J r ; CHINA, ITS COSTUME, ARTS, &c. VOL. I. S. Gosnell, Printer, Littk Queen Street, Holborn. b P y 3 pi H 4 CHINA: ITS Costume, ARTS, MANUFACTURES, &c. EDITED PRINCIPALLY FROM THE ORIGINALS IN THE CABINET OF THE LATE M. BERTIN: WITH OBSERVATIONS EXPLANATORY, HISTORICAL, AND LITERARY, By M. BRETON. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. IN FOUR VOLUMES. VOL. I. EMBELLISHED JTITH PLJTES. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. J. STOCKDALE.. 41, FALL MALI.. 1812. Digitized by the Interne! Archive in 2011 with funding from Research Library, The Getty Research Institute http://www.archive.org/details/chinaitscostumea01bret TO THK DEPUTATIONS From the various Outports, and mercantile and manufacturing Towns OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, Assembled in London, to oppose the Renewal OF THE EAST-INDIA COMPANY'S Commerctal Jfflonopolp, With the warmest wishes for their success in effecting an object so essential to the commercial, manu- facturing, and trading Interests of the British Empire, THIS WORK, As a tribute to their collective, and individual, meritorious exertions, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. THE TRANSLATOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. The only remark with which the Translator feels it necessary to detain the Reader, is to state, that he has oc- casionally introduced, though very sparingly, such variations as he con- ceived would tend at the same time to elucidate the subject under considera- tion, and as would more immediately adapt the whole, notwithstanding it is a translation, to the hand of an English Reader. LIST OF PLATES TO VOL. I. With Directions for placing them. 1. Feast of Agriculture (described at Page 48) Frontispiece. 2. Kien-Long, Emperor of China to face Page 40 3. A Mandarin, and Female of Rauk, in their Summer full Dresses 51 4. The Prime Minister's Sedan-chair . . ,59 5. Carriage of the Kong-Tchou ... 63 6. Mandarin of the fifth Order .... 68 7. Chinese Soldiers 71 8. Tartar Soldiers J 5 9. The Imperial Water-cart 80 10. Tartar Woman and Child 81 1 1 . The Grand Lama, and Lama of the Banners 84 12. Grand Lama (Tao-Tse) 86 PLATES TO VOL. I. 13. A Tartar Woman making a Tsi; to face Page 80 14. Bonze, on All-fours 91 15. Palace of Yuen-Ming-Yuen .... 9-5 16. Young Licentiate parading the Streets . 100 17- Chinese Artillery 107 18. One-wheel Riding-barrow lOf) 19. Mahometan Woman and her Son . . .111 20. Mirror-seller 116 CONTENTS, VOL. I. Xkeface Page 5 Sketch of the Empire — Its Productions — The Religions which prevail or are tolerated . 25 The Emperor Kien-Long 40 A Mandarin, and a Female of Rank, in their Sum- mer full Dresses 51 Sedan-chair of the Prime Minister ... 59 Carriage of the Kong-Tchou, or of the Emperor's oldest Daughter 63 A Mandarin, of the fifth Order, going to Court in his full Dress 68 A Soldier beating the Evening Watch on a Bam- boo Cylinder — a Soldier carrying the Lantern before the Officer of the Rounds ... 7 1 Tartar Soldiers going to mount Guard at the Palace-gates 75 Water-cart for the Imperial Family ... 80 A Tartar Woman and Child ... . Ql < ONTENTS OF VOL. I. The Grand Lama in his full Dress — Lama of the Tartar Banners Page 84 A Tartar Woman making a Tsi, or saerificing to the Spirit of the Door, to prevent Misfortune from entering her Mouse 89 A Bonze who has made a Vow to go a certain Number of Miles on All-fours .... 01 The Palace of Yuen-Ming- Yuen .... 95 A Young Licentiate riding through the Studs with the Marks of his new Rank . . .100 Chinese Implements of War 104 Manner of travelling in a Barrow with one Wheel 109 A Mahometan Woman with her Son, to whom she is shewing a Toy Ill Mirror-seller llG An Account of the Feast of Agriculture, and of the Feast of Lanterns 118 PREFACE. Of the numerous works which have ap- peared on the Empire of China, few have entered into the necessary details respect- ing its arts and manufactures. The ancient missionaries, and the English writers who published accounts of Lord Macartney's celebrated embassy, have bestowed their attention on little more than the princi- pal objects of manufacture and com- merce — such as china, tea, printing, breeding silk-worms, &c. ; and these au- thors are, for the most part, repetitions of each other. The English travellers have obtained scarcely any new information: VOL. I. B O PREFACE. they have done little more than made extracts from Duhalde's great work. b* M. Bert in, minister and secretary of state during the two preceding reigns, in whose department the foreign missions were, was sensible how useful a more per- fect knowledge of China might prove to the arts, sciences, and manufactures: not satisfied with fulfilling the duty of his office, by protecting to the utmost the missionaries at Pekin, and transmitting to them the supplies authorized by government, he contributed liberally to- wards rendering their situations comfort- able. He spared no expense to procure rarities from China, and neglected no op- portunity of acquiring detailed accounts of the objects or drawings which were transmitted to him. PREFACE. 7 This valuable statesman did not wish to seclude, in his private museum, all these important documents; his warmest desire was to communicate them to the world. M. Bertin was well aware, that the mis sionaries, who were so estimable from their religious zeal, and so competent to elabo- rate history, philology, and mathematics, which were within their own sphere, did not possess the same advantages in div- ing into the secrets of arts and manufac- tures. In fact, the collections which the missionaries made were often defective and incomplete in many points of importance, owing either to their own ignorance, or to the disinclination of those to whom they were forced to apply. Besides, the Chinese manufacturers, equally jealous with our own, of the secrets of their respective professions, would not lightly b2 8 PREFACE. disclose them to foreigners. How then were they to surmount such obstacles ? A favourable opportunity presented itself. — Two young active and intelligent Chi- nese, named Ko and Yang, both natives of Pekin, having become converts to the Christian religion, and being instructed by the Jesuits in the Latin and French lan- guages, consented to go to France, at the missionaries , expense, that they might see ^to use their own words) the splendour of Christianity in Europe. The first was nineteen, the other eighteen years of age. They arrived at Paris in 1760, and en- tered the Jesuits' convent as novices. 41 We were living," say they in their me- moir, " in peace, and void of care, unknown PKEFACE. 9 to all France, when the dissolution of the society of the Jesuits took place." The Count St. Florentine, touched with the lamentahle situation in which they were involved by this event, obtained a pension for them of 750 livres. Desirous of returning to China, they were obliged to make interest with M. Bertin, who then superintended the India Company's affairs. He eagerly laid hold of the opportunity to carry into effect the object he had in view. He prevailed on the Chinese to put off their voyage foi a year ; during which interval they went through a course of natural philosophy and chemistry, at the government expense, under M. Brisson, academician, who died, a few years since, member of the Institute. They were also taught drawing and uS 1 PllEFACE. stroke engraving; in the latter of which they left specimens of their abilities be- hind them. By the order, and at the expense of His Majesty, they made a journey to Lyons, Forez, and Vivarais, that they might ac- quire a knowledge of the French manu- factures, and be more competent to com- municate information on those of China. It was evidently M. Bertin's object to procure, in China, in some respect, at his own disposal, two natives, who, having a knowledge of the language and arts of France, were still free from the prejudices of their own nation. It would be diffi- cult to meet with two men better quali- fied to cany his intentions into effect than were the Chinese Ko and Vang. PREFACE. 1 1 They reached their own country in safety, and, concealing themselves at Ma- cao in a corner of the vessel while it was searched, landed at night by moonlight, resumed the Chinese dress, and went to Pekin, as though they had never been out of it. Ko and Yang did not lose a moment to evince their gratitude to M. Bertin ; but immediately set about returning it by furnishing, conjointly with the missionaries at Pekin, the greater part of the materials from which the " Me- moirs respecting the Chinese" were drawn. Amiot and Cibot were the prin- cipal editors. The first volume of tha collection, unfortunately broken off a book 15, contains a learned dissertation on the origin of the Chinese, their lan- b 4 1 2 PREFACE. guage, history, &c. It is by Father Cibot, under the name of Ko. Their intention was no other than to revise or re-write all which had been published respecting China. M. Vang, in a letter to M. Bertin, dated October 10, 1772, thus expresses himself: u I hope, in time, to transmit many other memoirs, which will give a clear and particular insight into every thing relative to China. Hitherto France, and even Europe, knows it only as through a thick veil, which permits the objects to be seen confusedly, and leaves much to suppo- sition ; but as Your Excellency, always oc- cupied in enriching the state with the most valuable knowledge, has incited our mis- sionaries, they press forward to second your intentions. It will shortly be seen PREFACE. 13 that the best selected works on China are, at least in part, mere dreams and reveries. Even in Father Duhalde, whom I consi- der as the best, how much is there to rescind of what he has gone too far in advancing, and to perfect what he has merely touched upon ! It were greatly to be wished, that, among the missionaries, were some lovers of truth who would un- dertake to correct that author's work. I say lovers of truth, because it is a pre- vailing fault to exalt too high what there is a disposition to praise, and to depress too low what they wish to censure." This letter, the original of which is now in my hands, on bamboo paper, is tolerably well written, and with great judgment; as is all the correspondence of the two Chinese. 14 PREFACE. In another epistle, in which Yang gives his protector a description, agree- ably to his desire, of the Yu-Lan, a cele- brated shrub of China, he says, " I beg Your Excellency to do me the favour to accept the description of a flower called Yu-Lan, which we have named Ber- lin, to eternize our gratitude/' I saw with pleasure, on this letter, are- mark, in the minister's own hand, as fol- lows — " What does he mean by his Ber- tin flower? Was it not known, and had it not a name before— Yu-Lan?" A succession of unfortunate events forced the relinquishment of this collec- tion, which might have been so valuable to our literati and artists. At first, la- mentable dissensions arose among the missionaries at Pekin. The death of PREFACE. 15 Father Cibot, which took place on the 8th of August 1780, was a signal for the most deplorable disasters. I have now before me Father Cibot's letter, written in a strange hand, but signed by him ; dated 3d of August, five days before his death. " My last hour draws nigh. My ideas rest solely on our dear mission. I again commend it to Your Excellency ; never was your countenance more necessary. You have done so much for it already — Perfect, Sir, perfect, I conjure you, the good work. Time is short; if your zeal does not come speedily to the as- sistance of the French missionaries, they will fall, and their religion with them." J 6 PREFACE. On returning from his funeral, Father Sallusti, an Italian missionary, excom- municated two of his brethren, and four Chinese neophytes. On another side, the French revolution placed the mis- sionaries at Pekin in a scill more cruel situation ; they were deprived of assist- ance, and had no correspondence with the mother-country. Meantime, M. Bertin was especially careful in his cabinet, not only of the materials which had in part supplied the Memoirs concerning the Chinese ; but of many others which had not hitherto been brought into use*. The most interesting * Of the Narration of the Voyage of the two Chinese, only twenty copies were printed. Con- siderations of the greatest interest prevented its having more publicity ; the work might find its way to China, and the narrators' destruction he the con- sequence. PREFACE. 17 was an immense collection of about 400 original drawings, made at Pekin, of the arts and manufactures of China, and many other paintings. Accident threw into my hands nearly the whole of this collection: together with the correspondence of the mission- aries, and that of Ko, Yang, &c. Many of these subjects were new and hitherto unknown in France; particularly the manner of gathering the leaves of tea by means of monkeys ; varnish-mak- ing; costume of a Mahometan woman; the serpent-seller; money-changer; dis- tiller; brazier; whip and kite sellers ; the interior of a Chinese apartment; sweet- meat — hare seller; some representations of punishments, &c, 1 8 PREFACE. These drawings were unfortunately either not described at all, or very briefly described. I have, however, suc- ceeded in adding- a text, which will, I flatter myself, prove not devoid of in- terest ; and selected such of the draw- ings as would be most acceptable to the public ; for many of the subjects are not sufficiently interesting, their costume differing very little from that of our European artisans. On the other hand, it was requisite to publish a complete work on China; a kind of compendium of whatever it affords, of the curious, rare, and useful. I have consulted, for my explanatory notices, all the narratives ancient and modern; I have collected every docu- PREFACE. 19 ment within my reach, and laid the whole under contribution, from the China Illus- trata of Father Kircher, in which is the oldest description of the Hortensia, to the Fragments of the Voyage of Iwan Iwanow Tschudrin, published in 1809, by the celebrated Kotaebue. It has been my endeavour to relate facts simply and reasonably, without par- taking the enthusiasm, oftentimes extra- vagant, of certain missionaries ; and with- out giving myself up to that spirit of censure and aspersion which has still more frequently directed the pen of the English traveller, Barrow; than whom, however, few authors have written on the manners of the Chinese more ingeni- ously, or have displayed greater sagacity and erudition ; particularly when he com- -0 PREFACE. pares their customs with those of the ancients*. One of my most ardent wishes lias been to share with my readers the respect which I have always felt for missionaries. Their utility, however, is not likely to become a subject of dispute ; for the Eng- lish are busily engaged in sending mis- sions into Africa, America, and the Indies. * Barrow's Voyage to China has been a subject of very severe animadversion with the Abbe Grosier, in the Journal del'Empire. I must frankly confess, that one of the most serious charges against him is to be attributed to an error of his printer, and perhaps thence transferred to his translators. — Mr. Barrow has been accused, and with reason, of having libelled the government of China, by saying that it encouraged infanticide : but it is not with the same justice that he has been considered culpable in regard to the mis- sionaries, of a calumny which would be really atro- cious ; I refer, for this essential explanation, to the text of Plate LVi.at the beginning of Vol. IV. PREFACE. 21 In this quarter, at least, we have no- thing to fear from their rivalry. The English missionaries, being of the Lu- theran persuasion, will make less progress in the minds of the people, than Romish missionaries. I do not speak of exterior forms, nor of dogmas ; but of the domes- tic life, manners, and characters of the ministers of either religion. The celi- bacy of our priests was, indeed, for some time, an obstacle to their obtaining very great favour with the Chinese, who at first regarded, with a suspicion almost bordering on disgust, men who seemed to have abandoned father and mother. It was thought still more strange, that, devoted to a life of strict celibacy, they renounced having children, who might honour their names in the hall jf their ancestors; but in the sequel, the very prejudices of the people converted tnese vol. i. c 2 l 2 PREFACE.* unfavourable privations to subjects of admiration. That religion was looked upon sublime which could so detach from the affairs of this world, as to renounce the enjoyment of so comfortable a plea- sure as that of living again in posterity. The Protestant missionaries will, un- doubtedly, not take European women with them ; but then they will marry in the country; they will give their wives a taste for the manners of Europe, and this innovation will be considered an offence. The Dutch received at Japan, to the exclusion of every other European na- tion # , have never yet recovered, even the most trivial portion of the ascendancy * Sketches Civil and Military of the Islands of Java, & MANUFACTURES. 33 The emperor Ming-Ti, having been re- minded, by a dream, that Confucius had frequently been heard to say that the saint would make his appearance on the western side, sent ambassadors to India, to discover what this saint could be, and to initiate themselves in his doctrines. They returned with the idolatry of Bouddha, the name of which the Chinese changed to that of Fo, because they have no letter B, and it is contrary to their custom to adopt any foreign name. The mother of Fo was called Mo-Ya ; during her pregnancy she constantly dreamed that she had swallowed an elephant : whence originated the honour which the Indian kings pay to the white elephants. Fo stood upon his feet from the moment of his birth ; he took seven steps, and pronounced these words : "In heaven and on earth I alone am worthy to be adored !" The followers of this idol as- sert that he was born eighteen thousand times, and that his soul has passed succes- sively into the bodies of different animals, S OO CHINA, ITS COSTUME, In proof of the little importance which the Chinese attach to these reve- ries, for salvation, the priests of Tao-Tse and of Fo live on very good terms ; fre- quently inhabiting the same temples, in which they perform their respective cere- monies, and very rarely disagree. The era of the introduction of Chris- tianity into the Chinese empire, cannot be precisely ascertained; it appears to have been very far back ; but the remembrance of it was almost wholly done away when Francis Xavier, the Apostle of India, ar- rived in 1542 at Sancian, on the coast of the province of Canton, where he died before he had set his foot on shore. Thirty years afterwards, the Fathers Ro- ger and Ricci, owing to their know ledge in mathematics, obtained access to China. The Jesuits met with various changes of fortune at court. In 1631, Father Adam Schaal was in great favour at the court of the emperor Yong- Li, whom he baptised, together with the empress; but theirrup- ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 37 tion of the Tartars, and the defeat of the emperor, subverted all the hopes which the missionaries had conceived. The Je- suits were expelled ; but Schaal, owing to his great merits, was specially exempted from this disgrace by the conqueror. At the accession of Kang-Hi, great- grandfather to the present emperor, who ascended the throne at eighteen vears of age, Schaal was appointed his tutor. The esteem in which this missionary was held, saved Macao from ruin, when all the places on the coast were destroyed, to cut off the provision from the army which then contended for the establishment of the old dynasty. A general insurrection at length took place against the missionaries, who were all thrown into prison on the 12th Nov. 166'4. Father Schaal, at that time seventy-eight years old, was laden with irons, and put upon his trial. He heard the sentence passed upon him which VOL, I, D 38 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, condemned him to die hy being strangled, as the least infamous punishment in China; but which was changed to that of being cut to pieces, which is consider- ed to be the most cruel and ignominious. The approbation of the government, which was administered by four regents during the minority of Kang-Hi, was alone wanting to carry this horrid and barbarous decree into execution. Heaven, however, declared in favour of the Jesuits. An earthquake spread terror in every mind. The people thought they discovered in it the effects of Divine vengeance; and the regency was forced to set the Chinese converts at liberty, but the missionaries were suffered to re- main in prison. The earthquake being repeated with increased violence, the alarm of the people likewise increased; the missionaries were set free, but the virtuous Schaal did not long survive the persecution: he died in 1666. ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 39 From that period, the missionaries were held in scarcely any favour at court. The emperor Kien-Long recalled them, it is true, towards the conclusion of his reign, because he felt the necessity of at- taching them to some native Chinese, to form a board of mathematics, and assist in the formation of the calendar, so im- portant in the eyes of the Chinese. The events which happened in Europe at the close of the last century, left the mis- sionaries deserted; their respective go- vernments, whose whole attention was occupied by more pressing concerns, neither thought of sending them assist- ance nor successors. Besides the four religions already men- tioned, and the Roman Catholic religion, the Jewish and Mahomedan laws have made more or less progress in certain pro- vinces of the empire. For further details see the descriptions of Plates XL and XVIII. d 2 40 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, THE EMPEROR KIEN-LONG. J. ins prince, whose fifteenth son now fills the throne of China, is known by the description of his person given in the Accounts of the Embassies of Earl Mac- artney, in 1 792, and of Van-Braam and Titsing, in 1794. We have given his name, Kien-Long, on the anlhority of the missionaries ; of M. dc Guignes, and of Mr. Barrow: it is more conformable to the Chinese pro- nunciation, though Sir George Staunton adopts that of Tchien-Long; and Mr. Barrow remarks, that the name of Kien is very little used except in the southern provinces. Kien-Long, who, at the time of these memorable embassies, was eighty- three or eighty-four years of age, was so little susceptible of natural infirmities, that he possessed all the activity of a JLOzrdon rfovxzt ?ISSfIE@EoF (g^Em&. StodedaU fiTaUMiU ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 41 stout healthy man of sixty — his eyes were black, lively, and penetrating, and his countenance had not lost its colour. His person was perfectly upright, his stature about five feet ten inches : he had a good constitution, and his extreme re- gularity contributed, in no small degree, to keep it so. He rose constantly at three o'clock in the morning, winter and summer. • In common with all the Mantchou Tartars, he was passionately fond of the chase. He was a skilful archer, and was scarcely inferior, in drawing astrongbow, to his grandfather Kang-Hi, who boasted in his will, that he had bent a bow of power equal to about one hundred and fifty pounds weight. His intellectual were adequate to his physical powers : his imagination was very quick, and he at- tained some eminence as a poet : his most celebrated work is an Ode on Tea. He also composed a poem descriptive of the country of Moukden in Tartary. d 3 43 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, Although he was so perfectly master of the Chinese language, he nevertheless had a very excusable predilection in favour of that of his ancestors, the Mantchou Tartars, and took great pains to promulgate it. He ordered all chil- dren whose parents were one Tartar and the other Chinese, to learn the Mantchou sufficiently to undergo an examination in the two languages. He was a great warrior, and made some important conquests. He was passion- ately fond of women. Being once at Sanchou-Fou, a city celebrated for the beauty of its females, he was smitten with the charms of a beautiful vouno- Chinese, and resolved to take her to his capital : the empress hung herself for ^rief on the news of his attachment. A singular anecdote is related on this subject. One of his sons felt much em- barrassed what line of conduct to pursue on his mother's death. To go into mourn- ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 43 ing would be a kind of insult to his father; and to omit it would be disre- spectful to the memory of his mother. His tutor advised him to wear both dresses at once, and in this state he waited upon Kien-Long, having his full dress over the suit of mourning. The emperor was irritated at it, and gave his son so violent a kick, that the young prince, after languishing some days, died in consequence. He at that time had four other sons ; but the prime minister, Hochoung-Taung, contrived to set him very much against them : he also in like manner prejudiced him against those he had after this pe- riod ; so that he made none of his first- born heir to his power. He abdicated on the 8th of February 1796, in favour of his fifteenth son, or (as some say) his seventeenth son. Kien-Long was then eighty-six years old; he lived three years after his retirement, and died in February 1799. D 4 44 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, The young prince, who still fills the throne by the name of Kia-King, retain- ed the minister during his father's life; but Kien-Long had no sooner closed his eyes than he caused his old favourite to be strangled. The sentence was passed on twenty charges, which Mr. Barrow specifies in his Voyage, and which were either ridiculous and frivolous, or failed in proof. Among other subjects of com- plaint, it was stated that " under pretence of being lame, he was carried on his way to and from the palace through the em- peror's private gate !" Kien-Long, of whom the annexed portrait is a correct likeness, wore a gown of brown silk, and a velvet cap surmount- ed by a large pearl. This last decoration is peculiar to the sovereign and his pre- sumptive heir. The emperor of China enjoys a literally absolute power; he is accountable for his conduct to no department of the state : ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 45 but, as Air. Barrow ingeniously observes, this power is tempered by the institutions of the country. The patriarchal manners of China im- pose on the son the duty of making solemn offerings to the manes of his forefathers; a ceremony which reminds the emperor that the remembrance of his private conduct and public actions will be retained long after his life ; that every year, at certain periods, his name will be pronounced from one extremity of the empire to the other, either with respect and love, or with horror and execrations. In a word, if in this country the prince does enjoy unbounded authority, it is ra- ther as the father of his subjects than as their lord and master. The government may be more properly termed patriarchal than despotic; and the name of the hun- dred families given to the Chinese nation collectively, sufficiently denotes that the natives consider themselves as brothers. 46 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, The titles of the sovereign of China are, Son of Heaven, and Master of the Earth. His latter title is literally cor- rect, he being the owner of all the soil of China — the subject merely enjoys his land as a concession from the monarch, and subject to a rent which is paid in kind. No one can speak to him in any other than a kneeling posture, unless authorized to the contrary. The mandarins kneel, in like manner, before his throne, his clothes, and his chair of state. On pub- lic occasions they prostrate themselves nine times. No one can go through the grand gate of the palace on horseback ; he must dismount. The bright yellow colour belongs ex- clusively to the emperor and his children. The other princes, viceroys, and ministers, are clad in stuff of another shade of yel- low, for which the sovereign's permission is still necessary. The mandarins in ge- ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 47 neral, and even the more distant branches of the emperor's family, are clothed in violet. The dragon with five claws, is again another attribute of the imperial power. The emperor's dispatches, the edicts, and public acts, are dated with the year of his reign, and the day of the moon. The imperial; seal is square; it consists of a fine jasper of the size of about eight digits. None but the em- peror can have a seal of this description ; those of the princes are gold ; of the vice- roys and mandarins of the first rank, silver ; and of the inferior mandarins, of brass or lead. The importance attached to it is infinite ; of which the following is an example : — A mandarin inspector, from whom a mandarin of a higher class, his mortal enemy, had caused his seals to be stolen, was apprehensive that this loss might in- volve the loss of his place, and perhaps of his life. What did he do to effect the restitution of this precious object? He 48 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, set fire to his own dwelling-house in the night, and then, in the presence of the by-standers, saved the little casket in which his seals were generally deposited, and carried it to his enemy, entreating that he would take especial care of his charge. The mandarin, in his turn, ap- prehensive of being accused with having stolen the seals, was forced to replace them in the box ; and thus, in spite of himself, restored tranquillity to the person whom he wished to ruin. Foreign ambassadors are not permitted to reside in China. Their stay in the capital is temporary, and limited to forty days, though this term has sometimes been suffered to elapse twice over. They, and all their retinue, travel wholly at the emperors charge. The persons attached to Lord Macartney's embassy, from mo- tives of delicacy, denied themselves many articles which they wished for, because they were not permitted to purchase them ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 49 at their private expense, every thing being furnished gratis. It has been stated erroneously, that the emperor alone is entitled to have his palace exactly facing the south. The fact is, that the greater part of the pri- vate houses face the south, as far as it is practicable, as it is considered the most healthy position. The Feast of Agriculture of the Chi' nese is universally known-; the emperor presides, and, in the spring, ploughs some furrows with his own hand. The emperor of China sometimes as- sumes the name of Father and Mother of the country. The people regard him as a being almost divine ; and many empe- rors have fancied themselves gods. Kang- Hi, after his mother's death, proclaimed her goddess of the Nine Flowers, 50 C1IIXA, ITS COSTUME, Kien-Long, notwithstanding his wis- dom, believed that the god Fo was incar nate in his person. He is said to have been jealous of the honours which were paid to the Great-Lama of Tibet: con- sequently, when the Great- Lama repaired to his court in 1779, and a natural acci- dent deprived him of life, slander and calumny went to work on the occasion, and attributed the unlooked-for death of the chief of the religion of the Lamas, to the effect of poison, rather than to that of disease. ^^Misumimun^ ■% Mjmn&SLm . Cmmm m -law > ■ ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 51 A MANDARIN, AND A FEMALE OF RANK, IN THEIR SUMMER FULL DRESSES. Mandarin is not a Chinese term, but derived from the Portuguese word Man- dar, which signifies commander. The mandarins are magistrates, whose situations may be changed at pleasure: they are chosen from every class, but those of judicature and the sword are al- most always taken from the classes of labourers, artificers, and traders. Services rendered to the state, or personal merit, are the only means whereby this dignity can be attained. There is but one family in China which enjoys a kind of hereditary nobility; it is the family of Confucius, which has been in existence above two thousand years. The lineal descendants of that 5Z CHINA, ITS COSTUME, great philosopher are extinct; but a nephew is still in being, on whom has been conferred the title Ching-Jinto-Chi- Coul, the nephew of the great man. His posterity is distinguished by the honour- able denomination of Kong. The number of mandarins throughout the whole empire is stated at 493,000; each of whom is attached to a tribunal for some particular administration. They are divided into two orders, civil and military; are exempt from taxes and contributions ; are permitted to borrow, from the public stock, sums in propor- tion to their rank ; and their salary, which is moderate, is paid six months in advance. According to Father Trigaut, the highest salary is less than a thousand crowns. The smallness of their emolu- ments induces them to commit every species of exaction. When they go on any particular mission their expenses arc defrayed by the government. ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. S3 They have the exclusive right of Wearing gold-embroidered clothes. Their costume is of two kinds, a summer and a winter dress : the first is put on about the middle of April; the latter, which is trimmed with furs, about the middle of October. There are nine orders of mandarins, distinguishable by the button, the plate, and the girdle. The button, in the first order, is of ruby ; in the second, of worked coral ; in the third, of sapphire, or transparent blue stone; in the fourth, of azure or opaque blue; in the fifth, of rock-crystal, or transparent white ; in the sixth, of a marine shell, or opaque white; in the seventh and eighth, of gold without or- nament, but variously wrought; and in the ninth, of wrought silver. The emperor sometimes grants the mandarins the special distinction of VOL. I* E 54 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, wearing- a peacock's feather in their hats. Their rob^s are embroidered in squares both before and behind, with the figure of a pelican, Guinea-fowl, peacock, crane, pheasant, bear, swan, tiger, Sec. according to their degrees. The ornament of the civil mandarins is uniformly one of the feathered, and that of the military man- darins of the four-footed race. The princes, viceroys, and ministers have the same embroidery, only that it is round instead of square. These magistrates are responsible for the irregularities of their administration; they are closely watched, but it does not prevent many of their acts of rapine and abuses of power remaining concealed and unpunished. The missionaries, accord- ing to M. de Guignes, somewhat exag- gerate mandarin politeness when they ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 55 state that the grandees dare not strike a match-seller. The retinue of persons in office is very considerable ; and, as magnificence is sup- posed to consist more in the number than the outfit of the suite, the consequence is, that the mandarins are not unfrequently surrounded by servants and guards abso- lutely in rags. The gowns of the Chinese ladies are very long, extending from the neck to the heels, so that the face only is un- covered ; their hands are always conceal- ed in very wide and long cuffs : the colour of their dress may be red, blue, or green. The females of this country are mode- rately well shaped: they have short noses, small but lively eyes, good mouths, rosy lips, black hair, and long ears with pendants : their complexion is florid, their form bespeaks gaiety and freedom, and their features are regular. .They e2 j6 chin a, its costume, nearly all use paint, which is sold ready- made, both white and rose-coloured. The hands, which are commonly brown, form a strange contrast to the whiteness of the face. The most desirable charm among women of a certain rank is extremely small feet: this is accomplished by hav- ing them bound up, from their childhood, in a case which is never removed, and which impedes their growth. The village- girls, in some provinces, imitate this ab- surd custom. The great toe is suffered to retain its natural position, but the others are confined, until, compressed and adhering to the sole of the foot, they can no more be separated from it. AVe are assured that this fashion did not originate in the absurd and tyrannical pride of husbands, who would reduce their wives to complete inactivity, but in the example of a princess who voluntarily submitted herself to it. The Tartar females do not accustom themselves to this mutilation. ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 57 Some of them wear an ornament on the head, made of brass or silver gilt, representing the fong-hoang or phoenix of the Chinese. The extended wings wave gently over the front of the head- dress, and the spreading tail forms an aigrette on the middle of the head. 'S J The Chinese ladies live very retired, wholly engaged in their household af- fairs, and how to please their husbands ; they are not, however, confined quite so closely as is commonly supposed. " The women," says the younger De Guignes, " go and come in the streets of Pekin, with- out restraint ; we met many of them on foot, and others in open carriages." The Chinese ladies who are rich, or otherwise of consequence, are preceded by servants. The facility with which they sit cross- legged makes room for two or three in the same carriage. The females visit entirely amongst each other ; there is no society or circle E3 58 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, in China to which the women are admit- ted. Marriages are a matter of mere con- venience, or, to speak with greater pro- priety, a kind of bargain settled between the relatives. The girl has no right of choice nor refusal in the husband who is proposed ; neither is the man any better off: he is never permitted to see his wife until the moment in which she is brought to him with great pomp. The key of the sedan-chair, or carriage, is previously sent to him ; if, when he unlocks it, he finds the female not suited to his taste, it is at his option to send her back ; but in this case, he loses all the presents he made her parents for the purpose of obtaining her, and is bound to return the value of all which he received from them. S EiDASi CM &m WE 'i/iir ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 5f) SEDAN-CHAIR OF THE PRIME MINISTER. The prime minister, or Grand Colao, be- comes, in right of his office (if he were not so before), a mandarin of the first rank. His costume is the same as that of a prince of the blood : for which see the preceding Plate. This print represents the mode of tra- velling in a sedan-chair, coolis, or palan- quin. The ministers or grandees alone are. entitled to have their palanquin covered with green cloth. They also use vehicles like those of private persons, except that they are closed in front, and that the wheels are placed quite behind to make the jolting of the carriage less uneasy. Lord Macartney was secretly instructed £4 66 CHINA, ITS costume, to endeavour to learn at Pekin, the man- ner in which the carriages were hung. He had a superb berlin for his own use; and one of the presents which he brought for the emperor was a chariot decorated with the utmost magnificence. The Chinese, who cannot bear any thing like innovation, shewed an invin- cible dislike to this kind of carriage : a mandarin, whom the ambassador took into his chariot with him, trembled at every motion, and always thought he was going to be overturned. The most serious inconvenience was the necessity for the coach-box being in front, and raised higher than the seats of those within. The mandarin protested that his master would never enter such a vehicle. The alterations made in it were by no means satisfactory, and the emperor's chariot remained in a kind of lumber-room, dis- regarded and confounded with other ob- jects of infinitely inferior value. ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 6l In the previous narration, page 44, of the striking disgrace of the prime minister of Kien-Long, we have sufficiently shewn the vicissitudes to which the great are exposed in China, as in all countries where the powers are confounded, and subject to the caprice of an individual. One of these victims of fortune, Li-See, was taken in the morning from an obscure class to be made prime minister, and that very evening underwent the penalty con- sequent on an incautious expression. In the early time of the monarchy, there was less distance between the em- peror and his ministers than at present. The minister was considered in the light of a sage and friend ; the prince and his minister were looked upon as the head and arm of the same body. When the British embassy landed on the Chinese territory, a sufficient number of sedan-chairs were assigned for the whole retinue of the legation: even 62 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, the private soldiers were carried in this manner; but these, not liking their new mode of conveyance, got out of the litters and induced the Chinese bearers to take their places in the inside, when they car- ried them in their turn. -r i y & ^ d ] K < 3 Vl a j f3 » a ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 63 CARRIAGE OF THE KONG-TCHOU, OR OF THE EMPEROR'S OLDEST DAUGHTER. The Kong-Tchou, which signifies the oldest daughter of the emperor, never goes out except with a numerous retinue. She can see, hut is not seen. When she takes the air, either in her carriage or litter, men armed with whips and long bamboo poles, make the passengers range themselves in ranks, and turn their backs upon the procession as a mark of respect. Some have asserted that passers-by were also forced to turn their backs upon the emperor, which in Europe would be the height of impertinence: but modern travellers contradict this. Two eunuchs attend at the door of the carriage, which is yellow, and is not unlike a prison in 6hape. 64 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, . The emperor's oldest son, who is call- ed Hoan-Tay-Tse, or Ago (the latter is a Tartar denomination), generally goes out on horseback, with an immense caval- cade. On his cap is a button, composed of three golden dragons, ornamented with thirteen pearls, and surmounted with one larger than the rest, The monarch's other sons, called Hoang-Tse, wear the same button, except that it is topped by a ruby in place of a large pearl. One remarkable circumstance is, that the carriages of the princes of the blood, and of the emperor himself, are never drawn by more than one horse. The dis- tinction of ranks by the number of horses to a carriage is unknown in China. It would indeed be no easy matter to guide a number of horses attached to a carriage not unlike our tilt-carts, and which most probably accounts for this not being adopted. ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 65 ■ The emperor's daughters are never call- ed to the throne, either in their own, or in a foreign country; for they only intermarry with the Chinese. The empe- ror bestows them on his principal man- darins, by whom it is received as a very high mark of distinction and favour. The emperor himself never contracts an alliance by marriage with a foreign princess. At the period of his accession, the highest personages of the country, whose daughters are young and hand- some, present them to him, that he may choose a wife from among them. The family on whom the choice falls acquires great honour and credit by it. The num- ber of his wives is unlimited; but the reigning wife, termed Hoang-Heou, has peculiar prerogatives. The emperor's women, close shut up in great numbers in a seraglio, hold no communication with the world, and may be said to have no idea of it. 6*6* VIUKA, ITS COST! They sometimes indeed assist at the court ceremonies behind lattice-work, where they can sec without being seen. The son of Sir George Staunton (who has now acceded to the title), the chief personage of Earl Macartney's suite, it appears, attracted the notice of these ladies; they desired to see him nearer, and he was accordingly so placed that they could look at him at their leisure. Some of the emperors, willing to gra- tify the curiosity of their wives, who wished to know the interior arrangement of the capital, built within the parks of Ge-Hol and Yuen-Ming- Yuen, some mi- niature towns, containing, on a small scale, the most prominent features of the streets of Pekin. When an emperor dies, his widows cannot many again, however high the rank of the suitor may be. They are taken to a particular house within the walls of the palace, named the Palace of ARTS, AXD MANUFACTURES. 6*7 Chastity, where they endeavour to divert their perpetual imprisonment by such amusements and fetes as their situation admits of. 68 CHINA, ITS COSTUME. A MANDARIN, OF THE FIFTH ORDER, GOING TO COURT IN HIS FULL DRESS, 1 he inferior mandarins seldom venture to decide on affairs of consequence them- selves, being obliged to report upon them to those of the hia;her rank. The go- vernors of towns refer to theTou-Tching- Tse, or treasurer-general of their district, and to the Fou-Yuen, or governor of the province. These two provincial officers acknowledge no superior but the tribunals of the capital. The Tsong-You, or vice- roy, who is higher than the Fou-Yuen, and has the administration of two or three provinces, is subject to the same tribu- nals ; but his post is of such importance, that he cannot be removed from it, ex- cept by being made minister of state, or president of one of the high courts of justice. j /'anion /isneurrr Mgmn&mmvfyjIftA Cla^j, Fub?25Jprilj&2 t/i /[ Sroriedale 4ifa/t Mall ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 69 We have already given the honorary marks which distinguish the mandarins, not only from the multitude, but from those of a different rank. They are in general very jealous of their rights and prerogatives; they are. only spoken to in a kneeling posture. They go out attended by all the officers of their court. At the head of the retinue are two officers of the police, with long flat bamboo sticks for inflicting the bastinado ; men who beat loos, or copper basins, a kind of Chinese drum, which produces an extremely hoarse sound ; executioners with chains, whips, and scymetars, also form part of the suite. Next come the parasol-, stan- dard-, and other bearers of the marks of dignity peculiar to the mandarin. His litter is preceded by horse soldiers, and is borne by four men, surrounded with servants and infantry. The palanquins are either carried by four men, as in the annexed Plate, or suspended between two horses or mules. VOL. I. F 70 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, Horses are esteemed a great luxury in China, and are very uncommon. M. de Guignes estimates the whole number of those who keep saddle-horses at only 242,000. The horses are small, not hand- some, and far from elegant in their paces. The mandarins of Pekin, who are in the habit of riding, prefer mules, because their keep is less expensive than that of the horse, and they bear fatigue better. There are wild mules in Tartary, which vary both in gait and make from the do- mestic mules. The Tartars eat their flesh as food. In the western part of the em- pire are camels and wild horses. The latter go in numerous herds, and when they meet any domesticated horses, sur- round them, for the purpose of enticing them away. The horses of Tartary scarcely ever tire, and are particularly bold in hunting wild beasts. . / I'nrdon (limit Caauwsss 3 dossils /■„/>' './// ■/ -:ti: /•• // tooekdmlt ./t flafl Unit ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 71 A SOLDIER BEATING THE EVENING WATCH ON A BAMBOO CYLINDER— AND A SOLDIER CARRYING THE LAN- TERN BEFORE THE OFFICER OF THE ROUNDS. 1 he city gates, and the barriers at the end of each street, are carefully closed at night-fall. No one of any respecta- bility is to be seen in the streets through- out the night. They are filled with patroles, who carry in their left hand a hollow cylinder of bamboo, on which they strike, not only as a proof that they are on their watch, but to tell the hour, and what weather it is. They interrogate whomsoever they meet in their rounds ; and if they receive satisfactory answers, let them pass through a wicket fixed to the barrier. They carry lanterns, on F 2 72 CHINA. ITS COSTUME, which are inscribed their names, and those of the posts they belong to. The piece of wood, or hollow bamboo, is sometimes, instead of being cylindrical, shaped like a fish, two feet and a half long by six inches in diameter. — It was some time, says Mr. Barrow, before we could accustom ourselves to the noise of these cylinders, which, for many nights, prevented our sleeping. The officers who go the rounds are fre- quently mounted on asses, preceded by a soldier with a dark lantern. The police is not confined merely to this protection; the master of every tenth house is obliged to keep watch for the maintenance of good order, and to make his servants mount guard. The Chinese divide the day into tw< Ive hours; the first beginning at our eleven o'clock at night, and ending at one ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 73 o'clock in the afternoon. Every hour is divided into two poenchy, or half-hours, and each poenchy into four quarters, termed chy-ke. The twelve hours are named after dif- ferent animals, as follows: the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, ape, hen, dog, and pig. The night is divided into five watches ; the first of which is announced at the different military stations, by a stroke on the drum or loo; the second by two strokes, and so on. In the whole world there is not perhaps a country where lanterns are so much in use as in China; nor where so much va- riety, art, and elegance are displayed in making them. It is perfectly reasonable for the soldiers on guard to carry a lan- tern with them in their rounds ; but what is very singular, and seems truly absurd, is, that in their military evolutions they carry it likewise, instead of arms. f 3 74 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, We arrived before Tong-Tchang-Fou, says Mr. Barrow, in the evening; the soldiers, who were drawn up in line, each drew from under his coat a superb lighted lantern, with which they went through a kind of exercise. The celebrated Feast of Lanterns is observed every year at a fixed period. The whole empire is illuminated from one extremity to the other, and in all the various modes which imagination can suggest. The lanterns are frequently made of transparent paper, or gauze, but more often of horn, so fine, so pellucid, that foreigners, at first sight, suppose them to be glass. Each lantern consists of a single piece of horn, the joinings in which are, from their nicety in amalga- mating them by softening them in boiling water, not to be distinguished. ? M ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 75 TARTAR SOLDIERS GOING TO MOUNT GUARD AT THE PALACE GATES. According to the notes given to Lord Macartney by the mandarin Van-Ta-Gin, the Chinese army amounts to a million foot, and eight hundred thousand horse; but this may be the nominal strength, supposing every regiment to be full, and not the effective rank and file. M. de Guignes, the younger, reckons the in- fantry at six hundred thousand, of which ninety-five thousand are Tartars ; and the cavalry at two hundred and forty-two thousand; which is very strong, consider- ing the few horses which China produces, and the difficulty of importing them from abroad. The Tartar troops are distinct from the Chinese : the former are under their own f 4 76 CHINW, ITS COSTUMF., general; while the hitter are dispersed throughout the cities, forts, and guard- posts of ever} province. Among the Tartars, the highest mili- tary officer is theTsiang-Kiun; he has the immediate command of three thousand men, and has two Tou-Tong under him, each of whom has the command of one thousand. The Tou-Tong of the left, ranks highest ; the left among the Tartars being the post of honour. The highest provincial military officer of the Chinese is the Ty-Tou ; he has five thousand men under him, one thousand of which are cavalry. The Tchong-Kiun, or lieutenant-general, commands three thousand ; and sixTzong-Ping under him, commanding three thousand each. As China is in a state of profound peace, the soldier's life is subject to very little danger ; it is rather lucrative too, and is therefore desirable. The Chinese ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 77 soldiers are enrolled in their provinces, and attached to the corps which are re- sident there. The Tartar male children are all born soldiers : enrolled under eight banners, they possess the territories at* tached to them; but being merely tenants, they can onty dispose of them in favour of some of the same family. The soldier is his own master in China, except during the period of exercise, which is at the time of the new moons, and from being present at which foreigners are strictly prohibited. Lord Macartney and his suite had some opportunity of forming an opinion of the state of the troops, as they received military honours on their way. Mr. Barrow says that what he saw were very ill disciplined. In hot weather, the sol- diers were more disposed to use their fans than their firelocks. They were sometimes drawn up in line, and knelt before the ambassador. Their parade 78 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, uniformly seems better adapted to thea- trical performers than to military men. Their quilted petticoats, satin boots, and fans, formed a singular contrast to the variety and meanness of their private employments and situations. The uni- form varies in different provinces. In war-time, the soldier receives, be- sides his customary pay, six months in advance, and the government gives his family part of his pay for their subsist- ence. The pay of a foot soldier is about 18s. 4d. per month, and that of the ca- valry 1/. 17s. 6d. The Chinese military are punished by being beaten with a bamboo, and the Tartars are flogged with a whip. Among the Tartar soldiers who mount guard at the palace, some have to bring engines in case of lire ; others tools, such ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 79 as rakes, pick-axes, &c. to clean and re- pair the roads which the emperor travels to go to Pekin, or to return to Hai- Tien. 80 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, WATER-CART FOR THE IMPERIAL FAMILY. Very large tin vessels of a cubical form, and which fit to each other, are used for conveying water to the palace, for the em- peror and his family. These are as con- venient as our water-carts, a§tM&>oftheIiajiaers " • i8ts /'r ZZ.&Oi .'.vln/r. 41 Pall 3GiJI ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. SiS the Dalai-Lama of Tibet, who is not only the head of the religion, and the visible representative of the Divinity, like the Pope in the Romish church, but a pretended god immortal and incarnate. The people are persuaded that the Lama never dies, and that he merely changes his corporeal residence. The Lama is no sooner dead, or, according to their belief, God has scarcely withdrawn himself from the veneration of men, as a punishment for their crimes, than the priests pretend to have discovered, by certain signs, an infant, in whom the soul of the eternal Lama has vouchsafed to in- corporate itself. This child is sometimes several years of age, and is instructed in his part ; but the choice generally falls on a new-born infant. The discovery of the precious babe is no sooner made, than the priests install him in the palace, render him the same honours as the deceased, and perhaps VOL. I. G 86 CHIXA, ITS COSTUME, persuade even himself, by a repetition of different traits in the lives of his prede- cessors, that he has always existed, and lias only undergone an actual metempsy- chosis. It has been already shewn in the historical sketch, to what circum- stances the introduction of the Tibetan worship into China was owing. The religion of Fo being the religion of the prince, the priests who attend upon it are the most favoured, and pos- sess the richest and most magnificent temples. Some of these edifices contain five hundred gilt statues, larger than life, representing either idols or deceased Lamas. The Grand Lama wears a gown of yel- low satin, with an edging of fur. Over it is a scarf of deep red. A yellow cloak the size of the gown, is thrown over all. The cap is a yellow satin mitre, behind which depend two fringes of the same; the boots are likewise yellow ; the shoe A. Fnssc/ti sculp. &!U±m3 L &S£A . T4©=f S £ • rttp'i.M'it u9is byLrStDdcdaIe.4iPaMAtall ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 87 is terminated by a narrow yellow lace on the seams. The other figure represents a simple Lama of one of the eight Tartar banners. A plain yellow robe, red girdle, and boots, and a kind of hat of yellow silk, com- pose his whole costume. The emperor Kien-Long was compli- mented, in the sixteenth year of his reign, by the Grand Lama of Tibet, who repaired to Pekin with a numerous retinue. He was received with great honours, and he distributed to the people many thousand impressions of his hand, traced by him- self on leaves of paper, by leaning upon it with his hand, which was previously im- pregnated with a yellow tint. He soon died there of the small-pox. His funeral obsequies were very magnificent, and his corpse was carried to Teshoo-Loomba, the capital of Tibet, with great and im- posing solemnity. 88 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, The college of priests was not long in discovering an infant at the breast, in which the deceased pontiff was incarnate. He was proclaimed the true Grand Lama; he was a mere infant, and could not speak, when, in 1783, the English sent the famous embassy to him under Samuel, now General Turner; who published an interesting account of it in 1800. s .-.-;-' - / fnrsrht smfpstt A'l'AS^AIl'WoMASS ///f,/.-t//t/ ff "£31 > ■■ 4l/ J n//M,lll f ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 89 A TARTAR WOMAN MAKING A TSI, OR SACRIFICING TO THE SPIRIT OF THE DOOR TO PREVENT MISFORTUNE FROM ENTERING HER HOUSE. Although the religion of the prince is the religion of Fo, or of Bouddha, it is, not- withstanding, neither exclusive, nor even the most prevalent. Every mode of wor- ship is tolerated; and to this may be at- tributed the reception, which many em- perors have given to the French mission- aries. The religion of Confucius is pure deism, or natural religion, intermixed only with somewhat of superstition, and a few ceremonies, confined mostly to the honours paid to the manes of ancestors. g3 90 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, The people, generally, adopt the system of the transmigration of souls; whence arose the trick of the two bonzes who one day kneeled before two fowls, which they made a poor countrywoman give to them, under the pretence that they re- cognized them as animated by the souls of two of their relatives. The priests of Fo, like those of the sect of Lao-Kiun, have contrived to plunge and to keep the people in endless super- stition. Such is the sacrifice represented in the annexed Plate — a Tartar woman is about to adore a small altar, on which are two lighted tapers, burning, in a kind of perfume-pan, leaves of gold and silver paper. This ceremony commonly takes place at the time of the new and full moon. The sacrifice is made to the Spirit of the Door, a kind of household god. J*G£~ % J ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 91 A BONZE WHO HAS MADE A VOW TO GO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF MILES ON ALL-FOURS. 1 here are no postures, however uneasy, no sufferings, however exquisite, to which the bonzes will not devote them- selves to excite the charity of passers- by. China abounds with them as much as India. Some thrust long needles into their cheeks, and will not pull them out until they have received a contribution. Others condemn themselves to drag a heavy chain during their whole lives. Others again, as in the accompanying representation, make a vow to crawl on all-fours, with a saddle on their backs and bridle in their mouths, for nine or twelve miles, and frequently more. g4 92 CHINA, ITS C0STUM1 . Father Amyot makes a severe, bnt not an unjust criticism on one of our most celebrated writers. He says, " The Erostratus of Geneva, Jean Jacques Rousseau, would have attached less blame to China, had he been aware that the sublime philosophy of idolatry produced some geniuses superior, in all the prerogatives, to the original state of man. As Europe still adheres to the ab- surd notions of prudence and decorum, which, as he has very properly observed, are absolutely derogatory to primitive right, we have not ventured to describe many other tilings which would mate- rially strengthen his discoveries, &c." The fact is, that Rousseau, in his Eini- litis, asserts that man, in his natural state, could and must go on all-fours, al- though this assertion is contradicted not only by sound reason, but likewise by anatomy. Monkeys, which stand erect like men, cannot retain that position long ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 93 without being fatigued. The length of our legs and thighs, and particularly the manner in which the occiput, or hinder part of the scull, is set into the spine of the back, prevent our going on all-fours without serious inconvenience. Father Lacomte mentions a mortifica- tion which one of these fanatics imposed on himself equally strange and torturing. He saw in the middle of a village, a young bonze, mild, affable, and unassum- ing, sitting upright in an iron chair, the inside of which was stuck full of sharp nails, which prevented his resting him- self except at the cost of severe lacera- tion; two porters were dragging him from house to house. " You see," said he, " I am in this situation for the good of your souls ; nor shall I quit it until all the nails, above two thousand, with which it is stuck, have been purchased. Every nail," added he, " will cost you sixpence ; it will, you may be assured, be a source of blessing to your families : pray take one 94 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, of them at any rate ; what you give will not go to the bonzes, to whom you can testify your charity in other ways, but to the god Fo, to whom we wish to erect a temple." M p £ ta 2 ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 95 THE PALACE OF YUEN-MING-YUEN. The palace of Yuen-Ming-Yuen, or the autumnal palace of the emperor of China, is at some distance from Pekin, and be- yond the great town of Hai-Tien. The gardens are surrounded by walls, and are at least twelve miles in circum* ference. The English ambassador and his suite were admitted into one part of the park only. To the Dutch ambas- sadors, who were there two years after- wards, the mandarins apologized for not shewing them, as the buildings were not worth seeing, and were very much out of repair. The gardens are said to contain thirty distinct palaces, with the out-buildings *)6* CHINA, ITS COSTUME, to each, for the emperor's principal of- ficers, domestics, and workmen. These assemblages of edifices, which the Chinese honour with the appellation of palaces, are more remarkable for the number than the magnificence and archi- tectural taste of the buildings. The greater part of the out-offices are nothing more than cottages. The palace in which the emperor resides, and the great hall of audience, would not be very unlike a barn, were they despoiled of the gold and elegant varnish which covers all the wood-work. The principal hall of audience of Yuen-Ming- Yuen, is raised about four feet higher than the level of the court-yard ; a colonnade of large wooden pillars sur- rounds the whole building, and supports the roof. A second range of columns placed withinside and opposite to the former, ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 97 composes the wall of the hall. The in- terval between the columns is filled, to the height of six feet, with brick and cement, and above that are lattices, co- vered with oiled paper ; they are open on court-days. The pillars are without ca- pitals. The hall is one hundred and ten feet long, by forty-four wide, and twenty high. The throne is at the bottom ; it is made of red wood, not unlike ma- hogany. The ceiling is painted in circles, squares, and polygons variously colour- ed ; the floor is chequered, and of grey marble. The only furniture or ornament visible in the hall are two copper cym- bals, four antique china vases, four volumes of manuscripts, and an old English table-clock. The emperor's apartments are in gene- ral composed of a great number of 98 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, small rooms very simply furnished ; with the exception of a cabinet named Heaven, the walls of which are covered with paper flowers : all the hangings are of white paper. In the garden is a river which forms cascades, and ponds containing gold fish, which, it is now well known, are originally from this country, and attain a length exceeding a foot. The gardens are of that description which have been suc- cessfully imitated in England; the walks are not regular; on the contrary, great care has been taken to obviate the natural equality of the ground. To revert to the gold-fish : though the growth of those kept in Europe is slow, they are the most temperate animals which live, taking scarcely any nourishment;: they will do without food for a month together, if they have fresh water every two or three days ; they subsist on the ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 99 muddy particles which they find in it. They are very fond of flies and white cake. I made a fish of this kind so tame, that it would come to the surface of the water and eat out of my hand. 100 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, A YOUNG LICENTIATE RIDING THROUGH THE STREETS WITH THE MARKS OF HIS NEW RANK. 1 he attention which the Chinese govern- ment pays to the subject of education is truly paternal: there are few villages without a school. From five years of age, the children begin to learn the cha- racters of the Chinese language, which are so numerous and so complicated, that a man's whole life seems scarcely long enough to acquire the knowledge of reading and writing it. It seems that the schools teach nothing more than the elements of writing; pa- rents who wish their children to have a more finished education, place them in colleges at their own expense; there they go through a course of studies, and sue- H -j Vl £ 3 H ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 101 cessively attain to three degrees, which correspond with those of the European uni- versities; namely, bachelors, licentiates, and doctors. These degrees are not con- ferred without numerous and strict examinations. The class of letters holds, in some re- spect, the first rank in the Chinese em- pire : it is that class which supplies masters for instruction, ministers for administra- tion, and magistrates for government. All literary men are accounted noble, and are free from taxes. So minute is the plan of education, that it occupies thirty years of close ap- plication, and absorbs all that time in which the wanderings of the mind are most to be apprehended. When a pupil attains the rank of licen- tiate, it is a day of rejoicing and happi- ness to the whole family; his parents overwhelm him with caresses : the present VOL. I. h 102 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, of etiquette is a lamb, which is brought to him alive with great ceremony. The new licentiate, or doctor, usually sets apart three days for riding about the streets to pay visits; he is preceded by youths carrying banners, on which are inscribed the marks of his new rank. It is not, however, that the reign of science is extensive and profound among the Chinese; their whole knowledge is, for the most part, coniined to their own language, with a smattering of the policy and history of their country. They are perfectly ignorant of the geography and history of other nations, and study no branch of physic. Their notions of the medical art are replete with error and ri- diculous superstition. They consider the study of anatomy criminal, because they are afraid of defiling themselves by the dissection of bodies, and they have made so little proficiency in surgery, that if, as Mr. Barrow says, the puissant emperor of ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 103 China were to break his leg, he might think himself fortunate in meeting with some young European apprentice to set it for him. It is not to be attributed to any unwil- lingness on the part of the Chinese to re- ward merit, that they have so few well-in- formed people amongst them. A priest of the sect of Tao-Tse made himself so dear to the emperor Kang-Hi by his talents in chemistry and magic, that he was pro- claimed after his death, God and Lord of Heaven, and of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. I should, however, observe, that the word God, which I transcribe from the works of the missionaries, would be more cor- rectly expressed by the Latin Divas, that is, Blessed. H 2 101 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, CHINESE IMPLEMENTS OF WAR. 1 he implements of war delineated in the annexed print are a cannon and culvc- rines. The firelock is of wrought iron, mount- ed on a wooden stock; the but-cnd is small and almost pointed ; the touch-hole is covered with a copper plate which moves aside horizontally. The gun is not discharged by the stroke of a flint, but by a match, placed in a manner some- what similar to that of our antique mus- kets. Every soldier has a number of these matches, in a leather bag, attached to his gun. In making use of the gun it is generally rested on two iron spikes. The cartouch-box is a kind of pocket of black cloth painted with oil paint, and which contains the balls. ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 105 The shields of the soldiers, who are armed with sabres, are made of satin, ar- row- and sabre-proof, but not musket- proof; their diameter is two feet, and their weight eight pounds. The quiver contains several rows of arrows, each of a different shape. The most singular are those, the points of which are armed with another arrow, and those whose points are slit, so as to re- ceive a letter. This is the method adopted for corresponding with the enemy, in a besieged town, to evade the vigilance of the governor and his officers. Trie strength of a bow is ascertained by the weight requisite to bend it. The weakest used by the army is eighty-four, and the strongest one hundred pounds weight. The bow, before it is pulled, forms a half-circle. It is drawn in the reverse way. An opinion may here be formed of the corporal strength neces- sary in Chinese soldiers, and in the H 3 106 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, archers of the ancients. The invention of modern fire-arms has produced the important result of rendering individual strength of little consequence in the day of battle. Every European soldier, suf- ficiently strong to bear the recoil of his firelock, is as capable of using it with effect, as the most robust ; in our modern armies, it is rather soundness of constitu- tion, and being inured to fatigue and pri- vations, than muscular strength, which constitutes real soldiers. The shaft of the arrow is of fir, some- times a reed, and always well made. The point is sharp and in the form of a lozenge. The bow is made of hard elastic wood strengthened by buffalo horn. The combination of wood and horn increases its elasticity. The string, of the thickness of a small goose-quill, is made of twisted silk threads, with leather in the centre where the arrow comes. ■ , .,,;./,■ C sL 1 Xf J2 J IS A'iLTIljlLLSi! J*,'^ . .>/,./,• ./' fl"// I*"/ ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 107 The Chinese soldiers sometimes shoot fish with an arrow very cleverly. The arrow is fastened to the bow with pack- thread, to prevent its being lost, and also to draw out the fish when struck. In fortified places they make use of bows which can only be bent by ma- chines, and which carry numerous ar- rows to an inconceivable distance. The Chinese were taught the cannon- foundry by the missionaries. Their pieces of artillery are made nearly on the model of the bottom representation in the engraving. The second, after the style of the old Chinese cannon, is a cul- verine composed of three or four bands of wrought iron, combined with hoops of the same, and mounted on a frame. The first is a large iron tube wider than a musket barrel, and which throws balls to a proportionate distance. h 4 108 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, The Jesuits Schaal and Verbiest in- structed the Chinese in the European art of casting artillery; at least, according to the practice which prevailed at the be- ginning of the last century, and which has been since brought to great perfec- tion, though the Chinese do not seem to have made any progress in the art. On public entertainments, or when they wish to compliment persons of great conse- quence, they do not discharge artillery, but powder-boxes ; they are a kind of pe- tard or pistol, stuck perpendicularly into the ground. Mr. Barrow mentions, that the soldiers who fire these petards are so frightened at them, that they do not ap- ply the match directly to them, but by means of a train, which communicates from one box to another. ' \m • ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 10$ MANNER OF TRAVELLING IN A BARROW WITH ONE WHEEL. 1 his method of travelling is more plea- sant and less dangerous than that of a palanquin with two bearers : if one of the men were to fall, the wheel would still support this light carriage. It is not the Chinese, but the Tartar women who tra- vel in this way. At Pekin is a great number of car- riages for hire, drawn by one horse; but, as has been already mentioned, from not being hung on springs, their motion is very rough and unpleasant ; although, for the purpose of lessening this objec- tion, the wheels are placed as far back as possible. ] 10 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, These hired carriages are convex at top, lined within and without with thick blue cloth, and furnished with black cushions; many of them are close in front, with a door at the side, but they are more frequently open. Mj^fit©MSTA2«r W'OSSAM & 3 ©W . /•/,/•'/ !/■'< r/k /• u PaU Halt ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 1 1 I A MAHOMETAN WOMAN WITH HER SON, TO WHOM SHE IS SHEWING A TOY. JMany centuries have elapsed since the Mahometans introduced themselves into China; the missionaries assert that it was the year 599 after Jesus Christ; but M. de Guignes very successfully overthrows this assertion, as, at that period, Mahomet was not born. They were permitted to remain a long time perfectly unmolested, because they gave themselves little trouble to make proselytes, and only multiplied by the alliances which they contracted. Some of them who were well versed in mathematical knowledge, were sent for to court, and entrusted with the management of the calendar; they then became more ambitious, and not only collected and brought up in their own faith, the wretched infants 112 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, whom the barbarity of their indigent pa- rents exposed in the streets and high- ways, but they kidnapped, and even pur- chased, some for a pecuniary considera- tion. We are assured that, during a period of famine which desolated the province of Canton, they bought above ten thou- sand children; they married, and obtained for them a considerable territory, whereon small Mahometan towns were ere long established, with mosques and priests. Late emperors have persecuted the Mahometans as untraceable and rebellious subjects ; and the greater part of their mosques have been cither destroyed or abandoned. In 1785 and 1784, the em- peror Kien-Long carried on a war, in which above one hundred thousand Ma- hometans perished, Scarcely any individuals of this reli- gion now remain, except in the tributary ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. } 1 3 countries, situate from the extremity of Chen-Sy to Yrguen and Ily in Tartary. The Chinese give them the appellation of Hoey ; they are divided into three classes, which are distinguished by their tur- bans. Those of the first class wear a red tur- ban in the form of a sugar-loaf, whence they are termed Hong-Mao-Hoey-Tse, that is, red-cap Mussulmans. Those of the second class, or white- cap Mussulmans, are therefore termed Pe-Mao-Hoey-Tse. Those of the third class wear a turban, or rather a piece of cloth, which wraps round the head, and they are from that denominated Tchan-Teon-Hoey, or Mus- sulmans with their heads bound up. Other foreigners, Jews, had found their way to China before the Mussul- J 14 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, mans ; it is said, during the Han dynasty, which commenced its reign 206 years before Christ. At first, they were a great number of families, but they have much decreased. These families marry solely with each other, neither intermixing with the Mahometans nor Chinese. Duhalde asserts that the Jews have no synagogue, except in Cai-Foang, the capital of the province of Ho-Nan. Mr. Barrow says that many of these Jews abjure the religion of Moses, and succeed to the highest stations; he adds also, that very few of them, the rabbis excepted, retain even a smattering of the Hebrew language, and that they have been so long among the Chinese, that their priests have great difficulty in sup- porting the synagogue. The English embassy, on its way to Hang-Chou-Fou, was desirous of obtaining some informa- tion respecting the Israelites, and parti- ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 1 15 cularly of procuring a copy of their code of laws, for the purpose of compar- ing it with the Bible ; but they could not succeed, owing to the mistrust and inci- vility of the Chinese officers. 116 CHINA, ITS COSTUML, MIRROR-SELLER. I he mirrors which are sold at Pekin, arc of highly polished copper; some of them are four feet in diameter. Canton con- tains the only glass-house in the empire : looking-glasses and glass mirrors have been manufactured there, quicksilvered in the European manner; but this under- taking has not proved successful. They prefer those of metal : it is difficult to account for this preference in the Chinese, as our looking-glasses are less liable to be tarnished, and the polish is, as one may say, unalterable. They are obliged to make use of metal in their telescopes, as their glass has a double refraction, which is productive of great irregularity in the representation of objects. Glass is, in other respects, highly esteemed, and a great rarity in China. m m 14 ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 1 1 7 The manufacturers of Canton do not un- derstand how to manufacture it with the proper materials which should compose it ; hut they melt old pieces of glass, and give it the desired form. The scarcity of glass prevents its being used for win- dows, which are commonly composed either of their own transparent shells, or of paper. The ancients constructed their glasses either with specular stones, that is, vitri- fied lava, which is met with on the sides of volcanos ; or with a white polished metal — the latter was in most general use, and is still visible in old monuments. They have the round form of Chinese mir- rors; but they likewise have a tail, by which they were held in the hand, or else fixed into some piece of furniture. It was long a matter of dispute amongst the antiquaries, what was the intent of these objects : some thought they were instruments used in sacrifices ; but M. de Tersan clearly proved, a few years since, that they were mirrors. VOL. i. i 118 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, AN ACCOUNT OF THE FEAST OF AGRI- CULTURE, AND OF THE FEAST OF LANTERNS. " Ihe histories of China," says Mon- tesquieu, in his Spirit of Laws, Book 14. Chapter 8. " speak of the ceremony of opening the earth which the emperor per- forms every year. The object of this public act of solemnity is to excite the people to labour." Among the ancient Persians, on the eighth day of the month, named Chor- rem-Ruz, the kings relinquished their fast, to eat with the labourers. These institutions are admirable, were it only for the encouragement they give to agri- culture. "Whether this august solemnitv took its rise in policy or not, it has now become ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 1 19 so essential a custom, that the emperors could not dispense with it, at the present day, but at the risk of exciting discon- tent, Chou-King mentions a Chinese mo- narch, who, having neglected to turn the glebe, and offer to Tien (Heaven), the produce of the harvest, incurred the just animadversion of the people ; who regarded the public calamities which afflicted the empire, during his reign, as the effect of divine wrath. Agriculture is held in such great vene- ration in China, that the annals of the people record, that the emperor Yao no- minated, as his successor, a man from the humble class of ploughmen, to the exclu- sion of his own son, whose false and de^ ceitful character he dreaded. The name of this prince was Chun ; he was suc- ceeded by Yu, who was of similar ori- gin. i 2 }£0 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, Another emperor of the name of Yen- Ti, who reigned 179 years before Christ, set his principal courtiers an example, and gave them a taste for agriculture, by himself laying out the grounds of his palace. The great Feast of Agricul- ture is supposed to have been instituted in commemoration of this action of Yen- Ti. It is celebrated annually in all the towns of China, on the first day of their spring-quarter, which corresponds with our month of February; being the day on which the sun enters the fifteenth degree of Aquarius. At the time of this festival, the governor or principal mandarin, quits his palace in a sedan-chair, preceded by lighted flam- beaus, flags, and music ; and his fore- head decorated with a garland of flowers, lie repairs, with his retinue, towards the eastern gate of the city, as though he was to precede the spring. At the same time are brought litters, covered with Car- pets or silk drapery, on which are depicted ARTS, AND MANUFACTURES. 121 certain strange figures or portraits of persons who have distinguished them- selves in agriculture : the streets are car- peted ; triumphal arches are erected at equal distances ; and, in the evening, the exterior of all the houses is illuminated with lanterns. One of the figures represents a cow of an enormous size, made of baked clay, and so heavy that forty men sometimes have great difficulty in carrying it. Be- hind this cow, the horns of which are gilt, is a young child, which has one foot bare, and the other covered. It repre- sents the genius of labour, or of industry; and constantly strikes the cow with a stick, as though to make her go forward. A company of labourers with their imple- ments, men in masks, and buffoons in disguise, terminate the assemblage. When it has arrived in front of the governor's palace, the cow is despoiled of all its ornaments, and, from its belly, are J 3 1<22 CHINA, ITS COSTUME, drawn prodigious numbers of little cows, made of white clay, which are distributed to the whole troop ; amongst whom is, in like manner, divided the wreck of the large cow. The governor, in a short speech, recommends agriculture as a point of the first importance to the pro- sperity of a state; then, taking hold of