W\t PRINCETON, N. J. n. 2£ ';.f ™"S, Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund. Division Section .U91 Number Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/chosonlandofmorn00lowe_0 CHOSON THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM Choson THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM A SKETCH OF KOREA BY PERCIVAL LOWELL LATE FOREIGN SECRETARY AND COUNSELLOR TO THE KOREAN SPECIAL MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MF-MBER OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF JAPAN ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR BOSTON TICKNOR AND COMPANY 211 ^’rcmont Street 1888 / Copyright, 1885, By Percival Lowell. All rights reserved. THIRD EDITION. TTntvfrsitv Press: John Wilson and Son, Camdridge. PREFACE NE evening in August, 1883, I found myself ai’riving in Tokio, after a journey into the interior of Japan. The thousand lights and lanterns of the great city, as I sped through its miles of streets in a jinrikisha, never seemed so brilliant nor so welcoming before. I felt I had reached home. Of leaving it, of sailing for America, I had at that moment about as much idea as you have, good reader, of set- ting out to-morrow for Kamchatka. Coming events cast no shadows before them; for all was one vast shadow, — night. Four days from that time I was on the broad Pacific with the Korean Special INIission to the United States, and a little more than two weeks later I entered my native land as a foreigner. It was at the end of October that we set sail again from San Fran- cisco for Yokohama. A long passage across the Pacific and unavoidable delays in Japan made it the middle of December before we at last reached Korea. There, in its capital. Soul, as the guest of his Majesty, I spent the winter. Now that you and I, indulgent reader, have journeyed so many thou- sand miles in company, we should surely have learned to know each other ; for nothing, we both admit, so reveals character as travel, — except marriage. I would add two notes. In the first ]dace, I wish to put in a plea for the right pronunciation of Korean words. In the transliteration of the Korean alphabet I have followed the scheme suggested by Messrs. Aston, Satow, and Chamberlain, the pioneers of the subject. The sim- ])le vowels a, i, o, and u are to be pi’onounced as in Italian. 0, an exceedingly interesting Korean vowel, has a sound which varies from the French e mute, through short m, to a degenerated o. Tlie best sound, VI PREFACE. on the whole, to represent it is the German o (e umlaut). What have been written e, e, and e were originally Korean diphthongs, and are still so written, at, and oi ; but they are now pronounced as single vowel sounds, akin to the sounds the letters represent in French. The transliterated consonants are to be pronounced for the most part as in English, — the principal exceidions being r, which is a general, not a special liquid (that is, it suggests either an r, an /, or an w, according to position) ; an intercalated /i, which has the effect of increasing the aspiration of the preceding letter, — as, for instance. Whang , Chhung ; and lastly, a reduplication of certain letters, which simply increases the intensity of their pronunciation. Other foreign words have been spelled according to the consensus of scholars on the subject ; for this I’eason Ko)'ea has replaced Corea, and in Manchuria all the vowels have the Italian sound. Secondly, I would send with this a note of thanks. The thanks would have taken the form of a dedication had the names not seemed too many to share one book. To William Sturgis Bigelow, Gustavus Goward, Basil Hall Chamberlain, Ernest F. Fenollosa, and Edward S. Morse, 1 am indebted for kindness and help thanks cannot express : I Avould offer them instead this sketch. To Miyaoka Tsunejiro, Yu Kil Chun, Cheu Kybng Sok, Ni Si Ryom, Kim Nak Chip, Min Yi ng Ik, and So Kwang Ppm, I am under the greatest obligations. I Avould also thank most Avarmly Hon. Lucius H. Foote, C. L. Scudder, Esq., Herr P. G. von Mollendorff, T. Koyabashi, Esq., and Y. S. Yoshida, Esq., for the many happy days they gave me in both tliought and feeling, the remembrance of which has lately, unhappily, been saddened by tlie death of Mrs. Foote ; wlnle to Hong Yong Sik, the loyal friend, the true patriot, and at last the political martyr, I can now only ascribe a memory. To the Forbes Albertype Company I desire to exj)ress my thanks for the manner in which they have reproduced from my nega- tives the accompanying pictures. Finally, I would thank Mr. Stevens, of the University Press, for his many able suggestions. Boston, November, 1885. CONTENTS CDAPTEB PAGE I. Where the Day BEGl^’^s 1 II. The Geography of the Peninsula 11 III. The Climate 22 IV. The Coast 33 V. Chemulpo 44 VI. The Journey up to Soul 54 VII. The Journey up to Soul. — The Second Day .... G8 VIII. The Entry into Soul 78 IX. A Walled City 8G X. The Watch-Fires on the South ^Mountain 93 XI. The Government 100 XII. The Triad of Principles 107 XIII. The Quality of Impersonality 120 XIV. The Patriarchal System 131 XV. The Position of Woman 143 XVI. Presentation at Court 153 XVII. A Day at Home 1C2 XVIII. The House of the Sleeping Waves 170 XIX. The Want of a Religion 181 XX. The Demon Worship 193 CONTENTS. viii CHAPTER page XXI. Soul by Day 213 XXII. Soul by Night 226 XXIII. A Kore.^n Banquet 238 XXIV. My Friend the Mathematician 250 XXV. Architecture :2G2 XXVI. Landscape Gardening '280 XXVII. The Palaces "289 XXVIII. A Chapter of Horrors . . . . 299 XXIX. The Valley of Clothes B07 XXX. Costume 316 XXXI. On Hats 332 XXXII. An Out-of-the-Way Corner in Language 348 XXXIII. The Flower-Stream Temple 356 XXXIV. Winter Bevels in a Monastery 367 XXXV. Time 376 XXXVI. A Predicament 386 XXXVII. The Beacons of Pusan 394 Appendix 401 LIST OF ILLUSTRATlOiSS. FULL-PAGE PLATES. PAGE “The Fkageaxt Iris” Frontispiece His Majesty the King of Korea 50 River Suburrs of Sogl 74 The Foreigx Office 116 Ax Ol'tlyix^g Braxcii of the City’s Wall crossixg a Stream . 172 The Pillars of the Palace of Summer 270 WOODCUTS, ETC. Family Table 139 The Chixese Gexeral axd the Ux'fortuxate Imp 190 A Tea-Fight of Gxomes 206 A Hasty Sketch draivx ■with a 1’excil, ix course of Coxversa- Tiox, BY' A Koreax yvho avas Not AX Artist 245 A Koreax Sock 328 A Koreax Shoe 328 A Kore.yx Boot 330 The Ordixary Every-day Hat 336 The Skull-Cap, yvith the Mitre-ILvt over it 337 A Court Hat 339 A Mitre-Hat, the Cue seex uxderxeath 340 The “ Chef-de-Cuisixe ” Hat, xot, however, a Culixary Badge . 340 A Large Hat 342 Jiote The Hybrid 340 Vaxg 381 note Yaxg and Yoxg 381 note Map of Korea 13 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. CHAPTER I. WHERE THE DAA^ BEGINS. T is fortunate that the one hundred and eightieth meridian JL falls where it does. From Siberia to the Antarctic Con- tinent this imaginary line traverses nothing but water. The Old}' land which it passes at all near is one of the archipela- goes of the South Pacific ; and there it divides but a handful of volcanoes and coral reefs from the main group. These islands are even more unimportant to the world than insig- nificant in size. Those avIio tenant them are few, and those who are bound to these few still fewer. The line is not only imaginary ; it has not even an astro- nomical reason for its existence, like the equator. It is purely and entirely an arbitrary convention ; and }’et its position is of exceeding importance to mankind. From the very conven- ience of this position we are apt to forget its value ; for the line is the great day-origin. It sets, not the time of day merely, but the day itself. At the line two days meet. There, though time flows ceaselessly on, occurs that unnatural yet unavoid- able jump of twenty-four hours ; and no one is there to be startled by the fact, — no one to be perplexed in trying to reconcile the two incongruities, continuous time and discon- tinuous day. There is nothing but the ocean ; and that is tenantless. i 9 THE LxiND OF THE MORXIXG CALM. Had it been otherwise, — had the line crossed some continent Avliere man dwelt, — there might have been two great towns, ten miles apart, with different days }mt the same hour. “Noth- ing new under the snn ! ” Why, two days wonld be born Avith every sunrise. And persons induced to do so, from financial or other causes, conld go skipping across the line, doubling certain days of their weeks while they forever obliterated others. Noav, as Ave pass this meridian AvestAvard, Ave simply drop a day into the deep ; and but fcAv of ns pause to consider that Ave liaA'e in reality buried a cause of strife, — an immaterial something Avliich, had it not been for the uninhabited ocean, Avonld have throAvn the Avorld into inextricable confusion. The point at issue is nothing less than the agreement upon a com- mon day for the Avhole Avorld. The form of the earth and her rotation giAm man a certain natural measure of time. As she turns upon herself, the sun- light and the shade mark out for him a division he calls a day ; and for any one place the darkness seAyrs one day from the next, but for the earth as a Avhole the day sAveeps endlessly round. There is no line to determine Avhere this unending light shall cease to be the old day and become the ucav : the symmetry of the globe renders such a thing impossible. Man must place it for himself. Noav, so long as civilized nations — or at least all such as kneAv or cared about one another — liA'ed close together, it mat- tered little Avhether they all agreed upon the same origin or not : and it mattered less Avhere they placed it, provided onl}^ it Avas far enough aAvay from all. But Avhen they came to care about the antipodes, the case changed. Whether they had each made for themselves their oavu day, or had consented to Avorship at the common shrine of a convention, the problem Avonld liaA’e been equally embarrassing. Indeed, had the Avorld reached that stage of scientific and practical development in Avhich the WHERE THE DAY BEGINS. 3 knowledge of its surface in its entirety became necessary, before man’s migrations had carried him to what we now call Europe, no little annoyance might have resulted from his jDosition ; for, with himself as centre, the beginning of his day would lie at the one hundred and eightieth meridian, because as far away from him on the one side as on the other. If, then, his own meridian had lain not in Europe but in India, the other would have crossed the American Continent, to the great confusion of its present inhabitants. There would then have been no natural gap. An imaginary line only would make it Wednes- day here and Thursday to him who stood a stone’s -throw away. Most fortunately, then, the impossible hiatus occurred where no continuity was needed. The attempt to make both ends meet — the end and the beginning — was rendered un- necessary by the great Pacific Ocean. Most fortunate was it, indeed, that o})posite the spot where man was destined most to think there should have been placed so little to think about. There is one loss which most travellers count a o’ain. It O is the parting with that day which we drop from out the circle of our year into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. We fall asleep one night in the new world to awake on the after-morrow’s morning in the old. The day that knows no to-morrow — uas yesterday. And we are somehow glad. We vouchsafe the event a feel- ing, in our joy tliat we seem by so much nearer to our jour- ney’s end. We hardly give it a sober thought. Still less do we imagine that we shall meet its spirit in the land whither we are bound, — that we shall find that for once the fancies of far-Eastern superstition and the prosaic dictum of Western science are at one. Long before such a thing as a prime meridian had entered the thoughts of men, before they could dream that their early 4 THE LAXD OF THE MORNING CALM. beliefs would later receive a certain sanction from science, tlie races of the Asiatic Continent had mused about the day’s beginning-, and put its birthplace where we have agreed to find it to-day. Their myths, and the names those myths have left behind them, are a pretty, poetic forecast of our stern matter- of-fact convention. Modern science needed a starting-point for the day ; ancient fancy sought the place from which every morning came forth the sun : and the spot they fixed upon is the same. Our present fiction was an old-time fact. The sun rose from out the ocean ; to the far-Oriental it seemed that he must have slept there. To them his abode was a fairy palace ; to us it is a geometrical line. Thus sadly has scientific necessity caused illusion to narrow and disappear. The continent upon Avhich these early races found themselves did not girdle the globe. If it had they might perhaps have been endlessly pursuing and destroying one another roujid the circle. As it Avas, its general profile shaped their course to the sea. Their birthplace had much to do with the direction which they took ; but apparently the direction in itself, as that toward the rising or the setting sun, had little or nothing to do with it. Such thoughts came later. They Avent because theA’ Avere driA^en, probably not by foes behind them, but by the restless spirit Avithin. While the Aryans Avent AvestAvard, certain of the Turanian peoples struck east ; and from that moment they sej)arated, not by distance ouIa’, but in thought, in customs, in those Avays of looking at things Avhich Ave are too apt to call innate, once and forever. They had differed a little AAdien they set out. Tliere Avas a Avliole AAmrld of feelings be- tAveen the tAvo ere tliey liad both completed their long journey. As Avith tlie Avest, so in the east. Horde after horde Avent forth, — at first, no doubt, to seek neAv ])asture-lands. Like mauA^ a Avanderer since, they forgot the object that had broimlit them, in the charms of their neAV surroundings. WHEKE THE DAY BEGINS. 5 Arrived at tlie sea-coast, tlieir material advance was stopped ; for they possessed neither the means nor the knowledge to venture upon the boundless bosom of the ocean. The land is man’s friend ; the ocean is at best but neutral. The mind must abet the wish, be it ever so strong, before man will become a sailor to lands beyond the sea. But if tliey Avent not in body, their dreams sped away to an earthly j^aradise beyond the water, — a happy material immortality where all was young and fair. The names they have left behind them bear witness to fond beliefs ; and so do the names of their lands to the journey that brought them thither. The Japanese Avere among the first, and they Avent the farthest. They came, in all likelihood, through Avhat is uoav the Korean Peninsula. Urged by the same desire that pushed our forefathers across the Asiatic Continent into Europe, they themselves at last A^entured upon the sea. We can imagine them risking their Avay across the strait that separates Avhat have since become their islands from the Korean Peninsula: first to Tsushima, Avhich, from the highlands of the hilly coast, they could see, — a streak of darker blue against the sky; thence they made out Iki ; and once there the i.slands Avould be a Avail in front of them. But beAmnd these islands there Avas nothing but the restless, everlasting blue. To their Avatchful, anxious gaze, as they stood peering across the deep, no land Avas A’isible in the Avaste of Avaters. But eA^ery morning' the sun rose in fiery splendor from out the ocean. Surely it Avas here that the day began. There coidd be nought beyond saA^e the regions of the blessed, whence the day Avas born aneAv each morning for the dAvellers upon this earth ; and so they named their land “The Day's Beginning,”^ long, long ago in the morning of the ages. ^ Nihon, from whose characters, as pronounced hy the Portuguese, comes our word Japan, is the collective name of the islands that compose the Japanese Empire. It 6 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. But tliese beliefs were not confined to tlie Japanese. Both before they sailed, and long after the wanderers Avho never i-eturned, and even the memory of their Avanderings, had been utterly forgotten by those avIio remained behind, such beliefs existed. From before the time of histoiw, the races alono- the Asiatic eastern watershed have turned their gaze, and imagina- tions that pierced beyond their gaze, toward the rising, as Ave do toAvard the setting, sun. All those longings, all those castles in the air, dreams of possibilities, — impossibilities, — Avhich come unbidden to him Avho Avatches the sun as it sinks to rest, these peoples saAv Avhen it rose from out the deep. And so it happens that the peninsula Avhich had been the patliAvay of the Japanese, and was destined later to become a dAvelling- place permanent beyond its felloAvs, comes to our notice first as a mythical region of ultramundane bliss. It Avas called “ The Land of the God-men.” In it greAV, not the apple of the Hesperides, but the imaginary cactus that cured all ills, — that conquered disease, that brought immortality. “ The fairy palm ” the Chinese called it ; and the common people in Korea see it in the mountain ginseng to-day. But a neAV horde from the north poured forth, and the gods took Avings before them. Less adventurous than their prede- cessors, they crossed not the sea ; they tarried in the land and became a part of it. Yet they forgot not their old traditions ; and as year after year and century after cen- tury slipped away, Ave may imagine that they may almost is couiinonly, but somewhat loosely, trauslated “the risiug suu.” “ Ni ” meant originally “ the sun,” and thence, hy an easy transition, its signification was ex- tended to mean “the day.” “lion” means “origin.” The two together, therefore, mean “ the oi'igin of the sun or day.” “ Nihon,” which is Sinico-Jaj)anese, would, in pure Japanese, he expressed hy “ hi no nioto,” and not “ hi no de,” which is the expression for “sunrise.” The character signifying “to appear, to rise, as of the sun,” is quite distinct from that which is read “ hon,” which denotes “an origin, a beginning, a birth, as opposed merely to an appearance.” A strictly literal rendering hears out the mythological origin of the name, — to iny thinking, even more poetic than “The Land of the Sunrise.” WHERE THE DAY BEGINS. 7 have looked upon themselves as the successors of the former myths. At any rate, the sun rose for them in the peaceful splendor that wraps the morning hours there even to this day, and the sunbeams fell into the valleys between the hills and nestled on the land. “Morning Calm” they called it; and it seemed not so much a name as its very essence. The drowsy quiet of the spot lulled them to rest, and they fell asleep. They were in the world, yet it was to them as if it had passed away. And so they slept on for ages. Like the j^alace in the fairy tale, everything remained as it had been centuries before. Change knew them not, and time stood still. Individuals ])assed away and were forgotten, but tlie race seemed immortal. No alien might approach the place ; and their neighbors to the north and west seemed quite disposed to respect their seclusion, exacting only a tribute for the privilege they enjoyed of being left alone. What they took into their sacred precincts that they kept. Albeit most of what they took liad been borrowed from their neighbors’ customs, they clung to it as if it liad been the fruit of their own ideas. And so it came to pass that we have here a most remarkable phenomenon, a living fossilification — the preservation intact in this world, the law of wliose very existence is change — of the life, the thought, the manners, the dress, of centuries ago. In the Koreans of to-day we are not only looking upon what is strange, we are looking upon Avhat has once been and has elsewhere passed away. Like the old Etruscan king, as he was seen for a moment when his tomb was exposed to view, they stand Ijefore us to-day just as they appeared on the day of their inhumation. Like him, too, will not the vision all crumble away to dust on contact with the air of the outer world ? But Nature, as well as man, has singled out the peninsula for a charmed region of the past. AYhen the long equinoctial summer drew to its close, and the icy hand of winter crept over 8 THE LAJsD OF THE MORNING CALM. tlie north of Asia and entombed the mammoths Avhere aa’o find their skeletons at the present time, a mantle fell over Avhat is noAv Korea and the countries round about. It may have been that the surrounding water for a time kept the fauna AA'arm, or they may have been so hemmed in that Nature at bay fought for her life ; but whatever the cause, the fauna lived on. Whatever change there Avas, they acclimated themselves to it. The tiger kept his haunts in the jungle, and the great bustards continued to roam the plains. Even the crocodile clave to the muddy banks of the estuaries AAdiich for centuries had been his, in spite of any falling otf in the tempeniture of his habitat. Escape may have been cut off. At all events, it AA’as easier for the fauna to remain, even under Avhat at first were adverse circumstances, than to migrate. It is not a little singular that this should have been the case It is certainly surprising that the Bengal tiger, so called, — a beast that Ave habitually asso- ciate Avith the dam}), hot jungle, — should be found in the dry and cold climate of Korea and Manchuria. Yet there he is; and his appearance is just Avhat it is in the jungle of India, only that he is a trifle smaller. And yet he frequents, from }Areference, not the Avarmer A’alle^^s, but the forests on the sides of the moun- tains. To suit his condition, his hair has lengthened and his fur is all the handsomer. Ills }duck in remaining has met Avith its due reAvard. He is most highly honored, much more so than he Avould haA’e been in the land Avhere he more })ro])erly belongs. His name, it is true, is a household Avord on the lips of both }Aeo}des ; but in the north it commands not only dread but admiration. He is regarded as the archety])e of strength and courage. His })icture is the symbol of military greatness; and on the old battle-flags it used to be borne before the army Avhen the Korean soldiers marched to Avar. The tiger did not remain alone ; his former associates WHERE THE DAY BEGINS. 9 stayed likewise. The leopard continued to live where his race had lived before him. Even now, after centuries of persecution, he abounds there in such numbers that the skins form the most common of the insigmia of official rank. Those from neiirhborino: Manchuria — because to Manchuria, unlike Korea, there is access from the outer world — are to be met with, outranking the native product in lands whose specialty such things are supposed to be. With the flora the case was different. Those species that covered the land in its early balmy days the peninsula knows no more. Their sun went south ; they could not follow, and they could not live without him. They died. Perhaps no better criterion of the rank of an organism can be chosen than its strength to endure adversity, — physically speaking, its power of adaptability. To flourish when all is fair around it, when it meets with nothing but smiles, is of the lowest ; but to stand when everything compasses its destruc- tion, “ hie labor, hoc opus est.” We praise it as it shows itself in the characters of men ; and we do well. But it is deeper than this. It is one of the fundamental laws of Nature. All alike, the lower with the higher, will thrive when given what they want ; but to mould wliat is given into what is Avanted, this is an attribute only of the latter. “ Quand on ne pent avoir ce qu’on ainie, il faut aimer ce qu’on a,” might truly be called the passAvord to race immortality. Just in proportion as the range of the capabilities of any organism becomes extended, as the compass of its poAvers increases, so Avill it resist. Increase takes place first in the complexity of bodily structure, and then, as Ave ascend the scale, in that of mind ; and complexity in mind makes possible simplicity in matter : and this, it seems to me, renders it possible for us dimly to conceiA'e hoAV an infinite mind may, for its OAvn existence, be independent of matter. 10 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. The plants, then, conld not adapt themselves. All remains of vegetable life, such as grow within the tropics, have long ago disappeared from Korea. It is now, for all its past, like any of its sister latitudes for vegetation. And man has aided in the chanore : he has done his best to leave no aboriOTnal vegetation at all ; and in the southern half he has very fairly succeeded. He has completely domesticated the land. Indeed, it is not a little surprising to observe how completely what Ave must suppose to have been originally a shepherd people has transformed its business in life. Agricultural, sedentary, fixed, — such have become pre-eminently the characteristics of the race. What Avas once a tribe of nomads has entirely and pecu- liarly forgotten its Avandering instincts. They journeyed cen- turies ago to the land of myths, and became a part of it, — they settled in the heritage of the gods, and were content ; and a halo as of immortality has rested upon them to this day. THE GEOGEAPHY OF THE PENINSULA. 11 CHAPTER II. THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE PENINSULA. 0 most minds tliere lurks a certain charm in the m}"s- A terious. Tlie very fact that secrecy wraps a subject as witli a mantle renders us all the more eager to tear away the veil. The possession of this feeling is at once an exciting cause and a sanction to knowledge. We realize its power as regards persons, things, events ; less commonly is it a motive force to the study of a whole nation, and yet it is in this connection that I would call upon it now. I ask you to go with me to a land whose life for ages has been a mystery, — a land which from time unknown has kept aloof, apart, so that the very possibility of such seclusion is itself a mystery, and which only yesterday opened her gates. For cycles on cycles she has been in the world, but not of it. Her people have been born, have lived, have died, oblivious to all that was passing around them. They might have been denizens of another planet for aught they knew of the history of this. And the years glided into cen- turies, and the centuries grew to be numbered by tens, and still the veil remained as tightly drawn as at the beginning. It was but last year that Korea stepped as a dehutante into the society of the Avorld. There is a certain natural fitness in beginning the description of a country by positing its geography. It is kindred to the Avay we commonly make one another’s acquaintance. We learn to 12 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. recognize the form before we become familiar with the spirit ; and though the land is not the people, as the body is not the person, yet both land and body have much to do with the character of those who tenant tliem. If we will cast our eyes upon a large map of the world, or still better upon some large globe, we shall discover a peninsnla just to the west of the Japanese islands. It is the peninsula of Korea. AVe shall know it, by inference, from the scarcity of names upon it. Of a land of which next to nothing was known, next to nothing could be represented ; and we shall hardly hi. o'lad to learn that almost all of Avhat we shall read will be in- O correct. Map compilers are artful. They put in much more information than they possess ; and then, when even that does not suffice to cover the paper, they reduce tlie scale of the drawing. By this artifice the areas unavoidably left blank are much diminished in extent. Unfortunately, then, all that we shall be able to make out from our atlas will be the exist- ence of the peninsula, and the name Korea. AA^e shall not dis cover that as much more country to the north of it is Korea, too ; for the frontier line on the map will not be such as Avould satisfy either China, on the one hand, or Korea on the othei> or Russia, that all-devourer of other peo])le’s property in tins' ]i)art of the world, on both. It is hardly surprising that our maps of Korea should be inaccurate. AA'here no one Avas alloAved to land under pain of losing, not his theodolite alone, but his head, — an even more important instrument in the matter, — topographers Avere feAv. OA'er a centnrA" ago the Jesuits in China, indeed, — Avho did and taught eA^eiything from religion to ciAul engineering, and Avhose career Avas more remarkable than the Avildest imagination Avould have dared to paint it, — did make an attempt to survey Korea, but Avith scanty success. China Avas Avilling enough, but Korea Avas not. .'>r MAP OF THE, ' PORT & «4 PUSAN. aouL f q H iWa ■ V ' A COMPLETE MAP C HO SON. JAPAN KANG TSUSHIMA MAP OP THE POKT ^Ut- TXCHON, KINSHIU JAPAN. QUELPART Htm Kyong To, or All Mirror Province. Whang He' To. or Yellow Sea Province. Kyong Keui To. or Capitol 8oundanes Province Kydng Syang To, or Happiness, Honor Province. Phyong An To. or tranquil Province. Kang Won To. or River Origin Province. Chyung Chydng To, or Faithful. Pore Province- Choi U To, or Complete Network Province. To (literally road), means Province. MAP OF Korea. THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE PENINSULA. 13 Tlie career of these French Jesuits in China was little short of supernatural, and it is a matter fraught with no small inter- est and wonder that their teachings in religion were not more successful than they were. If ever apostles came attended with miracles efficacious to the converting of the unbeliever, they did. They reformed the calendar ; they taught mathematics ; they designed bridges : in truth, it would be easier to enumer- ate what they did not do. They gained the imperial ear ; • their word on all practical subjects became law to a people as numerous as the whole of Europe was then. They became the wise men of the land, and yet they converted relatively few. It looks as if they were much more scrupulous abroad than at home about the dogmas of their divine mission. With all respect to so subtile a body, it would seem that here was a chance for the clothing of themselves with a little assumption of supernatural authority much more productive and none the less credible than infallibility at home, and such a chance as may never occur again. But peace to their ashes ! They did much good, and even to the most zealous of their opponents it must seem that they accomplished but little harm. And with all the folly and evil of their mistaken lives, they have ex- hibited examples of courage, of self-renunciation, of greatness, which cause us, as we read of their martyrdoms in that distant land of Korea, far away from all they held dear, to feel an answering throb in our own hearts. It is so easy to see the wrong in our fellow-man, and so hard to do honor to the truly good qualities of those we oppose. It is indeed a beautiful thing to have said of one what Coquelin (Aine) said of Jacques Nor- mand : “11 a trop de coeurpour que son esprit soit jamais mediant et trop d’esprit pour que le seutiment soit jamais exagere.” Their topographical attempts on Korea resulted jirincipally in failure. The best map of the country is one compiled by the Japanese Government ; and it is from this that the one 14 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. given has been reduced. It is, however, a map made from external, — that is, coastwise, — not internal surveying. The Japanese have not been allowed to penetrate the land freel}’; and it is from charts and miscellaneous information about the interior, digested and compiled, that they have constructed this really admirable map. In 1876 they made the first treaty by which Korea had ever deigned to acknowledge the existence of the outer world ; and then they proceeded with their men-of- war to make some excellent charts. Their map, as a whole, is neither so accurate nor so complete as it might be, for the rea- sons mentioned above ; but in the main it is correct. It does not call the capital by the name of the province, as a most fiinious Euro})ean atlas does ; nor do the rivers that are drawn on the paper run across existent mountain-chains in Nature. But, praiseworthy as it is, the Japanese map is to be seen, not heard. This somewhat enigmatical sentence is literally exact. The fiicts are these : On the Japanese map the names of the places are printed in Chinese characters, which the Koreans themselves use in the same way. Now, this would be as perfectly intelligible to the ear as to the eye, if all those Avho used the Chinese characters pronounced them alike. But they do not. Each of the three nations — China, Korea, and Japan — pronounces them after its own fashion. Tlie re- sult is, that, though using Avhat are meant for the same words, neither nation understands the others. A Japanese reading from his really fairly accurate map would quite fail to make any Korean comprehend what he sought. The}^ could write to one another, but they could not talk. Something ot the same kind, though not nearly to the same extent, is to be met with in those words of Erench origin which the English language has embodied. No Frenchman to-day would under- stand them from an Anglo-Saxon tongue. THE GEOGEAPHY OF THE PENINSULA. 15 This renders the identification of Korean places coming tliroiigh the medium of the Japanese, whether bj spoken in- formation or when read off their map, impossible even to a trained scholar unless he happen to be as Avell versed in Ko- rean as in Jajjanese, — an exceedingly rare accomplishment at jjresent. To remedy this difficulty, Mr. Satow, late Second and Japa- nese Secretary of the British Legation in Tokio, has compiled and recently published a Korean majp giving the names of the places in English spelling. But as such detailed knowledge, at our present stage of acquaintance Avitli the land, would be neither useful nor specially interesting to the world at large, I have not thought it advisable to ask for permission to copy it. As time goes on, it will become more and more valuable. At present, it is more particularly for the use of students of Korea. But our map, — for the one published by the Japanese is the product of methods similar to our own, — though more accu- rate, is hardly so interesting as is their land, seen through their own spectacles. There was brought to me one day, as a curiosity, in con- sequence of my having expressed a wish for old books, what turned out to be an exceedingly interesting- volume. It was an atlas compiled by a Korean, some fifty years ago, from a still older Chinese one. Such was the date assigned it by the Koreans themselves, and the internal evidence bears out the assertion. It is due unmistakably to the influence of the Jesuits upon Chinese notions of geography, but has wandered as unmistakably from what they could possibly have taught. In plan it is similar to our own atlases. It begins with a chart of the heavens ; then follows a map of the whole world ; then one of Korea ; then the environs of the capital ; then the capi- tal itself on a larger scale ; and it finally winds up Avith a sort of family tree of the emperors of China, the kings of Korea, 16 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. and the Chinese pliilosophers. It looks like the result of a compact between Western teachings, Chinese philosophy, and the eternal pre-eminence of the ]\Iiddle Kingdom. Perhaps the most generally interesting map is the one of the Avorld, a fac-simile of which is here given.’ It reminds ns strikingly of our maps of “ the world as known to the ancients.” It, too, is drawn in a sort of perspective, on the principle that whatever is distant must be small, because to the mind of the artist insignificant ; only that here China, instead of Ancient Pome, is the point of view from which he surveys the outer barbarians. We are not left to guess at the countries represented. Their identification comes from a transliteration of the characters, even in the case of those for England and France. Thus the names make certain what the contours suggest. Throughout the whole we see the hand of tlie Jesuits, whose teachings were accepted, but Avere reduced in scale, so that the dignity of the Middle Kiim’dom might in no wise suffer from the additional knoAA’ledge. These instructors considered it unnecessary to in- troduce America into the map. They only vouchsafe her the folloAving questionable footnote : — “ Below this South Pole there is a barren land by the name of South America, Avhich, together Avith the continents Ave liaAm here given, make up the five continents of the Avorld, Once a French ship at the Great BilloAv ^Mountain (this means the Cape of Good Hope, as explained by the map) saAv a land in the dis- tance. On reacliing it, she found it (America, as it Avas after- Avards called) to be one Auist leA’el Avilderness. When the night came, the stars seemed to the ship’s crew to be much more numerous than they remembered them at home ; and Avhen tlie day dawned again, they could discoA-er no human being living there. The only sounds of life Avhich they heard in this great Avilderness Avere the cries of some parrots in the distance.” ^ This map appears in the octavo edition of this work. THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE PENINSULA. 17 For a piece of miintentional satire, this is exquisite ; and the idea of reaching South America by taking a short cut over the South Pole is worthy of the bold disregard of nat- ural impediments that suggests our Nortli Polar expeditions. I forbear to draw any conclusions from the wilderness and the parrots. To show how fairly accurate at this time was their geograph- ical knowledge, when not stretched by a desire to seem greater than their neighbors, I may mention in passing the map of Korea. Though the details are not what they should be, the general features are in tlie main correct. The boundary-lines of the provinces of the kingdom are curiously enough pro- longed, out into the water, as far as this is represented. The device was perhaps suggested by the fact that in some in- stances numerous islands, too small to be shown on the map, rendered it necessary ; and a desire for uniformity prompted tlie rest. The wavy lines that picture the sea have at least tlie merit of sug^^estiveness. Let us now take up again the reproduction of the Japanese map. As Korea has little or no past that is the common prop- erty of tlie world, and is only just beginning to have such a present, to translate the characters that apjiear in the original would be even worse than to omit them altogether. They have therefore been left out. Of special importance are two sets of geograjDhical details ; and the interest attaching to them springs from two diametri- cally opposite reasons. The one is connected Avith the land’s long night of seclusion ; the other, with her opening to the rest of the world. One still occasionally meets Avith the expression “the island of Korea.” The phrase is a bit of early hearsay noAv crys- tallized into an article of geographical faith, much in the same manner as formerly, though Avithout eA’en so much excuse, there 18 THE LAXD OF THE MORXIXG CALM. ■svere said to be two emperors in Japan, — tlie one a spiritual, tlie otlier a temporal, head to tlie nation. No such separation between matters of this world and of the next ever existed in Japan; and similarly, whatever geology may eventually inform us on the sul)ject, man from his own experience never knew Korea as an island. He has often wislied that he had. The Koreans tliemselves would have been only too happy to make of this fiction a fact. Unfortunately for their desire for privacy, it was not only not an island, but they were not able even practically to render it such. Though separated from the rest of mankind on three sides by the sea, on the fourth they offered a long line of assailable territory. This they were never able to defend. Luckily for them, their neighbors had not the craving for possession, the greed for land, — that ogre- like propensity of nations to grow by swallowing all that lies adjacent to them. So when these last had pushed the Koreans back to a certain natural barrier, there they suffered the line to rest. This boundary is one Avhich Nature first, and fable afterwards, has in some sort marked out for remembrance. At the northwestern corner of the map lies a liigh peak, known from the snow which rests upon its summit as the Ever-White ^Mountain. It is famous as the birthplace of Korean folk-lore, and a great deal that is mythical hangs about it still. It is said to be thirty miles high. This sounds like even a stretch upon a certain Japanese method of measur- ing the height of mountains, where, for the height proper, is substituted the length of the ascent, and a mountain is called as many miles high as the path up it is long. But here there is no well-worn path, and it would seem as if the deviations from tlie straight road had all been counted too. To its inaccessi- bility is due, probably, the supposed existence of a little lake near the top, which is said to give birth at once to two THE GEOGKAPHY OF THE PEXIXSULA. 19 streams. From the snows as they melt, tliese two streams, on opposite sides of the mountain, fall down through the half-litrlit of tlie forest to the sunshine of the vallev below. O «. One of them forms a river, called in Korean “ The River of the Duck’s Green,” which then flows southerly and separates Korea from China. Tlie other is the Tu Man Kang, which flows northeasterly and divides Korea from the last acquisitions of Russia in the far-east. Thus the Ever-White Mountain, to- gether with what flows from it, marks the only land-boundary of the kingdom. The Sea of Japan on the ea.st, and the Yellow Sea on the south and west, form the other barriers that have helped so long to keep Korea to herself. Having seen how Korea is cut ofiP from the continent, the next set of positions to be noticed are of precisely an opposite nature, — namely, those points at which she has at last snftered herself to be approached, — the treaty ports. In modern far- Eastern geography the treaty ports play a very important role. They are far more than merel}^ ports of the country on Avhose sea-coast they lie. With one or two exceptions, prin- cipally the capitals of the lands, they constitute the only places wliere Europeans may live. They thus become practically for- eign colonies ; for tlie foreign community lives under its own laws, quite independent of those of the country in which it is. To foreigners, therefore, they are in some sort the far- East itself, — tliat part of it alone which they may call home, but which, with tlie patriotism of their several races, they never do so call, no matter how many years their sojourn in them may have lasted. The result is that in Japan, for instance, Yokohama is to most foreigners a more important name than Tokio, though the former has at most but sixty thousand in- habitants, of whom about a twentieth are Europeans, while the latter has twelve hundred thousand, and is, beside, the capital of the empire. 20 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. In Korea tlie treaty ports are three in nnmher, — Wensan on the north, Pusan on the southeast, and Inchon situate iialf- way up the Avest coast. By the revised Japanese treaty of 1880, and by the subsequent treaties with America, England, and Germany, these three places have been opened to foreign trade. Of these, Wensan has a productive country behind it, productive so far principally of skins and hides ; Pusan, a history and a Japanese colony; and Inchon, its |)roxiinity to the capital to recommend it. They are also very favorably situated for an equal distinbution of sea-coast in draining tlie commerce of the interior. These advantages Avill become more apparent as soon as there is any commerce to drain. There is another matter that hain})ers their general usefulness, — the climate. It is only during the summer months that they are all available. Such is the rigor of the climate, that the harbor of Wensan, the most northern, is frozen over from Kovember to April, and that of Inchon more or less blocked during the same period. AVithont constant navigation, therefore, to keep the channel clear, they become for a great part of the year un- approachable. Inchon, indeed, would hardly become so were it not that it is situated near the mouth of the river Han, whose current brings down, Avhenever the Aveatlier moderates, large masses of floating ice, — an almost more sei’ious obstacle to vessels than a solid sheet Avould be. Pnsan is open the year round; but it is so far from the capital — at present the ob- jective point — that for purposes of reaching Korea it ma}" be said not to exist. By the present means of conveyance, it is ten days distant from the capital. Soul. And this brings us to Avhat is peculiarly the most impor- tant place in Korea, — Soul. Central in interest, it is also central in position. Of the many capitals which the peninsula has had, it is the last. It is also the southernmost. Taken east and Avest, or north and south, it is almost in the middle of the THE GEOGKAPHY OF THE PEXINSULA. 21 land. Its position may be approximately learned from some of our own atlases, where it fig'iires under the name of Kinkitao. This is not its name, however, but a misspelling of the name of the province in which it lies; just as the harbor of Pusan was set down in the early charts as the harbor of Chosan, be- cause, in reply to questions of men-of-war’s men as to what it was called, the natives answered, “ Choson,” — the name of the countiy, — supposing the question to refer to the greater, not the less. It is suggestive to note how precisely opposite the answer would have been in Europe or America, where, to the peasant, the national is lost in the local. On the Japanese map. Soul figures as a rectangle of some size. This representation is due to its intrinsic importance ; but it is amply justified topographically, from the extent of ground the place covers. 22 THE LAND OF THE MOIINING CALM. CHAPTER III. THE CLIMATE. EXT to tlie physical features of any land, the most im- portant question we can ask in regard to it is of its In the minds of a great many people there still lingers a trace of the old Roman classification of the world into citizens and barbarians. It lingers, I mean, in a certain geographical sense. There is a prevailing impression, indefinite but Avide- spread, that countries not the birthright of men of European blood must be tropical in their climate. So a friend of mine once cleverly put it, as Ave sat crouching over a fire on an afternoon toAvard the end of May in the capital of Japan. If exceptions are recognized in the belief, it is only in favor of those places Ausited by North Polar expeditions. Noav, to any one avIio has happened to inhabit one of the lands included in this generalization, — almost as ])leasingly loose in its application as is the Avord Turanian, — the notion has seemed an amusing delusion at certain seasons and a bitter satire at others. To read epistles from Avell-meaning friends, congratulating you upon the delicious heat you are enjoying, — the A"ery thought of Avhich, they Avrite, contrasts most painfully with their oavu cold surroundings, — to read these held in hands Avhich threaten momentarily to freeze is not jocose. Your first feeling is one of Avicked joy that your friend is as badly treated climate. THE CLIMATE. 23 as you are ; your secoud a still more fiendish one, to an- swer him in the vein he expects, and so keep him enviously wretched. The belief is not without some show of excuse. The foreign lands first visited by Europeans were indeed tropical, and the temperate zones they later came to know were so far away from home that exact information about them found difficulty in reaching the mother country ; not to mention that the road to them, whether they lay to the north or the south, to this side or the other of the equator, necessarily traversed, in either case, the subtropical belt. But Avhatever excuses can be made for it, the impression is none the less erroneous. Perhaps such current expressions as “in those latitudes,” “ foreign latitudes,” and the like, have helped to keep alive the delusion; for familiar phrases go for much toward the shaping and preserving of general opinions. Insensibly the mind comes to ascribe an intilnsic truth to its own formulce. In this case it was not unnatural that the imagination should seek to clothe Nature herself ^vith a certain strangeness, in order to suit a tale that was strange. The very term “ latitude,” which should have been earth-wide in signification, came to seem restricted to something peculiar ; and the tropical belt, because heard of first, furnished the material for the clothing of the idea. Now, these phrases were all very well in their day for the purpose for which they were originally employed. When men Avent abroad to seek for foreign lands rather than foreign peo- ples, latitudes Avere the best standards of comparison ; for the most marked and obvious differences in Nature linked them- selves at once Avith latitude. Then, again, it AAvas in ships that the early explorers journeyed ; and ships, as they had given rise to the idea, helped to perpetuate the expressions. A some- Avhat parallel case of misleading is to be found in the A^aluable projection of Mercator, — invaluable for that for Avhich it Avas 24 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. invented, and worse than useless when introduced into tlie teaching of the geograph}^ of the land. Every one can re- member, when a school-boy, firmly believing that Greenland was considerably bigger than South America ; for so it was represented on the maj). But when, in addition to the foreign places themselves, the peojde living there came to be a subject of interest, the appli- cability of the criterion ceased. The substitution of the term “ loiigitudes” in place of “latitudes ” would have been more to the point; for almost all nations which have risen to greatness have dwelt within a narrow belt of parallels coincident roughly with the temperate zone, and more accurately still with certain limiting isothermal lines. Apparent exceptions, like that of the Aztecs in Mexico, foil really under the rule ; for these people inhabited a high plateau, whose climate differed entirely from that of the sea-level at the same parallel. What is true else- where is equally true of what we call the semi- civilized nations of the far-East ; and for the same reason, — the presence of a degree of cold sufficient to create a stimulus to work, and yet not severe enough to destrov it. In saying, therefore, that Korea is civilized, we define its cli- mate, and from that follows approximately its latitude. We place it, by inference, not in the tropical, but in the temperate zone ; and this is where it lies. Its latitude ranges from 33| degrees north latitude, — that of the island of Quelpart, the farthest of the great southwestern archipelago, on the south, — to 43 degrees of north latitude, on the north, Avhere the Tu Man Kang bars the Russian advance,- and from a little beyond which the town of Vladivostock looks longingly southward to the coveted land and watches its opportunity to spring across. It might — indeed, most certainly would — have done so, had Korea slumbered much longer. The climate of the country is what its latitude and its ■tliiiiilll f, ft: ;' ■ . -1. C Iw/C i**f if 'C 'll A --f . nilll'll: j(a--4.i'lS 24' i«I***,* V >fi/^af.rf»:j^ ‘ ^ fill # py T^' Jf-iJS-i' 4 s‘S^ SfM|sSlillS*Sft OF THE ORIGINAL. ,• !••.• <’ii , llu«ion- Hi'IMypv .IN tm6 original the mountains are GRE^N. V if,' 1 ► -f' » ■I*”. ir ^ -5 ^ -‘•■■'Hi .'iOX.,'^ '' J ••I. THE CLIxAIATE. position with regard to the continent Avonld lead ns to expect; only that the position is here of greater importance than usual in the question. The situation of the peninsula has altered the relation of the winter and snnnner isotherms more than we should perhaps have predicted. As Ave know, the position of a coast, whether it lie on the eastern or AA'estern limiting edge of a large body of land, is as great a factor in the matter of climate as is the absolute par- allel. Not only is the mean annual isothermal line deflected from the latitude it occupies in the centre of the continent, but the relative positions of the summer and Avinter isotherms are altered, and the changes on the Avestern side are very ditferent from those on the eastern. This is even more markedl}' the case Avith the Asiatic than Avith the American Continent. We must compare the climate of Korea, then, not AA'ith that of Europe, — AAdiich it does not in the least resemble, — but rather AAutli that of the eastern seaboard of America. Similar prevailing AA’inds and similar ocean currents tend to the same climatic result. We may therefore say, generally speaking, that the climate varies from one like that of Washington, for the southern part of the peninsula, to one like that of Maine in the extreme north. Like ours, its summer is short and hot, its autumn clear and beautiful, and its AA’inter cold but fair. But there is one season Avhicli I liaA'e omitted ; and I am afraid that Avhen I come to speak of it, it may seem to destroy the resemblance betAA'een the tAAm. Its spring is a true spring. No feverish anxiety there to hasten on in the middle of January, as if it feared that it nfloflit be late ; then a hasty relapse again into Avinter, finding itself long before time ; and then a period of vacillation CA'ery otlier day, until, haA’ing frittered aAA'ay all the time at its disposal, it is obliged to plunge all of a sudden bodily into summer. There is no such Aveakness, no months of indecision, there. Tlie spring makes its advances sloAAdy but surely, and the trees Avith their 26 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. blossoms can count upon it. They open their buds, — the earliest Avhile the snow is still upon the ground, — and break into flower ; and they never sufifer for the trust they give it. The Koreans bemn their vear a month later than we begfin ours. Owing to this reckoning and to the steady character of the spring, tliere is a natural reality in their conventional birth-time of the year. The year begins for man when it begins for Nature ; and the earth awakes from her winter’s slumber with a blush, for it is in tree-flowers that slie shows her return to feeling. The plum-tree is the first to bloom, — not the edible plum, but that species Avhich is known in Japan as ume. By the end of January it begins to blossom, — a pretty pinkish-white flower. It is quite beautiful in itself ; and then from being the first, it is specially prized. It is not easy to convey to the Western mind an idea of the mingled love and admiration the far-Ori- ental lavishes upon it. The feeling is mostly a perversion of Avhat was meant to flow into other channels ; but though spring- ing, to a great extent, simph^ from within, there is in these far-eastern lands, even to the foreign eye, much to call it forth. Few of the better houses at this season of the year are without a plum-tree, or at least a branch of one. It blossoms in their gardens ; but this is not a close enough companionship for their love. It must be where they can constantly see it ; so it is taken into the house and blossoms in the room in which its owner spends most of his indoor life, — for, however many rooms may make up his house, there is one which is particu- larly his dwelling-place by day and by night. Poetry and painting vie Avith each other in their attempts fittingly to praise the flower. Sonnets innumerable are Avritten in its honor, and haA^e been from dim antiquity. It is the motive or the accessory in pictures Avithout number, and its name is THE CLIMATE. 27 one of the commonest of tlie flower-names of girls. Tlie glory of the tree vanishes with its flower, for it bears no fruit. Early in April the cherry-tree comes into bloom ; and of all the superb succession of flowering trees and shrubs it is the finest. It is all flower, — one mass of blossoms, — and flower is all that it is, for its fruit is not worthy the name. Nature rarely yields both in perfection from the same tree. With us we are granted the fruit and denied the flower. We may think not. We niay admire the apple blossoms, the peach, the pear; but after we have once seen the gorgeous, lavish, spendthrifty man- ner in which Nature scatters her tree-flowers in eastern Asia, we begin to think that at home we have been robbed. In Korea the sight is fine, but in Japan it is even finer. It is not that the trees difler. The flora in this respect is prac- tically the same for the two lands, but the social condition of the people is quite different. In Ja})an, each kind of tree, as its turn brings it round, is made the occasion of a festival. It is an epoch. In masses the people flock to see the sight ; and crowds, such as are pever to be met with at any other time, collect in those places that are famous for their trees. And yet even with all this tribute of adoration, the beauty is but par- tially done justice to. The blossoming of the cherry-tree is one of the great events of the year. To see it is a sensation. It carries- you away. You feel as if the earth had decked herself tor her bridal, and you had somehow been bidden to the wed- ding. There are several kinds of cherry-trees : some have single flowers, like ours ; some double ones ; but all are covered thick with the white blossoms, touched ever so faintly with pink. The trees, laden with their masses of light and color, — the two seem one for the delicacy of the tint, — stand out in dazzling contrast with the brilliant blue of the sky; and the ground beneath is white, like snow, with the fallen j^etals. And un- derneath this splendid canopy is the passing to and fro of the 28 THE LAND OF THE MOKXIXG CALM. pleasure-seeking multitude. "Wliat the sight is, may perhaps be judged from the fact that men of naturally slothful habits have been known to get up at frightfully matutinal hours, and then travel several miles, in order to see the trees be- fore the morning’s mist has risen from them. Some varieties are earlier than others, and particular places are noted for l^articular kinds. This week it will be Uyeno ; the next, Oji or Mukojima or Koganei. One place of entertainment suc- ceeds another, — a long, continuous, and yet ever-changing fete. The cherry-blossoms past, the wistaria begins to open its grape-like bunches of flowers. In its turn it becomes tlie event of the day. Crowds gather in the gardens where it grows, as they did two weeks before at the cherry-trees, and pleasure- ])arties are made up to go to see it. After the wisteria, comes the tree peony ; then the iris. It is one long chain of flowers ; and this is spring. It is more of a sight in Japan, because the public is greater, and gardens and parks have been planted on purpose that it may be enjoyed. In Korea there is no pub- lic, properly speaking ; the people are an unconnected mass of individuals. Collectively they amount to nothing, and singly the}^ are too poor to procure what tliey would like. Everything is for the official few. In their gardens, but on a small and therefore not nearly so impressive a scale, may be seen the same beauty that commands in Japan an annually recurrent national admiration. And spring lingers : it is in no hurry to leave a land that seems to have been created for it. The dawn of the year con- tinues where the dawn of the day began. From the end of Januaiy till the beginning of June it is spring. And it never goes of its own accord : it is fairly driven out by the summer rains ; for from early in June till the middle of July lasts Avhat is called the rainy season. Tliough not a rainy season proper, THE CLIMATE. 29 it is, as it were, a counterpart in a small way of what takes place within the trojhcs. During this month the sun rarely sliines ; it is cloudy almost continuously, and nearly every day it rains. The weather is very much like that of our summer storms, only that one storm follows without a break upon the ending of the one before. It stops raining only to gather force to rain again, and the clouds remain the while to signify the rain’s intention to return. In cold and gloom the sky weeps for a month the departure of the spring, and the first hot day rarely comes upon you before the middle of J uly. Then follow two months when it is hot, — as hot as it is any- where at any time, except, indeed, in peculiarly favored locali- ties, like the Red Sea ; much hotter, for instance, than it is on the equator. And this suggests a common misapprehension about the heat within the tropics. There is a vague general impression that the heat there must be very great. This is, however, a fallacy. Of course, it is warm ; but for taking the palm away from the land of its birth there is nothing so de- serving as a good July day in New York. The apparent paradox is not difficidt of explanation. The word “ tropics” is often used very lightly in popular par- lance, as if it meant that belt on the earth’s surface which sur- rounds the equator. Of course, it means nothing of the sort. If we would confine ourselves to the longer expression “ within the tropics,” it would be better; for the word “tropic” is the name, as the reader is aware, of those two imaginar}^ lines upon the surface of our globe at which the vertical sun at noon seems to turn from travelling northward or southward, as the case may be, and moves backward again toward the equator. The sun then is just as much overhead on the tropic of Cancer, say, twenty-three and a half degrees north, at the summer solstice (this apparent standing still of the sun), as it ever is at the equator, Avhich, be it remembered, does not take place in sum- 30 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. iiier, but ill spring or autumn. But — and this is the impor- tant point in the whole matter — it is mucli more overliead on the parallel of the tropic, so to speak ; for it rises at that season — as by turning a globe the reader will see it must — to the north of east and sets to the north of Avest. Its path is therefore both longer, and remains more nearly A^ertical, for the hours on either side of the noon jioint than ever is the case at the equator ; so that for a feAv days in the middle of summer, such a })lace as Hong Kong gets more heat than for the same length of time ever falls to the lot of Singapore. The climate naturally shows it. Ilong Kong in its hot weather swelters under a temperature unknoAvn at any season at the Straits Settlements. I have purposely chosen these two places for comparison, liecause they are in other respects pretty similarly situated. Both lie upon islands off a coast, and that coast, in a general way, the same. Now, as one goes north, the sun rises farther and farther to the north of east, and sets farther and farther to the north of west, on this midsummer day. The day gains in length as it loses in momentary exposure, — that is, in the more or less nearly A’ertical position of the sun for each instant of time ; and these varying elements are so connected as to make the amount of heat received at this time by the north pole actually greater in the proportion of five to four than that received at its most favorably placed season by the equator.* The reason that Arctic explorers do not suffer much from it is that it is tran- sitory. The air and other substances do not have time to ^ A simple intccjration shows this. The amount of lieat received at the equinoxes hy the earth’s surface at the equator is represented hy the formula 2 sin. 6. dd ; which gives the value 2. At tlie pole, at tlie summer sidstiee, tlie amount received is expres.sed hy sin. 23|°. fW ; whose value is roughly 2.5. At their respective m-axima of exposure to tlie sun, therefore, the pide I’eceives more heat tlian the equator in the proportion of 5 to 4. The evident continuity in the value of the more general function, of whicli these two are particular cases, shows tliat the maximum for other latitudes iucreases steadily as we pass from the equator to tlie pide. THE CLIM/VTE. 31 become thoroughly heated, saturated as it were, and thus aid, themselves, in the heating effect. We see, then, that such a place as New York does not start so far behind in the race for temperature as we might at first suppose ; so near, indeed, that any little accident of physical geographical position is quite enough to render it hotter, at its hottest season, than the rest of the Avorld. In Korea, then, during July, August, and September, it is hot, at times very hot. The effect is increased by the ph^’sical conformation of the land. The narrow valleys that lie among the hills collect all the heat they may, and then have but little opportunity to part with it. They thus succeed in reaching a temperature impossible for places devoid of such protection. With the autumn comes beautiful weather, and the same gorgeous change of foliage as in North America. The maples die in color, and under the scarlet of their leaves may be seen the same admirers that came to worship the glory of the spring. Red seems peculiarly the tint of coming and departing. We know why it is so at the beparently a solid structure of stone ; but on mounting to the top, which is done from within, you discover it to be made of earth enclosed by a shell of granite blocks. It is twenty feet on the outside, not more than twelve within, and is crenellated on the outer edge. Between tlie parapet and the inner edge is a broad walk of beaten eartli. Though the height is not great, it is enough to overlook all but the more imposing buildings, such as tlie mag- istracy. On both sides are meadows of thatched roof ; for the town has grown since the wall was built to protect it. Like a great snake, it can be traced lying in sinuous irregularities around the older part of tlie town. A gateway — as imposing a building as any in the place itself — gives the road admit- tance. A stone’s-throw" within stands the magistracy. Though a low building- of one storv, it rises above the neig-hboring' roofs, and is second in heig’ht onlv to the gate. A short distance from the town is another magistracy. It is a collection of buildings surrounded by its own stone Avail. In this is a gate similar to the city gate ; but outside of the Avhole, and some little way off from it, is a most singular structure. It is a sort of skeleton gateway, — the scaffolding for a gateAvay Avhich the architect had thought of building and then, conclud- ing to abandon the attempt, had been too lazy to remove AA'hat he had put up in preparation. So it might appear to any one Avho saAV it for the first time ; for it stands all alone by itself in the middle of the road, a couple of cross-bars connecting tAvo tall posts. It is akin to the torii of Japan, and is the outer portal to the magistracy. A portal, and yet entirely discon- nected AA’itli that of AA’hich, in one sense, it forms a part, it seems to typif}^ Pusan itself ; for you enter at both to find }'ourself noAvhere, after all. At Pusan you are in Korea, and 40 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. yet you are not. Though you might thence travel overland to the capital, practically to reach it the road lies once more hy sea ; for to travel overland is a wearisome journey of ten days, devoid of all tliose means of comfort and of locomotion which to a European are a part of the necessaries of life. When the journey by sea is an imj)ossibility, because the port on the western side of the peninsula, the one near Soul, is inaccessible for the ice, Korea becomes once more shut off from the rest of tlie world. From Pusan it is a voyage of thirty-six hours, when ever}"- thing is propitious, to Chemulpo, the port of Inchon on the western coast. If anything goes wrong with either the weather or the vessel, — and such, at the period of which I write, was very frequently the case, — it may take an indefinite time to reach one’s destination. (We Avere comparatively fortunate ; Ave Avere but two da3^s and a half from port to port.) The coast is but imperfectly charted; and if it comes up to bloAv or the fog rolls in, navigation at once becomes dangerous, and A^essels make for some natural harbor to aAvait a better season. Besides, the greater part of the feAV steamers that ply there, are not Avhat tlieA" might be ; and accidents — serious, fortunately, only to time — happen at intervals. Just as the sun Avas going to his setting, and the shadoAvs of the hills behind Avere creeping stealthily out over the tOAvn, like giant arms extending to enfold it in the embrace of night, the steamer AA^eighed her anchor, as if hastening to escape, and stole past tlie gaunt sentinels at the harbor’s entrance out into the deep. As she turned the point and began to breast the Avind and the sea that rolled in from the soutliAvest, everything changed of a sudden to an ashen gra}" ; and a chill, to the thought as to the senses, took the place of the peaceful quiet of the bay. The sea had lost its color; and the spray, as it dashed up from off the vessel’s boAvs, seemed to heighten THE COAST. 41 the cold, liard look of all around. Then all deepened into night. The next morning we were off the southern end of Korea, amongst the archipelago of islands. A solitary ship, off a still more solitary coast. The Japanese captain, dressed in European clothes, together with the pilot, a man of the same race, slowly paces the bridge, and anxiously watches the islands as they grow from out the deep, the only beacons on an almost unknown coast. Group after group rise into view, like deeper blue dots, upon the blue circle of the horizon, increase in size and distinctness, are passed, and sink again in like fashion in the distance behind. As soon as one passes Quelpart, the largest of these island.s, as also the one farthest to the south, there is a most marked change in the character of the sea. Off Japan and through the Tsushima Straits, the water is a beautiful blue ; but the Yellow Sea, into Avhich we now come, thoroughly deserves its name, yellow being a poetic idealism for the color of mud. The Wliaim IIo Kian^: and the Yang- Tse Kiang- besides numer- ous smaller streams, bring down vast cpiantities of sand and mud in suspension, the veiy name of the former river tes- tifying to its peculiarly muddy character. These rivers, from the shallowness of the sea into which they empty, spread out to a vast distance and color the water. To increase the effect, the tides are enormous ; and it is no doubt principally to their scourings, sweeping in and out four times a day along a Avide expanse of flats, that the result is due. We can notice a kin- dred effect in the color of the Enirlish Channel and in that of the head reaches of the Bay of Fundy, in both of which places the tides are peculiarly high, combined with a shalloAv depth of water. In the midst of these flats stand innumer- able islands. Any one aaIio has seen the Mont St. Michel and its attendant setting of ooze will, by depriving it of man’s 42 THE LAXD OF THE MORXIXG CALM. liandiwork and then mnltiplying it indefinitely, be able to form a very good general idea of the Avest coast of Korea. These islands or hills — for, amphibian-like, those nearest the mainland are either, according to the state of the tide — are forbidding Avhen more closely approached. They are really submerged hills, Avhich Time and its folloAA er, Disintegration, liaA’e been at Avork to render bare. In the smaller ones they luxA'e succeeded in their process of denudation ; and precipitous rocks, deA’oid of soil, rise from the Avater’s edge like the skele- tons of their former selves. So they must look to Korean fancy ; for, in poetic metaphor, the people call rocks the bones and soil the flesh of the Avarm living- earth. The larsfer still luiA^e the appearance of mountains, though much has been Avashed from them by the rain to help make up the ooze around them. A short grass covers them ; but of bushes and trees there are almost none. Only along the foot of some of the slopes a clump may noAV and then be descried ; and it invariably betokens a collection of Ioav thatched roofs. The barrenness is to a certain extent a consequence of the soil, but to a much o-reater deo-ree the result of the need for fuel. As O O the GoA’ernment has forbidden the Avorking of the coal-mines, the population is driA^en to timber, eA^en to t^vigs, for the means of Avannth durino; the rioforous cold of Avinter. Its ruthless hand has not spared beauty, nor been stayed by thought. Only superstition has caused it to pause, and that at the A’ery summit of its profanation. All the more conspicuous for their lone- liness, two or three trees stand out to A'ieAv, here and there, upon the \’ery top of a hill. Seen against the brighter back- ground of the sky, they look like silhouettes of solitary vegeta- tion. They Avould seem to be the last survivors of destruction as it creeps sloAvly upAvard. But it is not so. Their position, indeed, but not their inaccessibility, is their safeguard ; for they are sacred. They are symbols of a cult Avhich, for no merit THE COAST. 43 of its own, has outlived the religious that were iDlauted long- after. And so there they stand to-day in grand isolation, sin- gled out from all that once have been, proclaiming a supersti- tion of a far past, like sentinels in sight of one another across the dreary exjDanse of waters. Two days out from Pusan found us steaming, like some lost vessel, up the long reaches that were to end at Chemulpo. “ The world forgetting, by the world forgot,” only a strong- faith in human testimony justified tlie assumption that we were approaching- anytliing. Tlie feeling was lieiglitened by the strange look of both people and land. About me were men clad, as imagination might paint the denizens of another planet, but not such as I liad once supposed existed on this ; while, on turning- to the coast, I seemed to be carried back in geologic time as before I had felt changed in space. Around me lav suggestions of the earlier unformed ages of the earth. Huge porpoise-backed mounds, unsightly because deprived of Xa- tnre’s covering- of trees, and vast plains of mud alternated with stretches of sea. The scene had the desolateness of the early geologic ages. Especially dreary was the spot on the December day when I first saw it. Over it was spread a leaden canopy of cloud. Tlie Aveather was cold, and it had begun to suoav. The flakes fell softly doAvn and disappeared alike in the heaving Avater and the hardly more stable ooze ; AAdiile a feAv gulls, like un- easy departed spirits, circled endlessly hither and thither, A’ainly searching- for something- they never found. 44 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. CHAPTER V. CHEMULPO. C HEMULPO is, by nature, a desolate-looking spot. Man has made it more so. It is the port for Soul. To call it the port of Soul would be to dignify it, and belittle the capital out of all proportion. It was formerly a little tishing- hamlet, a few thatched huts nestling in a hollow of a bare hill. It faced neither the sea nor yet the land, but as it were a compromise, — a small island with a corresponding col- lection of thatched roofs. So like their surroundings are these twin villages, that one has to look carefully for them to discover them. It would Avellnigh be possible to sail by and report the land uninhabited. Especially true is tliis in winter when grass and thatch are the same dull brown ; and tliere are almost no trees to break the uniform monotony. The place is not a harbor. In this region of islands and mud-flats a harbor is an impossibility. It is a roadstead, and an uncommonly distant roadstead at that. Out beyond several islands, utterly cut off not onl}^ from an}- view of the town, but from the slightest suggestion of tlie presence of man, lie the one or two foreign vessels which may at the moment be anchored off the place. It is a voyage in itself to come ashore. On the seaward slojie of the same hill has sprung up the mushroom Japanese colony. It contains but one European- built house, which, paradoxically enough, is the Japanese CHEMULPO. 45 consulate. It is painted white. Its size and its color make it a landmark far out to sea, the only sign at a distance that one is not approaching primitive desolation. The place lies at the mouth of the river Han, — if, indeed, a stream whose current loses itself gradually in the ebb and flow of the sea for eighty miles above the point where it enters the ocean, and which then, long after it should have parted with its identity, still persists in wandering aimlessly about among innumerable islands, can be said to have a mouth. The village is not far from the nearest point on the sea-coast to the capital, and it is the nearest point of the sea-coast to the sea. Usually the port of any city fulfils but one condition of proximity. Chemulpo has to try to satisfy two. Even as it is, the steam- ers lie more than a mile out. Owing to the character of the land, isolated hills and level valleys between, and to the great rise and fall of the tides, the coast may be said to be amphibious. At high water, islands like huge lazy porpoises dot the surface of the sea ; Avhen the tide is out, they change their element, and assume the role of mountains in a peaty district. The height of the rise is between twenty and thirty feet ; but this is enough to lay the strand bare for miles, so that, at low water, the sea Avould seem to have left never to return. What Avere large bays have become glistening ooze, and the ocean itself can only be made out on tlie verge of the horizon. The Koreans liaA'e neA^er been a maritime people. The disposition of the race forbade intercourse Avith their neighbors by sea as Avell as by land, and the piratical craft of these same neiglibors destroyed any domestic coast-trade that sprang up, and compelled the Koreans to retreat, snail-like, yet closer into their shell. Nature certainly offered little to tempt them out. Owing to the great rise of the tides, Avharves are Avellnigh im- possibilities, even supposing the idea of such contrivances ever entered the heads of the people, Avhich, from collateral evidence. 4G THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. seems very improbable, would therefore have been obliged either to moor at an incredible distance from shore or wait for liigh Avater to beach their boats. In the first case, it woidd have been necessary to wait for high tide to get out to their boats ; and in the second, to Avait for a like opportunity to get out in them, for the unstable ooze AAdiich is left bare much resembles a quicksand. Of the tAvo eAuls they chose the latter. They thus became dependent upon the moA'ing of the AAaters, Avhicli rose faAmrably either for landing or leaving practically but once a day. If they got off, they found gi'eat difficulty in getting back, and if they returned, tliey could not get otf again; so that, in tlieir case, both the Avill AA'as AA'eak and the AAay Avanting, and they stayed at home. The result is that to-day the eastern half of the YelloAv Sea is as deserted as the coast looks desolate. Only noAv and then one comes across a junk carrying supplies to an island village, or bound fishing. Instead of the fleets of huge square sails, as in Chinese or Japanese AA'aters, there is but an occa- sional Avanderer, like some belated traA’eller hastening to be gone. Taa’o masts are the rule ; and the latteen sails are laced horizontally, like the Chinese, to slender strips of bamboo, Avliich, Avith the unavoidable vertical seams, give the effect of a patcliAA ork of a dirty yelloAv. This peculiarity in the lacing is one of the most obvious differences betAveen Japanese and Chinese juid-hts and sounds came to me in the interior of a box o swaying in its motion like a ship at sea. In spite of the rugs AAutli Avhich I vainly endeavored to keep Avarm my legs crossed in front of me, my feet ached Avith the cold, and I began seriously to consider hoAV much longer the thing Avould be endurable, Avhen suddenly the SAvinging motion ceased, and I AAvas violently set doAvn upon the ground. There is at times in the acts of ])alanquin-bearers a resolute abrupt- ness AAdnch is simply startling ; it is only equalled by their more usual automatic inflexibility of purpose, — a dogged de- termination that is beyond praise as it is also quite deaf to expostulation. They are someAvhat like Avell-regulated ma- chines Avhich, once set going, it is impossible to stop, and, once stopped, take forever to AAund up again. In this case, for once, their actions coincided in intent, if not in execution, Avith my desires ; and I Avillingly emerged AA’ith some diffi- cidty, feet foremost, and then began to tranq) rapidly up and doAAm, in the hope that circulation might be coaxed into returning. THE JOURNEY UP TO SOUL. 65 In tlie mean time any lingering scruples on the part of the owner, any reluctance to receive us that he undoubtedly felt, were being calmly set aside, and we were asked to enter. Passing through a doorway in a wall of mud, we found our- selves in the courtyard. Tlie night was so dark that the buildings which surrounded it could hardly be made out against the sk}\ In the midst of this cavernous enclosure several figures were bustling about, revealed in silhouette by a lurid glow that came apparently out of a hole in the ground. Into this hole the figures were busily engaged in stuffing brushwood. The subterranean crater and its attendant de- mons were all that was to be seen. It argued for the warmtli of Korean hospitality, but it vividly suggested the jaws of some infernal region. It was called, in Korean, not inappropriately, “ the mouth.” It turned out to be, inoffensively enough, the opening to the khan, a sort of underground furnace, whose flues take the place of basement to a house, and are made of such materials — stone and wood — that the floor above, once heated, is kept warm during the niglit. The men were at tliat moment heating it up for us. The room on top of it was in this case exceedingly small, — a mere little cell, about eight feet square, and having for apertures only a small door and a tiny hole completely covered over with oil-paper, so that very little light at any time, and absolutely no air, could enter through it. Supper, such as it was to be, was preparing ; and in the mean time my young Japanese and I squatted on the floor of the cell, — for there are no chairs in a Korean house, — wrapped ourselves in our robes, and, longing for the earth beneath to heat, already felt a trifle warmer by anticipation, but for any material change waited for a long time in vain. At last, after repeatedly feeling carefully all parts of the flooring, we discovered a slight increase in the temperature 5 GG THE LAXD OF THE MOENIXG CALM. of one corner. From tliis corner, the one nearest to the fire without, the change slowly spread till every part of the oil- paper, which lined the stone beneath, had become Avarm to the touch. From the floor the heat Avas communicated to the air, and Ave began to throAV aside our wraps, one by one ; and by the time supper Avas oAmr and Ave were ready to go to sleep, the room had become quite comfortable. Relying upon things remaining as they Avere Avhile Ave slept, and ignorant of the character of the demon Ave had eAmked, Ave dozed off ; but oblivion Avas short-liA’ed. It Avas not long before I aAvoke Avitli a start to find myself in an atmosphere like the inside of a furnace. The heat Avas stifling. I scrambled to the door, threAv it open, and tried to breathe ; but the doorway Avas A^ery small, and instead of leading into the open air, it gave exit into an anteroom open only on one side, so tliat the A^entilation in consequence Avas almost nothing ; and the heat from beloAAq instead of abating, increased. I tlireAv off as much of Avhat Avas still left of my clothing as I dared, Avith the air outside many degrees beloAV tlie freezing-point, and, so freed, again courted sleep, but all to no purpose. I Avas painfully aAvake. Then I tried science, and endeavored to estimate dispassionately the comparative discomforts of in- tense heat and extreme cold under my exceptionally faAmrable opportunity for experimentally contrasting the two Avithin so short a time ; but feeling OA^erAvliehned philosophy. I could only cursorily note the much greater sensitiA^eness, as a ther- mometer, of the foreign OA^er tlie natiA’e body ; for Avas it not from Korean kindness that I AA'as at the moment profiting I Perhaps eA^en this generalization Avas hasty ; for though the Koreans were sleeping quietly enough in some neighboring rooms, their comfort had not been so particularly looked to as mine. I AAxas the Auctim of the too complete fulfilment of my own previous desires ; for I myself had unwisely THE JOUEHEY UP TO SOUL. 67 urged them to feed bountifully the flame. Then I yielded to misery. I reflected upon the exceeding vanity of human wishes. I moralized iijDon the universal truth of our obtain- ing in this ■world, if we only know how to wait, all we can desire, and sometimes much more. And then I fervently desired that for once, at least, the more might mercifully become less, and I tried to imagine I detected symptoms of cooling off. For some time I failed even in deceiving myself. At last my longings were fulfilled. Owing to the men whose duty it was to stuff in the brushwood, having long since fallen asleep, and the fire for want of fresh fuel having now been extinct for some hours, the constant radiation into the air and thence through the doorway ultimately produced its effect ; and, the room becoming once more habitable, I fell asleejD. G8 THE LAND OF THE ^kEOENING CALM. CHAPTER VII. THE JOURNEY UP TO SOUL. — THE SECOND DAY. one reflecting- on the ntter contrast between tlie feelings tliat enwrap ns witli the deepening gloom of night and those we inherit with the birth of the new day, it Avonld almost occur to doubt a continuous personal identity. In the gloam- ing our sensitive side, our feelings, our passions, seem to awake to a strength, an acuteness, that had lain dormant during the light. For joy or for sorrow, the heart measures then all things by itself Rut with the morn awakes the thrill of being. We feel the throb of the life w-ithin us that answers to the pidse of the life without. Action in thought has paled before the thought of action, and we forget our world of fancy in our fancy for the world. I stepped out into the clear blue winter’s morning. It is not altogether a conceit that the hour to see the Land of the Morning Calm is tliat from which it took its name. Of the two paintings in colors Avhich Nature grants us every day, at the o^iening and the closing of it, — for all the rest is, in her chiaro- scuro, blue and green, — the sunsets in the far-East are rarely fine. As for the sunrises, whenever I liave by accident wit- nessed Aurora arise from her dewy couch, I have been so over- come witli her roseate blush of surprised confusion that I felt like an impertinent intruder, who would better have waited until he was expected by the sun. But the early morning hours in THE JOUEXEY UP TO SOUL. — THE SECOND DAY. G9 Korea are certainly very beautiful. The landscape lies, as it were, in a trance. A misty haze gives a dream^^ look to the distance, and the morning seems to tarry till the middle of the day. As for the house, — a work of man, — it had lost a good deal of its picturesqueness of the night before, seen now under the scrutinizing light of day, and stood revealed, I must con- fess, in much plainness and more dirt. However, as our ob- ject was to leave it as soon as might be, appearances did not signify. As for the cell, I will do it the justice to say that it compared very favorably in size with its fellows of the same rank in life, as I involuntarily discovered in the course of the next few hours. A Japanese cook, skilled to a certain extent in the art of Pluropean cookery, did the best he could under the circum- stances to give us a breakhist. He had been imported on })ur- pose. To live continuously upon native dishes anywhere in the far-East is to almost all foreigners disagreeable, not to say inju- rious. To banquet after that fashion occasionally is one thing, and to adopt it as a steady form of diet a very different matter. In the former case you get, in the first place, the best of its kind ; and then, if one dish does not happen to please you, and you are hungry, you eat all the more of another, so that you end, as a rule, by eating too much rather than too little. After a little familiarizing practice, a Japanese feast, even to a Eu- ropean palate, is delicious. But to eat thus for a livelihood, not en amateur^ is no such enjoyable affair. Even in Japan, where the experiment is tried under more favorable condi- tions than in China, and far more favorable than in Korea, it is not easy. To start with, it is usually when travelling in the interior that it is attempted ; and the inns, though as good of their kind in Japan as anywhere else in the world, are of course wanting in the luxury of the city restaurants. To 70 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. European culinary ideas of essentials, the situation is one grand negation. When we say that the cow is never milked and rarely killed, and that yeast is unknown, Ave express the facts ; hut one must have made the experiment to realize fully what is meant. It means no milk, no butter, no cheese, no bread, and in the country often no meat, and sometimes even, as a last deprivation, no eggs. Life resolves itself into this all-embracing question : To which of the two great classes of mankind does the traveller belong, — to those who like rice or to those who do not ? If he belongs to the first class, he can just manage to get a living ; if to the second, he is hopelessly lost. As a passing tribute most justly due, I may add that no food I have ever seen is so artistic and beautiful to look at as the Japanese. Korean cooking, judged by our standards, and also by as nearly impartial criteria as possible, is better than the Japanese. The Japanese admit it themselves. It is much more substan- tial, Unlike the latter, the Koreans eat a great deal of meat, though in both countries rice is, after all, the staple of subsist- ence, and more than takes the place of Avheat Avith us. But enough. I am becoming like unto a Korean myself, and prac- tise on paper Avhat I liaA’e just held up to opprobrium. I reserve Avhat I have to say for a more appropriate occasion, for all this has been suggested by the lightest possible of breakfasts. For the moment the important matter Avas not so much Avhat Ave ate as hoAv often Ave ate it ; for every stopping- place Avas turned by the Koreans into an extempore buffet. When Ave had time, Ave retreated into a room, like the cell of the night before ; Avhen Ave had not, Ave took our refresh- ment al fresco : but we abvays ate. The excuse for stopping AAxas that the palanquin-bearers might rest. This they Avere obliged to do eA^ery mile or so. TPIE JOUKNEY UP TO SOUL.— THE SECOND DAY. 71 involuntarily furnisliing us u itli a practical exact comparison of the superior advantages of wheels ; for in Japan, where the kuruma men (the men who wheel the jinrikisha) draw the same weight these others carry, and at much greater speed, — twice as fast, on tlie average, which means four times the exertion, — they stop to rest only every five miles. This woidd give us about one to twenty for the ratio of fatigue of the two means of transport. When they do halt, rice and tea are all they take, in either land. One never regrets the land of the rising sun in the land of the risen more than when it becomes a question of motion. In lieu of one of the most delightful means of conveyance, tlie jinrikisha, — which, with the hansom cab, is in some sort the poetry of transport, — one finds himself a prey to that instru- ment of torture, the native box ; for there is not a single Avheel in Korea. The thing remains uninvented. That veritable round of pleasure, as it is to many, has no existence there. But even to one who looks upon it witli impartial vision, simply as a means of shortening distance and devoid of itinerary delight, not to have it at all is as great a discomfort as it is interesting as a phenomenon. Here are a people who have never reached that stage in prac- tical physics where the immense use of the wheel as a factor in transportation is discovered, — indeed, have not even reached the point where the thing is invented at all. We have not here so much as the Church and State phase of its introduction ; for commonly before it comes to be honored as an article of use, it is used as an article of honor. It is met with first in ceremonials, religious or royal. It figures as a car of state, in wliich now a king, now an effigy of the gods, is dragged slowly along in the pageant of procession. As such it existed in Japan. And yet so little real acquaintance with its peculiar properties does this be- token, that when a few years ago the first wheeled vehicle for THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. 72 general use was invented, and by a European too, the Japanese called it simply a “ wheel.” In revenge, as it were, for the neglect, the invention has thriven exceedingly throughout the far-East, — this ^‘man-power car,” as the Chinese call it. One tinds it as far from its birthplace as Singapore, where it is drawn, comicall}' enough, by the laz}^ though mercenary Chinaman, and yet, thus handicapped, competes with horse and carriage. AVith one of these vehicles still struggling along with us over the uneven path, we emerged, after a couple of hours’ journey, upon the top of a short rise, and upon a view' quite out of proportion to the size of the hillock that gave it. Beginning at our feet, and occupying not oidy the foreground but all the middle distance, lay spread out before us an immense plain of sand. It Avould have seemed limitless but for the ranges of mountains that rose beyond. Scattered over its surface could be seen black and white dots in irreornlar files, going and coming like trains of ants. Thev Avere figures w'alking, of men and bulls of burden, and marked the higlnvay to the capital. The main road, never very Avell defined at best, coming upon the vast sand tract, is utterly lost, and sej)arates into filaments as a stream in falling is scattered into drops ; and the various paths, continued by custom as they Avere created by caprice, divide at Avill to unite again at the ferry at the further end. For the plain is the bed of the ri\'er Hail in the spring-time of its fulness ; at all other seasons the stream folloAvs a much narroAver patliAvay. It cannot be made out across the sand ; for it clings to the edge of the bluffs as if fearing to lose itself in the sameness of the Avaste, and its banks on the nearer side are sufficient to hide it from AueAv. In Avinter it lies gathered into a deep sullen stream, half asleep under its coverlid of ice. It is called at this point the riA*er Han, but this is not the name it bears throughout its length. Korean rivers remind THE JOURNEY UP TO SOUL. — THE SECOND DAY. 73 one of the oft remarried. The same stream bears a differ- ent name for every few miles of its course. Nee Miss Cold- stream up among the mountains, she no sooner gets into the world than she changes her name for another given her by the land she blesses. As she flows on, time and distance tear her from her love, but only to wed her to another. And so it goes on, a new name taking the place of the old, until at last she too disappears into her Nirvana, the sea. “ Han ” means “ Chinese.” It is the name of that dynasty which had the greatest influence on Korea, and the one under which she first conformed herself to Chinese thought. The Chi- nese, among their other self-given appellatives, have always been prone to call themselves after their ruling dynasty. Most natu- rally, therefore, other nations, on making their acquaintance, learned to call them by the name they gave themselves ; and then, getting accustomed to it, continued its use long after the Chinese had given it up, — a curious instance, indeed, of being more conservative than the most conservative people in the world. It was in this way that we came to get our name for the country, — China, — from the Tsin dynasty. Tlie Malays so mispronounced what they heard ; and the first Europeans, imitating them, still further mangled it. With Korea the case was slightly different. Being a neighbor, and also for centuries a tributary, she has never since the first been behind the age. Her people use “Han” as we might have used “Tudor” or “Hanoverian” in speaking of anything English, if only the ruling house in Great Britain had given its cognomen to the land. The name, therefore, carries on its face a histor}^ and a date. The date is of five hundred years ago ; and the history will be better told when I come to speak of Soul itself, with whose history the name of the river is closely bound up. After a most wearisome toil over the sand, which seemed to the muscles even more endless than it had looked to the eye. 74 THE LAND OF THE MOLNING CAL^L and just as I liad finally made up my mind to the belief that a small creek at the place Avhere we had entered the expanse must have been the river, — for we had now got almost under the clitfs, and there seemed no room left for a river, — we came upon it. It was a sheet of ice, through which, in one spot, a })assage had been cut for the ferry-boats, and the dark green of the water took on a more brilliant color from being reflected from the pale blue transparent ice. The river was evident!}' quite deep at this point, and the banks descended somewhat abru})tl}', even on the side away from the cliff’s. Although it is seventy miles from this point by the river itself to the sea, the tide is felt many miles farther still up-stream. This does not preclude the fact of a strong current Avhen the tide is out, as the rise is so great at the river’s mouth. The ferry-boats were large scows, flat-bottomed, into which Ave all got, — men, palanquins, jinrikisha, horses, and bulls. It Avas so primitive a method as to be eminently democratic. There are places in the Avorld Avhere one Avould not be OA'er-desirous of crossing Avith a do- mestic menagerie ; but here the beasts Avere as quiet and Avell- behaA'ed as any of the other passengers. It speaks much for one side of the character of the people, that they liaA’e so hu- manizing an influence upon the brute creation. This is a point in Avhich Ave should do Avell to co])y the manners of the far- East. Our very nomenclature points to a vicious state of things. AYe talk about breaking in a horse, and Ave find sometimes a good deal of difficulty in doing so. Y’^e might as Avell talk of breaking a creeper Ave Avere trying to train on a Avail. AVe alloAA" the animal to grow up in as nearly Avild a state as jiossi- ble, and then, all of a sudden, at our caprice, he is expected to become tame. No Avonder coercion is necessary, and no Avonder it rarely Avholly succeeds. Throughout the far-East both horses and cattle — Avhich means, for beasts of burden, in Japan both coavs and bulls, in Korea only the latter — groAV KIN'l'.R SUr.URI’.S OF SOUI THE JOURXEY UP TO SOUL. — THE SECOND DAY. 75 up to labor from tlieir birth, in anticipation long before it be- comes a fact, and are treated with gentleness all their lives. In Japan, colts always run beside their dams on transport jour- neys ; and thus, from the moment they can amble, begin their apprenticeship by learning the roads. x^s the}" get a little bigger, a wisp of straw is tied to their backs to simulate a burden, and give them the feeling without the fatigue. Ihen, as they become stronger still, a real load, proportioned to their youth, is put upon them, which is gradually increased as they are able to bear it, until they attain adult stature and adult habits together. On the further side of the ferry begin what may be called the suburbs of the city of Soul, — a series ot detached villages, gradually consolidating as you approach the city proper. 1 hey are the river-ports of the capital. What little commerce by sea is carried on, passes through them. The banks ot the river are lined with the masts of the native craft, like a thicket of bam- boo ; and when a fair wind gives them a chance, they spread their sails and sweep slowly down the river. Tlie distance from here to the city gates is about one and a half miles. Leaving the river banks, Ave toiled slowly upward, now through narrow lanes between the low mud Avails of the houses, — for feAV of them here belong to the better class, — noAv on raised paths between the rice-fields. Men and boys collected in knots, and stared curiously at the j^assing proces- sion. Though almost hidden from \iew in the inside of our itinerant boxes, some lynx-eyed loiterer among the croAvd spied the one strange figure Avithin and passed the Avord to his felloAvs. The less curious only stopped in their Avalk and turned sloAvly round, as if on piA’ots, their eyes remaining fixed on the moA-- ing sight ; AA-hile the more inquisitive and audacious made no scruple to bend doAvn and peer in, sometimes almost thrusting their heads inside the box itself In spite of being thus a prey 76 THE LAND OF THE 3IOEXIXG CALM. to curiosity, tlieir demeanor was dignified, much more so than would liave been true in Japan, and slightly better even than in China ; and though they differed in expression somewhat, I cannot say that I think them either more inquisitive or ruder than is the case at home. The trail gradually became steeper, entered a defile, and passing through a cut in the hills emerged upon other suburbs more densely populated than those below. The travel in- creased, the houses thickened ; we turned a corner, and the great walled city of Korea lay spread out at our feet. I have seen sights as beautiful, as strange, before ; but 1 never beheld anything that so completely realized the fancies of my boyish dreams as what I stood gazing upon then. There they all lay spread out before me as if con- jured up to life, — the imaginations of the time when, as a lad, my thoughts sped aAvay from the pages of the “ Ara- bian Nights” to the dreamy Orient. In front of me rose the south gate, — by name, “ The Gate of Everlasting Ceremony,” — one of the eight clasps of the city’s girdle, On either hand stretched a crenellated wall, encircling as with an arm the spot it loved. Protected within, nestling to it for safety from without, huddled the low one-storied houses, — a sea of roofs, some tiled, some thatched. I seemed to recognize the very spot where the princess of my youth was let over the wall and made good her escape. I saw the house where the robbers rendezvoused on the night before the deed. Ihe men I descried walking about, bore the look of those with whose lives the old tales had made me familiar. It was all there before me. It was all real, and I was myself an actor in the scene. Entranced, oblivious, I was at last roused from my reverie by a voice at my side begging me to enter my palanquin ; for it was highly undignified, it pleaded, to walk where one could THE JOURNEY UP TO SOUL. — THE SECOND DAY. 77 be observed. I acquiesced ; and as I stepped inside, felt as if the act was in some sort an entrance to the life of which it unavoidably shut out the vision. We descended, a few hundred yards, into the thick of the throng, and amid the bustle of pedestrians, palanquins, and bulls of burden, — the ebb and flow of the tide of Korean life, — were carried through the southern gateway of Soul. 78 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. CHAPTER VIII THE ENTEY INTO SOUL. O NCE tlirougli the gate, I found m3"self in the midst of one of the main thoroughfares of the city. The street was thronged. Men in crowds, clad in their Avhite-flowing robes, Avere sloAAd^^ passing to and fro. There AA-as the appearance of being busy, AAnthont any of its hurry. The greater number AA'ere moAuug, but their motions Avere sIoaa' and dignified. There AA’as bustle, too, after its kind, ^^et all Avithout speed. Bulls of burden plodded along in the centre of the road ; aa Idle eA’ery noAv and then some horse Avith his rider andjled by, giAung to the AA'hole, by contrast, a seeming dash of liA’eliness. Pedes- trians journeyed more particularly on the sides, yet there Avere plenty of them in the middle ; nor aauis there any line of demarcation betAV'een the tAA^o kinds of traA-el, — no sideAA’alk to separate man from beast. One leA’el breadth, the street stretched from booth to booth. O11I3" just as it touched the houses, AA^as tliere anj" break in its unifornnty. B3' the side of these ran a narroAv ditch, half gutter, half moat. Tlie athiir is probabty" related to both ideas. It is iioaa' certainl}’ used as a gutter, and it AA^as in all probability descended from a species of ancestral moat ; for both here and in Japan, AAdiere the same thing exists, it has A^ery much the look of one. Tins gutter AA'as hidden from vieAA', in the street through AAduch aa'O AA'ere being carried, b}^ the roAA's of booths AAdiich occupied the side of the THE ENTRY INTO SOUL. 79 liigliway ; for, wide as tlie street looked now, it was, in fact, much wider still. Nor was it so crooked as it appeared. This effect, again, was due to the booths. These booths were for the greater part small open-air shops. As they were as large as the houses, or nearly so, and were permanent, not temporary structures, it was not till some time afterwards that I learnt that they were only intruders. Each stood by itself, and without the slightest regard to the position of its neighbors. The only rule seemed to be that they should not encroach too far upon tlie thoroughfare. The highway was very much like a river with a superabundance of islands in it, and the current kept tlie centre of the stream clear. This trespassing upon the pub- lic domain is common to most of the wider streets. They were left so broad, originally, that the people deemed them a waste of space, and have appropriated a part of them to individual uses. In ordinary times the practice has been no hindrance to travel ; for the street is really sufficient for its purposes, as it is. But every now and then the king decides ipDon a promenade, and then there is no room for the royal procession. On such occa- sions the booths are all taken away, and the street SAvept and garnished of the artificially groAvn fungus. The next day they all make their appearance again, as if nothing had happened to disturb them. A short time ago, a minister, imbued Avith the spirit of reform, issued an edict abolishing the century-sanc- tioned squatters. But the measure Avas so unpopular that it had to be revoked. Even in so doAvntrodden a people as the despotically ruled Koreans there Avas still enougli of humanity left to resent being made tidy. Who has not felt the same intense aversion to having his littered room put in order for him f MeaiiAAdiile Ave went on and on, until it seemed to me that the city Avas interminable. That the vieAV I got of it Avas through the tiny AvindoAvs of a box, did not tend to diminish its apparent 80 THE LAND OF THE MOEXING CALM. size. Besides, witliin tlie box AA'as the old discomfort, — cold and cramp ; and I will confess that in my then state of mind the sight of the inhabitants did not afford me nearly so much pleas- ure as a glimpse of me seemed to give them. At last, after a couple of miles of street, — as I afterwards discovered the dis- tance to be, — we turned sharply to the left, passed through a gateway, traversed a court}mrd, passed under another gate- Avay, and entering a second courtyard Avere deposited on the ground. The long journey Avas ended. I stood Avithin the threshold of Avhat had been prepared for me as my home, on this the other side of our globe. But though I had crossed tAvo thresholds alread}", I Avas destined to pass over seA'eral more, Avind in and out through a labyrinth of buildings, and finally ascend a short flight of steps before I Avas at last ushered into a handsome room, in Avhich I Avas invited to sit doAvn. The request aa'us meant, too, in European fashion ; for, on looking about, I saAV foreign chairs and a table. These, it aftenvards appeared, Avere given a short time before to his Majesty, and had been sent from the palace to furnish the house. The escort then produced a box of Euro- pean biscuit, and opened some beer. Everybody gave me a Avarm AA'elcome, but no fire. I sat, smiled, and shivered. My good hosts Avere to all appearances insensible to cold. Later, on donning their dress, I discoA^ered the reason. Of course, tea Avas served to us at once, and the subterranean OA*en Avas imme- diately kindled ; but it Avas a long time before I could SAvalloAV the one for its heat, or feel the effects of the other for the Avant of it. The sliding-doors, being negligently left open, contributed nothing to an increase in the temperature of the room. When I began to get the reins of household government into my OAvn hands, on the following day, I suggested that they should be THE EXTEY IXTO SOUL. 81 kept shut. Those appointed to see to my comfort replied that they would do all in their power to have it so, but that they very much doubted their ability to succeed ; for the servants, they said, were not in the habit of paying the subject any attention, and it would be impossible to train them to it. It is, at times, a disheartening truth that doors in Korea are made rather for the purpose of being opened than shut ; and that servants are servants only in name. House-warming (here most literally applied) well begun, I was conducted over the rambling collection of houses which was to be mine as long as I chose to remain in it. It was a set of buildiiif^s so connected as to g-ive the idea of a suite of rooms seen from within and a suite of houses looked at from M'ithout. It was known as the Guest-house of the Foreio-n Office. This was a recent title. Before this it had belono’ed O in turn to various Koreans ; among the last, to Min, the pres- ent court favorite. It had almost as many gardens and courts as it had buildings, and one might easily have lost himself while still strictly within the limits of his own dwelling. As to the whole compound, of Avhich it formed the northeastern corner, there was so much of it that simply to enumerate the parts would be an unpardonable presumption upon the reader’s patience. By the time I had mastered its intricacies, I had learnt the rest of Soul pretty well by heart. As for the interior, it was furnished partly from roval and Foreign Office loans, and partly from native attempts to copy* foreign descriptions. Besides the chairs and tables above-men- tioned, there were some wooden wash-stands, made in Korea, — the hasty inventions of genius. Then there was my bedstead. It might, with more propriety, be described as a bed-instead. It was a rectangular box, made of pasteboard and thin strips of wood, about a foot high. On this was spread a futon, or quilt, upon which I laid my sheets and blankets. These hybrids 6 82 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. were the welcome to those diplomatists whom the opening of the Hermit Land had brought to Soul. In my tour of inspection I came across another 113’hrid, — a most singular production. It was a painting on one of the walls. It purported to be a circular opening, to give, there on the flat wall, a vista into student land. It represented the shelves of a bookcase, its compartments filled with the helps to learn- ing. In one Avere some Korean books, not all rigidl}^ upright, but leaning against one another as if overcome by the Aveight of the Avisdom the}^ contained ; in another, brushes in marble stands ; in a third, the ink-slabs ; and so on. Trul}', an exim'i- mentum horrihile in corpore vUi. It Avas evidenth’ the chcf- (Vmuvre of some artist avIio had made a Amyage to Shanghai and, becoming enamoured of European art, had tried to re- ])roduce its AA’orst A’ariety, prostituting tlie details of his dailj^ life in the attempt. It Avas more than a relief to turn to the native floAver-pictures on the opposite door. With the exception of the feAv pieces of furniture, the house AA'as still in pure Korean garb ; and, for a Korean house, it Avas a A’eiy rich one. There Avere scattered througli it tlie usual painted scenes and painted panels. The interior of the par- ticular house Avhich constituted 1113" sitting-room Avas especialh" handsome. The Avhole of one end of it Avas coA'ered AA'ith a picture representing a flock of Avild geese alighting. A circular opening, closed Avith sliding screens, — not an uncommon form of aperture, — connected Avith tlie rest of the suite; and on these sliding screens Avere tAVO paintings, — an oavI in the moon- light on the inner side, and a sort of triumph of a Korean Galatea on the outer. The makeshifts of furniture seemed like intruders, the3" looked so out of place Avith their surroundings ; 3’et the3^ Avere the foundations upon Avhich the best of native intentions AA'as to rear m3' domestic happiness. The desire Avas great, but the THE EXTKY INTO SUUL. 83 means, to our tliinking, scanty ; for tlie servants were as incom- petent as the appliances were wanting. One’s every-day routine is commonly considered sacred, probably from being too dull to tell. It is a secret which we jealously guard, because Ave fondly believe that to be distinctive of ourselves Avhich a mo- ment’s thoujyht would teach us to be the common heirloom of mankind. But in this case the situation had in it somethinor o original. The mode Avas not a routine, Ijiit an experiment. It Avas neither Korean simplicity nor European luxury. It Avas a sort of cross betAveen the tAvo, — one peculiar to the time and 2)lace, — AA'liich, in its exact details, Avill probably neA^er be repeated. I may be said to luiA^e liA^ed on im^entions of native ingenuity, and to ha\’e tasted dishes Avhich, on the part of the cook, Avere experiments justified only by success; for he Avas as neAv to the ingredients as I Avas myself. lie Avas forever getting hold of something strange, and trying his hand on it ; and I must say his talent Avas equal to the emergency. As I have said, he Avas a Nagasaki man, Avhom the Koreans had brought over for me from Japan. He proved to be a jeAvel. x\t first he seemed homesick, and inquired anxiously hoAv long it Avould be before Ave sailed. But the Jap is Avily. He Avas eager for departure, not that he might return to his native land, but because he had conceived the ambitious project of foundino- the first foreign restaurant in Soul. But he neA^er volunteered this to me, and only acknoAvledged the intention AAdien directly taxed Avith it, on the occasion of bidding me good-by at the sea-coast, months after, though he Avas about to stay behind in Korea for the purpose. I had learnt the fact from one Avho had made him offers for the future, Avhich the man had refused. So I left him at Cliemulpo. Whether he carried out his scheme, and AA'hether, if he did, he siuwiA’ed the mas- sacres of the next December, I never heard. But he Avas a £TOod servant to me. 84 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. All the other servants were Korean. There were so many of them that I never so much as took the pains to learn the names of more than one or two ; and I never was sure of their exact number. Details of one’s household arrangements sound sadly out of place in a description of the charmed valley of Rasselas. There is something almost belittling in our modern conveniences. As for the feebler minds in a community, they actually worship these expressions of the mind, its images of wood and stone, tirndy believing that they are thus showing their superior nineteenth-century civilization. One sometimes wonders how far some of those who affect them the most patronizingly, would get, if left to their own unaided devices to originate. On the other hand, there is a certain grandeur in the sim- plicity of the life of an Oriental. He almost rises above the body by neglecting to occupy himself Avith its momentary comforts. Except, perhaps, for his peculiar fondness for eat- ing, the Korean is no exception to the general rule. How- ever large his house, he is content to inhabit but one room. He sleeps in it at night; he eats, studies, and lives there by day. Thick quilts, upon Avliich he and his visitors squat, cover a part of the oil-paper floor; and at one end, facing the entrance, is a Ioav table, eight inches high and not much wider or broader, that holds his Avriting materials. For his life cen- tres upon his brush : it is to him the medium of expression of both those arts in Avhich alone he liA^es, — painting and poetry. His Avails are hung Avith pictures, and his floor littered Avith books and rolls of Avriting; for he is ahvays in petto, if not in fact, at once artist and poet. Two functionaries Avere appointed to look after me. One of these lived in a part of the suite of houses. He Avas a colonel in the army, my old friend of the escort. His busi- ness Avas to act as head of the household and officer in charge THE ENTRY INTO SOUL. 85 of tlie treasury. He Avas as good and kind a sonl as ever walked this earth, and very quiet and deliberate. He seemed to radiate a mild glow of content Avhenever he came in to see me. The other was one of the secretaries of the Foreign Office. His duty consisted in periodically visiting me, — once a day on the average, • — discovering what I might Avant beyond Avhat lay at band, and seeing to its fulfilling. The Sa KAvan — such Avas his title — Avas a most celebrated folk-lorist. He Avas admirably adapted to his temporary office, for he Avas a born entertainer. In any other land he Avoidd have been a diner- out. The stories he could tell and the legends he kneAA’ Avould fill a A’olume by themselves. Superstition had consecrated him one of her high-jAriests. He Avas a consummate Korean my- thologist, exce])t that he believed Avhat he narrated. 8G THE LAND OF THE MOENlJs'G CALM. CHAP T E R IX. A WALLED CITY. HE mime “Soul” means simply “capital.” There is noth- ing veiy original in this name. It lacks even tlie trifling merit of spontaneity. Though the word is jiure Korean, the idea is borrowed. It is an imitation of the Chinese assumption of peerlessness. To an inhabitant of the Middle Kingdom, there is noth- ing to be compared, in dignity or importance, with his own land. The very name he gave it betrays the feeling. He himself stood at the centre, all else upon the outskirts. Pekin and Xankin were to him “ the northern and southern capitals,” in all the dignity of sim})licity, because to him they had no peers. In copying', therefore, the customs of China, the Kore- ans thought it fine to ape its pomp. What the Chinese had taken for granted, they must needs assume. They had not the blindness of self-conceit to plead, for their own model was but too evidently their superior. The Japanese did the same. The}' were even more ludicrously illogical in their behavior; for they did not so much as clothe the idea in native g'arb, and thus give it at least the semblance of originality. Tokio and Saikio, “ the eastern and ivestern capitals,” are not only l)or- rowed in thought, but the very ex|)ressions are mispronounced Chinese. Thus their desire to seem as great prevented them from ever seeming greater ; for, in lowering their aim to copy a title, they necessarily lost all inducement to surpass it. A WALLED CITY. 87 Soul is tlie name by wliicli the capital is commonly known ; but there is another wliich even more marks an intellectual dependence upon China in the past. This will be better given and explained when we shall have glanced at the situation of the city. The site of the city of Soul is very striking. An amphi- theatre of high peaks almost completely encloses a small circular valley two to three miles across. In this little valley, thus cut off by Nature from the rest of the world, stands the capital of the Hermit Land. Round about towers the circle of hills, whose slopes on the one side seem placed to give pano- ramas of the life at their feet, while on the other they form a, barrier against the intrusion of the outer world. Their bases rise with considerable abruptness from the little stretch of level ground, and their summits are fringed with crags and pinnacles that continue still to defy the levelling forces at work around them. The nakedness of the land — characteristic of this part of Korea — here has a touch of grandeur in it, and the bare granite rocks are all the more imposing for being destitute of vegeta- tion. The. highest peak of all is called, in Korean, “ The Three peaked Mountain.” But the French named it better when, in 18GG, on the occasion of their warlike demonstration against Korea, they had it as a beacon before them on their journey \ip the river. They called it “ The Mountain of the Cock’s- comb,” as its jagged peaks flushed red in the first rays of the rising sun, and, like its namesake, seemed to awake before the ^ rest of the world to tell of the new day to the valley still slumbering in the mist. Its exact height is not known, for it has never been measured ; but all that there is of it is seen, which is so rarely the case with mountains, — for the valley itself, whence you view it, is almost on a level with the sea. In winter it is draped in snow ; for its peaks are so sharp that it is only in places that the snow can find a lodging 88 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. and g'listen here and there in silvery streaks against the grayer rock. Upon its slopes tigers are said to abound, and leopards certainly exist. Its foot-hills are composed principally of a sort of sand, and support only a stunted species of pine, -which grows as sparsely as it grows small. The formation of these foot-hills is most curious. They resemble ridges in the sand of some sea-beach which is tilted at a considerable ang-le. They are due partly to natural formation and partly to the washing out of the rains. On considering such a mountain- chain, — the common type in this part of Korea, — you cannot help thinking of some past great passion of the earth Avhich has burnt itself out and left behind only a superbly grand monument of ashes. Nearer to the city, resting like the pinnacle of some sup- porting buttress upon the foot of the Cock’s-comb, is the North Hill ; and opposite it, across the amphitheatre, rises the South i\Iountain. The former is eleven hundred, the latter eight hundred, feet above the houses. Both are Avooded to their summits, — the South Mountain heavily, the North Hill only scantily, — and both are equally untenanted by man. So striking a situation is not the result of accident. The city of Soul is a monument to the last dynastic revolution in Korea. On the overthroAv of the then ruling house, it was founded by the successful insurgent as the capital for his neAv line. Each dynasty in Korea has had its OAvn capital, much as a private individual Avould possess his own house. The usurper’s first care, therefore, after seating himself on the vacant throne, Avas to move this throne to a neAv s})ot. lie came by his new dignity in some sort accidentally. lie Avas a general by the name of Tai Jo, and on the occasion of one of the many iiiA’asions by the Chinese, Avas sent to repel the iiiA’aders. Realizing the futility of the attempt, he summoned a council of Avar, and announced his intention of treating Avith A WALLED CITY. 89 tlie enemy and then returning- home. He did so ; and this led, not unnaturally, to a breach between him and the king, which ended in his deposing his Majesty and reigning in his stead. For Korean national interests the success of the so-called patriot was most unfortunate. Might as his judgment may have been in regarding the result of a war with China as disastrous to his country, and wise as it undoubtedly was to make what terms he could, his subsequent wholesale ado2:>tion of Chinese customs was suicidal. He made of his country not only a tributary of China, but her intellectual slave ; for at this time swept in that deluge of Confuciauism which has swaiiq:)ed the land to this day. For centuries, indeed, Korea had bor- rowed, not one thing but many, from the court at Pekin ; but now evervthino- had to be modelled after foreign thought. The results wei-e even more far-reaching, as we shall see later, than Tai Jo could possibly have foreseen or even hoped. Dazzled by the brilliancy of the dynasty which had then just begun its reign in China, called for its greatness the Ming’, or “ Bright,” he did not hesitate to perpetuate, by the names he chose, his unbounded admiration. To his capital fell the first badge of Sinicomania. He called it Han Yang, or “ The Sunshine of China;” and such, in both fact and feeling, he meant it to be. To do this, he selected, in the first place, a spot which Nature herself had fortified, and then he set himself to add to Nature’s work. iVlong the very summit of the mountains he built a wall. Here, unfortunately for his Chinese predilections, the sar- casm of destiny willed that he should perforce follow a Tartar custom. Vei’}" possibly he Avas ignorant that it Avas such. The wall Avas of the same kind, indeed, as those which surround all large Chinese cities, and has its most famous example in the so- called Great Mhdl of China. But in spite of a most natural in- ference, the Great \Yall of China is not Chinese. To surround 90 THE LAND OF THE MOENIXG CALM. one’s cities or one’s country ^Yitll n ails is not a Chinese idea. It was a practice brought in by the conquering Tartar hordes. To them are due the hundreds of miles of barrier that defend the Middle Kingdom on the north. They built these colossal ramparts to keep out their own kinsmen, lest the latter should follow in their footsteps, and deprive them in their turn of what they had won. The wall of Soul is imposing in itself ; in position, it is wellnigh matchless. In building it, difficulty was ignored and height forgotten. From whatever point you gaze, within the cit}' or without, it is one of the most striking features of a most striking landscape. Ilising steadily from the south gate, it climbs the mountain to its very top, and now dips, now rises, as it follows the irregularities of the summit. At one time it disappears behind some nearer spur, and then again comes into view higher still on a projecting ridge. It falls to meet the northeast gate, at the summit of a pass, descending, apparently, only because it must, and starts steeply up again to the high peaks of the Cock’s-comb. There it winds in and out, now lost, now rea2i})earing, till distance merges it with the mountain’s mass. Like some great p^’thon, it lies coiled about the city, stretched in lazy slumber along the very highest points, — over peaks where it can, along passes where it must. From Avithout, the Avail looks formidable enough. It ap- pears to be a solid mass of masonry. In truth, like all these Avails, it is a shell of granite blocks enclosing earth. WhereA^er the ground is leA^el, its height, exce])t for its outside parapet, is the same on both sides. But in places Avhere a steejA descent offers an opportunity, the falling aAvay of the ground is taken adA'antage of, and the Avail gains in height on the outer side as much as is rendered unnecessary on the inner. The Avail is crenellated along its outer edge by a parapet, and the embra- sures and loopholes giA'e it at a little distance the appearance. A WALLED CITY. 91 to modern vision, of a train of cars. Beliind the parapet runs a broad pathway of beaten earth, to Avander along Avhich is by far the loveliest Avalk in the city. Like everything else, the wall is sadly out of repair, and loses yearly in strength what it gains in pictiiresqueness. As you stroll along its top, you come, on the inner edge, upon great chasms that yawn obstruct- ingly at your feet, where some block has given Avay, and tlie rains have washed out a gully that falls away toward the toAvn. Great trees in the neighboring gardens raise their heads above the AA'all, and send out protecting branches to shield it from the sun. Destruction has not as yet overtaken the outer edge, be- cause ruin has been stayed by man. The path itself uoav rises, noAv falls, turns here to the left hand, and there SAveeps round in a orrand curve to the right as it folloAA S the AA’all in its end- less tAvistings and turnings ; Ayhile beloAv lies spread out the city on the one side, and on the other is a sheer descent to the leA’el of the plain. At irregular intei'A’als stand the eight gates. In theor\^ the\" stand at the cardinal points and their half-way divisions. Prac- tically, they stand Avhere they may. They are as imposing as they are important ; and they are among the finest buildings in tlie city, unless it be contended that they are outside it. For each, though connected Avith the AA’all, is, in truth, a building ill itself. They resemble houses raised on perforated founda- tions. So much so, indeed, that as you approach one of them from the top of tlie Avail, you Avould imagine that you stood on a level Avith the ground liefore some house of the better class. You almost forget that underneath you is a solid arch of stone, till looking doAvn vou catch sight of the croAvd perpetually SAvalloAved up on the one side, and dis- gorged again on the other. Fitting into this arch, that from above seems a tunnel, are massi\’e Avooden gates, four inches thick, sheathed Avitli iron. 92 THE LAND OF THE MOEXIHG CALM. Tliese gateways Lave names in keeping with their importance. The west gate is called “ Tlie Gate of Bright Amiability ; ” the south gate, “ The Gate of High Ceremony; ” and the east gate, “ The Gate of Elevated Humanity.” The various gates differ in size, the east and south gates being much the largest. Some of the gates, too, are consecrated to particular uses. The south- west gate is the gate of criminals ; and the southeast one, the gate of corpses. A criminal condemned to be beheaded is always taken outside the city for the execution, and the pro- cession invariably passes out through the southwest gate. To pass out by any other gate would be to defile that gate. The same is the case with the southeast gate for the dead. Onl}" the body of a dead king may be borne through any other. This gate is also called “ The Gate of Drainage,” because the river flows out beside it. Lastly, the north gate stands high upon the Cock’s-comb. It is always kept shut, except at such times as it may be needed as a means of escape for his Majesty ; for this purpose alone is it used. THE WATCH-FIRES OX THE SOUTH MOUXTAIX. 93 CHAPTER X. THE WATCH-FIRES ON THE SOUTH MOUNTAIN. I F you sliould cliance to be abroad in the streets of Soul in the gloaming, that lingering farewell of the day that is gone, your eyes, as they followed your thoughts from the gloom of the highway to tlie fading glory in heaven, would surely rest upon the towering form of Xam San, or tlie South Mountain. Dark, might}', mysterious in the twilight, its mass stands out in bold relief against the southern sky. In this light it seems fairly to overhang the city, as if about to fall upon and cover b}' night what it has guarded by day. Instinctively you watch it as it slowly disappears into the growing darkness of the sky around. Just as it is lost in the gloom, and your look, freed from the spell, returns to the street, and a shudder creeps over you to find that all has become suddenly so dark, four little stars flash out where the top of the mountain lay a moment before. Poised so hio'h in the heavens, thev mijTrht well be the li-inal traits are not more plainly visible to-day, that the discovery and explanation at the present time of purely Tartar characteristics are such difficult matters, is due to the fact that the most important, perhaps, of the foreign acquisitions was the very power of self-])erpetuation itself; for it was then that the Tartars first became acquainted with writing. Before this time they had possessed apparently no means of recording their thoughts or preserving the memory of their actions. Now, the three principles which may be considered to be the most important parts of the groundwork of the Korean character, and equally of the Japanese, depend upon both the factors above mentioned. They were originally in the blood, and they have been strengthened by subsequent Chinese edu- cation. Both alike have been affected by a very peculiar conservatism, much stronger, however, in the Chinese than among the Tartar races. The result is, that they have from circumstances acquired a life and a strength not properly their own. They are the crude ways of thought of boy- hood perpetuated into middle age. The race has the sem- blance of being grown up while it has kept the mind of its childhood ; and thus it is a living anachronism. No wonder that its customs should appear so odd to nations whose career has been more normal. It is not, then, to the existence of any THE P'OREIGN OFFICE. THE TEIAD OF PRINCIPLES. 117 traits peculiar to the race that tlie result is clue, hut to the permanence, beyond Avhat has happened elsewhere, of those characteristics common in a greater or less degree to all races at the same stage of development. It is the crystallization, as it were, into a rigid form of what should have been but a passing phase. It is a curious case of partially arrested devel- opment. The evolution of the fundamental principles was checked, while the superficial details of civilization Avent on groAving. It Avill be Avell to outline Avith a feAv bold strokes these three principles before taking up a consideration of them more in detail. First, tlien, as to their impersonality. This, of course, is the state in Avhich all nations begin their life. Every man is made aAvare of external objects before he becomes conscious that it is he AAdio sees them. But most nations pass from this objective condition at a comparatively early period into the more atti*ac- tive state Avhere the body is recognized as something better than a mere automaton. In certain Avaj's a man or a nation I’eaches at last another period of impersonality ; but the second state is Avholly different from tlie one Ave are noAv considering. The Tartar peoples are still in tlie first state of impersonality. In this respect they liaA^e changed but little since primitive times. The trait Avitli them is CA^en more a question of blood than of education ; for impersonal as are the Chinese, the Tar- tars are more so. All nations A’ary in the extent to Avhich this characteristic is still retained ; and the most marked results follow its absence or presence, as the case may be. We have only to turn to the history of the French and the English, for instance, to see Avhat different political and social modes of life it can cause a nation to assume. Bureaucracy, on the one hand, and the institution of the home, on the other, are in part the results of comparative impersonality on one side of the Channel, and of personality in the island beyond it. 118 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. The second is the patriarchal system. Like the quality of impersonality, it has survived from the earliest ages. Like the other, too, it is a race-characteristic. While the people were still nomads, it was a verv useful as it was a most natural insti- tution. They wandered in bands for the sake of defence and sociability, and the head of each family was its most suitable chief From the immediate family time itself would extend the %j practice to larger and larger bodies of descendants. As they settled down, they clung to the ancient custom, although the reasons which had given it birth had ceased to exist. It con- tinued because to the power of its momentum — if we may so speak of an imponderable — there was added a new impulse. This accession to the force of the custom came to them with their foreign education from China, and was due there to a concurrence of circumstances which we shall take up later. Instead of ffrowiim lio'hter and more lax, the yoke of obedience became — as, under the circumstances, if it was to continue at all, it was bound to become — heayier and more binding. The duties of a son in the former state were principally out-of-doors, and from their yery nature less engrossing. As the herds were exchanged for farms, his attention took on a more domestic crarb. To serye indoors Avas a much closer tie than to owe O obedience in the field. Obligations multiplied and Avere more compelling. The son seryed the father in a Avay he had never done before, and filial subjection Avas raised from the position of a necessary fact to the rank of a Aurtue. Lastly, Ave come to the ])Osition of Avoman. The loAA^er man’s place in the scale of nations, the loAver, relatively to his OAvn, has ahvays been that of Avoman. Woman, being physically less strong, naturally suffers Avhere jihysical strength is made the basis of esteem. But as men have advanced in civilization, graduall}" a chivalrous regard has been paid the Aveaker but fairer sex. Noav, though the countries of the far-East liaAm had THE TRIAD OF PRINCIPLES. 119 their age of feudalism, in a general parallelism to those of the West, loyalty took the place of chivalry as one of its attendant feelings. At the point where woman elsewhere made her dehut npon>the social stage, here she failed to appear ; and she has not done so since. The history of these races has been a history of man apart from any help from woman. To all social intents and purposes, woman has remained as she was when slie fol- lowed as a slave in her lord’s wanderings. She is better fed now, better clothed, cleaner and more comfortable than she was ; but, relatively to the position of the people, no higher. She counts for nothing m the life of the race at the present time, as she has counted for nothing in it from the beginning. These three traits developed into institutions, wdiich I shall take uj) separately and more at length presently. But I have dwelt upon them, particularly and at first, because I consider a full appreciation of them to be vital to an understanding of the thousand details of far-Eastern life and the still more inter- esting methods of far-Eastern thought. Really to know a people, it is not sufficient to be conversant with their actions ; we must understand the motives from which those actions spring. Otherwise, however well w^e may remember the past, we shall never be able to predict the future. With these principles, then, as guides, the wav's and customs of Korea and Japan will become capable of explanation, and wall cease to appear, as they certainly do at first to our modes of thought, a jumble of unintelligible eccentricities. Note. — To prevent a possible misunderstanding, it is perhaps Muse to state that what has been said of the Korean and the Japanese languages applies, of course, to pure Korean and pure Japanese. Sinico-Korean and Sinico- Japanese are simply mis- pronounced Chinese. The present speech ot either Korea or Japan consists of a mix- ture, not however indiscriminate, of the two classes, roughly paralleled by, though much more distinct than, the Anglo-Saxon and the Norman parts of the English language. 120 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. CHAPTER XIII. THE QUALITY OF IMPERSONALITY. A fter many years of diligent study, a celebrated meta- pliysician Avas once enabled to demonstrate to bis com- l^lete satisfaction that the ego Avas the ego, — to prove, that is, in English, that I am not yon and that yon are not somebod}" else. Most of ns are perhaps rather prone to act upon this principle Avithoiit quite so mncli previous application. Bnt Ave are of the West, Western. It is to tlie far-East that Ave must look if Ave Avonld realize at once the importance and the insig- nificance of the idea of self There the matter is shorn of its trappings of inborn affection and respect ; it is I’ednced to its loAvest possible terms, and then these terms are omitted as of little or no account in the conduct of the race. The ego might there as Avell be the alter ego as itself, for all the treatment it receiA’es. In short, personality, that great central fact of con- sciousness, Avonld seem at times, to the Western student, to be nothing more substantial than a chimera of his OAvn brain. At the threshold of yonr acquaintance Avith any fir-Eastei-n people, 3’on are made aAvare of a something more than nsnalh' separatiA'e in the barrier between Amn and tliem. Like all such instincts, you coidd hardly formulate it, still less prove it ; bnt 3*011 feel it. As 3*011 get to knoAv them better and look for it to crumble aAva3*, instead of a disappearance 3*011 find that 3*011 ha\^e onl3* approached nearer to a Avail that bars 3*0111’ progress. And the feeling is somehoAv different from any such THE QUALITY OF IMPEESONALITY. 121 feelings 3^011 have had before. As 3^011 ponder on it, at last it dawns upon 3^011 whaf it is that separates 3"Ou. It is not simph" a matter of two differing personalities ; it is a ques- tion of an absence of personalit3^ in them altogetlier. As soon as 3"OU attack the language, the suspicion becomes a certaint3". It struck 3^11 in the conduct of the coolie wlio wa3’laid 3'our arrival ; 3^011 learn it in tlie initial sentence of the speech 3^011 succeed in mastering. The man did not seem to be conscious of his own identit3^ The race does not realize itself; while to the student. Nirvana, or the absorption of the individual soul into tiie soul of the universe, seems to have descended from its abstract sphere of speculation, and become an evei’3"-da3^ fact. Mirroring, as the speech of a people must mirror, the character of tliat people, let us glance a moment at the qualit3" as it shows itself in the tongue. Conceive, then, a language devoid of gender, number, and person, — one wliich takes into account neither sex nor plural nor individual. Here is a speech Avhich at the outset utterh* disregards what seem to be the fundamental principles in our own processes of thought. It denies, b3" ignoring it, that ques- tion Avhich not onl3^ has perplexed metapln’sicians for cen- turies, but which is tacitl3" assumed as innateh" proven and acted upon I33" the world at large, — the conscious 3*et contro- verted distinction between man’s mind and the universe beside. \Vliat is mind ! What is matter ? are problems wliich tlie far- Oriental solves b3" regarding himself and otliers in the light in which he would regard a house, — nameh", simpl3" as a material fact. Let us examine the three distinctions, — person, number, and sex, — in order clearh" to recognize tlie force of such omis- sions ; and let us begin with that of person, for it is the one perhaps that most strikingl3^ exemplifies the quality we are describiniT. 122 THE LAND OF THE IMOENING CALM. Except by later invented circninlocutions, there is no vay of discriminating between the tliree persons. To the original Tartar mind, I,” “yon,” and “he” Avere not distinctions recog- nized as founded in Nature, and therefore needed not to be ex- pressed in speech. Later, Avhen a more complex form of society introduced relative conceptions in addition to absolute ones, personifications like “ that side,” “ that honorable corner,” and the like, Avere improvised to do the duty of pronouns. But eA’en these are used as sparingly as possible ; and it is one of the commonest mistakes made by the European beginner in Japanese to intersperse, as the Japanese deem it, his coiiA^er- sation Avith unnecessary personal references. They are never employed Avhen not absolutely indispensable to make the sense clear, or for the sake of emphasis. And it is really surprising to us to notice, under these conditions, hoAv superfluous they are nine times out of ten. It is usually quite evident from the rest of the sentence aaLo is the actor or the acted iqion that may happen to be meant.’ Noav, in itself, there is nothing anomalous about this. It is the Avay in AA’hich every child begins to express himself. The })eculiarity enters Avlien Ave consider that it should liaA-e been preserved. It is uoav grown-up baby-talk, as it Avere. The man continues to look upon himself as an observer Avhen time has pushed him on to take his part in the action of life. An impersonal race is never truly groAvn up. Consider next the distinction of sex. In dealing Avith living beings this differentiation, Ave should think, must certainly be necessary. In them sex exists, and therefore must be recog- nized. 'Woman, girl, grandmother, mother-in-laAV, are pleasing or disagreeable facts. For such aa’O assuredly must liaA'e par- ticular names ; and they liaA^e them, too, — that is, Avords to 1 This is most strikingly exemplified in Japanese ; but a kindred construction is observable in Korean. THE QUALITY OF IMPERSONALITY. 123 denote the objects themselves. But this does not in the least involve the matter of sex in grammar. A girl is a girl, and a stone is a stone, and both are things or facts ; and there the matter ends. When Ave refer to such objects, “it” or “thing” is really as good a Avord for the purpose as “ she.” The idea of using them is only shocking to our inherited prejudices. Our fundamental conceptions about the matter, in the Avay of grammar, are shaken ; but there is no natural propriety that is A’iolated. But are these conceptions in reality so fundamental ? Are they even so necessary as Ave commonly suppose I After a sliort study of Japanese or Korean, it seems to me AA^e shall tliink not. In onr OAvn language, luiAung passed through the period of inflection, Ave are coming back again in many Ava}’s to for- mer simplicity. AVe have learned Avhat can, Avithout loss of pre- cision, be discarded, and Avhat not ; and there seems to be no reason Avhy Ave should not take a feAv more steps in the same direction. Our ideas of the tilings themselA-es aauU never coin- cide Avith far-Eastern materialism ; but Ave need not, for all that, carry into speecli distinctions Avhich there only become useless. AAhtness, for illustration, the comparative simplicity of English as against German. Next comes the brute creation. Noav, it is sometimes useful to be able to specify a coav, for instance, from a bull, but not alAA’ays. There are many occasions in AA'hich either is erpially to the purpose. In this particular instance such occasions are more numerous in the far-East than elseAvhere, as there the COAV is ncA^er called upon for her distinguishing characteristic, — milk. Ag'ain, either a horse or a mare AA’ill do to carry a bur- den, so that all that need be called for is a horse (genus). AA lieneA’er special stress is laid upon the question of sex, particles denoting male or female are prefixed. As to merely fanciful discriminations, they are eAudenth" 124 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. more poetic than indispensable. The gender of an umbrella or the sex of a shadow can hardly be vital. That la i)lnie slionld be feminine and le heau temps masculine, is rather a surj)risiiig want of gallantry to the fair sex, from so generally gallant a nation, than suggestive of any occult principle in Nature, despite the fact that in the Chinese philosophy sun- shine is correlated to the male essence, shade to the female. Number — that is, the want of a jdural, and the consequent necessity of employing what are called “auxiliary numerals” — leads us into the most interesting philoso})hical speculations. But as it does not bear particularly upon impersonality, I omit it here. Suffice it to say, that such an expression as “ three coolies ” is inq)ossible. “ Coolie three man ” Avould be the somewhat circuitous path necessary to reach the idea. Here, then, subjectivity vanishes. The whole cosmos — man himself included — is reduced to its objective existence. It is the boldest expression of materialism the world has ever seen. It does more than posit a theory on the subject; it assumes such a theory to be a hict. Other details of the language bear the same impersonal stamp. The order of words in a sentence is inverted, as we regard it. Tliis is in order that the nouns may come as early as possible, the connecting particles being considered less im- portant, and the verb still less so. But nouns denote natural facts, while verbs express action ; and action, as immediately recognized by man in the every-day life around him, is mostly human. Here, again, a prominence is given to Nature, and man’s doings are as much as possible ignored. Thus examples might be heaped upon examples, all proving a materialized, though in no sense a deep generalized, con- ception of tilings. It is no return in manhood to abstract speculation upon Avhat may be the essence of things. It is the most unpondered concrete assumption, — man’s first idea THE QUALITY OF IMPERSOXALITY. 125 of tilings around him of wliitdi he himself is a part, before he lias realized the later consciousness of self. Having seen how the quality finds expression in forms of thought, let us glance at it as, unconsciously perliaps, it is expressed in action. The traveller will not have to wait long for an example. It will meet him when he first sets foot in Japan. As soon as he has passed safely through the ordeal of the custom-house, — Avhich has been among the first im- portations of Western ways, — he will need something in whicli to carry himself and his traps away. He has been told that a jinrikisha, or large baby-carriage, drann liy a man, is the vehicle in common use, and, seeing some stand- ing idly in the distance, he calls one of them ; for, in addi- tion to those kurumaya * who court fate by trundling the thing slowly up and down the highway, there are regular stands, ap- pointed by law, where the vehicles may be seen in rows await- ing customers. To his call a score respond, hurrying towards him so quickly as to suggest nothing so much as a rush of autumn leaves started by a sudden gust of wind from the quiet corner where they lay. In a twinkling thev are all about him, and the shafts have fallen at his feet as if indeed they were but leaves, and had come once more to rest upon the ground as suddenly as they had lett it. As he is onlv one, and his bag- gage, after all, is limited, he cannot use them all. So he pre- pares to make a choice. He turns his attention for an instant to his traps, to judge what he shall need, and on turning back again, behold, the men have all vanished, and he finds himself ^ '1 he word “ kuruma” (literally, “ a wheel”) is the pure Japanese expression for the Sinico-Japanese name “jinrikisha.” The word “ya” meant originally “a house,” and then came to he affi.xed to various articles or pursuits; as we might say book- house, clothes-house, etc. From denoting the place of business the name was extended to denote the business itself, till finally it was actually applied to the man who carried on the trade. This very word, therefore, most ludicrously typifies the impersonality ol the race; for a fixed plaee, “wheel-shop,” now denotes a man whose sole business consists in constantly travelling. 126 THE LAND OF THE MOENIXG CALM. tlie centre of a mute but expectant-looking circle of baby- carriages, tlieir shafts all pointed towards him and bowed to the earth as if in an attitude of importunate entreaty. He wonders wliat can so suddenly have happened to the men, until, on searching for them, his eyes at last light upon them in a group in a corner of the square. It speaks but meanly of human nature, or rather of what experience on his side of our planet has taught him to be only too true, that at first he supposes them to be Avrangling over his capture. But on patiently watching them, as if he were the most disinterested of sj)ec- tators, — for he is well aware how useless interposition is in such cases, — he becomes conscious that it is no quarrel, but a settlement that is going on. The coolies are actually draw- ing lots for the privilege of the opportunity. One man in the centre holds the strings, and the others select each his ril)bon, and then abide in the best possible humor by the result. Imagine for a moment such a method resorted to by our cabmen to settle a difficulty ! Now, that such action springs ])artly from good nature and innate delicacy or refinement of character is doul)tless true ; but more inq)ortant than this is the underlying principle of impersonality. Each man has not yet fully realized the divi- sion of the world into self and not-self He recognizes intui- tivelv an equal right, or something approaching it, in his fellows to what he possesses himself, so that the drawing of lots to settle matters strikes him not only as having the keeping of the peace to recommend it, but as being peculiarly the rational thing to do. AVe see the same quality, a motive cause alike in their business and in their jdeasures. It shows itself in the want of botli combination and competition in the one, and it be- trays itself in wliat they consider to constitute the essence of the other. THE QUALITY OF IMFEESOXALITY. 127 We are prone to think, and most natnrall}", of tlie East as of a swarminof mass of linmanitv, — a mass devoid of individn- ality. We always think of that of wliich we have not personal cog’nizance as devoid to a certain extent of individuality; but Ave imagine it particularly of the far-East. In one sense we are right. Both education and thought are more on a level than Avitli ns. The iiills and valleys of intellect are less tar apart. But in another sense we are quite wrong. This mass, as Ave take it to be, is distinctly and peculiarly a collection of units. Like round units, they are, Avho, for the amount they contain, expose the least surface to contact Avith their felloAvs. They roll through the Avorld easily, lazily to themseB'es, and they touch others but little in their journey. Charity, Ave are told, begins at home. Equally true is it that the quality Ave so truly and prettily call “humanity’’ — as if, indeed, it Avere the essence of man — beo-ins in his oavu being before it extends abroad ; for it has its springs in selfishness, — that is, in the thinking of self A man must realize himself and his own feelings before he can sympathize with others ; and thus, para- doxical as it may seem at first, personality, or the differentiation of one’s OAvn from other individualities, lies at the bottom of that combining together Avhich constitutes society. The far- East is impersonal, and that very impersonality separates one man from his neighbor. Each Ha’cs by himself in a AvaA' unknown among us. The effect shows itself A’ery markedly in the matter of busi- ness. In spite of the great skill AAdiich Korean artisans of the past and Japanese artisans of to-day hai’e attained in their A’arious manufactures, these manufactures are still carried on after the most primitive fashion. Each man Avorks for himself, and Avorks himself. He may chance to be the most renowned man in the profession, and yet his shop is hardly larger or bet- ter than that of his neighbor Avho is just starting on his career. 128 THE LAND OF THE MOKXING- CALM. Co-operation, except as introduced into Japan by Western ideas, is uidcnown ; large establishments, under one or more heads, are ecpially unknown. This is really conducive to bet- ter work ; so is the tact that father transmits his business to son, and that sometimes for many generations the same pursuit is the distinctive mark of a })articular family. \et such isolation is in no sense the outcome of self-con- sideration, nor intended for self-advancement. Antithetically, competition is as non-existent as co-operation. The man is not thinking of excelling his neighbors ; he does not seclude himself in order the better to distance them. lie does not consider them in the least. He works alone, because such is the natural way. The motive cause is not selfishness ; it is just the op- posite, the very absence of all thought of self. We see how dee^^-rooted in his nature and how strong the quality is, that even trade has so little influence to alter it. In Korea, indifference on account of this quality is still fur- ther increased by the action of the Government. The desire on the part of the officials to make money prevents the mer- chants from inaking any, and naturally takes away what little incentive to work might still remain. The getting of office is not dependent upon successful business, but business depends upon the successful getting of an office. The merchants have the outward appearance of engaging in trade, but it is the officials who really do business. But with them there is, in like manner, no competition, as their operations are limited each to the field of his own magistracy. One result is that, in Korea, there is no such thing as a price. Eacli man has his own price, as he has his own shop. Price also varies from day to day, not from change in value, but from change in caprice. This, however, is not so sur- prising as is the general unwillingness to part with their goods, except in the smallest possible quantities. Instead of hailing THE QUALITY OF IMPERSONALITY. 129 the opportunity to get rid of large amounts by a reduction in price, there is not only no such thing as a reduction in price dreamt of, but the dealer 'will not consent to the sale on any terms. His argument is that if he were to dispose of so much of his stock, he would be obliged to buy more, and the price would go up, which eventuality seems to him for some inex- l)licable reason a consummation most devoutly to be shunned. If, then, in buying, say, half a pound of tobacco, you hint that }'ou will in all probability shortly want fifty pounds more, far from pi’oducing a favorable im})ression, as you intended, you will have made of yourself an object of suspicion and fear. This is what takes place in tlie necessaries of life. If, instead of these, you coveted certain luxuries, such as old curios, you Avould encounter much more difficult}". It is true that the arti- cles lie patent to all, in shops that have no glass to shut them off from the passers-by, and may be touched and handled without hindrance or objection. But to attempt to buy them is a differ- ent matter. If you are bold enough to suggest such a thing, the pro])i’ietor treats you much as if you were some ruthless brigand who would deprive him of his little all. He names, in a forced sort of way, what he hopefully believes will be a pro- hibitory price, and then is horribly dismayed if it or anything ill its neighborhood is accepted. If at last he does consent to part with the coveted object, he does so under a tacit protest that makes you feel as if you had seized the pet lamb or some reverenced family heirloom. You certainly have permanently altered the look of the place, and the gap will mutely reproach you as you pass his shop in your after walks. For purchasers of your temerity are so rare that for months together the same articles are to be seen day after day in their prescrip- tive corners of the same shops ; and trade Avith these men is equivalent to a reA’olution in the established order of things, as objects exposed for sale get to be well-recognized 9 130 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. landmarks by wliich the comparative stranger learns to tell his whereabouts. The same principle that thus underlies and saps all busi- ness modifies, though differently, his pursuit of pleasure. Tlie Korean does not, it is true, always seek his pleasure alone. He finds it commonly in gatherings with other men, — all-day dinners or excursions in Korea, which the evil communication of Western ideas has corrupted into night entertainments in Japan. But thougli he seeks his pleasure in com])any witli others, the com|)any of others is not the pleasure he seeks. When he can, he goes on a garden or landscape party, in which the country plays tlie part, not of occasion, but of cause. Only Avhen he must, for the state of the weather, dine without scenerv, does he do so. The results in the two cases seem to be alike, but the motive causes and the adjuncts have in reality changed places. His off moments are given to his associates, but his soul is Avith Kature. Lastly, in the matter of the affections, we see the same thing. So far as such a thing can be true at all, the far-Oriental might be said to be possessed by impersonal affection. The statement is almost a contradiction in terms, but not quite. For instance, his love is hardly Avorthy the name. Of all tlie higher mental and moral aspects of the feeling, he knoAvs nothing. On the other hand, his filial affection, in Avhich he seems at first far to surpass European nations, is largely a question of rigid etiquette. Thus, then, the subject of impersonality is linked on the one hand Avitli the position of Avoman, and on the other Avith the patriarchal system. To folloAv, therefore, the chain of our argument, Ave shall haA^e next to glance for a moment at the ancient patriarchal s}"stem and its outcome to-day. THE PATRIAIiCHAL SYSTEM. 131 CHAPTER XIV. THE PATRIARCHAL SYSTEM. T he second of the triad — second in place, because second in importance — is the patriarchal s}’stem. Probably all nations, during their earlier stages of develop- ment to a position worthy the name, have lived under some form of patriarchal government. Such rule was equally true of each as a whole, and of its smallest divisible parts, — the families of which it Avas composed. Either in fiction or in fact, father and ruler were svnonvmous terms. But most nations also out- 4 / «/ grew the system as they advanced in civilization. The nations of tlie fiir-East are peculiar, not in having had tlie custom, but in having continued it after they had arrived at A^diat for a people are years of distinction. To this result two causes were instrumental, — the general cliaracter of the people and the advent of Confucius. Both China and tlie Tartar peoples, Korea and Japan, have from the dawn of history evinced a most remarkable inclination and ability to stand still. It can hardly Avith propriety be called conseiwatism, especially in the case of the Tartar races, because Avhile these races haA*e shoAved a great attachment to their OAvn things, they have ahvays displayed an equal fondness for the things of others. They haA’e invariably been as eager to borroAv as tenacious to retain. The ra- pidity to adopt foreign ideas Avholesale, Avhich astounds us in Japan to-day, is no neAV trait. The Japanese did precisely 132 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. tlie same Avitli China and its civilization a thousand years ago ; and Korea in some Avays even more markedly has pursued a like course. lYliat this betokens in mind-constitution it is beside the subject to inquire here. We have noAV only to do Avith it as a fact. The other cause Avas the existence of Confucius. This great man, though in no sense the founder of a religion, had an in- fluence upon his times and upon succeeding ages as potent as if he had been such. He may, therefore, fittingly be compared Avith those Avho have created a faith. On considering' the matter, Ave shall find that the men Avhose teachings succeeding generations have agreed to Avorship — such as Buddha, Zoroaster, Mahomet — all lived at a time Avhen the nations that gave them birth Avere in a certain tran- sition stage of their life. (An apparent exception is to be found in Christ; but apart from the belief that in other respects he differed from the rest, it is to be noted that his influence Avas not iq)on the JeAvs nor yet upon the Greeks, but principally upon the Koinans, Avho Avere not much given to speculation, and upon the northern hordes, Avho Avere just starting on their career.) These religious thinkers Avere thus Avorshipped for their very opportuneness. Their oavu greatness Avas of course the cause, but the occasion AA^as the faAmrableness of the time. Such deA'oted adherence to any one man’s Avords Avould probably be impossible noAv. They marked the stage Avhen the nation, to Avhich they belonged, aAA'oke to emotional thought, Avhen it began seriously to craAm for a hereafter for each man’s personality, and Avhat seemed linked to these Avishes, the idea of an abstract good. They formulated these Avishes, and Avere believed. At a corresponding age in Chinese history lived the great Chinese sage ; and though he preached not a relio-ion, he Avas reverenced as if he had. THE PATEIAECHAL SYSTEM. 138 The teachings of Confucius, then, became la^y, — a moral law wliich lias remained as fixed from the time it was promul- gated as all else Chinese, — a fixity to which the laws of the Medes and Persians were as ephemeral as the hastily successive constitutions of French governments seem to the rest of man- kind to-day. Now, Confucius lived at a time Avhen the continu- ation or development of what had been the patriarchal system was still in full vigor, and it is not surprising that he should have given his attention rather to the improving of what he found already in existence than to the inventing of a new scheme for society. He did not start the custom, to be sure ; but finding it in motion, he gave it an impulse which has helped to send it down through so many centuries. But it is most unfortunate that he did so ; for, stamped with his sanction, it has had a life not properly its own. Its existence has been artificially, because arbitrarily, prolonged, and it has long since outlived its usefulness. Instead of outgrowing, therefore, an undue reverence for age, — a reverence which was at least more natural when the age of the father bore a somewhat o-reater ratio to the ao-e of the son (both being reckoned, as by heredity they should be, from the birth of mankind) than Avas true as the centuries rolled on, — the peoples of the Asiatic eastern coast perpetuated and crystallized a changing phase into a permanent condition. Tied not to their mother’s apron-strings, indeed, but as securely to their father’s Avill, they have suffered from the practice as surely as a boy does. It is not, indeed, with a rude primeval patriarchal system that we have here to do. The lapse of time has, to a certain extent, changed the external features of the CTistom. This Avas inevita- ble as society passed into a more and more civilized condition. But as the reason for it became virtually less, it became A’irtu- ously greater. It passed from the sphere of necessity to that 134 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. of morals. To say, therefore, that tlie father of a himily is, till the time of his death, a law to his descendants, is to exjDress blit one half of the fact, and the least potent half at that. An intense filial piety on the part of the son must be taken into account to give a true idea of the power of the custom. This filial piety is the one great moral principle of the far-East. All others exist, as it were, in abeyance. Truth is unknown, hon- esty largel}" out of practice, and chastity a luxuiy wherever it is a fact. Most of these principles are preached, and tlie good in books are held up to reverence as observing them ; but for every-day life they have lapsed by desuetude. After a peculiarly aggravating instance of Japanese house- hold cheating, I was, one afternoon, in Tokio, discussing this subject with a friend ivho had opportunely dropped in. lie had lived for years in Japan, and had studied Korean, — one of the three men at that time who had. “ I will give you,” said he, “ a preface to the state of things. It happened to me, but it might as well have happened to you. For art’s sake the person is immaterial. The very first Avord I learned in Korean Avas the Avord ‘ sus})icion.’ ” Around the father there gathers almost a religious Amnera- tion ; for to a Korean there is nothing, from ministering to his thousand daily Avants to shai’ing his exile, Avhich a son is not compelled by his OAvn right feeling to do for his father, and the more he makes of himself a slave the more is he by others esteemed a master. In books of moral tales for the young or old, the greater number of stories turn upon examjdes of self- sacrifice of this kind. In our social system Ave commonly re- ceiAm first kindness and care from the generation before, and then transmit it to the one to come. In theirs, a man pays it first, and then looks to his OAvn children for repayment of the debt. The far-Eastern peoples believe in a future life and also in a personal immortality. In Buddhism this at last fades aivay THE PATRIAECHAL SYSTE^L 135 into Nirvana ; but in tlie aboriginal belief, so far as it is for- mulated at all, personality is supposed to last forever. Granted such a belief, it is but a step from the reverence paid to one’s ancestors during life, to continue that reverence to their memo- ries after death. The worship of ancestors, so called, follows then directly from the patriarchal system ; and its observances are logically in keeping Avith the idea. To call it a worship, however, is misleading. It is simply a form of showing respect. 'Worship, in the sense in which it can be shown to another human being, is paid to their spirits, as is befitting those Avho were held so high in estimation during their life on earth. Food is placed before their shrines, but only to show the Avatchful care of those Avho loved them Avhen aliA’e. That the\' can materially need or make use of it is held only by the loAver classes, Avho, in matters of superstition, Avill sAvalloAA’ anything themseh^es, and credit others Avith a like capacity. Prayers are made to them ; but Avhat are prayers but the in- Avard communing Avith such as are far from us, and beyond the reach of spoken Avords or Avritten thoughts I Stated times are set apart for these observances ; but do Ave not the like, aa hen on the first day of the neAv year we call ceremonioush' upon our friends ? The Avorship of ancestors is, properly speaking, only a com- munion Avith the dead. It is in no sense a religion, nor a part of one. The dead are not deified ; they are regarded as beings of the same order still that they were known to be on earth. As depending upon the belief in a personal immortalitA^, the rite suggests at first the supposition that it must be religious itself. But though it folloAvs from an intrinsically religious idea, the idea is not, as it Avere, an intrinsic part of the rite, although absolutely necessary to its existence. From these obseiwances depends a singular custom, — one Avhich at first seems to us a reA’ersal of the natural order of 136 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. things, — the emiohling of a man’s ancestors to the rank con- ferred on him, instead of so treating his descendants. And yet, of the two methods, it is the more strictly logical. That a man’s descendants shall inherit his great qualities is at least doubtful ; that all his male descendants shall do so, is practi- cally impossible ; and that the eldest son of the eldest son ad perpdiium shall invariably do so, Avhile all the rest do not, is simply prejiosterous. On the other side, from what Ave now know of the principle of heredity, Ave can safely affirm that among his ancestors, and })robably along a tolerably Avell-sus- tained line of descent, there must haA’e been a part, at least, of the talent Avhich the man himself displayed. SomeAAdiere it existed, though it might be hard to fix the spot. For fear, therefore, of missing the deserving, all are honored alike. On this subject there occurs, in a certain book called, as Ave might paraphrase it, “ Illustrated Moral Tales of the Great and Good,” the story of a dream. It Avas a dream Avhich Avas not all a dream, not onlj' because it all came true, but because it Avas Avritten doAvn, and so has lived for years in the memories of successi\’e generations of readers. There Avas once in Korea a certain man by the name of Pok. In a certain year of the period Kong Sin, he came to be promoted to the literary felloAvship called ‘‘the improved gentleman.” About a month before he Avas thus honored, he dreamed one night a A’ery peculiar dream. Suddenly he seemed to see standing in the middle of the room three hu- man figures. The stature of one of them Avas of the size of life. He recognized it as his father’s. The second of the three Avas that of an unknoAAUi man, Avhose size Avas half that of a human being. The third Avas also unknoAvn to him, and of a A^ery small stature. As he sat bolt upright, staring at them, the three figures spoke, and Avith one accord said to him : “ Before long you Avill be promoted, and become THE PATEIAKCHAL SYSTEM. 137 ‘ an imjDrovecl gentleman.’ We liad mncli toil and trouble even in attempting to attain tins rank. We conld not com- pass onr end. Yon, in our stead, will win tlie lionor and fame we so long strove for. You also should tiy hard to do good, and thus leave to your descendants the reaping of the liarvest of your good actions.” Then Pok, amazed, asked of his hither, “Who are these two figures?” And Ids father re- plied, “ That figure with half the stature of common men is your grandfather. Tliat other, of a still more diminutive ap- pearance, is your great-grandfather.” All three tlien vanished. Tliis was what Pok told to others when he awoke from his peculiar dream. The importance of apparitions, as we see, is measured by their bulk. The race lias lon^ since rotten over the estimat- O O ing of the size of minds by the comparative size of bodies, but the sarcasm of dreamland has preserved it in that world whose denizens are purely immaterial. The family had been gradually increasing in worth. As the increase of ability was apparently one half at a generation, it is open to those who advocate the theory that great men inherit their quali- ties solely from the female side, to believe that instead of being the result of continued application on the part of the sons, as the tale would have us suppose, the intellect came in with the successive mothers. But it is rather the concrete of the principle than the ab- stract that is potent with the far-Eastern mind. Once every year a man must journey to the tombs of his ancestors, there to perform certain rites. To this visit attaches the pomp inseparable from the rank of the pilgrim. Now, it would be out of all keeping that a man of high rank shoidd take a long and laborious journey in order to do honor to those of meaner position. They must therefore be of the same position as the man who comes to visit them, and 138 THE LAND OF THE MOKNING CALM. consequently they are ennobled at once to his own station. A man must not look down upon those, when dead, whom he has looked up to when they were alive. The honoring of ancestors is the most important outgrowth of the patriarclial system. The next in importance is the ques- tion of property and its distribution. As Ave should suppose from the general principle, the ownershij) is vested absolutely in the father. During his life no son can really call Ins soul — still less such dross as property — his oavu. The son lives by himself Avitli his own family, cultiA-ates his farm, and lives from out the proceeds. Apparently he OAvns it ; but in truth it is all his father’s, both land and chattels. His father can sell it OA"er his head if he feels so inclined. Of course, the ])aternal position has duties coextensive Avith its poAvers ; and a father is ahvays bound to support his child, Avhether that child be four years of age or forty. At the father’s death the eldest son becomes the head of the family. But here the tAvo poAvers cease to be one ; the head- ship of the clan and the OAvnership of all the property become separated. If the father dies intestate, the eldest son divides the })roperty among himself and his brothers at his pleasure. If the father leaves a Avill, it must be of a specified form, by Avhich tAvo-thirds of the estate go to the eldest son, and the other third is divided among the other sons. The daugh- ters inherit nothing. In fact, if married, — the usual case, — they have ceased to belong to the family at all. The large proportion left in this manner to the eldest son is to some extent accounted for by his obligation to support his mother and impecunious brothers. These laAvs exhibit a curious in- version of our principles ; a Avill is not optional, and the distribution of the property of an intestate is. There is, hoAvever, a sort of lien upon all this propert}". The head of the family is the ancestral representatiA’e. To his THE PATRIAECHAL SYSTEM. 139 charge are committed the expenditures for the deceased. For this purpose, and for this purpose only, he has unlimited power over all the property. He may call upon any 'member to fiirnisli him with what he deems necessary, and may sell his relatives’ property, real or personal, for this end. Sucli occur- rence is, however, not common, as his means, due to the lion’s share he inherits, are ample for the purpose. On the death of tiie eldest son, Ids eldest son becomes the head of the family. If he slionld not yet be grown up, the oldest uncle acts in his stead during his minority. And so the post descends, the eldest of the eldest being always the head of the clan. The annexed table will make this clear : d, for instance, is head of the clan, u, and c Ijieing snp})osed dead. Now, in ancestral matters touching c alone, only e and / are affected, and owe him obedience. In matters connected with h, Ji would also be included. So Avould () and />*, although of an older generation, because d represents the common ancestor. While if the rites had to do with u, all tlie rest as far as r, and tv would be subject to his command. Dependent upon the clan relationship is the subject of names. Commonly, a Korean has three names, — for instance, Yu Kil Chun. The first name, Yu, is the family name, — the name that he shares in common Avith all the other members of the same clan. Next in generality, comes Avhat we may call his degree of relationship from the common ancestor name. This is a peculiar and exceedingly coiiA-enient appellative. EA^ery kinsman the same degree removed from the common ancestor 140 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. is given for one of his three names the same cognomen, and each degree has a ditferent cognomen from all the other de- grees. Let me make clear what I mean by an example. Sup- pose Yu again the common ancestor. All his sons would have, let us say, Jin as the degree name. One would be Yu Sok Jin, another Yu Ik Jin, and the third Yu Yonof Jin. Their chil- dren, again, would all be Chun, as Yu Kil Chun, Yu Sok Chun, Yu Mok Chun, etc. Thus, though Yu Sok Chun and Yu Ik Chun were so far apart that they had never seen each other, still on meeting for the first time they Avonld at once be able to recognize the degree each Avas removed from their common an- cestor, — to Avhat generation each belonged. This is not only useful in ordinary life, but it becomes an easy criterion of legality in questions of adoption, as we shall see presently. This degree name is decided upon by the head of the famil}'. lie announces his choice, and all his relatives must conform in tlie naming of their children. Its place among the three names is not fixed. It ma}^ either come in the middle or last, lint this is really no bar to its discrimination, as every man knows himself Avhich it is, in his own or other generations, and can therefore easily jfick it out from among the various names of his relatives. The remaining name of the three is eacli man’s individual name. I said that commonly a Korean has tliree names. Some- times he has but two. In this case his given name, which stands last, his clan name always standing first, is spelled Avith tAvo Chinese cliaracters, altliough pronounced as one Avord, and the first of the tAA'o is the degree character, so that even in this case Avriting Avould giA^e the cIcav, though speaking Avould not. So closely related to the above is the matter of adoption, that it seems fitting to speak of it here. It is an exceedingly common ])ractice both in Korea and Japan. In the latter place, indeed, it is frequently a matter of no small incoiiA’enience to foreigners THE PATRIAECHAL SYSTE:M. 141 who have to do with young men, — as, for instance, the foreign j^rofessors at the University of Tokio. In an average class, once every fortnight or so, somebody comes up to announce his change of name ; and not content with one such change, the same man will often change and change about till memory refuses to follow tlie endless complications. The instructor starts with one set of students ; and before the year is out the class has apparently changed, to the extent of half of its members, into other personalities. "^Yhether a man is eligible to adoption, by whoever it may be, I do not know; but cer- tain it is that he can be, and frequently is, adopted by his maternal relatives, which is sufficient to produce a complete alteration in both his names, surname as well as given name. (Our term “ Christian name ” is of course unmeaning here, and “Buddhist name” is not in accordance with the mode of investiture.) In Korea, matters are not so confusing. A man can Ije adopted only by his paternal relatives, and only by a certain number of them. I do not mean simultaneously, of course, but consecutively. To a Korean the name seems a great part of the personality ; and indeed most of us too, men especiallv, if pushed, would confess to a lurking quasi-belief in the same idea. However he may be adopted, therefore, a Korean never changes his name. And this is only pos- sible, of course, under the first of the given conditions. The second condition is for the purpose of conforming as nearly as ])ossible to the process of nature, — - namely, that the elder should adopt the younger. This would be likely to arrange itself in the actual matter of years ; but complications might arise as reo-ards the family standiim of eldei’ and youimer in the matter of ancestral duties, as of a distant cousin who was of a generation younger than the man he was desirous of adopt- ing. If, therefore, promiscuous adoption were permitted, it 142 THE LAXD OF THE MORNING CALM. would soon throw into inextricable confusion the matter of comparative relationship to the common ancestor. To guard against such a catastrophe, the degree names come in most usefully. A man can adopt only those whose degree name is at least one degree lower than his own. By this means the same step is taken down the line as would be the case had the adopted been born a son, instead of being so constituted by law. To enumerate all the various duties of a son to a father woidd be as tedious as it would be difficult. All that the utmost filial affection can suggest, it lies within his province to do. To obey his fatlier in everytliing from the pettiest minutia? to matters of the gravest concern, is but a tithe of what is expected of him. He should anticipate as well as accomplish the paternal desires. To suppose that such affec- tion always, or even commonly, exists would be to contradict Avliat we know of human nature. That the outward expres- sion is there, is certaiidy the case. As for the spirit, it is like all ideals which we believe in and to which in our better moments we attempt to conform our lives. THE POSITION OF WOMAN. 143 CHAPTER XV. THE POSITION OF WOMAN. ''E now come to the last of the triad, — tlie position of woman in the social economy. More properly, we may speak of it as her want of position ; for the principle is, in Korea, hardly more than a negation, and, like negations gen- erally, has been most influential, not in what it denies, but deed, beyond analogous cases, the influence so exerted has been indirect in its effect. In other words, the withdrawal of the influence of Avoman from the social system has not had the destructive effect upon that S3’stem Avliich might have been anticipated for it ; for in Korea woman practically does not exist. Materiall}", physicall}", she is a fact ; but mentally, morally, sociall}g she is a cipher. ^ It has been suggested, and bj" some even maintained, that were Avoman to cease to exist — her pliA’sical place in repro- duction being taken by a principle of self-perpetuation — man- kind Avould speedil}’ descend through a stage of laAvlessness back to barbaric brutality. With us such a problem is pureH" imaginarj" ; for since Ave left our primitive condition of sav- agery, no such state of things under large, general, and in other respects normal, conditions has ever been tried. Isolated communities have, it is true, liAxd quite apart from Avoman, but under circumstances differing, in other Avays than simply bj" her absence, from the normal. AVhere a lapse has occurred, in Avhat the absence of it has permitted to take its place. In- 144 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. there have always been, in addition to this, influences at work sufticient of themselves to produce a state of barbarity. * Now, in the far-East tlie exjjerinient has been tried, though, it is perhaps unnecessary to add, hardly with that intent. There could scarcely he anything more in contrast to such a thing than the taken-for-granted immutability of a far-Eastei’u custom. For decades of centuries social life has ebbed and flowed under j)recisely such a, to us imaginaiy, state of tilings ; and tlie result is not in the least what might have been jire- dicted. Instead of being rougher than his fellows on the other side of the world, man is there distinctly less rough and brutal, not only in his actions but in his thoughts, yet without losing a tittle of his pluck or his determination. Indeed, it may well be asked whether woman, on the whole, is a factor to an in- crease of gentleness of a race ; whether her presence as a prize is not such as largely to offset, by inducing rivalry and ani- mosity among men, what she engenders of tenderness toward herself. That she has a gradual effect toward an ennobling of the character of those to whom she is a cause of inspira- tion, and so of the race, is another matter. One of the most interesting points in the study of the far- East are these instances of the every-day practice of, to us, seemingly visionary social conditions. l\Ian, then, in certain respects, has not suffered from a want of woman’s help ; and yet, for all the influence she has had upon his character, feelings, thoughts, she might as well not have been. When you have said that she is the mother ot his children from necessity rather than from choice, you have said all that there is of positive on the subject to be said. But this gives only a silhouette instead of a picture. The outlines, indeed, are there, and one who knows the person beforehand perceives the resemblance ; but it conveys very little to a stranger. THE POSITION OF WOMAN. 145 Tills is her history : From lier birth to her seventh year she enjoys her freedom, untrammelled by those restrictions with which society will later entomb her alive. She runs wild as any other creature during this heyday of her extreme youth. Her ignorance of her sex is her excuse, for she is born to the misfortune of growing up a girl. At seven years of age she is shut up, — a seclusion to last her life. At this age boys and girls are separated, never in a general manner to meet again. Whether she calls up in after life the happy moments of these fleeting years may well be doubted, considering the tender age at which they are closed to her forever. To the boy belongs henceforward the world ; to the girl only the nar- row limits of the Avomen’s apartments, — a sort of secular clois- ter from Avhich the only exit is by the A^eil of matrimony to the regime of another household, in every, its minutest, particular, save for the strange faces of strange women, like the one she has left behind. While she lives in her hither’s house, no man save her hither or her brothers may look upon her ; after she has migrated to her husband’s, only he and her father-in-law ever see her. Even to those who knew her before, she is now utterly lost, for she has passed from one family bodily into another. She has ceased to belong' to the first and become a part of the second, and her position in this second household is precisely as if she had been born in it. Only in the brief moment of the marriage ceremony, in ivhich she steps from one realm into the other, — neither of them hers, — is she ever, during the whole course of her life, visible to mankind. Yet even tlien she plays the part of a puppet. jMarriage, in Korea, is a very important rite. It is, as ive have seen, the making of the man ; and in another very differ- ent Avay it is the only great step in a woman’s life. It is, indeed, no step upward for her: she rises not a whit by the 10 UG THE LAXD OF THE MOKXIXG CALM. move ; Imt it is Avliat is really quite as material, a complete change of environment. “ My people shall be thy people,’’ is with her no beautiful expression of self-abandonment to another, but a statement of a stern prosaic necessit}". The subject turns, not upon the fancies of lovers, but upon the facts of life. The marriage system is based upon two social principles : the one is the absolute power of a father over his offspring, and the other the existence of a species of brokerage as a means to the accomplishment of the transaction. There exist a class of men whose sole business in life consists in being matrimonial go-betweens, or marriage-brokers. To them is intrusted the whole management of the affair, much as in other countries a man would act in the hiring of a house, only that here the affair is even more blindly committed to them. In the hiring of a house a man Avould ordinarily go to see the house he had offered him, whereas here no such preliminary inspection is permitted. The Avhole matter is performed by letter, and the leap taken at last A’ery much in the dark. Even this corre- spondence is carried on, not b}* the man who is, after all, most interested in the result, but by his father. The opportunities offered the middle men of plying tlieir business lucratively at tlie expense of deceiving both parties are numberless, and it Avould be more than human nature did they not occasionally yield to the temptation. Tlie Ava}’ in Avhich a hither avIio has a marriageable girl or boy he is anxious to settle in life, goes to AA'ork to accomjdish his oliject is this : lie seeks out some marriage-broker, and states his ca.se, — Avhat he has to offer, and Avhat he expects in return. The broker then looks up some other man Avho has one of the opposite sex on his hands, and makes overtures to him. Letters on the subject then pass through the broker betAveen the parties. Then, in case of agreement on terms, the marriage contract is draAvn up THE POSITIOX OF WOMAK 147 and respectively signed. Tlie geomancer is next consulted, and a suitable day selected for the ceremony. The age of the groom is added to the age of the bride, and the star that rules the destiny of the tAvo in one is the star whose day is chosen for the beo-inninof of the new life. This is the universal custom ; and but few dare omit it, lest misfortune of one kind or another overtake the couple so inauspiciously joined. On the day so appointed, the bridegroom and his himily repair to the home of the bride’s father, commonly on horse- back. There, in the principal room of the house, a large feast stands prepared, Avhich is the only unproblematical bit of luq)piness in the whole matter. The important question is shrouded in doubt. To a man not inured by the hereditary stolidity of ages, the moment must be one of most unpleas- ant uncertainty, somewhat like the excitement Avith AAdiich a gambler, Avhose all is staked upon the turn, Avatches the danc- ing of the roulette ball. For the bride enters veiled, and so she remains through the Avhole of the ceremony. This con- sists of certain formulae repeated by each in turn, during the mumbling of Avhich the coiq)le boAv thrice to each other. Then the bride lifts her A’eil, and the groom for the first time gazes upon the face of her to Avhom he is now irrevocably united. Lucky he is, indeed, if the vision pleases him. The principal performers then A^anish from the scene, and the real enjoyment begins. The parents — Avho, because they stand at a safe dis- tance from the consequences of the act, are of course immenselv pleased — fall to and refresh themselves, indulging meanAvhile in a highly commendable outburst of feeling tOA\"ard their neAA’ly acquired friends of the last quarter of an hour. The banquet disappears in clouds of smoke ; and after seA’eral hours of j)rolonged festivity, the families separate, more affectionately united than one Avould suppose could ordinarily fall to the lot of the couple more immediately concerned. 148 THE LAND OF THE MOENIXG CALM. The will of the two fathers is law. No properly brought up son would so much as dream of disobeying ; and as for a daughter, she is not consulted in the matter at all. So much for what is usually considered to be the most important act in a woman’s life. Thenceforward she is simply the mother of children. Her husband has absolute power over her, except that he may not take her life, or otherwise too brutally mal- treat her. She liv^es in her own suite of rooms, and only goes abroad heavily veiled, or in a closed palanquin, to visit her female friends. Not only no man save her husband sees her, but even to him she foi’ins no part of his life. A man may be another’s intimate friend for a lifetime, and yet he would never know what his friend’s wife looked like, nor even that he had one, save for the social standing such a relation con- fers upon the man himself To our ideas, a Korean marriage is a very odd thing, — not the ceremony, which is simply siii generis, but the fact. A Korean marries, not because he is in love, nor because he wishes for descendants, nor yet to gain money or to make an advantageous alliance, but simply and solely to be married, — abstractly as it were. To him it is the realization of no par- ticular fancy, but the acconq)lishment of a general good, — a step upward in the social ladder. He loses nothing, unless the result of drawing in a lottery be accounted a loss ; and he gains a position in society. He premises marriage to a conclusion of status ; and his premises are about as important before, and as valueless after, the fact as are those of the logi- cian. Unless he marries, he is accounted a boy, though he should live to be a hundred. He would then follow in posi- tion the youngest of the married men, in spite of having lived years enough to be their grandfather. In consequence, be- trothals take place while still the principals are children, and are consummated at the earliest possible moment. THE POSITION OF WOMAN. 149 The etiquette of mourning sometimes interferes most sadly Avitli a promised marriage, for while the mourning lasts none of the ordinary avocations of life may be carried on. A fortiori^ the consummation of a betrothal — a marriage — is impossible during that time. The terms of mourning are of a ghastly length. A death in the family is thus a doubly serious event. Indeed, death, being in this manner brought into direct antag- onism with possible births, has had a most marked effect in retarding the increase of the 25opulation. The imjmlation in Korea for many decades, not to say centuries, has hardly more than held its own Difficult as it may be for a household to minister to the wants of a living father, it is an infinitely more troublesome event to have him die ; for then a son is obliged to become to all intents and purj^oses a hermit for the sj)ace of three years. The father, of course, is, of all a man’s relatives, the longest mourned ; the mourning for a mother comes next in length, requiring a period of two years. But, curiously enough, if she survive her husband, although she has not become the head of the family, which, as Ave haA^e seen, 2>assed to the eldest son, she is mourned, Avhen she dies, for the same space of time he Avould liaA'e been. For other rela- tiA'es there are correspondingly long periods. Ko inconsider- able jAart of most men’s lives is, therefore, taken iqA Avith mourning. When a man marries he Avould have the horror of seeing — like a sj^ectre at the feast, a spectre of the Avine- ciq) — a doubled A'ista of terrible days of gloom to come, were it not that once married the Avife ceases to belonof to her OAvn family. But Avhat might be jAerpetuated through life does indeed sometimes fall as a shadoAv across his path dur- ing that time in Avhlcli neAv obligations have been incurred Avith no corresponding alleviations, the period of betrothal. Each neAv bereavement among the doubled circle of relatives, 150 THE LA^s^D OF THE MORNING CALM. first on one side and then on the other, causes a further post- ponement of the wislied-for event. Couples have, in this fashion, waited for twelve years before they were able to be united. Tliere is bnt one true wife, but any man may possess as many concubines as he can support. That they may inhabit the same set of houses, the permission of the wife is necessary ; but this is rarely refused. The children of concubines are in a sort of neutral condi- tion between legitimacy and illegitimacy. As a rule they are illegitimate, though in no sense dishonored by being so, and under certain conditions they are legitimatized. These con- ditions are in default of issue by the true wife. When this happens, the children of some one of the concubines chosen by tlie father step into the shoes the others Avould have worn, and become in all respects what they should have been. As descendants are deemed very important, — as important as ancestors with us, — the practice of legitimatizing is universal. It is a most common occurrence for the reifjfnino- sovereio-n to have been the issue of a concubine. This is less the case in Korea, where the king apjjoints as his successor any one he sees fit, than in Japan. The number of concubines being solely a question of the pocket, the great mass of the people have none at all, the poorer officials one or two, and the wealthy many. Woman is thus no companion for man. She no more forms part of society in its restricted sense, than she enters as a factor into its more general meaning. Social gatherings are exclusively composed of men. But man, after all, even in the far-East, is human; and it is more or less than human not to crave the society of the fair sex. To satisfy this longing, was invented what is best known by the Japanese name “ geisha,” or “accomplished person.” These “accomplished persons” THE POSITION OF WO.MAX, 151 form a class by themselves, whose duty is to touch with a little gayety the more serious feasts of men. We shall hear more of them later. Woman has no greater legal than she has social standing. As she enjoys none of the benefits of society, it is but fair that she sliould be exempted from its obligations and even, in some sort, from its penalties. She is known to the law simply as the wife of so-and-so, and so-and-so is bound to answer for her good behavior. Except that the law admits of no such term, her husband miglit, with a certain justice, be called her master. If she is cauglit offending-, he is made to suffer, exceptions being granted for a few specified crimes for which he cannot in justice be held to be responsible. It is inucli as in the Roman law : a master was responsible for the actions of his slaves except in particular cases. The relation also suggests the Roman ])atria potestas. So far as their appearance is concerned, women in Soul may be divided into three classes : those who are completely invisible, because inside their palanquins ; those who are prac- tically invisible, because only to be made out as a mass of clothes walking ; and, lastly, those who, though by their daily necessary vocations rendered visible to the material eye, are to the Korean mind as completely invisible as the other two. This distinction in visiljility arises solely from wealth. The richer are carried through the streets in closed palanquins, at- tended by a maid-servant, who follows the cortege or hastens by its side. The less wealthy walk, closely veiled by a dress which, though made after the fashion of any other dress, is thrown, regardless of the odd appearance and staring useless- ness of its pendent sleeves, over the head and held together in front of the face by the hand Avithin. The A-ery loAA-est class — such as draAA- Avater at the aa-cIIs, AA-hich alAA-aA"s stand in the street — are obliged to go back and forth bareheaded 152 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. to their occupation, but are never noticed in any manner by the throng that surges past. To pay them the attention of a glance Avould be the height of impropriety. To accost one of them Avoukl be not only an insult, but so total a want of etiquette as to be looked upon as insanity. PKESEXTATION AT COUET. 153 CHAPTER XVI, PEESENTATIOX AT COUET. nORTLY after my arrival in Soul took place my ju'esen- tation to liis Majesty. A presentation at court is certainly not a momentous affair ; but it becomes something of an event in a land where to Europeans it is among the first of its kind. So, at least, it was considered by my sympathetic household. The officials connected with my daily Avell-being saw in the occasion a prophetic vision of Avhat might, in the fulness of time, befall each of them, and to the servants it Avas a suffi- cient reflection of glory to look upon one Avho Avas destined so soon to look upon their king. In consequence, I found myself much in the position of a debutante dressed and Avait- ing for the all-important moment Avhen she shall depart to her first ball. I Avas correspondingly looked at, examined, admired, and finally deA'outly pinnacled, as one aa ho had sud- denly become, by force of circumstances, an object of almost reverential regard. Tlieir simple ecstasy instinctiA’ely called up a vision of that adoring family circle in all its personal detail, even doAvn to the aged nurse, al\A'ays specially sum- moned in such cases to behold her former darling emerging from the chr}'salis of girlhood to become in an hour the resplendent butterfl}^ of fashion. The moment for departure arrived, and I descended to tlie courtyard, AAliere my palanquin lay Avaiting, Avliile my 154 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. household stood gathered on the steps to gaze. I crawled into tlie box, still feeling the glances I could no longer see. The coolies raised me from the ground, and bore me from admir- ing eyes tlirough the gateway into the street. The distance to one of the outer gates of the palace was not above a quarter of a mile. Just outside of it the palan- quin was set down. I crawled out. As I emerged, I noticed sentries on either hand by the side of the gateway ; and advancing toward it an official came forward from within to meet me and act as escort across the great plain of the outer courtyard. This area occiq>ied several acres in extent, while through the middle of it ran a wide paved w'ay made of many small blocks of stone. Along this we walked.’ Around the square ran a high wmll of brick, save where gatew^ays gave admittance to other courtyards beyond. Through the farther of these gateways w’e eventually passed, amid a crowd of sol- diers, not drawn up, as would be the case anywhere else, but gathered in an irregular body, in an off-duty sort of way, Avhose business consisted a}q)arently in being very much in- terested in the proceedings. They w'ere all unarmed, and quite Avithout officers. Passing between the lines, or rather squads, Ave entered another courtyard, at the farther end of Avhich stood a buildiim throimed Avith officials Avithin and sei’A’ants Avithout. x\t our apj)roach seA’eral of the former came out on the steps, and among them I recognized the foces of my friends. They Avere all clad in court costume. This costume Avas striking, and not Avithout a certain picturesque beauty, in spite of its oddity. It began Avith a hat made of finely Avoven silk in the form of a rounded cone terraced in front. On either side of ^ Officials suminoucd to the jialace on important l)usiness enter by another gate- way, — the Ilap Alun, or Casket Gate, whence the name has in some sort come to signify the king. The name “ Sublime Porte ” had its rise in a similar natural custom. PRESENT A TIOX AT COURT. 155 this projected wing-s, like gigantic ears, fitted into the lower part of the crown, from which they stuck out at right angles. They are said to be appurtenances to typify the ready receiving of his Majesty’s commands. The dress was composed of a long silk tunic of a pale pink or an equally pale blue, reaching to the ankles, and tied by a ribbon in a bow over the right breast. Outside of this was worn a belt, rectangular in shape, which fitted the body on the sides, its shortest diameter, and stuck out several inches in front and behind. As it would never have stayed on of itself, it was unostentatiously tied on securely by a silken cord. Sewn on to the tunic just below the chest was an embroidered plastron in gold thread, representing two cranes in flight, correspondingly fitted to each other by being mutually upside down. To the lower ranks is permitted but one of the birds. The crane is, in some sort, a Korean official symbol, as the dragon is a Chinese one. Around the neck the tunic was cut out in an oval, and filling this, sewn on to the inside of the stuff, was a white collar of cotton. On their feet, instead of the customary low shoe, they all wore high boots, the tops of which were lost under the tunics. These imparted to the wearers a certain accoutred appearance, suggestive of heavy weather. The reason of this reversal of the natural order of things, as it seems to us, I was at a loss to understand till after I had observed the ways of the court, when it no longer struck me as strange. They strode forward to w^elcome me as I mounted the stone steps, and led me inside to a reception-room, where the Ameri- can Minister among various court-dignitaries sat awaiting me. As soon as we had shaken hands and I had been presented to such of the company as I did not already know, a collation was served to ns on a table which, though by no means large, almost completely filled the room. It was of foreign origin, as were also the chairs about it, — gifts to his Majesty from abroad. It 156 THE LAND OF THE J^IOENING CALM. is one of the strongest traits of Tartar blood, that the Koreans should have witlistood their use so long, with China herself using them next door. As yet the supply is very limited, only his Majesty and the Foreign Office having any. Even in mat- ters connected with them, I more than suspect that the chairs formed a part of the portable ornaments, and were carried about from place to place as occasion required. At times they certainly had an individually familiar air. Among the company sat the Lord High Chamberlain, re- markable not for being Lord High Chamberlain, — for that is a dignity in which rotation in office is not infrequent, — but for having made himself the first official robber in a land pre-eminent in such official specimens of the guild. Barabbas fMin had a hard and cunning expression, such as rarely fiills to the lot even of those whose business it is to prey upon their kind. Tie was also distinguished for his relationships. In fact, he owed his position and business prospects to the most important of these, — that of being uncle to the queen. But another of them even more commanded my admiration for its apparent impossibility. He was father to his own nephew ; in reality, he was adopted father to this young man who Avas court fi^vorite. But as everybody omitted the adopted part of the designation in ordinary parlance, and in the same breath that they informed me that he was young Min’s father, spoke of 3’oung Min’s father as dead, and added that this man Avas veiy unlike his deceased brother, it Avas some little Avhile before I clearl^^ conqjrehended the connection. We tarried in this hall, tea-drinking, some time, — for nothing in Korea is ever done in a hurry, — until at last a messenger arrived to summon me to the royal presence. We rose, my sponsors and I, bade good-by to the others, and filed out, doAvn the flight of steps, into the courtyard. There AA^ere three of us : Hong Ydng Sik came first, then the American Minister, PEESENTATIOX AT COUET. 157 and tlien I. In tins order we strode along, in solemn proces- sion, across one court, through two or three gates, and then into another open space. The long court-stride of Hong — the official ceremonial gait, something after the fashion of the stage walk of the old tragedians — lent a certain theatrical impressiveness to our approach. The effect was not dimin- ished by his costume, for he was clad in pale pink clothes. To Korean notions he probably suggested something quite dif- ferent ; for his long stride gave him an up-and-down rhythmi- cal motion not unlike the stately march of a crane Avhen walking, — a bird whose supposed dignity of presence, com- pared with other fowls, causes it to be greatly admired by both Koreans and Chinese. I had ample opportunity to ap- preciate his assumed manner; for to walk in Indian file is not the most reassurino- of ceremonies. Personally, I have no scruple in confessing that, do my best, I felt I was not that mixture of dignity and ease which I was vainly trying to impersonate. I came to the conclusion that to walk in public is one of the most difficult of accomplishments. In- deed, I mentally indorsed the Hindoo philosopher’s maxim — at least as far as dignity was concerned — that to sit is better than to stand. During our advance it began to dawn upon me why long boots form a part of the court dress, while low shoes are universally worn elsewhere. For in spite of the occasion I could not be quite oblivious to the character of the ground. The truth w^as that wherever the paving ceased there was an abundance of mud ; and with all due respect to one’s bearing, it was at times advisable to pick one’s way. The mud solved what had before seemed a riddle. Whether or not it be the true cause of the apparent solecism in foot-gear I do not know, but it offered to my mind a sufficient ex- planation. For within the palace the officials are all obliged 158 THE LAXH OF THE MOENIXG CALM. to go on foot, whereas Avitliout they are invariably carried in palanquins ; whence the need of boots in the former place and the luxury of shoes at all other times. ’When we liad at last passed safely through the ordeal of the courtyard, Ave reached a flight of steps at the opposite end, leading to the open pavilion, from Avhich ro}mlty had been scanning us the Avhile. Doavu the middle of this had been spread a carpet ; but our boots Avere so mudd}" that Ave all skirted it, and passed up, balancing ourselves on the bordering edge of stone instead. In this hazardous manner Ave scaled the eminence Avhere royalty sat. It Avas a build- ing like the others, except that it Avas entirely open in front. In the centre, toAvard the back, flanked by several ministers and protected in front by a table, Avas seated his Majesty. No sooner had Ave reached the top of the steps than Ilong fell nearly flat on liis face, — the usual Korean prostration be- fore royalty, — Avhile Ave began tlie first of our series of three bows, and then continued alternateh’ boAvin<>: and adA’ancinfi- till the last one landed us on the farther side of the table. His Majesty rose for the intervieAv. lie Avas a man of about thirty A’ears of ao^e. In stature he Avas rather under the averasre Korean height than over it. He may have been five feet seven, inches Avithout his shoes, Avhich raised him an inch more. The king Avas dressed in Avhat resembled, in general, the court dress, and differed from it only in the details. His hat Avas someAvhat similar to that of the officials ; but instead of being: black, Avas of a a’ci'A' dark-blue color. It also liad Aviims : but they Avere fastened straight up behind, as if folded in rest. His tunic, Avhich Avas after the same ffrsliion as theirs and simi- larly tied, Avas of a brilliant red, — in Korea the kingly color. Tlie belt Avas richer in material, but similar in shape; and the plastron, instead of having cranes embroidered on it, had the Chinese dragon. In place of the boots, he Avore the ordinary PRESENTATION AT COURT. 159 shoe. This, in some sort, carried out my theory of the mud, as he alone needs not to walk about. Ilis face was singularly pleasing, — ■ one of those faces that you like from the moment you first see it, and that in time you grow to love ; and my after-acquaintance Avith him taught me tliat his face was truly the mirror of his character. His smile especially was Avinning. As I stood there Avith his eyes fixed upon mine, a feeling crept over me that he Avas really as glad to see me as his Avords formally expressed. Presentations are not prolific in coiwersation. The fact is its OAvn best expres- sion. Like all moments Avhich are long prepared for, it Avas quickly passed. To prolong an effect is in some sort to dull it. A fcAv sentences, and the intervieAv Avas over. Then began the retreat. Precisely similar in detail to the approach, everything had to be performed backAvards. To turn one’s back upon royalty is of course impossible. So Ave re- treated as gracefully as Ave could, bowing at intervals, till Ave had reached the mystic number tliree, and arrived at the same time at the top of the flight of steps. Hong, in the mean time, Avas prostrating himself as he had done on entering. Once at the steps, Ave fell again into line, and filed doAvn them in the same order Ave had come. Then our supernaturally solemn procession took up its march across the courtyard. We had need to Avalk as impressively as Ave could; for, though invisi- ble to us, many a female eye Avas Avatching the sight from behind tlie paper sides of the houses. Apparently there Avere only the group in the Audience Hall and a fcAv soldiers to gaze at us, but in truth Ave Avere beino- scanned bA’ an ea^er assem- blage of fair ones gatliered behind the screens. Cruel custom debarred them from Avitnessing more openly the ceremony. But nothing is insurmountable to female curiosity ; and Avhen, in addition to the uniA’ersal inheritance of their sex in this respect, Ave remember the long-pent-up accumulation of ages bequeathed IGO THE LAND OF THE MOFvNIXG CALM. them from an unsatisfied past, it is no Avonder that the opacity of paper proved no obstacle to their ingenuity. Had we liad the ears to listen, innumerable little pistol-shots Avould have spoken to ns of holes where delicate fingers had perforated the paper to open views for observant eyes. It was under such a fire that Ave had to conduct our retreat across the square until Ave had once more reached the friendly coA^er of the feast pa- vilion. Here Ave Avere met Avith an enthusiasm befittino: our orderly escajAe from so merciless a scrutiny. Good things Avere once more set Ijefore ns, and Ave had soon forgotten the diffi- culties of being en evidence in the more solid delights of seclu- sion. But it Avas only an interlude, a mere truce betAveen the battles ; for tlie ceremony Avas but half over. There Avas more to come. There Avas yet the presentation to the CroAvn Prince. To add to the aAvkwardness of tramping about in evening- dress at that hour of the morning, it Avas horribly cold, and my muscles threatened to become even less manageable than under ordinary conditions. So bitter Avas it that tlie American Minister, Avho had a cold he Avas afraid of increasing, decided to forego this uoav ordeal. So Hong and I sallied forth alone. This time Ave took another direction. We turned to the left instead of to the right, but otherwise Ave exactly repeated the experiences of half an hour before. Two, hoAvever, is a much less aAvlcAvard number in single file than three ; and in spite of an equal number of courtyards, the distance did not seem nearly so long. Besides, custom began to tell. I Avas beginning to feel as if marching in solemn jArocession, through the mud, of a Avinter’s day, insufficiently clad in evening dress, under eager examination, AAvas my ordinary pastime. Tlie CroAvn Prince received ns, installed in his oavu pa- vilion, after tlie same fashion that his father had done. He Avas a little boy of ten. Seclusion and an enforced dig- nity befitting his position had giA’en him a look beyond PRESENTATION AT COURT. 161 Ills years. His face lacked the beauty of liis father’s ; but it is perhaps unhiir to criticise wliat has never known a youth, and has not yet arrived at manhood. The face as yet knows not what it is. The coinplexion was singularly colorless, but I suspect that much of this, so marked was it, was due to the use of chalk, — a common practice in the hir-East. His eyes were very narrow even for an Oriental, and gave him an appearance of being half asleep. His dress closely resem- bled his father’s. He wore the same kind of hat, the same kind of tunic, a similar belt, and like plastron, and his feet were similarly encased in low shoes. Only in the color of the tunic itself was there any marked difference, and this was of a lighter shade than the king’s. His life had taken expression from his fsice, and left only a sort of realization of the treadmill of his position behind. He stood between two tall ministers, Avho bent over and prompted him as to Avhat he should say before he began to speak. He listened with statue-like passiveness to their whispers, and then repeated in his childish voice his lesson. Only when he got his answer did he turn to them again for counsel. He seemed a touchino- mixture of dignit}" and helplessness. The ordeal Avas rather too much for him. He was not always so quiet, as I discoA'ered on a subsequent occasion, Avhen I caught him peeping out of a back Avindow at my camera, Avhere he supposed he could not be seen, Avhile he Avas Avaiting to give me audience, and Avhen I looked iqy shut the sliding screen like a flash. In this instance he acquitted himself creditably, and no doubt felt relieved Avhen it Avas safely OA*er, and he saAv me traA^ersing the courtyard on my return. As for me, I AA^ent back again to the liaA'en of AAaiit- iug, and drank more tea. This finished fhe proceedings. We effected our de])arture under coA’er of a cloud of smoke, Avalked once more doAvn the immense outer court, got into our palan- quins, and Avere carried home. n 162 THE LA:sD of the moening calm. CHAPTER XVII. A DAY AT HOME. VERY one lias at some time been conscious of tlie lialf- ^uilty, no-business-to-be-tliere-at-tliat-lionr feeling whicli takes possession of a man at a chanipagne-fiavorecl morning entertainment. The wedding reception, being onr commonest example, lias embodied the sensation. It is the last twinge of the mental conscience of the serious man. When he loses that instinctive warning, he is on the high-road to the worst possible of Nirvanas, — an extinct mind in a living body. I found myself not unfreqiiently of a morning a prey to one of these spasms. Because one of the first specimens of Western humanity the Koreans had ever seen, and on account of my friendship to their country, I received many morning calls ; and I felt that my jiart in the piece required for its proper performance a little fluid to prevent friction. In Korea it is never too early to call. The New Y'ear’s call of ceremony at the palace begins long before daylight. It is another good reason for not wishing- to be born a king. Per- haps, however, the head tliat proverbially lies so uneasy may not be sorry to leave the pillow. Fortunately for my own comfort, calls upon me were made at a more Christian hour. This was what happened at a call. As I sat in what I made my reception-room, a servant en- tered through a hole in the wall ; that is, he pushed aside a A DAY AT HOME. 163 pair of sliding screens let into tlie side of tlie room, which was cut out in a circle. In this manner the room connected with the rest of my suite of houses. When his long skirts had rustled over what stood for a sort of threshold, — the lower rim of the circle, a foot high, — he announced the visitor, at tlie same time handing me a strip of red paper, eight inches by four, on which was printed a series of Chinese characters, arraimed in a sinerle vertical column. This was the caller’s card. In origin, the card is Chinese ; and with many other social customs, it Avas engrafted upon Korean etiquette from the observances of the dragon throne. It is made of paper of the usual thickness, dyed a brilliant carmine on the upper side, Avhich soaks tlirough into a pale pink on the under. On this ground stand out in vivid contrast the black characters of the person’s name. Like tlie customs of every aristocracy, Avhich is still a jiowerful fact, and not its shadow, a respected feeling, the card is despotically plain. The name stands alone in all the strength of its simplicity. There are no titles of law or of courtesy. The name means more than any title, more than can be Avritten, hoAvever finely done, on eight inches by four. It read simply “ Hong Sun Mok.” At a nod the servant disappeared, to return ushering in the visitor. I rose. We both boAved, each of us at the same time raising his hands closed, and })ressed against one another to the level of his head. This, again, is after the Chinese fashion. It may suggest the general advisability of shaking your own hand rather than the hand of your acquaintance. I purposely say acquaintance, for it is a A'ery different matter in Korea Avhen a man has become your friend. Then you shake his hand, as Ave should do. I like the practice. It raises hand-shaking to its proper le\’el ; for there the}" make use of the demonstration only after an absence, a separation, not at each fresh reappearance of the person, or in consequence of 1G4 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. the coming’ of each new dawn. With them it means affection, not affectation. We then sat down again, and tea was brought in and then tobacco. The material bond of sympathy between host and guest in the far-East is invariably tea and tobacco, as it is coffee and tobacco in the near-East, and as it used to be wine and cigars with us. This was then supplemented in my case, to the delight of the visitors, with sometliing from beyond sea. In Korea, as elsewhere, tliere are calls of ceremony and calls that are not. It is only on an introduction, or on a stated occasion of visiting, such as New Year’s da}^ that one’s cards are necessary. Familiarity and mutual affection soon put us on a very easy footing. Especially was this the case toward a foreigner. My visitors, having come once, came again ; and tliey stayed a long time — sometimes, I Avill confess, it seemed to me forever — at a visit. Except for a chosen few, I tliink short visits, often re})eated, preferable. This was one reason why, of all others, I liked tlie visits of the P^oreign Office the best. Its members dropped over constantly to see mo, singly or in a body. Sometimes tliey had something political to say, oftener not. On these latter occasions they made of me an agreeable recreation from the toils of business. I Avas very conveniently situated. Any one Avho has inhabited a central room in his college, one easily made a loafing-place, Avill per- fectly understand the situation. But, unlike some such visit- ants, they remained but a short time, business always affording them a cajiital stage-exit. Like historic Bob SaAvyer, they Avere sometimes even summoned aAvay ; and they bustled off Avith great assumption of immediate and imperative necessity. The next man to be announced Avas a merchant, or, to be more jirecise, a vender of old curiosities. Quite apart from the man himself, I abvays felt an excitement, Avhen he appeared, akin to that of draAving in a lottery ; for you could never tell A DAY AT HOME. 165 what lie would not produce from Ids only too caj^acious sleeves. He always struck me as a species of real juggler who added, to the surprise of discovery, the still further delight of uncer- taintv as to what was about to be discovered. The number and character of the things that man would produce from the recesses of his sleeves was little short of marvellous. Books, paintings, fans, pillow ends, — all came out in turn from the same mysterious emptiness, — for the sleeves never had the look of concealing anything, — and the trick finally wound up with the drawing forth and setting upon the table of a large stone jar, a brush-holder, so thick and heavy that it was unpleasant to cany it across the room, as I found when I ti’ied to move it. This capaciousness of what stood him in lieu of pockets enabled him to walk the streets without in the least betraying his calling. If he was as astute in making a trade as he was deft in concealing his own, I felt at once that I was no match for him. I was probably right in my self-distrust, though about this I was allowed to remain in blissful ignorance. After the merchant had withdrawn with all his ofoods in consequence of failure to agree on a price, I heard a scuffling outside, then a tap at the paper screen, and a band of boys from the neighboring school dropped in upon me through the win- dow. For the only material sign, as yet, of a desire to associate with the world at large had been the founding of a school to teach English, and the importing of an Englishman from Japan to teach it.^ The boys were very proud of what little thev had alreadv learned, and took infinite deli«iit in wishiim me ffood- morning in my native tongue. One of them, either more ad- venturous or more advanced than his fellows, next tried to put a few words together, and then was summarih’ corrected bv his more ba.shful friends, with that sudden temeritv besrotten in ^ August, 1883. This was in January, 1884. They had therefore Ijad five months’ schooling. 1G6 THE LAND OF THE MOEXIXG CALM. 3’outli by the all-importance of the fact at issue, such correc- tion being of course oftener wrong than right. At this point I was entirely forgotten for the far more absorbing contro- versy ; and what was begun as a would-be polite speech ended as a successfully maintained proposition. But I turned uj^ again as a final court of appeal. The boys were very assiduous in their visits. One da}^ one of the most attentive brought me some paintings of his own brush, and they were really exquisitely done. To be born a Korean is already to be born half an artist. These various good people not infrequently stayed to lunch. In fact, they have been known to stay on and on for hours with that special object. Dinner I invariably ate alone, unless I dined in town or specially invited some one to dine with me. ]\Iy evenings were exceedingly solitary. There was no happy mean. Everybody came in the morning, nobod}’ at night. i\Iany a night I have watched till the small hours with nothing but a pipe and the printed thoughts of others to keep me com- ])any. I had, however, one refuge from myself, in the person of the teacher of the school. He was agreeable, clever, and thor- oughly conversant with the far-East, for he had lived fourteen years in Japan. There he had married a Japanese wife, and become the father of a prett}^ little Eurasian girl. He inhab- ited at present what had once been a temple in a high corner of the back part of the Foreign Office enclosure, — or com- pound, as such a collection of buildings and courtyards is called in the English of the far-East. It was not above a stone’s-throw awa}^ from my own house. But to get there I was obliged to pass through three gates and four courtyards, or four gates and six courtyards, according as I went the long- est or the shortest road. But I had not my choice of paths. I was obliged to go one way and return the other ; for by so doing I foiled the gates. The way of it was this : At nightfall A DAY AT HOME. 167 the watchman of the compound went his rounds and carefully fastened every gate. But as there were a great many court- yards and they all opened one into the other, wdiat was an inner fastening to the one necessarily became an outer fas- tening to its neighbor. It was, therefore, always possible for any one who started by being wdthin the outer gateway of all to wander wherever he pleased, provided only he went in the proper consecutiv’e order. Going in that order, all the gates opened to him, — for tliey were not locked, but simply barred by a wooden bolt ; but to walk in the other direction was impossible, for the bolts served all the purposes of locks from the impossibility of getting at them. Tliere was nothing for it on this side but to scale wall after wall, — a difficult and by no means pleasant task. Thus, by always travelling in my unavoidable loop-fashion in one direction, I liad nothing more arduous to do than to wdthdraw the wooden bolts as I came to the several gates, and to remember to return the w^ay 1 had not come. These nio^ht excursions of mine must have been a source of great annoyance to the watchman who perambulated the com- pound once an liour regularly through the night. For the very possibility of opening all the gates became, when considered from the other side, an impossibility of shutting any of them again after passing through. I therefore left them unbolted. So the faithful watchman spent his time in continually reclos- ing what he thought he remembered to have left securely fastened. One poor old gate suffered sadly from this constant opening and shutting. It came entirely off its hinges, and then split into two halves, which had to be propped up as nearly into their former positions as possible, and then kept there by means of a heavy stone rolled against their lower extremities. I found it in this plight one night ; but not perceiving its crip- pled condition, pushed against it, and then felt positively guilty 1G8 THE LAND OF THE MORXIXG CALM. of cruelty Avlien, after resisting my first sliove, it fell at my second, with a sort of groan, into a heap of ruins. On returning from one of these visits one night, I met the watchman. I say I met him, because in no sense did he seek me. I heard him off at the other end of one of the courts, and waited for him to come up. The light from a bull’s eye and the incessant sound of a bell warned the only senses possible of his approach. I had seen his ignis fatuus of a lantern in the distance many a time before ; and as to hearing him, I had done it so often that I felt some curiosity to examine one whose noise had formed an inse}>arable })art of my midnight reveries, lie and an associate — for a subordinate accompanied him — carried between them three odd-looking utensils of their trade. The chief patrol held in one hand a dark-lantern, — a most curious and ingenious invention, called, on the Incus a non prin- ci})le, a thief’s lantern, — while in the other he swung a bell. The last he only ceased to ring when, from some reason like the shutting of a gate, he had not hands enough for the purpose. He kept up this continuous ringing in order to give an}- thief that might happen to be about due warning to escape. It is a practice which the Korean watchman shares with those cf China and Japan. This certainly renders the occupation of the ]\ight-watchman less exciting, if slightly more onerous ; for any thief who waited to be caught under such circumstances would be not only a knave but a fool. Whether it equally j)revents crime may ])ossibly be doubted. In Japan the patrols also crv out at intervals, “Look out for fire;” but in Korea this danger, from the ditferent construction of the houses, is not so imminent, and they walk their rounds in silence except for the bell. The lantern the watchman canned was a spherical shell left open on one side, and with a round piece of wood, like a broom-handle, let in diametrically opposite, and })rojecting about eight inches, for the hand to grasp. The whole was A DAY AT HOME. 169 covered with gaudily painted paper, on whicli were pasted Chi- nese characters and other designs, betokening long lite, happi- ness, and other desirable tidbits ol lortnne. by so much taste is Avasted on the dark is a problem ; for, being on the outside, they are of course invisible both to the patrol and to any one else. However, the feeling tliat tliey are there may possibly be found consoling in the long hours of the night. But the real beauty of the concern lies Avitliin. On the inside is SAvnng, by a system of double joints, the tin frame for a candle, Avliich, by this means, has motion in any direction. The object is that tlie broom-liandle may be held in the hand in any position, Avliile the lantern is pointed like a blunderbuss at the person to be inspected, Avithont, in so doing, displacing the candle, Avhose stand is properly Aveighted to fall, from the vertical. The AA’hole suggested the scooped-ont pumpkin of one’s boy- hood, carved by youthful ingenuity to represent some diabolical ap|)arition. To the associate fell the duty of carrying the third imple- ment, — an iron bar fitted Avith iron chains. This served for handcuffing. The bar Avas the only one of the tools not in ordinary use. The darkness saved me from discovering how rustA^ it had groAvn. The patrol suffered my inspection with great forbearance, considering hoAv reA^ersed Avere the parts Ave Avere respectively supposed to play, and I left him Avith a sense of having not a little surprised the good man ; but I judge that he may liaA^e found some consolation in tlie liglit the meeting threAv upoii a certain hitherto mysterious point. The secret of the gates ajar must from that moment have ceased to disturb his nightly cogitations. 170 THE LAXD OF THE MORXIXG CALM. CHAPTER XVIII. THE HOUSE OF THE SLEEPING WAVES. O XE clay a dinner was given me by the Governor of the province. Despite the fact that it was not the season for country parties, — the month was January, — he had, for certain reasons, chosen a spot outside the city in which to give it. In virtue of his office, he was the temporary owner of a villa on the banks of the river Ilan ; and whether it was the fact of precarious possession, or a sense of the peculiar fitness of the place for festivities, he had fixed upon this villa for the occa- sion. We were not, on that account, however, to be deprived of the pleasure of seeing those city buildings of Avhich he Avas ruler, for Ave Avere first to rendezvous at the province-house. Accordingly, an hour before noon, Ave set out from home in jialancpiins, and Avere carried across the city and through the Avest gate, just outside of Avhich stands the magistracy for the proAunce of Kyong Keui To.' The building is placed Avithout the gates for technical reasons, but for convenience is put as near as possible to Avhat it is not alloAved to enter. The scrolls on its gates shoAved it to be a public building, and the number of soldiers that Avere lounging about outside gave further evi- dence of its being in use at the present time. Entering by the gateAvay, an imposing structure, even as among magistracies, Ave ^ Thfi words mean “five parts, or whole” (Keni), “of the capital” (Kyong), “ province ” (To). The five parts meant are the north, the east, the west, tlie south, and the centre. The idea is Chinese. THE HOUSE OF THE SLEEPING AVAYES. 171 came into the outer courtyard. In one corner of it were stacked spears, as we should stack muskets. These suggestively Tartar implements are, however, more for effect than for service, as firearms have been in use in the far-East somewhat longer than witli us. At this spot our palanquins were set down, and get- tino- out we walked through the inner court to the hall where the Governor awaited our coming. An inner room was fur- nished with a sort of by-the-way collation. Tea was imme- diately served, and I noticed that the bowls were different from any I had seen before. They were rudely enough made, but the colors of the butterflies and flowers upon them were really beautiful. They turned out to be of Korean manufacture of two years before. Previous to that time, for centuries, Korean pottery had been plain, either unglazed or glazed, of a sombre greenish hue. In the past the pottery of the peninsula was very famous ; and this was the first symptom of a desire to revive, though with color in place of form, what has become Avith them a lost art. The tea is drunk after the Chinese fashion, from covered boAvls as much larger than our ordinary teacups as ours are larger than the Japanese. The lid, which always rests, the concave side downward, OA^er the cup, and ft-om being a lit- tle smaller fits inside of it, is tilted slightly aAvay from one Avhen the Avhole is raised to drink, and thus a zone opened through Avhich the liquid flows out. It is then replaced again, as before, in order to keep the tea hot. A misuse of this lid, either through ignorance or intent, gave rise to the saucer, AA'lnch is purely a European invention, quite unknoAAUi in the far-East. In all probability, some cup and its lid Avere origi- nally shipped home together ; and those Avho receiA^ed them, recognizing their interdependence but ignorant of its char- acter, suggested this connection. If Ave are prone to regard far-Eastern methods as our oavu upside doAAii, Ave must 172 THE LAND OF THE MOKXIHG CALM. certainly admit that for once the far-Orientals can return the compliment. These little social amenities took jdace in a small room on one side of the building, the centre being occupied, as is the case in buildings of this class, by an open hall-wa}’ closed only at the back. The room was full of people ; for though we were but four, entertainers and entertained included, the space near the entrance was crowded with servants standing u]). The higher the rank of an official, the longer his train of followers, Avliose duty in life apparentl}^ consists in being constantly visible. They play the part of chorus, looking becomingly grave at what is serious, and tittering most appreciatively Avhenever anything funny is said. After a smoke, Ave all set out again for the river, but in as scattered a condition as Ave had come so far. From tiie magistracy to the \dlla Avas a distance of tAvo or three miles through the suburbs of the toAvn, — collections of villages inter- spersed Avith fields. As these fields Avere for upland crops, and it Avas inidAvinter, there Avas but little beauty. What pictu- resqueness there Avas, came from the houses and from the exceeding uneA’enness of the road. Xot being used for Avheels, — that great cause of roads, properly so called, — it Avas noth- ing but a track over a country by no means leA’el. Wlierever it Avas not frozen hard, it Avas deep in spongy mud ; and the bulls of burden — the only frequenters of it except men — in- creased the Auleness of its condition. To their tranqding Avere largely ‘due the sloughs Avhich, on a slight rise in tempera- ture, principally comjAOsed it. It came into existence by being used, and continued to exist for the same reason. At every mile or so the palanquin-bearers deposited their burden at the side of the street, — Avhich Avas almost more of a relief to the carried than to the carriers ; for betAveen the cold and the cramped position I had reached that most Avretched ROSSIXC A STKKAM. THE HOUSE OF THE SLEEPING WAVES. 173 aggravation of misery, impotence of the mnscles and yet aching of the nerves. As soon as we stopped, the bystanders crowded around to get a glimpse of me. Bnt to receive such attention, it was by no means necessary to wait for the stopping-places. In the midst of the journey, Avhile actually in motion, the very cnrions felt no hesitation in thrusting their heads fairly inside the palanquin to peer at me. A large part of the scenery consisted of graveyards. These were not fenced-in enclosures, bnt collections of mounds dot- ting the hills. Occasionally a stone slab stuck up from out the withered grass ; bnt such memento was the exception, not the rule. Usually the graves were only rounded swellings in the grass-covered surface of the treeless slopes. The hill- tops, not the valleys, had been chosen as their site. With all their reverence for their departed ancestors, the Koreans recognize that, after all, the land is more useful to the living than to the dead. Graveyards, or more properly collec- tions of graves, always occupy the hillsides, not, so far as I could learn, from any superstition connected with the position, but solely because, so placed, they interfere less with the wants of the inhabitants. The valleys are needed for roads, rice- fields, and houses, while the hillsides are even less valuable under the Korean system of agriculture than they are with us. They are therefore given to the dead. How the common people became possessed of a place to bury their dead is a species of mystery, for to them the seizing of mountains for the purpose is not permitted. This practice is a perquisite of the official class. To every official belongs some particular mountain which is his private family tomb. No other person is allowed on the property, nor would this noble think of burying his family elsewhere. Should he not happen to own one such natural mausoleum, or should the manes of his ances- tors demand a change of situation, — for not infrequently they 174 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. become dissatisfied with tlieir quarters, — he looks about him for some mountain, not already the property of another, and seizes that ; for whatever common people may happen to be squatting on it at the time have no rights. The practice lends itself easily to various abuses, for, the mountain once become his property, he may put it to any uses lie pleases ; and he often does. It is a chea}) and effective metliod of acquiring land. Unfortunatel}", it is limited in its sphere by the con- currence of other nobles. Past these mortuary suburbs — for the dead may never be buried within the city wall — we were borne at the usual fast walk, and then through villages composed of rude huts, till at last we reached the river bank at a point where one of the knolls, so common a feature in this part of Korean scenery, overhung the river Han. Upon this knoll Avas perched the villa Ave Avere seeking-. It Avas called “ The House of the Sleeping Waves.” They Avere certainly asleep that day ; for the river Avas fast bound in ice, and the air Avas so cold that Ave Avere fain to seek a hasty refuge inside the screens. Four hraziers, one at each corner of the room, and some very strong “sul,” tasting not unlike gin, someAvhat revived us; and at last I A’entured out again to gaze upon the panorama at our feet. DirectU' beloAv laA^ the riA’er, coiled over the land like a mam- moth ice python. Beyond it stretched the Aast plain of sand Ave had crossed Avith so much tdil on our journey up to Soul ; and in the distance the mountains, Avrapped in snoAv, ansAvered us, as it Avere, from across the leA’el breadth. Scattered over the ice Avere quantities of moving figures, that gave the scene an ideal Dutch look ; and canopying the Avhole Avas a sky of deecA" Avhite clouds sailing steadiB^ atlnvart the blue. The house itself had in former times been the home of a general-in-chief of the army. Noav it belongs to the State, and its use is a perquisite of the governorship of the province. THE HOUSE OF THE SLEEPING WAVES. 175 Here the Governor comes when he feels peculiarly poetic, and gazing over the river from the terrace is inspired to song. The present Governor, however, was more given to keeping np the old reputation than the new. As he himself held a military position, Ave were in no lack of soldiers in consequence of the change in ownership. The insignia of this second dignity was a leathern girdle tied in front, and ending in two leathern knobs for tassels. It was too cold to linger over the view, and for once at least I regretted that indoors and outdoors are in Korea two different Avorlds. Tlie paper of the window, in place of glass, completely isolates the one from the otlier. There Avas nothing for it, lioAveA’er, but to return to the braziers and the sul. “Sul ” is the generic name for Avine in Korea, as “sake” is in Japan ; and the tAvo names denote the same substance. It is a drink made from rice, sometimes fermented, sometimes dis~ tilled, so that it resembles, according to its kind, either beer or AA’hiskey. In taste it hiintly suggests sherry, but Avith a pecu- liar aroma of its own. It equally faintly suggests gin. Perhaps no further commentary is needed to explain the impossibility of likening it to anything*. Usually it is quite mild; AAdiat Avas uoaa' served to us, on account of the cold, being exceptionally strong. In one respect it differs from the Japanese. It is commonlv opaque, muddy, AAdiereas sake is clear. There are said to be clear kinds in Korea, too ; but being more expensiA'e, they are not in ordinary use. In olden times it was opaque in Japan, and the history of the change is handed down in the folloAving anecdote. Once upon a time, in the midst of a feast, a boy Avas sent out to the kitchen to heat some more sake ; for sake to be delicious must, to natiA’e taste, be hot, and relaj^s of it are therefore constantly being heated and brought in as the feast 17G THE LAND OF THE MOKNING CALM. progresses. It is warmed in tall tliin-necked earthen jars over a charcoal fire until it reaches the proper temperature, and is then decanted into porcelain bottles and served. While en- gaged in his task, the boy carelessly let fall into the wine a ])iece of charcoal from among the embers of the fire. This was most calamitous ; and for a moment the boy stood aghast, awe-struck by its descending gurgle. Pie could not see the liquid for the smallness of the opening, and his fears had all the greater scope. The more he considered, however, the more his courage returned. After all, it was a big piece of charcoal ; and though it was a horribly dirty substance, to be sure, still, perhaps, by taking great care he might be able to decant it so carefully that all the charcoal would be left behind in the jar, from which he could take it out at his leisure. He already felt better. To his horror, then, Avhen he came to pour it, there flowed out not dirty sake, indeed, but 'what was worse, a perfectly clear and transparent liquid, that looked so utterly unlike sake that everybody would be sure to see the mishap at a glance. He carried it in, his knees shaking under him, and watched with fearful anxiety as he served it to the first guest. There it was, sure enough, the tell-tale liquid, like Avater for clearness. In dismay, he confessed Avhat he had done, and Avas on the point of receiving condign punishment AA^hen somebody had the curiosity to taste the AAune, and dis- coA’ered that it had not been injured in the least, but rather improved in delicacy of flavor. The guilty inventor found himself, to his great surprise, praised instead of punished ; and eA’er aftei’Avards it became the j)ractice to drop on pur- pose a bit of charcoal accidentally into the sake, until at last they took to filtering it altogether. While I sat sipping my sul, my thoughts meditatively engaged in folloAA’ing the pleasurable course of the AAune doAAm- Avards, all of a sudden a band struck up in the next room, on THE HOUSE OF THE SLEEPIXG WAVES. 177 the other side of a thin partition which completely hid it from view. The effect was startling in the extreme ; I felt as if I had been struck, instead of the instruments. The band must have stolen in there when nobody Avas looking, and then let off at us in this unexpected manner. Just as I AA^as j)reparing to dislike it for its intrusion, — as we take aversions to certain people from their mode of address, — my ear Avas caught and my indignation arrested by the peculiarity of the sound. It seemed like an apology meant to deprecate niA" nascent AATath. There is something singularly plainti\’e in Korean music. I think it is due to unlimited quaA'er. It is impossible for me to describe it, as it has always been impossible for me to remem- ber it ; and I am still in a state of doubt as to AA’hether, on the whole, it is agreeable or the reA^erse. I forgaA-e it; but one forgiveness apparently AAaas not enough to satisfy its tender conscience. It Avent on repenting of itself, as it sounded, for a good (piarter of an hour. 'When at last the band paused exhansted, tAA'O military trumpeters, Avith the same unexpected abruptness, launched into a duet outside ; and then there AA’as silence by the space of fifteen minutes, Avhen the thing began again. During dinner, in the course of the small talk Ave bandied about, a poser Avas most unpleasantl}^ given me in the shape of a personal conundrum, I aa’us asked to guess the age of my host. Xoaa', in Korea it is a great compliment to be thought to look old. This, fortunately, I kneAA\ So far I Avas safe. But unfortunatelv for truth’s sake, iua" host looked singularly young for his age ; for his age I also happened to knoAV. His AA’as a most lamentable exception to a general rule ; for a Korean almost inA’ariably looks older than he is, so that Avith them truth is flattery, and Avhat is meant for flattery turns out to be truth. But Avhat was I to do noAv? Should I sacrifice A^eracity to a desire to j^lease, or a desire to 12 178 THE LAND OF THE MOENIXG CALM. please to a stern sense of veracity ? I took a middle course, and g-nessed his age to be Avliat I kneAv it was. In the ex- planation that folloAved the laugh, so much talk Avas raised as to coA'er any retreat I fancied. We Avent out on to the j^iazza, and then I thought I should like to try the ice. So AA^e descended to the river. The stream was solidly frozen over, and AA’e got upon it Avithout the least difficulty. The ice AA’as covered Avith bands of fishermen, most of them in motion, each man armed Avith an im})lement for cutting holes, and each dragging a sled. This the}" sat doAvn upon AA’hile they AA^aited for bites. The contriA^ance Avas also de- signed undoubtedly to carry home the fish they might catch. While I Avatched them, they caught nothing. But this Avas ill luck, for from these fisheries are supplied the large quantities of fish AAdiich are daily eaten in the capital. From the numbers engaged in the pursuit, I should judge that it Avas the principal occupation of the villages AAdiich croAA’d the banks of this }>art of the Ilan River. Where we Avere AA'as about inidAvay betAveen the tAVO ferries fartliest doAvn stream, something short of a mile from the place Avhere AA-e had crossed it on the journey up, and in the verv centre of the river suburbs. Both Avater-fishing and afrriculture are at a standstill at this season of the A’ear; O for during tAA’o months the river is solidly frozen over, and the ground does not open for the first digging over for the rice crop till the middle of March. During this enforced rest the inhabitants spend their time in transporting bruslnvood into the city, and in these fisheries. The fishermen Avere fishing for Avhat is knoAvn in Japan as “ koi.” Underneath the ice is stretched a net. Then at intervals upon its surface are dug holes tlirough the crust, and doAim these are let strings AAith bare hooks fastened to their ends, dhe fishers then start some distance behind the spot AAdiere the net is huno-, AA'ith the series of holes betAA'een them and it, and begin THE HOUSE OF THE SLEEPIXG WAVES. 179 to make as terrific a noise upon tlie surface of tlie ice as tliey are capable of producing, gradually, as tliey do so, approacliiug the net. The terrified fish make off as fast as they can, but are unable to escape because of the net, and in their bewildered condition are caug'ht upon the hooks as they rush heedlessly past. The liooks are formed of three barbs at right angles to one another. It is only in winter that these bare hooks are used ; in summer tlie fishing’ is carried on witli hooks that are baited. Enticement succeeds to repulsion ; and in this pur- suit, as in others, it is no doubt the more efficacious method of the two. With the exception of the fishermen, the Koreans were not at home upon the ice. They went on it under protest, as it were, and showed much anxiety lest my rashness sliould end in mv falling through. The officials especially cut a ludicrous figure as they ventured upon the slippery surface, propped on either side by a body-servant, after the fashion of a pair of human crutches. Tliere was a certain need of these stays here, but the custom knows no sucli actual exigencies. It is a mere question of dignity. It is etiquette for all officials, whenever they condescend to walk at all, to be iqffield under the arms by a couple of men. Official presence consequent upon this action oversteps, it seems to me, that bound which is said to separate the sublime from the ridiculous, especially when the motion quickens, as it not infrequently does, into a run. To witness some poor official hastening, or rather has- tened, in this manner to a rendezvous, gives one but a humorous idea of the lofty gravity of station. The river is here so subject to the tide as materially to affect the freshness of the water, and therefore to lower the freezing-point, so tliat the extent and duration of the ice means more than at first ap^iears in the way of cold. In view of such opportunities it is not a little surprising that skates should never 180 THE LAXD OF THE MOPtNIXG CxVLM. have been invented ; the more so, as the overflowed rice-fields would furnish the best possible of places for the pastime. Yet I neither saw nor heard of any. Even sliding upon the ice, which I was obliged to substitute in lieu of the more noble invention, Avas set down in their minds as a foolish foreign eccentricity. Indeed, the zeal with Avhich not only friends and attendants, but even disinterested bystanders and lookers-on, endeavored to Avarn me off the ice, Avould liaA'e done credit to the hen Avith her obstinate duckling. Pushing always forward, I found the ice perfectly firm eA’ery- AA’here, and reached AA’ithout difficulty the cJievaux de frisc along the opposite shore. Tliis I scrambled over, and climbed up the bank. Once on the bank, there Avas nothing to do but to re- turn ; for the bluff on AA’hich the house stood Avas, like most Korean suburbs, much better to look from than to look at. The mass Avas good enough; but at this distance the surface had an excoriated appearance, due to indiscriminate trampling. "We mounted again to the House of the Sleeping WaA^es to sip that latest noiiveaute in Korea, after-dinner coffee. As Ave sat on the A'eranda, there stole up to us the ring from the ice as the fishers tramped over it, — that holloAV booming sound, Avhich abvays seems so to typify ^^nd enhance the deadness of a Avinter landscape. And then, as it AAms a simple dinner, one Avithout the addition of geisha or other inducement to linger, Ave prepared to set out on the journey back to toAvn, amid a flourish of trumpets and much handling of muskets on the part of the Governor’s retinue. THE WANT OF A EELIGION. 181 CHAPTER XIX. THE WANT OF A RELIGION. I F YOU Avere to stand upon the wall of the city of Soul, and let your glance Avander OA’er the roofs that, not unlike the AA’aves of a sea, lay stretched out before you, you could hardly foil to be struck by a A’ery conspicuous absence, — the absence of anytliing in the shape of a building aa IucIi rose aboA’e its fel- loAAs. The AAude sameness of construction aa'ouUI affect your senses, and influence the general impression made upon you by the vieAA^ at your feet, AAuthout at first your being quite conscious of the cause. Some feature, common to panoramas of the kind, is here AA'anting. As you came to analyze the sensation, you AA'ould find that it AA'as the effect of uniformity. Before you lie some square miles of thatch and tile, AA'ith little or nothing beyond the natural uneA’enness of the ground to diversify the A’ieAA’. Your eye seeks in A^ain those loftier structures aaIucIi sei-A-e to fix it, and give it, as it Avere, points of departure for the rest. It is a vieAA^ lacking- accentuation. It is a A'ieAv AA'hich suggests, by inference, a singular equality among the people, Avhich could shoAA^ itself in so striking a uniformity in their dAA'ellings. One AA’Ould think it the expression of adA-anced democracy, not to say the fulfilment of an ultra-extraA'agant socialistic dream. And yet there could be nothing so unfounded. There is probably no country in the AA’orld so completely the opposite in its institutions to such a snpposition. Not only is 182 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. its government no rule by the people, it is in no sense fi rule for the ])eo})le. It is as much in the interest of a few, as the power is in the hands of those few ; and at the top of all sits a des- potic king. What is it, then, that is wanting! A religion, Xo spire leads the thought to heaven. If we will consider for a moment, Ave shall realize that it is to religion that cities have been indebted for the greater part of their architectural monuments. Whether the religion be Chris- tianity, Islam, Buddhism, or something else, has not mattered to the result. The fact is just as true in Kioto or Delhi as in Koine or London. All religions have been powers which, in the matter of building, have universally surpassed even that of the rulers of the land themselves. The vast extension and the zeal of the organization has been such as to call into play the resources of every one of its legions of followers; and its Avants, architecturally, have been on a scale Avith its resources. Xo Avonder that in all times and among all peoples it has usurped the lion’s share of the talents of architects. Take aAvay tliis patron, therefore, and at one blow you deprive a place of the greater part of its imposing structures. This is Avhat has hap- pened in Korea. There is not a single religious building in the Avhole of Soul, nor is any priest ever allowed to set foot Avithin the city’s gates; and Avliat is true of Soul is true of eA*eiy Availed city of the land. The fact is as unique as it is, especially in its consequences, of singular interest. China, on the one hand, and Japan, on the other, offer, in their general characteristics in this respect, no difference to Euro])ean customs. In both lands religious build- ings dot the cities in the same diA-ersifying manner as Avith us. Detailed differences in appearance there certainly are, but these are due far more to a difference in aixdiitecture than to any change in the motiA'e cause. Xeither people being architect- urally great, there is A’ery little of the grand in their productions ; THE WANT OF A EELIGIOX. 183 and in Japan especiall}’, owing to a comparative absence of pagodas, religious buildings do not stand out to the eye as do our spires or cathedrals. But they are there, for all that ; and a little knowledge and attention will reveal them, even in a pano- ramic and distant view, as clearly as elsewhere. Korea stands in this respect in isolated suggestiveness. For such an utter dearth suggests something beyond what meets the eye. It not only attests a present, but it hints at a past. It suggests the sudden banishing ot a religion which once held swav ; for had no religion worthy the name supplanted the aboriginal superstitions which form the emotional thought- product of all peoples in their primitive state, this superstition itself Avould have left its own monuments behind it. Now, in the case of Korea, remains of this description are not numerous enough to satisfy the principle. There are, it is true, certain shrines, sacred trees, and memorial buildings to be found throimhout the land : but thev are neither common enough nor sufficiently imposing to have ever marked the full de- velopment of a live and all-absorbing superstition. Especially are they few in just the places where we are seeking them now, — namely, in the cities. We are therefore led to sup- pose the existence, at some past time, of a social cataclysm, — a cataclysm which at once and completely overthrew an exist- ing faith. Such a cataclysm did actually take place in Korea, and the land to this day has never recovered from its effects. As to the wav in which it came about, the followinof is a Korean explanation : It was at the time of the great Japanese invasion of three hundred years ago. Up to that time, Korea was like its neighbors, who have ever been rather tolerant than otherwise of religious beliefs. Thev have usuallv harbored two or three at a time, which have managed to live at peace in the placid bosom of the race. The invasion took place just as the sixteenth century of our era was lapsing into the seventeenth. 184 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. In 1598 Kato and Konichi set sail from Japan — inncli as William the Conqueror did from Normandy, with only the reciprocal change of continent for island in the two cases — to subjugate their neighbor kingdom across the sea; and after a ])assnge of much the same length, they landed at Pusan, as he did at Pevensey. There is certainly something grander in a flotilla bound for conquest than in any army. We are moved b}" the daring that braves both Nature and man. So was Na- ture touched herself, and she let them across in safety. Then began the march up from the sea ; for, unlike England, there was no gallant Harold to oppose them, — none who, after woi’st- ing one enemy, had marched (as is even to-day a marvel in tactics) from sea to sea to front the other foe. Korea was para- lyzed by the boldness of the deed. She seems hardly to have realized the situation. Her seclusion has always colored to her mind the actions of the outside world with something of the impossibility of fulfilment of a dream. And the Japan- ese column moved on with the irresistible force of a natural catastrophe. The invaders were plucky then, as they are plucky now. For all that, they did not des})ise stratagem, so Korean tra- dition informs us ; for the two rival generals were racing by different roads to the capital, and time, for once in the history of the East, became of account. Neither could afford to stop and lay siege, lest his rival should get ahead of him. To gain access, therefore, to those citadels which they could not take by assault, the Japanese adopted a disguise ready at hand. Some of them donned the broad-brimmed hats of the Buddhist priests, that sweep down on the sides so as to conceal completely the face of the wearer. They give men the appearance of mush- rooms walking. Thus insured against detection, the invad- ers gained admittance to the outstanding castles and put the garrisons to the sword. THE WAXT OF A EELIGIOX. 185 The inoffensive priests suffered for the dej:)redations of the wolves in sheep’s clothing. \Ylien the Japanese withdrew, which did not happen, permanently, till thirty years after- ward, the Korean Government decreed that for future safety no priest should ever, on any pretence Avhatsoever, set foot within the gates of a walled city. The expulsion of the priests was naturally followed by the gradual disappearance of the buildings. The body of religion — its structures — crumbled again to dust, and the spirit winged its flight from persecuting man to rest among the mountains. So religion in Korea died. Such is one explanation. But there is grave reason to doubt it. It savors far too much of a desire to father upon the hated victorious Japanese the destruction of everything that Korea lias lost. The account given in the native histories is more prosaic, but more trustworthy. The otlier is interesting as showing up one side of the Korean character, — an utter untrustwortlnness in matters between themselves and others. It comes out even more markedly in their accounts of battles which they are forever winning, and yet somehow after which they invariably retreat. According to the historical version, some centuries ago, there were two parties in the State, — one wedded to Confucianism, the other equally attached to Buddhism. The Buddhists had grown exceedingly corrupt. A struggle took place between the two parties ; the Buddhist supporters were worsted, and their expulsion was decreed and carried out. Buddhism was banished ; thenceforward it lived only in the depths of the country. Still, it was, properly speaking, not so much banished as in part destroyed ; its existence in cities came to an end. But the life of Buddhism has always consisted of two parts ; the Church has ever sought com- munion with Nature as much as converse with men. The 186 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. monasteries scattered tlirono-hout tlie country are as integral and important a portion of it as are the temples to ■which throng the crowds of the great cities. In consequence of the decree, the temples in Korea ceased to exist, but the monas- teries continued as before. The law did not directly affect them ; but indirectly they suffered from its effects. Banish- ment from the cities produced two results. First, desuetude rendered the mass of the people quite oblivious to religious matters ; and secondly, the withdrawal of religion from the seats of power threw the profession into disfavor Avith the aristocracy. Members of the highest families Avould not en- ter it, and its ranks Avere consequently recruited from a less educated class. This tended to lower it still further. En- doAvments became less in number, and smaller in amount ; and religion, e\'en the monastic half, instead of being as in Ja})an a live and poAverful institution, dAvindled till it became only the hermit remains of its former self. The nearer to the cities the Avorse the curse ; so that noAv it is only afar in the mountains that anything approaching its old-time gloiy still lingers. What its features are, I shall have occasion to men- tion later Avhen I come to describe an expedition I took to a certain monastery to the north of Soul. Here, then, Ave haA'e a community Avithout a religion, — for the cities are to a peculiar degree the life of the land, — a community in Avhich tlie morality of Confucius for the upper # classes, and the remains of old superstitions for the lower, take its place. The materials of Avhich the monuments Avere constructed have still further effected their eradication. Throughout the fiir-East Avood is the common article employed in the build- ing of temples. Though occasionally stone or some other more durable substance is used, temples or pagodas so con- structed, in whole or in part, are rare. THE WAXT OF A EELIGIOH. 187 It is to one of these rare exceptional occasions — in this instance to the stone of whidi it is made — that is due the preservation of the only pagoda still extant in Soul. This structure is not a true 2)agoda. It is a pagoda only in form ; and now it is but a neglected ornament in a certain man’s back-yard. But it deserves to be mentioned for its beauty as well as for its lonely survivorship. It hardly rises above its present lowly position, for it is not above twenty-five feet high. So little does it overtop the roofs of even the low Korean houses that surround it, that it baffles by a singular delusiveness one who attempts to reach it. It lies almost in the heart of the city, not far from one of the main thorough- fares ; and it is while walking down this thoroughfare that one catches a distant glimpse of it. The distant glimpse never becomes a nearer view. From afar it is a conspicuous ob- ject, and on a closer approach it vanishes. It reappears only when it has once more been left a long distance behind ; while from any other point of view than this street it is hardly visible at all. Picpied into curiosity, I determined to ferret it out and see Avhat it was, even at the risk of dispel- ling the charm. The approach, as I expected it would do, led me up several narrow cross streets, and eventually landed me before an ill- kept little garden, in the midst of which rose the deserted solitary pagoda. As I could get no good view of. it, such as I wanted, from the alley-way where I stood, I was obliged to ask permission to break one of the most sacred of Korean rites, — no less heinous an offence than the climbing to a neighboring ridgepole. The act was not reprehensible on the score of trespass, — my asking permission precluded that, — but the climbing to any, even one’s own, roof is in Korean eyes a grave affair, for it is a question of statute. It is forbid- den by law to go upon one’s own housetop without giving 188 THE LAND OF THE ^MOEXIXG CALM. one’s neiglibors fornuil notification of one’s intention to 'do so. The object of the law is to prevent any woman’s being acci- dentally seen by one of the other sex. The women’s suite of houses are in the rear of the compound, and their occupants might easily be overlooked when in the enjoyment of their gardens from such a vantage-ground. Tlie owner of the building I was at present desirous of scaling courteousl}" granted me permission to mount upon his roof, and himself afforded me the best means he conld to do so. By the help of some nondescript wooden constructions and the zealous rather than dexterous assistance of the family and its friends, we all managed to get up, including the camera. The good Kim, an invaluable attendant, performed, for a Ko- rean, prodigies of skill ; but habit was so potent that all the other Koreans, including tlie owner of the house, remained below. Tliey found the sight, however, a most interesting spec- tacle, and collected in the alley-way till from above the line of spectators looked like a ribbon of u|:)tnrned faces. I have reason to believe that the proprietor neglected to notif}’ his neighbors of my intention, as I caught a woman in an adjoin- ing back-yard in the act of lianging out some AA'ashing. Unfor- tunately, she did not tarry long enough for me to pliotograph her, but dodged under shelter again Avith virtuous rapidity. The })agoda was well worthy the toil involved in the getting a vieAv of it. Although it Avas eight stories in height, it Avas composed, the Avhole of it, of tAvo pieces of stone. Not, prop- erly speaking, a real pagoda, it Avas an ornamental structure in the form of one. Tlie stories Avere carved to represent an actual building, Avhile Avhat should have been their sides Avas exquisitely chiselled in bas-reliefs of celebrated personages. The Avhite granite had become slightly discolored Avith age, but enough of its former purity remained to bring it into effectiA’e contrast Avith the sombre g-rav of the houses. The o t/ THE WANT OF A EELIGIOX. 189 garden in it stood was a shabby, sad-looking little hole, not above twenty feet square ; and the whole j)lace, pagoda and all, looked — as in trntli it was — utterly forgotten. As soon as we descended, the good man asked us in to a little afternoon tea, and added to liis native hospitality much interest in the proceedings. The idea of the pagoda is Indian ; and the Chinese, when they adopted, together with the Buddhist religion, this which had come to be one of its expressions, took the idea without directly copying the form. When the Koreans, in their turn, came to borrow, they took both idea and form from the Chinese, tlieir predecessors in the line of possession. What I mean by the idea, as distinguished from the form, Avill appear by looking at the structure itself. The most cursory examination will show the pagoda to be unlike other tall and slender structures in one peculiar and fundamental re- spect. It is not a unit, but a conglomerate. Instead of being a perfect whole, it suggests a series of buildings of the ordinary Cliinese type, placed one above another skywards. The sug- gestion is no accident, but the result of design. Each of these stories, whose number varies in different specimens, typifies a Buddhist heaven. They represent the successive stages tlirough which the soul, in its advance toward ])urification, must inevi- tably pass. This is the idea embodied in the pagoda. This much, then, the Chinese adopted ; but in the expression of the stories they followed their own models, just as they did in tlie temples which they erected in honor of the same religion. This intent — that of repetition — counts undoubtedly for something, in the quaintness with which the pagodas impress the Western eye. Closely connected in the far-East with the subject of re- ligion is the matter of fixed and stated amusements. The church is the first link in a chain of development of which the 190 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM, stage is tlie last. The beginnings of theatrical representations consisted of certain religious performances at the Buddhist tem- ples. Strictly religious at first, these were simply processional chantings, which were, in fact, services of the Buddhistic ritual. From this sacred origin they became gradually secularized and separated, until they appear as solemn chanted renderings of historical events. It was very slow music to very slow move- ment, and there was no stage setting. This period is still kept alive in the No dances of Japan. To call them serious would be to make of the ordinarily serious the frivolous, by contrast. Statues endowed with a})propriately stiff motion, and with voice to endure but not to change, form a more fitting parallel. Splendid automata they appear, with clothes a very marvel of ijtarch for rigidity of shape. And yet, once toned down to the occasion, the spectator cannot but be impressed with a dignity which is itself artistic. Then the comedies were written, and tlie separation from the parent stock was complete. From this point the stage ad- vanced, as it has done everywhere, from the remote and unnat- ural to the every-day and near at hand, — as Ave may say, from the abstract to the concrete. In Japan the result has been one of the finest stages the Avorld has produced. In fact, it is not going too far to rank the Shintomiza, the great theatre of Tokio, as but little inferior to the Theatre Frangais, Avith Avhich, of all theatres, it is most Avorthy to be compared. In vieAv of this ancestral connection, therefore, it is not sur- prising that consequent upon the abolition of religion in the past should folloAv at present an absence of the stage. Tlie theatre proper does not exist in Korea. Whatever histrionic talent lay innate in the people, neA-er got the encouragement of a place from Avhich to make its dehut ; and to no profession are a local habitation and a name more conducive to successful develop- ment. The setting of a piece is, in a tAvofold manner, an aid to THE WANT OF A KELIGION. 191 its effect. It encourages the performer to believe in his own illu- sions, and thus he what he would seem, while it adds another element of attraction to the audience. He is criticised, if we may so express it, with only half a mind, while he himself is left with a whole one to create. This aid Korea has lacked. Histrionic art there has never risen above the nomadic stage. Character performers, who stroll the streets, and let themselves out in unaided simplicity for entertainments, are the onl}^ representatives of the profes- sion ; and it speaks volumes for their inborn ability that they produce the illusions they do. If the art in the peninsula had not received the check we have mentioned, and had not been hindered from other sources, there seems no reason why it should not have rivalled that of Japan. How much more interesting, as well as gay, life in Soul would become under sudi circumstances, will be fully appreciated only by those who have passed a Avinter in the Koi’ean capital. These bands of performers combine otlier kindred callings Avith that of actor. They are, first and alAA^ays, musicians. Their instruments consist of the big and the little drum, — the latter shaped like an hourglass and struck Avith the palm of the hand, — the tAvo-stringed fiddle, and seA’eral flutes. They are the same instruments that are used in the Buddhist tem- ples, both in Korea and Japan ; and the character of the music is similar to that of the religious serA’ices. Secular music thus differs in Korea from Avhat it has become in Japan. In the former it has remained Avhat it Avas in its sacred days ; in the latter it has, in conrse of time, entirely changed from its orig- inal idea, both in instruments and in stvde. The chano-e lias been markedly for the better, for the Korean music sounds plaintive. Contrast and some slight adaptation liaA^e rendered the sober the sad. The musicians play commonly squatting upon the floor, like the priests in the temple, but Avithout all 192 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. tlie ceremony wliicli attaches to tlie la}’ing clown of the in- struments and resuming them at the proper moment, and the many other formulm Avhich convert the seiwice into a pageant. The acting is confined principally to one man. He is not only the star, but the all in all, the others being merely neces- sary accessories. He learns no Avritten part, but improvises ac- cording to his own versatile genius ; and he does it exceedingly Avell. All the events of Korean life, all the humorous traits in city or country character, find in him a ready and clever mimic ; and he affords amusement, not only to his audience, but to his fellow-actors, Avho find it impossible at times to keep their countenances. THE DEMOX WOESHIP. 103 CHAPTER XX. THE DEMON WORSHIP. MOXG the Koreans, the one stretching out to something beyond Avhat they can see and hear, the universal crav- ing for the supernatural, finds its expression in a belief wiiich, if lacking in anything lofty, is at least not devoid of a certain picturesqueness. It may, witli more tlian ordinary reason, be divided into a practice, on the one hand, and certain less vital principles, on the other. So far as the practice is concerned, it might be called the belief in evil spirits. To call it a worship of spirits, generally, would be unnecessarily to extend the cult ; for in this branch of the superstition one never hears of any good spirits, except in the most distant, indefinite way. As these latter always do wliat they should in the working of the cosmogony, it is quite needless to pay them any attention ; indeed, when we come to think of it, an invariably beneficent deity, in the old pagan sense, — not a creator, but a mere con- comitant of creation, — is a somewhat useless piece of fiction to any nation. It speaks rather for the existence of higher and nobler feelings, among early races, than we are prone to credit them with, that such feelings, side by side with abject fear, should have sought embodiment in genii. The evil-spirit faith of Korea is one of the many forms of that body of superstition which is common in essentials, though differing in details, to the whole eastern coast of Asia, — from 13 194 THE LAXD OF THE MOKNIXG CALM. Siam, on the sontli, to Kamchatka, on the north. It is man’s first attempt to account for all those ills which are his birth- right. But it is not so much an explanation as an instinc- tive inference. The tempest, the earthquake, the thunder, and the lightning are exhibitions of forces he cannot understand. They frighten, they kill him, without his being in the least able to foretell their coming. But, worse than all tliese, is insidious disease. In the morning he is well, and life opens out before him one long vista of happiness ; and at eve he is at death’s door, and he cannot tell why. Misfortunes seem to come upon him designedly, like the acts of some great dis- tinct free-Avill, so different do they appear from the ordinary, orderly course of Nature. To his mind, only beings in some ■sort like himself, though vastly more potent, could cause such things ; and so he peoples the air Avitli them, and then guards liimself against their attacks as best he can devise. Tlie existence to-day in Korea of such a faith, as a still living belief, is, in the first place, interesting in itself. For the Koreans are no savage tribe; they passed from the child- hood of hobg-oblins and nightmares to the manhood of com- mon sense as long ago as Ave did ourselves. Tlie phantasms of fear gave place to the rule of reason there, as here. With them, as with us, religion supplanted superstition. But among them, as hardly with a parallel elsewhere, the career of reli- gion was peculiar; it went as suddenly as it had come, and left them Avith nothing but the old superstitions to fall back upon. Why it Avent, Ave liaA^e seen in the preceding chapter ; and its loss produced its inevitable results. When a belief rational and pure enough to be called a religion disappears, the stronger minds amono- the communitA' turn in self-reliance to a belief in O 4/ nothing ; the weaker, in despair, to a belief in anything. This happened here ; and the anything to which they turned in this THE DEMON WOESHIP. 195 case was what had never quite died out, the old aboriginal demon worship. What that was exactly, is, in detail, peculiar to Korea. It consisted for the most part in the belief in a host of malevolent spirits, who, though invisible, made their presence no less potently felt in other Avays. No better method of introducing these spirits to the reader suggests itself to me, than the way I myself made their acquaintance. It was certainly calculated to be impressive. Probably the first thing to catch your eye, if you stood before one of the royal buildings, Avhether it were palace, pavilion, or pyre, would be a row of bronze figures squatting in Indian file on the ridges beloAv the gables. Your first glance would suggest a pack of mischievous boys in the hazardous act of sliding down the roof. A second look Avould show them to l)e sitting regardant ; but so precarious is their position, and so lifelike their attitude, that you almost expect them to move, in spite of the evidence of your senses to their inability to do so. To call them simply grotesque Avould be to belittle them by too faint praise. They are the very incarnation of absurdity, as they are meant to be the impersonation of the hideous. Tlie procession — to use Avhat still seems, in spite of their fixity, the most appropriate word — is headed by an animal that looks like a monkey, and is called a Sonokong, seated on his haunches, Avith his arms akimbo, as if he Avere impertinently quizzing the passers-by from his safe vantage-ground. Behind him squats a figure suggestive of a pig, rather more stolid and indifferent than the first, and also, if possible, uglier. Behind him is another pig ; and so the}' go tailing up the ridge. The Aveather has not been over-gentle Avith the brutes, and has done its best to increase their original repulsiA’eness. It has thus furthered man’s Intention, for the beasts are spirit scarecroAvs. They Avere placed in their guardian position iu order to 196 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. frighten away the evil spirits, the spirits of misfortune and disease. AVith such repulsiveness on the roof, disease and niisfortnne dare not enter the door. Tlie evil spirits are a sort of impersonation of ill-luck. They are forever wandering about, and seeking a baneful intimacy with frail mortality. They people the air, and until self- domesticated, show no inclination for terrestrial life, as did the ancient dryads, satyrs, and nymphs. They would seem to be innocuous in the open, but in- side a house, in the unguarded freedom of the domestic circle, they become capable of any amount of harm. One of their most common noxious pursuits is as the bearers of disease. In fact, one is tempted to style the cult the Avorship of bacteria, — bacteria of tlie mind, body, and estate. In size, also, they sug- gest the like ; for they are, for spirits, diminutive. They are considerably smaller tlian men. Indeed, considering that they are not supposed to be seen, we know their size Avith surprising accuracy from certain represen- tations of lights they have had Avith mankind ; for man is at times bold enough to attack them, and not Avithout reason, apparently, as in such encoun- ters the imps invariably figure as getting the Avorst of it. But then men dreAV the pictures. There was one old Chinese general, in particular, avIio was famous for his fights Avith the spirits. In fact, his posthumous THE DEMON WOESHIP. 197 reputation rests principally upon liis unvarying success in tins kind of warfare. He lived in a sort of middle distance of liistorical perspective, when war was still undertaken, according to the would-he romance of succeeding ages, against the powers of darkness, and men had not yet been obliged to turn their hands so exclusively to slaying one another to earn a fame for prowess. lie has since become a favorite subject in pictorial art. One of his portraits, which I happen to own, depicts him on Ins return home from a successful fray. He has collared his demon, and is dragging him along much as a policeman walks off a small boy to the police station. The poor little imp looks innocent enough to suggest that here, as elsewhere, the minion of the law has got hold of the wrong boy. It is certainly not in strength that the imps excel, but ratlier in cunning and virulence. They are also, most fortunately for their possible victims, surprisingly timid. If they were not, tlie human part of the community would assuredly have to mi- grate, for they are unpleasantly plenty. But though wily in character, they are not sagacious in mind ; in fact, they are simplicity itself. The very clumsiest of devices serves to terrify them. The average bird must be considerably more astute than they, judging from the things at which they take affright. No passably clever crow but learns in a day or two that a scarecrow is a sham, but centuries of association have failed to impress the impish mind with the vanity of the beasts upon the roof. Their endeavors seem to be directed to gaining an access to the houses. Here again we are tempted to class them as a tolerably perfect germ theoiy. The fresh air is not favorable to their proper working. They become dangerous only in the impure atmosphere of a room. Having effected an entrance to the house, they then best attack the person. Perhaps there is an affinity here in their action to the belief of possession by 198 THE LAND OF THE MOKNING CALM. evil spirits, current among- the ancient Hebrews, though such possession is rather implied than expressed. As it is apparently impossible to protect the person when once the demons have entered the house, the ingenuity of mankiud is directed to the devising of means to deter tliem from entering their abodes; this, thanks to the timidity and gullibility of the assailants, is not a difficult matter. It would appear that the most effica- cious means are the fanciful beasts ou the roof On the prin- ciple of setting a thief to catcli a thief, tlie representations of imaginary monsters should perhaps be the best protection against imaginary foes. Time has not familiarized them in the least witli the siglit ; and the defence may be considered as complete, for tlie buildings seemed to me to be as devoid of spirits as tliey were of any other furnishing. To the people generally, there is a slight drawback to its efficaciousness, in that they are not permitted to emjdoy it. Such guardians are solely the perquisite of his Majesty ; common houses have to shift without them. The reason is, that it is a crime to be like the king in anything; and as his Mnjesty takes the first choice in all inventions or discoveries, the rest of the Korean world has to get along as best it may with the second. The beasts on the roof are not the only artifices in vogue fo keep out the vagrant goblins. Fortunately for the welfare of the community, others have been found not inconducive to the same result, — practices which, not being to the royal fancy, have become, by elimination, the property of the peo})le. Upon the outer portal of the better class of Korean houses, on the streetward side of the panels of the double door, are posted what look not unlike theatrical placards. They are colored paper drawings, and they represent tAvo ancient generals, — the one Korean, the other Chinese. Though to our eye they sug- gest a coming display of histrionic talent, there is nothing theatrical in the native intent. They are not addressed to THE DEIMOX WORSHIP. 199 men, but to the spirits ; and their purpose is not to allure, but to repel. One of the two is the general above mentioned. This contrivance is rather a privilege of the nobility. The common people are content to fasten upon tlie lintel of their door a wisp of rice-straw or a strip of cloth. The higher classes having used up terror as a safeguard, the poorer have to put up witli deception, to try and catch the imp Ij}- his failings. The rice-straw is to pander to the greediness of the ghoul; the shred of cloth to delude him into the belief that the man himself is there. As it once formed a part of his garment, the ghoul is supposed to be simple enough to believe that it still does. Both the paintings on the gates and the offerings on the lintels are very common in Soul, and you can hardly pass along any street in the capital without seeing several. There is another custom in connection with the warding off of the evil spirits, which is as pretty in its expression as most of the otliers are grotesque. It is unlike them, also, in another way, for it is not a permanent protection. It is a rite, per- formed on a particular occasion, and only once a vear. I was witness of it, by accident, one afternoon, and I admired its poetry before I learnt its purpose. It was on the Korean Xew Year’s eve, a month later than our own. In the twilioTt of a snowstorm, I had started to walk across the city; all day it had been snowing, but now that the day was dying, the weather, remorseful, seemed trying to forget its sullen mood in a parting smile. But repentance had come too late ; and the sunset light now only succeeded in tingeing the leaden canopy a faint, lurid red, which the freshly fallen snow reflected back. It was an unreal light, this afterglow, as it struggled with the deepening gloom. Few people were abroad; and even the speech of such groups as stood gossiping here and there seemed hushed of itself to Avhispers, as it stole to my ear, muffled by the 200 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. snow. My very footfall was lost in tlie thick, soft carpet that covered the path. Against such a sombre, silent background there shone out, Avith all the more vividness, at intervals in the street before the doors of the houses, tiny tongues of flame. They sprang from little bonfires in the midst of the snow, Avhich men, as silent as the time itself, stood tending. The men uttered no sound, and their whole bearing was subdued by the scene into an unearthly quiet; farther on, a group of children, gath- ered in a circle about the flame, sat mutely intent on its flicker- ings, while its light clyed their gaudy dresses yet ruddier, and touched the eager young faces with its fancy-begetting glow. Like the ruby flame at the heart of a Roman Catholic cathedral shrine, it seemed the only living thing in one vast gloom. Slight knowledge always tends to destroy the quaint. On returning home, my first inquiries about what I had seen elicited worse than a prosaic explanation. I had witnessed, so I was informed, the annual domestic hair-burning. During the year the hair combings and cuttings of each household are carefully kept and put aside, and then, on a certain night, the Avhole collection is brought out and burnt, once for all. Whether this is, as some say, from a superstitious aversion to the burn- ing oftener than is absolutely necessary of Avhat has been a part of man, or whether, as others suggest, for the more sinqde reason that the odor of burning hair is too disagreeable to be often repeated, — is uncertain. At any rate, this refuse of the Korean scanty toilet is punctiliously preserved during the en- tire twelve months, and then solemnly consumed on that day, Avhen all things begin anew. As this did not satisfy my sense of poetic justice, I in- quired further of my official visitor, the secretary, a man deep in native folk-lore. Nor was I disajopointed. The rite Avas, indeed, too picturesque not to have a soul. This is Avhat he told me. THE DE.AEON WORSHIP. 201 Some of earth’s customs are but tlie reflection of those In heaven. There is a New \ ear’s day there, as here. It dawns the same to both, for one surrounds tlie other.’ Upon it all the good spirits — and their punctual attendance at this annual re- ception is one of the few mentions made of the virtuous nonen- tities — call upon the Lord x>f heaven, as men call upon the king on earth. Vvdiile they are so engaged, the evil spirits, — the spirits of disease and misfortune, — not being expected at the entertainment, are left to their own devices, and having nowhere else to go, descend from the sky to annoy and pester mankind. It is to prevent them from entering their abodes that men kindle in front of them the tiny bonfires. The ob- jects of so much excluding care bear the suggestive name of “ floating and attaching devils.” So numerous and active a host of deities would seem wor- thy the tribute of some shrine ; but they have none, unless a jail may by antithesis be supposed to take its place. You cannot travel far on any Korean road without pass- ing one of these jails. It is in the form of an ancient tree around whose base lies piled a heap of stones. The tree is sacred ; superstition has preserved it, where most of its fellows have gone to feed the subterranean ovens. It is not usually very large, nor does it look extremely venerable, so that it is at least open to suspicion that its sanctity is an honor which is passed along from oak to acorn or from pine to seed. However, it is usually a fair specimen of a tree, and where there are few others to vie with it, comes out finely by comparison. Other- wise there is nothing distinctive about the tree, except that it exists, — that it is not cut down and borne off to the city on the ^ Yu Kil Chun, a Korean, used to have discussions ■with his brother as to whether, by climbing a mountain, you got nearer heaven. He held that you did not, not because he believed heaven to be very far off, but because he thought it to surround the earth with a uniform thickness, irrespective of the height from which it started, like some material covering, following the contours. 202 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. back of some bull, there to vanish in smoke. On its branches hang-, commonly, a few old rags, evidently once of brilliantly colored cloth ; they look to be shreds of the garments of such unwary travellers as approached too close. But a nearer in- spection shows them to be tied on designedly. The heap of small stones piled around the base of the tree gives one the impression at first that the road is about to undergo repairs, which it sadly needs, and that the stones have been collected for the purpose. This, however, is a fallacy : no Korean road ever is repaired. The spot is called Son Wang Don, or “The Home of the King of the Fairies.” The stones help to form what was once a fairy temple, now a devil jail ; and the strips of cloth are pieces of garments from those who believed themselves pos- sessed of devils or feared lest they might become so. A man caught by an evil spirit exiles a part of his clothing to the branches of one of these trees, so as to delude the demon into attaching there. Tlie origin of the practice is handed down by legend as follows : In olden times, during one of the many wars with China, a certain Korean general found himself, on the very eve of battle, destitute of ammunition. Fortunately, he was well posted on the top of a mountain. In this trying situation he dreamed a dream. In his vision, a goddess appeared to him and showed him a heap of stones under a tree, which she informed him would do to throw down upon the heads of his assailants. In the morning he found the spot he had dreamt of, and then bade his army collect as many more stones, for tlie same purpose, as they coidd find. These they subsequently peppered the foe with, to such effect that he won the battle; whereupon lie ordered collections of stones, like tlie one he had seen in his dream, to be made throughout the land, to be ready for any like emergencies in the future. With the pile of stones THE DEMOX WOESHIP. 203 was naturally associated the memory of the goddess. They came to be regarded as temples to her ; and because of her good-will to men, they were fixed nj)on as most suitable places to which to exile the evil spirits. Thus they developed into devil jails. The legend, or tale, goes on to state that the vision was a day-dream of victory, and that the supernatural part of it was invented by the general to realize his dream. He compassed liis end ; but the superstition, once started, rolled on through the ages by its own momentum. This is a view of one half of the belief, the side of practice ^ and, as is consequent in superstition, this side has for the objects of its devotion the evil half of the heavenly beings. The good have their portion wholly in the theory of the mat- ter. They are worshipped a little, but even this little is solely to obtain their aid against the demons. In other words, they are supplicated, but never adored. In number they are legion. Tliey are, for the most part, heavenly, though many of them belong to earth. Compared with the devils, they are pleasingly indefinite, because the ideas they embody are not so concrete. Every one fears the . lightning, but few can see the special potency of the abstract good. They are not represented, to nn" knowledge, as warring with the powers of darkness. In heaven apparently the earthly law is reversed, and right is might simply by virtue of being. They strike down bad men occasionally, but they leave the actual fighting with the demons to the ancient Chinese general. They are tolerably lazy ; for they acquiesce in the existence of evil, unless specially impor- tuned. They even so far forget their duty as to leave the earth at times destitute of its proper supply of rain. This is the most serious of omissions on their part, because productive of the direst of calamities to mankind ; for upon a suitable quantity^ of water depends the rice-crop, and upon the rice-crop 204 THE LA.XD OF THE :\IOIlXIXG CALM. depends the existence of man. In seasons of drought, therefore, tlie whole nation becomes deeply religious. Prayers through- out the land are made by the officials; and if of no avail, at last the king throws himself into the breach, and becomes a medi- ator, a suppliant to the gods in behalf of his people. Leaving his comfortable palace, he proceeds to a building erected some- Avhere out in the country for the purpose, and there he stays night and day in supplication upon the ground. Fortunately, in the nature of things, rain eventually follows a drought, so that at last he is enabled to leave his exceedingly painful position successful in his petitions. In the mean while the rice-crop is often ruined. Intermediate between the virtuous and the vicious is a third class of spirits, that are neutral, — neutral, that is, as regards their moral qualities. They inhabit the earth, and are an inoffensive lot. They have no special reason to exist, but neither has man. To Korean ideas the one has as much raison d'etre as the other. They pass their time much as he does, without the unpleasant necessity of having to earn their living. They frequent all sorts of places, but have a preference for mountains. Their life is one long Korean holiday. Some are more philosophic than others ; and these are very good com- pam’, as the following story shows. Apart from its general information, the tale has particular interest, as being another form, from distant and hermit Korea, of the Avidespread myth of Eip Van Winkle and its kindred folk-lore. Much as Ave enjoy the legend of the Kaaterskills, it is, as AA^e knoAV, only an imported ivy from other Avails of the past. Our European civi- lization in America is not yet old enough to have so beautiful an outgroAvth. But in a land Avhere the very tile-roofs are OA'ergroAvn Avith grass, Ave can hardly be surprised at finding it. Thus it is that Korea, too, has its Avanderer, Avho by acci- dent exchanged the cycle of earth for the cycle of the spirits. THE DEHOH WORSHIP. 205 We mortals count our time from the rising of the sun to its setting. The gods, who know not darkness, have the summer for their noon, the winter for their night. A year of this world is a day of heaven. There lived, once upon a time, a certain well-to-do country- man, whose business took him to the woods. He was a feller of timber, and in pursuit of his Avork he often Avent far into the mountains. All Koreans are fond of Nature, and this man Avas no exception to the rule ; so, Avith his business as excuse and his loAm as incentive, he AA’ould ramble on into the A’iro'in forest. One da\^ he AA’andered farther than usual, and found himself at last some distance up the side of the mountain. Before him lay the peak, seemingly close; and under the impulse of that species of folly AA'hich urges men to go to the top of any- thing lofty, in spite of their better judgment and repeated expe- rience that the end never justifies the means, he climbed it. When at last he reached the summit, he found there four old men busily intent on a game of go.^ They Avere seated, squat- ting- in a circle, the go-board in their midst, Avhile around them on the grass lay flagons of sul, and a page sat hard by to replenish their cups as they Avere emptied. The four looked up as he approached, boAved Avith great civility, and observing that he Avas tired, ordered the page to pour him out some sul. He sat doAvn, sipped the sul, and looked on at the game. After tari-3ung Avhat seemed but a short time in such agreeable companjr, he rose to take his leaA-e. They bade him good-bx' AA'ith as much courtesy as they had AA-elcomed him, and he started doAA-n the mountain. He descended Avith.out accident, and reached the bottom in much less time than it had taken him to go up. Mindful of his AA'ife and children, he struck out for home, and arriA*ed there in safety before sunset. On * Our gol>aiig is derived, though much modified, from this game. The name is probably taheii from “go ban,” whuh means “the go-board.” 206 THE LAXD OF THE LIOEXING CALM. entering liis own abode, lie was somewhat surprised to find the place occupied by people he had never seen. What was Avorse, they ordered him off the jiremises as an intruder. He remon- strated at being thus turned out of his oavu house ; and in the altercation that ensued, the master of the place came out from an inner room to see Avhat Avas ffoiim- on. He Avas a man Avell on in life, and yet the Avoodman never remembered to have laid A TEA-FIGHT OF GNOMES. eA’es on him before. Appealing to him, hoAvever, for redress, the Avoodman Avas asked his name, and on giving it, the man replied that such Avas his first name, too.' On further question- ing, it turned out that the present incumbent aa^ts the Avood- man’s oavu ofrandson. The AA'anderer had come back to another Avorld. His AAo’fe had long since died, his children all AA-ere buried; most of their children, too, had passed aAvay, and his 1 111 Korea, the first name is equivalent to our last name. THE DEMON WORSHIP. 207 gi’eat-grandcliiklren had grown up to manhood. He had been gone one Imndred years. Whether the spirits be good, bad, or indifferent, they all equally share the misfortune of being ordinaiy. In all my- thologies the gods are not over far removed in dignity from their worshippers. The gulf between adorers and adored widens with the civilization of the race. But still there is a certain degree of nobleness and almost grandeur in the pro- ducts of Aryan mythology. With far-Eastern gods, on the other hand, there is a striking amount of very average human- ity in their composition ; and this is all ihe more glaring because of the contrast of a childish faith with a maturer civilization. The evil-spirit faith of Korea is, I think, related to the Shinto fliith of Japan. The two differ now, it is true, considerably in detail, but both are probably only forms of the common aborigi- nal superstitions. There is one point, that is suggestive, in •which the two have agreed from the earliest times. They alike worship the earthly ruler as divine. But there is a line drawn in Korea which does not exist in Japan, between what exists in the flesh and what is entirel}' heavenly. In the peninsula the Avorship of heavenl}’ spirits is a perquisite of royalty. The king worships the spirits, and the common people Avorship him. This is considered sufficiently near for them to approach their gods. It is not the only faith in Avhich stepping-stones are deemed necessary. But there are certain exceptions. EA^ery one, for instance, is alloAved to have his “ household spirit of earth.” This is a pure Korean spirit. The conception is as native as the identity. Every part of the surface of the land, according to Korean no- tions, has its spirit ; but so long as the spot remains uninhabited, the spirit has nothing to do Avith man. As soon, however, as a man settles in the place, the spirit becomes a sort of lar, 208 THE LAXD OF THE MOEXIXG CALM. or household god, and requires to be recognized and •wor- shipped. Thougli the spirit is indigenous to tlie soil, and of its essence, as it were, he is not in the least space-defined ; that is, he does not belong to the land as a whole rather than to any, the smallest part of it. lie is as indefinite as space itself. He is the many in one. It is a subtle concep- tion. If, for instance, one man owns ten acres of land, he worships a single spirit brooding over the ten acres of ground. But if two men subsequently buy the same land, each at once begins to worship a spirit of his own, and not half of the previous man’s genius loci. The king worships the spirit for the whole land. The peo- ple pray to this spirit ; but they erect no altar to him, as he is not more in one place than in another. Tliere is another spirit vouchsafed to the adoration of the people. He is known as “ The Blesser of Children.” He is sent by the supreme S]:)irit to every house in Korea, to pro- tect the children from the devils who try to lure away the little ones in order to make of them their own successors. If this is the way the demon company is recruited, their simplicity becomes more explicable. One of the most ingenious of the spirits is “The Purveyor to Tigers Spirit.” He frequents the mountains, because the tiger himself does. After a tiger has eaten a man, he makes use of the soul of the devoured as a means to jirovide himself with an- other meal. As he has assimilated the bodv, so for a time he owns the soul. So he sends it out to loiter on the mountain- paths until it falls in with some man who chances to pass that wav. Tlien by subtle mental spells it lures him off the path into the thickets. The man suddenly feels thirsty, and imagines tliat he hears water; or he feels tired, and thinks he spies a tempting spot among the trees where he can lie doAvn. He Avanders aAvay into the unfrequented Avoods, and is surprised, THE DEMOI^ 'WOESHIP. 209 killed, and eaten by the tiger. The soul of the first victim is then released from its bondage, and tlie soul of the second takes its place. There are two classes of spirits wliich possess a special inter- est. They may be called historical spirits ; for the}^ are those which have to do with the history of the land, and those which are connected with the history of its rulers. The earliest of the myths about Korea represent the land as a fairy land, — the home of the spirit of longevity and his companions. They lived there l)ecanse of the beauty of the moinitains and the lakes, so the present inhabitants say. They dwelt principally upon three lofty peaks, — Ha La, in the island of Qnelpart ; Knn Gan, or “ The Precious Stone ; ” and Te Pek San, or “ The Great White Monntain.” An an- cient emperor of China, it is said, once tried to catch one of these fairies of longevity at the time when they still dwelt in the Middle Kingdom, if perchance from them he might obtain the elixir of life, and continue, though a mortal, to exist for- ever. He failed to take captive the spirit ; bnt he so fright- ened them all that they fled to the East and settled upon the three mountains. Though these were their earthly homes, their home also was in the sky. They descended to earth to revel in the forests ; and when for the time satiated with pleasure, thev returned again to heaven. As yet the land Avas nameless. A name came to it Avith the next myth. A long AAdiile ago — the Korean guess of three thousand years Avill do as Avell as another date — a certain spirit called Tan Knn, or ‘‘The Lord of the Oak-tree,” de- scended from Te Pek San, and made himself ruler of the coun- ti’A'. He called it Chosdn, or “ The Land of the Morninw- Calm.” If the spirit spoke Korean, he named it Achim Kolmn. All Ave knoAv is that AAdien, later, Chinese came to be the lan- guage of literature, the name Avas Sinicized into Chosen. In 14 210 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. contrast witli the spirits of long-evity, Tan Kiin is described as a true or real spirit. He is known to-day among tlie masses rather as a spiritual man than as a manlike spirit. Tlie com- mon people firmly believe liiin to have lived upon this earth. But such was not his original character. As being, after all, more tangible tlian his predecessors, he is singled out as the father of history. In the far-East the only thing of impor- tance in sucli historical assertions is that the farther off tlie person, the more desirable he is as an historical character. The existence of proof, or the want of it, is quite an unne- cessary consideration. From what we know of the migrations of those races whicli peopled the peninsula, we can trace the thread of truth running tlirough this web of fiction. These races came from beyond the ranges to the north and west wliich culminate in Pck Tu San, or “The Ever White Mountain,” and thence travelled to the south and east. The idea, not only of a rule by divine right but of a riglit to rule by divine origin, is one of tlie fundamental tenets of far-Eastern royalty. The next myths that Ave meet Avith have therefore to do Avith the ancestors of the dynasties that in their day liaA^e governed the land. After the reign of innumerable petty princes, — three thou- sand they are roughly reputed to have been, — the country Avas divided into three large portions. Three houses had SAval- loAved up all the rest. One day the king of one of these Avas Avalking in a Avood, AA'hen his attention Avas attracted by a magpie caAving as if he Avere the mouthpiece of some great excitement. FolloAving up the bird, he saAv in the thicket Avhat looked like a golden calf. He pushed the twigs aside, peered in, and discoA’ered a box, Avhich he took back Avith him to the palace. He then summoned his spouse, told her the story, and the tAvo together opened the box. To their great THE DEMOX WOKSHIP. 211 surprise they found inside of it an egg of pure gold. Being superstitious, the king was afraid of it, and was minded to get rid of the box by throwing it into some running water or burn- ing it up. But tlie queen, a more rational soul, persuaded him to keep it as a curiosity. They according!}' put tl'.e thing aside, and on going stealthily to look at it the next day, found in its place a 1)oy. He was precocious, and had already acquired the use of his tongue, for he at once called the king “ father.” He informed him that he was the son of a spirit, and had been sent by his spirit parent to be the king’s successor. This an- noyed and disturbed his i\rajesty, who at once suspected him to be some demon disguised. But the queen again came to the rescue, and interceded for the child. He was accordingly suf- fered to grow up, — a feat he accomplished so successfully, and in tlie course of which he developed so much intelligence, that the king gradually came to love him too, and at his death ap- pointed liim his successor to the throne of Sinra, as his kingdom was called, according as the boy had foretold. His name be- came Kim (meaning “ gold ”) ; and he was the ancestor of all the present Kims, avIio are to-day one of the most noted fami- lies of Korea. They remained the kings of Sinra till that kingdom was conquered by its neighbor Koryd ; and though no longer royal, they have been powerful nobles ever since. There are many such tales ; they form a sort of royal folk- lore. Just as himilies ennobled to-day think it necessary to discover, by hook or by crook, some immemorial coat of arms, so the royal houses esteemed it absolutely necessary to trace their lineage to spirits. They are very particular about it, because it is, as it were, the sanction to their position. The}' also guard it, once obtained, with very jealous care. Their daughters are never allowed to marry common people ; they can only form alliances with such as also have spirit blood in their veins. 212 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. Tliere is another tale of similar construction in resrard to the origin of the ruling house of the kingdom of Koryo. This kingdom, at first coexistent Avith the other tA\m, eventually swal- loAved them both, and gave its name to the whole peninsula. This story, unlike the last, is not a tale of a supplanting dynasty, but of an original stock. The first king of Koryo Avas the de- scendant of a dragon. An old dragon, apparently Avearied Avith being a dragon, changed himself, for A’ariety’s sake, into a A'eiy handsome man, ascended to heaven, and there married the dau2-hter of a ffod. After the Avedding' he took his bride doAvn to Koryo, Avhere they lived together after the fashion of men. In this pleasant land of their honeymoon the days slipped aAvay till, in due course of time, a son Avas born to the cou])le ; Avhereupon they both took it into their heads to die, leaving the child to the care of a neighbor. Just before his death the dragon endoAved his son Avith a name, Wang, Avhich signifies “king,” conjuring his neighbor at the same time not to reveal to a soul the boy’s name nor his descent. If he kept the secret he Avould be blessed ; otherAvise he Avonld assuredly be punished. So speaking, both the dragon and his Avife vanished, to take on some other shape, probably not having found hu- man existence as agreeable in practice as they had imagined it to be. The son, Avhose secret Avas sufliciently preserA’ed, ac- complished his destiny. Though personally he never amounted to much, his son in due time gathered about him a band of fol- loAA’ers, concpiered Koryo, and eA'cntually became master of the Avhole land. SOUL BY DAY, 213 CHAPTER XXL SOUL BY DAY. F the two essential properties that commend any method of conveyance, speed and bodily comfort, neither, to our notions, is a conspicuous feature of the Korean palanquin. Though the coolies who carry it do contrive to shuffle along a trifle faster than one would care to walk, the slight gain in speed is more than offset to foreign legs by the torture required to endure it. In consequence of this failure of the machine to keep its implied promises, and thus to justify in my eyes its existence, I dismissed it as an imposing sham, and chose, where possible, to sacrifice even etiquette to comfort, and walk instead. Such irrational conduct on my part greatly disturbed the good Colonel at first ; but finding my aversion as intense as it was bigoted, and perceiving his protests vain to shake my deter- mination, he finally desisted from his attempts at dissuasion, doubtless comforting himself with the reflection that in a tem- perament where all was so odd, one idiosyncrasy the more could make no difference. It was especially in expeditions across the city that I thus travelled al fresco. In these walks I suffered little annoyance from inquisitive- ness. In motion lay safety. Few of the idlers in the streets cared to indulge their curiosity at the cost of the exertion necessary to keep up. But if, in an unguarded moment, I paused, I became at once a centre of observation. A crowd 214 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. collected, with an alacrity suggestive of premeditation, as if its members Lad been simpl}' waiting to settle, and continued to grow till it impeded travel and in aggravated instances forced many innocent citizens, no doubt against their Avill, to become implicated accessories. There Avas not even the hypocrisy of intention in the behavior of these self-invited spectators, prac- tised in Japan. They stopped in simple directness of purpose to gaze at me, and as yet saw little necessity to seem to be observiim somethiim else. Under normal conditions the streets Avere in one respect Avell suited for Avalking. The chief part of the traA'el Avas done on foot. There being no carriages and very rarely a horse, one Avas not obliged to keep a sharj) lookout not to be run doAvn, but could indulge in the nuAvonted luxury of strolling along, oblivious of his felloAv-travellers, and drinking in Avith the e}’es the panorama, cpiite regardless of any possible rude aAvakeniug. Practically the only occupants of the street, except the pedes- trians, Avere palanquins and bulls of burden, and the pace of the latter Avas even slower than one’s OAvn. In other respects the streets, it must be confessed, Avere not particularly adapted to their purpose. They bore the ap- pearance, like the country roads, of having groAvn to be Avhat they Avere. With the exception of the gutter-moats, they seemed to be simply aboriginal space ; and I am unable to recall ever having Avitnessed any Avork Avhatever bestoAved upon them. In dry times they did Avell enough ; but in rainy weather they degenerated into sloughs, and people took to making for themselves a path Avithin the path. Especially after a lieaAy snoAvfall the effect Avas unique. Fortunately for the rest of the Avorld, several of the idlers embraced that occasion to stay at home. Of such persons as did venture abroad, nobody had a desire to Avalk in the snow ; so each folloAved his predecessor in Indian file, that he might aA'ail himself of former footsteps, and SuUL BY DAY. 215 the liiglnvay degenerated, for the time being, into a trail that wound about here and there in most arbitrary meanderings, the stereotyped whim of the first passer, across a level breadth of virgin wliite. A few of the main streets had been laid out with a view to directness, and were passably straight. As for the others, they were delightfully crooked ; so that before you knew them individually, you had very little notion, on venturing into a new one, where you would eventually turn up. The spirit of investigation procured me several valuable topographical dis- coveries. , But I will secretly confess that I never succeeded in finding what I especially souglit, — short cuts. The objec- tion to these lay in the fact that the path was pretty sure to end in somebody’s back- yard, whence escape, short of igno- miniously retracing your steps, led you up over a stone wall and down into some other quiet individual’s secluded garden. The easiest way to reach your destination was to pay little or no attention to direction, but to be sure to stick to the broad road. A knowledge of one’s Soul only strengthened this instinct into a habit. On a clear day in winter — and about half the days are clear — tlie view from any of the broader city streets is most beautiful. The houses are so low and the mountains so high that in the main thoroughfiires the peaks can be seen towering above the roofs on either hand, as you pass along the street. Even in the narrower alloys they block the ends of the vistas in front and behind. They stand out bold and sharp against the blue, covered with the brilliantly white snow, while tlie north wind falls fresh and keen upon the city from over their tops. In spite of its cold, it is a highly esteemed wind in Soul, for it is the great kite-flying wind. Here and there, gathered in favorable positions, you come across groups of men and boys standing gazing up into the sky. Oftener than not, they 21G THE LAND OF THE MOKXIXG CALM. stand right in the middle of the highway ; and other people, as they pass the spot, turn aside for the gazers, as a matter of course. The first time I came upon these star-gazers in broad daylight, who treated their fellow-mortals so cavalierly and received such a tribute of consideration in return, I was at a loss to comprehend the cause of their rapt and respected at- tention. But on looking in the same direction myself, I saw far up a rectangle of paper sailing across the blue. And then, as my glance wandered, I discovered another and then another, and away off in the distance still others, hovering over the roofs of the city like great white birds. As they are not Avholly white, but in part colored, there was at intervals a momentary flash of red or blue or brown to the distant sheen as the kites turned in the air. Sometimes they soared alone in solitary grandeur ; sometimes they flew in pairs, and the two hovered about each other like a couple of angry birds. This betok- ened a kite-fight. Two kites are flown near each other, and then each so handled tliat the sti’ings shall be brought to in- tersect. Then, by adroit manoeuvring, each tries by rubbing against it to cut the other’s string, until one succeeds. The severed kite falls fluttering to earth, while the victor, relieved from the strain, rises with a mocking toss of triumph yet higher into the air. There is so much skill involved in the manner in which one string may be made to cut the adversary’s without being parted itself, that it demands the appreciative sympathy of a large concourse of do-nothings, who completely surround the kite-flier and gaze, open-mouthed, up into the sky, utterly oblivious of aught else. The kind of kite in favor is very simple in construction and equally plain in ornament. It quite lacks the elaborate grotesqueness that makes of the Chinese and Japanese varie- ties such superbly hideous objects. It is rectangular and tail- less, and it never attains any very great size. Its one beauty SOUL BY DAY. 217 consists in being symmetrically party-colored, like a harlequin or a convict. But it flies just as veil as more decorated speci- mens of its class. Boys are not suffered to monopolize the pastime. Men engage in it witli equal enthusiasm, and kite- hying is a taste which is never outgrown. January, on account of the prevalence then of the north wind, is the great kite-flying month. Sharing with these grown-up toys the heavens above the citv, is a second species of kite, — this time not apparent but real birds. Like the turkey-buzzards of other climes, they are the scavengers of the town; or, more exactly, they sliare this disagreeable duty witli the dogs. They contrast Avell Avith the human inventions of the same name, their great motionless dusky AA'iims Avheeling’ them round in stately circles. Though no one Avould think of molesting tliem, they rarely descend to tlie streets, except on sudden SAvoops ; and the houses are so loAv that tliey seldom roost on the roofs. They select trom preference the trees, of whicli tliere are many in the gardens that lie scattered through the city. Wherever there happens to be a group of these, the kites congregate, and at dusk the branches Avill be coA'ered thick Avith birds perching on them. The branches serve also for resting-places to the other kind of kites, — unfortunate specimens of their species Avhich, having got entangled there among the tAvigs, are left to perish by tlieir former OAvners. Tlie shreds, Avorn to differing- deg-rees of ghast- liuess by tlie Aveather, hang, pathetic pendants, side by side Avith the remains of last A^ear’s nests. There is one other place that is a great favorite Avith the birds. It is a certain double gibbet-like structure, painted a bright red ; and it stands just off one of the main streets, at the entrance to another narroAver thoroughfare. It is a magnificent post of observation for a kite ; and I rarely passed under it, and over its ghastly, ghost-like shadoAv lying 218 THE LAND OF THE MOKNING CALM. there black across tlie sunlit path, without seeing the silhouette of a bird projecting beyond the shade of the cross-bar; and in- stinctively turning and looking up, there, on the upper trans- verse beam, was perched the motionless body of a kite, to all appearance sunk in lazy drowsiness, but whose winking eye nothing escaped. Soul is, in all respects but one, the most sombre city I have ever beheld, and in that one trait the brin^htest. This singfle exception to the universal gloom is in the matter of dress. But even this exception is essentially superficial ; the color of the garment having in no wise sunk in to tinge the character of those who wear it. At a distance, Avhere the look of the face is second to the effect of tlie figure, the faintly bluish-white tunics lend an apparent gayety to the street. But on a nearer approach the quiet, sedate expression of the people tends to dispel the illusion. Except for this one touch of brightness, all is preternaturally sombre. In the first place, the houses are devoid of windows, except of the most rudimentary description. In the side streets the effect is forbidding in the extreme. On either hand are long lines of wall, protected in front by the little gutter-moats and capped with a roofing of tiles. Though they scarcely look it, they are the sides of houses. Except for a few loopholes close under the eaves, they are indistinguishable from walls proper ; for all walls in Korea are as thoroughly roofed as the houses themselves. These loopholes are small square apertures, fitted Avith small sliding screens of paper. On the outside are not infrequently iron gratings. Only at inteiwals in the long line of stone some gateAvay breaks the pitiless exclusion, and then but to yield at best a melancholy glimpse into an empty courtyard. In the second place, the Koreans are not a shop-keeping people. Shops are feAv in number, and deficient in kind. Ko SOUL BY DAY. 219 wonder they are ; as, even as it is, those who sell seem to be far in excess of those who buy. Trade is not one of the main- springs to action in the men, and woman from her position has never tasted the delights of shopping. Unfortunately for the shops, it is not true there that judiciously to spend money is her business ; injudiciously, her pleasure. This reduces the shops themselves to the unattractive minimum of the necessary. In default of panes of glass large enough, the whole side of the house toward the street lies open, and one room is given up to displaying the goods. In consequence, in winter the business of shopkeeping is cold work ; and those whose wares are in tlie least danger of being bought sit in a tiny den behind, from which, through a small bit of glass, they keep an eye on the objects in front. But such luxury is the exception, not the rule. Habit, of both kinds, is usually sufficient protection to the, shopkeepers in their day-long vigil. The Avider streets are the ones most occupied by such shops as there are. This is due to the fact that the streets are not common meeting-grounds, but simply passage-ways, and are slighted according!}". Only the very loAvest order of houses front on them ; those of tlie better class standing in dignified se- clusion, each in the centre of its own courtvard. So the sides of the streets, spurned by aristocratic dAvelling-houses, have yielded themselves, where they have yielded at all, to the pur- poses of shops. This custom is one common also to China and Japan. There is no lack of traffic in the streets. Some of them are positivel}^ thronged Avith men. What so many wanderers are about I haA"e neA’er been able satisfactorily to determine. It is not loafing^ pure and simple. From their actions I feel con- vinced that each has an object present to his mind, though he does not suffer it to disturb his ])leasiire ; for no one eA-er seemed to be in the least inconA’enienced by pausing in his Avalk to stop 220 THE LAND OF THE IVEORXIXG CALM. and stare for an indefinite period at anything- wliicli liappened to strike his attention. This applies only to the common peo- ple. Occasionally some official is borne through the crowd in his palanrpiin, preceded, surrounded, and followed by a retinue of servants at a fast walk, giving one the U'hish of jDassing hurry ; but, then, it is a part of the business of officials every- where to seem as busy as possible. The governed always like to be reminded of the labor involved in the task of ffoverninff them. What traffic there is, is mostly very local. In the winter months fire and water ought to be the patron gods of the business, for thev are the causes of nine tenths of it. Thales would have experienced little difficulty in enforcing the cult of his noumena, however he might have succeeded in inculcating his principles. Bulls, almost smothered under their loads of brushwood, stream incessantly into the city, and depart again later in long files unladen. Men rendered nearly invisible by their burdens move along under huge towering hods filled with the same material. Both man and beast proceed with lofty dis- regard of other Avayfarers, Avhose duty it is to get out of the Avay. The same individual indifference, begoften of Aveight, is a characferistic of the Avater-bearers. A couple of pails slung on either end of a yoke across the shoulders seem by their momentum to urge the carriers i-ather than to be carried them- selves. Filled to the brim at the Avell, the Avater sAAuishes about till enough has been spilled to loAver it to the safety level, and in so doing leav’es behind it a frozen trail of icy mound. The Avells, from Avliich the carriers draAV, are among the most picturesque objects in the city. They stand in out-of-the-AAmy corners of the streets, just off the current of travel, at once in the higliAvay and yet out of it. They are built of stone blocks, set in a circle, and their rims rise a couple of feet aboAm the sur- rounding ground, Avhich the constant coming of many feet has SOUL BY DAY. 221 raised a little from the highway to meet them. There is no hour set apart for drawing water. The wells are placed so near those who use them that all hours are equally good, so that throughout the day a long concourse of people — professional carriers and household women servants — constantly come and go. Around them alone is it commonly possible to see a wo- man’s face, unless, indeed, you chance to pass a stream during a clothes-washing. For these two occupations the female ser- vants habitually go abroad ; but as tliey are necessities of their calling, no one is supposed to notice the fact. Nearly in the centre of the town stands the great bell. It is a large bell, even for far-Eastern bells, and occupies the whole of a building placed at the meeting of two important cross-roads. Its importance is quite in keeping with its situation and size ; for by it are regulated all tlie municipal observances, or more properly all those laws to Vv'hich the cit}' is subjected, — for in the restrictions, of which tlie a})pointed time is announced bv the solemn sound of the great bell, the city has no say what- ever. Ordinarily the bell is quiescent enough during the day, and only awakes to activity at night. The streets as they meet here open out into a sort of square, Avhich, from its breadth and central ])osition, becomes the most frequented spot in the town. It is used, among other purposes, for a brushwood market. Bulls Avaiting to be freed from their burden stand untethered as patiently as one could Avish. Kind treatment and familiarity for ages Avith man have rendered them as docile as oxen. Next to them are lines of booths, Avhere the smaller articles of daily use or simple vanity court such as from employment or curiosity frequent the square. Side bv side AA'ith these are fruit-stands, or perhaps more appropriate! v nut-stands ; for the fruits of Korea are nothing to speak of, AA’hile its nuts are exceptionally fine. Oranges, dried persim- mons, pears that look like russet apples and are as hard and 222 THE LAND OF THE MOIINING CALM. tasteless as potatoes, chestnuts, walnuts, and pinennts are among the commonest kinds offered for sale. The most interestiim O point about the stands is the systematic way in which the fruits are arranged. Each of these, according to its kind, is gathered into little heaps. So symmetrical are the heaps that my curiosity was at once piqued into counting them ; and on doing so, I discovered that each heap contained exactly the same number of units as its fellows of the same kind of fruit. Three chestnuts Avent invariably to a pile, seven Avalnuts to another, and so on, the nuts increasing in number as they decrea.sed in size. Each pile Avas for sale for half a farthing. There Avas something almost pathetic in the thought of the anxious labor that had so carefully arranged beforehand these little heaps, destined for so long to court a customer in A'ain. Intersecting the city are several dry beds of streams. In the season of the spring rains there is actually some Avater in them, but during the larger part of the year the greater num- ber are quite empty. They are spanned, hoAvever, Avherever a street crosses them, by stone bridges; and these bridges are the oiiIa’ ones in the land. This seems incon^’ruous at first ; for in Korea a river Avliich is a riAmr is neA'er honored or disgraced, according to Avhich Avay you take it, by a bridge of any kind. The paradox is defensible, hoAvever, for two reasons : the greater Avealth and dignity of the capital is one cause ; and the fact that a stream, Avhich is at times a stream and at times not, is more troublesome than something Avhich is either one thing or the other, is another reason for the apparent incon- gruity of custom. A ford is even more primitive than a ferry, and a long bridge is, after all, more expensiA’e than a small one. As for the matter of expense, these bridges must cost A'ery little ; for, once built, they are left to their oavu unaided powers to continue. They are so solid, from the lai-ge stone blocks of AA'hich they are made, that they contriA’e not to SOUL BY DAY. 223 tumble tlirougli long after tliey should by rights have done so. Time has opened and then widened the seams between the blocks, and made unevennesses in places where a block lias settled below its neighbors ; but the human tide surges across tlie stones as safely as of old. To the sights of a city belong, in one sense of the word, its sounds. I was one day picking my way between the ponds and mud-holes of one of the thoroughfares of Soul. In spite of the difficulty in doing so, and the consequent want of speed, the street Avas quite full, as usual, nor Avas it particularly quiet. The noise of the passing aaus entirely droAvned, hoAvever, on turning a certain corner, by the hubbub that issued from a house across the Avay. The house Avas, in appearance, like all other houses, and shoAved to the street only a blank Avail Avith the usual loopholes for AvindoAvs. But from Avitliin came forth a A’ery pandemonium of sound. The noise resembled the humming of a sAvarm of gigantic bees, and the place suggested a mammoth liiA’e. “ What on earth,” said I to m3" attendant Kim, “ can that Babel be ! ” But it turned out to be ouIa" a Korean school. The fanc}" took me to pla}" examiner. So I entered, fol- loAved b}" the good Kim, b}^ the main gateAva^- at one side of the house, into the courtyard, as much as possible as if it Avere a matter of OA-eiy-da}" occurrence. But I Avas not suffered to enter thus quietl3^ alone. An eager croAvd pushed after me, not to see tiie school, but to gaze on me. As priA^acA" is not a Korean demand, intrusion is not much of a Korean rudeness. This reflection, liOAA"e\"er, did not reconcile me to the situation, as I Avislied m3^ uninvited Ausit to disturb the occupants as little as might be. Tlie sclioolmaster did not care. He Avas as in- different to their coming as he Avas courteous in receiving me. But I objected, because Avitli the least right to do so. I ordered them out, and Avith the help of Kim and the OAAmers pushed 224 THE LAND OF THE LIORXIXG CALH. them all into the street and bolted the door. Then I sat me down on the threshold of learning, — that is, upon the broad sill that surrounds all Korean houses. I did not enter the seat of Avisdom, 2)artly because I AAais too lazy to remove tlie grosser covering of my understanding (my shoes), and partly because the place Avas quite full. It Avas an aA^erage-sized Korean room, some eight feet by fourteen ; and ranged around it, facing the centre, sat eight pupils and tlie teacher. They Avere of all ages, doAvn to nearly nought, and the most serious-looking lot of schoolboys imaginable, or rather unim- aginable. Tliey Avere, tlie entire company, as sedate, every AA'liit, as the teacher. They all sat cross-legged, each AAuth a book spread out before him on the mats. These books Avere of A’arious kinds, from “The Thousand Character Classic” (the Korean as it is the Chinese primer), on through the true classics and numerous histories, to the “Yh King,” — a manual of mystic philosophy, Avhich dates from remote antiquity. My unexpected appearance made them all pause ; but, the momentary excite- ment over, they returned Avith renewed assiduity to their books, and bej2:an again their hummino’, like a sAvarin of bees once more on the Aving. It is alloAvable to read aloud ; or rather any other method is unheard of. Each student hums to himself, his voice, uoav rising, noAv falling, in tAvo different tones, so as to impart a sort of chanting character to the occupation. The sound affords them a continuous sense-gratification, in addition to the mental enjoyment they derive from the perusal of the book; and Avhat they begin at school, they practise through life. It is the keeping eA^er of the crutches to learning. Dear old grandams, in out-of-the-Avay country districts, afford an excel- lent parallel. We all, indeed, begin in the same Avay; and some people, after they are groAvn up, still continue to pronounce to themselves as they read, though they have learned to be mute to the bystander. SOUL BY DAY. 225 This liimi may be said to pervaide the far-East. It is one of the cliaracteristic sounds of any Japanese inn. In fact, no inn would seem truly complete without it. There are always sure to be staying- in the house one or more persons who are given to reading. These persevering students lie flat on their stom- achs or squat on their feet on the mats, and hum all day long. An irritated listener is inclined to believe that the word ex- presses also the substance of what they read. In Korea the custom is largely outgrown with years ; and then, also, read- ing there is less generall}^ an accomplishment throughout the community. Though Japan is b}" no means a land of sounds, Korea is less so. Even the pipe of the “ amma ” * there is unheard. 1 The Ja))anese “ainina” is au itinerant massage-man, always hlind, who walks the streets in search of customers, and gives notice of his approach by a certain set of notes, never varied, upon a sliort metal jiipe. The sonnd is perliaps the most characteristic of the night noises of Japan. 13 226 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. CHAPTER XXII. SOUL BY NIGHT. I T is midnight in Soul, — not the midnight of Paris, n itli its glare of street lamps, and its floods of light from cafe win- dows, but the silent starlight of a great walled city of the far- East fallen asleep. On earth there is neither light nor stir nor sound. Even that distant murmur of most great cities in the dead of night — the throb of its mighty heart — here has stopped. Man and his doings have seemingly passed away, and I am keeping vigil in my room alone. Of a sudden, across the deathlike stillness comes the boom of the great bell. It cannot startle anything so dead ; it only intensifles a silence it is powerless to dispel. There is some- thing weird in it, as it finds me the only one to hearken to its sound. It marks, I know, the middle of the night ; and then it is lost again in the universal hush. At intervals, as the liours come round, I can hear for a moment the tinkle of the watchman’s bell, and the clank of his chains as he paces his beat within the courtyards; and then all is once more quiet, and the city seems its own vast tomb. The great shadow we men call night, as it sweeps slowly but irresistibly around our globe, veiling the face of all things, must have been one of the first phenomena to teach man the narrow limit of his own powers. How awed he was, as dark- ness crept over him, how lost he felt in the long blackness of SOUL BY XIGIIT. 221 nig-lit, we know from the joy with wliich, in the poems of the remote past, the return of tlie dawn is welcomed. Even after lie had learned to predict the morrow, he was yet powerless to dispel the night. For ages he bowed before Nature; he acquiesced in his fate. It took him centuries before he learned to conquer it. The long night of the year may have taught him a way to free himself from the fetters of the night of the day ; for it was, in all probability, a striving after warmth that ffave him the clue to the means of making light. From that moment he was emancipated. He had learned to manu- hicture time ; and havino;- once discovered this means of arti- ticially prolonging his life, — for it is not the number of hours Ave exist, but the sensations Ave croAvd into them, that measure it, — he kept a firm hold on his elixir. AYe have since found many other such elixirs of life, — from our minds, not from matter, — such as poor Ponce de Leon sought for in A'ain ; and threescore years and ten is a much longer time noAv than it Avas four thousand years ago. The far-East sips, if it does not drain, the potion ; and the streets of Tokio or Canton in the early evening are, in their Avay, as brilliant as those of Paris or London become nine hours later. But Avith Soul it is different. While Tokio is spangled Avith lights and lanterns, Soul lies dark and silent as the tomb. It is not that her j^eo- ple have failed to discover, but that they are not permitted to enjoy. The official oligarchy wills it so. That the Koreans do not borrow of the night as other nations have learned to do, — that, the gloaming gone, Pompeii in its ghastly moonlight is not more desolate than is Soul, — is due to a laAv as singular in its existence as it is strikiim in its effects. It bears a certain outAvard resemblance to the ancient curfcAv of England. At nightfall the massive Avooden doors of the city gates, clad in their iron armor, are swung to ; and from that time till daAAUi no one — man, Avoman, or child — is 228 THE LAND OF THE MOEXIXG CALM. allowed to pass the limit of liis own threshold. The whole little world is forced to remain, each family separately, at home. The streets are deserted ; any one found upon them is at once taken to the police station and flogged. From the restrictions of this law hut two classes are exempted, — blind men and officials ; and tlie latter made the law. It was often my lot to have to cross the city late at night, and thus to Avitness in all its peculiarity the results of so strange a custom. From preference I usuall}* Avalked ; and there accom- panied me in these journeyings only a single attendant to carry tlie lantern, Avithout aa Inch in Korea no Avanderer goes abroad after dark. No sooner had I stepped over my oavu threshold than I Avas plunged at once into veritable outer darkness. The man in front Avith his lantern made me think of a ship at sea. There Avas a certain reason for the fancy ; for the lantern, though at first necessary to my oavu sure footing, Avas in fact principally carried as a sign to others. Before me lay the ink}’ blackness of the street. I could not see it ; I kneAV it only by the A'oid. On either hand the jj-aunt forms of the Ioav houses loomed for a moment as I approached them, like silhouettes against the less black skA’, and then sank again and disappeared once more in the indistinguishable gloom, — a city buried not in lava and aslies, but as completely in silence and night. EA’en my oaa'u footfall died aAvay on the earth of the patlnvay, and found no place to echo in the irregularities of the Ioav houses. Only noAv and then a dull rhythmical thud struck upon ni}’ ear. It sounded curiously like the croaking of frogs on some summer’s eA’e, and it came apparently only from out the darkness and the night; as Ave adA’anced, it grcAv louder and louder, till at last Ave passed it by, off to one side. It seemed unearthly. I called to the lantern-bearer, bade him hearken, and asked him Avhat it Avas. He listened, and then ansAvered me that the noise came sGul by xight. 229 from tlie pounding of clothes in the Korean inetliod of wasliing. Even after this shockingly prosaic explanation there still lin- o-ered a weirdness in it, carried on thus at dead of night by unseen hands. Half groping my Avay along, — for the light from the lantern only lit up a few feet around, — I next stum- bled over a dog, that sprang away growling into the shelter of a neighboring gateway. Fixed beacons there were none, — no street lamps, — noth- ino- to o-uide the stran^-ef or lielij the native. One had to know o o OX well his city, before he ventured out at night. The few wan- derers abroad carried each his own lantern, or had it carried before him, according to his rank; and these lanterns varied in size and shape in keeping with the station of the wanderer. Now they were solidly built frameworks, a foot and a half square, now delicate octagonal paper nothings hung upon a short stick and daintily held after the manner of a very short fishing-rod; but all were of the same fundamental description, — a tallow candle within a paper frame. Unfortunately they lack the brilliant colors which make an evening stroll in Tokio so beautiful. They are all of the same yellowish white, — the color of the plain, every-day paper through which they shine. The motion of the arm, as the bearers Avalk, causes them to dance about like so many fireflies. When you add to this that the men are all clad in loose-floAving Avhite robes, reveal- ing them as they approach in the orthodox ghostly sheen, they each resemble, armed Avith the lantern, something between Diogenes and his own apparition. Evidently I Avas not Avhat they Avere in search of, hoAveA’er ; for on my looming up before them, they started back Avitli a half-uttered cry, as if our parts had been mutually interchanged. I am not sure but that they had the right of the superstition, if it comes to that. I do not knoAv that revenants have any particular garb or color ascribed to them in the Korean spiritual Avorld. All the tales 230 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. on tlie subject I ever lieard, imply that they return in the form they wore here below. But assuredly a dark figure, above their average height, without a lantern or any such warning of his appoach, is more calculated to play the part than a sort of professional somnambulist in his nightdress, as we conceive the idea. About half-way home one night, in mid-ocean of darkness, ni}" man with the lantern was suddenly stopped. I happened to be a little ahead of him at the time. My impatience to be at home had caused me to ignore the lantern, — an obligatory but useless adjunct to the party. Still, it was more fitting to travel in company ; so I turned to see how far behind he was, Avhen, to my surprise, I saw that the man had met some one — friend or enemy — with whom he was mysteriously talk- ing. The lanterns lit up so little of the men that the face of the stranger could not be seen, but from his actions mat- ters seemed amicable enough. I Avaited ; in a feAv moments the collorpiy came to an end, and, the lantern-bearer catching up Avith me, I asked him Avhat it all meant. It seemed he had been stopped by the night patrol and asked his busi- ness. The account he Avas able to give of himself, backed by my appearance in the distance, had sa\'ed him, and the officer of the law had alloAved him to pass. This Avas the extent of my acquaintance Avith the patrol. From the cursory Avay in Avhich I thus saAV him, I never learned to distinguish a patrol from any one else. Occasion- ally, as Ave passed some figure, my servant Avould turn to me and murmur, “There, that Avas one!” But he had already been SAvallowed up by the gloom. Still, I Avould not seem to suggest that a Korean could not tell a patrol as far aAvay as he could see anything; for such a suggestion Avould be a libel upon the efficiency of the Korean police S3’Stem. It is a fundamental tenet in far-Eastern matters of suiweillance SOUL BY UIGHT. 231 that all possible opportunity to escape shall be offered the offender. They believe in making the deterrent effect precede as well as follow the commission of the crime. Not to catch the criminal is the first object; to punish him mercilessly if they fail, the second. Under this nocturnal anti-peripatetic law, midnight trav- ersing of the town, for such as h.ave a right to indulge in it, is rendered peculiarly secure. I suppose there is no great city in the world so safe as Soul. Instead of your servant being a protection to you, it is you who protect him. In your company he is safe ; without you he is liable to arrest and beating. This is in some sort the object of the law. It is thought expedient that all the common people shall remain within doors after dark ; by this means thieving will be ren- dered impossible. If everybody is kept at home, the evilly disposed will, of necessity, be included. The plan works ad- mirably in both directions : on the one hand, there are no thieves abroad ; and on the other, all the houses are guarded. The immunity belonging to officials descends to those exe- cuting their commands. You may, supposing you are an official, send your servant on any errands you see fit. In that case the messenger arms himself with a writing, describ- ing what he is about, which he shows to any patrol who stops him, and is then suffered to proceed. The patrols summarily arrest any one who cannot show cause, either from position or permit, why he should be at large, and take him to the police station, where he is at once flogged. Five blows with a long flat pole are the penalty, crescendo. To avoid the annoyance of being arrested, under-officials, who run the dan- ger of not being recognized at once, wear a species of badge to show on occasion. There is another class in the community who are permitted freely to roam at night, — blind men. A thoughtful kindness 232 THE LAND OF THE MOKNING CALM. lias given tliein an immunity they could never abuse. Unable to travel fast, they can easily be watched ; and so blind men’s holiday in Korea is prolonged from the twilight on till dawn. But their journeys are not confined to travel at night. They frequent the streets at all hours ; and the manner in which they are both able and dare to cross the city is something little short of marvellous, for they go entirely alone. No small boy or faithful friend shelters them from the crowd, or guides them into passages for the moment clear. Armed only with a long staff, they venture alone into the thick of the city’s throng. They walk boldly forward, and somehow escape unlnirt; and so erect is their bearing and straight their course, that at first you would never suppose that to them it was always night. Of course, carriages, fortunate]}', are Avanting ; there is noth- ing worse than a bull to collide Avith. Also the moderate pace of the human travel around them makes matters less dangerous. But alloAving for all favoring conditions, the deed is A'ery daring, and the confidence, begotten of consideration, sublime. There is one more excuse for being out after dark, — a })hysician’s prescription. A paper from a doctor to procure medicine from an apothecary’s shop is sufficient Avarrant for one of the peo})le to be abroad the necessary time to liave it filled. If the man, hoAvever, is gone too long, or is found at a distance from Avhere he ought to be, he is held guilty of breaking the laAv, and is punished accordingly. Human nature is startlingly the same the Avorld over. Nu- merous stratagems are practised to evade the laAv and yet avoid beiuo: caimht. The first device is the counterfeitiim of the badges Avorn by officials. As the badges are to be scrutinized only by the light of a feeble lantern, the counterfeiting of them is much facilitated. Tlie difficulty here is not Avith the badge, but Avith the manners of the man. Properly to SOUL BY NIGHT. 233 personify an official is to one of the populace no easy task. Would-be magistrates have been detected by the way they held their respirators or pocketed their fans. iVnother ruse is to imitate a physician’s prescription. To copy the seal, the actual forgery, is comparatively easy ; but to write the body of the text so as not to excite suspicion is not so simple as it appears. It is a little bit of painting, and tlie touch of a practised hand is to a practised eye discernible at once. A third plan much in vogue, because requiring less ])repara- tion and depending for its success upon the skill of the moment, is to personify a blind man. All that the prodigal need provide himself with is a long staff. He then keeps his eyes about him, and whenever he sees any one approaching, he assumes the blind man’s gait and begins feeling round with a stick. But the patrol is a match for the prodigal. The policeman waits until he has got by, and then suddenly hails him. The pseudo- blind man, forgetful of his assumed infirmity, instinctively turns his head, thus betraying his habit, and is grappled and hurried off to receive the reward of failure. On certain occasions, few in number, the enforcement of the law is suspended, and everybody is at liberty to make of two days one. The }’ear begins, propitiously enough, Avith one of these. New Year’s day is, of all Korean festivals, the most important, and New Year’s eA’e is given over to the enjoyment of the populace. All this is dark, — the negative side of the picture, the void resulting from a curfeAv. Its positive side is represented Ija* a few curs, the sole denizens of the great deserted. Through the long Avatclies of the night, the city is their property alone. Not only do dogs constitute the only sign of life in the streets, but iu a peculiar manner the liberty Avhicli is denied to man is given them. The details of their life are curious, and 234 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. sometimes as ingenious as diverting, as is instanced by the Korean Intcli-key. The latcli-key I mean does not belong to man. To a Korean tliere is no sucli tiling as entering his own abode un- known to others. Either he comes home attended by a retinue of servants, who clamor vociferously without till other servants from within draw back the long wooden bolt that makes of the double door a single solid ]iiece ; or else, being one of the com- mon people, he needs no admittance, because, from nightfall till dawn, the curfew lav/ forbids him to roam abroad. The latch-key I speak of is a perquisite of the dog. At the bottom of one of the two folds of every Korean outer gate — a gate that leads from the street into the outer court- yard, and whicli is invariably closed and bolted at night — there is a small rectangular hole. It is perhaps eight inches by six in size, — an opening cut out of one of the panels. Too small to afford an entrance to marauding Immanit^q it just com- foi’tably tits the body of a dog. It is there to admit at his own pleasure the vagrant family cur. It is a sort of pass-key, suited to canine intelligence. Of the whole household, he is the only member permitted the choice of his own hours. It is almost unnecessary to add that the word “dog” is not an epithet of contempt in Korean. “Sheep” is their vituperative simile. The social position of the dog in the far-East is quite differ- ent from Avhat it is Avith us. IVIore liberty and less affection is given him there. He is a hanger-on of civilization rather than a part of it. Nobody pays him the slightest attention, and in consequence he learns to look after himself The hole in the door is tlie best comment on the animal. He fully bears out in his behavior the suggestion of prodigal sonship Avhich insepara- bly connects itself Avith the idea of a latch-key. He is a born Bohemian of a dog. He is foreA’er proAvling about the streets, SOUL BY NIGHT. 235 or in his lazier moments gossiping with familiar spirits before his own door. These are his more agreeable qualities ; other- wise he is a clisOTace to his amiable tribe. He is vicious and O cowardly ; in spite of his centuries of association with man, he is still wellnio;'h wild. Nenrlect has brouo’ht him to his present condition. He is suffered for his usefulness alone ; for he is to a certain extent a scavenger, — a supplementary associate in that occupation to the kite, upon whom the duty principally falls. In appearance he resembles the collie. Indeed, it would be interesting to ascertain whether he is not, in truth, a descend- ant of a prehistoric sheep-dog ; for although sheep were not brought with tliem by the Koreans Avhen they moved to their present home, it is altogether probable that before this migra- tion they were a pastoral people. This would also, in some manner, account for the transferrence of the term of abuse from the clever collie, who was as his master’s right hand, to the stupid sheep, whose behavior naturally excited both annoyance and contempt. With the natives the animal lives on terms of mutual indif- ference, but in the strange-looking foreigner he recognizes at once an enemy, of whom he is mortally afraid. No sooner does he catch sight of the uncouth figure turning the corner of a street than he scampers, barking, to the protecting security of the gatewa}'. The speed witli which he can disappear through the hole, if the gate happens to be shut, turn com- pletely round, and reappear quivering with excitement behind it, is something remarkable. Occasionally he is caught un- awares. Forgetful of the existence of such things as foreign apparitions, and pursuant to some momentary whim, he starts on the run in what happens to be your direction, and then suddenly catching sight of you, tries to turn instantly to re- treat, completes several somersaults in his attempt to stoj), 236 THE LAND OF THE MOEXIXG CALM. and finally succeeding vanishes as fast as he came, never forget- ting, in the most awkward moments of his startling experience, to bark continuously. So much for the use of the hole. It also does duty as a picture. It is, in fact, the framing of a portrait, — that of the dogs face as he sits within and scans the passers-by through the opening. But of all hours, perhaps, the time to know the dog is at night, Avhen he has the city to himself. Like a gnome, he steals along through the darkness of the unilluminated streets. He is the spirit of tlie night, abroad to live his life. In the far-East this spirit is the dog, as with us it is the cat. A phantom, a half-smothered growl, a hasty scuffle, and then two glaring eyeballs, like coals of fire, seen throngh the opening of the door, — and you have met and still behold a dog. In one of the darkest corners of one of the crookedest streets I came upon what looked like a gibbet. It was per- haps ten feet high, and its arm stretched out over the street and swayed in the night breeze like a thing uneasy in mind. From this arm there hung — not a man indeed, but what looked quite as ghastly — the remains of a lantern which had gone out. It had once been lighted, bnt the wind had blown it out ; and the same wind that had extingnished it now caused it to sway from side to side in piteous creak- ings, as if, not content with taking the life, it mnst further torment the disembodied spirit. All was jiitch-dark about it, the house below being apparently as black as the rest ; and yet it was meant for the alluring sign of a sake shop, a sort of Korean bar-room. Even in other more favorable specimens, where the light still showed a sickly glimmer, there was little to suggest jollity. Bather did it seem a beacon to warn one off the rocks. But then a Korean is used to gloom. SOUL BY NIGHT. 237 Finally I reached my own gateway. The lantern-bearer called out to rouse the dozing servants within ; and as that failed, began to pound violently upon the heavy wooden door. At last some one awoke, started to his feet, and hurried across the courtyard. The wooden bolt was drawn back with a sharp click, and the door swung open. My voyage in the dark was ended. 238 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. CHAPTER XXIII. A KOREAN BANQUET. M y comjDoimd fronted on a street called “ The Street of Ashes.” This street ran north and south, and stretched nearly from one end of the city to the otlier, a distance of sev- eral miles. It miglit liave been quite imposing- had it been straight. Fortunately for its pictiiresqueness, it was so only in general intention, and in practice wandered here to the right hand and tliere to the left, in fickleness of purpose, as it sauntered across the town. Its width, also, was variable. Now it contracted to a mere lane, and then again it widened into something very like a square. It accommodated itself with singular complacency to the wants of the houses between which it lay, — here shrinking into a bare existence before some grasping wall ; anon, left to itself, expanding with appar- entl}^ unlimited capability. Like its peers, it furnished room, in its wider portions, for numerous booths of time-honored squatters. In fine, it was a t}'pical Korean thoroughfare. It might at first seem a question whether it Avas one or many, for it bore several names in the course of its journey. But, from the analogy of Korean rivers, Ave see that it Avill not do hastily to conclude that a multiplicity of names negatives a singleness in identity. On the south it started imposingly enough from before a royal mausoleum, but rather uselessly, as no one Avas permitted to enter this almost sacred enclosure. A KOEEAN BAI^QUET. 239 So, for purposes of travel, the street had been suffered to extend in a humble sort of way round the outlying wall back to wdiere it could connect with a certain cross-road. But on the north, some distance after it passed my g'ate, it much dimin- ished in importance, ran up a ravine, and finally lost itself in a Avild sort of garden or park. This park bore the name of “ The Glen of the Blue Unicorn.” It w^as one of the little valleys made by the spurs of tlie mountain beyond, and in shape was a sharp hollow enclosed by a semi-circular rise at the upper end. Though the soil was sandy, the dell was dotted Avith a sparse groAvth of scraggy pine, and the summit Avas capped Avith a Avail Avhich also ran around the sides and effectually shut it off from the rest of the Avorld. The Avail Avas made of the earth of the place, moistened with Avater, so as to render it adhesive, and had been moulded into shape, and then suffered to dry into one compact mass, till uoav it looked as if it had been one of Nature’s oavu defences to the seclusion of the A’alley. At the entrance to the ravine stood a Avell Avhere the Avomen of the neighborhood came to draAv Avater, and on a rock that overhung it Avere carved the characters of the name of the place. The street proper ended just outside of this at a gateAvay Avhich gave admittance to Avhat Avas a continuation of it, — a path tliat climbed up one side of the A'alley till it stopped before a couple of pavilions placed on the upper semi-circular ledge of earth. To one standing on this natural amphitheatre there Avas a hushed sense as of interstellar stillness ; for the noise of the city lost itself in the hollow beneath, and no sound of neigh- boring man found its Avay in upon the quiet of the sjiot. Yet, through vistas betAveen the trees, by him Avho cared to look, could be caught glimpses of the toAvn at his feet, Avhile the slopes of the South Mountain rose, a blue-tinged ridge, in tlie gap beyond. 240 THE LAXD OF THE MORNING CALM. On a day in the earl}^ part of the twelfth moon of the Korean year, the peaceful quiet of the spot was ruthlessly invaded. The tramping of palanquin coolies, as they stum- bled up the path, broke in upon a stillness that had wrapped the little glen for many months. One set had no sooner passed than another followed in its footsteps. Chair after chair thus climbed up the ravine, till, arrived at the top, each in turn disgorged its occupant upon the terrace in front of the pavilions. The weather was so cold — for it was the middle of winter — that the official who got out hastened to take refuge in a sort of summer-house that stood on the farther corner of the terrace. From inside this pavilion stole out, through the paper panelled sides, the sounds of revelry of such guests as had already come. He pushed open the door, and disa|)peared within. The occasion of the gathering was a banquet to the Foreign Office by one of its members. The officials of that august body had conceived the happy tliought of a set of dinners to be given by eacli official in turn to the others, thus cleverly securing at a single stroke not one but many entertainments. This was the first of the series, and tlie Vale of the Blue Unicorn had been selected as a spot Avorthy the initial dinner. In spite of all its seeming sacredness, it was for just such purposes that the place existed. The most beautiful spots are always chosen as places of entertainment, not that the feast may have a proper setting, but that the scenery may be comfortably admired. Owing to the season of the year, such adoration in this case was impossible from its inconvenience, and the dinner took on more of the features of dinners elsewhere. But even thus de- prived of its principal raison d'etre, a dinner in the midst of a park Avas more in keeping Avitli their notions tlian one inside a compound. So the Blue Unicorn had been ruthlessly aAvak- ened from his hibernating trance. FolloAving the example of A KOEEAN BAXQUET. 241 my predecessors, I walked along tlie terrace, and entered the summer-house. The summer-house was a temple to poetry. Within, its walls were covered witli poems, — tlie work, as chance liad it, of the giver of this very feast. Tlie house was divided into two rooms. The first of these was being used as an antechamber by the servants, who fell back when they saw me, to let me pass. To drive, away the cold, — for the paper Avails but ill subserved the purpose, — a brazier had been put in the centre of the inner room. Around this, in a sort of Druid circle, Avei'e ranged high-backed chairs, and upon them Avere seated the company, actively engaged in absorbing tobacco and giA’ing out Avit. They were thus AAdiiling away the several half- liours till dinner should be announced, h^or a feast in Korea is an all-day affair; and should the repast be too hastily be- gun, there might be left at the end of it time upon the reA^el- lers’ hands, Avho Avould thus feel self-cheated of their due amount of pleasure. Although it Avas quite cold, CA'en in spite of the brazier, the Koreans sat in enviable unconcern, for they Avere A’ery thickly clad. In this they are more rational than the Japanese, Avith Avhom custom seems to take the place of cos- tume, and aaJio go about in AA'inter the very picture of misery, clad in garments in Avhich most of us Avould simply freeze. That they die of consumption in other lands is no Avonder ; the Avonder is that they do not more commonly die in their OAvn. Even the hour before dinner eventually is numbered Avith the past, and at last Ave Avere summoned to the other pavilion. As soon as Ave had entered it, the officials began to disrobe. A Korean, instead of dressing, undresses for dinner. The custom is much to be commended. He does so that he may eat AA’itli the greater ease. Perhaps Avhen Ave learn the adAusability of discussing our food at one time and our fancies at another, AA^e 16 242 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. may be tempted to do likewise. In this case, however, as the second pavilion had not yet had time to warm up, I avoided following suit. We took our places at a large rectangular table, eight of ns in all, and were first served with soup and snl. This was the first course, and during it the table remained in virgin beauty. It was covered with mounds of food of all kinds. The dishes were brazen bowls, hemispherical in shape. These were not only filled with meats, fish, vegetables, and fruits, but their contents boldly overtopped the modest bounds the bowls sug- gested, and soared in dignified self-reliance for into the air. Each bowl was crammed with a compact mass, of whatever it happened to be, which then, following the figure imparted to it below, rose above the rim, and towered into a cylinder of food rounded at the top. In one this mass Avas meat cut into small bits ; in another, sliced fish ; in a third, baked dough ; and so on. As no food in the far-East is Avhat we should call per- fectly dry, the pyramids Avere A’ery solid structures, and kept their shape, save for authorized inroads, till Avhat remained of them Avas at last taken bodily aAvay ; and a})parently the re- mains Avere capable of continuing erect forever after. In the centre of the table stood the chrf-cVwuvre, to Avhich all the other dishes Avere merely satellary adjuncts. It rose out of a boAvl somewhat larger than its felloAvs, and tOAvered consider- ably above them. It Avas intended for a very superior Avork of art, and in its oavu line certainly stood um-iA'alled. It Avas a noble dome-capped cylinder, and its peculiar merit consisted in being party-made; that is, it Avas composed of four kinds cf fruit, each occupying a solid quadrant of the Avhole. One seg- ment consisted entirely of oranges ; another of pears ; a third of dried persimmons; and the fourth of chestnuts. The divisions betAveen each of these AA^ere so sharply draAvn that it Avould liaA^e been possible to haA*e removed three of them and still have left the fourth standing as solidly as before. It reminded A KOREAX BAXQUET. 243 one, tlioiig’li with much greater reason for being, of those bar- barous party-colored bouquets much affected by New York florists. In this case it had convenience, if not beauty, to commend it, as became evident when we had reached that point in the repast consecrated to attacking it. At ]u-esent, however, we were still in the middle of the soup. This was brought in, in covered china bowls, from a neighbor- ing room by numerous servants — body servants they were — of the various officials. There were so many of them that for one who did anything, four or five others stood by and encouraged him to do it by repeating the orders and freely giving him their idea of how the thing should be done. However, they did not succeed in spoiling the broth, — perliaps because they were not cooks, but only waiters. Meanwhile others were busy serving out sul and beer. This last beverage had lately been imported, and had taken as completely in Korea as it has already done in Japan. So thoroughly has Japan acquired the taste, indeed, that long since she partially tlirew off the yoke of importation, and began to manufacture it for herself ; and now many native breweries lielp to supply the wants of the dwellers in the large cities, the Japanese having found the avowed manufacture of the article itself even more profitable than the counterfeiting of the foreign labels, in which employment at one time they drove a most lucrative business. When they had removed the bowls of soup, the attendants ])i-oceeded to hand round in turn some of the dishes that had up to this point cliallenged my unbounded admiration for their por- tentous height in tlie centre of the table. We were asked to destroy these marvels of culinary construction, — no easy task, owing to their consistency. Some were composed of beef, some of pork, some of fried fish in thin yellow slices. Most of them were delightful potpourris to a Korean ; and even to foreign taste they were a not injudicious medley of good things. While 244 THE LAND OF THE MOENIXG CALM. one of the mounds in which they lay packed was being offered me, and just as I was in the middle of an excavation into its stubborn interior, I became aware of a commotion in the far- ther end of the hall. I turned my head just in time to see, from between the opening ranks of the servants, a vision of beauty come fluttering into the room. She was a young woman, clad in the gayest of colors, and exquisitely clean. In this combina- tion of nature and art she shone to great advantage, for neat- ness is not a distinguishing characteristic of the race. She advanced with a pretty bashfulness, as much felt as assumed, till all of a sudden she caimlit si<>ht of me. She started as if o o she had seen a ghost. Her coy modesty at once gave place to unfeigned alarm, and she shrank back as if for protection into the farthest corner of the room. Everybody began to laugh, and banteringly to call me tiger, — the Korean simile for the horrible ; to her alone the name was terribly real. She would have run from the room had the servants suffered her to pass. As it was, she stood there cowering, not daring to take her eyes off me, and at first quite deaf to all cajoleries from the rest of the company. Perceiving, however, that though a tiger, I was to a certain extent tame, she finally allowed herself to be coaxed into taking a seat at the table, as far removed from my own as possible, from which she shot, from time to time, furtive glances in my direction, to assure herself that I was still quiescent. As the dinner wore on, she recovered somewhat of her natural vivacity ; but it took her many dinners’ worth of juxtaposition before she became at all sociable with the horror-inspiring stranger. The next one to make her appearance, fortunately for my temporary happiness, showed no such intense aversion to a foreigner. With her, curiosity was a stronger trait than fear; and she had, besides, already had some little practice in the matter. After a very proper amount of maidenly reluctance. A KOREAN BANQUET. 245 slie was induced to sit next me and coyly to take her part in the general jollity. Then others followed. These charming creatures were richly dressed in the gaudiest colors, — hriglit pinks, blues, purples, greens. The material was principally silk, while their outer- most sacks and their hats were trimmed with fur. In marked contrast to their clothes, their hair was done in beautiful sim- plicity. It was taken straight back, and tied in a braid gath- ered up behind, which was pierced by a large thick pin of solid silver. Of this pin they were justly quite proud. It was six inches long and a third of an inch in diameter in the shank, being still la?‘ger at the end. It shone very effectively against their jet-black hair. Their di’ess was com- posed of a short, close-fitting jacket above and long skirts below. The effect of the skirts, combined with that of the head-dress, was such as to give the wearers a much more European ap- pearance than is the case with Japanese or even Chinese women. In one respect, however, they differed markedly from such specimens of their sex. Their waist was for some occult reason as- sumed to be on a level with tlieir armpits. As can easily be imagined, this played havoc with their figures ; still there was a quaint beauty even about the ruin. The damsels were Korean sino'ins'-G'irls. Now, the singing-girl is an institution in the fiir-East. The word but faintly expresses the person. In Japan, where the class attains its greatest luxuriance, they are called “geisha,” — a name which means “ accomplished person,” and much more A HASTY SKETCH DRA-\VX WITH A PENCIL IN COURSE OF CONVERSATION, BY A KOREAN WHO WAS NOT AN ARTIST. 246 THE LAND OF THE MOENIXG CALM. nearly does them justice ; for to sing is but a small part of their duty. Their business is to sing, play, talk, flirt, and generally to make themselves as agreeable as possible ; for they constitute all the female society there is. Until affected latterly by West- ern ideas, the Japanese women, with the exception of a few court ladies, were in no way companions of the men. They were, in the narrowest sense, Avlves, mothers, and housekeep- ers. To supply in some sort this lack of female society, the geisha came into existence. She is a professional enter- tainer, who, after a thorough course of preparatory study, devotes her life to enlivening* banquets, which are always, except for her presence, exclusively stag-parties. So popular is the institution, that the ii-eisha of a single ward of Tokio are numbered by hundreds. In Korea, the profession is much less cultivated. In Soul, there are only between twenty and thirty geisha, and they are not nearly so accomplished as their Japanese cousins. The smallness of the number Itself implies a want of excellence in the individual ; for were there a demand, it would stimulate quality no less than quantity. But though Soul is a large city, it must be remembered that it is not a rich one. Only the officials can often afford themselves the luxm*}'. W’^hen this bouquet of damsels — for they were named Miss Peach Blossom, Miss Plum Flower, Miss Rose, Miss Moon- beam, and Miss Fragrant Iris — had scattered themselves in such a manner that each man might have a flower, the servants filled up the glasses again, and the stream of merriment flowed on redoubled. The laughter of the girls furnished applause to any unusually personal sail}’, and it was only when the fair ones sang that they saddened us. The quavers, which largely take the place of notes, gave to my ear the effect of a plaintive wail. The most noticeable and charming characteristics of these geisha were their gentleness and delicacy. These traits are. A KOEEAN BANQUET. 247 however, peculiar neither to the geisha nor to Korea, but are distinoruishino- traits of all far-Eastern women. A far-Eastern woman never seems to forget under any circumstances that she is a woman. Like their Japanese cousins, they were petites^ with remarkably small hands and feet and, unlike the Japanese, small heads too. Their feet were as Nature made them ; for no Tartar would think of cramping her feet. Meanwhile we had partially come back in attention, not indeed to our mutton, which is unknown in Korea, but to AAdiat followed the various meats, which Avas a dough baked broAvn in large pellets and eaten Avith honey. It is related to the “ mochi” of Japan, and the nearest substitute they have for the many articles, from bread to pastry, that Ave fasliion from the grains. The Japanese, oddly enough, do possess the single article sponge cake, — a legacy from the Portuguese of the sixteenth centuiy, and still called by their OAvn Portuguese name as nearly as Japanese lips can pronounce it. This, of course, does not exist in Korea. As for the honey, Korea is remark- able for it, and furnishes many different kinds in many different colors. It is always served apart from the comb. Long as it is, CA^en a Korean dinner comes to an end ; and it does so in a parting flush of glory, in the shape of a decoc- tion of pear-juice, colored crimsou and spiced Avith pine-nuts, red like the sunset or the autumn. We sipped this nectar at our leisure, and at the same time Ave demolished the stately central pAU’amid. After this feat Ave leaned back in our chairs, and the attendants lit for us our pipes. This service Avas hardly so gratuitous a luxury as it sounds. The pipes Avere a yard long; and it Avas only just Avithin the bounds of possibility, rep- resented in this case by the reach Avith Avhich Nature has endowed us iu the arm, to light them one’s self. Even AAdien feasible, it Avas a most uncomfortable stretch. The pleasantest Avay to do it is to get some one at the other end of the room 248 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. to apply tlie match, wliile you pull away at the mouthpiece. In this case etiquette demanded that the servant should start it himself, and bring it to us already going. A not unwarranted squeamishness made me always object to this; and whenever I could catch them in time I waived the ceremony. The pipes were made of slender bamboo, fitted with brass bowls and brazen mouthpieces, but finished to resemble silver, Tliough of the same form, it is a much more nearly full grown specimen of a pipe than the Japanese ; and what is especially pleasing, tlie bowls are much larger, so that one has not continually to be knocking out the ashes and refilling them, — an operation which S2)oils the enjoyment of the latter, to our way of thinking. It would also consume far too much ‘time, were the Japanese not so deft at the trick. Smoking is as common in Korea as in Japan ; that is, everybody smokes — all the time. Not to smoke is so much of an exception in either land that when, for instance, in Japan the “ tabako-bon,” or wooden box with the ash-tray, etc., is handed round, — the first attention shown a guest, — a man who does not smoke invariably excuses himself by say- ing that he is a rude rustic fellow who unfortunately lacks the polisli of the habit. While we gathered into the usual post-prandial knots, the girls made ready to dance. Tliey took off several upper gar- ments without producing the effect of having taken off any- thing; for their dresses differed amazingly little in kind, though excessive in quantity, and came off one after the other like so many enclosing sliells. Wlien they got through they were as much dressed to the eye as they had been before. (Here I may add that the Koreans are a people who cover their persons with punctilious care, and are shocked by the indifference about exposure common in neighboring Japan.) Having thus prepared themselves, one of them then tucked A KOEEAX BAXQUET. 249 up lier long- skirts that they might not trail on the ground, and began slowly to revolve with her arms extended horizontally, after the manner of a dancing dervisli. Fortunately for her own ecpiilibrium and our eyes, her intent Avas not the same ; instead of trying how long she could keep going in one di- rection, she soon reversed the motion, and even varied it Avith other gestures. Another then joined the first, noAv advancing, noAv retreating, and performing all manner of half-jAantoniimic motions, but turning continuously. It Avas one of the sloAvest dances I eA^er beheld. It Avas accompanied by some music, and encouraged by the singing of another geisha. A good name for it Avould be the peg-top dance. This Avas my first experience of Korean dancing, and I Avas not beAvitched. Luckily for my opinion of it, I subsequently saw many others, — notably a sort of soldier dance, Avhich Avas exceedingly good. The short afternoon had draAvn to an end, and the lanterns of tlie officials Avere being one by one liglited. It Avas a sign of the bi-eaking' up. A dinner in Korea is a day, not a night, affair; and artificial light is rather a tAvilight of tlie dny that is passed than tlie harbinger of a neAv one just begun. We all prepared to go home. The tall lanterns of the officials — they stood three feet hio-h — added not a little to the scene. The candle Avitliin Avas draped from A'ieAv by an outer covering of gauze of a brilliant red or a green, or half one, half the other, according to the rank of the official. These stood round in tlie hall, giving out their dingy-colored light, or Avere carried and swung in the court3’ard, as one b}' one Ave summoned our chairs, got into them, and then — each a cortege in himself, so great Avas the retinue that followed him — set off doAvn the vallej" home. 250 THE LAXD OF THE MOKXING CALM. CHAPTER XXIV. MY FEIEND THE MATHEMATICIAN. T lias often been said that Poetry and Mathematics are own A sisters. They differ in feature, but not in blood ; and their common mother is Imagination. The saying will soon lose, if indeed it has not already lost, the brilliant glitter of a seem- ing paradox, but only to be recognized with all the more dis- tinctness as a truism. For art is to the senses what science is to tliouo-lit, and both have their birth in the realms of fancv. To a})preciate the one the senses must be acute, to under- stand the other the mind must be discerning ; but to originate in either, this is as truly dependent upon imagination in sci- ence as in art. The faculty has to do with thought pictures there, with sense creations here ; but in both the creative idea comes seemingly from without the man himself. It comes suddenly upon him, as the flame, on relighting a candle that still is warm, appears to flxll to the wick from the air above it. But the wick must be warm, the mind prepared, or the spark never kindles. Of all the arts, perhaps the one most closely allied to mathe- matics is music. As on the one hand it is more completely a creation, so on the other it is more capable of analysis. Xow, its sound calls up feelings tliat seemed dead, so fast they slum- bered ; and again, and its study suggests some of the most interesting of pliysical problems. MY FEIEND THE MATHEMATICTAX. 251 But however we maA^ associate sound with sense, Ave should hardly liaA^e derived the measures of one from those of the other. We should hardly have made melody to spring- from arithmetic, still less arithmetic from melody. To hind them by law who are already espoused in heart, is one of the prettiest conceits of the far-East. Tliough it comprehends not the real tie between the two, custom, from the old j)astoral days of the shepherd’s song, has bequeathed it most curiously, as it were a symbol for the bond. With it the key-note of all science is actually a note, — a note of music ; for the standard of all measures is based upon the size of a certain flute, whose self- determined criterion of accuracy is the sound it is capable of giving forth. Instead of man’s stature, the cubit, the foot, the ell ; instead of the earth’s size, the part of the arc of a meridian ; instead even of modern science, Avith its self-dependent absolute units for bases of measurement, — Ave have here a A'oice as the ultimate appeal. Truly, there is something of Arcadia in it, something fortuitously fitting to that time Avhen the world Avas truer to its instincts of beauty than the treadmill of coiiA-en- tionality suffers us to sIioav ourselves to-day. The opening page of flir-Eastern treatises of mathematics begins as folloAvs : — “ The measures of length, of A’olume, and of Aveight, all are deriA'ed from the length of a certain kind of flute. This flute is of bamboo, and its long-shortness [so the original tersely puts it] such as to produce a particular [specified] nofe. “A certain number of grains of millet of average size make up a length equal to that of the flute. This grain of millet forms the unit of length. “ The flute Avill hold tAveh’e hundred grains of millet. This is the unit of A’olume. “ The Aveight of the tAvelve hundred grains gives the unit of weight.” 252 THE LAXD OE THE MOEXIXG CALM. So runs, in substance, the ancient Chinese definition, now some decades of centuries old. But before we pursue the sub- ject itself, — which will, perhaps, prove of interest to others beside the mathematician, — let me speak of a man about whom to me, and also I trust to the reader, there hangs the mantle of a striking personality. lie is a Korean mathematician, and, what is not common tliere, an original one. He was brought to call on me one day by appointment, and I liked him from his first smile. His keen piercing eye sliowed him a man of quick intelligence, and Ids purple figured-silk wristers betrayed Inm a person of taste. True to his passion, we had no sooner broken the ice of in- troduction than he plunged at once into his subject, and be- gan giving me ])roblems. Tliese were, to our notion, simple enough, but not without interest, — variations of our geo- metrical problems ; and they gained no slight attraction from their Oriental garb. Wlien he received tlie solutions his bright eyes spaikled, he moved his chair nearer, and laid his hand affectionately on nn’ arm. Some of Ids questions were an inheritance from the old Cldnese masters ; some were the product of his own brain. The better to write, he took off his wristers, and so gave me a chance, while I waited for him to write out his questions, to feast my eyes upon the color and the workmanship. The patterned silk was exquisite, in two la}’ers ; and the rose tint below showed throim'h the blue above, miimliim into an everchaimino’ purple. He came again, the following day, and presented me with a fan made of paper set upon wood fashioned to represent bird’s-eye maple, the eyes marked by charring of the wood. The whole was delicate, with the delicacy that pervades every- thing far-Eastern. This ceremony over, he drew forth from his sleeve a volume on mathematics of his own writing, and MY FKIEXD THE MATHEMATICIAN^. 253 proceeded to set me more problems. I was so struck witli liis examination of me, that I asked him if I could not get a copy of the book. He replied that he would have it copied for me. Tliere were two volumes, it appeared, which in a few days he brought with him and presented to me, freshly ])ainted. Painted ! — the word calls up the thought of tlie second muse that has interwoven her art with what we are perhaps too prone to class as stern, dry reasoning; for in the far-East writing and painting are one. Both are done equally with the brush ; both require, to Tartar taste, equal skill, and both are therefore equalh" honored. To write well is as diffi- cult and highly valued an art as to paint well. In fact, the two are not distinct, but are branches of one and the same art, and one word describes both. To write or paint a book or even a letter, as a master would do it, is very difficult ; even to appreciate the touch requires a great deal of study. A word will suffice to suggest the difficulty. Every Chinese character, as the reader knows, is made up of several strokes. The Western tyro imagines at first that when he shall have mastered the kind and position of these strokes, his Avork Avill be done. Delusive deduction ! The subject, not inap- propriately, here reminds one of some of the higher mathe- matics, Avhere order is as essential as quality. Each stroke has position in time as Avell as position in space. The vn- rious strokes must follow one another in a definite order ; otherwise the form even of the stroke is altered, for the brush in leaving the paper marks unaA'oidably, in free paint- ing, a parting dash. To an experienced eye, an error in the order of the strokes is evident at a glance. This is the first step to be learned; afterwards comes the acquirement of touch, which involves the skill of natural aptitude and the practice of years. And thus it happens that this book of mathematics Avas painted. 254 THE LAXD OF THE MOKNHS^G CALM. A tliii’d muse entwines lierself about the book, — Poetry. To her sister, Music, she yielded the pas of introduction ; to Paint- ing, the material form of expression ; but she reserved for her- self to touch into song the maxims wliich sliape the whole. Where we should expect the enunciation of a proposition, w’e find a poem ; in place of a rule, a rhythm. As gaunt and bare as skeletons, formulae may seem as soulless; but even here the Muse contrives to throw something of feeling into the dry mnemonic bones. Let us listen to what is entitled “ The Song for finding the First Figure in the Cube Root of a Given Number.” I give it literally, without trying to keep the poetic form. I doubt whether I shall be able to convey the real beauty of the idea. The conception is to our thought so novel that the line between the beautiful and the ludicrous is- a very difficult path to tread. “Of a thousand the cube root is ten; this is clear. ‘When the number given is thirty thousand, the root is only thirty and a little more. The first figure in the root of nine hundred and ninety thousand even is but some tens ; And the root is but one hundred when the number has reached a million.” At first, perhaps, the poetry does not appear; the idea seems as devoid of beauty as the translated form. But let us tiy, by reading through the words the thought, to see what it calls up to the mind of a far-Oriental. Here then the motif of the poem is the changelessness of the cube root amid the ever- changing transitory number. We detect the idea in the stud- ied comparisons and in the little accompanying particles to intensify the antithesis. Numbers succeed each other, like flowers that last but for a day ; but the root, deeper down, lives on perennial. Or like the landscape to a traveller, the nearer and better seen features hurry quickly by, while MY FRIEND THE MATHEMATICIAN. 255 the distant linger with him, changeless because so very far away. To us, j)erhaps, the sentiment seems too abstract to please ; but we must not forget that where woman is not an inspiration. Nature and even abstract thought have taken sentiment to themselves in a manner that appears over-subtile to our minds. But such a feeling is not absolutely unknown in Europe and America. Only, what we should deem a passing conceit, as it scurried through the brain of a student at home, becomes a poem to the lifelong student in the far-East, who has little else to think about. In the original, the lines have cadence, rh3Hhm, rlnune. Like the Hebrew Psalms, one phrase balances the other; and, like more modern poetry, each concluding word matches in sound the word of the line before. These poems are very old ; they run back into long-past centuries of Chinese civilization. Nor is tlieir association with mathematics an isolated phenomenon. The whole official oli- garch}^ is based upon proficiency in verse. But they have here another aspect wliich is even more interesting than mere age. The}’ point again to that shadowy influence from the homes of Aryan thought. Books of Indian geometry and algebra show the same desire to interweave philosophy and song. But without, at present, crossing to the old Altaic table-land, tills book of the Korean matliematician bears internal evidence of some value. ' It contains unmistakable siiiiis of a mathemati- cal knowledge prior to any contact with modern European thouglit. Tills knowledge is rude and empirical, and is found side by side with wliat is evidently of later date ; but it is quite possible to separate the two. To appreciate the interest of the discover}’, a little history is necessary. 256 THE LAXD OF THE MORNING OALM. About a hundred and fifty years ago the Jesuits entered the Celestial Empire, and at once became, in a most singular manner, the governing power of the State. They were wise enough to preach physics as well as theology, and in conse- cjnence they were constituted a sort of advisory board by the emperor. Their practical physics came in very opportunely. At that time the adjusting of the annual calendar was proving a source of continual annoyance to the Chinese sages. How to reconcile the sun and the moon into harmonious revolutions was a matter involving some embarrassment. The calender com- pilers suffered from an excess of units. They had entangled themselves in the difficulties of a double standard of measures of time, which with us, where time is money, may be paralleled by those of bi-metallism. Thirteen lunations pretty nearly went to make np the year, but not exactly, and there was a certain excess which had to be provided for. Then again there was al- ways the question as to where the thirteenth moon should go in. They were not sorry therefore to have the Men of the Western Sea, as they called the strangers, solve the enigma for them. This solution easily ])aved the way for a teaching of Western mathematics; and the Chinese, recognizing their utility and perceiving no possible danger from their intro- duction, engrafted them upon their own crude system. Front China the new scientific principles found their way into Korea and Japan. In consequence of this adoption, one’s researches among the learned, or mousings among old bookshops, commonly end onlv ill disappointment. The lucky discoveries turn out on investio;ation to be but second-hand learninresent king succeeded to the throne in direct line of descent; and yet, owing to his tender years, he a})pointed his own lather regent, — a position the latter found so congenial that he re- fused to let it go. There was, therefore, no love lost between the two. The fact was, tlie present king had been adopted by tlie preceding monarch, so that he had ceased, by law, to be the son of Ids own father as much as he had ceased in heart to feel the tie. The appearance of the place sadly bespoke its desertion. We found ourselves in an immense courtyard, or park, covered, the greater part of it, with a sparse grass. Through tlie mid- dle of the })ark ran a broad paved pathway, about sixty leet THE PALACES. 291 wide, over wliicli in places tlie grass was beginning once more to reclaim its sway. This avenue stretched from the archway at which Ave had entered to another similar structure at the other end of the park. Owing to the fact that the gates of both of these were closed, the full majesty of this entrance to the royal presence Avas lost. Seen in its entirety, it would have been most imposing. As a pa\’ed AA'ay, it started Avithout, at the stone lions, ran up a gentle incline to the outer gate, and then passed successively through three gateAvaA's and tAvo park-like courts until it emerged at last into a third, in the centre of AA’hich, raised on a terrace of earth, stood the Audience Hall Through- out its length it aa'us perfectly straight, in truly magnificent con- trast to the ordinary road. As an unpaved Avay it extended farther still ; for outside, beyond the lions, there spread aAvay a broad aA’enue to the distance of half a mile. As for the gate- Avays, they Avere not simply entrances, but ceremonial entrances, of the same general type as the city gates, but finer, Avith ma.'<- sive stone foundations, triply pierced, and croAvned Avith large AA'ooden buildings. They Avere almost as grand as the Audience Hall itself. At this my first A’isit I quite missed the effect of the unity ; for Ave Avere conducted through so many lesser gateAvays and courts, off to one side, and Avere taken so many turnings, that I lost all idea of direction, and AAdien at last Ave emerged by a side-entrance before the Audience Hall, I had no conception left of its relative bearing to any other part of the A\ast enclosure. Around this last and most sacred of the great courts ran what, for a better word, I may call cloisters. TheA^ Avere a sort of half-Avay stage betAveen the enclosing wall, pure and simple, and Avhat in Korea, in course of time, it iiiA-ariably develops into, — a continuous line of houses, occupied usually by ser- A’ants. Stretching iiiAvard from the cloisters came the grass, and then a terrace of earth, bordered by a stone parapet, and in the centre of all the hall. In certain AvaA's it is the finest buildinof 292 THE LAXD or THE MOENING CALM. ill Korea, its only rival being- the Palace of Summer. It Avould be a fine building anyivliere in the ivorld. It has the grandeur of unity. As I did not measure it, I shall let the reader judge for himself of the size, by comparing it with a man who stands without on the steps. He will then realize the effect of the interior, when I say that the ivliole is one single room, and there is nothing in it but the throne. This Audience Hall exemplifies some of the curious cere- monial laws in reference to building. The wooden pillars that support what would be the first story were there a second, are all circular. This proclaims it a royal structure. Ko one but the king may have them of that form ; others must have them square. Some of the ancient mathematicians ivould have del ighted in the reason given for this practice. It is because the circle is a more perfect figure than the square; for earth is square, heaven round. Why exactly the opposite rule should h(dd in the case of the rafters is not quite evident; for there to the king belongs the square, to the people the round. I failed to discover the reason of the incongruity ; still, it is a poor rule that will not work both wa}’s. The broad flight of stone steps was another perquisite of roy- alty, befitting his Majesty’s social eminence. Three are deemed sufficient elevation for the average mortal’s abode ; more than that cost him his head. After we had admired the Audience Hall, within and with- out, we retreated again through the gate by which we had en- tered, and walking down a long open corridoi-, or lane, between high walls, came most unexpectedly upon a lamentalde scene of desolation. Large blocks of stone, which Nature had not yet covered with her mantle of respectal)ility, lay one upon another in purposeless confusion ; in another place a pile of bricks suggested some dilapidated pyramid ; while here and there the most unsightly holes beggared even Nature to rival THE PALACES. 293 them. There is, indeed, something terribly desolate in the ruins of a past fire, for such we saw before iis at that moment; and yet it had all happened many years ago, so they told us. It was a ffreat relief to turn from this scene into a little gateway that gave admittance to the enclosure known as the Palace of Summer. It is the finest example of the lotus pond in Korea. Two stone causeways span the narrowest part of the pond, joining the central island to the grounds without. Upon this rises, not a tree, but a superb building, supported by forty-eight monolithic columns. Fine as the building is, it is quite inferior to its own foundation; for all this magnifi- cent dis})lay of columns is nothing but a foundation, Avhicli does not properly constitute a part of the building at all. It is not the onl}' preface which has been the chief merit of the work itself. There are in the pond other islands, smaller and after the usual type; and around them all sleeps the lazy water, when in the hot summer afternoons the cpieen and her court ladies come to sit in the cool breezes that blow down from the high peaks of the Cock’s-comb. From this custom the place took its name. Now, however, it was an ice-g;irden ; and the white winding-sheet lay dotted with the dead leaves and bell- sha})ed seed-vessels of last year’s imprisoned lotus. Mounting to what I can hardly refrain from calling the second story, though it was really only a pi’opped-up rez de chaiissee, we wandered around the broad piazza, gazing at the lotus pond, the palace grounds, and the North Hill rising coni- cally beyond, while away in the further distance the barren range of peaks looked down upon ns, as if in answer. The sides of this piazza Avere of cai’A’-ed Avood, and the AA'hole Avas as elaborate as anything in Soul, Avhich, however, is not saying much, as decoration of any form is not a feature of Korean art. The royal monopolies are probably the cause of this ; for, as an instance, I may say that only on the king’s buildings is 294 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. paint ever allowed. The wonderful taste of Japan is quite wanting in Korea. We descended, and after wandering through several grass- grown alleys, where the calm of the morning seemed indeed to sleep, and meandering over some veritable parks, hut all hemmed in by walls that hesitated not to scale the slopes of the North Hill, we retraced our steps, and to my surprise at last found ourselves at the outer gate. Here my kind guide got into a dilapidated jinrikisha, of which he Avas more proud than of the finest palanquin, and in Avliich he Avas most unmercifully jolted as he rattled sloAvly aAvay, leaving me Avith a parting memory of huge amber spec- tacles Ijobbing unceremoniously up and doAAm, Avhile their OAvner sat ill at ease, trying his best to look comfortable and dignified. Fully a mile aAvay from the Old Palace lies Avhat is called the NeAv Palace, — that collection of grounds and buildings Avhich is at present the abode of the reigning sovereign of Korea. Strictly speaking, the title is in both parts a misnomer ; for the place, so called, is neither new, nor is it exactly Avhat in Western parlance Avould be styled a palace, and yet to Korean thought it is both. Its age is comparatiA’e merely, as indeed must be that of everATliino: Avhich does not contain within itself a term of life. In this case the comparison is Avith AA'hat is knoAvn at the present time as the Old Palace. But there is also a certain absolute justice in this last name ; for the Old Palace could not possibly be aiiA^ older, placed Avhere it is. It is coeval Avith the beginning of the present state of things. It dates from the founding of the city of Soul, noAv hard upon the five hundredth anniversary of its coming into existence. The NeAV Palace AA’as laid out some hundred years later, and is therefore about four centuries old at the present time. In consequence of being later built, it occupies a someAvhat less THE PALACES. 295 honorable position than the older one ; for even position has its allotted ceremonial in Korea. North, east, west, and sonth, — this is the relative rank of the four cardinal points. In etiquette the soverelg’U always faces the south, and his subjects look to the north. Following the same rule, the post of honor gen- erally, on all occasions of ceremony, such as dinners or feasts, is at the northern end of the room. A singular practice this of determining by exterior terrestrial phenomena the etiquette of entertainments carried on within four walls, wliich are them- selves in no wise subjected to orientation, and may face any direction indifferently according to the fancy of the owner. AVhen the city of Soul was laid out, therefore, the palace Avas given the post of honor, — the northern end of the space enclosed by the city’s Avail ; and AA'lien the second palace came to be built, it Avas placed as nearly north as Avas possible, consistently Avith the position of the older one, to Avhose left, to one facing the city, it lay. Exactly what Avas the origin of this custom of allotting a rank among themsel\*es to the cardinal points, it Avould be in- teresting to knoAv. \Ve may perhaps look to some rude as- tronomy for an explanation. Like the Pyramids, it may, in its Avay, be the relic of an old study of the stars. Certain! Aq early man could hardly haA*e failed to be struck 1 >a' the sight that AAdiile all else in the heavens moved, the pole alone remained in dignified repose. The Koreans themselves suggest a more earthly origin for the practice. Because the south is the bright, the Avarm, and therefore the happy region of the earth, they say, the king sits so that he may ahvays face it. \Vhen Ave call to mind the cold Avinters of those lands AAdience the far-Eastern peoples migrated, as Avell as those to Avhich they afterAvards came and Avhich they iioaa" inhabit, Ave realize hoAv instinctiA-e this turning in body, as in thought, toAvard the sonth Avould naturally be. 29G THE LAND OF THE ]\IOENING CALM. T1 le New Palace was originally built as a residence for the Crown Prince, or, to speak more accurately, the heir apparent; for in Korea the heir to the throne is chosen by the king during his life, and is not necessarily born to the position, though it is customary for his Majesty to so designate his eldest son. This is, no doubt, a reason for the superiority, architecturally, of the other, the older one. But the newer possesses a charm of its own, first from the uneven character of the ground over which it rambles, and secondly from being much less artificially laid out. It is also somewhat the larger of the two, in the extent of ground it covers. The high wall, which surrounds it, en- closes about a thousand acres. In this wall are set gates at various points, fourteen of them in all. There is no symmetry in their arrangement, nor is there any in the line of wall itself, which meanders about in so aimless a fashion as to cause sur- prise when at last it ends by meeting itself again. The gates, or archways, are quite as various in size and honor, as they are un- symmetrical in position, — a fact typified by their names, which range through all the grades of esteem from that of “ The Gate of Extensive Wisdom ” to “ The Moon Yiewdng Gate.” The fourteen are onlv outer gates ; within are innumerable others, and no gate is without a name. Sometimes the names are sim- ply aesthetic ; sometimes they are moral sentiments taken from Confucianism. The inner life of the peojde is so entirely in theory only a mixture of the two ideas, — the good and the beautiful, and the veneration for a name so universal, — that there is no structure above the most ordinary and common kind but has its distinct ennobling proper name. Then as to the second half of the title, the term “palace,” the place is not so much a palace as a collection of palaces. AVithin is a very labyrinth of buildings, courts, and parks. There are audience halls for the king and the heir apparent ; then the separate palaces in Avhich they respectively live ; then THE PALACES. 297 the queen’s apartments, whose size may be imagined from the several hundred court ladies, of various positions, who are con- stantly in attendance upon her, and whom no male eye, save his Majesty’s, is ever permitted to see. Each of these sets of houses is approached by its own series of courtyards and dependent buildings. But perhaps the chief beauty of the spot lies in the grounds — half gardens, half pai’ks — which occupy the space not other- wise built over. It is a peculiarity of the far-East that the domes- tication of Nature — to use a term which seems best to express the artificial shaping of Nature to man’s private enjoyment — is carried to the happy half-way point between the two extremes common with us, and which are represented by the park, on the one hand, where we shape very little, and the flower-garden on the other, where we mould a great deal too much. This is peihaps best shown in Japan. The grounds that a Japanese delights to wander through are an adaptation or a copy of the features of a real landscaj)e, reduced to a convenient scale or left of the natural size, according to circumstances, and intro- duced where he desires them to exist, but are in no sense the conventional museum style of arrangement we adopt in tlie fashioning of our flower-gardens. Nothing would strike them as more inartistic than a collection of plants, however beau- tiful individually, arranged in a manner so wholly unnatural. Such a collection with them can be seen, and can only be seen, in the show grounds of a. florist, and affects them as an ordi- nary shop window does us. In consequence, they more partic- ularh" affect the flowering shrubs to a conqtarative neglect of the annuals. Perhaps Nature has helped them to the custom by ])roducing the finest specimens of such shrubs to be seen anjnvhere in the Avorld. In Korea there is wanting the humanizing touch of the Jap- anese, which seems to transform the soil of their islands into 298 THE LAXH OF THE MORNING CALM. an almost sentient bit of earth; for in Japan there is perhaps nothing- more striking than this semi-human look of the land- scape. In Korea, in lieu of this there is a certain air of decay- ing grandeur ; for in the finest gardens stone-work, grown more or less dilapidated with age, encases that bit of water which, as we have seen, is the motif of the whole. Scattered, therefore, through the half-garden, half-park, are several of these “ lotus ponds,” set in a curbing of granite, with islands bordered in like fashion. In the same manner the brooks are confined and fringed, and are spanned by stone bridges at intervals ; and yet so well done is the work, that it seems in keeping with its surroundings. At all points where a particularly pretty bit of landscape presents itself, is found a summer house ; for a Korean does not combine the idea of exercise with the enjoyment of Nature, and prefers to drink in the scenery where at the same time he can sip his tea. Over the greater part of the scene is visible the artistic touch of neglect. Time and weather have parted the stones from one another, and they now show gaping fissures where all was once smooth. Weeds and grass are trying tc throw their green man- tle over what they may ; and in spite of its name, in spite of man who inhabits it, ruin, in its incipient stage, seems peculiarly to be the genius of the spot. A CHAPTEK OE HOEEOES. 299 CHAPTER XXVIIL A CHAPTER OF HORRORS. HE age of bodily adventures lias wellnigli passed away ; even the age of adventurers is no longer in its prime. The age of brass, like the age of iron, has given place to the age of gold. Perhaps it is not wholly an uncompensated loss that society, like everything else in the universe, should tend to a state of equilibrium. Adventures, in the old-fashioned sense, happen now commonl}^ oi'ly fools or detectives, — to those, that is, who make them by not minding their own business or to those who make it their business to mind them. Adventures must now, indeed, be tracked and hunted down in order to be met with, and most people have not the time necessary for the pursuit. However painful the admission, therefore, it is sustained at least by the consciousness of being in harmony with the spirit of the times, that I confess to having no properly blood-curdling occurrences to relate No chain of fateful circumstances ever forced me into a situation Avhence my fortunate escape has since remained a marvel even to myself, and no seemingl}" innocent premises ever landed me, to my then terror though subsequently reflected glor}^, in conclusions to blanch the cheeks of an ap- preciative audience. But one man in Korea ever showed me aught but extreme politeness and distinguished consideration ; and that one himself furnished me the proof that at the time he 300 THE LAND OF THE MOENIXG CALM. was in a condition in wliicli lie was not himself. So, without stopping- to investigate his present identity, — a not over- pleasing one, — I handed over whoever he had come to he to the kind courtesy of a passing soldier, and passed on my way. Indeed, Korea is hardly the land for specific adventures ; the fact of being there at all is its own most startling experience, and the continnons necessarily excludes the exceptional. The horrible is as near the adventurous as, nnfortimately, I can come ; and even what belongs to that falls perversely under the head of what I might have seen bnt did not. At the time the deed was committed, I was quietly smoking a pij^e in my own study, in peaceful oblivion to my immediate possibilities. I thus missed a sensation. It was on a certain day in Januaiy. Tlie weather had set in for a thaw, and the roads were heavy. This partially ac- counts for my being snngly ensconced at home, instead of find- ing myself on one of the main thoroughfares, ankle-deep in nmd, some little distance outside of the South Gate. Had I, however, been walkiim there on that siibsemientlv memorable day, I should suddenly, Avithoiit the slightest mental prepara- tion, have stumbled across a most shocking spectacle. There, on one side of the highway, ex})osed to hideous publicity, lay thirty headless bodies. The heads had evidently been severed from the trunks by some sharp instrument, like a sword ; and the blood, spouting from the arteries, had stained the ground a horrible red, and then gathered in crimson pools that Avere slowl}^ congealing to purple. The bodies Avere still clothed as in life, and though decapitated Avere yet perfectly recogniza- ble. The greater portion had once been men, but scattered among them could be distinctly made out the forms of Avomen. Xo humane regard for sex, eA’idently, had stayed the hands that had done the deed. x\.round the spot had collected a cu- rious feAv, in number sufficient to arrest the attention, but not A CHAPTER OF HORRORS. 301 enough to hide the sight ; and on their faces, where any ex- pression was visible at all, a morbid interest disputed the place of a more fitting horror. To render the spectacle all the more ghastly, the ordinary traffic pursued its course within a few inches of the bodies, as if nothing uncommon had happened. Only occasionally some man whose clothes perhaps had brushed them a little closer than usual, or who hajDpened to have been born more inquisitive than his fellows, would j^ause and stare for a moment on his way by ; or a band of children, in a mad frolic, would run up against them inadvertently, and then hastily scamper away again with only the instinctive tribute of an involuntary shudder. As if this were not hideous enough, a little farther along was the still more horrible complement of this horrible collec- tion. Gathered in a place by themselves, in the midst of the mud, lay the missing heads. They had all been carefully car- ried away from the trunks to which they belonged, and then arranged Avith fiendish forethought in a long roAv by the way- side, their faces upturned to the passers-by as if on exhibition. What the feelings Avere of such as Avere unlucky enough to in- habit the houses in front of Avhich they lay, can perhaps best be imagined ; but hoAvever great their loathing, the OAAmers had not dared to move the heads aAvaAx There they remained, confronting AA’ith their ghastly stare the living populace. In some the eyes Avere open, and gazed into A-acancA" Avith the same fearful expectancy Avith aa'IiIcIi they had aAvaited death, crystallized uoav into a set expression of unearthly horror ; in others the lids had fallen, and the hair, matted Avith gore, gave to the face a look as of as'OiiA’ still felt ; Avhile about them all Avas that peculiar ghastliness of a dismembered body, — the ghastliness of matter that mimics mind. Is it the self-preser- A’ative instinct of life that renders parts of once living Avholes so horrible to see, — and of all such, the most horrible, a face ? 302 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. Scanned more closely, ■when this loathing’ was in some sort conquered, there was little in any way distinctive about these faces, nothing to mark beyond a doubt the characters of the victims. In such a sorry plight the good man and the villain inspire too much of horror in common to be recognizable. They were Koreans : that Avas all. Who Avere these Avretches ! Was this the Avork of a band of highAva3"-robbers in the darkness of the night before, or Avas it the blood}" extinguisher to an uprising among the people ? It Avas neither. It Avas nothing so unusual ; it was siinpl}" the ordinary handiwork of the hiAv. These unfortunates had some of them stolen as much as ten dollars’ Avorth of something, and had been so unluck}" as to be caught in the act. Some of them probably had stolen much less ; but the laAv cannot discriminate between insignificant amounts, and they had then been eased by the laAv of that life Avhich tliey had found so difficult to keep going. They had been mercifully treated Avithal ; they had simply had their heads cut off. Had their crime been greater, or had they chanced to live a feAv years before, they Avould not have escaped from this Avorld with so little discom- fort to themselves. The real horror of their doom consisted in lying exposed for three days in the public thoroughfare, — a horror rather for the living than the dead. Such Avas its object. After decapitation, the victims are cast by the officials upon the street, — the bodies in one place, the heads in another; and then for three days and three nights no man may touch either corpses or heads to take them aAvay. For this length of time they are a spectacle none can avoid. All Avho pass that Avay, strangers or acquaintances alike, must perforce face the ghastly sight. After these three days of public horror, and only then, the relatives of the crimi- nals are permitted to come and remoA’e the bodies and bury them. To make crime as repellent as possible is the aim of the laAv. A CHAPTER OF HORRORS. 303 The number of the belieaded — thirty here Imd been exe- cuted together — did not indicate, however, any undue pro- portion of crime in general, nor any excess at that time in particular. It was only a little matter of economy on the part of the Government. The Government finds it more convenient to delay the several executions till a sufficient number of crimi- nals are collected on hand in the prison, and then to make one holocaust of the whole. The crime of these men and women had been simple thiev- ing. Whatever jurists may consider to have been demon- strated as wise in European legal punishments, it is certain that in the far-East, at least, the severity of the punishment is prohibitory to the indulgence of the crime. Actual thieving is very rare in Korea, as it is in Japan. I observed this with impersonal gratification with reference to the community at large and with much personal delight in my own instance. In spite of the confiding way in which I left my things about, I never had anything but a penknife stolen ; and this too in the face of the fact that, however valueless to me, the simplest of my trinkets was to them an article of nearly priceless curiosity. When, one day, I discovered the loss of the above-mentioned penknife, I suggested, in joke to the Colonel, with whom I was at the time engaged in discussing this very question of capital punishment, that I should not object to having the fellow who stole it decapitated. To which, to my horror, he instantly replied, in perfect good faith, “And he would be, if we could only catch him.” It was lucky for the poor devil that they never did succeed in finding him. Murder, in the far-East, is also uncommon. It would seem that the passions there are not so violent as with us ; and this is probably due to centuries of education. The Buddhistic tenet of self-repression has undoubtedly something to do with it ; and the low estimation in which woman is held, contributes 304 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. also to the result. At any rate, a mastery over the expression of the feelings, which inevitably tends to an extinction of the feelings themselves, is at present a marked characteristic of these races. There was but one murder during my stay in Soul, and that was not the deed of a Korean. The parts Avere cast the other wa}'. The Korean, perhaps unfortunately for himself, Avas the murdered, not the murderer. I learned of it one day as I Avas calling at the Japanese legation. It Avas at that moment the excitement of the hour ; and the details Avere all the more eagerly discussed, because of the national hatred of the Japanese for the Chinese. For a Chinaman had done it. He Avas a soldier, — one of the many Chinese troops quartered, under the command of a Chinese general, a short distance outside of the east gate. Bands of them at times stroll into the city, and then Avander about it in search of amusement. In one of these moments of recreation the felloAv in question, together Avith some companions, entered a certain shop Avhere provisions Avere sold, probably a restau- rant of some sort. While there, he got into a roAv Avith the son of the place, — a mere lad, — and began to maltreat him. The father naturally came to the rescue of his son ; and the Cliinaman then seized his rifle, and in the scuffle that ensued, fired se\’eral shots promiscuously at both of them, Avouuding the father and killing the son. The affair made quite a stir in the neighborhood ; and the Chinese general, in consequence, inves- tigated the matter, and I belieA-e had the man decapitated. The laAV is much mitigated in rigor from Avhat it Avas for- merly. Then the most cruel of punishments Avere inflicted for all but A’enial offences. This mitigation is not due to any direct influence from abroad, Avhether Chinese, Japanese, or European, but to a change Avhich has sloAvly crept over the s})irit of the land. That it Avas suggested by foreign Ava}’s is of course possible ; but it Avould seem rather to be a gradual. A CHAPTER OF HORRORS. 305 spontaneous evolution, working- more slowly but as surely in this little community, shut off by itself, as in tlie great world outside. There are to be found manv other instances of the «/ same spirit at work, during the last centuries of isolation. But there is one feature about the change which is suggestive and, were such an adjective possible scientifically, sad. It has been a spirit of death, not of life. Old customs have passed away, but no new ones have arisen to take their place. It has been tlie gradual dying of the motion of the pendulum of life, where, iu the absence of fresh motives to exertion, natural indolence is slowly and surely bringing it to rest. As it is but a step from the sublimity of horror to the ludi- crousness of a Korean fight, I feel inclined to take it, and all the more tliat it is the one turning aside from the path of wis- dom of this quiet, dignified people, the one flaw in their deeply ingrained pliilosophy of courtesy, which is, after all, but another name for sense. For this reason alone, it is worthy a place in their chamber of horrors. I was one day walking along one of the country roads, chewing the cud of reflection, in silent sympathy with the bulls I occasionally passed, as I mused upon the delightful contrast between the gentleness and urbanity of the East and the only too common rudeness and brutality of the West, when, as if to give the lie to my unspoken thought, I suddenly found myself face to fiice witli the commonest of street fights. At the moment I arrived the combatants had reached, from their originally more dignified position, the humble level of mother earth, with a deplorable want of consideration for the onl}^ too easily tarnished purit}^ of their garments. But this heedlessness was as nothing to the sorry plight to which each had reduced the other’s headgear. For a Korean’s pride lies in his coif- fure, and he disarranges it as little as may be, even for ablu- tionary purposes. Unfortunately, it also constitutes his most 20 306 THE LAND OF THE MOKNING CALM. A’ulneraljle spot ; for it is long- enough to afford excellent holding-ground for an opponent. It is therefore the first point of attack. As I came up, each of the two writhing masses of clothes — for Korean dresses are at all times most ample, and here caused a lamentable loss of identity to their respective owners — showed hut a black mass of hair as a target for the adversary’s vengeance. This had not failed of its mark ; and each head was securely in the grasp of a not friendly hand, which was pulling at the locks most unmercifully. Some of them it had already pulled out, as the hunches of dark hair on the ground around amply testified. Coincidently the faces of the combatants were getting pretty well scarred and mal- treated. Although many spectators, after thoroughly satiating their curiosity, liad then felt impelled to attempt to separate the two, this praiseworthy intent was rendered, from the pecu- liar method of warfare, no easy task. To dislodge a hand firmly imbedded in a tangled mass of hair, while the head to which the hair belongs bobs about like a buoy in a rough sea, is a feat to tax tlie ingenuity of even an anxious friend, not to speak of lukewarm bystanders. Finally, more from Avant of strength on the part of the weaker combatant, and satisfied vengeance on the part of the stronger, than from any effectual assistance from the croAvd, the fight eventually ceased or lulled, — I am not sure which, for at that jDoint I came aAvay. THE VALLEY OF CLOTHES. 307 CHAPTER XXIX. THE VALLEY OF CLOTHES. XE of the secretaries of the Japanese legation had dis- covered, in the course of his strolls in the neighborhood of the capital, a tidbit of scenery that he had straightway fallen in love with, and he was anxious to show it to me. It was a sort of shrine, he informed me, utterly alone amid the most desolate of landscapes ; and then, in defence of his ideal, he added, by way of disconnting beforehand any possi- ble want of appreciation on my part, that perhaps it was too severe a spot to please a Western eye. Nevertheless, he pro- posed and promised it as the guerdon of a walk ; and he hoped, he said, that I might love it with at least a little of the love he lavished upon it himself, — a love awakened by its very helpless, hopeless dreariness. The description of it was certainly not enticing; but still it was something to see, and still more something to see Avhat it was that had so won the Japanese fancy; So one afternoon we set off to call, as in far-Eastern thought it would almost become, upon his inamorata ; and we took mv camera with us to immortalize Onr road carried us round the long lines of the Old Palace wall, majestically stretching out into perspective distance, and then across a northern corner of the great town, till at last it boldly attacked a hill, with only the least possible hesitation her. 308 THE LAND OF THE MOENIXG CALM. of a turn on the way up, to gain for itself an exit through the northeast gate. One is always pleasingly reminded of the strategic importance of the wall on trying to leave the city anywhere on the north side, by the amount of toil involved in getting out. The very name, a walled city, has in it the sound of ro- mance. In these days a city’s wall, if powerless to keep out the foe of the present, seems at least sufficient to shut in the memories of the past ; and a wall that tops the crest of a natural rise has in it a touch of grandeur too. There is some- thing impressive in tlie loneliness with which it stands out against the sky, something of infinity in the little bit of trans- parent blue its gate enframes. Ordinarily horizons are grad- uated, — the land and the sky merge into a common distance, until you forget that one is not a continuation of the other. But here your eye follows the ground a score of paces up be- fore you, and then is launched into the lonely infinite expanse. As you mount, you seem to be approaching the end of the world, until, in an instant, there spreads out a panorama at your feet upon the further side. In order the better to rest after our exertion in climbing the hill, we proceeded to add to its height by mounting to the second story of the gateway, and in this eyry-like pavilion sat down to enjoy the view, and incidentally to indulge in comments upon my companion’s distant, and by him barely acknowledged, relatives, as they emerged, grotesquely fore- shortened, from under the gate. Seen from where we sat, their appearance not unjustly provoked that reckless irony which is the triljute we pay to striking dissimilarity. First a hod of bru.shwood walked through, apparently of itself, and then began in the most dignified manner to descend the hill. Next a couple of huge hats did the same, nodding along side by side in most sociable proximity, — an affection due to their THE VALLEY OF CLOTHES. 309 great size compared witli the heads heneath; and lastly, a more imposing individual on horseback emerged, on an amble, from under our feet, whose head seemed to us to be set on a pivot in the neck and to be worked by the heavy bob of a pendulum beneath, so regularly did it wag back and forth. So the proces- sion passed. Thus debasingly was poor humanity transformed into peripatetic automata. At last, satiated with judging of mankind de haut en has, we descended from our exalted station and walked through, ourselves. On the other side of the gate, some little distance be}mnd it, stood one of the sacred devil-trees. Its woe-begone appear- ance, like that of tlie pitiably expressive images in certain ca- thedrals, Avorn away by constant kissing, betrayed it at a glance to be the spoiled recipient of too mucli attention; for Avhat with the shreds of cloth that hung, the most lamentable of rags, from its then leafless branches, and its mournfully isolated position, it looked wretched enough to be the victim of univer- sal adoration. However, here the cause Avas more vicarious ; for it Avas only a jail or trap, Avith the tattered finery for bait, and Avas supposed to be chock full of devils. Their startling proximity did not, hoAvever, terrify any one ; for about the tree had been built a terrace of stone, that Avayfarers might rest in summer beneath its friendly shade. The country Avithout the gate Avas, even for this part of Korea, particularly up and down, — a mass of peaks so huddled together that it Avas as much as Nature could do to proAude the valleys necessary to their separate identity. Pushed a little far- ther, she Avould have given out in despair, to let them coalesce into one continuous table-land. There had eAudently been some mistake as to the amount of surface to be prepared for this bit of country. Much more had been provided than there Avas space to cover, and being there had to be squeezed in, at the last moment, as best it could. 310 THE LAND OF THE IMORNING CALM. The first of these valleys that we entered has left upon my mind only an impression of much betrodden mud, — an impres- sion which, if the reader can only grasp my expression of it, will accurately define the appearance in winter of many Korean spots other than this particular valley. It ended abruptly in another somewhat wider valley, which, however, instantly con- tracted on either liand from the point where we reached it. If the first valley liad seemed cheerless, the second was nothing short of the abomination of desolation spoken of by tlie propliet. It fulfilled my idea of an impersonation of nothing. We trav- elled up this dreary species of canon a few hundred yards, and suddenly came upon tlie spot we were seeking. Perched on one of the ledges that flanked the narrow stream, stood a tenantless temple. It was built in the Korean style of architec- ture in use since tlie inroad of Chinese taste, which the view I took of it will make more understandable than any description. It was indeed a little gem, well set off by its dreary isolation. It had been built, so I was afterwards informed, in commemora- tion of a certain battle, in which, as the Koreans aver, they concpiered. The sides of the valley were almost treeless, with not enough earth upon them to hide the crags that stack through in many places ; and in the centre, on either side of the stream, Avere smooth gray ledges of rock, Avithout even a A'estiofe of coA^erinof, AA'hile innumerable boulders of all sizes streAved Avhat at certain seasons evidently AAms the bed of a torrent. To the Korean eye, Avhich sees in rocks the bones of mother earth, and in soil her flesh, the place must liaA^e seemed a A'ery skeleton. The little stream, Avith so much smooth rock immediately about it, had evidently been intended by Nature, so the Koreans Avisely concluded, for a place in Avhich to carry on a Avholesale clothes-washing. In pursuance of this practical application of their appreciation of the locality, they had streAvn the rocks THE VALLEY OF CLOTHES. 311 plentifully with their washed apparel, and left them there alone to dry ; so that now innumerable white patches relieved, if they in no sense beautified, the otherwise universal gray. In spite of these evidences of humanity, there was not a creature to be seen from where we stood opposite the temple, with the single exception of a solitaiy individual in the distance, who had ap- parently been belated in the conclusion of his toil. For how many miles this sort of laundry exhibition continued I cannot directly affirm, for we only ascended the stream for a com- paratively short distance ; but there was no appearance of any decrease in the number of clothes so exposed as far as we could see ahead up the valley. In some places whole fields of them had been left quite far off by themselves to dry, in delightfully confiding abandonment; while in other spots we came upon groups of women industriously pounding less advanced speci- mens in a most merciless manner with short round sticks. This ocular proof of the custom alone convinced me that the Kore- ans ever washed their clothes. I had been more than sceptical before, but I realized then with contrition the wrong I had done a people who naturally find it impossible to keep clean in white garments. The manner of their clothes-washing is, in all respects but one, the simplest imaginable. The clothes are taken to the nearest brook and thoroughly pounded with sticks until they have yielded up the ghost of the unclean spirit, when they are laid on the ground to dry. The simplicity of cut of the clothes makes this method as efficacious as it is easy. The one respect in which any sort of complication enters, is a practice which is also common to Japan, though there it is performed on all clothes alike, Avhile in Korea only winter apparel is so treated. The garment to be washed is first ripped into its constituent parts, and each of these washed separately, and then separately set out to dry. The dismembered garment is subsequently 812 THE LAND OF THE MOKNING CALM. gatliered up and sewed together again, so that in some sense a washing is equivalent to a new dress. In Japan tlie effect of this is even more peculiar, as the pieces are plastered down with the hand on boards to diy, in order thus the better to keep their shape, and the curious flat patchwork resembles anything rather than what it really is. AVe continued up the valley — or rather made a short cut over a hill, where the valley made a bend — to a village famed for a certain paper-mill. It turned out that the mill had been discontinued, but we very nearl}" secured another object of in- terest by our sudden descent upon it. This just-missed prize was the most beautiful Korean woman I ever saw. She was very busily engaged in the local pursuit. Our seeing her but for a short time would alone account for the superlative, of course ; but in this case it was a fact, for we did see her quite well though not long. The mistake lay in not being satisfied with a little. Unfortunately, we wished to photograph her. As soon as she caught sight of us, without so much as waiting to learn our intent, she fled with a precipitancy I have never seen equalled into a neighboilng house, at the entrance to which stood an elderly man, Avho remained through it all as immova- ble as a statue. The house stood a little way up the bank on one side of the stream ; we wei’e on the other. To be robbed like this of what could not be duplicated, and so unnecessaril}’, too, seemed to us to be worthy a struggle to recover. So we began to parley. \Ye summoned the good Kim to the front to address the aged impassive Korean on the bank, whom we assumed to have some connection with the fair refugee. There we all were, stationed like the posts of an army on the eve of an attack: the aged foe on the top of the bank; Kim interviewing him from the bottom of it ; I directing operations from the mid- dle of the brook ; and the Japanese Secretary vouchsafing sug- gestions from a base of retreat on the further side. The assumed THE VALLEY OF CLOTHES. 313 connection, above mentioned, the aged Korean of course denied, which we told him mattered little to the affair, as the object of it was at least hiding in his abode, and he could therefore pro- duce her. He said he could not ; she was too obstinate and too alarmed. We then tried to explain to him, first the harmlessness of our purpose, and secondly the honor it w^as to be wanted for a photograph ; and we enumerated a long list of illustrious vic- tims to our art. This, we judged, could not be without an effect on him; but all he replied was that he did not know her well enongh to speak to her Though unquestionably false, it would have been discourteous to have denied it ; so we continued, diplomatically, to conciliate by suggesting all the other induce- ments which at the moment struck us as cogent, until finally he so far weakened as to offer us a substitute in the person of an old crone, as aged as himself, and more ugly, who appeared at that instant from within the house, and whom we took to be the grandmother of the beautiful girl, though she may have been older. Having lost all her looks, she at least had nothing to fear from the rape of a photograph Turning from the first individual, we directed our attention to the new-comer, and did our best to influence her presumably softer womanly heart by reviewing, in a different order, — for Ave had quite exhausted our stock of inventions, — all Ave had preA'iously said to the man. She, hoAvever, Avould not so much as give us an an- SAver, and did absolutely nothing at all, — for staring immov- ably could hardly be accounted doing anything, — and the man then gratuitously added to his other reasons of impos- sibility that the young Avoman had now run aAvay home. We had not seen her depart, and Ave felt sure she Avas Avithin ; but Ave Avere poAverless. The dog of the household had iioav added himself to the group on the bank, and took from time to time a lazy interest in the proceedings. Matters began to look hope- less ; so Ave pre^Aared for the inevitable, and Avaylaid a A^ery 314 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. inferior specimen of the sex, wlio was on her way home with so heavy a bundle of washed clothes that she could not rim away. But we never ceased regretting, to the end of our jour- ney back and for many a long day after, that Korean prudish- ness should only have vouchsafed us the grandmother, wlien we liad tried so liard for the maid. It was entirely a cpiestion of sex that had stood in our way. In Korea there is, so far as I could judge from numerous in- stances, no superstitious fear of being photograplied, such as exists in China, wliere with the image it is believed is taken away a part of the personality. Tliough we also missed seeing the paper-mill, it may not be out of jilace here to say a ivord about that perhaps most famous of Korean manufactured products, Korean paper. In Korea, paper is not made from rags ; it is made solely from the bark of the paper tree. The result is that Korean or JajDanese or Chi- nese paper — for all three are made in the same way — is a very different article from paper such as we know it. Our paper tears easily in any direction ; Korean paper tears only with the grain, and separates into long shreds when it comes apart at all. It is sometimes almost impossible to tear it; and I have known paper to split down its side, coming off in thin broad laminae, rather than }deld to a force across it. This strength renders it a much more generally serviceable article than ours would be. To Avrite upon it is one of the very minor uses to which it is put ; and in fact, in our sense of the word, it could hardly be AATitten on at all, for it is never glazed. On the other hand, many kinds of it are oiled, and so become waterproof and ex- ceedingly tough. Oil-paper is used for the inside fittings of a house, for hats, coats, and many other uses ivhere it will be ex- posed to the weather or to continued wear and tear. The natural paper is used for writing (properly called painting), for books, fails, lanterns, and so on. So common is it in one form or the THE VALLEY OF CLOTHES. 315 Other that it mlo-ht almost be said that where the one kind is not O used, the other is. Though it is not glazed, there is a sheen on it, due to the pressing to which it is subjected in the manu- facture, and to the character of the material ; but it is never smootli. Korean paper is even tougher than the Japanese, and is one of the few Korean things that had made a reputation in the world beft)re its home had become truly a part of the community of nations. 31G THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. CHAPTER XXX. COSTUME. I T is a curious and interestiug' fact that of all the manuers and customs of a people, none should be considered more characteristic by the people themselves than dress. The very nomenclature of the subject betrays the feeling. Custom, cos- tume, haVit, habitude, show that what we have now differentiated into two sprang not long ago from a common root ; and no better comment on the importance of a particular branch of any subject could be made than its appropriation in this man- ner of the generic name. This appropriation came about at a time, now some centuries since in our history, when the art of dressing commanded a care and attention never known be- fore and in all probability never to be realized again. It may be said to have marked the culminating point of the world’s indolence. That the art of dress may flourish, wealth is not so necessary a factor as opportunity. Perhaps this is why we And it, and all in connection with it, especially luxuriant in Korea. For we find it tliere in spite of the absence of tliose causes to which at first we might be inclined to ascribe it, and which in fact do keep it alive with us to-day. Where woman never appears in public, — where neither in her own person can she cultivate the art nor encourage its growth among what should be her admirers of the other sex, — the art of dress miglit well be expected to languish. Where society as we know the COSTUME. 317 term does not exist, who would take the pains to adorn himself with that enthusiasm which is born of vanity ? When special times are set apart, particular occasional exertions can be made ; but who can continuously remain at his highest j)itch of endeavor? Who, in short, can attend to two things at once — his occupation and his appearance — with the zeal required to advance both ? But luxuriant as it is in Korea, it is a luxuriance tempered by despotism. Not that this in the least curtails its variety; it but allots and apportions the fruits. The sumptuary laws are as all-embracing on the one hand as they are minute on the other. Wliat a Korean may — nay, what he must — wear, is prescribed not by unwritten usage, but by binding statute. It is only within certain narrow limits for a given man at a given time that change is possible. But in accordance with the rites he is forever changing his apparel. He must vary his clothes to suit his age, his station in life, his occupation of the moment. From the time that he is first wrapped in swaddling clothes till he is decentl}’ buried beneath a mound of earth, he is forever ])assing into some new phase of dress ; and then, on top of this secular variation, recur endless periodic changes. The subject of mourning alone would occup}' a short professional career to master. The Avhole matter is a very important item of the law of the land ; it is one branch of the all-embracing rites. To attend to these questions of etiquette requires the abilities of a sixth part of the talent of the country ; for of the six depart- ments into which the Government is divided, one is the Re Cho, or “ board of rites,” whose duty it is to prescribe, regulate, and govern this very thing. To the mind of a Korean its impor- tance is equal to that of war or finance, and the amount of work connected with it is far greater. Why should it not be, to a people whose dislike to fighting is only exceeded by their distaste for business ? 318 THE LAND OF THE ]\[OPvNING CALM. As it is so serious a matter, it is no surprise that fashions change only witli dynasties. Tlie fall of a ruling house is equivalent to the setting of a new mode ; yet it is rather the occasion than the cause, and is the result of a somewhat distant chain of foreign circumstances. To understand it, we must turn our eyes for a moment to China. Instead of an ever-victorious nation of conquerors, as one t might, from the apparent permanence of their customs, suppose them, the Chinese have been, for many centuries, a people whose lot it was to be periodically a prey to invasions, — invasions as successful as successive. Once in about so often a wave of barbarian conquest, like a regularly recurring tide, has overrun and submerged the land. The waves obliterated in })laees the old landmarks, and left their own deposits in others, but on the whole swept over the solid monuments of the old civilization, to pass away without leaving widespread destruc- tion to attest their visit. No sooner was the material conquest completed than the tables were turned, and the conquered be- came mentally the conquerors. Yet it was but a conversion in part ; for to a certain extent the foreigners were too attached to some of their own practices to relinquish them. They gen- erally clung to their dress, in part at least. Not unnaturally to the semi-civilized a change in costume seems, in some occult manner, associated with a loss of identity. In consequence they forced a j)ortion of their garb upon the natives ; and, strangest of all results, these latter came to be proud of what, in the first instance, had been imposed upon them as badges of ser- vitude. Thus it is that to-day the glory of the Chinaman lies in the length of his })laited cue, originally the most humiliating of enforced appendages. Preparatory, usually, to subduing China, the invading hordes were wont temporarily to swallow up Korea, and force her to the payment of an annual tribute, which, either directly or in COSTUME. 319 consequence of the internal dissensions it kindled, led to her change in costume. The advent of the last fashion was about five hundred years ago, and was in result of the establishment of tlie Ming (or “ Bright ”) dynasty. We may, if we please, see tlie glory of its light in the color of its garments ; for they are a spotless white, tinged ever so slightly with a faint bluish tint, like the reflec- tion from the sky which we catch in the color of the shadows of a clear day. We now come to a most interesting episode in develop- ment, — the manner, namel}’, in which woman has influenced dress in Eastern Asia. Her absence has been as potent a force there as her presence has been elsewhere ; for I think we must admit that to lier indirectly is due the following singular feature of xisiatic thought. The wa}' in which the far-Oriental regards dress is some- what peculiar. I can think of no simile so descriptive as the connection we tacitly assume between spirit and bodv. We hardly, in ordinary life, think of the one as devoid of the other, and we regard the latter as at least the sense-impression to us of the person within. So do they with dress. To their eyes it forms an essential part of their conception of the man. Some- what in like manner we are ourselves impressed by dress, in the customary take-at-what-we-see estimate of our fellows. They differ from us in carrying the real into the ideal. This is very strikingly seen in the matter of painting. Per- haps one of the most notable features about far-Eastern painting is its utter ignoring of the human figure. There is a com- plete void in that branch which among Europeans has alwavs claimed much attention, — the study of the nude. To them artistically man is nothing but a bundle of habits in the sarto- rial sense. The practice is not due to an excess of Avhat we call modesty. We may perhaps define modesty as the veiling 320 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CAL?.!. from .public gaze of all of ourselves, iii person or in mind, ex- ce})t so much as is sanctioned to exposure by conventionality. Substitute “necessity” for “conventionality,” and you have the far-Eastern definition. Convenience, not convention, is the touchstone of propriety. They have not the smallest objection to being seen in a state of nature Avhere occasion demands it; and, on the other hand, nothing would induce them to exhibit any portion of their })ersons for the purpose of display. To them to be clothed or naked is a matter of indifference ; it is merely a question of temporary comfort. The reason why they disregard the body is other than this. It is simply that they have never been led to regard the body as beautiful. That this is so, is due to the low position of woman. She has never risen high enough in their estimation to attain even to that poor level of admiration, — that of being an object of beauty. All that should be her birthright they heap as a dowry upon Nature. The study of drapery has benefited at the expense of what it encases, and pla}’s a certain part even in the expression of the emotions. Before proceeding to a detailed description of the series of garments in which the Korean wraps himself, there is one fea- ture, common to all, which on the score of art merits our admi- ration, — the method of fiistening. Buttons and button-holes have little or no part in the matter. Ribbons of a color to match the tunic to which they are attached, or such as to afford an agreeable combination, serve to confine it. Folding around the body, the right side innermost, each upper corner is secured by its pendent ribbon to a corresponding ribbon attached to the flap against which it lies. The inner, of course, is tied first, and then the other is fastened by a bow over the right breast. It is worth observing that on the other side of the world, too, where perhaps we are rather prone to expect contraries, men COSTUME. 321 fold their robes about tliem in the order of wrapping we ourselves observe. Clothes proper — apart, that is, from head or foot gear — are few in variety and simple in form. It is not necessary to dis- tinguish more than four kinds. These are a short jacket, loose baggy trousers, a long flowing tunic, and a sort of stole. The first two are worn next the skin, and take the place of our un- derclothing. As for the tunic, it may be one or many, de- pendent upon the state of the weather and the rank of the wearer. The higher the station of the man, the more tunics he wears. The discomfort thus ensuing upon importance is offset by thinness of material. The same principle, followed down the scale, leads to the two undergarments as its lowest terms. To a foreign eye these are as much outer garments as any of the others; and for aught he can see, the expression “more or less dressed ” applies with strict literalness to a Korean. The next point is the question of color. In tliis respect the Korean costume is distinctly beautiful. The bulk of the people dress, as I have said, in white, just perceptibly tinged with blue. It is perhaps unfortunate to have fixed upon so delicate a hue, as it would require more than humanity to pre- serve it. The faint blue of the Land of the Morning Calm soon fades, by contact with the dirt of the world, into the gray of common day. The upper classes — that is, the officials — wear every other color under the heavens except this. Keds, greens, blues, and combinations of them, in the most daring and effec- tive manner, adorn their persons. A brilliant scarlet Avill over- lie an under tunic of as brilliant a blue, and harmonize in places into a fine purple. Often the sleeves and the body of the dress are in the most vivid contrast. The only rule seems to be that anything may go with anything else. The Koreans are particularly a people who are fond of color. 21 322 THE LAXD OF THE MOKNING CALM. The costume of the soldiers is a dark blue for the greater part ; in places it is crimson, Avith which ribbons effectively play their part. Over the breast is embroidered the character for valor. This inflammatory legend is doubtless to remind them, in times of trial, who and what manner of men they are. Otherwise they are a fine but quiet-looking lot, and absolutely need to be labelled dangerous to produce a proper military effect. The cut of the tunic is conventional, not to say odd. It is assumed that the waist lies on a line with the armpits. This is questionable on the score of manly beauty ; but wlien it comes to the case of woman, the effect is disastrous, and causes even the indifferent Japanese humorously to comment. Female dress is made up of a very short jacket, loose baggy under-trousers, and over the trousers a petticoat, reminding one much of the Western article. Though this last is provided with an ample waistband, and is sw^athed as high upon the body as it wall hold, without the faintest respect for anatomical struc- ture, it sometimes fails to meet the rudimentary bodice by two or three indies, and a slit exposing the breasts is the result. I may add tliat such unfortunate exposure is not intentional, and is only to be seen among that class whose lot is to draw Avater at the Avells. In the case of the men, some distance aboA^e the place Avhere the Avaist really is, half for the purpose of aiding to confine the floAving robe, half as an ornamental badge, runs a girdle, — a cord of some brilliant color, Avhich ties in a loose knot in front and ends in tAvo large tassels, hanging doAvn tAvo feet directly in front. Othenvise the dress is one continuous piece, Avith nothing to mar its lines of fall. The sleeves are exceedingly ample, tAVO feet Avide, and are seAved up all their length and for half of their breadth at the end. This converts them into the most excellent of pockets ; for, hoAvever the arm be raised COSTUME. 323 or swung, some part of the sleeve always hangs below the level of spill. From the general assortment and bulk of what it can and does carry, it may be looked upon as a natural travelling-bag. Merchants in this way transport their wares, scholars their books and writing materials, and officials their fans. Tobacco alone is not so carried. That is too much an article of momentary need to permit of the spending the time necessaiy to hunt for it among other objects. It must be borne where it can at once be nnmistakabl}^ grasped ; so it has dedicated to its own particular use a pouch hung at the waist. This pouch is worn from the most infantile years, that the husk may be ready for the kernel of more adult age ; for children do not, as one might otherwise suspect, smoke from the moment they step out of the cradle. Nevertheless, precautions are taken that the path may be smoothed and prepared for them in advance. Among adults of both sexes smokino- is universal. A man or woman who does not smoke o finds it necessary to apologize to societ}’. Instead of meeting at an acute angle, the two folds of the tunic are cut out around the neck so as to join in the form of an oval. Fitted on to the silk, on the inner side, is a white band of cotton. It repi'esents the European collar; and it is interesting to observe here, too, an expression of the same need that is felt among us of isolating within a white border the picture to be displayed. This border of cotton — a foil to the face, on the one hand, and to the silk, on the other — leads me to say a word about the materials of dress. In the very earliest ages, so that not only the memory of man but his legends before him run not to the contrary, there existed already, in a state of domestication, the silkworm. In the character for “east” — one of the oldest of the Chinese ideo- graphs, and therefore one in which w'e can distinctly trace the old 324 THE LAND OF THE MOENING CALM. simple drafting of Nature — the sun is seen rising through the branches of a tree. This tree is said to represent the mulberry. With this same idea is associated the old legendary name for Japan, — the name by which, first mythologically and then, the m}4h gradually clothing itself with reality, as a material fact, the islands became known to the inhabitants of the neighbor- ing continent.' Whether it was there that the mulberry was discovered, or whether it was simply found there in great num- bers and goodly specimens, by wanderers from the mainland, matters not. They called the country Pusang, and they w'rote its characters to signify “ the mulberry tree ; ” and the tree proved so great a blessing that they deified it, and it became to them “ the tree of the gods.” In truth, by far the most beneficent of Nature’s gifts to the people of the far-East is, and has ever been, this one of silk. We insensibly do homage, too ; for we have adopted with the article its time-honored name, and our word “ silk ” is the nearest approach in pronunciation that our predecessors were capable of making toward the Chinese sound. Silk constituted the dress of the higher classes, while a spe- cies of hemp, known as grasscloth, furnished out the common people. One recommendation for this latter must certainly always have been its most serviceable mud-color. About the second centuiy of our era the Chinese Empire received the present of a new material. It was probably at the hands of our own, though somewhat remote, ancestors that they first became acquainted with cotton. They would seem to have been much taken with it. An emperor was so much de- lighted as to have a dress made of it, in which he appeared on state occasions. They showed their fancy no less strongly by trying to keep the thing entirely to themselves, even refusing to give their neighbor, Korea, any of the seeds. In this manner they did contrive to prevent its introduction into the peninsula. COSTUME. 325 Attempts to get it proved vain. At last, one of the yearly ambassadors, daring liis stay of three days at Pekin, managed to possess himself of a few seeds. Some of these he hid in the liollow stein of his paint-brush ; and then in order to render iissurance doubly sure, he inserted some more under the skin of his left leg. He succeeded in escaping detection, and in this peculiar manner cotton came into Korea. It was found to be a most happy mean between silk and grasscloth, and soon became the material for the dress of the great bulk of the people. Woollen is quite unknown, for there are no sheep anywhere on the peninsula ; but on the score of warmth, wadded cotton, although perhaps a little bulk)*, serves equally well. It is not witliout interest in this connection to notice the ab- sence of satin. In spite of the various forms of silk, — raw silk, finished silk, watered silk, — all much used, silk never appears as satin ; and thereby Korea loses much of j^ossible magnificence. I have spoken of grasscloth ; and I mention it again, not on account of any intrinsic beauty, but for the very appro- priate use to which it is now put. It is the material of mourn- ing. Singularly in keeping with its cause, as the material is, it is somewhat surprising that travellers in China, where the cus- tom is the same, should liave been so little impressed with the harmony of the two as to spread abroad tales that have now grown into a prevalent misconce})tion. One of the first facts we are given to learn about the Celestial Empire is that white, in- stead of black, is its badge of woe ; and we are naturally at a loss to understand the inversion of a custom which, above other customs, seems to bear the impress of Nature’s sanction ; for, be}'ond man’s power to sever the tie, white is associated with joy, black with sorrow. Now, the answer to the paradox is quite simple, — no such inversion exists. To call the color 326 THE LA:sD of the moening calm. of a- nioiirner s dress white is a misuse of words equivalent to a substitution of all color for no color in particular. In Korea especially does this definition become an impossible means to identify the class. Misled by what I had been told, and by the same description repeated to me by Koreans themselves, for the first few' days I hunted industriously but in vain for mourners. Everybody w'as dressed in white, and identifica- tion of individuals from any such definition w'as simply pre- posterous. As I afterwards discovered, those I sought were clad in what wuxs the least so of all, — what could, in fact, only be called so by courtesy. The truth is, the stuff is of its own natural unbleached color, the neutral color of dried grass. It is exactly what I imagine the sackcloth of Scripture to have been like. It is coarse, poor, sad. Texture and tint alike forbid the joys, the beauties, of this world an entrance. For a time, and by law' a very long time, the man has nought in common with life; for life means to him beauty. If lacking apparently in ease of detection at a dis- tance, any danger of being inappropriately accosted is avoided by the fasliion of the costume, xvliich quite secludes the w'earer from the rest of mankind. In addition to a hat, many square feet in area, which, curving dowuxw'ard on all sides, effectually conceals the person within it, he carries before his face a respi- rator made of the same sombre ixxaterial as the dress, — this last is a piece of cloth stretched betw'een tw'o sticks, wdiich, being longer than the cloth is wide, serve also as handles, — so that as he w'anders through the crow'ded street, he remains as utterly alone as if no other lived. He is even more solitary, for he has not the w’orld of Nature to distract him from the introspection of his owm gloom. Thus, for the space of three long years, he hardly know’s xvhat it is to live. These screens, — or respirators, as they look to be, and to which purpose in cold winter days they are admirably adapted, COSTUME. 327 if Indeed unintentionally put — are as inucli of an integral part of the dress as any other portion of it. They are not peculiar to mourners, — only the material of Avhich theirs are made is distinctive ; they are as much a perquisite of the official class. As the chair of a magistrate is hurried past, borne by four men arranged tandemwise in front and behind, the sole occupation of the arandee, Avho sits cranina' over as if either verv uncomfort- able or exceedingly shy, seems to consist in holding one of these before the lower part of his face. The labor of holding it up must be a dear price to pay for the luxury of dignified seclu- sion. When not in immediate use, both sticks are held between the thumb and forefinger. Even in so insignificant a matter as this action there is a right and a wrong way of doing things, which, as the following tale shows, may occasionally become important. The story is told of a man of the lower orders who tried by donning fine clothes to pass himself off for one of his betters. He Avas a blacksmith, and he was bound on a journey into the country. He passed current for Avhat he assumed to be, — not so difficult a matter in this Avorld elseAvhere as in Korea, it Avould appear, — till the course of his travels brought him to a river. Now, in Korea the means of crossing a stream is the ferry. Only in the cities do such things as bridges span the current. On stepping into the boat he took doAvn his screen and held it in his hand. The ferryman at once detected him through his fine clothes and assumed manner, — not by the look of his face, but by the Avay he held his screen. He Avas a blacksmith, and accustomed to handle the huge chopsticks with Avhich he pursued his daily avocation in chopstick fashion. His fiimers remembered their cunning' AA’liile his untutored mind AA^as ignorant of etiquette, and so he AA'as caught holding the screen un- suspectingly in the manner habit had rendered a second nature. Foot-gear in Korea is represented by a low shoe, a thing Avith the form of a slipper and the solidity of a boot, and a thick 328 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM. wadded sock. The shoe is made of leather, and is so exceed- ingly tough as to suggest an unfortunate lack of softening most thorough breaking-in it never becomes really comfort- able. Here the wadded sock comes well into play. It acts as a buffer to the foot, both against the cold and the shoe ; and the combination, — a white sock and an excessively open shoe, — thougli suggestive, in appearance, of summer, is much to be preferred in bitter weather to our own. Especially is this true in the motionless, cramped positions one’s feet assume as a matter of necessity in the palanquin, where two feet and a half cube is one’s allotted space. The shoe is of Chinese origin, and appears to be, as in fact it is, an earlier and less finished edition of what is now worn in fancy of temporary fashion. Blue was in the sunshine of favor a little while ago. A KOREAN SOCK. processes in the preparation of the material. It is quite open, with the exception of the toe, where a little top leather and an upward roll sug’OT'est the turtle bow of a boat. This curvature at the toes, combined with the want of flexibility of the stuff, renders the wearing of the shoe with our stock- ings exceedingly distressing at first ; and even after the A KOREAN SHOE. the Middle Kingdom. Less orna- mented, it is also less solidly made, in spite of its unyielding rigidity. Its color is black, varied now and again for officials by some passing COSTUME. 329 The sole is made of one piece, and on one straight line ; its thickness is about a quarter of an inch, and is uniform through- out its length. It has therefore no heel. On the other hand, the modern Chinese shoe might be said to be all heel, so thick is the multiple sole. In another particular the soles differ from the present Chinese foshion. The Korean are shod with nails, while the Chinese are perfectly smooth. This uncouth workmanship is held up to admiration by a certain tale touching its origin. The story is of one of the many Chinese invasions of the peninsula, and the time winter. The invading army numbered eight hundred thousand ; so at least it seemed to the terror- stricken eyes of the five thousand Koreans gathered to oppose their passage of the Pyong An Eiver. Nevertheless, both ar- mies advanced upon the ice, — the Chinese to effect the cross- iim, the Koreans to await their cominw' near the farther bank and repel them if possible. The Chinese were shod, as usual, smooth ; but the natives wore, as they were accustomed to do for ice travel, a peculiar species of spiked shoe, Avith which they Avere enabled to run about as though the ice Avere dry land. The poor strangers slipped, staggered, and fell, — an easy prey to the Koreans, avIio slaughtered them by thou- sands. In consequence of this victory, the lucky shoe became an object almost of adoration. It was decreed that thencefor- AA’ard all shoes should be made after this pattern, and from that time to the present day the national shoe is nailed. As they are only Avorn out of doors, the roughness of the sole is quite compatible Avith the finish and neafness of the floors AA'ithin. Quite in keeping Avith the fundamental Korean principle, that the more on the better dressed, the court boot is such as to suggest complete protection against the most severe Aveather underfoot, instead of the reception hall of a king; and yet, seen 330 THE LAND OF THE IMOEXIXG CAL^T. in the general costume, it is effective by hiding tlie gap of wliite between tlie tunic and the slioe in tlie ordinary dress. Then tliere is the sandal of the laboring class, which is the exact opposite of the shoe, — open where that is shut, and shut where that is open. It constitutes a sort of just satire upon the latter ; for the class who use it wear it for its ser- viceableness, not its looks. A KOREAN BOOT. Korean clothing is admirably adapted to the purposes demanded of it. It is loose and thick for winter, loose and thin for summer Avear. When Ave con- sider that the climate, as regards heat and cold, is A^ery much like our oavu, Avith rather more accentuation, Ave perceive a j)art of the reason Avhy the dress must be pecjuliarly Avarm at one season and peculiarly airy at another. Tlie other half of the same need of Avarmth lies in the genius of the people. Hurry finds no place in Eastern thought. Tlie only tiling Avorthy deA^otion is study ; and that requires contemplation, not bustle. A dignified demeanor is their ideal of action. Exercise — the passionate pursuit of a section of the Western Avorld and the bugbear of a necessity to another portion — is utterly unknoAvn to them. Walking or riding is only under- taken because for some immediate object it becomes neces- sary. In olden times archery Avas in vogue among the nobles because in still older times it Avas made use of in Avar; but noAvadays eA'en this has died out. Their object, therefore, in apparel, apart from display, is to be comfortable in re- pose ; and this, after personal experience of the comparatiA^e comfort possible under their system and our OAvn, I can affirm to be realized. COSTUME. 331 I must close this slight sketch with a few words on fans. The reader is doubtless aware — though probably not witli that suhtilty of discrimination, bred of use, which distinguishes a far-Oriental — that there is more than one species of fan. The Avant of a highly specialized A'ocabuhuy is the misfor- tune consequent upon being born in a comparatively fanless land. Now, in the far-East it is very different. In common every-day fans there are two all-embracing varieties, — namely, those that fold up and those that do not ; like the “a” and the “not a” of logic, — a universal and fundamental division in tlie far-East. Those that do not fold up are styled, in Korean, “ tailed fans,” from the stick or caudal appendage by which they are held. The others are called simply “ folding fans.” Each class has its own particular name in both Japanese and Korean ; and if you make a mistake from ignorance and ask for the one, you will assuredly not get the other. Besides these classes, they distinguish those for men, women, and children. The folding fans outraidc the tailed on account of the greater ease with Avhich they can be disposed of Avhen not in use. They then simply disappear up the sleeve. Tlie gift of a fan is one of the commonest of the little presents which far-Orientals are constantly making to one another. 332 THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM, CHAPTER XXXI. ON HATS. I N speaking of costume, it will be noticed that I have said nothing about hats. Such omission is not due to the fact that there are none. Quite the reverse. Nor is it because what there are, are in any wise insignificant. On the contrary, their number is only exceeded by their importance. The fact is, the subject demands more than a chapter to itself; and even so, justice can hardly be done to the marvels of the thing. Nor wmuld it have been becoming its dignity to have scattered a description of it piecemeal here and there, as can with effect be done with matters of less vital interest. Unfortunately, no such gentle meandering of the stream of thought is here pos- sible ; for such is its importance to Koreans themselves on the one hand, and such its scientific value to the world at large on the other, that a treatise at least seems to be imperative. This, unhappil}", must be deferred. But having become forci- bly impressed, after a study of the article itself, with how little is known to us about hats, and how interesting even a few facts in the matter must necessarily prove to the fairer half of man- kind, I have at last succeeded in condensing, with much an- guish to my own feelings on the subject, what should have occupied volumes into this short essay ; and little it is, as tribute to a land which would need no other distinction than that of being known as the land of hats. ON HATS. 333 Tlie celebrated Professor Teufelsdruck of Weissnichtwo would seem to have been the first philosopher to appreciate the great scientific interest inherent in dress. In his masterly treatise on clothes, he first directed the attention of scientists to this neglected outskirt of their domain. But in spite of his labors, they have not yet worn the subject threadbare, how- ever shabbily they may have treated such unfortunate indi- vidual specimens as have fallen to their own personal use. The hat especially would seem to have been neglected. So capital an omission can only be explained by a reference to the ill-disguised but wholly undeserved contempt in which the article is generally held, and the consequent customary dis- respect shown it in ordinary wear. Only in the estimation of woman is it deemed worthy of prolonged reflection and affec- tionate regard. By man — to whom indeed, from the shortness of his hair, it is a much more necessary appendage — it is only affected in public outdoor use, and is regarded as indispen- sable, and valued accordingly, in proportion to the badness of the weather. It is never admitted into the intimacy of private life. On entering the house it is at once banished, as offensive to tlie eye, to some dark closet. The art usually precedes the science; and perhaps the con- tinued gray skies of the north of Europe have had their effect. Or, perhaps. Nature attained the limit of her creative ability in the tall cylinder of fashion, and her powers could extend no farther. In her next attempt the stately edifice suddenly col- lapsed, as we see in our crush hats of to-night. Disheartened, she has tried no more. It is quite different on the other side of the globe. There the hat receives its due. Especially in Korea, the land of hats, is the hat honored. Indeed, it is there that one first realizes the infinite possibilities of the genus hat. It descends on one like a revelation. Articles of such aged familiarity with us as to 334 THE LAXD OF THE MOKNING CALM. liave acquired an undisputed prescriptive right to their own identity, turn out there, in the most unexpected manner, to be merely ditferent varieties of hats. Who, forsooth, left to his own unaided speculations, would imagine that a huge green alpaca “ family ’’ umbrella, to which one instinctively pays the passing tribute of a shudder, is own cousin to one of those aiiy nothings, mere touches of beauty, known by a delicate fiction as bonnets I — in our scientific zeal, we had almost said identical with it f For Korea was reserved the honor of fur- nishinor the evidence of the connection, and thus of addino- another and a most conclusive proof to the great theory of development ; for it is nothing less than adaptability to its en- vironment that has caused the umbrella to grow a stick and the bonnet to lose its strings, — the last feeble vestige of the same oro-an. Koimh weather has imbued the one with a striving after independence ; its fiivored situation has been an allurement to the other to nestle its separate existence away. The air of the Morning Calm is not favorable to the differ- entiation of species. The yearly natural selection of Paris or London or New York operates not. In consequence the genus “ kasi,” or hat, has been prevented from separating into widely diver