at my lodgings to inquire who that English-
man might be, whose friends refused admittance to the
officers that visited the tempie on the previous night.
Dr. Chang replied (without my sanction), “That Eng-
lishman’s name is Mei [which was my surname], and
he is the friend of the great civil officer Ma [Morrison],
the Secretary to his Excellency Pus [Pottinger], who
is the Plenipotentiary of the British sovereign and the

H
98 REAL LIFE 1N CHINA.

intimate friend of Eleepoo, Keying, and Niukien, the
commissioners that assisted at the formation of the
treaty of Nanking.’ The messenger went away
thoroughly cowed, and nothing was heard from his
masters after that.

The breaking of national conceit and pride was one
decidedly beneficial effect of the terrible chastisement
which Great Britain inflicted on China in the last war;
and, if I might here sum up the notes subsequently made
on the same score, especially at the northern ports of
China, I could not do better than quote the closing para-
graph of Mr. Macaulay’s speech in the Parliament of
1840, when the question of that war with China was
brought before the House, every word of which is a pro-
phecy already fulfilled :—“‘I have done; and have only
to express my fervent hope that this most righteous
quarrel may be prosecuted to a speedy and triumphant
close, that the brave men to whom is intrusted the task
of exacting reparation, may perform their duty in such
a manner as to spread throughout regions in which
the English name is hardly known, the fame, not only
of English skill and valour, but of English mercy und
moderation ; and that the overruling care of that Provi-
dence which has so often brought good out of evil, may
make the war to which we have been forced, the means
of establishing a durable peace, beneficial alike to the
victors and the vanquished.”

Naturally enough, under the circumstances in which
I was placed at Ningpo, the appellations and epithets
by which the Chinese specified foreigners came up as a
point of interesting inquiry, especially as illustrative of
their views and feelings towards strangers from distant
lands.

There are expressions used in official writings, such
as ejin or wai-e. These at one time awakened sus-
picion in our government, and recently led to a smart
discussion among foreign sinologues; but the upshot of
NAMES YOR FOREIGNEKS, 99

the inquiry has been to ascertain that the term meant
no more than Bagapoc, as used originally of those
who were not “Greeks,” or unable to speak the Greek
language,—“ Gentiles” as opposed to “Jews,” and
“foreign”? in contrast to “home.” So with other
phrases in Chinese books. In easy writing and talking,
they also designate them “outside people,’ “ people
from afar,’ “travelling strangers,’ ‘people of the
western ocean,” “ outside foreigners.”

In naming the nations to which foreigners separately
belong, sometimes there is an attempt to transfer the
proper name, e.g., Yingkihlih for England, Amiliko
for America, Holan for Hollanders ; at other times, the
nations are described by their flags, e. g., Danes by
Hwangke, or “ yellow flag,”—America, by Hwake, or
“flowery flag,’ >” Prussia, | by Tanyingke, “the flag of
only one eagle.” In official documents that pass be-
tween the Chinese and English governments, England
is designated the ¢a ying kwah, “the great Eng(lish)
nation.” With polite Chinese who converse about
England, the same style of address is not unusual.
There is the phrase Hungmaou, “red-haired,” applied
to foreigners of all classes. This probably arose from
the Dutch being among the first to open trade with
China. It appears that, when they visited the empire
three hundred years ago, they excited the wonder of
the Chinese by their reddish hair; hence, the name
given to them and other subsequent visitors indis-
criminately. A Chinese work, alluding to their arrival,
savs, “Their raiment was red, and their hair too.
They had bluish eyes deeply sunken in the head,
and our people were quite frightened by their strange
aspect.”

In the south of China, at Canton especially,
foreigners are assailed by the opprobrious epithet of
“foreign devil,’ &c. This, during the war with
England, crept into the vocabulary of the people in

H 2
100 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the north, and has not yet been erased. There they
sometimes are designated “black devils,” &c. But I
am happy to say, that in the north less than in the
south is the ear of the foreigner offended by nicknames
for which there can be only the apology offered above.

I have heard myself called a Weitsze or a Wotsze.
On inquiry, I ascertained that this is a name applied by
them to nations lying on the east of the empire,—to
the Japanese, for instance, who amongst the Ningpo
people have long been known by that term. The Por-
tuguese, who of foreigners were the first to trade three
centuries since at this port, were likewise designated
“Wotsze.” It was to be expected that, ignorant at
that time as the Chinese were of geography and of the
geographical position of Portugal, they would give the
same name to all foreigners who then made their
appearance on the eastern coasts. From further inquiry,
I learnt that many of the people in the Chihkiang pro-
vince have not yet been so enlightened as to relinquish
that appellation in speaking of foreigners; and when at
Ningpo, I found that at Hangchow foreigners gene-
rally, the English in particular, still were designated
Weitsze.

Perhaps the most singular name by which to denote
a foreigner, especially an Englishman, is “I say.’ This
was quite common at Chusan and Ningpo during the
occupation of those cities by our troops; and in some
localities it has got mto the local brogue as a foreign
name for a foreigner. The derivation of the name is
as odd as the word itself. During the war, wherever
our troops settled down in quarters for any time, boys
and other parasites crept into their cantonments, ready
at any notice to help our troops as servants, &. They
could not fail to catch the very common ejaculation,
“T say,’ “I say,” with which the sailor or soldier
saluted his comrade, and the natives concluding it to
be a friendly name, it came to be a usual designation
MISFORTUNE PUNISHED. 101

for a foreigner, introduced into Chinese sentences.
For example (giving a translation of some sentences),
“There was a red-coated I say sent me to buy a fowl ;”
“Did you see a tall J say go along here a while ago ?”
I was passing the police-office at Tinghai one morning,
while military law reigned in that district; a thief had
been caught and was tied up to be publicly whipped ;
as the lash was applied to the fellow’s naked back, he
roared and shouted frightfully. He appealed to his gods
first, but finding this appeal of no service, he thought
he would try the “I says,” who were thrashing him.
During the punishment, he continued calling out
*Poosah, poosah! Omi-to-fuh, omi-to-fuh! I say, I
say! OT say, I say!”

Being still a guest under the roof of Dr. Chang, I
took care every day to return at sunset from my usual
perambulations. On one of these evenings I observed
that, after being himself absent all day, the aged doctor
returned late, sighing often and groaning deeply. I
perceived there was some fresh burden on his mind.
‘This was confirmed by his calling my teacher aside. To
him he explained his troubles, the particulars of which
he requested might be communicated to me. Being an
intimate friend and confidant of the prefect Shoo,
Dr. Chang had been early that morning summoned by
his worship to a private audience, during which he had
to break the news that had just reached him, of his
own degradation from office, the forfeiture of all his
honours, and his committal to the Board of Punish-
ment. :

The alleged occasion of such summary punishment
was, not his well-known disposition for a peaceful termi-
nation of the differences with Britain (his utmost efforts
to promote which had been put forth during the friendly
conferences at Nanking), but his having lost his ground
at Tinghai, when that city was attacked and carried by
the English in the autumn of 1841. He had superin-
102 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

tended the erection of the defensive works on the island
of Chusan, and was now made responsible for their loss.
After that disaster, he had twice attempted self-destruc-
tion, but, through the prompt remedies of his close
attendants, he had been restored. That he had survived
the disgrace was no small item in the charge against
him. Had he fallen in battle, it was said, his manes
would have been raised to high honours and his heirs
to official rank.

Before proceeding with the history of our fallen
friend, one word about suicide in China. The popular
modes of self-destruction are drowning, hanging, and
swallowing opium or gold-leaf. With officials, the
first and the last are the most respectable methods.
During the war with England, when their reverses were
frequent, the military officers In numerous instances
effected self-destruction in one or other of these ways.
Various accounts are given of the use and effect of gold-
foil for the purpose. One has it, that a quantity of the
flimsy leaf made up into a large bolus, is swallowed:
when a cupful of water is drunk, it expands the gold-
leaf in the stomach, which distends so as to occasion
speedy death. Another account explains, that a bundle
of the loose foil is thrust down the throat to produce
suffocation.

One other mode of self-destruction is reported among
the people as a fact, though it sounds fabulous to us.
There is a bird called the Stenhoh,* on the crown of

* IT saw a pair of this ornithological curiosity at Ningpo. They
were natives of Siam, and resembled the crowned crane, or Crus carun-
culatus. They were both young, male and female, nearly of a size, and
had very long legs. The head was of a most handsome black, forking
behind, having on the crest a scarlet skin. The rest of the body was
white, except the secondaries of the wings which were not red, as re-
presented in some Chinese drawings that I have seen, but black and
overlapping the tail. Upon the embroidered breast-pieces of dresses,
worn by the highest nobles of the state, there is a copy of this singular
bird elegantly worked. A native work on the ornithology of China,
which I have examined, gives some curious and prodigious stories about
A DEGRADED OFFICIAL. 108

whose head there is a beautiful scarlet tuft of down, or
velvet skin, to which, the natives believe, the poison of
the serpent it is fond of eating determines. This
downy crest is often formed into a bead, and that bead
is concealed in the ornamental necklaces of the high
officers, for a suicidal purpose in case of imperial dis-
pleasure, which (as report goes) is easily effected by
merely touching the venomous bead with the tip of the
tongue, when death follows instantly.

From his rank being a lower one than that which
could entitle him to wear that style of necklace, Shoo
had not had the privilege of adopting this aristo-
cratic mode of doing away with himself; although he
ventured on the other expensive and hazardous form
of suicide by gold-leaf, from the consequences of which
he had been rescued by the timely aid of friends.
At last he fell into a calamity considered worse than
that.

Poor unfortunate man, he was stripped of his badges
and plumes of honour. Already his fawning visitors
began to shrink from him, and the heart that yesterday
beat high with expectation, to-day sighed and sank in
despair. In the course of the evening, while these ex-
planations were given, I received from the degraded
official a present of cakes, oranges, and hams, one of
them the ham of a Shantung dog. A kind message
accompanied the donum to say that, under his altered
circumstances, he could not venture to invite me to
dinner as he had wished.

A few days after, I embraced an opportunity to
wait on the downcast Shoo. Shorn of all his official
ornaments, buttons, feathers, &c., he looked a fallen
chieftain. As soon as the usual civilities were over,

this fowl :—that it can live one thousand years ; at sixty years of age it
can sing regularly and beautifully every hour of the day; that on
reaching its one thousandth year it can mount trees, but never before
that, &c.
104 REAL LIFE 1N CHINA.

he significantly shook his head, exclaiming, “Ah, we
officers of the middle empire are badly off! But thrice
happy your people and princes, with just laws and equal
privileges!” His worship then entered into a detail of
his disasters.

By his learning, suavity, and justice, Shoo had
secured for himself a good reputation in Ningpo, and
made many personal friends. Of course, much anxiety
was felt for him among the householders. More than
once, the citizens forwarded petitions to the governor
of the province, seeking his interference on behalf of
Shoo-Kungshow. The views of the community thus
intimated, were seconded by a deputation of wealthy
inhabitants, who expressed their readiness to pay a
heavy ransom for his life. It seemed the governor had
gone as far as he could in interceding on his behalf,
but failed. In proof of the sincerity and earnestness of
his well-wishers, the Ningpo residents opened a sub-
scription to redeem the life of their favourite officer.
During those few days of intense anxiety, subscription-
books were circulated through the city, with a page in
each copy appropriated to the several trades and classes
of merchants. In this way the lists began rapidly to
swell; but, in consequence of information from head-
quarters, founded on peremptory instructions from the
Imperial cabinet, these benevolent proceedings were
put a stop to; and every person looked on Shoo as a
fated man.

Several of his personal friends called on me to see if
I could advise a dernier ressort. I knew that Shoo was
a universal favourite among the officers of the British
expedition, and was well known to the heads of that ex-
pedition, especially Sir Henry Pottinger her Majesty’s
plenipotentiary. As Sir Henry was at the time in the
south of China, holding frequent interviews with the
Imperial commissioners appointed to complete the
treaty with England, I recommended that the principal
SAVING AN OFFICER’S LIFE. 105

inhabitants of Ningpo should draw up a petition in
favour of Shoo and forward it to the British plenipo-
tentiary, requesting him to intercede with the Chinese
commissioners on his behalf. They adopted the sug-
gestion, and I had the happiness to transmit their
petition to Hong-Kong, the seat of Sir Henry’s
government. Shortly after, I received a reply from
Sir Henry’s private secretary, to intimate that ‘Sir
Henry needed no petition to make him speak expressly
in Shoo’s favour,” so highly were his abilities and
services valued.

That native officer’s life was spared. He survived
his disgrace and lived for some time after, conscious
(I believe) that none were more anxious for his safety
than Englishmen, and none more successful in inter-
fering for his rescue.

‘From the day of my arrival, the worthy prefect (now
degraded) had been kind in his attentions, and encou-
raged my residing at Dr. Chang’s, till he himself should
be able to select better quarters forme. He had not
succeeded, however; and, from the circumstances that
had befallen him, he saw it prudent to desist from
further search. Apprehensive also that his friend
Dr. C. might get involved in a similar dilemma, he
advised me to remove from his residence and occupy
quarters without the city.

It appeared but prudent to leave the doctor’s homely
cottage as early as possible; though I felt a strong
repuguance at quitting the’ city altogether. Accom-
panied by my steady teacher and guide, I went to the
Kwantang monastery, where the chief priest, a man
advanced in years but of very lively temperament,
conducted me round the building, and showed me the
various chambers and attics. On naming the object of
my visit, he candidly stated that the objection he had
to my living under the same roof was that females
of Ningpo, who formed the majority of the worshippers
106 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

in these temple-premises, would desert the building on
the first rumour of an Englishman tenanting any portion
of it, and the earnings of the priestly office would be
endangered. Of course I could not urge my proposal.

My anxiety to hold quarters within the city arose,
not so much from a view of the advantages that a
missionary enjoys in this situation, but from a convic-
tion that, among a people like the Chinese, the sooner
a precedent such as this is admitted, the better for all
parties, native and foreign. At present it appeared
that no alternative was left but to retire quietly to
the suburbs, and subsequently to embrace the earliest
opportunity of returning into the city.

Upon quitting my kind host’s roof, I took possession
of the back apartments in one of the temples in the
southern suburbs of the city, temporarily appropriated
by the Ningpo authorities for the use of foreign visitors
from Tinghai. There were two buildings contiguous
to each other. I selected the Laouhwuy-kwan, “ the
old Club House.”

Among native residents and merchants, who come
from one province to another, it is common for those of
the same province or department to contribute towards
the erection of a temple on the spot where they are
engaged in business. The temple is dedicated to the
god of their native place or province, for the sake
of gaining whose graces service is conducted by duly-
appointed priests. Theatrical plays are likewise acted
within the building, both to amuse the public and to
gratify the god-idol. The order of priests depends chiefly
on the religious profession of the contributors. But
not unfrequently the custody of the building and the
performance of the ceremonies are left with a layman,
denominated the tsaikung, ‘‘ master of ceremonies,”
whose habiliments are not peculiarly distinctive. The
erection in which my lot was cast, was one built and
supported by voluntary contributions. The chief patrons
CLUB-HOUSES. 107

were Fuhkien men, who had contributed 6,000 dollars
towards the structure. “Assembly Halls” of this
form differ little from a common temple, with a spacious
open area in the centre, and built all round with upper
galleries and commodious rooms. Certain compart-
ments are generally appropriated to strangers who may
be making a passing visit—strangers especially from
those districts to which the patrons of the building
belong. These halls are remarkably convenient for
travellers speaking the same dialect, coming from the
same localities, and probably engaged in the same com-
merce, but without any family connections in a place,
and ignorant of the locale of lodging-houses. In some
respects they answer to European club-houses, or resorts
for people to hear news and obtain market intelligence
from the interior.

Into the upper rooms of this buildmg I moved my
baggage, and contrived to make myself pretty com-
fortable ;—one of the large rooms being divided into
three compartments by suspending sedge mats from
the rafters, so that, between my teacher’s chamber and
wy own, there was a sitting-room. In edifices of this
order, the members of the club usually set up for the
principal object of homage the image of the presiding
genius of their native place. Besides that genius loci,
there were several others occupying various parts of the
building. In the compartment partitioned off for my-
self, there sat the idol, Wanwany, the calm, quiet-faced
* Prince of Literature.”

Having enjoyed the company of that personage for
some time, I must not pass him by without a remark.
He flourished originally 3,000 years since, and conti-
nues to maintain an unsullied reputation in the literary
world, as the author of the Yih-King, “ the Book of
Changes,” the earliest and the most mystic of the Chi-
nese classics. That work was composed by him during a
three years’ imprisonment, under the reign of the last
108 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

emperor of the Shang dynasty, who earned an infamous
celebrity by his follies and crimes. In it he developed
the eight diagrams of Fuhhi into sixty-four combi-
nations; by ringing the changes around which combi-
nations there are no less than 16,777,216 variations
formed. This curious relic of antiquity professes to
treat of the first cause, as founded on the Chinese
system of dual powers, the yang and yin principles,
the grand male and female vivifying elements in the
creation and subsistence of the material nniverse. All
the phenomena of nature are traceable to this duality,
or to the multiform changes of the cabalistic diagrams
connected with it. The principles of human conduct,
good or bad, are likewise deducible from the successive
evolutions of that dual system. Into the hidden mean-
ing of this celebrated classic, Confucius himself spent
many years of inquiry, and with the author’s own
remarks there is now incorporated the addition of a
commentary from the pen of Confucius. The students
of said antique work depend on the annotations of that
sage for clearing up the aphoristic expressions. But
a native catalogue published in China (with all the
books of the four department,—classical, historical,
professional, and delles lettres), mentions no fewer than
1,450 distinct works on “the Book of Changes,” in
the form of treatises, memoirs, expositions, commenta-
ries, &c. A writing like this, bearing the stamp of the
remotest antiquity, and clothed in language of which
their most sage philosophers could scarcely decipher
the mystic lines, is the very book to please the Chinese
mind and enlarge the native bump of veneration.
Besides, it has given vast encouragement to the art
of divination from shells, marks, letters, &c. Indeed,
anything and everything of the most fanciful and
superstitious form has found its original here; and
the whole art of divining is ascribed to the god of
literature as its inventor. The author of the strange
A RAT COLONY. 109

and curious fragment I have been speaking of, has of
course for ages been canonized, and is pointed out
among the élite of the Chinese pantheon. It was
the same god of learning that shared the apartment I
had appropriated for myself in the “Old Assembly
Hall.”

But, besides the companionship of that eminent
prince of literature, I found another set of messmates,
tar more vivacious and amusing as well as disturbing ;
for in my lodgment I had been auticipated by a popu-
lous colony of rats and mice. The size of these visitors
was certainly monstrous, as their number was over-
whelming ; and there was no keeping them out during
the night. The tricks they played, too, showed no little
daring; and not inappropriately they have been desig-
nated “the cavalry of Ningpo.” The dexterity with
which they bounded from beam to rafter was surprising.
They were equally expert in rattling over my furniture
at pleasure, and they seemed to scour, in regimental
squads, every nook and corner of the apartment. Their
squeals of pleasure as they pitched into my provisions
were truly amusing, and their screams of rage or pain
as they pitched into each other were equally annoying.
But it was not the least of nuisances, just when one was
dropping off to sleep, to be aroused by having the face
licked by their slimy tongues, or pawed by their cold
extremities.

Rat-destruction would have been an endless job and
of little service, as the places of the slain were instantly
occupied by successors, determined to wreak vengeance
for the blood of their comrades. If rats were a favourite
dish at a Chinaman’s table, assuredly the rats of Ningpo
must have lost their popularity with the residents there ;
for in number they not only never decreased, they
seemed daily to multiply. Rat-catching gives employ
to certain hands here, for the purpose of supplying a
limited market for ratskins, to be used in various forms.
110 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Often as I have paced the streets in China, my atten-
tion has been arrested by the tinkling of little bells,
giving notice of a rat-catcher approaching. Here he
comes with a pole across his shoulder, on each end of
which there hangs a frame with an exhibition of dead
rats, poisoned rats, stuffed rats, dried rat-skins, and
flaming labels to advertise his office as rat-catcher,
There are passing travellers who have seen spectacles
of this kind on arriving in China, and, having heard
beforehand that the Chinese devour everything, rats
and mice among the rest, have concluded that those
rumours were confirmed by such a sight. On return-
ing home, these gentlemen have published notices of
their visit to Chinese towns; and, by inserting pictures
of a man going to market with strings of rats and
mice hanging by their tails to a stick across his shoul-
ders, they perpetuate the idea, especially among young
people, that these form common articles of food for
the “ celestials.””

In a few days it came to be bruited abroad among the
Buddhist priests, that Mei-siensang was tenanting one
of their temples; and soon I felt apprehensive of being
pestered as much by swarms of priests as of rats. On
the second day of my residence at this monastery, five
Buddhists of the sacerdotal order waited on me. They
were inquisitive about my dress, boxes, books, &c. &c.;
but began to feel some interest in trying to satisfy me,
when they found I was, on the other hand, as curious
to know particulars about them.

From inquiries then made and subsequently con-
firmed, it appears the larger majority of bonzes come
from the lowest classes of society,—perhaps fatherless,
and given up to the service of Buddha by a desti-
tute mother for a few pieces of money, or, as often
happens, sons sold to the shrine of their god by both
parents, only because they are poor. These five indi-
viduals themselves assured me that they had each
A BUDDHISTIC DINNER. lll

entered the priesthood at an early age and in orphan-
hood,—one at six, a second at eight, a third at ten,
the fourth at twelve, and the fifth at fourteen. On
another occasion I was informed of a mother having
sold a child only five years of age, to be trained to the
priesthood, for the trifle of ten dollars, or scarcely £2
sterling. There are priests I have met with who have
taken the vow late in life: for instance, one at Tinghai,
who had married and begotten two sons before he took
the vows of priesthood. He told me his wife was dead,
but he seemed utterly unconcerned about his sons.

After a week’s residence in this suburban monastery,
finding it anything but convenient, I resolved to seek
other quarters, and succeeded in ferreting out apart-
ments within the east gate. At this time I chose a
wing adjoining a Buddhist nunnery dedicated to the
goddess Kwanyin. The rooms had lately been occupied
by an officer of the civil department. Being now
vacated, I engaged, at ten dollars a month, a kitchen,
sitting-room, and two bed-rooms. As soon as the terms
of agreement were drawn up, I deserted the monastery,
which I had been occupying for seven days.

However, the monks of Buddh were reluctant I
should leave them without a parting feast. I was too
glad to accept the offer. As we sat down to dinner, in
appearance there was nothing to distinguish the viands
from what one ordinarily meets with at the tables of
those who have “not come out of the world.’ The
Buddhists invariably prate of having separated them-
selves from the commonalty, and, in proof, talk of
having given up for aye the unclean things of a grovel-
ling world. They profess entire abstinence from’ blood
and racy food, flesh, garlic, or animal oil. I have known
them even refuse to drink plain tea out of a cup or
teapot of mine, afraid lest there should be any contami-
nating stuff in it. Nevertheless, rigid though their
principles be, and austere their professions, I am com-
112 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

pelled to testify, from what I have seen of the practices of
these priests, that they are rather loose and inconsistent
in common life. The head priest in this very establish-
ment gladly accepted from me a present of a ham; and
a junior in the building informed me that, during their
minority, priests are permitted to indulge in the rich
treats of the table. It was with the assistance of this
young priest that my daily meals were cooked as long as
I lodged here. And if rumours are to be received, the
high monasteries in the interior of China are notorious
for the sumptuous living of the inmates. I was parti.
cularly amused, on this occasion of their giving mea
dinner, to see how the fraternity sought, even with their
simple materials of bean-powder, vegetables, &c., to
conform as far as possible to what they of the world
eat. At first sight the dishes seemed similar to what
one finds at any other ¢adle-d’héte; and, until I had
examined and tasted them, I thought everything before
me was very flesh—very fowl. The skin of the chicken
appeared to perfection, and I had before me what
seemed the pimply morsel; but it turned out to bea
square of consolidated bean-pulse, the upper laver of
which had been impressed with a rough towel! We
had “mock fowl,” “mock mutton,’ “mock bird’s-
nest,” ‘mock etcetera.’ The wine, however, was
neat and unadulterated, a strong spirit distilled from
rice, the best of which goes by the name “ Shauhing
wine.”

In the middle of dinner, about 7 P.u., my servant,
who had gone on with my baggage, came to inform me
that the lady-abbess, in charge of the rooms I had
taken, sent a request that I would delay my coming
for a day or two. She felt desirous to make further
inquiry about her new lodger, and to satisfy some
misgivings she had at having given up the apartments
to a foreigner. But it was too late. All my luggage
had been moved, and it only remained for me to move
DINNER IN A NUNNERY. 113

my person. The head priest from whom I was about to
part, on being apprised of the dilemma, volunteered to
accompany me and stand surety for my good character.
Prudence dictated that I should occupy the new lodg-
ings without delay, and within fifteen minutes I found
myself at the principal gate of the nunnery.

When I entered I was introduced to the abbess.
She doffed her skull-cap, and made a respectful bow
with her bald pate and closed fist. On returning the
courtesy, she began to make inquiries about my age,
family, calling, and objects, to all which I answered
apparently to her satisfaction and agreeable surprise
too, on finding that I could converse with her in her
own tongue. She was evidently relieved by this inter-
view, as well as by the recommendations of the priest.
When her mind seemed at rest, she brought in a tray
of tea and sweetmeats. The nuns under her care, nine
in number, were hanging about the door; and, at last,
the supérieure gathered courage to introduce her pet
disciple, a girl of twelve, who had been for six years
under her instruction, but not yet fully initiated. Ina
short time the timidity of the abbess entirely wore off.
However, the curiosity which she and her pupils, during
the rest of the evening, evinced about everything the
foreigner had brought, became so prying and disagree-
able, that their adieu was hailed as a timely relief.
My small stock of tracts was opened, and I was grati-
fied to find that all the nuns were able to read. I
gave each a copy, and we parted for the night good
friends.

In a day or two the nuns also sent me a dinner, not
merely to conciliate my good-will, but also to get a few
dollars. Dependent people in China often provide
dinners for their patrons or their superiors, solely with
the view of drawing on their purses; a strange practice,
acknowledged and supported by common consent. But
the repast provided in this case was all vegetable —

i
114 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

vegetable — vegetable; preciscly similar to what the
priests had entertained me with a week before, but got
up with more care and at greater expense. It was
very, very tasteless, to be sure, aud utterly devoid of
relish. Such an attempt to imitate animal diet may
please the fancy, but it will not gratify the palate. As
the Chinese conclude by eating rice with a light soup,
rice came on the table in the regular course, and some
liquid in a centre bowl intended to represent a dish of
soup; but, conld anything be more emetical ?—it was
nothing save lukewarm water—geuuine, limpid, unadul-
terated warm water !

After I had been three weeks in possession of my
quarters at the nunnery, the lady-abbess broadly
hinted her wish that I should look for other quarters,
and, prostrating herself before me, knocked head and
implored that I would forthwith quit. On perceiving
the great anxiety that my presence on the premises
occasioned, I assured the landlady that I would not
trouble her with my presence longer. She had en-
dangered her gains by admitting me under her roof.
Besides, there were prudential reasons that induced me
to hurry off. Circumstances came to light not much
to the credit of these ascetic ladies, which forced me to
suspect that their course of life was a burlesque on
professed purity and continence. Yet, after all, it isa
difficult thing in China to fix on a locality free from
some mala fama, true or false.

Before taking leave of them for good, I must offer a
digest of particulars that I collected about Buddhist
nuns and nunneries in China, during so fit an opportu-
nity of learning something about them.

That building was called the nunnery of Kwanyin,
being dedicated to the idol, also titled in European
writers the “goddess of mercy.” The full designation
of the idol is Kwan she yin, “observing the world’s
sounds.” It is represented as a female with a child
 

 
BUDDHIST NUNS. 115

in her arms, who is supposed to extend her patronage
to all that in trouble or difficulty raise the cry for
compassion,—being one of the numberless objects of
idolatry introduced from the West by the Buddhists.
It is one of the few female deities in China; and
no other idol meets with more respect and honour
throughont the land, nor is there any other so fre-
quently invoked in favour of frail humanity, as women
form the overwhelming majority of the devout, and
Kwanyin is the special patroness of the weaker sex,
especially in the hour of child-bearing.

The great allurement presented by the supporters of
Buddhism to the mind of the aspirant who would con-
secrate herself to the altar of the goddess, is the absorp-
tion after death into the unknown Buddha ;—a matter
that, the more mysteriously it is represented, the more
taking it is to the mind of the ingenuous but credulous
candidate. That sort of personal advantage is held out
by the institution to facilitate the succession of an order
of priestesses who can gain access where the formalities
of society cannot admit the stranger priest, and who
are qualified to work with dexterity and impunity upon
the feelings of a class the most susceptible of religious
impressions.

To maintain a female order of priesthood, the rooms
of “ the annihilated ” or “ absorbed” (as they will have
it) must be filled up either by purchase or by self-
dedication. In the case of purchase, babes and girls
of tender age and good promise are preferred, and
bought up at a low rate. To my personal knowledge,
a sweet child only four years of age has been offered by
its own mother to an abbess for the paltry sum of
eighteen shillings. There are some, however, who
are dedicated by their parents from birth, irrespective
of emolument; and others, on coming of age, volun-
tarily consecrate themselves to the service of this deity.
When the case is optional, it arises often—if not always

12
116 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

—from being thwarted in some of their prospects or
wishes. I have seen a blooming “ religiosa”’ of nine-
teen, who had “ left the world” to take upon herself
the vows of perpetual virginity, in consequence of the
untimely death of her intended husband. That nun
had small feet, her pedicles having been bandaged
prior to her misfortune. But of nuns that I have met
at Ningpo or elsewhere, there are very few with the
cramped foot ; those marked with this deformity having
probably taken the veil of their own accord and without
compulsion, after having reached the years of discretion.

In general the candidate is not admitted into full
orders until she attains the age of sixteen. Prior to
this, and indeed from the very commencement of her
ascetic life, she assumes the garb peculiar to the sister-
hood. The chief apparent distinction between the
novice and the sister in full orders, is that the head of
the latter is wholly shaven, while the former has only
the front part shaven. The younger nuns have platted
queues flowing down behind. The habit which this devout
class wears, on the whole so much resembles the dress
of the Buddhist monks, that in many cases it is impos-
sible at first sight to distinguish the two orders. The
nuns have clumsy shoes, long stockings and garters,
full trowsers, short jackets and wide sleeves, with bald
heads, and tiny skull-caps,—precisely as the priests.
Yet it must be owned the sisters have smoother faces,
softer looks, sweeter voices, and perhaps are more tidy
than the fratres. If report is to be trusted, the nuns of
Soochow have reversed the rules of their order, and,
throwing aside the rough hempen cloth or coarse mate-
rial assigned to the self-denying sisterhood, prefer silks
and satins for dresses.

When a young woman has bared or shaven her head,
or, according to European phraseology, “ taken the
veil,” she is required to live a life of devotion and self-
mortification, She must eat and drink sparingly, and
BUDDILIST NUNS. 117

her diet must consist only of plain vegetable. Strong
meats and drinks are to be avoided as deadly poison.
The business and cares of this life pve not to engross
her attention. She has retired from it, and she must
be fitting herself for eternal canonization. Nothing
should occupy her thoughts or engage her affections
but the service of the temple iu the precincts of which
she lives, and acts of benevolence and compassion.
Religions exercises are daily to be conducted by her ;
the furniture of the small sanctuary connected with
the convent has to be looked after and kept in order ;
and the men or the women who come to worship at
the altars and to ask guidance or comfort are to be
assisted. If there be leisure, the sick and the poor
must be visited; and all who place themselves under
her spiritual direction, it is presumed, are to have a
vital claim on her regard. That she may live a life of
seclusion aud self-denial, she has to pledge herself to
inviolable maidenhood. The thought of marriage must
not enter her head, and the society of man (except
worshippers) is to be shunned. Upon her death she is
to be swallowed up in nihility.

While I resided at the Kwanyin convent, it had
altogether ten nuns, whose ages ran between seven and
twenty-five. Spite their spare diet, they all looked
fat, plump, and hale, with the exception of the two
youngest. The abbess was about forty years of age,
and more masculine in temper than any Chinese woman
I had yet met with. She was of a most passionate
turn, and I have repeatedly watched her anger, when
roused, rise to a fearful pitch. A thorough scold, she kept
her pupils i in perpetual awe. Her avarice was voracious,
and her deceitfulness dark and deep; and, though she
appeared most fastidious in avoiding animal food and
everything of a strong flavour, she was in the habit of
plying herself with ardent spirits, distilled from rice,
and at times appeared to be rather under its influence.
118 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

The daily services in the place were conducted morn-
ing and evening; but at the usual exercises I rarely
saw more than two officiate. On special occasions,
occurring every month, there were services that occu-
pied the whole day. At some of them they were aided
by sisters from neighbouring nunneries, and not unfre-
quently priests were called to join in the sacred con-
certs ; in which case the priests and priestesses occupied
separate apartments, but proceeded with the chants in
unison.

Their sacred books consisted of many volumes, printed
in large text and on fine paper. For these they have
the profoundest respect. 1 happened to purchase a
copy from them, but they would not part with it until
they had importuned me to give it an elevated place on
my bookshelf, and, to make sure of it, had placed it
there with their own hands. The rapidity with which
the pages and sections of their liturgy were hurried off
at their religious services was amazing. Both old and
young appeared equally expert in the recitations; yet
there was nought of a devotional spirit about them. and
their demeanour was far from devout. Repeatedly I
have watched a choir of juvenile nuns meet to pay
religious homage to the stock on their shrine ; but they
were merry, tricky, flirting, and frolicsome as any party
of girls keeping the birthday of a schoolfellow. In
their liturgical forms, such as this was recited, to them
as unintelligible as to us, though laudatory of their
goddess Kwanyin—

“Sew-le sew-le, mo-o, sew-le, sew-sew-le sah-po-o,
Sew-to-le, sew-to-le, sew-mo-le, siou-po-o,
Nan-woo-san, mwan-to-muh, pwan-nan-yen, toh-loo, toh-loo,
te-me-sah, po-o.”

Much time being spent in reading and reciting prayers,
canticles, &c., the candidate, before she can be admitted
into full orders, must undergo an educational training;
BUDDHIST NUNS. 119

and, with this view, many pursue the elementary course
usually adopted through the empire, learning the Trime-
trical Classic, Four Books, &c., and acquiring the ready
use of the pencil. Some nuns are reputed as being well
read in the lore of the country.

Those among the laity (females especially) who have
placed themselves under the spiritual instruction of
anun, are expected to put implicit confidence in her
as a teacher and priestess. Be the devotee a man or a
woman, the chosen preceptress gives the individual a
new name. Each nun is on the alert to cultivate the
acquaintance of the disciples she makes, and to swell
her list of friends, as her private support principally
depends on them.

In this nunnery of Kwanyin I saw a slab behind the
altar, with the names of subscribers all cut out on it.
Visitors from town or country, by no means scarce,
used to leave a little in money or kind; and, what
with gifts and donations, the means of subsistence were
not lacking in this establishment. It had besides some
property invested in lands and houses. And the wing
of the convent which I occupied was entirely appro-
priated to lodgings for country visitors, let out at a
moderate charge, and capable of being made comfort-
able, if one were not constantly subject to annoyance
from the boisterous money-seeking landlady.

I have above mentioned that special services occa-
sionally devolved on the nuns. These were generally
got up by the patrons of the order, under circumstances
of calamity or prosperity, or when the abbess was suc-
cessful enough to work up the superstitious feelings of
a husband by means of a nun-ridden wife. Any
person who engaged the religious performances of
the nuns, was called upon to appoint the number of
sacred books to be recited. For this he had to pay a
certain remuneration, according to a scale of charges.
At each service the nuns respectively received a
120 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

small premium, for pockét-money, not exceeding three-
pence.

In the district of Ningpo, I was told there were thirty
nunneries and about 300 inmates. But the estimation
in which this religious order is held is exceedingly low.
They are described amongst their countrymen as a class
of women almost on a footing with those who are lost to
the most delicate and chaste feelings, that are the glory
and protection of woman. Like the male priests of the
Buddhist religion, they are not only not respected by
the populace, but are detested for their profligacies,
and dreaded for the influence which they are supposed
to exert on one’s destiny by familiar intercourse with the
spirits of the invisible world. Hence the common saying,
“To meet with a nun in the street will be unlucky to
your errand.” Such was the infamous profligacy, in
1840, of the dressy, opiwm-smoking nuns of Soochow, the
capital of Kiangsoo province, that the notorious Yu Kien
(who, in 1841, hastened down to Chinhai, as Imperial
commissioner, invested with full powers to exterminate
us English by fire and by sword), broke up their esta-
blishments and disbanded the sisterhood in that city.

To complete this notice of Chinese nuns and nun-
neries, I must say a word about the two junior inmates
of the Kwanyin convent, already alluded to. The
younger died while I was residing in the establishment.
She died at the early age of seven, and had been an
inmate scarcely one year. When I came first, she was
suffering from ulceration of the bowels. On the abbess
hearing that there was an English physician visiting
Ningpo, she applied through me for his assistance.
Dr. Johnson, of the Madras Rifles, was then on a visit
of a few days, and cheerfully gave his advice, and
prescribed from his own stock of medicines for the
poor sufferer. But unfortunately the child was beyond
remedy, and death had fastened on her vitals. One
morning, while the elder nuns were saying that the
A JUVENILE NUN. 121

child was sleeping soundly, they seemed unaware that
the sleep of death had stolen upon her, until they found
she was insensible to sound and touch. When they
ascertained this, the supérieure had the body removed
out of the house, and put behind, in a common wood-
cellar, there to expire unnursed, unattended. <Aluh,
her senior in age, though still a girl in manners, was
devotedly attached to her dying companion; yet she
was not allowed by the lady-abbess to watch over the
closing moments of her playmate. When the dead
child was laid in her rude coffin, the housemaid was
ordered to cast into it a doll with which she had daily
played; and, after certain incantations to quiet the
spirit of the departed and to bribe away any demons
lurking about the spot, the coffin was carried out and
laid under the city walls, to be removed by the officers
of a charitable institution.

Aluh was twelve years old. Her father used to go
about Ningpo, hawking turnips and greens; but on
his death the mother sold the child to the nunnery
at the tender age of four. In her countenance there
was something peculiarly striking—there was so much
intelligence and cheerfulness—to which her wearing
sickness added a mournful interest. She was a good
reader of Chinese, and able to write too. Often she
stole into my sitting-room to look at my hooks, and
would sit for half an hour at a time to inquire about
England. She seemed glad to read a tract now and
then with me, and to converse on the religion of the
Saviour, — a topic that came up naturally enough,
especially as her state of health could not but awaken
apprehension that she would not long be a survivor
in this world. Though she listened with some
interest to my explanations of gospel truth, it was
panful to detect the thick films of prejudice in-
duced by the idolatrous system in which she had
been trained. A few weeks after I quitted the nun-
122 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

nery, I was distressed to learn that AluA had crossed
“the bourn.”

Through the mediation of several Chinese friends,
suitable lodgings were found for me within the city, not
far from my former apartments, and made as snug as
Chinese can make such things. I moved into them in
the middle of January, 1843.

The landlord was a merchant of property and re-
spectability. During the occupation of the city by the
British, he contributed a good deal of his estate to levy
a militia,—one of many fruitless measures adopted in
those days to repel their foreign foe. Under the sua-
sion of my personal acquaintances, he consented to let

-me have the use of seven rooms, besides cookhouse, &c.,

at the monthly rent of ten dollars. This he afterwards
lowered to four dollars. When the first monthly
rate came due, he positively declined to accept any
remuneration, and begged me to let him have the
opportunity of showing me this mark of kindness. Up
to the time of my occupying his rooms, he had been
afraid of Englishmen; but, after having seen several
gentlemen of the naval and military service who now
and then visited Ningpo and passed an hour with me,
their urbanity wore off his timidity, and he soon per-
ceived that really the English were not so savage and
barbarous as he had imagined.

My occupation of these apartments continued undis-
turbed until I quittted the city the following July.
123

CHAPTER III.

A MANDARIN DINNER—INTERVIEW WITH A FAMOUS KIDNAPPER—NEW
YEAR FESTIVITIES—CHINESE ALMANAC—-WHIPPING IN THE SPRING—
FEAST OF LANTERNS—APPEARANCE OF A COMET.

Not many days after installing myself in the new
quarters, a party of English gentlemen visited Ningpo.
In need of a guide and an interpreter, they requested
me to accompany them to the residences of the Chinese
officials. I was happy to render what aid I could ; and
subsequently was gratified to find that the courteous
treatment which these gentlemen received at the hands
of the native “ big-wigs” produced a rather favourable
impression on them. They expressed themselves not
only pleased, but surprised, at the handsome manner in
which they had been entertained.

There was one particular, among others, on which my
friends got some new light. They were invited by the
chief officer to take an ordinary tiffin, and were glad
enough to have an opportunity personally to witness
a real curiosity, —a genuine feast at a native table;
although they had no intention of dipping into dishes
which they supposed would consist only of puppy-fiesh,
earth-worms, rats and mice swimming in liquid hog’s-
lard. What was their agreeable surprise, then, to
find the viands totally different to their preconceived
notions, excellent as well as various! First came hot
rolls and sweet cakes; next, sweetmeats, varicoloured
eggs, and candied marrow-bones; then, duck, fowl], beef,
kid, and pork; lastly, fish, soup, and rice. Besides,
the table was loaded with fresh and dried fruits and
abundance of the best wine the Chinese can_boast
of. The only “ amari aliquid which disflavoured their
124 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

fountain of contentment” was that, while each had a
plate, a bowl, and chop-sticks, we all had to take in
common out of one central dish. Having for some
time got accustomed to the use of the “ quick lads,” I
managed to supply myself readily. But my com-
panions were not equally nimble in plying their
“sticks.” However, Chinese spoons and silver forks
of native work were brought to their timely assistance ;
and at the end the English visitors, gratified with so
ample and substantial a repast, parted with the officials
of Ningpo on very good terms indeed.

Our host, Luh, the chief officer, was at the time
unfortunately suffering from itch, and perceiving that
there were two medical men in our party, he was by no
means shy in revealing his complaint. They promptly
prescribed the usual remedies. But, on receiving the
medicine prescribed, the Taoutai (his title) felt much
surprised at the beautiful lemon-tint of the sulphur,
in this respect so vastly superior to the unclarified
mineral found in the native drug-shops. Nor was he
less amazed at learning that he was required to swallow
sulphur, which he had heard of being applied only
externally. After his foreign physicians had left the
city, his excellency sent a special messenger to me
three distinct times, to make sure that the article was
really to be swallowed; for he insisted that, “as the
sulphur is heating, it is inadmissible into the internal
system.”

About this time I formed acquaintance with Mr. Le,
formerly in office in the province of Nganhwuy. What
particularly took my fancy in this man was his frank
and undisguised avowal of political opposition to, what
he considered, English encroachment on the grand
prerogatives of the Emperor of China. He protested
he was still for war, and prophesied that, though peace
between the two countries might last awhile, the tug of
war would soon be renewed.
A FAMOUS KIDNAPPER. 125

During the struggle with Great Britain, he had
become conspicuous in the kidnapping department ;
and he now openly acknowledged that, in the spring of
1842, he had concerted plans for my abduction, in con-
sequence of information obtained from a Chinese lad,
who, while in my service at Tinghai, had been kidnapped
and carried to Hangchow. This naturally brought to
my mind a fact that occurred a few wecks after my
servant had been waylaid. I related the same to
Mr. Le, greatly to his amusement; and I mention it
here at some length, both on account of my singular
deliverance and the Indicrous finale to circumstances
otherwise anxious and perilous.

In the early part of that same year, it was by no
means uncommon to hear of British soldiers or seamen
being kidnapped at Tinghai, and carried to the main-
land for imprisonment,—perhaps something worse.
If I mistake not, it was (and I may add is now) the
only effective plan the Chinese adopted for annoying
their foreign aggressors. Besides, it was then a rather
lucrative employment to the successful kidnapper,—a
good reward being offered for a live Englishman, or an
equivalent for his bleeding head.

At that time, as I was residing alone, and, without a
messmate, occupied a lonely cottage in a Chinaman’s
kitchen-garden in the heart of Tinghai, some friends in
her Majesty’s 55th regiment felt somewhat concerned
about my solitariness, and proposed that I should share
a berth in their rendezvous. Their great and uniform
kindness to me, for which to the present hour I am
deeply sensible, was politely declined, as I felt no cause
of apprehension, and was desirous to pitch my tent as
long as I could among Chinese. My Jdocale was in the
compound of a respectable citizen, whose confidence
had already been tried, and whose honour was pledged
to render me all the security in his power; and so I
determined to continue the tenant of my humble lodge-
126 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

ment. The gentlemen of the 55th insisted, however,
that I should take with me some weapon for self-defence,
and I was persuaded to accept a double-barrelled horse-
pistol, loaded and primed.

The bed-room that I occupied had four doors in it,
and as many windows; but was without a lock or iron
bolt, and provided only with wooden snaps: so that,
whenever I retired to rest for the night, in order to
make myself secure, I piled up chairs, boxes, and
sundry pieces of luggage against the doors and win-
dows, that in case of an attempt at violent entrance, I
might be aroused.

For several nights in succession I slept with the.
loaded pistol by my pillow. But on one Sabbath
evening—dark, gloomy, stormy, and threatening—the
impression came over me as I retired into the room,
that, on a night so favourable for kidnapping as that
was, some attempt might be made to carry me off, and
that probably, on the fright of the moment, I might
use my formidable weapon and bring a fellow-creature
down to the ground, or hurry him into eternity.
Instanter I resolved to risk my own safety rather than
incur the horror of killing a man and a brother. So,
throwing the pistol into the bottom of my box, i locked.
it up. After adopting the usual precautions with
boxes and baggage, I laid myself down and slept
comfortably for a few hours.

Somehow, about one o’clock in the morning, I awoke;
why, I knew not. The wind was howling over the roof;
the rain was pouring down in torrents; the thunder
every now and then pealed forth; and*sleep had fled
from my eyelids. But my drowsiness was startled by
low and suppressed murmurs. Raising myself on my
pillow to listen, I discerned there were whispers outside
—strange, unusual sounds—the voices of Chinese, con-
sulting, aiding each other. They were already in the
garden, and in a few seconds they might be within
ESCAPE FROM KIDNAPPERS. 127

reach of me. The pistol was in the box,—but no time
was to be lost in reopening the trunk. In a trice I
leaped out of my hammock, seized a huge bar, rushed
to the window, rammed it against the frame, and
shouted out the English soldier’s night salute—* Who
comes there?” The effect was that of an electric
shock. The rascals took to their heels, and made their
flight complete; leaving behind what was too significant
—a bag andasword! I could not but thank God for
my escape, and theirs too.

By this time the servants were all up, in greater
alarm than myself,—the watchman especially, whom
I caught in the arms of Morpheus. The moruing not
Having yet dawned, and the night being still bleak and
awful, I warned the servants in the cottage to keep
a look-out; as, in all probability, the fellows might
muster courage to renew the attempt. Upon this I
threw myself back into the Chinese cot. However,
by this time my warlike disposition had got roused;
and the pistol, dragged out of the portmanteau, was
placed by the bedside as usual. One hour passed away,
still very sleepless. At last my teacher came creeping
into the room, and fluttered out the whisper, ‘“ They
are coming again, they are coming!” I allayed his
terror with the assurance that I was quite ready for
them now. Following him with the cocked pistol,
I went to the back premises. There I saw in the
twilight what my domestics saw,—two men on the wall,
the one helping the other down. Crawling under
a hedge between me and them until I got exactly
abreast of them; I halted. I levelled the pistol at
them, hoping only to graze them. As before, I bawled
out, “Who comes there?” To my horror the pistol
went off! It dropped out of my hand, and I thought
to see one, perhaps two, human beings also drop. But,
still there they are as before, aiding each other over
the wall! Now imagine, good reader, my surprise
128 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

and relief at the ridiculous close to the whole affray ;
for, as twilight advanced, I beheld, and lo! the men
I had been shooting at were two branches of a tree,
overhanging the wall, quietly and regularly moving
with the morning breeze!

When I related this story to Mr. Le himself, it
occasioned him no small merriment; and ever after,
notwithstanding his patriotic antipathy to the English,
he treated me with remarkable courtesy, as if to make
the amende honorable for the annoyance he had per-
petrated by his kidnapping tricks.

Like other Chinese, in mark of respect, he invited
me to dine with him on an early day after our acquaint-
ance was formed. On this occasion I met at his table
with a peculiar dish, which I have never seen under the
roof of any other host, though I was informed that
it was not a monopoly of Mr. Le’s taste. When our
party of six had seated themselves at the centre table,
my attention was attracted by a covered dish, something
unusual at a Chinese meal. On a certain signal, the
cover was removed; and presently the face of the table
was covered with juvenile crabs, which made their
exodus from the dish with all possible rapidity. The
crablets had been thrown into a plate of vinegar just as
the company sat down—such an immersion making
them more brisk and lively than usual. But the
sprightly sport of the infant crabs was soon checked, by
each guest seizing which he could, dashing it into his
mouth, crushing it between his teeth, and swallowing
the whole morsel without ceremony. Determined
to do as the Chinese did, I tried this novelty also
with one—with two. I succeeded, finding the shell
soft and gelatinous, for they were tiny creatures,
not more than aday or two old. But I was com-
pelled to give in to the third, which had resolved to
take vengeance, and gave my lower lip a nip so
sharp and severe as to make me relinquish my hold
APPROACH OF THE NEW YEAR. 129

and likewise desist from any further experiment of
this nature.

My engagements being numerous and my hands
full, the days passed so rapidly and pleasantly away,
that, almost before I was aware of it, I had nearly got
to the close of January, 1843.

That month was the twelfth moon, during which
every one was occupied with preparations for the ap-
proaching new year: in describing which, the expres-
sions of the vocabulary are numerous as well as
significant; e.g. “thanking the year,” “attending the
old year out,” “ making presents to it,” “ parting with
the year,” or “keeping it in,’ &c. From the nine-
teenth of this moon, the government offices were closed
for thirty days, the adjournment being ushered in by
the clumsy and cumbrous ceremony of “ putting up the
seals of office.” During that crisis presents were most
abundant amongst the wealthy,—passing from hand to
hand with speed and in number beyond calculation.
The city officials were remarkably attentive to me at
this season, which ceremonial courtesies I was glad to
interpret as tokens of friendship. Their gifts consisted
chiefiy of packets of tea, fruit, and sweetmeats; the
lots being made up of even numbers, from the prevalent
superstition among the Chinese, that in an odd number
there is bad luck, in a complete number good. That
rule is almost universal on festive occasions, especially
at the opening of the new year. On the other hand,
in making presents at a time of mourning for a deceased
friend, or at the anniversary of his death, which it is
not unusual for them to keep,—the odd number
prevails.

As to the celebration of the new year, I now had
ample opportunities of observing the family ceremonies
and festivities, which in every case were as extensive as
their means could afford. The domestic preparations
continued through the whole of the last month of

K
130 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the old year. First, there was the working up of the
nien-kaou, the tsiehisieh-kaou, “the yearly or the season
cakes.” It was a composition of rice-flour and water,
worked with the hand like dough; which, after the
mass had gone through sufficient manipulation, was
put on trays to be reduced into cakes of various shapes
and sizes. Bakers and confectioners had their hands
full. But in families particularly, at a time when there
was a general gathering, the manufacturing of this
favourite cake gave ample room for the services of
women, children, boys, girls, and servants. Every
household was busy at it, and no little fun and frolic
enlivened their gay circles. Often the quantity stored
up was immense, and the display of forms and devices
of the rice-dough was to a Chinese eye attractive ;—
each piece impressed with a red stamp, or decorated
with figures from a vermilion pencil. Previous to
eating the cake, it had not to be baked, but to be
sodden in hot water with sugar, and sometimes in hot
wine.

On the 28rd of the last month, or a week before the
old year died out, a kind of family service began, called
tse-tscou, for “ sacrificing to the kitchen god.” This
lar was represented by a small image, sometimes by a
vough drawing, stuck up in a niche over the oven. It
first underwent a thorough scouring, to clean off the
soot which had been accumulating upon it during the
previous 360 days. Some of the “too superstitious”
had the idea that, after this purgation, it ascended up
to the court of heaven, to joi the annual divan
of tutelar deities, and to render its yearly account
of the acts of the family over which it presided. It
was thought too that it had a furlough of seven days
from its murky duties, which were to be resumed on
the first of the coming year. I likewise found that it
was not an unpopular notion that the dii mujores
visited the earth in a body at this period for en entire
NEW-YEAR’S EVE. 131

week; and many natives gave this as the reason for
being so particular in setting their houses to rights,
and keeping the premises clean and orderly at so
memorable a time. During the hallowed interval,
special pains were taken to keep the ground unde-
filed by any sort of nuisance. Scrupulous care was
everywhere paid to ¢anchin, or “wipe down dust” and
cobwebs, an operation very desirable and needful.
There were likewise thank-offerings and oblations with-
out end to the various lares and penates, accompanied
as usual with firing of crackers and gong-striking, &c.

On New-year’s Eve, the city was one scene of life
and activity ;—people running from shop to shop paying
debts or collecting arrears: crowds hastening to the
country to rejoim their families; multitudes hurrying
back to their rural cots, with the purchases they had
been making for the approaching festivities : and thou-
sands returning to town to spend the holidays with
relatives and friends. The retail houses were overflow-
ing with customers; and it was an object with sellers
to clear off their goods as speedily as possible, and with
purchasers to supply their wants at an unusually low
rate. The quantity of money that circulated during
those twenty-four hours must have been enormous; and,
in many cases, it was attempted to prolong the closing
day to an unwonted hour, especially by those who were
unable to gather in their dues.

In the family residences, the scene on this evening
was no less animated. Dr. Chang had invited me to
spend the early part of that night in his family, and I
availed myself of his offer, as it gave an opportunity
of observing the ceremonies in the domestic circle on
New-year’s Eve. When I reached his house, 7 P.m.,
I found the members of the family dressed out in their
best attire. The principal room was tastefully lighted
up, and the furniture looked unusually tidy. In the
centre there stood the ordinary table, pro tem. converted

K 2 .
132 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

into a ceremonial one. At the top of it there was set a
high chair, over the back of which were thrown three
distinct scrolls, with uncouth paintings, to represent
“the most Celestial and Superb Shangti,” an honour-
able designation adopted by the Taou sect in speaking
of Yuhhwang, their chief deity. Before these daubs
three teacups were arranged, and three cups of wine,
offerings being usually arranged before their idols in
triplets. Further on there were twelve wine-cups set,
to denote, as they said, the several months of the year;
and the table was amply supplied with fruits, un-
seasoned vegetables, incense, candles, wine, sugar, new-
year cakes, ornamented candles, and last, but not least,
the “ fuhle” offerings.*

At the foot of the table and on the floor a red
cushion lay, upon which the worshippers had to kneel.
It was a moving spectacle to witness the aged patriarch
repeatedly kneel at this ceremonial altar, bowing his
venerable head to the earth, and for some minutes con-
tinuing in a kneeling posture, with his eyes cast to the
ground and his lips moving as if in silent prayer. It
was the most reverential act of worship I had yet seen
any Chinese engaged in. I had been spectator of
hundreds of worshipping natives; but there was with
them a want of devotion, earnestness, and sincerity,
the reverse of what now was presented to my view.
After each of his sons had succeeded Dr. Chang in
their acts of obeisance, the painted scrolls were taken
outside and burnt, along with a heap of silver-paper,
the combustion being announced by firing three heavy
crackers. A cup of wine mixed with the “fuble”
offerings was emptied out upon the roof of the house,
which trifling act was interpreted as denoting their
gratitude to the demi-god Shinnung, for having taught

* The “fuhle,” or ‘‘ offerings denoting happiness,” ordinarily are of
three sorts, “fish, pork, or fowl,” although Kanghe’s Dictionary says,
“beef, mutton, and pork.” But the rule is not fixed.
SITTING IN THE NEW YEAR. 133

mankind to cook food, instead of eating it raw and
undressed as people once on a time used to do. In
the cook-house, there was a sacrifice offered to the god
of the kitchen, on his imagined return from heaven.
At this time he looked clean, was illuminated by two
or three burners, and had six plates of vegetable stuff
lying before him. Then followed the devoirs to the
ancestors of the male branch only, represented by
eight portraits. The deceased respectively were served
with a bowl of rice, a cup of wine, and a pair of chop-
sticks. At this part of the ceremony, the arrangements
of the table were not materially altered, and the devo-
tional feelings of the worshippers did not seem to
decline. The solemnities were then closed by the whole
party sitting down to a hearty supper. Thus ended
the old year.

With equal vigilance and punctuality the new year
was watched as it opened upon the world. They “sat
it in,’—-men, women, and children. At its earliest
dawn, there was presented to each one a warm dish of
new-year’s cake soaked in wine syrup; and as the sun
rose, the several members of the household sallied
out to pay their respects to the family and city gods,
deceased ancestors, and surviving relatives. Sunrise
was the general signal “ for paying the compliments of
the season ;” and throughout the merry season, which
was spun out to eight or ten days, there was nothing
but a round of friendly calls and feastings,—all classes
being most polite and complaisant to each other. On
New-year’s day itself, one was not much troubled with
calls, except from intimates ;—most men having enough
to do in watching the entrance of the new year and
paying their dutiful attentions to the members of
their own families, while many, fatigued by the
watchings of the night and surfeitings of the morn-
ing, were obliged to go to bed at noon. In lieu of
personal visits, a convenient proxy was adopted by
184 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

private individuals, and chiefly by merchant firms and
public institutions, in sending merely complimentary
cards by the hands of their servants, who slipped them
under the doors; so that when I started on my
morning cruise of friendly calls, I stumbled on heaps
of cards lying in the passage-way.. It was on the
second day that the inhabitants themselves began
to stir out, dressed up in the finest suits they could
afford.

During the first two or three days there were no
shops open, except the stalls of fruitsellers and fortune-
tellers; in anticipation of which the people generally
had laid ina good stock of fresh and salt provisions
for at least one week. Otherwise, hapless the lot
of the improvident at this period; and most unfor-
tunate was the situation of an English party, which
visited Ningpo at that time, and, ignorant of this
custom, could with difficulty scrape enough for a few
days’ subsistence.

From the first to the close of the month, there was
an incessant din of gongs, drums, violins, and crackers;
with feasting, gambling, and play-acting. No business
of importance was done for ten days, and, before any
shop could resume its trade, the master had to consult
the stars for a lucky day. The public offices were
opened on the 20th; and this Kat-yin, “opening the
seals,” was a breaking up of the gala season with which
the uew year had been celebrated.

Throughout that interesting period, I had many
“golden spots in time” for recommending the doc-
trines of Christianity. Frequent conversations with
officers, merchants, and mechanics, directly led to the
great subject of my sacred mission. There was no
opposition to the broaching of the vital truths of the
Gospel; but usually they were curious to know some-
thing more about them. Occasionally a defence of their
idolatrous practices was attempted; yet never was a
CHINESE ALMANAC. 135

tract or Christian book declined or treated with slight.
Still their pride grasped at the lame and sorry apology
of “local custom,” “common usage,” popular habit,”
and “traditional practice,” the rule of conduct toa
Chinese in religion as in politics.

The most commouly-circulated work amongst the
natives at this season of the year was the almanac;
which for that same year divided it into twenty-four
terms, their usual division of the year to express the
several periods of the sun’s passage through the twelve
signs of the zodiac. The distinct names of these terms
are applied to the day on which the sun is in the first
and the fifteenth degree of a sign of the zodiac; con-
sequently, in reckoning by the lunar year, their places
in the calendar change every year, but in the solar year
of Europeans they fall more uniformly upon the same
day in successive years. When an intercalary month
occurs, the terms continue to be reckoned as usual; by

_ which arrangement the first term sometimes falls into
the twelfth moon, making twenty-five terms in a year;
but most usually it is on the first moon. Some of the
terms are sixteen days in length and some fourteen,
but the average is fifteen. They correspond to our
months nearly as follows, and fall in the signs given

below :—
SPRING SIGNS.
The sun in Aquarius, *

1. February 5th Lih-ts'un j

ist
2. 2 21st Yu-sbuy Vs esunda Pisces.
38. March 6th King-chih f ) Od soon
4. 22: 22nd Ts'un-fan yd The sun in Aries.
&. April 6th Ts'ing-ming J | end incon
6" 22nd Kuh-yu j

The sun in Taurus.

 

* The zodiacal marks adopted in Chinese almanacs, although repre-
senting objects selected from the zoological world, differ considerably *
from the signs used amongst us. They distinguish them as follows :—
1st, the Tiger; 2nd, the Hare; 3rd, the Dragon; 4th, the Serpent ;
5th, the Horse; 6th, the Sheep; 7th, the Monkey; 8th, the Cock;
9th, the Dog ; 10th, the Boar ; 11th, the Mouse ; 12th, the Cow.
186 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

SUMMER SIGNS.
The sun in Taurus.

1. May 7th Lib-hia
Des 22nd Siaou-mwan \ i Tee Gemini.
3. June wth Mang-chung } 5th moon.
4. 22nd Hia-che } / ‘The sun in Cancer.
5. July 8th Siaou-shoo } 6th moon.
6s 35 21st Ta-shoo The sun in Leo.
AUTUMNAL SIGNS.
1. August 9th Lih-ts'ew \ oar ee ss
2. a 24th Chu-shoo } The sun in Virgo.
3. September 9th Pih-loo \ th moon, =
4, is 24th Ts'ew-fun } J Sothe ganda capes:
5. October 9th Han-loo — oth moon.
6. 5 24th Shwang-kiang J The sun in Scorpio.
WINTER SIGNS.
. The sun in Scorpio.
1. November 8th Lih-tung } 10th moon
2. ” 28rd Siaou-sieuh } The sun in Sagittarius.
3. December 8th Ta-sieuh } ili moon.
4. ” 22nd Tung-che \ The sun in Capricornus,
5. January 6th Siaou-han \ 12th moon.
6. ” 22nd Ta-han } The sun enters Aquarius.

In the nomenclature of the annual terms there is a
reference to variations in the seasons of the year; and
as it may be interesting to have the native interpreta-
tion of the particulars in the preceding tables, I append
the following brief analysis, translated from a native

work.
SPRING SIGNS.

1. Lih-ts'un, or “beginning spring,” to celebrate which they have an
annual festival, somewhat resembling the procession of the bull Apis
among the Egyptians, connected with the opening of agricultural
labour for the current year.

2. Yu-shuy, or “rain-water,” t.e. the vernal showers that begin to
develop and nourish universal nature.

3. King-chih, or “exciting insects ;” for, according to the native
entomology, this is celebrated as the time when reptiles and insects of
all kinds are “aroused by the thunder-claps of spring out of the torpor
of winter, during which they have been embedded in clay.”

4, Ts'wn-fun, or ‘vernal division,” or “the vernal equinox when day
and night are equally divided.”
CHINESE ALMANAC. 137

5. Ts'ing-ming, or “clear brightness,” when “the wind and sun are
pure and genial, and the spring light is clear and cheering. During
this term the most religious attention is paid to the sepulchres and
manes of departed friends.”

6. Kuh-yu, or “ grain rains,” to be improved for scattering and
sowing seed.

SUMMER SIGNS.

1. Lih-hia, or “ opening summer.”

2, Siaou-mwan, or “little filled ;” the wheat by this time has gradu-
ally got ripe and full.

8. Mang-chung, or “busy in planting,” when the husbandman is
fully occupied in transplanting the paddy.

4, Hia-che, or “summer point,” or estival solstice, when the length
of the summer day is greatest.

5. Staou-shoo, or “little heat,” 7. ¢. the gradual rise of warm tem-
perature,

6. Ta-shoo, or ‘great heat,” during which the temperature waxes
exceedingly hot.

AUTUMNAL SIGNS.

Lth-ts‘ew, or ‘the beginning of autumn.”

. Chu-shoo, or ‘the extreme height of the hot temperature.”

. Pih-loo, or ‘white dew begins to fall.”

Ts'ew-fun, or “ autumnal equinox.”

. Han-loo, or “cold dew :” the falling dew gets gradually colder.
. Shwang-kiang, or ‘ the descent of hoar-frost.”

> Ov C9 dO HE

WINTER SIGNS.

1. Lih-tung, or “the opening of winter.”

2. Staou-steuh, or ‘little snow occasionally.”

8. Za-siewh, or ‘much snow.”

4. Tumg-che, or “ winter solstice.”

5. Siaou-han, or ‘‘the temperature falls by degrees.”

6. Ta-han, or “‘ the temperature falls to the lowest point.”

The Chinese almanac in some respects corresponds
to our “Francis Moore” in England; and as some
interesting features of this yearly book are given in
“ Household Words,” under the heading of “ Francis
Moore in China,” which the editor did me the honour
to insert in his October number for 1854, I quote the
following extracts :—

“ Jt is an annual, regularly published and found in
the hands of every person, and on the counter of the
commonest tradesman. ‘There are various forms and
1388 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

editions of it, some full, others abridged; sometimes
pocket manuals, sometimes sheet almanacs. But the
original, which is the largest and most complete edition,
is that drawn up by the Astronomical Board of Peking,
sanctioned by imperial authority, issued by government
at the opening of the year, and sold at every huckster-
stall at the small price of three farthings or one penny.
It is a complete register of the months and days of the
year according to the Chinese system, its various divi-
sions, agricultural seasons, commercial terms, official
sessions and adjournments, religious festivals, and the
anniversaries of the emperors and empresses of the
reigning family.

“ Occasionally a few astronomical notations are put
down; but generally the movements of the celestial
bodies, and notices of solar and lunar eclipses are
omitted. Silence on these points is maintained,—not
that the members of the Astronomical Board are
ignorant of them; for astral observations, accurate and
minute, are regularly taken by that academy, and
duly recorded for the premonition of the official courts
through the country. In this work intended for the
public, however, as little allusion is made as possible to
such points, rather out of deference to the popular
bondage to judicial astrology, it being the universal
belief that sun, moon, stars, and comets—their motions,
eclipses, and rotation—influence the destinies of man-
kind. Still further, while scarcely anything is said of
the mysterious motions of the heavenly bodies, so much
is explained of the prognostics that fall on each day as
to allay the suspicions and quiet the anxieties of the
populace. For this purpose, professed and skilful
astrologers are consulted— men respected for their
acquaintance with the science of interpreting astral
movements, determining the magic power of the celes-
tial orbs on human fate, and pronouncing what days
are lucky or unlucky. According to the verdict of
CHINESE ALMANAC. 1389

these men, the character of each day is set down,
and transactions suitable for every day are named.
Accordingly, this calendar is studied with no little
curiosity by a great proportion of the masses in China,
for positive information when they may or may not
lave their persons, shave their heads, open shops, set
sail, celebrate marriage, or perform any other act of life.

“ As specimens of instructions of this nature, recorded
in the imperial almanacs, we quote from the calendar
for the last year, commencing with our February 8th,
1853,—the Chinese New Year’s day. On the first day
of the first moon—

“You may present your religious offerings (such as fowls or fish) ;
you may send up representations to heaven (thanks, prayers, vows—by
burning gilt paper, straw-made figures, or fireworks in infinite variety) ;
you may put on full dress, fur caps, and elegant sashes; you must at
noontide sit with your face towards the south ; you can make up matri-
monial matches, or pay calls on your friends, or get married ; you may
set out on a journey, get a new suit of clothes commenced, make repairs
about house, &c., or lay the foundation of any building, or set up the
wooden skeleton of it, or set sail, or enter on a business contract, or
carry on commerce, or collect your accounts, or pound and grind, or
plant and sow, or look after your flocks and herds.

“In addition to the items specified as fit for the first day of the
month, onthe second (February 9th) you may likewise bury your dead.

“On the third—You may bathe yourself; sweep your houses and
rooms ; pull a dilapidated house down or any shattered wall.

“On the fourth—You may offer sacrifices, or bathe, or shave the
head, or sweep the floor and house, or dig the ground, or bury the dead.

‘On the fifth—You may not start upon a journey, nor change your
quarters, nor plant nor sow.

“On the sixth—You may do everything specified as on the first.

“On the seventh—You must not go to school, nor enter on a tour,
nor change lodgings, nor bathe, nor make house repairs, nor lay a
foundation, nor set up a house-frame ; nor purchase property in fields,
houses, &c. ; nor grind, nor plant, nor sow ; nor give up time to your
flocks.

“The eighth is looked upon as dubious, To-day nothing is specified
as unlucky or lucky.

“On the ninth—You may offer your religious presents ; visit your
friends ; call on tailors to prepare a new suit; make bargains; barter
and trade; and collect your moneys.

“On the tenth—You may make your religious offerings ; enter on a
government office; make a matrimonial match ; get married; visit
140 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

friends ; start on a journey ; bathe, but it must be at five A.M. ; shave
the head ; practise acupuncture* surgery ; make contracts ; barter and
trade ; sweep the house ; and dig graves for the dead. ;

“‘On the eleventh—You can commence a journey ; change your resi-
dence ; acupuncture a patient ; commission a tailor for a new suit;
repair buildings ; found a house; erect framework of it ; set sail; open
a contract ; bargain ; collect your accounts ; look after your flocks ; or
bury your dead.

“On the thirteenth—You must at five A.M. sit facing the south-easi.

tek

“On the eighteenth—You ought to offer sacrifices, and take a
thorough bath.

“On the nineteenth—You may go to school.

“On the twenty-first—Quite right to set up the framework of your
house, or bury your dead.

“On the twenty-fifth—You can, among other things, enter upon
your new government office; attire yourself in your best dresses, but
sit facing the north-west.

“On the twenty-sixth— You ought not to work embroidery.

“ Although the preceding is quite sufficient to indicate
one of the methods adopted to gratify the vulgar
taste, it is not to be presumed that among the millions
of China, there are wanting sensible men, who despise
all participation in such folly.”

In 1843, as the term denoting “the commencement
of spring” fell on the 5th of February, the official
ceremony of “ meeting spring” (ying-ts‘un) was observed
the day previous. The municipal authorities left their
respective residences at an early hour and in procession
went out at the east gate of the city ;—that point of the
compass being chosen from the prevalent notion that
the spring comes from the east, summer from the
south, autumn from the west, and winter from the
north. The procession moved across the river to a
large building in the suburbs, with an extensive area of
open ground. The crowd that thronged to see the
show was immense. The principal actor was the city
provost. On one spot there sat “the god of spring,”
and hard by, a paper figure of an ox of many colours.
Both having been officially weleomed into the neigh-

* An oriental practice of puncturing diseased parts of the body with
fine needles,
SPRING FESTIVAL. 141

bourhood with a number of childish ceremonies, the
officers sat down to drink wine.

In other places there is a variety in this curious
custom. For instance, there is in some districts a
ceremony connected with it, called p‘ien-ts‘un, “whipping
in the spring,” when the presiding officer strikes the
senseless figure with a switch, which farce signifies that
the labours of the spring are to commence, and the ox
must go to the plough. The act of whipping the paper
effigy is a signal for the bystanders to rush in and
tear the gossamer frame to pieces,—the man that
carries home a shred of it believing that his own ox
will be a fortunate animal for the year !

In other parts of China, the “ spring ox” is made of
mud, and of colossal dimensions. But in general a
very rude representation is made of paper, pasted over
a bamboo framework, about five feet long and three
feet high. The head, horns, feet, and tail are black ;
the neck and belly blue; the legs white; and the back
and sides, comprising the greater part of the surface of
the body, yellow. These colours, it appears, are arranged
from year to year, according to the book of ceremonies
issued at Peking, and the paper ox is regarded as
prognosticating the character of the coming year, by
the relative quantity of each colour employed in its
construction. The amount of black indicates the pro-
portion of sickness and death; blue prognosticates
winds; white, rains and floods; and red, fire. The
yellow denotes the fruits of the earth, and if this colour
predominates, the peopie expect a year of plenty. Not
unusually, when the frail figure has been torn up, seeds
of cotton, rice, beans, wheat, and other grains, having
been beforeiand placed in the cavity of its body, fall to
the ground,—the relative abundance of the crop of each
kind being foretold from the order of succession in
which they fall out. There is also a great number of
small clay figures of oxen in the same cavity. These
142 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

are picked up by the attendants who may be able to get
near enough to seize them.

Occasionally too, the idol of the “ god of spring” is -
in the shape of a youth, reputed to be the deified son of
one of the ancient emperors. This image is attired, it
is believed by the populace, in a fashion truly prophetic
of the fortunes of the year: for it to be bareheaded
would predict cold weather, and a white robe augurs a
dry year, &c.

In 1858, while I was at Shanghai, a “ spring proces-
sion” occurred, far more ceremonious than that above
specified. Preceding the mandarins in the procession,
was a small junk decked with flags, borne by two men,
designed to represent one of the emperor’s tribute grain
junks; next, a beggar, dressed up for the occasion, fol-
lowed on foot, to personify the “ spring mandarin,” an
officer of distinguished rank, who bore that title in
ancient times; then, several coarsely-rigged tillers of the
soil and eight fantastically attired fellows with painted
faces. These sustained the dignified characters of genii.
Next, were several square trays, the four corners of
which supported small frames two or three feet high,
from which were suspended miniature signboards, bear-
ing the names of the various trades and handicrafts in
the empire.

It is not at all improbable but all this parade is
to be traced to a custom that prevailed, according to
Chinese computation, about 4,000 years ago, during
the Hia dynasty. The Shooking says of it, “ In the first
month of spring, an imperial messenger went hither
and thither on the highway with a wooden rattle;”
—the object of which practice was to awaken the atten-
tion of the agriculturists to the return of spring, and to
call them to resume with renewed vigour their rustic
labours.

A week after “whipping in the spring,” there was
commemorated a festival, perhaps the most popular
FEAST OF LANTERNS. 143

of all in China, named “The Feast of Lanterns.” It
continued through five or six days, during which term,
at eventide, every corner of the city was decorated with
streamers and brightly illuminated. Spectators paraded
the streets in crowds, letting off crackers, rockets,
squibs, and ingenious fireworks of numberless variety.
Generally this is called Shangtung, “ the feast of elevated
lanterns.” But the gala night, which falls on the first
full moon of the new year, is the Sattung, or “rival
lantern” night, as it calls out public emulation in the
display of festal lamps, &c. This feast is somehow
connected with their worshipful respect for the manes
of the departed. On such an occasion, of course the
various temples had their share in the brilliant illumi-
nations; but none so gay that night as was the Fuhkien
temple.

That edifice lies close to the water’s edge, outside the
Ningpo walls, between the Hast and Bridge gates. It
bears the name “Tienhowkung,” “ the palace of the
Celestial Queen,” and is dedicated to the pet idol of
the Fuhkien sailors, Matsoopoo. The building was
founded first at the close of the twelfth century. Up
to 1680, it had been subject to many changes; but
in that year, after having lain in ruins for nearly a
century, the Fuhkien merchants thought to rebuild it.
Previous to this date, some severe port restrictions had
been introduced by the predecessors of the Emperor
Kanghe, from fear of the pirates who had been infest-
ing the coast. Those robbers and these restrictions
had seriously checked the native trade between Ningpo
and the south of China. But in the year above named,
the Emperor Kanghe rescinded the port regulations,
and the trade revived. A number of Fuhkien and
Canton traders, taking advantage of the opening trade,
sailed for Ningpo. During their voyage along the peril-
ous coast, they had witnessed “great wonders in the
deep.” Out of gratitude for their miraculous deli.
144 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

verance, these men resolved to re-erect the temple in
Ningpo, and for that object subscribed largely. In
1848, it was the most elegantly furnished building in
the city; and although, during 1841 and 1842, it had
been in the hands of the British troops, no plunder of
its contents had been permitted, and it continued un-
scathed. To appreciate the taste in the ornaments and
the finish of the internal structure, it must be visited,
especially on the evening of the “rival lanterns.” On
that night the entire edifice glittered with lamps, lan-
terns, tapers, &c. The horn and glass lanterns sus-
pended all around had the most curious devices and
scenes delineated on them, in the richest and most
vivid colours. The walls were hung with native draw-
ings in all shades, and music (such as it was) rang
through the decorated arches of the lofty roof; and life
was given to the whole scene by the hum and gaiety of
the thronging spectators.

But scarcely had the new year been inaugurated by
its festivals of many days,—scarcely had the people
recovered from the excesses of gaiety and merriment at
such an auspicious time, when the star-gazers were
startled at 7 p.m. of March 7, by observing the appear-
ance of a comet to the south-west. This created some
apprehension in the minds of the peaceably disposed
citizens of the city; as a phenomenon like this is believed
to be an infelicitous omen of warlike invasions from
the quarter where it first appears. After their struggle
with the British lion, not only a rumour, but any belli-
cose augury, seemed to strike the public heart with a
panic throe.

It is worthy of notice how singularly minute the
Chinese have been (probably from olden times) in
recording in the topography of any place the several
“wonders,” celestial and terrestrial, that may have
occurred there. ‘Thus, in a topographical account now
before me of Chihkiang province, one section is solely
A COMET, 145

devoted to the nofadilia of nature in this province, with
astonishing preciseness naming the prodigies which
have visited each district and the dates of their appear-
ance; e.g. earthquakes, pestilences, excessive rains,
severe droughts, locusts, famine, &c. &c. That Chinese
werk mentions fifty-five separate shocks of earth-
quake of unusual severity, having occurred in the
province between a.p. 260 and 1660. One which
oceurred in a.p. 1842, “was attended with so terrible
astorm of wind and such an overflowing of the sea at
Wanchow, that houses were destroyed and inhabitants
engulfed beyond all calculation.”

From the same curious old relic, I extract the follow-
ing notices of “comets and meteors” that have been
visible in different parts of the province, from the
opening of the Christian era down to a.p. 1700.*

A.D.
8. A vivid meteor.
78. A comet without a tail.
82. A comet with a tail.
118. A comet without a tail.
A comet with a tail.

 

* Upon this Humboldt writes,—“ Whilst the so-called classical
nations of the West, the Greeks and Romans, although they may
occasionally have indicated the position in which a comet first appeared,
never afford any information regarding its apparent path, the copious
literature of the Chinese (who observed nature carefully and recorded
with accuracy what they saw) contains circumstantial notices of the
constellations through which each comet was observed to pass. These
notices go back to more than 500 years before the Christian era, and
many of them are still found to be of value in astronomical observations.
The first comets of whose orbits we have any knowledge, and which
were calculated from Chinese observations, are those of 240, 539, 565,
568, 574, 887, 1837, and 1885. Whilst the comet of 837 (which con-
tinued twenty-four hours within a distance of 2,000,000 miles of the
earth) terrified Louis I. of France to that degree, that he busied him-
self in building churches and founding monastic buildings, in the hope
of appeasing the evils threatened by its appearance, the Chinese astro-
nomers made observations on the path of this cosmical body, whose
tail extended over a space of 60°, appearing sometimes single, and
sometimes multiple.” —Cosmos, i. p. 84.

L
146 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

A.D.
132. A comet with a tail. se
395. Very numerous shooting stars of a deep vermilion colour.
505. Comet with tail.
598. A vivid meteor.
819. Comet with tail.
880. Vivid meteor.
998. Venus visible at noonday.
994 { A star visible at noontide, with a vermilion light more
‘(than ten feet in length.
1385. A vivid meteor.
1388 { Comet with tail of a white colour, and a tai! more than
“(ten feet long. .
1524. Meteoric stones fell at the city of Hangchow.
1539.
1541. > Each year a vivid meteor.
1542.
1545. Meteoric stones fell into the sea at Suingan.
1577. Meteoric stones fell at Ninghai town.
1620. Vivid meteors.

‘

CHAPTER IV.

MARRIAGE PRELIMINARIES AND CONCLUDING CEREMONIES—MARRIED LIFE
IN CHINA—REGARD FOR DECADES IN LIFE—RESPECT FOR AGE—BIRTH-
DAY FESTIVAL—THEATPICALS—ESCAPE FROM FIRE— CONFLAGRATIONS
AND CONFUSION—-WATCHMEN AND THEIR NOISES—CHINESE MODES OF
KEEPING TIME.

In spite of the sudden and startling comet just
alluded to, the opening of spring was not considered
inappropriate or inauspicious for any couple to enter
into wedded life. Numerous marriages occurred about
this time; and of those witnessed by myself I offer
a few gleanings.

Setting aside the peculiarities of betrothment, and
the general seclusion of the engaged lady from her
intended swain until the happy day of union, it is my
decided conviction that, among the Chinese, “ marriage
is honourable.” I claim this admission in favour of
BETROTHAL. 147

that people on the following considerations,—that
their common law permits but one legal wife; that the
vox popult compels a man to fulfil the marriage contract
made on his behalf by parents or guardians; that both
the day and the formalities of wedding are held in uni-
versal esteem; and that man and wife, on their elevation
to their improved status, are the recipients of unani-
mous congratulations from all quarters.

The first step towards wedlock is the betrothal of the
parties. Although the case is rare, I can cite that of
a young man who, being without parents or guardians,
was himself the prime mover in forming his alliance.
Often the primary arrangements are made by the
parents of the respective families ; and even before the
birth of their children, it is not uncommon for mothers
and fathers to make contracts for them,—of course on
the hypothesis of a difference of sex. But usually in
such negotiations, the services of a match-maker are
called in;—the part of a “mei-jin,”’ or go-between,
being by no means regarded as officious, nor in any other
light than respectable. The performer, it is presumed,
is of good character for judgment and veracity: other-
wise his craft would be endangered. It is understood
likewise that the mediator is well acquainted with the
circumstances and reputation of both families; and
reliance is placed in his honesty, as the contract-money
is paid through his hands to the father of the girl.
Preliminary to final arrangements, a serious item
punctiliously examined is the horoscope of the two
individuals ;—the object bemg to ascertain on com-
parison that the year, month, day, and hour of their
respective births involve nothing unlucky to the union.
This has given rise to the colloquial phrase for a
marriage engagement, chuh-pah-tsze, “ passing the
eight characters,” or points; that is, that the four ques-
tions on either side above specified do tally. Under
these circumstances the betrothment is to be sanctioned.

L2
148 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Although the age at which Chinese marry is not so early
as has sometimes been represented in foreign books, it
is not fixed or uniform. The actual day for the wedding
depends on the dictum of a fortune-teller, or a fortune-
telling book like the Imperial Almanac. But, presuming
that all things are favourable to the union and the
means of the intended husband suitable, the ceremo-
nials at different steps of the negotiations are numerous
and tiring.

A girl in her teens, or before she is deemed marriage-
able, is often seen with a knot of hair on one side of
the head, and a slip or tuft flowing down either cheek.
But on her betrothal, the custom still prevails, (pro-
bably of ancient date,) as thus described in a Chinese
work,—“ when a girl gets engaged, her hair is put up
behind, and she wears the hair-pin of women in sign
thereof ;” and the celebration of the engagement is
attended with endless ceremonies and feastings,—espe-
cially in the young lady’s family. On the evening of
——,I stumbled into a friend’s house, ignorant of
there being a family gathering at the time for such an
affair. There I found a large company in the midst of
a merry feast, with a wondrous exposé of silks, orna-
ments, rings, fruits, &c. These were presents upon the
betrothment of my host’s sister ; as the announcement
of a nuptial engagement is a sure signal for the friends,
particularly on the bridegroom’s side, to express their
satisfaction by gifts.

This crisis is of no mean import in the history of the
Chinese couple ; for hereafter both are virtually bound
and pledged. Should the youth, however, lose his
intended by death, he is under no tie whatever, and he
may form a second engagement when he pleases. But
it is the reverse with a young woman in parallel circum-
stances, who, to consult public opinion and to retain
the respect of her own circle, will decline any other
proposal, and choose to “live in weeds.” When satis-
SECLUSION OF WOMAN. 149

factory recommendations can be offered of her virtuous:
and upright deportment through a life of widowhood,
there is hope of government honours being lavished
on her, e. g. public monuments of marble erected “ in
memoriam.’ The Chinese cite instances of young
women who have preferred suicide to disgracing them-
selves and dishonouring the departed by violating this
rule of well-bred society. On this account, it is not
uncommon for the bereaved maiden, on the death of
her affianced, to submit to an abridged ceremony of
leaving her father’s house, for the purpose of placing
herself under the shelter and control of her father-in-
law. By this procedure she confirms the obligations of
her widow state.

After the ratification of the matrimonial engagement,
it is concluded that the young lady shall keep a strict
seclusion. Perhaps it may be said with truth that this.
is a Chinese rule in high life. But that it is not uni-
versal in China scarcely admits of a question. Among
the poorer classes, I have seen girls who had been
taken immediately on betrothal to their mother-in-
law’s, to be maintained there and provided for until
they became marriageable. Meantime they are em-.
ployed as helps in the family. The circumstances of
this class do not admit of seclusion, and the separation
between the male and female branches of the house-
hold is ruled only by a sense of propriety and modesty.
In a family not of the lower but the higher class, I
have known a betrothed young woman to be many
months resident there, and have frequently seen her
and her intended conversing on the ordinary gossip of
the family.

The seclusion of woman is insisted upon in families
which can afford to shut up their wives and daughters
in “inner apartments.” Such a system limits the
circle of acquaintance and intercourse to the narrow
sphere of one’s own relatives; and as a further con-
150 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

sequence, a cold reserve is encouraged on visiting even
these relatives; and in going out of the house close
sedans are used, as if to shut out observation of men
and things. Still, curiosity to know something of the
outside world cannot entirely be extinguished. This
often is awakened, excited, and fed by the maid-
servants, female hairdressers, doctresses, and nurses,
who superabound in the families of the rich.

The inquisitiveness of young ladies on this special
point may not be so eager and prying in China as in
western countries. But, with a lurking concern as to
future prospects, it is not to be doubted that Chinese
maidens, in spite of privacy and reserve, do “speer”
about the young men allotted for them, and will take
what opportunity they have to look at them even
through a glass darkly. The same assuredly may be
certified of the young men. Although perhaps they
may not form any personal attachment, and are debarred
from the bliss of a private assignation, they are clever
enough to contrive many plans for getting a peep at the
individual chosen as the future partner of their chances
of life. It cannot be questioned that anxiety on the
same score affects both sexes in every country and clime,
and, among Chinese too, breathes out,—

“We may not know,
While life endures, whose lot is joy, whose woe ;—
Where is the sunlight, where shall be the shade.”

In general, preparations for the happy union extend
over a long period; but I am safe in asserting that,
while the young gentleman may not be thoughtless, in
all probability the juvenile bride is the more anxious
of the two about the coming day. With some women,
there is great painstaking to prepare their ¢rousseau,
especially pillows, coverlets, &c., on which embroidery
can be worked. ‘This forms part and parcel of the
betrothment-money, being defrayed out of the affianced
THE WEDDING-DAY. 151

gentleman’s pocket. As the memorable day approaches,
the bride has to be arrayed in her best attire, which
likewise she has to arrange, and in which she has more
assistance from kind, perhaps officious, neighbours, than
she needs or is thankful for. A young woman, at whose
marriage I was a guest, had a day or two previous
undergone the ceremony of “ uncovering the face.”
Her maiden tresses were put up and the frontal hair
was shaven off, so that the forehead assumed a peculiar
openness, which has come to be a badge of the married
woman in China. To this practice probably is to be
traced the expression kaimien, or “ uncovering the face.”
A parting feast was set out by the relatives. In her
wedding habit the young woman sat at the head of the
table occupied by the female guests. The men were
feasting in another compartment. The bridegroom too,
at his father’s home, where there was a round of calls
and feastings for several days in succession, had to
undergo the ceremony of being “ capped,”’ which was
performed by his father’s hands as a preliminary essential
to married life.

On the auspicious day itself, I hastened to witness
the lady leave her mother’s home, about seven o’clock
in the evening. She was in the little room, to which
her earliest associations had been confined, surrounded
by women and matrons (her mother among them) weep-
ing and wailing. She had trimmed herself, powdered
her face, rouged her lips, musked her robes, and, as
she could afford them, displayed her finest jewels. Had
she been too poor to have jewellery by her, she could
readily have supplied herself for the time at the nearest
pawnbroker’s, At last the bridal chair was at the door,
with chair-bearers and musicians. A concourse of spec-
tators stood outside, eager, if not impatient, to catch
a glimpse of the sin-niang, alias “the new woman.”
After the procession was duly arranged, the bride was
carried out of her room, as if vi et armis, by her
152 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

brothers, and she was placed in her nuptial sedan
seemingly in a helpless condition. When carried out
of her father’s house, she was lifted over a pan of
lighted charcoal. This precaution was explained as
necessary to prevent the lady carrying off with her all
the good fortunes of the family! That is one inter-
pretation, but there may be others equally absurd.
The chair was capacious and elegant. The bride sat
within, arrayed in a cloak fringed with tiny tinkling
bells, and on her head she wore a singularly-shaped
hat, with a veil of beads, &c., that almost completely
covered her face. Every symbol of gaiety was ex-
hibited, identified with their notions of a wedding
occasion, when, according to their phraseology, “ the
phoenixes sing in harmony,” and compatible with the
bridegroom’s finances. The whole retinue hurried on
along winding streets lined with staring spectators,
preceded by men and boys with torches and crackers.
By this time a messenger had announced that the lady
was “a-comin’,” and all was astir at the bridegroom’s,
where the gates were opened to receive the gaudy
banners, pink umbrellas, red boxes, and other pieces of
baggage, which heralded the rapid approach of the
bride. Presently the chair-bearers rushed in. Three
heavy crackers intimated that the bridal sedan had
actually come. This conveyance was attended by four
bridesmaids on foot, in black dresses and with pink
sashes; but they were old women! A singularly-
dressed mistress of ceremonies came out to accost the
young bride. As she stepped out of her chair, a
horse-saddie was laid on the floor, over which she had
to stride. Her four maids supported the lady in
passing into the inner apartments. Here she met the
bridegroom, who, by the way, had to be searched for
and led out for introduction to his future companion,
—a farce sometimes played at a Chinese wedding, as if
to denote extreme modesty or timidity on the part of
THE WEDDING CEREMONY. 153

the husband in entering on his new responsibilities.
The couple on meeting knelt down and paid their reli-
gious devoirs to “ Heaven.” Next, a document with
the marriage contract was publicly and distinctly read.
Worship was then paid at the ancestral tablets of the
husband’s family. After this, the pair were conducted
into the bridal chamber, which immediately was crowded
with friends and visitors. Here standing side by side,
two cups of wine-syrup joimed by a scarlet thread
were exchanged between the couple. This part of the
ceremony was concluded by what is called sahchung,*
or throwing a plateful of various fruits, berries, and
confections among the crowds of spectators, who were
eager to pick up what they could. On this the bride-
groom “came out of his chamber rejoicing.” The
bride was detained within to be unveiled and to change
her upper dress, which by this time must have become
excessively cumbersome.

I was much surprised to find the bridal chamber
open to public gaze and scrutiny. And at this as
at other weddings, two or three features forced them-
selves on me, as exceedingly owéré to the notions of a
Westerner. To any special visitor who entered, the
bride was brought out for inspection, and at the inter-
view he was at liberty to offer what remarks he might
think apropos, about her lips, nose, eyes, eyebrows, feet,
petticoats, &c. Evidently the remarks were stale and
zsommonly current; for, when one experienced hand
made his observations, they were responded to by
appropriate sentences from another in the crowd.
However outrageous all this was to me, a mere looker-
on, it was amazing to mark the composure of the

* This custom (as their records state) was instituted above 1,900
years ago, by an emperor, who, at his own marriage, as he scattered a
tray of five vari-coloured fruits, blessed the people in these words :—
“Ag many of these berries as any one can catch, so many children may
he have.”
154 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

young bride through it all;—mnot a smile on her lips,—
not a muscle moved,—not a blush in her face; and
T was then informed that the reputation of a bride
greatly depended on the gravity, calmness, and temper,
with which she received the remarks of bystanders at
such atime. If so, several ladies, at whose nuptials I
have been present, must have earned a virtuous name
by their collected demeanour during so trying a
probation.

As usual, that evening closed with feasting,—men
and women in separate apartments. In the female
branch, the bride opened the supper by appearing at
the top of the table, in the expressive parlance of some
places, doobi-no-no,* acknowledging through one of her
attendant maids, “ Worthy matrons and young ladies,
the bride desires to offer her respectful thanks to you
all for your kindness and attention.” She then for
a while seated herself at the table, while the other
ladies partook of the repast. When the men had
taken their seats, the bridegroom came forward to pour
wine into each guest’s cup. The master of ceremonies
now intimated that the bridegroom wished to express
his obligations to the friends who had honoured him
with their presence on the occasion. Supper being
ended, the bride appeared in the gentlemen’s supper-
room to acknowledge the honour they had conferred
on her. The feast concluded at a very late hour; and
we left the nuptial pair to their honeymoon. But,
a Chinese honeymoon,—how different an introduction
to married life among these celestials, from a tour to
the Continent, a trip to the Lakes, a visit to sundry
watering-places! In some parts of the country, the
Chinese bride is almost shut up to her own chamber
for a full month.

What now about the altered condition of the Chinese

*  Stomach-rubbing,” from the peculiar up-and-down-movement of
her hands over the pit of the stomach in expressing her thanks.
THE MARRIED LIFE. 155

woman on her marriage? Is it to be concluded that
she must be unhappy, and that, on account of vexations
arising out of novel and untried circumstances, if she
could, she would be too glad to be released from her
married lot? I think not.

In China, to be united in wedlock to some one or
other is invariably set before the maiden, and anti-
cipated by her, as her good fortune ; whereas, not to be
married stands more in the light of a mishap. No
injustice is felt by her in having no voice in the se-
lection of her partner ;—indeed, this would be avoided
by the young woman as a breach of propriety and
decency. Nor are the responsibilities that now devolve
on her in her married state altogether strange to her;
for, under her mother’s roof, she had been trained to
housekeeping and other domestic duties. By discipline
in her father’s house, she had been prepared for the
further steps of womanly experience of life; and,
throughout her maidenhood, the status of woman had
become familiar to her, as expressed in the common
adage, that ‘‘ Woman is subject to the following three
conditions in life:—viz., at her father’s house she is
under her parents; on marriage she submits to her
husband ; and in widowhood she is under the guidance
of her sons.”

In some respects, then, it is not a great change for a
young woman to be moved to a husband’s house, nor
is it always “for worse.” Yet, in her new home, the
young wife may find unexpected and unthought-of
sources of trial. Possibly a mother-in-law is suspicious,
jealous, domineering, and tyrannical; or, what may
most unfortunately happen, the husband perhaps is
unaffectionate, heartless, cruel, and a “ wife-beater.”
Under either circumstance, the “unprotected female ”
finds it better and easier to submit with patience.

But the fault does not always lie at the door of the
husband. Sometimes his life is one of intense misery,
156 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

from the provocations and suspicions of a wife, her
bitter revilings and revengeful freaks. A Chinese
preceptor, with whom I was acquainted, so excited the
jealousy of his young, handsome, and devoted wife, on
a certain occasion, that she adopted a method for pun-
ishing him,—ingenious, amusing, and effective, as well
as very annoying. One evening returning home late, he
retired to rest without offering any explanation of his
absence satisfactory to his wife. When he got up
next morning to dress, he could nowhere find his
habiliments, nor was he able to obtain any clue to the
discovery. He was kept in suspense and without
out-door clothing for a week; so that, in fact, he was
confined to bed the whole time for want of clothes,—
much to his discomfort, and not a little to my annoy-
ance, as his services were just then required. At
length, his “ gude-wife,” satisfied with the penalty she
had inflicted, set him at liberty. She had taken all
his clothes on that evening and concealed them in
another part of the house for one entire week. This
curious story I had from the man’s own lips.

A word about widows, widowers, and concubines. I
have met with widows that had married a second time,
and others that had been engaged as secondary wives;
but, in the eye of good society, neither is considered
quite reputable. The support of a widow depends on her
children, and the relatives especially of her husband’s
family; and the tribute offered by the nation, as has
already been observed, in raising pillars of stone, &c.,
to commemorate the virtues of widows, must be a source
of comfort and encouragement to her. But widowers
are under no check in choosing a second partner or
selecting the wedding-day.

As to the extent of polygamy, it is utterly impossible
to guess at anything approaching statistics. Among
the poorer classes, from their scanty circumstances, it is
uncommon to find a man with more than one spouse.
CONCUBINES. 157

The practice of taking concubines is confined to people in
the higherranks. Yet, whatever the number aman may
choose, there is but one real legitimate wife. In public
estimate, a concubine is inferior to her, and during the
lifetime of the wife she cannot be introduced into the
family with ail the trumpery and paraphernalia of a
proper marriage. By a parade of numerous concu-
bines, a.man may get a name for wealth, &c., among
his neighbours; but the custom breeds interminable
jealousies in the bosom of many Chinese families. To
my knowledge, however, there are instances of wives
among the natives who have consented to their hus-
bands having concubines in a distant part of the
country, where they were detained for some time on
account of business; and Sir John Bowring, in his
curious paper presented to the Statistical Society,
names a similar case, ‘“ that one of our female servants—
a nominal Christian—expressed her earnest desire that
her husband should have another wife in her absence,
and seemed quite surprised that any one should suppose
such an arrangement to be in any respect improper.”
It is possible too to cite cases in which some wives have
encouraged their lords in this practice, out of an ambi-
tion for rule and authority which would be gratified
by their having a larger household of handmaids and
children to govern and manage.

To turn next to jottings of another page of social
life among the Chinese. The 20th of March was the
day selected by Dr. Chang to celebrate his “ threescore
years and ten.” The 19th was his real birthday ; but,
as that happened to fall this year on a Sunday, which
he knew to be my rule to keep sacred, it appeared that
he deferred the observance till next day (Monday) to
suit my convenience,—a mark of respectful deference
which I could not overlook.

What I had frequently observed was, on this occa-
sion, distinctly brought under notice,—the regard paid
158 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

by the Chinese to every tenth year in their personal
history. Each decade has a special designation applied
to it. Thus, at ten, one is said to reach “the first
degree of life ;”? at twenty, there is “ youth-capping,”
—a cap is placed on his head by his father, or a suitable
representative of the family, to denote that, having
passed the curriculum of boyhood and youth, he enters
on the era and responsibilities of manhood. (in olden
times, when a lad reached this age, the ceremony
of capping him was attended with many peculiar rites.
There were in addition other three grand ceremonials
on which the thoughts and resources of ancient people
were usually bent,— marriage,” “burial,” and “the
worship of the manes of the dead.” Of these four
ceremonies, the first, or “the capping,” is the only
one that has fallen into comparative disuse; or rather
it has merged in the marriage service, when it is
observed a day or two previous to the wedding.) At
thirty, he is “strong and marriageable.” It is pre-
sumed that at this epoch he has reached an age when
he is competent for the general duties of a house and
family ; at forty, he is “fit to hold any official situa-
tion ;”’ at fifty, quite able “to know his own failings ;”
at sixty, he has “completed one cycle; at seventy,
he is “a rara avis of antiquity;” at eighty, he has
“a rusty iron-coloured visage ;” at ninety, “he is in
his dotage;”’ at one hundred, “he comes to an extreme
old age.”

So much importance is attached specially to these
advanced stages of human life, that, in the case even of
deceased parents, the surviving children (if they can
command the means) are often punctilious to celebrate
the advancing decades of life, that would have marked
their history had they continued in the land of the
living. I have gained admission at different times to
one or two of these posthumous celebrations; and
the prominent feature in these “ inferior occasions ”
RESPECT FOR AGE. 159

(as they are called, to distinguish them from “the
superior,’ or what are conducted during the lifetime
of the parent), is, that they have more of a funereal
east, e. y. white colours substituted for red, mourning
for mirth, and wailing for congratulations. On no
anniversary has a man more respect and attention paid
him than at the seventieth, which Dr.C. had now
reached.

The sacred regard which Chinese pay to the claims
of kindred, secures to the patriarchs of respectable
families ample support in the advanced and helpless
stage of their pilgrimage; and charity oftentimes re-
lieves poor septuagenarians, whose relatives may be
unable to provide them with comforts or necessaries
at their mature age. In China, one’s feelings are not
harrowed with the sad spectacle of an aged parent
discarded by his children and left to perish, unattended
and unnursed, under a scorching sun or on the banks
of a swelling river. But you will see the tottering senior,
man or woman, who has not the means to hire a sedan,
led through the alleys and streets by a son or a grand-
child,—commanding the spontaneous respect of each
passer-by, the homage of every junior. The deference
of the pollot to the extreme sections of old age is
manifest likewise from the tablets and monuments you
may any day stumble upon, that have been erected by
public subscription to the memory of octogenarians,
nonagenarians, or centenarians. Nor is the govern-
ment backward in encouraging this, but the reverse.
Hence I have often seen very aged men and women
in the streets arrayed in yellow robes, the gift of the
emperor, in mark of honour and out of respect to their
grey hairs.

The patriarchal type of the Chinese Executive re-
quires that itself should pay marked attention to its
long-lived subjects; and the laws and policy, of the
reigning dynasty especially, have done much to sane-
160 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

tion this common dictate of human nature so popular
among the Chinese. Thus, the penal code of the pre-
sent Tartar dynasty orders that “all destitute widows
and widowers, the fatherless and childless, the helpless
and infirm, shall receive sufficient maintenance and
protection from the magistrates of their native city or
district, whenever they have neither relations nor con-
nections on whom they may depend for support; and
any magistrate refusing such maintenance and protec-
tion shall be punished by sixty blows. Also, when any
such are maintained and protected by the government,
the superintending magistrate and his subordinates, if
failing to afford them the legal allowance of food and
raiment, shall be punished in proportion to the amount
of the deficiency, according to the law against an
embezzlement of government stores.” It appears too
the same code makes an exception, in criminal cases, of
the aged : ““ Whoever is ascertained to be aged or infirm
at the period of trial for any offence, shall be allowed
the benefit of such plea, although he may not have
attained the full age or laboured under the alleged
infirmity at the time the offence was committed.” An
edict was issued in the year 1687, under the seal of the
emperor Kanghe, “for regulating the aid given by
government to people of the lower orders above seventy
years of age. The septuagenarians were exempted
from service and had food allotted them; those of
eighty years had a piece of silk, a catty of cotton, a
stone of rice, and ten catties of meat. Those of ninety
double the rest.””_ According to the official returns of
the indigent aged who at the time came under the
patronage of imperial favour, there were 184,086 who
were seventy years and upwards, 169,850 who were
eighty years and upwards, 9,996 who were ninety years
and upwards, and twenty-one who were one hundred
years and upwards. In 1722, in the sixtieth year of
the reign of Kanghe, his majesty gave a feast to the old
RESPECT FOR OLD AGE. 161

men of the empire; and his successor Kienlung, follow-
ing the example of his predecessor, in the year 1785,
also set on foot a jubilee of the same nature, a descrip-
tion of which is given in the memoirs of Father Ripa,
who was present on the occasion. I extract one pas-
sage containing a brief summary of the proceedings :-—
“A vast number of aged but healthy men had been
sent to Peking from all the provinces. They were in
companies, bearing the banner of their respective pro-
vinces. They also carried various other symbols and
trophies, and being symmetrically drawn up along the
streets through which the emperor was to pass, they
presented a very beautiful and uncommon appearance.
Every one of these old men brought a present of some
kind to the emperor, which generally consisted of vases
and other articles in bronze. His Majesty gave to each
of them a coin worth about five shillings, together with
a gown of yellow silk, which is the imperial colour.
They afterwards assembled all together in a place where
the emperor went to see them; and it was found that
this venerable company amounted to four thousand in °
number. His Majesty was highly gratified with this
spectacle ; he inquired the age of many, and treated
them all with the greatest affability and condescension.
He even invited them all to a banquet, at which he
made them sit in his presence, and commanded his sons
and grandsons to serve them with drink. After this,
with his own hand, he presented every one of them with
something ; to one who was the most aged of the whole
assembly, being nearly 111 years old, he gave a man-
darin’s suit complete, together with a staff, an inkstand,
and other things.”

The birthday anniversary of another aged gentleman
occurred about this time too, that afforded me some
additional instruction and interest, as it was on a
higher scale than friend Chang’s. It was that of
Mr. Kiang, a resident at the West gate, a man of large

M
162 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

property, good family, and extensive connections. He
had attained the maximum of the “ three ,felicities,”
which, in the Chinese estimate of man’s chief end, con-
sist of high emolument, numerous children, and a good
old age.

It is not unusual for respectable families to own a
private chapel, or rather a household temple, in which
they lodge not idols but ancestral tablets. This is
thrown open in times of family gatherings. Mr. K.
arranged to entertain his surviving friends, and like-
wise the manes of the departed, in the small temple
adjoining his own residence. On a birthday, at least
on a decade of one’s life, it being customary, with folks
who can afford such things, to treat friends both with a
feast of fat things and with theatrical amusements,
Mr. K. was determined not to be slow or sparing in
either. For several weeks previous to the auspicious
day, his plans had been laid, and invitations distributed
through a wide circle of acquaintances. To join the
favoured party, I was only too happy to accept his
polite request. His mansion itself was a_ perfect
museum of curiosities. The old worthy had travelled
much through his native land; but his hobby during
his lifetime had been to collect foreign novelties and
group them about his residence. Every room was
ornamented with tables, mirrors, pictures, lamps,
chandeliers, &c., of foreign workmanship. His garden
was laid out with taste and at great expense ;—elabo-
rately set with artificial rocks, caverns, bridges, ponds,
or adorned with a singular variety of trees, shrubs,
plants, and flowers. Before the grand ceremonies of
the evening opened, my host conducted me to the hall
where the other guests were seated. On entering, I
observed that a paling was thrown across the temple
floor, to separate the mixed company from the élite:
for, at a certain hour, the theatrical show was to be
open to the public. The area allotted to the select party
COFFIN-ROOM. 163

was nicely fitted up; chairs well cushioned and covered
with scarlet serge tastefully embroidered, and teapoys*
placed here and: there laden with tea, cakes, sweet-
meats, &c. The hall was flanked with specimens of
fine marble, and on the walls there hung scrolls of
exquisite pencilship. Overhead, glass lanterns were
suspended, lit up with red tapers, and exhibiting on
their panes amusing paintings, at times provokingly
ludicrous; for some of the daubs were sketches of
foreigners in ungainly postures, and with outrageous
dresses, every one crowned with carroty hair! The hall
itself presented a lively scene. All were on the qui vive.
The gentlemen of the party were dressed out in their
best, and attended by personal servants; and they con-
ducted themselves according to the politest rules of
Chinese etiquette. The contrast on the other side of
the fence was striking,—a mass of “ roughs,” ill-dressed,
noisy, and quarrelsome. Up in the latticed galleries I
discerned female eyes, eager to peep at what they could,
though secure from the vulgar gaze. They were the
female branches of Mr. Kiang’s family.

Perceiving that the evening amusements would not
commence yet, I made myself at home and, each guest
being at liberty to roam where he pleased, I strolled
into a long narrow apartment. This I found to be the
depository of half a dozen coffins. Some were empty,
and each of very compact structure, great capacity, and
formed of planks several inches thick. Upon inquiry,
it appeared that one or two of them contained the
remains of deceased relations, and the rest had been
prepared by living members of the family, in anticipa-
tion of death. Mr. Kiang himself raised the lid of one,
pointing to it with a smile of satisfaction that it was
ready to receive him as soon as he should breathe his
last. This offers a parallel to the conduct of many in

* Small convenient tables.
M 2
164 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Christendom, of whom one has said justly, ‘“ They seem
to have built their tombs, there to bury their thoughts
of dying; never thinking thereof, but embracing the
world with the greatest eagerness.” In China, coffin
preparation is not confined to the trade of the under-
taker. To have coffins prepared for oneself and for
one’s relatives during lifetime, is not an unusual thing.
As I penned these lines, there came to my recollection
a foreign sketch which I met with some time previous,
in which the writer, after relating a series of Chinese
customs that were opposed to ours, concludes thus :—
“ Here comes a Chinese acquaintance accompanying a
splendidly carved coffin. ‘Who’s dead?’ said I. ‘No
man hab die,’ replied the celestial in the Canton-
English jargon,—‘ no man hab die, my maykee my olo
fader cumsha. Him likee too muchee, countoo my
numba one popa, spose he die can catchee.’” That is,
in Queen’s English, ‘No person is dead. It is a pre-
sent from me to my aged father, with which he will be
greatly pleased. It is a mark of great respect from me
too; and the coffin will be at his service when needful.”
This is a description founded on fact.

Having satisfied myself with the contents of a spot
so lugubrious, I returned to a scene in every respect
the reverse. The play had begun. After the usual
prostrations and incense-offering by the aged host, the
actors mounted the stage, all of them young, none
above sixteen, some under nine years of age. The
dresses were gay and elegant, sometimes really splendid,
and generally imitations of the court-dresses of the
Ming dynasty. The acts were divided into different
scenes and accompanied by music, which at last had
become tolerable to me. Not being yet versed in the
Mandarin language, the dialect of the stage, I was
unable to follow the rapid enunciation of the actors,
and was in the dark about the subject of performance.
The female actors seemed to afford special satisfaction

.
THEATRICALS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. 165

to the company. But, after I had been looking at
handsome Chinese women on that stage, hearing their
peculiarly whining tones that could never be mistaken,
and watching their mincing gait and affected air in
walking, with elegantly decked small feet,—what was my
astonishment to find all to be a farce! At the end of
the entertainment those very individuals came forward
to me in their proper attire, mere boys that had been
dressed up for the occasion in female habits! In China
no theatrical show would be complete without parts
representing women. Yet these are chiefly performed by
men or boys, as in general it is considered a disgrace for
woman herself to appear on the stage. It is tolerated
only where dissipation is rife, as at Soochow.

At alate hour, the anniversary congratulations closed
with a hearty “ good night” to the host, already in his
seventieth year, for whom (though we might wish it) we
could scarcely hope that he would have many returns
of the season.

While the subject is fresh on the mind, and suggested
by the private performances just described, I will call
‘attention for a little to public theatricals. As elsewhere,
this is among the Chinese, too, the most popular means
of entertainment.

There are no permanent erections under the name
“theatres,” that is, to say, buildings appropriated to
this class of amusement. In the centre of their tem-
ples and “ assembly halls,” there is a fixed platform on
which theatricals are performed, perhaps for a special
festival, perhaps in honour of the presiding genius.
Occasionally you meet with a shed of the rudest
form, thrown up pro tem. for exhibitions under the
open sky. Once I visited one of this sort erected at
the bottom of a hill, at some distance from any
village or temple. It was but a huge frame of wood
and boards. The spectators numbered over 3,000.
There were no seats. Most were standing, some
166 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

squatting on the grass, and the rest mounted on trees
hard by.

Theatricals intended for the public eye are got up
not unfrequently by a wealthy family out of kindness
to their neighbours, or from deference to a patron idol.
If a mercantile house opens for the first time, or if a
long-established concern wishes to commemorate its
anniversary, or if a merchant has to signalize a suc-
cessful stroke of speculation, theatricals are agog.
Oftener, at the instigation of hungry and ravenous
priests, a subscription paper is issued, which is headed
with fine sounding phraseology about the gods and the
fates, &c. This is circulated in the community. It
announces that there is to be a performance to please
certain members of the pantheon. Should the sub-
scription list be large enough to secure competent per-
formers (of course allowing a sufficient deduction of
coppers for quieting the appetite of the craving re/i-
gieur), an advertisement-sheet is next published, with
a list of the subscribers and a programme of the féle.
Exhibitions of this nature are chiefly in the daytime—
rarely at night—and free to the public. Accordingly,
it is not surprising to see the people of the vicinity all
astir, even neglecting their own business to have a
share in the pastime. The occasion is remarkably
productive to those who let benches, sell confections,
or keep gambling-tables. The actors, for the most
part, are strolling players. These form companies, to
travel about the country, under startling designations,
such as “Splendid Exhibition Band,” &c. The farces
are chiefly pantomimic. I do not think I am rash in
saying that the imitative acts are better understood than
than the speaking; for the language usually is not in
the local patois, and almost always is drowned by the
hideous din of the orchestra and the applauding buzz of
the audience. The scenic portion is simple, consisting
of painted mats and boards, placed at the back and
THEATRICALS. 167

sides of the stage. On the platform, stools, chairs,
and tables are arranged as required, their rude and
clumsy forms concealed by silk or satin covers of em-
broidered work. The noisy choir sits on one side,—
famous for grating fiddles, clanging gongs, and deafen-
ing drums. The robing-room is béhind. From it
start forth the performers, originally coarse and dirty
wretches, arrayed in most gorgeous and brilliant speci-
mens of the ancient costumes of China. The rapidity
with which the players transform themselves, between
the different acts, from one dress to another, from this
to that character, is very great and remarkable. I
have not so extensive and minute an acquaintance with
the Chinese stage as could embolden me to give the
decided verdict that its general tendency is low and
debasing ; but, I confess, I myself have witnessed what
undoubtedly was calculated to pander to the depraved
tastes of the eager and thronging spectators.

Some time previous to the new year, the religious
ceremony called paou-an, “for securing quiet,” had
been observed. It took place in different parts of the
city, its object being to conciliate the gods, and, as
winter advanced, to insure their protection from fire
or midnight disturbances. Generally this was a local
affair, got up by tenants within certain divisions of the
city, who subscribed towards a religious procession that
lasted for a night or two. Free-will offerings were
made by them of incense, candles, fruit, fish, pork,
fowl, &c., and masquerades on a small scale went about
after sunset. Although the ostensible aim was to
“secure quiet,’ and to obtain from the gods a fire
insurance during a season of indescribable risk from
stoves and the random use of charcoal, the proceedings
on this occasion by no means favoured either of these
desirable results. The temerity with which I saw them
dash fireworks about in the narrow lanes and purlieus
made me stare with horror; and the deafening rattle
168 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

of gongs and drums threw a burlesque on the paou-an
ceremony for “ securing quiet.”

But the evening of our “ April fool’s day” was cele-
brated in Ningpo by an appalling scarefire which com-
pletely broke the spell of the tranquillizing ceremony
above described. The whole city was in a hubbub in
consequence. The fire broke out in the principal
street, at a silversmith’s shop. It raged for four hours
on both sides of the street, threatening to envelope the
entire vicinity in a general conflagration. At length,
after destroying about one hundred houses, it ceased.
As this public street was the chief place of business in
Ningpo, on the first alarm of fire the clerks, appren-
tices, and partners of each establishment were on
the spot. In an instant shop doors were bolted and
warehouse-gates double-barred or guarded against
gangs of rapacious volunteers,—vagabonds that beset
every house, professing their readiness to render all
needful assistance, while it was unmistakable that
plunder was their object. At the different stores,
goods and chattels were packed up by the inmates with
the utmost expedition, and every package was arranged
so as to admit of instantaneous removal, in case the
devouring element approached. Although the soldiery
and police were called out, unfortunately what aid they
rendered was to make double confusion. The shop-
keepers refused to intrust the military with their
valuables, and, as they were carrying off their property
on their own shoulders, it was curious to observe
them flourishing a heavy bludgeon in one hand, as
if to threaten a decided flagellation on any officious
intruders.

In some Chinese towns they have a semblance to
fire-engines, called ‘“ water-dragons.” I could not
ascertain that any such machines were within reach on
the present occasion; but if at work they were truly
inefficient. By the glare of the fire my eye detected
HOUSE ON FIRE. 169

a few servants on the neighbouring housetops, throw-
ing buckets of water here and there. This, however,
seemed to move the laughter or excite the wrath of
the furiouselement. It raged on, ran its course, did its
work, and stopped at its own pleasure.

Finding that the fire was making for my séjour, I had
the baggage removed into a back garden, from which,
in case of actual danger, it might readily be removed.
No sooner done than I was informed that the wing
of the building fronting my house was in flames. I
happened at the time to be ona toploft watching the
progress of the fire. Presently I overheard a shout
beneath in Chinese, “‘ Where’s Meisiensang ?—where’s
Meisiensang?” I hurried down. Instantly a hand
grasped my arm. Despite ‘all remonstrance, at the
same time ignorant who was the captor, I was dragged,
through the grounds behind, on to the top of the city
walls. Then a voice exclaimed, “ Now you are here,
you shall stay by my side.” It was my landlord. In
fright lest I should suffer from fire, the good man had
taken this summary proceeding, and determined that I
should share the same protection with his own son who
stood close by his side. On the ground of it being
necessary to look after my luggage, I sought release ;
but he was too firm, and again seizing my arm with an
iron hold, he drew me out of the range of risk, all the -
while brandishing his cudgel. We had not gone far
before we met a group of spectators standing over the
East gate. Bright buttons studded the company, and
a large pink umbrella notified that the commander-in-
chief was on the spot. His attendants, on observing me,
informed his excellency that I had had a narrow escape,
&c. His excellency invited me forward; but, being in
dishabille, I begged off. He himself then advanced to
condole with me on my misfortune. He kindly re-
quested me to make his house my home, and, if need
be, to use his wardrobe. At midnight, when apprised
170 REAL LIFE tN CHINA.

of the abatement of the conflagration, I returned to my
lodgings, where to my agreeable surprise, I found the
rooms in order, luggage rearranged, books reassorted,
nothing damaged, thanks to my prompt and faithful
Chinese servants.

All the following day the excitement in the city was
great ; and congratulations among those whose houses
had escaped destruction were particularly noisy. Of ,
these some hastened to the temples to vow various
acts of public thanksgiving, which would in a measure
depend on their means, such as theatrical shows for so
many nights, or a recitation by the priests of a certain
number of sections from Buddha’s sacred hymns. At
an early hour, the city walls were placarded over with
huge and attractive advertisements of recitals, exhi-
bitions, &c., to be conducted on such and such days
and in such and such buildings. One mercantile
establishment, for instance, bound itself over to “ fast
ten days.” Another announced, that, “in consequence
of having been protected by the gods during the confla-
gration of last night, the partners had humbly engaged
to have forty-eight books of the Fah-lien-hwa sung
before the idols.” A third company promised to give a
theatrical play, and, “ upon selecting a propitious day,
to notify it to the public.”

Frequently, conflagrations in China are frightful in
extent of destruction. Yet, knowing the extreme care-
lessness with which they use lamps and lights, the
inflammable material of their houses, and the close com-
pact style in which rows of dwellings are erected, it is
a perfect phenomenon that so few fires occur. Itis not
unusual for a poor man’s house to be burnt down over
his head, by the reckless scattering of gilt paper which
he has been offering by fire to his ancestors. Within
my own recollection, a large fire broke out in Shanghai
from a hatter burning a bundle of “ gold paper ” before
his kitchen-god. He had left the flaming mass on the
PUNISHMENT OF THIEVES. 171

floor to smoulder out, while he attended to his shop.
The unfortunate man paid a heavy franc for his super-
stition. The penalty is not the mere destruction of
property by the furious clement: if it be detected or
suspected where and in whose premises the fire origi-
nated, the ashes and ruins of the surrounding buildings
which may have fallen a prey to the conflagration, all
are heaped upon that ill-fated site. Thus his neighbours
have not the trouble of carting away the rubbish to a
distance. They lay the entire onus on this unlucky
landlord; and the re-erection of his house is necessa-
rily delayed, sometimes long after the other dwellings
around have been rebuilt and the business of their
occupants has been revived.

Fines and degradation are threatened, sometimes
inflicted with severity, on district officers for fires that
occur within their jurisdiction. This makes the city
authorities alert at such a time, and, with an effective
police, they may manage both to keep off the interfering
bands of pillagers, and to smother the burning pile by
pulling down walls, &c.

Thieves and robbers of every stamp are the foremost
on such an occasion to offer assistance ; and the condi-
tion of the women and children is deplorable, especially
when they fall into the hands of those ruthless vaga-
bonds. But to rob during a conflagration is considererd
by the people extreme cowardice, and a crime of the
darkest dye. Hence, severely and summarily to punish
those detected in the base act is deemed most necessary.
I passed two such culprits one morning, who were encaged
in a large case with open bars. The heads were tied
by the tail to the top of the cage. In this manner
they were made to stand for four days, exposed to sun
rain, wind, and public gaze, until they died. It was
explained that the authorities had no power either to
behead or banish, without special instructions from the
Imperial cabinet; but they could inflict this mode of
172 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

punishment as a warning to the public, without any
avowed design to shorten life, but with the certainty
that to keep a man in that position for three or four
days without food, drink, and shelter, would rid the
world of a scoundrel to be detested by all society.

At a conflagration in China as in England, there is
a vast throng of spectators, who add their loud halloos
to the crash of burning houses; yet not the least noisy
are the police who hurry the rickety engines called
“ water-dragons,” when they have them, along the
rugged narrow lanes. In China the great want on
such emergencies is an organized body of firemen,
prompt in watching the flames, and expert in checking
their progress, instéad of shouting and roaring out to
the mob.

In the principal street at Ningpo there were high
walls, built so as, at certain distances on both sides,
almost to overtop the shops and vault across the
street. These were considered by the residents as
successful in stopping the rage of conflagrations, and
from this is derived the name “ fire-walls.”

In some of their philanthropic institutions provision
is made for these terrible dilemmas, by having fire-
engines, &c., on the spot. Yet the best are in wretched
order if not entirely out of order. Some Chinese
natives, who have visited Europe or America and seen
our systems of fire-brigades, &c., have been in great
admiration of them. One of them in 1853, after a
violent fire which threw Shanghai into consternation
for a whole night, wrote to the “ North China Herald”
on the subject, in the following strain, as translated by
myself from the Chinese original :—

“TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTH CHINA HERALD.

‘RESPECTED Sir,—When I was in England lately, I had an oppor-
tunity of seeing some of the fire-engines there used, machines the struc-
ture and working of which exceed all praise, whether you speak of
ingenuity or effect.

“Tt is true that, in this central empire of ours, there are fire engines,
NIGHT POLICE. 173

alias ‘ water-dragons’ (several of which were at work last Monday
evening at that disastrous fire in the city) ; still they are of little or no
service during a conflagration, in securing the lives and property of our
native population, crowded together, as it invariably is, in such thick
masses, as in Shanghai for instance.

“T trust, therefore, you will not think it intruding in me, Sir, to sug-
gest that some of your noble-minded and generous-hearted countrymen
might set up an establishment here, with station-house, fire-engines,
and brigade, for the purpose of aiding and abetting in the putting down
the fearful fires that occur among us.

“This would certainly call forth a renewed expression of gratitude
from our populace, and stimulate our princely merchants to follow your
example ; while, if I mistake not, it might provoke the close-fisted
officials (‘ our fathers and mothers,’ forsooth !) to be a little more prompt
and liberal in providing means and measures for the benefit of these
multitudes which, in their proclamations, they are fond of designating
their ‘little children,’

“Yours humbly and respectfully,
“ INDIGENA.”

Further to illustrate how “securing quiet ” is carried
out in this wonderful country,—in every Chinese town
I visited, among the nuisances to “ fright the night of
its propriety,” there was one in particular which, on
my arrival at Ningpo for instance, I could not at first
interpret: it was such a sonorous medley. At length
the periodical regularity of the sounds, and their mul-
tiplication as daybreak advanced, suggested that it
might be the night patrol! Precisely so. Whether at
government expense or at that of private houses, or
both, it matters not; but night watchmen were
abundant. The vesper hours were not kept regularly,
to be sure, but in general, at a signal from the drum-
loft, the night watch was set at seven o’clock. The
city gates were to be closed, bars put up at the ends of
the alleys, and a patrol distributed through the wards.
The watchmen were paired off two and two for each
beat. But “the rule of contraries” seemed to be
followed in this matter too; each watchman must have
a blazing lantern by his side, and a noisy cylinder or
clanking bamboo, just as if to warn the wary house-
burglar wheu he might prepare to enter or to quit.
174 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

The noise which so disturbed my slumbers was made
by striking the bamboo cylinder thrown over the police-
man’s arm, and pommelling the huge gong slung across
a pole that was supported on the shoulders of himself
and comrade. The gong-strokes told the watch hour
of the night, one for the first and five for the fifth, the
last watch.

At times the noise of these watchmen has been in-
tolerably offensive to me; and so obstinately used they
to persevere against rhyme, reason, and entreaty, that I
have been able to silence them only by emptying on their
heads the cold contents of water-basins. The truly ani-
mated réveil with which the patrol was wont to break
up at five o’clock in the morning, announced not only
the break of day, but the pleasure with which the
Chinese “ Charley” hailed a release from his nightly
responsibilities. The setting of the patrol in the even-
ing and its disbandment in the morning, were both
notified by a gun-shot. Usually a second gun was
fired at the close of the first watch, in accordance with
certain rules at the principal offices, about the admis-
sion at the city gates, or the exit, of their clerks and
secretaries. I have been told it by natives themselves
as a sober fact, that watchmen, when sleepily disposed,
keep geese to attend on them, these geese at the least
disturbance cackling and waking them up; also that
wealthy natives who have watchmen on the outer pre-
mises by night, couple with them fowls and monkeys to
watch the interior !

I may now give a few hints of Chinese methods
of calculating the hours of time. One whole day
is divided into twelve parts, each consisting of two of
our hours, and subdivided into eight of our quarters.
Their modes for keeping time are odd and various, but
for regularity and correctness not to compete with the
European. Of these the following are what I have met
with in different parts ;—
MODES OF KEEPING TIME. 175

lst. “The dripping brazen vessel,” or the clepsydra.
I understand a specimen may to the present day be
found standing in some of the principal offices in the
country. <A native gives a brief but not perspicuous
notice of it in these words: “It is made of six pots
rising one above another, from which the water perco-
lates. The lowermost vessel has a board over it, on
which the water drips. On the face of this cover is an
orifice into which an hour-index is inserted. As the
vessel gets one degree full of water, the index floats up
one quarter. The hours and watches of time are all
noted in this fashion.” One of this description in
Canton city (to quote the words of the editor of the
Chinese Repository)* “is placed in a separate room,
under the supervision of a man who, besides his stipend
and perquisites, obtains a livelihood by selling time-
sticks. There are four covered copper jars standing on
a brickwork stairway, the top of each of which is level
with the bottom of the one above it. The largest
measures 23 in. high and broad, and contains 973 pints
of water. The second is 22 in. high, and 22 in. broad.
The third is 21 in. high, and 20 in. broad; and the
lowest is 23 in. high, and 19 in. broad. Each is con-
nected with the other by an open trough, along which
the water trickles. The wooden index in the lowest
jar is set every morning and afternoon at five o’clock,
by placing the mark on it for these hours even with
the cover, through which it rises and indicates the
time. The water is dipped out and poured back into
the top jar, when the index shows the completion of
the half-day ; and the water is renewed every quarter.
Two large drums stand in the room, on which the
watchmen strike the watches during the night.”

2nd. The dial, possibly introduced by the Arabians,
has now come to be used everywhere. It is very

* Chinese Repository, xx. 430.
176 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

simple,—consisting merely of a small string as the
gnomon over a miniature compass. By placing the
string to point to the north, its shadow is thrown upon
the hour marked along the edge of the compass.
There is also a dial upon the lid to denote the hours of
the night by the shadow of the moon.

8rd. The hourly incense-stick is not uncommon—
almost universal in their temples, and revives in our
memory the story of Alfred the Great and his candles.
This stick is notched at equidistances, and, when
lighted, the progress of the slow combustion of the
graduated match shows the waste of hours. It is a
composition of sawdust mixed with glue, and evenly
rolled into very thin cylinders two or three feet in
length.

Ath. The revolution of the heavenly bodies is their
mode of reckoning time at sea.

5th. The use of foreign watches has now become
quite fashionable among the natives; and the vanity of
a dandy cannot be better satisfied than by displaying a
pair of watches dangling from his gaudy belt, some-
times two pairs. The following are two legends from
a native account of modes of keeping time: ‘ For this
purpose there are fishes which are taught each hour to
take a leap to note the passing hour. So, likewise,
fowls are trained to announce each hour by crowing
once for the first, twice for the second, and so forth.”
177

CHAPTER V.

RELIGIOUS WORSHIP TO THE DEAD—MILITARY AND LITERARY EXAMINA-
TIONS—FAST-DAYS—CHOLERA—TRIP TO A LAKE, AND TO TWO LARGE
TEMPLES IN THE COUNTRY—HISTORY OF FOREIGN INTERCOURSE AT
NINGPO SINCE 1842.

Tue third moon, or April, throughout was memorable
for feasts and celebrations, set or movable.

It introduced the Tsingming term, commemorative
of the dead, and most scrupulously observed by all
classes in China,—in no way confined to the privileged.
The season extended more or less from the end of the
second to the beginning of the fourth moon, but was
particularly lively between the fifth and tenth days of
the third, when whole family groups proceeded, in neat
attire and with marked decorum, to visit the family
vaults in the country, which were set in order and duly
arranged for the occasion. The names by which the
festival is designated are various ; e. g. shang-fun, “ going
up to the grave-mounds;” saouw-moo, “sweeping the
tombs ;” pae-shan, “ paying respect at the hills ;” indi-
cating the chief objects of the festival.

The willow-tree in Chinese estimation is emblematic of
life and health, and there was, at this period, a prodigal
use of its branches, twigs, sprigs, leaves, and buds;
men, women, babes,—ay, domestic animals too,—being
ornamented with this significant emblem. It was
stuck in the hair, hung.round the neck, put upon
door-posts, slung over bedsteads, arranged round each
apartment,—expressive, to be sure, that the desire which
rules in the breasts of other people asking for “length
of days,” reigns also in Chinese bosoms.

But the special object of this ceremonial season is

N
178 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

(to tell the truth) to pay worshipful homage to their
departed relatives. Some foreign writers, as Fortune,
Davis, and Bowring, &c., have attempted to set it off
merely as a series of “reverential services rendered to
ancestors,” and not religious homage. If so, what
mean these trays laden with offerings of pork, fish, and
fowl; these libations of wine, these bundles of candles
and incense-stick ; these holocausts of gilt paper, paper
money, paper clothes, paper houses, paper furniture,
and these numberless prostrations, ceremonies, and
prayers offered up to departed ancestors and parents,
with more earnestness, devoutness, order, and punc-
tuality, than even before the shrines of the idols?
** Reverential services and not religious worship to
ancestors,” forsooth! and yet so gross and palpable is
this species of necrolatry, and so offensive to the reli-
gious sense of His Holiness of Rome, that even he, not
always particularly nice on such points, has forbidden
its observance amongst “ the faithful”? in China.

As any one in his right mind cannot help deploring
that Chinese of every grade are given up to this form
of superstition, it is likewise scarcely possible not to
trace in it a feeble, misty, and imperfect recognition of
the immortality of man’s spirit and the existence of a
future state. A man may not trouble himself much
about the article of death during lifetime, yet “the
quality of the coffin, the ceremonies of the funeral,
the desire of a burial-place, and the spot where the
grave is to be dug,—all this is matter of serious con-
sideration.”* But why ?—because he has a lurking
sense that he will not be happy in the world to come
without these preliminaries. Progenitors are anxious
to have descendants through whom a perpetual line of
support shall be secured to their own departed manes ;
children feel bound to offer sacrifices to deceased

* Hue, ii. p. 216.
MILITARY EXAMINATIONS. 179

ancestors; the ghosts of the dead are supposed to be
quieted by due ceremonials at their graves; neglected
ghosts, it is believed, will haunt the houses of surviving
relations to annoy and worry them, but, on the other
hand, those whose vaults or tombs are well attended
to, may exert a beneficial influence; the spirits of the
departed must be provided with food and other com-
forts; gilt and silvered paper in the shape of copper
money, dollars, and sycee bars, is set on fire, to pass
through the smoke into the invisible world, where it is
to. be recoined into solid cash; and clothes, sedans,
furniture, utensils, houses, buffaloes, and horses, made
of paper or pasteboard, are transferred in the same
mode to “Cloud-land,” for the benefit of the dead.
Surely all this indicates some notion of an immortality
to be thought of and provided for! At the same time
it exposes their woful lack of that divine revelation
which hath come into our world, by Him who “hath
brought life and immortality to light through the
Gospel.”

During the same month Ningpo was in more than
usual bustle, not only from this Tsingming festival, but
in consequence of an uncommon influx of strangers
from the country, who had come to attend the military
and literary examinations for honours, to be conducted
by commissioners specially deputed under the seal of
his Imperial Majesty. i

The military examination occurred first, and was con-
ducted in the open air. I embraced the opportunity of
being present. The arena for the occasion was on a
grand parade outside the city walls. Wind and weather
favourable, there was a large concourse of spectators.
It was probable many were drawn by curiosity to
criticise the condition of the invincibles after their
recent contact with the English soldiery and their sad
repulses. Casting a cursory glance over that field of
martial sport, I saw a large building at the upper end

w2
180 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

of it. The city provost (the president) sat there on
a dais, surrounded by a coterie of buttoned gentry,
smoking long pipes, trying to look dignified, and occa-
sionally lording it over some intrusive native that
pressed within the lines. The president was seated at
a table with writing materials before him, taking notes
on the conduct of the several competitors, and giving
marks, good, bad, or indifferent. At the bottom of the
steps that led up to his chair only twenty-two candi-
dates for military honours appeared. These were robed
in silks and satins of various hue and richness, wore
ceremonial caps profusely tasselled with red _fioss-
thread, and were armed with bows and arrows. The
whole course extended over a space several hundred
yards long, but only eight feet wide. On each side of
it the spectators stood, all males and no women, eager
to view the scene, nor by any means slow to express, by
cheers or hoots, their sense of the success or the failure
of the competitors. To keep order, several policemen
were distributed along the course, who, however, served
rather to excite the rage or provoke the ridicule of the
mob. At the bottom of the course, opposite to the
president’s stage, there was the start for the mounted
archers. As the proceedings commenced, a crier
sallied out vociferating the title of each batch and the
name of each candidate. These respectively answered
to their names by kneeling on the right knee and
making obeisance. The orders were then passed to
every company as it came up.

The first trial was that of “the mounted archers,”
perhaps the most novel and interesting of all. They
were sent to the other end of the course. There they
mounted their horses. With one or two exceptions, the
animals afforded a sorry specimen of horseflesh in
China; they were miserably in want of forage as well
as the brush and currycomb. They were fantastically
caparisoned ; saddles high and awkward, bridles heavy,
MILITARY EXAMINATIONS. 181

rusty, and rough; stirrups clumsy, &. On the can-
didate mounting his horse, two trumpeters sounded
the signal for the start. It was not a race among the
competitors, it was to test their skill in archery on
mounted steeds. The course marked for them to run
exceeded two hundred yards. To the right of it there
were set up, at equal distances, three large cylinders of
blackened sedge mat, each with three great red globes
daubed on it. The bull’s-eye was the middie red
circle in each sedge cylinder, to hit which was the
aim of the horseman flyig down the horse-path. As
he rushed on, a small flag was waved at the upper end
to urge him on, and, if his arrow hit the mark, they
beat a drum and smote the earth with a large banner.
To race at the utmost speed, and to arrange bow and
arrow as he passed from one sedge column to the other,
required some management on the part of the can-
didate to-keep on his horse without holding the bridge.
But most of them proved tolerably good shots. Each
one had to run the course thrice, and at each turn was
summoned to the bar to receive the sentence of com-
mendation, or disapproval.

Then came the archery practice on foot. The can-
didates were called up in companies of four. Each
man shot six arrows at a distance of 100 yards. When
he hit the bull’s-eye, a billet was thrown down, to
denote by the number of billets the skill of the
bowman. ‘The third exercise was to bend heavy bows,
requiring a force ranging from 80 to 120 pounds. The
fourth was the wielding of heavy swords. The fifth
test of strength and skill, was to raise ponderous stones
and heave weighty mallets. With this the examination
closed for the day.

The literary trials also had attracted crowds of
strangers to Ningpo. This examination extended over
several days, under the direction of some leading
officers at that time in the city. I was specially
182 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

anxious to get a personal insight into the actual
working of this contest for the sewtsai degree, the first
stepping-stone to literary fame, and at several times
asked admission into the examination-hall. The re-
quest, presumptuous perhaps, was invariably refused,
though with great politeness.

This first degree which the aspirant scholar aims at,
initiatory to honorary promotion of any importance, is
named sewtsai, “ elegant shoots.” No limit is put to
the number of candidates for the honour, provided
their names appear under the certificates of individuals
well known and duly qualified.

Yet there are exceptions. These generally embrace
five classes; e. g. brothel-keepers, play-actors, lictors,
jailers, and domestic slaves, with their children unto the
third generation. Besides there is one class absolutely
excluded from all hope,—root and branch cut off from
rismg up into literary “shoots” even. This unprivi-
leged order seems to be confined to certain localities,
though in some parts of the country it bears a large
proportion to the bulk of the population. The de-
signation under which it goes is that of ¢se-min,
“degraded people,” who are reputed to be the pos-
terity of certain rebels that threatened the stability of
the Sung dynasty, a.p. 960—1126. Those defeated
rebels fell under the imperial ban, and, with their
offspring, were consigned to perpetual infamy. Under
the category of persons excluded from the privileges of
striving for literary distinction, come also the daréers,
chair-bearers, watermen, musicians, and their descend-
ants. Now, notwithstanding the apparent encourage-
ment given to all classes to seek for scholastic titles of
distinction, and thereby to obtain a place among the
rulers of the land, it must be evident, from the excep-
tions already named, how, by the standing decrees of
the nation, an immense proportion of the vulgus is shut
out from this law of privilege.
LITERARY EXAMINATIONS. 183

As to candidates whose applications are admitted,
there appears to be an established rule, that no man
can reap early laurels in literature except in his native
province, and in the district to which his native place
belongs. Accordingly, a man of the province of Chih-
kiang may not stand on the lists with the candidates
in Canton province; and in the Chihkiang province,
one of the district of Ningpo cannot compete with a
native of the neighbouring district of Chinhai. This
implies a degree of caution to preserve the honorary
degree pure and unmixed, and to act with impartiality
and fairness in its distribution. Yet such an arrange-
ment must thwart the zeal and ambition of many
young men who, having pursued their classical studies
in other parts of the country, may be precluded by
distance and other circumstances from revisiting their
native places to undergo the necessary examinations.

By the laws of the empire, a fixed limit is assigned
to the number of successful competitors in each place.
This varies according to the population of the district,—
not the number of candidates ; and, it matters not how
many or few offer themselves for examination, all go
up to the contest, aware that of their number an over-
whelming majority must return to their homes disap-
pointed, and only a trifling minority carry the palm.
For instance, 2,000 individuals had come up to Ningpo
in the month of April, 1843, to compete for a prize
that could be obtained only by twenty-five! Again,
taking the six circuits belonging to the department
of Ningpo,—5,000 candidates were enrolled, but no
more than 189 could come off with flying colours!
From native statistics at that time in my possession,
I found that, by the triennal examinations. for the
degree of sewtsai held all over the empire, usually
there are about 25,000 persons who can enter on this
first step to literary honour, but of that number the
province of Chihkiang, with a population of 26} millions,
184 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

could for its share every third year have only 1,845
individuals promoted to the rank and immunities of a
Chinese B.A.

To secure justice to the ambitious aspirants, and to
maintain the integrity of classical dignity, a Board of
Guardians (some say twenty) is appointed of scholars
that have already passed. Its commission is to ascer-
tain the necessary qualifications of the several candi-
dates. If satisfied with the claims of the applicant,
the Board has authority to introduce him under its
certificate. In registering his name on the chancellor’s
lists, care is taken to describe his person, age, features,
residence, and lineage;—the object of this particu-
larizing being to transmit the honorary degree without
reproach through a line of virtuous and respectable
characters. Fastidiousness like this leads to a rigid
inquiry into the genealogical descent of the candidate.
Although the competition is not free to all classes,
there is no restriction as to age. A case is mentioned
of an examination in the province of Canton, when a
hoary-headed grandfather stood on the lists side by
side with his son and grandson.

After the due preliminaries have been settled, the
competitors meet after daybreak, and, as each enters
the hall for trial, he takes with him his pencil, inkslab,
stick of ink, and a little refreshment, but nothing else,
—with a prospect before him of confinement within
closed doors for fifteen or twenty hours. His pockets,
his shoes, his wadded garments, are minutely searched,
lest perchance keys to composition might be smuggled
in. Detection leads to public degradation and per-
petual exclusion from all future examinations. When
they are quietly seated, the gates, wickets, doors,
‘avenues, and windows are closed and guarded. The
niches, crevices, and openings are pasted over with strips.
of paper containing these important words: “ No sealed
despatches for the presiding examiner can be handed
LITERARY EXAMINATIONS. 185

in, as he is examining the essays. You must retire
and keep out of the way.” Of course, admittance to
see a friend, to advise or assist him, is out of the
question. Still, with all this array of espionage, they
sometimes manage to deceive even the shrewdest and
most wary bench of examiners. A native assured me—
himself a thorough scholar—that he had assumed the
name of an individual by whom he had been bribed to
obtain the degree for him, and throughout personated
him. He carried away the prize, which of course he
transferred to the gentleman for whom he had acted,
and by whom he was liberally rewarded.

Let us presume, however, that they are all ‘ honour-
able men.” There they are seated side by side at
broad massive desks of pine, on long roomy benches,
accurately numbered and classified, with paper, pencils,
and ink before them. The examination-hall at
Ningpo, which I visited when empty and unoccupied,
was a fine spacious place. This filled or crammed
with 2,000 anxious and gaily-dressed competitors must
have presented a sight beyond description. The theme
is given out,—generally a subject selected out of the
“four books,’ and the “ five classics.’ What is
required of the competitors is to draw up an essay on
the subject propounded, which is to be prepared with
triteness and brevity, belaboured in a classical style,
and with apposite quotations, all written in a clear,
elegant hand. After several hours have passed, a
signal-gun is fired, the closed doors are opened, and
soon the hall is thinned.

The first and the last time of competition has come
to many of these young men. Finding that really it is
easier to read and recite books at their night-lamps
than to write compositions impromptu in a public hall,
with so many checks not only to the prompting of
ready teachers, but to eating and drinking, scores
of them vow to give up the strife for ever. And then,
186 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

when the literary judge has scanned the various papers
offered for inspection, he is soon able to reduce the
number to a small company of picked men. These
are called up to a second contest. The reduction of
the list goes on in this way from one day to another,
until the difference required is at last found. For this
degree of sewtsai, there is a series of three examinations
to be undergone ;—the first under the eye of the dis-
trict provost, the second under the prefect of the
department, and the third under that of a chancellor
appointed from the Hanlin college at Peking. The
final decision rests with the last-named official, whose
judgment doubtless is in a great measure influenced by
the opinions of the examiners who precede him.
Unsuccessful candidates are at liberty to renew the
contest as soon as the term returns. But the successful
man at orice acquires a name in his village, has a
prospect of moving through the world in the higher
circles of Chinese life, and is exempt from certain of
the liabilities of his neighbours. Nor is he less free
from fresh responsibilities and new duties. It is not
thought enough merely to obtain your B.A. You
must bear your honours well. Accordingly, there are
two or three additional examinations, held at intervals
during the following three years, to prove the fortu-
nate competitor. The sew?sai licentiates are arranged in
three classes, graduated according to the talents and
attainments of the members. The lowest is named
fahsang, the members of which just hold their degree,
and that is all that can be said of them. The second
class is the tsiangsang, a step higher than the former.
But the lingsang is “at the top of the tree.” For
the separate and secondary distinctions, sewtsais
recently created have to work hard for two or three
years to come. Otherwise, they fall into the cate-
gory of the indolent, and reap the reward of the
slothful. Except by special permission, a man may
LITERARY EXAMINATIONS. 187

not elude these crowning trials. To shun them, it
is said, will even draw down the rod of chastise-
ment on the naked back, when justice is severe;
besides, it may be followed by expulsion from further
share in the privileges that belong to “the elegant
shoots.”

So far I have noted the initiatory struggles of a
Chinese bookworm, to attain the felicity of “roaming
among the forest of pencils,’ as they dignify the
highest point in their Parnassus. The other literary
degrees are in the following order of succession :—
keujin, “ elevated men ;” ¢sinsze, “advanced scholars ;”
and hanlin, “ pencil forests ;” each attainable only after
severe trials. The examinations for these are not con-
ducted either in district towns like Chinhai, Shanghai,
or in departmental cities like Ningpo, Sungkiang, &c.
The keujin examination comes off in provincial capitals,
as Soochow, Hangchow, and Canton; and the other
two are always conducted at Peking, the metropolis of
the empire.

Of these literary contests, it is not too much to say
that the one which thrills most families with interest
and excitement is the first in the course already
enlarged on. On this hangs the fate or fortune of
myriads. According to some Chinese informants, who
themselves had obtained it by such means, the degree
often is purchased for several hundred dollars, with the
entire sanction of the imperial government. By the
purchase, the beneficiary is admitted to the privileges
of the B.A. without the toil and anxiety of com-
petition. He bears the name of Kiensang, and is
entitled to wear the brass knob on his cap. But after-
wards the man’s own wits and industry must work his
way to the higher degrees.

Besides periodical trials for the several honours in
the literary world, the emperor himself may, under
peculiar circumstances, decree special examinations. I
188 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

find, for instance, that when the Emperor Taoukwang
ascended the throne, and also subsequently, at the
celebration of a grand era in his personal history, his
majesty, to express marks of imperial favour, granted
extraordinary powers for literary examinations in dif-
ferent parts of the country.

There has been an attempt on the part of the in-
surgents in China to cast on the Mantchoo-Chinese
government also the stain and disgrace of not encou-
raging Chinese learning. Whereas the reverse is the
real fact, well known and acknowledged, as by an
educated native in these words:—“ There has been as
much consideration paid by the Mantchoos to the im-
poverished student in prosecuting his studies, as by the
Ming family (the old Chinese dynasty of which the
rebels profess to be the revivers). They also have built
and supported academies, and favoured the poor scholar
with midnight lamp-monies,’—referring to the allow-
ances made by the present government for aiding poor
students in pursuing their studies. Besides, the Mant-
choo emperors themselves have done more than most of
their predecessors to promote Chinese literature. ‘“ The
Imperial Lexicon,” and the still greater Thesaurus
(viz. the Peiwanyuenfoo), which I may justly name
“the Chinese Quotation Concordance,’ are two vast
works compiled under the auspices of Kanghe, and are
lasting memorials of the desire of the Tartar rulers to
give stability to the pure classical form of the Chinese
language. I may also mention “the Imperial Edition
of the Thirteen Classics,” “the Collection of Imperial
Essays,” ‘the Gleanings of Imperial Poems,” “ the
Sacred Edict,’ besides many other classical works,
published during the present dynasty and under the
patronage of its rulers,—enough to disprove any allega-
tion that the aim of the Tartar conquerors has been to
alter or destroy the language, literature, or literary
aspirations of their Chinese subjects.
FAST-DAYS. 189

The month of May was ushered in by the Chinese
term Lih-hia,—in other words, “the opening of
summer ;” generally celebrated with a brief festival,
attended, as all religious festivals in China are, with
merriment, feasting, and theatrical shows, &c.

Previous to this there had been a great deficiency of
“orain rains ;”’ and, as the hopes of the agriculturists
had been seriously disappointed about a rainy season,
the first week of the term was appointed for “ praying
for rain.” A public fast was proclaimed. At such a
juncture, when all parties felt deep anxiety lest drought
was about to threaten the staff of life, magistrates,
priests, and people were seen repairing to the temples.
In procession they paraded the gods of the land and
grain,—the idols being dressed out very gaily, and the
temples swept clean. In garbs of sackcloth, men of
various classes were offering up long and repeated
prayers that rain might not be withheld.

A fast of several days’ duration was enjoined by
official proclamation, in terms so strict that my cook
had to smuggle in some animal food for me as long as
it lasted; the use and slaughter of animals for the
table being rigidly forbidden during these solemnities.
At this time I had an invitation from a high officer to
dine with him, which courtesy I accepted with a degree
of curiosity, wondering how my host could feast a
guest at a juncture when all kinds of flesh were inter-
dicted and vegetable diet alone permissible. But, to
my astonishment, his tables were laden with fish, fowl,
mutton, &c., and the choicest niceties the Ningpo
market could at any time supply.

Bad harvest, famine, and epidemics, the terrible
consequences of frequent and severe droughts in
China, have excited in the national heart a painful
restlessness when there is scarcity of rain. Emperors
are said to have offered themselves up to penance that
rain might be given to the people. A Buddhist priest
190 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

is celebrated for having plunged into a great water-jar
up to his ears, and held himself there until the heavens
were persuaded to open their water-treasures. In the
city of Shanghai, during the month of July, 1853,
because of a fearful drought, not only did the resident
officials forbid the slaughter of sheep, pigs, oxen, and
fowls, but Chinghwang, the city idol, was carried about
the streets to propitiate the dit majores for rain upon
the parched fields. The attendants of the patron saint
bore umbrellas and wore straw sandals, expressive of
hope that showers might deluge the streets. An im-
mense jar of water was borne along, and, as the pro-
cession moved on, the acolytes dipped twigs of the
willow-tree into the water and sprinkled the arid
streets therewith. Two days after, while the heavens
continued like brass, the provost himself went on foot
to the city temple to plead for rain, and, as a mark
of greater humiliation, paced the streets with queue
unloosed and hair dishevelled.

Public forms of kew-yu, “ prayer for rain,” repeatedly
are issued, some of them from the Imperial cabinet.
The following is a specimen of an abridged form,
written and offered up by the Emperor Taoukwang
himself, during an excessive season of drought. “ Alas,
Imperial Heaven, were not the world subject to ex-
traordinary afilictions, I would not dare to offer any
special service. This present year the drought has
been excessive; the summer is gone and the rain has
not fallen. The fields have suffered as well as the
field- worker ; and even the brutes of the field, insects,
herbs, and trees, are ceasing to live. I, the humble
servant of Heaven, appointed to rule mankind and
responsible for keeping the world in order and the
people in comfort, find it impossible to sleep or eat.
I am scorched with anxiety. Yet no showers descend
to water our lands. A few days since I humbled
myself, fasted and offered sacrifices to the gods of the
A BATH-HOUSE. 191

land and of the grain, and was cheered by slight
showers; but they did not suffice. * * * I feel
compelled to examine myself and think of my errors,
hoping that I may obtain forgiveness. In religious
services have I been irreverent? Has there been any
pride encouraged or concealed in my heart? In
attending to government affairs, has there been any
remissness, or has there been a deficiency of energy
and diligence? Have I been ruled by justice and
impartiality in conferring rewards and inflicting pun-
ishments? In erecting public works, mausoleums,
gardens, &c., have I oppressed the people and wasted
public property? In appointing officers, have I failed
to choose fit persons, so as to avoid those that vex
and annoy my subjects? * * * * * * Bowing
my head, I humbly pray thee, Imperial Heaven, to hasten
to confer a gracious favour, by timely and generous
rain, to save the lives of my people. May the High
Heaven mark these things, and be merciful to the
people. On their account I am unutterably grieved,
alarmed, and affrighted. Most humbly is this repre-
sentation made !”

By the month of May the hot weather had set in;
and even the Chinese felt the benefit of “ the water
system.” Walking down an alley, I descried large
characters on the side of a miserable-looking building,
Yuhtang, “ Bath-house.”” Having expressed a wish to
inspect it, the doorkeeper admitted me and withheld
no information. The Chinese have a horror of cold
water in any form, for drink or lavation. Of course,
then, this was a warm-water establishment. I was
shown first into the dressing-room, a large chamber
with compartments running along the wall, fitted up as
wardrobes. In these the bathers suspended their vest-
ments, each having one allotted to himself. Then
came the bath-room. For an ordinary person a bath
was charged but one farthing. As the door opened, a
192 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

volume of vapour poured forth to envelop me. Being
a foreign spectator, I was apprehensive that I might
frighten the bathers by my sudden apparition. But the
fog was so dense, that I could scarcely discern if there
were any there. At last, through the steam-cloud, I
spied out four stark-naked men, squatting opposite to
each other in a tank, scrubbing themselves and splashing
about. I am shocked to say, the water was detestably
filthy. The keeper himself told me that he put the fresh
water in only once a day, at an early hour every morn-
ing, and that the same element, whoever the bather,
was used without change or admixture! Imagine the
same liquid for one entire day, to cleanse and purify a
multitude of filthy, itchy, diseased fellows! “ Mon-
strum horrendum,” &c. The odour generated and
pent up in the confined chamber was overpowering ;
and, more than satisfied with my scrutiny, I beat a
retreat and rushed for the door. At the back and under
the bath-room, I was shown a large stove, in which
a slow fire was fed by a stoker, to keep the water in the
bath-room warm.

As the summer advanced, symptoms were becoming
more manifest that the Chinese were great sufferers
from the unhealthiness of the season,—doubtless aggra-
vated by the want of public sanitary rules and arrange-
ments. The most frequent forms of disease were
dysentery and diarrhoea, intermittent and remittent
fevers, and ague accompanied with obstinate diarrhcea.
All this was promoted by want of free ventilation in
their streets and houses; and the collection of stagnant
water everywhere in pools, tanks, and ditches.

About this time one topic of inquiry with me was
the existence of Asiatic cholera in China. It was
suggested by several medical officers in her majesty’s
military service. The result of those inquiries, made
both at Tinghai and Ningpo, led to the conclusion that
Asiatic cholera had not unfrequently nor slightly, but
ASIATIC CHOLERA IN CHINA. 193

often and with great severity, visited China. The heads
of my inquiries were the following :—

Names.—There is a disease very commonly known
among the Chinese, under the appellation of hoh-hwan
too-siay. The first two characters denote suddenness and
confusion, or we may say “sudden and violent ;” the
third signifies “to vomit,’ and the last “ to purge.”
The translation of the entire phrase would be “ sudden
and violent vomiting and purging.” Another name is
given to this disease, which corresponds in meaning
precisely to the former. It is aou-siay hoh-lwan che-tsih,
“a sudden and violent attack of vomiting and purging.”
From minute inquiries it would appear that the two
characters hoh-lwan are intended to express also the
violent throes in retching which generally attend the
attack. Hence, they mark out a distinct kind as the
kan-hoh-lwan, or “dry retching,” a case in which the
patient retches violently, without being in the least
relieved by vomiting. This type of cholera is attended
also by writhing pains in the bowels, and by alterna-
tions of chills and fevers. Perhaps this is nothing else
than simple cholic,—what is often called “ English
cholera.”

There is, however, a species of cholera, which is
spoken of by the natives of those provinces which it
has visited, in terms that betoken their horror at it,
while they regard it as entirely sui generis and utterly
incurable. The names given to this type of cholera are
not few.

Tiaou-kioh-sha.—The character tiaou, from the expla-
nations of the native doctors, in this application con-
veys the idea of “bending up as a bow,” a meaning
it derives from the original signification it bears of
“ grasping a bow for the purpose of bending it.” The
second term stands for “the feet :” and the third is one
purely medical, expressive of “violent pains and writh-
ings in the bowels.” The translation of this name,

0
194, REAL LIFE IN .CHINA.

given to the disease, would therefore be “ bending up
the feet and writhing of the bowels.” Kioh-kin-lwan.—
The first two characters mean “ feet and tendons :” the
last, contraction or “ tying up;” i. e., “a contraction of
the feet and tendons.” It is sometimes simply called
kin-lwan, “a cramping of the sinews.” Kioh-kin-tiaou
is a name that signifies “a bending or curving up of
the feet and tendons ;” kioh-kin-chaou, is a fifth repre-
sentation of the disease, meaning “ a drawing up (vio-
lently) of the feet and tendons.” The only remaining
appellation is chun-kioh hoh-lwan, or “a turning up —a
rolling up of the feet suddenly and convulsively.” In all
these names, it would appear as if the leading feature in
the Asiatic cholera were denoted, the extremely violent
cramping of the whole frame.

History of the Disease in China.—The first individual
that I met with, who could give any definite account of
the disease and its history was Dr. Chang. He was
himself an acupuncturist of long standing, and had
travelled not a little in his own country. From his
account, the severe type of cholera broke out first
in 1820, and had been transmitted by a Fukien junk
trading from Siam to-Fukien, from which province it
travelled into Canton, and thence into Kiangse and
Chihkiang, taking a northerly direction until it reached
the province of Chihli, where, however, it did not commit
extensive ravages. The two provinces of Kiangse and
Chihkiang were said to have suffered most from its
devastations. In its progress through the latter pro-
vince, it reached the department and city of Ningpo in
May, 1820; and it was calculated that, in that depart-
ment alone, two thousand individuals fell victims to its
rage during the first outbreak of the disease. It
appeared again in the two following years, but with
redoubled violence, and during the summers of these
three years, 1820-21-22 (for it made its appearance
always during the hot weather), ten thousand persons
ASIATIC CHOLERA IN CHINA. 195

were supposed to have been carried off in the department
of Ningpo. After a cessation of eight years, it again
broke out in 1831, when it raged severely, but not
so violently as in preceding years. In the year 1841,
it appeared afresh in the city of Chinhai. Mr. Hoo, a
merchant, confirmed the statements made by the aged
doctor, adding that he was in the city of Ningpo at the
time of the disease raging, and that while he walked
the streets on his usual routine of business, he daily
saw people suddenly drop down under its overwhelming
attack. My teacher, a native of Hangchow, the capital
of the province of Chihkiang, informed me that it raged
there with the greatest severity during June, July, and
August of 1821-22, when “ people died like sheep,”
dropping down dead in the streets, apparently without
a struggle; so that in Hangchow several myriads must
have perished. Every person to whom I spoke on the
subject answered in language most strongly expressive
of dread, as if in recollection of past horrors and in
despair of meeting with any antidote. As to the classes
of men which had suffered most from its ravages, I
could only learn that they were mostly the poorer, that
they were under seventy years of age, that there was
no particular class of labourers, and that death among
males preponderated. Dr. Chang specified the priests
and priestesses of the Buddhistic religion, as exempt
from the attack of the epidemic, and attributed the
exemption to the favour of the gods. If indeed exempt,
it might be that their abstemious habits contributed
not a little to it. Or, as that priesthood forms on the
whole but a small proportion to the bulk of the people
and might suffer correspondingly, the idea would get
abroad that the priests were specially favoured; while
the priests themselves would take advantage of the smal]
proportion cut off by the malady, to impress the ignorant
with the notion that they had been singularly favoured
of the gods. In conversation with my informants, they
0 2
196 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

pointed out a peculiar feature in the progress of the
malady through the country,— its “leaping over”
whole districts, and even departments. They instanced
this case. As has already been remarked, it travelled
from the province of Kiangse into the neighbouring
province of Chihkiang. Having raged for some time
in the district city of Yuhshan, which is on the border
of the two provinces but belongs to the jurisdiction of
the former, it suddenly broke out in Hangchow, the
capital of the latter, having passed over a line of ground
about two hundred miles in length, upon which—with-
out reckoning innumerable townships, villages, and
hamlets,—there are six considerable cities.

Cause.—On this point my friends did not presume to
pass any conjectures, especially as healthy robust people
were so suddenly cut off by it in the prime of their
days. Dr. Chang, on being asked whether he had ever
held any post-mortem examination to ascertain, if pos-
sible, the character of the malady, confessed that, so
far from looking at a corpse, he was so frightened that
at last he declined attending upon even the living, when.
his services were called for.

Symptoms were the following, as given in detail by
the venerable acupuncturist, in reply to the simple
question, “What peculiar and distinctive symptoms
attended the attack ?”’—Sudden shaking of the limbs,
vomiting, violent diarrhoea, pulse rapid before purging
commenced, on purging pulse ceased, eyes dull and
sunken after the diarrhcea commenced, persons delirious
and afterwards insensible, nails black, lips corrugated
and of a dark purple colour, nose blue, face black,
drawing together of the whole body, the bowels greatly
pained, no urine but all purging, convulsions before
death.

Duration of the Disease.—The patient generally car-
ried off in four or six hours. They spoke too of sudden
deaths in the streets.

 
FARMYARD WORK. 197

Favourable Signs.—The stoppage of purging and the
recovery of sensitiveness in the limbs; motion of the
eye.

Remedies.—Medicines taken internally of no use;
acupuncturing the lower extremities and cauterizing, at
a very early stage, sometimes successful,—perhaps in
two cases out of ten.

The Tung-tseen Lake lies twenty miles south of
Ningpo. In the end of May, in company with Captain
(now Lieut.-Colonel) Kennedy, I made a venture to it.
Two boats were engaged, one for ourselves, another for
servants. Weembarked at sunrise on the 23rd of May.
Our starting-post was a wharf on the east bank of the
main branch of the river, and our course up the canal lay
east-by-south. Fr the first mile the left bank was lined
with a range of shops and dwelling-houses. Although
Ningpo had been held for many months by the British
forces, and, since the restoration of peace and good
order by the treaty of the preceding year, repeated
visits had been made by subjects of different foreign
countries, the curiosity of the people to see the face of
the stranger seemed still to be insatiable. The canal
was very bustling, in consequence of the large number
of boats passing and repassing, the majority of which
were passenger-boats, crowded with motley groups of
all sizes, ages, and complexions. In such company we
steered along for a mile or two, but at length, after
crossing the suburban limits, we came in full view of
lofty hills that skirted the extensive plain, in which our
boats were tracked. Ahead there lay before us the
Tai-pih hills, in the direction of the Tung-tseen Lake.

While we were musing over the busy scenes we had
left behind, the country suddenly burst upon us, and
we found ourselves surrounded by the insignia of rural
scenery. On every hand and at every interval, the
eye met the implements and the employments of the
husbandmen. Large farmyards struggled to push
198 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

themselves into observation from behind closely-packed
thickets of the tall wild-rose, or from the heart of
groves of fir, that harped with the coo of pigeons, the
notes of blackbirds, and the chatterings of magpies and
minors. Farmyard boys and women were engaged in
winnowing the grain for some time gathered in, talking,
laughing, and singing as they laboured. In adjoining
fields, stout sturdy men were sedulously occupied in
clearing the soil of stones and weeds. These rice-fields
were bearing the second crop for the current year. The
paddy was growing in long parallel ranges, separated
by a rut for the flow of the water poured into the field
by the irrigating machines. That the rice alone might
derive all the juices necessary to its proper nourish-
ment, every weed and hidden root was sought out and
torn up. To expedite this operation, the husbandman’s
sleeves and trowsers were tucked up, and the peasant
crawled on all fours between the different beds of
paddy, as he moved on working with his hands the
moist earth around the roots of the rice-stalks. This
task was rather laborious; and, as the poor fellows
raised themselves to look at the passing strangers, we
could see that their limbs had been much exposed to
wounds from the sharp flints among which they crawled,
as well as to severe bites from numerous leeches.

Withdrawing the eye from the farmyard to the
bank of the canal, along which our boats were slowly
dragged, it fell upon the irrigating implements. These
were scattered throughout our line of journey, and at
times were seen in such numbers, as plainly to in-
dicate the extreme distress which the reigning drought
threatened, and the intense anxiety felt by the farmers
to water their grounds with sufficient and regular
supplies.

In districts where there is neither a river nor a
canal, wells are dug. Reservoirs too are filled up, to
which water is conveyed by aqueducts and gutters from
THE WATER-WHEEL. 199

adjacent hills or some distant stream. At the mouth
of the well or of the tank, a lever is raised, which at the
one end bears a stone weight and at the other a swing
bucket. This bucket is lowered, filled, and then raised
again to empty its contents either directly into the
field, or, should the patch of ground be upon a higher
terrace, into a rut that lies on a level eyual with that
patch. But upon the banks of canals, rivers, or lakes,
the following varieties of water-engines are in use—“ the
.sitting-wheel,” “the foot-wheel,”’ “the hand-wheel,’”’
and “the buffalo-wheel.” There is a trough that is
carried down to the water’s edge, and in if a chain-
pump, or a set of wooden paddles linked together, is
worked to raise the water over the bank. The power
generally used to set the machines in motion is indi-
cated by the names given. At one time you find a
man at work seated and using his feet, from which it
is called “the sitting-wheel.’ The second, or “the
foot-wheel,” requires the labourer to stand upon the
machine, walking upon it as on a tread-mill, supporting
his chest and arms upon a bamboo frame. The third,
as its name indicates, is set in operation by the hand.
Tha fourth is a more complicated machine, worked by
the buffalo. The second and fourth were chiefly seen
along the course our boats took. In working these,
the energies of every household appeared taxed to the
utmost vigour, as if each individual felt convinced of
the necessity of his personal aid in securing a good and
plentiful crop. I saw both old and young leaning on
the same frame, treading the same wheel, and humming
together their rustic song as they trod. Boys six years
of age kept the step very well with men of fifty; and,
if too small to mount the wheel, they were placed on
the ground to work the paddles with their little hands ;
and women too, whose tiny or compressed feet disabled
them from treading the mill, stood at the feet of the
men keeping time with their hands. The wheel turned
200 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

by the buffalo was more easily managed ; but, in this
instance too, activity was the order of the day, and, on
the principle that he who did not work should not eat,
the bulky animal was not suffered a moment’s idleness.
A man or a woman, a lad or a child, followed him in
his routine, goading him on with a pike-staff and
starting him into fresh vigour by an occasional shout.
Yet, however anxious they might be to keep the docile
creature sedulously at labour, his infirmities were not
forgotten, and they took care to lighten his toil by
suitable feeding, occasional rests, and other precautions,
such as blindfolding his eyes to prevent giddiness from
the incessant rotations of the engine. Here the division
or share of labour was peculiarly marked, in the regu-
larity with which the buffalo was kept in perpetual
motion. Fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters, all
aided each other in watching the heavy but steady
movements of the ponderous beast, or in leading him to
green pastures and still waters.

None were indolent. There was no cessation; nor
was there exemption from labour; and, while they
fought amongst the thorns and thistles with which the
ground had been cursed, and with the sweat of-the
brow under a blazing sun, sowed, weeded, and watered
the earth, no murmurs were heard, save the undulating
sound of the husbandman’s song as it waved over the
field. In our fatherland, as we used to look upon the
smiling cottages and cheerful peasants, we fancied the
rustic life a happy one; so, while we were sailing
towards the lake, what from the homely appearance of
the Chinese farm-houses, from the simple ornaments
nature had thrown around to conceal their humble and
rude appearance, from the warbling notes of the
birds of heaven delighting and soothing the heart
of the labourer, from the busy activity of the farm-
servants, and from their smiling countenances and
the bee-like hum which they kept up, we could con-
TRIP TO A LAKE, 201

jecture that the Chinese peasant too was happy and
contented.

After having been tracked about ten miles, with the
wind right in our teeth, we struck into a canal that
branched off to the southward; and at length heading
south-west, we crept through a most fruitful valley,
lying at the base of the Luhshan, a hill studded with
young firs. Several extensive patches of wheat skirted
this plain, some still green, the rest ripe for the sickle.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, we reached the
borders of the Tung-tseen lake, and anchored at the
bottom of a draw-sluice. Looking over the sluice,
however, our disappointment was great to find that the
sheet of water for which we had sailed, was converted
into an extensive green “campo,” the water of the lake,
in consequence of the long continuance of dry weather,
having been drawn off to supply the surrounding fields
and canals. The only running stream discernible was
a shallow canal running down from the southern head
of the lake. At the upper boundary there was an
artificial bank, which, from lining that edge of the lake
for a mile and a half, is known as “the Five Le [one
mile and a half] Bank.” At either end of it, there is a
beautifully arched bridge, named “the Bamboo Arch
Bridge.’ The upper arch was perceptible from our
position at the sluice; and we suspected that the
running water in this narrow canal must pass under
this opening from a basin further up. Upon ascend-
ing a neighbouring height to reconnoitre, our con-
jectures proved correct, for we discovered a sheet of
water extending to the south-west as far as the eye
could reach, and numerous boats of various sizes plying
on it. On further inquiry, we found that the lake
divided itself into two portions, the greater called
Tung hoo, “the Eastern Lake,” and sometimes Tung-
tseen hoo, “the Eastern Cash Lake,” the lesser Mei hoo,
“The Plumb Lake.” We happened to have reached
202 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

only the latter; and we spent the rest of the day in
endeavouring to make our way into the former. But,
unfortunately, our boats were too large and bulky to be
drawn over the lock or to float in the narrow canal,
and there was no boat of smaller size immediately
available. The only alternative left was either to
scour the margin of the basin and seek for some other

suitable conveyance among the numerous hamlets that ,

skirt it, or to keep our own boat and enter some of
the openings of the upper lake by a circuitous route.
As the day was fast advancing, we chose the former.
The walk in the cool of the afternoon occupied us
until the shades of night began to cover in the sur-
rounding scenery. But the stroll was very refreshing
after the close confinement in our boats during so
many sultry hours. We walked through various
hamlets and villages, named after the families that are
the tenants of the soil, as the “ Ling family,” the “?Voo
family,” &c. The civility with which we were received
was invariable, and the villagers seemed free from that
awful dread which one was distressed to observe in the
streets of Ningpo. The women flocked around to see our
faces, examine our clothes, and watch our movements.
Instead of flying from us as from hurtful beasts, the
people escorted us out of their villages and conversed
with us in words kind and friendly. The very dogs
also seemed to have more civil tempers than their tribe
generally. They would come at our call, wagging their
tails with confidence and delight. All this formed a
contrast to what I had seen in the early part of my
stay at Ningpo. I could account for it only on the
ground that they were removed from the seat of the
late war, and out of reach of the numerous rumours so
prejudicial to the interests and character of the English.
Our search for a smaller boat having been unsuccessful,
we had to return to the larger boats for the night.
Rising early next morning, we crossed a wide marsh,

2
A STONE-QUARRY. 203

and made for a singular stone-quarry to the left of the
Mei-hoo lake. We reached it a little after sunrise. At
the foot of an elevated hill, we passed a group of stone
sheds, thrown up for the residence or shelter of the
workmen. Winding our way upwards, a number of
quarrymen met us, rolling clumsy wheelbarrows. After
a fatiguing walk we reached the summit, where we
found a large party of labourers at work, excavating,
quarrying, and smoothing the stones. The tools were
very rough. Powder was occasionally used for blasting,
but the operation of detaching the blocks was effected
principally by means of wedges. The stone slabs and
columns were all cut and hewn out in the quarry. To
transport them to the base of the hill there was an
inclined plane along the full length of the hill-side ;
and the rapidity with which the pillars shot down the
slope was truly frightful. The workmen treated us
with much respect, giving us any information we
wanted, and volunteering their services over the dif-
ferent parts of the quarry. In the centre of it there
rose a lofty perpendicular rock about 160 feet high,
from which we had a fine clear view of the city of
Ningpo.

We returned to our boats and got under weigh
about twelve o’clock, with a fine breeze,—our object
being to take the nearest route to the Upper lake. As
we glided along the smooth river, we espied a beautiful
temple, peeping out from above a grotto. It was the
Se-ting-miaou. Here we landed, and on our way up
were met by the neighbours and a few of the priests,
who received us with kindnecs. Christian tracts were
readily accepted, and our conversation was untram-
melled. The building is modern, only seventeen years
old; it is built upon a rock, situate in the heart of a
bamboo grove. There was little within the edifice to
attract the attention, besides the carved ceilings and the
images in process of manufacture. The latter formed a
204 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

singular group of perfect and half-finished, ornate and
unornate figures. Many of these had a shade put over
the eyes to blindfold them. On inquiring the reason
of this, I was informed that, if the idol should be
already occupied by the divinity, the application of the
bandage is supposed to exclude it, or to prevent the
image being possessed. There is a superstition among
the common people that causes them to apprehend the
most condign punishment if they should touch, disturb,
or anywise molest the image, without such a bandage
over the idol’s eyes; whereas, with a kind of bandage,
they fear nothing. On this account the manufacturers
of idols, in making or remodelling the images, generally
adopt a precaution like that to save them from molesta-
tion in their handicraft. The popular notion is, that
only to touch the idol will provoke infinite wrath and
instant punishment. When the English, in 1841, landed
at Chinhai, the troops, after the bombardment of the
town, entered one of the large temples tenanted by
many idols, and commenced to lay ruthless hands on
the gilded semblances of deity. The Chinese spectators
looked on in amazement, and watched in full expecta-
tion of seeing dire and fell vengeance inflicted on the
rude intruders. They saw one dagon dethroned after
another, but the sacrilegious barbarians remained un-
touched; and the natives retired from the scene ex-
claiming, “ Well, we fear poosah, but poosah fears the
British |”

Leaving the pretty site of the Se-ting temple, we
traversed a well-watered plain, occasionally sailing on
the canal, and sometimes walking on the banks. The
curiosity of the peasantry, labouring in the fields, was
intense ; at the same time, their conduct was becoming.
In no instance were we insulted, and we freely rambled
among the fields, throughout escorted by a group of
inquisitive and obliging boys. At length we reached
the village Muh-che-yen, where we found the lock or
UPHEAVING OF BOATS. 205

sluice that protects the north-east entrance into the
Tung-tseen lake. The village itself looked clean, and
the people behaved with wonderful decorum. While
arrangements were making to hoist our boats over the
sluice, we mixed with the curious crowds, and walked
about the village and its neighbourhood. The most
interesting scene of the hour was the hauling up of the
boats. There were two inclined planes upon the dam,
extending across the outlet of the lake: one for up-
heaving boats from the canal below to the basin above,
and the other for launching from the basin above down
into the canal below. These planes were laid with fine
stone slabs. The upheaving of the barge was effected
by a thick rope, which embraced the boat astern, and
was at both ends secured to a windlass. The wind-
lasses, clumsy though they were, were set in motion by
a number of men hired by the lock-keeper. By work-
ing the two windlasses, the one on this and the other
on that side of the sluice, the boat was slowly raised
to the top, whence it was launched into the basin.
During the process, we had to lash every piece of
furniture and baggage to prevent damage to our per-
sons and our property; and holding on as tightly as
we could, it taxed all our strength and vigilance to
secure both from injury. In the launching of boats
from the upper lake into the canal beneath, the opera-
tion was simply to work the boat round and round,
gradually screwing it down the plane into the channel
below.

When the final arrangements were completed, we
proceeded. The channel, or the track for the passage
of boats over the lake, was marked off by young trees
being planted in the water to show where there was
sufficient depth. Before the shades of evening had
gathered round us, we anchored at the west end of
the lake, by a village called Ying-kia-wan. Numerous
visitors flocked about us; but soon the darkness shut
206 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

usin. Late at night we called on the venerable head-
man of the village, aged eighty-seven years; but as
early as possible next morning we left this anchorage,
and, as our object was to cross the lake, the boat was
poled along as the boatmen best could. Extreme diffi-
culty arose from the shallowness of the water, which,
in consequence of the prevailing drought, was often
ouly two feet deep; the boat occasionally stuck fast in
the mud, so that the boatmen had frequently to jump
into the water to shove it off, a task which they per-
formed rather reluctantly. As the lake deepened, we
proceeded with more facility. At last a fine breeze
sprung up to our assistance; but the boatmen began at
once to take in sail, giving utterance to their fears, and
pointing to the clouds that lowered in the west. They
said a storm was coming on; but it was only a squall ;
yet the trepidation of these “ fresh-water sailors” was
great. One of them threw himself on his knees,
begged for mercy, with uplifted eyes and hands im-
plored the gods for help, and, on reaching port safely,
he “knocked head” as an expression of his gratitude
for their protection. On reaching our destination, the
Hailing village, we were received by a multitude of
spectators, some of whom waded up to their waists, or
mounted the trees, to catch a glimpse of the strangers.
Captain Kennedy and myself went to the principal
temple, where we were entertained with tea, cakes,
and sweetmeats, sent by the principal inhabitants, each
presenting a separate tray. From this we walked into
the village, a closely-packed and busy place. Return-
ing to the boat late in the evening, we ascended a
“tea-hill” that overhung the town, and was beautifully
planted with the shrub, in terraces rising one above
another. :

On the following morning we made for the small
village of Pihpoo-shan, to the westward of the lake.
Our object in visiting this spot was to ascend the Peak
“ CENTIPEDE PEAK.” 207

of Pihpoo, or “ Centipede Peak,” which looked like a
sharp needle shooting up into the very clouds. The
hamlet looked insignificant, but prettily situated. As
soon as we landed, the headman of the village obtained
us the services of two lads to act as guides. We soon
discovered several paths leading to the summit of the
mountain. To the right a good road struck off, com-
fortably shaded by trees; but as it seemed circuitous,
aud we hoped another might be found nearer the centre
of the mountain, we took a middle course, which turned
out to be very romantic, though rough and little fre-
quented. The ascent was toilsome. On reaching the
summit, we named it ‘‘ Discovery Peak,” being the
first Englishmen that had trod that height. The peak
was narrow, barren, and rocky, and its sides, here and
there, planted with young firs. The prospect from it
was extensive and inspiriting. The entire department
of Ningpo, with its mountain boundaries, large towns,
numerous villages, and well-watered plains, lay at our
feet; the distant parts of Chihkiang province invited
our view to the north and north-west; while the east
and south spread before us.a “salt lake,” and the sea
broken by many a rocky islet.

Before descending, we determined to erect a monu-
ment on this peak in commemoration of the feat
of the day. We collected heaps of stones, and, by
dint of hard work, raised a pile, in the heart of which
we lodged a bottle containing a written record of our
achievement, with our autographs, dated on “ Discovery
Peak.” Our descent was rapid, and our sail across the
lake equally so. From various points we had taken a
survey of the lake, and ascertained from native esti-
mates that its circumference was about twenty-two
miles. Its greatest depth was said to be only six feet,
and the bottom all lined with a bluish clay. It had
altogether six outlets, from each of which there was an
open and clear water-passage to the city of Ningpo.
208 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

There were likewise seventy-two villages which encom-
passed the lake, all fertile and populous. From the
numerous fishing and trading boats we saw plying
about, there must be a very important traffic upon the
waters of the lake. And we were told that, through
its north-east opening and across the lake, a consider-
able trade is carried on between Ningpo and a village
on the “salt lake,” to the southward of Hailing.

After Captain Kennedy left me, I passed several
days in visiting two renowned temples in the vicinity
of Ningpo:—the one Yuh-wang, and the other Teen-
tung. The first lies about seventeen or eighteen miles
eastward of the city. The vicinity around the sacred
grounds, as well as the site of the temple, offered some
pleasing and curious objects. But the edifice itself,
with the furniture and contents in general, corresponds
so much with the descriptions of Buddhistic temples
elsewhere given by me, that it appears needless to enter
upon details, further than to remark, en passant, that
the principal objects of curiosity in Yuh-wang temple
were the following :—It is one of the sites chosen for
erecting one of the 84,000 pagodas of which the Bud-
dhist king Ayuh* is the reputed founder; hence the name
of the building, “The Temple of King Yuh.” On the
edge of a rock in the grounds, an imprint of Buddha’s
foot was shown with much solemnity. When pointed
out to me, I took the pains to measure it, — seven
inches broad at the toes, and five at the heel. It was
three inches deep in the rock. In evidence of its
being genuine, a priest spat on it, to show how rapidly
it would dry up. The spittle of the bonze somehow
was too thick for the experiment, for it would not
evaporate. In the estimation of priests and people
that frequent this temple, nothing excels in sanctity

* This personage was king of Magaddha or Bahar, in Central India,
and goes by the names Asoka, Ayeou, Azoke, Mokieto, Wooyuh, and
Ayuh. His date is variously put from B.c. 1009 to 282.
TEMPLE OF T°EEN-TUNG. 209

and mystery one of the relics of Buddh deposited
here,—an old tooth or splinter, that is said to have
been discovered on a neighbouring mountain. It was
locked up in a tiny wood box fourteen inches high and
seven broad at the base. The priest who kept it told
me that the casket itself was shown me as a mark
of special favour. He informed me of the brilliant
colours which the relic inclosed could flash forth to
those of good faith and character,—only to such, and
that the sort of colour depended on the state of a man’s
heart. With a show of ceremony I was invited to peer
through an orifice in the reliquary. I did so, but saw
nothing save what looked like a glass bead; however,
it did not deign to shine at me, and the aperture was
soon closed.*

My line of march to the sacerdotal halls of T’een-
tung was partly by land, partly by water. During the
land route, the aspect of the country differed much
from that to which I had been accustomed. The
ground rose in frequent undulations, and the road was
remarkable for its ascents and descents, steep and
rough. I passed through several villages, whose inha-
bitants had never seen “a white-faced foreigner.” Yet
villagers seemed to vie, not in the expression of their
curiosity only, but in kind attentions to the stranger
from a far country; and everywhere religious tracts
were gratefully received.

When I reached the vicinity of the temple T‘een-
tung, the scenery was so grand that I dare not attempt
to describe it. The site appeared as if it had been
designed for some sacred spot. As far as the eye could
reach, hill rose after hill, covered with trees of every

* In a paper on “ Pagodas in China,” introduced under the Fourth
Part, I have dwelt at length on the Buddhist Shay-le, and will not
here repeat my remarks on what cannot but be regarded as a singular
vestige of the early transit of the Buddhist religion from India into
the empire of China.

P
210 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

variety ; and the temple lay concealed in the bosom of
a circle of lofty hills. The avenue that led to the
sacred edifice was one mile long, throughout shaded on
both sides by a row of tall firs, growing at equidistances.
Squirrels and pheasants were abundant. At the upper
end of the avenue the temple suddenly burst upon the
view, a novel and a noble sight, rising up the side of a
hill, flight after flight, room upon room, hall within
hall, corridor beyond corridor. But over my surprise
there fell the gloom of sorrow, at the thought that
I was now treading. ground desecrated by idolatry, and
occupied by one of the seats of paganism, a “ school of
prophets” themselves deceived and promoters of a
delusion. A kind reception awaited me, and I was
invited into “ the visitors’ room,” where were laid out
before me refreshments of every kind and quality admis-
sible by the dietetic rules of the Buddhistic religion.
The remainder of the day was spent in taking a view of
the premises, from the cellars and store-rooms up to
their sanctum sanctorum.

Although I was the first Englishman that had stepped
within their precincts, or come within their reach, still
the priests, whenever they were able to offer explana-
tions and unravel difficulties, did so without scruple and
in the most polite and courteous manner. It would be
tedious to drag the reader from this lobby into that
cloister, and throughout the entire range of buildings ;
and it would prove equally desultory to detail all
the incidents that came under my observation during
the short sojourn under the roof of this noted temple.

Early in the afternoon the priests, whose number
then did not exceed sixty, were called to their closing
repast for the day. Not only is the quality and the
quantity of the food regulated by their canon law, but
the rules of monastic life, among the priests of Buddha,
extend also to the times, courses, and frequency of
daily food. Rice and other provisions are doled out
TEMPLE OF T‘EEN-TUNG. 211

with a most vigilant eye to the cooks by a comptroller
appointed by the Order to look after the carnal things
of the store-room and the kitchen; and it is fixed that
at a certain hour the meals must be upon the table.
The call for dinner is made by a succession of slow
strokes upon a sonorous stone suspended at the door
of the dining-hall; and the sound no sooner rang
through the labyrinthic corridors than I saw the
priests, of all ranks and ages, sally out to satisfy the
cravings of hunger. A stanza or two was chanted,
all standing up, and the dinner was devoured in solemn
taciturnity.

I had heard previously in various quarters, that in
this famous temple there were six or seven devotees who
knew nothing of the world around them (for they had
been so long and were now so completely absorbed in
idolatries) ; also that they appeared always in the posture
of devotion, that every man was seated in his own
niche in the wall muttering conversation with Buddha,
and that they were so much occupied with thoughts
of their service that they had neither time nor incli-
nation even to whisper a word or glance a look ata
bystander. On approaching the hermitage, its few
inmates were found engaged in their recitations. They
looked filthy in their habits, and were far from pre-
possessing in their manners; but there was nothing
approaching that external form of sanctity which I had
been led to understand they assumed. The religious
exercises on the occasion were marked with hurry,
indifference, and levity; and no sooner over, than they
approached me to handle my person and raiment. One
ot them, according to a practice frequent amongst them,
had exscinded some of his fingers in order to fulfil a vow
which he had made to his patron idol.

Comfortable apartments were provided for me for the
night. At my request I was aroused at three in the
morning to attend the early matins of the priesthood.

P2
212 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

The “thunder-drum ” and the “ sounding-bell”” both
announced the call to prayers. ‘The principal hall for
worship was the most capacious and magnificent of the
kind I had seen. The Buddhistic Triad stood in the
centre, surrounded by the ordinary satellites, numerous
demigods and genii. Before the centre altar-piece the
priests stood in several rows of eight and ten, their
flowing robes of grey adding to their sanctimonious
cast. For along time they remained motionless, slightly
stooping and, with clasped hands and downcast eyes,
humming a slow chant in low and measured tones.
Time was kept by three priests, one beating a huge
drum, another a brass vessel, and the third a large
wooden ball in the shape of a skull. Each one had a
mat before him, on which he bent the knee and knocked
head before the massive image of Buddh. They repeat-
edly knelt, rose, faced each other, chanted, &c., the whole
service lasting a full hour. The ringing of bells, the
frequent bowing, the slow chanting, the smoke of
incense, the use of the rosary, the shaven head, and the
general garb of the priesthood that morning, struck me
as bearing an unmistakable similitude to the ceremonies
and paraphernalia of Popery.

At the conclusion of the service I was invited to
breakfast with some of the priests; and shortly after
re-embarked for Ningpo. Among some mournful reflec-
tions on “the idolatry in high places” which I wit-
nessed at the two remarkable temples described above,
one anticipation, suggested by the “ sure word of pro-
phecy,” kindled up the bright hope that, when the
glorious Gospel shall run its free course, these halls of
superstition shall be consecrated to the service of the
Divine Saviour, and shall be converted into colleges for
Christian ministers and evangelists, who shall run to
and fro as ambassadors for Christ.

* * * * * *

Before leaving Ningpo for another part of China, it
FOREIGN INTERCOURSE AT NINGPO. 213

may not be out of place to add a short paragraph on
the progress of foreign intercourse since the opening of
this port under the Nanking treaty of 1842. So early
as 1552, the Portuguese had set on foot commercial
relations at the city of Ningpo; and to the present day
a visitor on the spot may, by using his wits, find out
“ The Good Strangers’ Club-house,” a building situate
near Bridge-gate, that was erected in 1528 for the accom-
modation of foreign traders. In the beginning of 1700,
and subsequently too, the English attempted to open
trade at the same place, but failed. This was attributable,
in a measure, to the contempt and dislike of foreigners
that had been engendered by the violence and rapacity
of the Portuguese, who had been driven off the ground in
less than a quarter of a century after establishing their
factory. At the close of 1843 (four or five months after
I quitted the place), with a view to carry out the nego-
tiations of 1842, the British consulate was established
at Ningpo under the able conduct of the late Mr. Thom,
whose praise still lives among the Chinese, and whose
name is known to many foreigners acquainted with his
self-denying devotedness to the interests of that people.
As Ningpo holds a prominent place among the cities
on the coast,—as its traders are distinguished for skill
and enterprise,—as its citizens are remarkable for
general talent and industry,—and as the relations of
the city with the interior of the country are of no mean
importance, it was presumed that its port would bea
point of attraction to foreign merchants. But this hope
has not been realized. Although the distance to cities
like Hangchow and Shauhing, &c., where trade and
commerce are carried on to an amazing extent, is but
short; the difficulty and delay en route to those places,
occasioned by canals, locks, and fords, raise great
obstacles to a free and easy traffic. This will account
for the disappointment of expectations at first encou-
raged about Ningpo as being a first-rate port for foreign
214 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

vessels. Occasionally a ship of foreign burthen visits
it; yet the trade, if it is growing, is but tardy. By
the Hong-Kong Gazette of March, 1856, the trade of
Ningpo seems to continue very unimportant. The
import trade for 1855 in British vessels is estimated at
231,618 dollars, and the exports at 398,328 dollars;
‘the principal import being sugar, 79,454 dollars, and the
principal export rice, 205,409 dollars; the whole con-
sisting chiefly of coasting and Straits trade. Since 1850
the French, Americans, and Portuguese have nominated
petty consuls at the port; but mercantile transactions
here under a foreign flag are of no consequence to be
detailed. As must have been already gathered from
the preceding, Protestant missionaries were the first to,
secure a footing at Ningpo upon the ratification of the
Nanking treaty. Soon after I left the city, two or
three American missionary societies moved towards this
promising field, and have ever since occupied it with
honour and encouragement. The Church Missionary
Society is the only English body of Christians that has
laboured for any length of time there. In 1855 the
Chinese Evangelization Society commenced its mission
with a prospect of success, and bids fair to prosper at
the place, if conducted with a due share of sagacity.
By the most recent statistics of Protestant missions in
China, there were in 1856 seventeen distinct missionary
families in the following distribution:—Church Mis-
sionary Society, three ; Chinese Evangelization Society,
three ; American Presbyterian Board, seven; American
Baptists, four. Besides these, special and well-merited
attention must be called to the devoted efforts of an
English lady, Miss Aldersey, who, ever since an opening
occurred at Ningpo, has been on the spot, consecrating
her remarkable energy, as well as lite and property,
to the education and Christianizing of the women of
Ningpo. By her zeal and devotion a large boarding-
school of nearly fifty girls has been conducted for the
vavanes

MISSIONARY EFFORTS AT NINGPO. 215

last eight years. In this singular line of effort, in
spite of numerous difficulties which she had to cope
with almost single-handed, Miss Aldersey has proved
remarkably successful. She has been instrumental in
educating many female minds in useful principles.
She has been blessed in converting some tender hearts
to the reception of Gospel truth. She has succeeded
in training up others, who, by their influence and
instruction, will extend “truth and life” through many
generations yet unborn. From what I know personally
of the character, devotedness, and labours of this
exemplary lady, no one more ardently wishes than myself
that her objects should receive ample support from
the sympathy of Christian ladies im Great Britain.
Although, for prudential reasons, Miss A. has recently
seen fit to place her school under the care of another
English lady, her purpose still is to spend her remaining
days in watching over its interests.
216

PART THIRD.

A GLANCE AT LIFE IN THE INTERIOR OF CHINA.

CHAPTER I.

NARRATIVE OF TRIP FROM NINGPO TO PIH-KWAN—FROM PIH-EWAN TO
E-KIAOU.

Tux preparations for an inland excursion having been
completed by the 7th of July, 1848, it was arranged to
embark at nine o’clock the same night.

The boat selected was a pih-kwan barge,* much
like our coal-lighters, and one of a craft in general
request for lightness and stowage. I chose as guide
Woo, in whose fidelity I had sufficient reason for
reliance as well as his acquaintance with the line of
route to be followed. And besides, so far adopting a
legitimate means of avoiding detection, I likewise took
with me two lads, who had been for some time in my
service and were intrusted with my secret.

After a late dinner, a hairdresser was called in, who
shaved the fore part of the head and appended a queue
one yard in length. Having undergone this operation,
I exchanged my English suit for a Chinese summer
dishabille. Previous to quitting my lodgings, the
thought struck me that possibly the “tail” on which
so much depended might be too loosely tied on. A
slight tug proved the suggestion to be well-timed, for

* It derives its name from the village at the close of the first stage.
EQUIPMENT IN CHINESE DISGUISE. 217

that appendage at once dropped off. When recalled,
the barber was greatly disconcerted to find that his
labour had been in vain. So, resuming his manipu-
lations with more than redoubled diligence, he paid
little heed to the pain inflicted on retacking it.

After this first trial of an adventurer’s nerves, I left
my lodging in company with my fellow-travellers,
passed the porter’s lodge at the east gate unobserved,
walked through part of the suburbs under a bright
moonlight, and, on reaching the eastern angle of the
city wall, dropped into my boat to rest for the
night.

At five o’clock next morning, we took the rising tide
to enter the Tszeke river, running up to the north-west.
We soon found ourselves in company with a large fleet
of small boats, all ascending the stream with fair wind
and tide. At one time I counted forty-seven of these
native boats, most of them, as our own, called pih-kwan
barges, manned by three men at least, and laden with
cargo or passengers for Hangchow, the capital of the
province (127 miles distant from Ningpo), or for the
intermediate towns Tszeke, Yuyaou, and Shaouhing.

During this day’s route, the first place of note was
Kaoukiaou, a bridge five miles out of Ningpo, chiefly
memorable for a repulse the Tartar hordes met with in
A.D. 1180, from a band of native villagers headed by a
hero of the name of Changtsiun. In the middle of the
sixteenth century the Japanese appeared off this place,
and committed great ravages in the vicinity.

A fine breeze brought us abreast of the Ta-ying-shan,
a hill beautifully ornamented by nature with large
shady trees, and decorated by art with family temples
on its summit, family tombs on its slopes, and family
residences at his base. Even here, “many a tale
traditionary, and many a legend, peoples the dark
woods.” In olden times, amid the deep recesses of a
retreat so peculiarly adapted to abstruse meditation,
218 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

there resided a rustic poet and philosopher, Dr. Siay,
who, being likewise far-famed for his skill in the art of
Alsculapius, used in this lonely recess to make up his
pharmaceutical preparations of a certain medicine that
proved a universal antidote to old age and decay,
sickness and death. Again, it is related that Yu-he, a
man of note of the fourth century, took refuge in these
blissful solitudes for the purpose of “ communing with
nature, at a distance from the low pursuits and the
selfish malignity of ordinary mortals,” and, although
three times summoned by the reigning monarch to
receive high honours, he preferred the romantic seclu-
sion and primeval simplicity of his sombre hermitage
to the pomp, glitter, and gaiety of an imperial court.
No wonder the name given to the spot, “The hill of
profound retirement !”

Five or six miles farther up we came to the ferry
which derives its name from the hill on the right bank,
about four miles to the south, called “the Chay-kew,”
or “ Chariot-and-stable” hill, from the circumstance
that Kaou-tseen, a martial chief of the Yueh state
(which before the Christian era claimed all this terri-
tory), kept his cavalry there. The vestiges of those
days may still be traced among the ruins that lie about
the mountain. At the beginning of the Ming dynasty
an aspirant to the throne started up, named Fang-
kwoh-chin. Desirous of emulating the prince who had
figured upon the hill 1,500 years before, he encamped
on the same spot to guard and defend this part of the
empire; but a general vested with an imperial com-
mission outwitted the usurper by coming upon him at
night and driving him from his fortress. As the tide
failed us, we dropped anchor, and lay for four hours off
this ferry. With the return of tide we moved up to
Changting, a spot that appears to be selected by the
rich gentry for the erection of some fine residences. As
if to set these off by contrast, there stood a little
A REMARKABLE CHAIN OF HILLS. 219

farther on, on the same bank of the river, a large pot-
tery, and numerous wretched straw huts tenanted by
potters.

Before quitting this anchorage I must take notice
of the Sze-ming-shan, a mountainous chain of the most
irregular outline, which all day had been in full view.
It lies eighteen miles to 8.W. of Ningpo. Looking on
it at this point, it presents to the eye of the traveller
(as a native writer observes), “a distant and extended
vista, marked with deep recesses and umbrageous
shades. Massive rocks are seen to rise pile upon pile;
castled promontories and lofty precipices start up before
you: here, there meet you dark ravines and gaping
chasms, and yonder you espy ample solitudes of un-
ploughed and untrodden valleys.” As you stand at
different points of view, the range throws off various
fantastic shapes, (again quoting a native work,) “to the
east, frightful waves; to the west, scampering cattle;
to the north, wriggling dragons; and to the south,
driven goats.” The natives say that a walk from its
base to the highest summit measures 130,000 feet
(between thirty and forty miles) ; and if you follow the
range at its foot through all its windings, bendings, and
twists, it measures 800 les, or 240 English miles. In
its course it embraces territory belonging to the dis-
tricts of Ningpo, Funghwa, Tszeke, Yuyaou, Shangyu,
and Ninghai; and, if reliance may be placed on the
same testimony for geological information, the vein of
the whole bed may be traced fifty miles to the south-
west as far as the T‘ientai mountains. The Sze-ming-
shan rank, in the Taouist books, as ninth in order of the
thirty-six lofty mountains of China; and, on account
of the bold fastnesses, blutf crags, and beetling cliffs
which climb among the clouds,

“Those mighty hills, so shadowy, so sublime,”

are believed by the people to have been planted by
220 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Heaven as “a guardian fortress” on the frontiers of
Ningpo (which district, in native writings and official
papers, is also called Szeming), to keep down calamity
and pestilence. The rugged, rocky, and lonely recesses
with which this mountain-range abounds, are said to be
so unlike to the inhabitable parts of the earth as to be
fit only for the residence of elves and fairies. The
natives number no less than 280 peaks upon the chain,
and give a name to each. The most remarkable of
them is a clump of five, called by some the Wooyung,
by others the Lienhwa, as their peculiar fancy may
help them to trace a resemblance to the one or the
other flower. These five stand apart at a distance of
a mile and a half. On the middle one there is said to
be a large square rock, marked with four perforations,
like the windows of a house, from each of which you
have a full and clear view of the sun, moon, and stars.
Hence the name of the whole range, Sze-ming, that is,
“four clear” openings; and upon this

“Pile of simplest masonry,
With narrow windows and vast buttresses,
Built to endure the shocks of time and chance,”

are engraved in large text the four characters—
Sze-ming-shan-sin,

“The heart (or centre) of the Sze-ming mountains.”
But, to return to my boat,—I found it, as I left it,
at Changting, where the river changes its name, and
onwards to its source is sometimes called the Yaou,
and sometimes the Shun river, after the two patriarchal
worthies bearing those names,— although generally
known as the Yuyaou river, because, in the greater
part of its course, it flows through the district of that
designation. Having alluded to two of the fathers of
the Chinese nation, I may observe that there are
several other parts of the neighbouring country con--
CHINESE SLUICES. 221

secrated to the memory of the great Shun. On the
Leihshan, not far from Yuyaou, he is said to have
ploughed his fields with an elephant. His well is
there too; and also his “stony bed,” respecting which
Chinese tradition has it, ‘he took of the stones of the
place and put them for his bed, and lay down in that
place to sleep.”

Half an hour after leaving Changting, we entered
the Yuyaou district,* by crossing the boundary-line
between the departments of Ningpo and Shaouhing
at Shuh-shan-too, twenty-three miles from the former
city. As the river narrows much in this vicinity, the
loochuh papyrus, that grows very rank on both sides of
the river, was brought close under the eye. It mea-
sures from twelve to twenty feet long, and is turned to
many accounts by the poorer natives. The root is
used as a sweet, juicy cooling edible. The long waving
leaf is particularly in request as a wrapper of small
rice dumplings. The reed is useful for sails and
awnings for boats, thatchings of roofs, partitions of
rooms, floor-matting, and window-screens; and the
root, the reed, and the leaf, when dried, are made use
of by the lower orders for fuel. Sunset succeeding
rapidly, we were quite shut in from everything far and
near. This was followed by a tremendous thunder-
storm, which drove us to the bank for shelter among
its rushes, and there we anchored until midnight.

At two o’clock on the morning of the 9th, a sweep-
ing tide carried us through Yuyaou, the capital of the
district, and a town of some importance, occupying
both sides of the river,—the site of the old town stand-

* This route was that taken by Captain McIntosh and a part of
Lord Macartney’s suite, when they separated from the embassy at
Hangchow to go to Chusan, where the East-India Company's ship
Hindostan was taking in cargo. It is the same also by which Ptre Le
Comte and his company proceeded in the winter of 1687 from Ningpo,
on their journey to Peking, to which they were ordered to repair by
the Chinese sovereign.
222 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

ing on the north, that of the new on the south bank.
It was by moonlight alone I was able to discern any-
thing; and the only object at all seen to advantage
was the bridge of three arches, which crosses the river
about the centre of the town. It lies thirty paces
from the south gate. Its entire length is given at
24 chang, or 240 English feet. The name, Hwuykiang,
by which the river is designated at this part, is sup-
posed to be derived from the Awuy tulip, which used
to grow in profusion to the west of the bridge. The
bridge itself is commonly called “the river bridge,”
though the inscription on it reads Tung-tse-kiaou, “the
bridge of general thoroughfare.” It is nearly 300 years
old. Previous to its erection, the Japanese, during
their invasion, received a terrible check at this point,
and two years after, a.p. 1556, these three arches
were thrown across to connect the old and new towns
together, as a protective measure against future aggres-
sions. In the year 1841, during the war with China,
her Majesty’s steamers Nemesis and Phlegethon moved
up the river as far as this without hindrance or
opposition.

By daybreak we had left the river, and pushed on
to the Western Hwang-ho-pa, a very high dam, over
which boats bound for Shaouhing or Hangchow have to
be hoisted. This piece of workmanship is constructed
of massive stones, in the form of a double glacis,
perhaps with an inclination of forty-five degrees, and so
built as to have two slopes, one on each side, uniting
at the top in an acute angle, on which there is a cross-
beam laid, or a rounded off piece of wood. The object
of such engineering is to expedite the passage of boats
between two canals which cannot form a junction, as
their waters differ from seven to fourteen feet in their
level. One cannot but observe with some astonishment
the patience and perseverance of the Chinese in quietly
submitting to public nuisances of this sort. It is no less
HOISTING OVER A SLUICE. 223

surprising, too, that there are not more risks to life
and property from such a contrivance. Although their
keels are said to be made of the hardest and toughest
material, yet the bottoms and sides of the boats must be
severely chafed in being raised up these stony slopes.
And as the boat rises to the summit of the triangular
bank, where it is made to balance upon the sharp, narrow
ridge, one naturally wonders that the barge does not
split into halves. This is peculiarly awkward and
hazardous for boats laden with cargo, so much so that
not unfrequently they have to be emptied of their
freight before they can be hauled up. Besides, there
are other inconveniences arising from these clumsy
barricades across an inland route, which will sufficiently
appear from the following account of our day’s sail to
Pih-kwan, a distance of forty miles from Yuyaou.

As I have already said, we had by daybreak reached
the Hwangho lock, if I may so designate it. Just out-
side of it, and at its foot, we found twenty boats already
anchored, all lying in a watercouse wide enough for
only two or three at a time. These boats had come in
during the night, and were in waiting for the morning
impressment of coolies to heave them up. As their
boatmen had fallen asleep, ours managed to push their
boat right to the bottom of the lock, where it took up
its berth, snugly enough to be sure, first and foremost
among the boats. But scarcely had the sun stepped
over the horizon, when our position was discovered,—
our presumption as interlopers was loudly denounced,
—a war of words ensued, and then a trial of strength.
The other boatmen united in a body to seize our craft and
transfer it to the rear, which was soon and easily done.
My guide, Woo, had gone ashore to purchase pro-
visions for the day; but, on returning to the boat,
great was his mortification at finding that it had been
pushed back and behind those boats that had come in
later than ourselves. Thereupon he called on our men to
224 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

force their way up to their early station, hurling defiance
at the crowd of stormy boatmen. The consequence
was that bamboo poles and boat-hooks were instantly
levelled at Woo, and prostrate he fell into the hold.
On this, it was impossible for me longer to remain
in seclusion, and out I burst from my cabin to his
rescue. Finding they had silenced Woo’s insolence,
the victors walked off shouting “ What! suppose a
foreigner were in that boat, we would not care a fig for
him!” So “here could I sit alone, unseen of any.”
After a detention of two or three hours, it fell to our
turn to have the boat hauled up, by a process almost
similar to what has already been described in a former
part.* For this purpose a stout halser was laid round
her stern. Each end of it was lashed to a rude capstan
that stood on either side of the sluice. The two wind-
lasses were worked by twenty or thirty coolies, who put
arms and shoulders to work, all the while roaring and
bellowing as if they were under the cat. This was to
haul us up the slope on the one side. As they were
heaving us up this inclined plane, every hand inside
the boat had to hold on, to keep persons and baggage
from going adrift. After half an hour of tugging and
screaming, our barge reached the top of the embank-
ment, from which by its own gravity it was launched
down the second slope into the stream on the other
side. Here, too, they attempted to lay on us what was
considered a heavy impost, and created no little jarring.
We got off, however, with the usual charge of what to
an English ear does not sound too large—twelve cash,
nearly two farthings, for “despatch boats,”’—the levy
on cargo boats and passenger craft being usually
170 cash, or almost sixpence.

At length, about 104.m., we began to move on from
that bar, congratulating ourselves that we had not been

* At page 205.
FASHIONS OF FEMALE HEAD-DRESS. 225

detained two or three days, as many boats are during
the busiest terms. Fear of long detention, and anxiety
to avoid detection, had shut me up in my cabin during
the last few hours; but when we had got fairly upon
the upper canal, breathing-time was gained for looking
round on the fine landscape that stretched out to
the right and left. The waters that run across to the
foot of this sluice mostly come from the Maou-shan
lagoon, a mile anda half distant. Blue hills skirted our
view, while the plain on this side was beautifully car-
peted with young rice-sprouts. Men were at work in
the fields ; romping children sporting in the water; and
women everywhere busy at something or other, most of
them with the foot unbound and of the natural size.
Among other novelties, there frequently passed before
me the Kioh-wa chuen, “foot-oared boat,”’—a sort of
light canoe, on the stern of which the boatman sits work-
ing the paddles with his feet instead of his hands.

Three miles further on we come to Changpa, a
second dyke, lower than the first and attended also
with many difficulties. Men’s shoulders alone were
called into requisition here in elevating the boat.
There was no windlass in use. But, to meet the case,
first of all the boat was lightened by moving on shore
the chattels and the boat-gear; and then the boat
itself was actually shoved up by the united force of
hands, arms, and shoulders,—along with the invariable
accompaniments of braying and howling. Quiet once
more restored, I caught sight of a variety in the
fashions of the fair sex of this neighbourhood, espe-
cially their head-dress. At Ningpo they have what
they call “the Ningpo helmet ;” here, however, the
Shaouhing fashion obtains, or the “ yuan-paou form,”
from its resemblance to the figure of the bar of Sycee
silver.*

* There are other varieties of style in which the ladies put up the
hair of their heads,—each fashion prevalent in peculiar localities

Q
226 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

A wide channel brought us to Yib-ting, beyond
which the canal lessens in width and depth. Here,
however, a third bar awaited to intercept, detain, and
annoy us. It must occur to every one, in the course
of his travels through this part of the country, that,
not improbably, one reason why Ningpo offers so little
encouragement to foreign trade is that the native mer-
chant meets with so many inconveniences en route to
and from the interior. He is so often and so long
locked up or locked out by these canal dykes; and at
every other interval, barriers of the same sort are thrown
up and impediments meet him such as are unknown at
Shanghai or Canton. But, should one remove those
dams, or break down the sluices, and open a direct
line of communication between the Ningpo river and
Pihkwan or Shaouhing, there can be little question as
to the prospect of a successful trade with a city like
Ningpo, which holds daily intercourse with Hang-
chow, the great capital of a vast province, as well as
with all the other inland and central provinces of the
empire.

After we had submitted to the usual amount of delay
and pother, they managed to get our boat across the
barrier at Yih-ting on to a wide stream running six
miles direct to Pihkwan. MHereabouts, and in several
other parts, there were noticed those fluvial lagoons
which are frequently found in China on the borders of
rivers and canals, where the land in the vicinity, being
lower than the bank, becomes inundated by the over-
flowing of the river-beds, or where, there being no
drainage or outlet, the rains collect and form great
stagnant pools. These reservoirs, however detrimental
in general to the health of the natives, are of immense
service in time of drought, especially for purposes of
irrigation.

The women of Canton province adopt a style different from the Chih-
kiang ladies. There is another called the ‘‘ Kwanyin helmet,” &c.
FIRST TEST OF CHINESE DISGUISE. 227

As I sat at the window of my boat looking out on
the country around, some passers-by, pointing at me,
expressed their admiration of “the snowy whiteness of
that man’s face ;”” yet they offered no interruption, nor
did they behave rudely,—imagining, I suppose, that I
was a Visitor from the northern parts of the empire
returning homewards.

However, the test of my Chinese disguise awaited me
at Pihkwan, which we reached at 3 p.m. My traps
were landed first, and then I set about attiring myself
in the cabin in the summer costume of the country,—
a broad-brimmed straw hat, a grass-cloth jacket, calico
trowsers, bran-new sash, gay blue garters, light straw
shoes, a fan in one hand, and umbrella in the other,
and a rough handkerchief up the sleeve. Thus accou-
tred I landed. But I had scarcely set my foot on the
bank when a voice near me shouted out in the patois
of the place, “ Hie-ya! here’s an Englishman!” Out
there started a score from the boats in the anchorage,
looking here, there, and everywhere for the intruder.
Fortunately I had presence of mind to take no notice
of them, and set to work arranging my baggage and
giving orders to servants and coolies,—seeing which,
they all threw themselves down into their boats, saying,
« Although his face is whiter than ours, he’s no Eng-
lishman.” This was trial the.first at Pibkwan.

I sent my luggage on before to the inn at the other
end of the village, where travellers generally put up to
make arrangements for prosecuting their journey. I
myself leisurely followed my guide through the village,
which was about three quarters of a mile in extent ;
but, in doing so, I had some difficulty in steering clear
of the villagers, many of whom sat at their doors fan-
ning themselves after their day’s toil. Although in
gait and swagger I acted the Chinaman pretty well, at
least as well as I could, yet many an eye was cast at me
as if I seemed some odd specimen of a native-born, and

Q2
228 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

not unfrequently I had to offer a laconic apology for
awkwardly jolting against a foot-passenger, which he
received with remarkable courtesy.

That (I may call it my second) trial at Pihkwan,
ended on my walking into the Wang-maou-chay inn,
where my servants were waiting forme. I myself was
ushered into an inner room, and Woo stepped aside
into the office to make arrangements for a passage to
Shaouhing. The innkeeper offered a seat, tea, and
pipes, &c. There were several other travellers in the
same apartment, some lying asleep on the lockers; while
outside the din was stunning,—what with passengers
coming to and fro, the landlord shouting and waiters
repeating his orders, and a crowd of idlers sauntering
about brawling or laughing. How thankful did I feel
to be able to take refuge in a quiet back room! For
the last half-hour I had been somewhat an object of
curiosity, and I knew not but suspicion had been
created ;—perhaps detection by spies might follow, then
detention by the police, and possibly desertion by my
servants. With my mind full of surmises and appre-
hensions like these, I seated myself under the open
window of the traveller’s room, hoping that I might,
by a short rest and a little quiet, recover from the
excitement into which I had been thrown on landing.
On entering the room, I kept my straw hat on my
head, and, in case any one might again indulge sus-
picions about me, I also drew my queue over my right
shoulder, as a precautionary measure,—the advantage of
which will presently appear. I had not taken my seat
many minutes when a fellow walked in (I presume)
from the police-station right in front of the booking-
office. The intruder looked sternly at me, and in an
under-tone asked one of them in waiting, “Who is
that there?” The man replied, “TI really don’t know.
He has just come from Ningpo, and must be a
merchant bound for the interior.” The boor then
POLITENESS VERSUS RUDENESS. 229

came up, and, placing himself before me, demanded,
“Take off that hat of yours.” I made no reply. He
repeated his demand. I could no longer keep silence
and answered, “Don’t you see, my friend, that I am
very warm; and, as there is a draught over-head, I
cannot take it off till I am a little cooler? If you will,
however, quietly sit down and bide my pleasure, I shall
take it off by-and-by.” Iwasa little disconcerted at his
instantly squatting on the opposite bench. Next, he
commenced to catechize me on the following points :—
“'What’s your surname? name? Where do you come
from? What are you about here? Where are you
going to?” These questions he couehed in rude and
uncivil language. Perceiving this, I mustered the
usual polite style adopted by his countrymen in their
intercourse with strangers, and taking courage (for
I felt sure of vanquishing him by politeness and
etiquette), I replied to his successive queries in the
following manner. “My vulgar surname is ee
(giving the surname I had adopted for my travels).
“My trifling name is The low and humble
place from which I have come is ;’ &c. When he
had exhausted his stock of interrogatories and found
that I could give him such pat replies, he evidently
began to feel rather uncomfortable at having intruded
himself. Detecting the advantage I had already gained
over my unpolite inquisitor, and, as according to
custom it was my turn now to interrogate, I com-
menced in the complimentary phraseology of the
country :—* And pray, sir, what may be your excellent
surname? honourable name? famous native place?”
&c.; to all which the fellow gave replies in a tone
somewhat subdued and in language more humble.
He looked uneasy, and as I eyed him fixedly he grew
very sheepish. I had observed that, from the time of
his entering, he watched my “tail” with a deal of
earnestness ; and, probably, suspecting it to be false or

 

 

 
230 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

only for an occasion tacked on to my straw hat, he had,
with a view of proving its genuineness, required me to
take off the hat. Having promised to comply with his
wish when I felt cooler, and now perceiving that the
opportunity of confounding him had come, I gently
raised the straw bonnet without saying a word, and
with a handkerchief wiped the perspiration off my
forehead. But the tail over my right shoulder did not
move! “ Paul Pry” saw this and felt outwitted. So
he rose from his chair, bowed humbly, walked off, and
no more appeared. Thus much for my third trial in
this village.

In half an hour after reaching the inn, preparations
were completed for crossing the Tsaou-ngo river, and
we moved down to the ferry. Two or three men and
women rushed to the water’s edge to stare at the new-
comer, of whom it was pretty clear whispers of a
dubious character had gone abroad. As, however, the
ferrymen themselves had no suspicions of the sort,
they could not wait long enough to satisfy the curiosity
of the handful of idlers on the banks, and in a few
minutes we were out of reach and safe on the opposite
side, where I must stand a while with my readers to
say a few words about the river.

The small establishment at the ferry being set on
foot and supported by the gentry and merchants of the
Ningpo and Shaouhing departments, the passage across
is free, and no impost whatever is permitted,—a thing
which my cicerone assured me, with all possible gravity,
was not looked upon in his country “as disgraceful or
undignified.” By this means, communication between
the two departments is greatly expedited, and pas-
sengers and goods of every variety are carried over.
In the eye of the government and of the people, this
place is considered a point of some importance, as is
evident from the means adopted by the latter to render
the passage across as open and easy as possible, and
THE TSAOU-NGO RIVER. 231

from the names that, at different periods, have been
given to it by the former. During the Yuen dynasty,
early in the fourteenth century, it was made the
Pihkwan-yih, “the postal town of 100 officers.” In
the beginning of the succeeding Ming dynasty, its
name was slightly varied to Tsaou-ngo-yih, “the go-
vernmental stage on the banks of the Tsaou-ngo river.”
At present it is commonly known as Pihkwan-too, “the
passage for 100 officers,” indicating it as the place
across which and from which all official communica-
tions are carried to and fro between the capital and
the northern and eastern parts of the Chihkiang -
province.

The river is sometimes spoken of as the Shang-yu
river, though it bears that name only as far as it skirts
the western limits of the Shangyu district. Even there,
however, its popular name is “the Tsaou-ngo.” It
itself is but one of the branches of the Poo-yang, whose
principal source lies in the Kinhwa department, 150
miles to the south-west. The original branch goes under
that name for 100 miles, till it reaches the north-west
of the Shaouhing county. There it divides into two
streams, the one the Tseentsing-kiang, emptying itself
into the great estuary at Hangchow: the other stream
turns to the north-east of Shaouhing, and takes a
serpentine course from north-east to north, in its circuit
both watering and draining the two districts Ching
and Shangyu. In the latter district it makes a north-
west bend, and, about twenty miles from where we now
stand, disembogues into the Yellow Sea. From the
angle where it leaves the principal artery, the Pooyang
river, it is variously named; in the upper parts of the
stream called “ the Siaou-shun,” or “ the Tung-siaou,”
and in the lower “the Shang-yu,” or “the Tsaou-ngo.”

The name Tsaou-ngo is founded on the following
story, the truth of which is universally credited by the
people, and its particulars have been minutely put on
232 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

record in one of their topographical works. In the
second year of Ngan-te, of the Han family, a.p. 109,
there lived a priest of the Taouist religion, a native of
the Shang-yu district, who had won great repute for his
skill in magic. On the fifth day of the fifth moon of
that year, at the festival known to foreigners as “ the
feast of the dragon boats,” this priest went to sport in
the river in honour of his gods (still a custom prevalent
throughout some parts of the empire), by swimming
against the tide, or playing somersaults in the stream,
or racing the dragon boats. Whether in swimming or
rowing up the river it is not accurately known, but
the priest was drowned, and his body nowhere could
be found. His dutiful daughter,* Tsaou-ngo, a girl
fourteen years of age, felt her sudden bereavement
deeply, and wandered along the banks of the river for
seventeen days and nights, weeping and wailing over
her loss. At last she threw a large melon into the
river, putting up the prayer, “ May this melon sink
wherever the body of my father lieth!” With a most
anxious eye she watched the gourd as it floated on the
surface of the stream, until it stopped at a certain spot,
where it sank. The poor damsel, frantic with grief,
rushed to the place and plunged after it. She too
perished. But five days afterwards her lifeless trunk
rose to the surface, with her father’s body in her
embrace. Both were buried on the river bank; and,
in commemoration of the incident, the name of the
girl has been given to the river, and a temple has been
erected also to her name.

* Her father was not a priest in full orders. In the Taouist sect
there are two orders,—the one bound to perpetual celibacy, the other
not. The latter, being, looked upon as mere assistants and not as
ordained to the work, reside in their own dwellings, and dress in the
ordinary style of the country. Of course they are debarred the use
of the canonical cap, head-dress, and gown, &c. They are called the
Ho-keu-taou ; but those in full orders are styled the Taow-sze, reside in

their temples and monasteries, and are entitled to the mitre and gaudy
attire of the class,
POLITENESS VERSUS RUDENESS AGAIN. 238

But having lingered long enough on the banks of
this river, we must again set our faces westward to
_prosecute the rest of this day’s journey. On the foot-
road, two’ miles in length, I met with numerous
travellers, going and coming, some on foot like myself,
others in sedans. The luggage was carried either on
men’s shoulders or in one-wheeled barrows. About six
o’clock, a little before sunset, I reached the Pih-sha
hamlet, where, at the Taoukiun-chung inn, my bearers
had already lodged my traps. At this place I met
with another half-hour’s detention, till the boat (that
had been engaged at Pihkwan to take me sixty miles
inland, as far as E-kiaou) should be got ready. It was
evident, from their side-whispers and sharp glances,
that I was an object of curiosity to the occupants of
this little village too. Most probably the rumour of
suspicion had travelled across with me. And although
I sat quietly in the tea-shop, with a cup of plain tea
and a plate of ripe fruit and sponge-cake before me,
smoking my long pipe, and talking to my servants at
my side, yet, after what had happened at Pihkwan, I
felt not quite comfortable, for I knew uot but I might
have to undergo a fourth examination, and, as it was
rather late in the afternoon, I could not wear the straw
hat any longer. Well, soit was. A little while after,
when my boat had been put in order and I had got
into the cabin, two respectable-looking men walked to
the door and peeped in. I rose, and accosted them in
a friendly manner. They at once dropped their arms
by their side, as foreign soldiers in obedience to the
word “attention,” or Chinese servants in the presence
of their ¢aoutai receiving orders. Then, with due
politeness, I inquired about their names, residences,
occupations, and the object of their visiting me, to all
which they gave replies in a style totally different from
that with which I had been entertained an hour or two
previously. These gentlemen returned my civility by
234 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

inquiring about my “ honourable surname, lofty resi-
dence,” &c. As they continued to loiter about, I
invited them to enter and sit down with me. They
said they really could not think of such a thing, and
withdrew one step from the cabin-door. Again I
requested them to come in and take a cup of tea.
“Oh, we cannot hear of this,” said they, and retreated
two more steps. It appeared that politeness alone
could drive my friends away, so I advanced towards
them, and asked if they could not just for a moment
or two seat themselves “in my worthless berth.” Even
this they humbly declined, and, wishing me a “ favour-
able breeze,” they respectfully bowed and disappeared.
So ended the four trying encounters of the day.

At seven o’clock in the evening we were under
weigh. The boat I found in every respect an improve-
ment on the clumsy barge which I had left in the after-
noon, and in which I had been couped up for the first
‘thirty-six hours. The new boat was of the class peculiar
to the city of Shaouhing, much used by the merchants
in their journeys by water. Its name, woo-pung, “ dark-
awning boat,’ is derived from its cover of bamboo
being painted black. It was calculated by the boat-
men that this class could carry as much as eighteen
tons of goods besides passengers. The accommodations
were really good. Three cabins were at my service,
which I disposed of by reserving the front one for
myself, and giving up the middle one to my teacher,
and the one abaft to the servants. All the luggage
was stowed away in the hold, so as to be got at when
required.

A cool breeze having sprung up, we very quietly
moved down the Shaouhing river. While we were
passing several villages I witnessed a pleasant sight,
(by no means uncommon, and the like of which one has
the opportunity of seeing every now and then in China,)
villagers, with their wives and children,all seated together
THE CITY OF SHAOUHING. 285

under a wide-spreading tree, taking their supper upon
the river-bank. A great number of boats, some very
large indeed, were plying up and down,—most of them
laden with goods, and bound for the “ Tung-kwan,” a
custom-house about five miles from Pihsha, our start-
ing-point. At ten p.m., under moonlight, we reached
that “Eastern Barrier,’ and there anchored for the
night.

On July 10th, very early, the boat got under weigh,
and hurrying past various unimportant places mentioned
in a native itinerary I had with me, brought us at
8 a.m. to Shaouhing, in N. lat. 30° 6’, E. long. 120° 29’.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the capital of the Yueh state
stood here, which, during its most flourishing era,
comprised all the territory now included between the
Canton and Kiangnan provinces. At present this is
the chief city of a department extending E. to W. 90
miles, N. to 8. 180, embracing within its limits and
jurisdiction the eight districts, Shan-yin, Kwai-ke,
Siaou-shan, Yu-yaou, Shang-yu, Ching, Choo-ke, and
Sin-chang. The city itself lies 40 miles east of Hang-
chow, 12 south of the sea-coast, and 87 west of Ningpo.
Du Halde says “ that it is situated in one of the most
beautiful plains in the world; there are canals in every
street, and no city so much resembles Venice as this,
though it is vastly preferable to that, because the canals
are filled with very clear running water.” I must
scruple to assent to the former of these statements, as
it is exaggerated; and, although I have never visited
Venice, yet, from what I have seen of Shaouhing and
heard of Venice, I cannot believe the latter.

Pursuing a south-west course, we crept along the
bank of the river, with the city and suburbs on our
left. At the north gate there was witnessed a lively
scene of civil citizens passing to and fro, and

“Poor mechanic porters crowding in
Their heavy burdens at the narrow gate.”
236 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Upon the river too all was life and bustle. Boats of
every description were afloat,—some of them mea-
suring forty, fifty, and seventy feet in length, chiefly
used for cargo. It seemed to be quite a high day
among the river-craft. Gay streamers were flying over
dragon-boats and pleasure-barges, and a gorgeous pro-
cession passed through the fleet in celebration of the
birthday of their god Kwan-te. Immense crowds of
spectators were out upon the banks and on the river,—
men, women, and children mingling together to witness
the idolatrous spectacle.

As, however, time and tide wait for no man, I could
not linger long to gaze on the scene. Proceeding
onwards, the city walls still kept in view. Upon
inquiry, I found these were reputed among the natives
to measure (forty-five les) nearly thirteen English miles,
though certainly they did not look more than four or
five, in circuit. They measure 17} ft. high, 15 broad
along the top, 27 ft. broad at the base, with a parapet,
or, as the natives call it, “the woman’s wall,” running
right round five feet high. The population of the city
and suburbs has been put down at 250,000 inhabitants ;
but within its walls alone there is a mass of human
beings amounting to at least 60,000, whose character
(as that indeed of the whole department) is gazetted
in the Redbook every quarter of the year as “ diligent,
frugal, fond of learning, and by no means dependent
on trade merely,”—that is, willing and ready for the
sake of subsistence, to turn the hand to the loom, the
hammer, or the plough. They have many learned men
among them; and I have been assured by competent
authorities that some natives of Shaouhing are to be
found in almost every mandarin court throughout the
empire.

Of the sundry buildings, erections, or establishments
about the city, there are two or three that deserve
special notice,—-both on account of their singular form
TELEGRAPH HILLOCKS. 237

and objects, and because, being placed either on the
river-bank or in a commanding position, they cannot
fail to attract the eye of a foreign traveller.

On approaching the city, and indeed throughout the
whole line of this day’s sail, there were military posts
erected at every interval of three miles:* and on each
side of the guard-houses there were “ smoke-hillocks,”
as they are designated. These are hollow cones built
of brick and in the shape of a sugarloaf, six or seven
feet in height, whitewashed outside and marked with a
daub of red in the centre. They are intended for
making telegraph signals of smoke by day and fire by
night, specially to give notice of the advance or the
retreat of an enemy. In times of active service, it is
required that they be kept full of wood, hay, and stubble,
so that at a moment’s notice they may be fired. At
this time, however, they seemed to be deserted or left in
the keeping of old women and beggars. When placed
on prominent situations, as the top of a hill or rising
ground, they serve well for beacons to give warning of
any military movements. They are also called “ wolf-
smoke beacons,” because (as described by natives) “in
making signals, the dry dung of the wolf mixed with
gunpowder and made into large balls is thrown on the
fuel in the pyramidal cavity, and the entire mass is set
on fire ;—then, there rises up a pillar of smoke which
no wind can agitate or disturb !”

In our sail past the city it was not necessary to be
told that we were in the neighbourhood of distilleries
and wine-vaults. Of the Shaouhing wine every one in
China has heard, how rich its flavour and intoxicating
the beverage. The tables of the great and opulent

* The original arrangement in laying down the military positions
of the country was that ‘‘ at every 5th le (one le being 3 of a foreign
mile), there must be a set of telegraph hillocks ; at every 10th lea
guard-house ; and at every 60th le a military station, where men and
horses are stationed for the carriage of despatches,” &c.
238 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

cannot be without this liqueur; and, as at their usual
feasts “every man at the beginning doth set forth the
good wine,” in China it must be the far-famed cordial
of Shaouhing. This forms part of the trade of the city,
and is said to be its principal traffic.

I must now call attention to the monumental erec-
tions around Shaouhing, particularly those south of
the city and along the river-banks ;—many of them
being architectural ornaments by no means disagreeable
to the eye. They are generally composed of two large
square pillars, standing erect and at a distance of six
or eight feet from one another, joined by a cross-piece
at the top, looking somewhat like immense gateways
without doors. These stone slabs are carved with
figures and inscriptions, and not unfrequently there are
huge ornaments perched upon the top. They have
been called, though most inappropriately, “ triumphal
arches,”—but only by foreigners (as Abel, in his nar-
rative of the embassy to the court of China) who could
not have been aware of their use and objects. The
majority of them are erected to commemorate the
virtues of young widows, who, having unfortunately lost
their intended husbands, had, without contracting a
second marriage, remained in widowhood maintaining
their reputation unblemished to the end of their days, or
who, also after the decease of their husbands, had con-
tinued to honour, revere, and nourish their parents-in-
law as they would their own fathers and mothers. In
Western countries there are not a few who, without
disguise, express their abhorrence at seeing a widow
marrying asecond time. Chinese moralists too are strong
in condemning such conduct, and carry their prejudices
yet further, in binding by the vow of perpetual virginity
the girl who has been betrothed at an early age, and
has been bereft of her intended by death before the
nuptials could be consummated. The Hindoos at one
time entertained so severe an opinion of the marriage
YOUNG WIDOWS NOT MARRYING AGAIN. 239

of widows being indecorous, that, as long as Hindooism
swayed its sceptre, the widow, no matter of what age
or rank, was compelled to sacrifice herself on the funeral
pile of her husband, and, in most cases, a close to
her conjugal career like that was regarded and sought
for by the sorrowing wife as the only praiseworthy,
virtuous, and honourable. As to the Chinese, how-
ever, although one may greatly differ from their view
of young widows marrying a second time, we must say
that their policy is wise and merciful as compared to
the diabolical precept of Hindooism, in providing suit-
able and respectable occupation for widowhood,—for
the aged widows, that they bring up their grand-
children, and for the younger ones, even those who
have lost their plighted partners before wedlock, that
they serve and take care of their husband’s parents.
Then, the names of these heroines are heralded forth as
examples of conjugal fidelity and filial respect; and in
order that such patterns of virtue may secure a promi-
nent place of honour, their names, their lineage, and
their excellences are engraven on tables of stone, which
are supported on upright pillars, as above described,
and set up on the “king’s highways,” or the most
frequented thoroughfares. Many receive these honours
during lifetime, and many more after death, in which case
their commemorative tablets are generally to be found
in the vicinity of their graves. According to the statutes
of the empire, any woman who, in widow’s weeds, has
conducted herself in a manner so as to win the esteem
and confidence of all around her, may be reported to
the magistrates of her native province. She is by
those officials recommended to the attention of the
Board of Rites, which, on representing her case to the
Emperor, is empowered by his Majesty to make a grant
in her behalf of twenty-four liangs, or thirty-five dollars,
towards the erection of a monument by the officers of
her native district ; and upon this erection it is required
240 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

that her graces and virtues shall be blazoned forth.
These ornamental arches or gateways are everywhere
stumbled upon; but I have not met with so many in
one place as around the city and throughout the
department of Shaouhing. The reason alleged is, that
the “younger widows” of Shaouhing are reputed to
be far superior to-their countrywomen in avoiding
second marriages, keeping at home, and cultivating the
graces that adorn the female sex.

Although the scenery around Shaouhing and in its
vicinity is pleasant and pretty, the line of journey for
ten miles out of that city was through a flat country,
with red hills in the distance, fields under water, and
tallow-trees constantly before the eye. The tide had
all day been high, very high, so that, at three bridges,
the bamboo awning and cover of the boat, with frame-
work, &c., had to be removed, to enable it to pass under
them. The heat was excessive, so that the furniture of
the cabins was annoying to the touch, and to lie down
on the floor-matting was intolerable. In the villages
and hamlets upon the river-bank little children were
going about quite naked. Men at their work in the
fields were in a state of perfect nudity, and the boat-
men were seen diving into the river to cool themselves.
Between the Ho-kiaou and Tseen-tsing, the temperature
at mid-day was so intense and overpowering that the
boat had to be anchored for an hour or two. Early in
the afternoon we reached the last-mentioned place, from
which a small branch strikes off to the north-west,
leading direct to the capital of Hangchow, at a distance
of only sixty les, or eighteen miles. The river that runs
by this market-town is of the same name. It is a
branch of the great Pooyang river, of which mention
has already been made.

In passing through this market-town, it may be worth
while to relate a singular story, on which is founded the
origin of its name, Tsecen-tsing. About 1,700 years ago,
TSEEN-TSING. 241

when Yen-he occupied the throne of the Eastern Han
dynasty, Lin-Tsung, the magistrate of the canton in
which the town lies, on leaving office, was waited upon
by the gentry and elders. They strongly urged him to
accept of a large sum of money, in token of their respect
for him and as a memorial of the opinion which they
held regarding the straightforward and honourable
policy he had pursued during his term of office. The
magistrate politely declined; but, on being most ear-
nestly begged by the people to take something, he
took only one cash. Hence the name of the spot,
Tseen-tsing, “ cash uncorrupted,”’—one among millions
in China !

At sunset we passed the Lo-shan Buddhist monastery,
situate on the brow of a hill that derives its name,
“ Screw-shell Hill,” from being supposed to resemble a
screw-shell. As we passed under the bridge close to
the monastery, one of the brotherhood was stationed on
the top chanting his beggar’s song, and lowering his
basket to receive alms of the numerous passenger and
cargo boats that were going to and fro. Around the
monastery there were several tombstones, over the
graves of Buddhist priests. The style is singular, and
obtains only among this sacred order. Buddhist priests
and nuns, on their decease, are interred in a sort of
miniature pagoda. There are two modes of burial.
Any one remarkable for devotion and virtue who dies
at a good old age, is buried in a sitting posture, just as
priests usually sit in the presence of their idol reciting
prayers, with their legs drawn under them, the hands
clasped, and the head drooping on the breast. The
deceased is in this position put into a large earthen
jar, with another jar placed over the head. The two
are hermetically sealed, and built all round with brick
and mortar, in the shape of a pagoda, about ten feet in
height. Occasionally they take the bodies of devoted
Buddhists, commit them to the flames, and search for

R
242 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

a relic called shayle. On finding this, they lodge it in
a casement like a small pagoda. The ordinary class
of priests and priestesses are not so highly honoured
on leaving the world. Their remains, bones or (if
burnt) ashes, are cast into a hollow pagoda. These
cases are carefully lodged about the monastery and
grounds.

 

CHAPTER II.

TRIP THROUGH CHIHKIANG PROVINCE CONTINUED—FROM E-KIAOU TO
CHANG-SHAN—FROM CHANG-SHAN TO THE BOUNDARY-POST BETWEEN
CHIHKIANG AND KIANGSE.

Juty 11.—Overnight entering a small creek, by day-
break we reached E-kiaou, a place that les about fifty
miles south-west of Shaouhing, and of importance only
as affording conveyance for goods and passengers direct
from that city to the central branch of the Chihkiang
river. This obviates the necessity of making a circuit
by Hangchow. A distance of eighteen miles is in this
manuer curtailed ; and, what may be considered a greater
advantage, the custom-house at that capital is avoided,
which for its strict surveillance is notorious throughout
the empire, —it being reported in one of the native
itineraries to be “ the only custom-house in the world
where search is so severe and rigorous.”

Our boat had no sooner reached the wharf here, than
we were visited by the agents of five or six “ conveying-
houses,” proffering their ready assistance to the new
arrivals. This post-town contains about 1,400 families,
and has at least twenty “ conveying-companies,” whose
chief business is to provide accommodation for passen-
gers and secure the transit of goods to and from the
interior. We selected the firm of Kia-wan-shing,
which at once engaged to let us have one of their boats.
ENGLISH LETTERS SENT FROM THE INTERIOR. 249

For this purpose they sent coolies down to remove our
luggage, and expedite arrangements for prosecuting our
trip as far as Changshan, 186 miles farther inland, up
the great river Chihkiang.

At 8 a.m., the head of the house came to pay his
respects, and informed us that our boat was in readiness.
Upon landing, we walked through the small town, and,
having crossed the strip of land that divides the two
creeks from each other, were soon comfortably seated
in the new boat.* This was a variety of the Kientih
class, in every way superior to either of the boats which
I had been occupying during the last three days. Its
accommodations were roomy. Between the prow, where
the rowers squatted, and the stern, where the helmsman
and family, cook, crew, and all put up, there were three
large cabins furnished with beds, lockers, tables, chairs,
&c., and in the hold six or seven distinct compartments
for freight andluggage. There were on board six hands,
besides an old woman and her daughter not yet out of
her teens. These were employed to steer, row, and
drag the barge, as necessity might require, and they
expected at the close of the trip to receive each one
his own perquisite, namely, “wine money” for the
helmsman and boatmen, “tea money” for the old
dame cook, and “ head-dress money” for the daughter
in waiting. :

Before starting from this place, I posted a letter for
Mr. Lockhart, medical missionary then resident at
Chusan. It was sent under cover to a native hong at
Ningpo, and subsequently I learned, with satisfaction,
that it safely reached its destination.

By nine o’clock that morning a light breeze rose and
helped us to creep slowly down the H-kiaou stream, which
widened as we advanced, until it emptied itself (not

* Not to speak of the larger craft at this station, the smaller style is
divided into two classes, named after the places where they are built,
the E-woo and the Kien-tih boats, each set of a different model.

R2
244 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

more than three miles from our starting-point) into its
recipient, the lower part of the great Chihkiang, known
in this iocality under the name of the Tseentang river.
At ten o’clock we were afloat in the middle of that vast
stream, whose channel opposite the village, called in the
native tongue Yu-poo-kaou, measures more than one
mile in width. From hence the main river flows north
and north-east towards the capital of the province,
Hangchow, only sixteen miles distant. As our course
lay south-west towards Changshan, the head of the
boat was immediately turned to stem the rushing
current. We now fell into the same route along which
Lord McArtney proceeded from Hangchow towards the
south of the empire.

The shore on both sides was lined with white sand of
a peculiarly fine texture; and embankments of stone
and pebbles, sand and mud, extended for a good
distance along the northern and southern margins.
These artificial banks, unfortunately for the country
around, being easily carried away by the overflowing
river and its rapid tides, constantly require repair.
Turning the eye to the right of the boat, or the north,
the hills were distant and irregular, and little was seen
but extensive paddy-fields. But looking over the south
bank, the adjacent hills at once gratified one’s view,
some of them high, most of them rich in soil and
thickly planted with various kinds of trees and shrubs.
Among these mountains there rose one called the
Hoochaou, “the tiger’s paw,” a rambling pile of rugged
rocky peaks, well suited for a den of robbers, by whom,
indeed, it is said to be actually frequented. It is
closely linked to the neighbouring hills, and, by a rapid
slope, descends into the Chihkiang. It is estimated
by the natives as one of the most important and ad-
vantageous natural defences, rising up in the centre of
the four principalities of Hangchow, Shauhing, Yenchow,
aud Kinhwa.
MULBERRY PLANTATIONS. 245

Near this neighbourhood, on either side of the river,
whether in the plains or on the hill-sides, numerous
and large mulberry plantations were growing. On
inquiry, I found that at this time the second crop of
leaves was ready for gathering. By the testimony of
the natives, the tree here produces three yearly crops of
leaves; the first, during the third and fourth moons,
reputed as productive of silk of the best quality; the
second, taken in during the fifth and sixth moons for
second-rate silk; and the third, ready by the seventh
moon; but only silk of the lowest quality can be ex-
pected from the worm fed on it. In winter the fallen
and dried leaves are used to feed goats with. Among
the Chinese the mulberry-tree is often kept merely as
an ornament about a family mansion, or a fruit-tree in
an orchard; but the use of its leaves for the silkworm
renders its cultivation an important and lucrative branch
of labour, chiefly in this province, which, as well as
Kiangnan, Hoopih, and Szechuen, produces the finest
silk in the empire. The raw material is sent from the
country to the large cities, where it is wrought and
made into every form of fabric one can well imagine.
The stuffs of Hangchow are peculiarly fashionable, and
perhaps the most eagerly sought for. The principal!
branch of trade in the Chihkiang province consists in
silk stuffs.

At noon the weather set in very squally. There
were heavy puffs blew over us, carrying clouds of sand
and dust from the river-banks. This threw the boatmen
into considerable fright, who had to anchor often; and
in consequence of these interruptions, our progress all
day was slow. Anxious to reach Fooyang for the night
anchorage, every exertion was made before sunset, and
at length they succeeded.

About one-third of a mile from that walled town we
came to a hill with a solitary peak on its summit, upon
which, during the reign of the three kingdoms, about
246 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

A.D. 200, a Taouist temple was erected ; hence its name
Kwan-shan, “Temple-hill”’? To the south of it, ona
small rising ground, there was a seven-storied ‘“ dragon-
boat pagoda,” or lung-chuan-t‘ah.

Sweeping round the foot of the hill, we suddenly
, came in full sight of the town, hitherto quite concealed
from view. The town itself looked well at a distance,
and the scenery in the neighbourhood particularly fine,
as if pictures of groves and gardens had been hung up
to relieve the vision. At 7 P.M., after a day’s sail of
only twenty miles, we dropped anchor off the south-east
side of the town.

Fooyang stands on the north bank of the river, built
upon a rocky foundation, with a low, dilapidated wall,
measuring in circuit but one mile and a third, and
having its south portion resting on Kwanshan, named
above. The population of the suburbs is much scat-
tered. Although this is the chief town of the district
of the same name, it seems to be a quiet place, with
little stir and bustle, except early in the morning and
at sunset. It lies in the department of Hangchow, and
is the indigo market for the surrounding country, whose
hills produce it in great abundance.

The tide-wave ascends no farther than this town,
fifty miles fromthe sea. There is besides a “ quiet tide”
observable some way farther up the river, which is caused
by the outpouring waters of the river being impeded in
their downward flow by the ascending tidal wave, and
forced back to some distance. To that remoter dis-
tance, then, the tide is said really to ascend, though
the water is fresh. ‘The Bore” is a phenomenon of
frequent occurrence on this river. In the estuary
before the great city Hangchow, where the Chihkiang
disembogues itself, the tide at certain periods ascends
with a prodigious noise, in one vast wave rising from
five to thirty feet above the natural level, and rolling
up with a foaming head, upsetting all it meets with
THE TIDE-WAVE OR “ BORE.”’ 24:7

until, exhausted by resistance, it sinks into a feeble
undulation. Of this peculiar phenomenon this is the
only instance of the sort mentioned by the Chinese as
known in the empire. In one of their topographies
they say of it, “ The surge thereof rises like a hill, and
the wave like a house; it roars like thunder, and as it
comes on, it appears about to swallow the heavens and
bathe the sun.” The seasons at which it occurs are
(according to native calculation) in the second and
eighth moons particularly, as well as monthly at the
change and full of moon, at the spring-tides. The
tide-wave always is high, especially at these periods,
when it rises twenty or thirty feet. It stretches across
the Tseentang estuary, which, ten miles south of Chapoo,
from side to side, measures full fifteen miles wide. The
boat population around the city of Hangchow is per-
petually on the look out for the occurrence. Its
approach is sufficiently indicated by its noise: and of
course it occasions great alarm. Chinese vessels inward
bound wait for it first to rise, and then, drifting in with
the tide that succeeds, they escape damage. Among
the sailing directions published by Captain Collinson, of
H.M.’s naval service, he warns all sailors navigating
through the Bay of Hangchow to pay attention to the
tide up this bay. He remarks, “ Particularly on account
of this tide, the bay cannot and ought not to be navi-
gated at night.” During the survey of the said bay,
taken by H.B.M.’s naval officers in 1842, they found
that, off the town of Chapoo, “at the spring-tides the
velocity of the tide is 5 knots, and the rise and fall 25
feet. Seven miles south-west of Chapoo, and towards
Hangchow, during a stay of three days, the night tide
rose 30 feet, and its velocity was 74 knots; while at the
Fog Islands, 10 miles to the south-eastward, the rise
and fall was 17 feet, and the velocity 44 knots; showing
ayapid increase in rise and velocity as you enter the
estuary of Tseentang river, leading to Hangchow.”
248 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

When Captain Collinson went, in the steamer Phlege-
thon, to reconnoitre the approaches to the city of Hang-
chow, before the termination of hostilities with China,
he found there a ttde of 11} knots an hour ; and although
the steamer had one anchor down with a whole cable,
(having previously lost an anchor with a cable when she
tried to bring up,) and was under full power of steam
with sails set, still she was driving. On a second trial,
at the dead of neap, the PAlegethon had a tide running
54 knots nearly at the same place. The rapidity of the
flood setting into this bay was probably the cause of the
loss of the Kite transport, in 1840.

During the whole of July 12th, we were sailing along
a deep broad channel, both sides lined with a border of
fine sand, in some places abundant. On the banks
there was a beaten path for boatmen engaged in drag-
ging their boats. For the firstt welve miles, high hills
arose upon the right, forming precipitous banks, in
some places sloping down to the water’s edge. At the
bottom of the hills there stood military stations with
sign-posts, notifying the distances of various places en
route. Not unusually one finds that, under the influence
of the scorching sun, nature around puts on a dumb-
struck aspect, when everything seems lifeless, and the
elements inert. The heat to-day was of this over-
powering intensity, and both man and beast felt glad to
be still. Yet, so grand and attractive was the scenery
which every now and then burst upon the view, that it
was impossible to refrain from taking a frequent, eager,
long look around.

On the Luhshan, in full view of which we passed,
there was no point that did not offer some attraction.
It is singular that the natives have given it two names,
the one a contrast to the other, the Luh or the Lung-
shan ; the former intended to describe its general form,
which is thought to resemble “ the deer;” the latter
intimating it to be the residence of “dragons.” There
ASCENDING TIKE RAPIDS. 249

obtains here a popular legend that, for a long time,
a crowd of dragons dwelt in the caverns of the mount,
and, by exhausting the canals and streams in the
vicinity, brought drought and deartlr on the country.
Fortunately, a skilful priest by his recitals of sacred
incantations charmed those monsters away, and so put
an end to the disasters that for a long period had been
inflicted on the people.

But, whatever may be the origin of these designa-
tions, each may be interpreted as descriptive of different
views which the mountain presents to the eye of the
spectator. In some places it frowns with dark rugged
rocks, or towers up with steep precipitous cliffs, or
yawns at you with wide dismal chasms, (to a Chinese
fancy) like “a retreat of dragons.” Then, in other
places one may imagine it to be “ the resort of the
deer,” specially where it is ornamented with green
swards running up the slopes, and with rocks broken
into fanciful shapes or scattered over the hill-sides.
Everywhere there stand numerous tallow-trees dis-
playing their beautiful autumnal purple leaf, and huge
thick camphor-trees spreading out massive branches,
clothed with glittering leaves.

To pass on, however: in the course of the afternoon,
we sailed by two “river-bed islands,’ lying in the
middle of the channel,—the one “ the five-le islet,” the
other “ the extensive isle.’ The former lies about
nineteen miles from Fooyang, our starting-place in the
morning. It measures ten miles in circumference, and
is covered with mulberry plantations. The latter is
four miles further up the river and only six miles in
circuit, given up to paddy cultivation. At six o’clock
in the evening, I took a stroll on the river-bank, and
kept up with the boat for three miles until the evening
meal was announced, for which I had acquired a keen
appetite by the pedestrian exercise.

As I returned to the boat, the Tungkiun-shan hove
250 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

in sight on the north bank, a mountain standing forth
in a most conspicuous manner, towering up over the
river with a remarkably precipitous crest, (to borrow
the native description) “like a thirsty whale about to
bounce into the water.” About a mile from its western
fort is situate the chief town in the district of Tungloo.
We anchored for the night abreast of that town, which
formed an exception to other district towns that I had
passed through, as it was unwalled. Its population was
very scarce, ‘few and far between,” and the walls of
the houses were whitewashed !

Next day, starting at daybreak from Tungloo, we
made for the chief city in the Yenchow department, at
a distance of twenty-four miles, or with fair wind half a
day’s sail at Chinese rate. Unfortunately, what with
foul wind and strong rapids, we could average only a
mile and a half per hour, sometimes not more than
a quarter of a mile, sometimes less. The boat had for
the greater part of the way to be pushed on by poles,
or tracked along the banks by ropes, which made it a
laborious and tedious day to the entire crew. To the
passenger, however, there was full compensation for the
delay in the sublime and splendid scenery everywhere
bursting upon his view. One of their poets has justly
observed, “ Though this department may be unimportant
in other respects, in mountain and water scenery it is
nonpareil.”

To be particular :—When the boat got under weigh
with its head 8.8.W., it crept along the right, or
northern bank of the Chihkiang. The banks on both
sides gradually rose up until, in some parts, they over-
topped, and appeared to overhang the boat. At break-
fast-time we were approaching the Lewkiang rapid.
The river here was only one-third of a mile in width,
and, as the whole volume of water from the upper
channel poured down this narrow bed, the rush was
violent. At certain spots the fall was quite shallow.
A ROCKY PASS. 251

The bed was paved with white pebbles and round
boulders. The boat was hauled along the bauk, and,
as neither the length of the rapid nor its declivity was
great, we soon effected the ascent, and in half an hour
reached a point where scenery of the finest order
awaited us. The next three miles the river was wide,
deep, and perfectly limpid, presenting the rich tint of
the bright blue sky. The current was sometimes
smooth, frequently rapid, and then again broken into
whirls and eddies. On both banks the mountains
towered up, covered from the base to the summit with
rank vegetation, spontaneous or cultivated. The banks
were exceedingly high; in some parts formed of abrupt
rocks rising precipitously from the foot of the hills, and
often intersected by ravines, gullies, and torrent-beds.
Those deep, rugged beds, as we passed them to-day,
were quite dry; but I was informed by the boatmen
that a small shower soon occasions immense torrents.
While the boat-was dragged along the northern bank,
the towing-path was a shelf beaten or cut out of the
mountain-side. In one place the track-road was so
narrow that I could not but tremble to watch the men
tramping “ the dizzy step,” and straining every muscle
as they towed the clumsy boat. Each man had the
tow-line thrown around his waist, and it was fearful to
think of the consequences that might befall the whole
of the tugging party, should one of them take a false
step, or lose his hold, or beat out of time. Fortunately,
at one of the most critical places, they got within a
rail of stone, which had been put up by some benevo-
lent gentry in the neighbourhood to prevent a repetition
of the dreadful accidents that had previously occurred
from want of such precautions. The mountain scenery
about this is perfectly wild and romantic, with its rifted
cliffs, deep dells, rocks piled up like lofty pillars, and

“The rocky pass half hung with shaggy wood.”
252 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Often I could descry sheltered cabins peeping out of the
corners of the small green vales, which were described
as the straw huts of woodcutters, who roam upon the
hills gathering brushwood and dry sticks: for sale as
fuel. Before we left this attractive spot we were
enchanted by the dropping of a beautiful cascade, that,
in its descent of several hundred feet, leapt from rock
to rock, until it bounded among the dark blocks with
which the precipice bristled, when, in a sheet of foaming
water, it boiled over and fell tumultuously into the
river beneath.

The shay-yu is a native of these waters, a fish remark-
able for its rich delicious flavour. That and some
other valuable fishes make this part of the river a
large and lucrative fishery. It appears also that fre-
quent piracies are committed upon the little fishing
craft floating about; on which account the native
“ itinerary” in my hands lays down, as a precaution to
travellers approaching the spot, “ The fishing-boats
here are particularly on their watch against lawless
freebooters.”

By noon we reached the Tiaou-tai, a lofty hill on the
right bank, remarkable for three prominent observa-
tories, perched on three separate peaks, each several
hundred feet high, rising the one above the other, built
of stone, covered over with tangled creepers, screened
by groves of trees, and fit only for ‘ monks unlettered
and unknown.” ‘The two higher ones especially looked
as if they were each “ a castled cliff and brown mo-
nastic shade.”

In the annals of the place, a story is given which agrees
with the above description. Some time in the first
century, when the Han dynasty held the reins of govern-
ment, there flourished a man named Yenkwang, who,
by his close intimacy with the then reigning emperor,
brought no small renown on his native place, Yuyaou
(spoken of at p. 221). In his boyhood he had been at
AN EXTRAORDINARY RAPID. 258

school along with Kwangwoo, the heir expectant to the
throne, and during that time the warmest friendship
was formed between the two lads. As they grew up,
these class-mates were separated and lost sight of each
other. However, when Kwangwoo ascended the throne,
he thought to do honour to his early comrade, and sent
through his dominions to seek him out. After some
delay, the messengers got information that he was
living a hermit’s life in this romantic rookery, dressed
in sheep-skins, and gaining subsistence by fishing in
the river. The emperor at once sent a fine chariot,
with presents of silks and satins; but, it was only
after three distinct invitations from his majesty, that
Yenkwang was prevailed on to leave his lonely life
and enter the whirl of court dissipation. The emperor,
on meeting him, found that their friendship had not
diminished, and, as a mark of the highest honour and
confidence, made him share the same bed with him.
Such is one of the legends of the Tiaoutai, or
“fishing platform.”

The only other incident during the day’s sail was
stemming the Woo-shih t‘an, a “ black-pebble rapid,”
about three miles from last night’s anchorage. Its
name denotes one of its peculiarities, it being bedded
with jet-black stones, generally as large as a good-sized
loaf, and called “loaf-like boulders.” The margins
of the rapid were lined with white sand. The rapid
itself was very deep, though not more than one-sixth of
a mile in width; the declivity in the bed was sudden ;
the channel interspersed with huge blocks, and the
velocity of the rush was fearful, at the lowest calcu-
lation exceeding thirty miles an hour. The labour in
stemming the current here was excessive; for often the
master and servant, husband and wife, helmsman, crew,
and old dame together, had to wade into the stream
up to the waist, and to give “a strong pull, along pull,
and a pull altogether.” But sometimes it was almost
254 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

labour lost, and, as if giving it up in despair, they
had to lie by for five minutes at a time to recruit
exhausted strength. Two or three hours of tug and
toil effected the ascent of this rapid, and at the top of
the fall, it was the source of some musing to look back
on what mere manual labour had done in raising a
boat of such magnitude and bulk against a current of
apparently irresistible velocity, up an acclivity whose
perpendicular fall must at the least have been eight or
ten feet.

After this it was plain sailing along numerous ser-
pentine bends, until we anchored off Tungkwan.

July 14.—On getting up this morning, I found the
boat had left its moorings and was crosing the mouth
of the Sin-ngan-kiang, one of the chief affluents of the
Chihkiang.

Here it will not be unsuitable to insert a few hints
about the principal tributaries of the Chihkiang, espe-
cially as they unite in one channel at this place. There
are three of them. The one we had now come upon
was the western tributary, rising from the hills of
the Nganhwuy province, some distance to the west of
Yenchow city. The second, or the south-east tributary,
is that into which we shall enter after sailing across the
mouth of the western stream. It goes by the name
Tungyang, and flows out of the mountains of Kinhwa.
Thethird affluent is “the south-western supply,” the
highest sources of which rise at a distance of 250
miles. As I have already said, the grand junction,
generally known as the Chihkiang, is formed here at
the Sin-ngan-kiang. Its name is derived from the
bends, twists, and twirls the river takes along its
course from its various sources, through the centre of
numerous departments, until, passing Hangchow, the
capital of the province, it disembogues itself into the sea
about twenty miles below.

Sweeping round from Tungkwan, where we had
THE CHIHKIANG RIVER. 255

anchored during the night, and reachingmidway across
the mouth of the western tributary, we came in full view
of Kientih, the chief city in the department of Yenchow
(N. lat. 29° 37’, E. long. 110° 30’), upon the north-
east bank of the stream, a little more than a mile off.
On either bank, margining the entrance, there rose a
seven-storied pagoda, each built upon the slope of a
grotesque hill. The channel of Sin-ngan-kiang being
one of the principal water-communications between the
centre of the Chihkiang province and the upper parts
of Nganhwuy, a boat may sail up for 100 miles to the
north-west of Kientih as far as Hewhing, a market-
town of the Hwuychow country.

We soon had to leave this tributary river to our
right, with its picturesque amphitheatre of hills around
the walled town Kientih, and enter on the waters of
the south-east affluent, the river Tungyang. During
the rest of the day the sail was on a wide stream
flowing between high banks. The course was towards
the town of Lan-ke, about twenty-five miles distant.
We had several rapids to ascend. Of these the most
remarkable was that which lies close to the boundary-
line of the two departments Yenchow and Kinhwa.
The difficulties that were encountered here were ex-
treme, in the ascent at least, arising chiefly from the
strong current which at times rushed like’a torrent
over massive blocks, strown over the bed, most of
them as large and sonorous as the huge water-jars in
common use.

Before crossing the boundary of Yenchow, we fell in|
with a convoy of mandarin boats. They were conduct-
ing the notorious Tartar, Tahunga, on his recall from
Formosa, where, as commander-in-chief, he had ordered
the massacre of the unfortunate crew of the Nerbudda,
whora he had reported as being taken in battle. Strong
remonstrances had been sent in by H.M.’s Plenipo-
tentiary, Sir H. Pottinger, against such barbarities.
256 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Accordingly, the monster had been ordered up to the
Imperial metropolis, ostensibly to be called to account
for his inhumanities. I saw him seated at the door of
his cabin, smoking his hookah. What would he not
have given to know that at this time there was “a bar-
barian ” passing his prow !

Very soon we came within the department of Kinhwa,
and suddenly found ourselves at the foot of the Tung-
tsze-shan rapid. Here, upon the left hand, there rises a
high precipitous rock, called the Tsiang-keun, or “ Com-
mander-in-Chief Cliff,’ presenting to the traveller an
aspect, wild, strange, and frowning. For a while I had
an opportunity of watching a couple of fishermen,
engaged in fishing by cormorants. It has been re-
ported by some foreigners that these are not used in
summer ; but here, on the 14th of July, they were at
work with them in this river. The boat was small,
with two men in it and some twenty of these aquatics.
There is nothing remarkable in their appearance or
figure: they look like a large duck, or rather a pelican,
with a brown back, a tinge of white beneath on the
crop, yellow and hooked bill, and web feet. The mar-
vellous thing about them is their docility,—in which
they quite equal the hounds, spaniels, and hawks of
Europe; each being at the bid and beck of the boatman.
Several were perched on the edge of the boat looking
as if satisfied they had done a day’s work, yet watching
the eye of their master to dash into the river at his
signal. The others were dispersed across the breadth
of the river, diving about in search of prey and work-
ing indefatigably, either till they succeeded or till they
were called in by the well-known voice of the keeper.
Many had not to dive long before they caught large or
small fish, which they immediately brought in their
bills to the master. One or two, although as obedient
to orders as the rest, were observed to be not so trusty
as their messmates. The fisherman, who kept a sharp
FISHING CORMORANTS. 257

look-out on his charge, perceiving that these had on
the sly swallowed the fish they seized, by a stroke of
his guiding-rod on the water and a shout of his voice,
brought them up to the side of the skiff. He at once
caught them by the neck, and made them disgorge the
fishy contents of their stomachs,—whole and undi-
gested fishes of no mean dimensions. He then dis-
missed them to do double work. I could find neither
ring nor cord about the necks of any of them to
prevent the swallowing of fish. Wherever the boat
moved they followed, as quick at interpreting the
pointing of the fisherman’s rod as they did the varia-
tions of his voice. They are well fed on eels, fish
refuse, bean-curd, &c.; but are sent a-fishing before
feeding-time, or only when very hungry.

As I have already said, during this day we frequently
came upon rapids of great slope. These occasioned
much annoyance to the boatmen, who were obliged
to go into the water to drag or shove the boat along.
The approach to a rapid is the sure and invariable
signal for a war of words. They commence to roar at
each other; and bawl, scold, rail, and fight,—but for
which they might accomplish their work in half the
time. Nevertheless, it cannot be blinked that the
difficulty, especially in getting up a rapid, is well-nigh
insuperable, particularly in midsummer, or during a
heavy drought. Fortunately for our boat to-day, it
at length reached the crest of one of the rapids, where
we saw seven boats fast and immovable, in the act of
unloading before they could be got off.

July 15.—We did not reach Lan-ke last night, as
expected, but at eight o’clock this morning. ° This chief
town, in the district of the same name, stands on the
eastern bank of the river, in a beautiful valley of hills
and vales covered with tallow and camphor trees, and,
with its newly whitewashed huge walls, looked rather
better than other places hitherto visited by me along

8
258 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the route. Boats of every description skirted both sides
of the river; and the bustle of business was great. The
Lanke hams, wine, dates, and soy, have universal
repute, and may be had very cheap here :—the dates
peculiarly delicious. The relation of Lanke with
Kinhwa, the principal city in the department, is of
some importance, and the traffic between the two places
is by no means small.

At the southern end of the suburbs the river divides
into two branches,—the one to the left, or south-east,
leading direct to Kinhwa, and farther on to the depart-
ments of T‘aichow and Wanchow, adjoining the Fuhkien
province; the other bends to the right, south-west,
running towards Kiangse. These are the second and
third tributaries to the Chibkiang, of which mention
has been made already. Of course, as they divided at
this point, our boat dropped into the south-west branch,
where, after a few hours’ anchorage before the town, it
got under weigh about noon.

At 3 p.m. a heavy squall from the south-west came
down upon us, drifting before it clouds of white sand.
The terror among the boatmen in the crafts sailing up
and down was excessive. All made for the bank,
dropped anchor, and kept as snugly together as they
possibly could. On our left bank there were large
accumulations of exceedingly fine sand, and all around
the marked traces of extensive ravages occasioned by
severe inundations were too perceptible. A little before
sunset we sailed between three or four water-mills,
turned by the rapid stream, for grinding wheat and
paddy.

July 16.—Yesterday we made only seventeen miles,
and early came to anchor at Yangkiang, the boundary-
line of the Kinhwa and Keuchow departments. Re-
freshed by a good night’s rest, the men began to stir
at daybreak. After passing vast piles of rocks heaped
together along the right bank of the river, especially at
TS'IHTOO PAGODA. 259

Hoochin, after spying many temples, stained not as
usual with red or yellow, but whitewashed like plain cot-
tages, and after admiring the tidy and clean appearance
of the women in the villages, where they were meeting
in large numbers to wash their clothes in the bed of
the river,—at 10 a.m. we stopped for refreshment at the
Ts‘ihtoo pagoda.

The mid-stream there was shooting down at a fearful
rate. It was with some degree of anxiety I watched a
small boat flymg along the rapid under the manage-
ment of two youths working the scull. While I
looked on in breathless suspense, apprehensive of a
misfortune, a shriek of despair rent the air, as one of
the lads lost his hold and fell into the middle of the
stream. All screamed for help. Our boat was immov-
able, for it was at anchor. The only one at liberty was
that of a poor fisherman at a short distance. On per-
ceiving the case of distress, he left his net, and, with
the aid of his wife and boy of seven years of age, rowed
as fast as he could to the rescue of the drowning youth,
all the while shouting out to him, “Fear not, fear
not; keep your courage up.’ Had there been the
delay of half a minute, rescue would have been too late.
But the lad was saved,—the gloom that hung over every
countenance was suddenly broken,—all felt relieved
and thankful. I called the fisherman alongside, and
astonished him by giving him one dollar for his pains.
The master of the young apprentice who had been deli-
vered from a watery grave, on being informed of the
gift, came aboard, and went through various prostra-
tions’ in expression of his gratitude to the stranger
(little thinking he was a foreigner) for his unexpected
kindness.

At mid-day we came in sight of the chief town in the
district of Lung-yew, lying at the base of a hill on the
eastern bank of the river. The approach to it is denoted
by a pagoda upon a sandy plain, the Chang-yuen-t‘ah.

s 2
260 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

The town is very insignificant, though walled. The
number of its inhabitants does not exceed 5,000; and
the chief article of produce for which it has any note is
the common paper made from bamboo. Our sail to the
night’s anchorage at Pofang-tan did not exceed twelve
miles. The greater part of the route was lined on both
sides with large shady trees, chiefly the camphor and
tallow. As to difficulties in sailing, however, we had
never experienced greater than to-day, — what with
shallows, rapids, mill-ponds, rugged rocks, and incessant
hauling, bawling, and railing. During the latter part
of the day no less than twelve people, men and women,
were working the boat, nine dragging the tug-rope,
two poling it along, and one at the rudder; while all
kept shouting to each other, and venting forth torrents
of ill-nature and abuse.

On July 17th, we made only twenty-one miles of
progress, the weather continuing intensely hot, and the
passage up the river more than ever impeded by a series
of rapids, shallows, &c. The route between last night’s
anchorage and the city of Keuchow, where we rested a
little after mid-day, lies through a flat, level country.
The monotony of the course was occasionally relieved
by a few striking objects along the river-banks,—on
the right hand by gigantic rocks, on the left by remark-
able mounds of white sand, or here and there by
a solitary pagoda rising up as a watch-tower over the
surrounding plains. While the boat is making for
Keuchow, let me impose on the reader’s patience for a
few minutes in looking at my present whereabouts in
the heart of the Chinese empire. I have just passed a
pagoda,—the boat creeping up against a rapid stream,
nothing serving but the steady tug and haul of the men
upon the river-bank. What I would give to have the
luck of those people whose boats are swiftly gliding by,
borne down by the favourable currents from above!
In many of those boats I see passengers lounging
A SAILING RAFT. 261

about idle and indolent, some of the merchants return-
ing home with goods gotten at Canton, various speci-
mens of which foreign purchases I can detect arranged
on their decks. The sight of these articles,—how it
touches one up as he is travelling, a lonely Englishman
in the interior of China! What thoughts and feelings
arise about “auld lang syne,” such as could not be
suggested in his own native land,—such as meet with
no response amid the throngs around! But the reverie
into which one falls about the “homes and hearths of
England,” is broken in upon by the approach of several
large mandarin barges, conveying the officials of this
department into that, flying broad banners emblazoned
with the rank and titles of the official personages.
There sits his worship at the cabin door, fanning
himself and smoking his pipe. He is eyeing me,—is
struck with something un-Chinese about my face,
yet suspects not for an instant that I am a native
of that notorious country that has recently humbled
the pride of the Imperial Crown. Yet why should he
suspect me? Iam in a boat almost as good as his. I
too am fanning myself, drimking my tea, using my
chopsticks, and smoking my pipe, and withal have the
rag-tag and bob-tail of a genuine son of Han. So he
passes me with a look of indifference, as no longer
worthy of notice; for I am only of the common herd.
But what next? What is this coming down the river?
—a floating isle with huts and human beings uponit. It
is a large raft of wood transported from the interior
forests, requiring great care, time, and labour in its
navigation. Then, looking out ahead for the city of
Keuchow, which the boatmen are exceedingly anxious to
reach for an hour’s rest, one cannot help again remark-
ing how low the surface of the country stretches
beyond the banks of the river. At the same time, you
must admire the remarkable fringe of mountain-tops
that bounds the amphitheatre. Nothing but peaks are
262 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

peeping over the distant horizon, and pinnacles of all
shapes and dimensions. To the right, westward, there
are the mountains of Nganhwuy; ahead, or south of
us, those of Kiangse; but the most striking, to the
south-east, the heights of the Fuhkien ranges.

At length we came within hail of the chief town of
Keuchow department, a few hundred paces from the
river-side on the east bank, a very high bank. It had
a wall around about seven yards in height. We could
but see its western wall running direct for half a mile
from north to south. At the north corner of this face
it had a curiosity in the shape of a pagoda, miniature in
size, of seven stories, and of solid iron: and at the very
opposite end there was peering over the wall a dilapi-
dated pagoda of brickwork. This city, with a popu-
lation of 50,000 inhabitants, is chiefly important as the
official seat of a Taoutfai of three departments, which
will account for the large number of clumsy barges
and government boats along the river’s edge.

When we had come abreast of the city we were
interrupted by a floating bridge, thrown over the entire
breadth of the stream. It consisted of boats anchored
fast, chained together, and boarded with planks for
passengers and burden-bearers to cross. On paying
the usual toll of two cash (7} cash equal to one
farthing), a passage was made for the boat, which is
done by unloosing one of the linked barges. We
sailed on till we dropped anchor at 1 P.m., to give the
boatmen rest and shelter after half aday of extreme
toil under a furious blazing sun. They had a respite
till three o’clock, by which time they appeared refreshed
and prepared to get under weigh again. But the first
difficulty they met with was at the south end of the
city, where a most rapid shallow awaited to test the
temper and patience of all parties.

A mile farther on we came to a fork of the river,
in the vicinity of which is the Tungétsien-ling, famous
ORANGE GROVES. 2638

in the records of the Tartar dynasty for a three
years encampment of the then surviving forces enlisted
in support of the Ming rule, and for their final over-
throw in the year 1676, since which the conquerors
have till of late enjoyed undisturbed security and
quiet. At the point specified, the river divided into
two streams ;—the one on our left, the principal water-
course from the interior of China through the Fuhkien
province, having its rise in the Kiaoushan mountains
of that province. But the other channel, which trended
to the south-west, was that we had to take. This
branch, still called the Chihkiang, may be considered
the grand highway between Hangchow, Nanking, and
the southern and south-western parts of the empire,
as its waters pass directly through, or have direct com-
munications with the Chihkiang, Kiangse, Nganhwuy,
Kwangse, Canton, Szechuen, Kweichow, and Yunnan
provinces. The region, a little above the fork I have
pointed out, is famous for its oranges,—orange-groves
being seen everywhere upon the river-banks. I hap-
pened in the evening to land for a quiet stroll, while
they dragged the boat up the river, but lost myself in
one of these orange-yards. This threw the faithful,
trusty servants into some dismay. re long, however,
I recovered the track, and relieved my domestics of
suspense.

At sundown, the boat anchored for the night at
T's‘an-tsze-poo, the usual anchorage for passage-boats.

July 18.—To-day we expected by sunset to reach
the next landing-place, at Changshan; but what with a
tearing squall that drove us to the bank for two hours,
and numerous shallows, we could make only eighteen
miles, and, much to our mortification, had to come to
for the night five miles below that station. It was
another day of struggling up difficult and narrow
rapids. There was one that especially proved the
irritability and tricd the nerves of the men. The
264 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

channel of the river was mostly dried up except in the
middle, where there was a passage, but with room enough
for only one boat at a time to ascend or descend. To
descend was easy. Our lot was to ascend—terrible
work, to be sure, under a scorching sun, and the galling
fire of abuse from every side. Well, how can this be
tolerated, even in China? With so large an inland
trade upon one of her principal highways, how can the
government—how can the merchants of China tolerate
the perpetuation of such difficulties? Why not open,
and keep open, wide and deep channels in spots so
crammed with obstacles and impediments ?

Of the several places we touched at to-day, it was
impossible to obtain any information from the boat-
men; indeed, but for the “ Itinerary”? in my posses-
sion, I should have ‘slipped by without a knowledge
of their names. Whether boatmen or passengers that
frequent these parts, you seldom meet with men who
can tell you more than the names of the places from
which they started, and whither they are bound:
scarcely anything else. Sometimes they cannot name
the places.

July 19.—The boat got under weigh before cock-
crow, and by five o’clock in the morning was sheared
along the Sanlot‘an bank, the landing-place of the
Changshan town. The town itself lies about one mile
from the wharf. There are init several companies esta-
blished for transporting goods and passengers into the
Kiangse province, or across a land-passage of twenty-
four miles to Yuhshan, the next stage. These houses
have their respective agents at the anchorage, who look
out for traffic and passengers. My slumbers were
early disturbed by the voices of many candidates for
employ. The firm Wang-luy-sien secured our patronage
on engaging to supply us with two covered chairs for
self and guide, and two uncovered ones for cook and
boy, besides five bearers for the luggage.
. A TRIP BY LAND. 265

Having arranged our traps and equipped ourselves
with food and clothing for an overland route of eight
hours, we were stepping out of the boat, which, during
the last eight days, had carried us on 200 miles of
our trip, when the boatmen assailed us for donations
additional to the bill of fare, perquisites, &c., settled at
Ekiaou. Each one demanded something more for him-
self—one for being captain, another as boatman, a third
for looking after the baggage in the hold, &c., like boots
or butlers in an English hotel. At length we got rid
of these suppliants, and by 9 a.m. were ensconced
in shabby, hard-bottomed sedans. In half an hour
we reached the suburbs close to the east gate of
Changshan.

In passing along I counted no less than twenty
“transit-company offices,’ in connection with which
there were inns where any disposed to tarry a while
might have board and lodging. We stopped a short
time at the Wang-luy-sien office, where we completed
arrangements for the transit of party and chattels. The
building where this company holds its office, &c., is
large and commodious. From what I heard, the firm
is in good repute; and from the treatment I received
in their house, I myself can bear witness of their kind,
honest, and obliging conduct.

Entering the east gate, we passed the provost’s
official residence, went down the principal market-
street, a long, busy thoroughfare, caught sight of
numerous “ salt-depositories,’” and got out at the west
gate, where fine rural scenery met the eye.

Having mentioned salt-depdts, I may remark that
these are let out by government on purchase by private
individuals. At Changshan they are numerous, as the
salt used by the inhabitants’ of Kiangse passes chiefly
from the coast of Chihkiang, and must cross over
through Changshan. The entire salt monopoly of the
empire is under the control of the Imperial government,
266 REAL LIFE IN CHINA. .

which maintains on this service a large suite of officers
and excisemen. The common salt used by the myriads
in China is procured along the maritime coasts east and
south of the empire. The plan pursued in the manu-
facture of it, as I have had the opportunity frequently
of observing, is to level the ground along the margin of
the sea, or the banks of rivers running close to the
ocean, and at high-tide to draw sluices so as to let sea-
water in sufficient to cover the face of the levelled
ground. The dams are then stopped up, and after an
interim, the water being all evaporated by the heat of
the sun, a thickish crust is left upon the surface of the
field, which white coat, on being scraped together, is
laid up in stacks. This is the property of government,
by whom it is farmed out to merchants, who alone hold
the monopoly, and thereby make immense profits.
Accordingly, no salt may legally be removed out of
the maritime provinces without a distinct permit; still,
there is a most extensive smuggling-trade of this article
carried on.

In a short time I was fairly on the road to Yuhshan,
the chair-coolies carrying my sedan firmly, and trudg-
ing at a steady pace,—lofty mountains in the distance,
high hills in the neighbourhood, and a great deal of
rising ground dotted with graves, or covered with a
blue slate-rock. These graves are of a construction
different from what I had seen in Canton, &c.—built
on the ground, shaped like small houses, with open
windows, and capable of holding three, four, and five
coffins. Along the entire highway from Changshan to
Yuhshan, twenty-four miles, there was a good beaten
path, fourteen feet in width, mostly laid with a kind
of flint-stone, and frequently shaded with magnificent
tallow-trees. The road throughout had two unbroken
trains of coolies, the one going, the other coming, car-
rying sedans, passengers, goods, and burdens. Stone
pillars stood on the roadside with four characters en-
COOLY-HIRE. 267

graven on them, to say “this is the highway (from
Chihkiang) to eight provinces,” viz.—Kiangse, Hoonan,
Hoopih, Kwangse, Kwangtung, Yunnan, Szechuen, and
Kweichow. As travelling here is kept up through the
night too, light-beacons are stuck up along the road-
sides. Tivery third mile had its caravansary, chiefly
kept by old women, where the chair-bearers could whiff
their pipes, drink tea (such horrible stuff, too, for the
land of tea!), and take a short nap. The half-way
house for dinner was at Ts‘aoufang, which we reached
at 1 p.m. Here we had a quarrel with the coolies
about the chop-house to be patronized.

As for the cooly-hire upon this thoroughfare, it may
not be useless to remark that, from inquiries I have
made, the system of porterage appears to be pretty
regular. The charges do not vary much during the
year, except from the fifth to the eighth moon, when
the people are principally engaged in field-work, at
which time thé fare rises. For instance, for eight months
in the year covered sedans from Changshan direct to
Yuhshan, inclusive of cooly-hire, cost but half a dollar
each; but during the season above specified (under the
provisions of which I had to fall on this the 19th of July),
the charge is one dollar. Thus, the highest rate does
not exceed five shillings for twenty-four miles! The
bearers invariably expect something extra at the end of
the journey for “wine-money.” The luggage-carriers
rank under four classes. The best and most expedi-
tious are allowed to carry no more than 100 pounds per
load, and engage to carry it to Yuhshan within eight or
ten hours, at the rate of seven cash, or a farthing per
pound. ‘This I give from my own “ pocket experience.”
The luggage-train is attended by a security, or a trusty
man in the employment of the transit-company.

En route we came upon a prominent pass that lies
across the publicroad. We had already passed one about
seven miles out of Changshan. This second one was
268 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

seven miles farther on, called the Pingfung-kwan, or the
“Folding-screen Pass,’”’ that had been repaired in the
fourteenth year of Taou-kwang. It is formed of a ledge
of massive rocks right across the path, like a screen
to separate one part of a building from another. To this
notion it owes its name. Besides, it is considered the
grand boundary between the two provinces,—Chihkiang,
which we are on the point of leaving behind us, and
Kiangse, which we are about to enter. The security
of this pass has always been deemed of first importance,
especially to keep the province of Kiangse from all
incursions from the north-east. At the breaking up of
the Ming dynasty, the Tartars found this to be one of
the most difficult passages in their career of conquest.
And hitherto, in order to keep the overland route be-
tween Chihkiang and Kiangse free from the depreda-
tions of prowling banditti, a military guard has been
constantly stationed here. In a native work, there is
one section on “the dangerous routes of Chihkiang
province,” of which “ there are said to be three,—one
by sea and along the coast, another upon its rivers and
lakes, and a third over the mountains. On the first
you are in danger of attacks from piratical craft. The
second swarms with all sorts of smugglers. The last
route is frequented by bands of mountain robbers.”
The Changshan pass is mentioned as belonging to the
third description. The paragraph concludes with these
words :—“ Ah! the load of anxiety that must lie upon
the mind of the viceroy of Chihkiang! What with
setting a coast-guard to free our waters from pirates who
damage our junk-trade, and with appointing a police to
keep a strict surveillance over the smugglers of pro-
hibited goods, and with putting down the lawless ban-
ditti on the frontiers of the province, his Excellency
surely cannot have an easy life of it! If one should
say, ‘He need not be a man of great intelligence or
much tact,’ we have only to reply, ‘ How can this be ?’”
A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF CHIHKIANG. 269

While lingering at the Folding-screen Pass, reluctant
to quit the province of Chihkiang, on whose highway I
had during the last eleven days travelled 360 miles,
crossed six of its shires, passed through thirteen of its
boroughs, and visited nine of its walled towns, kind
reader, indulge me with a parting look at the opulent
and populous region behind, one of the finest of the
eighteen provinces of China.

Chihkiang, laid down on European maps, comprises
four degrees of latitude, and nearly four of longitude,—
extending in north latitude from 27° 30’ to 31° 15’, and
in longitude from 118° to 121° 50’ east of Greenwich ;
its greatest breadth measuring (by Chinese calculation)
260 English miles from east to west, and its extreme
length, north and south, about 380. By its geogra-
phical position it is bounded on the north by Kiangsoo,
the chief province in the empire and the most famed
for its wealth, luxury, and products; on the south
by the province of Fuhkien, peopled by an ambitious
race; on the east by a wild rugged coast; and on the
west by the provinces of Nganhwuy and Kiangse, the
natives of which latter are for the most part poor,
lowly, and unpretending. The area of Chihkiang (over
which we take this rapid glance) is large enough to afford
room for our Emerald Isle to float in it, or Scotland,
with all her islets, could, without any inconvenience,
be set down within its limits; or, still to vary the com-
parison, it is equal to the entire territory of Portugal,
or twice the size of the kingdom of Denmark. In short,
it embraces land almost sufficient to contribute one
acre to each individual in its population, which, by the
last census, exceeds twenty-six millions of souls.

To take a bird’s-eye view, you find this not a petty
kingdom; marked off as it 1s into seventy-seven cantons
or districts, which again are distributed among eleven
counties or departments, chiefly watered by the river
we have sailed upon, and its large tributaries. These
270 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

separate divisions have their own corps of municipal
officers, under the rule of a governor, who, with his
suite, including members of the financial, judicial, mili-
tary, and civil boards, resides at the provincial capital,
Hangchow. The climate being mild, the face of the
country well watered, and the soil fertile, the products
of the province are rich and abundant, especially its
silk, in the quality and quantity of which it competes
with its neighbour Kiangnan; and the manufacturers
being rather expert and skilful, the workmanship is
fine,—especially the silks, damasks, and senshaws, which
are unsurpassed. The maritime trade is limited, but
the internal traffic very large.

Of the character of the people, all we are prepared
to say is, that the northern departments (approaching
as they do Soochow, the seat of Chinese literature,
fashion, and dissipation) can, for wealth, learnmg, and
refinement, vie with any other part of the empire; but
the southern counties, bounded by the rugged coast or
bordering on the wild lands which separate the province
from Fuhkien and Kiangse, descend in the scale of
respectability and polish. Perhaps a tolerably correct
view of the people’s character may be had from the
opinion recorded in the official Red Book that is
published every quarter. Take, for instance, the six
departments we have traversed the last eleven days,
begining with our starting-point, Ningpo, and tra-
velling southward to where we now stand, and let us
see what this official document says :—‘“ The natives in
the Ningpo department are given to the culture either
of fields or of letters. Their most profitable business
is in fisheries, or in salt-works. The people of Shaou-
hing-foo are diligent, frugal, fond of learning, and by
no means dependent on trade alone. Its neighbour
county, Hangchow, is famous for having all the greatest
as well as the dearest curiosities of the world: mer-
chants from all quarters flock hither. The manners of
CHIHKIANG, A THEATRE OF GRAND acts. 271

the people are polished, and their education of the first
stamp: it has crowds of diterati in its population.”
Then, coming southward, we read of the department of
Yenchow, that “its scholars are fond of their books,
while the lower classes are active in agriculture.” The
people of Kinhwa are said to be of two distinct orders:
the educated classes, guileless and sincere; and the
commonalty, eager in pursuit of husbandry. The
natives of Keuchow, the last of the six departments I
have visited, are described as “trusty and faithful,
though rather rough and unpolished in manners.”

Chihkiang province has, from olden times, been the
theatre upon which some of the principal acts in
Chinese history have been performed. For example,
the modern traveller is informed, as he is passing the
city of Shaouhing, that at no great distance there is a
spot which tradition has rendered famous, and yearly
donations from the Imperial family have hallowed, as the
tomb of the patriarch King Yaou, who drained off the
waters of the Deluge. Again, during the division of the
country into the “three kingdoms,” the Woo state
occupied this whole province, and within its territories
carried on its fiercest contests; and not long ago the
greatest power of the West, Britain, in her war with
China, transferred the seat of contest to this same pro-
vince; by which means. its islands and strongest posi-
tions all fell into the hands of the foreign foe. By the
treaty of 1842, one of its chief ports, Ningpo, was
opened to all foreigners; and may we not hope that
that friendly alliance with foreign powers may be per-
petuated, free intercourse with the various parts of this
large province gradually secured, and thus an entrance
gained for Christianity and her handmaids ?
272

CHAPTER ITI.

TRIP THROUGH KIANGSE AND CANTON PROVINCES—FROM THE BOUNDARY
BETWEEN CHIHKIANG AND KIANGSE TO YUHSHAN—FROM YUSHAN TO
THE CAPITAL OF KIANGSE, THE CITY OF NANCH‘ANG—FROM THE CITY
OF NANCH‘ANG TO THE TOWN OF NANK‘ANG—THE OVERLAND ROUTE
ACROSS THE MEILING PASS—IROM MEILING PASS TO NANHIUNG—
FROM NANHIUNG TO CANTON AND HONG-KONG.

Juty 19.—To resume the thread of travel :—At five in
the afternoon the city of Yuhshan hove in sight upon
the brow of a hill,—proof positive we had got fairly into
the province of Kiangse. It was no little relief to see
myself near the close of the day’s ride; particularly as
the bamboo sedan was one easy only for the carrier, but
not for the carried during an eight hours’ session, and
after the bursting of a thunderstorm over-head, which,
in a tremendous splash of rain, entirely swept off the
chair-cover.

Yuhshan has a wall measuring one mile and a
quarter in circumference (first erected three hundred
years ago). The town looks as if built of red sand-
stone, and is decorated with famous large trees that
cast a delightful shade on the houses underneath.
Within an hour we were in the heart of the suburbs.
We crossed the Tung-tsin bridge. Originally this was
a floating bridge, but so often carried away by inunda-
tions, that the authorities hit on the economical expe-
dient of throwing up a stone bridge. It is the finest
specimen of the kind in China that had hitherto fallen
under my eye, with wide and lofty arches built of
massive stone, probably of recent construction. We
took the east gate, that opened into a pretty, neat, clean
town. Yuhshan was perhaps the nicest-looking town
I had yet passed along the tour, and, being an inter-
mediate entrepdt between the southern and south-west
TOWN OF YUH-SHAN. 273

provinces, and the north and north-east of the empire,
its great population was in active employment from sun-
rise to sunset. Raiding past the mayor’s office, we kept
on the chief street for more than half a mile. By
sunset we got to the west gate, outside of which is the
Lo-min-wang establishment, the house where we had
engaged to lodge for the night. I believe this is the
most respectable hotel in the place, and carries on an
extensive business in the transit line. We supped
here ; but, having been furnished with a boat to take us
six or seven hundred miles farther on to Nan-ngan-foo,
we immediately embarked, as we preferred sleeping on
board the boat.

July 20.—On waking up I found the boat still lying
at the back door of the hotel. Like the rest of the
passenger-craft at the place, it did not look so well nor
did it afford such accommodation as the junk we had
jately quitted. Its roof-matting was frail, slight, and
porous, promising little shelter from rain and sun.
Nevertheless we must put up with it, though we had
about seven hundred miles before us, or twenty-eight
successive stages, till we should enter the province of
Canton. When we were on the point of starting at
noon, I was greatly mortified at finding the small
tributary stream leading out of Yuh-shan quite shallow,
in some places dried up. On this account we were
under the necessity of unloading the boat for the
purpose of shifting the luggage into a smaller craft,
which should take it to Ho-k‘ow, about fifty miles
ahead.

At last we managed to start by twelve o’clock. For
the first three miles the boat got aground on three
distinct sand-banks, each of which could afford a
narrow passage of only three yards’ width. The sight
of stark-naked men working their boats to and fro
under the blazing sun, without a rag to cover their
shame, arrested and disgusted the eye. The drought

t
274 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

of the season being severe, the farmers were most
busily engaged in irrigating their fields out of the
passing river. This of course made the river shallower.
The ordinary water-wheel was everywhere upon the
banks, worked either by the hand or the foot, the
workmen cautious enough during this terrible scorch-
ing to spread an awning overhead. Where the fields
were lying in terraces one above another, the higher
terraces were watered by working the water up from a
lower shelf of land already supplied from the river.
After this fashion, land three, four, or five terraces
high, was irrigated by half a dozen water-wheels placed
at some elevation the one above the other. The most
novel spectacle of the sort was that of huge wheels,
20 ft. in diameter, turned by the passing current. To
the several paddles of these tremendous wheels small
buckets were lashed, which, as the wheels revolved, got
filled with water down below, and then rising up to the
top, emptied their contents into a trough above, or an
aqueduct leading to a neighbouring field, perhaps two
or three thousand feet distant.

July 21.—Having to follow the Yuhshan stream,
called the Shang-yaou-kiang, we made more way than
usual, and came to anchor by nightfall at the well-
known mart, Ho-k‘ow.

To journalize the notes of the day :—On starting early,
we kept south-west for Shang-yaou, the chief town of
Kwang-sin-fu. We first glided down the “sandy brook”
named Sha-ke, that comes from a hill-summit, fifteen
miles north, famous for producing the fine soft stone
of which their best ink-slabs are made. As I stood on
the prow of the boat, looking on the surrounding land,
the eye roamed over an uninteresting level country,
and espied a few peaks and hill-tops in the distance.
On the whole, perhaps it may be said, the description
given by a native topographer respecting the figuration
of this shire is pretty accurate: “The mountains are
JOTTINGS OF A DAY. 275

lofty ; the water is clear; east and south particularly
there are commanding positions.” Of these mountains
two in particular were attractive ; the one to the north-
west of Shang-yaou city, “the Ling-shan ;” the other
behind us, a range of irregular and curious heights,
“the Nan-ping,” or “the southern screen.” In the
latter range there is a remarkable peak, called “the
Wolf’s Tusk.” The former is considered one of the
citadels of the Kiangse province, and, in the catalogue
of “the lions of China,” marked off by the Taouist
religionists, this range of heights stands No. 33. It
has seventy-two pinnacles on it, the loftiest of which
has a walk from its foot measuring 70,000 feet in
length, and the entire extent of the range is about
thirty miles. Upon the loftiest elevation of said range
a wonderful lagoon is reported to exist, famous for
strange wood, curious weeds, and splendid crystals to
be found in it, of which last they used, during the
Sung dynasty (a.p. 900—1200), to send a yearly tribute
to the court of ten vases made of it.

Shang-yaou is a city built close to the northern edge
of the river, —a large, fine-looking place; its wall is
thirty feet high, three miles in circumference, and
appears to have been lately repaired with two rows of
materials, the lower of red rock, the upper of blue brick.
The annals of the locality mention several instances
of the destruction of the city by inundations. There
cannot be much bustle among the people, who, in their
ways and manners, give you the notion that they are
a “ take-it-easy” race; large-footed young women
walking about at pleasure, and old matrons riding in
one-wheeled barrows moved by young men. The river
opposite the town is 400 feet wide. There is a floating
bridge of forty boats linked together, boarded over,
and lying across the whole width for the accommo-
dation of foot-passengers. After leaving the city, we
passed a large boat anchored near the middle of the

TR
276. REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

stream, matted over like a cottage, and with wheels
working on both sides of it, like a small steamboat:
it was a flour-mill. The wheels, being moved by the
current of the river, set the inside machinery a-going,
for pounding grain.

A little onwards, three miles from Shang-yaou, on
the same side of the river, there is a seven-storied
octagonal pagoda, from each corner of whose separate
stories there are bells hanging which ring with every
passing breeze.

Along the day’s route, especially between Shang-yaou
and Ho-k‘ow, the mountain soil appeared to be of a
reddish hue, and the rocks sandstone. The fluvial
deposit on both sides of the river was remarkable:
embankments of fine dust rose on all hands. The
high rocks were of a singular figure; being of exceed-
ingly soft material, they had been rubbed or washed
down by frequent and violent inundations into the
most fantastic shapes, called by the natives “burnt or
scorched rocks.” The low hills, all day in sight, were
generally covered with rocks, sometimes with trees or
brushwood, though not unfrequently bare of all vege-
tation, and drilled throughout into caves and caverns,
usually tenanted by gipsies and houseless wanderers.

July 22.—Ho-k‘ow, named so from being “ the point
where several rivers meet,” has by its local position
gained a great repute. It lies north latitude 28° 27’,
east longitude 118° 6’. South-east from it there is a
land route 120 miles in extent, leading to the black-
tea districts of Fuhkien, on which account it has become
a grand depét for all black teas destined either for
the Canton or the northern marts. There is a large
crockery business here also. All this accounted for the
thousands of boats that lay here when I visited the
mart,—boats of every size and shape, evidently from
various parts of the country, with crowds of merchants
who had flocked hither from the four points of the
HO-K‘OW, A GREAT MART, 277

compass. There was every sign of a flourishing trade.
While immense cargoes of tea, &c., were shipped for
Canton, an equal number of boats were returning laden
with foreign goods. Most of the warehouses were old,
capacious, and lofty, some of them of five stories. The
native products of the place, that are sold in large quan-
tities, are hemp, cane, tobacco, tea, paper, “ white-lily
seeds”? and flour from the root of the same, grass-cloth,
the finest edible bamboo-shoots, and flours from various
grains. The “Red Book” says of the people, “The
educated part of the community is marked for tem-
perance and charity, and the lower classes are faithful
and trustworthy.” At this place I made various pur-
chases of provisions for the rest of the journey, which
were got at a moderate price. I bought 460 pieces of
fine porcelain, cups and saucers, plates, bowls, vases, &c.,
for only thirty-six dollars. I had my head shaved by
one of the town barbers, who felt much pity for me
when he found my tail come off! The Taiping rebels
are said recently to have taken possession of this place
and its neighbourhood.

Being anxious to reach Canton by the middle of
August, I stipulated with the boatmen, and, by an
additional fee of twenty dollars, secured five more
workmen, who engaged to work day and night. We
set sail at mid-day.

A little after leaving Ho-k‘ow, there were on the
opposite shore nine extraordinary-looking rocks, which
it was impossible not to remark. They stood detached,
of a deep black colour, of enormous size, and of the
‘shape of a huge bowl turned upside-down. Seen at
a distance, they are supposed by natives to resemble
the great stone lions that figure at the court gates of
the higher officials; and the name given to the group
is “ The Nine Lions fording the River.” This part of
the river itself is called “The Lion River.”

Before we proceed further, it will not be amiss to
278 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

allude to Kingtih-chin, a large market-town, which
communicates directly with Ho-k‘ow, and contributes
greatly to its business and traffic. It is one of four
famous interior marts of the empire, lies thirty-five
miles north-west of Ho-k‘ow, and is far famed for being
the chief manufactory of porcelain. It is situated north
latitude 29° 16’, east longitude 117° 14’, in the depart-
ment of Jaouchow (which we are just about to sail across),
and within the jurisdiction of its district Fowliang. It
is described by those that have visited the place as an
immense village, or unwalled town rather, stretching
three miles along a beautiful river, and flanked by a
semicircle of fine mountains, from which much of the
earth required for the ware is brought. A native writer
observes, “ The earth and water of the vicinity are very
suitable for making pottery.” The same authority
enters into minute details of the great mart, and says
it first came into notice 850 years ago,* when the Sung
dynasty occupied the throne, and in the reign of Kingtih,
who established it as a porcelain mart, and gave his own
name to it, “the market-town of Kingtih.” Of course,
the capabilities of the place for the manufacture and
merchandise of the ware had been tested long before
his Majesty condescended to honour such a spot with
his royal favour and letters patent. During the next
five centuries, the credit and reputation of the place
grew by degrees until about a.p. 1510, when the
eleventh ruler of the Ming line set on foot a particular
manufactory for the making of crockery for the Impe-
rial service. This was the very glorification of King-
tih-chin. After this, separate works were erected for
the manufacture of official ware and crockery for the
common people. If rumour is to be relied on, there
are at least 500 kilns constantly at work, “on the fire
of which,” say they, “the workmen wait as anxiously

For Fowliang annals say since the sixth century of our era.
FOUR GREAT MARKETS OF THE INTERIOR. 279

as men do for rain in the time of drought.” The popu-
lation of the place, though given out to be quite one
million, may be nearer the truth if set down at half
a million, which is borne out by the common saying,
«At King-tih they daily consume 10,000 piculs of rice
and 1,000 pigs.’ The peculiar ware of this manufac-
turing town, is remarkable for its pureness and glaze. It
is made chiefly for native supply. There is not much
prepared for the foreign markets, as their limited
demand is met out of Canton and Fuhkien, each of
which provinces has its own porcelain manufactory.
Neither the Canton nor the Fuhkien ware, however,
can compete with the Kingtih porcelain, although they
are obliged to hire their best workmen from this mart.
The material and mode of manufacture are minutely
described in a native work of four volumes, copious
extracts from which are given in “ Duhalde,” vol. ii.
pp. 311— 354, and abridgments thereof in Davis,
Grosier, Abel, and other modern writers.

I have above stated that Kingtih is one of “the four
marts in China.” The seaports are of course excepted,
their commerce being almost confined to foreign ex-
ports and imports; as well as the small local markets,
which, though numberless, have only the sales and
purchases of their immediate neighbourhood. But
“the four markets ” particularly referred to are spoken
of among the natives themselves as the four most im-
portant and convenient for commerce in the interior of
the Chinese empire, having intercommunications, and
affording facilities for transit between every division
of country through the eighteen provinces of China
within the Great Wall, and in the colonial territories
without.

Having entered into a few particulars of Kingtih,
one of these interior markets, 1t remains to mention
the other three. One is Choo-sien, of the Honan pro-
vince, twelve miles south of its capital, K‘aifung, in
280 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

-N. lat. 34° 10', E. long. 114° 23’. The native writers
say: “ Here is the point where travellers and mer-
chants meet in passing to all parts of the empire,
whether by land or water, and ships from the south,
cars from the north, assemble here, and from this
diverge to their separate destinations.” Next, there
is Fuh-shan, twelve miles from Canton, which we shall
touch at on our way to that city. And then there is
Hank‘ow, in the province of Hoopih, which is situate in
N. lat. 80° 34’, E. long. 114° 10’, on the south bank of
the “ Ocean-child,” 250 miles from Nanking, and 500
from the mouth of the Yangtsze-kiang. Though a little
below the city of Hanyang, to which department it
belongs, it is contiguous and stretches along the river-
bank right opposite to Woochang, the capital of
Hoopih, both banks of the river being separated by a
breadth of three miles. According to native statements,
the concourse of people and the commerce carried on
here must be enormous, which is corroborated by some
foreign travellers that have visited the spot in disguise.
It is matter of regret, though not of surprise, that
these four marts have recently been visited, and it is to
be feared devastated, by the marauding mobs under the
Taiping flag.

To return from my long digression :—before sunset we
reached another district town, Yih-yang; but, unlike the
rest we had visited, its walls were crumbled and had
fallen, the place itself mean-looking, and the people few
and poor. On approaching the spot, I could not but
observe a massive rock rising up, close to the wateyr’s
edge, perhaps ten yards high, in shape like a huge
store, and called Tseentsang, ‘the cash-store.” It owes
its notoriety to a tradition, dated from the fifth century,
about a poor fisherman who went on a day’s work
early in the morning, and, on looking into a gaping
fissure in the rock, to his no small delight he found a
bag of money. And, although one did not see “ the stone
A GUARD-HOUSE. 281

house” (as another curiosity in the neighbourhood is
called), yet, from the character of the place one might
almost credit a story given of a native cf the town,
who, to shun society (somewhat like the cynic philo-
sopher of Sinope that lived in a tub), cut a cavity out of
a great rock, and made it a sort of circular granary in
which to conceal himself, shutting himself in from all
intercourse with his fellow-creatures and rejecting every
offer of official promotion.

July 23.—This was an unusually fine day, though
devoid of incident. As for scenery, there was scarcely
one hand’s breadth of rising ground in sight to relieve
the flat level on both sides of the river. The first part
of the description given in the topography of the coun-
try was verified by the observations of the day, “that
its plains are extensive and its streams very large ;”
but I cannot confirm the latter part of the sketch
given in that work, that “it lies as a sort of cap, or
fine and elegant ornament, upon the southern borders
of the provinces of Kiangnan and Hoopih!” The only
breaks upon the monotony of the day were :— First, on
sweeping past the walled town Kweike, we looked, but
looked in vain, for a spot mentioned in the Chinese
itinerary, as “ the Kweikuh hill,” chiefly celebrated for
an “immense cavern, measuring a mile or two in area,
capable of holding several thousand people, but having
the light so excluded that you are obliged in entering to
carry torches with you.” Second, a cormorant-fishery
carried on as in other places above specified. And
third, a salt-guard station, which we passed at Shihkang,
or three miles above the town Nganjin. The yellow
Imperial standard flying over the guard-house, could be
seen a good way off, with the three characters inscribed
on it, Fung-che-sze, “ under Imperial orders to check
smuggling.” The object osteusibly is to prevent all
kinds of smuggling of salt from the sea-coast of
Chihkiang into Kiangse. When our boat had come
282 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

abreast of the station, we had to lie to for one of the
detective force who boarded us, and rummaged among
our goods and chattels, but went away empty-handed.

Here we enter a new tract of country, of old known
by several names, but latterly adopting what is con-
sidered more appropriate to its fertility and productive-
ness, the name “ Jaou county.” Of its people they say,
“Their habits and temper are remarkable for openness
and generosity, as the soil is for its productiveness,
and the higher classes are educated and refined.” At mid-
day we passed Nganjin, a borough town, which when
first built was unwalled. About three hundred years
ago, when a notorious bandit, Yaouyuen, made fearful
depredations, it was deemed prudent to defend it.
They accordingly ran up a mud wall round it, capped
with stones and bricks. Still, judging from the general
aspect of the place, with its low buildings, dilapidated
walls, and scanty population, the dreary conclusion is
forced on a traveller, that it must be wretched and poor
in the extreme. To-day my teachers and servants got
on with some difficulty in communications with the
boatmen, the majority of whom smattered a strange
Canton-Kiangse gibberish.

July 24.—We encountered a fearful thunder-storm
last night, and a second edition this morning; after
which the boatmen got the boat under weigh. Fortu-
nately wind and current favoured us in hurrying out of
a district which, begging “the Red Book’s” pardon, is
the most flat and uninteresting, perhaps, that I have
had to cross. For the first part of the day, along thirty
miles we sailed over, the banks were low, country level,
fields nothing but millet, cotton, or rice, mountains
remote, villages scattered, human beings scarce, birds
and beasts scanty. The peculiar products of the neigh-
bourhood were pottery of various kinds, tea, a peculiar
fine fish called “ silver-fish,” and a singular material
named ‘ plum-cloth.” A little after noon we managed
THE POYANG LAKE. 283

to reach a small harbour, on the north-east edge of the
Poyang lake, into which the river, that has brought us
with rapidity from Ho-k‘ow, empties itself. But we
were unable to purchase any provisions whatever at this
place. The point at which we entered the lake was
Kwantang, on the east limb of the Povang, about six
miles from the last-mentioned station. Here the water
was by no means shallow, close to the brink measuring
fifteen feet deep. We took a westerly course, intending
to sail across a distance of twelve miles, to get into the
stream that leads from the south-westedge to Nanch‘ang,
the capital of the province. A light breeze, however,
swept us up to the northward, towards a high mountain
lying in the centre of the lake. On the western shore
chains of high mountains rose up in the distance. The
face of the lake was sprinkled over with islets, and
dotted with little hills. It was not a little enlivening to
watch numerous boats, and occasionally a large junk,
sailing about upon this inland sea. By native measure-
ments the Poyang lake is 140 miles in circumference,
—its greatest width, east to west, twelve miles, and
length, north to south, ninety miles. Four different
counties meet in the centre, and the waters of three
provinces flow into its basin,—the streams from Keu-
chowfoo, in Chihkiang; from Jaouchow, in Kiangse ;
and from Hwuychow, in Nganhwuy ; and at the upper or
northern end, the lake pours its contents into the great
Yang-tsze-kiang.

As night-shades fell rapidly upon us, we were kept
from pursuing further observations. Occasionally ducks
were to be seen floating about on the surface of the
waters. The lake abounds in capital fish. Upon the
banks, there is a deep chocolate-coloured mud, used for
making a peculiar kind of pottery exported in large
quantities from these parts. The vicinity of the lake is
also said to abound with granite rocks, which supply
some of the matériel for their porcelain manufactories.
284 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

July 25 opened with a dusky, drizzling morn.
During the whole day we were travelling in the Nan-
chang department, which native writers portray as being
remarkable for the rivers that roll through its territo-
ries. The great Poyang lake stretches along its north-
east bounds, and the eastern border of the Hoopih pro-
vince fringes its western. It is commanded by the city
of Nanchang, the south-east capital of the empire.
This city, according to the most recent observations, lies
north latitude 28° 87’ 12”, and east longitude 115°48'17”,
or 855 miles south-west of Peking. By 9 a.m. we had
evidence sufficient that we were approaching the capital,
which, being 600 miles on our trip, was our half-way
house to Canton. At Kiang-kow, a few miles out of
Nanchang, there were two novelties en passant : the one,
a man sailing in a tub across the river, a mile in width ;
the other, a spectacle of two droves of horned cattle,
fifty a drove.

At 3 p.m. we were off one of the principal mattoes of
Nanchang city ; where there were lying junks of enor-
mous magnitude, for the carriage chiefly of grain and
tribute to Peking, and equally large pleasure-boats to
be let out on hire.

The suburbs of this provincial city are extensive,
though rather disappointing to one who had heard
marvellous things of Nanchang capital. Large por-
tions of the extramural buildings were in complete
ruin, showing traces of some recent devastation by
flood; old houses, government granaries, &c., were
scattered about the outer suburbs. The city itself was
an irregular polygon, with six gates, the larger side
towards the river, and the circuit of the walls about
54 miles.

At the earliest convenience we laid in a stock of
provisions, and, having but a short time to spare, I
hired two covered sedans to espy the city in company
with my old guide. The city is situated upon the east
CAPITAL OF KIANGSE. 285

bank of the Chang river. Entering in by the west
gate, whose designation was tastefully put over it, “The
Chang-kiang Gate,” 7. e. “ the gate on the banks of
the river Chang,” we passed through the principal
thoroughfares. The streets were broader than usual in
Chinese towns, and the shops looked fine, large, and
clean. As it was raining, the bazaars were not crowded,
though they were amply supplied with various kinds
of goods. The people seemed generally well dressed,
and the few women that ventured out remarkably
good-looking. We made for the east gate, and passed
by the several offices of the city mayor, the chief
judge, and the provincial viceroy, each one having a
massive showy gateway thrown up in front. The high
officers resident here are the lieutenant-governor,
literary chancellor, a colonel, a treasurer, a judge, a
grain and a salt commissioner. This is the chief seat of
civil administration, courts of law, and various depart-
ments of public business for a population almost equal
to the last census of Great Britain. The capital,
though an entrepdt rather than a manufacturing city,
is the centre of education, fashion, conveniences, and
luxuries, from which at least seventy-six country towns
of fourteen counties are supplied.

We intended taking a round in the Pih-hwa-chow,
“the islet of all kinds of flowers,” extensive pleasure-
grounds near the east gate; but the rain, as well as
the rapid approach of the hour for departure, debarred
us a ramble through these gardens. Here every visitor
is pointed to a tablet, upon which there is inscribed
what is considered a remarkable saying of General
Changching, of the Sung dynasty (the eleventh century),
who laid out a lagoon in these grounds for boat-racing,
and proclaimed to his countrymen his firm opinion,
that “ before one talks of military affairs, he must first
of all be skilled in naval tactics.” Returning by the
south gate, we observed a small pagoda with an exceed-
286 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

ingly bright steeple. Not far from it is a famous

‘ iron pillar,” cast by a native a long time since, and
set up over the mouth of a well for the benevolent
object of checking the noxious influences supposed to
issue from beneath out of “the cavern of dragons.”
The pillar is now inclosed within the precincts of a
temple.

By sunset we found ourselves at the west gate again.
Just outside we passed the Tangwang hall, one of the
oldest and the most reputed buildings in Nanchang.
It was originally erected in the middle of the seven-
teenth century by Kaoutsung, of the Tang dynasty,
“in memoriam” of the elevation of one of his sons to
the governorship of the principality. The base of the
building is adorned with trees and flowers most taste-
fully arranged. Besides smaller tablets stuck up in
various parts of the hall, its central wall is covered
with poetic effusions and original scraps. There is one
literary piece in particular, the narrative of which pro-
duction is related by the natives with great zest. It
appears that some time ago a governor, who had repaired
the edifice, opened it with due pomp and ceremony,
and appointed a feast to be held within the walls that
was to last for nine days. Being anxious to embrace
this as an occasion for the display of his son-in-law’s
scholastic attainments, he got a fine literary article
stealthily prepared to commemorate the opening of
the hall, which he wished should be produced at the
height of the festal season by his son-in-law, as an
extempore effysion, to startle the guests and draw forth
their applause. Of the diterati invited to the feast
there was a young man of poor parentage, who, pre-
vious to the festival, was under the necessity of going
home to visit his father two hundred miles away from.
the provincial capital. However, after reaching his
father’s domicile, a water elf came to him in a dream
upon the night previous to the grand festival, and
© RAW-RICE DEPTIS.” 287

assured him that, if he would start instantly, she would
aid him with fair wind and tide to reach Nanchang by
next morning. He consented, followed her advice, and
returned in time to meet the jovial crowd. After all
had been regaled with wine, the noble host called on
each of the learned guests by name to write off a piece
in commemoration of the event to celebrate which they
were then assembled. Considering the imposing pomp
of the spectacle, the number of scholars present, and
the high character of their host, each guest in turn
declined, until this youth’s name was called out, when,
to the amazement of the governor, he answered the
challenge, and began to write off-hand a paper as
required. The host, trembling for the fame of his own
son-in-law, set a servant to stand behind the essayist
and telegraph each sentence as he wrote it. When he
came to the middle of the piece, his excellency could
not help exclaiming, “Ah, this is celestial talent!”
Upon this, his son-in-law retired from the contest,
ashamed and confounded. Such is the story of the
writing ordered to be inscribed upon the middle wall of
Tangwang hall.

July 26.—We left Nanchang at seven o’clock last
night. By nine we were sailing over legendary ground,
where, among other things, it is related that, a long
time ago, as a poor fisherman was engaged at his daily
toil, he threw a handful of rice, still in the husk, as a
bait for the finny tribe, and himself dived into the
depths below in search of his prey. Suddenly he came
upon a rocky gate at the mouth of a cave, where one
of the white~bearded genii accosted him somewhat
abruptly with the speech, “This is a spot whither you
have no business to come.” This so frightened the rude
native, that he made his way as fast as he could to the

‘bank, and declared to his family that it seemed as if he
had been three days and three nights under water.
That stupid story has nominated these “ the raw-rice
288 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

depths.” Having kept up sail the whole night, we made
about twenty-four miles, and by five o’clock in the
morning were at She-ch‘ah. The greater part of the
morning’s route lay through extensive plantations of
indigo, found to be amore profitable speculation in this
neighbourhood than any of the grains.

In the vicinity of Fungching the river widens consi-
derably, from having three or four tributaries flowing
into it. Hereabouts we passed under several embank-
ments, erected for the purpose of keeping the river
within its channel, one in particular at Hwang-fow-
hiung, of immense masses of granite, extending a mile
or two along the river-side.

All day long several enormous rafts floated by, with
cottages built on them, and woodmen at work flaying
timber. There was one in particular, of which I could
not but take notes. It measured nearly a mile in
length, rising about four feet above water, and nine
feet broad. The entire train was a junction of smaller
rafts, the separate rafts being of the same length (per-
haps fifteen or twenty feet), as they were of the same
height and width. The logs and trunks of trees on
each raft were lashed together by willow-twigs and
rattans, and the separate rafts were fastened one behind
the other. By this method of connecting the distinct
parts of the train, the whole float moved easily round
the windings, and yielded to the crooks of the river as
pliably as the links of a massive chain. Several men
were stationed at the front part of the raft to direct its
course with their sweeps, and a few others walked
along its edge to push it off the river-bank. In one or
two parts there were short masts and tiny sails set.
Huts were erected on it for lodging, booths for cooking,
also small cots for the stowage of different articles
picked up on private speculation en route from the
interior of the country; e. g., medicinal herbs, vege-
tables, birds, squirrels, monkeys, &. Small kitchen-
KEIH-NGAN DEPARTMENT. 289

gardens were growing here and there on the float to
serve for the trip. It was unmistakable too that there
was a child’s nursery upon the moving mass, along
with nursing mothers. The rafts contained all sorts of
timber-trees, cut down far inland, or probably on the
mountains of Hoonan, and destined for the midland
and northern provinces.

July 27,—At midnight we entered the Linkiang
shire, and passed Changshoo, described as a great
““medicine market,”’ where all the herbs of the Chinese
pharmacopeia may be had. The river here becomes
wider, the sand white, and the soil around very rich.
The native topographer appears to give a tolerably
accurate account in’ his descriptive geography of this
county :-—“ The rocks look blue, the water clear, and
the soil is fine and fertile.” Medical herbs and coals
are the special products of the neighbourhood. While
mother-earth is lauded for her fatness and fertility, the
official Directory gazettes ‘the scholars as eminent, and
the commonalty good-natured.”

In Kiangse, cattle of the bovine class abound more
than in Chihkiang. Pork-flesh (it is said) is not much
eaten in this province. Candles of animal tallow are
extensively used, save in idol-worship. For this latter
purpose, it being profane to employ anything but vege-
table productions, tea-oil or vegetable moulds and dips
are in great request.

July 28.—At 5 a.m. I was called up to look at the
singularly-walled town of Kiah-kiang, on our right
hand, built upon the bank of the river, inclosing one
half of a hill, the town wall running for a quarter of a
mile along the ridge of the hill.

At sunrise next morning we were abreast of the chief
town of Keih-ngan department, apparently well fortified
with a fine white wall. Its wall measures seven yards
high, is in books said to have at one time had nine gates,
and originally six, though now only three miles in cir-

U
290 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

cumference. The sight was new, and took me rather
by surprise, after the numerous small towns and petty
cities, &c., I had recently passed. The population was
dense, and apparently bustling. The eastern face of
the city is full one mile along the western bank of
the river, and its eastern corner is remarkable for a
pagoda, snow-white and dazzling in the sunshine. The
heart of the city includes some large, lofty, and com-
manding buildings. Among these there is one far-
famed as the Tsinsze ti-yih-tang, “the chief hall of the
Tsinsze scholars,” erected in memory of a celebrated
native of the city, a dux of the Tsinsze literary degree,
who flourished in the eleventh century. On his pro-
motion, he wrote out the character. kw‘ei, “head, chief,
foremost,’”’—used in designating the high scholastic
attamments he had reached. ‘The peculiarity in this
instance was that, on having fully written it out, the
character alone measured upwards of ten feet square.
To commemorate this feat of penmanship, an exact
copy thereof was engraved upon a large stone of
proportionate dimensions, which was lodged in the
above hall, where it remains to this day. The river
abreast of the city is wide, deep, and rapid; and we
slipped by under a fair wind, leaving the city to our
right, with some regret that we could not wait a while
to roam about the precincts of a place unusually
attractive.

The 80th was dreadfully barren of incident, except
that, outdone in our calculations of obtaining provi-
sions, we had nothing for food all day but plain rice
and hard-boiled eggs. The stock of vegetables and
meat had all been consumed ; and, wherever we touched
in search of something substantial, we could meet with
nothing they could spare to supply our lack, except in
one village, where we had to refuse “‘ canine flesh” that
was offered for sale. As far a8 one might judge from
casual observation on a trip like this, the greater pro-
APPROACHING A MOUNTAINOUS REGION. 291

portion of the country people of Kiangse must be de-
plorably poor,—in general wearing the coarsest hempen
cloth, and eating the loathsome bean-curd with rice.
That impression was confirmed from the further obser-
vations of the next day; in the earlier part of which we
were carried through a territory certainly most forbid-
ding, with villagers and tenantry as miserable as one
can imagine the peasantry of the most unfortunate
country on the face of the earth to be. Here and there
whitewashed pagodas, of various stories, rose up to
relieve the sad monotony; and if really there be any
geomantic charm in such erections to improve an
inhospitable neighbourhood, (which is the belief of the
pecple with respect to pagodas,) most undoubtedly we
may hope, from the number of these towering buildings
about this district, that in due time the soil will fatten,
and the territory improve, in a region of such dearth
and dreariness.

In the afternoon we came to the town of Wan-ngan,
a wretched-looking place, to be sure, although we
managed to lay in a stock of food and fuel for a few
days to come. Quitting this station, our course lay
direct south. Following the upward course of the river,
we by-and-by found ourselves upon the threshold of 4
mountainous range. Before nightfall we got encircled
by wooded banks, and hills conical, abrupt, and bleak.
In sight of these we anchored, and found a pleasant
retreat for the night, after the dull and dreary monotony
of the last week.

August 1.—The reason given by the boatmen for
anchoring last night a little above the town of
Wan-ngan was, that they wished to refresh themselves
by a night’s sound sleep for the eighteen rapids (com-
monly called twenty-four) that awaited them during
the next two stages. Among other preparatory mea-
sures, I saw they took care to propitiate th: favour of
the spirits which they believe preside over the rivers,

u2
292 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

and haunt the mountain crags in the neighbourhood.
At daybreak we moved, and by sunset had ascended
eleven rapids. None of these were by any means so
difficult as those already described along our route up
the Chihkiang river.

The romantic scenery and mountain grandeur of this
day’s journey well repaid the patience and forbearance
called forth during the last ten days’ travel upon the
uninteresting flats of Kiangse. Lofty hills all round,
near and far,—everywhere showing a deep red soil, some-
times patched with verdant spots, or dotted with trees,
but oftener bleak, rugged, and laid with large blocks
of dark granite. The river-bank, on either side, rises
high, and frequently is cut through by torrents pouring
down the steep ribs of the mountains aloft. The river
itself was more like a mountain stream, fitful and capri-
cious, in some places expanding wide and broad, and
running smooth without any obstacles, but more often
interrupted by rugged rocks, over which its waters
splashed and foamed in wild fury. The rapids were
remarkable at times for their shallowness, and always
for the enormous and curious blocks strewed along their
beds, shaped like spires, pinnacles, &c., or, as the native
topographer describes them, “jutting up like sharp iron
spikes, or with sharp corners and broken faces.” In
many places the channel looked as if it had been
worked out by the water’s flow, or dug through the
rocky foundations of the steep banks; and though it
was scarcely six feet wide, through that narrow channel
the great volume of water leaped, flashed, and rushed,
with the roar of a magnificent fall. Numerous ex-
amples came under the eye, along the beds of these
rapids, of huge solid rocks, either considerably worn
down by the abrasion of the rushing water, or wrought
into most grotesque shapes.

August 2.—All day fine hills in view, with goats
grazing on the slopes; numerous tombs of the horse-
CITY OF K‘ANCHOW. 293

shoe shape, the Canton style; extensive fields of sugar-
cane cultivated in the plain; lofty trees ornamenting
the river-banks; more people than usual at work;
numerous women, with large aprons, unbound feet, and
straw hats, labouring in the fields, or carrying loads, &c.
By 4 p.m. the men craved a “ cumshaw” for their skill
and expertness in mounting the last of the eighteen
rapids. At this point we were boarded by a party of the
river-police belonging to the branch custom-house
stationed here. Their object was to inspect boats south-
ward bound, and to give due notice of the contents
thereof to the head establishment. This provision has
been instituted to prevent the smuggling of goods and
merchandise to the south along the innumerable small
branches into which the river divides itself a mile or
two farther on. Before sunset we reached K‘anchow.
Since we left the Poyang lake, our course had been up
what is usually called the K‘an river, though along its
flow it picks up a great variety of local names. From
the city of K‘anchow down to the Poyang, into which it
empties itself, the K‘an river measures nearly 300 miles.
It has two chief tributaries, the Chang and the Kung.
The grand river divides at the city of K‘anchow into two
streams; the one to the east running direct up to its
source, 110 miles off in the Sienloo mountains, upon the
western border of Fuhkien province; the other to the
west, if traced up to its fountain-head, carries us at
once to the Wangking range, on the southern boundary
of Hoonan, about 186 miles distant. The above two
tributaries meet together at the city of K‘anchow, until
their united waters pass Nanchang and pour into the
Poyang lake, running altogether a course of 486 miles
down from their highest springs. At K‘anchow we
found a number of boats lying together. Their tonnage
being too large for the draught of water in either of the
above streams, it was found necessary to send their
cargoes on to Canton or Fuhkien by smaller craft.
294 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Our boat being small enough to admit of steering along
in safety, we were by 7 P.M. at anchor. There are
two custom-houses here; the eastern for Fubkien boats,
the western for Canton traders. We of course chose
the latter anchorage. The city itself is large and
strongly built.

August 3.—At sunrise we secured passports at the
custom-house, purchased provisions for the next hun-
dred miles, (the last part of the journey through
Kiangse to Canton,) and after breakfast were again
under sail. The chief part of the day’s journey
(only twenty-five miles) lay close to the bank of the
river, lined with immense bodies of timber-rafts on
their way to the midland or northern parts of the
empire.

The bamboos of this department are particularly
elegant and valuable,—of every variety, chiefly the
speckled. Large groves of them were everywhere met
with : also fields of the sugar-cane, of which (what the
natives call) “the sand-sugar” is made in large quan-
tities. We found immense fields of this article cultivated
here. Indeed, it is one of the principal products and
exports of the province. The raw cane is often cut into
small pieces fit for chewing,—a practice very common
among the people in their leisure hours. For granula-
tion and crystallization it is first pressed in the mill,
when the juice is boiled and refined. At one time
this coarse brown sugar used to be bought very largely
for India. The candy sugar continues to be still a
favourite with foreigners.

Nothing else came under the eye during the day
worthy of observation, except huge waterwheels. These
were frequently seen at work on the banks, turned by
the flowing river, and with the utmost regularity con-
veying water up to reservoirs in the heights above, for
the purpose of irrigating the inland fields. Some of
the wheels measured forty feet in diameter; whose
PRODUCTS OF KANCHOW DEPARTMENT, 295

paddles consisted of large bamboo or rattan buckets,
inserted with pivots upon the outer rim of the cireum-
ference. Lest the axletree should catch fire from the
severe friction, a contrivance was adopted by which the
wheel was supplied at that very point (where there was
so much friction) with a constant stream of water trick-
ling from above.

The products of the Kanchow department, besides
those above mentioned, are grass-cloth, tea, tea-oil,
olives, and hemp. In the neighbourhood the most
beautiful varnish of China is obtained, distilled from
the tree called Ts‘ihshoo. The grass-cloth is made of
hemp, grown most extensively in this and the neigh-
bouring provinces. This cloth is a native substitute
for linen,—a cool, glossy, summer cloth, made into what
they call “ perspiration-jackets,”’ to be worn next the
skin. Of the varieties of hemp, the most common in
the Kiangse province is the choo-ma, miserably mis-
pronounced by some foreigners, chuh-ma, as if made
from bamboo, of which kind of cloth, indeed, there
is no specimen whatever in all the eighteen provinces
of China. The Government Directory remarks of the
people in the Kanchow department, which we are on the
point of leaving :—“ They are fine-looking, the scholars
good-tempered, and the plebs in general upright and
honest.”

During the 4th and 5th of August we were dragging
a slow and weary course towards the chief town of
Nan-ngan, the department of Kiangse most con-
tiguous to the province of Canton. In this weari-
some part of the excursion, a little relief was afforded
to the vision by the novel appearance of the river-
bank, in some parts shelved with (what looked like)
dark-coloured coal-slate, occasionally ornamented by
thick-set bamboo groves, or shaded by wide-spreading
camphor-trees. There seemed to be engaged in field-
work quite as many female as male labourers; at least,
296 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the former appeared to be equally busy and energetic,
if one might judge from their noise and singing. The
women were particularly noticeable for their short
outer dresses, long pantalettes, and bonnets of circular
shape, made of straw, and fringed with blue cloth or
blue threads round the edge, with an opening exactly
on the crown, through which the tuft of hair might be
pushed. We passed but few villages—indeed, no place
of consequence, except the walled town of Nank‘ang,
on the western bank. This place was neither large nor
bustling, yet neat, with many fine, well-built houses.
The traveller’s attention cannot fail to be taken here
by the large Confucian temple, which rises high and
commanding, with four characters emblazoned over
its principal gateway, “ Tih-p‘ei-t‘len-te,” signifying,
“Virtue compeers with heaven and earth.”

August 6.—Until mid-day we were working our way
to the terminus of our journey in Kiangse. While our
progress was intolerably slow, from early dawn to 1 p.m.
making not more than nine miles, the weather was
fine, and the scenery agreeable, affording a pleasant
change to the scenes that had passed before us during
the last week or two. All nature looked picturesque
and lovely, along a crooked, winding river, with steep
banks rising into high hills, whose sides were grooved
by innumerable mountain streamlets, studded with
immense trees and massive blocks, or ornamented by
pretty glens and shadowy dells.

Among other sights, one particularly riveted the
attention,—a few miles above Nan-ngan, upon our right
hand, an exquisitely fine waterfall, dropping down the
side of the hill right into the river, in a narrow, long,
silver-white stream. x * * *
At last, sweeping round the base of a hill, we
came suddenly, to our no little relief, in sight of
the long-looked-for town of Nan-ngan, and by one
o’clock dropped anchor at its mart, remarkable
TERMINUS OF KIANG-SE ROUTE. 297

chiefly as “the go-between” of Canton and the
northern provinces.

The terminus here looked well, with the numerous
junks ranged in complete order on both sides of the
river, and large hotels, caravansaries, &c., upon the left
or eastern shore. On reaching the wharf, we took the
first opportunity to engage the services of the “ Choo”
hong agents, who undertook to expedite our trip by
an overland transit of several miles, principally across
the well-known Meiling pass.

* * * * * 4

Before moving forward, let me take a rapid glance
back on the province of Kiangse, in which I have spent
the last twenty days in only one boat. I have got over
about seven hundred miles of circuitous route, passing
through seven counties out of fourteen into which the
province is parted, and touching at fifteen walled cities,
one the great capital Nanchang. The wide amphitheatre
presents a face mostly flat, sometimes uneven; three
parts of its circle being bounded by mountain-ranges,
on the east, south, and west, separating Kiangse from
Nganhwuy, Chihkiang, Fuhkien, Canton, and Hoonan ;
and its northern limit consisting to a great extent of the
province of Hoopih and partly the river Yangtsze, which
runs eighty miles along that frontier. The soil is un-
certain, in some places remarkably rich, in others exceed-
ingly sterile. Of its twenty-three million inhabitants,
the common people are on the whole poor, often de-
plorably wretched, though industrious and hardworking
at crockery-manufacture and weaving of hemp cloth,
besides boat-navigation, fishery, field labour, and car-
riage of goods. As to literary attainments, the scholars
do not compete in number or eminence with those of
the neighbouring provinces. The situation of the pro-
vince renders it of peculiar importance to the Chinese
empire. It commands the thoroughfare between the
northern and southern parts of the interior, supporting
298 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

a line of land and water communication that measures
full seven hundred miles in length. In other words, it
is the key-province between Canton and the inland
provinces. A native surveyor observes particularly,
that ‘“Kiangse has five gateways into different parts
of the empire. Suppose,” says he, “there is a re-
bellion in Hoopih, you can enter that province from
Kiangse by the department of Kewkiang, which lies on
the north of Kiangse; if any trouble in Chihkiang
and Fuhkien, there is Kwangsinfoo to the north-east,
through which you can pour down on the troubled
districts; or let there be a commotion in Canton, why
you have K‘anchowfoo at command; or imagine that a
disturbance breaks out in Hoonan, we can at once
enter to quell it by crossing from the department of
Nan-ngan.”

* * * * * *

As for the narrative of my passage across the
Meiling mountain :—By one o’clock we had moved
our traps on shore and committed them to the cus-
tody of bearers in the employ of the “Choo” hong.
Four chairs were hired for my party,—that for myself a
large, ponderous, clumsy concern, which required four
men to carry it. Without delay we stepped into our
conveyances, and commenced the journey across an
isthmus reported to be nearly thirty miles in length.
Generally eighteen hours are allowed for accomplishing
the transit.

Passing out along the suburbs of Nan-ngan, we avoided
traversing the narrow dirty streets of the walled town
on a dry sultry afternoon; and shortly we were led out
into the open conntry, when, taking a south-west course,
we came in full viewof the Meiling pass, the foot of which
lay five miles off. Thither there stretched an even,

-well-paved, or, I should say, a compactly pebbled road.
On this highway there were two continuous and almost
unbroken trunk-lnes of carriers, the one coming, the
CROSSING THE MEILING PASS. 299

other going. These porters were generally in couples,
with a pole-end resting on the shoulder of each, on which
pole there swung travellers’ baggage or merchants’
goods. The larger number of the carriers I met were
evidently intrusted with the transport of foreign ware
and manufactures from Canton into the interior. It is
said that fifty thousand persons gain their livelihood by
being employed on this high road as porters for carrying
packages, passengers, and merchandise over the pass.
As I looked at them, they presented a most amusing
sight,—walking with a quick measured pace, and, as they
trudged, singing, chanting, and responding to each
other, though in a strain and style altogether novel, and
quite different from the cooly shouting and yelling that
meets one in every street of the “cinque ports” of
China. What added to the curiosity of the scene was
the sight of women turning burden-hearers, often yoked
with one of their own sex, not rarely paired off with
one of the other, more frequently in groups of ten and
twelve of various ages, and in every instance carrying
as heavy loads as the males.

With regard to the defile ahead of us: from the native
authorities who have written on this frontier pass—or, as
they nominate it, “ the throat of the north and south of
China”—it appears that Meiling is the most eastern
ridge of a range of five mountains in Canton province.
It is variously named,—in books the Tay-yu, in common
language the Meiling. The latter is derived from the
prunus, a species of wild cherry, growing over its northern
and southern faces;—of which the singularity is noticed,
“that the shrubs on the north face begin to blossom just
when those on the southern drop their flowers.” Several
attempts have been made to open across its summit
a road passable for troops, traders, and travellers.
Both public engineers and private contractors have
summoned their wits and united their energies on the
achievement of the grand feat. A thousand years ago,
300 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

under the reign of Yuentsing, of the Tang dynasty,
some officials set to work clearing the mountain-sides,
and laying down a kind of rough footpath. Four cen-
turies after, a fine consolidated pathway was laid, with
bricks made from the clay taken from the hill-sides.
But a later result, with some very recent repairs, is the
present footpath. According to a native document on
“ Repairing Mountain Roads,” it seems that not quite
four hundred years ago, when the Ming family was on
the throne, the road was repaired in the following
mode :—“ Immense rocks, having had large fires burnt
over them, were broken by huge mallets: streams of
water were turned off by opening new gutters; collec-
tions of mud and stones were beaten down flat; and
thus a spiral staircase was in course of time formed up
the hill-side.”’” This was probably the original of the
improved highway which I was now in the act of
mounting.

The northern face of the pass presented a prospect
to the eye pleasing beyond description. The vast
mountain-side, from the base to the crest of the ridge,
was one carpet of verdure and luxuriance, relieved by
stern, rocky cliffs, and the sombre foliage of huge,
expansive pine-trees. Up through the heart of the
picturesque landscape,—which, to a person confined so
long in boats, looked like a hanging garden,—I was able
to trace a beaten path, about twelve feet wide, worked
by man’s hand through rugged rocks and thick jungles,
forming something of the staircare fashion, by which a
footpath ascends and descends mountain acclivities,
running zigzag up to the top of the sierra. This was
‘the spiral ladder” above alluded to.

Sitting in my sedan, while it was borne up this stair-
case on the shoulders of four men, I took the opportunity
of looking on the scenery above and below. From top
to bottom the fertility of the ground was remarkable ;
right and left there was almost one green expanse. After
MEILING PASS DESCRIBED. 301

proceeding for some time amid rich, exuberant vegeta-
tion, I rose to an elevation from which a wide and
strangely varied prospect of mountain and champaign
scenery in China met the eye. Below and behind there
opened out the cultivated country of Kiangse,—a valley
at this season almost stripped of its harvest, a province
looking as lonely as a waste of waters, a far-extended
and monotonous plain, upon whose boundaries, in the
distant horizon, there rose up some few and sparse hills,
that seemed like small rounded eminences. Drawing
the eye from the plain beneath up to the sierra, com-
puted by some to be 1,000 feet above the level below,
I observed that on the acclivities which I had been
ascending there were spliutered and projecting crags,
dark and ragged ravines, steep slopes, with numerous
rocky masses, tall cliffs, and stony mounds, grouped
together in wild disorder. Through openings in the
nearer ridges, there could be detected a wilderness
of high mounds, stunted hills, &c., the one rising above
the other; while here and there, also, a ridge shot up,
rugged and angular, full of dusky glens, narrow gorges,
shivering summits, and broken crests. But this is
an imperfect description of the Meiling pass on the
Kiangse side of the ascent.

Having reached the very summit of the pass, the
bearer set my chair down for a short respite; and here,
once more looking down on the scenery behind, which
inclosed not one but many provinces and ancient king-
doms, all comprehended within the sweep of vision from
this mouutain-top,—it was impossible to forbid the
rush of thought on what may have been their past his-
tory, changes, convulsions, overthrows, calamities; or
on their present state, population, agriculture, manu-
facture, idolatry, and ignorance; and likewise on their
future destiny, improvements in civilization, arts, and
sciences, and the introduction, struggles, and triumphs
of Christ’s religion. The wondrous grandeur of the
302 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

lavishments of nature, as well as the serious reflections
created by the whole scene, alike contributed to leave
the deepest impression, and to draw forth the earnest
ejaculation, “ How long, Lord?—Give this people to
Thy Son for His inheritance, and these parts of the
earth for His possession.”

By the time we got to the Meikwan, (the highest
point in the pass which was to be reached in order to
commence the descent on the south side of the moun-
tain,) the sun had begun to set. The distance from our
starting-place to this “plum pass” was but six miles
anda half. Eighteen miles more stretched before, to-
wards Nanhiung, our first station in Canton province.
The distances, on the road were indicated by milestones
and handposts, set up at intervals of four or five miles.
The top pass itself was a gap, cut through the mountain-
crest to the depth of twenty or thirty feet, fifty feet
long and twenty broad, and fortified on each side by a
towering buttress of limestone rock; where, in ludicrous
contrast, there lay an awkward squad of Chinese
soldiers stationed to guard the passage.

In the native history of the southern provinces of
China this pass is regarded as a sentry-post of first
importance; and, in a native description of Canton
province, it is put down as “always having been the
world’s struggling-place,” or “the Thermopyle of the
world.” In passing through it, I felt as if “I entered
where a key unlocks a kingdom,” it being the territorial
line between the two provinces Kiangse and Canton.

On coming to the southern slope of the Meiling, a
fine view presented itself of a country covered with
green fields and wooded hills; and while the “ mind’s
eye” is gazing down upon the Canton province, it may
not be out of order to say a few words of its geographical
position and relations. It lies between 18° and 25°
N. lat., stretches in FE. long. from 107° to 120°; and,
according to native reckoning, measures 750 miles from
A GLANCE AT CANTON PROVINCE. 303

east to west, and 540 miles from north to south. The
capital is 2,400. miles from Peking. The province is
hemmed in on the 8.8.E. and S.W. by “the great
sea,” to the N. and N.W by Kwangse, N. by Hoonan,
N.E. by Kiangse, and E. by Fuhkien. It is partitioned
off into fifteen foos or counties, and boasts of a popula-
tion exceeding nineteen millions. The ground is fruit-
ful; and the face of the land, with its fine rising hills
and pretty low valleys, combines the scenery of the two
provinces already skimmed over in the early part of the
route. Its people are aptly portrayed in one of their
own books to be, what every foreigner can fully attest,
“active in trade, pushing in business, and clever at
anything ; their literati are eminent and shining, and
the vulgus extravagant and showy.”

At the foot of the mountain, on the Canton side, we
came to the head-quarters of the colonel in charge of
the soldiery set to protect the pass, and found a large
village in the vicinity, with innumerable eating-houses
for passengers and burden-bearers, of whom there was
a large gathering this evening, all bustling and bois-
terous. After nightfall we pursued our journey till near
midnight, when we stopped for supper at what was
named “the central station.” From “ plum pass”
above, to this halfway house, the greater part of the road
was well laid, and on it we passed through numerous
villages, some of them overshadowed by beautiful, um-
brageous, and lofty trees rising up on both sides; which
sight becomes the more remarkable on a summer’s night,
from crowds of insects singing or screeching upon the
branches, and clouds of fireflies illuminating the shades
beneath. Greatly tired with the first part of the over-
land carriage, I felt glad to enter this village for a short
reprieve: where also a warm fresh diet was served up,
during which the waiters paid the most assiduous
attention,—not knowing all the while that they had
caught a “red-haired devil.”
3804 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Upon taking a due portion of rest, it was with diffi-
culty the chair-bearers could be made to move. They
complained of the darkness of the night, particularly
as they had no lanterns with them. It was stipulated,
however, that as the moon was still shining overhead,
they should prosecute their journey until she should
set, when they might rest again for a little. The men,
relieved with this hope, proceeded until within five
miles of the city Nanhiung (N. lat. 25°11’, E. long.
118° 55’), the goal of the day’s weary trip, when, deter-
mined that I should keep my part of the bargain about
the setting of the moon, they dropped the chair down
and would not stir a peg farther. Having been roused
again at daybreak of the 7th of August, they resumed
their tramp, and hastened to the town beyond, whose
gates were just being opened. The suburbs were ex-
tensive. We made for the east gate, walked along
the central market-place (then empty and very quiet),
passed by two or three public offices, went out at the
south gate, crossed the Taiping bridge of seven arches,
and put up at the magnificent hong of Yang-san-ho.

August 7.—After breakfast a passage-boat was hired,
at the heavy charge of fifty dollars,—on condition, how-
ever, that we should be taken to the city of Canton in
six days at the utmost, a distance of 1,315 les, or 390
English miles. The river which we entered at Nanhiung
was throughout easy of navigation down to Canton.
There were several interruptions, from its narrowness
and shallowness; yet the run was rapid, compared with
the up-stream work of the previous three weeks, and
the scenery upon the banks was a decided improvement
on the flatness and monotony of Kiangse.

On the evening of the 8th we brought up at Shaou-
chow, a consequential city, as evident from the immense
fleet of boats lying before it, and the planting of a
cnstom-house, where we had to anchor for the night.
A bribe of a few dollars might have procured an imme-
 

“A TEMPLE IN THB CLEFTS OF THE ROCK.”
A TEMPLE IN THE ROCK. 3805

diate release; but, short of the needful, I was under the
necessity of putting up with the rest, of the fleet till
the morn. There was here also a bridge of boats across
the river, affording a clear communication between the
two banks for foot-passengers ; and what is very usual,
there was but one opening for the passage of boats,
which was closed at night by a massive iron chain hung
athwart. But when day broke, three guns were fired
at the custom-house, and the office-gates were opened ;
then, that iron chain was dropped, and officers were
sent on board to search the boats. So, on the morning
of the 9th, two of the river police boarded us, examined
our boat, and handed us the passports.

Early that morning we passed along the foot of a
curious rock, which rose upon our right, in the midst
of the stream, to an elevation estimated by Sir G.
Staunton at 600 feet, though, to my eye, it certainly
did not exceed eighty. Along the face of the rock,
hanging over the rushing waters beneath, there was a
range of rooms dedicated to the service of Kwanyin,
the reputed goddess of mercy. The temple, or rather
this approach to the temple within, has been largely,
and in some cases elegantly, described in the reports of
the embassies of Macartney and Amherst, &c. The
priests here located are popular, and exert a great
amount of influence on the native travellers and mer-
chants passing up and down,—at least in securing
donations from them, or levying a sort of idolatry-mail
to support the rock-temple establishment.

The only thing to enliven the 10th of August awaited
us at Yingtih in the evening. This, though unim-
portant as a town, has some lovely landscapes in the
neighbourhood, two pagodas, one on either side of the
river, and several extraordinary fantastic-shaped hills.

‘The stream we had hitherto been sailing upon flows
ou: of the Meiling range. At Yingtih town it receives
a large accession to its waters out of the Hoonan

x
306 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

province, and from this point the united stream flows
southward, under the title of the “ Northern River.”
At Tsing-yuen, about fifty-five miles above Canton, and
forty from Fuhshan, we came next day to the junction
of the northern with the branch trunk, called “ the
Western River,” that takes its rise far west in the
Yunnan province, and passes through Kwangse. These
two, the north and the west rivers, flow together in one
volume past the city of Canton, when, not far from
Whampoa, the waters of the eastern parts of the pro-
vince descending from the mountains of the south-
eastern regions of Kiangse and Fuhkien, mingle with
them. Thus is formed, by the conjunction of three
rivers,—the north, west, and east,—what is commonly
called by the natives, and is now well known to
foreigners, “ the Pearl river,” and this flows out due
east from Canton city a distance of sixty miles into the
open ocean. \

The appellation, “ Pearl river,” given to this grand
junction of the three rivers (each of which in its own
channel takes names from the separate localities through
which it flows), is derived, according toa story narrated
by the Chinese topographer, from a misfortune that
befell a merchant sailing up the river several centuries
since with a bundle of oceanic pearls under his arm.
On a sudden the packet tumbled out of his grasp and
sunk in the stream. Near that spot, it is said, there
now rises a rock or crag, upon which there is a building
called Hai-choo-sze, “a sea-pearltemple.” Atone time
that same place was the scene of a fight between the .
Tartars and Chinese, six hundred years ago; and more
recently, being ranked among the Bogue forts and
registered as “ Dutch Folly,” it has been seized by the
British.

In continuing the sail down “the west branch,”—
the country was fine to the view, and rich, as proved by
the variety of land produce brought under the eye of
“THE BIRMINGHAM OF CHINA.” 807

any traveller,—nankeen, cotton, mulberry, and sugar-
cane plantations, &c. The traffic upon the channel was
immense, chiefly in boats inward bound : and the whole
population appeared exceedingly active, — particularly
the women, whom I saw dragging the boats shoulder to
shoulder with the men.

But of all places along this inland journey, Fuhshan
(Fatsan), which I passed through on the 12th of August,
was perhaps the: most remarkable for the exhibition of
universal energy in business of every form. It may be
named “the Birmingham of China.” It lies twelve
miles W. by 8. of Canton city; isa large town without
walls; reputed to contain 1,000,000 inhabitants. Both
the canal and river through the town were crammed
with boats; each side of the river thickly populated
and built up with dwellings, shops, godowns, factories,
and hongs. My boat rapidly flitted by wood-stores of
Kiangse timber, boat-building establishments, iron-
foundries, brick-kilns, and manufactories, and, before I
was aware of it, was hurried to Hwate, where, meeting
with a strong flood tide, it had to drop anchor.

Here, to my no small surprise, I found myself only
nine miles from Canton, having sailed 330 miles during
the last six days, and passed through three large
departments, Nanhiung, Shaouchow, and Kwanchow,
in which latter the provincial capital is situated. At
6 p.m. the ebb began to drop;-and in an hour or two
the boat was abreast of the foreign factories. As I did
not think it expedient to land here, I hired a boat to
start forthwith for Hong-Kong. By nine o’clock P.m.
I left the anchorage at the foreign factories.

It remains for me to add, that in two days I reached
Hong-Kong, and with great satisfaction, found myself
once more safe and sound among my countrymen.
Still retaining my incog. habiliments, I joined a party of
them then assembled on Morrison Hill, and at the time
engaged in the act of united prayer around the footstool

x 2
308 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

of Heaven’s Majesty. I associated with them in heartily
giving thanks to the Guardian of my life for His
gracious protection throughout a journey of thirty-eight
days, during which I had passed unmolested through
three provinces of China Proper— crossing sixteen
counties, and touching at two capitals, twenty-eight
walled cities, and seventeen unwalled towns, besides
villages innumerable, along a route measuring fully
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309

PART FOURTH.

SHANGHAI,

CHAPTER I.

SHANGHAI—GROWTH IN IMPORTANCE—GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION—Va-
RIETY OF NAMES—WALKS ABOUT THE CITY AND SUBURBS—TIDES—
BUBBLING WELL— EGG-HATCHING — DEAD-HOUSES— FRUITS OF THE
EARTH—CLIMATE—NATIVE THEORIES OF NATURAL PHENOMENA—FALL
OF DUST—CHARACTER OF POPULATION.

Berore the last twelve or fourteen years, how many
persons in well-informed circles had ever heard of
Shanghai? Or who of those that were present at the
signing of the Nanking treaty, could have prophesied
that this newly opened port would have become of such
importance as it is now?

During 1844, the first year of its occupation for pur-
poses of commerce by foreigners, Shanghai statistics
gave only 44 foreign merchant-ships, 23 foreign resi-
dents and families, 1 consular flag, 11 mercantile
houses, and 2 Protestant missionaries. But, by the
Shanghai Directory for 1856, it appears that, at the
beginning of that year, there were upwards of 330
foreign residents (besides their. families), 8 consular
flags, 70 mercantile houses, and 36 Protestant mis-
sionaries. Perhaps the most significant evidence of the
growth and importance of the port is in the return
of foreign shipping at Shanghai, from 1st July to 31st
December, 1855, published by the Office of Maritime
Customs there. Shipping :—British, 249; American,
57; Danish, 7; Hamburg, 11; Dutch, 11; Swedish, 9;
310 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Spanish, 6; Portuguese, 5; Peruvian, 3; Siamese, 4;
Bremen, 2;—total ships, 364. The return of tea
exported from Shanghai during that half-year, was
38,277,923 pounds; and of silk, 30,207 bales. The
“veturns” for the whole year, 1855, give of arrivals,
434 ships of all countries, amounting to 154,000 tons ;
departures, 437 ; tea exports, 76,711,659 pounds ; silk,
55,537 bales.

At last, how soon we have become familiar with the
name Shanghai! and indeed there is so much of interest
and consequence about the place, that a traveller or a
merchant would blush to leave China without a visit to
this greatest emporium on its eastern coast. And now
a word to begin with on the name of the place, the pro-
muneiation of which has been wofully mutilated by some
people. It has been written variously, Canhay, Chan-
ghay, Xanghay, Zonghae, Shanhae, Shanghay, Shan-
ghae, Shanghai. To represent it in Roman characters
the last is decidedly the best, but in pronouncing the
fina] syllable, let it be sounded as our English “ high,”
and not “hay,” alias grass cut and dried.

Sailing towards the north of China, keeping perhaps
fifty or sixty miles off the coast, as the ship enters
the thirtieth parallel, a stranger is startled some fine
morning by coming on what looks like a shoal,—
perhaps a sand-bank, a reef,—he knows not what. It
is an expanse of coloured water stretching out as far as
the eye can reach, east, north, and west, and entirely
distinct from the deep-blue sea which hitherto the
vessel had been ploughing. In course, he finds that it
is “the Yellow Sea;” a sea so yellow, turbid, and
thick, certainly, that you might think all the pease-
soup in creation, and a great deal more, had been
emptied into one monster cistern.

Between the thirtieth degree of north latitude, where
the Choosan group begins, and the promontory of
Shantung in the thirty-seventh degree, this muddy
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION, 3ll

sea ranges; and into this extraordinary reservoir three
great rivers pour their tawny liquid contents,—the
Tseen-tang, the Yangtsze-kiang, and the Hwang-ho,—
which draw their resources from distant, immense, and
populous regions in the north and south of the empire,
and flow more or less through one half of the eighteen
provinces. The greatest of these three rivers is the
Yangtsze, about midway between the others, the one
that affords access to the port of Shanghai.

Beyond the northernmost islands of the Choosan
group, slightly to the north-westward, is the mouth of
the embouchure of the Yangtsze-kiang. As you enter,
the mainland forms a low bank to the river from north-
west to south-east. Forty-five miles further up, cut-
ting this line of coast nearly at right angles, there is
a tributary flowing into the main stream; and turning
southerly into this branch, you reach the Woosung
anchorage, in lat. 81° 25’ N., long. 121° 1’ 30” E.
Ascend that rapid and coloured stream; pass by Woosung
village, which has grown surprisingly within the last
few years as the anchorage for the opium receiving-
ships; take hurried notes of the hamlets and farm-
steads over the bank, the flat fields and marshy grounds
below the river level; and suddenly you come upon
Shanghai, on the right or west bank. In a direct line
nearly due south, z. e. by footpath, Shanghai is not
more than seven miles from Woosung; but by the
river, which almost midway between Woosung and
Shanghai makes a wide bend eastward, the distance
must be twelve or fourteen miles.

Quite three-quarters of a mile from the walls of the
native city, the river you had been stemming divides
into two. The branch to the west, called “the Woosung
river,” flows past Soochow, seventy-three miles up in
the interior. The other branch, “ the Whangpoo”
(Whampoa), runs along the eastern face of Shanghai,
in a broad channel, often 650 yards wide and thirteen
312 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

fathoms deep, at its head receiving the waters that
flow out of the departments of Hangchow and Kiahing,
in the adjoining province of Chihkiang.

At that fork, where the two separate branches blend
their streams, the British consulate stands, with its
spacious premises, buildings, and noble flag. The settle-
ment ceded to the British extends above half a mile from
this corner to a wide ditch, the Yang-king-pang, which
forms the southern boundary of the English grounds.
The eastern boundary is the bank of the Whang-
poo, where the foreign shipping lies. The western
limit is a mile or two in-shore. Within these bounds,
foreign residents have erected godowns, mansions, a
church, &c.; live in ease, comfort, and luxury, as weil
as “in ceiled houses ;” and are carrying on an enormous
and lucrative commerce with Chinese merchants.

Leaving the foreign for the native settlement, both
which are accurately sketched off in the accompanying
map,—I must premise a remark, that certainly no
country under the sun has kept records so voluminous,
regular, and calculated to elucidate the condition of the
‘empire, as China. For instance we have, in the first
place, a general account of the country, compiled by the
present dynasty, in two or three hundred volumes. It
contains minutie of the extent, divisions, and popu-
lation of the country ; its rivers, mountains, products,
and revenue ; defences, walls, cities, temples, schools of
learning, examination-halls, and other private buildings;
notices of wondrous objects, marvellous legends, pro-
digies in every form, and eminent men and women.
Then, in addition to the general survey of the country,
there exist separate topographies of each province,
department, and district; each work entering elaborately
into the history of a province, or a department, or a
district. Thus, of the eighteen provinces, we have a
general view of Kiansoo ; of the divisions of this pro-
vince we have a full and detailed account of the Sung-
ANCIENT HISTORY OF SHANGHAI. 313

kiang prefecture; and then of the minor partitions of
this prefecture (each having its own and separate topo-
graphy), we have a description of Shanghai alone in
twenty large volumes. Much that is recorded in these
works would not be very interesting to us; yet there is
a vast deal of matter in this department of their litera-
ture, to exhibit the interior of China as it has been for
ages past, and to gratify the most ardent curiosity of any
archeologist. In these native works you are invariably
supplied with a large number of maps and woodcuts to
describe the boundaries, watercourses, bridges, streets,
walls, public buildings, and a variety of curious objects.

Anciently, and still in the records of the city, as well
as in many of their public papers, Shanghai goes by the
name Hoo. The origin of the appellation is to be traced
as follows :—In early times (as in some places at the
present day too) they used this curious method for
catching fish. Rows of bamboo stakes were stuck in
the stream, and joined together by cords. These rows
opened out into two wings towards the shore. As the
tide flowed, the stakes were covered by it; at its ebb
they became visible. Fish borne along with the flow
and ebb got entangled among the stakes, so that they
could not escape. This mode of fishing was called hoo.
At one time the neighbourhood of Shanghai was famed
for its fishing-stakes, from which circumstance it gained
the name of “the Hoo city.’ During the last 900
years, the district has passed under other designations,
with which it were more than needless to trouble the
reader. The general designation under which it now
goes is Shanghai, the more likely explanation of which
is “the upper sea,” to distinguish it from another
watery region known as “ the lower sea.”

The city was built in its present irregular form just
three centuries ago, and encircled by a wall which,
according to English measurement, is three miles and
three-quarters in circumference, fifteen feet broad, and
814 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

twenty-four high,—the good people of the city having
at different times freely made large contributions
towards the erection of it. The original object of so
clumsy a piece of engineering was the defence of the
inhabitants, hitherto constantly exposed to the depre-
dations of freebooters and pirates, who infested the
country. Upon that wall there is a superabundance of
“loop-holes,” “ arrow-towers,”’ “terraces in stories,”
and “ military observatories.” It is perforated by six
gates, that open and shut by rule, whose grandiloquent
designations are bombastic enough, though ludicrously
inappropriate. For instance, the north gate, “calm-
sea gate,” (of all places “calm! ’’) the great east gate
is the gate of “paying obeisance to the honourable
ones ;” the little east is the “ precious girdle gate ;”
the great south is the gate for “riding the dragon ;”
little south is the gate that “ looks towards the south ;””
and the west gate is ‘‘ the pattern phoenix.”

After the description of buildings, &c. in the city of
Ningpo, that has been given in a former part, it would
be superfluous even to point out the leading edifices in
Shanghai; for, in general, they correspond to those in
the former, although much inferior, and peculiarly
insignificant. Besides, it is to be hoped that, in conse-
quence of the recent ransack to which Shanghai has
been subjected both under rebels and imperialists, many
of the old buildings, already far gone, have been by
this time quite removed, or, if rebuilt, remodelled with
improvements in style and architecture ; although, even
on this score, there is scarcely encouragement to ejacu-
late, “ Nil desperandum.”

What cannot fail to arrest the attention of any
common observer at Shanghai are its tides, remarkable
for rise, regularity, and rapidity,—especially the neap
and spring tides at new and full moon, which are very
high and very low every spring and autumn. The tide
before the city is about three-quarters of an hour later
TIDES AT SHANGHAT. 315

than at Woosung anchorage ; and when the north-east
wind blows, the tide (as it comes in from that quarter) is
earlier, but later when the opposite wind prevails. The
tide is felt thirty miles above Shanghai. The natives
keep tide-tables, which im general may be relied on as
correct. The inundations occasioned by the high tides
of autumn are sometimes alarming and disastrous,—
fields, gardens, and the ground-floors of the houses
being covered with the dirty flood.*

Of the river water at Shanghai, which after under-
going a few filtrations is the beverage here, a better
description cannot be given than in the graphic lan-
guage of Lady 8S. Wortley respecting the Mississippi
river :—“ I cannot bestow any praise on the colour of
its turbid, thick, muddy-looking water. It is reckoned
very wholesome, however, to drink, repulsive as it
looks ; and certainly it ought to be so for one reason:
it looks marvellously like an enormous running stream

* The native theory of the ocean tides is very singular, as, in a short
extract from the ‘Chinese Miscellany” (No. iv., p. 83) a native
work says, ‘‘When the moon is full, the ocean wave prevails in a
westerly direction; when the moon is in the wane, it rises in an
easterly direction.” Another says, ‘“ The advancing or retiring of the
tidal wave corresponds to the waxing or waning of the moon. The
morning tide comes on in the early, and the evening tide in the later
part of the day. The moon is said by astrologers to produce water ;
hence when the moon is full the tides are high, because they follow
their like. On the day of the first decade of each moon, and on the
night following, the sun and moon are a little distant from each other ;
the moon differing rather more than thirteen degrees, and the sun
being about that much behind the moon ; hence it is that the tides do
not keep pace with the revolving seasons. Every evening and morning,
there are early and later tides ; every new and full moon, there are
neap and spring tides ; and every spring and autumn season, there are
high and low tides ; for sublunary things correspond to the motions of
the heavenly bodies, still maintaining the discrepancy of thirteen
degrees. Heat and cold depend upon the revolving seasons ; hence the
exact periods of the sun arriving at the extreme point are fixed to mid-
night and noon, while the extremes of heat and cold occur generally
about two hours afterwards. The moon in her revolutions, likewise,
comes to her extremes at the new and full, while the early and later
tides come on at the quarters. With regard to the early and later
316 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

of apothecary’s stuff, a very strong decoction of maho-
gany-coloured bark, with a slight dash of port-wine, to
deepen its hue; it is a mulatto-complexioned river,
there is no doubt of that, and wears the deep-tanned
livery of the burnished sun.”

Within and without the walls, the city is cut up by
innumerable ditches and moats. These water-channels,
if kept constantly clear by the flow of the river and the
tidal wave, might contribute greatly to the convenience
and health of the inhabitants. But from want of care
and management in their commissioners of public
works, they get filled, clogged, and stagnant; they
become intolerable nuisances, and, no doubt, add much
during the dog-days to the pestilent vapours that gene-
rate in the neighbouring marshes. I remember when,
at midsummer, the city magistrates occasionally under-
took to delve out the mud and offal from the reservoirs,
not only did they stir up these sinks from the very
bottom, but, instead of carrying off their horrible con-
tents to some remote fields which they might have
enriched, the offensive and polluting ingredients were
poured forth on the ditch-sides, to waste and evaporate
the most detestable effluvia, not into “desert air,” but
into the atmosphere to be consumed by crowds of
human beings swarming along the banks.

tides, it may be observed, that their periods during each day may be
reckoned from the time when the sunis in the centre, which during the
darkness is as the day declines to midnight, and during the light is as
the day advances towards noon; with respect to the tides at the new
and full moons, it may be observed, that their periods during each
month may be reckoned from the time when the moon is at her two
extremes ; which during approaching brightness is from her begiuning
to wax, and during darkness is from her beginning to wane. With
respect to the high and low tides occurring annually, it may be
observed, that their periods during each year may be reckoned from
the position of the milky way; which during the approaching heat is
from the time when the branch of the galaxy rises to the zenith, and
during approaching cold is from the time when the main body thereof
advances to the ascendant.”
STREET NUISANCES AT SHANGHAI. 317

In our daily walks about Shanghai, it was a special
annoyance to foreigners to encounter ‘“ dung-boats,”
“dung-tanks,” “dung-buckets,” “dung-carriers,” and
“ cabinets d’aisance.” Of the last-named, though some
consisted merely of a huge jar, with a trellis-work
around of common hedge, or convolvulus, or honey-
suckle, others stood in by-streets and on the high-
ways,—looking like sentry-boxes, built of mud and
brick ; numbers of them having paintings of flowers on
their whitewashed walls, or a window often shaped like
a fan, a vine-leaf, or a flowerpot. But as for the other
named nuisances, they had no disguise whatever, and
for offensiveness exceed all description. Throughout
China human ordure is collected and treasured up, as a
native said one day, “like precious jewels; and is
used in agriculture with a most jealous economy,
—being valued by them as the best manure ;—in which,
perhaps, they offer a lesson to people in other parts of
the world.

Among the few curiosities about Shanghai, casually
mentioned among visitors from the South and the West,
there is an insignificant “ gurgling well,” at a walk of
three miles in a westerly direction. It adjoins the
Tsing-yen, a Buddhist temple. They say that people
used to bathe in this well in former days, and found
the water below the surface pleasantly warm. Although
the gas emitted from this bubbling spring ignites, it is
very odd that, in an early number of the North China
Herald, and in one number of the Chinese Miscellany,
published about 1850, it was announced, in sober
English, that the well emitted “carbonic acid gas!!”
The following brief notice of it was given in one of
Dr. Lockhart’s medical reports: “ About three miles to
the westward of the hospital, at the village called Tsing-
yen, there is, in front of a temple, a pit or well, about
eight feet square and ten or twelve feet deep, faced
with blocks of limestone and inclosed by a gaod sub-
318 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

stantial paling; there are about three feet of water in
this well, and from the bottom bubbles up a large
quantity of gas, so that the appearance is as if a large
volume of water was being constantly thrown up: the
people call it Hai-yen, or ‘ Eye of the Sea,’ and say
that the water neither increases nor diminishes, nor ever
runs out: the fact is, the water that is in the well is
merely drainage, and the gas rises through it. On
descending by means of a ladder to the water, and
holding a light over the agitated surface, the bubbles
explode with a light-blue flame, which continues all the
time light is applied. The gas may easily be collected
by means of a bell-glass and bladder; the water has a
slightly brackish taste, but small fish are noticed swim-
ming about in it; the gas is no doubt carburetted
hydrogen, and probably emanates from a layer of peat
or coal at some distance below the surface. The villa-
gers make no use of the water for any purpose, and
appeared to be much surprised when the gas was
ignited; they did not seem to be at all aware of its
inflammable nature.”

Not the least interesting object in the vicinity of
Shanghai was “an egg-hatching establishment,” at the
south-west corner of the settlement. Possibly under
the new régime, adopted since the Shanghai disturb-
ances have been put down, this native building may
have been removed. But a notice of it will elucidate
the artificial mode of egg-hatching popular in China,
particularly as my notes were taken on the spot.
Ordinarily the establishment was in full operation not
more than five months in the year, beginning with the
Tsingming term, about the end of March. Goose,
duck, and fowl eggs were taken in. Hen-eggs were
hatched for customers at a halfpenny each, and if to be
hatched for the firm were bought up at a farthing.
Duck-eggs were only taken in for the latter object, and
purchased at sixpence each. Goose-eggs were only
EGG-HATCHING, 319

hatched for customers, and at twopence-halfpenny. As
soon as the eggs were brought in, they were examined,
and marked in ink with the name of the owner. This
helped to fix the owners of the addled eges, or of the
chickens when hatched. To ascertain if the shells
were cracked, I observed the examiners take the eggs
up one by one, and gently tap them, the peculiar sound
revealing to their experienced ears whether or not the
shells were perfect. Broken or cracked, the egg was
wrapped round with common paper, and sometimes
inclosed in an empty shell. After these due prelimina-
ries, the first process was to expose the eggs to an oven
heat of about 100° Fahrenheit. In this establishment
I counted twenty-six ovens, with large exterior, small
interior, built of mud mixed with straw, and having a
thick straw-mat cover. The fuel consisted of fine
charcoal; and when lighted, the oven-doors were closed
to prevent a draught. Upon the top of every oven a
large, thick, covered basket was laid, over the bottom
of which the eggs were spread. To distribute the heat
equally, the eggs were turned over and over five times
a day. They remained a certain number of days on
the ovens for the purpose of proving them. To detect
the productive ones, for goose-eggs six days were
needed, fowl-eggs four, and duck-eggs only two. The
mode of detection was the following:—Having been
over the oven the number of days required, each was
carefully taken out, and exposed to astrong light. But
those in which no dark interior speck was seen were
pronounced barren, and returned to the owners. To
secure a strong light for this purpose, the following
easy and natural mode was adopted; as the interior of
the hatchery was necessarily gloomy and dingy, other-
wise it could not have answered its objects, a
hole was pierced through the wall, large enough to
place an egg in; and through this orifice it was
examined, with the aid of the sun-blaze outside. I
320 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

was told by the heads of the company that, of hen-eggs,
they found that only four in ten would hatch by this
artificial method, and in general they hatched 700,000
chickens a year on the establishment. If pronounced
good, the eggs were replaced in the oven-baskets, and,
after another term of days, were transferred to shelves
nicely matted with straw, cotton, &c. The workmen
arranged them on these with great regularity, and it
was surprising to see the expertness with which they
shuffled them about without injuring them. They
were covered over with cotton quilts. There was no
fire underneath; but the warm temperature of this
cavernous kitchen was uniformly kept up at a certain
point by the stoves already mentioned. The eggs
opened to the very day,—almost to the hour. The
time needed for hatching was given thus:—for goose-
eggs 324 days, or 16 days on the oven and 164 days
in bed; for duck-eggs 28 days, or 14 days on the oven
and 14 days in bed; and fowl-eggs 22 days, or 12 days
on the oven and 10 days in bed. Each time I visited
this “ poultry nursery,” I was amused to hear in every
direction the chirrup of a little creature within its
shell, or to listen to one as in impatience it pecked at
the walls of its prison-house. Nor was it less enter-
taining to watch one poking out its funny head with a
look of strangeness, eyeing the new world into which
it was coming; another half-fledged, leaping on its
“marble dome,” exulting in its liberty; and a third
eating its own shell to satisfy the first cravings of
hunger. As soon as hatched, the tiny creatures are
taken away by the owners, or sold to poulterers. I
was told by natives that hen-hatched chickens were
preferred, and that “ the fire-hatched ones cannot drink
cold water, but die immediately after sipping it, which
is not the case with others.” I was informed likewise
that pigeons and partridges were forced in a similar
mode, though not at this place. The artificial hatch-
CURIOUS HOAX. 821

ing is extensively practised in Canton province, where
“duck-boats” abound, in which ducklings are thus
raised, to be reared along the low muddy bank of the
“ Pearl river.”

There is this curious notice on the subject in an
old Chinese cyclopeedia:—“It is a common saying
among us, that ‘in the south we have fire-hatched
fowls; and in the north, lambs, that have sprung up
from the sowing of sheep-bones.’ Now, of the former
(says the writer), I can bear testimony from having
myself seen them. By this means it is unnecessary to
trouble the hen. The eggs are merely put into a sort

‘of basket with a slow fire underneath, and to a day

they will hatch, exactly in the same way. But, as for
lambs produced from bones, I have only heard of such
a lusus nature. I have likewise read an account of it
in some ancient work in these words :—‘ Take a sheep’s
bones and pound them ; as the winter advances, bury the
powder in the ground; and at spring-time young lambs
will sprout out from the field.’ But (adds the cyclo-
. peedist), although I have in all directions made inquiry
on this curious point, Iam assured that it is impossible.
So that I believe it is a hoax imposed on many people
(by a conundrum which, with its interpretation, is an-
nexed). Some lambs are small in size, but have large
and heavy bones ; in speaking of which they say, ‘their
bones are weighty ;? but the characters in Chinese with
a slight variation, may be written and pronounced as the
phrase ‘bone-seeds.’ Hence the puzzle reads ‘ bone-
sown lambs.’ ”

Around Shanghai there are several club-houses,
« Hwuy-kwans,” or assembly-halls, similar to those
described in a former part,—built and supported by
resident merchants or frequent visitors,—for the pur-
pose of encouraging social intercourse with countrymen
from the same locality of the empire. Some of these
erections are extensive, and fitted up with temples,

x
822 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

theatrical platforms, apartments for travellers, porter’s
lodge, &c.

Instead of re-entering into particulars about these,
there was at Shanghai “the Ningpo guild-house,” out-
side the city walls, between the north and west gates,
to whose “ depository for the dead” I wish to call the
reader’s attention. As the name indicates, that club-
house belonged to merchants, &c. of the six districts
within the prefecture of Ningpo. Its general objects
were to offer every available convenience to natives of
those districts who at any time visited Ningpo on
mercantile and other pursuits. But it was the special
object of the founders that their dead should not lie
forgotten. To provide for them, there were two parts
of the premises set apart:—one large space within
the walls of the spacious building, consecrated solely
as a depository for unburied dead; and another, a
cemetery, which consisted of a plot of ground outside
for burial.

The object of the “dead-house” was two-fold :—
first, that friends who desired to remove the remains of
a deceased relative for burial in his own native spot and
family ground, but did not find it convenient to do so
at once, might have a place at hand in which for a
time to lodge the encoffined with a degree of security
and confidence. The coffins were provided either by
the relatives or by the deceased himself before death.
Generally these were large and strongly made; some
singularly varnished and decorated. There is a special
compartment on this flight for the rich and opulent,
the lodgment-fee being one dollar. But for ordinary
admissions into the depository it was only 200 cash,
or 7d., per coffin. As I was quitting the spot one
morning, I met a Ningpo native of the middle class,
bringing the coffin of a dead child along with him ; and
I saw him deposit his valued treasure there with that
moderate entry-fee.
A DEPOSITORY TOR THE DEAD. 823

A second object of the dead-house was, that the
bodies of the Ningpoites who died at Shanghai poor,
friendless, or unrecognised, might be taken in and kept
until acknowledged and removed by their respective
families. With this view coffins were provided out of
the funds of the institution, all of one style and per-
fectly pla. The names of each individual, if known,
or their supposed name and district, &c., were carefully
marked on the shell. This expedited recognition. Such
were the two objects of that curious depository. Sub-
sequently, on repeating my visits, I found it was divided
into two separate apartments, for males and for females.
The women, no matter to what place they belong by
birth, in burial belong to their husbands’ native place.
In the former I counted one day 900 coffins, in the
latter 400. The apartments consisted of a series of sheds,
yunning parallel, with a separate roof over each shed.
In this manner the ‘“ dead-house ” was neither exposed
nor confined. Each roof was well raised and supported
on pillars; the floors laid in some places with cement
or bricks ; the coffins arranged upon benches, and not
on the bare ground. The foot-walks between the coffin-
rows were slabbed; and, as the distinct roofs were not
connected together, there was a gutter under the
various eaves to carry off the rain. Although there
was a very large collection of dead in coffins in the
separate rooms, I could detect nothing offensive. This
arose doubtless from the deceased, when laid out, being
covered with chalk and lime, &c., and their coffins
being closely cemented. The provision that the coffin
should remain three years is the same both with rich
and poor. During that time, friends may remove their
dead; but, at its expiration, if unremoved or unrecog-
nised, they are buried in the cemetery hard by, which
I have mentioned. In that burial-ground I observed
the coffins were buried underground, each with a small
rising mound and headstone. Relatives may, if they

¥ 2
324 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

like, subsequently transfer them from this plot of
ground, but at their own expense ;—to aid which friendly
act, the gravestones have inscribed on them the names
&c. of the entombed as on their coffins.

In this depét for the dead, there were curious emblems
of mourning on some of the coffins, which either had
been laid there by disconsolate friends themselves, or
sent from a distance for that purpose; e. g. mourning-
caps of hemp and unspun cotton, wisps of straw,
bundles of silvered paper, and “tablets to the spirits of
the departed.” If I might judge from the specimens I
saw here, mourning husbands appeared to have been
specially fastidious in marking the names and titles of
their wives upon their coffins.

I inquired of the resident manager, whether he would
show me his registry-book. He did so; and in it I found
that the entry of males in twenty-three years (between
1830 and 1853) had amounted to 3,083; but of women
in four years (between 1849 and 1858) there had been
1,118 ;—a strange disproportion this, which so struck
me at the time that I noted down the particulars on
the spot. Possibly it may be explained on the hypo-
thesis that Ningpo citizens who had married Shanghai
women were travelling merchants, and may have been
unable to return in time to remove their deceased wives,
or may themselves have died in distant parts of the
empire; but as their wives, although by birth natives
of Shanghai, by marriage belonged to the husbands’

. native places, on their decease their coffins were placed
here to await removal to the real family vaults at
Ningpo.

As to the fruits of the earth at Shanghai, of the
various grains, rice of every species is abundantly
cultivated, also wheat, millet, and pulse of different
kinds. But Shanghai is famous chiefly for its cotton.
The fields are extensively cultivated with it,—alter-
nately with rice, or during two summers with cotton,
FOOD FOR VEGETARIANS AND ANTI-VEGETARIANS. 325

and every third year with rice. The cloth manufactured
from it by the native families is plentiful in the markets,
and the working of cotton in the field, the shop, or at
the loom, gives large employ especially to the young
people and women. Kitchen vegetables are prolific and
of endless variety,—greens, spinach, onions, radishes,
parsley, mushrooms, taro, yams, cucumbers, water-
melons, &c. ‘The Chinese potato” (as it has been .
designated in England) is indigenous here, and probably
the recent recommendations given at the horticultural
meeting on its introduction into this country will be
advantageous for English and Irish.

And of the products of fruit-trees, we have an abun-
dant supply of persimmons, cherries, plums, oranges,
citrons, pomegranates, figs, and last, but not least in
size or flavour, most delicious peaches; so that, for a strict
vegetarian visiting this native city, there is every pros-
pect of a good supply and great variety; nor will there
be any lack to those of the opposite school, who prefer
beef, mutton, and pork, fish, fowl, game, shrimps, or
frogs. There is no fear, then, of any Westerner starv-
ing at Shanghai, for, at any foreign resident’s table, he
will meet with little change of diet from what he has
been accustomed to in his own country.

But his greatest suffering and his hazard, if he be a
new comer, is from the severe excesses of temperature
throughout the year, the rapid changes in spring and
autumn, and the malarious gases from the marshy
lands in his vicinity.

The first year or two foreigners settled here, the
maximum heat was 100° Fahr. and the minimum cold
15°. In summer, the average heat ranges between 80°
and 95° by day, 60° and 75° by night; and in winter,
the thermometer varies from 45° to 60° by day, and
from 24° by night. The following table may give some
idea of the temperature at Shanghai. It was carefully
drawn up by Dr. Lockhart from daily observations
326 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

throughout the year 1855, and, being published by
himself, may be relied on for accuracy :—

ABSTRACT OF OBSERVATIONS made by the thermometer, in the open
air, in a shady situation, with a southern exposure ; the maximum
by day, and the minimum by night, taken by a seli-registering
thermometer.

 

 

 

 

1855 Maxm.| Minm. | Maxm.| Minm. AveragelAveragel Rainy | Rain
i by day | by day |by night/by night| by day Pe night| days | table

January..| °52 33 40 18 44 25 4 | 12 in.
February .| 68 35 45 18 51 30 5 3
March ..} 72 36 57 30 55 41 11 5h
‘April....| 82 52 67 37 63 51 15 jig
May ....| 90 60 73 50 74 63 18 84
June ....| 90 73 79 56 79 70 7 |\4
July ....] 94 82 82 73 89 78 8 15
August ..| 99 83 81 75 87 78 12 | 7
September] 88 | 70 | 78 | 58 | 81 | 70 8 | 4}
October..| 80 65 69 45 73 58 3 | 13
November] 78 55 62 383 62 49 ll 4
December] 73 40 43 22 60 36 0 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In such a climate (not to speak of musquitoes in
clouds, flying beetles, and other disagreeables) “ rainy
seasons” are abundant, especially in March, April, May.
From the table given, it appears that in 1855 there were
102 days of rain; in May alone there were eighteen
rainy days; and throughout the year four feet seven
inches of rain had fallen. “ The monsoons,” thought
to be regular, are at times excessively fitful and lazy;
and dry seasons are not wanting. Thunder and light-
ning, sometimes appalling beyond description, are really
indispensable; and Shanghai is visited also by earth-
quakes, not very frequent nor periodical, but in such
short, sharp shocks, as to startle the foreign residents
at this new settlement, and to shake the nerves of the
most stout-hearted,—the instinctive impulse of each one
(if not paralyzed for the moment) being to make for the
door.
NATIVE THEORIES OF THE EARTHQUAKE. 327

Alluding to earthquakes, it may not be uninteresting
or unamusing to retail sundry theories and explanations
given me by natives about various phenomena in nature ;
e.g. “earth-tremor,” lightning, and eclipses.

Of earthquakes which occurred during my residence
in this part of the country, sometimes the prognostics
were a highly electric state of the atmosphere, a long
drought, excessive heat, and what seemed a stagnation
of all nature. At the critical moment of the commo-
tion the earth began to rock, the beams and walls
cracked like the timbers of a ship under sail, and a
nausea came over one, a sea-sickness really horrible.
At times, for a second or two previous to the vibration,
there was heard a subterraneous growl, a noise as of a
rushing mighty wind whirling about under ground. As
might be expected, the effect on the natives was to
strike with excessive alarm, especially if the quake
happened at night. Upon this there suddenly burst
out a mass of confused sounds from the native town,
—Zah-tsze, zah-tsze!” “Kew ming, kew ming!”—
“Thief, thief!” “Save your lives, save your lives! ”
&e. Dogs added their savage yell to the medley, and
the bang of gongs and tomtoms. Next day there ran
through the Chinese community exhaustless gossip about
a profusion of tiny hairs having been scattered on the
surface of the earth by the earthquake, plots of ground
sinking, cavities filled with water, flames issuing
from the hill-sides, and ashes cast about the country,
&e. &e.

From personal inquiries, I ascertained that the
Chinese ideas about the origin of this phenomenon are
unformed, obscure, and over-superstitious. Some said,
that, as the earth was too hot, it had to relieve itself
and gain its equilibrium by a shake; or that it was
changing its place for another part of the universe; or
that, as so much ground in the locality of Shanghai
had been recently turned up and its configuration
828 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

altered, the ground would readily be agitated ; or that
the Supreme One, to bring transgressors to their senses,
thought to startle them by a quivering of the earth;
or that, when people grew careless in rashly throwing
grains of rice about and profanely using lettered paper,
mother earth could no longer brook it, and shook her-
self to frighten them, &c. But the notion most common
among the vulgus is, that there are six huge sea-monsters
which support the earth, and, if any one of these move,
the earth accordingly is agitated. In Kanghe’s Impe-
rial Lexicon, it is gravely said that a certain king, who
lived long before the deluge, cut off the feet of one of
these monsters and set them up for the pillars of the
earth. On this account, the earth has ever since been
unsteady. But superstition is rife in ascribing these
earth-shakings chiefly to the remissness of the priest-
hood. There is in almost every temple a muh-yu,
“wooden fish,” a typical figure of the scaly prodigy
just alluded to, suspended near the altar-piece, and,
among the duties of the priests, it is rigidly prescribed
that they keep up an incessant and everlasting tapping
on this fish. If, however, they should become lax at the
rite, it is certain that the foresaid “ Ngaow fishes,” on
which the earth rests, will wriggle and shake to awaken
the drowsy priests to their drumming duties.

The following is another explanation of the fe-chin,
propounded to me by a learned native, after one such
commotion in December, 1852:—‘“ Under the thick
coat of the earth there is an immense cavity filled with
a sort of ether, the breath of the yang and y2n principles, .
which is capable of expansion and collapse. This
immense volume of air, as it rushes about underneath
the surface of the earth seeking vent, strikes against
the earth’s crust and agitates it. From this come the
earthquakes.”

But is it not singular that, although the Chinese
have derived aid from Europeans in astronomy, &c.,
NATIVE THEORIES OF ECLIPSES. 829

they appear so closely to stick to superstitions like
the above, against every form of evidence, and make
no struggle to rise above such paltry and childish
notions ?

So it is with eclipses too. They are able to calculate
these with tolerable accuracy; yet the men who are
acquainted with this part of astronomical science, do
not seem to have extended the fruits of their knowledge
even among the higher and intellectual classes.

During solar and lunar eclipses visible at Shanghai,
the curiosity of the people was remarkable. Some-
times they peered at the object through smoked glasses,
—which they had copied from foreigners ;—or, they
would of their own accord use red card-papers pierced
with a pin, a nail, or anawl. Sometimes they watched
the progress of the uméra on the face of a full tank,
cistern, jar, or a basin of water.

It is a prevalent notion that an eclipse is occasioned
by some monster “dragon,” attempting to swallow up
the sun or the moon: accordingly, an eclipse is called,
not only by the lower orders, but by all ranks, and
in their books and proclamations, “ the moon-eating,”
or “the sun-eating.” One of the characters to repre-
sent an eclipse is the verb to “eat,” and “a worm or
insect ;” as if the object were being gradually eaten
and wormed out. The result of such absurdity is that,
during an eclipse, there is an incessant din of gongs,
drums, horns, cymbals, pipes, fifes, &c., along with the
letting off of crackers and popguns; all this hurly-
burly being kept up to frighten away the devouring
beast. They likewise shoot arrows at the sun or moon.
At the temples the idols are brought out and seated
on large chairs; and tables are set before them, with
burning red candles and incense-sticks. Buffets are
arranged, on which the idols are supposed to kneel and
entreat the monster to desist from his “ sun-eating ”
pranks. The priests are particularly religious on the
330 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

occasion, and go throw all the ceremony of bowing,
kneeling, chanting, &c.; and in their private residences
the people are observing a similar farce, imploring the
animal to pity their dilemma and spare the greater and
lesser lights. When the eclipse is over they believe
they have been successful in their entreaties. The
government authorities uniformly lend their aid to all
this nonsense, at their official residences. Several days
beforehand, they issue proclamations to inform the
public of a notice received from the Astronomical
Board that on such and such a day, hour, and minute,
there will be a “sun-eating,” &c., and they command
that the underlings of office “shall all meet at their
several offices at the said hour, to rescue and protect
the sun or moon.”

To mention one other crudity,—that when lightning
strikes a building, that edifice must be infested with
snakes and other reptiles. In the month of August,
1853, a severe bolt struck a foreign residence not far
from my own. The natives were amazed at the occur-
rence, as the house was quite new, and they could not
imagine it could already be haunted by such odious
creatures. I requested a native scholar to inform me
what was the nature of this fable so current among his
townsmen, and he wrote out the following :—‘“‘ When
lightning strikes the ridge of a house, you may be sure
it is because, in the heart of that building, there are
poisonous serpents, &c., lurking. In olden times there
was a family mansion thus struck, yet no apparent
injury was done. However, in course of half a month,
the roof began to leak without intermission. At last it
was discovered that an enormous toad-like monster,
partly in the shape of a child, lay sleeping under the
tiles. So, likewise, in the year 1802, the god of thunder
went through China to destroy all reptiles, venomous
creatures, &c. The result was that, when the destroy-
ing angel came to the Nanking pagoda, its steeple was
A DUST OR SAND SHOWER. 831

instantly struck, and it fell for no other reason than
that a brood of nasty insects and snakes was concealed
somewhere in it.”

After dilating on such clumsily devised fables, let us
come to a meteorological fact that frequently appears at
Shanghai,—a fall of dust. This happens once a year,
sometimes twice, and occasionally with an interval of
two or three years. In 1852 it fell in the month of
December. But more commonly it occurs in the month
of March; which agrees with the Chinese observation,
“Tt usually descends during the second moon.” It
comes with the wind veering between north-east and
north-west, continues for a day or two, and varies in
intensity. It is an infinitesimally fine powder,—some-
times black, ordinarily yellow. Though no real fog or
mist obscures the sun or moon, they are scarcely visible
during the sand-shower, and, if visible, only as seen
through a darkened glass. The deposit of this exqui-
site powder is found to be a quarter of an inch thick
in some places, after a fall of a day or two: it can
penetrate the closest venetians; it overspreads every
article of furniture in the house; it finds its way into
the most secluded apartments ; it blows into the tightest
wardrobe. In walking abroad, one’s clothes are covered
with dust,—the face gets dirty, the mouth and throat
parched up, the teeth grate, the eyes become irritable,
the ears tickle, the nostrils feel itchy; and it is to be
feared that for ophthalmic and pulmonary patients these
showers are far from beneficial. The fall used at times
to extend as far as Ningpo,—also 200 miles out to sea,
and (it has been said) inland over the midland provinces
Honan and Kiangse.

In explanation of it, the Chinese themselves say it
comes from the northern provinces Shantung and Chihli.
Supposing this to be an approach to the real source of
it, it may be conjectured that the fine dust is blown
down upon the plains of China from the elevated
332 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

steppes of Mongolia, after having been wafted by
typhoons into the upper regions, as it has been ascer-
tained is the case in Africa with the sands of Sahara,
which are deposited 1,200 miles away from their
original bed.

In 1850 I sent to England a packet of the dust which
happened to fall that same year (of which I have still a
good sample by me). It was submitted to a naturalist,
who observed in reply :—“ Its particles sink slowly in
water, and are so light that they might be carried up
into the atmosphere by a tornado, or by evaporation, for
much earthy matter, in a state of minute pulverization,
is carried up by evaporation; or they might be pro-
jected from a volcano. I do not, however, think that
the dust is of volcanic origin; nor do I think it is
star-dust, or that it has emanated from any of the
heavenly bodies. The fact of its having fallen or
settled from the atmosphere appears to be well estab-
lished; but, in order to form a correct opinion as to
the source whence it came, many other particulars must
be known.”

Some have said that it was of volcanic origin, to be
traced probably to one of the Japanese volcanoes, fre-
quently subject to eruptions. In the report of the
Shanghai Hospital for 1852, after remarking that on
December 16th of that year there had been two smart
earthquakes, it is observed,—“‘ The day but one after the
earthquake, the atmosphere was filled for two or three
days with impalpable aust or sand, which gave to the
atmosphere a very misty appearance, and was deposited
on the ground in all directions. The wind was north-
west at the time. It is impossible to say what is the
cause of this sand-rain, or where it comes from. May
it not be volcanic sand projected high into the air from
some distant volcano in eruption, and carried about by
the upper currents of wind, till at last it falls on the
earth?” On this point I may quote the opinion of
THE PEOPLE OF SHANGHAI. 333

Mr. Piddington, the curator of Economic Geology of
India, who, having examined a sample of the dust, gave
an official report thereon :—‘“ We have seen that it is
not in the least volcanic, its animal nature putting this
entirely out of the question, and all the volcanic dusts
upon record are for the most part fusible and pulveru-
rent (like pumice or obisidian), while the residuum of
ours. is perfectly infusible, for the little globules are
properly the only fusible parts, being alkaline concre-
tions. ... We are assured, moreover, that our dust
must have come from the land, by its semi-animal con-
stituents, and that it must have come therefore origi-
nally from some quarter to the westward of the meridian
of Ningpo and Shanghai, for to the eastward is the
ocean ; and, as it was brought down by a north-easterly
current, below that, it must have come from the north-
ward. The north-west, then, seems the most probable
direction to suppose it was originally carried into the
atmosphere; and it is improbable it could have come from
Corea or Japan.”’ This seems to encourage the hypothesis
of its having been brought down from the high land to
the north of China.

In bidding adieu to the city and walks of Shanghai,
let me give a parting word about its population. A
rough estimate of the inhabitants in the city and
suburbs would give from 350,000 to 400,000. But
no accurate statistics have been yet taken on which
a correct census could be drawn. The multitudes here
are composed, in a great measure, of migratory people,
traders, merchants, &c., from every part of the empire,
bent on commerce or gain of some sort ;—and yearly
the mass is growing. Crowds are begetting crowds;
for there is a stream of vultures, in China as else-
where, flying in the direction of the carcass. But
it is easy to detect that this mixed medley is truly
Chinese,—physically, intellectually, morally. As for
the indigenous part of the community, it is plain
3834 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

they are not even on a par with men of Soochow,
Shantung, Ningpo, Amoy, or Canton, for independence,
energy, vivacity; yet it cannot be denied that the
Shanghai people are equal to all others in industry,
perhaps superior to them for gentleness and docility.
The following description of the people is translated
from a native work, and perhaps, on the whole, depicts
justly the state of the Shanghai natives when the work
was written, about the beginning of the present cen-
tury :*— Generally speaking, the scholars of the dis-
trict are polished, but rather superficial, and the
husbandmen are sincere, but approaching to vulgarity.
The common people are poor, and the merchants
wealthy ; sometimes, however, while they have a defi-
ciency at home, they display abundance abroad. The
citizens aim to imitate the manners of the inhabitants
of Soo-chow and Yang-chow, but it ill becomes the
insignificance of their district; though an elegant
appearance is presented to the gaze of the multitude,
yet they have not the means wherewith to maintain it
long; for in order to perpetuate the grandeur to distant
generations, the source from which it sprang should be
of an ancient date.”

That is an olden portraiture of Shanghai people and
poverty,—in some respects too true at the present day.
There is little doubt, however, that the opening of the
port has wrought beneficially on all classes ; intercourse
with foreigners of every country being calculated to
spur them up, as well as contact with more of the intel-
ligent and enterprising of their own fellow-countrymen,
who have recently been flocking to that foreign mart.
The men and the women make good servants, tractable
and trusty; and it is scarcely to be feared but, after a
fair trial, the Shanghai natives will prove themselves in
other points as active, clever, and successful as their
countrymen in other parts.

* Chinese Miscellany.
CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE MISREPRESENTED. 835

I am aware that the character of the people, not
only of Shanghai but of all China, has been sadly
depreciated by some, who, I believe, if they had not
given so much bridle to their pens, would have secured
more confidence in their accounts, and a better name
for fairness and moderation. Some American, of the
name of Bayard Taylor, after a flying visit to Shanghai
(where I acted as his cicerone for half a day), and
perhaps to one or two other ports in China, records his
estimate of Chinese morality thus, in one of his last
works :—“ It is my deliberate opinion that the Chinese
are morally the most debased people on the face of the
earth. Forms of vice, which in other countries are
barely named, are in China so common that they excite
no comment among the natives. They constitute the
surface-level, and below them there are deeps on deeps
of depravity so shocking and horrible that their character
cannot even be hinted. There are some dark shadows
in human nature which we naturally shrink from pene-
trating, and I made no attempt to collect information
of this kind ; but there was enough in the things which
I could not avoid seeing and hearing,—which are
brought almost daily to the notice of every foreign resi-
dent,—to inspire me with a powerful aversion to the
Chinese race. Their touch is pollution, and, harsh as
the opinion may seem, justice to our own race demands
that they should not be allowed to settle on our soil.
Science may have lost something, but mankind has
gained by the exclusive policy which has governed China
during the past centuries.” I know this shallow
observer of human nature has been skimming nearly
over every part of the globe; but, with all deference to
him, I only enter a flat contradiction, that it “is my
deliberate opinion that the Chinese are morally not the
most debased people on the face of the earth.”
336

CHAPTER II.

COLONY OF HEBREWS IN THE INTERIOR—-MOHAMMEDANISM AMONG THE
CHINESE—INFLUENCE OF BUDDHISM, AND STRIKING SIMILARITY TO
POPERY.

Many topics for curious inquiry occurred during my
long residence at Shanghai, which it were superfluous to
recite here. It will be sufficient to assure any reader who
may be fond of investigation, that, in the pages which
follow, it will be my object to bring within due compass,
and in as interesting a manner as I can, the result of
researches made by me on the spot, on such subjects as
the existence of a colony of Hebrews in the interior, as
well as of Mohammedans; Buddhism, and its effects ;
the nature and history of Pagodas; and the working
of Popery and Protestantism in China.

With these preliminary remarks, let me bespeak the
reader’s attention toa

Brief Narrative of the Discovery of a Hebrew Colony
in China.

The most recent information we have had regarding
the existence of any remnant of the Hebrew race in
China, was published in 1851, at the London Mission
Press, in Shanghai, in “ The Narrative of a Mission of
Inquiry to the Jewish Synagogue at Kaifung.’”’ That
mission of inquiry was promoted the preceding year, at
the instance of the London Society for Christianizing
Jews, to whose funds a lady of great liberality had
bequeathed a large sum, for the purpose of instituting
definite researches on this very point,—the existence of
Jews in China. Dr. Smith, the Bishop of Hong-Kong,
on leaving England for his diocese, promised his assist-
ance in pursuing this inquiry; and, on reaching Hong-
A HEBREW COLONY IN THE INTERIOR. 337

Kong, in 1850, as the Church Missionary Society’s
Mission in China was but in its infancy, his lordship
communicated with the representatives of the London
Missionary Society at Shanghai, requesting our aid and
counsel, which was readily afforded. As we had two
intelligent Chinese converts, whom we could recommend
as qualified to enter on the work, their services were
accepted, and we despatched them on the 25th of
November, 1850.

After an absence of a few months (Kuifung lying at
a distance of six hundred miles from Shanghai), our
messengers returned. They brought with them two
Chinese Jews, with whom I had frequent interviews, as
they resided in our mission during their sojourn at
Shanghai. Neither of them had a Hebrew name. The
one was forty years old, the other about forty-five. They
had both submitted to the rite of circumcision in infancy.
One of them had a remarkably Jewish cast of counte-
nance. But in nothing were they distinguishable from
the surrounding masses, except in religious profession ;
for they talked the Chinese language, dressed in the
Chinese style, and had the usual Chinese manners and
customs.

But not the least interesting proofs brought by our
messengers of inquiry were eight MSS., containing
portions of the Old Testament Scriptures in Hebrew.
These were Exod. i.mvi.; xxxvilixl.; Lev. xix., xx.;
Numb. xii.—xv.; Deut. xi.—xvi., xxxil.; and the
remaining two MSS. contained selections from the
Pentateuch, Psalms, Hagiographia, perhaps parts of a
Liturgy. These MSS. were chiefly on large scrolls, a
few of them in a smaller book-form written on thick
paper, and some on sheepskin. One or two were of
considerable antiquity. The writing in most was clear
and distinct, with vowel-points. On comparing the MSS.
of Exod. ivi. with the editions in general use at the
present day, I found a remarkable agreement.

Z t
338 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

These MSS., lying imbedded in the interior of China
for centuries, may be of service to those engaged in the
collation of ancient Hebrew Scriptures.

The narrative of this mission of inquiry is full of
important particulars of this journey and residence at
Kaifungfoo: and, from the statements made by these
individuals and their companions, the two Chinese Jews,
I give the following summary of the colony of Jews in
that city and of their synagogue.

In all probability this sect took refuge here about the
third century of the present era, but not later,—coming
from India across the north-western boundary of China.
At first they numbered seventy clans, but at present
not more than one tenth of this number exists, and of
these seven families not above 200 individuals survive.
They are chiefly located in the centre of Kaifung city
and in the vicinity of their synagogue. A few are shop-
keepers, some are peasants; but the majority are sunk
in poverty and misery, almost destitute of raiment and
shelter,-—so poor indeed, that some of the materials of
the synagogue premises have been sold by the professors
to supply the wants of their families. Still they retain
their distinctness from the surrounding masses of Mo-
hammedans and Pagans, although by the mere name of
their religion. Originally they were called followers of
the Tienchuh religion, that is “ the Indian religion ;”—
Tienchuh being the Chinese name for India, from which
country this sect is reported to have come. But, instead
of that appellation, they now go by the name 7“iau-kin-
kiau, —“ cutting-the-sinew sect,— because everything
that we eat, mutton, beef or fowl, must have the sinews
taken out.” The rite of circumcision is still practised
on males, within one month after birth. Of festivals,
one is “ for perambulating round the Scriptures ;” this
is the twenty-fourth of the eighth month. Their Sab-
bath is the European Saturday. They intermarry only
among themselves, not with pagans or Mohammedans.
Castine) NONE EL dob
RAL wi ba SIAN su wie tent
cl. ren el. Nal (Ne qin Gs He te
ik, NSH elscel Cec hivekans
NAG - ay “Ar Reng Cait,
Noe ¢ UME | GATE eRe
A HEBREW COLONY IN THE INTERIOR. 339

Nor is it permitted to marry two wives. They are
forbidden to eat pork. In the observance of Divine
service, they have to wash their bodies before entering
the synagogue ; and, for this purpose, on each side of the
holy place thereisa bath. During service they face the
west, in the direction of Jerusalem, or, rather, as near
that direction as they know. In the performance of
sacred worship, the priest at one time used to wear a blue
head-dress and blue shoes: hence the name by which
Jews have gone in China, “the blue-bonnet Moslems.”
The people are not permitted to enter the temple with
their shoes on their feet; nor the women with napkins
on their heads,—the common head-dress among the
Chinese females of Honan province. However, the
expectation of the Messiah scems to have been entirely
Isst. The elder of the two Chinese Jews informed us,
that he remembered people talking of Hebrew teachers,
at Kaifung, who had died a little before he was born,
or about fifty years since. The Rabbi was called
“ Mwanlah,’ that is Mullah. Besides him, there are
two officers,—the one “ the sinew-extractor,” the other
“the preacher of doctrines.” At this time, there seems
to be none able to decipher Hebrew writings. Indeed,
they have begun recently to amalgamate themselves
with the myriad pagans and Mohammedans in the vast
population of Kaifung, which must amount at least to
one million.

Although the Jews must have entered China so early
in the Christian era, it appears that their synagogue
was not built here before the close of the twelfth
century, or nearly 1,000 years after their entrance.
Jewish professors used to call this building “the temple
of Yih-sze-lo-hi-nieh,’ in which possibly there is an
attempt at expressing the name Israel phonetically ;—
but the inscription at present over the door is “ The
true and pure temple.” According to the accounts
brought by the Chinese investigators, the synagogue

zo
340 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

itself stands within a third inclosure. Here there is
one large hall, eighty feet deep, and forty feet wide,
the roof of which is covered with green tiles. In this
stands a seat, “ Moses’ seat,’”’ about a foot above a wooden
floor; where, on grand festive seasons, the Rabbi took
his seat under a large red satin umbrella held over-
head, which is still preserved in the building. Here
too was a cell for depositing “the twelve tubes con-
taining Heaven’s records,” or the copies of Hebrew
scriptures already spoken of.

During their researches, our messengers copied many
inscriptions within the synagogue and on its various
pillars,—some in Chinese, a few in Hebrew characters.
I transcribe one or two of the latter from their journal,
exactly as they are given by the transcribers them-
selves, without vouching for their accuracy or making
any correction. Over a tablet in Chinese,—similar to
what is found in Mohammedan mosques or Buddhist
ter ples,—with the customary formula, “ May His Im-
perial Majesty live for ever,” &c., there is this Hebrew
inscription :—

sm man ads my Sew pv
sy) ody sma5n “a> ow Pa

“ Hear, O Israel! Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.
Blessed be the name of his glorious kingdom for ever
and ever.” These sentences are repeated in another
part. Close to the cell for containing the scriptures we
have this sentence :—

orden nbs mina wow 133

“ Tneffable is his name, for Jehovah is the God of
gods.” Of the Chinese inscriptions, which are very
numerous, the following couplet is singular :-—

“The sacred scriptures consist of fifty-three sections ; these we
recite by mouth, and meditate on, praying that the imperial sway may
be firmly established.”

“The letters of the sacred alphabet are twenty-seven; these are
taught in our households, in hope that the interests of the country
may prosper.”
A HEBREW COLONY IN CHINA. 341

In our common Hebrew Bibles, the Pentateuch is
divided into fifty-four sections; but it appears that
among Indian and Persian Jews their division gives
only fifty-three ; and as to the number of Hebrew letters,
by making the final forms of kaph, mem, nun, pe, and
tsaddi, separate and distinct letters,—the same Jews
make up twenty-seven, instead of twenty-two, as usually
given.

From two long Chinese tablets outside the gateway
of the synagogue, I make the following extracts, and
with them conclude this notice of “ the peculiar people,”
who have for 1,500 years resided in the very centre of
China, the unconscious witnesses of departed glory and
unknown treasurers of the oracles of God :—

‘From the beginning of the world our first father Adam handed
down the doctrine to Abraham; Abraham handed it down to Isaac ;
Isaac handed it down to Jacob; Jacob handed it down to the twelve
patriarchs ; and the twelve patriarchs handed it down to Moses ; Moses
handed it down to Aaron; Aaron handed it down to Joshua; and
Joshua handed it down to Ezra; by whom the doctrines of the holy re-
ligion were first sent abroad, and the letters of the Jewish religion first
made plain.”

“The founder of this religion is Abraham, whois considered the first
teacher of it. Then came Moses, who established the law, and handed
down the sacred writings. After his time, during the Han dynasty,
this religion entered China.” [The Han dynasty arose two centuries
before and endured two centuries after the opening of the Christian era,
so that the introduction of Judaism into China must, according to this,
have been between B.c, 200 and a.p. 200.]

“‘Moses was intelligent from his birth, pure and disinterested, en-
dowed with benevolence and righteousness, wisdom and virtue, all com-
plete. He sought and obtained the sacred writings on the top of
Sinai’s hill, where he fasted forty days and nights, repressing his carnal
desires, refraining even from sleep, and spending his time in sincere
devotion. The sacred writings (that is of the Pentateuch), amounting
to fifty-three sections, were thus obtained. Their contents are deep and
mysterious, their promises calculated to influence men’s good feelings,
and their threatenings to repress their corrupt imaginations. The doc-
trines were again handed down to the time of the reformer of our reli-
gion Ezra, whose descent was reckoned from the founder of our
religion.

“Thus our religion has been handed down from one to another.
It came originally from India. Those who introduced it in obedience
to God’s commands were seventy clans. [The names are given.]
342 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

About 1166, Yen-toolah built the synagogue in Kai-fung capital. But
as this temple required some one to look after its concerns, there were
appointed certain men [who are named], themselves upright, intelli-
gent, and able to admonish others. They had the title of Mwan-lah
[Mullah]. So that up to this time [%. e. when the tablet was written,
A.D. 1489], the sacred vestments, ceremonies, and music, are all main-
tained according to the prescribed pattern. .... Yen-toolah fixed the
foundation, and commenced the work, towards the completion of which
all the Jewish families contributed. In this manner were provided the
sacred implements and furniture, with the cells for depositing the sacred
writings.”

Above is a summary of the valuable information
brought by the two Chinese messengers, who left the
mission at Shanghai in search of the Israelites in
Kaifung. Their narrative, translated by Dr. Medhurst,
and prefaced by the Bishop of Victoria, has already
been published, though, I regret to find, little known in
this country. It deserves republication, for it contains
a mass of information, adding to, as well as corrobora-
tive of, the particulars to be found in the duodecimo
published twelve years since by Mr. Finn, entitled
“The Jews in China.”

Another subject of investigation somewhat novel and
important was the growth and progress of “ the religion
of the Prophet,’ among the professed followers of
Confucius.

The name by which Moslemism goes in China is the
Hwuy-Hwuy religion. Judaism also has the name
Hwuy-Hwuy koo-kiaou, or “the Hwuy-Hwuy ancient
religion.” The characters Hwuy-Hwuy convey no mean-
ing in this appellation, as it is an attempt to transfer a
foreign name. I have met with no satisfactory explana-
tion of the origin of that name. And the only attempt
at a solution, that I have seen somewhere, is that, as a
large proportion of subsidiaries in the service of the
Chinese emperor in 4.D. 750 were Mohammedans of the
Ouigar tribes, the Chinese have since that time deno-
minated them and their creed by the first syllable of
their name, Out, Hwuy, and Hwuy-Hwuy.
MOHAMMEDANS AMONG THE CHINESE. 3438

It has been supposed by some that the Mohammedans
entered China first by land; but a native cyclopedia
before me observes, as to the question how and when
the Hwuy people visited China:—“The Hwuy nations
lie above 1,000 miles beyond the frontiers of Northern
Tartary, called the Yuhmun boundary, in 58° N. lat.
It is the peculiar custom of that people to worship
Heaven alone. At the beginning of the Tang dynasty,
A.D. 750, they came by ship [from India, Persia, or
Arabia] to the Canton province, where they erected a
place of worship. After Kublai mounted the Chinese
throne, this sect spread very widely throughout the em-
pire. Wherever they went they formed close alliances
amongst themselves and settled down.” Another
native account fixes the introduction of the Moslem
religion into China, about a.p. 633. At the latest,
however, its entrance must have been at or near the
year 130 of the Hegira. It has been remarked by
some foreign residents at Canton, that they have been
struck with the strongly-marked Arab faces of many
natives there. Upon inquiry of the origin and creed of
these people, it has been ascertained from themselves
that their ancestors had settled at Canton several cen-
turies ago, and that they themselves were Mohamme-
dans in religion. This appears to second the account of
the first appearance of this people at Canton.

From the beginning, the sole object of the followers
of the Prophet in entering the middle kingdom seems
to have been commerce; nor do they at any time
appear to have taken pains to proselytize the Chinese.
If they have. increased in numbers, it has been by mar-
riage and offspring.

Except in strictly maintaining their religious secta-
rianism, they differ not from the surrounding myriads
in dress, language, and manners. Instances occur in
which superstition works remarkably among them; of
which the following is a singular case that occurred at
344 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the city of Canton in 1835 :—One evening, a follower
of the false Prophet, contrary to his creed, accidentally
ate a piece of pork and lay down to sleep. In his
dreams a man appeared before him, inquired the reason
of his violating the laws of the Prophet, and forthwith
dragged him away. Frightened, he raised his voice
and awoke, and after telling his family what he had
done and seen, immediately expired. His neighbours
believed this story to be true, and that his death was a
punishment inflicted on him for not adhering to the
faith in which he was born.

At present, the Moslem sect is to be found in all
the provinces of China, but fewer in the south than in
the north-west. Iam not prepared to give even their
probable census at the present date. Early in the
eighteenth century it was put down at half a million.
That part of Little Bokhara under the government of
the Chinese to the west of China Proper is called in
our geographies “Eastern Turkistan,’ but by the
Chinese themselves “ the territory of the eight Mo-
hammedan cities.” There the professors of Moham-
medanism are divided into three classes, differing in
the shape and colour of their head-dresses,—the red,
the white, and the common Arab turban.

Through ignorance, the Jews in China, as already
stated above, are also designated by the name under
which Mohammedans go, probably owing to a simi-
larity in some of their tenets; but they are distin-
guished not only as belonging to “ the ancient” form
of the Moslem faith, they are also sometimes called
“the Blue-bonnet Mohammedans,” from wearing the
blue turban.

At different times J have been introduced to mem-
bers of the Mohammedan profession, officers that had
passed the regular examinations for promotion. In an
ancient account of China, by two Mohammedan tra-
vellers that visited that empire in the ninth century,
MOHAMMEDANS AMONG THE CHINESE. 345

they state (what I have been unable to ascertain as
existing at the present day) that “there is a Moham-
medan appointed judge over those of his religion by
the authority of the Emperor of China, and that he is
judge of all the Mohammedans who resort to those
parts. Upon festival days he performs the public ser-
vices with the Mohammedans, and pronounces the
sermon or kotbat, which he concludes, in the usual
form, with prayers for the Sultan of the Moslems.
The merchants of Irak who trade hither are no ways
dissatisfied with his conduct or his administration in
the post he is invested with, because his actions and the
judgments he gives are just and equitable, and con-
formable to the Koran, and according to the Moham-
medan jurisprudence.”

When the Imperial forces came down upon Shanghai,
in the autumn of 1853, to expel the pirates then in
possession of that city, I visited their encampment, and
found crowds of soldiers from Kansuh and Shense who
were of the Moslem creed, distinguished from their
comrades in arms as “men who have no idols, and
would not eat swine’s flesh.” They professed likewise
to adore “ Allah,” to follow “ Moohamihtih,” and to
abstain from wine.

A native writer, speaking of their religious views,
observes :—“ Although the Mohammedan territory
borders on India, the customs of this people differ
greatly; for they do not worship Buddha, they do not
pray to the dead, nor sacrifice to spirits. What they
reverently honour is what we represent by one cha-
racter, 7“ien, or heaven.” The native messengers,
who, in 1850, were sent by the Protestant mission at
Shanghai in search of the Jews at Kaifung, informed
us on their return that the Mohammedans there are
numerous, and that over a wine-jar, painted upon their
signboards in the market-places, they have written two
characters, “ pure and true,” implying their sincerity
346 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

and constancy in abstinence from all intoxicating
drinks. In various parts of the country they have
erected mosques, principally in the larger cities, often
with this Arabic inscription over the gateway,—“A
temple for Mohammedans who desire to consult the
Koran.” In the city of Canton there is the Kwang-
t‘ah, or “ bright pagoda,” lofty and prominent, erected
about 1,000 years since by the resident Mohammedans,
and around its base they have their mosque. Beyond
the city walls there is a Mohammedan burying-ground,
known among the natives by the name Hiang-fun,
“ Hchoing Cemetery ;” for, say they, “when people
enter it, their words and steps re-echo, moving for a
time and then stopping.”

From the Mohammedan teacher (my interview with
whom I have mentioned at page 80) I obtained a pic-
torial sheet almanac for the year 1843, prepared for the
use of the Mohammedans. It purported to have been
issued from Hangchow, the principal seat of their
religion in China, and published with the sanction of
the Imperial Cabinet, containing directions to the
followers of the Prophet for the observance of set
days of rest, fasting, and other festivals. The upper
portion of a temple is depicted on it, with two maxims
in large characters, viz., “In receiving instructions
be serious and reverential,” and “ Strictly keep fast-
days and worship-days.” A few short notes line the
margin of the table-almanac, such as “ Whenever the
new moon is observed on the first day of the week, it
is of prime importance not to attend to ordinary busi-
ness on that day. Let business be anticipated the day
before; should the moon appear on the third day, let
business be put off till the next day.” The table con-
tains a list of the Sabbaths and “ pure, true fast and
feast days.” * The year of the publication is given as

* To their mosques and services, as well as signboards, they attach

the description “ pure and true,” the same which the Jews appropriate
to their synagogue and services.
MOHAMMEDANS AMONG THE CHINESE. 347

“the 23rd of Taoukwang,” also “the 1249th year of
the exalted and sacred parting with the world [that is,
the decease] of Moohamihtih of the West.” Each
mouth has the Arabic name given in Chinese pronun-
ciation as follows :—

Month. Chinese Pronunciation of the Arabic Names.
Ist—Mei-hoh-lan, is. a Moharram, (1)
2nd.—Sib-fei-lih, = Safar. (2)
8rd.—Leih-ngan-wei-lih, = 8  ...... Robuland. (3)
4th.—Leh-pi-au-lib-hah-lih, ==... Robusanny.
5th.—Che-ma-tuh-lih-o-wah-lih. = ...... Jumadelavil. (4)
6th.—Che-ma-tuh-lih-o-hah-lih, .esee. Jumdiassany. (5)
7th.—Lih-chih-puh, sis Rajeb.
8th.—Shay-ur-pa-nah. ins. se Shabaun. (6)
9th.—Lih-mah-shah-nah. tit... Ramyan. (7)
10th.—Shau-wa-lih. «sees. Shawal. (8)
11th.—Tsub-lih-kah-ur-tih. seeees Dhbulkaada,
12th.—Tsuh-lih-hau-chibh, =... Dhulhuijja. (9)
13th.—Mei-hoh-lan, is Moharram. (10)*,

I have heard, but I cannot recall my authority, that
yearly there is a band of Chinese pilgrims for Mecca.
I am disposed to doubt it. The only instance of the
kind is mentioned in a number of the “Chinese Repo-
sitory” for 1834, of a man of the province of Chihhi, a
Chinese Mohammedan, who returned to Canton from
his pilgrimage that same year :—“ This poor and. igno-
rant man, three years ago, came down to Canton, and

 

* Special days to be observed in each month :—

(1) Twelfth-day of Askuholih (Achurry), the appointed time for
liberality to the poor.

(2) During this entire month all business must be attended with
special care and circumspection. ,

(8) The third day is the anniversary of the Prophet’s sickness; the
fourteenth is the day of his death ; both to be kept as fasts.

(4) The second day is the birthday of the great sage Ur-li-alz.

(5) The fifth day is the first commemoration of the death of the holy
woman Fatima.

(6) This is an intercalary month.

(7) Keep one mouth’s fasting.

(8) The whole month is a festival of congratulation.

(9) The twelfth day must be observed as the Kur-purh feast.

(10) A day of liberality to the poor as in the first month,
348 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

obtained a passage in a country ship to Bombay, whence
he found his way to the tomb of the Prophet. In the
same way he has now effected his return, bringing
with him a large store of Arabic books. Though
altogether unable to make himself understood either
by his fellow-countrymen on board the ship, or by the
Mohammedan lascars, he was, on account of his pil-
grimage, treated with respect and attention by the
latter. At Canton he joined the society of his religious
associates, from whom the sanctity of his character
would insure to him support, and the means (which he
did not possess) of returning to his native province.”

Buddhism in China.

As you mount to the summit of any of the idolatrous
towers called pagodas, and view the landscape o’er,
studded with similar erections, temples, monasteries,
and other monuments, there is this inquiry which
you cannot but study with some degree of interest :—
“What has Buddhism done for the Chinese—for edu-
cation, morality, and religion among the Chinese ?”

Deserting its Indian nursery at the opening of the
Christian era, as a refugee it sought protection in “the
central country,” and, with its Indian deities and mis-
sionaries, Indian tenets and language, Indian ritual
and canonicals, it found favour with a people already
dissatisfied with their own religionless systems, and
prepared to admit any new form that might work more
effectually on their feelings of devotion. Making the
heart of the empire its first Station, with a handful of
priests, and with loads of tracts and books (the silent
and most effective messengers of every religion),
Buddhism branched forth in all directions, and crept
over the breadth of the empire, erecting monuments
of its ascendancy, such as pagodas and temples. From
being unassuming at first and unpretending, it worked
itself into public favour, till it obtained the finest,
BUDDHISM IN CHINA. 349

richest, and most prominent grounds for sites of mo-
uasteries, &c.; and has hitherto fed itself on the fat of
these lands.

Although the speculative and intellectual discourses
of the Confucian school were so much simpler and
purer than those of the Buddhist, without any of its
farce and nonsense, and although there are several of
the common tenets of Buddhism the tendency of which
is entirely repugnant to the Chinese sense of propriety
(such as celibacy enforced on its followers, which, of
course, results in deadening all filial regard for parents),
yet, in the census of its adherents,—it has been able to
count some emperors, ministers of state, and literati,
and a majority of the middle and lower ranks, especially
the most sensitive and impressible class in society, the
daughters of China. This can readily be accounted for.
Taouism, an indigenous religion of China, had already
encouraged the appetite for the marvellous and mys-
terious by magic, alchemy, and sorcery. But Bud-
dhism, rife with superstition of every form, when it
entered China at once adapted itself, with its ritual
performances, &c., to the popular tendency of the
lower and uneducated classes in particular, became the
favourite religion in the empire; and the result has
been, as Dr. Morrison has remarked, ‘“ Buddhism in
China was decried by the learned, laughed at by the
profligate, and followed by all.”

What the Chinese know of rules for human conduct
existed long before in the writings of Confucius and his
compeers; and for what they know of morality they
will thank the Confucian school. Buddhism, it is true,
is a religion, but it is not “the religion of common life.”
It aims at making a man entirely separate himself from
his fellow-men, but not at fitting him to associate with
his kind. It requires every one to “retire from the
world,” in Buddhist phrase, but it does not train him
to be “diligent in business and fervent in spirit.” It
350 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

blunts the common feelings of human nature, and has
nothing to cultivate the best, the noblest risings of the
heart. Added to this, it has not tended to prepare the
Chinese mind for the worship of the one living and
true God; but, by adding to their pantheon an endless
catalogue of idols, by ingrafting into the saint-calendar
whatever genii in China it saw fit, and by adopting the
popular superstitions of the country, e. g. the worship
of the manes of the dead, homage to superior and
mystic powers, passion for charms, magic, aud invo-
cations, &c. (all which was quite compatible with
Buddhism), it has made the Chinese more idolatrous
than ever. In its religious tenets there is not a hint
that mankind is involved in guilt; but it rather mourns
over man as involved in misery. Its motive for the
prohibition of vice and the practice of virtue is only
the obligation of mitigating human distress and pro-
moting happiness. Instead of humbling the anxious
inquirer after truth, or any way fitting the oppressed
heart to cast itself on the provision of Divine mercy, it
fosters one’s native conceit, establishes a system of self-
righteousness, and insists on rules of self-salvation.
To quiet the curiosity of the mind about the future
state, it is satisfied to conjure up a creed of fables,—
on the one hand, cheering the good with the hope, after
death, of migrating into extraordinary forms, or into
the bodies of other men, or becoming gods, or (what is
its summum bonum) reverting into nihility; and on the
other hand, warning the wicked by threats of being
ehanged at death into hungry ghosts or unclean beasts
and reptiles.

What is there in a vapid system like this to elevate
the Chinese mind, or to change the natives of this
empire into really honest, amiable, and virtuous men?
It has deluded them more than ever. It has widened
and deepened the current of idolatry among them. Its
influence has been to destroy those rational principles
THE TENDENCY OF BUDDHISM. 351

that are inculcated in the writings of the learned. It
has introduced a mass of gross and endless absurdities.
It has thrown a denser fog about the path of the im-
mortal pilgrim, and deserted him in his dreary wander-
ings. It has carried the Chinese nation further off
from the fountain of life than it was béfore.

In a paraphrase on one of the celebrated maxims* of
the Emperor Kanghe, there is a lengthy paragraph
which gives a description of the character and influence
of Buddhism, from the pen of a learned Chinese, who
flourished one hundred years since. The text on which
the comment is made is the seventh maxim :—“ Have
nothing to do with strange notions, but give all due
importance to orthodox doctrines.” I give the follow-
ing quotation :—‘‘ The whole talk of the priests of
Buddh is about becoming demi-gods, like Buddh, their
founder ; and when a son leaves the family to become
a priest, they say that all the members of his family
are sure of ascending up to heaven. .... It is very
true that the superiors of the priests of this sect, who
reside in the pearl monasteries of the famed hills, and
well understand how to deliver their doctrines, sum up
all in one word, the heart. Yet, to steal away to those
solitary abodes, where there is not even the smoke of
human habitations, and sit cross-legged in profound
silence, is completely to root up and destroy the obliga-
tions of relative life. Do but observe these austere
priests of Buddh, who, for no advantage whatever,
break up all the relations of human life; they are not
worth the down of a feather to society! .... From
them has arisen a class of men who, void of any source
of dependence and a settled place where they can get
food, throw themselves on the monasteries, and take up
their rest in the temples. They borrow the name of
Buddh, and of immortal spirits, and invent a multitude

* There were sixteen maxims,—See Milne’s Sacred Edict, pp.
184-147.
3852 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

of idle stories about celestial temples, subterraneous
prisons, transmigrations, and retributions. According
to them, the most honourable of all things is to feed
the priests and be liberal to the gods. This (say they)
is to sow the field of bliss! They say, ‘ Always give,
and you will always have.’ And Jest people should not
believe them, they say, ‘Only contemn the priests, revile
Buddah, discredit the canons; on seeing the gods, refuse
to worship ; meeting with riches, give none away ; then,
you are sure to be cast down to hell ; either the thunder-
bolt will strike you, or the lightning consume you!’
All sorts of marvellous and fictitious tales they tell in
order to frighten people to believe, submit to, and sup-
port them. At first they only cheat people out of their
money, that they themselves may obtain and use it.
By degrees then they proceed to the utmost excess of
irregularity ; collecting (what shall I call them) dragon-
adorning assemblies, flowerpot assemblies, orphan-
pardoning assemblies, where they beat drums, ring
bells, explain doctrines, deliver laws, and have promis-
cuous mixtures of men and women, who separate not
day or night. It is said, that it is for good purposes
that people go thither; but every one knows that it is
precisely to do evil. You, simple people, know not how
to discriminate. For, even according to what the
books of Buddh say, he was the first-born son of the
king Fan; but, retiring from the world, he fled away
alone to the top of the Snowy Mountains, in order to
cultivate virtue. If he regarded not his own father,
mother, wife, and children, are you such fools as to
suppose that he regards the multitude of the living, or
would deliver his doctrines to you? If he rejected the
imperial residence, the palace of queens, the royal
throne, &c., is it not marvellous to suppose that he
should delight in monasteries, nunneries, temples, and
religious houses, which you can build? ... All those
nonsensical tales about keeping fasts, collecting assem-
THE TENDENCY OF BUDDHISM. 853

blies, building temples, and fashioning images, are
feigned, by those sauntering worthless priests, to deceive
you. Still you believe them, and not only go your-
selves to worship and burn incense in the temples,
but also suffer your wives and daughters to go, with
their hair oiled, their faces painted; dressed in scarlet,
trimmed with green, they go to burn incense in the
temples ; associating themselves with those priests of
Buddh, touching shoulders, rubbing arms, and pressed
in the moving crowd. I see not where the good they
talk of doing i is; on the contrary, they do many shame-
ful things, that create vexation, and give people occa-
sion for ‘Jaughter and ridicule. Further, there are some
persons who, fearing that their good boys and girls may
not live till they attain age, take them and give them
up to temples to become priests and priestesses; sup-
posing that, after having removed them from their own
houses and placed them at the foot of the patriarch
Buddh, they are then sure of prolonging life! Again,
there is another extremely stupid class of persons, who,
because their parents are sick, pledge their own persons
by a vow before the gods, that if their parents be
restored to health, they will go to worship and burn
incense on the hills; prostrating themselves at every
step, till they arrive at the summit, whence they will
dash themselves down! If they lose not their lives,
they are sure to break a leg or an arm. They say, ‘To
give up our own lives in order to save those of our
parents is the highest display of filial piety.” By-
standers also praise them as very dutiful. But they do
not consider that in this manner to slight their own
bodies, which they have received from their parents,
discovers an extreme want of filial piety. Moreover,
you say, that your serving Buddh is a very profitable
service; that, if you burn paper-money, present offer-
ings, and keep fasts before your god, he will dissipate
calamities, blot out your sins, increase your happiness,
2A
354 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

and prolong your age! Now, just reflect ;—from old
it has been said, ‘The gods are intelligent and just.’
Were your god Buddh of this description, how could
he avariciously desire your gilt-paper, and your offer-
ings to engage him to afford you protection? If you
do not burn gilt-paper to him, and spread offerings on
his altar, the god Buddh will be displeased with you!
Then, your god Buddh is a scoundrel! Let us take, for
example, your district officer; should you never go
to compliment and flatter him, yet, if you be good
people and attend to your duty, he will pay you a
marked attention. But, if you transgress the law,
commit violence, and usurp the rights of others, though
you should use a thousand ways and means to flatter
him, he will still be displeased with you, and will, with-
out fail, remove the pests from your society. ... As
to charms in the books of Buddh, they are all in the
brogue of Buddh’s country. Well, the priests take
that country brogue of Buddh, and say it contains the
charms of Buddh, the deliverer; and, while repeating
them, they make foolish and magical motions with the
fingers. ... The sum of the whole is, these licentious
priests are indolent; they will neither go to labour in
the fields nor buy and sell in the markets : thus, being
without food and clothing, they set to work and invent
means of deceiving the people.”

But, the spell of Buddhism in China has been
broken; its glass has evidently run out; and often, as
I have watched the tumbling ruins of its numerous
pagodas, &c., it was impossible not to interpret the
handwriting on the system of Buddha to be—“ God
hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Thou art
weighed in the balances and found wanting.” What
the author of “ Saturday Evening,” some twenty years
ago, noted of China, was at that time just, and is still
more appropriate at the present crisis. “In truth it
must hardly be said that there is anything of religion
SIMILARITY BETWEEN BUDDHISM AND POPERY. 355

in China, if we deduct on the one hand what is purely
an instrument of civil polity, a pomp of government ;
and, on the other, what is mere domestic usage, or
immemorial decoration of the home economy. Ages
hhave passed away since mind, or feeling, or passion,
animated the religion of China. The religion of China
is now a thing not only as absurdly gay, but as dead at
heart as an Egyptian mummy. It is fit only to rest
where it has lain two thousand years; touch it—shake
it—it crumbles to dust. Let but the civil institutions
of China be broken up, and we might look about in
vain for its religion.”

Buddhism is falling,—is falling! Still, there is one
aspect in that sensual and scheming system that must
awaken some concern in the promoters of Bible Chris-
tianity,—I mean the striking features of resemblance in
it to Popery. In its pantheon, there is the image of a
woman with a child in her arms, “the goddess of
mercy,” and a host of canonized personages, pictures
and images of whom abound. In its buildings, “The
‘Buddhist monasteries,” says Huc, himself a Catholic
priest, ‘are similar in many respects to our own,’’*
where the hermits and priests may shut themselves up
from the wide world, and from all the charities of life ;
and there is the nunnery too for the woman ascetic,
who has vowed (and by shaving off all her hair has con-
firmed her vow) never to marry, but to spend a lifetime
in the worship of her idol, and devote herself as a sister
of charity to acts of benevolence. In the priests, you
have the clean shaving of the head, the use of long
flowing and many-coloured robes, vowing celibacy,
living in secluded abodes, frequently fasting, making
long pilgrimages and severe penances, and constantly
abstaining from rich food, amusement, and the most
innocent socialities of life. In sacred furniture, there is

* Hue’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 56.

2A2
356 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the altar-piece, with candles, incense, holy water, bells,
relics, and offerings. In worship, there is the use of
the rosary, chanting prayers, offerings in behalf of the
dead, the use of a foreign language, numberless repe-
titions, bowing the body, and bending the knee without
end. In Huc’s Travels, I find the Romanist padre
writes with an amount of satisfaction, on ‘les nom-
breuses et frappantes analogies qui existent entre les
rites Lamanesques et le culte Catholique.” He says,—
“Upon the most superficial examination of the reforms
and innovations introduced into the Lamanesque (Bud-
dhist) worship in Tartary and Thibet, one must be
struck with their affinity to Catholicism. The cross,
the mitre, the dalmatica, the cope, which the Grand
Lamas wear on their journeys, or when they are per-
forming some ceremony out of the temple; the service
with double choirs, the psalmody, the exorcisms, the
censer suspended from five chains, and which you can
open or close at pleasure; the benedictions given by the
Lamas by extending the right hand over the heads of
the faithful; the chaplet, ecclesiastical celibacy, spiritual
retirement, the worship of the saints, the fasts, the pro-
cessions, the litanies, the holy water, all these are
analogies between the Buddhists and ourselves. There
exists at Lha-sa a very touching custom, and which we
felt a sort of jealousy at finding among infidels. Inthe
evening, just as the day is verging on its decline, all the
-Thibetians stay business and meet together, men,
women, and children, according to their sex and age,
in the principal parts of the town and in the public
squares. As soon as groups are formed, every one
kneels down, and they begin slowly and in undertones
to chant prayers.”

With points of similarity so marked in this form of
priestcraft, is it unlikely—is it not indeed certain, that
the Romish Church will take advantage of them to
establish its own ground for reverence and adhesion in
PAGODAS IN CHINA. 357

the minds of the natives of the empire? “ Such, we
know, was continually the policy of that Church in its
early days of corruption.* Such is still the practice of
Rome, adopting, as she does, on the one hand, the
music of India,—on the other, the fantastic dresses
s the sun-worshipping Peruvians into her religious
easts.

CHAPTER III.

PAGODAS IN CHINA—A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THESE EDIFICES—aA
DISCUSSION TO SHOW THAT PAGODAS IN CHINA ORIGINALLY WERE
INTRODUCED BY INDIAN RELIGIONISTS.

Tue subject discussed in this chapter was laid before
the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society three
years ago, and published at Hong-Kong in the Transac-
tions of that Branch. In a remodelled and corrected
form it is now presented to the public, with a hope that
a little information may be contributed to the stock of
those who feel an interest in Asiatic archeology. For
the sake of convenience, I divide the paper into two
sections.+ ,

* The Island of Saints, p. 211.

+ The principal works consulted by me during this inquiry were,
of native authorities :—Kanghe’s ‘‘ Imperial Lexicon ;” the “ Peiwan-
yuen Foo ;” three Chinese ‘‘ Encyclopedias ;” and a full account of
Buddhism, its rites, buildings, &c., prepared by a priest of that religion
who flourished in the eighth century of the present epoch, and of which
work Julien says, it is ‘la Grande Encyclopédie ;”—and of foreign
works the chief were Stanislas Julien’s “‘ Histoire dela Vie de Hiouen
Tsang et de ses Voyages dans I'Inde, depuis l’an 629 jusqu’au 645 :”—
(Published by Julien, 1853.) A revision and continuation, by Klaproth
and Laudnerge, of Rémusat’s Translation and Commentary on the
Chinese work entitled ‘Fuh Kwohke,” or ‘“ Relation des Royaumes
Bouddhesques, par Fabhien :” and Sykes’s ‘‘ Notes on the Religious,
Moral, and Political State of India, before the Mohammedan Invasion,
chiefly founded on the Travels of the Chinese Buddhist Priest Fahh’en,
in A.D. 399,” as given in Art. xiv., of No. xii, in “Journal of Royal
Asiatic Society.”
358 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Szcr. I.—A General Description of the Pagodas in
China.

The word “pagoda” has travelled into the English
nomenclature from the Hindustani or Persian lan-
guage, the former pronouncing it dootkuda, the latter
poutkhoda or bootkhoda, both being a corruption of the
Sanscrit bhagavati. The interpretation of the three
forms (Persian, Hindustani, and Sanscrit) is one and
the same; either “the house of idols,” “the abode of
god,” or “ holy house.” *

According to the original use of the word in India,
it is aname given to the various buildings where they
worship idols.t Some writers on China have used the
term in the same indiscriminate manner for every vari-
ety of religious edifice,{ sometimes distinguishing the
very lofty by calling them “ towers,” as “ the Porcelain
Tower of Nanking.” The majority of modern writers
on China, however, have more conveniently confined
the application of the name “pagoda” to a peculiar
class of buildings, that rise several stories high in the
form of a narrow and polygonal obelisk, whether
tenanted by idols or not. It is in this restricted sense
the term in the present chapter is used, as a translation

* Vide Webster's ‘“‘ Dictionary,” under the word; also ‘ Encyclo-
pedia Britannica,” and ‘‘ Chinese Repository,” vol. xix. p. 535. It may
be as well, however, to give the following extract from the glossary at
the end of Hamilton’s ‘“‘ East India Gazetteer :”’—‘‘ Pagoda—This is a
name applied by Europeans to Hindoo temples and places of worship,
but not by the Hindoos themselves, who have no such appellation. It is
the name also of a gold coin, principally current in the south of India,
called varaha by the Hindoos, and hoon by the Mohammedans.”

+ In the description of Orissa by Andrew Sterling, Esq., and in the
chapter on “ the Religion, Antiquities, and Temples of Orissa,” the
word is used in this general application.

+ Especially the continental writers; see Du Halde’s “ Memoirs,”
also De Guignes’ “ Voyages & Pekin.”
THE NAME PAGODA. 359

of T‘ah, the designation universally given to the build-
ing throughout the Chinese empire.*

As I shall attempt to show in the second section, the
pagoda in China is a style of structure borrowed from
India after the opening of the Christian era.t
Since that date, however, the form or figure of the
erection has become altogether popular to the Chinese
taste.

Probably it is not averring too much to say, that
there are few spots in China the surrounding scenery
of which is complete without a full-sized or a minia-
ture pagoda. That this form of structure is a favourite
with the people, is evident from their invariable pro-
pensity to draw it off in pictures and paintings, or
delineate it on works of porcelain, or cut it out on all
kinds of ornamental slab and stone, or carve it upon
wood of every variety. The pastrycook stamps it on
cakes and buns; the artist paints it on fans and
screens ; the weaver weaves it on silks and satins; and
the embroiderer works it on pillow-cases, cushions,
coverlets, and curtains. The “toy-pagoda” stands for
sale in the toyshop, or among the house-ornaments of
the furniture-warehouse. In a rich man’s garden, pro-
bably the first object that strikes your attention is a
dwarf pagoda of stone rising out of a labyrinthic rock-
ery, or, in a poor man’s yard, some small tree trained
into the pagoda-shape, which he calls the Pik-shoo-t‘ah,

* The following are some synonyms not uncommonly used by the
Chinese :—Paou-t‘ah, ‘‘gem-pagoda ;” Fun-t‘ah, ‘‘ foreign-pagoda ;”
and Fow-tvo and Ts‘ah.

+ There is an old Pharos in England, a relic of the ancient Romans,
that seems to have some resemblance to an obsolete pagoda, though
used for different purposes. The one J allude to ‘‘is within the pre-
cincts of Dover Castle. It is about forty feet high, octagonal externally,
tapering from below upwards, and built with narrow courses of brick
and much wider courses of stone in alternate proportions. The space
within the tower is square, the sides of the octagon without and of the
square within being equal, viz., each fifteen Roman feet. The door is
at the bottum.”—Smith’s “ Dictionary of Antiquities,” word Pharos.
360 REAL LIFE 1N CHINA.

or the Hwang-yang-tah, “the cypress,” or “ the box-
wood pagoda.” Wandering through China, one some-
times espies perched on a city wall a little pagoda, not
above twenty or thirty feet high, built of bricks, or of
stone, or of cast-iron; he will also note that there are
few cities of eminence without at least one such struc-
ture, and some with two or three; * and he may like-
wise remark, that a large pagoda is not unusually to be
found upon a rising ground or the top of a hill in
unfrequented and sequestered spots. In the inland
tour which (as already described) the writer took during
the summer of 1843 from Ningpo to Cauton, a line
extending about 1,300 miles, chiefly by water, he passed
twenty-five pagodas, several standing close to the bank
of the river.t It is reported that the largest number
of ‘pagodas, as well as the finest buildings of this order,
are to be met with in the middle provinces of China, at
least in the two Kiang provinces. This is not unlikely,
as “the first pagoda” was that at Nanking; and when
the celebrated traveller Fah-hien returned from India
to his native country, a.v. 414, he lodged the Buddhist
relics and scriptures in that city, and, with the aid of
other priests, greatly promoted the Buddhist faith in
the country round about. There is little question, too,
that the pagodas of Nanking and Soochow are the most
famous in the empire.t The pagoda structure is con-
sidered by the natives to be the largest style of building
in China: hence the phrase Tan-ta t‘un fan-t‘ah, “ Your
daring is so great that you can swallow a foreign
pagoda.”

Of those now extant, the most are of a very antique
build, or upon an ancient foundation, and few have

* Canton has two within the city; and Soochow has five or six
pagodas within and without the walls.

+ In this enumeration I do not include those that were inclosed
within city walls, or out of my route, though in sight.

= Of the Nanking pagoda it is now to be written, ‘It is no more.”
During 1856, it was blown up with gunpowder by the Taiping rebels!
PAGODAS IN CHINA—WHEN BUILT. 361
recently undergone repair. The Nanking pagoda was
probably first founded in the middle of the third cen-
tury of this epoch. The Hwa-t‘ah, “flower pagoda,” at
Canton, was built more than thirteen hundred years ago.
The Tien-fung pagoda of Ningpo has stood for more
than 1,000 years. A vast majority of the pagodas are
at present either out of repair or in ruins.

Within the present century, some efforts have been
made by men of wealth and property at Soochow and
Canton to rectore the dilapidated ¢‘aks in their neigh-
bourhood, in the belief that the presence or the per-
petuity of such structures is of the first importance to
the destinies of their localities. But although I made
during my stay at Shanghai most strict inquiries
whether any new pagodas had been erected in that or
any other part of the empire during the last fifty years,
or within their recollection, or as far as they had
learned in their own travels, researches, and intercourse
with natives of other provinces, I was unable to obtain
a more definite reply than what was given by an expe-
rienced traveller among them, who, to word his evidence
as cautiously as he could, observed, “ If new ones have
been built anywhere, they must be extremely few and
scarce.” Perhaps one of the most recently-built
pagodas is the Wan-show-t‘ah, in the suburbs of the
walled city Tsing-poo, about twenty miles westward of
Shanghai, erected by public subscription in the eighth
year of. Kien-lung, or 110 years since. An attempt
was made at Macao, in 1821, to erect a pagoda; but,
although the Portuguese magistrate lent his aid to
“such foolery”’ (as Sir John Davis calls it*) by con-
tributing the sum of 100 dollars towards its erection, it
does not appear ever to have been built.

In the time of the Sung dynasty, or under T’ai-tsung,
A.D. 980, there seem to have existed pagodas of a square

* See Davis's ‘‘ China,” vol. ii. p. 138.
362 REAL LIFE IN CIINA.

figure.* The remains of Buddhist priests are deposited
in small pagodas (spoken of at p. 242), some of which
are to be met with of a square figure. Hence the
author of a Buddhistic work says, “ Z‘ah is sometimes
called Tah-po, which means a square mound or grave.”
On Mr. Fortune’s return from Poo-too Island (August,
1853), he obligingly showed me a picture, taken on the
spot, of a square pagoda-looking building in ruins.
Four stories were still remaining. Lach face of the
separate stories had a prettily-carved figure of Buddh
onit. On referring to the official account of Poo-too,
published in the beginning of Kienlung’s reign, I find
the following description of a square pagoda, most pro-
bably the same as that of which Mr. Fortune had taken
the above-mentioned sketch :—“ The T“ai-isze pagoda
lies to the south of the Poo-too monastery. In the
middle of the reign of Shun, the last Emperor of the
Yuen dynasty, one of his grandsons, named Siuen-Jang,
presented 1,000 pieces of silver to erect this pagoda, in
token of his high estimate of an eminent Buddhist
doctor, Fow-chung. It is ninety-six feet high, and
built entirely of fine marble from the lake T‘ai-hoo. It
is strongly built, and the carving on it is very good.
It has five stories, each story has four faces (2. e. it is
square), and each face has a figure of Buddh cut on it.
There does not appear to be one whit of alteration on
anything. The forms of the figures are very handsome ;
their eyebrows, eyes, and looks are like those of a living
being. ‘The side balustrades are erect; all the carved-
work of hovering angels, lions, water-lilies, &c., is of
first-rate workmanship: and down to this date (1740)
there has been no part overgrown with weeds and
moss.”

But the figure of the larger pagodas, now generally

* In the official description of the city of Soochow, § 40, leaf 8th, we
read—‘‘ In the monastery built. by the Emperor T‘ai-tsung, there was
a square pagoda that has fallen to total ruin,”
THE FORMS OF THE PAGODA. 363

found, is hexagonal or octagonal in the exterior, yet
probably of a different shape within ; for, in the Nanking
tower (polygonal as Mr. Taylor remarked during his visit
in 1852), “after the first or ground story, all the others
were quadrangular in the inside, instead of conforming
to the octagonal exterior.”

Kanghe’s Imperial Dictionary observes that the
pagoda ranges in elevation “ from seven to nine stories,
but no higher.” The small pagodas often met with, in
which the remains or bones of Buddhist priests and
nuns are deposited, are generally of two stories. There
are also low buildings of a similar shape that rise three
stories high, called Koh, “ pavilion,’ or Wan-t‘ah,
“literary tower,’ and used for varions purposes, reli-
gious, literary, theatrical, or ornamental. Kanghe’s
Dictionary adds,—*“ Those of five stories are commonly
called Ch‘uy-tsze, or awls.” Those of this sort are not
unfrequently met with. There is one in the village
Foo-le, about twelve miles south-west of Soochow, and
one on the northern wall* of the city of Canton.
Pagodas of eleven stories are scarce. De Guignes
in his travels visited one of this height at Kan-tang-
chow, in Shan-tung province.t+ The native account of
Soochow, speaking of a fine pagoda in the city, called the
Pih-she-t‘ah, states it was originally eleven stories high.
Little, if any, information regarding those of thirteen
stories can be had,. beyond what Kanghe’s Dictionary
says, that “they do not rise above this dimension.” {
A native of Shen-se and of the district of Se-ngan-foo
assured the writer that the remarkable Yent‘ah pagoda
in that capital is a thirteen-storied building, and not

'* The geomancers say—‘‘Canton is like » junk; the two large
pagodas within the west gate are her masts, and the five-storied one on
the northern wall her stern-sheets.”

+ This place lies N. lat. 36° 32’, E. long. 116° 17’.
{ Klaproth says in his note on the word 7'‘ah, “This is a constrnc-
tion of seven, nine, and even thirteen stages.”
364 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

called so merely to designate its height and renown.
There is another at Soochow that is said likewise to
have been originally built of this elevation.* However,
it must be remarked, that the most famous pagodas are,
in common parlance, denominated “ the thirteen-storied
pagodas,” while really they are but of seven or nine
floors. For instance, the one at Nanking numbered
only nine, but was invariably spoken of by the sur-
rounding inhabitants as “the pagoda of thirteen lofts,”
and it was believed to be so by natives at a distance
who never visited the spot.

The most usual height of a pagoda is either seven or
nine stories. It has been conjectured by a writer
on China,t that the preference for pagodas of one
or other of these dimensions is, the one “ to convey
a mystical allusion to the seven Buddhas who are said
to have existed at different periods,” the other to re-
present ‘the ninth incarnation of Vishnu.” There is
reason, however, for believing that Buddhism was
introduced into China before Vishnut was worshipped
in India. Besides, the Imperial Lexicon does not
specify the buildings of seven and nine stories as the

* It is a pagoda connected with the Shuy-kwang monastery, inside
one of the city gates ; at first a famous depository of a relic of Buddh,
or a Shay-le.—See “ Native Description of Soochow.”

+ Davis's ‘‘ China,” vol. ii. p. 84.

t Buddhism was officially introduced into China during the first
century of this epoch, and its pagodas probably in the third. But
Colonel Sykes, in his ‘Notes on the Religious State, &c., of Ancient
India” {Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, No. xii. p. 271), remarks,—
“One fact is sufficiently remarkable, that, in the minute and multiplied
details (given by the two Chinese travellers Fah-hien and Hiung-tsang)
of the heresies of the followers of Buddha or Brahma, no mention what-
ever is made, directly or indirectly, of the worship of the Linga, the
votaries of which divide the Hindu world with the Vaishnavas, or the
followers of Vishnu. Neither Fah-hien in the fourth, nor Hiun-tsang
in the seventh, speak of this worship.” And Professor Wilson says, in
his preface to ‘‘ Vishnu Purana,”—‘‘It is highly probable that, 0, the
present popular forms of the Hindu religion, none assumed their actual
state earlier than. . . . . theeighth or ninth century of this
era,”
THE HEIGHT OF TIIE PAGODA. 365

only ones in existence. It states that the height of the
building varies from seven to thirteen, and it takes
notice too of “five-storied pagodas.” It must also
be remembered, that one with eleven floors has been
visited by the foreigner De Guignes, and one of the
same elevation is reported to have been originally buiit
at Soochow. Authority has already been given for
believing that there are pagodas that have been built of
thirteen stories; and, though their plans may have
been defeated, there is ground for entertaining the idea
that the aim of the founders of the highest pagodas was
to make a tower that might reach the thirteenth story,
but fright or want of funds deterred them from rising
so high. Having questioned an educated Chinaman
“why, with such ample resources at command as they
must have had in erecting the celebrated pagodas of
Nanking and Soochow, the builders did not raise them
higher?” he replied,—“ Buildings of that elevation
would interrupt the path of the clouds, or might easily
be overturned by a hurricane or struck by a. thunder-
bolt. The original intention in building the Nanking
t‘ah was to make it of thirteen stories, hence it goes by
that name; but, for the reasons I have stated, it was
deemed prudent to desist at the ninth.” From these
considerations, there appears no ground for the conjec-
ture of Sir John Davis as to the Chinese preference of
the seventh and ninth story, because these odd numbers
convey a mystic allusion to the manifestations of
Buddh. It may be observed that there is no large
pagoda that has an even number of stories.* The
reason of this is that the Buddhists consider the odd
numbers to be the most religious and propitious.

Of pagodas in China there are two classes, that
derive their distinctive names from the interior being

_* The “Imperial Lexicon,” already quoted, mentions five, seven,
bine, eleven, and thirteen stories—all odd numbers,
866 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

penetrable or not. There are the solid and the hollow
pagodas, or, in Chinese, the Shih, “the substantial, or
compact,” and the Hew, “the empty, or cavernous.” The
former is nothing but an impenetrable mass of brick-
work to the very summit of the structure, called also
Tsang, as if a receptacle or store crammed with valu-
ables.** Those named “hollow” are open through the
interior, and supplied with either a spiral or zigzag stair-
case up to the top; as the Nanking tower, which counted
190 steps. There are none of them that carry a screw
staircase winding round the outside of the building.
In the pagodas furnished with staircases inside, there is
generally on each story a landing-place at the top of
the flight leading to it, with two or three window-like
openings that afford an agreeable survey of the sur-
rounding country. Sometimes these lead out to a
small balcony with a balustrade running outside and
round the building, which gallery is overshaded by a
jutting-out roof, that, if kept in repair, might add not
a little to the beauty of the whole structure. In a few
of the much-frequented pagodas, as the Lung-hwa
pagoda near Shanghai and the Pih-she-t‘ah at Soochow,
it is safe for a few to venture out on the balconies out-
side, as they are protected by an outer railing. The
gallery on the highest story of the Lung-hwa pagoda is
almost invariably mounted by foreign visitants who
resort to that village for a day’s stroll out of Shanghai.
According to Mr. Taylor’s notes on the Nanking
pagoda, which he visited in 1852, “On each face [of the
tloors] there is an arched opening, in which one can
stand and look out upon the surrounding scenery; but
a wooden grating prevents you from stepping out upon
the galleries, which are not provided with balustrades.”
Outside and over each floor of some of the pagodas

* There is one such in the walled town Kw‘an-shan, about sixty

miles west of Shanghai. It is situated on Ma-an-shan, or ‘‘ Saddle-hill,”
within the town walls.
THE DIMENSIONS OF PAGODAS. 367

there is a short, pithy, and proverbial text put up,
generally extracted from Buddhist works.

With regard to the dimensions of the pagoda, gene-
rally speaking, the thickness of the wall is great, par-
ticularly at the base of the building. The one at Hang-
chow, examined by De Guignes, was eighteen feet
thick. The Nanking pagoda, Le Compte computed to
be twelve feet thick at the bottom and eight and a
half at the highest loft. The Pih-she-t‘ah at Soochow
measures from eight to ten feet in thickness. The
average height of the loftiest pagodas is about 170 feet.
The Nanking pagoda, according to its original plan,
was to be 329 feet high in Chinese measurement, but
it was said by the latest foreign visitors to measure
only 261 English feet. They all decrease proportion-
ably in width from the foot to the top, but the various
divisions or stories are nearly of equal height through-
out. The most famous one in Soochow, which I have
‘often named, the Pih-she-t‘ah, is nearly 300 feet in cir-
cumference at the bottom, or about 100 feet in diameter,
and its ninth or uppermost story is about one-third of
that in circumference. The Nanking pagoda was com-
puted by Mr. Taylor to measure more than 300 feet
round the base, each side being about forty feet, and
the diameter of it was ninety-six feet ten inches, as
taken by Lieutenant Fitzjames, who visited it in the
British expedition of 1842.

Some pagodas have a huge and lofty mast running
up the centre, to form a sort of shaft for the whole
structure.

The tops of the pagodas at present vary much, ac-
cording to the state of repair or ruin in which they
are. Several that were passed by the writer during his
route through the provinces of Chihkiang and Kiangse
in 1843 were headless and truncated. Those in good
order look, at a distance, as if mounted with a large
Chinese cap and button, or, as the natives say, “a big-
368 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

bottle-gourd.” The spire of the Nanking pagoda was
computed to rise thirty feet above the roof of the
highest story, and carried on its apex a massive gilded
ball. In the Buddhist description of this pagoda (pro-
curable on the spot), it is stated that “nine iron hoops
were put on its pinnacle, the largest measuring sixty-
three feet in circumference, and the smallest twenty-
four feet, altogether weighing 3,600 catties,” or 4,800
English pounds. To ward off noxious influences, there
were also deposited there “ one night-illuminating
gem,* one gem for averting damages occasioned by
rain, a third as a fire-escape pearl, a fourth for pro-
tecting against wind, and a fifth precious stone as a
guard against dust.” Besides which, there were placed
here with the same object “a bar of gold that weighed
more than 53 lbs., a chest of tea exceeding 133 lbs., and
a lump of silver above 133 lbs. in weight, along with a
piece of orpiment weighing 1333 lbs., one precious
pearl, 1,000 strings of cash of the Emperor Yungloh’s
coinage (each string having 1,C00 cash on it), two
pieces of yellow satin, and four sets of the Buddhist
classics.” +

In Soochow, at its south-east corner, an attractive
spectacle rises before the view of the visitor in what is
called the Shwang-she-t‘ah, or “ twin pagodas,”—two
such buildings having been erected only twenty feet
apart from each other, nearly nine hundred years since,
or in the time of T’ai-tsung, the second emperor of the
Sung dynasty.

* Something corresponding to this is described as on the top of an
Indian pagoda seen by Hiun-tsang in his travels through India in the
seventh century. To give it in Julien’s words,—‘ A deux cents lieues
au sud de Sin-hala, toutes les nuits quand le ciel est pur et sans nuages,
le diamant précieux placé au haut du Stodper de la dent du Bouddha
projette une lumitre éclatante, qu’on apergoit de loin, et, par sa forme
radieuse, il ressemble & une planéte suspendue au milieu des airs.”

t According to native description:—One set of the Te-tsang

Scriptures ; one set of the books of Omi’to-fuh; one set of those of
Shih-kia-tuh ; and one set of those of Tsieh-yin-fuh,
USES OF THE PAGODA. 869

Generally pagodas have a religious temple or mo-
nastery of the Buddhistic order at their base; or, if
much frequented by visitors, they are in charge of the
priests in the neighbourhood, who look for a gratuity
from the hands of the benevolent. The Nanking
pagoda stood in the centre of monastery grounds that
extended about three miles in circuit. It is sometimes
the case, however, that being removed from all build-
ings and unguarded by any priesthood, they are given
up to the moles and the bats. Generally they are not
inhabited by human beings, as they were not built for
any such object. The most popular ones have idols
ensconced in the different niches of the interior, or on
the several landings of the staircases, and have pictures
of their famous genii painted upon their inner walls.
Mr. Taylor, in his notes on the Nanking pagoda,
observed: “ The inner walls of each story are formed of
black polished tiles, a foot square, on each of which an
image of Buddha is moulded in bas-relief, and is richly
gilt. There are, on an average, more than two hundred
of these images in each story, giving an aggregate of
nearly two thousand in all.” It has been calculated
that in the Pih-she-t‘ah of Soochow “ the whole number
of idols cannot be far from five hundred.”

As may be presumed, from what has been said above,
the original purpose in erecting these pagodas in China
was entirely religious. In some places they are still
kept in repair, also with some religious object in view.
In large, populous, and wealthy cities, like Soochow,
where funds may easily be obtained to keep them in
good order, these towering structures become resorts
for the idle or the curious, particularly as the open-
ings on the several floors offer them an extensive view
of the scenery and country around. At some of the
pagodas there are yearly gatherings, professedly to
commemorate the birthday of the presiding deity, or
celebrate a religious festival. The day, however, is

2B
370 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

spent in frolic and gaiety. Immense masses are col-
lected, and the scene is more like a Scottish tryste
than anything else. At the village of Lung-hwa, about
five miles from Shanghai, in which a pagoda stands,
there is an annual celebration on the fifteenth day of
the third moon. On one such occasion, when the writer
visited the spot, the pagoda presented altogether a most
lively scene, from the thousands of spectators around
the foot of the building, and the crowds that had
mounted the structure. With the interest excited by
the spectacle there was, however, no little anxiety in
watching the crowds that were crushing the gallery on
each story, and leaning over balustrades that at the
best are weak and brittle.

Many pagodas have bells hung at the corners of the
various roofs that project over the balconies. These
keep up a perpetual jingle as the wind sweeps by.
According to the native account of the Nanking pa-
goda, “ From its pinnacle there hung eight chains of
iron, with seventy-two bells; besides, there were eighty
bells suspended from the corners of the separate lofts
up and down; so that, on the whole, there were 150
bells on this edifice.” Not unfrequently these build-
ings are also ornamented with lamps or lanterns at each
window, or hung from each corner of the several stories.
The Nanking pagoda had 140 lamps in all :—“ Outside
the nine stories there were 128 lanterns, and in the
lower floor twelve glass lamps, which in one night
altogether consumed 854 lbs. of oil.” Sometimes, when
a rich man, living in the vicinity of a structure like
this, is overtaken with a fit of showing forth good works,
he subscribes a certain sum to have the lamps in it
lighted up on such and such a night. In the depart-
ment of Shaouking, of the Canton province, “ there is
a pagoda situated on the Ting-hoo hill, to which many
people repair and give a sum of money, from six to one
hundred dollars, in order to illuminate it. In doing
PAGODAS ILLUMINATED. 371

this, there is said to be great merit.”* Speaking of
the lamps and lanterns in the Nanking tower, the
native writer already quoted observes, “ When lit up,
they illumine the thirty-three heavens, and detect the
good and evil among men, as well as for ever ward off
human miseries.” ‘The effect of a spectacle such as
these buildings present, when illuminated on a dark
night, is truly novel, and rather enlivening to any class
of spectators. A foreigner, on witnessing the sight,
thought at once of the “ Pharoi” of olden times, and of
the “ lighthouses”? of Europe.

As to the object of the illuminations, I may give the
following extract from the Chinese account of one of
the pagodas in the city of Soochow:—“ It is a tale
handed down from time immemorial, that, when the
lanterns on the Shuy-kwang-shen pagoda are lit up,
their glare is cast upon the Taihoo lake, in conse-
quence of which the fishermen there can catch nothing.
The lake is thirty le, or about ten miles, off”? A
Chinese teacher, who had not seen this quotation and
was not aware of its existence, but who was thoroughly
acquainted with the views and superstitions of his
countrymen, on being interrogated as to the object of
the pagoda-illuminations, stated that it was to save the
lives of fishes, and to carry out the injunctions of
Buddhism to abstain from destroying animal life. “On
a pagoda, lanterns are often lighted,’ said he, “ but, at
the sight thereof, the fresh-water fishes that come up
to the surface in the darkness of the night will imme-
diately submerge: thus, the fishermen that toil in the
night cannot catch their fish. This is what may be
called a life-preserving idea.”

There is a ceremony called Shaou . fan-t‘ah, or
“burning foreign pagodas,” that is observed on the
80th of the 7th moon.” +t It is kept in celebration of

* See Morrison’s ‘‘ Dictionary,” parti. vol.i., under the character Z"ah.
+ Not as Morrison says in his “‘ Dictionary,”—“ the fifteenth of the

2B2
372 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the birthday of the Te-tsang Buddha. Children club
together to build a small pagoda of brickwork, filling
the interior with wood, hay, stubble, oil, resin, powder,
and other combustible stuff; and when all is ready,
they set the pile on fire amidst shouting, laughing,
huzzaing, and clapping of hands.

Pagodas, if ornamented, as they often are, with varie-
gated bricks, tiles, flags, bells, and lanterns, present a
picturesque scene, especially when they stand on a
rising mount surrounded by a flat plain, or are lighted
up on a dark evening. On this account, some Chinese
have asserted that the term Fow-too, often given to
this form of structure, denotes that it is a kind of
“floating or aérial picture;” but, as will be shown
hereafter, this is merely an Indian name transferred
into the Chinese language and applied to a pagoda.

The cost of these erections in each case must have
been very great. ‘ The entire building of Nanking cost
the Imperial treasury upwards of £600,000 sterling.”
The mere repairing of the great Pih-she pagoda at
Soochow during the early part of Taoukwang’s reign,
or since 1821, cost above 26,000 dollars.

The consumption of time in erecting some of them
has also been enormous. It is said that the one at
Soochow, just named, required more than sixty years.*
The rebuilding of the Nanking pagoda in the beginning
of the fifteenth century occupied nineteen years. Inthe
year 1801, three of its nine stories were demolished ina
fearful storm, and it required four months to repair them.

The material used for such construction is generally

eighth moon,” which is merely illuminating the pagodas and burning
incense, and indeed properly named the féte of “burning heaven’s
incense,”

* Reports on the spot tell that three different individuals had to
undertake the completion of the work in succession,—one was a
Viceroy ; the second a wealthy gentleman, who spent all his property
on it till he was reduced to begyary ; and the third, who finished the
work, was a prince of the Loo-choo islands.
TRADITION FROM OLDEN TIMES. 373

brick and stone. Besides the usual method of laying
the foundation, a native has informed me that “ there
are several thousand hundredweight of coal-dust laid
on the foundation of a pagoda to make it secure and
solid, as there is some apprehension that the ground
may sink from the height and weight of the structure.
This at least,’ adds he, “is a tradition from olden
times, and not a figment of my own imagination.”
The Nanking pagoda stood upon an elevated platform
of brickwork ten feet high, up which a flight of ten
steps all round the base led into the tower. Of the
“ Porcelain Tower of Nanking” (as it used to be called
in the list of “the wonders of the world’’), most of the
present generation of foreigners have formed the idea
that it must have been as white as the China-ware
of their breakfast-table. Its real name, Lew-le paou-
tah, “the vitreous precious stone pagoda,” in other
words, “the crystal palace,” figuratively describes the
material of which it was built, or rather the impression
made on any one who saw it for the first time as to the
nature of the material. The Rev. Mr. Taylor, the
last foreign visitor at the pagoda, writes of it thus:
“ A comparatively small portion of it is white. Green
is the predominant colour, from the fact that the
curved tiles of its projecting roofs are all of this colour,
while the woodwork supporting these roofs is of the
most substantial character, and, in the peculiar style of
Chinese architecture, curiously wrought and richly
painted in various colours. The body of the edifice is
built of large well-burnt bricks, which on the external
surface are green, yellow, red, or white. The bricks
and tiles are of very fine clay and highly glazed, so that
the tower presents a most gay and beautiful appear-
ance, that is greatly heightened when seen in the
reflected sunlight.”

There are to be found in China “ cast-iron pagodas ”
likewise. In the year 1843, when the writer passed
374 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the walled town Keu-chow, in Chihkiang province,
he saw a small structure of this sort on the city walls
built of iron.* In the neighbourhood of Chihkiang,
there is a hill on which also stands an iron pagoda.
Of this Mr. Taylor gives the following description :—
“Tt is nine-storied, and some forty or fifty feet in
height, built of cast iron. The octagonal pieces forming
the walls are each single castings; so also are the
horizontal plates forming the roofs of the several
stories. The whole of this curious structure, including
the base and the spire, was cast in twenty pieces.
Originally perpendicular, it now has an inclination of
two or three degrees towards the south. It is about
eight feet in diameter at the base, each side of the
octagon being nearly three feet; and its interior is
entirely filled up with brick masonry, so that it is
impossible to ascend it. It is evidently of great anti-
quity, but bears no inscription from which its age could
be determined.”

I have already intimated the original object of
erecting the pagodas in China to be religious. They
were built to preserve relics, or to store up valuable
books and documents belonging to the Buddhist sect ;
and, from what I have shown above, they are still kept
in repair for similar objects.

It has been repeatedly pointed out by me that Bud-
dhist priests and nuns often are buried in miniature
forms of pagoda. These tiny monuments are named
Kwuh-t‘ah, “ pagoda for bones,” or Kien-kwuh-t‘ah, “a
pagoda for selected bones.” The name Ts‘ah is also
given it, which is described in Kang-he “as a term
given to the pillars over the graves of Buddhists, in
which are deposited precious relics.” They are some-
times square, called Fang-fun, ‘square grave-hillocks ;”
and are also hexagonal, of two stories in height or
more. There was one of an hexagonal shape, which,

* Vide page 262.
PAGODAS USED FOR WATCH-TOWERS. 375

before the late disturbances in the city, used to stand
outside the north gate of Shanghai, between that and
the west gate, at the back of a nunnery called the
Kwei-hiang-yen ; and, according to the tablet inscribed
on it, one of the inmates of this convent died in the
19th year of Taoukwang, or a.p. 1839, leaving behind
her a good name for devotedness to her service during
a long lifetime. She was buried here (as above de-
scribed in page 241), in two huge jars, the one above
the other. The pagoda is only ten feet high, and of
two stories. In the official History of Pootoo (pub-
lished a century ago), there are mentioned thirty-five
such pagodas of celebrated dead men’s bones, or of men
connected with famous monasteries on the island.*

I will now speak of the more common notions afloat
among the Chinese as to the uses, influence, or objects
of pagodas, besides those above specified. From the
records of the Tang dynasty (a.p. 810), it appears that
the original high-sounding aims of the pagoda-builders
had even at that time begun to be perverted by mean
low fellows, who assumed them with a view to aggran-
dize themselves by working on the minds of the people.
And an Imperial mandate was issued by Hien-tsung,
in the beginning of the ninth century, “forbidding the
priests of Buddha and others erecting pagodas within
his dominions, because by lying and beggary they make
gain, and rob the poor people of their property.”

Some natives have supposed that they were at first
intended as “watch-towers” in time of war,so distributed
and arranged throughout the country as to be con-
venient for making telegraphs and signals. Though
they could be turned to this service, it does not appear
to have been one of the prime purposes aimed at in
their’ erection under the Buddhist religion. Neverthe-

* In the following section something is said of the resemblance
between these buildings designed tor the remains of Buddhist priests
in China, and the old Chatyas in ancient India for the relics of
Buddhist patriarchs.—(See pages 241, 382.)
376 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

less, there is some ground for the conjecture just given,
from the following fact recorded in Chinese history :—
“ During the reign of Chin-tsung, of the Sung dynasty,
A.D. 1020, a certain officer of the name of Le-yun-tsih,
in charge of the Hiung district, in Chihli province, was
found laying out the Imperial funds on the erection of
a pagoda. Upon the representation of one of the
censors, his Majesty sent a messenger with secret in-
structions to the officer: but Le-yun-tsih replied,—‘ It
is not from any regard to the Buddhist religion that I
am engaged in this building, but only that I may ereet
an observatory for watching the country around.’ ”

There is a popular saying also, that the pagoda is a
monument erected in token of one’s estimate of the
character of a great man,* or principally to perpetuate
the remembrance of the virtues of one’s father or
mother. This ideais probably derived from the motive
that is said to have led Yung-loh, the third emperor of
the Ming line, to rebuild the ruined pagoda of Nanking
four hundred years ago. On removing the court from
that capital to the north, in a.p. 1410, his Imperial
Majesty, in order to recompense the great favour of his
august mother, commenced to re-erect this structure,
which had been destroyed by fire nearly a century
before. It was a magnificent tribute of the gratitude
of a son for his mother’s love. This object, indeed,
was fully denoted by the name it bore, the Paou-ngan-
she-t‘ah, “the pagoda of the recompensing favour
temple ;” or, as it reads at greater length on the native
description of the pagoda,—the Paou-ngan-she lew-le-
t‘ah, “the crystal pagoda of the recompensing favour
temple.” +

* T have already mentioned a square pagoda of five stories having
been built on Pootoo by one of the Yuen family, at or near the close of
the fourteenth century, “in token of his high estimate of the eminent
Buddhist, Dr. Fow-chung.”—(See page 362.)

+ The pagoda at Nanking has had (through its history of at least
1,600 years) a variety of names, of which these are a few—the “ Oyuh
GEOMANTIC INFLUENCE OF THE PAGODA. 377

On examining the notions of the Chinese regarding
the uses and objects of these pagodas, however singular
and subordinate may be some of their opinions, that
which may be said to be predominant and universal
among all ranks and classes of society is, that they
have a serious and important connection with the
“wind and water” fortunes of the locality in which
they are situated. The presence of a structure like this
in any place is believed by the people to exert an
influence for good or evil on the destinies of the neigh-
bourhood.* The raising of a pagoda anywhere is sup-
posed not only to secure and perpetuate to the vicinity
the protection and good-will of Heaven, but hkewise to
repress any evil influences that hitherto may have
haunted the region, and to act like an electric tractor in
drawing down from above every felicitous omen; so
that, as they say, “ the five elements (fire, water, wood,
earth, and metal) should be at the service of the people,
the soil productive, trade prosperous, and the natives
submissive and happy.” Effects like these will be
ascribed to the pagoda by the people that live in its
neighbourhood; and such too is the repute in which a
building of this structure is held among their country-
men ata distance, whose locality may be destitute of
pagoda-patronage. In the plan proposed in 1821 for
the erection of a pagoda at Macao (to which I have
alluded at p. 361), the above objects were distinctly
mentioned in the following words :—“ The Chinese and
foreign merchants have hitherto been prosperous, their
wealth abounding, and the destinies of the place alto-
gether felicitous. Of late, however, its fortunes have
waxed lean and the infiuence of the atmosphere has
pagoda,” and the ‘‘Chang-kan pagoda.” It is in common parlance
called Paou-ngan-t‘ah or Lew-le-t‘ah.

* On building the Baptist chapel in Shanghai a few years since,
with its high, thick, and massive steeple, there were many forebodings

among the populace as to the influence it would have upon the
vicinity.
378 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

been unlucky, so that the acquisition of riches has
become less certain. A proposal is accordingly made
to erect a pagoda, in order to renovate and improve the
commercial fortunes of the island on which Macao lies.
[After alluding to the architect, it proceeds,]|—He
declares that a high pagoda should be built on the
eastern arm of Monkey Island, and affirms that pros-
perity and riches will be the result, so that both
Chinese and foreigners at Macao will share in the
felicity.’ The same belief in the geomantic charms
of the pagoda is professed in another subscription-
paper, that was circulated among the literati, gentry,
and merchants of Canton early in the year 1837, for
the purpose of collecting funds for the restoration of
the dilapidated pagodas of their district; as this extract
from that appeal will show :—“ Fellow-countrymen,—
The region of the country, south-east of the provincial
city of Canton, has an important influence on the for-
tunes of the inhabitants. All the pagodas there have
had a most salutary influence on everything around,
causing the literati to be very numerous, and the pro-
ductions of the soil most abundant. Their appearance
at present isunsightly. Therefore, to secure the return
of happy and prosperous times, they ought to be
repaired.”

Sect. Il.—The Chinese Pagoda an Indian Building.

That is, the pagoda style was introduced into China
from India between the third and ninth centuries of the
present era by Buddhists, to serve the purposes of their
religion.

It may not be out of place toremark in the outset,
how there has existed in various parts of the world a
style of structure of an extremely antique date, or form
of building like a tower, an erection with a heaven-
pointing spire, rather approximating what we nowadays
call a pagoda, and originally consecrated to religious
THE PAGODA OF INDIAN ORIGIN. 379

purposes. The style of architecture spoken of is a
square, a circular, or a polygonal tower, rising above-
ground—diminishing in diameter as it ascends—hol-
low or solid throughout—either breaking into several
stories in its upward elevation, or supplied with a flight
of steps straight, spiral, or zigzag, outside or inside the
building, leading up to the top—at the summit trun-
cated, rounded, or tapering—and appropriated to sacred
objects, e. g., the hoarding of images, the lodgment of
sacred writings, the conservation of holy relics, the
repository of the dead, the worship of idols, the offer-
ing of sacrifices, the giving of thanks, the making of
vows, the commemorating of important eras, events, or
acts, &c. This form of structure ranks among the
archeological curiosities of our age almost all over the
globe; e. gy. the Temple of Belus at Babylon; the
Pyramids of Egypt ; the pyramidal mounds of Mexico;
and, in all probability, the “round towers ” of Ireland.

But, as the heading of this chapter leads attention
particularly to the religious towers in India, let us turn
to India in search of pagoda-like structures.

In Central India there exist two forms of what we
call pagodas,—in other words, towers connected with
religious objects. There is the ancient style and the
modern.

Of the modern pagoda-architecture of India I must
make the following summary of quotations from dif-
ferent writers. This architectural form is principally
connected with Hindooism or the Brahminical faith,
that arose in India about the seventh century, and
superseded Buddhism. There are specimens of this
structure in various parts of India, especially in the
southern division. At Tanjore and Medura there are
two of the most splendid. The one at Tanjore is
greatly celebrated, rising from the ground by twelve
successive stages, and is considered the finest specimen
of this kind of architecture in India.
380 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

In Orissa there are three eminent structures of this
order, minutely described by Andrew Sterling, Esq.*
Of the great pagoda at Bhobanaser he remarks, that
“ local tradition as well as the histories of the country
concur in fixing the date of its completion at a.p. 657.”
The tower of the temple of Juggernaut, he says, “ was
completed a.p. 1198;” and “the Black Pagoda” near
the site of the old village of Canarah, “it is well known,
was built a.p. 1241.” At Conjeveran there is a “ cele-
brated Hindoo pagoda to Mahadeva as the Linga,”
which was not erected in the middle of the seventh
century, when the place was visited by the Chinese
traveller Heuen-tsang. “This one,” as described bya
European traveller, “in the most elevated part of the
building consists of fifteen stories or stages; the floor
of the lowest of these was covered with boards some-
what decayed, and was about twenty feet square, having
much the appearance of the belfry of a country church
in England. A ladder of fifteen rounds conducted us
to the next stage, and so on from story to story until
we reached the top, each stage or floor diminishing
gradually in size to the summit. Here our labour was
most amply repaid, for never had I witnessed so sublime
a prospect. It surpassed every idea I had or could
have formed of its grandeur and effect, that I was almost
entranced in its contemplation. I forgot all the world
beside, and felt as if I could have continued on this
elevated spot for ever.” +

In Central India, however, there is traced a more
antiqué style of pagoda, built.during the predominance of
the Buddhist religion, which prevailed there at least from
B.c. 600 to a.p. 700.t As Colonel Sykes, im his “ Notes

* Vide Pego’s ‘‘ Orissa Mission,” chap. iv. The first part of the
work contains an account of ‘ Orissa, its Geography, Statistics, History,
Religion, and Antiquities,” by Mr. Sterling, late Persian Secretary to
the Bengal Government.

+ Extracted from Nathen’s “‘ Voyage to Madras.”

t Sykes, p. 834, where, in a note, it is stated that the Buddhist re-
ANTIQUE STYLE OF PAGODA. 381

on the Religious State of Ancient India,” remarks
(p. 859), At the time of Alexander’s invasion, Bud-
dhism must have been in the palmy days of its power,
judging from... .. the topes, ..... the obelisks,
and other works of art, most of which are referrible to
the period between the first and sixth centuries before
Christ, and more particularly to the period when Azoko
reigned, or B.c. 319 to B.c. 282.” Here topes are
mentioned, which are towers, pillars, tumuli, or in the
original tongue of that part of India, “sthipas,” a
name given in the Buddhist vocabulary also to the
pagodas that are at present found in China.

On carefully comparing Lieutenant-Colonel Sykes’s
“ Notes” with Klaproth’s ‘‘Commentary on the Fuh-
kwoh-ke,” and Julien’s “ Histoire,” I have ascertained
the following particulars respecting these religious
erections in India called “sthipas.” They must have
_existed as early as 600 years before the Christian era:
the whole surface of India was then dotted all over
with these eminences. Azoko, the king of Central
India (who lived s.c. 319—282), was a most devoted
Buddhist, and famous for repairing old ones and erect-
ing new; and, according to some, this king raised
8,000 such pagodas, according to others 84,000. (See
p- 208 of the present work.) They generally stood
alone, or connected with temples and monasteries. The
object was altogether religious, and chiefly for the pur-
pose of commemorating epochs in Buddha’s history,
or to preserve his teeth, bones, and hair as holy relics,
or to contain the remains of his most eminent disciples.
Thus, when Fahhien, a noted Chinese traveller, visited
India during the fourth century of the present era, he
found in Peshawur, “with one exception, the most
splendid tope in all India, 400 feet high, which con-
tained the begging-pot of Buddh;” and “he abso-

ligion held predominance “ from the eleventh century B.c., according
to the Chinese, Japanese, and the Buddhists of Central Asia.”
3882 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

lutely describes a great tower in Oude which con-
tained the entire bones of the third Buddha;” then
he describes the spot where Buddha accomplished the
law, &c.

Allied to this large style of pagoda, I may, in passing,
refer to a smaller model which obtained under ancient
Buddhism. It is called in the Pali tongue Chaitya,
and is to be found on Buddhist ancient coins. It is
more of the monumental style (though pagoda-shaped),
for burial of Buddhist worthies. It is singular that we
find the name of this sort of pagoda transferred into
Chinese as Che-te.—(See pp. 191, 375, 383.)

To show the Indian and Buddhist original of the
Chinese pagoda, I will now proceed to two or three
illustrative evidences. Possibly one or two might alone
have sufficed; but, as numerous interesting features
of Buddhism in China have come to light during my
inquiry, I am reluctant to abridge any portion of the
investigation.

1. Examine, for instance, the Chinese Nomenciature
for Pagoda.

Ist. The name by which the pagoda structure is
designated in China is f‘ah. Some have suggested that
this is merely the last syllable of the Indian word
“ poutkhoda”’ expressed in Chinese sound. But, as we
have no evidence that this form of erection was called
poutkhoda in India itself during the early history of
Buddhism, or when Buddhism entered China, such an
hypothesis cannot be entertained.

Of the Chinese form or character ¢‘ah, which repre-
sents a pagoda, the very ancient Chinese writings seem
quite destitute. After the middle of the third century,
a dynasty was established under which numerous new
words were coined and characters added to the native
lexicon. And, as Buddhists began to raise buildings of
this order just about that time, it is presumed by those
CHINESE NAMES FOR PAGODA. 883

qualified to judge, that it is more than probable that the
written term for ¢‘ah was introduced then. This idio-
graph is explained in Kanghe’s Lexicon to be “ piled-up
earth, a heap or mound, a tumulus, an agger,” which
no doubt was an appropriate designation for the form
of building as originally introduced into the country.
Then, the learned lexicon which I have just quoted
adds, “The Indian term suhtoopo (i. e. sthipa) means
in the Chinese language ¢‘ah.”

2nd. The Chinese themselves speak of these emi-
nences as fan-t‘ah, “foreign tumuli;” e.g., in the
phrases “burning foreign pagodas,” “swallowing
foreign pagodas,” &c., in which they refer distinctly
and alone to these sacred structures common among
them.

8rd. There are various Indian terms for this style of
building, that have crept into the Chinese vocabulary,
and which have to be explained to the native students.
For instance, ¢‘ahpo, ‘which is a square mound or
grave ;”” tansowpo, “ thatis, a building for perpetuating
praise ;” fowtoo, “ which is the name of the religion of
Fuh,—its temples and high buildings are also called by
this name.” But the most distinct transference of
Indian names for the pagoda into Chinese orthography
are che-te and suh-too-po. Che-te, explained by a Chinese
work on Buddhism, is a Buddhist “place for ridding
oneself of evil and cultivating good.” It is probably
an equivalent to the chaitya in India, which Sykes
explains to be “a tower,” and, according to Klaproth,
existed in former days in Hindostan, as “ depositories
for relics of Buddha and the patriarchs of the sect.”
This form may now be traced out among the ancient
ruins of Buddhism in India, and copies of it are to be
found among ancient Buddhist emblems and coins. In
Sykes’s “ Notes,” he gives a pictorial sketch of a row
of “different forms of the Buddhist chaitya, or temple
of relics.”
384 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Of the name Suh-too-po, the native writers say,
“a building for preserving the remembrance of any
occasion of grief is expressed in the Buddhist language
by the word Suh-too-po (i.e. Stoupa or Sthupa), which
is a temple of elegant appearance and form.” Upon
the transference of this Indian word into Chinese, I
may give the following quotation:—Julien, speaking
of the word Suh-too-po, observes, “ Constructions boud-
dhiques connues dans l’Inde supérieure sous le nom
Stoupas, les topes des modernes.”” _Klaproth remarks, the
Chinese word “ T*ah répond au terme Sanscrit Stoupa,
qui signifie tumulus, pile of earth, chapelle, couvent.”
Sykes, in reference to Fahhien’s visit at Khotan, says,
“The people all built towers, or pillars, or tumuli, that
is, Sthupas ;”? and Kanghe’s Chinese Imperial Lexicon,
under the character ¢‘ah for pagoda, reads, “ The Indian
name Suh-too-po means in the Chinese ¢‘ah.”’

There is a pagoda in Shense, the name cf which is
* Wildgoose Pagoda.” The explanation of it is thus
given in Kanghe’s Dictionary :—‘“‘ The Indian word
Tsangpo means in Chinese Yen, or ‘ Wildgoose.’? The
origin of this appellation is as follows :—The primitive
Buddhists of India, not under strict rules of diet, were
at liberty to use three kinds of clean meat,—veal,
venison, and goose-flesh. It. happened that, on a cer-
tain day, as a party of priests was seated in the open
air, a brace of wild geese was observed flying overhead.
The priests suddenly exclaimed, ‘ Our wish is that these
fowls would moko-sa-to.” This phrase moko-sa-to means
“do a benevolent act.’ Upon this one of the geese
instantly dropped down dead. Seeing this, however,
the sacerdotal fraternity cried out, ‘This goose brings
down a prohibition to abstain from flesh. We must
commemorate its meritorious act.’ They accordingly
erected a building over the remains of the devoted
goose, which they called Tsangpo pagoda. Our term,
Yen-t‘ah, is a translation of the Indian name.” (At
CHINESE PAGODA A BUDDHIST BUILDING. 885

page 386 a different account is given of the foundation
of this pagoda by another Chinese writer.)

2. In further illustration of the Indian Original of the
Chinese Pagoda, consider its invariable connection
from the first with Buddhism.

The cradle and seat of this religion was India. There
it flourished from 8.c. 950 to a.p. 800; although, as
Col. Sykes remarks, “its final overthrow in India did
not take place until the twelfth or fourteenth century.”
Regarding the introduction of the Buddhist sect into
China, a native writer has recorded:—‘ From the
western regions there came a priest of this order. The
Emperor Muh, who reigned from B.c. 936 to 928, was
residing at the time on the Chung-nan mountain, in the
province of Shense. His Majesty erected a very high
platform and paid him homage. But 700 years after,
when another Buddhist priest and his company visited
the empire, the emperor on the throne, supposing him
to be a sort of monster, imprisoned him. Then, over-
night, a good-looking person opened the prison-door and
let him out; on which his Majesty at once believed and
paid him all due respect.” It does not appear, how-
ever, that Buddhism obtained a firm footing in the
empire, before the middle of the first century of the
Christian era; and, as far as I have been able to inves-
tigate the question, the pagoda-architecture did not
exist in China for some time after that date. That
it has uniformly been connected with Buddhism, may
be deduced from the following suggestions :—Among
the Chinese themselves it is a common saying, “In
pagodas they save and preserve the family of Buddha!”
Usually priests of this order are in charge of the
pagoda, and sit at the doors of the most famous and
frequented, to receive gratuities from visitors. Pagodas
are situated generally on Buddhist lands, and there are
in their vicinity, or around their base, temples or

2c
386 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

monasteries for Buddhist priests. Within pagodas that
are at all in a state of preservation, Buddhist idols,
relics, pictures, and books are deposited. The histories
of these buildings throughout the empire, at least the
earliest of them, are crammed with Buddhist tales and
fictions.

But properly none of these erections belong to the
native systems of Confucius or Taouism, or any other
religious sect in the empire.

An exception may be taken to this by some who may
have heard of “the Bright Pagoda,” in the city of
Canton, and of which it has been said that it belongs
to the Mohammedans of that city. One writer has
remarked,—“ This pagoda is remarkable, as it shows
the wealth and power of the Mohammedans in Canton
at the time it was erected, about one thousand years
ago. The Mohammedans still reside in its neighbour-
hood, and there stands also a mosque for their religious
services, which surrounds the base of the pagoda, rising
like a minaret from the centre.” On minute investiga-
tion, however, it appears as more than probable that
this pagoda was built by the first Mussulman merchants
who visited Canton, with a view to conciliate the favour
of the sect of the Buddhists, which was at that time
gaining the ascendant in China.

The following is one story of the origin of one of the
first pagodas ever built in the country, the far-famed
“ Wildgoose Pagoda ” of Se-nganfoo, the capital of
Shense province, N. lat. 34° 16’, E. long. 108° 57’ (see
different account at page 384) :—“ Nearly six hundred
years after Buddhism had been officially patronized,
Heuen-tsang, a priest of this sect, was sent to India to
collect and translate into the Chinese language the
sacred books of Buddh. After an absence of fifteen
years (some say twenty-six), he returned with copies of
the original and a complete translation into Chinese.
He brought over also a model of a Buddhist sthupa or
RELICS OF BUDDH. 3887

tower. In commemoration of this work of merit, and
also for the purpose of lodging these volumes in a
suitable building, the happy idea hit the reigning
emperor that he should erect a pagoda after an Indian
model. So, in the third year of his reign (a.p. 639),
a pagoda was built of brick, on the south side of the
capital of Shen-ge, and in that building the sacred books
of Buddha and other precious relics were lodged.”
This was not far from the spot where the Syrian or
Nestorian monument was found, in which it is recorded,
“ a.p. 686 (or during the reign of the same monarch),
a Christian teacher came from India to China; the
emperor, after encouraging the doctrines, published a
decree authorizing the preaching of Christianity among
the Chinese.”

But one remarkable line of evidence, that this style
of building has throughout been particularly appro-
priated by the Buddhists, is its connection with the
Buddhist relic called Shay-le. In two Chinese works
I have consulted, it is asserted that “ what is properly
called a f‘ah (pagoda) has a shay-le.” Further, “a
shay-le is a Buddhist word to denote a sacred relic of
Buddha’s body.”* This word both Julien and Klaproth
consider a transfer into Chinese of the Sanskrit (or, as
Colonel Sykes proves, the Pali) name “ sarira,” which
in the original means the relics of Buddh. Chinese
writers give some most amusing descriptions of this
curiosity. “ Of the relic,” says one, “ there are three
kinds ; e. g. the hair shay-le, which is of a black colour ;
the bone shay-le, which is white ; and the flesh shay-le,
which is of a carnation hue. The relics of Buddh and
of his disciples that have been apotheosized are of these
three sets.” These relics are reputed as scarce and rare.
No new ones have recently been discovered. But when-
ever they have been found, they have been stored up in

* See p. 209, in Part Second.
2c2
388 REAL LIFE 1N CHINA.

crystal bottles and lodged in a temple or pagoda. Of
course this offers a famous occasion for the priesthood
to exercise their craft and imposition on the ignorant
people. Most of them have the chameleon property of
changing into the five colours, green, red, white, black,
and yellow; indicative, however (as it is said), of the good
or depraved qualities of the spectator ! The miraculous
effects of this charm fill many pages in some of the
Buddhist writings.

The very devoted priests and disciples of the sect are
likewise reputed as having encased in their craniums a
scintillation of Buddha’s shay-le.* On the decease of
the devotee, the relic is believed to be proof against
both rot and flame, though there be the ordinary dis-
tinction that “the shay-le of Buddh himself, if struck
heavily with a mallet, is not frangible, while that of the
most eminent among his canonized followers is easily
broken.” In the finest pictures, and sometimes the
images of the Buddhist priests, there is a sort of lumi-
nous halo over the crown of the head, which they
suppose to proceed from the shay-le. And it is believed
of the padres of that sect, that the more they have of
the shay-le in their golgothas, the larger and brighter
will be their encircling halo of light. When any emi-
nent disciple of the sect dies, his remains are consumed
by fire. The ashes are then carefully examined in
search of the remarkable curiosity that is believed to
have been lodged in his skull, and to be indestructible
even when it passes through the fire. A native author
(who lived 300 years ago) says of the mysterious thing,
—“In my neighbourhood there is a nunnery, one of
whose inmates recently died. On burying her body,
something of this description was said to be found. It
was reported to resemble a louse in size; and further,
that by the attraction of a single hair of a child’s head

* See p. 242, in Part Third,
STRANGE RELIC OF BUDDH. 359

it could be raised up; but I cannot vouch for the truth
of this!” “The shay-le, being the result of abstinence,
self-command, and superior understanding, attained by
pure and ardent devotion in the service of Buddha, can
by no means easily be obtained.”

The following account, drawn from native authorities,
respecting the erection of the first pagoda in China is
worthy of perusal :—“ In the tenth year of the Emperor
that sat on the throne about a.p. 250, a foreign priest
of the Buddhist religion, named Kang-tsung-hwny,
appeared at Nanking, then the capital of the empire,
and performed many strange and what seemed super-
natural feats. The people represented the case to their
sovereign. His Majesty immediately called the priest
to an audience with him, and inquired if Buddha could
communicate any divine emblems. He replied that
Buddha had left some traces of himself on earth, though
very mysterious. He had left numerous bone relics,
the miraculous power of which was limitless. The
Emperor then made special inquiry where these relics
were to be found. To this the sacerdotal father
replied that, if he himself were under the influence of
Buddha’s spirit to go in search, he was sure to find
one. His Majesty, upon this, made a distinct promise,
that if the priest succeeded in getting one such, he
would erect an edifice called a pagoda. After twenty-
one days of earnest research, the priest discovered one
in a bottle, and immediately presented it to the Chinese
sovereign. When taken into the palace, it lighted up
all the building. In his eagerness to inspect the
remarkable curiosity, the emperor poured it out of the
bottle into a copper basin. The basin, however, was
instantly smashed, both from the weight of the relic
and the force with which it thumped onit. The king
was greatly frightened at this supernatural specimen.
The aged priest then advanced, to assure the monarch
that, apart from these miraculous signs, there was
390 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

something more astonishing about this bone of Buddh.
It was that diamond or steel could not scratch it, fire
could not scorch it, and the heaviest mallet could not
smash it. The Emperor accordingly ordered a man
of unusual strength to come forward and strike some
heavy blows on the sacred shay-le with a huge sledge-
hammer. The man did so, but to no purpose, except
to destroy the hammer itself. The relic remained un-
touched, with an effulgence as bright as before, and
dazzling every person’s eye. Thereby the king’s faith
was confirmed, and, in fulfilment of his pledge, he
erected a ¢‘ah in which to keep the relic. This is the
beginning of pagoda-building in China.” This was the
Nanking pagoda, that till recently had on its front the
inscription, “ The First Pagoda,” which may have been
intended to aigouly that it was first both in date and
rank,

I see a contributor to the “ Chinese Repository” has
broached the opinion that the Chinese pagoda is not
derived from India, but “that it is mdigenous, and
that even the unimaginative Chinese architect would
have produced something better than the simple nine-
storied pagoda, if he had tried to imitate the ornate
pyramidal edifice of the Hindoo.” In reply, I would:
remark that it must be allowed that the resemblance
between the Chinese pagoda and the elegant pagodal
building of modern Hindostan is very slight. Yet it
may be presumed that the originals were similar; for
the Hindoos may have improved in architecture, while
in China, according to their almost universal preference
for the “status in quo ante,” the pagoda-tower all
over the empire may be an exact imitation of the
ancient specimens. Indeed, I think I may venture a
little further, and say, that in all probability the fine
and picturesque porches or towers over the gateways of
the magnificent temples in India are innovations on the
antique sthoupas ; while the Chinese pagodas of the pre-
ICONOCLASTS AT NANKING. 391

sent day are imitations of models taken from the very
earliest topes. Almost all the proofs already enumerated
will second this opinion. Many, if not most, of the
pagodas in the empire are of remarkable antiquity. The
pattern is the same throughout the land, those of the
latest date not different from those of the earliest origin.
Some have been rebuilt but not remodelled, and others
continue as they were from the first, unmoved, un-
changed, except from the wear of time, weather, &c.

It is with some regret that I have to state that the
Tai-ping insurgents not only, in their iconoclastic zeal,
have disfigured, but by recent tidings, have completely
destroyed the Nanking pagoda. In the first instance,
their anti-idolatrous fury merely defaced the interior
by fire, but, during 1856, their unbridled rage against
one of their own leaders who had been suspected of
conspiracy, and who, with his followers, had made the
pagoda the rendezvous of the clique, led them to blow
up the massive pile with gunpowder! “ Sie transit
gloria mundi” in China.

What a singular discovery will some day be made in
the heaped ruins of such buildings, reputed as they are
among the sacerdotal fraternity of Buddha, as the
depositories of Pali inscriptions, cariras of Buddha,
Buddhist writings and other genuine Indian docu-
ments! These, we have undoubted authority for believ-
ing, were brought thither from Central India between
the first and ninth centuries of the Christian era, and
the preservation, or rather the procuring, of these will
doubtless throw a flood of light especially on the religion
and history of ancient India. Since foreigners of all
countries and persuasions are now frequenting China,
and permission for their free excursions throughout the
interior can be withheld for but a few years longer, is
it not suitable to invite their careful observation towards
such extraordinary monuments of antiquity, the tem-
ples, monasteries, and pagodas of Buddhism? Some
392 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

item in their respective histories may contribute to elu-
cidate a dark, doubtful point in the early history of
intercourse between Hindostan and China.

I am convinced that the Christianity of the inspired
Bible is making due (in some places unexpected) pro-
gress in China, and I believe that in time it will “ win
and conquer,” and spread its happy influence all over
the empire. Yet, may not the hope be expressed that,
as every such Babel tower, or pagoda in China, shall
lose its superstitious spell, Protestant missionaries,
merchants, and travellers will do what they can to rescue
the interesting memorials locked up in the towers of
Buddhism “in the middle kingdom.” These may add
not a little to the information of our Western lands
respecting the rise and progress, or the decline and
downfall, of Buddhism in the two contiguous empires,
India and China.

CHAPTER Iv.

ROMISH MISSIONS AT SHANGHAI—OPENED MORE THAN 250 YFARS AGO
—THEIR FIRST CONVERT A MANDARIN—VICISSITUDES IN THE HISTORY
OF POPERY HERE—THE VILLAGE OF ZEE-KA-WEI—THEIR MODES OF
OPERATION,

Want of space and inclination prevents me entering at
large into the history and the state of Romish missions
in China. The theme would swell out into volumes;
and to do it justice requires more ample and reliable
materials than are at the command of Protestants.
Under these circumstances, I purpose in the following
pages to confine myself to the Shanghai branch of that
mission; as any notice of this part of China would be
defective without a glance at it.

So early as 1600, Popery singled out Shanghai for
ROMISH MISSION AT SHANGHAI. 393

the sphere of its zealous efforts in the empire of China,
and as Count de Bessi, the Apostolic Vicar of Kiangnan,
observed in his official despatch of September, 1844, it
“ became the theatre of the apostolic success of Father
Matthew Ricci.”

Among its first converts, first in date and first in
eminence, Popery reckons a Shanghai family surnamed
Seu. Seu-kwangke, the paterfamilias, was a mandarin
of note, of great talent and extensive influence. At
one time he bore the rank of Koh-laou, or one of the
chief members of the Imperial Government ; also the
titles of “ Duke, Guardian, and Tutor of the Sons of
the Imperial House, and Chancellor of the National
Institute.” About the beginning of the seventeenth
century, he came under the teaching of that laborious
“missioner” Ricci, and was converted to the Romish
faith. On profession of his new creed, Sew was bap-
tized under the name of “ Paul,” as he desired to
emulate the apostle of that name by abundant labours
among his countrymen. This convert’s energy and
example greatly encouraged the Church of Rome.
Ricci and his confréres were aided by his influence at
court; for he wrote in defence of the faith,* and
appealed to the Emperor himself in behalf of the mis-
sionaries. He devoted much of his property to the
building of chapels. By his accurate knowledge of his
native tongue, he clothed some Romish tracts in such a
style as to secure the attention of the learned classes.
He did not appropriate his talents merely to Christian
writings. He was likewise an efficient coadjutor in
promoting scientific publications, and he assisted Ricci
in translating Euclid into Chinese.

Shortly after his adhesion, he saw the new religion
encounter serious obstacles and actually checked by

* A copy of this apology is engraven on a marble slab, erected at the
Jesuits’ church outside the south gate of Shanghai.
394 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

court intrigue; but, after a persecution had raged for
four years against the Popish missionaries and their
churches, he obtained the reversal of the Imperial
edict that had expelled the priests and disturbed the
Christians. He lived to see the missionaries re-
instated in Imperial favour mainly under his recom-
mendation, and then expired in 1633,—his mantle
falling on some members of his family, especially his
youngest daughter, who adopted the Christian name
Candida.

This lady appears to have been a remarkable woman.
Though left a widow at an early age, with the charge
of eight children, she gave herself up to the promotion
of this form of Christianity. Duhalde says, she con-
secrated part of her fortune to the erection of thirty-
nine churches in different provinces, and printing 130
varieties of Christian books for the instruction of the
unconverted. The Emperor was so gratified with her
reputed integrity and benevolence, as to confer on her
the title “virtuous woman,” accompanying his note
of congratulation with a rich robe and head-dress, the
ornaments in which, it is added, she disposed of to feed
the poor. Like her father, she died lamented by all
classes, especially by the missionaries, who in her lost
their best Chinese friend.

Seu and his daughter have been apotheosized by
Catholic families in China, especially those of Shanghai.
Their remains were interred at or near a village on
the west of Shanghai, five or six miles distant, called
Seu-kia-hwuy,—colloquially Zee-ka-wei. The village
derived its name from once having been the residence
and possession of the Seu family. Part of his de-
scendants now are Romanists, part have remerged into
Chinese paganism. At the present day, a stone arch is
pointed out in the heart of Shanghai, not far from the
front of the city-provost’s office, erected to the memory
of Seu, with his name and titles carved thereon ; where
VICISSITUDES OF HISTORY OF POPERY. 395

also in a temple there is a clay image of him as large as
life, which, by Imperial appointment, receives divine
honours.

It must be evident then, that, on the early arrival of
the Romish mission in China, Shanghai figured pro-
minently.

Since those days, Popery has undergone strange vicis-
situdes in the empire. Its church history here would
make another Yih-king, or “ Book of Changes.” In
consequence of her own political schemings, sancti-
monious presumptions, and the divisions and dissent
among her different orders, she has more than once
lost her good footing and been driven into degradation,
exile, or seclusion. For more than one hundred years
now she has been striving to regain her position. To
promote this object, no tool has been neglected, no
weapon unused, no opportunity lost, no nook unsought,
no subterfuge overlooked. As in every other. place,
although obliged to work underhand, she had for years
been working at Shanghai, almost unobserved,—not only
shunning observation, but adopting every semblance to
prevent detection or even suspicion; till the making of
peace, by the treaty of 1842, opened wider than before
the intercourse between China and the West, when it
was the commencement of a new epoch to the Romish
church here. And no branch of her missions shared
so much of the fresh impetus, on that day of revival, as
the Shanghai Popish mission.

In 1844, in consequence of friendiy correspondence
on the subject with the French Commissioner Lagréne,
the Chinese plenipotentiary Keying made a representa-
tion to Taoukwang, his Imperial master, on the tolera-
tion of Popery in China. That statesman’s communi-
cation was thus worded :—“ Your humble servant finds,
on inquiry, that the religion of the Lord of Heaven* is

* “Tord of Heaven Religion ” is distinctive now of ‘‘ Popery.”
g yi
396 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

that which is followed by every Western nation. Its
great aim is to encourage virtue and suppress vice.
Since its introduction into the middle empire during
the former Ming dynasty, it has never been prohibited.*
Subsequently to its introduction, however, in conse-
quence of Chinese who professed this religion often prac-
tismg wickedness under its guise, even seducing women
and craftily extracting the pupils+ of sick folks’ eyes,
government was under the necessity of making inquiry
and inflicting prompt and summary punishment.
During the reign of Kiaking, there were first laid
down certain clauses for the punishment of these
enormities. But this was to prevent Chinese under the
covert of this religion practising vice. It was by no
means an enactment condemnatory of the religion pro-
fessed by the foreigners of the West. Now, as the French
ambassador Lagréne has made the request that Chinese
who profess this religion, and at the same time are
upright in conduct, should be no longer considered
criminals, it appears feasible. It is but fit, therefore,
for me to request and earnestly implore the extension
of Imperial favour and pardon hereafter in behalf of all
people, natives or foreigners, without distinction, who
may adopt and profess the religion of the Lord of
Heaven, without irregular and improper conduct. Only,
should any be chargeable with the seduction of women,
or deceitfully puncturing the eyeballs of the sick, or
walking in the old paths, or practising any other form
of vice, let them be dealt with as by the former laws.

* This is opposed to the real facts of the case.

+ This has been explained as a custom with some priests, who, when
one was about to die, took a handful of cotton with a needle concealed
init. While rubbing the patient’s eyes with the cotton, the eye was
pricked with the needle to extract the humours therefrom, as it was
supposed the cotton soaked in a dying man’s eye-humour was a remedial
medicine. Butis not this a Chinese fable, founded probably on the
practice of extreme unction administered in the Catholic system at the
bed of death ?
TOLERATION OF POPERY. 3897

As to the French people, or any other foreign nation
professing this religion, let them only be permitted to
build chapels and conduct service at the five ports
opened for general trade. They must not dare to go
into the interior to propagate their religion. Should
any act contrary to these treaty engagements, by over-
stepping the boundaries and bidding defiance, let the
local officers at once seize them and hand them over to
their respective consuls for restraint and correction.
Let not the punishment of death be rashly inflicted, so
that there may be a due display of gentleness and
suavity. In this manner probably the good and the
evil doers will not be confounded, and benevolent laws
will be executed. The preceding request that all upright
professors of this religion may be exempt from the
charge of being criminals is most respectfully and duti-
fully laid before the throne, with the earnest prayer
that the august Emperor would graciously grant the
favour.”

A prompt reply was received under the vermilion
pencil, to the effect, “ Let it be according to the counsel
of Keying.” ‘This act of toleration was passed at the
close of 1844. Only one month had expired when the
proclamation fell into the hands of Count de Bessi,
then bishop of the two provinces Shantung and Kiang-
nan, the seat of whose diocese was Shanghai. He was
at the time on his diocesan journey northwards, but
was so ecstatic on receipt of the above tidings, that he
instantly despatched an encyclical letter in the Chinese
language to “all his spiritual children,” part of which
I give :—“ A special order from Lohing-sze (Count de
Bessi), bishop of Shantung and Kiangnan, commanding
ail his spiritual children, and communicating for their
information, that whilst he, the bishop, was at Soochow,
preparing for his journey northwards, he suddenly fell
im with the memorial of the governor-general of Canton,
for which he returns thanks to Divine goodness, and
398 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

feels penetrated with delight. The holy religion is
most correct and true, and its professors certainly ought
respectfully to maintain and diligently to learn it. Let
them also pray that the holy religion may be greatly
promoted, remembering that the kind consideration of
the Emperor towards our holy religion springs entirely
from the favour of the Lord of Heaven. After the
reception of this order, let thanks be offered up to God
for his mercies in the churches, for three Lord’s-days
in succession. While the faithful rejoice in this extra-
ordinary favour,—let Ave Marias also be recited to
display grateful feelings.”

It is clear, from the above papers, that full toleration
was obtained for the Romish creed, not only at the five
ports, but also throughout the Chinese dominions.* The
following year brought with it a strong proof of the
genuine sincerity with which the grant was made.
Many of the buildings in the country, formerly owned
and occupied by Catholics for religious purposes, and
seized or confiscated by Government, were restored ;
at least, the following act was promulgated with that
view :—‘‘ With the exception of such as have been con-
verted into temples or people’s residences, let all the
old churches of the religion of the Lord of Heaven that
were built during the reign of the Emperor Kanghe
(a.p. 1662—1723) and have been preserved to the
present time, be restored to the professors of this reli-
gion in every place, if, on proper inquiry by official
authorities, it be proven that they are their real
possessions.”

* Here I must observe that, in 1845, a proclamation appeared from
the bureau of the same Chinese official, to certify that the rights that
had been conceded to Romanists were alike secured for Protestants.
A public instrument, specifically conceding to Protestants the privi-
leges that had been obtained for Romanists by the French minister,
was secured at that time, principally through the timely interference
of Sir John Davis, the Governor at Hong-kong, and ber Majesty’s
Plenipotentiary in China.
REVIVAL OF POPERY AT SHANGHAI. 899

The effect of such acts was to stir up the native
Romanists to great effort, aided by the counsel of
foreign priests. When I first reached Shanghai, in the
end of 1846, there was directly off the south-east corner
of the city a very large native dockyard; but before I
left Shanghai, at the end of 1853, it had been converted
into the site of a cathedral, collegiate buildings, and a
residence for the propagandist agents. The cathedral
had already been erected and opened, and is now a spot
where the Romish services are conducted in Chinese,
partly by foreign, partly by native priests, as regularly
and formally as at Lyons or Rome. This structure
itself is very clumsy, heavy, and oppressive-looking ;
but, certainly, the single-eyed zeal, indomitable perse-
verance, and strict economy with which the progress of
this erection was marked are beyond praise.

In consequence of the edict above quoted, certain
possessions which at one time belonged to Roman
Catholics at or near Shanghai have been restored, or
they have obtained new sites, probably in compensation
for property confiscated many years ago. In neighbour-
ing towns and villages there is a considerable amount
of land which, if not the property of the missions, is the
property of “ the spiritual children” connected with
them, and completely under the control of their shin-
foos, “spiritual fathers.” Of these the most remarkable
is the village Seu-kia-hwuy, already given as pronounced
in the local patois, Zee- ka-wei.

In calling attention to this religious village, I must
refer to a provision required in all the treaties,—
English, American, and French,—that no foreigner is
on any pretence to trespass beyond certain territorial
limits. This prohibition was not ignored in either of the
proclamations subsequently issued and above quoted.
In the last-mentioned, the closing paragraph reads :—
“ But, that due distinctions may be made, foreigners,
no matter of what nation, are, in accordance with
400 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

existing regulations, prohibited from going into the
interior to propagate their religion.” In spite of these
warnings, however, the following proclamation appeared
in Shanghai, July 20, 1848, from which it will be evi-
dent that, five miles beyond the foreign boundaries, a
sale of land was made and secured under the seal of
Chinese authorities to a foreign bishop, distinctly desig-
nated a “Fuh-lan-see man.” The said proclamation
reads :—‘ Whereas it is authenticated that the con-
stable of the sixth ward of the twenty-eighth tything
has again reported the sale of land belonging to the
people at Seu-kia-hwuy fo the French bishop Lo (Count
de Bessi) for the erection of a church and residence ; and
now that the said bishop or his agent is buying mate-
rials, and collecting artisans, and beginning the work,
fearing lest ignorant villagers may oppose the carrying
of brick, lime, wood, and other materials, or may take
trouble and create disorder, or may steal the materials,
or may there crowd together to get lodgings, and thus
hinder the work ; therefore, he (the said constable) has
requested that a proclamation may be given for the
purpose of prohibiting, &c. &c. Upon receiving the
above report, it is proper to issue a proclamation, and I
do hereby give this to the said constable and villagers
for their information. People of the neighbouring
villages, attend each one of you to your agricultural
pursuits. If any worthless villains or vagabond beggars
come from other places unto the said village and take
up their lodgings there, hinder the work, or steal the
materials, the said constable is hereby authorized to
arrest them and deliver them over to my office, to be
tried and punished according to law. The said con-
stable also must not make this an occasion to create
troubles. If he oppose, I will punish him. Let each
and all respectfully obey. Oppose not.—A special pro-
clamation.” This is a point of some importance for the
Protestant public to remember. Foreign priests of the
A CATHOLIC VILLAGE. 401

Popish persuasion have reclaimed landed property, have
purchased new lands in their own name, and built
chapels, &c. beyond the boundaries defined for foreigners.
Besides which, it is universally known that Jesuit,
priests are in every part of the country prosecuting
their missionary labours.

The Catholic village of Zee-ka-wei lies within a con-
venient walk of Shanghai, and is often visited by
foreigners, which circumstance obliges the resident
padres to be very cautious and chary, especially when
they find Protestant missionaries are disposed to look
in and announce themselves without disguise. On a
certain occasion when I visited the colony, I found
foreign priests, and other foreigners of a secular calling,
onthe premises. These offered every mark of courtesy,
refreshments, &c., and apparently showed no reluctance
to communicate information except on certain points.

The school-house was to me an object of some
curiosity; but it was singular to watch the scru-
pulous jealousy with which permission to inspect it
was granted. Before I could be admitted, there was to
be some delay,—there were so many messages to and
fro, and all in under-whispers. It was evident the
desire was to smuggle the boys away from observation.
Still, with all their manceuvre, when our party was
admitted, it was found we were a little too soon. We
met the lads just making their exodus, of various ages,
good-looking, though evidently cowed. There were
fifty in all, some of them foreign boys in native costume.
They had foreign ushers and native teachers. The
school-room, dining-hall, and sleeping-berths were
nasty-looking apartments. In the school-house there
were lying about Chinese books, Catholic catechisms,
&c. Plates and pictures of Jesus, Mary, and some
saints were hung on the walls,—one of Joseph, the
husband of Mary, with the inscription on it, “ Holy
Joseph, pray for us.’ Two frames were stuck up

2D
402 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

containing the names of the scholars, and recording
their good or bad marks, under these heads,—“ re-
citation,” “reading,” ‘attending to instruction,”
“writing,” “ dining-hall,” “school-house,” “ sleeping-
room,” “inattention,” “correctness of behaviour,”
“respectful conduct.” I examined the “school-library,”
which was rather meagrely supplied with books, Eng-
lish, French, and Italian. The only English work there
was “Cobbett’s Register!”? Of other parts in the
building, perhaps “the sculpture-room” was the most
interesting. It was full of models, the principal one
that of Xavier. There were three or four youths under
instruction. The head artist was a Spaniard, who had
been five years in China. The chapel was capable of
holding 500 people, and fitted up mostly like a poor
Catholic building anywhere else. There was a little
gallery with a small seraphine in it. The priests in
attendance were particular in uncovering the altar of
its shields and curtains, to exhibit to us the Babe in
the manger (this was on January 4, 1853), represented
by a Chinese doll laid out upon a couch, rigged out with
flowers and evergreens. On leaving the chapel, the
senior Father L seized me by both hands, and
begged that he might assure me he “did not worship
any of the images in the chapel.” On another occasion
when I visited the chapel, I found a coffin stationed in
the centre empty, but covered with a black cloth.
Candles were arranged on either side, and all around
there were fifty or sixty women and girls kneeling or
squatting on cushions saying prayers, some using their
beads, some their missals. A member of the Catholic
Church had died, and prayers were said on behalf of
the deceased. But the great point of interest about
this village (to quote one of themselves*) “is connected

 

* Letter from ‘ Father Fournier, Visitor of the Missions of the
Society of Jesus in China, to Messrs. the Directors of the Work of the
Propagation of the Faith,” dated Zee-ka-wei, near Shanghai, Sep-
FEMALE EDUCATION IN THE ROMISH MISSION. 403

with the pupils of the college of Zee-ka-wei, who, toge-
ther with the seminarists, are the hope of this mission.
They afford us the greatest satisfaction by their love of
labour, and their progress in the study of Chinese lite-
rature. So great is the docility and tractability of
their dispositions, that the direction of the college is
attended with no difficulty. A word suffices to maintain
order and discipline. Their attachment to the fathers
and the happiness they enjoy are so visibly expressed
in their looks, that it is remarked by all strangers who
visit our establishments. ..... This college will, I
trust, furnish us with professors competent to teach the
higher branches of education, well-instructed and zealous
catechists, and even priests no less recommendable for
their knowledge of the Chinese literature than for that
of theology, in which they will be initiated at a later
period.”

The foregoing will illustrate some of the modes of
operation superintended by the Romish Church in
China, vigorously pursued at least in the diocesan city
of Shanghai. “In his infidelium partibus,”’ besides a
bishop, they have numerous foreign teachers disguised
as natives, and a large staff of Chinese agents. These
live and labour chiefly in villages, that principally com-
prise “ spiritual children,” of whom they number in
the Kiangnan vicarage above 70,000 souls! Under the
supervision of the confréres, there are catechists and
travelling agents. They maintain schools for girls and
boys. They have chapels. They support monasteries,
And recently, with some hope, and, as they believe,
success, they have introduced “ the institution of reli-
gious women.”

There is a telling paragraph on that last-named
scheme which I extract from the same letter already
quoted :—“ Together with the congregations and the

tember 20, 1855, and published in the May number of the ‘ Annalea”
for 1856.
2D2
40-4, REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

schools, the missionaries have to sustain and aug-
ment the piety of their neophytes, who constitute the
society of Christian young women, that have always
been regarded as the most precious portion of the
church of Kiangnan. They are the first to frequent
the sacraments, adorn the altars, instruct the cate-
chumens, sing the prayers, and give an example of
every virtue. From them are selected the school-
mistresses, the most zealous in the performance of
every good work. A state of languor and indifference
is observable wherever they are not; whilst life, fervour,
and zeal indicate their presence wherever they are
established. When asked the motives of their vocation,
the peremptory and almost exclusive answer is, that
they are desirous of following and walking in the
footsteps of the Holy Mother; so sweet is the perfume
of the virtues of Mary, even in this land of infidelity !
How astonishing! in localities where there are at most
only a few hundreds of the faithful, there are forty or
fifty virgins whom neither promises nor threats can
dissuade from that resolution they have taken from
their infancy, to devote themselves to the service of
God under the protection of Mary! It has always
been believed that God made use of them to work out
his secret designs, to deposit in the bosom of the
church of China the precious germs of Christian per-
fection, and a predisposition for a religious life. This
year has afforded us a convincing proof that this was
the object of their vocation. We felt the want of
governesses, who, being well informed, might assist us
in the conversion of the infidels. A few virgins from
the district of Poo-ni, amongst others, had afforded us
an example of what the zeal of women may accomplish
in China. Last autumn, when M. Maresca was
making his pastoral visit in the district of Wongdam,
we visited together the former establishment of the
small seminary, deserted since the transference of
“SISTERS OF MERCY”? IN CHINA. “405

the young Levites to Tsankouloo, near Shanghai. It
occurred to us that this place might be turned to
advantage, and on the 25th of March of the present year
his lordship opened there, under the patronage of Mary,
a school, the twofold aim of which is the education of
orphans and the formation of school-mistresses selected
from the female pupils who afford the most promising
hopes of success. I cannot conjecture what may be
the advantages of this establishment, which is only as
yet an attempt. But it is somewhat remarkable that it
has met with a good reception both from the idolaters
and Christians. Not a single word of censure; on the
contrary, numerous applications for admission have
been sent from all the surrounding districts, made by
young women jealous of their spiritual perfection.
This new house is known by the appellation of ‘the
Convent of our Blessed Mother.’ The institution of
religious women in China appeared hitherto, to many
persons, a problem difficult to solve; and it may be
that God is preparing the way to their establishment in
an unforeseen manner.”

This is a scheme to promote which the Romanists,
during the year 1850, introduced eight foreign “Sisters
of Mercy” into Shanghai. That introduction can
readily be effected, especially where there already reside
so many Popish families among the Chinese themselves,
and in a country where Buddhist nunneries have been
long extant, the female occupants who, in every respect
(as to dress, appearance, manner, diet, penance, forbid-
ding to marry, chanting prayers, &c.), so strikingly
resemble the nuns and Sisters of Charity of the Romish
profession.

As to their publications, they have numerous tracts,
&c., for circulation, written in a good, easy style.
Many of them, perhaps most, contain views which a
Protestant could not deem exceptionable, saving that
they are linked side by side with tales, fables, and
406 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

fictions, absurd, monstrous, and blasphemous. Exactly
like that new religious sect that lately has been figuring
on the plains of China, the Taipingites, the Papists in
China jumble up with truth more that is falsehood,—
with what is solemn everything ludicrous,—with saving
doctrines what is damning.

Among their books I have seen extracts from Scrip-
ture, but no book under the distinct designation of
“The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testa-
ments.” One day that I visited the chapel at Zee-ka-
wei, | saw represented in relief, on the wall over the
altar-table, the two divisions of that Book,—the Old
Testament open, but in the Hebrew text, and, what I
thought too significant of the policy of this Church, the
New Testament shut! The priests of Rome have for
the last 250 years and more been labouring in this
country, and had every facility for translating God’s
Holy Book, but I have not yet seen a copy of the entire
version, nor more than portions only. Nor have I
been able to ascertain from themselves that they have
either completed it or attempted it. If they have, they
certainly have shut it up, kept the translation under
lock and key, to save it from the vulgar gaze, and
withhold it from circulation. Their aversion to the cir-
culation of Protestant Scriptures and tracts mm Chinese
can be pretty well understood from the annexed trans-
lation I give-of a pastoral issued about the time I
reached Shanghai, 1846, from the prolific pen of the
then resident Bishop Bessi. I am aware that, because
I published the same translation in the “Chinese Repo-
sitory” of 1847, along with the Chinese original, “ the
lord bishop was displeased with the appearance of the
translation, and pronounced some parts of it to be
incorrect.” But, as for the Chinese original itself, it was
found in a Catholic chapel near Shanghai, I think at
Zee-ka-wei, and was copied off by Dr. Medhurst, in the
presence of witnesses. His lordship was requested to
ROMISH AVERSION TO THE BIBLE. 407

point out where there was any incorrectness in the
original text or the translation, but has not favoured
us with his strictures up to this date.

“‘Lupovic, the Lord Bishop of this Diocese, takes occasion to issue this
all-important Proclamation for the information of all the friends of
the religion (of the Lord of Heaven).

‘Recently, in and about Shanghai, there have been persons who
have been widely circulating books (written in imitation of those)
belonging to our holy religion, at which our mind has been exceed-
ingly pained; for, although in those books there are passages that
accord with the doctrines of our holy religion, yet within their pages
there are lurking heretical principles which poison and destroy men’s
souls—consequences by no means light and trifling.

“In the beginning, our Lord Jesus himself established the Church,
a most righteous and a most perfect Church, one only, and not two
churches. He then gave power to the chief of his disciples, Holy
Peter, to receive and pass on the succession, and declared to Peter,
saying, ‘I have prayed for thee that (God would) for ever preserve
thy faith.’ Therefore, his successors have handed down no other
faith, and the faithful everywhere all follow the commands of the
supreme Pontiff. On which account all who heartily unite with the
Pope are one; but such as do not give heed to the injunctions of
the supreme Pope are heretics. Now, to desert and forsake the
teaching of the high Pontiff, is not this to talsify and pervert his
instructions ?

“Ye are our sheep, and we the good shepherd. And fearing that,
by accepting and pursuing those productions, ye may be a little dis-
turbed with doubts and suspicions, to the great damage of your souls,
we, therefore, issue this special proclamation, and moreover annex a
few instructions in order, as follows :—

“ Any adherent of our religion may not take and read these heretical
writings, which have issued from Shanghai.

“Or, if any such have already accepted them, they must forthwith
either burn them or deliver them up to their spiritual fathers.

“Any of the faithful who may be aware that other people have
these heretical works in their possession, must advise them neither to
detain them for pesusal, nor to present them to their neighbours, but
to burn them up, or give them over to the spiritual fathers in their
vicinity. ;

«¢ Every one of our adherents is bound to spread abroad the orthodox
religion of the Lord of Heaven, and always to love others as himself ;
and should he fall in with the members of any other sect who take in
these heterodox publications, he ought to tell them most carefully and
most plainly that their writings are decidedly erroneous, and do not,
in all or anything, agree with the teaching of the religion of the Lord
of Heaven ; but, if men will follow such doctrines, they will fall into
extreme error,
408 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

‘‘ Now, wherever there are corrupt and obscene books, there is every
danger of injuring men’s souls ; but the heretical works, of which we
have just spoken, are of one and the same class with corrupt and ob-
scene writings; and a friend to (the true) religion must in no wise
either receive them for perusal, or hold them in possession, because all
corrupt or obscene works are of the devil ; and both the recipients and
the distributors of these works are undoubtedly the children of the
devil ; and all such will inevitably go down to hell!”

For a sample of their tampering with Scripture, take
their translation of the Decalogue, as found in their
commonest manuals and school-books at Zee-ka-wei :—
1. Reverently worship one God over all. 2. Do not
call upon the holy name of God in uttering a vain
oath. 3. Keep the worship day. 4. Honour father and
mother. 5. Donot kill men. 6. Donot commit lewd-
ness. 7%. Do not stealor rob. 8. Do not bear false
witness. 9. Do not desire another man’s wife. 10. Do
not covet another man’s wealth or goods. In which
it will at once be perceived how the ten command-
ments are made up, even after the second is smuggled
away ;—the tenth being divided into two command-
ments.

Then, their system of Mariolatry is as gross in China
as in Italy or Ireland; in proof whereof read, if you
can, this form of prayerful address to the Mother of
Jesus, in their book of morning and evening prayers,
which I translate from Chinese as it lies before me :—

“ Pray for us,—
O holy Mary !
O holy Mother of God!
O holy Virgin of virgins!
O Mother of Christ!
O most beloved Mother of God! ‘
O most pure Mother!
O most chaste Mother !
O Mother without wrinkle !
O Mother without stain !
O beloved Mother !
O admirable Mother!
O Mother of the creation!
O Mother of salvation !
MARIOLATRY IN CHINA, 409

(“ Pray for us,)—
O most wise chaste Woman!
O reverend chaste Woman !
O to be praised chaste Woman !
O omnipotent chaste Woman !
O all-benevolent chaste Woman!
O all-faithful chaste Woman!
O mirror of integrity !
O seat of perfect wisdom !
O source of our joys !
O thou concentration of the pure and subtile !
O most reverent vessel !
O vessel that contains all holy feelings !
O red gem of sublime rectitude !
O pagoda of crystal and ivory!
O temple of fine gold!
O ark of the covenant!
O gate of high heaven !
O most lustrous star !
O remedy for the sick !
O atonement for the guilty !
O comfort for the distressed !
O thou guide to those that enter our religion!
O Queen of all heavenly spirits!
O Queen of all holy ancestors!
O Queen of all the prophets!
O Queen of all the apostles !
O Queen of all who sacrifice themselves for righteousness’
sake !
O Queen of all pure in heart !
O Queen of all virgins!
O Queen of all saints!”

Next, we have prayers without end to apostles, saints,
and martyrs, among whom sits, as not the least,
“Joseph the patron saint of China,” to whom is
addressed the following daily prayer “on account of
the empire of China :’—“ Most reverently I implore
thee on my behalf to intercede with thy beloved son
Jesus, that He forgive my sins; and I pray thee as the
patron saint of China to intercede with God, that he
look on the infidel inhabitants of China, and open their
hearts to turn from evil and repent and obtain the
virtues of knowledge, faith, hope, and love, until the
whole empire devoutly worship God. O may our holy
410 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

religion do great wonders! Let them not be deceived
by devils. And after death let the people all together
ascend to heaven and enjoy true bliss. Amen.”

Last of all, I give a translation of one page ofa
pocket manual, popular among the faithful in Shanghai,
that is entitled “The Righteous Acts.of the Holy
Road.” The book is intended to be a guide to the devout,
who would try to realize the sufferings of the Saviour.
In their chapels they have (at least at certain seasons)
fourteen pictures on the walls, descriptive of the
several stages of our Lord’s trials and sufferings, unto
the death of the cross. By drawing attention to these,
it is designed (as the book intimates) to “move the
heart that is like iron or stone.” Here is a translation
of the thoughts to be cherished at the fourteenth spot
or stage, which is illustrated in the picture-frame
before which the devotee is supposed to be kneeling :—
“At this point we have presented to us a view of our
Holy Mother, and sainted men and women, attending
the body of our Lord to the tomb, and covering it
over with a stone. Consider, O my soul, and think.
The Holy Mother Mary and all the saints are using
a great stone and shutting up the tomb, so that they
no more can see the body of Jesus. What grief and
anguish must have filled their hearts! Now ponder
and think, if you have a heart still unmoved, as you
come to this part of the scenery. Alas! it is only
a proof that your conscience is seared, and you are an
impenitent sinner. But oh, if your heart be like iron
or stone, and your feelings have not yet been moved,
do reflect on the sufferings which our Lord endured
from Gethsemane to the tomb,—look at them minutely
one by one. [After the relation of each successive
suffering, the penitent has to say, ‘O Jesus Christ, we
revere and praise thee.’] On his way from the garden
to the hall of Ananias the high priest, Jesus fell down
seven times, wicked men trampled him under-foot 144
PROTESTANT MISSIONS AT SHANGHAI. 411

times, struck him with their hands 120 times, smote
the palms of his hands 102 times, scourged him with
5,000 lashes, he fell three times while he bore his cross,
he was overwhelmed with grief 72 times, the crown of
thorns inflicted 1,000 wounds on his head, they spat on
him 72 times, his hands and feet were pierced and
bruised in 72 places, he sighed 109 sighs during his
agonies, the wounds over his entire body amounted to
6,475, he spilt 230,000 drops of blood, and he shed for
our sins 60,200 drops of tears.”

In the notes faithfully and impartially given under
this chapter, I have only spoken of Romanism as it is
at Shanghai. But enough has been said here and also
in a former part* to show that its policy under the
garb of “the Propagation of the Faith,” is throughout
essentially one and the same in China, as it is in other
countries of the world, and has heen at all times.

 

CHAPTER V.

PROTESTANT MISSIONS AT SHANGHAI—COMMENCEMENT—OPERATIONS—
STUDYING THE LANGUAGE—PREACHING—TRACT DISTRIBUTION—SCRIP-
TURE TRANSLATION—SCHOOLS—ROMANIZING THE CHINESE LANGUAGE
—MEDICAL MISSIONS—A REVIEW OF FIFTY YEARS’ PROTESTANT
MISSIONS IN CHINA—-ENCOURAGEMENTS IN THE WORK—THE CIVIL
COMMOTIONS IN THE EMPIRE—PROBABLE RESULT OF THE PRESENT
CONFLICT WITH FOREIGNERS.

No sooner had the treaty of Nanking been signed and
sealed, than the eyes of Protestant missionaries, who
were already stationed on the outposts: of the empire,
turned in the direction of Shanghai, as being “a great
door and effectual opened unto them.”

* Chapter ii., Partiv., page 355, where the alarming correspondence

between Buddhism and Romanism is shown, in the section on Buddhism
and its influences in China,
412 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

The city itself is but of an inferior class, and the
natives of the district are not on a footing with their
countrymen in the south of the empire for intelligence,
energy, or independence of character; yet, there can be
no doubt that the port of Shanghai is one of the prin-
cipal entrances into the heart of the country. It com-

. municates directly with Soochow (which may be reached
by water within twenty-four or thirty hours), and, only
150 miles distant, with Hangchow, the capital of Chih-
kiang province, —two cities that for opulence, literature,
fashion, and luxury, &c. have no other to compete with,
in the words of their stale proverb,

“« Above is heaven,
And below are Hangchow and Soochow.”

Besides this ready intercourse with two large populous
capitals, which claim headship over provinces embracing
sixty millions of inhabitants, there is free and constant
communication by sea with all the maritime ports along
an entire coast above 1,000 miles in extent, from Canton
in the south to Peking in the north, and up the Yang-
tszekiang, as well as by an infinite number of secondary
water-channels, with the middle provinces Hookwang,
Nganhwuy, &c., where rich districts and fine cities
(Nanking, Nganking, Woochang, Hankow, &c.) may be
visited in a week or ten days. Possessed of these facile
lines of communication with the coast and the interior,
Shanghai could always add to its list of population an
enormous accession of native travellers, merchants, and
visitors, whose numbers have been vastly augmented
(as the result has proved) by throwing open the port
to foreign commerce. These and other considerations
contributed to make this place a point of peculiar
attraction to Protestant missionaries in China.

First and foremost to occupy Shanghai for a mission
station was the London Missionary Society, two of
whose labourers, the Rev. Dr. Medhurst and Mr. Lock-
PROTESTANT MISSIONS OPENED AT SHANGHAI. 413

hart, moved up thither in December, 1843, contempo-
raneously with her Majesty’s consul, who planted the
Bnitish flag at the same port. To own a conviction
that has grown upon me ever since I landed there in
1846, the first occupation of this new field of missionary
work could not have devolved on gentlemen more
suitable and better qualified than those I have just
named ;—the one a veteran in the service, who, by his
extensive knowledge of Chinese dialects and literature,
could immediately communicate with natives from
various parts of the empire, and by his advanced age
(which in China always carries weight) could command
respect and attention ;—the other, skilful in medical
practice, and versatile as well as prompt in schemes of
benevolence, following up “ the glad tidings” announced
by his senior with visible assurances of the friendly
intentions of “strangers from afar,” and thus assuaging
any feelings of animosity and prejudice that might have
been entertained against the foreigner. Doubtless the
incipient labours of these two esteemed individuals at
that early period of foreign intercourse contributed
essentially to secure a good footing at Shanghai for
the London Society’s as also every other mission.*
Since then several other missionary societies have
selected the spot as the scene of their evangelical
efforts; and their statistics show that, during the past
thirteen years, ten distinct missionary societies have

* After penning the above lines the writer was called, along with a
large body of admiring friends of various denominations, to mourn over
the decease of that distinguished and laborious missionary, the Rev.
Dr. Medhurst. After forty years of literary and active toil in the
East, he returned to his native country in an extremely enfeebled state,
and three days after landing he peacefully breathed his last, January
24, 1857. His removal has left a serious blank in the missionary
circle in China ; but, beneath the pressure of a truly woful sorrow, his
brethren in the field can be sustained by that divine assurance—
«Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith
the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do
follow them.”
414 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

sent fifty-seven missionaries (with few exceptions mar-
ried men) ; of whom there are at present at work there
at least thirty-seven, the rest having been removed by
death or illness, or other circumstances.

Speaking from personal acquaintance and experience
of the general proceedings of the Shanghai missionaries,
I may premise that, being unacquainted with the
Chinese language, they have to postpone entering on
the more arduous and direct labours of their vocation,
until they are qualified for the task by duly acquiring
the local patois. I make this almost needless remark
for the purpose of alluding to what, I believe, is a mis-
apprehension in Great Britain regarding the acquisition
of the Chinese language. Judging from numerous
inquiries that have been put to me on my return, I
presume there is prevalent in all classes an impression
that the Chinese tongue is not only odd and strange,
but so hard of acquisition as to be almost unattainable
except by men signally gifted. But I fear there is a
good deal of exaggeration as to the difficulty of learning
this language. 1 would not speak too lightly of the
“book-language,” to study which accurately and tho-
roughly will tax every power a man has of body and
mind,—all his lifetime too. I refer speciaily to “the
spoken language,” or any of the common dialects of the
people, to learn which with general accuracy one of
ordinary abilities will only have to give a moderate
share of study and labour. In former days, intercourse
with the common people (which is the best medium of
learning any colloquial) was fettered and prohibited;
now it is the very reverse—open, easy, constant. A
man cannot pick up the patois of the natives by sitting
over his books, or chatting with his learned siensang.
His best teachers of the local dialect are the common
people in the suburbs, villages, market-places, and
shops. To improve facilities of this nature will give
any one all that readiness and fluency of speech which
PREACHING IN CHINESE. 415

he covets. Therefore, I am not underrating the diffi-
culty of learning any of the Chinese dialects, when I
state that the acquisition of a local patois is not more
arduous in China than in any Oriental state, provided
one studies the Chinese colloquial as he would the
French, Italian, or Bengalee.

In making specific mention of the labours of the
Shanghai Protestant missionaries, there are five depart-
ments in which their exertions have been attended with
encouragement and success, as well as trial and dis-
appointment.

First : Preaching.—By this is meant oral instruction
for the purpose of delivering the message of the Gospel ;
instruction given in public or in private, statedly or
occasionally, in streets or in temples, in halls or other
buildings hired or erected for the cbject. In this
department of labour, various dialects are used at
Shanghai, according to the nature of the audience,—
perhaps the Mandarin tongue, perhaps the Fuhkien,
but generally the Shanghai colloquial; so that every
man may hear “in his own tongue wherein he was
born” the great theme of evangelical truth. At none
of the other ports of China, where missionaries are
labouring, has this form of agency been developed in so
extensive a manner; and the opportunities for it have
been year by year immensely increased. Frequent and
large audiences can now be readily collected in and
about that city, partly, no doubt, from the natives’
curiosity to see and hear “men from the West,” and
partly on account of the general respect in which
foreigners are held there, and the remarkable confi-
dence placed in the “teacher of the religion of Jesus.”
This teacher of a strange religion is respected and
trusted, not merely because of his ability to converse
in the language, but for his benevolent vocation,—as it
is ascertained he leaves father, mother, and home to
visit China, not as his other countrymen who pursue a
416 REAL LIFE “IN CHINA.

mercantile trade and make their fortunes, but solely
with the object of teaching the Chinese the way of
salvation by Jesus Christ. Recently the audiences in
the chapels and churches have increased considerably,
since the piratical hordes have been expelled from the
city; and the result has shown that those appre-
hensions were utterly groundless which were at one
time entertained by a few, that, should the imperialist
authorities resume their seals of office, there would be
opposition to Protestant exertions amongst the people.
The work of preaching is carried on with much
facility and encouragement also in the country, where
missionaries of various denominations, sometimes hand
in hand, proclaim the Gospel 100 or 150 miles up in
the interior.

Secondly.—The distribution of the Scriptures and
Christian tracts is a handmaid to the former. In the
preparation and gratis-circulation of fly-sheets, circulars,
tracts, manuals, and pamphlets explanatory of the
tenets of religion, Romanism and Buddhism too have
been more than our compeers. But in the wide distri-
bution of God’s holy oracles, the Protestant missionary
in China is at issue with Papacy, the soi-disant
“religion of the Lord of Heaven.” In 1853, intense
excitement was produced in this mission, and vast
encouragement given, by the liberal vote from the
British churches of a million Testaments to the Chi-
nese nation. It was a timely step, manifestly ruled by
Providence; for, in all probability, had it not been
taken in 18538, the next two years would have been so
engrossed with the Russian war, as completely to shut
“the middle kingdom” out of the mind’s eye, or shut
up the purse of British liberality.

The printing-presses, especially of the Bible Society,
have been at full work in Shanghai during the last
three years, casting forth, with all the rapidity con-
sistent with accuracy and neatuess, a portion of the
DISTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIAN BOOKS. 417

million copies voted by Great Britain. These presses
are set with moveable metal types from the fount in-
vented and executed by the late Samuel Dyer, which,
if for no other advantage but economy of time, labour,
and money obtained thereby, deserves special com-
mendation.

A more definite system of native colportage has
recently been set on foot, by which our Bibles and
tracts may be more extensively spread; and I may also
add that at present there is a more judicious caution
observed in not giving our religious publications with-
out due discrimination, or except to those who probably
would make a proper use of them.

Tract and Scripture distribution is a scheme the
importance of which cannot be overrated,—especially
in a country like China,—where reading is extensively
encouraged, and where even paper, with any form of
written or printed character on it, secures for itself a
notice that approaches superstitious reverence. Besides,
there is the striking fact, that the book-language is
one and the same throughout the eighteen provinces of
China,—no matter how various and different the collo-
quials in these separate provinces. This arises from the
pictorial complexion of the written language, each cha-
racter representing an idea, and not essentially con-
nected with sound ; so that natives of different provinces,
when unintelligible in conversation on account of their
diversity of dialect, have merely to express themselves
in writing; or, if in reading a native work, they are hard
to be understood because of the same diversity of pro-
nunciation, the difficulty is obviated by offering a copy
of the book to the eye of their countrymen,—presum-
ing of course that they are book-readers. In a field of
such extent and population as we have in China, this
peculiarity offers the singular facility, that in case our
missionaries may not reach the utmost range of that
empire, our tracts and publications may; or in case our

25
418 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

missionaries were to reach its furthest limits, where
they might in all probability be unable to pronounce
or speak, to preach or converse in the patois of those
localities, our Christian writings, clothed in the book-
language, can be “seen and read of all men.” Thank
God for this channel of sending the “ silent messengers ”
of peace throughout China!

Thirdly.—One special object to which the attention
of missionaries at Shanghai has been directed since
18438, is translation into Chinese of works of general
instruction on geography, medicine, astronomy, &c.,—
especially religious writings, and supremely the Old
and New Testaments. Under the former head I have
spoken of their distribution; under this I call special
attention to the translation of the Scriptures, as the
latest version, and the most approved, that of “the
Delegates,” was completed at this station.

From the earliest date of our Protestant missions in
China, the uppermost object has been to furnish the
Chinese with a translation of the Bible in their own
language. The difficulty of this task has been exces-
sive. That the version made by Morrison and Milne,
the first missionaries, should be imperfect, was a matter
of course. In this work they had no opportunity of
meeting together in session for any length of time:
their separation from each other, at a distance of 2,000
or 3,000 miles, prevented those translators from united
conference and revisions; the narrow and exclusive
tone of the Chinese government forbade that inter-
course with the people which is of essential aid in
acquiring their language; and the multiplicity of other
labours pressed too hard on their time and divided
their strength. These and other unavoidable circum-
stances militated against the great object of these
pioneers, —to give an accurate translation of the Scrip-
tures. Although the work was completed before their
decease, they did not believe that it was at all perfect.
TRANSLATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 419

To the last they lamented over its defects, and expired
at their posts, breathing out the earnest wish that a
revision might soon be effected. This duty devolved
on their survivors and successors, though not until
many years after. Meantime one or two new versions
were attempted, but proved exceedingly defective, and
very unsatisfactory.

When, upon the treaty of Nanking, the several mis-
sionary societies moved up to China, their agents felt
more than ever the imperative necessity of revising, if
not retranslating the Scriptures. A long experiment
had clearly shown the insufficiency of the early trans-
lation; and now, more highly favoured with increased
facilities for improving it, the missionaries could not
fail to feel their own responsibility in this matter. A
conference of the various missionaries, which met at
Hong-Kong in the summer of 1843, brought the question
to an issue, and they determined on a revision. After
a good deal of delay, arising from correspondence and
other circumstances needless to recount, a body of five
delegates was appointed by missionaries at the various
stations.

Seeing this delegation began, continued, and ended
its labours at Shanghai, that station has secured no
mean reputation in the history of evangelical missions
to China. Its first session was in midsummer 1847;
and, as the writer held an humble seat on this committee
of five, he may be permitted to enter into a few in-
teresting points.

Of the guinqueviri, the president was the late Dr.
Medhurst, a man honoured by all who knew him, as
facile princeps in the Chinese language. Under the able
and skilful leadership of this linguist, who was elected
as chairman, the translatorial engagements of the dele-
gation were commenced upon the New Testament,—
following the “textus receptus,” in deference to the
Bible Society’s suggestion. Our sessions occurred daily,

2ER
420 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

opened with reading a portion of the sacred Scriptures
and prayer, and extended from teno’clock a.m. to half-past
two o’clock p.m. The method of proceeding in committee
was to consider verse by verse, word by word, allowing
each individual opportunity to propose any alteration
that he might deem desirable. The several members
of the delegation had their native tutors with them,
three of whom* continued with us for six years in our
daily sittings, rendering most valuable assistance.
Each day, before adjournment, the portion of Scripture
to be considered at the next meeting was specified, and
a rough draft of its translation offered by the chairman
so that each member might duly examine and compare
the same,

The New Testament was acided in three years,
or by the end of July, 1850, when the committee
resolved, “ That the version as it now stands be offered
to the Bible Societies of Europe and America, and to
all and every one of the Protestant missionaries at
present engaged, or who hereafter may be engaged, in
the work of evangelizing China; with the understanding
that all parties who shall make use of this version
shall refrain from altering the text as now given out
by this committee, who reserve to a majority of their
own body the right to make any alterations therein.”
As there was a difference of opinion amongst the mis-
sionaries throughout China as to the suitable terms by
which to express BawriZw, Oeoc, and Mvevpa, the dele-
gates’ version had blanks left for these words, leaving
the responsibility of their renderings with the several
parties, who might selec. their own terms ;—“ believing
that said diversity of rendering will cause less injury
if all parties use the same version, instead of having
different versions as well as various renderings of these
important words.”

* Two of them have since been converted to the truth, and are now
honouring the Christian faith by a consistent profession,
TRANSLATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 421

Upon entering on the translation of the Old Testa-
ment, three translators, the Rev. Dr. Medhurst, Rev.
John Stronach, and myself, were formed into “ the
committee for translating the Old Testament under the
auspices of the London Missionary Society,” while the
aim was, as before in the New Testament revision,
“that the result of their labour should not be confined
to the missionaries of the London Missionary Society,
but should be offered to the Bible Societies of Europe
and America, and to all the Protestant missionaries in
China.” Strong prudential reasons forced the trans-
lators to adopt that nominal structure; but the work
of translation itself was uninterrupted, and was pursued
precisely on the same rules and principles which guided
us in the New Testament. We continued our labours
until the spring of 1853, when the revised Old Testa-
ment was offered to the evangelical missionaries in
China, on exactly the same broad and liberal conditions
as the New Testament translation was given out.
Within six years this improved version in Chinese of
the entire Holy Scriptures was prepared and completed,
and is now in the course of circulation. ;

Time would fail to dilate on one or two translations of
a minor type, or smaller pretensions,—one perhaps pre-
ferred by one party for one feature, another for another.
I can only add that there is much cause for regret that
these sections, while they do offer the palm of supe-
riority to the delegates’ version, still will perpetuate
differences and divisions by holding private crotchets
rather than adopt a common version,—an object in
missionary work pre-eminently desirable.

Fourthly.—As at all the other stations, the education
of the youth of both sexes has occupied much of the
attention of the missionaries at Shanghai. The chief of
these schools is (as pointed out in the accompanying map)
at Hung-k‘ow, which by this time has well-nigh become
a missionary colony. It sprang up ten years ago, under
422 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

the able and experienced management of the Rev. Dr.
Boone, bishop of the American Episcopal missions in
China. A passing visitor at Shanghai should visit this
establishment ; it will well repay an hour or two’s
examination. Although some members of this mission
are engaged in preaching, &c., the sum of their labours
is directed specially to moulding the youthful mind, in
which department of missionary work great success has
attended the efforts of the Christian Church all over
the world. A year ago there were about 200 boys
educated here, and about 80 girls under the matronly
care of some judicious female teachers. They are
instructed in the various branches of elementary know-
ledge, but mainly in religious instruction.

At this establishment English is taught as well as
their native tongue. But in our mission schools in
China, probably experience has taught that it is more
judicious not to make the study of the English language
so much an essential and uniform branch of education
for all the youth, as a means of stimulating those that
give promise, or of rewarding them.

Of the system of “ Romanizing the Chinese lan-
guage,” the introduction of which has been attempted
in some of our schools, I must explain that it is a
scheme for expressing Chinese sounds in Roman letters,
and writing books, but not in Chinese characters. But
is it not a pity to waste time, expense, and labour on
such an experiment? Is this the most expeditious
method of doing the most extensive good in the shortest
time? Native children taught after this fashion can-
not have time to learn the native mode of acquiring
their book-language. Then, the Romanized Chinese
writing will be confined to an infinitesimal part of
360,000,000, and only to the unit educated and trained
in that system. But scholars under such a training
cannot be of service among their countrymen at large:
the innovation cannot possibly upset the antique lan-
MEDICAL MISSION. 423

guage of the books; it cannot reform the stereotyped
idiographs of China; it unfits the Chinese youths
educated in it for usefulness among their countrymen
as merchants, or even clerks; it un-Chineses them, and
will not really secure respect for them as Christian
teachers. Why adopt, encourage, and pursue it?
Besides, is it not waste of a missionary’s time and
talents? The new-fangled scheme may seem fine, and
be easy to one disposed to be indolent, perhaps idle ;
but it will not answer if one wants to work earnestly
and to some purpose among the people. He must
grapple with the language of the Chinese in its native
type—in all its forms and shapes, and in their own
writing, if he will write, write for them what they can
read and understand as a body.

Fifthly—Another object which has attained some
conspicuousness at Shanghai is the Medical Mission,
in which the practice of medicine is carried on among
the natives free and without distinction. Without any
slight to others who have opened similar institutions, I
must be permitted to specify that this plan has been
carried out from the first opening of the London
Mission, with marked promptuess, unflagging regularity,
and great success, under the direction of Wm. Lock-
hart, Esq. The Medical Hospital connected with the
London Mission Society’s premises is supported chiefly
by the foreign residents. By such means crowds are
daily collected together ; and, while attention is paid to
their bodily wants, a preacher is at hand to drop a hint
and speak a word im season that may, under the
Divine blessing, lead the sufferer to seek the balm
of Gilead for the diseased spirit.

The report of last year, Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st, 1856,
gives the following review of its history :—‘ During a
period of thirteen years, considerably more than 150,000
persons have been attended to for various diseases ;
patients have come to the hospital, not only from the
424 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

immediate neighbourhood, but also from many different
towns and cities in distant parts of this and the sur-
rounding provinces, and great numbers of sailors from
the Shantung and Fuhkien junks constantly resort to
the hospital for relief.””

Seeing it is now quite half a century since the Pro-
testant mission in China was opened, it is but natural
to take a rapid survey of the progress of Christian
missions in that empire up to the present date.

Since the commencement of the work, at a time when
every conceivable difficulty existed arising from natural
prejudice and hostility to foreigners, the country has
been opened, ingress has been obtained, native bigotry
in many places has been superseded by respect and con-
fidence, a footing for the foreigner has been secured in
some of the largest cities, the interest of the Western
world has been awakened in behalf of China, numerous
missionary societies have entered the field, and every
appliance is now at work to promote the chief end of
evangelization, with many signs of success and triumph.
Then, as to missionary labour in China, hitherto this
department of enterprise has been that of pioneering,
for which service above 190 men have enlisted and left
their native shores. Their employ has been (if we may
say so) the work of “ navvies,’’—to clear the ground,
raise the sod, cut down jungles, dig trenches, throw up
earthworks, sink mines, blast rocks, bore tunnels, level
the roads, lay the sleepers, set the rails, &c.; and, but
for these predecessors in the field (many of whom have
already been called to their rest and reward), all this
preliminary and necessary rough work would have been
undone—and unbegun. Therefore, the fifty years’
history of our Chinese missions, though not exhibiting
that kind of fruit we had expected, is full of encou-
ragement of another sort we did not look for ; and we
call on all, “ Jubilate Deo, jubilate.”

Still, this cheerful review of the past and survey of
CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 425

the present state of our missions in China cannot
entirely dispel the anxious cloud that naturally comes
over us, as we look at the vastness of that territory, and,
pointing to its enormous population, think — There,
not only is there “ one other man there yet,”—there are
nearly 400 millions there yet,—men, women, children,
-—men and brethren of the same family with ourselves,
and of like capacities,—born for similar ends, destined
to live in eternity as we are, for whom the same means
of salvation are provided, who must perish unless made
partakers of like grace! There, there are yet 400
millions undelivered—unemancipated by the liberty
with which Christ can make them free !

Was there ever a louder call from any family of man
for the sympathy and pity of Evangelical Christen-
dom than from China? The sole aim of Christian
missions here is to save, sanctify, and elevate the
Chinese mind; and the only effective means at com-
mand are Gospel truth and Gospel institutions.

In carrying out this heaven-born project, the Church
of Christ finds in China that God’s providence has
already anticipated her wants, by providing some
efficient aids and appliances, or at least by removing
some obstacles in this which meet her in other fields.
A voice has already been crying in that wilderness,
“ Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the
desert a highway for our God.” Some valleys have been
exalted, some hills made low, some crooked paths made
straight, some rough places plain. For instance, the
people are not scattered over the face of the land, and
to be reached with difficulty; but they are collected in
throngs, live in crowds, and are influenced in masses.
Civilization of a high type has thriven for centuries here,
and there is nothing like savage and wild barbarism :
we have not to tame the cannibal, clothe the naked,
teach them the blessings of social life, or the advantages
of clothing, housing, commerce, trade, and the arts,
426 REAL LIFE IN CHINA.

Education is appreciated and popular, and instruction
has been encouraged for ages by the people, officials,
sages, and emperors; so that the missionary has not to
coin a book language for them, or discover to them the
secrets of writing, or open up to them the mysteries of
the press, &c. In preparing Christian books for the
hundreds of millions of Chinese, we have not to grapple
with and master fourteen or twenty separate and
different languages, as in British India; her books only
speak one tongue; and nothing like religious caste
obtains, for idolatry itself has but a slender hold.

In such a condition of society, however, the mission-
aries of the Christian Church come in direct contact
with the human mind in every form of its depravity,—
godless, atheistic, worldly, sensual, proud, and conceited ;
hard, unimpressible, indifferent, attached to ancient
forms, detesting change, deficient in principle, wanting
in manliness, obsequious, plausible, and formal. These
are characteristic features daily encountered by every
preacher of righteousness on Chinese soil; who finds,
too, that nothing of human authority, learning, or elo-
quence, can affect these dark outlines of character, and
tnat only the omnipotence of God’s Spirit through the
simple Gospel can change them for the better.

The task of evangelizing the Chinese is by no means
easy; but, at the present time, encouragement dawns
on this missionary field of a decided form, in large
audiences, several inquirers, an eager desire for the
Scriptures, hopeful conversions, zealous adherents to
the truth, and churches increasing in their most holy
faith.* There is no doubt but the force of truth will

* In alate communication from Amoy, summing up the favourable
results of the various missions there, it is stated that, ‘‘ connected with
this mission station, including the city of Amoy and towns embraced
within a circuit of thirty miles around it, there are at present 363
Chinese Christians. So mightily has the Word of God grown and
prevailed.”—London Missionary Society's Report for 1857.
EVANGELIZING THE CHINESE. 427

triumph in China as elsewhere, so “that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess

that Jesus is Lord of all, to the glory of God the
Father.”
428

PART FIFTH.

 

STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

 

CHAPTER I.

NATIVE INSURRECTIONS IN CHINA—LOCAL RISINGS AT CANTON, AMOY,
AND SHANGHAI, AND THEIR SUPPRESSION—THE TAIPING REBELLION—
RISE, PROGRESS, CHECK, RELIGIOUS CHARACTER, AND PROBABLE
RESULTS,

For several years past, troubles of a menacing form
have been thickening within the very borders of China.

These various political agitations have had some
points in common, though they have been totally dis-
tinct and unconnected in their leaders, in their claims,
and in their creeds. If we might, for convenience sake,
divide them into the greater and the lesser agitations,
we would begin with the lesser, although they are in
point of date the most recent.

Along the line of coast from the port of Canton to
the mouth of the Yangtsze-Kiang, extending over eight
hundred miles, there have been, since 1852, three se-
ditious risings among the natives; one at each of the
three seaports of China most famous for native traffic,
and for foreign trade and commerce. The ports we
mean are Amoy in the province of Fuhkien, Canton in
that of Kwangtung, and Shanghai in Kiangsoo.

Although this spirit of insubordination burst out in
the month of May 1853, it had long been fermenting
upon the eastern coast of the empire. In no other
quarter, indeed, has the reigning government had to deal
NATIVE INSURRECTIONS. 429

with more perpetual annoyances. Nor have foreigners
anywhere met with insults of so aggravated a character
as they continually have encountered along this coast.
Perhaps this is not to be wondered at. The spirit of
daring independence, adventure, and knavery had long
been growing among this maritime population, born
upon the sea coast or on its rugged islands, bred up
among fishermen, sailors, smugglers, and pirates, traf-
ficking with foreigners or engaged in the opium trade ;
and of late, especially since 1840, when the power of
England exposed the weakness of the native govern-
ment, this tone of defiance has risen to a pitch beyond
precedent.

However, after long delay and much bloodshed on
either side, these maritime tumults were suppressed,
the unruly were disbanded, the peaceful natives returned
to their former residences, public security was restored,
trade revived, and the Imperialists appeared to re-
establich their authority. |

But the political movement of the more extensive
and formidable cast, is that which has often been em-
phatically designated by foreigners, either “ the revolu-
tion in China,” or “the Nanking rebellion.” To give
it the former designation, however, imposes on it a
universality to which it has no pretensions; and to
name it by the latter, conveys an erroneous impression
as to the original site of the outbreak. More properly,
it should be spoken of as ‘the Kwangse insurrection,”
that province having been the nursery of the rising, and
the hot-bed where the combustible elements that had
been smouldering in the south and south-western parts
of China, since 1842, were collected. Upon the termi-
nation of the war with England in that year, when
amicable relations with foreign Powers were restored,
it is unquestionable that the national executive fell back
into more than its usual self-satisfaction and security.
Military authority and municipal surveillance became
430 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

exceedingly relaxed. It is equally certain that the
hardy, independent, and turbulent among the people,
eager for opportunities to realize their political projects,
had perceived the late exposure of the impotence of the
Imperial Government, and watched with pleasure the
progress of that languor, which ever since had been
creeping over the various boards of the administration.

While the Emperor Taoukwang still lived (he died in
1850), various riots and extensive robberies, “ occa-
sioned by certain banditti belonging to the Kwangse
province,” were reported to his Majesty, as noted in
the Peking Gazette. These were looked upon by “the
Great Eye,” as trivial affrays, to be put down by a puff
of the Imperial breath, or extinguished by one stroke of
the vermilion pencil. But down to the middle of 1851,
those bands continued to occasion no little annoyance
in Kwangse, spreading disorder beyond the boundaries
of that into the adjoining provinces, Kwangtung (i.e.
Canton) and Hoonan.

The agitation then began to assume the more decided
form of an irruption. From the mountain lines of
Kwangse, it crept northwards through the heart of the
empire. As this invading force advanced, its leaders
endeavoured to adopt something like an organized plan
of campaign,—proclaiming the foundation of a new
dynasty as their prime object. High-sounding claims
were announced. Violent complaints against the exist-
ing monarchy were raised. Thrilling appeals were made
to all classes, in one form most inviting, in another most
appalling. These demands gained currency through the
press—a medium not idle among the Chinese, and in
some respects the most popular and effective instrument
in that country. Passing from city to city, from pro-
vince to province, the quiet and peaceable natives were
startled and cowed. The Imperialist soldiery, whether
composed of “tigers” or “village braves,” was, before
these rebels, in most instances little better than the
NATIVE INSURRECTIONS. 431

wooden regiments that amuse the children in our nur-
series. The crowds of idle and indolent vagabonds
which infested the rural and suburban population found
proper aliment in this commotion, and joined the move-
ment in gangs. Still, this threatening insurrection
took eighteen months to pass out of _Kwangse, through
the Hoonan province, up to the banks of the river
Yangtsze,—a distance not exceeding 700 miles. Its
approach created great alarm everywhere. Although
the local authorities must have heard the wild rumours
that floated on long before the actual appearance of the
invaders, yet it does not appear that even the more
cautious and courageous of the Imperial servants made
any timely and vigorous preparation for resistance. The
consequence was that, at the approach of the formidable
host, whose numbers, large as they were, were enor-
mously exaggerated by a timid and flying mob, numerous
villages and walled towns were at once deserted by their
inhabitants, and almost as speedily by their grotesque
militia, after a show of military manceuvres which they
took care to exhibit at a convenient distance from the
enemy.

As it is not our purpose to weary our readers by a
minute itinerary of the line of march pursued by the
insurgents, we shall take them at once to Nanking,
which fell on the 19th March, 1853. arly in the
morning of that day the insurgents sprung a mine,
which caused a breach of thirty yards’ width under the
wall of the city, near its northern angle. The assault
was then made, and, after a slight resistance, the rebels .
entered, took possession of the capital, and have ever
since made it their head-quarters. Near the close of
the same month, they made for the citadel of Chin-
kiangfoo, at a distance of fifty miles from Nanking. In
the beginning of April, the conquerors proceeded to the
two walled cities, Kwachow and Yangchow, nearly
opposite to Chinkiang upon the northern bank of the
432 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

Yangtsze. These likewise fell without defence. Having
taken possession of these important cities on the two
banks of the river, they got complete command of the
great channel of communication between the north and
south of China by way of the grand canal, called by the
natives “the transport grain canal,” from its chief use.
Before advancing farther up the country, they took the
precaution to establish a sort of regular government at
“the heavenly capital,” as they name Nanking, and to
strengthen the various fortifications there, as well as in
the other cities upon the north and south banks, with
the evident intention of permanently occupying these
important heads of the canal. But, while the insurgents
were engaged in these precautionary measures, the
Imperialist hosts came down upon their head-quarters,
—pitching their tents, however, at a respectful distance
from the Nanking walls, on the west, south, and eastern
faces, and anchoring flotillas eight or ten miles both
above and below the capital, so as to command the main
channel of communication from west to east by way of
the Yangtszekiang, whose waters flow along the northern
face of Nanking. It would appear that the greater
part of this besieging army has been lying here for
nearly the space of six years,—as if with no other
object than to keep the insurgents within the stone walls
of the “heavenly capital,” and prevent them from
marching forth in masses to ravage the surrounding
country. But, in spite of this parade of the Imperial
forces, the insurgents, after some delay, managed to
elude the besiegers, and sent detachments, according to
all accounts, large and strong, to the south, the west,
and the north. The division intended for the north
moved leisurely, and for some time unimpeded, through
the province of Shantung. It crossed the Yellow River,
and penetrated the Chihli province till within 100 miles
of Peking, the metropolis of the empire. At last the
rebels found they had “ gone too far north,” for nothing
THE TAIPING REBELLION. 433

but a succession of reverses awaited them there. Their
hitherto victorious bands now met with a continued se-
ries of defeats. Their battalions were repulsed, broken
up, and dispersed. Whole companies were cut to pieces,
and the survivors fled whither they could. The same
fate befell the southern and western detachments.

Thus the prestige of the usurper Taiping began to
decline at the close of the year 1854, though then still
in occupation of Nanking and the neighbouring fortress
at Chinkiang; nor has his cause since revived, notwith-
standing the very crippled state of the Imperial forces.

The history of the two following years of this strange
movement was remarkable only for a serious division in
the camp of its leaders, which (whatever may have
been the direct cause) resulted in disasters the most
terrific to the insurgents themselves. Two of the grand
confederates, the Eastern and Northern kings, who had
been most in the confidence of the Chief Hungsew-
tseuen, were seized as conspirators, and put to death as
traitors, along with a large body of their immediate
partisans, who had taken refuge in the far-famed Porce-
lain Tower of Nanking, but who were blown up at one
and the same time with the pagoda.*

The convulsions of that juncture did not lead to the
immediate downfall of the soi-disant Taiping dynasty,
but they by no means promoted its interests or strength-
ened its repute. And we now find these insurgents
nearly in the same position which they held in 1853, or
occupying a small section of the valley of the Yangtsze
river, running, perhaps, 350 miles along its southern
bank from Chinkiang in Kiangsoo province, up to
Kewkiang, on the northern margin of the Poyang lake
in Kiangse.

Other parts of the inland country have been visited
by the spasmodic efforts of upstart agitators; but we

* Vide account of destruction of this pagoda at p. 391.
2 F
434 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

must hesitate to identify these with the Taiping
men, although they are alike led on by the lowest
motives and impulses, and are bent on plunder and
power.

It is impossible to predict the future course of politics
in China; but it is not improbable that the result of
the Taiping insurrection, and of the disturbances we
have alluded to, may ultimately contribute to the entire
disorganization of the empire, and the breaking up of
China into a number of states never to be reunited
under one sovereign. This, however, will be a work of
years; and, meantime, foreign elements will be intro-
duced, which doubtless, must increase the complications
already threatening.

Notwithstanding that the Chinese nation has a name
for lethargy, approaching to stolidity, yet, for two or
three centuries, civil commotions of some sort have
been continually breaking out in different provinces of
the country, and although these have been one after
the other put down, their frequent occurrence in
various parts indicates that, in that overgrown empire,
there are elements of life and social energy not easily
to be crushed. What has rendered the recent dis-
turbances among the Chinese themselves unusually
formidable to their government, is, that they are
distinct, separate, and unconnected with each other;
showing that the spirit of national independence, or
the desire for it, is not confined to one spot, but has
been spreading among the people.

The reigning government, entitled “the Ta-tsing
dynasty,” may not be overthrown by any of these
stirring movements; nor, if so, is it at all probable
that a mere change of ruler would directly induce an
improved state and administration of affairs. Hope of
improvement in China is not in any organized form of
agitation, but in the fact that thought is beginning to
circulate among the people. New ideas have been
INSURGENTS IN CHINA. 435

infused into the popular mind. Since free intercourse
with foreigners was opened in 1842, the “ schoolmaster
has been abroad” in China, and self-dependence, so
manifest in their various insurrections, has begun to
assume a higher tone among the people. Such agita-
tions, like storms and hurricanes, will clear the atmo-
sphere. Upheavings of such a type must arouse
thought and feeling, teach the people to act for them-
selves, and complete the destruction of the fossil re-
mains of prejudice, bigotry, and superstition. Any
shaking in the nation is a symptom of the secret
workings in a vast laboratory, preparatory to some new
and marvellous result; and we cannot but believe
that all the tossings up and down of China (most
of them concealed from foreign observation), will end
in the creation of what will be “very good ;”—just
as our entire globe, after the countless and terrible
convulsions of nature had swept over it, at length
presented a form of which even the Great Creator was
pleased to say, “ Behold, it is very good!”

Of the most conspicuous of the movements named
above, viz., “ the Taiping rebellion,” it was its religious
element that, four years ago, excited the curiosity and
interest of Christendom more than anything else.

From original documents upon our table we find,
that among their articles of faith they recognize the
primary truth that there is but one God, and beside
him none else; they declare that idolatry in any shape
is derogatory to the honour of the Supreme Being, and
a violation of his commands; that the ten command-
ments, as delivered in the Mosaic dispensation, are
obligatory upon all people; that Jesus came into the
world to save sinners ; that the future lot of the wicked
is eternal damnation, but the righteous have the bliss
of heaven in reserve for them; that the Holy Spirit
influences men’s hearts; and that to the Trinity, God
the Father, the Son, the Spirit, solemn worship is due.

282
436 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

Besides these, the following Scripture facts are men-
‘tioned in their writings: the creation in six days, the
deluge, the giving of the decalogue, the miraculous and
divine interpositions in behalf of the Israelites; the
descent of Jesus into our world, his benevolent mission,
his death on the cross, the sun being darkened at his
crucifixion, his resurrection, and his presence in heaven.
They have the decalogue also, not in full, but abridged.
They profess faith in the existence and the validity of
the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, portions
of which (e.g. the Pentateuch, Judges, Joshua, and the
Gospel of Matthew), as printed and distributed by them-
selves, have fallen into the hands of foreigners.

At first sight, the system seemed to offer some hope
that it might prove effective in diffusing the principles
of the Christian faith. A further examination of their
writings and papers, however, has not only disclosed
that their notions of Christianity are of a very loose
and confused description, but has revealed the most
revolting and blasphemous fables, interwoven with
Scripture facts and Bible truths, all which have been
evidently assumed for the purpose of ambition and
intolerance.

It is too painful, not to say disgusting, for us to
retail their silly vile tales ;* moreover, it is impossible
to read these assumptions of superhuman power and of
divine authority, without feeling that Hungsewtseuen
deserves to be classed among the grossest fanatics or
impostors who have appeared in the world, and that
all attempts to palliate his frauds are futile and mis-
taken. Is his assumption of being in a peculiar sense
“the second Son of God,” of having many visions

* Should any one be disposed to peruse a more lengthened opinion
upon the insurgents in China, I must apologize for referring to an
article written by me, headed ‘ Political Disturbances in China,” and
inserted in the Edinburgh Review, October, 1855, No. 208 ; from which
I have to acknowledge the introduction of a few paragraphs in the
above notes.
RELIGION. 437

and divine revelations, or of holding repeated inter-
course with the Divine Being, in colloquies and special
interviews, but a venial offence? Is his claim to
universal homage, on the plea that he has been anointed
to his sacred kingship by the hands of God, and has
received direct orders to that effect from the lips of the
Eternal, to be regarded merely as one of his “tolera-
biles ineptie?”? Can the good though imperfect pas-
sages in his writings be brought forward as outshining
those that are thick with darkness and full of bluster-
ing blasphemy? It is true, he has the reputation of
being a fierce iconoclast, he publishes some Christian
truths, and is said to distribute portions of our Scrip-
tures; but his imperfect acquaintance with the religion
of Jesus is not sufficient to counterbalance the frightful
pretensions which are unblushingly made throughout
his own books and proclamations: so that the only
consistent and straightforward explanation of the case
is to put the chief of this movement down as in every
respect a pretender.

There is little doubt that the movement was from the
first, as it is now in an enfeebled form, a grasping at
power and property.

But this extraordinary revolution has not yet been
consummated, nor is there much prospect, according to
the information we at present possess, of the Kwangse
rebels winning the prize. Vincit qui patitur. Fora
revolution to be effective in China,—effective in re-
forming every branch of the government and in im-
proving all classes of the people—we believe it will have
to call in the aid and the influence of the foreigner.
The limited freedom, which has been secured to foreign
visitors on the soil of China during the past fifteen
years, is itself a change which has probably had no
small influence on the country, and there is reason to
hope that its results are not unwelcome to the people.
428

CHAPTER II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF HONG-KONG, MACAO, AND CANTON.

Any vessel bound to the port of Canton has to enter
the delta of the “ Pearl River,’ the area of which is
largely occupied with isles and sandbanks. This exten-
sive estuary forms a rough triangle, measuring about
100 miles in length on each side. Few rivers can be
more protected than this, for during the late visit of
Admiral Seymour, the forts along its banks amounted
to thirty. Itis fed by large and numerous branches,
some of which run two and three hundred miles into
the interior of the country.* When your ship has
passed through the mouth of this wide embouchure, you
may (if you please) turn to the right to the English
island of Hongkong, which lies 8.E. by E., at a distance
of nearly ninety-five miles from Canton, or, to the left,
to the Portuguese settlement of Macao.

The name Hongkong is the foreign corruption of
Heongkong, and that again is the vulgar pronunciation
in local patois of Hiangkiang, which is by interpretation
“Scented stream,” or further (as might be suggested
by a fruitful imagination), “a series of spicy cascades,
eau-de-cologne, or lavender water,”—in which case fancy
would certainly be more romantic than fact. Properly,
this designation belongs to a small stream on the
southern side of the island, which had been long fre-
quented by ships’ boats for the purpose of taking in its
fine pure water; but now the name is given by foreigners
to the whole island.

The island itself is nine miles in length, nearly the
same in breadth, and about twenty-six in circumference.

* See description at pp. 305, 306,
‘SNON-ONOH JO ANVISI HAL

 
HONG-KONG. 439

It presents a very uneven and exceedingly barren sur-
face, consisting chiefly of rugged and rocky ranges of
hills, with narrow ravines, through which streams of
excellent and never-failing water flow. To give a
notion of the ridges and peaks upon so small an island,
I annex the names and heights of some:—Victoria
Peak, 1,825 feet; High West, 1,174; Mount Gough,
1,575; Mount Kellett, 1,131; Mount Parker, 1,711; |
Pottinger Peak, 1,016. There are only a few spots that
are arable, and these are cultivated with rice, peas, and
potatoes. The botany of the island is scanty, and the
curious fact is mentioned by Fortune, that the most or-
namental flowering plants on its face are to be found
high up the mountains, from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above
the sea-level.

There are some patches of level beach land, as at
Chek-choo on the south-western point, Shek-pai-wan on
the west, T'ai-tam on the eastern end of the island,
which several sites were at first considered as the more
likely to be eligible for foreign residences; but hitherto
few of the colonists have erected dwelling-houses out of
that district called Victoria. This lies on the north
face of ‘the island, at the base of that lofty peak repre-
sented in the opposite engraving, and called by the same
name.

Victoria, the capital of the colony and the seat of the
government, extends nearly three miles from east to
west,—part of the central grounds being occupied
by government, for military barracks and hospitals,
commissariat buildings, the colonial church, officers’
quarters, post-office, and harbour-master’s depdt, all
which are overlooked by the government-house itself,
higher up the hill.

West and east of this central portion, almost close to
the sea-beach, stretch the private residences of foreign-
ers, commercial houses, club-house, exchange, two or
three chapels, with public market-places. The Chinese
440 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

colonists occupy ground principally to the west of the
central division,—modelling their houses after the native
fashion. In the year 1849, the town of Victoria in the
colony of Hongkong was ordained a city, and the island
and its dependencies were erected into a bishop’s see
and diocese, to be called the bishopric of Victoria.

It was the shelter, security, and convenience offered
by the harbour immediately before Victoria, that
induced the English government to select this for a
British settlement; for it has one of the noblest road-
steads in the world, with a safe and wide passage at
both ends, east and west, as well as an anchorage for the
largest fleet afloat. This island and harbour were both
ceded to the crown of England in January, 1841, and
again confirmed by the treaty of Nanking in August,
1842. Before the cession, the native population on the
island amounted to no more than two thousand,—and
these chiefly a set of low, poor, and degraded quarry-
men, smugglers, fishermen, or pirates. But since “the
colony of Hongkong” was opened, there has been an
immense accession of Chinese immigrants, whose num-
bers, by the last census, exceed 60,000.

The government of the colony is vested in a Gover-
nor, a Lieutenant-Governor, and a Legislative Council
of three official and two non-official members.

Hongkong lies exactly opposite to the main-land of
China; at the eastern point of which there is seen the
town of “Nine Dragons,” or Kow-loong, where the
Canton authorities, when they had the will for it, had
one way of annoying English residents by stopping
the supplies of provisions in regular demand by the
islanders; but of this method of irritating their neigh-
bours they have recently been taught to be a little
more cautious.

Macao (pronounced Macow) is forty miles to the
westward of Hongkong, a Portuguese settlement at
precisely the same distance from Canton as Hongkong.
MACAO. 44]

The position of Macao is agreeable to the English
sojourner, as it has a pleasant variety of hill and dale
in its little territory, and is nearly surrounded with
water and open to sea-breezes on every side. But, apart
from its having no good harbour whatever, it has the
great drawback of a mongrel Portuguese society, and a
low-caste pig-headed class of Chinese. Besides, to some
of the present generation of English residents in China,
there can be anything but associations of a comfortable
kind connected with Macao, recollecting as they must
the unfriendly policy which the Portuguese on the spot
pursued some sixteen or seventeen years since, and
‘the bitterly hostile bearing which the Chinese of the
settlement were encouraged to assume towards the
“red-haired English.”

Macao is a peninsula, not more than eight miles in
circuit. It is attached to the south-east point of a large
island, called in the Chinese tongue ‘“ Hiangshan,”’ or,
as if again to delude the fancy, “the fragrant hill.”
The connecting band is a narrow isthmus, which, in the
native topography, is designated “the stalk of a water-
lily!” In 1840, a low wall stretched across this isth-
mus, the foundation-stones of which had been laid
about three hundred years ago, with the undisguised
object of limiting the movements of foreigners, pedes-
trian or equestrian. This was the notorious “ barrier”
which, during the Chinese war of 1840 and 1841, was
a source of great uneasiness to the Portuguese settlers
of Macao, and the occasion of repeated fits of jealousy
between Chinese and English. As large numbers of
the peasantry had to pass the “barrier-gates,” with
provisions for the mixed population at Macao, it was a
frequent manceuvre with the Chinese authorities, out of
revenge on the English, to stop the market supplies by
closing this gate, and setting over it a guard of half-
starved and ravenous militia.

But to leave Macao and make for Canton, your ship
44.2 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

starts and glides by the notorious ‘ Bogue Forts,”
threads her course through an involved network of
islets and mudbanks, and at last drops anchor twelve
miles from Canton, off the small island of “ Whampoo.”

At Whampoo our near approach to the city of Canton
is indicated by the numerous and grotesque “egg-
boats,” ‘“sampans,” “ bumboats,” and other small fry
of that class, which are constantly ferrying between
the two places, not to mention the mastheads of junks
lying abreast of Canton, and the flagstaffs of Chimese,
British, and other ensigns, which on a clear day are
visible at some distance. (The reader is reminded that
we speak of Canton “as it was” under the native
régime.)

The name “Canton” is given by foreigners both to
that city and to the province of which it is the capital ;
but it is a European corruption of “ Kwang-tung,”
the native term to denote “ Broad. Hast.”

The proper names applied by the inhabitants them-
selves to their capital are various: thus, in speaking to
their fellow-citizens they merely call it ‘ Sang-ching,”
an equivalent to “our capital:’” in conversation with
natives of neighbouring provinces, they designate it
“ Kwang-tung-sang-ching,” “the capital of Canton ;”
while poetically it is described as “the city of rams,”
“the city of the genii,” “ the city of grain.”

The origin of such romantic epithets is traced by
the people to the following legendary incident.

They say that, after the foundation of the city (which
dates so far back as 2,000 years ago), five genii,
clothed in garmeuts of five different colours, and riding
on rams of five different colours, met at this place.
Each of them bore in its mouth astalk of grain having
six ears, and presented them to the tenants of the soil,
to whom they spake in these words :—

“¢ May famine and dearth never visit you !”
CANTON. 443

Upon this, the said rams were immediately petrified
and converted into perpetual monuments of stone.
And should any foreign archeologist now at Canton
be disposed to push his inquiries immediately on the
spot, and place himself under a native guide, he may
find these five stone rams in “ the Temple of the Five
Genii,” which stands hard by the city-gate of the same
name.

The city of Canton lies on the northern bank of
“the Pearl River,’ in a plain which extends to the
foot of “the White Cloud Mountains,” the highest
point of which is said by the natives to rise 1,200 feet
above the level of the river.

Immediately abreast of Canton, there stand, in the
bed of the stream, two tiny forts, which were long held
by the mandarins but are now occupied by the allied
forces of Great Britain and France. The one still
goes by the name “Dutch Folly,’* the other (on a
peninsula) by that of “French Folly.” Exactly be-
hind these, as you face the city, there stretches the
island of Honan, separated from the opposite bank by
the river, which here does not much exceed the width
of the Thames at London Bridge. ‘“ Honam” (as it is
called in the Canton patois), ever has and ever will
afford, from its isolated position, some pleasant walks
for recreation, particularly to foreigners, after their
day’s toil in the counting-house or the factory. The
island has a considerable town on it; but, besides a
few walks, there is the large “ Joss-house,” a Bud-
dhist temple, whose shady grounds cover about seven
acres, and which, surrounded by a wall, has its gardens,
courts, monastery, idols, and images—all within the
enclosure. To saunter in the cool grounds of this
temple is a favourite pastime for the natives who have
means and leisure for it.

* A slight allusion is made to it at page 306.
444 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

But, as you return to the city, the river-scene cannot
but attract the eye as most diverting and instructive;
for you have presented to you, in more than a miniature
scale, “ Life in China on a river.” You have, indeed,
lying before you a floating town, consisting of wood-
huts and houses, built on rafts or on piles driven into
the banks, with boats of every conceivable shape and
use, linked and lashed together, rising and falling with
ebb and flow; in fact, it is an aquarium of human
occupants,—male, female, veteran and infant,—skim-
ming and skipping about,—in search of indulgences,
lawful and criminal, or in pursuit of their daily bread,
—all exhibiting a marvellous ingenuity, an untiring
industry in the same avocations that engross their
neighbours on “ terra-firma.”

The suburbs of Canton extend all round the city, and
stretch full four miles along the river-bank, particularly
towards the west of the city. The native streets and
buildings of this portion differ very little, if at all, from
those within the walls.

Hitherto, the foreign residences have been chiefly
confined to the western suburbs,—nearly opposite to
“ Dutch Folly.” The range of buildings usually known
as “the foreign factories,” had a river frontage of 800
feet, within which lot there was an area of about 100 feet
in depth, laid out as a garden. These buildings were
at first called “ factories,’ by the foreign merchants
themselves, from appearing in China as “ factors,” or
agents for others in a distant country ; but to the present
day they are spoken of as “hongs” by natives and
foreigners,—“ hong” being the Chinese name for “a
row,” “a series,” or “a succession,” of large, lofty
apartments. The latter term is by no means inappro-
priate, as the factories were built in rows, one behind
another. On this account, the front “ hong” looked out
on the river, while the “hong” in the rear had not
an agreeable prospect. Some, indeed, were dark, prison-
CANTON. 445

like blocks, that had to be reached by a dismal tunnel
through the centre ground story; the rooms on either
side of this passage being occupied by compradores and
servants. However, they were strongly built, of stuccoed
brick, upon granite foundations, rising some two, some
three stories high, though they have, during the last
eighteen months suffered from war aud pillage.

“The White-cloud Hills,” in the rear, command the
‘city. From these heights (which used to have their
forts and camps of Man-tchoo soldiers) there is a view
of the country round, but particularly of the doomed
city beneath, and its expanse of red-tiled roofs and low
houses,—relieved occasionally by military towers, soli-
tary pagodas, Buddhist temples, and official flag-
staffs, &c.

The entire circuit of city and suburbs cannot be far
from ten miles, embracing a land and water population
amounting probably to a million; but the circumfer-
ence of the walled city may not be above six or seven
miles.

That part of Canton which is surrounded by a wall,
is again divided into the “Old City” and the “New
City” by a wall running straight from east to west.
The northern, or the “Old City,” which “rests on the
brow of the hill ” already named, is the larger division,
having famous pleasure-grounds, tea-gardens, and some
wide streets, with not a few official houses.

South of the partition is the “ New City,” whose
outer wall is about 100 yards distant from the river side,
—the intervening space being entirely occupied with
suburban houses and hongs.

The city walls have a foundation of sandstone, and
are built both of brick and stone; the thickness varying
from 25 to 30 feet, and the height from 28 to 40 feet.
In many places the houses of the poor are built so close
to the walls, inside and outside the city, that they can
scarcely be distinguished. On the wall, circling the
446 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

city, there are twelve large gates, and four in the par-
tition wall; sixteen in all, some of them bearing high-
sounding titles, of ‘Mighty Peace,” “Eternal Rest,”
“ Everlasting Purity,” &c. The interior of Canton is
intersected by ditches, canals, and streets,—the latter
also dignified by the equally inappropriate names of
“ Warlike Dragon,” “ Golden Lily,” ‘“ Flower Street,”
&c. These streets are about 8 feet wide, flagged chiefly
with granite, and generally thronged with a motley
group. At any busy hour of the day, vociferating por-
ters of merchandize and nimble sedan-carriers, in noise
and bustle, make up for the deficiency of carts and
conveyances; but the crushing and jostling of numerous
passengers and various venders, pedlars, and beggars,
which occurs every day in every one of these thorough-
fares, we shall not attempt to describe, but leave the
reader to imagine from the accompanying sketch of
“a street in Canton.”

Such is a brief description of Canton “as it was” up
to the close of 1858; but the Canton “ that is to be,’
we leave the future to unveil.

CHAPTER III

CANTON RUPTURE WITH FOREIGNERS—DELAY IN SETTLING IT FORTU-
NATE ON TWO GROUNDS—THE POPULAR FEELING AT NORTHERN
PORTS FAVOURABLE TO FOREIGNERS—ACCOUNT OF BRITISH ACTION
AGAINST CANTON DOWN TO THE BEGINNING OF 1858—caPTURE OF
YEH,

Tur late embroglio at Canton (of which every one
knows) has awakened more discussion in England than
it has in China, and excited more alarm in our Parlia-
ment than in the Imperial cabinet at Peking. But,
believing that our British authorities on the spot (with
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all their faults) were fully justified in the vigorous
course which they adopted in October 1856, and
which, but for a mistaken spirit of leniency, their pre-
decessors ought to have taken long since and so saved
us this rupture, I cannot but express a hope that the
amazing interest awakened in British hearts by the
recent occurrence will not subside or vanish into
vapour.

During the greater part of 1857, the terrible affairs
in India have driven those of China very much into the
background ; but every one must be aware of the
urgent causes that compelled the British Government to
relinquish for a time its original plans, and divert a
portion of the resources put at its disposal for the pur-
pose of rectifying the anomalous state of foreign rela-
tions upon the coast of China.

Perhaps this interruption to the rigorous proceedings
of Britain in China may be regarded as fortunate on
two accounts.—First—Lord Elgin has been saved from
repeating the mistake of former plenipotentiaries,—
that of attempting to visit Peking in person, and of
appealing to his Imperial Majesty before decided opera-
tions had been taken against Canton, and an impression
made upon the insolent officials and insulting rabble of
that province and city.

Among the foreign residents in China there was
reason to fear that his lordship, on the threshold of his
career, was somewhat disposed, first of all, to visit the
Peiho, and seek an interview with the occupant of the
“ dragon throne; ” the failure of which policy any one
acquainted with the tone of the Peking cabinet might
easily have predicted. However, the grave complica.
tions in India drew off his lordship’s attention from
the north of China, and withdrew the land forces from
the south of the empire, on which military strength he
was in a measure dependent in pursuing the scheme of
visiting the Gulf of Pihchelee.
448 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

Meantime, it appears, that gulf has been visited by
His Excellency Count Poutiatine, the Russian envoy,
who had been deputed by his government to wait upon
his Majesty of Peking. He was detained twenty days
at the mouth of the Peiho, and was not invited up to
the capital, only one hundred miles distant. He found
the entrance to that river strongly and newly fortified.
By last accounts, the Russian ambassador had returned
to the South of China, having completely failed in the
diplomatic mission of the Czar,—affording a further
confirmation to our objections to the shores of Teentsin
as a place for negotiations, until at least the offending
natives and authorities of Canton city shall have re-
ceived their merited chastisement; when in all proba-
bility the British ambassador will be received in the
city of Peking with all the honours due to his position
as the representative of the British empire.

Secondly.—But this strange and unexpected inter-
ruption to warlike operations intended against Canton
has developed the fact—or, rather, has most fully con-
firmed the opinion, which from the earliest period of
the rupture has been entertained by foreign residents
on the spot,—that the present dispute is essentially local
and confined to the “ Pearl River,”’ on whose banks the
notorious Cantonese have so long flourished.

It is true that the Imperial will coincides with the
sullen and stubborn bearing of Commissioner Yeh ;—
for, to the scanty papers that have appeared in the
Peking Gazette anent the Canton troubles, the short
verdict has been appended from the vermilion pencil,
“We entirely agree.” Nevertheless, there is the fol-
lowing singular anomaly, at this moment unfolded to
view:—For the past fourteen months, hostilities of
the most irritating kind have continued in the southern
part of the Chinese empire, by which Canton, the
capital of one of the most important provinces, has been
cut off from all seaward communication, and its external
CANTON. 449

commerce, hitherto very lucrative, has been totally
annihilated ; and during that same term, the enmity
shown by the natives of that region against the English
has been inveterate, and no means of expressing it
have been spared, open or secret, foul or fair. Yet, at
the other ports where British residents have established
themselves, as merchants or missionaries, not a ripple
of ill-feeling has disturbed the face of society... There
continues as before, the smooth flow of peaceful inter-
course between British officials and Chinese mandarins,
which latter indeed have become, if anything, more
civil and courteous. Mercantile transactions at Shang-
hai, Ningpo, Amoy, and Fuh-chow have been conducted
with as much amity and security as if the port of
Canton belonged to another sphere, and as if its inha-
bitants had as little to do with the other parts of China,
as the natives of “Central Africa,” or the citizens of
the “ Salt Lake Union.”

Not only so; but the majority of natives at those
four ports, have been chuckling at the prospect of their
Canton neighbours getting a “ thrashing,” —detested
as they are everywhere for their pride, insolence, and
tyranny,— and they have been disappointed by the delay
of the castigating process. Moreover, there is this sig-
nificant fact that, at the very time when Mr. Yeh, of
Canton, was vomiting forth fury and hatred at the Eng-
lish, and encouraging their poisoning, kidnapping, and
beheading,—the Chinese authorities at Shanghai, 800
miles nearer Peking, were acknowledging, in a manner
noble and generous, the services of one of H.M.’s naval
officers in rendering the navigation of the Yang-tze-
kiang more safe and easy. We quote the account of
this act of kindness, as given in the North China Herald,
of September last :—

“We are glad to learn that the services of Mr. Carr,
Master of H.M.S. Pique, in laying down the buoys at
the entrance of the Yang-tsze-keang, have not been over-.

26
450 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF CHINA.

looked by the Chinese authorities. Mr. Carr was occu-
pied for some time, at the beginning of this year, in
directing the placing of these marks; and the benefit
which has resulted to the shipping at this port has been
unequivocal. Instead of the numerous mishaps to both
outward and inward bound vessels we were formerly
called upon to report, comparatively few have come to
our notice since these useful guides have been esta-
blished. That the Chinese authorities should be the
first to acknowledge Mr. Carr’s services, in the way of
a testimonial, is all the more creditable to them, as they
derive no direct benefit from them. The acknowledg-
ment is in the form of a handsome Gold Chronometer
Watch, by Frodsham, valued at 70 guineas, and has on
its inner lid the following inscription :—

“ FROM HIS EXCELLENCY LAN, TAOUTAE
of Shanghae,

To GEORGE L. CARR,
Master, Royal Navy ;
As a mark of his appreciation of the services rendered
by him on laying down the Buoys in the
River Yang-tsze-keang,
1857.”

Further, we have pleasure in quoting from the
December number of the Missionary Magazine of the
London Missionary Society, the following corroborative
remarks of the point now adduced :—

“If proof were wanting that the political disturbances
prevailing at Canton excite no interest or sympathy
among the people of China beyond the city and pro-
vinces where those disturbances have arisen, we might
adduce the fact that Mr. Wylie, of the Shanghae
mission, has not long since returned from a three
weeks’ journey to the interior, in the course of which,
though everywhere recognized as a foreigner, he expe-
rienced no incivility either from the authorities or the
people. Mr. Wylie himself, at the close of his journal
CANTON. 451

remarks :—‘ I have mentioned six walled cities, all of
which I entered on my return, and walked about them
with great freedom; and although frequently betrayed
by my foreign features, I did not once hear the offensive
epithet applied to me north of the Yang-tsze, nor any
symptom of disapprobation at my presence. The small
stock of books I endeavoured to make the most of, dis-
tributing them as favours to particular parties, and in
many instances they were doubtless appreciated. Al-
though the similarity of our books to the rebel publica-
tions was readily observed, yet that did not prove any
bar to their reception, nor did it at all excite suspicion ;
indeed, none were more eager to obtain them than
officers and soldiers in the Imperial service.

«There are three different kinds of offices from which
every boat must receive permits to pass: 1. The regular
custom-houses, where there is a search for goods of any
kind that may be concealed (and should Bibles be taken
ona large scale, they will probably have to pay cus-
toms). 2. The subscription-offices, where%a special tax
is levied for carrying on the war, according to the value
of the boat and its contents. 38. The examination-
houses, where every boat is searched to see that no im-
proper persons pass. We had to pass in all thirteen of
these offices, nor was there the least difficulty. In
some cases the officers took no notice; in others, when
spoken to, I always announced myself as an English-
man, and stated clearly the object of my trip, and never
did I hear any token of disapprobation. On the other
hand, several of them seemed much interested on the
occasion, and had evidently the desire that such visits
should be repeated. I received marked civility from
them on every occasion, and all things conspired to
show that the mandarins are evidently desirous of cul-
tivating a friendly feeling with us at present; and,
should we obtain their countenance, there is little fear
of our maintaining amicable terms with the people.’ ”

262
452 CANTON.

There is no question that the present conflict is one
with the officials of Canton, and that the brush of con-
test has ere this commenced in that same locality. It
is to be hoped it will end there satisfactorily to the
interests of justice and humanity. Our moral prestige
protects us in the north; but any weakness or short-
coming of ours at Canton will be utterly ruinous to
the influence which we have peaceably won at the
northern ports.

Ever since the matter of the Arrow, which gave
proper occasion for pressing upon the native authorities
the treaty rights of Great Britain,—there has been
with the English a broken series of land-skirmishes,
boat-fights, naval cruizes, junk-burnings, battery-explod-
ings, and river-blockades,—in which have been exhi-
bited the extraordinary feats of daring heroes and the
bold adventures of valorous tars ; whilst, on the part of
the Cantonese, there have been rewards for English
heads, kidnappings of English persons, wholesale poi-
sonings, and a few midnight assassinations.

At length, in the middle of December 1857, the first
act in the move was evident in the following general
order issued to the British fleet.

“ GENERAL ORDER.

‘The period being now at hand for commencing
active operations against the city of Canton, the
Commander-in-Chief has to call the serious attention of
the captains, officers, seamen, and marines of the
squadron to the necessity of carefully protecting the
lives and property of the peaceable and unarmed inha-
bitants, not only on the ground of humanity, but like-
wise on that of policy, which renders it so important to
retain the goodwill of those classes of the Chinese
population, whose material interest and predilections
separate them from the high mandarins and the mili-
CANTON, 453

tary powers of Canton, against whom alone hostile
actions will be directed.

“The Rear-Admiral has also to impress upon the
officers and men who may so soon be actively employed,
his determination to discountenance and prevent all
looting or plundering, both as demoralizing and as sub-
versive of the discipline that is so essentially necessary
to success. He trusts that the officers, by precept, and
especially by their example, will carry out his views and
instructions.

«The Commander-in-Chief takes this opportunity of
expressing his warmest thanks to the commodore, cap-
tains, commanding officers, seamen, and royal marines
of the squadron for the patient endurance they have
evinced during the last twelve months, in the monoto-
nous and frequently harassing duty of keeping open the
navigation of the river; and he further assures them
that, whatever may be the nature of expected opera-
tions, he shall enter upon them with the strongest con-
fidence in their ready and gallant co-operation for the
maintenance of the honour of the British flag and the
success of our arms.

“«M. Seymour,
« Rear-Admiral, Commander-in-Chief.”

The attacking force before Canton in that month,
consisted of eight men-of-war, aggregating 250 guns;
nine steam-vessels with 149 guns, and nineteen gun-
boats. Exclusive of these there were :—

Troops from the garrison at Hong-Kong, with artillery and

ENGINCELS 6... cece eee e eee ete eee eee eeeteneeetes 800
Royal Marines... .. 0... se cece cece cece eee e ce eseeeeeene 2,500
Naval Brigade ...... 0. cece se ee ener cece ence ence ence 1,500
Chinese and Malay coolies, attached to the ool me-

dical, and commissariat staffs... cess ee ees eee 987

Total .....ccceeseceeceess 5,787
454 CANTON.

The French have throughout cordially acted with
the British, and in this concerted attack on the city of
Canton, the French navy in those waters has not only
aided in the strict blockade, but has furnished nearly
1,000 men, from its naval and marine brigades, to
assist the British in their movement upon “the city of
Rams.”

After due arrangements had been made before the
walls of Canton, an officially-appointed messenger was
sent ashore under a flag of truce, on the 12th of Decem-
ber, to deliver the demands of the English and French
plenipotentiaries—Lord Elgin and M. Bourbillon. The
summary of these claims was, probably, that the terms
of the Nanking treaty should be carried out at Canton
as at the other ports—its gates opened to foreign ingress,
and that compensation should be done for damage to
British property for the last fifteen months. Ten days
were given the stubborn Chinese Yeh to accede to their
terms ; at the expiration of which interim (should no
favourable reply be received), a positive attack would
be made upon the city. In proof of their real earnest-
ness in urging their demands, the Island of Honan,
facing the city, was occupied by the allied forces on the
16th of the same month. This island, which is above
a mile and a half wide, and about five miles long, lies
exactly in front of Canton and in the middle of the
enormous volume of water that flows past that city,
seeking the ocean through various channels.*

In former days, the suburb of “ Honan” offered to
foreigners a few walks for recreation, and native citi-
zens, too, used to frequent its fields in the afternoon, or
saunter in the cool grounds of its great temple. But at
the close of 1857, these limits were occupied by English
and French garrisons—a prelude to something decisive
on the part of the foreigners.

* Vide Map of Route from Canton to Hongkong.
TRUCE AT CANTON. 455

During the “days of grace,” which had been offered
to Yeh, by the allied plenipotentiaries for compliance
with their demands, strenuous efforts were made on
the part of the English, by printed placards and procla-
mations, to inform the natives of the real casus belli,
and to advise them to remove from the vicinity of dan-
ger; and, amongst other colporteurs, Consul Parkes and
Captain Hall were engaged in this dangerous labour of
“ tract-distribution.” According to the correspondent
of a public paper, the following amusing incident
occurred,—amidst the hazard and terror that prevailed
around in the native community :—In one of their rapid
descents, Captain Hall caught a mandarin in his chair,
not far from the city gate. The captain pasted the man-
darin up in his chair with the barbarian papers, pasted
the chair all over with them, and started the bearers to
carry this new advertising van into the city! The
Chinese crowd, always alive to a practical joke, roared,
—and well they might. However, the belligerent bill-
stickers of Yeh’s school brought in some Chinese
counter-proclamations. Arrogant to the last, these
papers said that the rebellious English, having seduced
the French to join in this rebellion, it became necessary
to stop the trade altogether, and utterly to annihilate
these barbarians.

But the truce had expired; and, during the last few
days of 1857, the bombardment commenced in earnest,
though studiously repressed, so as not to injure the
place more than was necessary to insure compliance.
For this purpose, the English and French squadrons
(specified above) took up their position directly oppo-
site to Canton, exactly between that city and Honan,
half a mile up and down the stream, moored stem and
stern, with their broadsides toward the Canton shore.
Thus, there yawned upon that city the mouths of more
than 400 guns and mortars of tremendous calibre,
which only waited the signal to pour forth their ter-
456 CANTON.

rible contents upon the ill-fated capital. The bombard-
ment was so arranged as to touch chiefly the city walls,
the official residences, and the hill forts; and, in the
words of the “ General Order before Canton,” “ the bom-
bardment was to be in very slow time, and not to exceed,
for each gun employed, sixty rounds during the first
twenty-four hours.”

So, on Monday morning, the 28th of December
(when the dawn had scarcely broken), the fire began
slowly and regularly. For hours the squadrons conti-
nued their leisurely fire, but there was no sign of yield-
ing. About mid-day the debarkation of the land-force
began. The landing-place was at Kuper Creek, to the
east of the city. The object was to seize, first, a fort
called Lin’s Fort, on the east, and then the hill defences
to the north of the city. The force was divided into
four divisions. Three were in advance. The right
brigade was of English sailors ; the centre was made up
of the 59th regiment, artillery, sappers, and marines;
and to the left were the French, about 900 strong. The
fourth division, composed entirely of marines, was the
reserve, commanded by Colonel Holloway. Darkness
put an end to the operations of the 28th, and during
the night the effects of the fire were seen in the blazing
houses throughout the city. The destruction at certain
points seems to have been very great, but it is thought
that only inferior dwellings near the walls perished.
On the 29th the assault on the hill defences was made;
and with a few serious casualties, the landing-force
secured its objects early that day. Consequently, by
the last day of the old year, Canton was between two
fires and at the mercy of the conquerors ; for the force
in the river was evidently powerful enough to destroy
the city in a few days,—the “yamun” and most of
the public buildings being near the river, and ex-
posed to the full fire of the fleets; and the whole east
and north of the city was commanded by our troops,
THE BOMBARDMENT. 457

of whom no less than 3,000 men had landed on the
Monday (December 28), taken Lin’s Fort, which com-
mands the place from the east, and the next day had
captured the whole of the hill forts to the north.

The operations seem to have been singularly well
planned and entirely successful: the whole appears to
have been conducted with a view to occasion the
smallest possible sacrifice of life to friends or foes; so
that we may hope the victory has been a cheap one.

As for the Cantonese, they seem to have taken the
matter very composedly. Yeh remained throughout
in his cantonment, stern and stubborn to the last. The
native soldiers were occasionally seen walking sentry,
or flaunting about with varicoloured signal-flags ;
though, in some cases, they stood manfully to their
guns, but only ran away at the last moment “ to fight
another day.’ The people of the city had mostly
removed quietly away to some safe retréat,—at least
those that could do so; and of those that preferred to
remain, there were Chinamen who seemed glad enough
to be near the Englishmen, going from boat to boat
with bananas for sale, and tunngans and lichees, as
though these “ red-haired devils” had been settled there
for lifetime. There were coolies and bearers too, who,
as long as they got their daily rations of food and cash,
were content and jolly, grinning and chattering all
day long to the great amusement of “John Bull;”
and there were others on the river-banks watching the
flight of shot and shell with the utmost composure ;
while some people in their native boats were moving up
and down the river, like lightermen, in the usual routine
of their daily calling.

For nearly a week after the bombardment of the city,
the allied forces were occupied in securing the positions
they had gained within and without the walls, and the
estimate of killed and wounded in the assault did not
exceed 140 British and 30 French.
458 THE CAPTURE OF YEH.

But on Tuesday, January 5, an expedition into the
city was planned and executed, chiefly to capture the
native officials of high rank, who, it appeared, were still
lurking about its interior. The buildings in which they
had taken refuge were pointed out from the hill-top to
Captain Key, of the Sanspareil, and, having obtained
the admiral’s sanction, he mustered his brigade of blue-
jackets and marched into the city. Mr. Consul Parkes
was attached to this party, and rendered most effective
assistance in the seizure. After one or two vain searches,
at last they reached an official residence, called a yamun.
On bursting open the doors of this building, the retreat-
ing figure of the High Commissioner was the signal for
a general rush after him, as he attempted to scramble
over a low wall. An ambitious aide-de-camp of Yeh’s
staff protested very strongly that the captive was the
wrong man, and tried to pass himself off as the com-
missioner, loudly stammering out—“ Me Yeh; me
Yeh.” But it was of no avail. The prize was caught;
and the stout viceroy found himself in the embrace of
Captain Key and the commodore’s coxswain, who had
outrun the others, and ranged up one on each side of him.
Instinctively, the blue-jackets threw up their caps and
gave three regular British cheers. Yeh was soon iden-
tified by many Chinese, who instantly fell on their
knees—as they used to do when he was their lord—
saying he was the Governor-General, &c.

Meantime, the Lieutenant-Governor of Canton and
the Tartar general were both captured in their own
yamuns, and made prisoners without opposition ; and
thus the three principal officers of Canton province were
taken without bloodshed,—a remarkable fact, and a
proof of the weakness, or the faithlessness, of their
attendants.

Yeh is described as a man of short stature, gross, fat,
and portly in person, with a huge, sensual, flat face.
He holds his head haughtily; his eyes are restless,
THE CAPTURE OF YEH. 459

roving, and ferocious ; his dress is after the fashion of
a first-style mandarin :—yet withal, this man is‘not the
hero some have taken him to be. He has shown him-
self to be a fierce, insolent, determined, and violent
despot; but he has not been a courageous man. In a
most cowardly way he strenuously denied his identity,
and he trembled fearfully when brought face to face
with his foes. As with all Chinese mandarins, there is
about him too much of affected dignity to inspire re-
spect in his captors. After he felt safe in their hands,
he assumed to be very merry, and appeared to enjoy
the questions put to him; but this laugh must have
been simulated, to hide the chagrin he naturally felt at
being catechized by persons he had so long pretended
to despise. He ridiculed the idea of giving up his seals
of office to the foreigners, as also that of being carried
off on board ship. He told the British plenipotentiary
that he did not see the necesity of his going on board
ship, and added that he could do everything that was
required as well on shore. But, on finding that his
triumphant captors were inexorable, it is said, he added
— “Very well, I will accept their polite invitation ; for,
indeed, I shall be happy to go on board and see one of
your men-of-war ! ”

He was finally removed, under a strong guard, to one
of her Majesty’s vessels appointed to receive the Imperial
prisoner. He was allowed three servants to accompany
him on board ship, whom he selected from a number
who seemed inclined to follow him into captivity.

Immediately on the removal of Yeh to his prison-
ship, a release was offered the other two high mandarins
mentioned above, on condition that they would aid in
restoring quiet in Canton and in re-establishing the
government. At first they refused to have anything to
do with the proposed régime; but soon their scruples
were overcome, and the lieutenant-governor and Tartar
general were reinstalled in office, under the supervision
460 FUTURE POLICY.

of a commission of two British and one French officers,
—the wisdom of which policy admits of serious doubt,
especially in connection with a people like the Can-
tonese, and a cabinet like that of Peking, both which
are sure to turn round and convert this into a victory
over the barbarians! However, time will tell.

Such, then, is a brief history of the assault and cap-
ture, by a force of some 6,000 foreigners, of the provin-
cial city of Canton, which has hitherto been considered
by the natives as impregnable. The Chinese nation
will scarcely believe it. Even at Hong-Kong, which is
within 100 miles of Canton, it is said, the first reports
were listened to by the Chinese with incredulity, as a
fable of the foreigners to cover a defeat. But they will
soon know, see, and feel the truth for themselves.

What effect this reverse of fortune at Canton will
have at Peking it is quite vain to attempt to surmise;
but the foreign plenipotentiaries, British and French,
will doubtless avail themselves of an opportunity so
favourable for placing our relations with China on a
firmer and a more friendly footing than that which led
to the unfortunate affairs at Canton. Nor is this all.
They are there to obtain for their countrymen free en-
trance into the empire.

The advantages sought for are not to be gained by
diplomacy, or by negotiation, or by request. They can
be secured from the Chinese cabinet only dy active,
vigorous, resolute determination.
Apranam, the founder of the Hebrew
Teligion, 341 note.

Agricultural produce at Shanghai, 325.

Almanac of the Chinese, 135; spring, sum-
mer, autumn, and winter signs of the,
135-138 ; description of the, 137 e¢ seq.

Almsgiving, liberal, 52, 53.

Almshouses for old men, 57.

Amoy, insurrections at, 428; good feeling
of the natives, 449.

Amusements of the Chinese, 3.

April, festivals in, 177.

April-fools’-day, celebration of, 168.

Archery practice at Ningpo, 73, 180, 181.

Artists ot China, 17-20 ; their deficiency, 18.

Assembly halls at Ningpo, 106; at Shang-
hai, 321.

Asylums for children, 47, 48 ;‘for widows,
49; at Canton, 56.

Autumn signs of the almanacs, 136, 137.

Ayuh, the Buddhist king, 208.

Bamboos, large groves of, 294.

Barbarians, the term applied to foreigners,
98, 99.

Barrow’s testimony as to infanticide, 32.

Bath-houses, 191; their impurities, 192.

Benevolent societies, 55 et seq.

Bessi, Count de, popish bishop of Shang-
tung, 397, 400.

Bible, Romish aversion to the, 407; tam-
pering with the, 408.

Bird’s-nest soup eaten by the Chinese,
31; a great delicacy, ib.

Blind, asylum for the, at Canton, 56.

Boats, upheaving and launching of, 205;
description of, 243.

Boatwomen of Canton, 7.

Bogue forts, 442.

Books of the Chinese, 3.

** Bore,’ the, or tide-wave, 246.

Bourbillon, M., the French plenipotentiary
at Canton, 454,

Bridge-gate of Ningpo, 77.

“ Bright Pagoda ’’ of Canton, 386.

Buddh, representations of, 86; strange
relic of, 388.

Buddhism in China, 348 ; its influence and
tendency, ib.; its tenets, 349 e¢ seq.;
priests of, 351; declining state of, in
China, 354; its similarity to popery,

 

INDEX.

356; when first introduced into China,
364; pagodas associated with the reli-
gion of, 369, 374, 385 ; India the cradle
and seat of, 385; relics of, 387.

Buddhist monastery, visit to one, 152, 241.

Buddhist nuns, account of, 113—122.

Buddhist priests, their custom of shaving
the head, 5; their doctrines and ceremo-
nies, 85, 87; the author visited by, 110;
their election to the priesthood, 111;
their modes of living, 112.

Buddhist temples, 84-89.

Buddhist writings among the ruins of the
pagodas, 391.

California, Chinese in, 28.

Candida, a Romish convert at Shanghai,
394,

CanTon, boat-women of, 7; narrowness

of the streets, 33; charitable retreats at,

49; almsgiving at, 52; medical dispen-

sary at, 54; asylums at, 56; the provin-

cial capital of Kwangchow, 307; the
author’s arrival at, from the interior, id. ;
his departure from, to Hong-Kong, ib. ;

“ Bright Pagoda”? of, 386 ; insurrections

at, 428; description of, 442; suburbs of,

444, 445 ; its population, 445; divisions

of, ib. ; history of the rupture with, 447

et seg.; animosity of the natives against

foreigners, 448 ; and their change of feel-
ing, 449; the quarrel not participated in

by the Chinese, 450; the conflict at, of a

local character, 452 ; history of the quar-

rel, ib.3 general order for its bombard-
ment, 452; strength of the force brought
against, 453; the attack, 456; its cap-

ture, 457, 458.

Canton, province of, the author’s journey
through, 302, 303; its geographical posi-
tion, ib.

Chang, Dr., at Ningpo, 63, 97; his hos-
pitality, 105; his new year’s festivities,
131; celebration of his birth-day, 157.

Chang river, the author’s voyage along the,
283 et seq.

Changpa, the river dyke, 225.

Changshan, town of, 264; the author’s
arrival at, 265; salt depéts at, id.

Changsoo, a great medicine market, 289,

Changting, village of, 219.
462

Charities among the Chinese, 56; educa-
tional, 60.

ae for the burial of the friendless,
59, 60.

Chay-kew, ferry of, 218.

Chek-choo, in Hong-Kong, 439.

Chihkiang province, trade of the, 245;
dangerous routes of, 268; numerous
places visited by the author, 269; its
geographical position and extent, 7b.;
its population, 7b.; its produce and ma-
pnufactures, 270; its degrees of civiliza-
tion, i6.; its departments, i. ; its his-
torical associations, 271.

Chihkiang river, rapids of the, 250, 253,
258.

Children, asylum for, 47, 48.

Cuina, effect of the war in, 98; designa-
tion of foreigners in, 99; diseases of,
192 ef sey.; the author’s excursion into
the interior of, 216; voluminous histo-
ries of, 312; pagodas in, 358 et seq;
Buddhism, when first introduced into,
364; progress of Christianity in, 392;
present state and future prospects of,
428 ef seq.; native insurrections in, 429
eé seq.; the Taiping rebellion, 433-
435; probable results of the rebellion in,
434; religious movement of, 435-437;
ports of, 438; the rupture at Canton,
and the capture of the city, 446-458;
our future policy respecting, 460.

CHINESE, their curious manners and cus-
toms, 1 e¢ seg., 14 et seg.; number of,
in California, 28; their vindication, 29;
their custom of infanticide, 32, 33; real
Chinese life at Ningpo, 62 et seq.; their
feelings towards foreigners after the last
war, 94 et sey.; festivities of the, 129;
their marriage ceremonies, 146 et seq.;
their modes of keeping time, 175; their
religious worship, 177; their military
and literary examinations, 179 et seg. ;
glance at Chinese life in the interior
of the country, 216 et seg.; and at
Shanghai, 309 e¢ seg.; their notions
respecting earthquakes and _ eclipses,
326-330; their character misrepre-
sented, 335; influence of Buddhism
among the, 348 et seg. ; Romish mis-
sions among the, 392 e¢ seg.; Protestant
missions among the, 411 e¢ seg.; their
language, 414; preaching among the,
415; their natural lethargy, 434; the
quarrel of the Cantonese not partici-
pated in by them, 449, 450.

Chin-kiang-foo captured by the rebels, 431.

Cholera, Asiatic, history of the disease,
193, 194; causes of the disease, 196;
symptoms and remedies, ib.

Chovsan, group of islands, 310.

Choo-sien, one of the interior marts of
commerce, 280.

Chopsticks, their manufacture and use,

 

INDEX.

Christian tracts, distribution of, 416.

Christianity, Chinese notions of, 67 ; pro-
gress of, in China, 471.

Christ’s sufferings, Romish description of,

410.

Chun-kioh hoh-lwan, disease of the, 194.

Clepsydra for keeping time, 175.

Climate, its temperature at Shanghai, 325,
Club-houses at Ningpo, 107; the author’s
location at one, t.; at Shanghai, 321.

Coffin-rooms, 164.

Coffins, public exposure of, 59; prepared
before death, 164.

Colportage, native system of, 417.

Comets, appearance of, in China, 144;
their courses observed, 146.

Concubines, 156.

Confucius, inscription to, at Ningpo, 92;
his commentaries on the ‘‘ Book of
Changes,’’ 108; temple of, 296; writings
of, 349.

Convent of our Blessed Mother, 405.

Coolies, number of, 266; their charges as
porters, 267.

Cormorants, fishing through the means of,
256, 257; their docility, ib.

Cotton, culture of, at Shanghai, 325.

Cramping of the feet of women 7 et seq.;
see Feet.

Dead, benevolent society for interring the,
59; religious worship of the, 178.

Dead-house at Shanghai, 322-325; regis-
try book respecting the, 388.

Decades in life, 158.

Department hall at Ningpo, 92.

Dials for keeping time, 176.

Dinner, curious customs at, 2; of the
Buddhist priests, 112; in a nunnery,
113; of a mandarin, 123.

Discovery Peak, ascent to the, 207.

Diseases, different kinds of, 190-192.

Dispensaries, medical, 54, 55.

Dragon lantern, used at festivals, 25.

Dragon tablet, the, 82.

Drawing, passion for, 16; rice-paper, 17.

Drowning, rescue from, 259; methods of
restoring persons from, 56.

Drum-loft at Ningpo, 77.

Dual powers, Chinese system of, 108.

Dust, fall of, at Shanghai, 331 ; its cause,

333.
Dutch Folly, the fort so called, 443, 444.
Dykes, obstacles of, 226.

Earthquakes at Shanghai, 327; Chinese
notions respecting, 327, 328.

Eating-houses of Ningpo, 72.

Eclipses, Chinese notions respecting, 329-
330.

Education, femate, in the Romish mission,
403; at Shanghai, 421, 422.

Educational charities, 60.

Egg-hatching establishment at Shanghai,
318.
INDEX.

E-kiaou, the author’s arrival at, 242; his
departure from, 243.

Elgin, Lord, the British plenipotentiary at
Canton, 454.

Emperor, portraits of the, 20.

Factories, foreign, of China, 444.

Fan, uses of the, 15, 16; fancy sketches
on the, 16.

Fang-kwoh-chin, the regal aspirant, 218.

Farm-yard work, 198,

Fast-days, 189.

Feet of the women cramped, 7; custom of
cramping abolished, 8; but still main-
tained, 9; origin of the practice, 10;
considered a beauty, 11; tbe fashion
condemned, ib. ; elfect of the distortion,
13.

Ferrying gratis over the river, 230.

Festivals of April, 177.

Festivities of the new year, 129, 130.

Fire at Ningpo, 168; escape from, 171.

Fire-engines, 168-171; their inefficiency,
172.

Fires, their frequency, 170; thieves and
plunder at, 172.

Floating bridge, 262.

Food of the Chinese, 27.

Fooyang, the author’s arrival at, 246; de-
scription of, ib.

Foreigners, prohibitions against, 74; public
fecling towards, after the last war, 94;
their designations among the Chinese,
99, 100.

Found|ing hospital, 46.

French Folly, the fort so called, 443.

Fruits, produce of, at Shanghai, 325.

Fuh-chow, good feeling of the natives of,
449.

Fubhi, diagrams of, 108.

Fuhkien, traders of, 143 ; important pro-
vince of, 269.

Fuh-sban, city of, 307; the Birmingham of
China, ib. ; one of the interior marts of
commerce, 280.

Gas, astonishment of the Chinese at, 24.

Geography of the Chinese, 66.

Grain, produce of, at Shanghai, 325.

Grass-cloth, manufacture of, 295.

Graves on the road to Yuh-shan, 267.
rd-house for checking smuggling, 281.

Gurgling well at Shanghai, 317.

Hair, modes of wearing the, 3-5. :

Hall, Capt., his activity in distributing
placards at Canton, 455.

Hangchow, almshouses at, 57; stuffs of,
246; pursuits of the inhabitants, 271;
literati of, 1d.

Han-kan, a Chinese traitor, 67.

Hank‘ow, one of the interior marts of com-
merce, 280. ‘

Hanlin College, at Peking, 186,

 

463

Heavenly bodies, revolution of the, for
keeping time, 176.

Hebrews, colony of, in the interior of
China, 336 et seq.; their inscriptions,
340; tablets recording their religious
history, 341.

Hell, Chinese representations of, 88.

Hemp, culture of, 295.

Hewhing, town of, 255.

Highway to eight provinces, 267.

Histories of China, 312, 313.

Honan, island of, 443; occupied by the
British troops, 454; its pleasant walks,
ib.

Hong-Kong, the author’s arrival at, after
his inland journey, 307; description of,
438; increase of its population, 440;
government of, iA.

Ho-k‘ow, the well-known mart, 274; de-
scribed, 276; purchases made at, 277.
Hoo, the ancient name of Shanghai, 313;

origin of the name, ib.

Hoochaou Mountain, 244.

Hoosoo, lagoon of, 64.

Horse, custom of mounting the, 3.

Houey incense-stick, for keeping time,
176.

Humane Society, 57.

Ice-houses at Ningpo, 92.

Idols, manufacture of, 204; reverence for,
205.

Imperial Hall at Peking, 19.

India, the Chinese pagoda brought from,
378-382; its architecture, 379; Indian
terms for this style of building in the
Chinese vocabulary, 383; the cradle
and seat of Buddhism, 385 et seq.

Indigo plantations, 288.

Infanticide in China, 32, 33; not generally
prevalent, 36 et seq.

Infants, outcast, benevolent society for, 58.

“Tsay,’’ use of the phrase, 100.

Institutions, benevolent, 55 ef seq.

Insurgents of China, 7 ; their success, 431 ;
their defeats, 433; their present posi-
tion, id.

Insurrections in China, 428 ef seq.

Ivory balls, method of making them, 22.

Jaou country, inhabitants of the, 282.
Jews, colony of, in the interior of China,
333.

Kai-yin, festivity of the, 134. .

Kanchow, city of, 293; the author’s visit
to, and departure from, 294; products of
the department, i. _

Kanghe’s Impeual Dictionary, 363.

Kaoukiaou, near Ningpo, 217 ; its histori-
cal associations, 7b.

Kaou-tseen, the martial chief, 218.

Kaoutsung elected governor of Kiangse,
286.

Keib-ngan department, 289.
464

Kennedy, Col., accompanies the author to
the Tung-tseen lake, 197 e¢ seq.

Keuchow, city of, the author’s arrival at
262 ; pursuits of its inhabitants, 271.

Key, Capt., his capture of Commissioner
Yeh, 458.

Keying, the Chinese plenipotentiary, his
Tepresentations in favour of popery, 395,
396.

Kiab-kiang, the walled town of, 289.

Kiang, Mr., his birth-day anniversary, 161
et seq.

Kiangse, province of, 269; the author’s
trip through, 272 e¢ seq.; cattle, &c.
of, 269; uninteresting scenery of, 291;
romantic scenery and mountain grandeur
of, 292; review of the province of, 297;
its important position for government
objects, 298.

Kiangsoo, province of, almsgiving in, 53 ;
importance of, 269 ; history of, 313.

Kia-wan-shing, firm of, 242.

Kidnapping at Tinghai, 125; the author’s
escape from, 126.

Kiensang, literary title of, 187.

Kientih, class of boats of, 243 ; city of, 255.

Kindred, respect to the claims of, 159.

King Yaou, traditions of, 271.

Kingtib-chin, town of, 278 ; importance of
its manufactures, 278, 279; one of the
“* four marts’’ of China, 279.

Kinhwa, department of, 256.

Kin-kang, figures of the, 85.

Kinwah, pursuits of the inhabitants, 271.

Kioh-kin-lwan, and other similar diseases,
194.

Kioh-wa-chuen, a light canoe, 225,

Kissing, custom of, 3,

Kites, flying of, 3.

Koo-laouyay, of Ningpo, 67.

Kwachow, city of, captured by the rebels,
431.

Kwangchow, department of, 307.

Kwangse, insurrection in, 53, 429,

Kwang-tung, province of, 442.

Kwangwoo, the emperor, story of, 253.

Kwan-shan, a Taouist temple, 246.

Kwantang, monastery of, 105 ; author’s ar-
rival at, 283.

Kwanyin, the Shiva of the Hindoos, 86;
nunnery and worship of, 114 et seq.; the
goddess of mercy, 315.

Lakes, near Ningpo, 197, 201.

Tends the author’s trip by, to Yuhshan,
266.

Lan-ke, town of, 255 ; the author’s arrival
at, 257.

Lanterns, custom of carrying, 3; manu-
facture and uses of, 23 ef sey.; the dragon
lantern, 25; the stalking-horse lantern,
25; feast of the, 142, 143.

Launching a vessel, Chinese mode of, 3.

Le, Mr., the Chinese kidnapper, 125; in-
vites the author to dine, 128,

 

INDLA.

Le-joolin, the Chinese Mandarin, 83.,

Leper hospital at Canton, 56.

Leu-tsoo, temple of, 85.

Lewkiang rapid, 250.

Le-yuh, Prince, introduces the system of
cramping the women’s feet, 10-12.

Life, decades in, 158,

Lin, Mr., of Ningpo, 68.

Linkiang. department of, 289.

Literary Hall, at Ningpo, 91.

Literature of China, 107, 108; encouraged
by the Tartars, 188.

Lockhart, Rev. Mr., letter sent to, 243; the
Chinese missionary at Shanghai, 412,413,

Lopat-tan, the Chinese interpreter, 54,

Luh, the mandarin of Ningpo, 83, 124,

Luhshan, legend respecting the, 248,

Lung, the mayor of Ningpo, 84.

Lung-yew, district of, 260.

Macao, description of, 444.

Magistrates, their numerous retinue, 79.

Mahomedan; see Mohammedan.

Mandarin, dinner of a, 123; his assumed
importance, 261.

Mandarin boats, convoy of, 255.

Manners and customs of the Chinese, 1 e¢
Seq.; their oddity, 2, 3.

Mantchoo dynasty introduces the fashion
of shaving the head, 5, 6

Manufactures of Shanghai, 325.

Maou-shan lagoon, 225.

Mariolatry, gross system of, in China, 408,

Marriage, preliminaries and concluding
ceremonies of, 147 et seq.

Married life in China, 155.
Marts of commerce, the four interior ones,
278, 279. F i
Matsoopoo, the pet idol of the Fuhkien
sailors, 143.

May, festivals of, 189.

Meals of the Chinese, 27.

Medhurst, Rev. Dr., the Chinese mission-
ary, 412; death of, 413 note,

Medical dispensaries, 54, 55.

Medicines dispensed to the sick poor, 60.

Meikwan, in the Meiling Pass, 302.

Meiling Pass, 298; its geographical situa-
tion, 299; description of the, 300 e¢ seq. ;
the great territorial line between the two
provinces of Kiangse and Canton, 302;
the author’s journey through it, 403.

Mei-siensang, the designation of the author
110.

Meteors, observed in China, 146.

Miaou-tsze, their custom of wearing the
hair, 5, 6.

Military of Nankin, their cowardice, 96.

Military examinations, 179.

Military review at Ningpo, 74; at Shang-
hai, %,

Milk, scarcity of, 72, 73.

Missions, religious, at Ningpo, 214, 215;
Protestant, at Shanghai, 411 e¢ seg. +
Romish, at Shanghai, 393 e¢ seg.
INDEX.

Mississippi, water of the, 315.

Mohammedan mosque at Ningpo, 81.

Moha:nmedan priests, visit from the, 81.

Mohammedans, among the Chinese, 343;
their first appearance there, 343; to be
found in all the provinces, 344; their
religious views, ib.; their pictorial sheet-
almanac, 346.

Monasteries ot the Buddhists, 86,

Monkey tea, 71.

Monsoons at Snanghai, 326.

Moon, its influence on the tides, 314, 315.

Moses, first possessor of the Pentateuch,
341 note.

Mountains of China, presumed to be the
residence of a presiding deity, 87.

Nails, long ones cf the Chinese, 14.

Nanch‘ang, tbe capital of Kiangse, 283;
its geographical position, 284; the au-
thor’s arrival at, i+.; description of, 285,
286 ; departure from, 287 ; legendary
lore “connected with, ib.

Nanhiung, city of, 3045 department of,

Nank‘ang, walled town of, 296.

Nanking, female insurgents at, 7; the
famous pagoda of, 360; its great anti-
quity, 361; its number of stones, 364;
its dimensions, 367 ; and great cost, 372;
porcelain tower of, 373; rebellion of,
429; captured by the rebels, 431; block-
aded by the Imperialists, 432.

Nan-ngan, town of, the author’s arrival
at. 295 ; description of, 299.

Nerbuddu, massacre of the crew, 255.

New Year, festivities of the, 130 et seg.

New Year’s eve, festivities of the, 131 et
seq.

Neanhwuy, province of, 269.

Nganjin, town of, 282,

Night police, 173.

NrnoGpo, the author’s residence at, 48;
asylums at, 49; almsgiving at, 53; bene-
volent institutions at, 58; real Chinese
life at, 62 et seq. ; the author’s residence
at, 64 e¢ seq.; curiosity excited by his
appearance, 76; visit to the prefect, ib. ;
the autbor’s visits, 68; tea-houses and
eating-houses of, 69; descriptive notices
of, 73 et seg.; the city-walls, 75 ; sce-
nery of, 78; visits to the various officials,
82; temples of, 84-88; pagoda of, 105;
tower of, 89-91; literary hall of, 91;

465
a

Nunnery, the author’s lodgings at a, 113
description of it, 114.
Nuns of the Buddhist religion, 113-122.

Offices for granting permits to travellers,
451.

Officials, degradation of, 103.

Old age, respect to, 159, 160; pensioned
by the government, 160.

Old men, almshouses for, 57.

Orange-groves, 263.

Pagodas in China, 89, 259, 276, 291 ; gene-
ral description of, 358-et seq.; when
built, 361; forms of, 362; } their height,
363; solid or hollow, 366; dimen-
sions of, ib.; spires of, 367; uses
of, 369, 376; their purpose entirely
religious, 369; frequently hung with
bells ‘and illuminated, 370; object of
their being illuminated, 371; pictur-
esque ones, 372; their cost, ib.; the
great pagoda at Nankin, ib.; the length
of time in their erection, 7b.; materials
for erecting them, 373; cast-iron ones,
ib.; miniature forms of, 374; used for
watch-towers, id. ; geomantic influence
of, 377; of Indian origin, 378; antique
style of, 380; Chinese names for the,
382; Indian names for, 383; their inva-
riable connection with Buddhism, 385 ;
story of their origin, 386; connected with
Buddhist relics, 387, 388; the Chinese
ones of ancient model, 390; destruction
of the Nanking pagoda, 391; the proba-
ble depositories of ancient records, 391,
392.

Palace at Ningpo, 86.

Pali inscriptions, ruined pagodas the de-
positories of, 391.

Paou-an, religious ceremony of the, 167.

Paper, written, society for collecting, 6u.

Papyrus plant, 221.

Parkes, consul, his activity in distributing
placards at Canton, 455; assists in the
capture of Commissioner Yeh, 458,

 

Pearl river, the, 306; story respecting, 7b.;
delta of the, 438; the present contest
confined to the, 448.

‘ Peiho, Russian visit to the, 447, 448.

nunneries of, 120% the author’s Jodgings |

at, 122; visited by a party of English-
men, 123; foreign intercourse at, 211;
trade of, 213; religious missionaries at,
214,215; trip from to Pih-kwan, 216;
the author commences his tour into the
interior in the disguise of a native, id. ;
pursuits of the inhabitants, 270; their
good feeling, 447.
Ningpo guild-house at Shanghai, 322.

Pentateuch, division of the, 341.

Perspective, deficiency of the Chinese
artists in, 18.

Philanthropic Societies, 49.

Pictorial sheet-almanac of the Mohamme-
dans, 346.

Picture - painting of the Chinese artists,
18, 20.

Pictures, native taste for, 16, 18, 19.

Pigtail, its efficacious disguise, 229; wear-
ing of, 3, 4; worn only by males, 5;
exceptions to the wearing of, ib.; intro-
duced by the Mantchoo dynasty, ib.

Pihcheelee, gulf of, 447; visited bv the
Russian envoy, 448,

2H
466

Pih-kwan, the author’s intended visit to,
216 ; his arrival at, 227; and his disguise
tested, 227, 228.

Pihpoo-shan, village of, 207.

Pih-sha, hamlet of, 233 ; the author’s dis-
guise tested at, 234.

Placards, system of, at Ningpo, 76.

Police of Ningpo, 97, 173.

Politeness versus rudeness, 229, 233.

Polygamy, extent of, 156.

Poor, benevolent institutions for relieving
the, 57, 60.

Popery, its similarity to Buddhism, 356;
promulgation of, at Shanghai, 393;
vicissitudes in the history of, 395; Ke-
ying’s representations in favour of, 396;
toleration of, 397; revival of, at Shang-
hai, 399.

Population of Shanghai, 333.

Porcelain tower of Nanking, 373.

Portraits of the emperor, 19; of distin-
guished men at Peking, 20.

Poultry nursery at Shanghai, 320, 321.

Poutiatine, Count, his fruitless visit to the
Peiho, 448.

Poyang lake, description of the, 283.

Prayer, public forms of, 190.

Preaching in Chinese, 414, 415.

Rafts of enormous size, 288.

Rain, prayers for, 190.

Rainy seasons at Shanghai, 326,

Rapids, ascent of the, 292.

Rapids of the Chihkiang, ascending the,
250, 253, 257.

Rat-catching at Ningpo, 110.

Rats, are they eaten by the Chinese ? 27;
the food of the lower Parisians and
others, 28; number of, at Ningpo, 109;
not used as food. 110.

“ed book, its official report, 270 ; extracts
from the, 277.

Religion of China, 349 e¢ seq.

Religious edifices of Ningpo, 84 et seq.

Religious movement in China, 435.

Religious worship of the dead, 78.

Ricci, the popish missionary at Shanghai,
393.

Rice-dispensary at Chinhai, 54. $

Rice-paper drawings, native taste for, 17;
description of, 21.

River-population of Canton, 444.

River-water at Shanghai, 315.

Rocky pass, 251.

Romanism, Chinese notions of, 67.

Romish church, ground purchased at
Shanghai for the, 410; schools and cha-
pel belonging to the, 401, 402; its nu-
merous public tracts and fables, 405,
406; its aversion to the Bible, 407; its
description of Christ’s sufferings, 410.

Sailing raft, 261.

Salt, monopoly of, 265; plan of manufac-
turing, i.

 

INDEX.

Salt-depots at Changshan, 265.

Sand-showers at Shanghai, 331;
origin, 332.

Scholar and his master, 3. .

Schools supported by charitable subscrip-
tions, 61.

Seaman, terms of the, 3.

Se-ting temple, visit to the, 203.

Seu-kwangke, the first convert to popery
at Shanghai, 393.

Seymour, Admiral, his general orders, and
preparations for attacking Canton, 452;
bis bombardment of the city, 456.

Shanghai, gangs of beggars at, 47; alms-
giving at, 52; humane society at, 57;
benevolent institutions at, i6.; military
review at, 74; fire at, 170; insurrection
at, 428; good feeling of the natives at,
449.

Shangtung, feast of, 143.

Shang-yaou-kiang, stream of the, 274;
city of, ib.

Shaouchow, city of, 304; department of,

their

307.

Shaouhing, the river of, 234: city of, 235,
271; beauty of, 235; population of, 236;
industry and learning of the inhabitants,
ib.; military posts and telegraph, 237 ;
hillocks of, i.; wine of, ib.; monu-
mental erections around, ib. ; pursuits of
its inhabitants, 271.

Shaving of the head, custom of, 4, 5.

Shay-le, the Buddhist relic, 387, 388.

Shay-yu, a delicious fish, 252.

She-ch‘ah, indigo plantations at, 288.

Shek-pai-wan, in Hong-Kong, 439.

Shoes, of the Chinese, 3.

Shoo-Kungshow, Prefect of Ningpo, 65;
his degradation, 101; his misfortunes,
103.

Shoo-ta-laouyay, his visit to the author, 79 ;
his numerous retinue, id.

Shun, traditions of, 221.

Shuttlecocks, amusement of, 3.

Siay, Dr., the poet and philosopher, 218.

Sienhoh, the bird so called, 102.

Signs of the almanacs, 135-7. 7

Sin-ngan-kiang, a tributary of the Chih-
kiang, 254.

Sisters of Mercy in China, 404.

Sluices, use of, 222; hoisting over one of
them, 224.

Soochow, almsgiving at, 53; the seat of
Chinese literature, 270; river of, 311;
the famous pagoda of, 367; its dimen-
sions, ib. ; and time of erecting it, 372.

Spring, festivals of the, 140, 142; whipping
in the, 141; the god of, 142; processions
of the, id.

Spring signs of the Chinese almanacs, 135.

Squall on the river Chihkiang, 258.

Stone-quarry, working at the, 203.

Street nuisances at China, 317.

Streets, narrowness of the, 33.

Sugar-cane, cultivation of the, 294.
INDEX.

Suicide, modes of, 102.

Su) phur administered to a mandarin for the
itch, 124.

Summer signs of the almanacs, 136, 137.

Sungkiang, history of, 313.

Sunkiang-kow, the river, 63.

Surname precedes the Christian name, 3.

Synagogue of the Jews in China, 339;
tablets on the, 341.

Sze-ming-shan mountain-chain, 219;
gends respecting, 220.

le-

Tahunga, the Tartar chief, 254.

Taiping, the leader of the Chinese insur-
gents, 6, 433; their destructive career,
391.

Tai-tam, in Hong-Kong, 439.

Tang, Mr., of Ningpo, 69.

Tangwang hall, at Nanchang, 286.

Tankey, the infamous empress, 10.

Taou sect, temples of the, 84.

Taouism, the indigenous religion of China,
349.

Taouist priesthood, their custom of wearing
the hair, 5; theirreligion and doctrines,
87; two orders of, 232.

Taoukwang, emperor of China, 430.

Taoutai, the mandarin title, 124.

Tartar government of China, 6.

Tartars, their encouragement of literature,

Ta-tsing dynasty, its probable overthrow,
434.

Ta-ying-shan, legends associated with, 217.

Tea, benevolent society for distributing, 60;
different kinds of, 70; modes of making
it, 72.

Tea-houses of Ningpo, 69.

Teentsin, shores of the, 448.

T‘een-tung, temple of, 208-210.

Telegraph-hillocks at Shaouhing, 237.

Temperature, state of the, at Shanghai,
325.

Temple in the rock, 304.

Temples of the Buddhists, 84-88, 209;
at Ningpo, 106; of private families, 161.

Theatricals at Ningpo, 106; public and
private, 164-167.

Tiaou-kioh-sha, diseases of the, 193.

Tiaou- tai mountain, 252; story connected
with, i

Tides, Semavkable! at Shanghai, 314;
Chinese theory of, 315.

Tide-wave at Fooyang, 246;

the
its dangers,

247.

T‘tenyih-koh, the repository of Chinese
works, 89.

Tih-tang, town of, 280 ;
to, id.

Time, modes of keeping, 174-176.
Tinghai, almsgiving at, 62; kidnapping
at, 125; the author’s residence at, ib.

‘Tower of Ninpo, 89-91.
Tsaou-ngo river, 231; origin of the name,
232.

the author’s visit

 

467

Tseen- -tang river, 311.

Tseen-tsing, the author’s arrival at, 240;
origin of the name, 26.

Tse-tsaou, festival of: the, 130.

Tsing-kiehtang, the retreat
widows, 49.

Tsingming, festival of the, 177.

Tsing-yen, the Buddhist temple. 317,

Tsowmatung, the stalking-horse lantern,
25.

Tszeke river, 64, 217.

Tungkiun-shan mountain, 249.

Tungkwan, the author’s arrival at, 254;
the river, 255.

Tungloo, district of, 250.

Tungsien-ling, its historical celebrity, 263.

Tung-tseen Lake, sail in the, 197.

Tung-tse-kiaou bridge, 222.

for poor

Vaccine establishment at Canton, 56.
Vegetables, culture of, at Shanghai, 325.
Victoria, capital of Hong-Kong, 439.

Wang-luy-Sien, firm of, 265.

Wan-ngan, town of, 291.

Wanwang,. the prince of literature, 108 ;
author of the Yih-king, id.

Watches, foreign, for keeping time, 176.

Watchmen of Ningpo, 173; their noisi-
ness, 174.

Watch-towers, pagodas used for, 375.

Water- dragons, for extinguishing fires,
168, 171.

Water-wheels, use of, 200, 274;
monstrous size, 294.

Weather excessively hot, 240.

Wedding-day, ceremonies of the, 151.

Weddings, curious customs at, 2.

Wei-tsze, a term applied to foreigners, 100.

Wells for the supply of water, 19%.

Western notions of life in China, 1 et seq.

Western river, the, 306.

Whampoo, village of, 442.

Whangpoo river, 311.

Whipping in the Spring, 140.

Widows, monumental erections to, 238,

of a

239.

Widows and widowers, 156.

““Wildgoose Pagoda,”’ at Se-nganfoo, 386.

Wines, of Shaouhing, 236.

Winter signs of the almanacs, 136, 137.

Women, cramped feet of the, 7, 8 (see
eet) their military ardour at Nan-
king, 8; their seclusion, 149; employ-
ment of, in agriculture, 296.

Woo, the author’s guide into the interior,
216; assault on him, 224.

Woo-shih-t‘an rapid, 253;
ascending the, 254.

Woosung river, 311.

Written language of the Chinese, 18.

Wylie, Mr., of the Shanghai mission, his
report respecting the general feeling of
the Chinese, 450.

difficulty of
468

Yamun, an official residence at Canton,
458,

Yangchow, city of, captured by the rebels,
431.

Yangte, the Chinese emperor, 10.

Yangtsze-kiang river, 311; the navigation
rendered saler by buoys, 449.

Yangtse-yuen, the provident asylum at
Ningpo, 49.

Yaou river, 63 note.

Yeh, Commissioner, his obstinacy, 448;
his conduct approved by the emperor,
ib. ; terms proposed to, 454; his stub-
bornness, 457; his capture, 458; con-
fined on board one of her Mauajesty’s
ships, 459.

Yellow Sea, 310.

Yenchow, department of, 249, 254; pur-
sults of its inhabitants, 271.

Yenkwang, story of, 252.

INDEX.

Yih-king, the ‘“‘ Book of Changes,’’ 107.

Yib-ting, village of, 225.

Ying river, 64.

Ying-kia-wan, village of, 205.

Yingtih, town of, 305.

Yueh, ancient capital of, 235.

Yueh, the retired philosopher, 218.

Yuhshan, the author’s land trip to, 266;
his arrival at, 272; description of, 273;
journey from, to Nan-ngan, 275 et sey.

Yuh-wang, temple of, 208.

Yung river, 63 zote.

Yushing Kwan, temple of, 84.

Yuyaou river, 220; city of, 221.

Zee-ka-wei, Catholic village of, near
Shanghai, 401; schools and chapel at,
401, 402.

ane signs of the Chinese almanacs,
136.

 

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Counties , Wanchow, Taichow, Choochow.

 

  
 
    
    
     
       
  
    

 

  
 
  
 
  
  
       
  
 
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
  
     
 

     

 
 

    
   
   
   
    
   
    
     
    
      
      
   
   
    
     
    
 
 

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Wangshihyiho

 

  

 

  
 
  

‘Fo \ -‘To-pet-chang
© cow Ta-shoo-too
Tow-nau © O Kiang-how \
NAN CHA N Cc Ling-shan
OKwan-chow-to we
moe Te) ‘eo Wang-Icin-pooO’
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P La yan a
“ream To suy re
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Lago al fd urine Embgb ents iB
® . :
Be —E6s - 5. 4 ag~ .
¢ = ” Ziang Sui-she LA Wong Iain ie
70m Chang °F © chitny iz
tn He Wha City Chang-sh\oo~ <
Conan Sha-lee Z \ 3
chow \ VYung-tai Paxod re
ye oO ‘ung-tai Pagoda ’
ere Tagan ae \e

Provincial Capital

Dep artinent City Scauernrlzeiang Lf.

 

   

 

 

   
    
  
  
    
   
   
   
  
      
 

Shih-leow

©
: Piaow-Teow = ot kan
District Walled Town ___— © % 9 Jin-ho
= © QWookiang
Village or Hawlet, a Post Walrkiang D .
ea ee Seg og ms —o9 Liang pt" Mee "Tseu-chin-tan Pagdd
Station or Miltary Stage NO £ 1 MN NE BMbr ics,
or Market Town Pai a Tiaowyu-tai '
shal 3
Pacotla\=—- ¢-- - Sef me Sf Po a-tan
San-Ieioh-tan } =
¢
Land Route Keib-shuy :
®( 6 Ihh-piaow
Author's Route sien eer ie Liclacnnchios
; oe QA Pagoda
Boundary of Provinces wee eeeeeeceeeseeese © 4 8
De Departments és engsingD “toni

 

     
   
   
 

Chang-Teia-ti

 

 

-Ieia-tsun

i Tailrons 7A SIdty-pacu-tang
i STachisieqs O!_p king-lew

 

Létany-waa

 

HOONAWN AND HOOPTIH

     
   
   

‘18 Rapids between
Kan-chow & Wan-ngan.

PROVINCES

DA Pagoda Nine Stories

   
 

   

Kaowchay 7 - chow

% mw Sinchiyg ¢
& Padode

ts
Hyang-lyugspoo O
CNBC

 
 
   

Fiun.shoo Wig"
juig-shoo
ans 7 Pag

& The:Topsy-turvy”’

  

This Region is famous
tor a fine Varnish & a

kind of Sycamore Tree.
from

    
    
 
  
 
  

   

 

‘ymca

 
 

4 streaye

v
e
da

   

     

  
    
 

 

 
 

   
   

    
 

( San-fitePavod ca
ow Lewes Say
; Q Q Sew.sin®

ath
Sha
A929 Pih-sha
; Bef. ot.
Iseaysmer \\@Woo-shih ‘

  

=

: OQ Woopo-Ching
Funy-teen J :

 

 

h .
OLuiny-tow-ying

WThe Kvauyin Temple
Jou a hock mid River.

fo Tai-ping-Teany

tt

  

 

 

  
   
   

 

| ofk= dA
Western It. N T O N P R
| trom Find Q 7 =
| Shantanga) A Pagoda Hive Stories.
| Ted D )-) Lootsze-Zow
‘wyen-shuf
e 0 oodal 7 P Hiway ce ¥ 3
STay+ta g oNaw-hiang ante
L =O soy a
op. we
— fu
, The A (Channel short & , gsr &
Coenen Hire oe shallow to the City. wor ‘
of Cagiten Frosena or
| -¥iftee. _Fobshan a aris
or Lat-shan Fyate = iat
nn S© CANTON

Re-drawn trom the Author's Sketches by LM. Becker, & Engraved by his Putent Process.

River Passage from CANTON to HONG-KONG
see small Map at Top.

“Yy [te ed]

  

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ypTe
Mtat-pat-she

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

London, George Rou
 

 

SAU SILT EAN
“Hills y

CP eee % =

         
   
  
 

   
     
  
 

   

eer Kwangs

«* “Thing piaoug TTT Rlan ol, usnit

    
   
 
   

  
    
  
  

» Pagods ‘ ey, 4 i
Fini Pagoda S Wan-ping. wil a
. TBI, AM
Sean $ |
Oo Kiai shih-piaow |
Hwang-tuno Hokow |
© -hwei Pagods % |
‘weike aid |

 

‘direct into Fub-Kien Province.

 

f | == INLAND TRIP

a —— from

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

|

 

 

 

 

 

Scale of English Miles.
= oO 25 50 75 100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

River Passage

 
 

 

up to
NING? O.

  
 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tledge & C9, Farringdon St.
Was

DS
Fal
MOS