JOURNAL THREE VOYAGES '* / ’r - ; ALONG THE COAST OF CHINA, IN 1831, 1832, & 1833, WITH NOTICES OF SIAM, COREA, AND THE LOO-CHOO ISLANDS. f bi CHARLES GUTZLAFF. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON THE POLICY, RELIGION, ETC. OF CHINA, BY THE REV. W. ELLIS, AUTHOR OF “POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, ETC.” LONDON: FREDERICK WESTLEY AND A. H. DAVIS, stationers’ hall court. 1834. LONDON R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD-STREET- II ILL. CONTENTS. PAGE Brief Notice of China and Siam, and the Labours of Protestant Missionaries in these and the adjacent Countries i — xciii INTRODUCTION. , Exclusive System unnatural and unjust — Exclusion of Christianity — Prejudice against Foreigners, and its Causes — Early Civilization of China — Population — Literature — Disputes with Foreigners — Foreign Em- bassies to China — False Estimate of the Government, ' and of the Morals of the People — Catholic Missions — The Grounds of Hope for China 1 JOURNAL OF THE FIRST VOYAGE. CHAP. I. — Missionary Labours in Siam — Encourage- ments and Obstacles — Royal Family — Native Chris- tians— Chinese Residents — Peguans — Burman Slaves — Malays — Moors — Laos — Cambojans — Cochin- China — Catholic Missions — Trade — Chinese J unks — Idolatrous Rites — Missions to China 22 IV CONTENTS. PAGE CHAP. II. — Departure from Bankok — Passengers — Voyage — Teen-fung — Hainan — Namoh — Amoy — Formosa — Ting-hae — Temple of Ma-tsoo-po — Leto — Chinese Notions of Europe — River Pei-ho — Ta-koo 67 CHAP. III. — Teen-tsin — Residence there — Medical Practice — T rade — Government — People — D epar ture from Teen-tsin — Kin-chow — Voyage to Macao . . 127 JOURNAL OF THE SECOND VOYAGE. CHAP. I. — Objects of the Expedition- — Departure from Macao — Priest of Budha — Ma-kung — Bay of Kea-tsze — War-junks — Salt Works — Shin-tseuen — Kang-lae — Emigration — Ting-hae — Liberality of Emigrants — Nan-aou — Pirates 153 CHAP. II. — Amoy — Destruction of Female Children — Difficulties — Imperial Edict — Treatment of the friendly Natives — Conference — People — Pang-hoo Islands 173 CHAP. III. — Formosa — Dutch Missions — Wan-gan — Chin- tan — Harbour of Fuli-chow — City — Books sent to the Emperor — War -junks — Mohammedans — Medical Labours — Rice — Native Christians — De- parture from Fuh-chow 201 CHAP. IV. — Fishermen — Arrival at Ning-po — Prohi- bition of Trade — Conferences with Mandarins — De- parture— Kin-tang 238 CONTENTS. V PAGE CHAP. V. — The Yang-tsze-keang River — Shang-hae — Forts — Army and Navy — Tsung-ming — Return to Shang-hae — Lew-kung-taou 256 CHAP. VI. — Corea — General Sketch — First Meeting with Natives — Their Barbarism — Gan-keang — Fur- ther Intercourse with Natives — Books and Presents to the King — Mandarins from the Court — Refusal of Permission to Trade — Ouelpoert 316 CHAP. VII. — Loo-choo — Napa-keang — Mandarins — Language — Japanese Junk — Distribution of Books — Reverence for the Dead — Loo-choo Physician — Man- ners of the People — Return to Macao 357 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. Patriarchal Religion — Confucius — Taouism — Budhism — Grand Lama — Festivals — Worship of the Dead — Condition of the Females — General Apathy — Misre- presentations of certain Writers — Jews — Mohamme- dans 370 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. Nestorians — Mongul Conquests — Catholic Missions — J esuits — Xavier — Ricci — F emale Proselytes — Quar- rels between the Catholic Orders — Schaal — Tartar Conquests — Verbiest — Disputes between Jesuits and Dominicans — Death of Kang-he — Persecutions by succeeding Emperors — Taou-kwang — Protestant Missions 389 VI CONTENTS. JOURNAL OF THE THIRD VOYAGE. PAGE Welcome from the Chinese — Character of Fuhkeen Fishermen — Prospects of Usefulness — Striking of the Vessel — Severity of Frost — Rescue of Shipwrecked Chinese — Urgent Demand for Books — Description of Chapoo — Intercourse with the Chinese — Extent of Education — Prevalence of Ophthalmia — Intercourse with the Priests — Visit to a Temple of Budha — State of Priesthood — Their Application for Books — De- scription of Shih-poo 4-11 BRIEF NOTICE OF CHINA AND SIAM, AND THE LABOURS OF PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES IN THESE AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRIES. Between five and six hundred years have elapsed since the publication of the travels of Marco Polo made the nations of Europe ac- quainted with the northern portion of the empire of China. Two hundred years afterwards, the Portuguese, impelled by the spirit of maritime enterprise, for which they were then so distin- guished, pushing their adventurous way along the African shore, passed the Cape of Good Hope, and discovered the highway by sea to the East Indies. Under the direction of the celebrated Albuquerque, they visited Malacca, Siam, Pegu, and Canton, and made the countries b 11. BRIEF NOTICE OF of south-eastern Asia known to the inhabitants of the western world. In 1516, the Portuguese commenced their traffic at Canton; but it was not until 1614,* that the servants of the English East India Company sought the trade of China. In 1637, the Company’s ships anchored off Macao, and afterwards proceeded up the river towards Can- ton, to open a direct trade with the Chinese ; but they were obliged to abandon the project, and were treated as enemies. Their commercial in- tercourse with this singular nation commenced in 1683; — this intercourse, though attended with many difficulties at first, wras afterwards firmly established, and has been maintained with few interruptions ever since. “ The English,” as Mr.Auber observes, “when they first adventured in the China trade, presented themselves to the notice of the Chinese necessarily under the double disadvantage of being foreigners and merchants: nevertheless, since they have been invested with the character of representatives and servants of a great Company, enjoying the declared and immediate protection of the sove- reign of their nation, they have succeeded, by * Auber’s Analysis of the Constitution of the East India Company, p. 148. CHINA AND SIAM. iii sure though gradual advances, in raising the British trade to a pitch of prosperity, and them- selves personally to a degree of respectability in the estimation of the Chinese, which the most sanguine expectations, under a due knowledge of the circumstances of the case, would hardly have anticipated ; securing at the same time to the revenues of Great Britain an annual sum, exceeding 3,500,000/. without any charge of collection.”* The justness of the above re- mark will further appear, when we consider that, according to the statement of Dr. Morrison, the Chinese rank in the scale by which they esti- mate the several classes of society, — the cul- tivators of the mind in the first class ; the cultivators of the land next; in the third place are ranked the operators on the earth’s pro- duce, or the artizans and mechanics ; and finally, the trader or merchant. j~ During the greater part of the period since 1683, our commerce with China has been pro- gressively increasing and prosperous. The finest ships which British industry and skill have con- structed, and which British wealth and enterprise have employed in varied and extending com- merce, have traversed half the circuit of the f Analysis, p. 151. f Chinese Miscellany, p. 43. b2 IV BRIEF NOTICE OF globe to the market of China, and have returned freighted with its merchandize. Of this mer- chandize, the only port which the unparalleled jealousy of the Chinese government allows foreigners to visit, has for some time past ex- ported to England one single commodity, — namely, tea, to such an extent, that the annual sale in England, including what is exported to the continent of Europe, amounts nearly to 30,000,000 pounds weight. The annual sale of this article, in 1825, produced a gross return of upwards of 7,000,000/. sterling, with a net revenue to the government of three millions and a half; besides a stock kept on hand, in the warehouses, equal in value to the above. Two hundred years ago, its use was un- known in England ; but since that period it has been imported to an extent that has en- tirely changed the domestic habits, not only of our own country, but of many parts of Europe. The gratification of the taste thus acquired, has made us dependent on our traffic with China for much of the comfort of a large portion of every class of society. That this, besides being a source of immense riches to individuals, and of revenue to the government, has been highly beneficial in improving the moral character, and CHINA AND SIAM. V promoting the domestic habits of the nation, cannot be doubted ; but notwithstanding these, and other considerations scarcely less interest- ing and important, we are still in a great measure unacquainted with the inhabitants of China, and comparatively uninterested in their circumstances. Some objects attract attention by the number and diversity of their several parts, — the rarities and excellences they exhibit, — the skill and power by which they are combined, — and the character and extent of their influence ; others attract atten- tion from the remoteness of their situation, — their number and magnitude, — the dignity they assume, — the power with which they are invested, — the antiquity they claim, — the changes they have undergone, or of which they may yet be sus- ceptible,— and the subjects of strong and lasting interest which they supply. All these combine to invite our attention to China, and some of them exist in a degree far surpassing that in which they are found in any other nation of the earth. Whatever interest may be derived from remote- ness of situation, belongs to China. This is heightened, in some measure, by the repulsive policy of its government, which has peremp- torily and steadily interdicted all intercourse with foreigners. This studied seclusion has a VI BRIEF NOTICE OF natural tendency to excite curiosity, and stimu- late desire to explore a country, the remoteness of whose situation, and the prohibitions of whose inhabitants, render it to us comparatively an unknown world. No country presents greater diversities in its physical geography and natural history than this extensive territory, whether we regard its verdant and cultivated plains, or its sterile and solitary deserts — its mountains and its valleys — its gigantic rivers — its cities teeming with intelligent and civilized inhabitants, — or its mountain fastnesses and its forests, the abodes of wild beasts or marauding banditti. Its frontier barrier, and its principal channel of inland naviga- tion, are justly regarded, from their magnitude and antiquity, as among the wonders of the world. The former, their immense wall, carried across rivers and over mountains, extending to the amazing length of 1500 miles, has been built about 2000 years. Its foundation consists of large blocks of stone laid in mortar; but all the rest is of brick. When carried over steep rocks, where no horse can pass, it is about 15 or 20 • feet high ; but when running through a valley, or crossing a river, it is about 30 feet high, with square towers and embrasures at equal distances. CHINA AND SIAM. vii Mr. Barrow, in his account of this most asto- nishing production of human labour, remarks, that if to its prodigious length of 1500 miles be assumed as true the probable conjecture, that its dimensions throughout are nearly the same as where it was crossed by the British embassy, it contains materials more than sufficient to erect all the dwelling-houses in England and Scotland, even admitting their number to be 1,800,000, and each to contain 2000 feet of masonry. In this calculation, the huge projecting masses of stone, called towers, are not included, which of themselves would erect a city as large as London. To assist the conceptions of the reader still further respecting this singular and stupendous fabric, it is observed, that were its materials converted into a wall 12 feet high and 4 feet thick, it would possess sufficient length to sur- round the globe, at its equatorial circumference. The great canal is on the same immense scale, and presents an inland navigation of such extent and magnitude, as to stand unrivalled : its vast channel of water flows with scarcely any inter- ruption for a space of 600 miles. According to Dr. Morrison, 170,000 men were employed in its construction. vill BRIEF NOTICE OF The mariner’s compass, the art of printing, the manufacture of gunpowder, were in use in China before discovered in Europe ; and, accord- ing to Barrow, — “ When the king of France intro- duced the luxury of silk stockings, the peasantry of the middle provinces of China were clothed in silks from head to foot ; and when the nobility of England were sleeping on straw, a peasant of China had his mat and his pillow, and the man in office enjoyed his silken mattress.” Its climate presents every variety of tempera- ture, from the snows of Siberia to the heat of the torrid zone, on its southern borders. Its popula- tion, though less varied perhaps than any inha- biting an equal extent of territory in some parts of the globe, presents considerable diversity, from the rude Cossack in the north, to the polished mandarin of the centre and south ; comprising among its chief nations, the Chinese, Manchous, Mongolians, Kalmuks, Tartars, and Thibetians. Its history presents many who have attained pre-eminence among their contemporaries, and have displayed in a variety of ways a high order of intellect ; — many whose progress in the several departments of learning, considering them utterly excluded from the influence of advancing literature and science in other parts CHINA AND SIAM. IX of the world, is truly astonishing. As a nation, unacquainted with those models of benevolence and kindness which the Bible presents, and those motives to peace on earth and good-will among men which it implants in the heart, they exhibit an urbanity of manners and a courtesy of be- haviour, highly commendable ; and in some respects a degree of refinement and civiliza- tion, beyond what has been attained by the most intelligent and powerful nations of the earth. “ The Chinese teach contempt of the rude in- stead of fighting with them ; and the man who unreasonably insults another, has public opinion against him ; whilst he who bears and despises the affront is esteemed. Even the government is at the utmost pains to make it appear to the people, that its conduct is reasonable and benevolent on all occasions. They have found, by the experience of many ages, that this is necessary. To make out the argument, they are not nice about a strict adherence to truth ; nor are their reasons or pre- mises such that Europeans would generally admit: but granting them their own premises and state- ment of facts, they never fail to prove that those whom they oppose are completely in the wrong. A Chinese would stand and reason with a man, b 3 X BRIEF NOTICE OF when an Englishman would knock him down, or an Italian stab him. It is needless to say, which is the more rational mode of proceeding.” The Chinese system of government, as sin- gular and exclusive as it is organized and com- plete, has subjected to its influence, or controlled by its power, a larger number of human beings, during a longer period of time, than that of any other nation. Its laws, though based, in many respects, on maxims of wise policy, are often despotic and sanguinary, and executed with great harshness and cruelty. Its form is an absolute hereditary monarchy. The supreme power is vested solely in the emperor ; by him the viceroys of provinces are appointed and removed at pleasure, and to him they are re- sponsible for their conduct, though viceroyalties sometimes include upwards of thirty millions of inhabitants. The stability of the Chinese go- vernment, and the few changes that have been made in its institutions for such a number of ages ; the vast extent of empire and immense population, forming one society, guided by the same laws, and governed by the will of a single individual, offers, as Mr. Barrow ob- serves, in reference to the account of the embassy to which he belonged, “ the grandest CHINA AND SIAM. XI collective object that can be presented ‘ for con- templation or research,’ : — the customs, habits, manners, religious notions, of the most ancient society and most populous empire existing amongst men, are without doubt a most interesting sub- ject,” while at least its commercial influence is felt more or less in every part of the civilized world. These are peculiarities which render China, to the philosopher, the scholar, the poli- tician, the merchant and the traveller, an object of no common interest. Travellers state, that there are no ancient palaces, nor other public edifices ; no paintings, nor pieces of sculpture, to arrest the attention of the stranger. In travelling over the continent of Europe, and more especially on the classic ground of Italy and Greece, every city, moun- tain, river, and ruin, are rendered interesting, by something on record which concerns them, — the theme of some poet, the seat of some philosopher or lawgiver, or the scene of some memorable action ; and the conclusion has been drawn, that because to Europe the history of China has fur- nished no materials for the sensation which the classic scenes of Europe excite, the country itself is incapable of communicating such impressions. This may be in part accounted for, from the Xll BRIEF NOTICE OF very limited information which many are satisfied with respecting this extensive empire. On this subject, though the affairs of Europe are of comparatively no importance whatever to China; and on the other hand, the affairs of China do not much concern Europeans, Dr. Morrison observes : — “ The Greeks and Romans were the ancestors of Europeans. The scenes of their battles; — the situation and antiquities of their cities ; — the birth-place of their poets, historians, legislators, and orators, — all possess an acquired interest in the minds of those whose education has led them to an early acquaintance with them : but it would be difficult for a Chinese, of the best talents and education, to acquire in the years of manhood a similar interest. “ The Chinese also can point out the scenes of battles where thousands fought and died ; the situation of splendid courts ; the tombs of monarchs ; the abodes of historians, moralists, and poets, whose memory is dear to them, and which interest their hearts in the antiquities of their fathers. But what they look upon with interest and pleasure can certainly have few charms for a foreigner, who is excluded from their families, and passed from Pekin to Canton in a boat under military escort; — still from CHINA And SIAM. Xlll this to deny that the country possesses any of the charms of Europe, does not seem a fair conclusion. If the reality of things is to be judged by the feelings of the inhabitants of a country, every region of the world, and every state of society, would in its turn assume the place of high superiority.” The antiquity of China renders it an object of great interest to the reflecting mind. With- out giving the native chronologers credit for all they claim in this respect, — that nation cannot be viewed with indifference which pos- sessed an organized government, an army, a written language, historians, and other literati, in a period so remote as to be coeval with the immediate successors of the inspired historian of Creation, and the lawgiver of the ancient people of God among whom the writings of sages, who lived 600 years before the Christian era, are still extant, and which, while the dynasties of Egypt and contemporary nations have ceased from among men, and others more powerful and celebrated have risen and sunk into oblivion, — has continued, extending, and consolidating its greatness and its power ; and whose markets were the resorts of foreign merchants before the Romans invaded Britain. XIV BRIEF NOTICE OF According to Pinkerton, it may now be con- sidered as extending from those parts of the Pacific Ocean, called the Chinese and Japanese Seas, to the river Sarason, or Sihon, in the west, — a space of eighty-one degrees, equal to 4200 geographical, or 4900 British miles. From north to south, it stretches from the Uralian mountains, in north latitude 50°, to the southern border, about latitude 21°, being twenty -nine degrees of latitude, 1740 geographical, or nearly 2300 British miles. The written language of China, alike unique and ancient, is, from the singularity of its structure, and the extent to which it is employed, one of the most remarkable that has been used amongst mankind.- The knotted cords, originally em- ployed as the record of events by them as well as many other nations, in the first stages of their social existence, were superseded, at an early period in their history, by symbolic records. The founder of letters lived about 1100 years before the Christian era, and the art of printing has been in use among them for 800 years. Whatever defects may attach to the Chinese character, — and their defects are of no common order, — they are not without traits of excel- lence, among which their general attention to CHINA AND SIAM. XV education is most conspicuous. According to NieuhofF and Kircher, quoted by Mr. Fisher, in the “ Gentleman’s Magazine,” who states that the Chinese have evidently been for centuries in advance of the nations of Europe, — education is more general, and, in some respects, better conducted in China than it was when the account was written (1669), or is now in any other country. Means were provided, by the head of every family, for the instruction of its members in reading and writing, either by the parent, or hired itinerant teachers. Hence it has followed that the arts of reading and writing are understood and practised to a greater extent than among the inhabitants of any other country. The pro- portion of the educated to the uneducated men is said to be as four to one. This proportion is much larger than that given by Dr. Morrison, who states, that though there is a great number of teachers, and the rudiments of learning may be obtained at so low a rate as two dollars a year, not more than one half of the com- munity is able to read. The government sup- ports schoolmasters for the soldiery, but not for the children of the poor generally.'* It * Horae Sinicae, p. 3. XVI BRIEF NOTICE OF is, however, stated, that the government en- courages education, not only by the bestow- ment of offices, but of literary rank, with badges of distinction. Commissioners or inspectors travel through the provinces, to inquire into the state of education, and examine candidates for literary honours. Besides this, there are other examinations, held triennially, in which the highest literary rewards are distributed. One is held in the public halls of the cities of the empire, and the other only in the imperial city. This has created such a general competition for literary distinction, that the public reading of essays, prepared for this purpose by those by whom they are read, is an exhibition of almost constant occurrence, and takes place at least twice in every month in all the principal towns in China. All their legal inquiries are also pursued by writing, and their decisions formed on documentary evidence. The writings of some of their most distinguished sages are directed to the encouragement of the pursuit of letters; the advantages of which are set forth, and motives to diligence enforced, by striking ex- amples. Among the latter, the following, from a small book, on the utility and honour of learning, which, though the author is not known, CHINA AND SIAM. XVII is considered as ancient and excellent of its kind, will not be uninteresting : — “ Che-yin, when a boy, being poor, read his book by the light of a glow-worm, which he confined. And Sun-kang, in winter, read his book by the light reflected from the snow. Though their families were poor, they studied incessantly. “ Chu-mai-chin, though he subsisted by car- rying fire-wood round the town to sell, yet carefully read his book. At last he became capable of, and filled a public office. “ Limie, whilst watching his cattle in the field, always had his book at hand, suspended to the horn of a cow. “ Sun-king suspended his head by its hair to the beam of the house, to prevent his sleeping over his books.”* The literati appear to have been, for a long time past, a numerous class in the community, and to have exercised great influence. Their writings, though inferior to that of other nations in which literature has been cultivated to any extent, and, from a peculiarity of circumstances scarcely admitting of a comparison, are, perhaps, * Horse Sinicae, ppt 15, 16. XV 111 BRIEF NOTICE OF more abundant than that of any other nation. The Chinese press, according to Dr. Morrison, has been prolific, and the accumulation is vast. Their historians have preserved an account, in many respects analogous with that which Moses has given of the general deluge. They place this event about 2200 years before Christ ; but their tradition, of one of their ancestors, Neu-wo-che, who melted stones, and repaired the heavens, carries them back to a period between 3114 and 3254 before the Christian era.* They possess also ancient and modern litera- ture in great abundance, an unlicensed press, and cheap' books suited to their taste ; with poetry and music of elegant composition, and native ancient classics. They have copious histories of their own part of the world, with anti- quities and topographical illustrations, dramatic compositions, — delineations of men and man- ners in works of fiction, tales of battles and of murders, and the tortuous stratagems of pro- tracted and bloody civil wars. With all these, and with mythological legends for the super- stitious, the Chinese, and kindred nations, are by the press most abundantly supplied. Nor * Morrison’s View of China for Philological Purposes, pp. 58, 59. CHINA AND SIAM. XIX is their literature destitute of theories of nature, and descriptions of her various productions, the processes of the pharmacopolist, and the history and practice of medicine. There is also a large portion of the gentry of China devoted to letters, in order to qualify themselves to fill the offices of magistracy ; and such learning as government has deemed proper for that end is encouraged and rewarded, either by honorary rank, or by actual office. It is also stated, that candidates for public offices are examined in poetry, on the ground that poetry leads to an acquaintance with the passions of men. Besides these, they have what are deemed sacred writings, being a compilation of the works of ancient authors of the age of Confucius. The following is the character given of these books by Dr. Morrison : — “ These consist of the writings or compila- tions of the ancient moral philosophers of the age of Confucius (b. c. 500), with numerous notes and comments, and paraphrases on the original text, with controversies concerning its genuineness, the order of particular words or phrases, and the meaning of obscure passages. The text of the Woo-king, which name denotes XX BRIEF NOTICE OF five sacred books, and of the Sze-shoo, or four books, which are compiled by four of the dis- ciples of Confucius, contain the doctrines or precepts which their master, Confucius, approved and communicated to them. In respect of ex- ternal form, the five books (Woo-king) of the Chinese, correspond to the Pentateuch of Moses, and the four books (Sze-shoo), in respect of being a record of the sayings of a master, compiled by four disciples, have a slight resem- blance to the four Gospels. But the con- tents— how different ! With the exception of a few passages, in the most ancient part of the Woo-king, which retain seemingly something of the knowledge which Noah must have commu- nicated to his children, the rest appears a god- less system of personal, domestic, and political moralities, drawn only from the pride of the human heart, the love of fame, or present ex- pediency. The sanctions of the Eternal and Almighty God, arrayed with every natural and moral perfection, wise and good, just and mer- ciful, and the fears and hopes of immortality, and the grace of a Saviour, are wholly wanting in these ancient Chinese works.” The religion and mythology of the Chinese is a dark and cheerless system, blending, with CHINA AND SIAM. XXI anomalous incongruity, atheism, and the lowest kinds of polytheism ; presenting one of the most affecting spectacles in the universe, of the ex- tent and completeness of the calamity, by which the entrance of sin has been attended to our race, shewing millions of mankind joined in one social compact, passing through a long, uninter- rupted series of ages, untaught of life to come, unsanctified, unsaved ; following the delusions of their own vain imaginations, or “ worshipping the creature rather than the Creator,” who hath “ not left himself without witness among them, in that he did them good, gave them rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with food and gladness.” Their creed presents no proper object of reverence, hope, confidence, and love ; affords no balm for the troubles of the mind ; no support under the ills of life ; no hope for the future : their highest prospect is annihi- lation, or a change by transmigration to the body of some other being in creation. In the language of Dr. Morrison, China is full of dumb idols, is estranged from the true God, and hates and persecutes the name of Jesus; and well may he exclaim, " China, the wonder and the pity of Christians ! ” Neither the one nor the other of these XXII BRIEF NOTICE OF emotions will be diminished, by a consideration of the extent to which the language in which this “ atheistical, pantheistical system,” is preserved, disseminated, and inculcated, is understood. In his exceedingly interesting philological work, the “ Chinese Miscellany,” Dr. Morrison states, that the “ Chinese language is now read by a population of different nations, amounting to a large proportion of the human race, and over a very extensive geographical space, — from the borders of Russia on the north, throughout Chinese Tartary on the west, and in the east as far as Kamschatka; and downwards through Corea and Japan, in the Loo Choo Islands, Cochin China, and the islands of that Archi- pelago, on most of which are Chinese settlers, till you come down to the equinoctial line at Penang, Malacca, Singapore, and even beyond it on Java. Throughout all these regions, how- ever dialects may differ, and oral languages be confounded, the Chinese written language is understood by all. The voyager and the mer- chant, the traveller and the Christian mis- sionary, if he can write Chinese, may make himself understood throughout the whole of eastern Asia.”* Miscellany, p. 1. CHINA AND SIAM. XX111 The amazing extent to which this language is understood, and is the medium through which mind operates on mind, darkening, bewildering, and destroying all that yield themselves to the influence of the impious and delusive theories, includes other nations besides those comprising China. Various estimates have been given of the amount; and we are not surprised that, to cool and reflecting minds, the numbers pre- sented by the Chinese authorities, should appear startling, and beyond credibility; and that on these accounts many writers on statistics should have presented a total much below that claimed by the Chinese themselves. In this, however, they seem to have been misled by their own opinions, or the authorities on which they relied. The following is a Statement of the Population of China and its Colonies, according to a census taken in the eighteenth year of the reign of Kea-king, a. d. 1813, and under the authority of his Imperial Majesty. No.oflndi- Fami- Provinces, &c. viduals. lies. Chihle 27,990,871 — Shantung 28,958,764 — Slianse 14,004,210 — Honan 23,037,171 — • Keangsoo 37,843,501 — Ganhwuy 34,168,059 — Carried forward 166,002,576 XXIV BRIEF NOTICE OF Provinces, &c. Brought forward No. of Indi- viduals. 166,002,576 Fami- lies. Keangse 30,426,999 — Fuhkeen 14,777,410 — Formosa (natives) . . . 1,748* Chekeang 26,256,784 — Hoopih 27,370,098 — Hoonan 18,652,507 — Shense 10,207,256 — Kansuh 15,193,125 — Barkoul and Oroumtsi 161,750 — Szechuen 21,435,678 — Kwangtung or Canton 19,174,030 — Kwang-se 7,313,895 — Yunnan 5,561,320 — Kweichow 5*288,219 — Shing-king, or Leaou-tung 942,003 — Kirin Kihlung -keang, or Teit- 307,781 cihar, &c — 2,398 Tsinghae, or Kokonor, &c. — 7,842 F oreign tribes u nder Kansuh 26,728 Ditto, ditto, Sze-chuen — 72,374 Thibetan colonies . . . — 4,889 Ele and its dependencies . — 69,644 Turfan and Lobnor . . 700* 2,551 Russian Border .... — 1,900 Individuals 361,693,879 188,326 4 Individuals at 4 in each family . 753,304 Add individuals . . . . 361,693,879 Total individuals . . . . 362,447,183 * These are the numbers, not of individuals, but of effective men. CHINA AND SIAM. XXV The above table is copied from the “ Com- panion to the Anglo-Chinese Kalendar for 1 832,” edited by the son of the Rev. Dr. Morrison, John Robert Morrison, Esq., who, treading in the steps of his honoured father, is devoting his energies to the benefit of China. “ This state- ment is contained in the last edition of the Ta-tsing Hwuy-leen, or collection of statutes of the Ta-tsing dynasty, published in 1825, and,” as Mr. Morrison observes, “ will probably serve to set at rest the numerous speculations concern- ing the real amount of population in China. We know, from several authorities, that in China the people are in the habit of diminishing, rather than increasing their numbers, in their reports to government. And it is unreasonable to sup- pose, that, in a work published by the govern- ment, not for the information of curious in- quirers, but for the use of its own officers, the numbers so reported by the people should be more than doubled, as the statements of some European speculators would require us to be- lieve.” Whatever view we take of China, whether we regard it in all its vastness of dimensions and amount of population, the singularity and ex- tensive use of its written language, the varieties c XXVI BRIEF NOTICE OF of its literature, its early acquaintance with the arts and most useful inventions of civilized life, the stupendous monuments of its skill and power, its high and venerable antiquity, the nations now amalgamated in its gigantic empire, or the important changes it has undergone, — it is impossible to contemplate it without intense and mingled emotions. The consideration of the vicissitudes to which it has been subject, affords but little satisfaction in the retrospect. “ They have been partially and completely conquered; have delivered themselves, and have been con- quered again ; and the divisions of their country have undergone a thousand different changes.” All these have produced no emancipation of the mind of the Chinese. The debasing domi- nation of grovelling superstition and delusive idolatry, or the withering and blasting influ- ence of scepticism, have introduced no just and solid foundation for virtue and happiness, and opened no prospect of rest and blessedness here- after. They have left China ignorant of the only true and living God, and of Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent, and have only increased the degradation of her mighty population, and given additional power to her destroyers. It is from the future that we derive our hopes in CHINA AND SIAM. XXV11 regard to this country ; and we are cheered by expectations, drawn from no uncertain sources, that a mighty deliverance yet awaits these spell-bound victims of fatal delusion, and that a moral renovation shall soon take, place, which shall raise her to the possession of all the pri- vileges and enjoyments comprised in the inspired declaration, “ Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.” In summing up their character, Dr. Morrison arrives at the following conclusion : — “ The good traits in the Chinese character, amongst themselves, are mildness and urbanity; a wish to shew that their conduct is reasonable, and, generally, a willingness to yield to what appears so ; docility, industry, subordination of juniors; respect for the aged, and for parents ; acknowledging the claims of poor kindred. These are virtues of public opinion, which, of course, are, in particular cases, often more show than reality ; for, on the other hand, the Chinese are specious, but insincere; jealous, envious, and distrustful to a high degree. There is amongst them a considerable prevalence of scepticism, of a Sadducean, and rather atheistical spirit ; and their conduct is very generally such as one would naturally expect from a people c2 xxvm BRIEF NOTICE OF whose minds feel not that sense of divine autho- rity, nor that reverence for the divine Majesty and goodness, which, in Sacred Scripture, is denominated the ‘ fear of God.’ Conscience has few checks but the laws of the land ; and a little frigid ratiocination on the fitness of things, which is not generally found effectual to restrain, when the selfish and vicious propensities of our nature may be indulged with present impunity. The Chinese are generally selfish, cold-blooded, and inhumane.” — He might, with great propriety, have added, that in the punishment of criminals, in the infliction of tortures, they are barbarously cruel ; that human suffering or human life are but rarely regarded by those in authority, when the infliction of the one, or the destruction of the other, can be made subservient to the acqui- sition of wealth or power. The need in which China stands of the change which the gospel only can effect, is clearly evident, when, in addition to the oppres- sion and violence under which the nation groans, the fraud and lying practised by system, the bribery and injustice which fills her courts, the deception that characterises all her dealings, — is added, their complicated system of false reli- gion, presenting, as Dr. Milne observes, scarcely CHINA AND SIAM. XXIX any thing but darkness, confusion, and absurdity ; the multitude of her idols, which, according to the expression of one of her sects, are as nume- rous as the sands of the Hang river. Her necessity in this respect appears more urgent, when we consider the moral character and* habits of the millions constituting her vast population. Vice exists in all its diversified forms; crimes of the most revolting and debasing character are perpetrated with a frequency unequalled perhaps in any other part of the world ; the tender sym- pathies of the heart are counteracted or destroyed by. familiarity with cruelty, and selfishness. The female sex, as in every other heathen country, is subjected to the most humiliating degradation ; allowed, indeed, to be human beings, but com- pared with the inferior orders of creation. A Chinese writer, speaking of the ignorance of Chinese females, and consequent unamiable- ness of wives, exhorts husbands not to desist from teaching them, for even “ monkeys may be taught to play antics ; dogs may be taught to tread a mill ; rats may be taught to run round a cylinder ; and parrots may be taught to recite verses ; since then it is manifest that even birds and beasts may be taught to understand human affairs, how much more so may young wives, XXX BRIEF NOTICE OF who, after all, are human beings.” This is a Chinese philosopher’s defence of women. Arising in a great measure from the degrada- tion to which these views have reduced the females of China, and from some of the absurd dogmas of their mythology, female infanticide, the most unnatural crime that prevails among ferocious savages and cannibals, is perpetrated among them to a degree almost beyond belief. This practice is carried to such an extent, that it may almost be said to be patronized by the govern- ment, which does not interfere to prevent, and therefore may be said to give it countenance. It is, according to Barrow, tacitly considered a part of the duty of the police of Pekin, to em- ploy certain persons to go their rounds at an early hour in the morning with carts, in order to pick up the bodies of such infants as may have been thrown out into the streets in the course of the night. No inquiries are made; but the bodies are carried to a common pit without the city walls, into which all those that are living, as well as those that are dead, are said to be throwm promiscuously.* The Roman Catholic missionaries attended at the pit daily, for the purpose of rescuing some of the victims, * Barrow, p. 168. CHINA AND SIAM. XXXI and bringing them up in the Christian faith. Mr. B. observes, that those of the missionaries with whom he had daily conversation during a residence of five weeks within the emperor’s palace, assured him that the scenes sometimes exhibited were such as to make the feeling mind shudder with horror. Dogs and swine are let loose into the streets of the capital at an early hour, before the police carts go round. Barrow gives the average number as about 24 daily, or nearly 9,000 for the capital annually, and supposes an equal number are thus destroyed in other parts of the empire. Those who reside on the water throw their infants into the river, with gourd tied round their necks. The number given above is reduced by the fact, that in Pekin infants who have died, or are still-born, are ex- posed in the streets to be carried away by the police-carts, to avoid the expense of burying them. This, the writer above referred to sup- poses, may reduce the number of murdered infants to 4,000 in the capital. The statement of this revolting practice is confirmed by Mr. Gutzlaflf, who more than once refers to the subject, and who, besides, speaking of the apathy with which they regarded the ex- posed body of a lovely and but recently murdered XXX11 BRIEF NOTICE OF infant, by remarking, in reply to his observation, that it was only a female, states, in reference to the people of Amoy, “ That it is a general custom among them to drown a large portion of the new-born female children and continues, — “ This unnatural crime is so common among them, that it is perpetrated without any feeling, and even in a laughing mood.” But without proceeding to a further detail of their barbarities and sufferings, how affecting the illustration they supply of the truth of the Scripture, that “ the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty !” and how appalling the spectacle, in vastness and extent of crime and of misery, even in regard to the present life, which China pre- sents ! But when contemplated by the Christian in connexion with the truths of revelation, by which its inhabitants appear under the power of Satan, “ having the understanding darkened, alienated from the life of God through the igno- rance that is in them, without hope and without God in the world,” it becomes increasingly im- pressive. And when under these deceptions, the Christian views successive generations of its mighty population, comprising one-third of our species, as having been moving onward under impious atheism or delusive idolatries, during a CHINA AND SIAM. XXX111 greater number of centuries than any other com- munity now numbered among the nations of the earth has existed, he beholds an object which it is scarcely possible, excepting in the absence of all correct Christian sentiment and feeling, to contemplate without pain. Could this view of China be brought fully and distinctly before the free and enlightened nations of Christendom, it would not allow them to remain contented with having begun to apply the only effectual remedy, and could not fail to excite an interest so deep and extensive, to inspire prayer so unremitted and fervent, and stimulate to efforts, for the moral and spiritual renovation of China, so vigorous and persevering, as to bear some rela- tion to their responsibility and resources. The state of the nations to the south of this empire, including Cochin-China, Cambodia, Laos and Siam, is in no respect better than that of China. They are all less civilized, but equally wretched ; their governments arbitrary despo- tisms, sanguinary and rapacious ; and their arro- gance is equalled only by their deceitfulness and treachery. The merciless tyranny of the inferior officers, their extortion and bribery; the jealousy and pride of the rulers, and the abject and humiliating bondage of the people, are truly c3 XXXIV BRIEF NOTICE OF affecting; while the frequent and heartless ap- plication of excruciating tortures, and the savage punishments inflicted on the unhappy wretches who are criminals, exhibit an accumulation of misery, and a destruction of human life that is truly appalling. Their ignorance is gross ; for though education is encouraged, it is not calcu- lated to promote the happiness of the people, — a motive that never influenced the mind of a despot, but is regarded as an instrument of rule, and is secured by the few for the more complete sub- jection of the many. They are the victims of a heartless atheism, or absurd and demoralizing superstition ; vice of every order luxuriates in all the rankness of filthiness, debasement, and cruelty, while the future unfolds no brighter hope than annihilation, or the transmigration of the soul. The land is full of idols ; the inhabitants, morally and spiritually regarded, are walking in darkness, sitting in the region of the shadow of death. Next to China, the Siamese nation is most prominently brought before us in Mr. Gutzlaff’s narrative, as the chief scene of his labours before undertaking the voyages which his journal de- scribes. Siam is an important country, and in many respects an object of peculiar interest to CHINA AND SIAM. XXXV the Christian. Its extent and population are considerable. According to Mr. Crawford’s accounts, from which the subjoined notices are chiefly selected, the present Siamese empire is composed of the following parts, viz. : Siam, or the proper country of the Siamese race ; a large portion of Laos, a portion of Cambodia, and certain tributary Malay states. Its limits in this wide acceptation may be stated as follows: — Its farthest southern boundary, on the western shore of the Malayan Peninsula, is Kurao, in about the latitude of 5° north. Its boundary on the eastern shore, is Kamamang, in nearly about the same parallel. The northern boundary, in the present state of our information, is very little better than conjecture, but probably extends to about 21° ; so that the dominions of Siam have a range of no less than 16° of latitude. The extreme western limits of Siam, including some desert islands in the bay of Bengal, are nearly in 97° 50' east longitude. Its eastern boundary probably extends to at least 105°; so that it has a range of about 7° of longitude. Its area maybe estimated at 190,000 geographical miles. The country, though presenting occasionally XXXVI BRIEF NOTICE OF extensive and rich alluvial plains, is generally mountainous. The mountains stretch through the country from north to south in ranges nearly parallel ; one chain, extending from within a short distance of the coast on its southern limits, in 11° to the 18° of north latitude, is said to reach in some places an elevation of 5,000 feet. The country appears to be well watered. The Menam, literally, Mother of Waters, a river of second or third rate magnitude among Asiatic rivers, is the most important. The proper country of the Siamese is the valley of the Menam, which, at its southern extremity, does not exceed 60 miles in breadth, and is about 360 miles in length. The present capital of Siam is Bankok, which is situated on the banks of the Menam, and is about two miles and a half long, and a mile and a half in breadth. The palace and chief part of the city is on the left side of the river, which is, at this place, nearly half a mile in breadth, having a large space at the side, occupied by floating houses. The depth close to the bank varies from six to ten fathoms, and this appears to be its general depth during its course for about 40 miles from the capital to the bar, at its junction with the ocean. The number of boats moving to and fro CHINA AND SIAM. XXXVII on the river, and the bustle among the Chinese mechanics and traffickers, give a lively and cheerful air to the city. Mr. Tomlin, in his Journal of his Visit to Siam, in 1828, gives the following account of its appearance: — “ The view of the city suddenly opened upon us at two miles’ distance : the scenery arid dwellings on either side became more varied and beautiful, as we advanced towards the capital. In one part, a temple, resembling a village church, with some light elegant houses, half shaded by the foliage of acacias, presented a lovely and rural scene. Canals and small streams, branching off from the river, overhung by bam- boos and willowy shrubs, present themselves to the eye for a considerable distance, and open beautiful vistas. There was a busy and lively scene on the river — innumerable boats and canoes passing to and from the city ; a long line of junks, most of them laid up on the left side of the river; a little retired from the bank, Chinese smiths’ and carpenters’ shops; behind these, the Episcopal Romish Chapel, surrounded by glittering pagodas.” The palace, considering the country, is a respectable building, but the habitations of the XXXV111 BRIEF NOTICE OF people in general are neither suited to cleanli- ness, comfort, nor durability.* Many of them are constructed of the most combustible materials, and the inhabitants are often exposed to ex- tensive and destructive conflagrations. Of one of these occurrences, to a European so alarming, the late excellent Mrs. Gutzlaff has given in a letter, written to a friend in the beginning of 1834, the annexed graphic description. After speaking of being awoke at midnight by the noise, and called to look out of the window of their dwelling, she continues : — “ The whole city of Bankok seemed to be one flame ; but it being about a mile and a half from us, and the wind being rather light, we hoped for safety ; we had, however, scarcely uttered our hopes, before the wind blew strongly towards us. The houses in and about Bankok are nothing more than a miserable pile of either wood, or bamboo and attap, so that a spark sets them on fire in a moment. The fire increased rapidly ; and there seemed but little hope for the safety of the Chinese part of the city, which lies between us and Bankok. Suddenly the fire divided ; one mass seemed to recede farther from us, while the other appeared to approach. We called up our people to make preparation CHINA AND SIAM. XXXIX for leaving, but the flames advanced with such swiftness, that I wrapped a blanket around me, and after praying to God for the sufferers, as well as for our safety, we ran out. Mr. G. calmly resigned all to God, and prepared for the loss of every thing. We perceived that the mass of fire approaching us consisted of a number of floating houses, which had been set adrift in order to prevent the fire communicating to others ; four of them had not taken fire, but several were wrapt in flames, and threatened destruction to every thing they approached. I stood outside with an old Chinaman to watch the approach of the sparks to our roof, while Mr. G. and others stood at the window ready to throw out the boxes. The wind continued unabated; and it appears to me like a miracle, that although the sparks from the immense masses of burn- ing bamboo, wood and attap houses, were flying around us in every direction, not one fell upon our hut; and we watched with tolerable com- posure the burning piles, with the Chinese in boats around, striving to extinguish the flame as the blazing mass floated down the river. As soon as it had fairly passed we fell on our knees to bless God for his protection. The fire that had receded from us, and which seemed to be in the xl BRIEF NOTICE OF city itself, continued to rage, and appeared spreading against the wind. Several poor wretches have been to us this morning for medical aid ; some say that seven or eight streets in the Chinese part of the city were burnt, but that few lives were lost, owing to the dexterity of the Chinese in swimming.” Mr. Tomlin has given the following as the population of the Siamese capital in the year 1828 : — Chinese (paying tax) .... 310,000 Descendants of Chinese . . . 50,000 Cochin Chinese 1,000 Cambojans 2,500 Siamese S,000 Peguans 5,000 Laos (lately come) 7,000 Ditto (old residents) ..... 9,000 Burmans (or Bramas) .... 2,000 Tavoy 3,000 Malays 3,000 Christians 800 Total . ! . 401,300 A poll-tax, amounting to about three dollars, is levied upon every Chinaman on first entering the country, and re-collected triennially. This secures to them the privilege of exercising any CHINA AND SIAM. xli craft, or following any trade they please, and exempts them from the half-yearly servitude required by the king from every other oriental stranger resident in Siam. According to the data on which Mr. Crawford made his calculations, seven years before, the population of the Siamese empire was — Siamese 1,260,000 Laos 840,000 Peguans 25,000 Cambojans 25,000 Malays 195,000 Chinese 440,000 Natives of Western India . . 3,500 Portuguese 2,000 Total . . . 2,790,500 Though the nations inhabiting the tropical t regions between Hindostan and China differ widely in language, religion, institutions, man- ners, and physical character, from the inhabitants of the countries adjacent, in some respects they greatly resemble each other. The Siamese, in stature, are shorter than the Chinese and Hindoos, but taller than the Malays. Mr. Crawford found the average height of twenty men, taken indiscriminately, to be 5 feet 3 inches. This would make them taller xlii BRIEF NOTICE OF than the Malays, and shorter than the Chinese. Their lower limbs are well formed ; contrary to what obtains among the natives of Hin- dostan, their hands are stout, destitute of the softness and delicacy which characterise those of the Hindoos ; their persons in general are sufficiently robust and well proportioned, want- ing, however, the grace and flexibility of their neighbours in the west ; their complexion is a light brown, perhaps a shade lighter than that of the Malays, but many shades darker than that of the Chinese, yet never approaching to the black of the African or Hindoo. Several writers have remarked, as the most characteristic features in the Siamese counte- tenance, the height and breadth of the cheek- bones, which give to the face the form of a lozenge, instead of the oval of western Asia or Europe ; and it is added that, though according to our ideas, beauty is not seen among them, yet we meet with many countenances not dis- agreeable, and they are said to be a handsomer race than the Chinese or Indian islanders. The aspect of the Siamese is, however, stated to be rather sullen and cheerless, while their gait is sluggish and ungraceful. Their dress, with the exception of the priests, is scanty, and inferior CHINA AND SIAM. xliii to that worn by the Hindoos or Chinese ; in general it consists in a piece of silk or cotton round the loins, leaving the legs and upper parts of the body uncovered, excepting when a narrow scarf is thrown over the shoulder. Their dress is usually dark, white being the colour of the habiliments of mourning. No turban or other covering is worn on the head by either sex, excepting on occasions of formal court ceremonies, when a singular conical cap is used by the chiefs. The Siamese, like the Chinese and other nations of the farther east, permit the nails of their hands to grow to an unnatural and incon- venient length, sometimes to the extent of two inches, presenting, as cleanliness is not a na- tional virtue, a very offensive appearance to an European. Notwithstanding the fertility, abundance, and value of the natural resources of the country, and the antiquity of the nation, the Siamese have made but little progress in civilization. A gloomy superstition and an ignorant despo- tism are alike opposed to all culture of the intellect and increase of knowledge. With the sciences of astronomy, geography, navigation and medicine, they are unacquainted. The Siamese xliv BRIEF NOTICE OF are fond of music. Loubere, who visited them in 1688, speaks of their admiration of the trum- pets of the French, as so much better than their own ; and most writers bear testimony to their superiority in this respect as compared with that of other oriental nations. Their melodies are often wild and plaintive, but more frequently brisk and lively, resembling Scotch and Irish airs, and pleasant to an European ear. Mr. Gutzlaff, however, in his journal, speaking of the music of the Laos, describes their organ made of reeds as among the sweetest instruments to be met with in Asia ; and adds, “ Under the hand of an European master it would become one of the most perfect instruments in existence.” The habits of the Siamese are described as filthy and indolent. Of any knowledge of the useful arts they appear to be almost wholly destitute ; those that are found among them being practised chiefly by the enterprising and industrious Chinese settlers. The government is absolute and rapacious; imperious and vain, in proportion to its igno- rance and impotence. Titles and homage, scarcely less impious than those claimed by the sovereign of the celestial empire, are assumed and required by its rulers, and rendered by the CHINA AND SIAM. xlv people. When he is spoken of, it is as “ Sacred Lord of Heads,” “ Sacred Lord of Lives,” “ The Owner of all ;” and other epithets, equally impious and absurd. He is also designated the “ lord of the white elephant;” this animal being regarded as one of the greatest trea- sures of the kingdom, the banner of the nation is a white elephant on a crimson field. The government is administered by four chief officers ; these, as well as every other public functionary, take the oath of allegiance, which is repeated every succeeding year. The ceremony takes place at the palace, and in administering the oath, the king plunges his sword, the appro- priate sceptre of Siam, into a jar of water, of which every one taking the oath must drink ; to the officers at a distance a portion of this water is sent. The servility of the people is abject, and the exactions of the government oppres- sive ; their use of torture truly barbarous, and their punishments sanguinary. Of the former, the late Mrs. Gutzlaff has recorded the following affecting instance, as inflicted on a poor unhappy lunatic : — “ About four months ago, one of the princesses died. In a neighbouring province there dwelt a young female, who fell into a trance, and who, xlvi BRIEF NOTICE OF on recovering, after having remained in that state above two days and nights, declared herself the identical princess who had died. To prove her assertion, she maintained that she could mention every article which the princess had possessed during her lifetime. It is reported that her enumeration of these was correct, although she had never known the princess. The governor of the province thought this fact so extraordinary, that he sent the poor creature to the king of Siam. One of the princes was appointed to examine her. She persisted in the fact that she was the princess, his sister, and again recounted the possessions of the aforesaid princess, adding that a mighty power had trans- formed her ; stating, that previously to her trance she was very dark, but that since that period she had become fair. Both the king and prince were so indignant, that they ordered her to receive thirty lashes, and have the instruments of torture applied to her hands and head. That used for the head consists of two flat pieces of wood ; the head being placed between these pieces, the ends are gradually drawn together, so tightly as to force the eye-balls from their sockets, and cause an effusion of blood from the ears. Smaller pieces of wood are placed CHINA AND SIAM. xlvii between the fingers and drawn together, so as to cause blood to start from the finger-nails. These tortures were applied, the thirty lashes given, and borne in the presence of hundreds, without a sigh or a groan. Two days after- wards, she was re-examined; and persisting in the same assertions, was sentenced to receive fifty lashes and again to submit to tortures; such was the quiet fortitude with which she bore it, that the people declared that she must be superhuman. At the end of each punishment she mildly said, ( I have told you, and do tell you again, I am the princess.’ To render the situation of this wretched individual still more distressing, one of the king’s telepoys (priests) told his majesty that the sacred books contained a prophecy, that whenever such a person should arise, the kingdom of Siam would pass to another nation. This raised the king’s wrath to despair : a grave council was summoned to devise fresh punishment ; decapitation, with the extermination of her family, was proposed ; but instead of this she was sentenced to receive ninety lashes, which last she bore with the same fortitude as before. It was then decreed that she should be seated on a raft of bamboo, and turned adrift on the open sea. But the above-mentioned telepoy, xlviii BRIEF NOTICE OF touched with compassion, interposed in her behalf, saying, ‘ Who could tell whether this were the very person of whom the book spoke ?’ This allayed the wrath of the king, and the poor woman was sentenced to grind rice in the king’s kitchen during the remainder of her life !” The horrible barbarities practised in their- iniquitous war with Laos, — their treatment of the king and his family, who were basely betrayed into their hands, afford a melancholy exhibition of their ferocity. The situation of the captives is thus described by Mr. Tomlin, who was resid- ing as a missionary at Bankok when they were brought in : — “ The king of Laos and his family when taken prisoners, were brought here in chains, and exposed to public view for a fortnight in a large iron cage! The news of their arrival caused great joy ; the Prah Klang and other high personages were long busied in devising the best mode of torturing and putting them to death.” Mr. Tomlin, who went to see them, observes, “ We were disappointed in not seeing the king. Nine of his sons and grandsons were in the cage ; most of them grown up, but two were mere children, who deeply affected us by their wretched condition, all having chains round CHINA AND SIAM. xlix their necks and legs; one particularly, of an open cheerful countenance, sat like an innocent lamb, alike unconscious of having done any wrong, and of the miserable fate which awaited him. Two or three, however, hung their heads, and were apparently sunk into a melancholy stupor. Now and then they raised them, and cast a momentary glance upon us, their counte- nances displaying a wild and cheerless aspect. The sad spectacle they exhibited was heightened rather than alleviated by the laughter and playful- ness of the Siamese boys who went to see them. Close by are the various instruments of torture in terrific array. A large iron boiler for heating oil, to be poured on the body of the king, after being cut and mangled with knives ! On the right of the cage a large gallows is erected, having a chain suspended from the top beam, with a large hook at the end of it. The king, after being tortured, will be hung upon this hook. In the front there is a long row of triangular gibbets, formed by three poles joined at the top, and extended at the bottom. A spear rises up from the joining of the poles a foot or more above them. The king’s two principal wives, and his sons, grandsons, &c., amounting in all to four- teen, are to be fixed on these as upon a seat. d 1 BRIEF NOTICE OF On the right of the cage is a wooden mortar and pestle, to pound the king’s children in. Such are the means these unsophisticated children of nature employ to maintain their superiority over one another, — such the engines of power des- potism employs to secure its prerogative, — and such the worse than fiendish cruelty of man towards his fellow-man, when left to the un- softened dictates of his own depraved heart. Shortly afterwards, the old Laos king expired, and thus escaped the hands of his tormentors. He is said to have gradually pined away, and died broken-hearted. His corpse was removed to the place of execution, decapitated, and hung on a gibbet by the river side, a little below the city, exposed to the gaze of every one passing by, and left a prey to the birds. His son afterwards escaped, but on being pursued, put an end to his existence. Of the fate of the others we have not heard.” The use of letters has long prevailed in Siam ; the knowledge of reading and writing, a most important fact in connexion with missionary efforts, is generally diffused. But their literature is comparatively worse than useless. It contains no treasures of valuable knowledge ; nothing to invigorate and expand the faculties of the mind, CHINA AND SIAM. li or to improve the heart. It consists of the trifling amusements of mental imbecility and indolence, or comments on the tenets of Budhism, the na- tional religion of Siam, as well as the adjacent countries. The deadly influence of this atheis- tical system, combined with the tyranny of the government, completes the mental and spiritual wretchedness of the people. Such is the power of this system, that most of the male population at one period or other during life belong to the priesthood. According to the information re- ceived by Mr. Crawford, the telepoys or priests in the capital, amounted to 5,000, and in the whole of the kingdom to 50,000; nearly one- fortieth of the Budhist population. The in- fluence of so large a portion of idle mendicants must operate with prodigiously destructive force on the industry of the people ; and their main- tenance must be an intolerable burden, while their ignorance seals and perpetuates the mental weakness of the nation. In morals, the Siamese appear scarcely more advanced than in civilization. Debauchery ap- pears to exist in its most odious forms ; gaming, and intoxication from the use of opium, augment the misery, while fraud and falsehood appear as universal as they are offensive. “ I regret,” d2 lii BRIEF NOTICE OF observes Mr. GutzlafF, “ not to have found one honest man; sordid oppression, priestcraft, allied with wretchedness and filth, are everywhere to be met with.” Such are some of the principal features in the character and circumstances of the Siamese, — next to China, one of the most important of the ultra-Gangetic nations. These are probably applicable, with slight variations, to the inha- bitants of the adjacent countries ; and while they present a number of points deeply interesting, the world exhibits few objects more worthy of the prayers, solicitude, and exertions of the en- lightened and Christian portions of mankind. Although the countries beyond the Ganges have not received a measure of attention equal to that which has been given to some parts of the world, they have not been overlooked by the communities professing Christianity. Scarcely had the Portuguese, in that spirit of adven- turous discovery and commerce by which they were characterised in the sixteenth century, opened an intercourse with these countries, than the Catholics of Europe sent forth a host of ecclesiastics to convert the nations of the East to the Romish faith. In the enterprise they manifested an enthusiasm, in some respects CHINA AND SIAM. liii resembling that which, a few centuries before, had induced them to send forth the rabble of their zealots and the flower of their chivalry for the recovery of Palestine. The learning, talents, ad- dress, and unwearied assiduity of many of the missionaries, secured a degree of success that drew upon them a large measure of the atten- tion of their respective countries, and the civilized world. Ecclesiastical history preserves the re- cord of their perseverance and their triumph. But though Protestants have in these parts of the world engaged with avidity and zeal in the pursuits of commerce for nearly two centuries, as our first intercourse with Siam appears to have taken place in 1612, there is no memorial of their efforts to communicate the gospel to the nations of the East, for more than an equal period after they had emerged from the darkness of Popery, and had obtained free access to the oracles of truth. This renders it, as one of our own prelates* has observed, no small reproach to the Protestant religion, that to our unwearied endeavours to promote the interest of trade in foreign parts, there hath not been joined a like zeal and industry for propagating the Christian religion. It is only recently, and within the * Tillotson. liv BRIEF NOTICE OF present century, that British churches have en- deavoured to communicate to the millions inha- biting south-eastern Asia, the knowledge of the living God. The first effort of Protestant Europe to com- municate the gospel to the millions of China, was made by the Christians of England united in a voluntary association, designated The Missionary Society. This institution was formed in the year 1795, by the union of clergy- men and laymen of the Episcopal and other denominations of Christians ; and its sole object was to spread the knowledge of Christ among heathen and other unenlightened nations. Some distinct appellation having since been found necessary, without the slightest change of con- stitution, principle, or object, the original desig- nation has been altered to that of The London Missionary Society . Soon after the establishment of this Institu- tion, its attention was directed to China ; but the vastness of the work here presented, the diffi- culties and perils of every order which attended any endeavour to gain access to the people, acquire their language, and introduce the doc- trines of the gospel, were such as to repel rather than invite to the attempt. The barriers to CHINA AND SIAM. lv success, from the principles and policy of the government, and other sources, appeared also to be such as to prove, in the absence of the direct and visible manifestation of Divine power, almost insurmountable. It was, how- ever, deemed a solemn duty to make the at- tempt. Mr. Robert Morrison, then a student, was selected as an individual to whom the im- portant trust could be confided, and all the means available in preparing for the work were made use of prior to his departure. The sending forth of several individuals was at first con- templated, and Dr. W. Brown, the- present Secretary of the Scottish Missionary Society, was chosen as one of the associates of Mr. Morrison ; but this intention was afterwards relinquished, and ultimately the latter embarked alone. Uncertain where his lot would be cast ; whether jealousy and bigotry would permit him to remain in China, or force him to remove; whether he should be cast among friends and Christians, or strangers and enemies, he went forth relying on the faithfulness and power of Him who had said, “ Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end.” Referring to their chief design, and to their hopes in sending him forth, lvi BRIEF NOTICE OF the Directors of the Society, in their letter of instructions, observe : — “ We trust that no ob- jection will be made to your continuing in Canton, till you have accomplished your great object of acquiring the language ; when this is done, you may probably soon afterwards begin to turn this attainment into a direction which may be of extensive use to the world. Perhaps you may have the honour of forming a Chinese Dictionary, more comprehensive and correct than any preceding one ; or, the still greater honour of translating the Sacred Scriptures into a lan- guage spoken by a third part of the human race.” How satisfactorily, by the Divine bless- ing, these works have been accomplished, will be shewn hereafter. In the month of January, 1807, Mr. Morrison left his native land, and was viewed by some, probably by many, as a wreak, infatuated en- thusiast, but regarded by others as bound on an errand the most benevolent and important that had ever been undertaken. He was fol- lowed by the warm affection and the fervent prayers of many of the most pious and devoted ministers and members of the British churches. The following is the record he has preserved of his feelings on taking his leave of the CHINA AND SIAM. lvii shores of Britain : — “ This is in all probability (but God alone knows) the closing prospect of a land l shall visit no more. O may the blessing of God rest upon it! The land that gave me birth ! — the land that till this hour has nourished me! — the land of my fathers’ sepul- chres ! — a land I esteem most precious, because there I trust I was born again, and there the saints in numbers dwell ! Happy land ! May the light of the gospel never be removed from thee. The prayers of a departing missionary are ended. Amen and Amen.” Mr. Morrison sailed by way of America, and the sympathy, kindness, and attention he received from de- voted Christian friends, during the period of his short sojourn there, were of the greatest service to him in the early period of his resi- dence at Canton. By the care of a gracious Providence he reached the shores of China, in September, 1807. Here an unexplored field, an untrodden path, and a work, the vastness and perplexities of which would have been appalling to an ordi- nary mind, appeared before him. He had diffi- culties to contend with that no future missionary will meet; and labour to perform, which, once achieved, will serve for all who may follow in cl 3 lviii BRIEF NOTICE OF his train. Keeping his eye steadily fixed on the great object of his mission, as soon as he reached his destination he pursued, under cir- cumstances of great privation, the study of the language, which he had commenced, with the best assistance he could procure, before leaving his native country. He was favoured with the blessing of health, and in dependence on the Divine blessing, he grappled with the difficulties of his work. By a circumspection the most care- ful and unremitted, he escaped interruption from the suspicious jealousy of his enemies ; and by persevering labour, unrelaxed and undiverted, he finally overcame the difficulties of his task. The self-denial which he imposed, and the earnestness with which he sought to make every thing bear upon the object of his mission, will appear from the fact of his spending the day with his teacher, studying, eating, and sleeping, in a room underground, — adopting the Chinese costume — foregoing the pleasure of intercourse with his countrymen, and taking his meal with the Chinese who taught him the language. As Mr. Milne remarks, “ He felt a zeal which bore up his mind, and enabled him, by the blessing of God, to persevere. So desirous was he to acquire the language, that even his secret prayers to the CHINA AND SIAM. lix Almighty were offered in broken Chinese. The place of retirement is often fresh in his memory, and he always feels a sort of regard for it as being the childhood of his Chinese existence. “ At this time, so strong was his sense of the necessity of caution, so unwilling was he to obtrude himself on the notice of the people of Macao, that he never ventured out of his house. He carried this precaution further than was necessary ; but it seemed better to err on the safe side. His health began to suffer from it, so that he could scarcely walk across the room with ease to himself. The first time he ventured out in the fields adjoining the town of Macao, was in a moon-light night, under the escort of two Chinese.” The friendly regard of the Americans resident at Canton has been already noticed. The gen- tlemen connected with the East-India Company were many of them not less attentive. In the close of the year 1808, Mr. Morrison received an appointment in the Honourable Company’s factory, which he has held to the present time, with credit to himself, satisfaction to the Com- pany, and without neglecting the great object of his mission, — the communication of the gospel to the Chinese. Intent on this, as soon as he lx BRIEF NOTICE OF was sufficiently acquainted with Chinese, his endeavours were directed to the communication of divine knowledge, to those who taught him the language of their country. The religious instruction given on the Sabbath to the few Chinese who could be induced to attend, has, excepting under unavoidable interruptions, been continued to the present time. The labours to which all who devote themselves to the service of Christ among the heathen, look forward with strong anticipations of pleasure, were pursued under very different circumstances from those which have attended the efforts of the Christian missionary in other parts of the world. The latter has generally, when master of the language of the people, been permitted, as often as his strength and other means would admit, to repair to the highways, the markets, the festivals and temples of idolatry, and lifting up his voice amidst the crowds gathered around him, declare unto them the unsearchable riches of Christ. “ Instead of this,” as Dr. Milne observes, in his Retrospect of the Mission, “ all that the mis- sionaries to China could frequently do, was to address an individual or two with fear and trem- bling, in an inner apartment, with the doors securely locked.” To persevere under such CHINA AND SIAM. lxi discouragements required no common strength of principle, no faint and wavering love to Christ and love to souls, and no mere transient impulse of desire for their salvation. After this experiment had been continued nearly three years, this devoted missionary tried the practicability of printing part of the Scrip- tures. The Acts of the Apostles, — the trans- lation of which had been the work of some Roman Catholic missionary, — a copy of which he had obtained in England ; and had, as his knowledge of Chinese increased, revised it for printing, was his first undertaking. The effort was successful, and encouraged him to persevere. A Grammar was next prepared. In 1811, within four years after his arrival in the country, the translation of the Gospel of Luke was finished and printed ; and other smaller works, of the catechetical and devotional kind, were prepared. Directing, however, his atten- tion chiefly to the translation of the Sacred Scriptures, this great work was carried forward with diligence and care. In the early part of 1813, another portion of the Sacred Scriptures was finished and printed, and a few copies forwarded to the Directors of the London Missionary Society. On their lxii BRIEF NOTICE OF presenting a copy to the British and Foreign Bible Society, that Institution, with a degree of liberality which has characterised all its proceed- ings, voted 500/. towards the printing and circu- lation of portions of the Scriptures in China. Hitherto Mr. Morrison had pursued his ar- duous labours alone, a circumstance which adds to the difficulties, and diminishes the facilities for usefulness in any mission. But even under these disadvantages he had proved that the diffi- culties were not insurmountable, and had shown the practicability of the object proposed by its establishment. He had solicited assistance, and in 1812, the Rev. W. Milne, who had been preparing for missionary service, under the able tuition of the late Rev. Dr. Bogue, was appointed to be his companion. Accompanied by Mrs. Milne, he reached Macao in July of the follow- ing year (1813), was welcomed by Mr. Morrison with sincere and ardent joy ; but within two or three days after his landing, the jealousy and in- tolerance of the Papists prohibited his remaining in the place, and a peremptory order from the Portuguese governor of Macao required him to embark in a vessel then leaving the harbour. Remonstrance and entreaty were useless ; he was under the necessity, in about a fortnight CHINA AND SIAM. lxiii afterwards, of separating from his wife, and proceeding to Canton, where, as he expresses it in his Retrospect of the Mission, he found among the heathen that hospitality which had been denied him in a Christian colony. For perils among pagans he had endeavoured to pre- pare himself, but this was a trial which he did not expect. Deprived of the encouragement, counsel, and assistance of his predecessor, at a period when his experience, his acquaintance with the genius and character of the Chinese, and his instruction in the language appeared so indispensable, he pursued alone, with the few aids within his reach, the study of the language, until he was joined by his predecessor at Canton. For three months he enjoyed every advantage which the instruction and guidance of Mr. Morrison could afford; and while em- ployed in the laborious task of acquiring the language, every other kind of mental employ- ment was suspended, and the energy of ail his faculties devoted exclusively to this great object. The season during which the gentlemen con- nected with the East India Company remain at Canton was closed, and Mr. Morrison was about to return with them to Macao. The jealous suspicion of the Chinese authorities rendered it lxiv BRIEF NOTICE OF unsafe for him to remain at Canton during the whole year, and the Portuguese refused him admittance to Macao. Under these circum- stances, it was agreed between his fellow-labourer and himself that he should undertake a voyage to Java, and other principal Chinese settlements in the straits, to distribute the Holy Scriptures, and select a spot on which the objects of the Chinese mission might be pursued under more favourable auspices. By the close of 1813, the translation of the whole of the New Testament wTas finished and revised. This was the most important work that had yet been achieved in behalf of China. With great circumspection and many fears from the jealousy of the Chinese government, an edition of 2,000 copies was printed, also 10,000 of a tract, and 5,000 of a catechism. With the greater part of the edition under his care, Mr. Milne embarked for Java in February, 1814. Between 400 and 500 Chinese emigrants to Banca sailed in the same ship, and among them this enterprising missionary had the pleasure of distributing many tracts, and a number of copies of the New Testament, probably the first com- plete New Testament in the Chinese language ever put into circulation. CHINA AND SIAM. lxv On reaching Java, Mr. M. received the greatest attention and kindness from that en- O lightened and distinguished philanthropist, the late Sir Stamford Raffles, Lieut.-Governor of Java, and from a number of respectable residents in the place. Encouraged by the facilities afforded, he travelled over great part of Java, visiting the most important places, ascertaining the circumstances and disposition of the Chinese, and distributing liberally among them copies of the New Testament and other religious publica- tions. He also visited, for the same purpose, the adjacent island of Madura. At Malacca, he was cordially welcomed by the resident and commandant, Major W. Farquhar; and having accomplished the object of his visit, returned to China in the autumn of 1814. Seven years had now passed away, since the first Protestant missionary landed on the shores of China. During this period he had laboured in hope, breaking up, with unremitting toil, the fallow ground, and scattering, as opportunity offered, the incorruptible seed of the divine word. Much useful and important instruction had been communicated, and. received by many with atten- tion and seriousness ; yet hitherto no decisive result had appeared. But while the hearts of lxvi BRIEF NOTICE OF the devoted servants of the Redeemer were cheered by the facilities afforded for the wider diffusion of the knowledge of Christ, it was their happiness to behold it made, they had reason to believe, the power of God unto salva- tion. The concealed, though extreme vigilance of the government, their known hostility to the Christian religion, the severe and intimidating edict of the emperor, in 1812, had, it was pre- sumed, deterred some from making a profession of their faith, who were convinced of the truth of Christianity, and desirous to place them- selves under its influence. In this year, Tsae- a-ko, a Chinese, in the vigour of life, being twenty-seven years of age, after becoming ac- quainted with the doctrines of the gospel, made known his desires to be admitted to share the privileges of the people of God ; and, after what was deemed satisfactory evidence, received the ordinance of Christian baptism. After copying his confession of faith, and accompanying it with an outline of his character, Mr. Morrison, in forwarding the account of this interesting event, continues : — “ At a spring of water, issuing from the foot of a lofty hill by the sea-side, away from human observation, I bap- tized, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy CHINA AND SIAM. lxvii Spirit, Tsae-a-ko, whose character and confes- sion have been given above. O that the Lord may cleanse him from all sin in the blood of Jesus, and purify his heart by the influences of his Holy Spirit! May he be the first-fruits of a great harvest ; one of millions, who shall believe and be saved from the wrath to come ! ” Four years afterwards he was removed by death, but maintained until that period, so far as it was known, a holy, blameless, and consistent life. Besides the Grammar already noticed, Mr. Morrison prepared, as he proceeded in the study of the language, materials for a Chinese and English Dictionary. The East India Company, on its having been recommended to their notice, were so deeply impressed with the importance and value of this work, that they readily under- took its publication; and in September, 1814, printing presses, types, &c., arrived at Macao for this purpose. Besides thus defraying the entire charge of printing, the Honourable Com- pany generously gave to the able compiler 500 copies of the work for his own use. The chief part of the first edition of the New Testament having been distributed, it was deemed requisite to prepare for a second, in a smaller size. Blocks were accordingly cut for an edition lxviii BRIEF NOTICE OF in 12mo., and liberal grants for defraying the expense were made by the British and Foreign Bible Society. A generous individual* had also bequeathed to Mr. Morrison 1000 dollars, to diffuse the knowledge of our blessed religion. This sum was appropriated chiefly to the printing this smaller edition of the New Testament. It has been already stated, that one of the objects of Mr. Milne’s visit to the Chinese settle- ments in the Malayan Archipelago, was to ascer- tain in what spot the chief seat of the Chinese mission could be placed, so as to be exempt from the constant alarm and peril to which its members were exposed, and to prosecute its objects with more facility. Malacca was selected, on account of the comparative salubrity of its climate, its proximity to China, and the facilities it afforded for the extensive distribution of the Sacred Scriptures. In the month of April, 1815, after having ex- perienced great hospitality from friends in Canton, Mr. and Mrs. Milne removed to Malacca, where they were cordially welcomed by the resident, Major Farquhar, who, on every occasion, mani- fested the utmost regard to Mr. Milne, and to the objects of his mission. Besides performing * W. Parry, Esq., one of the East India Company’s factory. CHINA AND SIAM. lxix the duties of chaplain at the station, Mr. Milne’s first efforts were directed to the establishment of a free-school for the Chinese. Some idea of the difficulties attending missionary operations in a new station among this people, may be gathered from the fact, that, for a year, many kept their children away, from suspicion that the offer to teach originated in some improper motive. At length two gave in their names, and ultimately fifteen were on the list. The school was opened in August, 1815, with five scholars, but the number was afterwards increased. The diffi- culties attending it were less formidable than had been apprehended. Christian books were introduced. The master and scholars were in- duced to attend daily the worship of the true God. The missionary was cheered by the en- couragement and liberality of Christian friends, by whom the expense of the school was amply provided for, and went forward with gratitude and hope. The education of the Chinese youth in Malacca, thus commenced, was afterwards extended by the formation of other schools, and has been continued unto the present time. Other departments of labour received a share of his attention proportioned to their importance and utility. lxx BRIEF NOTICE OF In the month of September, of this year, he was joined by Mr. Thomsen, who directed his attention to the acquisition of the Malay lan- guage, with a view of communicating the gospel to the Malays. He is still labouring, and has attained a proficiency in writing the language rarely exceeded by one not a native of the country. In 1816, Mr. Milne visited Penang, where he was treated with the greatest hospitality and kindness by the members of the government, and the European residents. He obtained from the government a grant of land for the Malay mission, and thus secured the means of uninter- ruptedly pursuing its great objects. While thus engaged, Mr. Milne had the satis- faction of beholding the Divine blessing attending his labours in the conversion of a Chinese, who had accompanied him from Canton, and been diligent in attending the duties of his station, but whose heart the Lord appeared to have opened to receive the truth in love, and to yield himself up to Christ. Satisfied of his sin- cerity, and his just views of the ordinance he now desired, Mr. Milne admitted into the visible church, the first-fruits of his labours among the Chinese, by the rite which was designed to be a CHINA AND SIAM. lxxi formal renunciation of heathenism, and an avowal of Christian discipleship. This interesting event took place on the 3d of November, in a private room in the mission-house, and according to the wish of the convert, precisely at mid-day. The ordinance, Mr. M. observes, was dispensed with mingled affection, joy, hope, and fear. Those who have not been placed in similar circum- stances, can form no adequate idea of the deep, but varied feelings, such an event is adapted to excite. The joys it imparts are peculiarly a missionary’s own ; and the hopes it inspires can only be duly estimated by those by whom they are experienced. Eighteen years have now passed away since this event took place. The devoted servant of Christ, who was honoured to turn this deluded idolater from darkness to light, has been removed to his rest and his reward, but his son in the faith still survives, and has maintained his pro- fession of discipleship unsullied and unimpaired. His life has been devoted to the service of his Redeemer in the instruction of his countrymen. The beneficial effects of his example and labours, in writing and distributing religious books, and eopies of the Scriptures, and teaching, though for the most part probably unknown to himself, lxxii BRIEF NOTICE OF have been frequently manifest in those who have renounced their idols, and yielded themselves to God. He has several times written to the friends of the Society, through the instru- mentality of wdiose missionary he was made acquainted with the gospel ; and his letters evince, in a remarkable degree, the correctness of his views of divine truth, the simplicity and sincerity of his piety, and the animating hope of future blessedness which the gospel has inspired. The following is a copy of the last letter received from him ; it is dated, and is addressed to the Treasurer of the London Missionary Society: — “ Leangafa, with a respectful obeisance, pre^ sents this letter before the honoured presence of the venerable Mr. Wilson, wishing him a golden tranquillity. “ For several years past, I have had to be grateful for our Lord and Saviour’s gracious protection, and bestowment of the Holy Spirit to open my heart and form my will. “ I have always received great kindness from Dr. Morrison, in giving me instruction, by which I have attained to some knowledge of the mys- teries of the gospel. I have also preached the gospel, and exhorted for several years the people of my native place ; and have had the happiness CHINA AND SIAM. lxxiii of receiving the Lord and Saviour’s great grace in saving some out of the hands of the devil, turning them from depravity to righteousness, casting away their idols, and serving the living and true God, obeying and believing in the Lord and Saviour, and hoping for the salvation of their souls. “ During this year, several persons have obeyed, and believed in the Saviour, and entered the general church of the reformed holy religion. There are upwards of ten of us who, with one heart and united minds, continually serve the Lord, and learn and practise the holy doctrines of the gospel. Every- holy Sabbath-day we assemble together to praise the Saviour for the mighty . grace of redemption. . “ Happily, the Lord most high has graciously granted us protection, so that we have enjoyed hearts at peace and in tranquil joy ; therefore I respectfully prepare this slip of paper, with writing on it, to inform you, venerable Sir, of these things, and to pray that you would, as is right, joyfully praise our heavenly Father for converting us by his great grace. “ Further, I look up and hope that you, venerable Sir, will pray to our Lord and Saviour for us, that he will confer the Holy Spirit’s e lxxiv BRIEF NOTICE OF secret aid, to influence and rouse our hearts, that from first to last we may, with one mind, and persevering intention, cultivate virtue, and per- suade the men of the world every year to come in greater numbers to serve the Lord, that we may together ascend to the heavenly regions, and assemble with the vast multitude who, in his presence, shall praise the self-existent and ever- living God, throughout never to be exhausted, never ending ages. “ Just as in 1 Cor. xiii. 12, holy Paul says, * For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face we who in this world reverently believe in our Lord and Saviour, although we cannot, with fleshly eyes, see the honoured countenance of our heavenly Father, still in the life that is to come we shall be able to view, face to face, the majesty of our heavenly Father. Though you and I are separated as far as one boundary of the sky to its extreme opposite, and cannot see each other in our own proper persons, still we hope to meet and see each other in the presence of our heavenly Father, and praise his great power for ever. “ My special wish, Sir, is, that in this life you may leap with joy and delight to assist in the concerns of our high Lord ; then, in that day, the CHINA AND SIAM. lxxv Lord of general judgment will bestow a crown of righteousness on those who love our Lord and Saviour’s appearing. (See 5 Tim. iv. 8.) “ This letter is respectfully presented on the right side of the chair of the venerable Mr. Wilson.” Messrs. Morrison and Milne pursued the work with unabated ardour and activity, and were greatly encouraged by the liberal aid afforded by other institutions, as well as the Society with which they were connected ; especially the gene- rous grants of the British and Foreign Bible and the Religious Tract Societies. Early in 1817, the operations of the missionary press were commenced. In the month of June, in the same year, Mr. Medhurst, who had been appointed to co-operate with Mr. Milne, arrived at Malacca, where he was cordially welcomed by the founder of the mission, whom the affliction of his beloved wife, and the failure of his own health, obliged to visit China in the end of the year. On the 54th of Dec. 1817, the Senatus Academicus of Glasgow unanimously conferred the title of Doctor in Divinity on Mr. Morrison, in token of their approbation of his philological labours; and in 1850, the same was presented to his e 2 XXVI BRIEF NOTICE OF colleague, Mr. Milne. In 1818, Mr. and Mrs. Milne returned to Malacca, where they found Mr. Thomsen, who had been, on account of Mrs. Thomsen’s illness, obliged to visit Europe. On his return, he had been accompanied by another missionary; and in the month of Sep- tember the mission was farther strengthened by the arrival of Messrs. Milton, Beighton, and Ince. Mr. Milne’s visit to China had enabled him to confer with his colleague, Dr. Morrison, on a number of subjects connected with the mission ; and among the comprehensive views they en- tertained of the best means of giving stability, efficiency, and permanence, to their labours, was the establishment of the Anglo-Chinese College, for the purpose of blending the culture of Chinese and European literature, and rendering its advantages subservient to the advancement of the cause of Christ in China. Towards this noble object, of which he was at once the projector and the founder, Dr. Morrison contributed 1000/. with an annual subscription of 100/. for five years. Though th^ generous contributions of the friends of this important institution have been equal to the operations hitherto carried on, they have been altogether CHINA AND SIAM. lxxvii inadequate to the extent of those contemplated, and the managers are exceedingly anxious to extend its benefits as soon as more ample means shall enable them to do so. The foundation stone of the College was laid on the 11th of November, 1818. The nature and design of the Institution, the necessity for its establishment, and the benefits that may be expected ultimately to result from its influence, are stated with great ability and force by the late Dr. Milne, in an address, delivered in the presence of the English and Dutch authorities, and a numerous assem- blage of friends, on the occasion of laying the foundation-stone of the building. After speaking of the want, in Europe, of enlarged information respecting the nations beyond the Ganges, and the extreme ignorance of even the accomplished scholars of China respecting Christian nations, as shewn by the sentiments of a grave Chinese author, profoundly skilled in the literature of his own nation, congratulating himself that he was not born in our barbarous countries of the West; and who observes, “for then I must have lived in a cave under ground, — eaten the bark and roots of trees, — worn leaves and long grass for my covering, and been really a beast, though Jxxviii BRIEF NOTICE OF in the shape of a man Dr. Milne points out the desirableness of introducing the Chinese to the ample stores of western knowledge, and shews that this knowledge is chiefly valuable, as it “ points upward to the Deity, and forward to eternity. It is intended to conduct man to God, and to make him happy for ever. Most of those things about which our thoughts are now engrossed, our talents employed, our pro- perty expended, and our time exhausted, are destined to perish : “mortalia facta peribunt. “We can look forward to a period when the most magnificent works of art, on which the skill and wealth of nations have been exhausted, shall be destroyed, and not a single vestige of human greatness or human science left about them ; and when the richest and most extensive collections of books, and curiosities, and appa- ratus, which literary, philosophical, and anti- quarian industry has heaped together, through a long succession of ages, shall be melted down in the flames of the dissolving universe, and no longer distinguishable from the confused mass of its ashes !” The number of students in the college has CHINA AND SIAM. lxxix varied at different periods, and when the last accounts were forwarded, amounted to thirty. The advantages for obtaining general knowledge afforded to a number of Chinese youths by the college have been highly important ; and the Institution on this account, as well as others, entitled to the approval and liberal support of all who are concerned for the welfare of China, and a more extensive and beneficial intercourse between its inhabitants and those of Europe. Mr. Marjoribanks, in describing what he saw when on a visit to the Institution, observes, — “ The son of a Malacca peasant derives an enlightened education denied to the son of the emperor of China.” Besides these and other minor benefits, all favourable to the accom- plishment of the great object, several instances have occurred in which the inmates of the col- lege have attained that knowledge which has made them wise for eternity. It was in the college that the devoted Afa first professed his attachment to Christ. Le, a native teacher, who recently returned to China, avowed himself a Christian, so far as education is considered. A devoted Chinese teacher is labouring with the American missionaries in Burmah, who was formerly a pupil in the college, and has since Ixxx BRIEF NOTICE OF professed his faith in Christ; and five Chinese Christians, from the college, are now actively employed in diffusing the knowledge of Christ among their countrymen. In 1816, Dr. Milne visited Penang, with a view to ultimate exertions for the spiritual benefit of its inhabitants. In 1819, Mr. Medhurst visited the island, and succeeded in establishing two Chinese schools, for the support of which a grant was made by the government, and in the same year missionary operations were com- menced among the Malays by Mr. Beighton, and the Chinese by Mr. Ince. After a short but faithful career of devotedness to the Saviour, Mr. Ince was removed by death, in April, 1825. Mr. Dyer has since laboured with great dili- gence in the Chinese department. The mission has been continued, and has rendered important and effective aid in diffusing the knowledge of the gospel among the heathen residents and traders visiting this land. Besides the efforts that have been made at Canton, Malacca, and Penang, in 1814 missionary operations were commenced by the Rev. J. C. Supper, at Batavia, in the populous island of Java, under the protection, and favoured by the sanction of the governor, the late enlightened CHINA AND SIAM. XXXI and excellent Sir Stamford Raffles. Mr. Supper was removed by death in 1817. In 1822 the station was occupied by the Rev. W. H. Med- hurst, who has continued to labour with dili- gence and fidelity. Although his efforts have not been attended with that visible success which he has so earnestly desired and sought, he is not without evidence that they have been highly ser- viceable. Between 100,000 and 200,000 books and tracts in different languages, many of them printed at the Mission press at Batavia, have been circulated, besides numerous copies of por- tions of the Scriptures, in Malay and Chinese. In addition to his other labours, Mr. Medhurst has prepared a Japanese and English Vocabulary, a Fokeen-Chinese and English Dictionary ; the latter work, in testimony of their approval, the Honourable East India Company have printed at their press in Canton. In October, 1819, a mission was commenced at Singapore, by the Rev. C. H. Thomsen, whose labours have been chiefly among the Malays, and whose intimate acquaintance with their language has eminently qualified him for the translation or preparation of books for the use of the people, in which de- partment of labour he has, through the medium of the press at Singapore, rendered important eS lxxxii BRIEF NOTICE OF services. When the mission commenced, the population of Singapore was about 5,000, half of whom were Chinese ; in 1830 it was estimated at between 16,000 and 17,000, of whom 6,500 were Chinese, 5,000 Malays, and the rest natives of the adjacent islands. In 1823 the attention of the Directors of the London Missionary Society was turned towards Siam, and they decided, in dependence on Divine Providence, to attempt a translation of the Scriptures into the language of its inhabitants as soon as practicable. About this time Mr. Mil- ton, then one of the missionaries at Singapore, commenced the translation of portions of the Scriptures, and also the compilation of a Siamese dictionary, towards which 13,000 words were alphabetically arranged. In 1826 Mr. Medhurst proposed a visit to Siam for the distribution of copies of the Scrip- tures, and Tracts, &c., but was prevented, and it was not until August 1828, that Mr. Tomlin, one of the missionaries of the Society, and Mr. Gutz- laff, formerly connected with the Netherlands Missionary Society, embarked from Singapore for Siam, and arrived in safety at Bankok, the capital, after a voyage of seventeen days. They were kindly received by the Phrah Klang, CHINA AND SIAM. lxxxiii or minister of his Siamese Majesty, and were treated with great attention and kindness by the Portuguese consul. After remaining actively and usefully employed in this important field six months, they returned to Singapore. An interesting account of their proceedings, written by Mr. Tomlin, is already before the public. In February, 1830, Mr. GutzlafF re- turned to Siam, and pursued with unwearied devotedness his delightful work, until the spring of the following year, when he undertook a voyage to China. He has prefixed an interesting account of these labours to the narrative of his voyages. Mr. GutzlafF is a native of Stettin, in Prussia. In early life he gave indications of a spirit of adventurous enterprise, which was the means of procuring royal favour and patronage, which opened before him the fairest pros- pects in his native land ; but these were to him less attractive than the privilege of preach- ing Christ to the heathen. Before proceeding to his distant field of labour, he visited England, became acquainted with many friends and sup- porters of missions, and among them, Dr. Mor- rison, then on a visit to his native land, and displayed the most commendable diligence in lxxxiv BRIEF NOTICE OF seeking information likely to be useful in his future labours. The great Head of the Church appears to have endowed him with qualifications peculiarly suited to the important work to which his life is devoted. To a good constitution, and a frame capable of enduring great privations and fatigue, he unites a readiness in the acqui- sition of language, a frankness of manner, and a freedom in communicating with the people, a facility in accommodating himself to his cir- cumstances, blending so much of what appeared natural to the Chinese, with what was entirely new, that, while they hailed him in some parts of the coast as “the child of the western ocean,” they professed to recognize him as a descendant of one of their countrymen, who had moved with the tide of emigration to some distant settlement. His knowledge of the healing art gave him access to all classes, and his steadiness of aim has enabled him to render all subservient to the communication to the Chinese of the unsearch- able riches of Christ. On his return to Singapore, after his first visit to Siam, he entered into the marriage relation with Miss Newell, who had been em- ployed under the London Missionary Society, in the superintendence of female schools. She CHINA AND SIAM. lxxxv was like-minded with himself, and every way suited to be the companion of his joys and toils. She accompanied him to Siam, and during the twelve interesting months they were per- mitted to cooperate in labour there, she united cordially and successfully in all his pursuits, studying the languages of the people around them, administering to the sick, translating the Scriptures, and teaching both the rich and poor who came for instruction. After the labours of the day, they were accustomed in the evening to pursue their literary engagements. Many tracts have been written, a Siamese and Cochin Chinese dictionary framed, and the Scriptures partially or wholly translated into five dialects. On the 16th of February, 1831, Mrs. Gutzlaff was summoned by death from the church militant to the church triumphant. The memory of the just is blessed ; and her works of faith and labour of love will not be forgotten, especially by the people who were accustomed to call her “ the woman amongst ten thousand.” Shortly after this afflictive event, to which he more than once makes a touching allusion, Mr. Gutzlaff commenced those attempts to introduce the gospel to China, of which the following journals contain valuable and instructive accounts* lxxxvi BRIEF NOTICE OF Soon after the departure of Mr. GutzlafF for China, Mr. Tomlin, and Mr. Abell, a missionary from America, arrived, and prosecuted the work until the former returned to Singapore, and the latter was under the necessity of seeking the restoration of health by a voyage to a more temperate climate. In 1831, the Directors of the London Mis- sionary Society appointed two missionaries to Siam ; but the afflictive bereavements by death which the missionaries in Bengal experienced, rendering it necessary to reinforce the latter, their destination was altered, and no subsequent appointment was made until June, 1833, when two missionaries were sent out by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, to commence a permanent mission in this im- portant part of south-eastern Asia. Since the termination of the first voyage from Siam to China, and the second in the ship Lord Amherst , Mr. GutzlafF has made a third visit to the northern ports of China, and it is ardently to be hoped that his enterprise and perse- verance will be ultimately, in the course of Divine Providence, rewarded by the privilege of entering the country in his proper character, — as a Christian missionary, — and proclaiming CHINA AND SIAM. lxxxvii among its inhabitants the glad tidings of sal- vation. The churches of Christendom are under lasting obligations to this devoted missionary, for the exertions he has made to enter the empire of China, and to facilitate the more direct and ex- tended communication of the gospel to its inha- bitants. The enterprise was perilous in the highest degree ; — danger, not imaginary, but actual and imminent, threatened ; he embarked alone, amidst cold-blooded, treacherous barba- rians ; he went, emphatically, with his life in his hand ; — but his aim was noble ; his object, in its magnitude and importance, was worthy of the risk ; and its results will only be fully realized in eternity. No Christian will read the account of his feelings and views, when entering and pursuing his first voyage, without becoming sensible of the efficacy and the value of the motives which could impel him onward in such a career, and the principles which could support him amidst the trials it imposed. Happy would it be for China were a hundred such men now hovering around her coasts, not to convey opium, or ardent spirits, or other means of demoralization and crime, — too frequently the chief traffic of foreign visitors, — Ixxxviii BRIEF NOTICE OF but the knowledge of the true God, and the only Saviour ! The comparative indifference with which the moral and spiritual necessities of the Chinese, and the solemn obligations of a nation professing Christianity, to attempt the alleviation of those wants, have been regarded, is as unjustifiable in us, as it has been injurious to them. It is a humiliating fact, that were our commercial rela- tions with China now to cease, after having traded with this singular nation for nearly two centuries, (to such an extent, that the duties on the imports, in one single article, have exceeded 3,000,000 annually,) we should, but for the labours of men whom other motives and objects than those of buying and selling, and getting gain, have led to this distant country, leave the inhabitants of China as ignorant of all the verities of Christianity, as if no Christian had ever visited their shores. The labours of Drs. Morrison and Milne, and their compa- nions, especially in the translation of the Holy Scriptures, though often regarded with ridicule or contempt, will remain the most honourable and imperishable memorials of British inter- course with China. They have, as far as their CHINA AND SIAM. lxxxix limited numbers admitted, redeemed the character of their country from the charge of a practical declaration that it was destitute of all religion, or regarded religion, in comparison with the emoluments of commerce or the trophies of war, as unimportant to itself and useless to others. They have also rendered the path of all future missionaries to the nations by whom the Chinese language is spoken (and missionaries from Ame- rica are now entering the field) comparatively easy; — and the Chinese will continue to derive benefit from their labours, even to the latest generations. Should the changes in our trade facilitate more direct intercourse with the people, China will be one of the most imposing and command- ing objects ever presented to the attention of Christian nations. While the commercial world is all activity and enterprise, in the expectation of securing, from the changes, speedy and abundant wealth, may the churches of Christen- dom be equally vigilant and active to secure more important ends ; — May the colleges of our land send forth her pious and devoted sons ; the merchants facilitate their passage to the vast and important field; the churches support them by their offerings, and follow them with their xc BRIEF NOTICE OF prayers ; — may the Lord open before them a wide door, and effectual; and the influence of the Holy Spirit make the preaching of the gospel a means of spiritual benefit to thousands ! That the inhabitants of China will ultimately become a Christian people, no one who believes the Bible can entertain a doubt ; and in effecting this we have no reason to believe that any other order of means will be employed besides those now applied ; viz. the distribution of the Sacred Scriptures, and the instruction of Christian teachers. What results might have followed, had these been more vigorously and extensively employed, it is not easy to say. The labour hitherto performed, though vast in itself, and essential to all stability and efficiency, has been chiefly preparatory ; and the labourer may yet be called to much toil and self-denial, and pa- tience and peril, before any great results become generally visible, although, ultimately, this is certain. China has been the frequent scene of foreign invasion, and violent revolutions, and has changed its masters, without altering the chief feature of its policy — its determined refusal of intercourse-with other nations. The science, learning, and genius of the West have unfolded their attainments and excellences ; — select and CHINA AND SIAM. XC1 splendid embassies, from the most distinguished sovereigns of the civilized world, have been sent to its imperial court, charged with the strongest declarations of amity and good-will ; commerce has applied its enterprise and perseverance to the task, and has disclosed the advantages of its honourable pursuit ; — but all have failed to form those relations, and secure that intercommuni- cation, and the recognition of that reciprocity of interests, which bind civilized nations to each other. China still proclaims her proud and un- approachable supremacy, and disdainfully rejects all pretensions in any other nation to be consi- dered as her equal. This feeling of contemptible vanity Christianity alone will, in all probability, be able to destroy. Where other means have failed, the gospel will triumph ; this will fraternize the Chinese with the rest of mankind ; and will teach them, that while there is one true God — God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth. The gospel, while it will unfold to them that they are one in circumstances and in destiny, will link them in sympathy with other portions of their species, and thus add to the triumphs it has achieved, and the glory of Him who is its author and its end, — who regards the human race as his XC11 BRIEF NOTICE OF family, and is hastening on the period, when all its varied tribes shall, through the Redeemer, acknowledge him as their Father and their God. Since the greater part of the following sheets were printed, the Journal of Mr. GutzlafF’s third voyage to the eastern coast of China, and the ports of Mantchou-Tartary to the north, has been received in this country ; * and the publi- cation of the work has been delayed that it might include this account. The narrative of the third visit to the east and northern parts of China is not less replete with interest than the account of his voyages in the Chinese junk and the Lord Amherst; while the additional information it supplies, in reference to the disposition of the Chinese towards foreigners, the hopes it is adapted to * This Account appeared originally in the “Canton Register,” a truly valuable Monthly Journal, published at Canton, but which may be obtained at Messrs. Parbury, Allen, and Co.’s, Leadenhail-street. This excellent periodical will be found exceedingly interesting to those who are concerned for the welfare of China, and highly valuable to every one who is de- sirous to obtain accurate and useful information respecting the country and the people. CHINA AND SIAM. XC111 inspire of more unrestricted and friendly inter- course with China, and a wide and rapid diffusion of the Gospel among the millions of its inhabi- tants, is valuable and encouraging. Any slight inconvenience that may have been occasioned by the delay of the issuing of these interesting Journals, will, it is presumed, be amply compensated by the complete form in which the narrative of the proceedings, and the observations of this intelligent missionary, are now given to the British public. THE JOURNAL OF THREE VOYAGES ALONG C^oast of their vessels made of earthenware, of the coarsest kind imaginable ; and besides these they had nothing else. As long as we have been here, we have never seen one copper coin* q 3 346 CHINA. Since their mandarins are so elegantly dressed, and possess all the conveniences which their limited world affords, the people must needs be conscious of their wretchedness. In their inter- course with us they always showed a great deal of soundness of judgment. We cannot charge them with laziness, but we fear they want the necessary stimulus to exertion. Government does not permit them to enjoy the fruits of their labours ; they are therefore indifferent to the pos- session of any thing beyond the bare necessaries of life. Would their present state have been what it is, had they been allowed intercourse with foreigners? “Exclusion” may have kept them from the adoption of foreign customs, but has not meliorated their condition. Walking over these fertile islands, beholding the most beautiful flowers every where growing wild, and the vine creeping among weeds and bushes, we accuse “ the lord of nature,” man, of shameful neglect ; for he could have changed this wilder- ness into an Eden. Let the gospel penetrate into these regions, and as far as it is accepted in truth, misery will cease. August 2. — New boats from the capital arrived very early, and we received a hint that a great mandarin was coming to make us a visit. He ROYAL COMMISSIONER. 347 proved to be a literary mandarin of the third rank, wearing under his chin a beautiful string of amber. In his haughty deportment he showed all the ignorance of the peasant, and the arrogance of the barbarian. Woo, a com- missioner sent to treat with us, followed him very soon. He had a very pleasing countenance, was cleanly and elegantly dressed, but discovered very little ingenuity in his questions, and was exceedingly reserved. Our visiters to-day were more numerous than on any previous day ; among them were several conceited young men, who used very impertinent language. I have hitherto had constant applications for medicine. To-day I was requested to furnish a sufficient quantity for sixty old persons, all suffering under a very severe “ cold.” August 5. — Woo is so minute in his inquiries, that it is difficult to answer them all. He in- sisted upon examining the chests of the Lascars, and all the cargo which was aboard. We gratified him in the former demand, and would have done so in the other, if he had only brought one hundred thousand dollars aboard to purchase it. In the enumeration of kingdoms passed in coming out, he insisted on the most exact 348 CHINA. catalogue, asked the time required to return to England, and come back again, &c. August 7. — Old Kin brought back the letter and presents in a state of the utmost agitation. He said that he had endangered himself by receiving them and promising to deliver them to the king. “ In a very short time a mandarin of high rank will arrive, who will settle the whole business.” We did not receive the things re- turned, but sent the old man disconsolate away. We took a cruize to ascertain how far the bay where we were at anchor extended inland ; for on the Jesuits’ charts it is marked as entering very far into the peninsula. After having passed our usual limits of excursion, the bay became broader and broader, the country less inhabited, and the scenery very wild. We went in a north- west direction, where the bay again opened to a great extent, but the limits of which we could not discern, though we ascended a hill whence we could survey all the country around us. The people were so exceedingly shy, that they ran off in great haste as soon as they perceived us ; but from the opposite shore they came off to us, and gladly received a few books. We finally ascertained that the large projecting point was ROYAL COMMISSIONER. 349 an island, and separated from the main land only by a stream which disembogues into the sea. Had we gone in a north-east direction, we should very probably have arrived at the capital, or at least have approached it so near as to reach it within a few hours ; for all the boats with the great mandarins came from that direction : and when stating to some of the clerks our conjecture that we had been near the capital, they first wanted to deny it, but afterwards admitted that it was true. August 9. — We finally had the pleasure to see the royal commissioner come on board. He stated that he was sent by the treasurer, and after some introductory remarks said: “To receive your letter and presents is illegal ; we ought to ascribe the mistake to the great age of the two mandarins whom you charged with this busi- ness ; but as it is illegal, we cannot represent your affairs to his majesty, and accordingly re- turned all to you. Our kingdom is a dependent state of China ; we can do nothing without the imperial decree; this is our law. Hitherto we have had no intercourse with foreigners ; how could we venture to commence it now ?” In our turn we asked why they had retarded our de- parture so very long, always requesting us to 350 CHINA. wait for the royal answer? It was true that they had never had any intercourse with foreign nations except the Mantchou Tartars, Chinese, and J apanese ; but we came hither for the pur- pose of bringing on such an intercourse for the mutual benefit of both nations. Besides, Corea is no dependent state, but only tributary to China ; it has its own laws, and is by no means ruled by the decrees of the Celestial Empire. It reflected very little honour on a public functionary to degrade his own country in the eyes of foreigners, in order to evade giving a direct refusal to their request. This remark touched him to the heart; he was ashamed of himself, and would have retracted the assertion that Corea was a dependent state, had he not written it upon paper. The conduct of the mandarins has been most inconsistent. At first they were anxious that we should enter the harbour, and deliver every thing into their charge. And when we designed to leave immediately, they besought us to remain and await the royal answer. Finally, they told us that they had not reported us to the king, though they had repeatedly assured us that it was done. Our principal regret was at the loss of time incurred to no purpose. FORT. 351 August 10. — We obliged the principal man- darins to become sureties for the deliverance of the provisions which they had promised, but never sent. It happened that some people came along-side, whom they caught and cudgelled most cruelly. We ascended the hills of the largest islands near our anchorage, and inspected a fort built on the peak of one of them. It consists of a stone wall, and the interval filled with earth, but without any guns or martial apparatus. This island is densely inhabited, and the best culti- vated which we have seen. When the inhabitants saw us, they were much alarmed lest we should see their fortifications, and great numbers ran up the hill, and surrounded us on all sides. When they found that we would enter their villages, they escorted us strictly, and turned us several times out of the right way. It seems they have received orders to do so, for at first they were very friendly, and rendered us every little service in their power. * August 11. — We heard that the people who brought the provisions had great trouble to pro- cure them all. However, we were well satisfied with the stock which they furnished. After a desultory conversation, we handed to some of the 352 CHINA. principal mandarins a paper, descriptive of their tergiversation, and of the English character, which did not brook any disgrace. Such plain language had the desired effect; they became humble, and began to regret their assertions of the day before. Woo, the royal commissioner, lost all courage ; he had committed himself too much, and could find no excuse for his faults. We stipulated that whenever an English ship came hither in distress, they should immediately furnish her sufficient provisions. To this they readily agreed, with the single condition that they should not receive pay for it. If any ship should be wrecked on their coast, we requested them to send the unfortunate sailors back by way of Peking, to which they agreed also. We went ashore, and stated the conditions on which we hoped to leave them; but as they seemed little disposed to hearken, we left them, and visited a Corean junk in the harbour. They do not carry above two hundred tons, and seem quite unmanageable in a tempest. Even the little skill displayed by the Chinese, in the con- struction of their vessels, is wanting here. Kim made the last attempt to return the letter and presents ; but when he saw that we did not receive what we had once given, and what had PROSPECTS OF FUTURE TRADE. 353 been accepted, he praised our rule of conduct as most consistent and commendable. He lamented the mean shift to which Woo had betaken him- self, by declaring his country dependent on China. He expressed his regret at our parting, and was almost moved to tears. Again we requested that any English ship touching there might be treated with civility, and supplied with • provisions, to which he agreed most fully, and solemnly took his leave. Among all the officers who came on board, none behaved with such politeness and dignity as Kim. He had some- thing commanding in his aspect ; he was always grave, and answered and asked questions gene- rally to the point. His observations were just, and his objections usually unanswerable. He expressed his deep regret that strangers should not be permitted to have any intercourse with his country, but remarked that it was not at the option of the mandarins, but could be authorized only by the king. This was nothing new to us, who well knew that in every despotic country the will of the monarch is the law of the country. As cattle are abundant, ships touching here can always be supplied with beef; and to this the mandarins will make no objection. It is not likely that any trade of importance could be 354 CHINA. carried on with this peninsula. Though there are spacious and secure harbours, among which, Gan-keang, the place of our anchorage, holds the first rank, there are perhaps few productions for exportation, and little money to pay the surplus of imports. One should not be too positive, however, in such assertions, for a country not sufficiently known may not be sufficiently valued. We have an instance in the Sandwich islands, where a flourishing trade is now carried on, which a few years before was considered a matter of impossibility. Those parts of Corea which we have seen, have in themselves great resources ; and we think that the interior is far more culti- vated than the islands of the coast. Doubtless there would be a demand for British goods ; for we saw they invariably prized the calico and the woollens, cloths entirely unknown among them. Nor, as the natives would have us believe, do we think that the country is so entirely destitute of silver, as to be unable to purchase annually some cargoes of European merchandise. How could the king, otherwise, pay such large sums in silver to the court of Peking ? Never did foreigners, perhaps, possess such free access to the country as we enjoyed. We hope that the communications which we transmitted, ISLAND OF OUELPOERT. 355 will suggest to the rulers a different line of policy from that which they have hitherto followed. The inhabitants seem to possess sound under- standing, but with great pride and apathy of feeling. The majority indulge to excess in spirituous liquors, but they swallow great quan- tities without becoming intoxicated. Unnatural crimes seem to be very common among them. Our notions of decency differ very widely from theirs ; however, they are not so entirely lost as not to feel that they do wrong. In the great plan of the eternal God, there will be a time of merciful visitation for them. While we look for this, we ought to be very anxious to hasten its approach, by diffusing the glorious doctrines of the cross by all means in our power. The king of Corea may be said to have a Bible, which he at first refused to receive ; and whether he now reads it, I am unable to say ; but all the official persons about Gan-keang, and many of the common people, accepted them. The scrip- ture teaches us to believe that God can bless even these feeble beginnings. Let us hope that better days will soon dawn for Corea. August 17. — We passed many islands of every imaginable shape. The most southern, Ouel- poert, (lat. 32 0 5T, long. 126° 23',) is a charming 356 CHINA. spot. It is well cultivated, and so conveniently situated, that if a factory was established there, we might trade with the greatest ease to Japan, Corea, Mantchou Tartary, and China. But if this is not done, could not such an island become a missionary station ? Would it not be giving a fatal blow to those hateful systems of exclusion, by establishing a mission in so important a situation? I know not how far the Corean government ex- ercises control over the island; but I should think, that a missionary residing here, would be less subject to dangers than those in New Zealand, and the first harbingers of the glad tidings in Labrador and Greenland. One thing is true, these islands are not inaccessible to Christianity. CHAPTER VII, August 22. — Yesterday, we passed Sulphur island, from which great quantities of smoke were rising. This island seems to be entirely volcanic, and destitute of vegetation. We wished much to go ashore ; but the wind blew too hard, and the sea was too high to permit us to land. After experiencing sudden gusts of wind, we arrived, to-day, safely at Napa-keang, the prin- cipal anchorage of Great Loo-choo. This island has been repeatedly visited by Europeans, and has engaged the attention of the ablest writers. Soon after anchoring, we set out to go ashore, at the temple of Lin-hae. We saw several Japanese vessels in the harbour, and observed the junk returned which we had seen at Fuh- chow. Some of the mandarins immediately invited us on shore. They spoke the mandarin dialect fluently, and showed us every attention, but 358 LOO-CHOO. objected strongly to our going further than the jetty. We told them, however, that we could not converse in the midst of the water, and went up to the temple without taking notice of their objections. Surrounded by a great crowd, we squatted upon the ground, drank tea, and smoked, whilst we stated whence we came, and with what intention. They showed us a cart, left by Captain Stevens, of the Partridge , who had been here in February. We saw also the com- mencement of an English and Loo-choo dic- tionary, written in their own and the Chinese character. In their behaviour, they are friendly and polite, though very inquisitive about the China men whom we had on board ; but when they saw our wish to walk, they were highly displeased. Those whom we saw, were small in size, pleasing but effeminate in appearance. They did not hesitate to tell us lies, whenever it suited their purpose ; but they were as ready to retract what they had uttered. A faint recol- lection of the English visiters, who had formerly been here, was all that remained to them of those past transactions. The names of Captains Maxwell and Hall were almost forgotten, and Captain Beechey was only slightly remembered. We could perceive a certain distrust, and an THE LOO-CHOOANS. 359 extreme reserve, about them, which seemed to to us unaccountable. August 23. — The wind blew hard, and nobody came on board. In the afternoon, we landed near the place where the observatory had been erected, during the stay of the Alceste and Lyra , We were conducted by several mandarins to the temple, which at that time had been converted into a hospital by the humane Loo-chooans. Though not so picturesque as the description would lead us to suppose, it is indeed a beautiful place. We went to visit the grave of the sailor who had been buried there; and, for the in- formation of the natives, translated the inscription into Chinese, for which they were highly grateful. Anjah, so often mentioned by Captain Beechy, was introduced to us to-day. He spoke some phrases in Chinese; but soon recollected a few sentences of English, which he repeated very formally. He likewise was very reserved at first; but soon forgot the restrictions laid upon him, and uttered his feelings in unrestrained, and often striking remarks. They were generally so very complimentary, and so excessive in their professions of friendship, that we were at a loss how to answer all their polite observations. I distributed to-day some books among them, 360 LOO-CHOO. which they received very gladly. I pgrceived no reluctance to receive freely what we offered freely; but could plainly see, that the principal mandarins by no means wished the people to take them. August 24. — Anjah, with Tche, and an elderly mandarin, to-day made us a visit on board, the first which we have yet received. We took an opportunity of examining their language, which seemed greatly to resemble the Japanese, so far as we could compare it with Mr. Medhurst’s Japanese vocabulary. The alphabetical writing is nearly of the same form, and the letters are pronounced in the same way, with a very few exceptions. It is, therefore, not at all improbable that the Loo-chooans were originally a colony from J apan. Their present vassalage to the Chinese empire has given to the mandarin dialect a great ascen- dency amongst the officers, who converse among themselves almost exclusively in this dialect. Many of them told us that they had been edu- cated at Peking, and that the mandarin dialect was also taught in schools on the island. The majority of the people understand the Chinese characters, but do not know how to read it in the mandarin dialect. The same is the case throughout Japan. JAPANESE JUNK. 361 We received the first provisions, consisting of fruits and other vegetables. The Loo-chooans have so graceful a manner in making their pre- sents that the value is quite enhanced by it. To-day we visited the Japanese junk. The substantial canvas of the sails, the broad struc- ture of the vessel, the immense rudder, and main-mast, which is quite disproportionate, the spacious accommodations, were all objects of curiosity for strangers. Most of the sailors were naked : they were very friendly, and received our Christian books gratefully; and we should have gained much information from them, but for the interference of the Loo-choo mandarins, who were much displeased with the visit, and endeavoured by every means to get us away from the junk. They pictured the treachery of the Japanese, and the danger of our lives in becoming too intimate with them. Yet we pro- tracted our visit as much as possible, and viewed every part of the junk. We found in the Lin-hae temple a great number of mandarins, anxiously awaiting us, where they had prepared a very palatable colla- tion. They showed more good sense in their conversation to-day than ever we had observed in China. By their questions respecting the it S62 LOO-CHOO. trade which several European nations carried on at Canton, they discovered much geographical knowledge. They were able to converse upon politics with great volubility, and gave us to understand that they preferred the friendship of China to that of England, because the former was nearer to them. We do not doubt that they have received strict orders from China to keep strangers aloof, and to treat them with distance and reserve, yet they were too good- natured to confess it. Though they frequently alluded to their intercourse with China, at Fuh- chow, where Anjah had seen us this year, yet they disclaimed all intercourse with Japan, and said that those three junks from Satsuma, which lay in the harbour, had been driven hither by stress of weather. Several of their own craft were in the harbour, all built in the Chinese fashion, with a green head like the Fuhkeen junks. They entered afterwards upon religious topics. When they heard that we did not worship idols, they said, “ We also abhor this worship; those which you see here are the property of the Budhists, and we do not batter our heads against them.” This has been the general reply of many mandarins when I inquired upon this subject. DISTRIBUTION OF BOOKS. 363 They disavow practical idolatry, because their reason disapproves the theory, yet they do in fact persevere in their unreasonable wor- ship. August 25. — I had found several patients on board the Japanese junk; and therefore we set out this morning to try whether benevolence would open a free communication with that people. The patients were wasted by disease, the consequence of vice, and were very glad to receive a little assistance, for which they ex- pressed the warmest gratitude. The Loo-choo mandarins watched them more closely than yes- terday, and did not allow them even to offer us a pipe without a special permission. We gave to all the inmates who could read the Chinese character, Christian books, though the Loo-choo mandarins strongly objected to their accepting them. It was painful to see how anxious the Japanese were to conciliate our favour, and how much mortified they were when they were prevented from showing their good intentions. Whilst giving those books I earnestly prayed that they might reach Japan, to which none of our missionaries have yet had access. It is the precious word of God, which in that country also will be known ere long. I never cherish r 2 364 LOO-CHOO. great hopes from my individual endeavours, yet I humbly hope that God in his mercy will bless those remote nations by the gift of his holy gospel. It is chiefly the work of faith, but no less, therefore, the work of God. Wishing to finish our business very soon, we ■went ashore to treat with the mandarins, and while waiting for them ascended an eminence to a temple. These temples are comparatively very small, have a broad verandah around them, and large windows. We observed scarcely any idols, these being generally shut up in a small building in the back ground. The priests were always despised, yet seemed neither to want food nor clothing. They do not appear greatly addicted to idolatry, for they are too rational for this. We could never discover the reason of their objections to our distributing books among the people ; but we overcame these scruples by giving them freely to all the officers as well as to the people, and after receiving them they generally came to pay us their thanks. When- ever we gave any thing else 'privately they would gladly accept it, though they have taken the books in preference ; but every thing openly offered them was always declined. For the least thing which we gave them they offered REVERENCE FOR THE DEAD. 365 something in return, but their giving and re- ceiving was all by stealth. We tried to-day to go into the village, and, notwithstanding their extreme anxiety to prevent us, succeeded. We entered a house, or rather a temple, around which the tablets of their ancestors were very neatly arranged. We after- wards scrambled over the splendid mausoleums, which are built in magnificent Chinese style. Their reverence for the dead is very great; they decorate their silent abodes with whatever may contribute to give them a mournful appear- ance. From the food which was placed near them we concluded that they were as profuse in their offerings to the manes of their forefathers as the Chinese are. I am anxious to know how they will regard the treatise on the immortality of the soul which I gave them. August 26. — The promise which they yester- day made of sending us the provisions to-day, they kept punctually. They were liberal also in their gifts. We, on our part, had sent to his majesty the king, or rather the Che-foo of the island, a variety of presents, and among them three Bibles, which were very well received. O that the glorious gospel may enter the hearts of these amiable people, and form them for heaven! 366 LOO-CHOO. During my stay here I had an opportunity of rendering them some medical assistance, espe- cially in cutaneous diseases. The consequence was that a doctor was sent off to us to make inquiries respecting the drugs which had been used so effectually to cure them ; and with him I had a very long conversation. He was very desirous to know every particular of our phar- macology, and his inquiries bespoke much intelligence and knowledge of the Chinese phar- macopoeia. After having satisfied his curiosity, and given him the most important directions in w’riting, I presented him with some drugs. Thesfe he refused most pertinaciously, till I sent them into the boat, and told him that I could not receive them back. All my patients were very grateful for the assistance bestowed upon them, and to them I distributed a great many books, which were gladly received, because it was done in my cabin, where only a few spectators witnessed it. To-day we received an answer to our request, that the mandarins should consult whether it was advisable or not that we should petition his majesty for permission to trade. They wrote back in answer, that their country was poor, and unproductive of any thing which they could give PROPRIETY OF CONDUCT. 367 in exchange for our imports ; that besides, they had never traded with the English, and therefore this would be an innovation contrary to law ; and that from the first they had been averse from having any commercial dealings with us. To-day we dined in the Po-tsang temple. The most savoury dishes were placed, with much order and taste, upon japanned tables, and pre- sented to us in regular succession. The liquor with which they treated us was very clear, and of excellent flavour. We admired the good order and propriety exhibited in the feast, among a great crowd of spectators. Good manners seem to be natural to the Loo-chooans. After dinner we took a long walk among the hills and groves of this delightful island. We saw several women working very hard in the fields; and the peasantry appear to be poorly clad and in poor condition ; yet, they were as polite as the most accomplished mandarins. Sweet potatoes occupied the greater part of the ground, and seem to constitute the principal food of the inhabitants. While our friends were rambling, I gave books to those people who had collected in the yard of the temple. As they were not under the scrutiny of a mandarin, they secured to 368 LOO-CHOO. themselves the word of life with very great eagerness. After making an additional present of a spy-glass and watch, we departed, to their great joy ; for they had been much annoyed with our walking and entering villages, though they themselves laughed at their groundless fears* We took an affectionate leave of our kind hosts. In reviewing our intercourse with them, I think that their politeness and kindness are very praiseworthy. They are, however, by no means those simple and innocent beings which we might at first suppose them to be. Upon inquiry we found that they had among them the same severe punishments as at Corea ; that they possessed ar$ns likewise, but are averse to use them. The Chinese tael and cash is current among them, but very scarce ; their manufactures are few and neat ; their houses and clothes are always kept clean. They are certainly a very diminutive race ; and every thing which they possess or build, seems pro- portionably small. While the Japanese regard them with the utmost contempt, as an effeminate race, we will freely acknowledge that they are the most friendly and hospitable people which we have met during all our voyage. DEPARTURE FROM LOO-CHOO. 369 August 30. — After three days’ sailing, v/e per- ceived Botel Tobago, bearing north, in lat.£l° 40'. A very heavy sea and frequent showers of rain made this day one of the most gloomy which we have experienced. September 5. — Entered Kap-sing-moon, after groping our way in a dark and stormy night. God has always protected us amidst the greatest and most imminent dangers, and his name be praised to all eternity ! Mr. L. and myself went immediately to Macao, where Dr. Morrison received us very kindly into his house. RELIGIONS OF CHINA. The tie which unites the visible with the invisible world, which reaches over the distance between man and God, is religion. It is the most precious gift of God to men : by it, a world of wickedness is preserved from that de- solation, which would be the immediate con- sequence of the absence of all true religion from the earth. But the name of religion has been often given to systems of mere falsehood and delusion ; in which the adoration of the Supreme Being has been neglected for the service of his creatures ; and by which man, instead of being “ brought nigh,” has been more estranged from God. In our view of the religions prevalent in China, we lament that this last remark is too applicable to them. It is important, in the first place, to ascertain how much -of the patriarchal religion has been retained. Few records of the belief of the ancient Chinese remain. We can A v- * RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 371 trace, however, in them, a primeval adoration of. one Supreme Being, under the name of Shang-te. We believe that Teen, or Hwang- teen, was adored as the great God and benefactor of mankind. The sacrifices made to Shang-te seem to have been in imitation of those which Noah and his progeny offered ; yet to determine precisely how far the true knowledge of God influenced the Chinese to worship him, as the only fountain of all light and grace, is at this distance of time impossible. Though there are some passages in the Shoo-king and She-king, which allude to the omniscience and omnipotence of the Supreme Being, there are others more numerous, which induce us to believe, that idol- atry gained ascendency at a very early period. We fully, believe, that the sacrifices which the Chinese sovereigns, in ancient times, offered to •Shang-te, were in imitation of that patriarchal institution, by which every father of a family was its priest also ; but, at the same time, we regret 'that many sacrifices are mentioned, which were by no means instituted to honour the Su- preme Being. Yet we believe that the records which have come down to us were greatly and purposely mutilated by the transcribers, and even modelled according to the prevailing 372 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. customs of later ages. Even the commentators on the “ Five Classics,” have often explained away divine truths in them, and substituted their own errors as the genuine sense of the passages. Antiquity has always been the model to which the Chinese classic writers refer. We are there- fore led to think, that some sufficient cause must have induced them to retrace their steps to for- mer ages, and to admire there those things of which they considered their own age destitute. The rude simplicity of their ancestors seemed principally to attract admiration ; they contrasted it with the hypocrisy of their own times, where they found nothing to praise ; but the golden age of ancient days was all perfection. Though they undoubtedly overrate antiquity, yet this is an honourable testimony in favour of the supe- rior morals which resulted from even the partial maintenance of the true religion ; a religion, founded on the revelations which God made to the progenitors of mankind, and which was spread as far as the migration of their posterity extended. We can, however, by no means plead exemption from barbarism for Chinese antiquity. Before the times of Yaou and Shun, (2200 years before Christ,) they lived in holes and caves, wore garments of skins, and devoured the raw RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 373 flesh and the blood of animals. Their social order was not yet established, their dead were left unburied, a prey to wild beasts, and no written character facilitated communication. Such is the description which the Chinese authors themselves give. We doubt not that this picture of wretchedness is too highly coloured, in order to set off the merits of the emperors Yaou and Shun. From the time of Kang-foo-tsze, (Confucius,) a new era begins. He reduced the traditions of antiquity into a system, added his own opinions, and became the moral as well as poli- tical lawgiver of his country. His writings abound in quaint sayings, striking aphorisms, practical observations, and most useful lessons to promote order and social happiness. The theory of good government is here exhibited in all its varieties. He lays particular stress upon filial piety, as the source of all political prosperity. We admire the subordination which he every where inculcates. We praise the prac- tical tendency of much that he recommends. A system like his could never have become the prevailing doctrine of so many ages, to so many millions of his countrymen, if there had been no excellency in its foundation, and no 374 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. adaptation to usefulness. The opinions of the greatest philosophers of the western world have been forgotten, or are kept in remembrance only by a few scholars ; but the Confucian system is studied to this day, by many millions of people, as the only rule of conduct, and the best theory of good government. But is this system there- fore perfect ? In looking through the pages of Lun-yu , a work which records the principal sayings of Confucius, we observe a studied silence on the existence of God, on our duty towards him, and on the worship of this adorable Being. In vain we look for the doctrine of the immortality of the soul ; in vain for a description of the future state ; in vain for a system of ethics which inculcate humility as a virtue most acceptable in the sight of God. Even the Chung-yung, which hints at one great truth, man’s insufficiency to become truly virtuous, blends the natural heaven with the Creator of heaven, and often applies to the former what belongs exclusively to the latter. The Con- fucian maxim is : revere the gods of the land ; pay them your respects by offering stated sacri- fices ; treat them all with distant politeness ; discharge your duty to mankind in general, and RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 375 ' your relations in particular. The mind of Con- fucius was so much engrossed with the things of this world, and with the necessity of esta- blishing human happiness by human laws, that he entirely lost sight of the most important duty of man — gratitude towards his Creator and Preserver. His peculiar care was bestowed upon form , and the material part of man : he never pretended to enter the spiritual world, or to speak of their future destiny — “ Where, amid the wide ethereal, All the invisible world shall crowd ; And the naked soul surround With realities unknown.” As soon as he has described the ceremonials of the funeral, respecting the grave which in- cludes those corruptible remains, and the idola- trous sacrifices at the tombs, he then ceases to speak. Beyond the threshold of mortality all is darkness : not even the idea of eternity enters his mind.* We do not call him an atheist, though many of his present followers are such; for his allusions to a superior power are often very plain ; but his ideas are very confused, * His followers, “ The Confucian philosophers,” according to a writer in the Chinese Repository, “ anticipate no future state of existence at all.” 376 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. and he constantly confounds materialism with incorporeity. The principle of the reciprocate action of Yin and Yang, light and darkness, heaven and earth, the male and female principle, occurs constantly. He thus explains the pro- creation of all things by the process of nature in its generating system, and reasons away the primary cause, by confounding it with the effect. We have a perfect pantheism in the Chinese system of constituting heaven (Teen,) and earth (Te,) the gods, by which all things are made and maintained. To account for an overruling Providence, which is visible even to a heathen mind, Confucius formed, or improved the system of the Yih-king, which represents the manifold changes in nature, as w’ell as in the affairs of the world, as produced by the mutual action of all the elements and principles of the visible world, in strict imitation of the principles of Yin and Yang. We do not triumph in the gross aberration of unaided human understanding, in order to enhance the value of the true religion ; we wish, on the contrary, to ascribe all due honour to God for sending a man like Confucius, and his most celebrated follower, Meneius, to so large a nation as the Chinese. Whatever is RELIGIONS OF CHINA. praiseworthy in his system, comes from God, the source of all wisdom ; and all which is evil, is the product of man’s corrupt heart. The numerous followers of Confucius could have known God; yet “ they neither glorified him as God, nor were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened : professing themselves wise, they became fools.” Instead of correcting erroneous notions respecting the Deity, they have even wandered so far as to deny his existence. It is true, that Tae-keih, an existence before the creation of the universe, is loaded with creative epithets in one respect, as bringing forth, uniting, and preserving all the parts. It works in conjunction with Le, reason , which is deified as self existent. But while they maintain these theories, their minds actually plunge into atheism, or gross idolatry. They are callous to all which concerns man’s supreme happiness, and are real Epicureans in the world. Bent on the enjoy- ment of this life, their only sphere of happiness, they disregard every thing which does not immediately contribute towards their earthly welfare. But when death arrives, which cuts off their prospects, they often throw themselves into the arms of a Budha or Taou priest, whom 378 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. they had heretofore treated with the utmost contempt. There is, strictly speaking, no state religion. The Confucians are latitudinarians ; yet there are certain rites prescribed which must be observed by all who are in the service of the government. The emperor himself very solemnly worships heaven and earth (Teen-te); the provincial go- vernors, the gods of the land (Shay and Tseih), with all the spirits presiding over the elements ; the queen of heaven (Teen-how), who, with Lung-wang, rules also over the sea; the god of war (Kwan-te); and, above all, Confucius, and the gods of literature. The worship of their ancestors is observed by the literati with far greater strictness than by the common people. Thus we meet atheism in league with polytheism, and both in opposition to true religion. It would be unjust to assert that all the man- darins and Confucians are equally ignorant or depraved. There are certainly many who discern some glimmerings of light ; but the major part still go on in this course of mental perversion. Their fears and hopes terminate with this life, and the spring of all their actions is self-interest. And yet China, as a nation, claims the nearest affinity to heaven ; it is heaven upon earth — “ the RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 379 Celestial Empire .” They have endeavoured to model their government after nature, and the laws of the visible heavens. Even their military standards and royal palaces are supposed to have resemblance to celestial objects. With the son and vicegerent of heaven at their head, the Chinese claimed, as a religious right, inter- ference with the governments and states which disobeyed the decrees of heaven. They punished them, they extirpated them, as a warning against all future attempts to subvert heaven’s laws. Even at the present time we have instances where they confound the laws of heaven with the sordid intrigues of their own government. It is a most extraordinary fact, that a nation “ without God in the world” should claim what no other nation on earth presumes to arrogate — to stand in heaven’s stead in these terrestrial regions ; yet this is one article of the Chinese religious- political creed. Laou-tsze, the founder of the Taou sect, was a contemporary of Confucius. His metaphysics are far more subtle than those of Confucius, their tendency is less practical, and hence they have fewer votaries, and are understood only by the higher order of Taou priests. Though they are much less perspicuous than the Confucians, yet 380 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. they speak of a future state ; they glance at the existence of a Supreme Being, and urge the human mind to the practice of virtue by notions drawn from a future state of existence. Yet they do not exclude, but inculcate idolatry. The San-shing, or three precious ones in heaven , has evidently reference to the mystery of the Trinity, of which tradition has found its way even to China. The Yuh-hwang, or Shang-te, the su- preme emperor and most honourable in heaven ; Pih-te, the northern emperor; Hwa-kwang, the god of fire, and a whole train of lares, penates, and other inferior gods, demonstrate sufficiently, that without the aid of divine revelation, we never know the only true God. Their Taou, reason , or the essence of all reason, and the fountain whence all reason flows, coincides in many respects with the logos of the Platonic school. We do not pretend to exhibit here all the absurdities which are so amply detailed in the works of this sect. We consider the Taou sect as the mystics of the heathen world in China. The birth of their founder is related as a miraculous event. He lived a retired life, and clothed his doctrines in subtle, and often unin- telligible language. We find there a system RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 881 of demons and of demoniacal agency; a de- scription, or rather some hints of the state of a human being separated from the body; control of the passions as the most worthy object of our care, and the direct way to felicity. Alchemy employs the researches of their most celebrated priests; animal magnetism, which has made so much noise in Europe, is known to those who are farthest advanced in their doctrines, and is often shamefully abused. They pretend to pos- sess the liquid which confers immortality ; they impose upon the common people, and always act with a very mysterious air. Lofty in pre- tensions, and nice in their speculations, they hunt after phantoms, and lose themselves in the abyss of uncertainty. Budhism, a foreign religion introduced about seventy years after Christ, is far better adapted to the common people, and has therefore the most numerous followers. The system of idolatry which this doctrine enjoins is very gross, but the idols are not obscene. Consistent Budhists are atheists. While they tolerate idolatry in every shape, and adopt every known idol, they reduce the whole universe to a self-existent machinery, which moves without the intervention of any agent. Every particle of this great universe is 382 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. an emanation from the vast vacuum, into which all visible things will gradually be absorbed. The souls of men and of beasts continually transmigrate till they arrive at the highest pitch of tranquillity, the summit of happiness — to be swallowed up in nonentity. Budha, with his numerous disciples, have trodden this path before, and have safely reached the vacuum, and his true disciples now ought to imitate them. Their gods are as numerous as human invention can make them. Above the thrones are the San-paou-fuh, or the three precious Budhas ; the goddess Kwan-yin, who nourishes all things; the holy mother, or queen of heaven ; and name- less other "deities, which deform the monstrous system. The moral precepts of their religion are very minute, and some of them are excellent. To subject passion to reason, and to curb the lusts, appear to be the object at which they aim. Their forbearance to take life in any case is carried to extremes. The way which they mark as the shortest that leads to happiness is, perfect silence, utter apathy of feeling, and entire cessa- tion from thought and action. As soon as a man ceases to be man by becoming as unfeeling as a stone, he enters the portals of happiness. Their paradise in a future world is a splendid garden, RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 383 with trees of gold, and birds of the same among the branches, singing in perpetual melodious strains. Sweet odours impregnate the air of this celestial region ; nectar flows in the rivers ; and eternal day excludes the night. But their Tar- tarus (hell) is the haunt of unspeakable misery. The condemned are strangled, sawn asunder, boiled in caldrons, frozen, and in other ways tormented, till they arrive at a new metempsy- chosis. Their monasteries, nuns, and friars, are very numerous ; their priests generally very ignorant; their system despised by every one, but maintained for want of a better. Budhism is the refuge of all when this world is receding, and the horrors of death oppress the guilty soul. Its literature is in verse. The present dynasty seems to have supported the authority of the Lamas. As the Monguls are much attached to this creed, which is either Budhism, or varies very slightly from it, it forms a part of the Chinese policy to support the influence of the Thibetian Grand Lama, whose authority may prove a check to the wild inha- bitants of the steppes (plains) of Central Asia. The Chinese national festivals are numerous, and nothing can exceed the splendour and clamour with which they are celebrated. Their 384 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. gods are then visited, their temples decorated, their future destiny consulted. The feast of the tombs, and the birth-days of gods and heroes, constitute numerous occasions of mirth and fes- tivity, which a nation so sensual as the Chinese demand for the gratification of their appetites. These pastimes begin with offerings of burning incense, and prostrations to the gods, and end in revelry, drunkenness, and gambling. Their gods are treated with the odour of the viands placed before them, while they themselves consume the more substantial part. To venerate the dead, and to keep up an affectionate remembrance of the worthy who have gone before us, is the duty of every mortal ; but to offer sacrifices to the manes of their ancestors, and to prostrate before the tablets created to their memory, is a gross idolatry. This is the universal practice in China ; the law enjoins such idolatry; Confucius taught his dis- ciples to serve the dead as they would serve the living; and he who omits this sacred duty, is stigmatized as the veriest wretch in existence. So general degradation in religion, makes it almost impossible that females should have their proper rank in society. They are the slaves and concubines of their masters — live and die in RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 385 ignorance — and every effort to raise themselves above the rank assigned them, is regarded as im- pious arrogance. We should not mention this under the head of religion, did not Confucius designate to females an inferior station, and use every argument to render them mere cyphers in society. Taouism and Budhism join in this endeavour, so destructive to social and human happiness. As long as the mothers are not the instructors of their children, and wives are not the companions of their husbands, the regene- ration of this great empire will proceed very slowly. Astrology, divination, geomancy, and necro- mancy, prevail every where in China. Though some of these practices are forbidden by the go- vernment, yet the prohibitions are never carried into effect. The Chinese wear amulets, have tutelar deities, enchanted grounds, &c. all the offspring of blind superstition. We lament the deep degradation of human nature in a nation endowed with sound understanding, and no wise destitute of reflecting minds. We, at the same time, cannot avoid noticing their general apathy towards all religious subjects. They are reli- gious, because custom bids them be so. Forms and ceremonies are the whole which occupy 386 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. their minds, their hearts scarcely ever participate in any religious worship. That the doctrines of Confucius have greatly contributed to form the national character in this respect, is doubtless the fact. With him every thing is form, and the outward ceremony is worship. Earthly pursuits fill the whole mind of a Chinese ; to gain money, to obtain honour, to see his name propagated in his offspring, are the objects for which he con- stantly strives. When he has gained his end, he relaxes in energy, and calmly enjoys his felicity. He dreads death as the destroyer of all bliss, and frequently builds splendid temples to avert the indignation of the gods on account of his ill- gotten gain. There are few exceptions to this general assertion, that, in religious matters, the Chinese are among the most indifferent people on the earth. In the writings of the Chinese sages, we may see a fair specimen of the degree of knowledge in natural religion, to which the human mind may arrive without the aid of revelation. Phi- losophers in Europe, and even missionaries in China, have endeavoured to make them speak the language of a heathen acquainted with Chris- tianity. The ancient writers, their commentators, and the literati of the present day, would not RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 387 even understand the sentiments which are as- cribed to them. The most simple truth of Christianity, which even a deist acknowledges, is unintelligible to a Chinese mind, void of any other ideas except those drawn from their own classics. We may here exclaim with St. Paul, “ Where is the wise ? where is the scribe ? where is the disputer of this world ? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” In the enumeration of the different religions which are known in China, we ought to mention the Jews and Mohammedans. The former are said to have entered China under the dynasty of Han, two hundred years before Christ. They have diminished in number, and at present pos- sess only one synagogue, at Kae-fang-foo, the capital of the province Honan. The little which we know of them, rests upon the authority of Gozani, a missionary; we have never met with any, nor with any allusions to them in the Chinese books, from which we might infer their existence. The Mohammedans are more numerous ; in the western provinces bordering on Mohammedan s 2 388 RELIGIONS OF CHINA. countries, there are great numbers. They are distinguished from the Chinese heathen only by their abstinence from certain meats, and by dis- claiming idolatry. In this latter article, how- ever, they are not so rigid but that they conform occasionally to the common ceremonies of their countrymen. CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. Christianity, that heavenly gift, has been graciously bestowed on many nations. The first disciples were deeply imbued with zeal for the conversion of the world ; and so long as the Holy Spirit actuated them, Christianity was ex- tended. Congregations sprung up among most of the nations known at that time to the civilized world ; but we have no account that the truth of the gospel penetrated as far as China. After- wards, when the church was rent by the disputes of cold-hearted orthodoxy, and the Nestorians were persecuted by the other parties, many sub- jects of the Roman empire, who confessed this creed, fled to Persia, or went from Armenia to the regions of the “ inaccessible Caucacus. ” From hence they promulgated their faith among the Tartars of those extensive steppes, which 390 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. form a barrier to the Chinese empire. That Christianity should thus have found its way to China is by no means incredible ; and seems to be probable from some remarks of the early tra- veller, Marco Polo, who frequently mentions the Nestorian heretics, whom he met as well in Tartary, as in other parts of Asia which he visited. Some missionaries from the Syrian churches of Hindostan or India might also have entered China. This the Jesuits strive to prove from a Syriac inscription, found at Se-gnan-foo, in Shense province. Though we rather doubt the authenticity of much of this inscription, we do not consider it improbable that some Chris- tian missionaries entered a country, to which teachers of heathenism were invited from Hin- dostan. The silence of the Chinese historians on so important an event, tends not at all to discredit the supposition ; for on that ground, we might as well deny, that popery ever entered China, during a later period, because their annals scarcely mentioned the fact. The coincidence of many pagan rites with the ceremonies of a cor- rupted Christian church, makes us firmly believe, that Christianity in a most corrupt form, was once known to a few individuals. It was after- wards blended with Budhism and Taouism, CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 391 tincturing some of the tenets of those systems. That most lamentable state, into which many inhabitants of the Caucacus have fallen, who were formerly Christians, is an example corroborative of the truth of our conjectures. But the efforts of the Nestorians to extend Christianity could be but feeble ; their ignorance prevented them from proclaiming the whole gospel ; they mistook a mere acceptance of their creed for living faith ; they taught ceremonies instead of pure and un- defiled religion, and the traces of such missionary efforts must necessarily have been soon effaced. When the Christian world had to contend with the almost irresistible torrent of Mohammed- anism, nothing could be done for China, except by the isolated efforts of Nestorians. The em- pire of the Monguls was afterwards extended over a great part of Asia, under the banner of the celebrated Gen-ghis-khan. China was sub- jected to the sway of the grandson of this great warrior, Cublai, or, as the Chinese call him, Hurih-peih-lee, (1296.) The Monguls in the west soon came into contact with the Europeans, who were threatened with invasion. Pope Inno cent IV. therefore sent them an embassy (1246) to persuade the Mongul emperor, Kayer-khan, to become a convert. Visionary as such a scheme 392 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. might appear, it was worth the trouble to try to accomplish by persuasion what arms could not effect. Though the message was then rejected with disdain, yet the western Mongul rulers of their unwieldy empire soon were forced to re- quest the aid of the crusaders to repel the impe- tuous assaults of the Mohammedans, the enemies both of heathens and Christians. Several am- bassadors passed between the grand Khan and Saint Louis, then on a crusade. This mutual friendly understanding emboldened Louis to send Rubruquis, a Capuchin friar, to the grand Khan to attempt his conversion. Though all these efforts proved abortive, the attention of Europe towards this distant land, which now began to bear the name of the empire of Katay, was constantly kept alive. The authentic, though marvellous accounts published by Marco Polo, of his travels in this empire, which were after- wards confirmed by the reports of the royal Armenian traveller, Hayton, greatly roused the spirit of discovery to explore this wonderful country. From the moment when the Portuguese found the way to India, a new era begins. They had scarcely taken Malacca when they sent several ships to China (1517), to form a treaty of com- CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 393 merce. After many reverses they established themselves at Macao (1537). We see now issuing forth from all the Roman Catholic countries of Europe, a host of mission- aries to convert China. Amidst so great a variety of character were men of great talents, fervent zeal, and exemplary patience, together with many stupid, bigoted, and worldly-minded labourers. Though all the orders vied with each other in taking a large share in missionary labours, none could send so able agents as that of the Jesuits; for they had the superintendence of schools in Europe, they possessed a deep knowledge of human nature, and always selected proper agents for the work or trust to which they were deputed. It would be very uncha- ritable to condemn them all ; the grace of God must have been stronger in the hearts of some than Jesuitism. Should we not believe that their cheerful endurance of sufferings, yea, of death, was founded on better principles than blind and headstrong adherence to superstitious tenets? We leave this to the Judge of the world to decide, whilst we humbly hope that their unwearied zeal will find many imitators among Protestant missionaries, who, with simplicity and truth in their hearts and lips, will show greater s 3 39* CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA* fervour and wisdom in proclaiming the glo- rious gospel, than their predecessors did in propagating the legends of saints, and establish- ing the ceremonies of the Romish church. Francis Xavier, the man who first attempted to enter China, surely possessed a warm heart, and a mind patient to endure all sufferings for the cause which he had espoused. When dying in the sight of that land for which he had prayed so earnestly, he left to his followers his zeal and perseverance for imitation. That he has been canonized and deified was no fault of his ; he was a most extraordinary man, but only an instrument of the Lord ; and his name had been better buried in oblivion on earth, while written with glowing letters on the book of life in heaven. The Portuguese, always anxious to promote the tenets of their religion, had established several ecclesiastical dignitaries in India, as well as at their new-founded city, Macao. Alexander Valignan, Superior-general of the missions of India, who resided at Macao, expressed his deep regret that so large a country as China should not be enlightened by Christianity. Subsequent events show that his zeal, though misguided, was sincere. The success of his efforts to sur- CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 395 mount forbidding obstacles proves that ardent zeal, coupled with perseverance, may effect the most difficult enterprises. What would have been the glorious result if these men had pro- moted the kingdom of Christ, instead of extend- ing the dominion of the pope ; if they had taught the word of God, rather than the commandments of men ! Alexander Valignan chose the most able men for the establishment of the mission in China. M. Ruggiero and M. Ricci, by stratagem and by the greatest sacrifices, gained a footing in China, and the latter persevered to the last. To zeal and prudence well balanced, he joined a thorough knowledge of the religion which he promulgated, and acquaintance with mankind. He was well versed in the mathematical sciences, and knew' how to insinuate himself into favour. His acquisitions in the Chinese tongue are truly astonishing, for he wrote with classical elegance on several subjects, and discussed philosophy and religion. He was abundant in resources, and seemed at no loss how to put down his inveterate enemies, who appear to have been numerous. Canton province was the first scene of his labours ; thence he removed to Keang-se, and afterwards settled at Nanking, whither 396 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. multitudes of people came to hear him, and to admire his talents. Presents to a large amount opened the way for him to Peking. He had every where made converts, but he laboured no where with so great success as at the capital. Even several mandarins believed his doctrines, and the number of converts increased daily. There is still extant a confession made by can- didates for baptism, before they received the ordinance. It is very probable that Ricci drew it up. We cannot perceive that lively faith in the Saviour constitutes the marrow of these con- fessions. It is a renunciation of idolatry, without a reception of the “ faith of the Son of God” as the only preservative against it. Among his most illustrious converts was Paul Syu, a minister of the cabinet. This man was constant in his profession, and became an able defender and supporter of the Roman Catholic creed. Having received this religion from con- viction, he maintained it against all the assaults of its enemies ; while he valued its doctrines, he showed a superstitious regard for its ministers. His youngest daughter, Candida, improved upon the zeal of her father. During these abundant labours of Ricci, others of his fellow-labourers had entered into the harvest. For these she CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 397 obtained permission to stay ; she protected them against the extortions of the mandarins ; she herself founded thirty handsome churches in different parts of the province. The province of Keang-nan alone contained ninety churches, forty-five oratories, and three kinds of congre- gations. The missionaries translated into Chinese, “ Reflections upon the Evangelists “ Scholastic Summary of St. Thomas “ The Commentaries of Borodius with sundry lives of saints; all together, one hundred and thirty volumes. These she printed at her expense. Alas ! the pure gospel, without comment, was never published. The lives of saints were dis- tributed to the people, but not the life of the adorable Saviour of mankind. Not satisfied with common means to propagate the doctrines of the church, she persuaded some blind persons, who stood at the public places, and told fortunes, to preach the tenets of popery, instead of con- tinuing to impose upon the credulity of the people. She ordered them to be properly in- structed for this purpose. When they had sufficiently exhorted their auditors, they bade them repair to the missionaries. After having received the most distinguished marks of imperial favour, and bestowed upon the embellishment 398 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. of altars, and for the relief of the poor, the orna- ments presented her from the emperor, she died, the most celebrated patroness which Romanism ever numbered in China. Agatha, a female of equal rank, and wife of a mandarin who had been viceroy of four different provinces, imitated her zeal, and frequently pro- tected the teachers against the attacks of fanatic heathen. The missionaries were desirous to introduce all the superstitions, as well as the excellent institutions of their church. While they held assemblies, and instituted congregations, in honour of the holy Virgin, they had also assem- blies where the most fervent Christians meditated upon the sufferings and death of our Saviour ; a meditation worthy of all Christians. The unconquered zeal, which prompted them to hazard life in order to promote religion, cannot be entirely ascribed to bigotry. Some heavenly flame must have burned in the hearts of some individuals, else the fire would soon have become extinct. Though there is an immense rubbish of “ wood, hay, and stubble,” there will surely be found, also, some “ gold, silver, and precious stones.” The rapid progress of the missionaries drew CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 399 forth a persecution against them from the priests of Budha and Taou. Yet, as these have never much influenced government, it had scarcely any serious consequences. Their most dangerous enemies were the priests of their own religion, of the other different orders, all hostile to the Jesuits, the only order which at the commence- ment had any missions in China. Their arro- gance, cunning, and contempt of all the other orders, who were indeed very far inferior to them, procured them many most inveterate ene- mies. Even during the life-time of Ricci, their animosities broke out at Macao ; and a friar was mean enough to accuse them to the government, of a conspiracy to subvert the Chinese empire. A heavy tempest now clouded their prospects ; but it was averted by a mandarin, who arrived at Canton, and successfully refuted this calumny; but not till Martinez, a very worthy man, had been beaten to death as a traitor. Shortly after, Ricci died, (1610) lamented both by Christians and heathen. He had introduced the lax rule, of permitting Chinese converts to retain some superstitious rites in honour of Confucius, and of their ancestors, that they might the more easily be gained over: for a true Chinese will hardly part with the worship of his fathers. 400 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. This indulgence became subsequently the source of innumerable evils, and ended in the annihi- lation of very many missions. The approaching armies of the Tartars, which threatened utter subversion of the empire, caused the emperor, Wan-leih, to recall the missionaries, whom he had expelled, at the instigation of a mandarin at Nanking, who had very cruelly persecuted them. Shortly afterwards the great Father Schaal was called to Peking, in the reign of Tsung-ching, (1628.) He was a man equal in perseverance and zeal to Ricci, and superior in scientific acquirements. Towards the close of the Ming dynasty, robbers laid the country waste, and the Tartars were invited to assist the Chinese in expelling them. They readily agreed to free the Chinese from these lawless bands, but at the same time they conquered those to whose aid they had come. The adherents of the Ming dynasty established themselves in the southern provinces, and chose an emperor from the imperial family. The mother, son, and wife of this emperor, Yung-leih, were Christians, and many ladies of the court followed this religion. They even wrote a letter to Pope Alexander VII., in which they showed their submission to the church, and their gratitude for being numbered CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 401 with the holy flock. Though their influence very soon ceased — for their state was conquered by the Tartars — yet the reigning Tartar emperor, Shun-che, showed great respect towards Adam Schaal, who rendered himself highly useful as a mathematician. To him it was owing that a numerous host of missionaries were invited, who spread them- selves into all the provinces. Among them, was Father Verbiest, a man who subsequently gained so great renown. At the death of Shun-che, a persecution shook the Christian churches in all the provinces : even Schaal was imprisoned, and sentenced to death. However, he triumphed over his enemies, gained the favour of the new emperor, Kang-he, to whom he had been appointed instructor, and died esteemed by all parties. Verbiest trod in his steps, ingratiated himself at court, and accommodated himself still more to the usages of the Chinese. The perse- cutions had ceased, and a number of French Jesuits entered China, among whom were Ger- billon, Tachard, Bouvet, and Le Compte. When the emperor heard of their landing at Ning-po, he sent for them, and made several of them the constant companions of his joys and his troubles. These men filled up the place vacated by the 402 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. death of Verbiest, (1688,) on whom hereditary nobility had been conferred, for his services rendered the emperor. But their enemies also never slept. Scarcely had the conflict ceased between the Pope and the king of Portugal, respecting the investiture of bishops, when the viceroy of Chi-keang province raised against them a fiercer persecution than any which they had previously suffered. He insisted upon enforcing all the old edicts against Christianity. So-san, a powerful minister of state, vigorously expostulated against it. At first, he received no answer; and the viceroy grew more furious in his persecutions ; pulled down the churches, imprisoned the members, and seized on the preachers. After long petitioning, the mis- sionaries succeeded in obtaining a favourable edict from the emperor, who, notwithstanding the murmurs of the tribunal of rites, showed himself their protector and friend. From this moment, Roman Catholicism began to triumph. The Jesuits built a splendid church within the palace, which drew upon them the denunciation of the imperial censors ; but they were not dismayed, so long as they possessed the imperial patronage. Unhappily for the progress of their doctrines, another dispute broke out, between CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 403 the Jesuits and Dominicans, which threatened the entire extirpation of Christianity. The old questions were revived, whether the worship at the tombs, and the honours bestowed on Con- fucius, and the adoration of Teen, were not real idolatry? An unbiassed mind would have answered, Yes; and would have added, that the denomination Teen, heaven , was understood as the material heaven ; for most of the Chinese have no idea of an invisible world. Yet the Jesuits found, that if they acted on these rigorous rules, they would lose all which they had gained with so immense trouble, and there- fore connived at these superstitious rites in their converts. Even the holy father, and his legate Tournon, who had come to China expressly to settle these disputes, could not succeed. The Jesuits maintained their ground, while their opponents contested every inch with them. Finally, Mezzabarba arrived in China, (1720,) and issued the strictest orders to discontinue all superstitious worship and rites ; but as no one wished to yield, the matter was never adjusted. The death of Kang-he put a stop to all these contentions : the most flourishing congregations were very soon scattered ; for Yung-ching, who succeeded to the throne in 1722, was the 404 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. declared enemy of Christianity, and persecuted it systematically. Upon an accusation brought before the viceroy of Fuhkeen province, the missionaries were banished from the country, and their churches were condemned to be de- molished. In vain they struggled to protect their numerous congregations, which had spread through all the provinces : their intrigues, their prayers, and all their endeavours proved ineffec- tual. From other persecutions the churches had recovered; but this was a death-blow. The missionaries continued to enter the country secretly, and to promote their religion by means of native teachers. Yet the congregations were always decreasing; and when the order of the Jesuits was abolished, there wrere no men of great talent, who could maintain the respecta- bility of a teacher at court. Though some missionaries always resided at court, as mathe- maticians and artisans, yet they were too closely watched, to make any progress in the work of teaching religion. Keen-lung, who ascended the throne in 1736, was far better inclined towards Europeans ; yet reiterated persecutions disturbed the peace of the Christians, and rendered the most ardent endeavours of the missionaries abortive. CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 405 Notwithstanding the many marks of private regard which Keen-lung showed them, they remained, as a sect, exposed to the caprice of the local mandarins, who often persecuted them with great fury. After the coronation of Kea-king, (1795,) the successor of Keen-lung, the missionaries had far more to suffer ; for he hated Christianity more bitterly than any of his predecessors had done. The sufferings of many were most into- lerable. Many congregations were again pagan- ized for want of teachers ; others were dispersed, and only a few could maintain themselves. An imprudent act of making maps of the empire, from which to decide their contentions respecting the sphere of their operations, roused the cruel monarch to the highest pitch of jealousy. He punished the author, and endeavoured by every means to repress the efforts of the missionaries. Since the accession of the present emperor, Taou-kwang, (1821,) nothing serious has be- fallen the Christians. They have been tolerated, but not encouraged. The number of missionaries now sent from Europe, is comparatively small. The French send the largest number; the Ro- man “Propaganda” next; the Spanish recruit their missions in Fuhkeen province from Manilla. The Portuguese were permitted to maintain a 406 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. mission at Peking, while the French claim Se-chuen as their sphere. Till this day, the Italians, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, keep up expensive establishments at Macao, in order to maintain their missions in the interior. Taou- kwang has never denounced Christianity ; he has rather connived at it silently ; but has never showed any predilection for it, or wish to know its doctrines. Protestant nations for more than a century had reaped the benefits of trade with China, before attempting to bless her in return by introducing the gospel. This heavy debt which pressed upon them, was either unthought of, or they imagined it useless to attempt any thing while the country was shut against foreigners. The example of the Catholic missionaries showed facts in opposition to such opinions. If they could penetrate China, if by perseverance they had gained access to all the provinces, why should Protestants despair, without one trial, of an enterprise like this ? As soon as the God of all grace had moved the minds of his people, in Great Britain, to send abroad the heralds of salvation, China was also remembered. But it was so late as 1807, when the London Missionary Society sent the CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 407 first messenger of peace to this benighted country. They found in Dr. Morrison, a man eminently fitted for the great work. He had an ardent desire to serve his Saviour, and perseverance to continue the labours which his zeal for the salvation of souls had projected. Under the guidance and help of his Lord, who graciously protected him from numerous enemies, he studied, without being discouraged, the Chinese language, which offers great difficulties to the student ; and has translated the Holy Scriptures, a work which the Roman Catholic missionaries, during their labours for more than two hundred years in China, had never executed. His ap- pointment of translator to the British factory in China, secured to him a place not so much exposed to the malice of his enemies. He com- pleted also a dictionary under the patronage of the East India Company, the directors of which defrayed the expenses of publication. This will always remain a standard work, and has already been one of the most effectual means of paving the way for others to acquire the lan- guage. In the year 1813, a second labourer arrived. Dr. Milne, a man of great piety and talent, reached Macao, from which he was driven away 408 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. by order of the Portuguese government. He subsequently visited Java and Malacca, at which latter place it was finally resolved to fix a station. This has been eminently blessed by becoming the depository of numerous tracts and Bibles, which have been distributed all over the Indian Archipelago, and in some parts of China. A college has also been established here, by the munificence of Dr. Morrison and other persons who took an interest in the welfare of China. The object of this institution was to teach the English language to Chinese, and the Chinese to European and other students, and that both may be benefited by religious and scientific knowledge. It has greatly aided the cause of Christianity, and has assisted many Europeans to acquire the Chinese language, while it has also constantly in- structed some Chinese lads both in their own and the English language. Numerous schools were established ; new labourers arrived ; and though Dr. Milne sunk into the grave, after the most judicious and persevering exertions for the dif- fusion of Christianity, others carried on the work undismayed. Collie, at Malacca, as a scholar, and Medhurstat Java, as a scholar and labourer, will always rank high as Christian missionaries. Other stations were established at Rhio, Batavia, CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. 409 Singapore and Penang; finally, a mission to Siam was undertaken and will be maintained.* At the present time it appears probable that our great Lord and King will shortly open the door to China. Though many true Christians may consider that this is not soon to be expected, we are of a different opinion; although conver- sant with the almost insurmountable obstacles which oppose, we humbly trust that an Almighty hand will remove them. The authority of our Saviour, who is exalted above all principalities and powers, and has received all power in heaven and earth, whilst * The American churches have also taken up the cause of China. Messrs. Bridgman and Abeel were their first mis- sionaries. Mr. Stevens has also arrived at Canton, intending to preach to the European and American seamen at that port, and also to prepare himself for missionary labour among the Chinese. Messrs. Tracy and Williams have just sailed from America on the same benevolent enterprise. Mr. Bridgman has a lithographic press, which he is using in printing scrip- ture-sheet, and other tracts. He has also contemplated publishing an edition of the Chinese Bible, at the expense of American Christians. The labours of these zealous mis- sionaries have been recently encouraged by a grant of three thousand dollars from the American Bible Society, and of two thousand dollars from the American Tract Society. And several private individuals, in America, have cheerfully pled ge themselves to Mr. Gutzlaff, to supply his whole demands of medicines and books, to be distributed by himself for thed temporal and spiritual welfare of the Chinese. T 410 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA. he has given his promise that the earth shall be filled with his knowledge, warrants to us the happy issue of every endeavour made in his name to promote his eternal glory. We would earnestly beseech Christians at home, to send out new labourers, filled with the Holy Spirit, imbued with humility, willing to suffer and to die for the great cause. There is nothing im- possible with God. A soul fully penetrated with his eternal love, and living in constant communion with Him, knows the extent of the divine promises, which never mention impossi- bilities. O, we wish to see such labourers in the vineyard ! If the Romish missionaries could brave the dangers of penetrating into the heart of China, under the auspices of some tutelar saint, how much more may we, by trusting the living God, who created heaven and earth and all the powers therein ! It is our earnest wish, our constant prayer, our feeble endeavour, to convince our fellow Christians, that China is not inaccessible to the operations of missionaries. JOURNAL OF A Uopage along tfjc (Coast of (Ct)ina, FROM THE PROVINCE OF CANTON TO LEAOU-TUNG IN MANTCHOU-TARTARY ; 1832-33. t 2 .. . JOURNAL OF A THIRD VOYAGE ALONG THE COAST OF CHINA, &c. After much consultation with others, and a conflict in my own mind, I embarked in the Sylph , Capt. W. commander, and A. R., Esq. supercargo, Oct. 20th, 1832. The Sylph was a fast sailing vessel, well manned and armed. She had to beat up against a strong north-east monsoon, and to encounter very boisterous weather before reaching her destination, Teen- tsin and Mantchou Tartary. From the moment we left Macao roads, we had to contest our whole course against wind and current. Furious gales, accompanied with rain and a tremendous sea, drove us several days along the coast, threatening destruction to our barque. But God who dwell- eth on high did not forsake us ; and though often engulphed in the deep, his almighty hand upheld 414 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. our sinking vessel. Only one Lascar was swept away ; we heard his dying groan, but could lend no assistance. It was a dark, dismal night ; we were thoroughly drenched with water; horror hovered around us. Many a wave swept over our deck, but those which dashed against our poop were really terrible ; three of them might have sunk us. October 26th, we lay to under a double reefed sail, and then ran into Ke-seak (Ke-shih) bay, on the east coast of Canton province. The har- bour is lined with rocks. The coast is bleak and studded with granite ; the interior is very fertile. Many villages and cities are visible from this place. We were soon visited by the fisher- men, a boisterous and rough sort of people. In exchange for their fish, we gave them rice, but they were never satisfied with the quantity. Per- ceiving, however, that the barter yielded them a great profit, they brought vegetables, and of- fered themselves as brokers. Although this was an imperial naval station, they were by no means frightened by the presence of his Majesty’s offi- cers. They received my books gladly, frequently repeating their thanks, and promising to circulate them far and wide amongst their friends. In this voyage I was provided with a choice stock WELCOME FROM THE CHINESE. 415 of books, three times the number which I had in the preceding voyages. During the night the wind subsided, and for the first time we enjoyed repose. The next evening we visited Kap-che (Ka-tsze), a little to the east of Ke-seak. Here I was hailed by my friends, who called me their townsman, and expressed their delight in seeing me come back again. Books were in great demand, and the genuine joy in receiving them was visible in every countenance. I had been here a few months before, and travelled through many a village with the word of God in my hand. It had drawn the attention of many, and the in- terest now manifested was truly encouraging. The weather becoming gradually fair, though the wind was contrary, we were able, by tacking, to advance slowly. When we passed Namao (Nanaou) in Fuhkeen, we saw occasionally largg villages and cities along the coast, at which we could only gaze, and were obliged to put into Lae-ao (Nae-aou) bay. This is in the northern part of Fuhkeen, lat. 26° N. ; and long. 120° E. ; a very excellent harbour, and almost land- locked. Anxious to proceed on our voyage we weighed anchor early next morning. The inhabitants in the neighbourhood who had 416 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. never seen a ship, came off in boats, but being rather distrustful they kept aloof. When I hailed them they approached nearer and nearer, but by the time they came along-side, we had already got under way. Tendering a book to an intelligent looking man, he was at first sur- prised at the strange gift, but then turning to his countrymen he read it aloud. Their attention was instantly drawn towards him : other requests were made, and within a few minutes the ship was surrounded by clamorous applicants. The Captain was beckoning them away and loosened the painters, but they clung to our tackle and declared, “We must have these good books, and will not move without them.” Such determina- tion had the desired effect ; I gave them freely what they so earnestly craved, and they went away exulting. November 8th, we put into Pih-kwan, on the frontiers of Chekeang, in lat. 27° 11'; long. 120° 22' E. This harbour is spacious, and by changing the berth, affords shelter against all winds. Here we visited several junks which were on their way to Shang-hae. When books were offered to the crews, they refused to ac- cept them, upon the plea of having nothing to give us as an equivalent ; and upon hearing CHARACTER OF FUHKEEN FISHERMEN. 417 that they might receive them as a present, they made many bows, and said that they took them upon credit. Innumerable native craft are always seen ply- ing about, as we approach the emporiums of Keangnan and Chekeang. These coasters seem to be an aquatic race, preferring the briny ele- ment to the comforts of the shore. Of all the Chinese fishermen, which is a very numerous class of people, the natives of Fuhkeen are the most enterprising and daring. The greater part of the Chinese coast is visited by them; they brave all dangers for a scanty livelihood, and suffer the severest hardships to return to their families with five dollars after the toils of a whole year. Want and their lawless inclinations have frequently converted them into pirates ; even at this moment they are the terror of the whole Chekeang coast. We had now (Nov. 15th) reached Keang-nan ; the winds were variable, and a month after our departure we saw the promontory of Shantung, and were beating towards Mantchou Tartarv. It was now a year since I had been there ; we landed at Fung-ming, a place to the south of Kae-chow. Some Shantung emigrants, which here constitute the most numerous part of the t 3 418 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. population, were quietly walking along the shore, when they saw “these strangers” start up to view. Instead of being startled they looked very gravely at us, and after having satisfied their curiosity in regard to our origin, they went on with their work. We had had a long conversa- tion with the owner of a house, who had posted himself right in the way to prevent our entering his dwelling. I now thought it high time to make them a present of some books. When they found that I really intended to give these to them, they changed their tone, became friendly and hospitable. We entered their hovels, of which the oven constituted the principal part, and, in fact, seems to be the drawing-room, bed, and kitchen. Pigs, asses, and goats lodged in an adjoining room very comfortably. Our host had provided a quantity of fuel from the stalks of the cotton plant, which grows here very abundantly. He had a very numerous and healthly family of children dancing with de- light about the strangers. Every body was well dressed in seven-fold jackets and skins, and seemed also to be well fed ; for the country abounds in all the necessaries of life, and has abundance of produce for exportation. When we left the people, now grown more familiar PROSPECTS OF USEFULNESS. 419 with us, they pressed forward to receive the word of eternal life, and were by no means deficient in compliments and thanks for the precious gift. A few hours afterwards we arrived in the bay of Tung-tsze-kow, in lat. 39° 23’ N., long. 121° 7' E., where we found a large fleet of junks, bound to the southern provinces, but now lying at anchor. They were all loaded with Mantchou produce. The people on board seemed open-hearted, and answered our ques- tions with great frankness. Their unanimous advice was, not to proceed farther to the north, because we should there meet with ice. — I can bear witness to their readiness to receive the tidings of salvation. Though their utter ig- norance of Christianity opposed a strong barrier to their understanding our brief conversations, yet the books will speak to them at leisure. They may be only partly perused, or even some of them may be thrown away; yet many a tract and Bible will find readers, and impart knowledge necessary to the salvation of the soul. Filled with these thoughts we visited the valleys and hills around the bay. Very few traces of idolatry were visible in their houses ; we saw only one temple dedicated to 420 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. the queen of heaven, with the trophies of her saving power hung up — some junks in minia- ture. A few blind men were the overseers. We found here a very intelligent people, who made rational inquiries of us, and who also read our books. — Nothing struck them so much as the construction of a watch. The fine calico of our shirts, and the broad cloth of our coats, also struck their fancy very much ; but for their want of money they would have bought these at a high price. The valleys along this coast present an alluvial soil. In no part of the world perhaps does the sea recede so rapidly and constantly as in Leaou- tung and Pih-chih-le. Every year adds to the land some fertile acres, and makes the navigation more dangerous. We walked along an estuary which runs a considerable distance into the country. Large flocks of goats were browsing upon the remnants of grass which the retiring autumn had left. The people were much fright- ened when they saw us entering the villages ; many of their houses were very bare and com- fortless. I here learned, to my great surprise, that the people had become apprehensive that we were about introducing Roman Catholicism. Though I explained to them the wide difference STRIKING OF THE VESSEL. 421 between our respective tenets, they shook their heads and began to disbelieve my statement. The people in the junks, however, were all attention, and gladly received the gospel. We had, from an eminence, a full view of the adja- cent country. None of the existing charts gives a correct outline of the coast ; the south-western extremity does not run out into a promontory, but ends in a bluff headland, about a degree in breadth. Many islands are scattered along the coast, but the water is shallow, seldom exceeding ten fathoms. On the 28th of Nov., we arrived in the roads of Kae-chow. Upon examination, we found it impracticable to anchor so close in shore as to protect us from the strong northerly gales ; we therefore bore away for Kin-chow and the Great Wall. Whilst we were anticipating the plea- sure we should experience in beholding this ancient structure, we ran upon a sand-bank, which was entirely unknown to all of us. The ship knocked very heavily upon a hard sand bottom, and our apprehension both of losing keel and rudder, and of springing a leak, were by no means groundless. Backing the sails and throwing part of the cargo overboard, proved ineffectual to set us off ; the vessel settled in 422 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. the sand, and remained immovable. The next morning a fierce north wind blew from the ice- fields of Kamtchatka down the bay; the water decreased, the ship fell over on her beam-ends, and all our Lascars were disabled by cold from doing any work. During these hours of peril, our almighty God consoled our hearts so that we were enabled to remain cheerful, and to hope and pray for the best. After having failed in all our efforts to get her off, a party of volunteers was made up, and departed for Kae-chow to procure assistance from the mandarins. The land was more than twenty-five miles distant, the cold most intense, and we had thirteen helpless Lascars in the boat. Entirely covered with ice, we arrived at a head- land and were received most humanely by some fishermen and a priest, but found no mercy before the mandarins. One of the Lascars was frozen to death, the others were on the verge of eter- nity. Never did I so well understand the 28th chapter of Acts ; we also were received into cottages, and a fire was kindled to thaw our clothes. Whilst we were on shore endeavouring to hire some lighters, the ship got off by the in- terposition of God, who had ordered the south SEVERITY OF THE FROST. 423 wind to blow, thus driving up more water upon the bank. His name be praised to all eternity — for we were very near utter destruction. I had afterwards an interview with a Mantchou officer of high rank ; even he, though a hea- then, ascribed our escape to “ supreme heaven.” When we returned to the ship, we again ran the risk of perishing with cold ; for the north wind rose on a sudden, and the cold became so intense that every thing congealed. Dec. 3d, our ship was coated inside as well as outside with solid ice. After several hours of labour we succeeded in getting up the anchor, and took a speedy farewell of these dismal re- gions. At our re-entering Tung-tsze-kow bay, we saw a great number of junks at anchor. We were hailed by the kind natives, who procured for us provisions and fuel, which the mandarins had promised, but had never furnished. The absence of their rulers rendered them more friendly ; they did every thing in their power to oblige, and showed themselves worthy of our trust. There is here a great field for Christian enterprise. The inhabitants show much sound understanding, and are free from that degrad- ing superstition which reigns in southern Asia. Though every grove and high place was full 424 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. of idols and images, and every eminence adorned with a temple, the people were not utterly en- slaved by superstitions. In their habits and behaviour, they appeared very much like our peasantry : some of their farms were in excellent order, and plenty reigns everywhere. — Kae-chow city, which we visited, is situated about ten miles in the interior, surrounded by a high wall, and thickly inhabited ; it is a place of extensive trade, but the houses are low and ill-built. The Chinese colonists, which are by far the most numerous part of the population, are very in- dustrious ; whilst the Tartars live at their ease, and enjoy the emoluments of government. I consider Mantchou Tartary as a very hopeful field for missionary enterprise, and humbly hope that it will soon attract the notice of some Society. Unable to remain any longer in these northern latitudes, we bore away for Shantung. How- ever, as we there found the cold rigorous, we steered for Shang-hae, in the southern part of Keangsoo province. Though keeping about eighty miles distant from the shore of Keangnan, we nearly ran upon a bank of the Yellow River. It is very apparent, that the immense sand-flats of Keangnan extend a great distance from the low coast ; but this coast, as well as the greater RESCUE OF SHIPWRECKED CHINESE. 4 25 part of Shantung and Pih-chih-le, is entirely unknown to any European navigator. We ar- rived (December 11th) near the entrance of the channel, which leads between shoals and sand- flats to the Woo-sung river, on which Shang-hae is situated ; here we were detained for three days by contrary winds. The air was darkened, and the storm raged throughout the dismal days and nights. The motion of the ship was very great, the sea dashing violently against her weather-side. When at last the thick clouds cleared away, and the sun shone out in his lustre, the sea still running very high, we perceived a junk in dis- tress. She had lost both her masts and anchors, and was drifting like a log upon the wide ocean. Several Chinese vessels were in our neighbour- hood, but only one approached her, and after per- ceiving her helpless state, bore away with one of her crew. It was time now for us to retaliate in the Christian way ; for when we were in distress, nobody came to save us, and we had now an excellent opportunity of executing Christ’s com- mands in Matt. v. 44. We manned a boat and ran along-side, but were nearly swamped by the huge waves. The crew, twelve in number, stretched out their hands for assistance, and 4 26 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. with piteous cries intimated their dangerous situation. The first thing which they handed to us, was an image of the queen of heaven, the patroness of Chinese navigators. At this extraordinary instance of heathenish delusion, I grew impatient, as we had not a moment to lose ; I called to them, “ Let the idol perish, which can neither save itself nor you.” We snatched up four men into the boat and re- turned towards the ship. The idol was drowned, but all the men were saved. As soon as they reached our ship, the captain of the junk fell on his knees before Mr. R. the supercargo. We directed him to adore the true God, and render him thanks for deliverance. When we had saved their clothing, and a small part of their cargo, the water had almost risen between decks, and we set fire to the vessel. After many reverses, having entered the Woo- sung river, we drew up a memorial addressed to the principal magistrate of Shang-hae district, and delivered the Chinese, who were natives of Tsung-ming island, to his care. We had im- mediately an interview with admiral Kwang, the naval commander of this station ; he was very friendly, made numerous inquiries respecting Mr. L. the supercargo of the Amherst , and URGENT DEMAND FOR BOOKS. 427 offered his services for our accommodation. During the time which we staid in the river, or lived at Shang-hae, I had frequent opportunities of visiting those places where I had been six months ago. The people appeared even more friendly than before. In the villages, they in- quired whether I had brought new books with me, and were eager to obtain them. After dis- tributing a few, the demand grew more urgent, so that I could scarcely show my face in any of the villages without being importuned by nu- merous crowds. Most joyfully did they receive the tidings of salvation, though still ignorant of the glad message, “ To you is born a Saviour.” — As it is a custom with them to expose their dead near their houses, they are constantly reminded of their mortality. The mandarins never directly interfered with my distributing books or conversing with the people. After having issued the severest edicts against having any commercial dealings, they gave us full permission to do what we liked. When they saw that their inflammatory placards had not the desired effect, they changed their tone, praised our conduct in rescuing twelve Chinese, but gave also their paternal advice to the people, to have nothing to do with the 428 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. barbarians. Meanwhile an imperial edict had arrived, enjoining the officers to treat us with compassion, but not to supply us with rice or water . They acted up to the letter of these peremptory injunctions, but sent great quantities of live-stock, flour, &c., aboard, with the sole condition of not paying for them. As we were rather short of provisions, we accepted their stores. This central part of China is very fertile, being a continuous plain of a black, loamy soil, well irrigated by numerous ditches and canals. The population is immense, and if we ought to judge from the numerous children which we saw, it is on the increase. Shang-hae appears to be the greatest emporium of the empire. We found there more than a thousand junks moored opposite the city, and others were arriving when- ever the weather permitted. We may call it the gate of central Asia, and especially of the central provinces of China. During the time we re- mained in the port, (from Dec. 25th, 1832, till Jan. 5th, 1833,) though it is situated in latitude 31° north, the weather was rather severe, the thermometer seldom rising above 33. Jan. 5th we sailed from this port, shaping our course for Cha-poo, a harbour on the north DESCRIPTION OF CHA-POO. 4 29 coast of Chekeang, in lat. 309 3 7'. Until you come to the high lands which form the har- bour of this city, the whole coast from the Yel- low River is very flat, and scarcely visible even with the ship close in to the land. The sea is everywhere receding from the land, so that the flats formed along the shore, which are dry at low water, constitute a barrier to the whole coast, and are gradually becoming arable soil. We tried to reach the shore a few miles north of Cha-poo, but even our jolly-boat got aground, and we must have waded more than a mile through the mud, before we could reach the shore. But from Cha-poo the country becomes hilly, with undulating ridges, and continues so for a long distance, with little variation. Cha-poo is the only place from whence the imperial monopoly with Japan is carried on. It has a tolerable harbour, with considerable over- falls. The rise and fall of the tide is very great, so much so that the smaller junks are left high and dry at low water. Together with its suburbs, the town is perhaps five miles in circuit, built in a square, and intersected by numerous canals, which are connected with the Hang-chow river. Nothing can exceed the beautiful and pic_ turesque appearance of the surrounding region. 430 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. We may say, that as far as the eye can range, all is one village interspersed with towering pagodas, romantic mausoleums, and numerous temples. The adjacent country is called the Chinese Arcadia ; and surely if any territory in China is entitled to this name, it is the tract around Hang-chow and Cha-poo. It seems that the natives also are sensible of their prerogative in inhabiting this romantic spot. They have tried to improve upon nature, and have embellished the scenery with canals, neat roads, plantations, and conspicuous buildings. We found nowhere so much openness and kindness as among them. Their intelligent inquiries respecting our country were endless, and they seemed never satiated with our company. When we first landed, an armed force was drawn up along the shore. The soldiers had match-locks and burning matches ready for a charge. A Tartar general had placed himself in a temple to superintend the operations. Being accustomed to the fire of Chinese batteries, which seldom do hurt, and knowing that their match- locks cannot hit, we passed the line of their defence in peace. The soldiers retreated, and the crowds of people in the rear being very dense, a great part of the camp was overrun INTERCOURSE WITH THE CHINESE. 431 and pressed down by the people, so that the tents fell to the ground. After this outset, nothing disagreeable occurred ; we were at full liberty to walk abroad and converse with the people, and were only occasionally troubled with the clamorous entreaties of some officers. But after an interview with a messenger from the Lieutenant Governor at Hang-chow, (a very sen- sible, courteous officer,) and several other man- darins, we came to an understanding. In one of our excursions I took a box of books with me. We had visited a temple upon a high hill which overlooks all this populous region. The temples might be called elegant by the Chinese, if the abominations of idolatry did not render such an epithet inapplicable. When I took the books out of the boat, and handed a copy to a man of respectable appearance, he read aloud the title, and all at once the crowd rushed upon me, hundreds stretching out their hands to receive the same gift. Within a few minutes the store was exhausted, but the news spread with great rapidity. We saw the people sitting for six hours together on the brow of a hill opposite to which our vessel was lying at an- chor. As soon as they saw us approaching near to the shore, they ran down the hill with great 432 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. velocity, grasped the books from my hands, and sped towards their friends in the surrounding villages. If ever our Christian books have been read with attention, it was here at this time. We took a wide range in the adjacent country, and were really astonished at the general know- ledge which these silent preachers had spread. — Let us not boast of such an extraordinary instance of the diffusion of knowledge, nor deny to curiosity her full share in this stir; yet after all this, the gospel must be said to have flown here on eagles’ wings. We leave the result to God, and wish to revisit those places, not to exult selfishly in the great changes which may have taken place, but to praise our Redeemer, that he has given to these millions the means of knowing the way of eternal life. January 14, we changed our station and came to anchor under an island. The curiosity to see the ship was greater here than at our former place, and being less embarrassed by the pre- sence of the mandarins, we were able to live more quietly and to extend our intercourse with the people. A temple built on the island under which we lay, is very spacious, and presents a real labyrinth. The whole island is picturesque, and appears to have been designedly chosen on this EXTENT OF EDUCATION. 433 account. We saw here an edict posted up, for- bidding the possession of arms on any account, and threatening decapitation to all who dared to disobey this regulation. The priests had for a long time been desirous to get hold of a few Christian books, but when they could not obtain them, they almost wept for disappointment ; I had previously landed on the opposite shore, where I was surrounded by multitudes, who did not cease importuning me till they had gotten every book out of my hands. There were very few individuals who could not read, so that we may entertain the well-founded hope, that even the smallest tracts will be perused to advantage. We enjoyed the society of the natives very much. Combining intelligence and cordiality, they lost no opportunity of showing their friendship, or of making pointed inquiries. What a field for missionary exertion do they present ! Their hearts are open to the impression of truth, and their doors for the reception of its messengers. We humbly trust in the wise government of God, (which can defeat all the restrictive laws of the most crooked policy,) that the doors to these parts will be soon thrown open. Though it was now winter, and often severe weather, the country to the south-west presented u 434 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. the most attractive views. From a temple, which being imperial had a gilded spire, we used to look down upon the surrounding valleys. With the priest, a very cunning man and a fine pat- tern of Chinese politeness, I had a very long conversation upon religion. As soon as I touched upon some points which concerned a higher world, he was dumb. As to the religious creed of other nations, he appeared to be a perfect latitudinarian. On the 17tn of January, we got under way for Kin-tang, an island which we had visited in the Lord Amherst . The cold being very pierc- ing, some of our crew died. As the mandarins had previously taken possession of the anchor- age in the inner harbour, wre took care not to have any thing to do with them. The natives being under the immediate control of their rulers, were rather distrustful ; however they recognized me, and had great numbers of dis- eased people, of whom they requested me to take charge. The state of the poor, and in general of all the common people, is very wretched during the winter. In Europe we have firesides and comfortable rooms ; but these miserable beings can neither afford nor procure fuel. Every shrub is cut up ; every root is dug PREVALENCE OF OPHTHALMIA. 435 out ; and the hills, which in other countries are generally covered with wood, are bare or only planted with a few fir-trees. To supply the want of fire, they carry fire-pots in their hands with a few coals in them. They dress in five or six thick jackets, which are stuffed with cotton, and thickened with numerous patches put upon them ; indeed, many are only patchwork, but they keep the body warm, and this is all that is required. The Chinese are generally dirty in their habits ; and the consequences both of warm clothing and uncleanliness are a great many cutaneous diseases — often very serious when they have become inveterate. It ought to be an object with a missionary who enters this field, to provide himself with large quantities of sulphur and mercurial ointment, and he may be sure to benefit many. It has always been my anxious desire to give medical help whenever it was practicable. How- ever, the sufferers are so numerous that we are able to assist only a very small portion of the number. I should recommend it to a missionary about to enter China, to make himself perfectly acquainted with the diseases of the eye. He cannot be too learned in the ophthalmic science, for ophthalmia is more frequent here than in u 2 436 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. any other part of the world. This arises from a peculiar, curved structure of the eye, which is generally very small, and often inflamed by inverted eye-lids. Often while dealing out eye- water to a great extent, and successively ex- amining the eye, I have wished to establish a hospital in the centre of the empire, in some place easy of access by sea and by land. I know scarcely one instance of a clever medical man having given himself up to the service of this distant nation, with the view of promoting the glorious gospel and the happiness of his fellow-men. There have been several gentle- men, both at Macao and Canton, whose praise- worthy endeavours to alleviate suffering have been crowned with much success. Yet we want a hospital in the heart of China itself, and we want men who wish to live solely for the cause. We went farther towards the southern parts of this island, where I began my Christian opera- tions, which were attended with ample success. We have walked over many hills, and gone through numerous valleys, carrying in our hands the sacred Scriptures, which found ready readers. Surely we could not complain of their want of politeness, for all doors were open for us, and when the people reluctantly saw that we would BENEFIT OF MEDICAL AID. 437 not enter their hovels, they brought tea out to us, forcing us to take some of this beverage. From this island we shifted our anchorage to Ke-tow point, a head-land on the main. A great many tea plantations are found here, and for the first time we have seen the plant growing wild. This district is cultivated only in the valleys; the mountains furnish a good deal of pasture, but the Chinese keep only as many cattle as are indispensably necessary for the cultivation of the fields. When I first went on shore, the people seemed distrustful of receiving the word of salvation ; some of them hinted that our books merely con- tained the doctrines of western barbarians, which were quite at variance with the tenets of the Chinese sages. I did not undertake to contest this point with them, but proceeded to administer relief to a poor man who was almost blind. He was affected with this unexpected kindness, and, turning towards me, said, “ Judging from your actions your doctrines must be excellent, there- fore, I beseech you, give me some of your books ; though I myself cannot read, I have children who can.” From this moment the demand for the word of God increased, so that I could never pass a hamlet without being importuned by the 438 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. people to impart to them the knowledge of divine things. In the wide excursions which I took, I daily witnessed the demand for the word of God. The greatest favour we could bestow upon the natives, was to give them a book, which as a precious relic was treasured up and kept for the perusal of all their acquaintance and friends. Having remained here seven days, we then departed for other parts of the Chusan group. The weather during this time was generally dark and stormy. February 4th, we arrived at the island Poo-to, lat. 30° 3', long. 121°. At a distance, the island appeared barren and scarcely habitable, but as we approached it, we observed very prominent buildings, and large glittering domes. A temple built on a projecting rock, beneath which the foaming sea dashed, gave us some idea of the genius of its inhabitants, in thus selecting the most attractive spot to cele- brate the orgies of idolatry. We were quite engaged in viewing a large building situated in a grove, when we observed some priests of Budha walking along the shore, attracted by the novel sight of a ship. Scarcely had we landed when another party of priests, in common garbs and very filthy, hastened down to us, chanting hymns. When some books were offered them, INTERCOURSE WITH THE PRIESTS. 439 they exclaimed, “ Praise be to Budha,” and eagerly took every volume which I had. We then ascended to a large temple surrounded by trees and bamboo. An elegant portal and mag- nificent gate brought us into a large court, which was surrounded with a long row of buildings — not unlike barracks, — but the dwellings of the priests. On entering it, the huge images of Budha and his disciples, the representations of Kwan-yin, the goddess of mercy, and other de- formed idols, with the spacious and well adorned halls, exhibit an imposing sight to the foreign spectator. With what feelings ought a mis- sionary to be impressed when he sees so great a nation under the abject control of disgusting idolatry ? Whilst walking here, I was strongly reminded of Paul in Athens, when he was pass- ing among their temples, and saw an altar dedi- cated “To the unknown God.” For here we also found both a small hall and an altar covered with white cloth, allotted to the same purpose. I addressed the priests, who followed us in crowds, for several hundreds belong to this temple ; they gave the assent of indifference to my sayings, and fixed their whole attention upon the examination of our clothes. It was satisfac- tory, however, to see that the major and intelligent, 41-0 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. part, of them were so eagerly reading our books, that they could not find a few moments even to look at us. The treatise which pleased them most, was a dialogue between Chang and Yuen , the one a Christian and the other an igno- rant heathen. This work of the late much- lamented Dr. Milne, contains very pointed and just remarks, and has always been a favourite book among the Chinese readers. The high priest requested an interview. He was an old deaf man, who seemed to have very little authority, and his remarks were common- place enough. Though the people seemed to be greatly embarrassed at our unexpected appear- ance, their apprehensions gradually subsided; meanwhile we had the pleasure of seeing our ship coming to anchor in the roads. Having there- fore renewed my stock of books with a larger store, I went again on shore. At this time the demand was much greater, and I was almost overwhelmed by the numbers of priests who ran down upon us, earnestly begging at least a short tract, of which I had taken great quan- tities with me ; I was very soon stripped of all, and had to refuse numerous applications. We afterwards followed a paved road, dis- covering several other small temples, till we VISIT TO A TEMPLE OF BUDHA. 441 came to some large rocks, on which we found several inscriptions hewn in very large letters. One of them stated that China has sages ! The excavations were filled with small gilt idols and superscriptions. On a sudden we came in sight of a still larger temple, with yellow tiles, by which we immediately recognized it as imperial. A bridge, very tastefully built over an artificial tank, led to an extensive area paved with quarried stones. Though the same architecture reigned in the structure of this larger building as in the others, we could distinguish a superior taste and a higher finish. The idols were the same, but their votaries were far more numerous ; indeed this is the largest temple I have ever seen. The halls being arranged with all the tinsel of idolatry, presented numerous specimens of Chinese art. These colossal images were made of clay, and tolerably well gilt. There were great drums and large bells in the temple. We were present at the vespers of the priests, which they chanted in the Pali language, not unlike the Latin ser- vice of the Romish church. They held their rosaries in their hands, which rested folded upon their breasts ; one of them had a small bell, by the tinkling of which their service was regulated; and they occasionally beat the drum and large 442 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. bell to rouse Budha to attend to their prayers. The same words were a hundred times repeated. None of the officiating personages showed any interest in the ceremonies, for some were looking around, laughing and joking, whilst others mut- tered their prayers. The few people who were present, not to attend the worship but merely to gaze at us, did not seem in the least degree to feel the solemnity of the service. Though we were in a dark hall, standing before the largest image of Budha, there was nothing impressive ; even our English sailors were disgusted with the scene. Several times I raised my voice to invite all to adore God in spirit and in truth, but the minds of the priests seemed callous, and a mere assent was all which this exhortation produced. Though the government sometimes decries Budhism as a dangerous doctrine, we saw papers stuck up, wherein the people were exhorted to repair to these temples in order to propitiate heaven to grant a fertile spring; and these ex- hortations were issued by the emperor himself. What inconsistency ! This temple was built during the time of the Leang dynasty, several centuries ago, (about a. d. 550,) but it has undergone great repairs ; and both under the last and present dynasties STATE OF THE BUDHIST PRIESTHOOD. 443 has enjoyed the imperial patronage. It was erected to emblazon the* glorious deeds of the goddess of mercy, who is said to have honoured this spot with her presence. On the island are two large, and sixty small temples, which are all built in the same style, and the idol of Kwan- yin holds a prominent station among her com- petitors. We were told, that upon a spot not exceeding twelve square miles, (for this appears to be the extent of the island,) 2000 priests were living. No females are allowed to live on the island, nor are any laymen suffered to reside here, unless they be in the service of the priests. To maintain this numerous train of idlers, lands on the opposite island have been allotted for their use, which they farm out; but as this is still inadequate, they go upon begging expe- ditions not only into the surrounding provinces, but even as far as Siam. From its being a place of pilgrimage also the priests derive great profits. Many rich persons, and especially successful captains, repair thither to express their gratitude and spend their money in this delightful spot. For this reason the priests have large halls and keep a regular establishment, though they them- selves live on a very sparing diet. We never saw them use any meat ; few are decently dressed ; 444 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. and the greater part are very ignorant, even re- specting their own tenets. We saw many young fine-looking children, whom they had bought to initiate them early into the mysteries of Bud- hism. They complained bitterly of the utter decay of their establishment, and were anxious to obtain from us some gift. To every person who visits this island, it appears at first like a fairy land, so romantic is every thing which meets the eye. Those large inscriptions hewn in solid granite, the many temples which appear in every direction, the highly picturesque scenery itself, with its many-peaked, riven, and detached rocks, and above all a stately mausoleum, the largest which I have ever seen, containing the bones and ashes of thousands of priests, quite bewilder the imagination. After having examined all the localities, we endeavoured to promulgate the doctrines of the gospel. Poo-to, being a rendezvous for a nu- merous fleet of boats, gave us great facility in sending books to all the adjacent places. Nor were the people very slow in examining us and our books. When their minds were satisfied upon the subject, they became excessively cla- morous for Christian books. At first I had brought my stores on shore, but finding that the APPLICATION OF PRIESTS FOR BOOKS. 445 great crowds bore me down and robbed me of every leaf* I entered into a boat and sat down, while multitudes of boisterous applicants were on the shore. They now waded and even swam in order to get near me, and carried off in triumph the precious gift. Thousands and thousands of books have thus been scattered, not in this place only, but they have found their way into the provinces, for some persons took them purposely for importation. He who oversees and directs all, will send these harbingers of sal- vation with eagle-swiftness to all parts. In order to satisfy my mind respecting found- ing a depository for Scriptures and tracts in one of the temples, I took my station in the great hall which leads into the large temple. At this time I had taken the precaution of guarding my back by the wall, that I might not be thrown down by the crowd. Within a few minutes the priests thronged around me. Though they were urgent, they behaved politely, and begged, almost with tears, that I would give them a few tracts. How joyfully did they retire with the books under their arms ! Thus we passed many days here, and the de- mand for the word of God, not indeed as such , but as being a new doctrine, increased daily more 446 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. and more. We afterwards visited several other islands belonging to the Chusan group, which teemed with inhabitants. There are less ob- stacles here to the promotion of the gospel than in many islands in the Pacific. They are far more populous, and their inhabitants are very thriving people, noways deficient in natural understanding. English vessels visited them occasionally, during the last century, but they have never been accurately known by any Euro- pean navigator; therefore we took the trouble to explore them as far as circumstances would permit. The great Chusan has high towering hills, and splendid fertile valleys, some of which are alluvial ground. There are perhaps one million of inhabitants. Besides other places on its coast, we visited Sin-kea-mun, a fishing vil- lage, with a harbour sheltered from all winds, but the very seat of iniquity. The natives here crowded on board ; they wanted books, and in- sisted upon having them ; my great stock being almost exhausted, they offered money and be- sought me not to send them empty handed away. On one occasion I had taken some on shore; several sailors acted as my safe-guard, to prevent my being overpowered by the crowd. We ran for a long distance to escape their importunity, DESCRIPTION OF SH1H-POO. 447 but finally they overtook us, and I was literally plundered. Those who gained their point, re- turned shouting, whilst the others left me with a saddened heart, and uttering reproaches that l had not duly provided for their wants. For days I have been solicited, but I could not satisfy the craving desire. I promised to return with a larger supply, and hope that God will permit me to re-enter this sphere. After staying a considerable time on the coast of Seang-shan, on the main, we reached Shih-poo, in latitude 29° 2', on the 1st of April. I can scarcely do justice to this place, delightfully situated as it is at the bottom of a bason, having one of the best harbours in the world, entirely formed by the hand of God. Hitherto the weather had been very boisterous and cold, a thick mist filling the air. We had been weeks without seeing the sun ; even in March, and in this latitude, we had storms. But now the spring was approaching, the wheat fields stood in the blade, and the blossoms of the peach-trees perfumed the air. To ramble at such a season surrounded by such scenery is true enjoyment, and draws the heart powerfully towards the Almighty God. The mandarins had now given up the principle of disturbing us from mere 448 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPH. jealousy, and they will perhaps never try to interfere with us any more. So fruitless have been all their attempts to deter us from any inter- course with the natives, that the more they strove to effect their purpose, the more we gained our point, and the readier we were received by the natives. We delayed some time on the coast of Full- keen. We arrived at a time of general scarcity; the greater part of the people were living upon sweet potatoes, dried and ground ; for the revo- lution, or rather rebellion, in Formosa, had prevented the grain-junks from bringing them the customary supplies from that island. Some of the poor peasants lived upon the ears of the green wheat, roasted and boiled like rice. This scarcity had given rise to piracy and highway robbery. We spent some time in a village inha- bited by pirates, but received no injury. Not- withstanding all these disasters, the Fuhkeen men are the same enterprising class which they have been for centuries, engrossing all the trade of the coast. We look for the time when they will be brought to the obedience of the gospel, and become the medium of communication with all parts of China. I had here also an oppor- tunity of scattering the light of divine truth, KIN-MUN. 449 though on a smaller scale, for we staid only a short time. In our excursions we examined Kin-mun, a large island to the north of Amoy harbour. Here were immense rocks piled upon each other, just as though done by human hands. Though very sterile, it has at least 50,000 inhabitants, who are enterprising merchants or sailors. Several places of considerable importance we may be said to have discovered, for they are not known to any European else, nor were they ever visited by Europeans, if we except Jesuits. As it is not my intention to give any geographical sketches, I refrain from enumerating them. However, as our commercial relations are at the present moment on such a basis as to warrant a continuation of the trade all along the coast, we hope that this may tend ultimately to the introduction of the gospel, for which many doors are opened. Millions of Bibles and tracts will be needed to supply the wants of this people. God, who in his mercy has thrown down the wall of national separation, will carry on the work. We look up to the ever blessed Redeemer, to whom China with all its millions is given ; in the faithfulness of his promises, we anticipate the glorious day of a general conversion, and are 450 VOYAGE IN THE SYLPII. willing to do our utmost in order to promote the great work. After a voyage of six months and nine days, we reached Lintin, near Macao, on the 29th of April. Praised be God for all his mercies ^and deliverances during such a perilous voyage ! THE END, R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD-STREET-HILL,