Stanl / KNIGHT'S MISCELLANIES, THE CHINESE, NOTICE FROM THE PUBLISHERS. This work was originally published under the Superintendence of the Society for the Diffu- sion of Useful Knowledge. The present edition has received the most complete revision of the author, and is much enlarged. It is printed in this condensed fonxi that an original work of autlienticity, on the important subject of China, may be circulated at the cheapest rate. THE CHINESE: ^(J>i GENERAL DESCRIPTION CHINA AND ITS INHAtelTlNTS. By JOHN FRANCIS ^VIS, Esq., F.R.S., &€. ► ^ --.-^ LATE HIS MAJESTYS CHIEF COMMISSIONER IN CHINA. A NEW EDITION, ENLARGED AND REFISED, IN WHICH THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH INTERCOURSE IS BROUGHT UP TO THE PRESENT TIME. LONDON: CHARLES KNIGHT & CO., LUDGATE STREET. ^ MDCCCXL. r [Price Five Shillings.'] LONDON : Printed by Wiu.iam Clowes and Sons, Siamforil Street. CONTENTS. Paoe Introduction 1 CHAPTER I. EARLY EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE. China little known to the Ancients — 'Embassy from Marcus Antoninus — Nestoriau Christians — Arabian Travellers — Ibn Batuta — Jews in China — First Catholic Missions to Tartary — Travels of Marco Polo — Portuguese reach China — Previous to Arrival of Europeans, Chinese less disinclined to foreign inter- course — Settlement of Macao — Fruitless Embassies to Peking — Catholic Missions — Quarrels of the Jesuits with the other Orders — Persecutions — Spaniards — Dutch settle on Formosa — Expelled by Chi- nese — Russian Embassies 5 CHAPTER II. ENGLISH INTERCOURSE. First Trade between England and China— Forts battered— Leave to trade— Treaty of Commerce at For- mosa — Troubles at Canton— Hea^-y Charges on Trade — Amoy and Ningpo — Ten European ships at Canton in 1736 — Commodore Anson in China — Intrigues of Hong Merchants— Mr. Flint — Quarrels of English and French— Trade forbidden at Ningpa— Seizure of Mr. Flint— His Majesty's ship Argo — ThePortuguese give up an innocent Man— Chinese Maxim for ruling Barbarians— Violent Conduct of a Ship-master— Debts to the English recovered from the Chinese — Shocking Case of the Gunner in 1784— Mission and Death of Colonel Cathcart — Mission of Earl Macartney CHAPTER III. ENGLISH INTERCOURSE (conti7med). Objects and Results of the Embassy of 1793 — Affair of the Pro^-idence Schooner —American Flag hoisted in 1802; hauled down in 1832 — First Expedition to Macao — Mission to Cochin-China — Admiral Linois repulsed by China Fleet — Ladrones, or Chinese Pirates — A Chinese killed by a Sailor, who is not delivered up — Second Expedition to Macao — III Success of Admiral Drury — Interdict against Mr. Roberts, at Canton— A Linguist seized— His Majesty's ship Don's— Trade stopped by the Committee, who succeed in their objects — Mission of Lord Amherst— Question of the Kotow — Forts silenced Dy the Alceste Frigate— Cases of Homicide in 1820 and 1821— His Majesty's ship Tupnze — Trade re-opened — Fire of Canton — Failure of Hong Merchants— Discussions with Clhinese- Factory in- vaded by Fooyueu— Letter from Governor-general to Viceroy— Voyage of the Amherst — Fighting between Smuggling Ships and Chinese — Termination of the Company's Charter .... vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. ENGLISH INTERCOURSE {continued?) Opeiiing of Trade — Appointmeot of Commissioners called Superintendents — Arrival of Lord Napier — Instructed to announce liis arrival — Letter refused, and leave of residence denied — Trade stopped by Hong Merchants — Frigates pass the Batteries— Communication ■with Wliampoa shut up — Lord Napier retires to Macao — Illness and death — Succeeded by Mr. Davis — Chinese renew Commerce — Suspension of OfiBcial Intercourse — Appeal to Peking recommended — Mr. Davis retires, and is suc- ceeded by Sir George Robinson — Trade continues uninterrupted— Growth of Opium Smuggling — Captain Elliot Chief Superintendent— Hong Merchants" Debts — Admiral Maitland in China — Opium seized at Canton — A Criminal strangled before Factories — Commissioner Lin imprisons aU Europeans — Extorts 20,283 Chests of Opium — English expelled from Macao — Defeat of tsveuty-nine War-Junks — Trade with England cut off — Declaration of War CHAPTER V. GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CHINA, Eighteen Provinces of China — Comprise about twenty degrees of latitude by twenty of longitude — Extremes of Heat and Cold— Principal Chains of Mountains— Two great Rivers — The Grand Canal — Crossing the Yellow River — Great Wall— Province of the Capital — Other Provinces— Independent Mountaineers — Chain of volcanic symptoms in west of China — Manchow and Mongol Tartarj — Neighbouring and tributary Countries — Chinese account of Loo-choo — of Japan 67 CHAPTER YI. SUMMARY OF CHINESE HISTORY. Earlier history of China mythological — Three Emperors — Five Sovereigns — Periods of Hea and Shan — of Chow — Confucius — Period of Tsin — First universal Sovereign — Erection of Great Wall — Period of Han— of Three States — of Tang— Power of the Eunuchs — Invention of Printing — Period of Soong — Mongol Tartars — Koblai Khan — Degeneracy of his successors — who are driven out by Chinese — Race of Ming — Arrival of Catholic Priests — Manchow Tartars take China — opposed by Sea — Emperor Kang- hy — Kien-loong — First British Embassy — Keaking's last Will — Present Emperor — Catholic Missionaries finally discarded CHAPTER VII. GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATION. Paternal Authority, the principle of Chinese Rule — Malversations at Canton in some degree an exception to the Empire at large — Despotism tempered by influence of Public Opinion — Motives to Education — Reverence for Age — Wealth has Influence, but is little respected — Real Aristocracy official, and not hereditary— The Emperor— is High Priest— Ministers — Machinery of Government— Checks ou Ma- gistrates—Civil Officers superior to Military— Low art of War— Guns cast by Missionaries— Penal Code of China— Merits and Defects — Arrangement — Punishments — Privileges and Exemptions — Crimes — Character of Code — Testimonies, foreign and domestic, in favour of its practical results — Chinese recognise sanctions superior to absolute will of Emperor . CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. CHARACTER AND INSTITUTIONS. Chinese appear at Canton in their worst aspect — Instance of Gratitude — Good and bad Traits — Pride and Ignorance — Age and high Station most honoured — Regard to Kindred and Birth-place— Real extent of Infanticide — Physical Characteristics — Personal Appearance — Caprices of National Taste — Primitive Features — Degeneracy of Imperial Kindred — Highest Honours open to Talent and Learning — ^Absence of Ostentation — Condition of Female Sex — But one legal Wife — Marriage— Ceremonies attending it — Children — Education— Funeral Rites— Periods of Mourning. . . . . H^ CHAPTER IX. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. The New Year— Fireworks — Contrariety of Usages and Notions to our own— Festivals— Meeting the Spring— Encouragements to Husbandry — Festival for the Dead— Chinese Assumption — Ceremonial Usages— Diplomatic Forms— Feasts and Entertainments— Dinners— Particular dcscripti(m of one- Asiatic Politeness — Articles of Food and Drink— Taverns and Eating-houses — Amusements — Gambling— Conviviality— Kite-flying — Imperial Hunts — Skating at Peking 137 CHAPTER X. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS (continued.) Costume of better Classes — Absence of Arms or Weapons from Dress — Summer and Winter Costume — Paucity of Linen — General use of Furs and Skins — Sudden changes of Fashion not known — All modes prescribed by a particular Tribunal — Singular Honours to just Magistrates — Shaving and Sham- pooing — Female Dress — Chinese Dwellings — Description of a large Mansion — Tiling of Roofs — Gardens — Furniture — Taste for Antiques — Travelling by Land — Government Post not available to Individuals — Printed Itineraries — ^Travelling by Water — Public Passage-boats — Passing a Sluice on the Canal — Same practice 600 years ago 154 CHAPTER XI. CITIES PEKING. External Walls of Peking — Interior Aspect of Tartarian City— Circuit of the Imperial Wall— Southern or Chinese City — Difficulty of Feeding the Population — Dangers of the Emperor — Gardens of Yuen- ming-yuen— Occurrence there in the last Embassy— Expenses of the Court— Tartars and Chinese- Police of Peking— Efficiency of Chinese Police— Case of a French Crew murdered— Punishment of the Pirates 173 CHAPTER XII. CITIES NANKING AND CANTON. Larger portion of area within the ancient Walls of Nanking depopulated — Occurrence in the last Embassy —View within the \^ all— General similarity of all Chinese Cities— Streets and Shops at Canton — Mercantile Associations - Charitable Institutions— Clans and Fraternities — Temples— Inundation of European Factories — Contracted Limits of these — China-street and Hog-lane — Population of Canton overrated — River Population — Female Infanticide — Kidnapping Children — People of the Coast — Military of Canton— Forts at the River's Mouth— Passed by Frigates 184 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. RELIGION CONFUCIANS. Confucius — Character of his Ethics — Four Books — Five Cauonical Works — Book of Songs — Shooking, a Fragment of Ancient History— Book of Rites — Historical Work by Confucius— Fe-fti«p, a mystical Work — Resembles the Occult Numbers of Pythagoras — 'Theory of Creation — Objects of State Worship — Sacrifices— A Supreme Being recognised by the Emperor 199 CHAPTER XIV. RELIGION BUDHISM. Three systems of Religion, or Philosophy — History of Budliism — Resemblance to Poperj' — ^Temple and Monastery near Canton — Nine-storied Pagodas — Chinese Objections to Budhism — Debtor and Creditor account in Religion — Pagan and Romish Practices — Divinity of the Virgin — Budhists and Papists — Paradise and Hell of Fo — Doctrines of Budhism — Worship of F6 in China 214 CHAPTER XV. RELIGION — TAOU SECT. Laou-keun, the Chinese Epicurus — His Sect called Doctors of Reason — Degenerated into Magicians and Alchj-mists— Fragment of old Romance — ^Illustrative Tale — The Philosopher and his Wife — Origin of the Tale of Zadig — Miscellaneous Superstitions of the Chinese — Fatalists — Tale in illustration — Spells and Talismans — Belief in Ghosts — 'Lucky and unlucky Omens — Divination .... 229 CHAPTER XVI. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. Universal medium for communicating Ideas — Chinese Roots or Radical Characters — The elements of a philosophic Classification — Written and spoken Languages — Structures of Phrases — Chinese Ethics — Rules for Studj — Literary Habits -Aphorisms— Histories — Chinese account of Europe — Biographies- Code of Civil Regulations — European Translations— Their Faults 243 CHAPTER XVII. LITERATURE — (continued^. Belles Lettres— The Drama — Passion for Theatrical Exhibitions — Neglect of the Cnities — Character of Plays — Comparison with Greek Drama — Plot of a Play — Division into Acts — Analysis of a Tragedy — Poetry — Structure of Verse — Character of Poetry — An Ancient Ode — Poem on London — Romances and Novels— Outline of a Chinese Romance 258 CHAPTER XVIII. ARTS AND INVENTIONS. Chinese origin of Printing — of Gunpowder— of the Compass — Printed Books — Manufacture of Paper — of Ink— Composition of Gunpowder — Mariner's Compass — Variation of Needle — Navigation — Obst^icles to Improvement— Industrious Arts— Metallurgy— Metallic Mirrors — Carving — Silk Manu- facture — Management of Silkworms— Porcelain Manufacture — Egyptian Bottle — Lackered Ware- Fine Arts— Painting -Sculpture — Music 272 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. SCIENCES. Distribution of Human Knowledge under three heads — Union of Astrology with Medicine — Scheme of Physics — Same as in Europe formerly — Practice of Medicine — Use of the Moxa, or Cauterj- — Ignorance of native Doctors — Introduction of Vaccination by Mr. Pearson — Chemical Practice — Mercurial Prepara- tions — Science of Numbers — Geometry — Geography — Astronomy — Of Hindoos and Chinese compared Lunar Year, and Cycle of Sixty Years — Almanac — Mechanics and Machinery — Ai-chitecture. CHAPTER XX. NATURAL HISTORY AND PRODLCTIONS. Chinese Classification — Result of their peculiar Language — European Researches in China — Zoologj- Mammalia — Birds — Reptiles — Fishes — Insects — Botany — Tea-plant — Timber-Trees — Uses of the Bamboo — Dwarf-Trees — Fruits — Flowers — Geological Features — Chalky Strata nearly unknown — Abundance of Coal — Unstratified Rocks and older Strata— No active Volcanoes — Minerals and Metals . . .315 CHAPTER XXI. AGRICULTURE AND STATISTICS. Meteorology — Aimual Averages — Typhoons — Discouragements to Husbandry — Objects of Cultivation Absence of Pasture — Allotment of Wastes — Manures — Irrigation — Rice-fields — Cheap Cultivation — Popu- lation — Encouragements to it — Obstacles to Emigration — Chinese Census — Inconsistent Accounts — How- to be reconciled — Latest Census — Positive Checks — Land-tax — Revenues partly in kind — Salt-tax — Public Expenditure — Deficient Revenues — Existing Abuses CHAPTER XXII. COMMERCE. Coin of Base Metal — ^Value compared with Silver — Wliich passes by Weight — Ancient Paper Currency Pawnbroking — Interest of Money — Internal Commerce— Disadvantage of Canton for English Trade Origin of Hong Merchants — Heavy Expenses of Foreign Shipping — System of Smuggling — Opium the chief Import — Its Consumption — New Law against it — Totals of British Trade — Black Teas described Green Teas — Preparation of Tea — Spurious Green Teas — Mode of Colouring — Growth of English Tea- trade under the Company— Chinese Ports and Harbours— Eligible Points for Trade .... 359 ILLUSTRATIONS. Sketch near Canton View on Canton River The Emperor Kien-Loong Passing a Sluice Plan, Elevation, and Section of the Great Budhist High Priest . Chinese Military Station, with Soldiers Mandarin in a Sedan . Chinese Shield . Instruments of War . Punishment of Wooden Collar Small Feet of a Chinese Lady Chinese Bookseller Chinese Sepulchre Chinese Lanterns Oblations . Teacups on Stands Rice-bowl and Chopsticks Chinese Juggler . Fan and Case and Belt . Purse Summer and Winter Caps Chinese Fop and Servant Mens" Shoes Audience of Kien-Loong Husbandman Interior of Mansion . Chinese Jars and Household Ornaments Mandarin bearing Emperor's Letter Accommodation- Barge Wall ILLUSTRATIONS. Page Nine-storied Pagoda . . . . . . . . . .186 Mendicant Priest of Budha 216 Plan of Budhist Monastery near Canton . . . . . . .218 Gateway of Budhist Temple 224 Officiating Priest .......... 228 Chinese Widow fanning the Grave. ....... 232 Trading Junk 279 Cleaning Cotton 281 Teapot of Metal, covering Earthenware . . . . . . .283 Porcelain Bottle, from Egyptian Tombs ....... 289 Spectacles 294 Cooking by Steam .......... 301 Chinese Abacus. .......... 303 Axle and Pulley 308 Rice-mill 309 Chain-pump ........... 310 Bamboo Water-wheel . . . . . . . . . ,312 Garden Pavilion 313 Bridge for Foot-passengers . . .. . . . . .314 Chinese Camel Driver. . . . . . . . . .321 Fishing Corvorant ^824 Insects producing Wax ......... 326 Camellia Oleifera 328 Joo-ee, composed of Jade ......... 337 Cave of Camoens, Macao ......... 338 Mode of Irrigation .......... 345 Fishing with Birds 349 Copper Coin ......... . , 359 Cargo-boat 367 Mandarin with Opium-pipe ......... 370 INTRODUCTION. The following work owes its origin to a col- lection of notes which the author made while resident in China ; and these notes were com- piled for a reason not altogether dissimilar to the motive which a French writer alleges for an midertaking of the same kind — '• le desir de tout connaitre, en etant oblige de le decrire/' A residence of more than twenty- years '^ which terminated in the author suc- ceeding the late amiable and unfortunate Lord Napier as His Majesty's chief authority in China) has perhaps been calculated to mature and correct those opinions of the country and people which he had formed, as a very young man, in accompanying Lord Amherst on the embassy to Peking in 1816. If some acquaintance, besides, with the language and literature of the Chinese empire has not been of considerable assistance to him in increasing the extent and accuracy of his information, it must have been his own fault entirely, and not any want of opportunities and means. It is singular that no general and syste- matic work on China has ever yet been produced in this country, notwithstanding that our immediate interest in the subject has been vastly greater than that of any other European nation. At the head of travels, both as to date and excellence, stand the authentic account of Lord Macartney's Mission by Staunton, and Barrow's China, to both of which works it will be seen that reference has been more than once made in the following pages. The above authorities have not been superseded by anything that has since appeared in the course of tliirty or forty years, though the works of Mr. Ellis and Doctor Abel, the results of Lord Amherst's embassy, are of a highly respectable class, and contain much valuable information on those points to which they confine themselves. Still no general account of the Chinese emphe has ^ever issued from the English press ; and Pere du Halde's compilation has still remained the only methodised source of information on the subject. One century exactly has now elapsed since that voluminous, and in many respects highly valuable, work was first printed. A great deal has of neces- sity become antiquated, and it is not easy for any one, who is personally unacquainted with China, to separate the really sound and useful information it contains, from the pre- judice which distorts some portions, and the nonsense which encumbers others. Of the last, the endless pages on the " Doctrine of the Pulse"' may be taken as one specimen. It may be interesting to the general reader to see before him, in one view, and in chrono- logical order, most of the miscellaneous works concerning China, whicli have at different times appeared in various languages. To his original list the writer has added from the Catalogue ^ of the Oriental Library pre- sented by his venerable friend JNIr. Marsden to King's College, where a spacious room has been expressly devoted to its reception. The earliest in point of date are the Travels of Marco Polo the ^'enetian, of which a Latin ti-anslatiou was made about the year 1320, and the lirst edition appeared soon after the invention of the art of printing, in the fifteenth century. ^ 1585. Historia del gran Rejmo de la China. By J. G. de Mendoca. 8vo. 1601. Historia de las Missiones en losReynos de la China, &c. By L. de Guzman. Folio. 1617. Histoire de I'Expedition Cliretienne u la Chine. By N. Trigault. 4to. 1621. Epitome historial del Heyno de la China. By Maldonado. Svo. 1 EiblJotheca Maisdeniana, p. 172 2 The best moderu version of this work is in English, coiiiously illustrated with notes by Mr. Mars- den, -ito., lyis. INTRODUCTION, 1634. History of the Court of the King of China. From the French of IVI. Baudier. 4to. 1643. Relatione della Grande Monarchia della China. By Alvarez. Lemedo. 4to. 1653. "^'oyages du Pere Alexandre de Rhodes en Chine, &c. 4to, 1655. Brevis Relatio de numero Chiistia- norum apud Sinas. By Martini. 1659. Martmi Martinii Sinica Historia. Amst. 8vo. 1660. Theoph. Spizelii de re Literaiia Sinen- sium. 12mo. 1662. Sapientia Sinica, exponente P. Ignatio a Costa Lusitano, Soc. Jes. 1667. Sinarum Scientia Politico-Moralis. By P. Intorcetta. Folio. China Illustrata. Athanasius Kircher. Folio. 1673. Embassy from the East India Com- pany of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Chain ^ Emperor of China. By Nieuhoff. (Englished by J. Ogilby). Folio. 1679. History of the Tartars; their Wars with and Overthrow of the Chineses. From the Spanish of Mendoza. Svo. Basilicon Sinense. By Andrew Miiller. 4to. 1686. Tabula Chronologica Monarchiae Si- nicse. By P. Couplet. Folio. 1687. Confucius Sinarum Philosophus, sive Scientia Sinensis latine exposita. Folio. 1688. Nouvelle Relation de la Chine. G. de Magaillans. 4to. 1697. Nouveaux Memoires sur TEtat present de la Chine. By Louis le Compte. 12mo. 169S. Journal of Russian Embassy overland to Peking. By Adam Brand, Secre- tary of the Embassy. 8vo. 1699. Histoire de VEmpereur de la Chine {Kang-hy^. By Joachim Bouvet. 12mo. 1700. Varia Scripta de cultibus Sinarum, inter Missionarios et Pati-es Societatis Jesu controversis. Svo. ' Relation du "N'oyage fait a la Chine, sur le Vaisseau I'Amphetrite. 12mo. 1703. Arte de la lengua Maiidarina, com- 1711. 1714. 1718. 1728. 1730. 1735. 1737. 1742. 1750. 1760. 1763. 1765. 1770. 1773. 1776. 1785. puesto per el M. R. P. Francisco ^'aro. — Impreso en Canton. Libri Classici Sex (namely, the Four Books, Heaou-king, and Seaou-heo). By Pere Noel. 4to. Relation de la Nouvelle Persecution de la Chine, F. G. de S. Pierre. 12mo. Anciennes Relations de deux Voya- geurs Mahometans. Par Eusebe Renaudot. 8vo. Nouveau "\'oyage autour du Monde, avec une Description de TEmpire de la Chine. By Le Gentil. r2mo. Museum Sinicum, opera Th. S. Bayer. Svo. Description Geographique, Historique, Chronologique, Politique, et Phy- sique de TEmpire de la Cliine, &c. Par J. B. du Halde. Folio, 4 tom. Meditationes Smicse, opera St. Four- mont. Folio. Sinarum linguae Mandarinicse gram- matica duplex, par Foui-mont. Folio. Authentic Memoirs of the Christian Church in China, with the Causes of the Declension of Christianity in that Empire. From the German of J. L. Mosheim. Svo. Memoire dans laquelle ou prouve que les Chinois sont une Culonie Egyp- tienne. De Guignes. Svo. Travels of John Bell, of Antennony. 4to. 2 vols. Voyage to China and the East Indies. By Peter Osbeck. Svo. Le Chou-king, un des Livres Sacres des Chinois. Par le Pere Guabil. Svo. Lettre de Dekin, sur le Genie de la Langue Chmois. Par le Pere Amoit. 4to. Recherches Philosopbiques sur les Egyptiens et les Chinois. Par M. dePauw. 12mo. Memoire de M. D'Aiiville sur la Chine. Svo. Histoire Generale de la Chine, traduite du Tong-kien-kang-mou. Par le Pere Mailla. 12 tom. 4to. Description Generale de la Chine. Par TAbbe Grosier. 4to. IXTRODrCTION. 1797. Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China. By Sir Geo. L. Staunton, Bart. 2 vols. 4to. Memoires concemant les Chinois. 16 torn. 4to. 1798. Embassy of the Dutch East India Company to China. From the Journal of A. E. Van Braam. 2 vols. 8vo. 1804. Travels in China. By John Barrow. 4to. 1808. Voyages a Peking, &c. Par M. de Guignes. 3 tom. 8vo. 1810. Ta-tsing- leu-lee ; the Penal Code of China. By Sir George T. Staunton, Bai-t. 4to. 1813. Dictionnaire Chinois, Francais, et Latin. Par de Guignes. Folio. 1814. Memoires concernant les Chinois, rediges par Silvestre de Sacy. 4to. Marshman"s Clavis Sinica. 4to. 1815. Dictionary of the Chinese Language, in Three Parts. By R. Mon-ison. 6 vols. 4to. (Completed in 1823.) 1816. Dialogues and detached Sentences in the Chinese Language. By R. Morrison. 8vo. 1817. A Chinese Drama. Translated from the Original by J. F. Davis. 12mo. Journal of Embassy to China. By Henry Ellis- 4to. View of China. By R. MoiTison. 4to. Chinese Gleaner, Malacca. 8vo. (Con- cluded in 1821.) Sacred Edict. Translated by W. Milne. 8vo. Tchoung-young, ou Tlnvariable mi- lieu, par Abel Remusat. 4to. 1818. Narrative of a Journey in the Interior of China. By Clarke Abel. 4to. 1821. Chinese Embassy to the Klian of the Tourgouths. By Sir G. T. Staunton, Bart. 8vo. 1822. ]\Iiscellaneous Notices relating to China. By Ditto. 8vo. Elemens de la Grammaire Chinoise. Par Abel Remusat. 8vo. 1823. Chinese Moral Maxims. Compiled by J. F. Davis. 8vo. 1824. Meng-tseu, vel Mencium. Edidit S. Julien. 8vo. 1823. Melanges Asiatiques, par Abel Remu- sat. 2 vols, 8vo. 1826. Les Deux Cousines; Roman Chinois. Par Abel Remusat. 12mo. 1827. Vovage a Peking, a travers la Mongolie. Par M. G. Timkouski. 8vo. 1828. The Four Books, translated by D. Collie. 8vo. 1829. The Fortunate Union; a Chinese Romance. Translated from the Ori- ginal by J. F. Davis. 8vo. Nouveaux Melanges Asiatiques, par Abel Remusat. 2 vols. 8vo. Arte China, por J. A. Gongalves, 4to. 1830. Confucii Chi-king, sive Liber Carmi- num, edidit Julius Mohl. 8vo. 1831. Notitia Linguae Sinicae, auctore P. Premare. 4to. Diccionario Portuguez-China, por Gongalves. 4to. 1832. Cercle de Craie, Drame Chinois. Traduit par Stanislas Julien. 8vo. Chinese Repository (commenced), Canton. 8vo. 1834. Miscellaneous Papers concerning China, in Three Volumes of Royal Asiatic Transactions, 4to.. (Com- menced 1823.) Y-king, antiquissimus Sinarum Liber, edit. Julius, Mohl. 1 vol. Melanges de litterature Chinoise, par Stanislas Julien, 8vo. Blanche et Bleue, Roman Chinois, par Stanislas Julien. 8vo. The following pages being intended wholly for the use of the general reader, so much only of each subject has been touched upon as seemed calculated to convey a summary, though at the same time accurate, species of in- formation in an easy and popular way. More detailed knowledge on each separate point must be sought for, by the iew who are likely to require it, in one or other of the numerous works above named, and the Cata- logue here given may prove serviceable for that purpose. The superiority which the Chinese possess over the other nations of Asia is so decided as scarcely to need the institution of an elabo- rate comparison. Those who have had oppor- tunities of seeing both have readily admitted B 2 INTRODUCTION, it, and none more so than the Right Honor- able Henry Ellis, our ambassador to Persia, ■whose intimate personal acquaintance with China and India, as well as with Persia, rendered him peculiarly calculated to form a just estimate. The moral causes of a diflerence so striking may perhaps occur to tlie reader of the subjoined work : the physical causes consist, it may reasonably be supposed, in the advantages which China possesses from its geographical situation ; in the generally favourable climate, the average fertility of soil, and the great facility of internal intercourse with which the country has been favoured by nature, and which has been still farther improved by art. The early advancement of China, in the general history of the globe, may likewise be ac- counted for, in some measure, by natural and physical causes, and by the position of the whole of that vast countrj- (with a very trivial exception) within the temperate zone. On this point the author will repeat some observations which he long since made in another place; that "an attentive survey of the tropical regions of the earth, where food is produced in the greatest abundance, will seem to justify the conclusion, that extreme fertility, or power of production, has been rather unfavourable to the progress of the human race; or, at least, that the industry and advancement of nations has appeared in some measure to depend on a certain propor- tion betAveen their necessities and their natural resources. Man is by nature an indolent animal, and without the stimulant of necessity will, in the first instance, get on as well as he can with the provision that nature has made for him. In the warm and fertile regions of the tropics, or rather of the equinoctial, where lodging and clothing, the two necessary things after food, are rendered almost superfluous by the climate, and where food itself is produced with very little exertion,^ we find how small a progress has in most instances been made ; while, on the other hand, the whole of Europe, and by far the greater part of China are situated beyond the northern tropic. If, again, we ^o farther north, to those arctic regions where man exists in a very miserable state, we shall find that there he has no materials to work upon. Nature is such a niggard in the returns which she makes to labour, that industiy is dis- couraged and frozen, as it were, in the out- set. In other Avords, the proportion is de- stroyed ; the equinoctial regions are too spon- taneously genial and fertile ; the arctic too unkindly barren ; and on this account it would seem that industry, wealth, and civilisation have been principally confined to the temperate zone, where there is at once necessity to excite labour, and prodnction to recompense it." There are, no doubt, other important circumstances, besides geographical situation, which influence the advancement of nations : but this at least is too consider- able an ingredient to be left out of the cal- culation. J. F. D. 1 Sec the observations of Humboldt on the use of the banana in New 5^pain. THE CHINESE, CHAPTER I. EARLY EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE. China little known to the Ancients— Embassy from Marcus Antoninus — Nestorian Christians— Arabian Travellers— Ibn Batuta — Jews in China — First Catholic Missions to Tartary — Travels of Marco Polo — Portuguese reach China — Previous to arrival of Europeans, Chinese less disinclined to foreign intercourse — Settlement of Macao — Fruitless Embassies to Peking — Catholic Missions— Quarrels of the Jesuits with the other Orders — Persecutions — Spaniards — Dutch settle on Formosa — Expelled by Chinese — Russian Embassies. It is intended in tlie following pages to give sucli an account of the manners and customs, the social, political, and religious institutions, together with the natural productions, the arts, manufactures, and commerce of China, as may be deemed interesting to the general reader. The most fitting introduction to this sketch will be, a cursory view of the early acquaintance of the western world Avith the country of which we are about to treat, fol- lowed up by some notices of the more modern intercourse of Europeans, and particularly the English, with the Chinese, Antiquity aftbrds us but a few uncertain hints regarding an empire so far removed to the utmost limits of Eastern Asia as to have formed no part in the aspirations of Macedo- nian or of Roman dominion. Were a modern conqueror to stop on the banks of the Ganges, and sigh that he had no more nations to sub- due, what has been admired in the pupil of Aristotle himself would be a mere absurdity in the most ignorant chieftain of these more enlightened times. We may reasonably hope that the science and civilisation which have already so greatly enlarged the bounds of our knowledge of foreign countries may, by diminishing the vulgar admiration for such pests and scourges of the human race, as military conquerors have usually proved, ad- vance and facilitate the peaceful intercourse of the most remote countries with each other, and thereby increase the general stock of knowledge and happiness among mankind. It seems sufficiently clear that the Seres mentioned by Horace, and other Latin writers, were not the Chinese.^ This name has, with greater probability, been interjDreted as refer- ring to another people of Asia, inhabiting a counti-y to the westward of China ; and the texture, termed by the Romans serica, in all likelihood meant a cotton rather than a silken manufacture, which latter was distinguished by the name bomhycitm. There appears suffi- cient evidence, however, for the fact, that some of the ancients were not altogether igno- rant of the existence of such a people. Arrian speaks of the Sinae, or Thinae, in the remotest parts of Asia, by whom were exported the raw and manufactured silks which were brought by the way of Bactria (Bokhara) westwards. It was under the race of Han, perhaps the most celebrated era of Chinese history, tliat an envoy is stated to have been sent in A.D. 94, by the seventeenth emperor of that dy- nasty, to seek some intercourse with the western world. This minister is said to have reached Arabia ; and as it is certain that Hoti/y the prince by whom he was deputed, was the X It is noticed by Florus, that ambassadors came from the Seres to Augustus ; but Horace notices the Seres in a way which makes it unlikely they should have been the Chinese. " Nee solticitus times quid Seres, et regnata Cyro Bactra parent." 6 THE CHINESE. first sovereign of China who introduced the use of eunuchs into the palace, it may be deemed probable that he borrowed them from thence. The contests of the Chinese with the Tartars, even at that early period, are stated to have been the occasion of a Chinese general reaching the borders of the Caspian, at the time when Trajan was Emperor of Rome. The growing consumption among the luxu- rious Latins of the valuable and beautiful silk stutfs with which they were supplied through the medium of India, seems to have tempted the Emperor Marcus Antoninus to despatch an embassy to the country which was reported to produce those manufactures. The nume- rous obstacles presented by a land journey induced him to send his mission by sea, A.D. 161. Like most attempts of the kind, this appears to have been an entire failure, and the ambassadors returned from China Avithout having paved the way to a more frequent or intimate intercourse with that secluded coun- try. The Jesuits have informed us, that some of the Catholic missionaries discovered, in the year 1625, at one of the principal cities of the province Shensy, an inscription in Syriac letters, recording the first introduction of Christianity into China in the year 635, by certain Nestorian bishops, who had been driven eastward by persecutions in the Roman provinces. We are not indebted, however, to these refugees for any early account of the country. Their existence in the same pro- vince of Shensy, at the period when Marco Polo visited China, is clearly stated by that traveller, as may be seen in Marsden"s edition, page 404. To those who travelled by land from Syria, and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean, it was the easiest of access, as being the most westerly point of the empire, towards Peking ; and they were pro- bably induced to settle there, from finding it one of the most populous and civilised por- tions of China at that early period. Marco Polo, besides, states that in a city in the neighbourhood of Nanking, on the banks of the Yang-tse-Keang. there were "two churches of Nestorian Christians, which were built in 1274, when his majesty the emperor appointed a Nestorian, named Mar Sachis, to the government of it (the city) fur three years. By him those churches were established wheie there had not been any before, and they still subsist. "1 The editor justly observes, that the existence of these churches, of which no reasonable doubt can be entertained, is a curious fact in the history of the progress made by the Christian religion in the eastern or remoter parts of China. "It is remark- able," he adds, " that De Guignes, in describ- ing a religious building not far from this city, mentions a tradition that gives strength to the belief of an early Christian establishment in that quarter : ' Les Chinois racontent qu'un Chretien, nomme Kiang-tsy-tay, vivoit dans ce lieu il y a trois cents ans ; on montre encore son appartement dans la partie de Test.' " It is to the Arabs that we owe the first dis- tinct account of China, and of its peculiar institutions and customs. Their far extended conquests brought them to the confines of that remote empire ; and the enlightenment of science and literature, which they possessed in no small degree during the eighth and ninth centtuies, led many individuals among them to explore unknown counti-ies, and to record what they had seen. We possess an interesting specimen in Renaudots transla- tion from the itineraries of two Arabian tra- vellers, in the years 850 and 877. These bear internal evidences of truth and accuracy no less indisputable than those which distin- guish the relations of the Venetian ti-aveller Marco Polo ; and as they have reference to a much earlier period than even his, must be considered to possess a very high degree of interest. We can perceive a remarkable identity between the Chinese, as they are tlierein described, and the same people as we know them at the present day, although a period of 1000 years, nearly, has since elapsed ; nor can the occurrence of one or two very remarkable discrepancies be considered as any impugnment of the general veracity of these travellers, where there is, upon the whole, so much of sound and correct inform- ation. The contradictions have in fact evi- dently proceeded from some confusion in the original manuscripts, by which observations, that had reference to other countries lying in 1 Marsdeu's Marco Polo, p. 501. EARLY EUKOrEAN INTERCOURSE. their route, and which are true of those coun- tries at the present time, have become incor- joorated with the account of China itself. These Arabians describe a city called Canfu, which was probably Canton, at which place a very ancient mosque exists to this day. The frequency of jSi-es, and the long detention of ships, from various causes, as stated by them, might be related of that emporium of foreign trade even at present. " This city,"' they observe, " stands on a great river, some days distant from the entrance, so that the water here is fresh." It seems at that time to have been the port allotted to the Arabian merchants who came by sea ; and the tra- vellers notice " many unjust dealings with the merchants who traded thither, which, having gathered th^ force of a precedent, there was no grievance, no tieatment so bad, but they exercised it upon the foreigners, and the masters of ships." We learn that the port was at length forsaken, in consequence of the extortions of the mcuidarins of those days; and "' the merchants returned in crowds to Siraf and Oman.*' It is remarkable that the travellers describe the entrance to the port of Canfu as the "gates of China," which may possibly be a ti-anslation of Hoo-mun, " Tiger's gate," or Boca Tigris, as it is called from the Portuguese. These Arabians mention in particular the relief aftbrded to the people from the public granaries during famine. The salt tax, as it noAV exists, and the use of tea are thus noticed : •• The emperor also reserves to himself the revenues that arise from salt, and from a certain herb which they drink with hot water, and of which great quantities are sold in all the cities, to the amount of vast sums." The public imposts are stated to have con- sisted in duties on salt and tea, with a poll tax, which last has since been commuted into a tax on lands : these Arabians likewise mention the bamboo as the universal panacea in matters of police ; and they very correctly describe the Chinese copper money ; as well as porcelain ; wine made from rice ; the maintenance of public teachers in the towns ; the idolatry derived from India; and the ignorance of astronomy, in which the Ai-abians were their first instructors. It is, in fact, im- possible to comprise within our limits all the pertinent remarks, or even a small proportion of the correct information which may be found in this curious and antique relic of early Arabian enterprise. From the lights which it aftbrds, as well as from other sources of information relating to the first intercourse of the Mahomedans with China, it has with tolerable certainty been inferred that, pre- vious to the Mongol Tartar conquest, they resorted to that rich comitry by sea chiefly, and in the character of traders. Subsequent to the establishment of the Mongol Tartar dynasty by Zenghis Khan, China was visited by the Arab, Ibn Batuta, whose travels have been translated by Pro- fessor Lee. He describes very truly the paper circulation instituted by the Mongols, a scheme which subsequently failed, in con- sequence of the paper being rendered utterly worthless by excessive issues, and the bad faith of the government, which derived a profit from the circulation. Even at that period, Batuta obseri^es that " they did not buy or sell with the dirhem or dinar, for, should any one get these coins into his pos- session, he would melt them do^vn imme- diately." If we may believe him, the Chi- nese junks in his time sailed as far as Calicut, and he himself embarked in one of them on his voyage to China. The Mahomedan creed seems to have been established and protected as the religion of a considerable part of the population soon after the Mongol conquest, in the 13th cen- tury ; and it meets with perfect toleration at the present day, its professors being freely admitted to government oifices, from which Christians are rigidly excluded. There is a considerable mosque at Canton, of great antiquity, and forming, with its pagoda or minaret, a conspicuous object on the ap- proach to the city by the river. Numbers of that persuasion occurred in every part of the route of the two British missions. Some gentlemen of the embassy were walking in 1816 with Dr. Morrison, at a village about fifty miles from Peking, when they observed inscribed, in Chinese, on the lantern of a poor shopman, " an old Mahomedan." Being asked whence his progenitors came, the old man answered, " from the western ocean ;" Vnit he could give no further information, THE CHINESE. [Skctcli near Canton.] except that his family had resided there for five generations. Dr. Morrison met with another near Nanking, holding a govern- ment office, who said that his sect reached China during the Tang d^ntiasty, or about the period of the visit of those two Arabians, ■whom we have already noticed, in the ninth centur)\ The same individual stated, that at Kae-foong-foo, in the province of Honan, there were some families of a persuasion de- nominated by the Chinese, " the sect tliat plucks out tlie sinew :" these, in all proba- bility, must be the Jews mentioned by Gro- sier, who are said to have reached China as early as 200 years before Christ, in the time cf the Han dynasty. In the eighteenth volume of the Lettres edi- Jxantes et curieuses there is contained an ac- count of the pains taken by the Jesuits in China to investigate the origin of this re- markable colony of Jews at Kae-foong-foo. The most successful in his researches was PereGozani, who in a letter dated 1701, thus wrote : — '• As regards those who are here called Tiao-kitt-kiuo, (the sect that extracts the sinew,) two years ago I was going to visit them, under the expectation that they were Jews, and with the hope of finding amon^^ them the Old Testament ; but as I have no knoAvledge of the Hebrew language, and met with great difficulties, I abandoned this scheme with the fear of not succeeding. Nevertheless, as you told me that I should oblige you by obtaining any information concerning this people, I have obeyed your directions, and executed them with all the care and exactness of which I was capable. I immediately made them protestations of friendship, to which they readily replied, and had the civility to come to see me. I returned their visit in the le-pai-sou, that is in their synagogue, where they were all as- sembled, and where I held with them long conversations. I saw their inscriptions, some of which are in Chinese, and the rest in their own language. They showed me their EARLY EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE. religions books, and permitted me to enter even into the most secret place of their syna- gogue, Avhence they themselves (the com- monalty) are excluded. There is a place reserved for the chief of the synagogue, who never enters there except with profound re- spect. They told me that their ancestors came from a kingdom of the west, called the kingdom of Judah, which Joshua conquered after having departed from Egypt, and passed the Red Sea and the Desert ; that the number of Jews who migrated from Egypt was about f)00,000 men. They assured me that tlieir alphabet had twenty-seven letters, but that they commonly made use of oidy twenty -two; which accords with the decla- ration of St. Jerome, that the Hebrew has twenty-two letters, of which five are double. When they read the Bible in their synagogue they cover the face with a transparent veil, in memory of Moses, who descended from the mountain with his face covered, and who thus published the Decalogue and the Law of God to his people : they read a section every Sabbath-day. Thus the Jews of China, like the Jews of Europe, read all the Law in the course of the 3'ear : he who reads places the Ta-kbtg (great sacred book) on the chair of Moses ; he has his face covered with a very thin cotton veil ; at his side is a prompter, and some paces below a Moula, to correct the prompter should he err. They spoke to me respecting Paradise and Hell in a very foolish way. There is every appearance of what they said being drawn fi-om the Talmud. I spoke to them of the Messiah promised in Scripture, but they were very much sur- prised at what I said ; and when I informed them that his name was Jesus, they replied, that mention was made in the Bible of a holy man named Jesus, who was the son of Sirach : but they knew not the Jesus of whom I si)oke."'i The first Pope who appears to have sent a mission for the conversion of the Tartars or Chinese to the Roman Catholic faith was Innocent W . He despatched Giovanni Car- pini, a monk, through Russia, in the year 1246, to Baatu Khan, on the banks of the ^ For further particulars of the Jews iu China, see Chinese Repositorj-, vol. iii. p. 172. Volga, from whence tliey were conducted to the Mongol Tartar court, just as tlie Great Khan was about to be installed. Carpini was astonished by the display of immense treasures, and, having been kindly treated, was sent back with a friendly letter : he was rather pleased than scandalised by the near resemblance of the rites of the Chinese Bud- hists to the forms of Catholic worship, and inferred from thence that they either already were, or Avould very soon be. Christians. In 1253, Rubruquis was in like manner de- spatched by St. Louis, during his crusade to the Holy Land, Avith directions to procure the friendship of the Mongols. He reached at length the court of the Great Khan, where, like his predecessor, he observed the near resemblance of Lama worship to the forms of Roman Catholicism, and concluded that it must be derived from a spurious Chris- tianity ; perhaps that of the Nestorians. It is needless in this place to enter into any detailed notice of the work of Marco Polo, which has been illustrated with so much erudition and industry by our countryman Marsden. The doubts which were once en- tertained of the veracity of Marco have long since given way to admiration of his simple and faithful narrative. Most of our readers will, perhaps, be aware that in the reign of Coblai Khan, the Mongol conqueror of China, Nicholas and Matthew Paolo or Polo, two noble Venetians, reached his court : they were extremely well received, and invited to return to China on their departure for Eu- rope. In 1274 they accordingly came back, bearing letters from Pope Gregory X., and accompanied by young Marco, son to one of them. The youth, by his talents and good conduct, became a favourite with the Khan, and was employed by him for seventeen years, after which he with some difficulty obtained permission to return to his own country. The accounts which he gave at Venice of the vast wealth and resources of the Chinese empire appeared so incredible to Europeans in those days, that his tale was most undeservedly discredited, and he ob- tained the nick name of " Messer Marco Millione.'" Another account of Cathay or China was some time after Avritten by Hay- ton, an Armenian, and translated into Latin. 10 THE CHINESE. According to him, the Chinese considered the rest of the world as blind, or seeing with only one eye; while themselves alone were blessed Avith a perfect vision. John de Corvino, despatched to Asia in 1288 by Pope Nicholas IV., was the first successful promoter of the Roman Catholic faith in China : he arrived at Cambalu (as Peking was called by the Tartars), and met with a kind reception from the Emperor, not- withstanding the hostility of the jealous Nes- torians. He was allowed to build a church, furnished with a steeple and bells, and is said to have baptized some thousands of con- verts, as well as to have instructed numbers of children in the Latin language, and the tenets of Christianity. The news of his pro- gress reached Clement V. on his accession to the popedom, and he was immediately ap- pointed Bishop of Cambalu, with a nu- merous body of priests, who were despatched to join him in his labours. On the death of Corvino, however, it is probable that no suc- cessor, possessed of the same enterprise and industry, was ready to succeed him ; for the establishment which he had founded appears to have ceased, or at least sunk into insigni- ficance. Abundant evidence is afforded by Chinese records, that a much more liberal as well as enterprising disposition once existed in re- spect to foreign intercourse, than prevails at present. It was only on the conquest of the empire by the Manchows that the European trade was limited to Canton ; and the jealous and watchful Tartar dominion, established by this handful of barbarians, has unquestion- ably occasioned many additional obstacles to an increased commerce with the rest of the world. We have already noticed the Chinese junks, which were seen by Ibn Batuta as far west as the coast of Malabar, about the end of the thirteenth century. Even before the seventh century, it appears from native re- cords that missions were sent from China to the surrounding nations, with a view to in- viting mutual intercourse. The benefits of industry and trade have always been ex- tolled by the people of that counti-y ; the contempt, therefore, with which tlie present Tartar government affects to ti-eat the Eu- ropean commerce must be referred entirely to the fears which it entertains regarding the influence of increased knowledge on the sta- bilit)^ of its dominion. According to the Chinese books, commerce, on its first establishment at Canton, remained free from duties for many years, but its in- creasing importance soon led the officers of government to convert it into a source of gain. As in Siam and Cochin-China at present, the pre-emption of all imported goods seems at one time to have been claimed; but this did not last long, and the trade, after having con- tinued to increase at Canton, was subse- quently carried to other ports of the empire. The endeavour to prevent the exportation of silver appears to have been an error very early established ; but the regulations on this sub- ject, as might be expected, have always been as futile as they are at the present day. It was not many years after the passage of the Cape by De Gama that the Portuguese in 1516 made their first appearance at Can- ton. Their early conduct was not calcu- lated to impress the Chinese with any favour- able idea of Europeans; and when, in course of time, they came to be competitors with the Dutch and the English, the contests of mer- cantile avarice tended to place them all in a still worse point of view. To this day the cha- racter of Europeans is represented as that of a race of men intent alone on the gains of commercial traffic, and regardless altogether of the means of attainment. Struck by the perpetual hostilities which existed among these foreign adventurers, assimilated in other respects by a close resemblance in their cos- tumes and manners, the government of tlie country became disposed to treat them with a degree of jealousy and exclusion which it had not deemed necessary to be exercised towards the more peaceable and well-ordered Arabs, their predecessors. The first places of resort to the Portuguese were the islands at the mouth of the Canton river.' The vessel despatched by Alfonso Albuquerque, the Captain-general of Ma- lacca, reached one of these, under the com- mand of Perestrello, and, as his voyage proved ^ We liere quote, for convenience , from a small work printed at Macao in 1831, but neveriegularly published, called "The Canton Miscellany." EARLY EUE.OPFAN INTERCOtmSE. 11 very successful, it had the effect of engaging others in similar enterprises. Being distin- guished as tlie first person who ever conducted a ship to China under a European flag, he was followed in the ensuing year by a fleet of eight vessels, under the command of Perez de Andrade, who, on reaching the coast, was surrounded by junks of war, and his move- ments watched with suspicion. He was, how- ever, permitted to proceed with two of his vessels to Canton; and, while successfully negotiating for a trade, received accounts tiiat the remainder of his fleet had been at- tacked by pirates. Some of his vessels re- turned with cargoes to Malacca ; the remain- der sailed in company with some junks, be- longing to the Loo-choo Islands, for the pro- vince of Foikien on the east coast, and suc- ceeded in establishing a colony at Ningpo. The Portuguese subsequently brought their families to that port, carrying on a gainful trade with other parts of China, as well as with Japan. But in the year 1545 the pro- vincial government, provoked by their ill conduct, expelled them the place ; and thus was for ever lost to them an establishment on the continent of China, in one of the pro- vinces of the empire best adapted to the ends of European trade. The general beha- viour of the Portuguese had, from the first, been calculated to obliterate the favourable impression which the Chinese had received from the justice and moderation of Perez de Andrade. Only shortly after his visit, a squadron, under the orders of his brother Simon, was engaged in open hostilities, having established a colony at San Shan, near iMacao, (^odgarly called St. John's,) and erected a fort there : they were finally defeated by a Chinese naval force, but continued to com- mit acts of piracy on the native trading vessels. Subsequently to this career of vio- lence, and dining the more recent periods of their connexion with China at Macao, the Portuguese appear, on the other hand, to have entertained too extreme an apprehension of giving umbrage to the native government; and while they imagined they were securing favour to themselves, their conduct has often served to encourage Chinese encroachment. Among the early and desperate adventurers from Portugal, the exploits of Ferdinand Mendes Pinto have, by the help of some ex- aggeration, handed his name down as one of the principal. Having arrived with a crew of other desperadoes at Ningpo, he learned from some Chinese that to the north-east there was an island containing the tombs of seven- teen Chinese kings, full of treasure. Pinto and his companions succeeded in finding the place, and plundered the tombs, in which they found a quantity of silver : being attacked, they were obliged to retire with only part of the booty ; and a gale having over- taken them upon their return, in the neigh- bourhood of Nanking, only fourteen Portu- guese escaped with their lives : these were taken by the Chinese, and after some mal- treatment were sent to Nanking and con- demned to be whipped, and to lose each man a thumb. They were next conducted to Peking, and on his way thither Pinto had occasion to admire the manners of the Chinese, their love of justice, and the good order and industry that prevailed among them. Ar- rived at Peking, they were at length con- demned to one year's hard labour : but before the time expired they were set at liberty by the Tartars, who were then invading the country. Pinto and his companions now joined their liberators, and, while in their service, saw one of the chief Lamas, whom he called their pope. A curious description of this Tartar hierarchy has in later times been given by Pere Gaubil. The Portuguese ad- venturers at length quitted the Tartars, found their way to the coast, and embarked again for Ningpo. Being treacherously abandoned on a desolate island, where they had almost died of hunger, Pinto and his companions Avere taken oft' by a pirate, and soon after- wards driven by adverse winds on the coast of Japan. On his return to Ningpo, tliis ad- venturer gave his countrymen so favourable an account of what he had seen, that a large expedition was fitted out for Japan : several, however, of the vessels were lost, and Pinto himself driven on the Loo-choo Islands, where he and his companions were taxed with the murder of some natives of Loo-choo, at the time when Malacca was taken by the Portuguese. The King being told that all his comitrymen were pirates, gave orders that Pinto and the rest should be quartered, and their limbs 12 THE CHINESE. exposed : they were saved, however, by the interposition of some native Avomen, and Pinto at length returned to Malacca. He afterwards engaged in a mission to Japan. It was about the same time, in 1552, that the | famous apostle of the East, St. Francis Xavier, concerning Avhom so many miracles have been related, died at Shan-shan, or St. John's. The remains of his tomb are seen there at this day ; and the Bisliop of Macao used to make an annual visit there, for the purpose of celebrating mass, and bringing 1 away a portion of the consecrated earth. The first Portuguese embassy, and of course the first from any European power by sea, to Peking took place as early as 1520, in the person of Thomas Pirez, the object being to establish a factory at Canton, as well as at Macao. Advices, however, had preceded him of the ill conduct and violence of Simon de Andrade ; and, after a course of humiliation, the unfortunate Pirez was sent back under custody to Canton, the provincial government of which place thus early showed its jealousy of any attempt on the part of strangers to communicate with the court. Pirez, on his arrival, was robbed of his pro- perty, thrown into prison, and ultimately, it is supposed, put to death. The various em- bassies, which have since followed in three successive centuries, to Peking have met with different kinds of treatment ; but, in what- ever spirit conducted, tliey have been equally imsuccessful in the attainment of any im- portant points of negotiation. In the following year Alfonso de Melo arrived in China, ignorant of the events which had taken place, and having altogether six vessels under his command. " These," a Portuguese writer observes. " sent on shore for water, but returned with blood." They became immediately involved in conflicts with the Chinese, who put to death upwards of twenty prisoners that fell into their hands ; and the squadron shortly afterwards sailed away from China. We have seen already that previous to the arrival of Europeans on its shores the govern- ment of the country had given every encou- ragement to foreign commerce, and that at a very early period Chinese junks had pro- ceeded to the coasts of the peninsula of India. Statistical records exist to the present day, having reference to foreign intercourse, which display a perfect knowledge of the advan- tages of trade, and form a striking contrast to the indifference which the present Tartar government affects to feel towards it. Sub- sequent to a temporary prohibition of foreign trade, a certain Fooyuen of Canton thus addressed the Emperor : — " A great part of the necessary expenses of both the govern- ment and the people at Canton is supplied by the customs levied on merchants; and if foreign ships do not come, both public and private concerns are thrown into much em- barrassment and distress. It is entreated, therefore, that the Franks be permitted to trade. Three or four advantages result therefrom. In the first place, besides the regular tribute of the several foreign states, a small per-centage has been taken from the remainder, adequate to the supply of the provincial expenditure. Secondly, the trea- sury appropriated for the annual supply of the army in Canton and Quong-sy is entirely drained, and our dependence is on trade to provide against exigencies. Thirdly, the contiguous province has looked to Canton for supplies, being unable to comply with any demands made on it ; but when foreign ships have free intercourse, then high and low are all mutually supplied. Fourthly, the people live by commerce. A man holding a quantity of goods sells them, and procures what himself requires : thus things pass from hand to hand, and, in their course, supply men with food and raiment. The govern- ment is thereby assisted, the people enriched, and both have means afforded them on which they may depend." Admissions of a similar nature, of a very late date, contained in addresses from the provincial government to Peking, have proved that the Chinese authorities are by no means unmindful of the revenues derived from the European trade. It was about the middle of the sixteenth century that the Portuguese established them- selves at Macao, the only European colony that, with very limited success, has been planted on the coast of China ; it seems that they had temporary shelter on shore as early as 1537. By bribery and solicitation, leave was obtained for erecting sheds to dry goods, EARLY EUKOPEAN INTERCOURSE. 13 ■whicli were introduced under the name of tribute. The foreigners were by degrees permitted to build substantial houses, and the petty mandarins connived at an increas- ing population, the establishment of an in- ternal government, and the influx of priests, witli their endeavours to convert the Chinese.' The story of important services rendered against pirates, and an imperial edict, transferring the dominion of !Macao to the Portuguese, seems unfounded. Indeed a bishop of Macao wrote, in 1777, that it was '• by paying a ground-rent that the Portuguese acquired, the temporary use and proht of Macao ad niditm of the emperor.' This ground-rent, amounting to 500 taels per anrmm, is regularly paid to the present day ; and Chinese mandarins periodically inspect the Portuguese forts, as well as levy duties on the Macao shipping. Nothing, therefore, can be farther from the truth, than that the Portuguese possess the sovereignty of that place. In 1573 the Chinese erected a barrier- wail across the isthmus, Avliich separates Macao from the island of Heang-shan. A civil mandarin was very early appointed to reside within the town, and govern it in the name of the Emperor of China : this officer, called a Tso-tang, keeps a watchful eye on the inhabitants, and communicates infor- mation to his superiors. The Portuguese are not allowed to build new churches or houses without a licence. The only privilege they jx)ssess is that of governing themselves ; while the Chinese population of the town is entirely under the control of the mandarins. The Spaniards, indiscriminately with the Portuguese, have the right of trading to Macao ; but the number of shipping was, in 1725, by an orderfrom the Emperor, restricted to twenty-five, and it is actually not much more than half that number. The last Emperor of the last Chinese dynasty sent to Macao for some guns, and a small military force, against the Manchow Tartars ; but in 1651 the inhabitants of that colony were enrolled as the subjects of the present Ta-tsing familj-. In 1809, when the Ladrones, or ^ A small compilation of nncieut records concern- ing Macao was printed by a Swedish gentleman, long resident there, in 1832, and from him we derive our notes. native pirates, had become formidable to the Chinese government, Macao furnished by agreement six vessels to serve against them, at a charge of 80,000 taels to the provincial government. The pirates were induced by other means than those of force to dissolve their confederation, and the Por- tuguese, although they claimed certain privileges for their services, were obliged to remain content with their former condition. The advantages which Macao possesses over Canton, in respect to the Chinese duties, which are considerably less at the former place than at the latter, might perhaps be made available to a certain extent by British traders. The capital and enterprise of the Portuguese inliabitants is not sufficient to employ the few ships which they actually possess. Several of the vessels are freighted in part by Chinese for the Malay peninsula and islands. Although the freight is much higher than in junks, the property on board is considered so much safer — and the Chinese do not practise insurance. They frequently send adventures, too, on board English country ships, or those pertain- ing to the Indian ti-ade ; for there is a duty amounting to 10 per cent, additional charged on Portuguese ships at our eastern presiden- cies. The trade of Macao is altogether in a very depressed state, and the whole income from customs, which amounted in 1830 to scarcely 70,000 taels, is insufficient to meet the expenditure. The entire Portuguese po- pulation, including slaves, is not above 5000 ;. while the Chinese of Macao are calculated to exceed 30,000. It seems needless to notice the several fruit- less embassies which the Portuguese, since their earlier resort to China, have sent to Peking, and the last of which occurred in 1753: they exhibit the usual spectacle of arrogance on the one side, and profitless submission on the other. It will be more interesting to take a short view of the Catholic missions, which at first pro- mised to make rapid and extensive progress, but were ultimately defeated by the dissen- sions among the several orders of priests, and the indiscreet zeal which some of them dis- played against the ancient institutions of the Chinese. In 1579 Miguel Ruggiero, an Italian Jesuit, reached Canton, and in a fev/ years was joined by Matthew Ricci, who may 14 THE CHINESE. justly be considered as the founder of the Catholic mission. The literati of the country- praised such of the precepts of Christianity as coincided with those of Confucius ; but they found a stumbling-block in the doctrines of original sin, of eternal torments, of the Incar- nation, of the Trinity, and of not being allowed concubines as well as a wife. No difficulties, however, could dishearten Ricci, who, by his intimate knowledge of the mathematical and experimental sciences, had the means of making friends and converts. He soon aban- doned the garb of a bonze, which he at first injudiciously assumed, and put on that of the literati. With great good sense he saw the folly of attempting at once to contend with those prejudices of the Chinese which were blended with such of their institutions as they considered most sacred, and which in fact formed the very foundations of their social system. Montesquieu has justly argued, from the peculiar character of the Chinese customs, against the facility of introducing material changes in them : and especially of substituting the Roman Catholic observances. The assem- bling of women in churches, their private oom- munication with priests, the prohibition of offerings at the tombs of parents, were all abominations in their eyes which could never be endured. Ricci, for such reasons, made a distinction between civil and sacred rites, admitting the former in his converts, and par- ticularly the ceremonies at tombs; and his success accordingly was considerable. When he had passed about seventeen years in the countiy, Ricci proceeded to Peking, and by the favour of one of tlie eunuchs of the palace became introduced to the emperor's notice, his presents being received, and a place appointed for his residence. Other Jesuits joined the mission, and established themselves at different points from Canton to Peking, proceeding quietly, and with great success, as long as they could remain unmo- lested by the hot and indiscreet zeal of the several orders of monks, who, in their haste to aHack the Chinese prejudices, ensured their own discomfiture. The most distinguished of t.ie Jesuits, for his talents and knowledge, was Father Adam Schaal, by birth a German : he reached Peking at the time when the last Chinese dpiasty of Ming was about to be ex- pelled by the Man chow Tartars, Through the influence of a Chinese Christian, named Paul Siu, who was a Colao, or principal min- ister, and by his own extensive knowledge of the physical sciences, Schaal became a great favourite at court, and even retained his place after the Tartai-s had possessed themselves of the empire. The first Manchow Emperor, Shun-chy, to whom he easily proved the ig- norance of the Arabian mathematicians, made him president of the Astronomical Board; and his own merits were a sufficient explana- tion of his success, without any need of the lying 7niracles with which Pere du Halde has not blushed to disfigure his work. Accord- ing to him Adam Schaal being condemned to death, soon after the Tartar conquest, "this sentence was carried to the princes of the blood and to the regent for confirmation ; but, as often as they attempted to read it, a dreadful earthquake dispersed the assembly. The con- sternation was so great, that they granted a general pardon ; all the prisoners were released except Father Adam, and he did not get his liberty until a month afterwards, when the royal palace was consumed by the flames."' Permission was given to the Jesuits to build two churches at Peking, and new labourers were allowed to enter the country : among these Ferduiand Verbiest, another German Jesuit, and aman of distinguished science, became the coadjutor of Adam Schaal. On the accession of Kanghy, then a boy of eight or nine years of age, under the tutorship of four Tai'tars, the dis- putes which ensued with the intolerant Domi- nicans produced an unfavourable impression on the minds of the rulers of China. Accu- sations were preferred against the missiona- ries, and their zeal to make converts was condemned as dangerous. It is said tliat Schaal died of chagrin, and that "N'erbiest was compelled for some time to abscond. When Kanghy, however, a monarch of enlarged and liberal mind, came to exercise the government in his own person, Verbiest was made president of the Astronomers ; and through his influence the expelled missionaries were allowed to return to their churches. By the aid of Verbiest the Emperor was enabled to cast guns, and to compose a mathematical work with tables of logarithms. Duruig this reign, although the Emperor was never b.imself a convert, the EARLY EimOPEAX INTERCOURSE. 15 state of Christianity in China was vastly more flourishing than it is at present, after the lapse of a century and a half: it was placed by Kan- ghy on the same footing of toleration with Ma- homedanism and Budhism. In the itine- raries of Le Compte,and other Jesuits, churches with European priests are mentioned at ahnost every principal city. At Foshan, about four leagues above Canton, Pere Bouvet speaks of a Milanese Jesuit as presiding over a church, with a flock of 10,000 ^persons: at this day there is probably not one single individual at that same place. The decree of Kanghy in 1692, permitting the exercise of Christianity, was abrogated by his successor Yoong-ching, who expelled the missionaries from the provinces. These spiritual delegates, meanwhile, had been in constant collision with the native authorities throughout the empire, and perpetually at strife among themselves ; and the jurisdiction of the field which they occupied became also a subject of discussion between the kings of Poiiugal and the popes. In consequence of the disputes which had arisen, from a very early period, among the Jesuits and the other orders concerning Chinese rites and cere- monies, Matthew Ricci had drawn up for the mission a number of rules, in which he con- sidered the objectionable customs as merely civil and secular. Morales, however, a Spanish Dominican, declared them to be idolati-ous, and as such they were condemned by Innocent X. INIartinez, a Jesuit, subse- quently proved that these rites were of a civil nature, in which light they came to be allowed by Alexander YII. Thus two op- posite opinions were sanctioned by papal infallibility, and the kingdom of anti-Christ was divided against itself Notwithstanding every endeavour made by the more sensible and temperate of the mis- sionaries to compromise the differences, a zealot, named Carolus iMaigrot, soi-disant bishop of some Chinese provinces, issued a mandate in which, unmindful of the decree of Alexander VII., he decided that T'hien signified only the visible and material Heaveti, and that the Chinese rites were idolatrous. Kanghy himself, in 1700, declared in an edict, which was transmitted to the pope, that T'hien means the true God, and that the customs enjoined by the ritual of China were of a political character. The decision of Maigrot, however, was supported and con- firmed by a decree of Clement XI. To settle disputes which had disgraced the Christian cause for nearly a century, Tour- non was despatched as apostolical vicar and legate to China ; but this selection was not a wise one, for Mosheim describes him as a man, " whose good disposition was under the influence of a narrow spirit, and a weak understanding."' Shortly after his arrival in 1705, having received Pope Clement's decree, he issued a mandate that no Chinese Christian should ever practise the customs which had been interdicted by the Bishop of Rome! The Emperor Kanghy, justly off'ended with this invasion of his sovereignty, promulged an edict in which he tolerated the mission- aries who preached the doctrine of Ricci, but declared his resolution to persecute those who followed the opinions of Maigrot. In 1720 the patriarch Mezzabarba was sent as legate from Rome, with the intention of carrying the points in dispute ; but finding Kanghy determined never to alloAv the pope any kind of jurisdiction over his own subjects, he' made certain temporary concessions with a view to saving the Roman Catholic religion from the disgrace of being banished. At length, by an imperial decree of Yoong- ching, in 1723, these disturbers of the public peace were formally denounced. A few monks were tolerated in Peking, a few re- mained concealed in the provinces, but the larger number were driven to Macao, with a positive injunction to leave the country by the first ship. The more enlightened and sensible Jesuits had acted with greater mode- ration, and the influence of their protectors reconciled them with the court. Ignatius Kcegler was appointed by the Emperor pre- sident of the Astronomical Board, with a title of honour. On the accession of Kien- loong, in 1736, his hatred of the mischievous priests, who were labouring in secret to sub- vert his authority over his own subjects, led him to seek them out with increased vigilance. Many of them were detected in disguise in almost every province; these were imprisoned, and their converts either fled or returned to their duty. To mitigate the severity of the 16 THE CHINESE. persecutions, the Jesuits residing at Peking spared neither supplications nor bribes, but with little eftect; until the decree of 1785, nearly fifty years after Kienloong tirst came to the throne, released the imprisoned monks, and allowed them either to join their brethren at Peking, or proceed to Europe. From that date to the present time, the Roman Catholic mission has been in a declining state, and occasionally suffered renewals of persecution. According to a return made by Pere Mar- chini, procurator of the Propaganda mission at ]Macao, the actual number of European priests hi China, in 1810, was twenty-nine, with about 200,000 native Christians. Since that date, the last of the Europeans has been sent away from Peking, but a few still con- tinue to lurk among the provinces. The Spaniards, although they possess the privilege of trading at both Macao and Can- ton, as well as at Amoy, have derived less advantage from an intercourse with China than most other nations, notwithstanding the vast advantage which they possess in the lo- cality of Manilla, and the Philippine Islands, within a few days' sail of China, and ap- proached with equal facility in either mon- soon. It has been suggested that had bonded Avarehouses, with a system of drawbacks on re-exportation, been established at Manilla, one-lmlf of the trade to China might have been centred there at present. The heavy charges and vexatious conduct of the Chinese government, together with the close monopoly of the Hong merchants, would have driven many a ship from Canton, could a neigh- bouring port have been found with a supply of goods in case of need. At present, Ameri- CJUi and English ships often find it convenient to touch at Manilla for a cargo of rice, by the importation of which to Canton they avoid the heavy port charges: but so ignorant is the Spanish government of the commonest principles of political economy, that rice is forbidden to be exported from Luconia when its price is above a certain limit. The Dutch met with little success in their attempts to open a trade with China until 1624, when, by means of assistance from Batavia, they were enabled to form a settle- ment on the west side of Formosa, opposite to the Chinese coast. The vicinity of this to ^Manilla and Macao excited the jealousy of the Spaniards and Portuguese, as well as of the Chinese government. Liberty of trade with that empire was at first denied them ; but the Dutch annoyed the coast with their ships, until it was agreed that, on their evacuating the Pescadores (some small islands between the main land and Formosa), and confining themselves to the latter, liberty of commerce should be granted them. A fort was built at the principal harbour, on the south-west side of the island, named Fort Zealand, and measures were taken to civilise and reclaim the aboriginal inhabitants of the counti-y. In the mean wliile Peking fell a prey to the Mauchow Tartars in 1644, and all the north- ern provinces, with most of the southern, acknowledged in a short time the foreign dominion. Many tliousands of Chinese fa- milies emigrated from their country in the course of the struggle, and no less than 25,000 are said to have transported themselves to Formosa. This emigration tended greatly to the improvement of that new country, and was at first encouraged by the Dutch : but their fears were alarmed by the increasing numbers when they could no longer prevent them ; and the inliux of Chinese was a prin- cipal cause of the final exjjtulsion of the Dutch from that settlement. This fonns an episode in the history of European intercourse with China, deserving of some jjarticular notice ; and we shall give the account nearly as it stands abridged from Nieuhoff, in the second volume of the Chinese Repository.^ A Chinese, for some time servant to the Portuguese at Macao, and who had been baptized by the name of Nicholaus, grew by foreign trade to be the richest merchant in the country ; and when the Manchov/s in- vaded the empire, he equipped, at his own expense, a small fleet against the Tartars. His success attracted a vast number of vessels, until he at length became commander of a very formidable fleet. After several battles, he was invited by the Tartar chief to Peking, with the ofter of a high title, which he ac- cepted, leaving the command of his fleet to his son Kiw-shuiff, called, in Portuguese or- thography, Koshinga. The father was not 1 Paire411. EARLY EUROPEAX INTERCOURSE. 17 permitted to return, but the sou continued faithful to the Chinese cause, and opposed the enemies of his country. In the course of three or four years, however, the Tartars, by force or bribery, contrived to drive him from the coast to the numerous islands in the vici- nity ; and the large and fertile country of Formosa, now inhabited by raimerous Chi- nese, became the object of his hopes. The Dutch were aware that the secret agents of Koshinga held a correspondence with the resident Chinese, and, foreseeing the danger, increased the garrison of Fort Zealand in 1650. They still remained unmolested for a time, until the exiled leader, being defeated before Nanking, had no refuge left for himself and his numerous followers except Formosa. On the application of Coyet, governor of the settlement, twelve ships were despatched from Batavia in 1660, with orders that, if the alarm at Formosa proved groundless, the fleet should proceed against Macao. The garrison now consisted of 1500 men, and the Dutch demanded of Koshinga whether he was for peace or war. In his reply, by letter, he aftected the most friendly disposition towards the settlement, and, still farther to lull the Hollanders into security, sent several mer- chant vessels to Formosa. The governor's suspicions were not removed, as Koshinga still contiimed his preparations at Amoy ; but the majority of the council being of opinion that there was no present danger, all the ships were ordered away to their respective destinations. The admiral, on his return to Batavia, accused the governor of unreasonable apprehensions ; and the council, wearied with the expense, and with what they con- sidered as the groundless fears of the governor, suspended him from office, and ordered him to Batavia to defend himself His successor, M, Clenk, sailed for Formosa in June, 1661. Meanwhile, the events which were taking place on the island justified all the anticipa- tions which had been thus contemned. Soon after the departure of the Dutch fleet from Fort Zealand, Koshinga and his forces were in motion : he embarked upwards of 20,000 of his best troops, and appeared before the settlement, where, assisted by thousands of his countrymen on shore, he soon began to land. Having occupied with his forces a point which would cut off the communication between Fort Zealand and another on the opposite side of the entrance, the governor ordered out 240 men to dislodge him. About 4000 Chinese had already occupied the place, but so confident were the Dutch that the enemy would not stand the fire, that they I immediately attacked them. The Chinese, j instead of giving ground, returned the fire I with musketry and aiTows, and sent a deta,ch- ment to attack them in the flanks. The j soldiers, seeing this, were alarmed and fled, j leaving the captain and nineteen men in the hands of the enemy; while only half their j company reached the fort alive. The defence by sea Avas no better; for, though the four ships in port attacked the junks, and sunk some of them, one was burned by the Chinese : fire-vessels, and another sailed away with the I news for Batavia. The Chinese now landed ; without opposition, and cut off all commu- I nication between the forts, as well as with the open country ; and Koshinga summoned Fort Zealand, threatening to put all to the sword urdess they surrendered at once. Deputies Avere now sent to tlie Chinese camp, Avhich consisted of about 12,000 men, armed in tln-ee different ways : the first, with bows and arrows ; the second, with only swords and shields ; and the third, with back swords and pikes, three or four feet long, with broad pointed heads of iron. The deputies Avere introduced into the tent, Avhere Koshinga sat in an elbow-chair, behind a square table, surrounded by " the chief commanders, clad in long robes, without arms, and in great silence, and Avith a most awful countenance." Ko- shinga replied, that '" FoiTnosa had always belonged to China ; and now that the Chinese Avanted it, the foreigners must quit the island immediately. If not, let them only hoist the red flag." On the folloAving morning, the red flag Avas seen over Fort Zealand, but the other fort Avas suiTendered, Avith its garrisjn and cannon. All the men able to fight were now taken Avithin the citadel, and the to\vu itself set on fire, in order to deprive the be- siegers of shelter; but the Chinese saved many of the buildings, and brought up tiventy- eight pieces of cannon to bear against the fort. They Avere, hoAvever, so galled by the fire of the Dutch, that the streets Avere strewed Avith c 18 THE CHINESE. the killed, and the besieged, making a sally, spiked their guns. Koshinga. finding all his attacks fruitless, began a close blockade, and turned liis rage on the open countiy, makmg the Dutch residents, and especially the min- isters, prisoners ; one of these was sent to Fort Zealand, to propose terms of surrender, on the refusal of which, all the prisoners were to be put to death. This individual, by name Hambrocock, having left his wife and chil- dren with the enemy as hostages, like another Regulus exhorted the Dutch to a good defence, and returned to Koshinga with the governor's refusal. As might have been expected, both himself and all the other prisoners were put to death, including many of the women and children. Only two days after the Council at Batavia had censured Coyet for his fears, and de- spatched his successor Clenk to Formosa, the ship, which had sailed away, arrived with the news of the attack on that place. They im- mediately revoked the censure, and fitted out ten ships, with 700 soldiers, for the island : but Clenk arrived first oft' Fort Zealand, where he saw the red flag flying, and hun- dreds of Chinese vessels lying in the north roads. He came to an anchor, and sent his despatches on shore ; but, instead of landing himself, sailed away for Japan. The succours from Batavia soon afterwards arrived, and the besieged began to act on the oflensive ; but they -were unsuccessful in the attempt to dis- lodge the enemy from the town. The gan-ison was now increased to the utmost; and the women and children, with the other useless persons, sent to Batavia. These preparations checked the apjiroaches of Koshinga ; but the inconceivable imprudence of the Dutch lost them their advantage. The Governor received letters from the Tartar "S'iceroy of Fokien (the opposite province), requesting his assistance in expelling the remains of Koshinga"s forces from the coast, and promising his aid after- wards to the Dutch at Formosa. Five ships were accordingly sent away for this purpose ; but three were lost in a storm, ancl the re- mainder returned to Batavia. The wish of Koshinga was complete. A deserter from the Dutch encouraged the besiegers, and. showed them the weakest points. They now assailed the fort from tlnee batteries, and succeeded in making a breach, which they soon prepared to assault. The Hollanders upon this began to deliberate, and the majority of the Council decided that the fort was untenable. Ac- cordingly, after a siege of nine mouths, with the loss of about 1600 men, Formosa was given up, and the Dutch returned to Java, in 1662. Koshinga now became independent sovereign of the island; but in 1683 it was siurendered by his grandson to the Manchow Tartar dynasty. The intercourse of the Russians with China through Siberia not being of a maritime cha- racter, and confined altogether to the northern extremity of the empire, has diftered altogether from that of other European nations, and we have not space to enter into the details of its history. One attempt was made by them in 1806 to communicate with Canton by sea in two ships under the command of Captain Krusenstern ; but an edict was then issued forbidding to Russia any trade except by land, at the frontier station (established by mutual ti-eaties) at Kiackta in Tartarj-. The most celebrated early embassies, from Russia overland, were those of Isbrand Ides in 1693 ; and of Ismaloft", sent by Peter the Great in 1719, an account of whose mission is well given by jMr. Bell, of Antermony. The am- bassador in botli instances was treated with a degree of respect unusual at Peking, and demonstrative of the estimation in which the power of Russia was held there. Catherine I,, in 1727, despatched Count Yladislavitch to China, as ambassador-extraordinary, and by him a treatj- was concluded, by which the Russians were to have a church at Peking, with an establishment of priests ; and four young Russians were to remain at the residence of the embassy, for the purpose of studying the language, and serving a5 interpreters be- tween the two nations. The Russian mission now consists of six ecclesiastical and four lay members, who study the Manchow and Chi- nese languages. Their abode at Peking ex- tends to a period of about ten years, at the end of which they are relieved by others from St. Petersburg. PORTUGUESE INTRIGUES. 19 CHAPTER II. ENGLISH INTERCOURSE. First Trade between England and China— Forts battered— Leave to trade— Treaty of Commerce at Formosa- Troubles at Canton— Heavy Charges on Trade— Amoy and Ningpo— Ten European ships at Canton in 1736 — Commodore Anson in China— Intrigues of Hong Merchants— Mr. Flint— Quarrels of English and French — Trade forbidden at Ningpo — Seizure of Mr. Flint— His Majesty's ship Argo — The Portuguese give up an innocent Man— Chinese Maxim for ruling Barbarians— Violent Conduct of a Ship-master— Debts to the English .recovered from the Chinese— Shocking Case of the Gunner in 1784— Mission and Death of Colonel Cathcart — Mission of Earl Macartnev. We now proceed to give a sketch of the early intercourse between Great Britain and China, the first attempt to establish which seems to have been as far back as 1596, when three ships were fitted out in charge of Benjamin Wood, bearing letters from Queen Elizabeth to the Emperor ; but the ships were lost on their way out, and no renewal of the project appears to have taken place. The oldest record of the Company at Canton is dated April 6th, 1637, and commences thus : — " In the latitude of 6^- degrees, we took leave of the ship Planter, whom God, we liope, hath conducted in safety. Upon her was laden as per invoice appeareth,"' &c. This was one of a fleet of five ships, of which tlie remaining four, the Dragon. Sun, Catherine, and Ann, proceeded on their way to China, under the command of Captain Weddel. They first arrived at Acheen in Sumatra. " At our reaching this (it is said) we found no Chris- tians in the whole town, but there were three Dutchmen. Their capital was small, as like- wise their wit and manners, being fellows of former slender employment, and sent hither rather to oppose any of our nation that should arrive in outfacing, outvying, and outlying them, than for any real intent or desire of trade'." The fleet proceeded on its way to China, and aiTived oft' Macao on the 28th of May. Here the Portuguese did all in their power to misrepresent them to the Chinese, and prevent the chance of a trade. After * This rancour against the Dutch was the conse- quence of the mutual jealousies which existed be- tween the rival traders of the two countries at that time in the East. A treaty concluded with Holland, called the treaty af defence, in 16l5, had no effect ultimately in producing harmony ; and the dreadful massacre of Amboyna, in lG23, at length became the crowning act of cruelty and perfidy on the part of the Hollanders. several fruitless attempts to establish a peace- ful arrangement, and some vain endeavours to depute persons from the fleet to open a negotiation at Canton, it was resolved that all the ships should sail up the river. They arrived in a few days at the river's mouth, at present called the Bogue, in the neighbour- hood of the forts ; " and being now furnished with some slender interpreters, they soon had speech with divers mandarins in the king's jounkes, to whom the cause of their arrival was declared, viz., to entertain peace and amity with them, to traffic freely as tlie Portu- galls did, and to be forthwith supplied, for their moneys, with provisions for their ships : all which those mandarins promised to solicit with the prime men resident at Canton ; and in the mean time desired an expectation of six days, which were granted ; and the Eng- lish ships rode with white ensigns on the poop ; but their perfidious friends the Portu- galls had in all that time, since the return of the pinnace, so beslandered them to the Chinese, reporting them to be rogues, thieves, beggars, and what not, that they became very jealous of the good meaning of the English ; insomuch that, ip the night-time, they j)ut forty-six of iron cast ordnance into the fort lying close to the brink of the river, each piece between six and seven hundred weight, and well proportioned ; and after the end of four days, having, as they thought, sufficiently fortified themselves, they discharged divers shot, though without hurt, upon one of the barges passing by them to find a convenient watering-place. Herewith the whole fleet being instantly incensed, did, on the sudden, display their bloody ensigns ; and, weighing their anchors, fell up with the flood, and berthed themselves before the castle, from whence came many shot, yet not any that c 2 20 THE CHINESE. touched so much as hull or rope; whereupon, uot being able to endure their bravadoes any- longer, each ship began to play furiously upon them with their broadsides; and, after two or three hours, perceiving their cowardly faint- ing, the boats were landed with about one hundred men ; which sight occasioned them, with great dish-actions, instantly to abandon the castle and fly; the boats' crews, in the mean time, without let entering the same, and displaying his Majesty's colours of Great Britain upon the walls, having the same night put aboard all their ordnance, fired the i Council-house, and demolished what they | could. The boats of the fleet also seized a | jounke, laden Avith boards and timber, and i another with salt. Another vessel of small moment was surprised, by whose boat a letter was sent to the chief mandarins at Canton, expostulating their breach of truce, excusing the assailing of the castle, and withal in fair terms requiring the liberty of ti'ade. This letter it seems was delivered; for, the next day, a mandarin of no great note, some time a Portugal Christian, called Paulo Noretty, came towards the ships in a small boat with a white flag, to whom the English, having laid open the injuries received, and the sincere intent they had to establish fair trade and commerce, and were no way Avilling (but in their own defence) to oppose the China na- tion, presented certain gifts, and dismissed him to his masters, who were some of the chief mandarin?, riding about a point of land not far from the ships, who, being by him duly informed thereof, returned him again the same night with a small jounke, and full authority to carry up such as should be ap- pointed to Canton, there to tender a petition, and to conclude further upon the manner of their future proceedings." The result was, that the blame of the late skinnish was laid by the mandarins on the slanders of the Por- tuguese, and the captured guns being restored, the ships were supplied with cargoes. No farther trade, however, ensued for many vears. Soon after this period the interior of China was distracted by the contests between the Manchow Tartars and Chinese, while the coasts were overrvm by large fleets of pirates, under the leaders whom we have already had occasion to notice. Another attempt was made by the English in 1664 to establish a commercial intercourse with Canton. The company's agents landed at Macao, and ob- tained a lodging there, with the view of pro- secuting a negotiation with the Chinese : these, however, demanded 2,000 taels on each ship as a port charge, and when 1,000 were offered, they rejected the proposal. At length a guard of Chinese was placed over the Eng- lish, and they were obliged to abandon the attempt and return to Bantam; there being every reason to suppose that the Portuguese, as usual, were instrumental to their failure. In 1668 peace with the Dutch encouraged the company to look towards Chma, and ac- cordingly application was made to Sir Robert Southwell, ambassador in Portugal, to obtain good treatment for our ships, should they be obliged to touch at Goa or Macao. In the same year the company's servants at Bantam observed, in a despatch to the court, " Hock- chue ^ will be a place of great resort, afl\>rd- ing all China commodities, as tutanag, silk, raw and wrought, gold, China root, tea, &c., for which must be carried broad-cloth, lead, amber, pepper, coral, sandal-wood, red-wood, incense, cacha (cassia), putchuk, &c."' These, all of them, form articles of trade at present with either England or India. The records then show that, in 1670, a trade was established at Taywan, or Formosa, with the chief Koshinga, who, as we have before seen, had expelled the Dutch from that island in 1662. It is possible that, knowing the rivalry and animosity which existed be- tween the Dutch and English, he encoiuaged the latter to come, as a counterpoise in bis own favour, should the Dutch attempt to repossess themselves of Formosa. A ti-eaty was entered into, called " The conti-act made with the King of Taywan for the settling of a factory," in which the company stipulate '' that we may sell or ti'uck our goods with whom we please, and likewise all persons may have the same tree ti-ade uith us; that, for all injuries or wrongs that shall be done us by the people here, the king shall right us ; and, on the other hand, that what injuries or wrongs the English shall do, application being 1 The provincial pronuuciation for Fokchow Foo (which possesses j;reat advantages for European trade) in Fokieu province. PORTUGUESE INTRIGUES. made to the chief, satisfaction shall be made them ; that upon all occasions we may have access to the king's person ; that we may have the cljoosing of our own interpreters and es- crivans, and no soldiers to be put upon us, and also to be free to walk without Chinamen along with us; that what goods the king buys shall pay no custom : that rice imported pay no custom ; that all goods imported pay three per cent, after sale, and all goods exported be custom free." It was provided, however, that all ships should deliver up their guns and ammunition while in port. It seems that this tiade at length proved so unprofitable and vexatious, that the Company, in 1681, ordered their establishments at Formosa and Amoy to be withdrawn, and a trade, if possible, esta- blished at Canton and Hockchue, or Fokchow. In l(i83 Foi-mosa, as already noticed, was surrendered to the Tartars, and in a curious despatch to the Company, dated the 20th December in that year, it is observed, that, "the inhabitants were ordered, in the name of the Great Cliam of Tartai y, to shave all their hairs oif. save enough to make a mon- key's tail, pendent from the very noddle of their heads, and betake themselves to his countiy's habit." The Tartars, from the very first ci-nquest of China, liave shown a great disinclination to foreign trade, which may have arisen partly from their having a less esteem for it than the native rulers of the country, and partly from a fear of some collu- sion taking place between Europeans aiid their Chinese subjects. It is, in fact, since the Tartar conquest that the English have been excluded from Ningpo and Amoy, having ti-aded at the latter place while it re- mained independent of the Manchows, and some time after the rest of China had sub- mitted to them. The ship Delight was sent in 1685 lo at- tempt the re- establishment of a trade at Amoy ; and, about the same time, active exertions were made by the Company towards securing a regular commerce at Canton. In the pro- gress of all these trials one of the most striking circumstances is the stupid pertinacity with which the Portuguese of Macao excluded English ships from that port ; and the perfidy with which they misrepresented their supposed rivals to the Chinese, with a view to prevent their getting a footing at Canton. In tlie course of time they have been unable to ex- clude us altogether even from JMacao : but their systematic policy has been to attribute motives to the English which should injure them with the provincial government; and this was sti-ikingly exemplified during the expedition under Admiral Drury, in 1808. Soon after the Tartar conquest we find it stated by the mandarins, in reply to certain inquiries on the subject, that "• a present to the Emperor of strange fowls and beasts would be more acceptable than a ship's lading of gold." There can be no doubt that gifts of this kind are extremely well suited to Peking ; and, on the occasion of any future mission it Avould be well to keep the advice in view, instead of confining the selection of presents entirely to works of art ; as they were, in our past embassies, most of them unintelligible and useless to the Emperor and his court. The troubles of the trade at Canton ajDpear to have commenced very early. The Hoppo, or chief commissioner of customs, in 1689 demanded 2,184 taels for the measurage (or port charge) of the ship Defejice, but, on finding that it w^ould not be^ paid, he took 1,500 taels. In the mean while, one of the crew of the Defence had killed a Chinese, and a tumult ensued, in which several of the seamen and the surgeon of the ship lost their lives. Not satisfied with this, the mandarins declared that, mdess 5,000 taels were paid, the Defence would not be allowed to sail ; but, wiien they had refused 2,000, the captain quitted Canton, and took his vessel out of the river. The present charges on a ship of about 800 tons in the port of Whampoa are very little short of 5,000 dollars, or above £1,000. It appears from a letter of the Court of Directors to the factory in China, dated 23rd November, 1699, that a Consul's commission was sent out to the chief of the Company's council ; nor does any notice appear on the records of this having been subsequently re- called. They say, " we have obtained a com- mission from his Majesty to constitute you, and those who shall be hereafter appointed by us, as our President in China, to be the King's Minister or Consul for the English nation, with all powers requisite thereunto." The Court of Directors appear to have been unaware of 22 THE CHINESE. this when, in 1832, they denied that their President was any other than a Company's representative; indeed, it was very correctly observed in Parliament, with reference to this proceeding of the Court, that the complete powers with which the Legislature had vested the Chief in China over all British subjects seemed alone to give him a national character. From the beginning of the centur)'- until 1727, many very severe grievances were suffered at Canton, and, although the trade continued to proceed, it was with frequent interruptions. In that year we find that an exemption was demanded by the English from various extortions ; among others, a total charge of 16 per cent, on the trade ; heavy taxes on the compradors, or purveyors for supplying the ships ; and what was called the presefit o{ 1950 taels, in addition to the measurage, or port fee. For some time the local government had attempted to invest a single individual, called '• the Emperor's merchant,'" with the exclusive right of con- ducting the European commerce. This " monster in trade," however, (as he is very properly termed on the records,) was soon obliged to allow others to participate. The Hong merchants then endeavoured to establish a hong, or united firm, among themselves. The supercargoes upon this declined trading until the combination was dissol\ ed, and a representation to the Viceroy was at length successful in removing it. On their declaring, moreover, that they should be obliged to pro- ceed to Amoy, or some other port, unless the heavy charges on their trade were remitted, the Hoppo promised them redress. Notwithstand- ing this, in the following year of 1728, an ad- ditional duty of 10 per cent, was laid on all exports to Europe, and the remonstrances of the English merchants proved unavailing. From what appears to have tianspired relative to this 10 per cent, duty, it seems clear that raw produce has, from the very first, found a better market at Canton than manufactures. It is observed on the records, "a duty of 10 per cent, hath really been paid b}-^ the merchants to the Hoppo on all goods sold to the Europe ships for some years past, though, at the same time, the countnj ^ 1 Those from India. ships remain free. At length one of the merchants gave this reason, which they hold as a very just one, that the Hoppo, for several years past, observing that a considerable duty arose to the Emperor upon goods im- ported by the country ships, (the raw produce of India and the Straits,) and that the Europe ships brought few or none, he fixed that rate upon the merchants for all goods sold by them to the Europe ships.'' The great industry and ingenuity of the Chinese causes them to turn nearly all raw produce to good account; while the peculiarities of their national customs and tastes, added to the obstacles of both law and prejudice against European productions of art, render these far less acceptable in general. In 1734 only one ship, the Harrison, was sent to Canton, simply on account of the high duties and extortions. An attempt, however, was made at Amoy, in the ship Grafton. The history of the negotiations at that place aftbrds a notable specimen of Chinese rapacity and faithlessness. After spending months in the fruitless endeavour to obtain reasonable terms from the mandarins, thej'^ were compelled at length to take their departure for Canton, principally because they could not get liberty to trade with any persons but those wlio were leagued with the mandarins, one of whom was always stationed over them in the house they had rented on shore. In addition to the regular duties, wliich Avere very high, there was an extra charge of 20 per cent, for the Hoppo. " The ignorance of the Amoy merchants, (it is observed,) and the little encouragement they gave us, makes us almost despair of doing any business at that place." In 1736 the ship Nortnanton proceeded to Ningpo, and strenuous efibrts were made to open a trade there, unfettered by the oppressions they had suffered formerly in the neighbouring island of Chusan ; but they found the mandarins very imperious and obstinate, insisting, as a necessary preliminary, on the surrender of their arms and ammunition. There more- over appeared few inducements to trade ; for the record observes, " it seems rather to have been, than to be, a place of great com- merce." It is probable that this, with other parts of China, had suffered by the Tartar HEAVY CHARGES ON TRADE. 23 invasion. After wasting nearly two months in fruitless attempts to procme a fair trade, the Xonnanton sailed for Canton : on arriv- ing there it was found that the Emperor Kien-loongj who had just succeeded to the throne, had remitted the duty of 10 per cent., as well as the present of 1,510 taels, leaving that portion of the port-charges only which is called the ineaswage.^ When the edict ordering this remission was to be read in the Imperial Hall of Audience, the Hong merchants informed the different European traders " that they must prostrate themselves, kneeling on both their knees."' "Sus- pecting that the merchants endeavoured to make us believe this, in order that by our compliance we might be brought down to the same servile level with themselves ; consider- ing, also, that the posture insisted on is such a mark of abject submission as we never pay to our own sovereigns in Europe, we unani- mously agreed that we should dishonour ourselves and our countries in complying with it. Being apprehensive that they (the Hong merchants) might succeed in their de- sign of weakening us, by creatiixg in us mutual suspicions and jealousies, we met in a body, and, by unanimous agreement, gave our solemn words of honour that none of us would submit to the slavish posture required, nor make any concession or proposal of accom- modation separately, without first acquaint- ing all the rest." It was fortunate for them that they never prostrated themselves, for more substantial concessions would very soon have been demanded, had they gone through this form of allegiance and fealty. It seems that in that year (just a century since) the total immber of European ships at Canton was ten, viz., four English, two French, two Dutch, one Dane, and one Swede. At the close of 1741 his Majesty's ship Centurion, Tinder the command of Commo- dore Anson, arrived off Macao, in the prose- cution of her voyage round the world, being the first British man-of-war that visited China. The interesting details of that ship's stay are well given in the popular history of the voyage, and familiar to most readers. After ' Notwithstanding this, the provincial govern- ment contrived to exact the present to its full amount until lb29, when a trifling reduction was made in it. being hove down and repaired, the Centurion put to sea, and succeeded in capturing the Acapulco ship, with its valuable freight of treasure, with which she proceeded again to the Canton river, being in want of provisions. The Commodore on his arrival was sub- jected, as usual, to numberless vexatious delays ; and the following passages occur on the manuscript proceedings : — " A new diffi- culty was now started, that Mr. Anson, being lodged at Mr. Townsend's, must first go to Macao; for, if he remained in the house after Mr. Townsend left it, the Hong merchants said they should of course become security for him to the mandarins ; and should ^Mr. Anson take a Spanish ship near Macao, on the coast, they would then be made answerable for the damages, and perhaps lose their heads. Mr. Anson de- clared he did not want any person to be security for him, but told them that unless he got some provisions he would not stir out of Canton, for he had not five days' bread on board his ship. . . We assembled the merchants the third time, to persuade them, if possible, to prevail with the mandarins to grant Mr. Anson a general chop for all the necessaries he wants. They informed us, the mandarins had such a strange notion of a ship which went about the world seeking other ships in order to take them, that they could not be brought to hear reason on that head." At length the merchants became so luieasy at the Coimnodore's stay in Canton, that they suffered a purveyor to ship the provisions without the inspection of the custom-house. The loss of the Acapulco ship led the Spaniards, in 1744 to fit out several vessels for the annoyance of our China trade; and. when the Hardwicke East Indiaman arrived oft' the coast, a note was delivered, by means of a Chinese boat, to say that three Spanish ships were lying off Macao to intercept her : the Hardwicke accordingly sailed away for Amoy. There, however, the mandarins in- sisted on the ship's proceeding into the inner harbour without any previous conditions, as well as delivering up all arms and ammuni- tion. The merchants showed no disposition to trade, and, in fact, there seemed little to trade with. Accordingly, after fifteen days 24 THE CHINESE. [Vciw on Canton River.] of ineffectual trial, the sliip was compelled j to proceed to India against the monsoon, Avithout a single article of cargo ! Nor was the condition of the trade much better at Canton. The extortions increased in spite of all attempts at representation on the part of the supercargoes. The Hong merchants used every endeavour and at length succeeded in ])reventing the access of Europeans to the officers of government, finding that by that means they could exercise their impositions on 6oMwith the greater success and impunity. To the foreigners they alleged, that the man- darins were the authors of all the exactions on the trade ; to the mandarins, that the fo- reigners were of so barbarous and fierce a temper, as to be incapable of listening to rea- son. The records observe, that, " ever since they carried their point of preventing all intercourse between the Europeans and man- darins, they have imposed upon both in their turns, and put the trade of this place upon such a footing as without redress would ren- der it impracticable to Europeans.'' In these difficult times it was that Mr. Flint, a per- son of unconmion talents and merit, contrived to master the difficulties of the Chinese lan- guage ; but the ungrateful return which his energy and exertions in their service met with from his employers was such, as tended, in all probability more than any other cause, to discourage his successors from undertaking so laborious, luiprofitable, and even hazardous a task. We find Mr. Flint acting as inter- preter in 1747, and he soon had to perform a very prominent pail in China, as will appear hereafter. The grievances suffered by our ti-ade led TRADE FORBIDDEN AT NIXGPO. 25 to a remonstrance, in wlxich the principal points were, the delay in unloading the ships; the plunder of goods on the river; injurious affiches annually put up by the government, accusing the foreigners of hor- rible crimes, and intended to expose them to the contempt of the populace ; the extortions, under false pretexts, of the inferior officers ; and the difliculty of access to the mandarins. The ships were detained outside in 1754, until the Viceroy had promised to attend to these various complaints : but little was ultimately gained. It is to be apprehended that the want of union among the Europeans had, as usual, the eilect of frustrating their attempts at redress. "Some gentlemen,'" it is observed, " were of opinion that we ought to make a stand ; and as by arguing the case, we seemed to be the farther from a determination, we parted without any re- solve, except that every man would do as he liked best." This certainly was not the way to succeed with the Chinese. The animo- sities which prevailed between the English and French were productive of much trouble to both ; and to such a height did the disorders arrive at Whampoa, between the crews of the ditferent nations on shore, that an English sailor was at length shot by some of the French officers, and another taken prisoner; which was immediately followed by a letter addressed to the English super- cargoes from " Le Conseil de direction de Canton, representant la nation Franeaise a la Chine."' The Chinese magisti-ate held an inquest at Whampoa, and desired the French, in the first place, to give up their prisoner, which they did, alleging, however, that the English had commenced the disturbance, by attacking their people. As the Frenchman fired a musket, of which he had deliberately gone in quest, it was plainly nothing better than a murder ; and the English sailors were so exasperated, that there seemed to be no way of preventing their doing themselves justice, but to demand justice from the Chinese government. The Viceroy stopped the trade until they should give up the criminal ; and somebody was at length seized by the Chinese and taken into the city, con- fessing himself the guilty person. He was liberated the following year by order of the emperor, on occasion of a general act of grace ; and, as a means of preventing further disturbances at Whampoa, Dane's Island was allotted to the English, and French Island to the French sailors, for their recreation. In 1755 Messrs. Harrison and Flint were despatched to Ningpo, with the view of re- establishing a trade there if possible. On their arrival, they were well received, and the cliarges and customs appeared consider- ably lower than at Canton. The Fooyuen,ov deputy-governor, was so desirous of giving them encouragement, that he conceded almost all the articles in their memorial : in so doing, however, he appeared to have ex- ceeded his power ; for when the ship Holder- nesse subsequently proceeded to Ningpo to take advantage of this apparent opening, the ^'iceroy, who was then in the province, sent an order for all the great guns, small arms, and ammunition to be taken out of the ship, and the same duties to be paid as at Canton. Though the Fooyuen could not act directly against this order, he did not comply with it, but sent it straight up to Peking, widi an account of what he had done, thereby put- ting it out of the Viceroy "s power, as well as his own, to make an absolute decision in the interim. As it would have been the end of September before an answer could possibly arrive from Peking, the mandarins agreed to begin business, provided that half the guns and ammunition were delivered. Twelve great guns were accordingly given up, and the ships unloaded : the Holdernesse^ however, paid to the mandarins 2,000 taels, and the other charges and duties proved double those at Canton, while no residence was allowed on shore. The objection made by the govern- ment to a trade at Ningpo Avas "the loss of revenue to the emperor, accruing from over- land carriage of tea and other goods to Can- ton ;'" the very circumstance of course, which enhanced the prices of those goods to the European purchaser. On their depart- ure from Ningpo, the supercargoes were formally acquainted by the mandarins of all future trade being forbidden them at that port; and, on reaching Macao, the officers of the local government in like manner in- formed them of a public edict, confining the commerce to Canton. THE CHINESE. At length, in 1759. the factory once occupied by the English at Ningpo was destroyed, the merchants with whom they had dealt ordered to quit the place, and the war-junks directed to prevent any English ship from being supplied with provisions at Chusan. Mr. Flint, notwithstanding this, proceeded to Ningpo, upon which the Can- ton government forbade his return, desiring that he should be sent home to England whenever he re-appeared. On arriving at Ningpo he was refused all communication : upon this he proceeded to the neighbourhood of Peking, and succeeded in making his complaints known to the emperor. A man- darin of rank was appointed to proceed with him by land to Canton, and there, in concert with others, to sit in judgment on the Hoppo. Mr. Flint, on reaching Canton, remained ten days in the city, and then proceeded to the factory. Two days after, the foreigners of all nations were received by the Cliinese connnissioners, and informed that the Hoppo had been degraded, his place being supplied by another. All impositions, moreover, were remitted, except 6 per cent, on goods, and the present of 1,950 taels from each ship. It proved, however, that these fair appear- ances were destined only to be the prelude to a storm. Some days afterwanls, the Viceroy desired to see Mr. Flint, lor the purpose of communicating the emperor's orders : the council wished to accompany him, and their request was granted. When the party had reached the Viceroy's palace, the Hong merchants proposed their going in one at a time, but they insisted on proceeding too-ether : and on Mr. Flint being called for, thev were received by a mandarin at the tirst gate, proceeding onward through two courts with seeming complaisance from the officers in waiting : but, on arriving at the gate of the inner court, they were hurried, and even forced into the Viceroy's presence, and (under pretence of doing homage after the Chinese fashion) a struggle ensued with their barbarian conductors, in which they were at leno-th. by dint of numbers, thrown down. The Viceroy, seeing their determined resolu- tion not to submit to these base humiliations, ordered the people to desist; and then telling Mr. Flint to advance, he pointed to an order, which he called the emperor's edict, for his banishment to Macao, and subsequent de- partm-e for England. This he declared was on account of his endeavouring to open a trade at Ningpo, contrary to orders from Peking; he added, that the man who had written the Chinese petition was to be beheaded that day, for traitorously encourag- ing foreigners, " which execution," the record observes, " was performed on a man quite innocent of what these absolute and villanous mandarins were pleased to call a crime." At the same time, the complaints against the Hoppo were admitted to have been just. Mr. Flint was detained in the city, and conveyed to a place called Tsien- shan, or Casa Branca, near Macao, where he was imprisoned, but pretty well treated, though all correspondence was cut off. Some days after the above occurrence, the French, Danes, Swedes, and Dutch met in a body at the English factory, and jointly entered a protest against the act of the Viceroy : but Mr. Flint remained in prison from March, 1760. to November, 1762, when he was carried by the Chinese to Whampoa, and put on board the ship Horsendon, to be conveyed to England. The success and impunity of the Canton government on this occasion seems to have en- couraged it in its assumptions for some time after. When, in March, 1765, his Majesty's ship Argo arrived, convoying the Cuddalore schooner, with a supply of half a million of dollars for the Company's treasury, the Chi- nese insisted on searching the schooner, on the plea that a woman was on board : but when this was declined, as contrary to all precedent, they said it would be sufficient if a mandarin were admitted " to walk two or three times up and down the deck.'' They were told that when a licence had been granted for taking out the silver, they miglit send whom they pleased to walk up and down the deck. Pro- visions were denied to the Argo in consequence of this dispute, and it was at length arranged that a mandarin should go on board when the money was unladen. The Chinese next de- manded to measure his Majesty's ship Argo, but this was refused by Captain Affleck, more especially as there was a precedent against so THE PORTUGUESE GIVE UP AN EXGLISHMAX. 27 strange a requisition from a king's ship, in the case of the Centurion, Commodore Anson, in 1742. The ti-ade was again stopped in con- sequence, and the Council at Canton offered to pay the amount of measurage of the Com- pany 's largest ship in lieu of the Argo ; but the mandarins would not consent, and Captain Affleck at length allowed the Argo to be mea- sured. Had he sailed away at the commence- ment of the dispute, it is probable that this might l)ave been avoided. The ill-will generated on both sides by the insolence of the Chinese, and the consequences resulting from it, had the efl'ect of constantly embroiling the English and natives for several years after, during a period in which a greater number of affrays and homicides occurred than have ever been known of late years. In 1772 the Lord Camden was detained from 17th December to oth January following, in consequence of a tumult, in which several Chinese and Europeans were badly hurt; the wounded men were all conveyed into the fac- tory, where two mandarins examined them. The ship was at first detained, but permission at length given for her sailing, on condition that the person who originated the mischief was detained in confinement; but the recovery of all the wounded soon after put an end to the afiair. In the following year a most atrocious act of sanguinary injustice occurred at Macao, stamping indelible disgrace on the Portuguese of that place. A Chinese had lost his life, and some ungrounded accusation having im- plicated an Englishman, named Francis Scott, the local authority caused him to be appre- hended and confined. The case was tried in the Portuguese court, the accused examined, and depositions of witnesses taken; but the slightest trace of guilt could not be attached to the prisoner. The mandarins, however, obstinately claimed him, and threatened the town in case he was not delivered. To bring this perplexity to a close, a general meeting or council was convened, and a member of the Macao Senate argued, "it is unjustifiable to consent to the sacrifice of an innocent man ; and, as the most accurate inquiry sufUciently proves that the Englishman is not guilty, our reasons for not surrendering him should be submitted to the mandarins, and persevered in until we shall have succeeded in saving him from an ignominious death." The vicar-ge- neral, however, named Francisco Vaz. argued in the following singular manner : — " Mora- lists decide that when a tyrant demands even an iimocent person, with menaces of rmn to the community if refused, the whole number may call on any individual to deliver himself up for the public good, which is of more worth than the life of an individual. Should he refuse to obey, he is not innocent, he is crimi- nal."' Another Portuguese observed, with still less ceremony, " The mandarins are forcing away the Chinese dealers, determined to starve us ; therefore we had better surrender the Englishman."' The plurality of votes decided that Scott should be handed over, and the Chinese put him to death.' The following case occurs on the proceed- ings of 1780: — ■•' 14th December. Sjme days ago, a French seaman from the Success galley, country ship, killed a Portuguese sailor belonging to the Stormont in one of the merchants" houses. The man took refuge at the French ConsuFs, where he remained many days, but at last was given up to the Chinese, and was this morning publicly strangled by order of the Fooyuen. This is the first in- stance of one European being executed for the murder of another in this country, and appears to be a very dangerous precedent, as it may involve us in inextricable difSculties, if even by accident one man should kill another. The man executed to-day could not have had any trial of common justice: the affair happened between him and the deceased in Seunqua'S hong at night, nobody knowing of the quarrel until the Stormorifs man was killed ; and we do not understand that the Chinese Government took any means to find out the ti'uth. Foreigners are not here allowed the benefit of the Chinese laws, nor have they any privileges in common with the natives. They are governed merely by such rules as the mandarins for the time being declare to be their will ; and the reason why more inconveniences do not occur is this : — the officers of government on such occasions rather choose to exact money from the security merchants, compradores, &c., than use harsh 1 Taken from a " ( ontrilutioa to a Historical Sketch of Macao," 183J. 28 THE CHINESE. measures by which they gain nothing. Their corruption, therefore, is so far the foreigner's security." The fundamental maxim of Chinese inter- course with foreigners has been accurately translated by Pere Premare as follows, and it i is quite sufficient to explain their conduct. '• Barbari baud secus ac pecora iion eodem modo regendi sunt ut reguntur Sinae. Si quis vellet eos magnis sapientiae legibus in- struere, nihil aliud quam summam perturba- tionem induceret. Antiqui reges istud optime callebant. et ideo barbaros 7ion regendo rege- bant. Sic autem eos non regendo regere, prasclara eos optime regendi ars est." That is, '■' The harhariaiis are like beasts, and not to be ruled on the same principles as citizens. , Were any one to attempt controlling them by , the great tnaxims of reason, it u'oald tend to j nothing but confusion. The ancient Kings rvell understood this, and accordingly ruled barbarians by misrule. Therefore to rule bar- barians by misrule is the true and the best way of ruling them."' It is on this principle that all the benefits of Chinese law are denied to strangers, and that, in the case of even acci- dental homicide, they are required to be delivered up, not for trial, but execution. The mischiefs of such a system are obvious, and it is in consequence of this that acts of atrocious violence, on the part of foreigners, committed by them under the plea of doing themselves right, have been attempted to be justified, though coming strictly under the definitions of piracy, murder, or arson, wdiich, under a more vigorous government, would have rendered them the property of the public executioner. The following is a singular in- stance of successful daring. In the year 1781 a Captain M'Clary, master of a country ship from Bengal, had stopped a sloop on her way ] from Macao to ^lanilla. Being on shore at Macao, he told the Portuguese governor that he had ordered his mate to bring her into the harbour for examination, having reason to suspect she was Spanish property. The Por- tuguese on this had him seized and imprisoned until he had sent an order for the sloop being released without examination. This order being taken to the mate, he bore down to the sloop in order to comply with it ; but it blew such a gale of wind that the sloop got adrift, and was wrecked on the rocks. IvI'dary upon this was detained in prison for two months, until, by ill-tieatment, and threats of being delivered to the Chinese, the Por- tuguese had extorted from him a payment of 70,000 dollars, under the pretence of its being the value of the sloop. Some time after his liberation, while M'Clary"s ship was lying at Whampoa, in company with another vessel under Dutch colours, news arrived of war between England and Holland, upon which he seized upon the Dutchman as a prize. The Canton government immediately demanded restitution ; but M-Clary told them that if they would not interfere, the duties should all be paid regularly ; whereas, if they mo- lested him, he would take her out of the river. On the Chinese insisting that he should restore the ship, he rigged her and began to drop down from his anchorage. There was immediately a great bustle among the Chinese, and all the troops available, about 200, were rendezvoused at Tiger Island to intercept his passage. The ship in the mean while was surrounded by mandarins and merchants, and when threats and civilities had all failed, the Chinese being very anxious for a compromise, the genius of Ponkhequa, chief Hong merchant, devised the following expedient. The prize being close to the river's mouth, the Chinese were allowed to board her in a shouting, triumphant manner ; and, in return for his condescension, M'Clary was permitted to withhold an iron chest con- taining pearls and gold, freighted by certain Armenians. Meanwhile the Company's Council were in a very unpleasant situation, being held responsible by the government for the acts of M'Clary, who certainly was little better than a pirate. They replied to the Chinese, that they could not contiol his proceedings otherwise than by protests, and very properly refused the demand of the mandarins, that they should accompany the Chinese officers to the river to give weight to their measures. ••' The more," it is observed, " they perceived their own want of power over the real otl'en- der, the more they appeared resolved to exert it over us, whom they had been accustomed to see observant of all their regulations." An application was made by the Chinese to THE GUNNER IN 1784. 29 the Portuguese Governor of Macao, to deliver them up, which he declined, and a conclu- sion was at length put to these difficulties, only by the circumstances already stated. Towards the year 1782 the large sums lent by the merchants of various nations to Chinese, at a high rate of interest, had occasioned an accumulation of debts on the part of the latter, amounting, it is said, to the enormous extent of a million sterling. Among the creditors were numerous individuals con- nected with the trade of the Indian presiden- cies, and these, after a course of fruitless measures for the recovery of the property at Canton, applied, through the Indian Govern- ment, to the Admiral on the station, Sir Edward Vernon, for his assistance. A frigate was accordingly despatched to China, bearing a remonstrance to the Viceroy ; and after a reference of the subject to Peking, an edict was received from the Emperor, ordering the liquidation of the debts by the whole body of Hong merchants, as well as interdicting any one of them from borrowing money for tlie future from strangers. The debts were at length recovered, but so little effectual was the interdict that repeated failures of Hong merchants, for very large sums due to Eu- ropeans, occurred up to the year 1829. Among the unhappy cases which have arisen from the sanguinary practice of the Canton Government in the instances of homi- cides, whether accidental or otherwise, when committed by Europeans, the most remark- able, perhaps, is that frequently alluded to under the name of the gunyier's case, in 1784. On the 24th November, in that year, information reached Canton that a chop boat, alongside the Ladij Hughes, country ship, being in the way of a gun fired in saluting, three Chinese had been badly injured. Oil the following day it was learned that one had died ; and the gunner, though entirely innocent of any bad intent, and acting as he did in obedience to orders, absconded from fear of the indiscriminating cruelty of the Chinese. A weiynen, or deputed mandarin, soon waited on the chief of the factory, Mr. Pigou, and with the interpretation of the Hong merchants required that tlie man should be sub- mitted toexamhiation, admitting, at the same time, that his act had apparently proceeded from mere accident. The mandarin v/as informed tliat there appeared no objection to the man's examination, provided that it took place in the factory; a stipulation which was founded on the recollection of what had occurred in the Frenchman's case in 1780. Two days after, the weiyuen repeated his visit, accompanied by Ponkhequa, Hong merchant, with the same demands : he was informed that the Lady Hughes, being a private ship, was not to the same degree under the control of the chief as a Company's vessel ; but that, if they would be satisfied with an examination in the factory, every persuasion should be used to induce the supercargo of the ship, Mr. Smith, to produce the man. The Chinese declared that the trial must be before the Fooyuen in the city, and at length retired, requesting that Mr. Smith might not leave Canton for three or four days, to which he assented. At eleven the same night they returned to say that the man should be exa- mined in one of the factories ; but the event soon proved that this was merely to lull their suspicions, for early the next morning it was found that 3Ir. Smith had been decoyed from his factory by a pretended message from Ponkhequa, and conveyed into the city by force. Meanwhile the avenues leading to the river had been bairicaded, the merchants and linguists had fled, and the commmiica- tion with Whampoa was suspended. The heads of all the foreign factories justly considering this as a very threatening proceed- ing to the whole European community, united in a resolution to order up the boats of the several ships manned and armed, both as a security, and to manifest in the strongest manner the light in which they viewed tlie acts of the Government. Two English boats were despatched to Whampoa to carry this into ef- fect. The watchful Chinese now endeavoured to quiet them by a message irom the Fooyuen, to the purport that they should not be alarmed by tlie seizure of the Lady Hughes's super- cargo, as the intention was merely to ask him a iew questions and send him back again. The greater number of ships' boats reached Canton, although attempts were made to pre- vent them, by firing from the junks and forts in the river, and notwithstanding their having been absurdly ordered to use no arms in their 30 THE CHINESE. own defence. A very bombastic document was received from the Fooj'uen, threatening desti-uction if any opposition were made, and a show of force at the same time assembled in the river before the factories. On the 28th the foreigners all joined hi an address in be- half of Mr. Smith, and in the evening the Fooyuen desired to see a deputation from the factory of the several nations. These re- ported that " his behaviour was much agitated, and it was evident he would be glad to get handsomely out of the business." The Chinese were, in fact, frightened at their own boldness, and a little resolution on the other side might have saved the man's life. A linguist soon anived at the factory, bringing a letter from ^Nlr. Smith to the Cap- tain of his ship, desiring he would send up the gunner, or some other person, to be tried by the mandarins ; and this was forwarded on the 29th to Whampoa, backed by a letter from the Council. On the 30th the unfor- tunate gunner, an old man, was brought to Canton, and sent into the city, with an ad- di-ess, "signed by the English Council, and the representatives of the foreign nations,"" in his favour. He was received by a mandarin of superior rank, who verbalhj stated that no ap- prehensions need be entertained as to his life, and that when the Emperors answer had been obtained he should be restored. In about an hour after, Mr. Smith returned to his factory, stating that he had been very civilly treated. On the 8th of January following the mi- happy gunner was strangled ! This was the last instance of the kind to which the English had to submit in China, although not the last which has occurred at Canton; for the case of the poor innocent Italian, Terranova, given up by the Ameri- cans in 1821, was very similar. Our own countrymen, warned of what they had to expect from Chinese justice and good faith, have on all subsequent occasions been ready to undergo any extremities rather than be parties to the death of an innocent man ; and their exertions have in several instances been crowned with signal success. Soon after the above unfortunate occurrence, in 1784, the attention of the British Government was naturally dra^vn to the growing magnitude and importance of the trade at Canton; and it cannot be denied that, since the mis- sion of Lord Macartney to Peking, the gene- ral condition of the English at that place has been considerably bettered. It was in fact only four years after tlie death of the gunner that Coloirel Cathcart was sent from England, (in 1788.) in the /es/«/frigate, as ambassador to China. His death on the passage out, in the Straits of Sunda, put an entire stop to the mission for the time, and the frigate returned to England ; ^ nor was it until 1792 that the project was renewed on a larger scale. In the month of January of that year, Mr. Dtm- das set on foot the proposal of a Chinese em- bassy, grounded on the consideration of our trade having gradually increased until its actual amount exceeded that of all other nations; to which it was added, that the intercourse of almost every other country with that empire had been attended with special missions to Peking. It was hoped that such a measure might relax the various trammels by which the commerce with China was shackled, relieve it from some of its ex- actions, and place our countrymen at Canton on a footing of greater respectability, as well as security, in relation to the local govern- ment. Lord Macartney accordingly pro- ceeded from England in the Lion^ a sixty- four gun ship, in September, 1792, accom- panied by Sir George Leonard Staunton, as Secretary of Legation. The occuiTences and result of that embassy are so well known from the celebrated work of the last-named individual, as well as from the relation of IMr. Barrow, that it would be superfluous to dwell upon them here. One of the principal effects of the mission was to draw a much greater share of the public attention towards China, and to lead gradually to the study of the language, literature, institutions, and manners of that vast and singular empire — a field which liad hitherto been occupied almost exclusively by the French. 1 The tomb of Colonel Cathcart is still marked by a handsome monument, visible from the anchorage of shiijs at Anjier Point. RESULTS OF THE EMBASSY OF 1793. 31 CHAPTER III. ENGLISH INTERCOURSE — (continued.') Objects and Results of the Embassy of l793 — Affair of the Providence Schooner— American Flag hoisted in 1802; hauled down in 1832 — First Expedition to Macao — Mission to Cochin-China — Admiral Linois re- pulsed by China Fleet — Ladrones, or Chinese Pirates — A Chinese killed by a Sailor; who is not delivered up — Second Expedition to Macao — 111 Success of Admiral Drury — Interdict against Mr. Roberts, at Canton — A Linguist seized — His Majesty's ship D.jris — Trade stopped by the Committee, who succeed in their objects — Mission of Lord Amherst — Question of the Ko-tow — Forts silenced by the Alceste Frigate — Cases of Homicide in 1820 and 1821— His Majesty's ship Topaze — Trade re-opened— Fire of Canton- Failure of Hong Merchants— Discussions with Chiaese— Factory invaded by Fooyuen- Letter from Governor-General to Viceroy— Voyage of the Amherst— Fightm^ between Smugglhig Ships and Chinese — Termination of the Company's Charter. One of the principal objects of Earl Macart- ney's mission to Peking was to obtain, if pos- sible, the permission uf the emperor to trade at Ningpo, Chusan, Tien-tsin, and other places besides Canton. All discussions upon these points, and indeed every matter of business, were studiously avoided by the Chinese minis- ters and mandarins, during the residence of the embassy at Peking ; but, in his letter to the King of England, the emperor did not omit to state distinctly, that the British com- merce must be sh'ictly limited to the port of Canton. " You will not be able to complain," adds he, " that I had not clearly forewarned you. Let us therefore live in peace and friendship, and do not make light of my words."' Were a judgment to be formed from the experiment which took place in that same year, to trade at Chusan with the specific leave of the emperor, the privilege would not seem to be a very valuable one. Captain Mackintosh, of the Company's ship Hindos- tan, who attended his Majesty's ship Lion to the Yellow Sea, had free licence to ti-ade at Chusan if he pleased (on that particular occasion), and the ship was freed from all duties and port-charges, as pertaining to the embassy. He accordingly went there, i and " found the mandarins and people perfectly well disposed to comply with the emperor's orders in respect to the privileges to be granted to the captain and his officers in the purchase of a cargo there ; and tea and silk were much 1 Staunton's Embassy, vol. ii. p. 523. cheaper than elsewhere: but the Chusan traders were not prepared for so extensive a concern as a cargo of goods, fitted for the European market, to fill a ship of the size of the Hindostan, full 1,200 tons, nor for the purchase of the European goods on board her, better calculated for a larger city. They would therefore expect specie for most of the articles they could furnisli for the Hindosfan, and which had not been provided by her commander. He found it therefore expedient to proceed to Canton.'' As it was hoped that the embassy had not been without its elfect in conciliating the good-will of the Chinese Government to the British ti-ade, it was resolved, shortly after- wards, to follow it up by a letter from his majesty to the emperor, accompanied by presents. These accordingly reached Canton in January, 1795, with letters and presents from the ministers, and the chairman of the East India Company, to the viceroy; and the whole were conveyed into the city by the chief of the British factory. The viceroy received the address to the emperor with much satisfaction, and forwarded it, together with the presents, to Peking, from whence a reply, with corresponding presents, Avas afterwards returned. Objections, however, were made to accepting the letters and gifts intended for the heads of the Canton Government, on the ground of its not being allowable for Chinese ministers to entertain a correspondence with the officers of a foreign government. It was recorded on this occasion, as well as on a subsequent one in 1805, that tribute had been sent by the King of England to the " Son of 32 THE CHINESE. [The Emperor Kien-looni;.] Heaven," and the record was quoted, not long since, by the Canton Government, in an official paper addressed to the writer of this, as president of the select committee in China, who stated, of course, in reply, that presents had been sent, but no tribute. No untoward events occurred, for several y^eai-s subsequent to the embassy, to interrupt the quiet progress of commercial affairs at Canton. The mandarins had improved in their conduct towards the merchants, and the highly objectionable measure of stopping the trade on the most trifling occasions had not been lately resorted to by the Chinese. At the same time, some of the heaviest burthens on the European trade still continued, being too profitable to both the local government and the Hong merchants to be readilv aban- doned by them. The most objectionable of these were, the Consoo fund, arising from a rate which the Hongs were permitted to levy upon the foreign commerce, in order to meet the heavy demands of the government on themselves; and the inordinate amount of the port-charges and fees. An unfortmiate occurrence, however, in 1800 threatened for some time to place British affairs at Canton in some jeopardy, although proceeding, as very usual on such occasions, from the fault of the natives. While his Majesty's schooner Providence was lying at "VVhampoa, a party of Chinese in a small boat appeared one night to be attempting to cut the schooner's cable. As they returned no answer on being hailed, a shot was fired into the boat, by which one Chinese was wounded, MISSION TO COCHIN-CHINA. 33 and another, who jumped overboard in his fright, was drowned. The government, as Tisual, demanded that the person who tired the musket should be delivered up ; but Captain Dilkes, who was then in China, commanding his Majesty "s sliip Madras, re- quired, on the other hand, that the Chinese in the boat should be punished for their de- linquency; and refused to deliver up the seaman, or even to allow him to be tried, except in his own presence. The wounded Chinese at length recovered, and so the corre- spondence closed ; but. some time afterwards, an abstract of the Chinese law relating to homicide was handed to the select committee by the local government; although the shameful injustice and pertidy with which, on several occasions, the mandarins had treated foreigners accused of such oftences, gave them no riglit to expect that their laws should be much attended to. It was in the year 1S02 that the American flag was first hoisted at Canton. The consu- lar agent for the United States, who was in all cases, appointed from among the American merchants resident in China, was simply a commercial officer, and called a Tue-pan, or factory chief, by the Chinese. He received no salary whatever from his Government, but was permitted to levy fees in the transaction of business with his countr^'men, besides trading on his own account. The American flag contiimed to fly at Canton until very lately, notwithstanding tlie inten-uption which the trade of the United States, fur some time previous to 1815, experienced by the war Avith England ; but in the year 1832 a dis- pute occurred between the Consul for the time being, and the Captain of an American frigate, then on a visit to China. The Cap- tain having failed to call upon the Consul, the latter took offence on the occasion, and the two republicans were too tenacious of their respective ranks and dignities to come to an accommodation. The flag was struck, and the Consul proceeded home. Such dis- putes are rendered impossible, between English officers, by the regulations of etiquette conveyed in the consular and naval instructions. An occurrence of some importance, in 1802, tended to establish, beyond all doubt. a point which had sometimes been ques- tioned ; and this was, the nature of the tenure on which the Portuguese held Macao of the Chinese. It was in that year that Lord Wellesley, Governor-general of India, being apprehensive that the French repuljlic had some designs against the Portuguese establish- ments in the East, considered it necessary to garrison the principal settlements of our '• ancient ally" with British troops ; and ac- cordingly an expedition was sent from Bengal to take Macao under our protection. The Portuguese would have admittted the offered aid — indeed they had not the power to refuse it — but the leave of the real masters had never been asked. The Viceroy of Canton indignantly repelled the idea of any portion of the Chinese empire needing aid from foreigners, and required the troops imme- diately to depart. In the meanwhile it for- tunately happened that the brig Telegraph, despatched by the Court of Directors with news of the peace in Europe, arrived off Macao, and the whole of the troops accord- ingly returned at once to Bengal on the 3rd of July. The Portuguese did not fail on tins occasion to carry on their customary in- trigues with the Chinese Government, with whom they did their best to ingratiate them- selves, by misrepresenting the views and de- signs of the English. An unfortunate priest named Rodrigues, from whose knowledge of the Chinese language considerable assistance had been derived during the stay of the ex- pedition, was in consequence so persecuted by his countrymen that he was compelled to quit the place. The Portuguese, however, have since had ample leisure to repent their short-siglited and narrow policy towards our countrymen, which had the effect of driving the whole of the Indian opium trade from I\[acao to Lintin, and thereby depriving the former place of its most fertile, and indeed onlif source of wealth. The advantages of establishing, if possible, some commercial relations with the King of Cochin-china, on the part of the British, had been a subject of attention for some time when the present Lord Strathallan, at that period Mr. Drummond, President of the select committee at Canton, appointed Sir. Roberts, a member of the factory, to proceed 34 THE CHIXESE. on that service in November, 1803. That gentleman was directed to attend to the in- structions of the Governor-general of India, from whom he was the bearer of a letter to the Cochin-chinese king. Mr. Roberts was civilly received, and met with much liberal and friendly assistance from the French mis- sionaries at Hue-foo, the capital. Ke had two audiences of the king, with an inter- change of presents ; but the Council, with the usual cautious and exclusive spirit of the ultra- gangetic nations, would not consent to any written treaty of commerce ; and the envoy returned to Canton, after some months" residence, without having been able to establish the ends contemplated : nor was the more recent expedition of Mr. John Craw fur d, to the same country, attended with any better success. It appeared, sub- sequently to Mr. Roberts's mission, that re- ports prejudicial to the English were raised by a Portuguese of Macao, named DAbrio, stating that they meditated an attack on the country. Much alanu was excited, and, when the Discovery surveying vessel ap- peared on the coast, refreshments were denied to her. The considerable naval force, which had been maintained by France in the eastern seas for the annoyance of ouv India and China trade, had directed the particular at- tention of the Company to the due arming of their ships, and an occasion occurred, in 1805, when the efficiency of those noble ves- sels was signally proved. The China fleet, consisting of sixteen sail, under the command of the senior officer, Captain Dance, was homeward-bound on the 15th February, when it fell in with the French squadron, under Admiral Linois, who had been cruiz- ing for some time to the north of the Straits, with the express view of cutting them oft". The fleet, of which most of the ships mounted thirty guns and upwards, formed in order of battle, and advanced boldly to the engagement, the van being led by Captain Timins of the Royal George, who engaged the Admiral's ship, a vessel of eightj^ guns, and received upwards of sixty shot in his hull and rigging. The fight concluded by the French squadron setting all sail, and leaving the English in quiet possession of the field, as well as of the immense amount of national property of which they were in charge. The Commodore of the fleet was knighted in ap- probation of his gallant conduct, and the commanders of all the shijDs presented with swords, and other marks of distinction. This highly respectable service has been dissolved by the operation of the act which deprived the East India Company of their former privileges. About this period, or shortly afterwards, commenced the career of the Chinese pirates, called, after the Portuguese of Macao, Ladrofies, who for some years spread terror along the coasts of the Canton province, and even up the river itself, as far as the city. The southern shores of China, from the innu- merable islands with which they are studded, have always given employment and shelter to a hardy race of fishermen, whose poverty, joined to their independent habits, have at diflerent periods led them to combine in large bodies for piratical purposes, in defiance of the weak and inefficient maritime force by which the coasts of the empire are guarded. The power of the celebrated leader, Koshinga, and his successes against the Dutch settlers on Formosa, during the seventeenth century, have been already noticed ; and a squadron scarcely less formidable was destined to ap- pear during the period which elajised between 1806 and 1810. Very particular accounts have been obtained of these singular free- booters, not only from a Chinese work, but from the personal narratives of Messi*s. Turner and Glasspoole, two Englishmen who had the misfortune to fall into their hands, and who were compelled under pain of death to attend the pirates in all their expeditions. But however great their contempt for the imperial fleet of China, or any other native force to which they might be opposed, these Ladrones never willingly engaged a Euro- pean vessel larger than a boat, and the follow- ing observations of the Emperor Kanghy seem to show that their predecessors in his time were equally cautious. " We have lately heard, from the pirate who surrendered and threw himself upon our mercy, that when his companions went to plunder vessels on the seas, it was their jtractice to avoid all Euro- pean ships, being afraid of their fire-arms," LADRONES, OR CHINESE PIRATES. 35 &c. The force and number of the later squadron of freebooters has been pretty ac- curately ascertained from the accounts of Messrs. Glasspoole and Turner. Their junks or vessels amounted in 1810 to about 600 of various sizes, from 80 to 300 tons of which the largest seldom mounted more than twelve guns, varying from six to eighteen pounders, which had been either purchased from European ships, or taken from the Chinese ; but chiefly the latter. Their hand-arms were pikes with bamboo shafts from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and they used, besides, the common Chinese pike with a handle of solid wood, and an iron point consisting of a slightly curved blade. They had also short stabbing swords, not two feet in length. Their guns as usual were mounted on solid timber, with- out trucks, breechings, or tackles, and run out right abeam, so as to be fired only when they could be brought to bear upon the object, by wearing the vessel! The broadside being fired, they hauled oft' to reload, which is a difficult and tedious operation with the Chinese. The largest junks cai-fied between 100 and 200 men, and were furnished each with an armed boat for committing depreda- tions among the towns and villages on shore. Few narratives can be more interesting than that of Mr. Glasspoole, which was published in the United Service Journal, but which cannot be detailed in this place. Both that gentleman and Mr. Turner were ransomed for considerable sums by their friends at Canton, and escaped happily to relate their singular captivity and adventures. Not the least remarkable feature about this formidable fleet of pirates was its being, subsequent to the death of its original chief, very ably governed by his wife, who ap- pointed her lieutenants for active service. A severe code of laws for the government of the squadron, or of its several divisions, was en- forced, and a regular appropriation made of all captured property. Marriages were strictly observed, and all promiscuous intercourse, and violence to women, rigorously punished. Passess were granted to the Chinese junks or boats wliich submitted to the pirates : but all such as were captured in Government vessels, and indeed all who opposed them, were treated with the most dieadful cruelty. At the height of their power they levied contri- butions on most of the towns along the coast, and spread terror up the river to the neigh- bourhood of Canton. It was at this time that the British factory could not venture to move in their boats between that place and Macao without protection ; and to the Ladrones, therefore, may be partly attributed the origin of the valuable survey of the Chinese seas by Captain Ross; as the two cruisers which were sent from Bombay, at the select committee's requisition, to act against the pirates, were subsequently em- ployed by them in that work of public utility, the benefits of which have been felt by the whole commercial world. Finding that its power was utterly unavail- ing against the growing strength of the La- drones, the Chinese Government published a general amnesty to such as would submit, and return to their allegiance; a stroke of policy which may be attributed to its ac- quaintance with the fact, that a serious dissen- sion had broken out between the two prin- cipal commanders of the pirate forces. This proceeded even to the length of the black and red squadrons (which they respectively headed) engaging in a bloody combat, ^vherein the former was discomfited. The weaker of the two now submitted to accept the offers of the Government, which promised free pardon, and kept its engagements; the leader was even raised to some rank in the Emperor's service ! Being thus weakened by the desertion of nearly half her forces, the female chieftain and her other lieutenant did not much longer hold out. The Ladrones who had submitted were employed by the crafty Government against their former asso- ciates, who were harassed by the stoppage of their supplies, and other difliculties, and a few more months saw the whole remaining force accept the proffered amnesty. Thus easily was dissolved an association which at one time threatened the empire : but as the sources and circumstances, whence piracy has more than once sprung up, are still in existence, the success and impunity of their predecessors may encourage other bands of maritime robbers to unite in a similar con- federacy at no distant period. A corisiderable number of years had elapsed D 2 36 THE CHINESE. since the occurrence of one of those homicides, which, even when accidental, always prove so serious and embarrassing to the trade at Can- ton ; but in the month of March, 1807, a case happened which showed in the strongest light the consequences which may at any time result from the riotous and unruly con- duct of our seamen on shore, subject as they are in China to be supj^lied on the cheapest terms with ardent spirits, called samshoo, generally adulterated with ingredients of a stimulating and maddening quality. A por- tion of the crew of the ship Neptune had been drinking at a spirit-shop, and a skirmish soon took place with the Chinese, upon whicli the men were collected as soon as possible by their ofTicers, and contined within their quar- ters. The idle Chinese, however, assembled in great immbers before the factory, and pelted the gates, as well as every European who passed, notwithstanding the presence of some Hong merchants who had been summoned on the occasion. The confined sailors, at length losing patience, broke through all re- straint and sallied out on the mob, whom they scattered in an instant, and one Chinese was knocked so rudely on the head that he died. The ti-ade as usual was stoi)ped by the Chinese, and the Hong merchant, who secured the Neptime, held answerable by the Govern- ment for the delivery of the ot!ender. No- thing could be elicited as to the identity of the individual, in a court of inquiry held on board the Neptune. The mandarins at first demanded that the men should be tried within the city, but the case of the poor gunner was retorted upon them, and the thing was de- clared to be impossible. It was at length arranged that an examination should take place within the factor)', before Chinese judges, but in the presence of the select com- mittee and Captain Rolles. of his Majesty's ship the Lion, who were provided with seats in court, while two marines with fixed "bayonets stood sentries. Eleven of the men, it Avas proved, had been more violent than the rest, but no indi- vidual could be marked as the actual homi- cide, though the Chinese still demanded that a man should be given up. It was at length settled that one of the eleven, named Edward Sheen, should remain in custody of the com- mittee : the understanding at first was, tha^ a fine to the relations of the deceased would be sufficient, but on the committee preparing to proceed to Macao, the Government required his being left behind. Captain Rolles now interfered, and declared that, if Sheen was not permitted to be taken by the committee to Macao, he should take him on board the Lion, and the point was at length conceded. The local government being puzzled how to proceeed, invented a tale in which it was stated that Sheen, while opening an upper window, had dropped by misfortune a piece of wood, which struck the Chinese on the forehead and caused his death. This was sent up to Peking as an oflEicial report, and an imperial reply was soon obtained, sanction- ing the liberation of Sheen on his paying a fine of about twelve taels, or four poundsf sterling, to the relations of the deceased. This singular transaction proves at once how easily the Emperor may be deceived, and with what readiness the local government can get out of a difficulty. The firm and suc- cessful conduct of the committee and of captain Rolles was much approved, and to the latter 1,000/. was voted by the Court of Directors. Early in 1S08 information reached India of the probability of ambitious views being entertained by France towards the East, and of the danger to which Macao might be ex- posed by the vicinity of ^Manilla, if the French should make tliat Spanish colony their own. In consideration of treaties by which Eng- land was pledged to protect Portugal and its settlements against aggression, as well as of the interests which the English themselves had at stake in the neighbourhood of Canton, Lord ]\Iinto, having garrisoned the colony of Goa, by a convention with the governor of that place, deemed it fit to send an expedition for the protection of Macao, which he appre- hended might be threatened by an enemy's fleet. It might reasonably be questioned how far such a measure was well advised, after the experience of the similar expedition just six years before, when it plainly appeared that the Chinese treated Macao as a portion of their empire, and the Portuguese as mere tenants at will: the result at least was an utter failure. EXPEDITION OF ADMIRAL DRLTvY. 37 The Portuguese Governor of Macao, with Ills two or three hundred starved blacks, could of course pretend to offer no opposition ; he in fact soon received an order from Goa to admit the troops ; but, under a thin veil of compliance and affected friendship, it soon appeared that the Portuguese were doing everything in secret to misrepresent the designs of the English to their Cliinese masters, by whom they were forbidden to admit any force into Macao, without per- mission previously obtained. It being deter- mined, however, by the President of the committee, and by Admiral Drury, who commanded the naval force, that the troops should land, a convention was signed on the 21st of September, and they Avere disembarked quietly on the same day. An order soon came from the Viceroy for the troops to depart; and, when this was not complied with, the trade at Canton was stopped, and provisions denied both to the Indiamen and to the squadron of his Majesty's ships. An edict of the Chinese observed, " Knowing, as you ought to know, that the Portuguese inhabit a territory belong to the celestial empire, how could you suppose that the French would ever venture to molest them : if they dared, our warlike troops should attack, defeat, and chase tliem from the face of the country."' The Admiral proposed to the A'iceroy by letter, that they should have an audience at Canton to accommodate matters, but no answer whatever was returned. All British subjects were soon after ordered to join their respective vessels, and his Majesty's ships were moved higher up the river. As the ^'iceroy still refused an audience to Admiral Drury, and declared that he knew no English anthority but the Company's chief, the Admiral pro- ceeded to Canton in person, and insisted on an interview, saying, he would be in the city in the course of half an hour. The Viceroy persisted in declining the visit, and the Admiral, instead of pei'severing in his intentions, retumed to his ship. Some time after this, the boats of all the men-of-war and Indiamen were manned and armed, for the purpose of proceeding on a second visit to Canton, and forcing a way through the line of Chinese vessels which were moored across the river, and filled with soldiers, in order to prevent the Admiral's approach. On reaching the line, he pulled up in his own boat to address the principal mandarin, through the medium of a Por- tuguese priest who acted as interpreter; no parley, however, was admitted, and after being fired at for some time, one of the Admiral's men was wounded, when he ordered the signal to be made for attack. " The signal was not observed, and ordered not to be repeated. The Admiral then declared his intention not to force the Chinese line, and returned with the boats to the fleet. Though a man of undisputed courage, (as observed in the evidence before the Commons in 1830,) Admiral Drury seems not to have possessed that cool and deliberate judgment which was essential to the success of the business he had been engaged in."^ The attempt to proceed to Canton in the boats ought either never to have been made, or it should have been carried through. A pagoda was built by the Chinese near the spot, to commemorate their victory over the English. The ti-ade still continued at a stand, and the ^'iceroy issued an edict to repeat, that, while a single soldier remained at Macao, no commerce could be allowed. On the 8th of December, it was therefore determined to act on a document lately received from the Emperor, which afforded a fair pretext for relinquishing the point in debate. A con- vention was concluded in a few days after at Macao, the troops were embarked, and j Admiral Drury sailed away in the Russell for Bengal, on tlie 22nd December. Thus, after a fruitless discussion of three months, the Chinese ended in gaining their point, — the Avithdrawal of the troops; and their succes was calculated to increase the arro- gance by wliich they had always been suffi- ciently distinguished. The Viceroy of Canton, however, was disgraced and removed by the Emperor. The line of measures pursued by the Pre- sident in China in concert with the Admiral, on the occasion of the expedition, being dis- approved in England, he was superseded by a fresh appointment from home. The Chinese, 1 Parliamentary Evidence, 1830. 38 THE CHINESE. however, did not forget their grudge against Mr. Roberts, and they were encouraged by finding that he had been censured by the Company ; while the Portuguese, at the same time, with their usual servility, suggested complaints against him. Soon after he had again succeeded to a seat in the committee, and returned from a visit to England, the Hoppo in 1813 issued an edict against that gentleman, expressly on account of his measures five j^ears before, audit was declared that he was not permitted to proceed to Canton. Indisposition, it so happened, actually detained him at Macao on that occasion ; but the committe were determined to deny the right of Chinese interference in the appointments of the English authorities ; and, although the Factory reached Canton at the end of September, they would not permit the ships to unload until the interdict against Mr. Roberts should have been with- drawn. On the 22d November, the Presi- dent addressed a strong remonstrance to the Viceroy on the subject, but before an answer could be returned, the gentleman who was the subject of discussion died at IMacao of his illness. The President then declared that the principle on which the committee acted was in nowise altered by that circumstance : and as the Hoppo issued a paper, in which the local government disclaimed the right of interfering in the Company's appointments, the trade wa^ resumed. The jealous and suspicious character of the Chinese Government was eminently dis- played in the year 1813, on the occasion of some presents from England being conveyed to a minister at Pekin. Soong-tajin, a man- darin of high rank, who had acted as con- ductor to Lord ^Macartney's mission, and whose kind and conciliatory conduct to the English on that occasion, as well as when he afterwards filled lae office of Mceroy at Canton, had made some of them his warm friends, became at length elevated to the rank of one of the Emperor "s Council. It was therefore resolved in England that, both as an acknow- ledgment of past good offices, and an earnest of future ones, a letter aiid presents should be conveyed to the minister : the person selected for the performance of this service was a Chinese named Avew, for some time linguist at Canton, and by him the gold box and letter were safely conveyed to their desti- nation. He returned on the 25th August, with a card of acknowledgment from Soong- tajin; but not long after his arrival the linguist was seized by order of the Govern- ment, and after a summary trial banished to Tartary. for the crime of illicit dealings with foreign barbarians ! It was soon after learned that the unfortunate minister had been dis- graced, and the present sent back ; and it has been since remarked that the unguarded mandarin, whose amiable character distin- guished him above the generality of his countrymen, never afterwards regained his former power, or favour with the Emperor. The foregoing chcumstances came subse- quently, in the ^-ear 1814, to be mixed up with discussions in which the select commitee were involved with the local government, partly in consequence of the proceedings of his Majesty's ship Doris, which was then exer- cising a very active blockade against the Ame- rican merchantmen in the Canton river. In the month of April, the Doris being on a cruise near Macao, captured the American ship Hunter, oft' the Ladrone Islands, and brought her in. The Chinese Government immediately issued an edict, desiring the com- mittee to send the Doris away, which they of course answered by stating their inability to perform what was demanded. In May follow- ing, the Doris's boats chased an American schooner from the neighbourhood of Macao up to Whampoa, within ten miles of Canton, where they took her ; but, before she could be cairied out of the river, the Americans at Whampoa armed their boats and retook their schooner. This event with the capture of the Hunter previously, commenced the troubles of 1814. The Chinese hereupon entered upon a course of aggressive measurses. not against the frigate but against the factory, which soon be- came intolerable. The local government first prohibited the employment of native servants ; they then sent persons to enter the factory, and seize upon such Chinese as they found there. The boats of the Indiamen were molested while peaceably proceeding on their business on the river; and every attempt was made to prevent communication witli our men-of- war. EMBASSY OF LORD AMHERST. 39 The committee, seeing the hostile disposi- tion of the Government, determined on the bold measure of stopping the trade, as the only means of arriving at a remedy. The Chinese somewhat startled at their old weapon being turned against themselves, began to display a more conciliatory temper, and, after some de- bate, a mandarin was appointed to meet Sir George Staunton, who was deputed to conduct the negotiation on the part of the committee. Accordingly, on the 20th of October, Sir George proceeded to Canton, accompanied by Sir fheophilus Metcalfe and Mr. Davis. The first subject of complaint was the arrest of the linguist Ayew, for performing a service which was merely complimentary on the part of the English, and expressive of their respect for a dignified officer of Government, who had con- ducted the first embassy through China, and been on friendly terms witli its members. It was immediately replied, that his seizure was on account of a totally different affair, and that there was no intention of condemning the proceeding. Several meetings tookplace with the principal mandarins and one or two asses- sors, but little progress was made towards an adjustment; when the Mceroy suddeidy de- termined on breaking off the negotiation. The committee upon this, resolved on issuing a notice to all British subjects to quit Canton ; Sir George Staunton and the gentlemen with him embaiked in the fVerford, and the whole fleet proceeded down the river. This step had'the effect of completely curing the obstinacy of the Viceroy. A deputation of Hong merchants was sent down to the ships, with authority to state that mandarins Avould be sent to discuss the remaining points in dis- pute if Sir George would return. On his reaching Canton, an attempt was made to re- tract the pledge, but this could not be persisted in ; and, after several long and tedious audi- ences with the mandaiins, the principal points in dispute were gained, and incorporated in an official paper from the Viceroy, as the only security against a breach of faith on the part of the Chinese. The privilege of coixesponding with the Government under seal, and in the native character was now for the first time esta- blished : an assurance was given that no Chi- nese officer should ever enter the British factory without leave previously obtained ; and license was given to native servants to enter into the service of the English without molestation from the petty mandarins; together with some other points. The measures above detailed were highly approved in England; but the conduct and disposition of the Chinese Government for some time past had been such, as to prove that the commercial interests of the nation in China were exposed to the utmost hazard from the chance of perpetual interruption at the will of a capricious and despotic set of delegates, who kept the court of Peking in profound ignorance of their own oppressive and arbih-ary conduct towards the Company's trade. To these cir- cumstances are to be attributed the embassy of Lord Amherst in 1810, of which the object was to secure, if possible, the commerce of Great Britain upon a solid and equitable foot- ing under the cognizance of the Emperor, and with the advantage of a ready appeal to him in case of need. The design of a mission to Pe- king had been for some time entertained by his Majesty's Ministers and the Court of Direc- tors, when the arrival from China of the de- spatches of 1815 confirmed them in the resolu- tion. It was hoped, as a collateral object, and one within the range of possibility, that an English resident might be admitted at the capital, or permission be obtained for trading to some of the ports on the north-east coast. The embassy left England in the Alceste frigate on the 10th of February, attended by the Lyra brig, and the General Hewett, a Company's ship, and arrived off Macao on the 12th of July, when it was joined by Sir George Staunton, the first commissioner, as well as by the Chinese secretaries, and the other gentlemen who were appointed from England to accompany it to Peking. The ships reached the gulf of Pechelee on the 28th of July, but the ambassador did not land until the 9th of August. On the 12th the mission reached Tien-tsin, where a feast was conferred on the part of the Emperor, and an attempt made to bring about the practice of the ko-fow, or prostration, before a yellow screen, prepara- tory to the grand performance of it before the Emperor himself. This, however, was suc- cessfully avoided, on the plea that Earl Ma- cartney had not been required to execute that act of fealty and vassalage. 40 THE CHINESE. As some uninformed persons have, without sufficient consideration or knowledge of the subject, venturedto argue that the non-perform- ance of the ko-fow was too strict an adherence to punctilio on the part of both our ambassa- dors, it may be as well to show, that, putting (with them) all considerations of national honour and dignity entirely ovit of the question as mere vanities, and viewing the matter simply as one of commercial profit or loss, there is nothing to be gained by it, but the reverse. It was observed in the nan-ative of Lord Macart- ney's mission. '• The Dutch, who in the last century submitted at once to every ceremony prescribed to them, in the hope of obtaining in leturn some lucrative advantages, complained of being tieated with neglect, and of being dis- missed without the smallest promise of any favour." 1 The fate of a later Dutch embassy wa.s still worse ; but it is fair to state their gains against their losses on the occasion. In return for beating their heads nine times against the ground before the throne, they cer- taiidy had some broken victuals sent them, as from the Emperor. Of these, however, "\'an Braam observes, that they were principally sheep's trotters, '• which appeared to have been already gnawed clean. This disgusting mess,'* he adds. " was upon a dirty plate, and ap- peared rather destined to feed a dog than to form the repast of a human creature. " As this was the oidy public advantage they gained by their painful corporeal exertions upon tlie I ground, it may nextbe observeil that the whole course of their treatment on the journey back was of the most mortifying and degrading character. This embassy occurred in 1795, during the era of small-clothes, and before liberal principles had been generally established in dress, as in other matters ; and these hapless Dutchmen Avere made on the most trivial oc- casions of ceremony^ to perform their evolutions, while the wicked mandarins stood by and laughed — and who would not? — at what has been diplomatically styled, "the embarrass ment of a Duch-built stern in tight inexpres- sibles.'' Sir John Malcolm, who understood, if any man ever did, the Asiatic character, has i Vol. ii. IX 131. observed in one of his works : — " From the hour the first mission reached Persia, servants, merchants, governors of towns, chiefs, and high public officers, presuming upon our ignorance, made constant attempts to trespass upon our dignitj' ; and, though repellecl at all points, they continued their efforts, till a battle royal at Shiraz put the question to rest, by establishing our reputation, as to a just sense of ovir own pretensions, upon a basis which was never afterwards shaken." Russia, whose ambassadors, like our own, have refused to perform the Chinese act of vassalage, has a residency at Peking, which may at least (as an advantage) be set against " les pattes d'un mouton," and "les ossemens ronges," which the Dutchmen gained by performing it. Admitting, however, that the balance was in favour of the latter, it may reasonably be questioned whether it is wise, on such occasions, to sink all considerations of na- tional respectability. The Athenians were a politic as well as brave people; and when Timagoras, who was sent by them as ambas- sador to tlie King of Persia, had the impru- dence to degrade his country by the act of prostration, he was condemned to die on his return. But let us only do as the Chinese themselves have always doup. Gerbillon tells us, that when an officer of the Emperor Kang-hy was taken by the king of the Eluths, the latter insisted on his speaking on his knees ; but the Chinese refused, saying he was not his vassal, but his own Emperor's. A Chinese account of Japan expressly states that an ambassador from Peking to that coinitry refused the prostration, and, rather than compromise the honour of his nation, returned without com- municating the orders of his court. But it has been mere ignorance to consider the ko- tow as nothing but a ceremony. The unthink- ing majority is led by names, and it is im- portant to know that the prostration is the solemn rite by which the King of Cochin- China, and the rulers of the petty kingdoms of Corea and Loo-choo, do homage by their emissaries upon being confirmed by the Chi- nese emperor in the succession. The spirit and import of the ko-tow is that of the form by which the feudal tenant in capite did homage to his liege lord ; and every country CArSE OF EMBASSY S FAILURE. 41 that, like Japan, has professed to be indepen- dent, has declined performing it. However oddly it may sound to us, at the distance of more than 12.000 miles, the aspi- rations, with which the court of Peking aims at universal supremacy, are best expressed in the words of the old secular hymn : — " Alme sol, possis nihil urbe Roma Vise re majus !" All countiies that send tribute; while their ambassadors go through the forms of alle- giance, constitute a part of the empire, and their respective kings reign under the sanction of the ''• Son of heaven." This of course sig- nifies little enough at a distance, but the effect is felt in China ; for any remonstiance against oppression, on the part of a subject of one of these states, must be stopped by sucli an un- answerable argument, which ])roves at once his relative inferiority and worthlessness ; and what Ijad beeii merely the rights of indepen- deiice in another, become, in his case, rebel- lion, IVIr. Barrow, who had really studied China, and understood it well, observed that '■ a tame and passive obedience to the de- grading demands of this haughty court serves only to feed its pride, and add to the absurd notions of its own vast importance." A Jesuit at Peking, quoted by Du Halde, remarked, as long ago as 1687, that the princes of Europe should be cautious how they send letters and presents to China, lest " their kingdoms be registered among the tributa- ries." As this is rather an important subject, and may become a question of expediency at some future time, it is as well to add Dr. Morrison's observations : — " There is a diffe- rence of submission and devotedness expressed by different postures of the body, and some nations feel an almost instinctive reluctance to the stronger expression of submission. As for instance, standing and bending the head is less than kneeling on one knee ; as that is less than kneeling on two knees: and that less, again, than kneeling on two knees, and putting the hands and forehead to the ground ; and doing this once is, in the apprehension of the Chinese, less than doing it three times, or six times, or nine times. Waving the ques- tion whether it be proper for one human being to use such strong expressions of sub- mission to another or not, when any (even the strongest) of these forms are }-eciprocal, they do not interfere with the idea of equality, or of mutual independence. If they are not reciprocally performed, the last of the forms expresses in the strongest manner the submis- sion and homage of one person or state to another : and in this light the Tartar family now on the throne of China consider the san- kwei kew-Aow, thrice kneeling and nine times beating the head against the ground. Those nations of Europe who consider themselves tributary and yielding homage to China should perform the Tartar ceremony; those Avho do not consider themselves so should not perform the ceremony. •'•' The English ambassador, Lord Macart- ney, appears to have understood correctly tlie meaning of the ceremony, and proposed the only condition which could enable him to perform it, viz., a Chinese of equal rank per- forming it to the King of England's picture ; or perhaps a promise from the Chinese court that should an ambassador ever go from thence to England, he would perform it in the King's presence, might have enabled him to do it. These remarks will probably con- vince the reader that the English Government acts as every civilised Government ought to do, when she endeavours to cultivate a good understanding and liberal intercourse with China. But since, while using these en- deavours, she never contemplates yielding homage to China, she still wisely refuses to perform by her ambassador that ceremony which is the expression of homage.'' This argument takes the question upon a higher ground than that sordid one, of a mere com- mercial profit or loss ; but even according to that, we think it has been shown to be a losing speculation to kiss the dust before the Chinese Emperor. The performance of the prostration by its ambassador, places a coun- try on a level with Loo-choo. and those tribu- tary states whose kings reign by the sanction of the court of Peking. Thenon-perfomanceof it (which has been the uniform course pursued by every Chinese ambassador sent to a foreign country) proves the independent sovereignty of a state, and gains for its ambassador a far more respectful treatment than the contrary 42 THE CHINESE. procedure, as experience has sufficiently proved. In fact, the whole conduct of the persons deputed from Peking to negotiate the point of the ceremonial, joined to the information sub- sequently obtained, proved that the rejection of Lord Amherst's mission was not entirely on account of the ko-tow ; and that, even had the embassy being received in the hurried and un- dignified manner which was very properly resisted, it would have been sent away again within a few days, contrary to the regulation by which forty days are assigned as the limit of stay. The provincial government of Canton well knew that a principal object of the em- bassy was to complain of the treatment which our commerce had there experienced, and its whole influence had in every way been exerted to frustrate the success of the mission. Lord Macartney, who declined submitting to the prostiation, was more honourably received than almost any ambassador that ever entered China; audit was remarked that, if there was any difference in the treatment of Lord Amherst's embassy before and after its return towards Canton, it was in favour of the latter. But it was afterwards clearly demonstrated that the emissaries of the provincial govern- ment had been busily at work : and even during the progress of the negotiations a ru- mour Wcis heard that " one of the commis- sioners had purchased liis situation, to which he had no proper title ; that he had amassed an immense fortune by trade,"* &c., and other matters of the same kind, which, in con- junction with the treatment of the embassy clearly proved the agency of the Canton Viceroy and his colleagues. Meanwhile, these same local authorities lost no opportunity of displaying their ill-will towards the Alceste, the Lyra, and the Hewett Indiaman, which had proceeded to Canton, and reached that place some time before the arrival of the embassy through the interior of China. The Hoppo denied a cargo to the Hewett, on the plea of her being a " tribute ship," looking, no doubt for a handsome bribe from the Hong merchants for permission to load her. Leave was at the same time refused to the Alceste and Lyra to anchor at "W'hampoa, by which it was intended to de- grade the British ambassador below the tri- bute-bearer from Siam, vfhosejunk has free leave to enter the river ! The Alceste, how- ever, proceeded very^ leisurely on her way ; and Captain jSraxwell. on being fired at by the junks, and tlie fort at the river's mouth, silenced the junks with a single shot; while one broadside sufficed to send the garrison of the fort scampering up the side of the hill, down which that defence is somewhat pre- posterously built. The effect of this decisive conduct was evinced in the short space of one day, by the arrival of all sorts of provisions to the Alceste at Whampoa. by a free consent to load the Hewett, and by the publication of a statement that the firing at the entrance of the river was an affair of saluting ! Those who composed the embassy were gratified to find on their ai-rival at Canton, on the first of Januar\% that Captain Maxwell had not been deterred b}'- any unnecessary appre- hensions for their safety from duly maintain- ing the dignity of the British flag. The Viceroy, it appeared, had a letter from the Emperor for the Regent, which he was bound to deliver in person to Lord Amherst. It was resolved by his Excellency not to consent to any meeting with that functionary, unless the first place was yielded to himself and the commissioners ; as Chinese of the rank of the Viceroy were too much accustomed to arro- gate to themselves the precedence on such oc- casions, even with their guests; and it was important at Canton, the seat of our connex- ions with the country, to take this public op- jiortunity of maintaining his own rights. Accordingly a yellow tent was erected in which the "N'iceroy, reverently lifting above his head with both hands the Emperor's de- spatch wliich was enclosed in a roll of yellow silk, delivered it with much solemnity into the ambassador's hands. The whole party then repaired to an adjoining tent, where his Excellency, with Sir George Staunton (who had now resumed his former station at Canton) and the other commissioner, took their seats to the left ; and the Viceroy, and his lieutenant, and the Hoppo, on the other side. It was this same officer, by name Tseang Taj in, who had inflicted so many vexat:ons on the Eng- lish at Canton since 1814, of whom it was one of the prmcipal objects of the mission to complain, and whose intrigues at court CASE OF THE BUTCHER. 43 may be considered as a chief cause of its re- jection. His looks on this occasion betrayed his unfriendly feelings ; but an attempt which he made to say something uncivil met with such a reception as made him shrink within himself, and he was glad to hide his embar- rassment in a hurried take-leave, which closed the business of the embassy in China. Mr. Barrow calculates^ that Lord Macartney's mission cost the Chinese Government a sum equal to £170,000 sterling. Lord Amherst's must have cost nearly the same during the iive months it was on their hands ; and it is hardly surprising if they are not anxious for many such expensive visits. It has often been a subject of just remark, that this laisuccessful mission was followed by a longer interval of ti-anquillity, and of free- dom from Chinese annoyance, than had ever been experienced before. From the year 1816 to 1829, not a single stoppage of the British trade took place, except in the affair of the 7o/jrtce frigate in 1822; and there the Canton Government was glad to make the first advances to a resumption of the suspended in- tercourse, as we shall see. In 1820 an accidental occurrence took place, which gave rise to tran- sactions of a very remarkable nature, proving in the strongest manner the anxiety of the Go- vernment to avoid a discussion with the Eng- lish. Some boats from one of the Company's ships were watering in the river, when they were barbarously attacked by a party of Chinese with stones. The officer in charge of the boats fired over the heads of the assailants to make them desist, but the shot unfortu- nately took effect among some boys on a high bank opposite, and killed one of them. The Chinese, as usual, demanded that somebody should be given up ; but the committee in- sisted on the urgent emergency which led to the discharge of the gun, as well as on the accidental nature of the case. In the mean while, the butcher on board one of the ships committed suicide ; and the Chinese, on hearing this, immediately took it up, thinking proper to assume that he must be the individual who had shot the boy ! The utmost eagerness and haste were shown by them in appointing an inquest of mandarins ^ Travels in China, p. 605. who proceeded to examine the body ; and, as it was decided by them at once that the de- ceased butcher must be the homicide, the trade proceeded as usual. It must be observed, that the committee only granted permission for the ship to be boarded by the mandarins when they demanded it, and that the whole proceed- ing showed the extreme anxiety of the local authorities to accommodate the affair, as soon as they despaired of getting possession of some victim to be strangled without atrial. But they carried the matter still farther. A person of some rank, scandalized at this dis- graceful proceeding on the part of the Govern- ment, did his best to induce the father of the deceased boy to declare that he was not satis- fied of the butcher being the slayer of his son. The mandarins immediately took all the par- ties into custody, and punished the instigator of the complaint, as one who conspired to promote litigation and troubled Two cases of homicide now remain to be briefly related, which occurred within a short period of each other, and which exhibit, in every point of view, a very remarkable con- ti-ast. The one, which involved tlie Americans, proves the unhappy consequences of disunion among a number of private traders, each of them influenced by his individual interests and feel- ings ; the other, which implicated the English, must ever remain an example of the benefits to be derived in China from a well-organized and steady union and perseverance against the barbarous conduct of the Chinese. On the 23rd September, 1821, an Italian sailor, by name Francis Terranova, on board the American ship Emily, was the unfortunate cause of the death of a Chinese woman, whom he ob- served in a boat alongside selling spirits to the crew. He threw down a small earthen jar, which struck the woman on the forehead, and she immediately fell overboard and sunk, either in consequence of being stunned, or be- cause the wooden pin, to which her oar was fast- ened, broke on her pulling away from the ship. The American trade was stopped until the man should be delivered up. They consented 1 It has been ignorantly or malicioasly asserted, that the Committee were parties to this disf,'racefal transaction : but the allegation is false, and their official interpreter. Dr. Morrison, expressly refused the invitation of the mandarins to be present. 44 THE CHINESE. to his being tried by tlie mandarins on boai-d the ship, and after this mockery of justice, in which not a single witness was examined for the prisoner, and the offer of Dr. Morrison to interpret was refused by the Chinese, the poor man was declared guilty, and put in irons by the Americans, at the desire of his judges. In a week after, complaints and dis- cussions arose among those whose trading transactions were suffering from the delay, and, when it was required that the Italian should be delivered up for a second ti-ial at Canton, the Hong merchants were told that they might take him. In the words of Dr. Morrison, he was " abandoned by those who should have protected him." All Europeans. as well as Americans, were excluded from his mock trial, and by day -break next morning lie was hurried to the place of execution, in opposition to all the delays and forms of Chinese law, and cruelly strangled. The Peking Government was at the same time informed that he had been tried in open court, and that the American Consul had witnessed his execution ! The success of the Chinese on this occasion was likely to inspirit them on the next, wliich happened shortly afterwards, in the case of the English frigate Topaze. As that ship lay at anchor near the island of Lintin, on the 15th December, 1821, an unarmed party of her men, who were watering on shore, sud- denly found themselves set upon in a barba- rous manner by the natives, armed with spears and long bamboos. The lieutenant in command on board the Topaze, seeing the desperate situation of his men from the deck, hurried a party of marines on shore, who by their fire covered the retreat of the sailors, at the same time that some guns Avere discharged on the neighbouring village to keep it in check. Fourteen seamen were can-ied on board wounded, some of them severely ; while it proved afterwards that two Chinese were killed, and four wounded. Captain Richard- son, on the 19th, wrote to the viceroy, com- plaining of the assault, and laying the blame of the transaction on the Chinese ; but that officer would not communicate with him. Elated, no doubt, by his late success in the American case, he threatened to make the select committee responsible, and to stop the company's trade until Uvo Englishmen were delivered up. The committee, finding their remonstrances unavailing, perceived there was no better way of meeting the obstinacy of the Chinese than to embark in their ships, and quit the river until the affair should be settled. Ac- cordingly, on the 1 1th January, the flag at Canton was hauled down, and the whole fleet proceeded to the second bar ancliorage : this immediately produced an alteration in the viceroy's tone. On the 13th he issued a paper, declaring that, as the committee had taken such a step as to remove from Canton, he was convinced they could not control Ca])tain Richardson. They were therefore invited back, but at the same time informed that, uidess the men were delivered up, the trade should be stopped : the committee, of course, declined to return on such conditions. In the mean while, as the frigate had moved to ]Macao, the Chinese hoped for an oppor- tunity of saying that she had absconded; but her speedy return rendered this impos- sible. The discussions went on without any result (the country ships carrying on their business as usual) until the 2r)th Jaimary, when the Hong merchants brought down a paper from the viceroy, rejecting Captain Richardson's proposal to refer the matter to England, and reiterating tlie demand for the deliveiy of the men. The committee imme- diately ordered the fleet to get under weigh, and move below the river to Chuenpee. The Chinese pilots had been forbidden to assist them, but they moved down with perfect ease and safety, having their gvms double- shotted, in case the Chinese forts ventured to fire. Though it had been before declared that no farther intercourse could be maintained after the shi])s quitted the river, the merchants hurried down on the 29th, to propose that the committee should address the viceroy, stating it to be Captain Richardson's declara- tion, that two men had disappeared from the frigate; by which the local government would be enabled to show that these two men must be the homicides. On this inge- nious proposal being indignantly rejected, it was next hinted that the frigate should go away, if oidy for a few days, to enable the FAILURE OF HONG MERCHANTS. 45 viceroy to report that she had absconded. The committee reiterated their inability to return to Canton, unless they were totally separated and absolved from the proceedings of his Majesty's ships. Captain Richardson being jjresent, took occasion to state formally, that the time of his departure was approach- ing, in order to prevent their misrepresenting his motives hereafter. On the 1st February a letter was received from the merchants, stating that an officer of Government would be sent to Lintin to investigate the business ; and on the 4th a mandarin proceeded, by leave of Captain Richardson, to a conference on board the Topaze, where he saw some of the Avounded seamen. Visits of civility passed between the President, Captain Richardson, and the Chinese Admiral, as well as the deputed officer from Canton ; and on the 8th of the month, the frigate, having no further occa- sion to remain in China, set sail. A number of attempts were subsequently made to induce the committee to make a false state- ment to the "\'iceroy; but, when all these had failed, a paper was received from the Chinese authorities, fully and freely opening the trade, and absolving the committee from responsibility. They accordingly returned to Canton on the 23rd February, the dis- cussions having lasted just six weeks. The local government was on this occasion for the first time brought to acknowledge that the committee had no control over, nor connexion with, his majesty's ships. The subject of the two men's death was subse- quently renewed in 1823, but eventually dropped. The first-lieutenant of the Topaze, having been tried by a court-martial on his return liome, was honourably acquitted : and the result was conveyed in a letter Irom the ])resideiit of the Board of Control to the Viceroy. It was, however, left to the dis- cretion of the committee to present this letter or not, as they might deem most proper ; and as an edict had in the mean while been re- ceived from the emjjeror, accmiescing in the conclusion of the discussions, the letter was withheld. A calamity of fearful extent, affecting equally the Chinese and Europeans, and which will not soon be forgotten at Canton, occurred towards the end of 1822; this was the gi-eat fire, which has been calculated ta have equalled in its ravages that of London, in \6Q^. At nine o'clock, on the night of the 1st November, a fire broke out at the distance of about a mile north-east of the factories, and, as the wind was then blowing^ with great fury from the north, it soon spread with such fearful rapidity that at midnight the European dwellings appeared to be threatened. Representations in writing were sent from tlie British factory to the viceroy, ofiering every assistance with engines and men, and recommending that the houses nearest to the fire should be pulled down to prevent its spreading. This, however, was not attended to, and at eight o'clock on Saturday morning the factories were on fire. All efforts during that day to arrest the flames were rendered ineffectual by the vio- lence of the wind, and on Sunday morning everything was consumed, with the exception of a few sets of apartments. The company- had goods to a very considerable amount burned in their warehouses ; but their trea- sury, which was arched with solid blocks of stone, and secured by treble doors, and which contained not much less than a million of dollars, remained safe and entire, though surrounded by the ruins of consumed build- ings. It was said that full 50,000 Chinese were rendered houseless by this calamity'-, and the numbers who lost their lives were very considerable. A police and guard was appointed by the government to protect pro- perty near the river and about the factories ; but this was greatly aided by a well-organized body of armed men and officers from the company's ships, Avho relieved each other by turns. Without these precautions, there was every reason to fear a general pillage from the multitudes of vagabond Chinese which had been brought together, and seemed ready- to take advantage of the confusion. A con- siderable ai-nount of projierty was saved by means of boats on the river, and these boats for some time served many of the Europeans as their only available lodging ; but, through the assistance of a Hong merchant, who lent them his house, the company were able to recommence their business in a week after the fire. Such is the frequency of Chinese 46 THE ch:i>'Ese. conflagrations near the foreign factories, that the recurrence of a similar catasbophe may at any time be viewed as a probable event. From this period a number of years elapsed during which aftairs at Canton pro- ceeded tranquilly. Avithout accident or hin- drance of any kind : but in the mean while the mismanagement, or dishonesty, of some of the Hong merchants were preparing em- barrassments of another description. Their number had of late years consisted of ten or eleven, and of these one or two poorer indivi- duals, v.ho had never enjoyed much credit or confidence, failed for a small amount, without producing much eftect on the general trade; but, about the beginning of 1828. the known ditficulties of two of the principal Hongs began to display the evil eftects of a system of credit, which had grown out of the regulations of the government in respect to the payment of the Hong debts. it had been for many years enacted, by an order from the emperor, that the whole body of Hong merchants should be liable for the debts of their insolvent brethren to Europeans. It was at the same time ordered, that no money obligations should be con- tracted by them to foreigners ; but the pro- hibition proved utterly inetiectual. The solid guarantee of the Consoo, or general body, which aft"orded every certainty to the European or American capitalists that he should ultimately recover his loan, whatever might be the fate of the boiTOwer, gave to the Chinese merchants such a facility in obtaining credit, as led some of the more prodigal, or less honest ones, to incur very large debts at the usual Chinese rate of ten or twelve per cent. One of them failed in 1828 for the amount ofmore than a million of dollars. He was banished to Tartary, which, in Canton- English, is called " going to the cold countiy ;" but, being a broken constitution, and withal a smoker of opium, he died on his journey. In the following year, 1829, another Hongist, who had boiTowed very largely of Europeans and Americans, failed for a nearly equal sum. This last, however, was altogether a fraudulent transaction, for Chunqua (which was the man's name) made off to his native province with a large portion of the money ; and such was the influence of his family, some of whom were persons of high official rank, that he contrived to keep his ill-gotten gains, and to make the Consoo pay his creditors. These two failures, to the aggregate amount of about two millions of dollars, produced, as might be expected, a considerable sensa- tion and loud clamours among the foreign merchants at Canton. Discussions subse- quently arose with the Consoo, as to the period in which the debts were to be liqui- dated, the Hong merchants contending for ten annual instalments, while the creditors would not extend it beyond six. At length, by the powerful influence of the select committee, which was exerted on the side of the Euro- peans and Americans, it was settled that both the insolvents" debts should be finally liquidated by the end of 1833, which was about six j-ears from the occurrence of the first failure. The eyes of the government were, however, opened to the mischievous consequences of the regulation, which obliged the corporation of Hong merchants to be answerable for the debts of any member of the Consoo, however improvident or dis- honest; and it was enacted, that from hence- forth the corporate responsibility should cease. The whole amount of the two millions was strictly paid up at the end of the limited period ; and there was no real cause of regret to the foreign merchants in the rule which made every man answerable for his own debts ; for, in the first place, the previous arbitrary system had generated a hollow species of credit, which was anything but favourable to the trade at large: and, secondly, the debts, though they might seem to have been paid by the Hong merchants, were in reality paid by the foreigners ; as a tax on imports was expressly levied for the purpose, and this had even been known to remain unremitted, after the object of its creation was answered. The last two failures had reduced the number of Hong merchants to six, a body altogether inadequate to conduct the Euro- pean trade ; in fact, very little better than the Emperor's merchant, or '* monster in trade," noticed in the last chapter. The six themselves were, of course, in no way anxious that the number should be augmented ; but DISCUSSIONS WITH CHINESE. 47 the attention of the select committee became seriously directed to that object. It is a singular fact, that, notwithstanding the close monopoly enjoyed by the Consoo, and the opportunities of making money possessed by its members, the extortions and other annoy- ances to which a Hong merchant is at any time exposed, by being security for, or having any connexion with foreigners, are such, that most persons of capital were disinclined to join the number. As the local government seemed disposed to show its usual indifference and contempt for the representations of strangers, the company's fleet of 1 829 was detained outside the river on its arrival, with a view effectually to draw attention to the subject.' On the 8th September an address was sent to the Viceroy, in which the principal points urged were, the necessity for adding to the number of Hong merchants ; the heavy port- charge on ships at Whampoa, amounting on a small vessel to about 800/. sterling ; and some check on the rapacity of the government officers connected with the customs. The reply and subsequent proceedings of the "V^ice- roy were in favour of making new Hong merchants, but unsatisfactory as to other points; and the committee, on the 16th November, renewed their remonstrances, and continued the detention of the ships at their present anchorage. The local authorities, however, showed no disposition to swerve from their last declaration, and the viceroy added, " As to commerce, let the said nation do as it pleases : as to regulations, those that the celes- tial empire fixes must be obeyed."' The dis- cussions continued without any alteration on either side until the 11th January, at which date the necessity was contemplated of sending the greater number of ships over to Manilla, until the Chinese Government should be induced to concede the points in dispute. The committee, at the same time, applied 1 In 1832 a newly-made Hongist took for his esta- blishment (according to custom) a particular de- signation, and the one selected by him signified " happiness, or prosperity, complete;" but this was rather premature, for, before he could begin trading, all his capital was expended in fees or bribes to the mandarins, and he failed. to the governor-general of India to assist them by forwarding a representation to Peking, and suggested the expediency of some ships of war being sent to give weight to their repre- sentations : the supreme government, how- ever, declined interfering without authority from home. There is reason to apprehend that the Chinese authorities had been con- firmed in their obstinacy by a knowledge of the fact, that the committee were not unani- mous, the majority being opposed to Mr. William Plowden, the chief supercargo, who at length, finding himself at variance with his colleagues, and of little weight in the factory, made up his mind to quit China, which he did about the end of January. The ^'iceroy, on the 2nd February, issued an edict, stating that an additional Hong merchant had been already appointed, and that others would follow ; that the debts of the two bankrupt Hongs would be paid: and that the subject of the port- charges had been referred to the emperor. This appeared to the committee sufficiently satisfactory to warrant their ordering the fleet up to Whampoa, and on the 8th of the month the viceroy was apprized of their having done so. By the 1st of March three new Hongs were created. Matters now proceeded in peace and quiet- ness, and the ships were all laden and sent home as usual ; but, in the following season, events occurred, which threatened at one time to produce much confusion and mischief. The detail is instructive, as it shows from what small and contemptible beginnings the most serious results may ensue, in a place like Canton, where the Chinese and strangers live, in respect to each other, very much in what the lawyers call ''a. state of nature," that is, governed by no rule but their own passions or interests. A Swiss watchmaker, named Bovet, lodged in the same factory with some Parsees,2 having a back entrance common to the premises. The watchmaker, being a 2 Natives of Bombay, Fire-worshippers, or disci- ples of Zoroaster, and the real representatives of those ancient Persians who fought with the Greeks. They left their country after its conquest by the Mahometans, and settled in the west of India, and are the most commercial of our Eastera subjects. Parsee would seem to be derived from the Latin Persa;. 48 THE CHINESE. violent fellow, took it upon himself to fasten up this gate, on the ground of the annoyance that he experienced from the free passage. This, as might be expected, very soon led to a squabble : an unfortunate man named Mackenzie, master of a trading vessel, being roused by a loud disturbance about nightfall, ran down with a stick, and struck one of the most active of the Parsees, upon which they all fell upon him, and inflicted such blows as occasioned his death. The Parsees were immediately shipped oflf by the committe as prisoners to Bombay ; but the Chinese presently applied for the delivery of the homicides for trial (or rather execution), quoting the case of the Frenchman who had killed a Portuguese in 1780.' At the same moment, an edict was issued by the viceroy, insisting on the removal from Canton, forth- with, of the president's lady, who bad pro- ceeded thither conh-ary to the custom by which females were restricted to Macao ; and no unequivocal threats were held out, tliat force would be resorted to in the event of non-compliance. This, combined Avith the risk to which Mackenzie's murder seemed to expose the English, led the committee to order up from the fleet ft guard of about a hundred seamen, and a couple of eighteen- pounders, informing the Hongists that, until the threats were withdrawn, these men should not be removed. This measure having been adopted with celerity and vigour, was success- ful in intimidating the Chinese. An assurance was given that no violence was intended, upon which the guns and men were ordered down to the ships, after having been about a fortnight at Canton. The Court of Directors had in the mean while disapproved of the detention of their ships in the preceding season, and super- seded the committee, whose successors ar- rived in November, 1830, soon after the events above related. They found, as might be ex- pected, much irritation prevailing on all sides, and were assailed by papers from the Viceroy, insisting on the withdrawal from Canton of all the foreign ladies. Those actu- ally on the spot were allowed to remain there until the conclusion of the winter season, but 1 PageGS. none came up in the following year, as it was not deemed a point of sufficient consequence to proceed to extremities upon ; and indeed the very discussion itself rendered Canton an undesirable residence for females of any deli- cacy while it continued, the language and epithets used by the Chinese, in reference to them, being of a shocking description. But matters of a graver character were soon forced upon the consideration of the Company's au- thorities. A considerable encroachment had been made upon the river, subsequent to the re- building of the foreign factories after they were burned down by the great fire of 1822, the new ground being principally composed of the rubbish and ruins of the former build- ings. The space in front of tlie Company's factory had been extended in common with the rest, and there remained only a corner to fill up in order to complete a small square, which it was intended to plant with shrubs, and convert into a garden for exercise and recreation. This seemed from the very com- mencement to excite the spleen of the Chi- nese, and the committee lately superseded had been repeatedly required to undo the work. As this appeared merely vexatious, the demand liad been unheeded ; and even when the Chinese, during the absence of the factory, had desti'oyed a portion of the work, it was subsequently restored by the aid of a party from the ships. The newly appointed committee found things in this state on their arrival in China, and it was not long before an explosion took place. Some time after the departure of the last ship of the season, and during the absence of the committee Irom Canton, the Fooyuen, or viceroy's deputy, came suddenly on the morning of the 12th May to the factory, and, sending for the Hong merchants and linguists, demanded of them an explanation regarding the completion of the garden and quay in front of the company's factory, contrary to the orders of the viceroy. When these pleaded their innocence of any participation in the business, chains were sent for, and the linguist put in confinement, while the chief Hong merchant remained on his knees until the Hoppo, who was j^resent, had interceded for him. An order was given to remove the S:.IUGGLI^■G TRADE. 49 quay and restore it to its former condition, on pain of death to the wretched Howqua and linguist; and the Fooyuen, ordering the late king's picture to be uncovered, seated him- self down with his back to it. Soon after this occurrence an edict was published, con- taining eight regulations for the conduct of foreign intercourse, which tended to make the condition of Europeans in China even worse than it had been. No persons were to remain during the summer at Canton; the native servants were to be under stricter sur- veillance ; all foreigners were to submit to the government and conti-ol of the Hong merchants, and not to quit tlie factories in which they lived ; none might move up and down the river without a licence ; and re- strictions were contemplated on the mode of addressing the government, contrary to the stipulations of 1814, Inconsequence of these threatening proceedings of the local officers, notices in English and Chinese were issued by the committee, stating that, unless the apprehended evils were redressed or removed, the commercial intercourse would be sus- pended on the 1st of August following. A letter was at the same time despatched to the Governor-general of India, suggesting the ex- pediency of an address from his Lordship to the Viceroy, to be conveyed by one of his Majesty's ships. At the end of May the English merchants and agents at Canton pub- lished a set of resolutions, concurring in all that had been done by the committee, as the only safeguard against additional evils and encroachments. On the 9th June an edict was received from the Viceroy (who had, in the mean time, been absent on account of an insurrection in Hainan), sanctioning what the Fooyuen had done, and forwarding the Emperor's confirm- ation of the eight regulations which threat- ened the trade. The sanction of the Em- peror having been thus obtained to the ob- noxious clauses, their abrogation no longer rested witli the local government. It there- fore became necessary for the committee to review their position, as the probability, or rather possibility, of any alteration in these threatened regulations previous to the 1st August could no longer be contemplated. They accordingly came to the resolution of postponing any measures as to stopping the trade, and any active steps towards obtaining a redress of grievances, until the result of their reference to India could be ascertained. This v/as accordingly made known by a second notice, and the Bengal government was apprised of the resolution. In the mean Avhile, the stir made by the committee ap- peared not to have been without its effect on the Chinese authorities, for no attempt was made to put the new regulations in force, and Europeans carried on their businesss unmo- lested at Canton, In the month of November his Majesty's ship Challenger arrived from Bengal, conveying the letter of remonstrance from the Governor- general to the Viceroy, After some negoti- ation this was delivered in a suitable manner to a deputation of mandarins ; but the written replies, though they disavowed any intention of insult or outrage to the factory, were so far from satisfactory, and conveyed in so ob- jectionable a mode, that the committee re- fused to accept them. Thus the matter rested, and subsequent instructions from England put a stop to all further proceed- ings on this subject. The smuggling trade in opium, which the exactions of the Portuguese at Macao drove from that place in 1822 to Lintin, a small island between Macao and the entrance of the Canton river, increased with extraordi- nary rapidity from its first commencement, in consequence of the negligence or con- nivance of the Chinese government. This soon led to hopes (which were at length des- tined to be disappointed) that a surreptitious ti-ade of the same kind might be extended along the whole coast of China to the east- ward, not only for opium, but for mam/fact wed goods. The local government of Canton had placed itself in so false a position, with re- spect to the Emperor as well as to Europeans, by its long course of secret and corrupt prac- tices in relation to the prohibited drug, that it was even disabled from interfering to pro- tect its own subjects at Lintin, where the armed smugglers lay in open defiance of all law and conti-ol, Chinese were on several occasions shot from the smuggling ships with perfect impunity. The relations of the de- ceased as usual appealed to the mandarins ; 50 THE CHINESE. but the anomalous situation of these func- tionaries, in respect to the Lintiu trade, always obliged them in the end to evade or relinquish the demand for satisfaction ; and the Company's authorities of course dis- claimed all responsibility for proceedings out of the limits of the river, where the smug- gling system being connived at by the lower mandarins themselves, they must take the consequences of their own iniquity. The attempts to establish a surreptitious trade were soon extended from Lintin to the eastern coasts; but the success did not answer expectation. Beyond the limits of the Canton province, as all European trade was expressly prohibited by a long-established ordinance of the coimtry, the mandarins had not the same shelter for corrupt practices: and, though opium might be introduced in small quantities, a smuggling trade in manu- factures proved altogether visionary. The conductor of one of these experiments, in 1831, reported that he could obtain "no traffic besides opium; nor had any of the vessels which had gone to the eastward been ever able to deal in other articles, except oc- casionally a little saltpetre."' It soon ap- peared, in short, that, without the consent of the supreme government of Peking, no pros- pect existed of an advantageous trade in ma- nufactures, except at Canton. So much, however, had been both imagined and asserted at home regarding the facilities for trade at the prohibited ports of China, that it seemed desirable to the select com- mittee in 1832 to try a final experiment, in order to prove or disprove what had been given in evidence before parliament. After ascertaining to what extent the disposition of the local authorities on the coast might favour such a smuggling trade, the next point of inquiry related to the ports or stations at which it might most conveniently be carried on. The Lord Amherst, a small country ship, was accordingly sent on this service, in charge of one of the Company's servants, who was accompanied by Mr. Gutzlaflf, well versed in the spoken language of China, and espe- cially of the coast. Every possible advan- tage was thus afforded to the experiment, and the selection of the goods was as various, and as well adapted to the occasion, as a previous knowledge of the tastes or wants of the Chinese could suggest. The ship sailed on the 26th February, and did not return until the 4th I September. Among other points on the ! coast, she touched at Amoy and Foochowfoo I in Fokien, at Ningpo in Chekeang, and at I Shanghae in Keangnan. On the return, Corea and Loo-choo were visited. No de- vice of ingenuity or enterprise was spared to dispose of tlie goods on board, and to esta- blish a traffic with tlie natives. These showed a very hospitable disposition towards the strangers ; but all commerce was effectually ])revented by the mandarins, except in one or two trivial instances. Some of the officers of government were civil and forbearing, and even accepted of small presents ; others, less condescending, were fairly bullied by the people in the Atnherst, their junks boarded, or their doors knocked down, and their quarters invaded. Still tlie same vigilance was exercised to prevent trade, and trade was prevented. On the conclusion of the voyage it was stated in the report that " much alarm and suspicion had invariably been manifested, on the part of the local governments, at their appearance ; and to fear might be mainly attributed the civility which on some occa- sions they experienced."' As a commercial speculation, it was observed, the voyage had failed, for they had '' only succeeded in dis- posing of a portion of the goods shipped." These goods, being intended for experiment only, and not for profit, amounted only to about 200 bales in the aggregate, but com- prised every variety of articles in demand at Canton. The larger portion were brought back exactly as they went, and, of the i^w things which were not returned, a consider- able number had been givett awa>i. The loss on the expedition amounted to 5647/. In proceeding to the northward, the Am- herst found the authorities especially un- friendly and hostile to commerce. "Our sudden appearance on the coast (says Gutz- laff"s journal) spread general terror."' The committee, in their report to the Directors, admitted the unsatisfactory result of the ex- periment, and acknowledged that, though the Chinese natives were by no means averse to a more extended intercourse, the government had displayed the most effectual opposition. SMUGGLING SHIPS. 51 The expedition was, upon the whole, con- demned by the court; and their animad- versions were particularly directed against the fictitious characters and false names as- sumed by those who conducted the voyage. They commented on the inconsistency of the frequent complaints against the falsehood of the Chinese, while the English, at the same time, were presenting themselves in an as- sumed shape, and in direct violation of the laws of the country. Witli some it may be a question how far the system of exclusion practised by the Chinese government justifies such means in order to defeat it; but there can be none whatever with regard to those deeds of vio- lence on the part of individuals, who have themselves attempted no other justification than the extent of the provocation. Among these instances may be mentioned, the shoot- ing of Chinese from the smuggling ships near Lintin in 1831 and 1833, and the notorious case of an English subject, who, by his own confession in the papers, actually set fire to a mandarin's house. There can be no per- manent peace or security for either natives or strangers as long as acts like these can be committed with impunity ; and, under the circumstances of our anomalous relations with the country, it befits our government to place a very summary controlling power in the hands of whomsoever it appoints as its representative in China. ^ Towards the close of 1833, when the au- thority of the Company was drawing to an end, and before it had loeen replaced by any other, the eft'ects were seen in a series of vio- lences that took place not far from Lintin, where some furious engagements occurred with the natives, and one of them was killed. In revenge for this, an unfortunate lascar, belonging to the smuggling ship principally concerned, and who had been taken prisoner by the enraged Chinese, was put to death by them. An organized attack of armed boats from the opium ships was now prepared against the town or village near which the occurrence took place ; but the natives were 1 The Duke of Wellinjjrton, in his justly celebrated memorandum (Blue Book, p. 51), observes that such an officer " must have great powers to enable him to control and keep in order the king's subjects." prepared for them, and such a fire was opened from a small fort when the boats made their appearance, that it was thought better to retuni quietly, without attempting to land. The relatives of the deceased Chinese, not yet satisfied, applied to their government for redress ; but the transaction had occurred in connexion with the opium-trade, and the provincial authorities found themselves ham- pered with the usual difficulties. A singular device was fallen upon by the Hong mer- chants: — One of these, by authority of the government, caused to be conveyed to Canton some individual out of a trading junk in the harbour of Macao, who, for a bribe or reward, was to personate the culprit who had shot the Chinese ! He was to be imprisoned for a cer- tain time, and previous to his trial was to be furnished with a prepared story which was to acquit him of the murder, and convert the case into one of mere accident or misfortune. Information of this scheme reached the select committee at Canton, who, though they were pretty well assured of the safety of the indi- vidual, and quite certain that he was no British subject, still felt themselves bound to address the Viceroy, and to protest against these strange proceedings, with which the English name was associated by report. After some trouble and a renewed corre- spondence, a public edict was issued by the government, declaring that the affair in which the man was said to be involved was accidental, and " assuredly would not lead to the forfeiture of his life;" and it was subse- quently understood that he was liberated. On the 22d of April, 1834, the trade of the East India^Company with China, after having lasted just 200 years, terminated according to the provisions of the new Act, and severad private ships soon afterwards quitted Canton with cargoes of tea for the British islands. One vessel had, previously to that date, sailed direct for England under a special licence from the authorities of the East India Com- pany. A most important national expe- riment was now to be tried, the results of which alone could set at rest the grand question of the expediency of free trade against the Chinese monopoly ; ox prove how individual traders were likely to succeed against the union of mandarins and mandarin merchants. E 2 52 'HE CHINESE. CHAPTER IV. English Intercourse — (continued.) Opeuing of Trade— Appointment of Commissioners called Superintendents— Arrival of Lord Napier — Instructed to announce his arrival— I-etter refused, and leave of residence denied— Trade stopped by- Hong Merchants— Frigates pass the Batteries— Communication with Wliampoa shut up— Lord Napier retires to Macao— Illness and death— Succeeded by Mr. Davis— Chinese renew Commerce— Suspension of Official Intercourse — Appeal to Peking recommended — Mr. Davis retires, and is succeeded by Sir George Robinson — Trade continues uninterrupted— Growth of Opium Smuggling— Captain Elliot Chief Superin- tendent-Hong Merchants" Debts — Admiral Maitland in China — Opium seized at Canton — A Criminal strangled before Factories — Commissioner Lin imprisons all Europeans — Extorts 20,283 Chests of Opium- English expelled from Macao — Defeat of 29 War-Junks — Trade \vith England cut off — Declaration of War. In the evidence before a committee of the House of Commons appointed at the begin- ing of the year 1830, with reference to the approaching termination of the East India Company's charter, it was clearly stated, as the opinion of some of the most competent witnesses, that the removal of the China trade from tlie management and control of the Company would be attended by a great increase of smuggling, and by an aggravation of all those circumstances which were calcu- lated to embroil the English with the govern- ment of China. One witnessplainly declared *' the result would be, sooner or later, a war with China, accompanied by wide-spread individual ruhi."' The report which the committee grounded upon the whole of this evidence was expressed in terms of caution, and by no means recommended an entire sub- version of tlie system under \vhich the British trade Avith that singular and exclusive people had attained a magnitude and importance un- paralleled by that of any other country, even of America and others whose ti-ade was free. Many prudent and reflecting persons were of opinion that British traders from Eng- land might safely be allowed an xmli- mited access to Canton, as those from India had always been, but that both should still be subject to the control of the Company's authorities, who, as the channels of intercourse with the Canton government, should remain undisturbed. This was the opinion and intention of the Duke of Wellington ; and when Lord Grey's cabinet subsequently proposed the bill for the entire overthrow of the company at Canton, with the immediate .subversion of the long-established system, his Grace entered his protest against it. In the debate of the 13th May, 1840, on Lord Stanhope's motion with reference to China, the Duke declared that '■' there existed on the records of their Lordship's House amendments moved by him to the China Trade Bill, in order to induce the government and parlia- ment to continue the trade in the hands of the East India Company, simultaneously with British subjects at large, and to leave in the hands of the East India Company most particularly the management of the whole business with the Chinese government at Canton." Dis aliter visi/m ! — We are now at war with China: and it will be the business of this chapter to present a succinct narrative of events, from the subversion of the 'East India Company's administration in 1834 to the present eventful crisis. The official documents have all been made public in that famous compilation prepared for both Houses of Parliament, and named, par excellence, the Blue Book. In the year 1833 a bill was carried through parliament by Mr. Grant (now Lord Glenelg), president of the India Board, by which it was enacted " that it should be lawful for his Majesty, by commission under his royal sign-manual, to appoint not exceeding three superintendents of the trade of His INIajesty's subjects with China, and to give to such superintendents certain powers and authorities." The East India Company were not only deprived of tlieir exclusive right of trading with China, but of the right of trading at all, in common with the rest of the king's subjects ; and, as the operation of the Act was to be immediate, tiieir commercial property and shipping were sold at a great loss. The English community NEW COMMISSIONERS. 53 at Canton were scarcely less surprised at the suddenness of the revolution tlian the Chinese themselves were. The maxim of Bacon, that nature should be imitated by politicians in the ^/-a^/^a/ character of her changes, seems to have been forgotten or disregarded ; and before the arrangements consequent on so complete a transmutation could be well completed, the chief commissioner arrived on board the Andromache frigate, in the person of Lord Napier, an amiable nobleman and zealous public servant, who deserved a more propi- tious errand and a better fate. The rumours of judicial and fiscal powers to be exercised under the new commission were calculated to excite the alarm of the jealous and -watchful government of the country, whose attention had only just before been drawn to the attempts of English traders on the coast to force a trade by intimidation. No previous communication whatever with the Canton authorities pre- pared them for the appointment of Lord Napier;^ indeed there was no time for it; and his instructions were — " Your Lordship will announce your arrival at Canton by letter to the Viceroy.''^ The chief commissioner was received at Macao on the 15th July, 1834, in the manner due to his rank and personal character-, by the president of the committee, to whom Lord Napier produced the com- mission and inshuctions under the royal sign-manual, appointing him colleague and eventual successor to himself. INIr. Davis's intention to quit Chinathatyearhad long been settled and declared, but the actual insertion of his name in the commission, and a letter from the minister who had drawn up the new Bill, made him consider it his duty to accept office while upon the spot ; and this was declared 1 The writer of this stated his regret at the omission, in a letter to the Secretary of State, in these terms : " If I may he allowed to express my own sentiments, I cannot help thinking that a letter with a few presents from the king to the Chinese emperor, transmitted, without any embassy, through the Viceroy of Canton, as in lf95, (and I believe once again afterwards, ) would have been a good mode of announcing so important a change. It seems to me tliat tlie native government had some right to it, and that it was an eligible and inexpen- sive way of dispelling or allaying their accustomed suspicions." ■■« Parliamentary Papers, p. 4. in an official letter, on the express condition that he should be at libertj'^ to proceed liome that same year. Sir (jJeorge Robinson under- took the provisional office of third super- intendent until his majesty's pleasure cuuld be known. On the 23rd July the commission em- barked on board H. ]\L ship Andromache^ and proceeded to the anchorage at Chuenpee, below the batteries at the Boca Tigris, At noon on the following day the superintend- ents left his Majesty s ship, and proceeded on board the cutter on their v/ay to Canton, where they arrived at 2 o'clock on the morning of the 25th. Lord Napier addressed a letter from him- self to the Viceroy, announcing his arrival according to his instructions; and when this had been translated by Dr. Morrison, the Chinese secretary to the commission, it was despatched to the usual place of delivery, near one of the city ^ates. Under a variety of pretexts, groundecl principally on the wording of the address, the mandarins at the station declined to receive the letter, the real object of the government being to oblige Lord Napier to quit Canton until the Emperor's permission for his residence had been obtained. This indeed appears to be an act of sovereignty of which all states are naturally exceedingly tenacious; and the document by which this sanction is communicated is called in Europe an exequatur, the issue of which must precede the exercise of any official functions. Though China has never yet been formally recognised by any Eu- ropean state as participating in the rights and obligations of international law, a know- ledge of the general principle was shown in those papers liom the Chinese government, which declared that Lord Napier's mission should have been armounced from England, and the saiaction of the Peking court obtained. It Avas his Lordships misfortune to be placetl from the very first in an impossible position, as regarded the full and immediate exercise of the functions confided to him; but his declitiing to correspond with the Hong merchants, and his views as to the policy and practicability of a direct com- munication with tlie mandarins, have been fully justified by later events, since Captain 54 THE CHINESE. Elliot long ago obtained that concession as a mere matter of necessity. What had been for centuries practised by the Chinese au- thorities, in their relations with the Portu- guese governor of Macao, might and ought to be yielded to the British functionary, who, not being a merchant, could, in perfect conformity with the Chinese usage, decline receiving any commvmication through the unsuitable channel of the Kong merchants, until the mandarins found it convenient to address themselves to him. In fact the Viceroy had, only two years before, received, in the most public manner, a despatch from Lord William Bentinck, transmitted by the Cha l/e?7ger ivigate, and superscribed of course as a ktte?-. and not a petition. The Hong merchants, acting as the compulsory agents of the local government, and finding that Lord Napier would have nothing to say to them, soon fell iipon the old expedient of threatening the stoppage of the trade ; endea- vouring bv that ai-gvmentum ad cnnmnam to create a division among tlie English, and set up a party opposed to the measures of his Lordship. They tuihappily succeeded at length in dividing a community which had long contained within itself the germs of dissension ; but Lord Napier took the earliest steps to prevent It, if possible. In his despatch to the Foreign Office^ of the 14th August, he wrote, with reference to a requisition from the Hongmerchants to the English merchants, calling upon them to attend a meeting of the Hong at the Contoo House, '• This appearing to me rather a novel and unprecedented measure, I immediately called a general meeting of all British inhabitants, to be held at the hall of the superintendents at half-past ten, in order to deliberate on the propriety and the consequences of attending such a meeting, Mr, Davis and myself addressed the meeting, deprecating such an attendance as that proposed ; and a draft of the letter to the Hong merchants (declining their proposal), being proposed and read, was carried unanimously, with some verbal alter- ations."' In the midst of these difficulties and discussions it naturally occurred to the second 1 Blue Book, p. 11. superintendent that now was the proper time to present a respectful address to the Emperor by the way of the Yellow Sea, waiting the results of which, the commission might suspend its functions and retire for a time within itself. Lord Napier alludes to this in his despatch of the 14th August in these words : — '■• Mr. Davis has perhaps oflered some observations on this head, as he has already done to me, in reference to the advantage of immediate communication." Such observations were in fact contained in the letter to the Secretary of State, already quoted at p. 53 («o/e), but omitted in the ex- tractjfrom the Foreign Office.^ — "■ The next best thing"' (to an announcement from England) '' might have been a discretionary power ves^^ed in Lord Napier, in the event of the provincial authorities being found hostile or imprac- ticable, (things quite within the range of possibility,) to send up a respectful ad dress to the Emperor by the way of the Yellow Sea, announcing the change, and praying for just and liberal treatment from the Canton government. Lord Napier tells me his hands are quite tied up on the point, and that he must not communicate with Peking, except by a previous reference home, I could have wished tliat, at so great a distance as 15,000 miles, a larger latitude of discretion had been allowed, presupposing a well-founded confidence in those who were to exercise it."' There can be little doubt that, if the proposed reference could have been made, and the functions of the commission suspended ad interim, the unfortunate occurrences which followed might have been prevented. Towards the end of August, after the Viceroy had refused Lord Napier's letter of announcement, and declined every subsequent ofler of direct communication, the departure of a ship for England presented the first oppor- tunity that had occurred since Lord Napler"s arrival for sending despatches to the Foreign Office. As the ship, after quitting the river and remaining some days at Lintin, was also to touch at INIacao on lier way out, circum- stances connected with the forwarding of the latest intelligence led his Lordship to request the second commissioner to proceed to the ' Parliameutary Papers, p. 25- FKIGATES PASS THE BATTERIES. 55 latter place and await the vessel's departure. That being accomplished, Mr. Davis wrote to beg that H. M. cutter might be sent down for him as soon as possible. The services of that vessel in communication with the two frigates prevented her arrival until the night of the 5th September, when she brought a letter from Lord Napier explaining the delay. Very early on the following morning the second commissioner started in the cutter with Captain Elliot, and, on the way up, a few lines were received from Sir George Robinson, saying that he had come down to the frigates with a requisition from Lord Napier to Captain Blackwood (now Lord Dufferin), to move the Imoijene and Andro- mache to the anchorage ofthe merchant-ships at Whampoa. A note from Captain Blackwood stated that he would look out for the cutter until seven o'clock the next morning, when the frigates would weigh anchor to pass the batteries. We accordingly pressed the cutter on under all sail, and, the wind being fair, fortunately got on board the Imogene at mid- night. It appeared that the Chinese, not contented with their earlier acts of annoyance and in- dignity — whether of a personal iiature, as the unnecessary breaking open of Lord Napier's baggage when the keys were at hand, and the seizure of the purveyors of provisions ; or the more serious and public injury inflicted by the stoppage of the ti-ade — had been embold- ened to proceed so far as to beset his Lord- ship's residence with soldiers, to drive away his native servanls, and to cut oft' the supply of provisions. Under these circumstances, ac- companied by the denial to sanction or make good any transactions involving British pro- perty subsequent to the 16th August, the Right Honourable the Chief superintendent deemed it necessary, on the 5th September, to send for a guard of marines, and to request the senior officer of H. IVL ships to proceed with the Imogene and Andromache to the anchorage of the trade at Whampoa, Early on the morning of the 7th September we passed the batteries at the Boca Tigris, in working up against a northerly wind ; but, under every disadvantage, silenced the tire which was opened on us, with only one man hurt by a splinter, and a few ropes shot away. The wind then failed, and the ships came to an anchor against the ebb-tide below Tiger Island fort. Here they lay in a dead calm until the 9th, when a breeze sprung up, and we weighed to pass Tiger Island. The bat- tery opened its best tire on the frigates ; but we passed within pistol snot, knocking the stones about the ears of the gaiTison, though with the loss of a man killed in each ship, and a few wounded. Baftling calms again retarded the progress of the frigates, which did not reach Whampoa anchorage until late on the 1 1th September. On the arrival of H. M . ships among the mer- chantmen at Whampoa. the communication between that place and Canton was found to be entirely closed for all purposes of commerce or otherwise ; and to the Americans as well as to the English. A negotiation then commenced, in which the local government required the withdrawal of the frigates from the anchorage of the merchantmen, and the retirement of Lord Napier from Canton, previous to the resump- tion of commercial business. His Lordship was therefore induced, on the loth September, to address a letter to the British community, in which he informed them that, having thus far without eftect used every eftbrtto establish the commission at Canton, he did not feel autho- rised at present, by a continued maintenance of his claims, to occasion the further interrup- tion of the trade of the port. It was therefore arranged that the frigates should proceed to Lintin ; and Lord Napier, whose health was in a very precarious state, embarked in a chop- boat for Macao on the 21st September. On the morning of the 26th his Lordship reached that place by the inner passage, his illness having been aggravated by the heat of the weather, and by the delay and annoyances experienced on the passage down. The Viceroy proved for once as good as his word in re-opening the channel of com- mercial business as soon as the chief commis- sioner retired from Canton ; and the traders were soon fully engaged in loading their ships. In the mean while Lord Napier's ill- ness unhappily increased, and at length, not- withstanding the unremitted care of his family and medical attendants, terminated his exist- ence in the course of a iew Aveeks after his arrival at Macao. 56 THE chi>:ese. His Lordship's successor, Mr. Davis, in writing to the Secretary of State, observed, with reference to his own advice of an appeal to Peking, that '* it might be recommended by such reasons as the following : — first, that no fact was better authenticated than the general ignorance in which the local government kept the court in regard to Canton transactions and its treatment of Europeans ; secondly, tliat Chinese principles sanctioned and invited ap- peals against the distant delegates of the Em- peror ; thirdly, that a reference of the kind was so successful in 1759^ as to occasion the re- moval of a chief commissioner of customs at Canton, though made by only a subordinate i ofiicer of the East India Company. Such an I appeal, without previous reference home, was expressly forbidden at the time by the instruc- tions under the sign-manual, and such an appeal has never been made to the present day. It must be made at last, however, in a manner and under circumstances which an earlier adoption might have prevented. The useless office of master attendant, now become superfluous by the abandonment in England of the scheme for levying duties on our ships in the Cantoti river, was abolished by the Chief superintendent, and the late master at- tendant, Captain Elliot of the Royal Navy, was appointed by him to the office of Secretary to the commission. The severe loss experienced in the recent death of Dr. Morrison, the Chinese secretary, (more practically versed in the language than any European.) had been supplied by his son ; and the services of Mr. Gutzlaff, as joint interpreter, were now secured by transferring to him the salary which had lately been paid to the master attendant. Two edicts were in the mean while issued by the Chinese Viceroy, in which the English merchants Avere called upon to elect a tem- porary Taepan, or commercial chief, to control the English shipping, and prevent the smuggling at Lintin, where nearly forty ves- sels were now anchored. They were, besides, directed to write home for a Taepan, who was to be a merchant, and not a king's officer ; the object of course being to keep the control of the English in the hands of the Hong mer- 1 Chap. ii. p. 29. chants. No notice wliatever was taken o^ these edicts; as it was clear that the embarrass- ment which must result to the local govern- ment, from the want of some authority to address themselves to, Avould in time oblige them to recognise the king's commission. This opinion has been completely sanctioned by the event, a direct correspondence with the officers of government having been long since established by Captain Elliot. When the British trade had continued prosperously for a space of between three anil four months, the Chief Superintendent, in his communications with the Secretary of State, ^ took a review of the principal occurrences up to that period, as the best ground of an opinion relative to the measures which our government should adopt. " I am aware,"' he observed, "that two courses of a very op- posite nature might have been taken by me in lieu of the one which I have pursued, and which, considering that a season of unusual commercial activity and an increased amount of tonnage is now drawing quietly to a close with the monsoon, I see no reason to regret. I might, in the first place, have tried the effect of a measure which has not been with- out its advocates, and which (under very peculiar and favourable circumstances) was. successful in 1S14 ; I mean the withdrawal of the ships from the river, and the stoppage of the trade on our part. I do not deny that this might have been productive of consider- able embarrassment to the local government for the time ; but the ill success of such a course in the season of 1829-30, when the Com])any"s ships were detahied for five months to little or no purpose, was a warning which I now do not regret having profited by. " I might, on the other hand, have adopted the opposite extreme, of an immediate sub- mission to the dictates of the local govern- ment, and have proceeded to Canton to place myself under the management of the Hong ; but from this I was detened by the con- viction, stated to your Lordship in my de- spatch of the 1 1th November, that any adjustment ought to take place as the result of a mutual necessit}^, and that an unbe- coming and premature act of submission on ■^ Parliamentarj- Papers, p. 78. GROWTH OF SMUGGLING. 57 our part, xiiuler present circumstances, could not fail to prove a fruitless, if not a mis- chievous, measure. "It was reasonably hoped by the commis- sion that a complete silence antl abstinence from all further attempts to negotiate with the Canton government, pending the refer- ence home, might be attended with a favour- able effect. The imperial edict forwarded with my despatch of the 2nd instant, in which the blame of the transactions of August and September is thrown on the Hong merchants, and the late troubles attributed to their ex- tortions on the ti-ade, must be viewed as an unequivocal sanction of that opinion. An opportunity is afforded by this imperial docu- ment which his Majesty's government may not be inclined to neglect, in making an appeal to the court of Peking against the con- duct of its servants at Canton, whose corrupt system in relation to the European commerce tends nearly as much to defraud the Emperor of his dues as to discourage and oppress the European trader.'' Under the above circumstances, and with positive instructions not to appeal to the court of Peking without a previous reference home, the Chief Superintendent waited until the lat- ter end of January, and then embarked for England, being succeeded by Sir George Robinson. With a view to securing to his Majesty's commission the valuable services of Captain Elliot as one of the superintendents, Mr. Davis waived certain claims which the regulations afforded himself, and resigned en- tirely his station on embarking, thus causing Captain Elliot to succeed as a member of the commission, according to the general tenor of the sign-manual insti-uctions. For the space of two years from that date, during 1835 and 1836, public affairs pro- ceeded in uninterrupted quiet, under the charge of Sir George Robinson, who strictly adhered to the principle that no advances should be made towards negotiation but such as were dictated from England. It was the pleasure of the government, hov.ever, to leave the commission without any additional in- structions or powers, and to take no measures whatever for appealing to Peking, or availing themselves of the opening afforded by the Emjieror's edict before referred to. The reci- procal commercial interests of English and Chinese fortunately kept aft'airs tolerably quiet, notwithstanding the doubtful or in- adequate powers of the British authorities, and the absence of a ship-of-war to strengthen the hands of the Chief Commissioner, or, as the Duke's memorandum expressed it, " be within his reach."' The only remarkable exception to this quiet tenor occurred in the case of a British trader, who, on the seizure of his goods by the Chinese customs, threatened, and was actually proceeding, to procure re- dress for himself by acts of reprisal against the Chinese trade. This was fortunately pre- vented; and a despatch from the Foreign Office, in 1836, declared that if the hidividual persisted in his intention, " he would be abandoned to the fate which such a course would probably bring upon him ; and fur- ther, that the commanders of any of his Majesty's ships which might fall in with him M'Ould be bound to act towards him as the naval instructions require them to act towards pn-ates. Should our commercial and po- litical intercourse with China be ever re- stored, after all that has passed, a very sum- mary controlling power over British subjects will doubtless be placed in the hands of the English representative, backed and supported by a naval force. It is universally allowed that the opening of the trade in 1831 gave an immediate stimulus to smuggling of all kinds, at the expense of the fair trade. In forwarding to the Secretary of State one of those edicts against opium which until then had been regarded as mere waste paper, IMr. Davis observed, " It remains now to be seen whether the native govermuent, having its attention at length awakened by the increased amount of smuggling transactions consequent on the open trade of this season, will endeavour to give greater efficacy to its edicts, and oppose some effectual impediment to the contraband commerce of Lintin." ^ Just four years after- wards, Captain Elliot, who had suceeded to Sir George Robinson, wrote thus : — " There seems, my Lord, no longer any room to doubt that the court has finally determined to sup- 1 Parliamentary Papers, p. 126. 2 Ibid. p. 76. 58 THE CHINESE. press, or more probably most extensively to check, the opium-trade. The immense, and it must be said the most mifortunate, increase of the supply during the last four years, the rapid growth of the east coast ti-ade in opium, and the continued drain of the silver, have no doubt greatly alarmed the government." The magnitude of the evil led the Peking government to consider various proposals sub- mitted by its chief advisers ; and the hopes of some persons, not very well acquainted with Chinese principles of government, were at one time confident that the trade would be legalised. A mandarin named Heunaetse advised that a tax should be laid on opium, and that it should be admitted, like other goods, with a duty of about seven dollars a chest, Avhile the expenses of smuggling amounted to at least forty dollars. He argued that the increased severity of the law against opium had only tended to increase the amount of the bribe paid to the official underlings for their connivance ; and that the lawless habits of increased smuggling gave rise to a set of des- perate villains, who defied authority and be- came capable of the most atrocious crimes. This argument was specious and conclusive when viewed in the light of expediency alone, but those ill understood the unbending cha- racter of Chinese maxims who expected that it would be adopted. " It is a principle of the Chinese government" (said Dr. Morrison long ago) '■ not to license what they condemn as immoral. 1 know they glory in the supe- riority, as to principle, of their own govern- ment, and scorn the Christian governments that tolerate these vices, and convert them into a source of pecuniary advantage or pub- lic revenue." All that the unfortunate man- darin got by his liberal advice was to be banished into Tartary, and the measures of the imperial government became more decided than ever. The total amount of English smuggling had not only been much less during the ad- ministration of the Company at Canton, but they had the power and the means of effect- ually excluding it from the interior of the Boca Tigris, and confining it to Lintin and the coast. In this manner, however nefarious the nature of the traffic, and however corrupt the officers of the customs, some external show of decency at least was preserved. But on the subversion of the long-established system, and the substitution of an authority whose powers were both inadequate and imperfectly defined, it was soon discovered that licence was unbounded, and impunity complete. Captain Elliot observed^ that "the manner of the rash course of ti-affic within the river had probably contributed most of all to im- press (on the Chinese government) the urgent necessity of repressing the growing audacity of the foreign smugglers, and preventing their associating themselves with the desperate and lawless of their own large cities." Thus it was the opium-trade within the Boca Tigris — . not the mere existence of the trade, but the barefaced mode of carrying it on — which ex- asperated the Peking government. " While,' ; said Captain Elliot, in the same despatch, '• such a traffic existeil in the heart of our regu- lar commerce, I had all along felt that the Chinese government had a just ground for harsh measures towards the lawful trade, upon the plea that there was no distinguishing between the right and the wrong." For such cogent reasons that officer repeated, in the most urgent manner, his application to be " vested with defined and adequate powers for the rea- sonable control of men whose rash conduct could not be left to the operation of Chinese laws without the utmost inconvenience and risk, and whose impunity was alike in- jurious to British character and dangerous to British interests." But the time had now passed by. and in three months after the above was written the great explosion took place, in the indiscriminate and outrageous imprison- ment of all the English at Canton, — all those at least whom a forecast of some coming mis- ( chief had not led to decamp in time. But we are anticipating. --<; The more rigid enforcement of the laws on ^ the smugglers at Lintin, and the other long- established haunts at the outside of the Can- ton river, had driven the trade into new chan- nels. A great increase took place in the smug- gling on the east coast ; but the most danger- ous result was the growing importation within 1 Despatch dated 36th January, 1838. A witness examined in ^lay, 1840, declared with equal can- dor and truth — " We never paid any attention to any law in China that I lecoWect."— Evidence. DEBTS TO ENGLISH MERCHANTS. 59 ^ the river, and as far as "Wliampoa, by Euro- peans themselves in their own boats. In this Captain Elliot very early foresaw that the authorities would be driven to some violent measure, in order to avert which he addressed a memorandum in November, 1837, to the government at home, recommending a special commissioner to be sent to Chusan, or some other principal point on the coast, away from the influence of the Canton mandarins, for the adjustment of this perilous business. The government, in reply, declined taking any steps of the kind at present. If anything had been wanting to add to the ■^ ^ gloomy aspect which affairs were assuming A at Canton about the beginning of 1838, it Sq was to be found in the enormous debt of more . than three millions of dollars due to the ^ English merchants from two insolvent Hong merchants, Avith very little prospect of repay- ment. The last dollar of a nearly equal amount had been paid up in 1834 to the European creditors, through the influence and power of the East India Company, who in fact stopped it from the Hong merchants* accounts ; but no such potent means of jus- tice against the Hong monopoly were any longer available under the free trade. ^ The Co-Hong had the eft'rontery to propose that these new debts to the free traders should be paid back vaffteen years — that is, in a period when the bonds bearing 12 per cent, interest would liave more than doubled their capital in interest alone. After a long and harassing discussion of many months, it was settled that between eight and ten years should be the period allowed for paying the new debts arising since the opening of the trade ; and to this the English creditors found themselves obliged to submit. One of these drew up a very curious paper on the history of the Hong merchants and their debts, in which he recapitulates by saying "that the British merchants who have succeeded to the East India Company, not possessing the advantages of that body's monopoly, and consequent identity of interest and unity ©faction, are neither in the position to avoid incurring the ^ " An opeu trade upon our side, with such an association as the Co-Houg on the other, must always be a very unfortunate state of things to ourselves." — Cwpt. Elliut's Despatch, p. 340. debts, nor to recover them when due; and that the organs of her Majesty's government in China have not as yet possessed the means to acquire moral weight with tlie local authorities, or Hong merchants, to replace the commercial influence of the East India Com- pany's factory.'' In consequence of this me- lancholy and desperate state of things, a debt of about three millions of dollars is at this moment due to the English from the Hong merchants, besides the claim for two millions sterling on account of opium seized by Com- missioner Lin. A visit to China on the part of Admiral Sir Frederick Maitland, in H. M. ship IVel- lesley, about the period when these debts were under discussion, might have seemed to afford a good opportunity for his powerful inter- ference in behalf of the British merchants; but the '"Blue Book"' contains nothing to warrant the inference that the admiral dis- cussed this point with the Canton government, or indeed that he had any communication with the Viceroy. The IVellesley arrived in China on the r2th July, 1838, accomimnied by H. M. brig ^/^eW^e, and the British super- intendent immediately johied the admiral, and proceeded with him to the anchorage of Tong-boo Bay, about seven leagues south of the Boca Tigris. An edict soon arrived from the Viceroy, in the old form, addressed to the Hong merchants, and forwarded by them. This document was returned unopened, with a message that the strict orders of her Majesty's government made such a mode of communi- cation impossible. Captain Elliot then pro- ceeded to Canton, and forwarded to the city gates an open paper for tiansmission to the governor by a mandarin. The paper was left open with a view to obviate the difficulty about the use of the character pin — a petition. It was conveyed to the A'iceroy, but the mer- chants returned it with a remark from his excellency that he could not take it unless it bore the character pin. Captain Elliot then declared that he had formally offered to set forth the peaceful purposes of the admirals visit, and, if the "N'iceroy did not think tit to accept these explanations, his business at Canton was concluded, and he should forth- with retire. A British boat, meanwliile, pass- ing the Boca Tigris, was tired upon by the 60 THE CHINESE. forts; aud, Avheii boarded by a mandarin, was required to state whether the admiral or any person belonging to him was there, as they should not be permitted to pass up. Sir Frederick, on being informed of this insult, remarked that he had come to China with a determination to avoid the least violation of customs or prejudices ; but that he was never- theless resolved to bear no indignity to the flag. He accordingly proceeded forthwith to the Boca Tigris with the vessels under his command, to demand a formal disavowal of these unprovoked attacks. A civil letter was soon received from the Chinese admiral Kwan (since discomfited in action with the Volage and Hyacinth), asking the reason of Admiral Maitland's visit ; and, in reply to this, a de- mand was made for reparation on account ol" the late insult. The result was, the mission of a mandarin captain of war-junks to wait upon the British admiral, accompanied by one of less rank ; and the expressions of dis- avowal of any intention to insult were written at the dictation of the higher officer by the hand of the other on board the IVelksley in the presence of the several parties. Sir Frederick Maitland signified his satisfaction with this declaration, and after the exchange of some civilities, returned to his former an- chorage, and soon afterwards sailed away. In tvrO months after the departure of the JJ'el/esk// another outbreak took place, as the result of that rash system of smuggling with- , "■. in the Boca Tigris Avhich had grown up jsince the commencement of free-trade. >^ A seizure of opium was made at Canton,-' the property of a British tiader, and immediately in front of his dwelling. The individual and the ship from which the opium came were ordered out of the river within a given time, and the unhappy Hong merchant who secured the ship, though perfectly unconscious and innocent of the act, underwent the severe punishment of the cangue, or wooden collar. When the obnoxious individual had with- drav/n himself, the trade, which had been stopped in the mean while, was expected to be resumed. The government would seem to have been irritated by this occurrence into one of its barbarous outrages on human feeling, with a view probably to intimidate the European smugglers in their desperate courses within the limits of the river. ^ Only a few days after the discovery above mentioned, the foreigners were stiuck with astonishment by a sudden preparation, in the square immediately before the factories, for tlie strangling of a native opium-dealer. It was at once deter- mined to resist this unprecedented and in- tolerable act, and tliey succeeded in chasing av,ay the carnifex and his horrid apparatus. The considerable crowd of Chinese that had assembled evinced no unfriendly disposition towards the foreigners, but (as the des})atch observes), " from a general concurrence, rather the contrary." "When, however, the crowd had become exceedingly dense, some rash foreigners provoked the people by forcibly pushing in amongst them, and assailing them with sticks. They returned this with showers of stones and other violence, and in a few minutes the Europeans v.ere driven in within the gates of their respective factories, wliich were immediately closed. But the fury of tlie crowd, consisting at this time of some thousands, was excited to a degree that threatened tragical results ; until the Chinese soldiers succeeded in dispersing the mob, while the criminal was executed at one of the usual places. '" All these desperate hazards"" (the despatch observes) ''were in- curred for the scrambling and comparatively insignificant gains of a few reckless indivi- duals, unquestionably founding their conduct upon the belief that they were exempt from operation of all law, British or Chinese.'"* The inconvenience and danger were so im- minent, that the Chief Superintendent called a meeting, at which many foreigners besides English voluntarily attended. He felt bound to say " that the present mischiefs originated in the existence of an extensive traffic in opium, conducted in small boats within the river. The results were the actual inter- ruption of the legal trade: the seizure and punishment of innocent men ; the distressing degradation of the foreign character ; and the certainty that the illegal and violent ti-affic would fall into the hands of the desperate, the refuse, and probably the convicted of all the countries connected with China." A notice Blue Book. p. 324. 2 Ibid. p. COMMISSIONER LIN. 61 //: was accordingly issued to the small smug- gling craft in the river belonging to the Eng- lish, that they must proceed outside within three days, and the superintendent at the same time offered his co-operation to the go- vernment for the purpose of putting a stop to the river smuggling. It was on this oc- casion that he obtained from the Viceroy the important concession of a direct communi- cation with the mandarins, without the in- tervention of the Hong merchants. And yet one or tv/o individuals have been found to declare that the Chinese government was not really determined to put down the smuggling, .' not even when it went to the length of ex- '^'' ^ ecuting a man before the factories ! The stagnation of the opium-ti-aflfic for some months proved that the proceedings against both smugglers and consumers were sufficiently effective, and a report soon spread that a very high officer from the court, bear- ing the summary powers of a Kin-chae, or special Imperial Commissioner, was soon to be sent to Canton. Howqua, the senior Hong mercliant, significantly hinted that un- usually strong measures would be taken by this new functionary, and dwelt upon the manifold mischiefs of the ti-ade, particularly on the alarming character of the late inside traffic, asking the British superintendent what his go- vernment would do under such circumstances ? Captain Elliot answered that no such state of things could happen in England ; and that the present evils had not only been induced by the venality of the highest officers, but had been put down by his own proceedings, as far as those could operate. Howqua con- cluded by saying that some strong official com- munication on the subject must be expected as soon as the high commissioner arrived. A proclamation was in the mean while issued by the local government in January, 1839. not through the Hong merchants, but ad- dressed directly to the foreigners, — a remark- able and unusual proceeding, — furnishing strong evidence of the earnest feelings of the court. It was required that the receiving ships on the outside should be all sent away under the penalty of hostile measures. The high commissioners approach was an- nounced, and it was declared that, " though the axe should break in his hand, or the boat should sink from beneath him, yet would he not stay his eff'orts until the work was com- pleted." The arrival of the high commissioner was immediately preceded by a native opium- smuggler being suddenly brought down into the square before the foreign factories, accom- panied by a considerable force of troops, and there publicly strangled ! All the European flags at Canton were hauled down, and re- monstrances made to which no answer was returned. From this event until the commis- sioner's arrival, rumours of every description were afloat, but the general impression was, that he would proceed forthwith to Macao and commence his operations from thence. Tents were pitched, a considerable force was assembled, junks and boats of v/ar collected, and under the forts at the Boca Tigris a dis- play of old native vessels preparing to serve as fire-ships. On the 22nd ^larch it appeared that the storm had changed its direction, and impended over the v.hole foreign commu- nity at Canton in the most alarming form. On his arrival, Commissioner Lin far sur- passed in his measures the most formidable apprehensions that had preceded him. He immediately issued an edict directly to the foreigners, demanding that every particle of opium on board the ships should be delivered to the government, in order to its being burned and destroyed. At the same time a bond was required, in the foreign and Chinese lan- guages, that "the ships should hereafter never again dare to bring opium ; and that, should any be brought, the goods should be forfeited, and the parties sutler death : moreover, that such punishment would be willingly sub- mitted to." He plainly threatened that, if his requisitions were not complied with, the foreigners would be overwhelmed by numbers, and sacrificed ; but at the same time made some vague promises of reward to such as obeyed. On first hearing of the proceedings at Can- ton, the British superintendent, always present where danger or difficulty called him, hur- ried up in the gig of H. M. ship Lame, and made his way to the factories on the evening of the 24th March, notwithstanding the efforts made to stop him. The state of intense dis- tress in which he found the whole foreign 62 THE CHINESE. community may be estimated by stating that the actual pressing difficulty was the obsti- nate demand that Mr. Dent, one of the most respectable English merchants, should proceed into the city, and attend the commissioner's tribunal. Captain Elliofs first step was to proceed to Mr. Denfs house, and convey him in person to the hall of the superintendents. He immediately signified to the Chinese his readiness to let Mr. Dent go into the city with himself, and upon the distinct stipulation, under the commissioner's seal, that he was never to be moved out of his sight. The whole foreign community were then assembled, and exhorted to be moderate and calm. On the same night the native servants were taken away and the supplies cut off, the reason given being the opposition to the commis- sioner's summons. An arc of boats was formed, filled with armed men. the extremes of which touched the east and west banks of the river in front of the factories. The square between, and the rear, were occupied in con- siderable force : and before the gate of the hall the whole body of Hong merchants and a large guard were posted day and night, the latter with their swords constantly drawn. So close an imprisonment is not recorded in the history of our previous intercourse. Under these circumstances, the British su- perintendent issued a most momentous cir- cular to his countrymen, requiring the sur- render into his hands of all the English opium actually on the coast of China at that date. In undertaking this immense responsibility, he had no doubt that the safety of a great mass of human life hung upon his determi- nation. Had he commenced with the denial of any control on the occasion, the Chinese commissioner would have seized the pretext for reverting to his measures of intimidation against individual merchants, obviously his original purpose, but which Captain Elliot's sudden appearance had disturbed. He would have forced the whole into submission by the protracted confinement of the persons he had determined to seize, and, judging from his proclamation and general conduct, by the sacrifice of their lives. On the 3rd April it was agreed that the deputy superintendent should proceed down the river with the mandarins and Hong mer- chants, and deliver over to the commissioner 20,283 chests of opium from the ships, which were assembled for that purpose below tlie Boca Tigris. The imprisonment and block- ade in the mean while remained undiminished at Canton, and attempts were made to extort from the foreigners the bond, by which their lives and property would have been placed at the disposal of the Chinese government. Tliis, however, was avoided. It was not before the 4th May, when all the opium had been delivered, that the state of imprisonment and blockade ceased at Canton. Leave was then given for all to quit except sixteen individuals, who ulti- mately took their departure, under an edict from the government never to return. Fre- quent rumours in the mean while reached Canton of Commissioner Lin's aggressive intentions towards Macao. The Portuguese had taken advantage of the proceedings within the river to embark their opium and send it to Manilla ; but the commissioner insisted on the delivery of a certain quantity, under the threat of occupying the forts with Chinese troops. Captain Elliot took the first opportunity^ to write to Lord Auckland, Governor-general of India, detailing that " course of violence and spoliation which had broken up the foundations" (to use his own words) " of this great trade, as far as Canton is concerned, perhaps for ever.'" He , at the same time applied for as many ships of war and armed vessels, for the protectioKi , of life and property, as could be detachedlV, from the Indian station. ^ The Chinese commissioner, in the mean\^ while, set on foot a system of restriction on the trade and intercourse with foreigners to which Canton had hitherto been a stranger, and which at once converted that place into the Nagasaki of the Japanese. All the un- licensed merchants and shopkeepers, engaged in most extensive transactions with Europeans, were ordered to remove forthwith, and their streets blocked up. Barriers were built across some streets, the factories stockaded about, terraces torn down, and the foreigners made little better than prisoners within their dwellings. The Americans submitted to all this ; but it did not immediately affect the English, for the British superintendent very A CHINESE KILLED. 63 properly ordered every subject of her Majesty out of the river, or left it to him to stay at his own peril. Captain Elliot did not quit Canton himself until the 25th May, when the sixteen proscribed individuals had left that place in safety, and the persons of no other British subjects were in jeopardy. On a view of the conduct and proceed- ings of the chief superintendent through this eventful scene of trial, it is not easy to deny the truth of the high encomium passed on that officer by the best of judges, the Duke of Wellington himself. In tlie debate of the 13th May, in the Houseof Lords, hisgraceob- served, with reference to the immense respon- sibility incurred for the safety of British sub- jects, that Captain Elliot '• performed a ser- vice for which this country and government owed him thanks, an act of courage and self- devotion such as few men had ever had an opportunity of showing, and probably still fewer would have shown."' The Duke might well add that " he had never known a person filling a high station in another country treated in such a manner as Captain Elliot had been treated by the authorities of the Chinese government at Canton. In the month of July the English traders were most of them resident at Macao, and a large fleet of merchantmen lay at Hong-kong. It was obviously impossible to trust to tlie faith of so perfidious a functionary as Com- missioner Lin, who had violated, one by one, all his promises during the progress of de- liveringthe opium, and kept the British super- intendent and his countrymen confined for six weeks, in the vain endeavour to obtain the bond, by which they were to yield themselves up to the future mercy of the government. The commissioner remained at Canton, not daring to leave that province until he could report the peaceful resumption of the regular British trade at Whampoa. His anxiety to accomplish this prime object of his hopes was betrayed by repeated papers addressed to the English, who, however, felt no disposition to place themselves once more within the power of a man who set himself above the ordi- nary obligations of honour and good faith. The impetuosity of this rash functionary had certainly placed him in a very critical situ- ation ; for, according to the invariable po- licy of the Chinese government, he was doomed to remain in his present office until he had Avorked his mission to a conclusion ; and Avhenever the storm which his acts in- cited shall have burst upon China, he will be, in all probability, the first and principal victim of the Emperor's anger. The commissioner's perplexity was soon increased by the impulse which his reckless measures had given to the more desperate traffic in opium on the east coast./' The high prices. soon brought on the immense stocks from India, and, as the super- intendent observed, " the coasts were delivered over to a state of things which seemed likely to pass from the worst character of a forced trade to plain buccaneering.'" Had the Can- ton government accepted the sincere otters which Captain Elliot had made to co-operate with it In the repression of the vilest part of the traffic, these calamitous and threatening results might have been prevented ; but the impracticable pride of the Chinese seemed now destined to meet with its reward. In the mean while an unfortunate oc- currence took place at Hong-kong in the death of a Chinese, killed in a riot which broke out on shore with some American and English sailors. There was the plainest proof on all hands that Americans were engaged, as well as English ; but they denied it, and, as the Americans were still trading at Canton, the Chinese found it convenient to lay the whole responsibility on the English, who were not trading. Captain Elliot proceeded to the utmost verge of his powers, with a view to afford the government all reasonable satisfaction, by setting in action the criminal I jurisdiction, and placing six of the English rioters on their trial. The mandarins were '■ invited to attend, but did not think fit to comply. Five of the men were found guilty of riot and assault only. These proceedings did not satisfy Commissioner Lin, who was glad to be able to ascribe the stoppage of the trade to the recent homicide, and not to his own violent proceedings at Canton. He moved down to Heangshan, a place forty miles from Macao, with about 2000 soldiers ; in- sisted upon the delivery of a man, and upon the enti-ance within the river of all the British shipping (his real object) ; while, with a view to enforce his demands, he took away all the 61 THE CHIXrSE. native servants and stopped tlie supplies of food to !Macao. As the Portuguese governor of that place confessed his want of means to -afford the English any protection, they all quitted the place, and embarked on board the ships at Hong-kong on the 2(3th August. The state of hostility and insecurity was greatly aggravated hy a barbarous murder committed at this time by some armed Chinese boats on the defenceless crew of an English schooner, when seven lascars were massacred, and a passenger on board left for dead, after having been cruelly cut and mutilated. As a mandarin hat and knife were left on board by the murderers, there rested a strong sus- picion that the assailants were mandarin boats acting at the instigation of the com- missioner, whose acts had proved that he was quite capable of such a proceeding when he saw little chance of an innocent sailor being delivered to him for execution. The arrival of H. M. ship Folage at this juncture was a fortunate occurrence, which assured the security of British subjects and their shipping from the threatened attacks of the Chinese. Assistance was immediately offered to the Portuguese governor of Macao, and all the means to render that place secure and independent ; but he declined the offer, and tiusted to the preservation of a rigid neutrality. An untoward event soon after- wards occurred on the 4th September, in the •encounter of Captain Elliot's cutter, accom- panied by the pinnace of the folage. and a ,small armed vessel, the Pearl, \vith three large Chinese war-junks, employed in inter- cepting provisions from the fleet, and anchored under a large and well-manned fort. After a fire of nearly half an hour against this superior force, the English boats hauled off from the failure of ammunition, not having ■come prepared for actual conflict. The junks, however, had suffered, and were pre- sently seen to weigh and make sail for the purpose of escaping through an adjacent out- let. By this time cartridges had been made, and the boats, bearing up, succeeded in beating the junks back to their former position. In the evening the Folage arrived at the bay, and the thrt e boats joined her. During the night, however, it was agreed not to proceed in the morning to destroy the three junks; and this was the only i;nforfunate feature of theaft'air, being calculated to make the Chinese ascribe their forbearance to wrong motives. A disquieting occurrence on the 8th September for some time kept the English fleet in painful suspense. The master of the British armed schooner Psyche imprvidently left the harbour of Hong-kong without orders, taking Avith him fifteen people, to reconnoitre a passage in the immediate vicinity, said to be occupied by war-junks. No time was lost on the following day, when his absence became known, in sending boats to make inquiries, but Avithout success ; and as there appeared every reason to suppose that the parties, sixteen in number, had fallen into the hands of tlie Chinese, the urgent nature of the case led the Chief superintendent and Captain Smitli of the Folage to declare the Boca Tigris in a state of blockade until the men were delivered up. Before the period of the blockade arrived, however, the boat and her crew returned in safety. A strong adverse tide had caught them in tlie narrow passage they purposed to explore, and, ob- serving a considerable force in the rear, they had pushed on tlirough the opposite outlet, atid succeeded in reaching ^Nlacao, though after a long passage, and in a very exhausted state, having neither provisions nor sails with them. The blockade was accordingly with- drawn. Towards the end of October there was a / prospect of a temporary adjustment of diffi- culties, so far as to admit of the commerce being carried on below the Boca Tigris, until further instructions had been received \ from England. The British community were returning to ^Nlacao, and the ships to Chuenpee \ in order to deliver their cargoes, There was 1 no departure whatever from the principle that it was impossible to deliver up a man to be tried by the Chinese, or to sign a bond of consent for the capital punishment of the queen's subjects by the mandarins. But all this was doomed to be frustrated. On the 5th November the chief superin- tendent wrote thus to the Foreign Office. ^ " A different and unhappy turn of affairs has been brought about, and I am grieved to 1 Additional Parliamentary Papers, p. 8. ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CHINESE JUNKS. 65 report thatthis serious public mischief is attri- butable to the conduct of a British subject, Mr. Warner, master of the ship Thomas Coutts. Upon his arrival from Sincapore, Mr. Warner did not repair to Hong-kong, but demanded his pilot, and proceeded to the Boca Tigris, signed the required bond of consent to the new laws, involving the inflic- tion of capital punishment by Chinese forms of trial, and the ship was immediately car- ried up to Whampoa." A committee of Bri- tish merchants had previously stated their apprehension " that the circumstance of one English ship, the Thomas Coutts, Captain Warner, having actually proceeded inside the Boque, in violation of the injunctions of Her Majesty's chief superintendent, and the fact of the captain having signed the bond re- quired by the Chinese government, might occasion delays and difficulties in the proposed trade outside, which would never have arisen had all the English remained firm, as they had hitherto done." The consequence was a determination on the part of the commissioner to break off his concluded arrangement, and a demand for the entrance of the whole British shipping on the same terms as the Thomas Coutts ; or their departure in three days, under menaces ->>. of destruction if they remained. It was soon Captain Elliot's task to report the most serious collision which had ever taken place between our navy and the Chinese force, if we except perhaps the passage of the Boca Tigris in 1834. Finding that the Chinese were preparing for aggressive measures against the fleet, and that Admiral Kwan was in con- siderable force near Chuenpee, the Chief superintendent recommended to Captain Smith the immediate removal of the Volage and Hyacinth to that neighbourhood, and a moderate but firm address to the commis- sioner. This measure was calculated to ascertain the actual extent of preparation, and Her Majesty's ships could be in no more suit- able or imposing situation than in sight of the batteries, and under the immediate obser- vation of the commissioner. Captain Elliot accordingly repaired on board the Folage frigate on the 28th October ; but strong adverse winds retarded their ar- rival until the morning of the 2nd November, when Her Majesty's ships were anchored about a mile below the first battery, where an im- posing force of war-junks and fire-vessels was collected. A lieutenant, accompanied by Mr. Morrison, the interpreter, was despatched to the admiral's junk with the address to the commissioner. They were civilly received, and the admiral replied that he would for- ward the paper to their excellencies then in the neighbourhood, and send the answer next day. He also expressed a wish that the ships should move down a little farther, which Captain Smith immediately did, with the intention to prove his peaceful disposition. In the course of the same evening a linguist was despatched to the ships with a verbal message, requesting that Mr. Morrison might be sent on board the admiral's junk. It was answered, that the written address contained all that was to be said, and for the present such a visit was inexpedient. In the forenoon of the 3rd an officer of some rank anchored at a short distance from the ships, and again sent the linguist to desire Mr. Morrison might come to them : in reply to which the previous message was repeated. About this time, the Chinese squadron, under the command c/f the admiral, broke ground, and stood out towards her majesty's ships, which were immediately got under way, and directed towards the approaching force. As soon as this proceeding was observed, the squadron anchored in good order to the num- ber of twenty-nine sail, and Her Majesty's ships were hove to ; while a short correspond- ence ensued, in which the Chinese were peremptory in demanding the delivery of an Englishman, and refused to retire. Captain Smith now very properly declared that he did not feel himself warranted in leaving this formidable flotilla at liberty to pass inside of him at night, and carry into eft'ect the menaces against the merchant ves- sels ; and thinking that the retirement of her majesty's ships before a force, moved out with the palpable intention to intimidate, was not compatible with the honor of the flag, he resolved to constrain their return to their former anchorage. At noon, therefore, the signal was made to engage, and the ships, then lying hove to at the extreme end of the Chinese line, bore away a- head in close order, 66 THE CHINESE. having the wind on the starboard beam. In this way, and under easy sail, they ran down the Chinese line, pouring in a destructive fire. The lateral direction of the wind enabled the ships to perform the same evolution from the other extreme of the line, running up again with their larboard broadsides bearing. The Chinese answered with much spirit, but the terrible etiect of the English fire was soon manifest. One war-junk blew up at pistol- shot distance from the Volage, three were sunk, and several others water-logged. The admiral's conduct is said to have been worthy of his station. His junk was evidently better manned and armed than the others; and after having weighed, or perhaps cut or slipped his cable, he bore up and engaged -Her Ma- jesty's ships in handsome style. In less than three quarters of an hour, however, he and the remainder of his squadron were retiring in gi-eat distress to their former anchorage, and, as Captain Smith was not disposed to protract destructive hostilities, he offered no obstruction to their retreat. It is to be feared, however, that this clemency was throAvn away upon the Chinese, who have no conception of the true principles of such forbearance, and subsequent facts show that they actually claimed the victory. This they perhaps fovmded on the circumstance of Her Majesty's ships making sail for Macao, for tlie purpose of covering the embarkation of the English who might see fit to retire from that place, and of providing for the safety of the mer- chant ships. On the 4th November the Volage joined the fleet at Hong-kong, and the Hyacinth was left at Macao, to watch events in that quarter. It was time that the Chinese should receive such a lesson as the foregoing, for not long prior to it they had robbed and burned a Spanish brig, the Bilbaino, utterly uncon- nected with opium, mider the plea that she was an English vessel, though her proper flag was flying. As that brig lay at anchor in the Taypa, a harbour pertaining to Macao, she was surjDrised at daybreak by four war-junks and several fire-rafts, accompanied by a num- ber of mandarin boats, whose crews entered the brig, robbed her of everything on board, and then set fire to her. The Spanish mate was carried off in chains, with one of the sailors ; while the rest of the crew saved their lives by jumping overboard. The Chinese carried away the flag with them; and the Spanish consular agent at Macao has been ever since denied all redress for this gratuitous outrage. The discomfiture of Admiral Kwan's squa- dron was soon followed by the refusal of all trade to the English with China; but, for some months, the Americans continued to tranship goods and carry them up to Canton, bringing back cargoes of tea on British ac- count, which were shipped for England on the outside of the Boca Tigris. This at length attracted attention, and the emperor's edict, cutting off the commerce of the English, was enforced to the utmost, by denying inter- course to such American ships as transhipped cargoes. The local government went so far as to purchase several ships — rather (it is supposed) to act as floating batteries, than to be added to the emperor's squadron of war- junks. Their sense of their own weakness, on the other hand, was proved by Admiral Kwan not risking such another victory as that for which he had been lately rewarded, but keep- ing very close to the forts at the Boca Tigris, notwithstanding several attempts to coax him out. The governor-general of India having been invested with full powers to declare war, and direct its operations, it remains only to await the result of the most important and momentous enterprise, next to the conquest of India itself, in which the British arms have ever been engaged to the eaistward of the Cape of Good Hope. GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CHIjSA. 67 CHAPTER V. GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF CHINA. Eighteen ProAinces of China — Comprise about twenty degrees of latitude by twenty of longitude — Extremes of Heat and Cold— Principal Chains of Mountains— Two gi-eat Rivers — The Grand Canal — 'Crossing the Yellow River — Great Wall— Province of the Capital — Other Provinces— Independent Mountaineers— Chain - of volcanic symptoms in west of China — Manchow and Mongol Tartary — Neighbouring and tributary Coun tries — Chinese account of Loo-choo — of Japan. This chapter will be principally devoted to a succinct view of the chief geographical features of China Proper, under which may be included, on account of their unparalleled magnitude, and the important stations which they hold in the maps of the countiy, a particular description of the Imperial Canal, and of the Great IVall. The scientific skill of the Jesuit missionaries accomplished a survey of the whole of this fine country on trigono- metrical principles, so admirably correct as to admit of little improvement; and, with the exception of the British possessions in India, there is no part of Asia so well laid down as China. Since the time of the Jesuits' survey, hoAv- ever, an alteration has taken place in the divisions of the country. The provinces of China, which then consisted of fifteen in all, have been increased, by the subdivision of three of the largest to eighteen. Keang-nan has been split into Keang-soo and Gan-hoey, Hoo-kuang into Hoo-nan and Hoo-pe, and the western part of Shensy has been extended, and called Kan-so. These eighteen provinces con- stitute a compact area, extending (if we leave out the island of Haenan) from about 21° to 41° of north latitude, and measuring in ex- treme length from north to south about 1200 geographical miles, with an average breadth from east to west of nearly 20° of longitude, or something less than the extent north and south. Perhaps no country in the world, of the same magnitude, can be considered upon the whole as more favoured in point of climate. Being situated, however, on the eastern side of a great continent, China follows the general rule which observation has sanctioned in attributing to regions, so placed, an excess of both cold and heat at opposite seasons of the year, which its precise position in regard to latitude would not lead us to expect. In the month of September, near Peking, Lord Amherst's embassy found the thermometer occasionally above 90°; while the huge solid blocks of ice, which were at the same time carried about for use, and exposed on the stalls, proved the severity of the cold in winter. In the Vellow Sea, during the month of July, and at 35° north latitude, the temperature of the water at 40 fathoms proved to be 65°, while that of the air was between 80° and 90°. Even at Canton, the southern extremity of the empire, and nearly in the latitude of Calcutta, the mercury frequently falls below freezing-point during the nights of January, while in summer it sometimes, though not often, rises to 100°. Notwithstanding these apparent exti-emes of heat and cold, the cli- mate must be generally characterised as highly salubrious — a circumstance no doubt arising in great measure from the extension of cultivation and drainage. As a confirmation of the observations of Humboldt, in his treatise of Isothermal lines, it may be added, that the French missionaries were struck by the re- semblance which the climate and products of northern China and Tartary bore to those of the east coast of North America ; and that the wild plant ginseng, long a monopoly of the Emperor in the Manchow comitry, has been imported in large quantities to Canton, by the American ships, to the great surprise of the Chinese. The whole surface of China is varied in elevation, rising generally in terraces from the sea towards the west, but there would seem, at the same time, to be no mountains of very remarkable height. The principal chains consist of two. One of these extends from Yun-nan along the borders of Kuei-chow and Kuang-sy, passing to the north of Canton F 2 68 THE CHINESE. province, where a road is cut through the Mei-ling pass, wliich has been described in both our embassies : it then takes a north-east direction through Fokien, and terminates in Che-keang. The larger portion of the ridge to the north-west of Canton province forms the inaccessible country (at least to the native government) of the jMeaou-tse, who have never entirely submitted to the Tartars. Even in Chinese maps their country is left a blank. The second principal chain of mountains extends from Sse-chuen to Shensy, causing the Yellow River to make an abrupt bend northwards through the Great Wall. There are, besides, mountains of considerable elevation westward of Peking, towards Shan-sy province, but the plains from which they rise are little raised above the sea. The two principal rivers of China occupy a very high rank in the geographical history of the globe. Taking the Thames as unit. Major Rennell estimated the proportions of the Yangtse-keang and Yellow River at fifteen and a half, and thirteen and a half respec- tively, and they are secondary only to the Amazons and the Mississippi. The Yangtse- keang, the river, or the '"son of the sea,'' has been by some people styled the Blue River, but there is no such name for it in Chinese. It rises in Kokonor, the country between Thibet and Chhia, not far from the sources of the Yellow River : turning suddenly south, it makes an abrupt bend through the pro- vinces of Yun-nan and Sse-chuen, where it takes the name of the "Golden-sanded River;"" and then flowing north-east and east, it sub- sequently makes a gentle bend southward, and receives the superfluous waters of the Tong-ting Hoo, the largest lake of China; thence, in its course towards the sea, it serves as a discharger to another large lake, the Poyang Hoo, in Keang-sy province ; after which it runs nearly north-east, and flows past Nanking into the ocean, which it reaches exactly under the thirty-second parallel of latitude. This great stream runs with such a strong and prevailing ebb, that Lord Am- herst's embassy found great difficulty in sailing up its course towards the Poyang lake, being unable to make any way at all, except with a strong north-easterly breeze. The flood tide was felt no higher than Kua- chow, below Nanking.^ The Yellow River rises also in the country of Kokonor, but soon turning as abruptly north as the Keang does south, it passes across the Great Wall and makes an elbow round the territory of the Ortous; passing back again across the wall, it flows due south, and forms the boundary of Shan-sy and Shen-sy ; whence it turns sharply eastward and reaches the sea in latitude 34°. From the excessive rapidity of its stream, this river is nearly unnavigable through its greater length. In the old ma})s of China the Yellow River has been represented as flowing into the gulf of Pechele, north of the Shan-tung promontory. If, then, in the construction of the canal under Koblai Khan, its ancient course was turned, it is possible that this violence to nature has occasioned the constant recurrence of the dreadful accidents which attend the bursting of its artificial, but ill-constructed, banks and dikes. It is a source of perpetual anxiety and heavy expense to the govern- ment ; and there is a tax on the Hong mer- chants at Canton expressly on this account. The enormous quantity of mud held in sus- pension by the waters of the Yellow River (whence its name) causes depositions at its mouth which tend rapidly to lessen the depth of water. It is remarkable that the too great rivers of China, which rise at a small distance from each other, after taking opposite courses to the north and south, and being separated by a distance of full fifteen degrees of latitude, should reach the sea within two degrees of the same point. The coast of China, south of the pro- montory of Shantung, is generally bold and rocky, except at the points where the Yellow River and Yangtse Keang empty themselves. The province of Peking is a sandy flat, and the gulf which skirts it extremely shallow, so that a large ship cannot approach the shore within many miles. The whole coast of the empire abounds in safe and commodious harbours, of which those on the south have been accurately surveyed under the East ' ^^^^ere the " srrain-bearing" canal leads to Pe- kinjj, a naval squadr >n ciulu probably make its way to tins point, and blockade it. 69 India Company. Tlie east coast, however, thongh very correctly traced in the missionary maps, has still to be nauticalh^ surveyed for the purposes ofshippino^. Generally speaking, from the mouth of the Peking river to Chusan, the sea has been found to be as free from dangers as in any part of the world. For the internal commerce of the empire, however, the Chinese are rendered almost wholly independent of coast navigation by their Imperial canal, which in point of extent and magnitude of undertaking is, as well as the Great Wall, unrivalled by any other works of the kind in the whole world. Tho canal, as we have already had occasion to notice, was principally the work of Koblai Khan and his immediate successors of the Yuen race. In the MS. of a jMongol his- 70 THE CHINESE. torian, named Rashid-ud-deen, written in A.D. 1307, and made available to us by MM. Von Hammer and Klaproth, there is the following curious notice of it : — " The canal extends from Khanbalik (Peking) to Khin- sai ^ and Zeytoon ; ships can navigate it, and it is forty days' journey in length. When the ships arrive at the sluices, they are raised up, whatever be their size, by means of ma- chines, and they are then let down on the other side into the water.'" This is an exact description of the practice at the present day, as may be seen by reference to the accounts of the two English embassies. It must be observed, however, that although the canal has been generally considered to extend from Tien-tsin, near Peking, to Hang- chow-foo in Chekeang, being about 600 geographical miles, the canal properly so called, that is, the Cha-lw, or •' river of flood- gates," commences only at Lintsing-chow in Shantung, and continues beyond the Yellow River. The principal river that feeds it is the Wtm-ho, rising from the Taeshan in Shantung, and falling into the canal at its highest eleva- tion, in a line perpendicular to its course. The waters of the river, stiiking with force against a strong bulwark of stone that suppoi-ts the western bank, part of them flow to the northward, and part southward : at this point is the temple of the " dragon king,"' or genius of the watery element, who is supposed to have the canal in his special keeping. One principal merit of this great work is its acting as a drain to the swampy country through which it flows, from Tien-tsin to the Yangtse Keang. Being carried through the lowest levels, and communicating with the neighbouring ti-acts by floodgates, it has ren- dered available much that would otherwise be an irreclaimable swamp. As it is, how- ever, some individuals of the embassy, in passing through this desolate flat in 1816, were laid up with intermittents of rather ma- lignant tj-pe. The large city of Hoae-gan-foo, near the Yellow River, extends for about three miles very much below the level of the canal. In passing along its dilapidated walls, upon which we looked down from our boats, it was ^ Kingsze, or capital, tl;e present Hangchow-foo, the residence of the Soong dynasty. impossible not to shudder at the idea of any accident occurring to the banks of the canal, as the total desti-uction of the town must be certain. Near this point resides the Ho- tsoong, or surveyor-general of the river, who has charge of its banks. jMany readers will be aware that to the period of Yaou, something more than 2000 years before our era, the Chinese carry back their tradition of an extensive flood, which by some persons has been identified with the universal deluge recorded in the Old Tes- tament. After a careful examination of their own written accounts, we feel persuaded that this deluge of the Chinese is described rather as interrupting the business of agriculture than as involving a general destmction of the human race. It is observed, in the book of Mencius, (ch. v.) that the great Yu "opened nine channels : Yu was eight years abroad regulating the waters." This could hardly mean the universal deluge, and in fact seems to have been some aggravation only of the na- tural condition of those low countries through which the Yellow River and canal now flow. "Were they both of them to burst their banks at joresent, the deluge of Yaou would be re- peated. It was for his merit in draining the country, or drawing oft" the waters of the inundation, that the great Yu was so cele- brated. To return to the canal. Many persons, and among the rest Dr. Abel, have not been dis- posed to estimate very highly the labour and ingenuity displayed in the construction of that artificial channel. He observes, " This famous monument of industry, considered simply as a channel of communication be- tween dift'erent parts of the empire, appears to have been somewhat overrated as an ex- ample of the immense power of human labour ancl of human art. In every part of its course it passes through alluvial soil, readily penetrated by the tools of workmen, and is intersected by numerous streams. It would be difficult to find any part of it carried through twenty miles of country unaided by tributary rivers. The sluices which keep its necessary level are of the rudest construction : buttresses formed of blocks of stone, with grooves fitted with thick planks, are the only locks of the Imperial canal. It is neither CROSSIXG THE YELLOW RIVER. carried through any mountain, nor over any valley." Much of this is certainly true, and confirmed by the observ^ation of Du Halde, that "in all that space there were neither hills, quarries, nor rocks which gave the workmen any trouble either to level or peneti-ate." But if the canal is admitted to be a work of high national utility in more lights than one, the simplicity of the means, by which the end was attained, can scarcely be considered to derogate from its merit : it would seem, on the contrary, to be a proof of the sagacity with which the plan was formed. The following account of the process of crossing the Yellow River, at the point where it is intersected by the canal, is given from two unpublished journals of the last embassy. " On our left (proceeding south) was a stream called the 'New Salt River,' which, like the canal, opened into the Yellow River ; and on our right we had for several days very close to us, the Yellow River itself, which just before this point of junction with the canal suddenly turns north-eastward, after having run in a south-easterly direction. When we had been a short time at anchor, during which interval some of the chief mandarins visited the am- bassador, we all got under weigh, and pre- pared to cross the famous Hoang-ho. All the boats, on entering the river, sti-uck right across the stream without observing any order, and gained the opposite bank in less than an hour. The weather being fine and moderate, and tlie water perfectly smooth, our boatmen were not so particular in the observance of their ceremonies and libations on the passage of the river as those of the last embassy ; but every boat, I believe, burnt a few pieces of gilt paper, and let off' a volley of crackers in honour of the occasion. The breadth of the river in this part was about three-quarters of a mile, the direction of the stream north-east by east, with a current of three or four miles per hour, but the water not much more muddy or yellow, at this point, than it has been ob- served in the Pei-ho and elsewhere, " The stream was certainly violent, and carried us down a considerable way before we could reach the opposite bank, which was lined with a great number of boats of various shapes and dimensions, some of them being constructed exactly in the form of oblong boxes. Many of these were stationary, and laden with the straw or stalk of the holcus so?'ghum, and with coarse reeds, ready to be transported to dift'erent parts of the river and canal for the repair of the banks. This assem- blage of boats, though the greatest we have yet noticed in this part of China, bore no comparison to what may be daily seen in the river of Canton. When the current had car- ried us down some distance to the eastward, we had a mile or two to reascend the river, before we came to the opening through which we were to pursue our route to the south ; and the passage in the vicinity of the bank, to which we kept on account of the current, was so obstructed with boats, that this was not efl'ected \xnder four hours from our first getting under weigh. The worst part was now to come in passing through a sluice, on the hither side of which the water, which had been confined in its passage through the abutments, raged with such fury as to suck down large floating substances in its eddies. This sluice upon a large scale, was near one hundred yards across, and through it the waters rushed into the river, at a rate of not less than seven or eight miles an hour. The projecting banks at the sides were not con- structed of stone- work, but entirely of the sh-aw or reeds already mentioned, with earth intermixed, and strongly bound with cordage. '• Through this opening or sluice, and in close contact with the bank on our left, our boats were successively dragged forward by ropes communicating with several large wind- lasses, which were worked upon the bank : by these means the object was slowly ac- complished, without the least damage or accident. After thus effecting a passage through the sluice, we found ourselves nearly in still water ; not yet however in the south- ern division of the great canal, as we had ex- pected, but in the main stream of another large river, hardly inferior in breadth to that which we had quitted. We were told it communi- cated at no great distance with the great lake, Hoong-tse Hoo, to the right of our course. The stream by which this lake discharges its waters into the Yellow River is marked in all the maps of China, but represented as totally distinct and unconnected with the grand 72 THE CHINESE. canal. It seems evident, therefore, that the course of the navigation has been latterly altered here, either from the overflowing of the Yellow River or some other cause. That a change has taken place seems indicated by the name ' New Salt River,' on the other side of the main stream of the Hoang-ho. " Entered the southern division of the grand canal. A great deal of labour and contrivance has been employed here in con- structing the embankments, and regulating the course of the waters. In the first place, two or three artificial bays or basins have been hollowed out in the bank of the river, where the boats proceeding to the southward assem- ble in security and wait their turn to pass. There are then two other narrow passes, or imperfect sluices, subsequent to the first open- ing that leads from the river to the canal, having also broad basins between them, and embankments constiucted, as before, with the straw or reeds confined with cordage. The object of this repetition of sluices, with the basins between, seems in some degree similar to that of the locks on our own canals.'' The important figure whicli the Great Wall makes in the maps of China entitles this vast artificial barrier to be considered in a geographical point of view. "VVe have already stated that it was built by the first universal monarch of China, about 200 years before the commencement of the Christian era, or rather more than 2000 years from this time. It bounds the whole north of China, along the frontiers of three provinces, extend- ing from the shore of the gulf of Pechele, 3i° east of Peking, to Syning, 15° west of that capital. The emperors of the Ming dynasty built an additional inner wall, near to Peking, on the west, which may be perceived on the map, enclosing a portion of the province between itself and the old wall. From the eastern extremity of the Great Wall there is an extensive stockade of wooden piles, enclos- ing the country of Mougden, and this has, in some European maps, been erroneously repre- sented as a continuation of the solid bar- rier. The gentlemen of Lord Macartney's em- bassy had the good fortune to pass into Tar- tary by one of the most entire portions of the wall, and a very particular examination of the structure was made by Captain Parish. On the first distant approach, it is described as resembling a prominent vein or ridge of quartz, standing out from mountains of gneiss or granite. The continuance of this line over the mountain-tops arrested the at- tention, and the form of a wall with battle- ments was soon distinctly discerned. It was carried over the ridges of the highest hills, descended into the deepest valleys, crossed upon arches over rivers, and was doubled in important passes, being, moreover, supplied w ith massy towers or bastions at distances of about one hundred yards. One of the most elevated ridges crossed by the wall was 5000 feet above the level of the sea. It far sur- passes, in short, the sum total of all other works of the kind, and proved a useful bar- rier until the power of Zenghis Khan over- threw the empire of the Chinese. The body of the walP consists of an earthen mound, retained on each side by walls of masonry and brick, and terraced by a platform of square bricks. The total height, including a parapet of five feet, is twenty feet, on a basis of stone projecting two feet un- der the brick-work, and varying in height from two feet to more, according to the level of the ground . The thickness of the wall at the base is twenty-five feet, diminishing to fifteen at the platform. The towers are forty feetsquare at the base,diminishing to thirty at the top, and about thirty-seven feet in total height. At parti- cular spots, however, the tower was of two stories, and forty-eight feet high. The bricks are, as usual in China, of a bluish colour, about fifteen inches long, half that in width, and nearly four inches thick ; probably the whole, half, and quarter of the Chinese Cke^ or covid. The blue colour of the bricks led to a doubt of their having been burned; but some ancient kilns were observed near the wall, and, since then, the actual experiment of Dr. Abel in 1816 has proved that the brick clay of the Chinese, being red at first, bums blue. The thinness of the parapet of the wall, about eighteen inches, justifies the con- clusion that it was not intended to resist cannon : indeed the Chinese themselves 1 See plan, section, and elevation, from folio plates to Embassy. GREAT WALL. 73 i;!!iIi!!Ili!'ifiF'¥!li!!l ^^mmm^ pf .: w claim no such antiquity for the_ invention of fire-arms. The above description confinns, upon the whole, that of Gerbillon, about a century before. " It is generally," says he, " no more tlian eighteen, twenty, or twenty- five geometrical feet high, but the towers are seldom less than forty." The same missionary, however, informs us that beyond the Yellow River to its western extremity, or for full one-half of its total length, the wall is chiefly a mound of earth or gravel, about fifteen feet in height, with only occasional towers of brick. Marco Polo's silence concerning it may therefore be accounted for by the supposition that, having seen only this imperfect portion, he did not 74 THE CHINESE. deem it an object of sufficient curiosity to deserve particular notice ; without the neces- sity of imagining that he entered China from the westward, to the south of the great barrier. As a minute geographical description of each province of the empire would be out of place in this work, we will notice generally the points most deserving of attention in all, commencing with those which lay in the route of the British embassies. The flat, sandy, and steril province in which Peking is situated offers little worthy of notice. The vast plain which surrounds the capital is en- tirely devoid of trees, but wood is procured from that long hilly promontory of Tartary, which forms the eastern boundary of the gulf of Leaoutung, and was named by Sir Murray Maxwell, the "regent's sword.'' The most considerable town, next to Peking, is Tien- tsin, though it does not rank as a city : it forms the trivium, or point of junction be- tween the canal, the capital, and the sea. Here are seen the immense piles or hills of salt described by Mr. Barrow, this being the depot for the salt provided for the enormous consumption of Peking, and manufactured along the marshy borders of the sea. On en- tering the adjoining province of Shantung to the south, the attention is soon drawn to the commencement of the canal ; and on the lakes, or rather extensive swamps through which it is carried, are seen the Hshing cor- vorants, birds which will be more particu- larly described hereafter, exercising their pro- fession for their masters in numerous boats. The surface in the north of this province and in Pechele is so flat and low, that tlie tide, which rises only nine or ten feet in the ad- joining gulf, flows upwards of one hundred miles above the mouth of the Peiho. The country, therefore, consisting entirely of an argillaceous sand abounding in mica, is fre- quently laid under water, the general level not being more than two feet above the sur- face of the river at high tide. In this cir- cumstance, joined to the vicinity of that con- stant source of inundations, the Yellow River, we may perceive, perhaps, an explanation of the great inundation or deluge, which the celebrated Yu is said to have carried oif in the course of eight years by constructing " nine channels.'' On entering Keangnan, which is divided into the subordinate provinces of Keangsoo and Ganhoey, the country soon improves, and the inequality of the surface renders the locks, or floodgates, very frequent on the canal. This is certainly the richest province of China. It is famous for its silks and japanned goods, made principally at Soochow. Nanking, the ancient capital, became permanently abandoned for Peking by Yoonglo, in the fifteenth century. The area of the ancient walls, only a corner of Avhich is occupied by the present city, measures seventeen miles in circumference, being rather more than the circuit of Peking. The reigning Tarter dynasty find it their interest to retain' the modern capital, from its vicinity to Mougden, their birth-place ; but the ancient one is greatly more centrical, with a finer climate, and altogether better calculated to promote the prosperity of the empire. Shanghae, a seaport near the mouth of the Keang. was visited by Mr. Gutzlaft" in 1831, and de- scribed by him as the most considerable trading place of any on the coast ; it is, in fact, close to Soochow and Hangchow. On the Keang, not far from the mouth, is that remarkably beautiful little island, called the " Golden Isle,"' surmounted by numerous temples, inhabited by the votaries of Budh, or Fo, and very correctly described so many centuries since by Marco Polo. At no great distance from this are the gardens of Kien- loong, erected for him when he visited his southern provinces, and viewed by us in the embassy of 1816 : they were laid out in the usual style of Chinese gardening, with arti- ficial rocks and ruins, and wooden bridges over a piece of water. The embassy saw the room in which the Emperor dined, and a stone tablet, having engraved some sentences composed by himself. The whole, however, was in a sad state of dilapidation and ruin, like almost everything else of the kind that we see in the country. In the district of Hoey-chow-foo, the most southern city of the province, is grown the best green tea. The soil in which it is reared is a decomposition of granite, abounding in felspar, as is proved by its being used for porcelain. Thus the same soil produces the tea, and the cups in Avhich it is drunk. In PROVINCES. 75 this province, too, is Foong-yang-foo, the birth-place of the founder of the Ming dynasty, who served, at first, as a menial in a monastery of bonzes. He then joined a body of insurgents against the Mongol dy- nasty, and became their chief. From beat- ing the Tartars in every battle, and at length chasing them from the country, he was styled Hoong-woo, "the great wanior."' The ajdoining province of Keang-sy is, perhaps, in point of natural scenery and climate, the most delightful part of China. The Poyang lake, in size approaching the character of an inland sea, is bordered on its west side by strikingly beautiful mountain scenery. It was only hereabouts that the two British embassies varied in their respective routes. That of Lord Amherst proceeded along the Yang-tse-keang after leaving the canal, until it reached the lake ; while Lord Macartney crossed the Keang below Nanking, visited Soochow and Hangchow, and, pro- ceeding south and west, approached the lake at its southern exti-emity. The following account of the west side of the Poyang is from a MS. Journal : — " Arrived early in the day at Nankang-foo. A long mole was built on the south-east side of the town, making a small harbour for boats to lie in, secure from the tempestuous waters of the lake in bad weather. While we were here, sufficient swell existed to make it resemble an ann of the sea, and the shore was covered with shingles in the manner of a sea-beach." A description of the mountains in the neighbour- hood will appear in another place, as well as of Kmg-te-ching, the most noted manufactory for porcelain, to the eastward of the Poyang. From Keang-sy to the adjoining province of Kuangtung, or Canton, the passage is cut through the precipitous ridge of mountains which separates them. It was formed by an individual during the dynasty Tang, more than a thousand years since ; and an arched gateway in the centre, of later construction, marks the boundary between the two pro- vinces. The name of the pass, Meiling, is derived from the flower of a species oi prunus which grows wild in profusion near the sum- mit. After reaching the foot of the steep acclivity on the north side, the embassy were obliged to dismount from their horses, or quit their chairs in order to walk up. On reaching the summit, where the rock is cut to the depth of above twenty feet, the view on the Canton side breaks upon the eye in full gran- deur, consisting of ranges of wild mountains, well wooded. The rocks at the pass have been erroneously stated to consist of gneiss and quartz ; they are, in fact, limestone, in common with the whole north of Canton province, and supply the grey marble, which is so plentifully brought down the river. Immense square blocks of the stone which compose the mountain are piled up in pyra- midal shapes on each side of the road down the southern declivity ; the separate masses, however, preserving the remains of a horizon- tal stratification. The only two provinces to the east, or left, of the route pursued by Lord Amherst's mis- sion, are Chekeang, and Fokien, both of them bordering the sea. The first of these competes with Keang-nan in the production of silk, and the country is thickly planted with young mulberry-trees, which are con- stantly renewed, as the most certain way of improving the quality of the silk which is spun by the worms. The principal city of the province is the celebrated Hangchow, at the end of an estuary of the sea, where the tide, according to Barrow, rises six or seven feet. Close to this opulent town, on the west, is the famous lake Sy-hoo, about six miles in circumference, the water quite limpid, and overspread with the nelumbium. This extensive sheet of water is covered with barges, which appear to be the perpetual abodes of gaiety and dissipation. On the coast, in the 30th parallel of latitude, is the well-known port of Ningpo, the former seat of European trade. The entrance is said to be difficult, as there are scarcely twenty feet of water on the bar at the highest tides. Fifty or sixty miles from it, among the islands on the coast, is Chowsan or Chusan, with a good harbour, but inconvenient for trade in com- parison with Ningpo itself. The capital of Chusan is Tinghae.^ The contiguous province of Fokien preserved 1 In a war with China, the possession of Chusan would be a means of severely annoying the neigh- bouring coasts. 76 THE CHINESE. its independence against the I\Ianciiow Tar- tars longer than any portion of the empire, being supported by the squadron of the fa- mous pirate (as he is sometimes called, though he deserves a better name) whose son expelled the Dutch from the adjoining island Formosa, when the Tartars had dispossessed him of the main. The people of Fokien retain a hereditary aptitude for the sea, and chiefly supply the Emperor's war-junks with both sailors and commanders. A large pro- portion, too, of the trading junks that proceed i to sea pertain to Fokien. Two circumstances ! prebably tend to maintain the maritime pro- pensities of the inhabitants : — first, this pro- vince is so far removed from the grand canal as to afford fewer inducements to inland na- vigation and trade, always preferable, if prac- ticable to a Chinese ; secondly, the proximity of the opposite coast of Formosa keeps up a constant intercourse by sea. The language or dialect of Fokien is so peculiar as hardly to be intelligible elsewhere, and this may chiefly be attributed to its long independence of the rest of the empire. Ch is always pro- nounced T, and hence the difference between cha and tea for the great staple production of China; the first name for tea being adopted by the Portuguese from jMacao, and the second by the English from Amoy. This port, the name of which is a corruption of the native word Heamun, is well known to have been formerly the seat of tlie English trade, being placed on an island near the coast in latitude 24^ 25'. Fokien is the great country oftheblack teas, and Bohea is a corruption of Ftt-ee Shan, the hills where they are princi- pally grown. AVe have now taken a cursory view of the finest and most opulent parts of the empire. All the remainder are inland provinces, less known to Europeans, and probably much less suited to the purposes of commerce. Of these, one of the largest is Hoo-kuang, di- vided by the vast lake Tongting Hoo,^ with its tributaries, into two subordinate provinces, Hoo-pC'. and Hoon-nan : that is, " north and south of the hike ;'' the last is to be distinguished ' The English translation of Du Halde, we observe, states that the lake is very venomous, being thus absurdly rendered iVom the original, poissuneux. from Ho-nan, a province to the north. Im- mediately adjoining, to the south-west, is the province of Kuang-sy, under the same viceroyalty with Canton, but greatly in- ferior in wealth. North of Kuang-sy lies Kuei-chow, a small mountainous province, of which the south boundary has always been independent. It is peopled by a race of mountaineers called Meaou-tse, who thus defy the Chinese in the midst of their em- pire. They gave the government much trouble in 1832, and are said to have been " soothed '■ rather than '• controlled,"' to use fa- vourite Chinese expressions — that is, managed, rather than subdued. The fact that an independent race of people should exist in the heart of a country so jealous of its dominion as China, is certainly a singular one. The principal seats of these mountaineers are between the provinces of Kuei-chow, and Kuang-sy, though some of them exist in "other parts of the same ridge ; and in the Chinese maps their borders or limits are marked oft' like those of a foreign country, and the space left vacant. L' Amiot has given an account of Kien-loongs expedi- tions against them ; but as his narrative is taken from ihe official papers sent to the Emperor, which are in general not more cor- rect orveraceous than Napoleon's bulletins, it must be received with some allowances. Ac- cording to him, the Viceroy of a neighbour- ing province had sent an army against the Meaou-tse, who enticed tliem into their mountains, and entirely cut oft" the Chinese with their general. To revenge this, Kien- loong despatched a leader named Akuei at the head of his best Tartar troops to subdue them. This person is said to have entered tlieir country, and, in spite of all opposition, to have taken their king prisoner, and nearly exterminated the race. Still, however, they remain as independent as ever, and the Chi- nese are contented to keep them Avithin their own limits by small fortresses erected on the borders. The mountainous ridges occupied by this people extend full six degrees, or about 360 geographical miles from west to east, com- prising the southern borders of Kuei-chow, with the northernof Kuang-sy, and the north- west limits of the Canton province ; but the INDEPENDENT MOUNTAINEERS. 77 Chinese contrive to weaken their force by- separating their different tribes. The men do not shave their hair like the Tartars and Chinese, but wear it tied up, in the ancient fashion of the latter people before they were conquered. The Chinese, in affected con- tempt, give them the names of Yaou-jin and Lung-jin, dog-men, and wolf-men. They are said to inhabit houses of one story raised on piles, occupying the upper part, and placing their domestic animals below. The Chinese, without entering their mountains, purchase the woods of their forests by agree- ment, and these being thrown into the rivers which intersect the hilly country, are floated down into the plains. They make their linen from a species of hemp, probably the material of what is called grass cloth at Can- ton ; and likewise manufacture a kind of car- pet for their own use. As soon as the chil- dren can walk, the Chinese say that the soles of their feet are seared with a hot iron, to'enable them to tread on thorns and stones without pain ; but this perhaps deserves little more credit than the grave assertion at Canton that the people have tails, — a piece of informa- tion which would have been duly appreciated by Lord Monboddo, in his speculations on the primitive elongation of the vertebral chain in the human race. In the month of February, 1832, a great rising took place among the Meaou-tse, ex- tending to the neighbourhood of Lien-chow, on the north-west of Canton. The leader took the name of the " Golden Dragon," and assumed a yellow dress : this gave great of- fence and alarm at Peking, and it was appre- hended that some of the "Triad society," whose object is the overthrow of the ManchoAV Tartars, had got among them. They made their way into the plains, and defeated several bodies of Chinese ti-oops with considerable slaughter, including the loss of their arms and stores. The commander-in-chief of a neighbouring province was among the killed. The mountaineers possessed themselves of several towns, but issued notices to the Chi- nese people that they made war only against the government. Of a thousand men sent from Canton to recruit the emperor's forces, two hun(h-ed were ordered back again as entirely useless, from the baneful effects of opium. The Viveroy of Canton (called by the English " Governor Le") proceeded against the insurgents, and, though they at first re- tired, it was only to return to the amount, it is said, of 30,000, who engaged the Chinese army, and slew 2000 of them, with a con- siderable number of mandarins. One officer of rank, who understood their language and customs, was sent to treat with them ; but, on his entering their territory, they seized him and cut off his head, saying that the sjiirit of Chang-ke-urh (Jehanghir), the Mahometan prince who was perfidiously murdered at Peking, had appeared and advised them to make no terms with the faithless. While " Governor Le" was unsuccessful to the south, the A'iceroy of Hoonan attacked the insur- gents on the north, and retook one of the towns of which they had possessed themselves, killing a great number, and taking some of the chief men prisoners. At length, two im- perial commissioners were sent from Peking, and they performed by policy much more than had been likely to be done by arms. Reports were spread of the innumerable forces tliat were coming to exterminate the mountaineers, and they were at the same time invited to come to terms. At length it was agreed that they should confine themselves to their hills, and that the Chinese should not invade their territories ; and the Emperor's troops were withdrawn. " Governor Le," however, was, in consequence of his ill success, deprived of his station at Canton, and ordered to proceed to Peking to be put upon his trial and degraded. The Viceroy of Hoonan, on the other hand, was honoured with the peacock's feather, a distinc- tion of a military character, pendent from the back of the cap, and a multitude of rewards were conferred on others, significant of the im- portant advantages which had been gained over the enemy. These, however, continue as in- dependent as ever, and must be a source of some anxiety to the Manchow dynasty. The province of Yun-nan, the most western part of China, which borders on the Bur- mese territory, and is not very far from Umerapura the capital, is extremely moun- tainous, and abounds in metals and other valuable minerals. Gold is found in the sands of the rivers, and the Keang, in this part of its course, is named Kin-shd, or golden- 78 THE CHINESE. sanded. There is a salt-water well near Yaou-gan-foo. Towards the north-west of this province, on the borders of the Thibet country, is found the Yak, or cow of Thibet, the tail-hairs of which are used in various manufac- tures, particularly carpets. The large pro- vince of Szechuen, lying north-east of Yun- nan, is traversed by a portion of the great KeSng. From tTie name of ''snowy moun- tains," applied by the Chinese to some of those which extend along the north-west of this province, bordering on the Thibet country, they must be of considerable elevation, and from their situation are probably higher than any in China. Salt springs are found here as in Yun-nan, towards the south-west. The pro- vince of Shensy, bordering on Thibet, has been enlarged and divided into two, of which the westernmost is called Kan-s6. Both this country and the adjoining province of Shansy, towards Peking, abound in symptoms of vol- canic action ; as the connexion of salt-water lakes and springs with jets of inflammable gas and hot-wells. These may be traced towards the south-west, through Szechuen and Yun-nan, to the Bui-mese country, where they also occur in abundance, and are seem- ingly a continuation of those volcanic traces which extend up through the Malay penin- sula from Sumatra and Java, both which islands contain numerous volcanoes in full action. In Shensy, near the city Yen-gan-foo, there distils from some rocks an inflammable substance, which the Chinese burn in lamps, and call She-yew, or */o«e-oj7, being probably, what its name imports, a kind o{ petro/eu?n. Although not precisely included in our plan, which is confined to China Proper, it may not be amiss to take some notice of the countries immediately contiguous. The region of Manchow Tartary, formerly the territory of the Kin, whence the present rulers of China proceeded, has been generally described as consisting of three provinces. IVIougden, or Shing-king, the birth-place of the reigning family, commences just at the eastern ex- tremity of the Great Wall, and is bounded on the south by the gulf of Pechele. Here it is that the emperors are buried, and their family mausoleum established. The country is surrounded on the north-west and north- east by a stockade of timber, about eight feet in height, which has been incorrectly inserted in some European maps as a continuation of the Great Wall. At Mougden is erected a sort of epitome of the Imperial government of Peking, with various tribtmals for the re- gulation of all parts of Tartary immediately dependent on the Emperor, whose subjects in this part are called Bogdois by the Russians. To the eastward of jVIougden, and bordering Corea on the north, is the second province of jNIanchow Tartary, called Kirin: it is here that the famous wild plant ginseng, to which the Chinese attribute wonderful properties, is gathered as an exclusive monopoly of the Emperor. Not long since, however, the same plant was brought to Canton by the Americans, having been discovered in their northern states, in a climate and situation very similar to that of Eastern Tartar^'. The missionaries, who constructed the map for the Emperor, were at a loss to explain the extremes of heat and cold prevailing in these regions ; — " why countries which lie near the 40th degree of latitude should differ so much from ours (in Europe), in respect to the seasons and the productions of nature, as not to bear com- parison even with our most northern pro- vinces. The cold begins much sooner in these parts than at Paris, notwithstanding the latitude of that city is almost 50^."" A small English vessel, which went up to the gulf of Pechele in the winter of 1832 was nearly frozen up there : and yet, during the month of August, in 1816, we observed that the fishermen on the coast went stark naked on account of the excessive heat, and their skins were burned almost black by the sun. No- thing can prove more strongly that the cli- mates of places are not influenced by their latitude merely. The third province of JNIanchow Tartary, of which the inhabitants are the Tagours, bordering on the Russian territory, is that of Heloongkeang, or '"the river of the Black Dragon," otherwise called the Saghalien, or river Amur. The Western or Mongol Tartars, com- mencing from the Great Wall, extend as a distinct race even to the borders of the Cas- pian. They are distinguished by their no- madic habits, dwelling in tents, driving their flocks to pasture from place to place, and accoutred with the bow for sport or war. Of TARTARY. 79 those dependent on China, but governed through the medium of their own princes, or Khans, the most considerable are the Kalkas, lying to the north of the Shamo, or sandy- desert called Gobi. ^ They are all Budhists, and the wandering priests of that persuasion are styled Shamans, in Chinese written Sha- miin. The Ortous are confined between a bend of the Yellow River and the Great Wall, which in this part is a mere earthen mound, about fifteen feet high. The principal seat of Chinese rule in Mongol Tartary is at Ee-ly, a place to which criminals from China (some- times Hong merchants from Canton) are occasionally exiled : they are generally con- demned to military service, and in some cases become slaves to Tartars. It is likely, however, that money serves to mitigate their treatment, for a former linguist of Canton, banished thither for conveying presents to Peking from the chief of the English factory to a minister of state, returned, after a banish- ment of fifteen years, in very good case, and by no means dissatisfied with his residence. Gerbillon, in the account of his expedition in 1688, gives a miserable history of the Mongol and Kalka Tartars. Entirely de- voted to their Lamas, whom even the Em- peror of China honours, on account of their influence over the various tribes, the Mongols live in tents of coarse felt, eat nothing but flesh half raw, and exchange their sheep and cattle for a i&w of the necessaries of life, having no value for money, Timkowski states that the usual medium of exchange is tea, made up into the shape of bricks. As late as the reign of Kanghy, the chief of the Kalka Tartars styled himself Emperor, but becoming tributary to China, in return for protection against the Eleuths, he submitted to the rank of Wang, or King. At the time, howevei-, when Gerbillon visited Tartary, the brother of the Kalka Khan told Kanghy "s envoys that he expected to be treated as the son of an emperor, and was so treated accord- ingly. The most westerly of the Mongol Tartars are the Calmucs, or Eleuths, stretch- 1 In the Shamo desert, no water is to be had except in pits dug in the sand, and that of the worst quality. The surface is strewed with the bodies of animals, victims to thirst. ing towards the Caspian. They waged war with Kang-hy, in 1696, but were defeated; and these victories of the Emperor's army were, as we have before stated, painted by the Jesuits, and engraved in France. On the western side of China, bordering principally on Szehuen province, are the Sy- fan, or Too-fan, who, according to the Chi- nese, call their country Too-pe-te (Thibet), and, like the other Tartar races, are wor- shippers of Budh, or Fo, and under the dominion of Lama priests. Their inaccessible mountainous retreats make them pretty in- dependent of Chinese control, though they are counted among the subjects of the Em- peror. They appear to have made some show in Chinese history, previous to the dynasty of Yuen, or that of the JMongol Tartars, and their princes even compelled the sovereigns of China to yield them their daughters in marriage; but the arms of Zenghis Khan involved them in the common subjugation, and they have since remained very quiet within their hilly country, contented with the exercise of their superstitions. There is a Chinese resident at Lassa, the capital of Thibet, the high road to which from Peking lies through Sy-ning, in Kan-s6 province. To the south, bordering on the western part of Ymman province, are the Lolos, the ori- ginal fiihabitants of a portion of Yunnan, and very similar in habits, religious observances, and language, to the Burmese, or people of Ava. The Chinese exercise but a doubtful control over them, for, though the Emperor is said to confer titles on their principal rulers, they appear to be entirely subject to their native chiefs in all matters of consequence. On the outskirts of the empire, towards the west, are a number of towns or stations called Too-sse, or " native jurisdictions," where the aborigines are more or less inde- pendent, and where there is, in fact, a kind of divided authority, each party being im- mediately subject to its own chiefs. This is particularly true of the Lolos. The t\vo large islands of Formosa and Haenan being external to the main body of the empire, and therefore exposed to the power of any maritime and commercial nation that might wish to try the experiment of an insular settlement near the coast of China, 80 THE CHINESE. are both of them deserving of some attention. Of these two, Formosa is by far the most favoured and the most desirable region. It lies princi]mlly between the 25th and 22d parallels of north latitude, just opposite the coast of Fokien, from which it is distant, at the nearest point, little more than twenty leagues. The length is nearly two hundred geographical miles, with an average breadth of about fifty ; and the climate, as might be expected from an insular situation in that latitude, very favourable. The island is divided longitudinally by a ridge of high mountains ; and the western portion, having been colonised by the Chinese since the Manchow Tartar conquest, is now held by them as a portion of the opposite province of Fokien. The side that lies eastward of the hills is still inhabited by the aborigines, who have always been described as a primitive and savage race, bearing some common re- semblance to the Malays and to the inhabit- ants of the islands in the Pacific ; since they blacken their teeth like the former, and tattoo their skins, as a distinctive mark of rank, after the manner of the latter. The expulsion of the Dutch by the Chinese, nearly two hvmdred years since, from their settlement on the west coast of Formosa, has already been described in the first chapter. The island continued for some years to be held by the Chinese, independently of the Tartar conquerors of the empire; but in 1683 it submitted to the Manchow emperor, Kang-hy, and became annexed to the empire as a part of the province of Fokien. The position of Formosa, opposite to the centi-al coasts of China, would render it a most advantageous situation for the promotion of European trade. Haenan is rather smaller than Formosa, its greatest length being under one hundred and fifty miles, with an average breadth of about a degree. It is divided from the province of Kuang-tung (to which it is subject) by a very narrow, as well as shallow strait, on the shore of which the principal city of the island Keung-chow-foo is situated. The climate of the island, from its situation south of the 20th parallel of latitude, is naturally hot ; but the worst feature of the country consists in the dreadful hurricanes by which it is devastated during the southerly monsoon, and from which Formosa seems to be nearly, if not entirely, free. During the months of August, September, and October, the interior of Haenan, as well as its coasts, is peculiarly liable to the desti-uctive typhoons for which the Chinese sea is so notorious, and which have, at ditlerent times, wrecked many Eu- ropean vessels on the island, besides the num- bers that have foundered at sea. Haenan has its aborigines as well as Formosa : they are said to inhabit the mountains towards the middle of the island, and occasionally to give trouble to the Chinese government. The Chinese affect to consider all countries ti-ibutary that have once sent an ambassador ; but those which really have been so, and whose tribute is periodically forwarded to Peking, are Corea, Cochin-china, Lewkew (or Loo-choo), and Siam. Corea (called Chaou-sien by the Chinese) is said to have become a kingdom about 100 years before our era; it is entirely ruled by its own sove- reigns, but the investiture of a new king is obtained from the Emperor of China, who, whenever there is a vacancy, deputes two officers to confer on the next in succession the title of Kuo-wang. To prevent contests after his death, the reigning king sometimes names his heir, and applies to the Emperor to confirm him. The Coreans use the Chinese character, but have a syllabic alphabet of their own. The coasts of Corea are very far from being correctly laid down in the maps, nor is it surprising that the ships of the em- bassy in 1816 should have found them so erroneously represented ; for P. Regis states that no European had ever entered the coun- ti-y, and that the only authority for the mis- sionaries' map of Corea was a native map, brought back to Peking by a Chinese envoy, and adopted for want of a better. He ex- pressly says, '• There should be some further observations on the south and east sides, which would complete the account of Corea as a part of the general geography of Asia." The chief productions of Corea are sable skins, ginseng, and a strong paper used by the Chinese for windows, in lieu of glass. Cochin-china, including Tonkin, border- ing on Kuangsy province, had its limits fixed as a separate state about a.d. 250, by a brass pillar which remains to this day, and of JAPAN. 81 which the situation is marked in the Jesuit's map. The tribute of Cochin-china, as well as of Siani, is sent periodically to Canton, whence it is forwarded in charge of the am- bassadors to Peking, and the vessels claim exemption from port-charges and duties. The late war, however, between Siam and Cochin- china has interfered with the regular trans- mission of tribute fi'om both countries. Lewkew, or Loo-choo, has been made in some degree familiar to us by the relations of Captain Basil Hall and Mr. M'Leod, since when it has been visited by Captain Beechey, and later still by JMr. Gutzlaif. There is every reason to suppose that the people of those islands are a jealous and suspicious race, being in the power at once of Japan and China, and that their anxiety to exclude Europeans from their country was veiled, on the occasion of the Alceste and Ltp'a's visit, under a cunning and plausible semblance of courtesy and good- will, — for hospitality it could hardly be called. The King of Loo-choo derives his investiture from the Emperor of China, and sends an embassy with tribute about once in two years. Those islands seem to have had little or no intercourse with China before the Yuen or Mongol dynasty : and there is reason to suppose that the unsuccessful expedition sent by Koblai Khan against Japan, may have had some communication with them, and originated the relations which have since existed. According to the Chinese account of Loo- choo, (printed at Peking with moveable types,) the island was formerly divided into three nations or tribes, which were subsequently united into one. It is stated that they have a written character of their own, (identical with that of Japan,) in which is recorded the ancient history of the country, but that they also use the Chinese character. So far from the people of Loo-choo having no weapons, the same account relates that the foundation of the kingdom was laid by military force, in the person of a Japanese prince, and that, in the temple dedicated to the conqueror, there is to this day an arrow placed before the tablet where his name is inscribed, in con- formit}'- with his will, to show that his kingdom was established by arms. They have also a copper coin of their own, but, as the metal is scarce on the island, it exists iu no large quantity; and this may perliaps account for the tirst English visitors having seen none. The Chinese say they sometimes use their copper coin, and sometimes that of Japan, both of which are introduced in trade. Loo-choo, in fact, lies equidistant from both countries, and is tributary to both. According to the same authority, there is a nominal king of Loo-choo, but the real power is exercised by a minister, who is absolute. They have borrowed from China the grada- tion of nine ranks, and compiled a system of law from the penal code of their great neigh- bour. They likewise borrowed from China its best institution — a national education, with district schools, and public examinations for promotion. They venerate the memory of ! Confucius, and study his works, with the notes of his great commentator Choofootse. ' Their religion is that of Fo, or Budh, and they ' have all tlie subordinate idols attached to j that persuasion. Among other articles of food, j the Chinese say that the Loo-chooans make a i sort of pemmican, composed of meat and I pulse pounded and pressed together, which is dried in the wind, and keeps a long time. Their dislike of foreign visitors no doubt I arises iu some measure from fear of giving I offence to the Chinese ; a consideration which j likewise influences the people of Corea in j their exclusion of strangers. I The intercourse of China with Japan from the earliest ages seems to have been little better than an infliction of mutual injuries, the latter country being too independent and proud to 3'ield the homage which was de- manded by the former. The Mongol con- querors of China, urged by the spirit of uni- versal dominion, made the most frequent and determined attempts, first to persuade the Japanese to send ti-ibute, and then to subdue them ; but all without success. The mis- sions appear to have bee^i principally on the part of China, the Japanese sometimes re- ceiving them, and sometimes refusing to com- municate ; but making few or no returns, and not only denying the homage which was so much coveted, but demanding it from the other party. At length an armament of 15,000 men was sent by the way of Corea, but they only plundered the coast and re- 82 THE CHINESE. turned. Six years afterwards an envoy was again despatched, who, with his whole retinue, was murdered hy the Japanese, This led to an armament of no less than 100,000 men being despatched from China by Koblai Khan, for the conquest of the country. On their arrival upon the northern coast, a storm arose which destroyed the greater number of the vessels; and the Japanese, attacking them on shore in several engagements, either killed or made captives of nearly the Avhole force, of which it is said that onlj'three individuals ever returned to their own countiy. This agrees in the main with the account given by Marco Polo. The Chinese dynasty of Mi??(j. which drove out and succeeded the ^Mongols. sut!ered severely from the predatory attacks of the Japanese on the coast, in return for the hos- tilities which the latter had experienced from the family of Koblai Khan. Envoys were sent to remonstrate on the subject, and to invite the Japanese to friendly intercourse, in which a hint at homage seems not to have been forgotten. They were permitted to land, as they were not sent by the hateful jMongols ; but no better success appears to have attended their efibrts to obtain tribute, although some of the persons employed as envoys were priests of Budh, for whom the Japanese have a respect, on account of their connexion with their own national religion. The piracies along the eastern coasts of China M'ere frequently repeated, but thej- seem to have led to no renewed attempts on the part of the celestial empire to punish or subdue Japan. Some commercial intercourse at present subsists between the two countries, principally carried on in junks from Ningpo and Amoy. The Chinese justly value the real Japan- ware above their own inferior manufactures in lacker, and this ware, with copper, seems to be the chief article of import. [Diulliist High-priest.] MYTHOLOGICAL AGES. 83 CHAPTER TI. SUMMARY OF CHINESE HISTORY. Earlier history of China mythological — Three Emperors — Fire Sovereigns — Periods of Hea and Shan— of Chow — Confucius — Period of Tsin — First universal Sovereign — Erection of Great Wall — Period of Hau of Three States — of Tang — Power of the Eunuchs — Invention of Printing — Period of Soong — Mongol Tartars — KoblaiKhan — Degeneracy of his successors — who are driven out by Chinese — Race of Mino- — Arrival of Catholic Priests — Manchow Tartars take China — opposed by Sea — Emperor Kang-hy — Kienloon» First British Embassy — Keaking's last Will — Present Emperor — Catholic Missionaries finally discarded. Although a laboured history in detail of the Chinese empire is not suited to the cha- racter and objects of this work, still a rapid sketch of such revolutions as that country has undergone, more especially in the last Tartar conquest, seems requisite, in order rightly to understand some peculiarities in the customs of the people, and even some changes tliat have taken place among a race generally remarkable for the unvarying same- ness of its manners and institutions. Without attempting to deny to China a very high degree of antiquity, it is now pretty universally admitted, on the testimony of the most respectable native historians, that this is a point which has been very much exaggerated. In reference to the earliest traditions of their history, a famous com- mentator, named Choofootse, observes, " It is impossible to give entire credit to the ac- counts of these remote ages."' China has, in fact, her mythology in common with all other nations, and under this head we must range the persons styled Fohy, Shin-noong, Hoangty, and their immediate successors, who, like the demigods and heroes of Grecian fable, rescued mankind by their ability or enterprise from the most primitive barbarism, and have since been invested with super- human attributes. The most extravagant prodigies are related of these persons, and the most incongruous qualities attributed to them; — according to Swift's receipt for making a hero, who, if his virtues are not reducible to consistency, is to have them laid in a heap upon him. " National vanity, and a love of the marvellous, have influenced in a similar manner the early history of most other countries, and furnished materials for nursery tales, as soon as the spirit of sober investigation has supplanted that appetite for wonders which marks the infancy of nations as well as of individuals.'"^ The fabulous part of Chinese history com- mences with Puonkoo, who is represented in a dress of leaves, and concerning whom every- thing is wild and obscure. He is said to have been followed by a number of persons with fanciful names, who, in the stjde of the Hindoo chronology, reigned for thousands of years, until the appearance of Fohy, who, it is said, invented the arts of music, numbers, &c.. and taught his subjects to live in a civilized state. He inhabited what is now the northern province of Shensy, anciently the country of Tsui, or Chin, whence some derive the word China, by which the empire has been for ages designated in India. Fohy (often absurdly confounded with F6, or Budh) and his two successors are styled the " Three Emperors,'' and reputed the inventors of all the arts and accommodations of life. Of these, Shin-noong, or the " divine husband- man,' insti-ucted his people in agriculture ; and Hoang-ty divided all the lands into groups of nine equal squares, of which the middle one was to be cultivated in common for the benefit of the state. He is said likewise to have invented the mode of noting the cycle of sixty years, the foundation of the Chinese system of chronology. The series of cycles is at least made to extend back to the time in which he is reputed to have lived, about 2600 years before Christ: but it is obvious that there could be no difficulty in calcu- lating it much farther back than even that, had the inventors so pleased ; and this date is therefore no certain proof of antiquity. To the " three Emperors'' succeeded the ' Royal Asiat. Trans, vol. i. Memoir concerning the Chinese. G 2 84 THE CHINESE. *' five Sovereigns,"' and the designations seem equally arbitrary and fanciful in both cases, being in fact distinctions without a diflerence. The fictitious character of this early period might be proved in abundance of instances, and it is the worst feature of Du Halde's compilation to set everything down without comment, and to be filled with general and unmeaning eulogies out of Chinese works, whatever may be the subject of description. He observes that one of these ^i-e Sovereigns regulated the Calendar, " and desired to begin the year on the first day of the month in which the sun should be nearest the 15th degree of Aquarius, for which he is called the author and father of the ephemeris. He chose the time when the sun passes through the middle of this sign, because it is the season in which the earth is adorned with plants, trees renew their verdure, and all nature seems re-animated :" — this of course must mean the spring season. Now the person alluded to is said to have lived more than 2000 years before Christ, and, according to the lasual mode of calculating the precession of the equinoxes, the sun must have passed through the 15th of Aquarius, in his time, somewhere about the middle of December. In a Chinese historian this strange blunder is not surprising, and only sliows the character of their earlier records ; but it ought to have been corrected in a European work. Yaou and Shun, the two last of the five sovereigns, were the patterns of all Chi- nese emperors. To Yaou is attributed the intercalation (in their lunar year) of an ad- ditional lunar month seven times in every nineteen years ; the number of days in seven lunations being nearly equal to nineteen multiplied by eleven, which last is the num- ber of days hy whicli the lunar year falls short of the solar, Yaou is said to have set aside his own son, and chosen Shun to be his successor, on account of his virtues. The choice of the reigning emperor is the rule of succession at the present day, and it is sel- dom that the eldest son succeeds in preference to the rest. To the age of Shun the Chinese refer tlieir tradition of an extensive flooding of the lands, which by some has been iden- tified with tlie Mosaic deluge. It was for bis merit in drainhig the country, or drawing off the waters of the great iimndation, in which he was employed eight j-ears, that '' Yu tlie great " was chosen by Shun for his suc- cessor. He commenced {he period called Hea, up- wards of 2100 years before Christ. Yu is described as nine cubits in height, and it is stated that " the skies rained gold for three days; "' which certainly (as Dr. Morrison ob- serves) " lessens the credit of the history of this period.'" In fact the whole of the long space of time included under Hea and Shang is full of the marvellous. Chow-wung, how- ever, the last of the Shang, (about 1100 years before Christ,) Avas a tyrant, by all ac- counts, not more remarkable for his cruelty or extravagancies than many other tyrants have been. Frequent allusion is made to him in Chinese books, as well as to his wife, and various stories are related of their crimes. One of the Emperors relations having ven- tured to remonstrate with him, the cruel monarch ordered his heart to be brought to him for inspection, observing, that he wishe- queror entered, the first object he perceived was the guilty queen, whom he put to death with his own hand, and immediately became the first of the dynasty Chow. This forms the subject of a portion of the ' Shooking," one of the five classical books delivered down by Confucius. The Chinese have no existing records older than the compilations of Con- fucius who was nearly contemporary with Herodotus, the father of Grecian history, and to whom Pope has given a very lofty niche iii his ' Temple of Fame :* — " Superior and alone Confucius stood, Who taui,'ht that useful science — to be good."* The Jive classics and the four books, which were bequeathed by that teacher or by his disciples, contain what is now known of the COXFUCIUS. early traditions or records of tlie country. The period of authentic history may he con- sidered as datin,:,' from tlie race of C/ioiv, in whose time Confucius himself lived ; for, altliough it might be going too far to condemn all that precedes that period as absolutely fabulous, it is still so much mixed up with fable as hardly to deserve the name of history. In his work called Chun-tsieu (spring and ai/ttmui, because writteji between those sea- sons) Confucius gives the annals of his own times, and relates the wars of the several petty states against each other. The southern half of the present empire (to the south of the Yangtsekiang) was then in a state of entire barbarism : and the northern half, extending from that river to the confines of Tartary, was divided among a number of petty inde- pendent states, derived from a common ori- gin, but engaged in perpetual hostilities with each other. The period of Chow, comprising above eight centuries, and extending down to 240 B.C., was distinguished, not only by the birth of Confucius, but by the appearance in China of Laou-keun, and, in India of Fo, or Budh, who were destined to give rise to the two sects, which, subordinate to that of Con- fucius himself, have influenced rather than divided the population of China ever since. The estimation, however, Avhich they have respectively enjoyed has been very difterent. The memory and the doctrines of Confucius have met with almost uninterrupted vene- ration to the present time : they have even re- tained their supremacy over the native wor- ship of the Tartar dynasty; while the absurd superstitions of the other two have been alter- nately embraced and despised by the differ- ent sovereigns of the country. The mum- meries of the Budhists are a parallel to the worst parts of Roman Catholicism ; and the disciples of Laou-keun combine a variety of superstitions; each sect, at the same time, being plainly a corruption of something that was better in its origin. We shall have to speak of these more in detail hereafter, under the bead of Religions. Confucius was respected by the sovereigns of nearly all tlie independent states of China, and was employed as minister by one of them. After his death, which happened B.C. 477, at the age of seventy-three, a series of sangui- nary contests arose among the petty kingdoms, which gave to this period of history the name of Chen-kuo, or the " contending nations," and proved in after-times the ruin of the race of Chow. The king of Tsin had long been growing powerful at the expense of the neigh- bouring states : he fought against six other nations, and, after a course of successes, com- pelled them all to acknowledge his supremacy. The chief government began now to assume the aspect of an empire, which comprehended that half of modern China lying to the north of the great Keang ; but which, after the lapse of a few centuries, was doomed again to be split into several parts. The Jirsf Emperor (which is implied by the title Chyhoang-ty) being troubled liy the incursions of the Tartars on the northern fron- tier, rendered himself for ever famous by the erection of the vast ivall, which has now stood for 2000 years, extending along a space of 1500 miles, from the gulf of Peking to West- ern Tartary. It has been estimated that this monstrous monument of human labour con- tains materials sufficient to surround the whole globe, on one of its largest circles, with a wall several feet in height. Another act of the same emperor entitled him to a different species of fame. He ordered that all the books of the learned, including the writings of Con- fucius, should be cast into the flames ; many of course escaped this sentence, through the zeal of those who cultivated learning ; but it is said that upwards of 400 persons, who at- tempted to evade or oppose the order, were l)urned with tlie books they wished to save. It is not easy to explain the fantastic wick- edness of such an act on any common prin- ciples ; but one reason alleged for it is, the jealousy that tliis foolish Emperor entertained of the fame of his progenitors, and the wish he indulged that posterity should hear of none before himself. About the year 201, B.C., the race of Han succeeded to the sovereignty, and commenced one of the most celebrated periods of Chinese history. It was now that the Tartars by their predatory warfare became the source of endless disquiet to the more polished and peaceful Chinese, by whom they were in vain propitiated with alliances and tribute. 86 THE CHINESE. They were the Hing-kuo (erratic nations), against whom the first emperor had vainly built the wall; and under the name of Heung-noo (Huns) they constantlj' appear in the histories or fictions of that period. The first emperors of this race endeavoured to make friends of the Tartar chiefs by giving them their daughters in marriage. " The disgrace,"" says a historian of that period, "could not be exceeded — from this time China lost her honour."" In the reign of Yuenty, the ninth emperor, the Tartars having been provoked by the punishment of two of their leaders, who had ti-ansgressed the boun- daries of the Great Wall in hunting, the empire was again invaded, and a princess demanded and yielded in marriage. This forms the subject of one of the hundred plays of Yuen, an English version of which was printed by the Oriental Translation Com- mittee in 1829, under the name of the * Sorrows of H&n.' The impolitic system of buying off the barbarians, which com- menced so early, terminated many centuries aftei-wards in the overthrow of the empire. The seventeenth Emperor of Han, by name Ho-tij, is said to have had considerable inter- course with the west. It is even recorded that one of his envoys reached Tatsin, or Arabia. It is certain that eunuchs, those fertile sources of trouble to his successors, were introduced during his reign, and it may be inferred that he borrowed them irom western Asia, about a.d. 95. The reigns of the last two Emperors of Haa were dis- turbed by the machinations of the eunuchs, and by the wars with the rebels called Hoang- kin, or Yellow Caps. At this time so little was left of the sovereign authority, that the emperors are frequently designated by the mere term Choo, or lord. The period of the Sankuo, or '••' Three States," into which the country was divided towards the close of Han, about a.d. 184, is a favourite subject of the historical plays and romances of the Chinese. A work, desig- nated particularly by the above name, is much prized and very popular among them, and a manuscript translation of it in Latin, by one of the Catholic missionaries, exists in the library of the Royal Asiatic Society. Extracts from it might be made interesting, but the whole is perhaps too voluminous to bear an English translation in print. It is, however, as little stufled with extravagancies as could be expected from an oriental history, and, except that it is in prose, bears a resem- blance in some of its features to the Iliad, especially in what Lord Chesterfield calls '•' the porter-like language "" of the heroes. These heroes excel all moderns in sti-ength and prowess, and make exchanges after the fashion of Glaucus and Diomed, Hector and Ajax. One shows his liberality in horses, another in a weight of silver, or iron : — " And steel well-tempered, and refulgent gold." Society seems to have been in much the same state, split into something like feudal principalities, hanging loosely together under the questionable authority of one head. That great step in civilization, the invention of printing (which arose in China about the tenth century of our era), had not yet taken place, and even the manufacture of paper had not long been introduced. The leader of JVei, one of the three states, having at length obtained tlie sovereignty, established the capital in his own coxmtry, Honan, and commenced the dynasty called Tsin, A.D. 260. Having taken warning from the distractions arising from the inter- ference of eunuchs and women in affairs of government during the period of the three states, a kind of Salic law was passed, that " Queens should not reign, nor assist in public matters"" — a good law, adds the his- torian, and worthy of being an example : it was, however, soon afterwards abrogated in practice. It has been concluded, not without probability, that the name China, Sina, or Tsiua, was taken from the dynasty of Tsin. The first emperor, or founder, is said to have had political transactions with Fergana, a province of Sogdiana, and to have received a Roman embassy. On the conclusion of this race of sovereigns, in A.D. 416, China became divided into two principal kingdoms, Nanking being the capital of the southern one, and Honan of the northern. For about 200 years afterwards, five successive races (woo-tae) rapidly fol- lowed each other, and the salutary rule of hereditary succession being constantly violated POWER OF THE EUNUCHS. 87 by the strongest, the whole history of the period is a mere record of contests and crimes. At length, in a.d. 585, the north and south were united for the first time into one empire, of which the capital was fixed at Honan. The last of the five contending races was soon after deposed by L>j-yuen, who fomided, in a.d. 622, the dynasty of Tang. Tae-tsoong, the second emperor of this race, was one of the most celebrated in China : his maxims are constantly quoted in books, and liis temperance and love of justice considered as patterns. There is reason to believe that certain Christians of the Nestorian church first came to China in his reign, about a.d. 640. It is recorded that foreigners arrived, having fair hair and blue eyes. According to the Jesuits, whom Du Halde has quoted, a stone monument was found at Sy-gan-foo in Shensy, A.D. 1625, with the cross, an absti-act of the Christian law, and the names of 72 preachers in Syriac characters, bearing the fore-mentioned date. It has been urged that tliis discovery might have been a pious fraud on the part of the holy fathers : but it is not easy to assign any adequate motive for such a forgery, and the evidence seems upon the whole in its favour. One of the most remarkable circumstances in the histoi-y of Tang is the extraordinary power which the etmuchs of the palace arro- gated to themselves. The third emperor was so besotted by one of his wives, that he left her invested with sovereign power at his death, contrary to the enactment before made and provided. She reigned for about 20 years absolutely, leaving her son emperor; and this vicious and troubled period is another example, quoted by the Chinese, of the mischiefs which result to public affairs from the management of women. During her reign, the eunuchs gathered fresh force, and for a considerable time had the choice of the emperors, and the control of their actions. The influence of such singular rulers must of course be referred to the operations of intrigue. The uuconti-olled access which their con- dition gave them to all parts of the palace, and to the company of both sexes, was greatly calculated to facilitate their projects ; and projects of mischief and disorder were the most likely ones to be formed by those who were cut off from the ties of kindred and suf- ficiently disposed to regard the rest of mankind as their enemies. The awe of state was not long felt by such as were the immediate attendants and perhaps the companions, of the sovereign in his private haunts ; and that barrier once passed, the approaches of insolence and usur- pation might advance unchecked. The power of the eunuchs was at length destroyed by the last emperor of the race, who in great measure extirpated them, thi-ough the assist- ance of a powerful leader, whose aid he re- quested. This person fulfilled his commis- sion, but subsequently killed the emperor and his heir, and, after a course of ati-ocious cruel- ties, put an end to the dynasty Tang, a.d. 897. The whole counti-y was once more thrown into a state of war and confusion, with several aspirants to the sovereignty. This period, which lasted about fifty -three years, is called in Chinese histories the How fVoofae, or " latter five successions."' The Tartar people of the region, now called Leaou-tung, at the east- ern extremity of the Great Wall, encovuraged by the unsettled and divided condition of the empire, gave much ti-ouble by their incursions . These turbulent portions of the Chinese annals, which were now soon to give way to a settled oriental despotism, bear many features of a feudal cast about them. We think we can perceive in the book of Meng- tse, or Mencius (as his name has been Latinized by the Jesuits), that the original government of China approached in some degree to that description. " The Sovereign, the Koong, the How, the Pe, and the Nan, constituted five ranks. The sovereign had the immediate government of 100 ly; the Koong and How each of 100 ly ; the Pe 70 ; and the Nan 50 ly." — (Hea-fne/ig. ch. x.) We read in their histories of grants of land to certain officers of state, and of government and military lands, in which may be per- ceived a resemblance to the feudal fiefs or benefices. Whatever may have been the tenure in former times, the emperor is now, as in most oriental countries, regarded as the ultimate owner of all lands, from which he receives a tax of about 10 per cent. After a succession of civil wars, Tae-tsoo, the first emperor of the Sootig dynasty, was raised to the throne by the military leaders, 88 THE CHINESE. in consequence of the minority of the real heir, who was only seven years of age, a.d. 950. Being about to engage the Eastern Tartars, they did not wish to be ruled by a child, who could not appreciate their services. They accordingly fixed on a servant of the deceased emperor, and immediately de- spatched messengers, who fcund him overcome with wiiae, and in tliat state communicated their message. The histor}' adds, that, ' " before he had time to reply, the yellow ! robe was already applied to his person."' Substitute purple for yellow, and tliis might be taken for the translation of some passage in Tacitus or Suetonius. The art of printing having been invented just previous to this dynasty, about five hundred years before it was known to tis, tlie multipli- cation of books, the instruments of learning, was a principal cause of the literary character of the age of Soong: to the same cause may be attributed the increased fulness of the records of tliis period, from whence the really interesting thread of Chinese history com- mences. Our lights now multiply fast, and i the Tartars begin to take a considerable share in the national transactions. In fact tlie whole history of this polislied but un- warlike race is a series of disgraceful acts of compromise with the Eastern Tartars, called Kin (the origin of the Manchows, or present reigning family), until the Mongols, or Western Tartars, took possession of the empire under Koblai Khan. In the reign of Chin-tsoong, the third Em- peror of Soong, the Eastern Tartars, liaving laid siege to a town near Peking, were forced to treat, but still obtained advantageous terms, with a large annual donative of money and silk. The pacific disposition of Jin-tsoong, the fourth Emperor, gave them fmther en- couragement, and a disgraceful treaty was the consequence. Ten disti-icts to the south of the wall being claimed by them, they received an annual quit-rent of 200.000 taels, and a quantity of silk. To com])lete his disgrace, the Emperor called himself a tri- hutary, making use of the temi Nn-koong. Shin-tsoong, the sixth Emperor, is described as having hastened the fall of his race, by attending to the absurd suggestions of a minister, who was for reverting to the anti- quated maxims of Yaou and SJwn, names which may almost be said to belong rather to the mythology than tlie history of the empire. At length Wei-tsoong, the eighth sovereign in succession, enslaved himself to the eunuchs, and soon experienced the consequences of his weakness and imbecility. The Eastern Tar- tars advanced apace, took possession of a part of northern China, and threatened the whole countiy ; they were destined, however, to be checked, not by the Chinese, but the Mongols. These inhabited the countries which extend from the north-western provinces of China to Thibet and Samarcand. They had already conquered India, and being now called in against the Kin or Eastern Tartars, they soon subdued both them and the eneirated Chinese, whom tliey had been invited to protect. The Mongols might be said to be masters of tlie northern half of modern China from the year 1234. Tlie A7/?, who until then had occupied a part of the provinces border- ing on the wall, Avere attacked on one side by the Chinese, and on the other by the Mongols, under the command of the famous Pe-yen (Jmndred-eyes, or Argus), who is mentioned by jVIarco Polo, and the correctness of whose name is of itself a sufficient proof of the genuineness of that early traveller's narrative. Their principal city was taken, and the death of their prince put an end for the present to the Eastern Tartars ; but the remnant became the stock from whence grew the INIanchows, who afterwards conquered China, and who hold it to this day in subjection. When Koblai Khan had possessed himself of the northern part of the empire, lie took occasion of the infancy of the reigning Chinese Emperor to use an argument convenient to his purpose. '' Your family,"' said he, '* owes its rise to the minority of the last Emperor of the preceding house ; it is therefore just that the remains of Soong should give place to another family."" The famous Pe-yen pur- sued the Chinese army first to Fokien, and afterwards to Hoey-chow in Canton province. Great crvielty was exercised on the van- quished, and it is recorded that '' the blood of the people flowed in sounding torrents."' The remains of the Chinese court betook themselves to the sea near Canton, and pe- rished, A.D. 1281. KOBLAI KHAX. 89 On the accession of Koblai Khan, the first of the Yuen dynasty, the favonrite religion of the Tartars being that of Budh, or F6, of which the grand Lama of Thibet is the head, an order was promulged to bum all the books of the Taou sect. An exception was sug- gested in favour of the Taou-te-king, as the only really inspired writing of that religion ; but the order was made peremptory to burn them all. The historian, a Confucian, ob- serves that his Majesty who favoured Budh- ism, and those of his predecessors who had encouraged the other persuasion, were equally erroneous and partial ; both docti-ines should have been extinguished. Budhism, in fact, has never flourished as it did under the Mon- gol Tartar race. Koblai fixed the seat of government at Peking, or Kambalu, as it is styled by Marco Polo after the Tartars. As the most effectual remedy for the sterility of the plain in which that capital is situated, he consh-ucted the vast canal, extending south a distance of about 300 leagues into the most fertile pro- vinces, and serving a-s an easy conveyance for their products, independently of a sea navigation. This great work, which is more particularly described in its proper place, was a benefit to China, by itself sufficient to redeem in some measure the injustice and violence by which the jMongol possessed him- self of tlie empire. The northern portion of China Avas now known by tlie name Kathai, or Cathay, the appellation invariably given to it by the Ve- ivetian traveller. The southern was styled Manjee, which is evidently a corruption of Ma7itsze, originally applied to the barbarians of the south. There is a portion of Ava bordering on China at this day called Man- chegee, which probably has the same deriva- tion. Notwithstanding the great qualities of Koblai. which were calculated to lay the foundations of a permanent dominion, the degeneracy of his successors was such as to cause the empire to pass out of the hands of the Mongol race in a little more than eighty years" time. There is scarcely anything wor- thy of notice in their annals, save the rapid and excessive degeneracy of tliese Tartar princes. Koblai had wisely adopted the po- litical institutions of China : but those who followed him surpassed the Chinese them- selves in their luxury and effeminacy. Ener- vated by the climate and vices of the south, they quickly lost the courage and hardihood which had put the country in possession of their ancestors; and Shunty, the ninth em- peror in succession, was compelled to resign the empire to a Chinese. It is worthy of remark, that, of the score of dynasties which have followed each other, all established themselves on the vices, luxuries, or indolence of their immediate forerunners. The present Manchow race has already shov/n no unequivocal symptoms of degeneracy. The two greatest princes by whom it has been distinguished, Kanghy and Kien-loong, se- dulously maintained the ancient habits of their Tartar subjects by frequent hunting excursions beyond the wall, in which tliey individually bore no small share of the fatigue and danger. The late emj^eror, Keaking, and the present one have, on the other hand, been remarkable for their comparative in- dolence ; and the reigns of both have exhibited a mere succession of revolts and troubles. The following is part of an edict issued by the reigning monarch in 1824 : — "With re- ference to the autumnal hunt of tlie present year, I ought to follow the established custom of my predecessors ; but, at the same tline, it is necessary to be guided by the circumstances of the times, and to act in conformity to them. The expedition to Je-ho (Zhehol) is also or- dered to be put off for this year. It is an involuntary source of vexation to me : I should not think of adopting this measure from a love of ease and indulgence." Since that date, however, the same course has been repeated under various pretexts. The Man- chow rule has already lasted much longer than the Mongol, and, from all present ap- pearances, a bold Chinese adventurer might perhaps succeed in overthrowing it. The first Emperor of the Aling dynasty, which expelled the Mongols in 1366, had been servant to a monastery of bonzes, or priests of Budh. Having joined a numerous body of revolters, he soon became then- leader, and, after making liimself master of some provinces in the south, at length de- feated a part of the Emperor's troops in a great battle. The Clunese now flocked to 90 THE CHINESE. him from all parts, and, having crossed the Yellow River, he forced Shu7ity to fly nortli- wards. where he died soon after, leaving the empire in possession of the successful Chinese, who assumed the sovereignty with the title of Tae-tsoo. or '' great ancestor."" The new Emperor endeavoured to esta- blish his capital at Foongyang-foo, his native city, but was obliged, from its local disad- vantages, to give it up, and adopt Nanking instead, erecting Peking into a principality for one of his younger sons, Yoong-lo. When this prince succeeded as third Emperor of his family, the capital was transfeiTcd in 1408 to Peking ; a principal reason perhaps being the necessity of keeping the Eastern Tartars in check. Nanking was still occupied by the heir, Avith a distinct set of tribunals, and this shows more confidence than is commoidy displayed under Asiatic despotisms. It was in the same reign that Timour, or Tamerlane, died on his way to the conquest of China, in the year 1405. Dm-ing the reign of Hoong-hy, the fourth Emperor of the Ming family, a great con- flagration of the palace melted together a mixture of valuable metals, and from this compound were constiucted numbers of vases, which are highly valued at the present day. In this, the reader may perceive an origin somewhat similar to that of the famous Corin- thian brass. Some of the Chinese vases so highly esteemed were seen by the British embassy near Nanking, in 181G. It is a common practice, however, at present, to put the name of the above Emperor on vases which have no pretentions whatever to this antique value. It was in the same dynasty that the Portu- guese, as we have already seen, came to China, and obtained, about the middle of the sixteenth century, their imperfect tenure of Macao ; and it was also under the Mhig race that the Jesuits established themselves in China. The zeal and address with which these intelligent and adventurous men opened a way for themselves and their mission is deserving of high praise; and the knowledge which some of them obtained of the language, manners, and institutions of the country has never perhaps been surpassed by any other Eui'opeans. Had it not been for the narrow- minded bigotry and intolerance with which some of the Popes, and the monks whom they deputed to China, frustrated the labours of the more sober-minded Jesuits, Europeans and their religion might at this day enjoy a very different footing in the empire. In the year 1618, Wanlie, the thirteenth Emperor of the Chinese dynasty, being on the throne, a war commenced with the Eastern Tartars, who now called their country (the present Mougden) iManchow, which means " the full region."' We have before seen that, just previous to the 3Iongol conquest, and during the latter end of the Soong dj^nasty, these Eastern Tartars, under the name of Kin, or the " golden"" race, had subdued some portion of the north of China, but were driven out by the iMongols. When the last of the Mongols, descendants of Koblai Khan, were expelled from China by the founder of the Ming, or Chinese race, they sought a refuge among the Eastern Tartars, and from their intermarriages with the natives sprung the Bogdoi Khans, or Manchow princes, who were desthied to expel the !Ming. It is in this manner that the Emperors of the present dvnastv derive their descent from Koblai Khan. ' It was Tien-ming, the lineal ancestor of the family nowreigning, who in the time of Waidie drew up a paper containing seven subjects of grievance, on the ground of which he formally attacked China, with the view of doing himself justice. He entered the pro- vince of Peking at the head of 50,000 men, and was preparing to besiege the capital, when he was repulsed, and compelled to retire for awhile to Leaoutung, north of the Great Wall. His title Tien-ming literally means '' Heaven "s decree."" The contest was subsequently re- sumed, and lasted with various success until the last Emperor of Ming succeeded in 1627. This prince seemed insensible to the danger which threatened him, and, instead of re- pelling the Tartars, estranged his own subjects by his ill-conduct, driving at length a portion of them to revolt. The leader of the rebels subdued the provinces Honan and Shensy, and murdered the principal mandarins ; but in order to gain their assistance, he freed the people from all taxes and conti-ibutions. The success of this policy soon enabled him to ■VI AN CHOW TARTARS. 91 invest Peking with a very large army. The Emperor, preferring death to being taken by the rebels, retired with his only daughter, whom he first stabbed, and then put an end to his own existence with a cord, a.d. 1643- Thus perished the last Chinese Emperor; and the spot where he died was pointed out to the late Sir George Staunton in 1793. ^ The way in which a comparatively small nation of Tartars possessed themselves of China will now appear. On the death of the Emperor, the usurper met with universal submission, both at Peking and in the provinces, with the excep- tion of the General Woosankwei, who com- manded an army near Eastern Tartary. The latter fortified himself in a city which he commanded, and was presently besieged by the successful rebel, who showed him his father in chains, threatening to put him to death if the town was not surrendered. The father exhorted his son to liold out, and sub- mitted to his fate ; upon Avhich Woosauikwei, to revenge his death, as well as that of the Emperor, made peace with the Manchows, and called them in to his assistance against the rebels. The usurper was ni this manner soon defeated : but the Tartar King proceed- ing to the capital, was so well received there, and conducted matters with such dexterity, that he had at length found no difficulty in taking upon liimself the sovereignty. Being seized with a mortal sickness, he liad time to appoint his son Shun-chy, then a boy, as his successor, a.d. 1644, and thus commenced the Mancho\v Tartar dynasty, of which the sixth Emperor is now reigning. Several cities of the south still held out against this foreign government, and par- ticularly the maritime province of Fokien, which was not subdued until some vears afterwards. The conquered Chinese were now compelled to shave the thick hair, which their nation had been accustomed to wear from the most ancient times as a cherished ornament, and to betake themselves to the Tartar fashion of a long plaited tress, or tail. In other respects, too, they were commanded to adopt the Tartar habit on pain of death ; and many are said to have died in preference to submission. Their new rulers must, indeed, 1 Embassy, vol. ii. p. 121. have felt themselves sufficiently strong before they issued such an order. Many are the changes which may be made in despotic counti-ies, without the notice, or even know- ledge, of the larger portion of the community; but an entire alteration in the national cos- tume aft'ects every individual equally, ti-om the highest to the lowest, and is perhaps, of all others, the most open and degrading mark of conquest. It can never be submitted to, except by a people who are thoroughly subdued; nor ever imposed, except by a government that feels itself able to carry a measure, which is perhaps resorted to prin- cipally for the purpose of trying, or of break- ing, the spirit of the conquered. The ancient Chinese costume is now very exactly represented on the stage of their theatre, to which it is exclusively confined. Such was the repugnance of the Chinese to the Tartar rule, that during the eighteen years of the first emperor's reign, a portion of the south remained unsubdued, and a very formidable opponent to the new dynasty existed on the sea. This was Ching-she- loong, father to the maritime leader Koshinga, whom we have already had occasion to men- tion as the person who took Formosa from the Dutch. According to the policy always adopted, of effecting by compromise what cannot be accomplished by force, Shunchy offered him honours and rewards at Peking, on condition that he would submit. The father accepted the invitation, leaving his fleet with his son, and was well received ; but Koshinga remained true to the Chinese cause, and subsequently co-operated with the ad- herents to the late dynasty on shore, commit- ting great ravages with his fleet along the coast. Kang-hy, the second Tartar emperor, adopted the vigorous measure of compelling his subjects in the six maritime jirovinces to retire thirty Chinese /y, or three leagues in- wards from the coast, on pain of death. Thus, at the expense of destruction to a number of towns and villages, and of loss to the inha- bitants, the power and resources of Koshinga were reduced, and his grandson was at length prevailed on to give up Fomaosa to the Em- peror, and accept the gift of a title for himself, A.D. 1683. The final establishment of the Manchow Tartars in China is doubtless atti'ibutable, in 92 THE CHINESE. no small measure, to the personal character of Kang-hy, who is perhaps the greatest monarch that ever ruled the country, and who had the singvilar fortune to reign for sixty years. By his hunting excursions heyond the Great Wall, •when he really proceeded at the head of a large army, he kept up the military character of the Tartars ; while at the same time his vigilant care was not wanting in the south. During the year 16S9, he proceeded along the grand canal to Nanking, and thence to the famous city of Soochow. At that opulent and luxurious place it is said tliat carpets and silk stufi's being laid along the streets by the inhabitants, the emperor dismounted, and made his train do the same, proceeding thus to the palace on foot, in order that the people's property miglit not be injured. His liberal and enlightened policy was strikingly displayed on two occasions of foreign intercourse. First, in the boundary and commercial treaty with Russia, of which Pere Gerbillon has given an account, and which was consequent on a dispute that occurred at the frontier station of Yacsa. Gerbillon was sent by Kang-hy (whose nume- rous favours to the Catholic mission have already been noticed) to assist the negotiation as translator ; and his detail of the expedition is given in the fourth volume of Du Halde. The mission proceeded in 1688, but circum- stances prevented its completion until the fol- lowing year; for the Eleuths or Kalmucs being then at war with the Kalka Tartars, and the route of the expedition lying along the country of the latter, it was tliought pru- dent at first to return. The second instance is that embassy in 1713 to the Khan of the Tourgouth Tartars, then settled on the north bank of the Caspian, of which a translation has been given by the present Sir George Staunton from the original Chinese. This is the most remote expedition that has ever been undertaken from China in modern times ; and the details of the journey, with the em- peror's own instructions for the conduct of his ambassador, are especially curious. Kang-hy subsequently gained considerable glory by tlie conquest of the above-mentioned Eleuths, who had long given great trouble in the regions about Thibet; and the exploits and triumphs of the emperor's army having been pourtrayed by a French missionary, in a series of skilful drawings, these were sent by the desire of Kang-hy to Paris, and there engraved on copper-plates. They contain a very faithful representation of Chinese and Tartar costumes and court ceremonies, and are by far the best things of the kind in existence. Yoong-ching, the immediate successor of this great emperor, was remarkable for little else than for his violent persecution of the Catholic priests, who had certainly rendered themselves sufficiently obnoxious, by their imprudent conduct, to the rulers of China. Kien-loong, who succeeded in 1736, and avIio, like his great predecessor, Kang-hy, had the unusual fortune to reign for sixty years, was no unworthy inheritor of the fame and domi- nion of his grandfather. He encouraged the Chinese learning by cultivating it in his own person, and some of his poetical compositions are considered to possess intrinsic merit, inde- pendently of their being the productions of an emperor. The principal military transac- tion of his reign, remarkable, upon the whole, for its peaceful and prosperous course, was an expedition against the Meuoii-tse, the race of mountaineers already described on the bor- ders of Kuei-chow, and not far removed from the Canton province. The emperor boasted that they were subdued ; but there is reason to believe that this hardy people, intrenched in the natural fortifications of tlieir rude and precipitous mountains, lost little of the real independence which they had enjoyed for ages, and that they were '' triiimphati magis quam victi."' They have never submitted to the Tartar tonsure, the most conclusive mark of conquest; and their renewed acts of hosti- lity, as late as the year 1832, gave serious alaim and trouble to the Peking government. The first British embassy ever sent to China was received by Kien-loong in 1793, and the liberal conduct of that monarch in dispensing with tlie performance of the pros- tration on the part of Lord Macartney, con- trasts strongly with the petty spacies of trickery by which that Tartar act of homage, called the Ko-tow, was sought to be extorted from Lord Amherst in 1816, by his successor Kea-king ; or rather by the ministers, for the Emperor subsequently disavowed his know- ledge of their proceedings. It may be reason- ably supposed that Kien-loong, at the end KIEN-LOOIS^G. (>3 of a long and prosperous reign, felt suf- ticiently assured of his own power and great- ness to dispense with such a ceremony ; and that tlie authority of his son having been shaken by frequent insurrections, and even by some attempts against his life, this circum- stance rendered him, or at least his court, more tenacious of external forms. It has been ascertained, however, that the agency of the provincial government of Canton was powerfully exerted against the last em- bassy When the reign of Kien-loong, like that of his grandfather, had in 1795 reached. the un- usual term of sixty years, which just com- pletes a revolution of the Chinese cycle, he resigned the throne to his son, with the title of Emperor, while he reserved to himself that of the Supreme Emperor-, though he retired al- together from state afiairs, and lived but a short time afterwards. Kea-king was ill-cal- culated to maintain the imperial dignity after such a monarch as his father. Serra, a Catholic missionary, many years emploj'ed at Peking, obtained a very particular account of his habits, which were extremely profli- gate, and may account for the risks to which his life was exposed from assassins. After the early morning audience, from which no Emperor can excuse himself, and having dis- patched the business submitted to him, he generally retired to the company of players, and afterwards drank to excess. He would frequently proceed with players to the interior of the palace, and it was remarked that his two younger sons bore no resemblance to him- self, or to each other. He went so far as to carry the comedians with him, when he pro- ceeded to sacrifice at the temples of Heaven and Earth. This, with other circumstances, was noticed in a memorial by the famous Soong-keun, or Soong ta-jin, one of the censors, and the conductor and friend of Lord Macart- ney while in China. When summoned by the Emperor, and asked what punishment he deserved, he answered, " A slow and igno- minious death.'' W'hen told to choose another, he said, '• beheading;"' and on the third occasion he chose •" strangling.""^ He was ordered to retire, and on the following 1 The three gradations of capital punishment. day the court appointed him governor of the Chinese Siberia, the region of Tartary to which criminals are exiled ; thus (as Serra observes) acknowledging his rectitude, though unable to bear his censure. When the reign of Kea-king, unmarked by any events except the suppression of some formidable revolts and conspiracies, had reached the twenty-fourth year, the occur- rence of the sixtieth anniversary of the Em- peror's age was celebrated by a universal jubilee throughout the empire. Even with private individuals, the attainment of the six- tieth year (a revolution of the cycle) is marked by a particular celebration. In 1819 the national jubilee was observed, as usual, by a remission of all arrears of land-tax ; by a general pardon or mitigation of punish- ment to criminals ; and by the admission of double the usual number of candidates to de- grees at the public examinations. The cele- bration of one man's age by two or three hun- dred millions of people is rather an imposing festival, and could happen to none but the Emperor of China. Kea-king, however, only survived it by a single year ; and his death, in 1820, was the occasion of some curious information being obtained relative to the mode of succession, and other particulars. The Emperor's will, a very singular docu- ment, was published to the people. In it was this passage : — " The Yellow River has, from the remotest ages, been China s sorrow, W^henever the mouth of the stream has been impeded by sand-banks, it has, higher up its course, created alarm by overflowing the country. On such accasions, I have not spared the imperial treasury to embank the river, and restore the w^aters to their former channel. Since a former repair of the river was completed, six or seven years of tran- quillity had elapsed, when last j ear, in the autumn, the excessive rains caused an un- usual rise of the water, and in Honan the river burst its banks at several points, both on the south and north sides. The stream Woo- chy forced a passage to the sea, and the mis- chief done was immense. During the spring of this year, just as those who conducted the repair of the banks had reported that the work was finished, the southern bank at Ee-fong again gave way."' The mention of this 94 THE CHINESE. subject in tlie Emperor's will is a sufficient proof of its importance. If the science of European engineers could ])ut an effectual stop to tlie evil, it would be the most itn])ort- ant ])hysical benefit tliat was ever conferred on the em])ire; but the illiberal jealousy of China is not likely to let the experiment be very soon tried. Even the European trade at Canton is annually taxed to meet the rejjairs of the Yellow River. The em])eror"s will proceeds to state the merits of his second son, the present sovereign), Taou-kuang, in having shot two of tlie assas- sins who entered the jialace in 1813, which was the reason of his selection. It has been even supposed that Kea-king"s death was hastened by some discontented persons of high rank, who had been lately disgraced in consequence of the mysterious loss of an official seal. The emperor's death was an- nounced to the several provinces by de- spatches written with blue ink, the mourning colour. All persons of condition were re- quired to take the red silk ornament from their caps, with the ball or button of rank : all subjects of China, without exception, were called upon to forbear from shaving tlieir heads for one hundred days, within which period none might marry, or play on musical instruments, or perform any sacrifice. The personal character of the present em- peror is much better than that of his fatlier, but the lofty title which he cliose for liis reign, Taou-hiuuig, "tlie glory of reason," has hardly been sujipoited. The most disgrace- ful act of his administration was the murder, in 1828, of the Mahomedan Tartar prince, Jehanghir, who had surrendered liimself in reliance on the faith of promises. It is sup- posed, indeed, that the reduction of those tribes towards Casligar, clVected by the aid of the Mongol Tartars that intervene, was marked by more than the usual share of Chinese treachery and craft. This war was a source of serious anxiety and expense to the emperor, whose reign has been infested by a continual succession of public calamities, and by more revolts and insurrections tlian have been known since the time of the first emperor of the MancViow dynasty. Subse- quent to the termination of tlie troubles with the independent mountaineers north-west of Canton, which has been mentioned in another chapter, a very singular paper was written by a Chinese, stating the submission of the enemy to be a mere imposition on the em- peror by his officers, and a public disgrace. He said that the imperial commissioners had expended 500.000 taels of silver for a sham suiTender, and the appearance of victory, and wondered at their audacity in receiving the rewards of peacocks' feathers, and other marks of favour. The money was represented to have been thrown away, for the mountaineers had disowned the authority of those who accepted it, and remained as independent as ever. There must be a good deal of truth in this, or a Chinese would hardly have exposed himself to the risk of being the author; and it is a singular picture of the existing state of the em])ire. Many have been led by the events of recent years to surmise that tlie end of the Tartar dominion in China is at hand; its establishment and continuaiice is certainly a fact not much less extraordinary (when the dispro])ortion of the conquerors to the con- quered is considered) than the British do- minion in India: and the IMongol race were driven out by the Chinese after a much shorter possession than the Manchows liave already enjoyed. These liave had the pru- dence and wisdom to leave the Chinese in possession of their own forms and institutions in most instances, and to mould those of the Tartars to them ; liut distinctions sufficiently broad are still maintained to prevent the amalgamation of the original people with their masters. A symptom of weakness in the government is its extreme dread of numerous associations among the ])eople ; one of which, the Triad Society, lias fur its known object the expulsion of the Manchows. An insurrection broke out in the island of Formosa towards the close of 1832, accom- panied by the deatli of a large portion of the troops, and of the greater number of man- darins on the sjjot, and the origin of it was attributed to the oppression of the emperor's government. A Tartar general, after the lapse of a few months, was des])atcht'd in all haste from Peking, with jiower to take troops from the difierent provinces at his need, and in a short time it was heard that the insur- PRESENT EMPEROR. 95 rection was over, and the troops counter- manded. This sudden restoration of tran- quillity was hardly less surprising, after violence had proceeded to such lengths, than the speedy submission of the mountaineers ; but it was never clearly ascertained whether it was effected by force, or by the divisions of the inhabitants ; or whether money had been used, as in the case of the mountaineers, to supply the place of arms. The last emperor, Kea-king, showed a very determined aversion and hostility to the Roman Catholic religion, and numerous persecutions took place in his reign. The present monarch, by all appearances, inherited the same dis- position from his father. He had not suc- ceeded many weeks to the throne, when one of his high officers evinced his zeal by an accusation against certain Chinese who had been detected in the practice of what is called the " religion of the western ocean.'" A still more unequivocal proof exists in the expulsion from Peking of the very last of those European missionaries, who for their asti'onomical know- ledge had been attached in succession, for about 200 years, to that tribunal or board, whose business it is to observe the motions of the heavenly bodies, and to construct the Imperial Calendar. It is probable that the present Chinese astronomers have acquired sufficient practical knowledge for the rough calculation of eclipses, and other routine matters of the same kind : but in the course of time another generation may perhaps re- quire a fresh inoculation of science from Europe, and it will then befit Protestant mis- sionaries to imitate the learning and enterprise of their Catholic predecessors, — but to avoid their want of moderation, and their disputes with each other about trifles. The war with China, which has arisen only five years after throwing the trade open and subverting the old system of 200 years standing, is likely to prove the most eventful chapter in the history of the reign of Taon- kuang. The re-establishment of the trade, as it before existed, seems extremely doubtful ; and every year's protraction of the waste of war, in lieu of the profits of commerce, must be felt as a national calamity by both parties. [Chinese Military Station, v^itli Soldiers.j 96 THE CHI>*ESE. CHAPTER VII. GOVERNMENT AND LEGISLATION. Paternal Authoritv, the principle of Chinese Rule — Malversations at Canton in some depce an exception to tlic Empire at large — Despotism tempered by influence of Public Opinion — Motives to Education — Reverence for Age— Wealth has Influence, but is little respected— Real Ai-istocracy official, and not hereditaiy— The Emperor— is High Piiest — Ministers — Machinery of Government— Checks on ^lagistrates — Civil Officers superior to Military— Low art of War— Guns cast by Missionaries— Penal Code of China— Merits and De- fects—Arrangement — Punishments — Privileges and Exemptions — Crimes — Character of Code — Testimonies, foreign and domestic, in favour of its practical' results— Chinese recognise sanctions superior to absolute will of Emperor. JfoNTESQi'iEU has soiiiewhere the following remark : — " Heiireux le peitple do/it I'histoire est ennuyeiise ;" and if this be the characteristic of Chinese history, if we find the even cur- rent of its annals for a long time past less ti-oubled by disorder and anarchy than can be stated of most other countries, v,e must look for the causes in the fundamental prin- ciples of its government, and in the maxims by which this is administered. It is well known thaX parental authority is the model or type of political rule in China — that natural restraint to which almost every man iinds himself subject at the earliest dawn of his perceptions. Influenced, perhaps, by a con- sideration of the lasting force of early im- pressions on the human mind, the legislators of the country have thought that they should best provide for the stability of their fabric, by basing it on that principle which is the most natural and familiar to everj'^ one from infancy, and the least likely ever to be called in question. Whether or not this was the design with which the patriarchal form has been so long perpetuated in China, it seems certain that, being at once the most obvious and the sim- plest, it has for that reason been the^r*^ that has existed among the various societies of mankind. The North American tribes call all rulers " fathers." However well calcu- lated to promote the union and welfare of small tribes or nations, the example of China, perhaps, in some respects demonstrates that in large empires, where the supreme authority must be exercised almost entirely by dis- tant delegation, it is liable to degenerate into a mere fiction, excellently calculated to strengthen and perpetuate the hand of despot- ism, but retaining little of the paternal cha- racter beyond its absolute authority. It is the policy of the Chinese government to grant to fathers over their children the patria potestas in full force, as the example and the sanction of its own power. There is nothing more remarkable in their ritual, and in their criminal code, than the exact parellel which is studiously kept up befsveen the relations in Avhich every person stands to his own parents, and to the Empe- ror. For similar oft'ences against both he suft'ers similar punishments ; at the death of both he mourns the same time, and goes the same period unshaven ; and both possess nearly the same power over his person. Thus he is bred up to civil obedience, '" tenero ab tnigui,"' with every chance of proving a qtdet subject at least. Such institutions certainly do not de- note the existence of much liberty; but if peaceful obedience and universal order be the sole objects in view, they argue, on the part of the governors, some knowledge of human na- ture, and an adaptation of the means to the end. In the book of Sacred Insti-uctions, addressed to the people, founded on their ancient writ- ings, and read publicly by the principal ma- gish-ates on the days that correspond to the new and full moon, the sixteen discourses of PATRIARCHAL PRINCIPLES. 97 which it consists are headed by that which teaches the duties of children to parents, of juniors to elders, and (thence) of the people to the Government. The principle is ex- tended thus, in a quotation from the sacred books : — " In our general conduct, not to be orderly is to fail in filial duty ; in serving our Sovereign, not to be faithful is to fail in filial duty ; in acting as a magistrate, not to be careful is to fail in filial duty ; in the in- tercourse of friends, not to be sincere is to fail in filial duty ; in arms and in war, not to be brave is to fail in filial duty."' The claims of elders are enforced thus : — " The duty to parents and the duty to elders are indeed si- milar in obligation ; for he who can be a pious son will also prove an obedient younger brother ; and he who is both will, while at home, prove an honest and orderly subject, and in active service, from home, a courageous and faithful soldier .... May you all, O soldiers and people, conform to these our instructions, evincing your good dispositions by your con- duct and actions, each fulfilling his duty as a son and a junior, according to the example which is left you by the wise and holy men of former times. The wisdom of the ancient Em- perors, Yaou and Shun, had its foundation in these essential ties of human society. Men- cius has said, 'Were all men to honour their kindred and respect their elders, the world ^ would be at peace.' " But the Government does not confine itself to preaching ; domestic rebellion is treated in nearly all respects as treason ; being, In fact, petit treason. A special edict of the last Em- peror went beyond the established law in a case which occurred in one of the central provinces. A man and his wife had beaten and otherwise severely ill-used the mother of the former. This being reported by the Viceroy to Peking, it was determined to en- force in a signal manner the fundamental principle of the empire. The very place where it occurred was anatiiematized, as it were, and made accurst. The principal of- fenders were put to deatli ; the mother of the wife was bambooed, branded, and exiled for her daughter's crime; the scliolars of the district for three years were not permitted to ' Meaning,' China. attend the public examination, and their pro- motion thereby stopped ; the magistrates were deprived of their office and banished. The house in which the otlenders dwelt was dug up from the foundations. " Let the Viceroy," the edict adds, " make known this proclama- tion, and let it be dispersed through the whole empire, that the people may all learn it. And if there be any rebellious children who oppose, beat, or degrade, their parents, they shall be punished in like manner. If ye people indeed know the renovating principle, then fear and obey the imperial will, nor look on this as empty declamation. For now, ac- cording to this case of Teng-chen, wherever there are the like I resolve to condemn them, and from my heart, strictly charge you to beware. I instruct the magisti-ates of every province severely to warn the heads of families, and elders of villages ; and on the 2nd and 16th of every month to read the Sacred Iti- structions, in order to show the importance of the relations of life, that persons may not rebel against their parents — for I intend to render the empire filial.'' This was addressed to a population, estimated commonly at 300.000,000. "The vital and universally operating principle of the Chinese Government," says Sir George Staunton, " is the duty of sub- mission to parental authority, whether vested in the parents themselves, or in their represen- tatives, and which, although usually de- scribed under the pleasing appellation of filial piety, is much more properly to be considered as a general rule of action than as the ex- pression of any particular sentiment of aflec- tion. It may easily be traced even in the earliest of their records; it is inculcated with the greatest force in the writings of the first of their philosophers and legislators; it has smvived each successive dynasty, and all the various changes and revolutions which the state has undergone ; and it continues to this day powerfully enforced both by positive laws and by public opinion. '•'A government constituted upon the basis of parental authority, thus highly estimated and extensively applied, has certainly the advantage of being directly sanctioned by the immutable and ever-operating laws of nature, and must thereby acquire a degree of firm - H 98 THE CHINESE. ness and durability to which governments, founded on the fortuitous superiority of par- ticular individuals, either in strength or abilities, and continued only through the hereditary influence of particular families, can never be expected to attain. Parental authority and prerogative seem to be, ob- viously, the most respectable of titles, and parental regard and affection the most amiable of characters, with which sovereign and magisterial power can be invested ; and are those under which it is natural to suppose it may most easily be perpetuated. By such principles the Chinese have been distinguished ever since their first existence as a nation ; by such ties the vast and increasing popula- tion of China is still united as one people, subject to one supreme Government, and uni- form in its habits, manners, and language. In this state, in spite of every internal and ex- ternal convulsion, it may possibly very long continue," It is the business of the first of the " Four Books" of Confucius to inculcate, that from the knowledge and government of oneself must proceed the proper economy and government of a family ; from the government of a family, that of a province and of a kingdom. The Emperor is called the father of the empire ; the Viceroy, of the province over Avhich he presides ; and the mandarin, of the city which he governs: and the father of every family is the absolute and responsible ruler of his own household. Social peace and order being deemed the one thing needful, this object is very steadily and consistently pursued. The system derives some of its efficacy from the habitual and universal inculcation of obedi- ence and deference, in unbroken series, from one end of society to the other ; beginning in the relation of children to their parents, continuing through that of the young to the aged, of the uneducated to the educated, and terminating in that of the people to their rulers. The great wealth of the empire, the cheer- ful and indefatigable industry of the people, and their unconquerable attachment to their country, are all of them circumstances which prove, that, if the Government is jealous in guarding its rights, it is not altogether igiro- rant or unmindful of its duties. We are no unqualified admirers of the Chinese system, but would willingly explain, if possible, some of the causes which tend to the production of results whose existence nobody pretends to deny. In practice there is of course a great deal of inevitable abuse, but upon the whole, and with relation to ultimate effects, the ma- chine works well ; and we repeat that the surest proofs of this are apparent on the very face of the most cheerfully industrious and orderly, and the most wealthy, nation of Asia. It may be observed that we make great account of the circumstance of cheerful industry ; be- cause this characteristic, which is the first to stiike all visitors of China, is the best proof in the world that the people possess their full share of the results of their own labour. Men do not toil either willingly or effectively for hard masters. It would be a very rash conclusion to form any estimate of the insecurity of property generally from what is observ'^ed at Canton among those connected with \he foreign trade, and especially the Hong merchants. These persons are instruments in the hands of a cau- tious Government, which, not wishing to come into immediate collision with foreigners, uses them in the manner of a sponge, that, after being allowed to absorb the gains of a licensed monopoly, is made regularly to yield up its-contents, by what is very cor- rectly termed •' squeezing." The rulers of China consider foreigners fair game: they have no sympathy with them, and, what is more, they diligently and systematically labour to destroy all sympathy on the part of their subjects, by representing the sb-angei-s to them in every light that is the most contemptible and odious. There is an annual edict or proclamation displayed at Canton at the commencement of the com- mercial seaison, accusing the foreigners of the most horrible practices, and desiring the people to have as little to say to them as possible. We have already seen that the professed rule is to govern them " like beasts," and not as the subjects of the empire. With perfect consistency, therefore, they are denied the equal benefits and protection of the known laws of the country, condemned to death for accidental homicide, and executed without the emperor's warrant. These are PUBLIC OPINION. 99 their' real subjects of complaint in China; and since war has now become inevitable, these may be put forth as righteous and equitable grounds of quarrel, in addition to the insults and outrages heaped on the national representative. But to return to the Hong merchants and others at Canton : there is in fact a set of laws existing under this jealous Tartar Go- vernment, which makes all transactions of Chinese with foreigners, without an express licence, traitorous — that is the word — and it forms a terrible engine of extortion ; for the construction of the terms of the licence, as well as of the particular regulations from time to time enacted, opens a wide field for injustice under the forms of law. This is the only solution of the anomaly, that at Canton, in a country where there is a written code with numerous provisions against ex- tortion and oppression, and with severe denun- ciations against the abuse of power, there should still be so much of the evil apparently existing. But it is the foreigner that pays, after all ; the Hong merchants are the veri- tables vaches d iait, the real milch cows, while the foreign trade is the pasture in which they range. One of the ablest of their body many years since obtained the express authority of the local governnnent for the Consoo or body of Hong merchants, to levy charges at its own discretion on the foreign trade, for the avowed purpose of paying the demands of the mandarins. Other annual charges were levied to defray debts of indivi- dual merchants to foreigners, and, the debts being liquidated, the charges were continued. But for these abuses, the fair trade of Can- ton would have been much more profitable. The same system cannot by any means be practised where 7iatives onlij are concerned; and, if it could, the country would present a very different appearance. Extraordinary wealth is of course exposed to danger /eWw/i^- que summos fulmina montes, or, £U> the Chinese express it, " the elephant is killed on account of his ivory.*' But they have another saying, that " happiness consists in a level or medium station;" audit is certain that the bulk of the native population enjoys the results of its industry with a very fair degree of security, or it would not be so industrious. There are some curious practical anomalies, which one is not prepared to find under a despotism. The people sometimes hold pub- lic meetings by advertisement, for the express purpose of addressing the magistrate, and this without being punished. The iniluence of public opinion seems indicated by this prac- tice ; together with that frequent custom of placarding and lampooning (though of course anonymously) obnoxious officers. Honours are rendered to a just magistrate, and ad- dresses presented to him on his departure by the people ; testimonies which are highly- valued. These must be ranked with the ex- ceptions to the theories of governments, of which Hume treats when he mentions, among other instances, the impressment of seamen in England ; which is a departure from liberty, as the cases above mentioned are from des- potism. It may be added, that there is no established censorship of the press in China, nor any limitations but those which the inter- ests of social peace and order seem to render necessary. If these are endangered, the pro- cess of the Government is of course more summary than even an information filed by the Attoniey-General. It is deserving of remark, that the general prosperity and peace of China has been very much promoted by the diffusion of intelli- gence and education through the lower classes. Among the countless millions that constitute the empire, almost every man can read and write sufficiently for the ordinary purposes of life, and a respectable share of these acquire- ments goes low down in the scale of society. Of the sixteen discourses which are periodically read to the people, the eighth inculcates the necessity of a general acquaintance with the penal laws, which are printed purposely in a cheap shape. They argue, that as men cannot properly be punished for what they do not know, so likewise they will be less liable to incur the penalty if they are made duly acquainted with the prohibition. This seems a very necessary branch of what has been called ''preventive justice, upon every principle of reason, of humanity, and of sound policy, preferable in all respects to punishing justice."^ The general diffusion of education must be 1 Blackstane. b. iv. c. 18. H 2 100 THE CHINESE. attributed to the influence of almost every motive of fear or hope that can operate on the human mind ; it is inculcated by positive precepts, and encouraged by an open com- petition for the highest rewards. One of the strongest motives to every Chinese to educate his sons must be the consciousness that he is liable to punishment for their crimes at any peiicd of their lives, as well as to reward for their merits : parents are often promoted by the acts of their sons. Montesquieu, in vio- lently condemning tlie liability to punish- ment,^ seems to have been unaware, or un- mindful, that it is in some measure the result of that absolute power which is through life intrusted to the father: and that such a trust, with some show of reason, carries with it a proportionate responsibility. He is not only punished, but rewarded too, according as he has administered this trust. How such a system must operate as a motive to education is sufficiently obvious ; and the only question is, whether the amount of personal liberty sacrificed is balanced by the amount of pub- lic benefit gained. So sensible are they of the importance of education, that the language is full of domestic or of state maxims in reference to it. " Bend the mulberry-tree when it is young." " Without education in families, how are governors for the people to be obtained?" — and so on. Every town has its public place of instruction, and wealthy families have private tutors. As regards the peaceful and orderly cha- racter by which the Chinese, as a nation, are distinguished, there is much truth in another remark of Montesquieu, namely, that the government had this object in view when it prescribed a certain code of ceremonies and behaviour to its subjects ; " a very proper method of inspiring mild and gentle dispo- sitions, of maintaining peace and good order, and of banishing all the vices which spring from an asperity of temper,'' They certainly are, upon the whole, among the most good-hu- moured people in the world, as well as the most peaceable; anel the chief causes of this must be sought for in their political and social insti- tutions. Of the sixteen lectures periodically delivered to tlie people, the second is "on ' Book vi. c. 20. union and concord among kindred;" the third, "on concord and agreement among neighbours ;"' the ninth " on mutual forbear- ance ;■' the sixteenth, " on reconciling ani- mosities.*' Here perhaps we may perceive, also, the sources of their characteristic timidity, which is accompanied by its natural asso- ciates, tlie disposition to cunning and fraud, i The Chinese have lived so much in peace, that they have acquired by habit and edu- cation a more than common horror of poli- tical disorder, " Better be a dog in peace, than a man in anarchy,'" is a common maxim, " It is a general rule,'" they say, " that the worst of men are fondest of change and com- motion, hoping that they may thereby benefit themselves ; but by adherence to a steady, quiet system, affairs proceed without confusion, and bad men liave nothing to gain." They are, in short, a nation of steady conservatives. At the same time, that only check of Asiatic despotism — the endurance of the people — appears from their history to have exercised a salutary influence. The first Emperor of the Ming family observed, " The bowstring drawn violently will break ; the people pressed hard, will rebel." Another Sovereign ob- served to his heir, " Vou see that the boat in which we sit is supported by the water, which at the same time is able, if roused, to over- whelm it : remember that the water repre- sents the people, and the Emperor only the boat."' Amidst all the internal revolutions of China it is deserving of remark, that no I single instance has ever occurred of an attempt I to change the fomi of that pure monarchy which is founded in, or derived from, patri- archal authority. The only object has been, in most cases, tlie destruction of a tyrant ; or when the country was divided into several states, the acquisition of universal power by the head of one of them. This people has, perhaps, derived some advantage from the habit of reserving its respect exclusively for those objects which may be considered as the original and legiti- mate sources of that feeling. There is much truth in the observations of Mr. Rogers, in a note to one of his poems: — " Age was anciently synonymous with power; and we may always observe that the old are held in more or less honour, as men are more or less LEARNING CONFERS RANK. 101 virtuous. Among us, and wherever birth and possession give rank and authority, the young and the profligate are seen continually above the old and the worthy : there age can never find its due respect, but among many of the ancient nations it was otherwise ; and they reaped the benefit of it, ' Rien ne maintient plus les moeurs qu'une extreme subordination des jeunes gens envers les vieillards. Les uns et les auties seront con- tenus : ceux-la par le respect qu'ils auront pour les vieillards, et ceux-ci par le respect qu'ils auront pour eux-memes.' ' {Montes- quieu.^ We have before mentioned that the Chinese possess this antiquated habit; but their regard for age, even, is secondary to their respect for learning. "In learning," says their maxim, "age and youth go for nothing: the best informed takes the prece- dence."' The chief source of rank and con- sideration in China is certainly cultivated talent; and, whatever may be the character of the learning on which it is exercised, this at least is a more legitimate, and to society at large a more beneficial object of respect, than the vulgar pretensions of wealth and fashion, or the accidental ones of mere birth. Wealth alone, though it has of course some necessary influence, is looked upon with less respect, comparatively, than perhaps in any other country ; and this because all distinction and rank arises almost entirely from educated talent. The choice of official persons, who form the real aristocracy of the country, is guided, with a very few exceptions, by the possession of those qualities, and the country is therefore as ably ruled as it could be under the circumstances," " Les lettres (observed a correspondent of ours from Peking) ainsi honores par les Han, ont acquis un grand ascendant sur le peuple ; la politique sen est empare dans toutesles dynasties, et c'est sans doute a cette reunion des esprits que la Chine doit son bonheur, sa paix, et sa prosperity. " The official aristocracy, content with their solid rank and power, aim at no external display : on the contrary, a certain affectation, on their part, of patriarchal simplicity ope- rates as a sumptuary law, and gives a corre- sponding tone to the habits of the people. We are bound to admit that some evil results from this : superfluous wealth, in the hands of the vulgar possessors of it, is driven to find a vent occasionally in the gratifications of private sensuality. Superfluous wealth, however, is no very common occurrence in China. A man's sons divide his property between them, or rather live upon it in common, and the only right of primogeniture seems to consist in the eldest being a sort of steward or trustee for the estate. The temptations to immoderate accumulation are not so great as with us, nor the opportunities for it so frequent, Avhere the ordinary charmels of commerce are liable neither to such spring tides, nor to such violent ebbs. We must repeat that the fortunes made by Hoppos and Hong merchants at Canton are no examples whatever of the usual state of things in the empire, in cases where natives only are concerned. The real aristocracy of the country being official, and not hereditary, there are no families to be perpetuated by a system of entails ; and, if a man were willing to transmit his possessions in the shape of endless settlements, the law will not let him. It is an observation of Hume, that " the absence of any hereditary aristocracy may secure the intestine tranquillity of the state, by making it impossible for taction or re- bellion to find any powerful heads."' This, we fancy, is exactly the principle on which the Chinese Government is so jealous of any tnidue perpetuation of greatness in families.^ There are certain hereditary titles, descend- ing one step in rank through five generations, and the privilege of wearing the yellow and red girdles, which serve to distinguish the numerous descendants of the imperial family ; but these, though they are certainly a class of titular nobility, are far from being the real aristocracy of the country, and, without personal merit, tliey are little considered.^ The Chinese have a saying, that, '• by learning, the sons of the common people become great; ' There is a law in their penal code denouncing death not only to him who recommends tlie elevation of a civil oihcer to an hereditary title, but to him in whose favour the recommendation is made. '^ Du Halde observes, " they have no lands ; and, as the emperor cannot give them all pensions, some I live in great povcrtj." 102 THE CHINESE. without learning, the sons of the great become mingled with the mass of the people." All real rank of consequence being deter- mined by talent, the test of this is afforded at the public examinations. These are open to the poorest persons ; and only some classes, as menial servants, comedians, and the lowest agents of the police, are excluded. The government seems to consider that its own stability is best secured by placing the greatest talent, if not always the purest virtue, in offices of trust. With a view to promoting the efficiency of their standing army, the Manchow Tartar emperors have established a military examination, in which the relative merit of mandarins in martial exercises is distinguished by similar grades. It is time, however, that we proceed to consider the actual machinery of government, com.mencing with its supreme head, the Emperor. His titles are the " Son of Heaven," the •' Ten thousand Years." He is worshipped with divine honours, and with the attribute of ubiquity throughout the empire. The fol- lowing is from an eye-witness to the cele- bration of the emperors birthday at Peking,^ and the ceremony is universal and simulta- neous through the chief cities of China. " The first day was consecrated to the purpose of rendering a solemn, sacred, and devout homage to the supreme majesty of the emperor. The princes, tributaries, ambas- sadors, great officers of state, and principal mandarins, were assembled in a vast hall, and upon particular notice were introduced into an inner building, bearing at least the semblance of a temple. It was chiefly furnished Avith great instruments of music, among which were sets of cylindrical bells, suspended in a line from ornamented frames of wood, and gradually diminishing in size from one exhemity to the other, and also tri- angular pieces of metal, arranged in the same order as the bells. To the sound of these instruments, a slow and solemn hymn Mas sung by eunuchs, who had such a command over their voices as to resemble tlie efl'ect of the musical glasses at a distance. Ihe per- formers were directed in gliding from one tone to another by the striking of a shrill and 1 Sta\iuton, vol. ii. p. 255. sonorous cymbal ; and the judges of music among the gentlemen of the embassy were much pleased with their execution. The whole had indeed a grand effect. During the perfoi-mance, and at particular signals, nine times repeated, all the persons present prostrated themselves nine times, except the ambassador, and his suite, who made a profound obeisance. But he whom it was meant to honour continued, as if it were in imitation of the Deity, invisible the whose time. The awful impression made upon the minds of men by this apparent worship of a fellow-mortal was not to be effaced by any immediate scenes of sport or gaiety, which were postponed to the following day." The Emperor worships Heaven, and the people worship the Emperor. It is remark- able that with all this the Sovereign, in styling himself, uses occasionally such a term of affected humility as, '• the imperfect man ;"' which presents a contrast to the inflated and self-laudator^' expressions of most oriental monarchs. Every device of state, however, is used to keep up by habit the impression of awe. No person whatever can pass before the outer gate of the palace in any vehicle, or on horseback. The vacant throne, or a screen of yellow silk, are equally worshipped with his actual presence. An imperial de- spatch is received in the provuices with offer- ings of incense and prostration, looking towards Peking. There is a paved walk to the principal audience-hall, on which none can tread but the Emperor. At the same time, as if his transcendent majesty could derive no increase from personal decorations, he is distinguished from his court, unlike most Asiatic Sovereigns, by being more plainly clad than those by whom he is surrounded. In Lord Macartney's mission, while the crowd of mandarins was covered with em- broidery and splendour, the Emperor appeared in a dress of plain brown silk, and a black velvet cap with a single pearl in front. Yellow, as the imperial colour, would seem at present rather to distinguish things per- taining to his use, or connected with him in other ways, than to constitute a part of his actual garments, except perhaps on very great occasions. The Sovereign of China has the absolute disposal of the succession, MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT. 103 and, if he pleases, can name his heir out of his own family. This has descended from time immemorial ; and the ancient monarchs, Yaou and Shun, are famous examples of such a mode of selection. The imperial authority or sanction to all public acts is conveyed by the impression of a seal, some inches square, and composed of jade, a green- ish white stone, called by the Chinese Yu. Any particular directions or remarks by the Emperor himself are added in red, commonly styled " the vermilion pencil." All im- perial edicts of a special nature, after being addressed to the proper tribunal, or other authority, are promulged in the Peking Gazette, which contains nothing but what relates to the supreme Government; that is, either reports to the Emperor, or mandates from him. It is death to falsify any paper therein contained : but it must be observed, that these special edicts of the Sovereign, as applicable to the exigencies of particular cases, either in aggravation or mitigation of punishment, are not allowed to be applied as precedents in penal jurisdiction.^ There is more wisdom in this rule than in that which gave to the rescripts of the Roman Emperors, in individual cases, the force of perpetual laws, — a system which has very properly been called " arguing from particulars to generals." As Pontifex Maximus, or high-priest of the empire, the ''' Son of Heaven" alone, with his immediate representatives, sacrifices in the Government temples, with victims and incense. These rites, preceded as they are by fasting and purification, bear a perfect resemblance to the offerings with which we are familiar in the history of antiquity. No hierarchy is maintained at the public expense, nor any priesthood attached to the Confucian or government religion, as the Sovereign and his great officers perform that part. The two religious orders of Fo and Taou, which are only tolerated, and not maintained, by the Government, derive support entirely from their own funds, or from voluntary private contributions. This remark must of course be confined to China; for in Mongol Tartary the Emperor finds it expedient to show more favour to the Lamas of the Budhist hierarchy, 1 Penal Code, sect. 415, on account of their influence over the people of those extensive regions. It is a striking circumstance that the Confucian persuasion should have continued supreme in China, though the conquerors of the country were not Confucians. The Emperor's principal ministers form the Nuy-ko, or " interior council-chamber," and the chief councillors are four in number, two Tartars and two Chinese, the former always taking precedence : they all bear the titles of Choong-t'hang and Ko-laou, written by the Jesuits Colao. Below these are a number of assessors, who, together with them, form the great council of state. The body whence these chief ministers are generally selected is the Imperial college, or National institute, of the Han-lin. If there is anything which can be called a hierarchy of the state religion (which we have already stated the government does not maintain in a special shape), it is this Han-lin. In his memoirs of Napoleon, Bourrienne relates a very character- istic trait : in the classification of his private library, the Emperor arranged the Bible under the head of political works. Just in the same spirit the Chinese government makes religion an engine, or rather a part, of political rule. The Sovereign is high- priest, and his ministers the members of the hierarchy ; and the sacred books of Confu- cius are studied and expounded by the Han- lin College, which in this respect is a species of Sorbonne. Besides the supreme council of the Emperor already mentioned, there is the Keun-ky-ta-chin, a body of privy-coun- cillors, for occasions when secrecy and despatch may be particularly required. The person called Duke Ho, in Lord Amherst's embassy, was one of these. The Loo-poo, or Six Boards, for the conduct of Government business in detail, are, 1. The Board of Otficial Appointments, which takes cognizance of the conduct of all civil officers; 2. The Board of Revenue, which regulates all fiscal matters; 3. The Board of Rites and Ceremonies; 4. The Military Board ; 5. The Supreme Court of Criminal Jurisdiction ; 6. The Board of Public Works. These have all subordinate offices under them ; for in- stance, the Astronomical Board is attached to the third, the ritual being regulated by the calendar. 104 THE CHINESE. The Lyfan-yuenmay be literally rendered by the " office for foreign aftairs." As it« name imports, it has charge of the external relations of the empire. One of the presidents was deputed to receive the British embassy in 1816, and they consist always of Manchow or Mongol Tartars, no Chinese ever being employed. A very peculiar feature of the Government is next observable in the Too- cha yuen, or office of Censors, of Avhich the members are generally styled Yu-she. There are two presidents, a Tartar and a Chinese, and the members consist in all of about forty or fifty, of which several are sent to various parts of the empire, as imperial inspectors, or perhaps, more properly speaking, spies. By the ancient custom of the empire they are privileged to present any advice or remon- strance to the Sovereign without danger of losing tlieir lives ; but they are frequently degraded or punished when their addresses are unpalatable. An example of the office, and the fate of one of these, occurs at the com- mencement of the romance of the " Fortunate Union," published by the Oriental Transla- tion Committee. A living examjile, how- ever, is conspicuous in Soong-ta-jin, the conductor of Lord Macartneys embassy, who, at a very advanced age, is in a state of ■what may be styled respectable disgrace, for the boldness and honesty with whicli he has always spoken out. The foregoing are the principal organs of the imperial Government at Peking. The pro- vinces are placed under the principal charge, either singly of a Fooyuen or Governor, or two provinces together are made subject to a Tsoong- to, or " general Governor,'* who has Fooyuens under him for each single province. Canton and Kuang-sy, adjoining, are together sub- ject to the Tsoong-to, commonly called the Viceroy of Canton. In each of these Go- vernments there is a chief criminal judge and a tieasurer, the latter having usuallj^ cog- nizance of civil suits, but his especial busi- ness being the charge of the territorial reve- nue. The salt department is sufficiently important to be under the particular manage- ment of the Yen-yun-sse, or ''^ salt mandarin," as he is called at Canton ; the Chinese Go- vernment, like so many others, having re- served to itself tlie monopoly of tliisnecessitry of life. The separate cities and districts of each province, in the three ranks of Foo, Chow, and Hien, are under the charge of their respective magistrates, who take their rank from the cities they govern. The total num- ber of civil magistrates throughout China is estimated at 14,000. The importance of the European trade at Canton has given rise to the special appointment there of the Hae- kuan or commissioner of the customs, who is called by Europeans Hoppo, a corruption of Hoo-poo, the Board of Revenue at Peking. He is generally some Tartar favourite of the Emperor, sent down to make his fortune by the foreign trade, and he generally contrives to do this rapidly, by squeezing the Hong merchants, over whom he has entire control. A red book (being literally one with a red cover), in six small volumes, is printed quarterly by authority, containing the name, birth-place, and other jjarticulars relating to every official person in the empire. No in- dividual can hold a magistracy in his own province ; and each public officer is changed periodically, to prevent growing connexions and liaisons with those under his government. A son, a brother, or any other very near rela- tion, cannot hold office under a correspond- ing relative. Once in three years the Vice- roy of each province forwards, to the Board of Civil Appointments, the name of every officer under his government down to a Hien's deputy, with remarks on their conduct and character, which have all been received from the immediate superiors of each; — a plan not unlike that which has lately been adopted in the civil government of British India. According to this report, every of- ficer is raised or degraded so many degrees. Each magistrate is obliged to state, in the catalogue of his titles, the immber of steps that he has been either raised or degraded. The offences of great officers are tried by imperial commissioners, specially appointed. Disturbances or rebellions in a province are never forgiven to a Governor or Viceroy. The Governor of Canton, who only one year before had obtained signal marks of the Emperor's favour, was ruined in 1832 by the rebellion or irruption of the mountaineers in the north-west, though he was quite innocent of any blame on the occasion. The relative degrees of civil and military INFERIORITY OF TROOPS. 105 officers are partly distinguished by the colour of the hall which they wear at the apex or point of their conical caps. These are red, light blue, dark blue, crystal, white stone, and gold ; and, with some modifications, they serve to distinguish what are called the " nine ranks." Each ball is accompanied by its corresponding badge, which is a piece of silk embroidery, about a foot square, with the representation of a bird, or other device, on both the breast and back of the ceremonial habit, together with a necklace of very large " court beads " descending to the waist. These mere outward decorations, however, are not infallible signs of the real rank of the wearer, for the bare permission to assume the dress, without any of the powers or privileges of an officer of government, may be pur- chased for a large sum of money. The only benefit derived is this, that, in case of a breach of the law,the individual cannot be punished on the spot, nor until he has been formally deprived of his ball, or button, a process which is not long in performing. Any Hong merchant at Canton who should have pur- chased leave to wear the blue ball on his cap may be cited to appear by a magistrate of the lowest grade, who wears only a gold or rather a gilt one, and, if really criminal, he may be deprived of his finery and punished with the bamboo like any unprivileged per- son. It may be considered as one proof of social advancement on the part of the Chinese, that the civil authority is generally superior to the military, and that letters always rank above arras, in spite even of the manner in which the Tartars obtained the empire. In this respect China may be said to have subdued her con- querors. A military mandarin of the highest grade may be often seen on loot when a civil officer of middling rank would be considered as degraded except in a chair with four bearers; the others are not allowed chairs, but may [Mandarin seated in a Sedan. — From Staunton,] ride. The present dynasty, as an encourage- ment to its army, established examinations, or rather trials, in the military art (as in riding and shooting with the bow), at which the candidates are ranked for promotion in three degrees like the civilians, though of course they can never come in competition with each other. The value which they at- tach to personal strength and dexterity in a commander, and the rank which the bow and arrow hold in their estimation, seem to prove clearly that the military art is not be- yond its infancy among the Chinese. All the military of the empire are under the management of their proper tribunal or board at Peking, the power of which, how- ever, is jealously checked by a dependence on some of the others ; as the Board of Revenue must supply the funds, and the Board of Public Works the materiel of the army. The trusty Tartar troops are ranged under the eight standards; viz., the yellow, white, red, and blue, together with each of these colours bordered by one of the others. The green flag distinguishes the Chinese troops. Each of the Tartar standards is said to consist of 10,000 men, making a standing army of 80,000. There is. besides, the local militia 106 THE CHINESE. spread through the provinces ; but this, from all that has been observed of it, is such a ragged and undisciplined rout, as to be fit for little more than the purposes of a police. Including this militia, the whole number receiving pay throughout the empire has been estimated at 700,000, of which by far the largest portion are fixed to their native districts, cultivating the land, or following some other private pursuit. This circumstance in a peaceful countr)'^ makes the profession of a militia-man an object of solicitation, as it provides something over and above a man's ordinary means. How ill-calculated it must be to produce efficient soldiers need scarcely be argued. The reasons adduced by Adam Smith, in his third volume, to prove the superiority of the militia of a barbarous nation over that of a civilized one, are quite conclu- sive on the subject, and best illustrated by the conquest of this very country by the Manchows, a mere maniple of a nation. The missionaries themselves, quoted by Du Halde, Avho were much more accustomed to magnify than diminish the merit of any- thing Chinese, seemed to be aware of the inferiority of these troops as soldiers. " They are not comparable," it is observed, "to our troops in Europe for either courage or disci- pline, and they are easily disordered and put to the rout. Besides that the Chinese are naturally effeminate, and the Tartars are almost become Chinese, the profound peace they have enjoyed does not give them occa- sion to become warlike." Several circum- stances conduce to prevent China from deriving such advantages as she might, to her military power, from the actual amount of her opulence and population. First, that pride and conceit, which is a bar to all im- provement in the arts, and, among the rest, the art of war. Secondly, that jealousy of the Chinese population, which prevents the Tartar goverrmient from making of it such efficient troops as it might. Thirdly, that overwhelming superiority which the empii-e possesses over the petty and barbarous states on its frontiers; and which, in having pre- vented aggressions on it, has precluded the practice and experience so necessary to make good soldiers. The long aiid successful resistance of the Meaou-tse, a race of barbarians in the moun- tainous parts of the interior of China itself, and their independence at the present time, attest the weakness of Chinese military re- sources, and the very moderate efficiency of troops, which are seldom employed in any- thing more formidable than the suppression of a revolt in some starving province, and thus engaged, as it were, in fighting with shadows. The Canton troops in 1832 were defeated by the mountaineers on the borders, and in fact proved utterly worthless from the general use of opium, and the absence of practice and discipline. This on land : but their navy is even worse. The long and successful career of the Ladrones, or pirates, in the vicinity of Canton, who were, after all, subdued only by the honoi/rs conferred on their chief as the price of his submission, is sufficient evidence on this point. The abuses and malversation, on the part of military officers intrusted with funds for the provision of soldiers, appear to be fre- quent: and there is reason to suppose that some of the assumed militia of China are little better than men of straw, whose allotted funds are misapplied, if not after the example, yet in the manner, of that eminent commander Sir John Falstafl". It must have been to some such system that our embassy in 1816 was indebted for the ludicrous scenes exhibited in its progress. The emperor's edicts ordained that the troops should wear "'an imposing aspect;" but, on approaching a town or station, numbers of fellows might be seen scouring along the banks of the river, laden with jackets and accoutrements, which were clapped on the backs of those who had been pressed for the occasion, and who betrayed, from under their assumed habiliments, the primitive dirt and rags of their condition. Very few mounted soldiers were seen by either of our embassies, and, whatever may be their actual amount, they are said to be nearlj^ all Tartars. A great difference seems to exist between the pay of Tartars and Chinese. One of the former, being a foot-soldier, is allowed two taiels per month, or about five- pence a day. with an allowance of rice ; one of the latter, only one tael and six-tenths, without the rice. The reasons for this differ- ence may be the following : — First, that the WEAPONS or THE CHINESE. 107 Tartar in China belongs to a standing army, at a distance from his home, and dependent solely on his profession: while the other is commonly, if not always, a militia-man, carrying on his own occupations when off duty. Secondly, some allowance may be made for the national partiality of the govern- ing power, and the necessity of attaching its confidential servants by liberality. The most common uniform of the military is a jacket of blue turned up with red, or red bordered with white, over a long petticoat of blue. The cap is either of rattan or strips of bamboo painted, being in a conical shape, and well suited to ward off a blow ; though on some occasions they wear a cap of cloth and silk, similar to tliat of the mandarins, without the ball or button at the top. Some few are defended by a clumsy-looking quilted armour, of cloth studded with metal buttons, which descends in a long petticoat, and gives the wearer the appearance of one who could neither fight nor fly. The helmet is of iron, in the shape of an inverted funnel, having a point at the top, to which is attached a bunch of silk or horse-hair. The principal arms of the cavalry are bows and arrows, the bow being of elastic wood and horn combined, with a string of silk strongly twisted and wrought. The strength of their bows is estimated by the weight re- quired to bend them, varying from about eighty pounds to a hundred weight. The string, in shooting, is held behind an agate or stone ring on the right thumb, the first joint of which is bent forward and confined by the middle joint of the fore-finger being pressed upon it. Their swords are generally ill-made, and their match-locks considered by them as inferior weapons to the bow and arrow, which they may perhaps be, consider- ing their appearance and make. Some are provided with shields, constructed of rattan turned spirally round a centre. With regard to the use of artillery, Du Halde observes, with apparent reason, that, [Chinese Sliield. — Fioir. an Original Drawinjj in the India House.] 108 THE CHINESE. " though the laller images in clay, for which they scramble. This ceremony bears I some resemblance to the procession of the ■ bull Apis in ancient Egypt, which was con- I nected in like manner with the labours of ; agriculture, and the hopes of an abundant I season. j The Emperor himself, at about the same ' period of the year, honours the profession of i husbandry by going through the ceremony of j holding the })lough. Accompanied by some I Princes of the blood, and a selection of the I principal ministers, he proceeds to a field set I apart for the purpose, in the enclosure which surrounds the Temple of the Earth, wliere everything has been duly prepared by regular husbandmen in attendance. After certain sacrifices, consisting of grain which has been preserved from the produce of the same field, the Emperor ploughs a ii^vf furrows, after which he is followed by the Princes and ministers in order. The " five sorts of grain*' are then sown, and, when the Emperor has viewed the completion of the work by the husbandmen present, the field is committed to the charge of an officer, whose business it is to collect and store the produce for sacrifices. The same countenance and example which the Emperor affords in person to the produc- tion of the principal materials of food, is given by the Empress to the cultivation of the mulberry and the rearing of silkworms, the sources whence they derive their chief sub- stance for clothing, and the care of which for the most part comes under the female depart- ment. In the ninth moon, the Empress pro- ceeds with her principal ladies to sacrifice at tlie altar of the inventor of the silk manu- facture ; and when that ceremony is con- FESTIVALS. 141 eluded, they collect a quantity of the mul- berry-leaves, which are devoted to the nourishment of the imperial depot of silk- worms. Various other processes connected with the same business are gone through, as heating the cocoons in water, winding oft" the filament, &c. ; and so the ceremony concludes. Of the sixteen " Sacred edicts"' addressed to the people, the fourth relates exclusively to the two foregoing subjects. — '' Attend (it is said) to your farms and mulberry-trees, that you may have suflicient food and clothing;" and they are reminded that, although only four of the provinces (all of them cut by the 30th parallel of latitude) produce silk in per- fection, yet there are the equally useful materials, elsewhere, of hemp and cotton. " Thus different are the sources whence clothing is procured ; but the duty of per- paring it, as exemplified in the cultivation of the mulberry-tree, is one and tlie same." One of the Emperors of the present dynasty caused a work to be published expressly in illustration of the two great departments of native industry. It is styled Keng-che Too, '• Illustrations of Husbandry and Weaving," and consists of numerous wood-cuts, repre- senting the various processes in the produc- tion of rice and silk, with letter-press descrip- tions. Tlie great preference which the rulers of China give to such kinds of industry over the pursuits of commerce, but especially foreign commerce, would seem to be dictated by a sentiment analogous to that which is conveyed in four of Goldsmith"s lines : — " Tliat trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay. As ocean sweeps the labour' d mole away ; ^Vllile self-dependent states can time defy, As rocks resist the billows and the sky."' The principal public festivals of China that remain to be noticed are not numerous. The fifth day of the fifth moon, which usually occurs in June, is celebrated in a way which cannot fail to excite the attention of a visitor to Canton. "\'ery long, narrow boats, built for the purpose, are manned by forty to sixty, and sometimes eighty men with paddles, who keep time to the beat of a gong, with which one of the crew stands up in the boat. These race against each other on the rivers with great heat and emulation, and accidents frequently occur from the upsetting or break- ing of the '• dragon-boats," as they are called from their great length. This constitutes one of the few athletic diversions of the Chinese. On the first day of the seventh moon, or some time in the month of August, they have a festival for the benefit of their departed relatives in the world of spirits. It is not a domestic celebration, however, but a public one : large mat houses are erected, ornamented with lanterns and chandeliers, in which are placed images of the infernal deities, including Yen IVang, the Chinese Pluto. Priests of the 142 THE CHINESE, Budh sect are engaged to chant masses for the dead, offerings of food are presented, and large quantities of paper representing clothes are burned, in order that they may pass into the other world for the use of the departed. On these occasions may be seen representa- tions of the future state of the Budhists, with the torments of the damned, and the various gradations of misery and happiness in the life to come. These celebrations being calcu- lated to bring large numbers together, appear to consist in a great measure of feasting and entertainment; and they are said to have arisen from some tradition of a young man who went down to the nether world to bring back, not his wife, but (what is much more suitable to Chinese sentiment) his mother. According to the story, this Asiatic Orpheus was more successful than the Thracian. We proceed now to their ordinary usages in social intercourse. The importance which the Chinese attach to ceremonies might per- haps be supposed to produce in them a con- strained stiffness and formality of manner; but, notwithstanding the apparent incum- brance of ceremony prescribed on solemn occasions, our embassies have proved that persons of high authority and station are distinguished generally in their address by a dignified simplicity and ease. This does not, however, prevent their laying a great stress on precedence, especially on public occasions, where the spectators are numerous ; and in the case of foreign embassies they will always do their utmost to maintain (as they think) the superiority of their own court by placing themselves before their guests. The follow- ing extract, from Sir George Staunton's un- published journal of the last embassy, is in point : — " A message had come from the legate to say, that, as the passage of the next sluice on the canal was attended with some risk, the ambassador had better go on shore, and that he should be ready to receive his lord- ship in a tent on the following morning. To this it was returned for answer, that, if it was proposed to meet on any particular business, the ambassador would attend; but that other- wise he begged to decline it, having observed that the legate always assumed the highest seat, although in his visits to the ambassador the first place had invariably been given to him. Kuang Taj in replied by saying, that he did this merely because his situation obliged him : word was accordingly sent that his Excellency would be glad to meet the Poo-ching-sse, or treasurer, whose station did not oblige him to assume the highest seat. In the morning, after breakfast, three chairs arrived for the ambassador and commission- ers, and on their way they crossed the sluice, which was to be passed by their boats, over a temporary range of boards. Immediately on the other side stood the tent, a neat struc- ture of coloured cloth in stripes, which we were requested by the attendants to enter, and take our seats. The legate, attended by the treasurer, soon came in, and, after conversing for a short time on their legs, the ambassador requested that Kuang-Tajin would sit down, saying he would wave all claims as a guest to the first place. The legate upon this pro- ceeded to the first seat, and the treasurer, without the least ceremony, walked towards the second. On this the ambassador desired it might be intimated, that, though he was ready to yield to the one, he would not consent to sit below the other ; and the treasm-er, rather than take the third place, marched out of the tent." This incivility to Europeans is the more unpardonable, as among themselves it is the rule in general, during visits, to contend for the lowest seat, and they would be heartily ashamed of the opposite ill-breeding towards each other; but they view strangers as an inferior caste altogether. Their arm-chairs are always ranged in regular order, and, being very bulky and solid, like our old-fashioned seats of former times, they are not easily re- moved. In Chinese apartments there is placed a broad couch, in size approaching to a bed, called a kung. On the middle of this is planted a little table about a foot in height, intended to rest the arm, or place tea-cups upon. On either side of this little table, on the couch, sit the two principal persons, fronting the entrance ; and from the ends of the couch, at right angles to it, descend two rows of arm-chairs for the other guests, who sit nearest to the couch according to their rank.^ When any one proceeds in his chair to pay 1 Morrison's Jourual, 1816. DIPLOMATIC FORMS. 143 a visit, his attendants present his ticket at the gate, consisting of his name and titles written down the middle of a folded sheet of red paper, ornamented with gold leaf; and there is sometimes enough paper in these, when opened out like a screen, to extend across a room. If the visitor is in mourning, his ticket is white, with blue letters. According to the relative rank of the parties, the person visited comes out a greater or less distance to receive his guest, and, when they meet, their genu- flexions, and endeavours to prevent the same, are also according to rule. These matters are all so well understood by those who are bred up to them, that they occasion no em- barrassment whatever to the Chinese. The ordinary salutation among equals is to join the closed hands, and lift them two or three times towards the head, saying, Haou — tsing, tsiiig ; that is, "• Ai-e you Avell? — Hail, hail!"' Hence is derived, we believe, the Canton jargon of chin-chin. Soon after being seated, the attendants in- variably enter with porcelain cups furnished with covers, in each of which, on removing the little saucer by which it is surmounted, appears a small quantity of fine tea-leaves, on which boiling water has been poured ; and thus it is that they drink the infusion, without the addition of either sugar or milk. The delicate aroma of fine tea is no doubt more clearly distinguished in this mode of taking it, and a little habit leads many Europeans in China to relish the custom. Though the infusion is generally made in the cup, they occasionally use tea-pots of antique and tasteful shapes, which are not uufrequently made of tutenague externally, covering earth- enware on the inside. At visits, a circular japanned tray is frequently brought in, having numerous compartments radiating from the centre, in which are a variety of sweetmeats or dried fruits. These are taken up with a small t\vo-pronged fork of silver. On the conclusion of a visit the host conducts his guest, if he wishes to do him high honour, even to his sedan, and there remains imtil he is carried off; but on ordinary occasions it is deemed sufficient to go as far as the top of the stone steps, if there are any, or merely to the door of the apartment. Only mandarins, or official persons, can be canied by four bearers, or accompanied by a train of attendants : these are marshalled in two files before the chair. One pair of the myrmidons carry gongs, on which they strike at regular intervals : another pair utter, like- wise at intervals, a long-drawn shout, or rather yell, to denote the approach of the great man ; a third pair carry chains, which they jingle in concert, being in fact gaolers or executioners, with high caps of iron wire, in which is stuck a grey feather. Then come two fellows with the usual bamboo, or basti- nade; and the cortege is made up by the servants and other followers, some of whom [Teacups on Stands.] 144 THE CHINESE. carry red umbrellas of dignity, others large red boards, on which are inscribed in gilt characters the officer's titles. The populace ■who meet such a procession are not to denote their respect in any other way than by stand- ing aside, with their arms hanging close to their sides, and their eyes on the ground. It is only when called, or taken before a tribu- nal, that they are obliged to kneel ; and these are occasions which most Chinese are not very willing to seek. English residents at Canton have occasion- ally had opportunities of taking a part in the formal dinners of the Chinese ; but few have witnessed a solemn feast conferred by the Emperor, which may be described from the authors unpublished journal of the last em- bassy. " The ambassador infomied tlie gen- tlemen of his suite that he was going to per- form the same salutation of respect, before the yellow screen, that he was accustomed to make to the vacant throne of his Sovereign in the House of Lords, We were directed to keep our eyes on him. and do exactly as he did. A low, solemn hymn of not unpleasing melody now commenced, and at the voice of a crier, the two imperial legates fell prostrate three times, and each time thrice struck the floor with their foreheads; a cranio- verbera- tive sound being audible amidst the deep silence which prevailed around. The am- bassador and his suite, standing up in the mean while, made nine profound bows. Thus far we had got very well over the ground, without doing that which no representatives of Chinese majesty ever condescended to do to a foreigner, until Genghis Khan first made them. They here conceded to vis the point on which they broke off with Count Golovkin, the Russian ambassador, though they yielded it to Lord ■Macartney. When the ceremony was over, the feast Avas brought in, and the theatrical entertain- ments commenced. The legates sat to the left, on an elevation of one step; and the ambassador and two commissioners on the same elevation to the right. The other Chinese grandees sat on the left, a little below the legates ; and the gentlemen of the embassy to the right, below his lord- sliip and the commissioners. The two lines thus faced each other down the room. As no chairs can be used where the Emperor is present, or supposed to be so, the whole party sat cross-legged on cushions, with sar- torial precision ; but the mandarins, being bred to the trade, of course had the advantage of us. Tlie tables were low in proportion, and, when we were all seated, a number of attendants placed on each table, holding only two guests, a large tray which fitted it, and contained a complete course, of which four in all were served. The first consisted of a rich soup ; the second of sixteen round and narrow dishes, containing salted meats and other relishes; the third of eight basins of birds- nests, sharks'-fins, deer-sinews, and other viands supposed to be highly nourishing; the fourth of twelve bowls of stews immersed in a rich soup. The guests helped themselves with chopsticks, small spoons of porcelain foshioned like a child's pap-boat, and four- pronged forks of silver, small and straight; and, when they drank to each other, the warm wine was poured into little cups by the attend- ants, who at the same time bent one knee. At the other end of the hall where we sat, so as to be viewed by each person from his place down the two ranges of tables, proceeded the stage performances. The music was in- fernal, and the occasional crash of gongs might have roused Satan and his legions from their sleep on the sulphureous lake. Some pyrotechnic monsters, breathing fire and smoke, were among the dramatis per- sonse ; but by far the best part of the scene was the tumbling, — really superior in its kind. The strength and activity of one man were particularly eminent. Leaping from the ground, he performed a tumble in the air backwards, and, after the first etlbrt, con- tinued to revolve in this manner with such velocity, that his head and feet, the extiemi- ties of revolution, were scarcely discernible."" An invitation to a private feast is conveyed some days before, by a crimson-coloured ticket, on which is inscribed the time ap- pointed, and the guest is entreated to bestow "the illumination of his presence." The arrangement of the tables is the same as at the imperial entertainment, but they are of the ordinary height, and the party are seated on chairs, two at each table, so as to see the performances on the stage. The 7natJnel of DINNER. 145 the dinner is much the same as before de- scribed; but, previous to its commencement, the host, standing up, drinks to his guests, and then invites them to begin upon the dishes before them. At a certain period of the entertainment, towards the close, the whole party rise at once, and drink to their host. Before the dramatic performance begins, one of the actors presents to the principal guest a list of plays, consisting perhaps of fifty or sixty diflerent pieces ; but they have these so well by lieart that they are ready to perform any one he may select. There is no scenery, and in this respect a great deal is left to the imagination of the spectators. The dresses, however, are extremely splendid, especially in heroical pieces, consisting of representa- tions of difterent portions of their ancient history. The most objectionable part is the terrible din kept up by the instruments of music and the gongs, during those portions of the play which represent battles and tra- gical scenes. The females of the household, meanwhile, who cannot take a part in the festivities of the table, look on from behind a trellis-work at one of the sides of the stage, with such of their friends of the same sex as may be in- vited on the occasion. A particular descrip- tion of the Chinese drama will be given in its proper place ; but we may observe here, that dancing is a thing almost entirely unknown to them, either on or ofl' the stage. On one occasion, indeed, in the interval or space between the ranges of tables, we saw two children, showily dressed, go through a species of minuet, consisting of a regular figure to slow time, accompanied by a motion of the arms and head, not ungraceful in effect. A formal dinner, which begins about six o'clock in the evening, is generally protracted to a great length, the succession of dishes, or rather bowls, which follow each other appear- ing sometimes to be interminable. So little, however, is eaten of each, that the guests often continue tasting the contents of one after another until the very end. There seems to be little regularity in the timing of the dif- ferent viands, but after the birds'-nest soup (which is, in fact, a strong chicken-broth, in which that substance is introduced in long strips, after the manner of vermicelli) the peculiar delicacies which have already been mentioned, together with mutton, fish, game, and poultry, follow indiscriminately. The signal of the repast approaching its termina- tion is the appearance of a bowl of rice for each person, and this is followed soon after by tea, in lieu of the wine. The whole is crowned by a course of fruits and sweetmeats, very much in the manner of our dessert. The greater portion of cups, bowls, and saucers (for they have no flat plates of their own), which constitute the dinner service, con- sist of fine porcelain ; but occasionally a few particular meats are served in silver or tuten- ague covers, underwhich is a spirit-lamp tojkeep them hot. The wine-cups, too, are sometimes of silver gilt, and of rather elegant vase-like shapes. The extreme smallness of these cups, joined to the weakness of the wine, which is always drunk warm, enables them to take a great number without being in the least affected, or at all exceeding the bounds of sobriety. On some occasions of peculiar ceremony, the feast is closed by a great cup scooped from the horn of the rhinoceros, which animal is said to exist in the forests of Yunnan and Kuang-sy. We find in the works of Arabian writers that the same substance has often been used for the drink- ing-cups of Asiatic potentates, being sup- posed to sweat on the approach of poison, and therefore to be a safeguard against it. When the Mongols conquered the empire, they probably introduced its use into China. The following description of a Chinese dinner, from the pen of our friend Cap'^aiu Laplace of the French navy, although rather a long extract, is given with so much of the characteristic vivacity of his countiymen, and so well conveys the first impression of a scene not often witnessed by Europeans, that it is introduced without further apology. '•' The first course was laid out in a great number of saucers of painted porcelain, and consisted of various relishes in a cold state, as salted earth-worms, prepared and dried, but so cut up that I fortunately did not know what thay were until I had swallowed them ; salted or smoked fish, and ham, both of them cut into exti-emely small slices; besides which, there was what they called Japan leather, a sort of darkish skin, hard and 146 THE CHINESE. tough, with a strong and far from agreeable taste, and which seemed to have been mace- rated for some time in water. All these et-cseteras, including among the number a liquor which I recognised to be soy, made from a Japan bean, and long since adopted by the wine-drinkers of Europe to revive their faded appetites or tastes, were used as seasoning to a great number of stews which were contained in bowls, and succeeded each other uninterruptedly. All the dishes with- out exception swam in soup. On one side figured pigeons' eggs, cooked in gravy, together with ducks and fowls cut very small, and immersed in a dark-coloured sauce ; on the other, little balls made of sharks' fins, eggs prepared by heat, of which both the smell and taste seemed to us equally repulsive, immense grubs, a peculiar kind of sea-fish, crabs, and pounded shrimps. Seated at the right of our excellent Am- phitryon, I was the object of his whole attention, but nevertheless found myself considerably at a loss how to use the two little ivor)'- sticks, tipped with silver, which, together with a knife that had a long, narrow, and thin blade, formed the whole of my eating apparatus. I had great difficulty in seizing my prey in the midst of those several bowls filled with gravy : in vain I tried to hold, in imitation of my host, this substitute for a fork between the thumb and the two first fingers of the right hand ; for the cursed chop- sticks slipped aside every moment, leaving behind them the unhappy little morsel which I coveted. It is true that the master of the house came to the relief of my inexperience (by which he was much enter- tained) with his two instruments, the extre- mities of which, a few moments before, had touched a mouth, whence age, and the use of snuff and tobacco, had cruelly chased its good looks. I could very well have dis- pensed with such an auxiliary, for my stomach had already much ado to support the various ragouts, each one more surprising than another, which I had been obliged, nolens volens, to taste of. However, I contrived to eat with tolerable propriety a soup prepared with tlie famous bird"s-nests, in which the Chinese are such epicures. The substance thus served up is reduced into very thin filaments, trans- parent as isinglass, and resembling vermicelli, with little or no taste. ^ At first 1 was much puzzled to find out how, with our chop-sticks. ^ It is generally accompanied with pigeons' eggs, boiled hard, and eaten with soy. [Rice bowl and Chop sticks.] DINNEUS. 147 we should be able to taste of the various soups which composed the greater part of the dinner, and had already called to mind the fable of the fox and the stork, when our two Chinese entertainers, dipping at once into the bowls with the little saucer, placed at the side of each guest, showed us how to get rid of the difficulty." We confess we were never witness to this slovenly manoeuvre, as the Chinese tables are generally supplied with a species of spoon, of silver or porcelain, suf- ficiently convenient in shape. To the younger guests, naturally lively, such a crowd of novelties presented an inex- haustible fund of pleasantry, and, though unintelligible to the worthy Hong merchant and his brother, the jokes seemed to delight them not a bit the less. The wine in the mean while circulated freely, and the toasts followed each other in rapid succession. This liquor, which to my taste was by no means agreeable, is always taken hot ; and in this state it approaches pretty nearly to Madeira in colour, as well as a little in taste ; but it is not easy to get tipsy with it, for, in spite of the necessity of frequently attending to the invitations of my host, this wine did not in the least affect my head. We drank it in little gilt cups, having the shape of an antique vase, with two handles of perfect workman- ship, and kept constantly filled by attendants holding large silver vessels like cofiee-pots. The Chinese mode of pledging is singular enough, but has at the same time some little resemblance to the English. The person •who wishes to do this courtesy to one or more guests gives them notice by an attendant; then, taking the ftdl cup with both hands, he lifts it to the level of his mouth, and, after making a comical sign with his head, he drinks oft' the contents ; he waits until the other party has done the same, and finally repeats the first nod of the head, holding the cup downwards before him, to show it is quite empty. After all these good things, served one upon the other, and of which it gave me pleasure to see the last, succeeded the second course, which was preceded by a little ceremony, of which the object seemed to me to be a trial of the guests" appetites. Upon the edges of four bowls, arranged in a square, three others were placed filled with stews, and surmounted by an eighth, which thus formed the summit of a pyramid; and the custom is to touch none of these, although invited by the host. On the refusal of the party, the whole disappeared, and the table was covered with articles in pastry and sugar, in the midst of \vhich weis a salad composed of the tender shoots of the bamboo, and some watery preparations that exhaled a most disagreeable odour. Up to this point the relishes, of which I first spoke, had been the sole accompani- ments of all the successive ragouts: they still served to season the bowls of plain rice, which the attendants now ^ for the first time placed before each of the guests. I regarded with an air of considerable embarrassment the two little sticks, with which, notwith- standing the experience acquired since the commencement of the repast, it seemed very doubtful whether I should be able to eat my rice grain by grain, according to the belief of Europeans regarding the Chinese custom. I therefore waited until my host should begin, to follow his example, foreseeing that, on this new occasion, some fresh discovery would serse to relieve us from the truly ludicrous embarrassment which we all displayed : in a word, our two Chinese, cleverly joining the ends of their chop-sticks, plunged them into the bowls of rice, held up to the mouth, which was opened to its full extent, and thus easily shovelled in the rice, not by grains, but by handfuls. Thus instructed, I might have followed their example ; but I preferred making up with the other delicacies for the few attractions which, to my taste, had been displayed by the first course. The second lasted a much shorter time : the attendants cleared away everything. Presently the table was strewed with flowers, which vied with each other in brilliancy ; pretty baskets, filled with the same, were mixed with plates which contained a vast variety of delicious sweetmeats as well as cakes, of which the forms were as ingenious as they were varied. This display of the productions of nature and 1 It must be remembered that this was a formal dinner. Rice forms a much more integral part of an every-day meal. . L 2/ 148 THE CHINESE. of art was equally agreeable to the eyes and the tastes of the guests : by the side of the yel- low plantain was seen the litchi, of which the strong, rough, and bright crimson skin de- fends a stone enveloped in a whitish pulp, which for its fine aromatic taste is superior to most of the tropical fruits. Indigenous to the provinces which border on the Chinese sea, the newly-gathered litchi presents to the inh,abitants a wholesome and delicious food ^ during the summer, and forms, when dried, an excellent provision for the winter. With these fruits of the wamn climates were mingled those of the temperate zone, brought at some expense from the northern provinces ; as Aval- nuts, chesnuts, (small and inferior to those of France,) apples, grapes, and Peking pears, which last, though their lively colour and pleasant smell attracted the attention, proved to be tasteless, and even retained all the harshness of wild fruits. The conversation, frequently interrupted during the commence- ment of the repast, in order to do honour to the numerous pledges of our host, and to all the wonders of tlje Chinese kitchen assembled before us, became now general, and suf- ficiently noisy. My neighbour, especially, little accustomed to such lively mirth, was quite enchanted, and displayed his satis- faction by loud laughs, to which was perpe- tually joined the sonorous accompaniment of his somewhat overloaded stomach. Accord- ing to the received usages of Chinese fashion, I ought to have followed this example, in testimony of a more than satisfied appetite, but my wish to gratify our excellent Amphi- tryon would not carry me quite so far. This custom, which in France would seem more than extraordinary, was, however, nothing new to myself, for I liad already remarked it in the best societies at Manilla, Need I then to be surprised on finding the Chinese so little nice in their convivial habits when our near neighbours the Spaniards have not yet cast oft' this remnant of the grossness of the olden time ?"' This disagreeable custom would seem to be tolerated all over Asia, where it is con- sidered as much a matter of course as cough- • Tliis is a verj- heating fruit, and kno^^Ti to be dangerous if taken in large quantities. ing or sneezing. The curious part of the history is, that any ideas of civility or pnhte- jiess should be attached to that which in England or France would be so difterently received. " At length," adds our author, " we adjourned to the next room to take tea, — the indispensable commencement and close of all visits and ceremonies among the Chinese. According to custom, the servants jjresented it in porcelain cups, each of which was covered with a saucer-like top, which confines and prevents the aroma from evapo- rating. The boiling water had been poured over a few of the leaves, collected at the bot- tom of the cup ; and the infusion, to which no sugar is ever added in China, exhaled a delicious fragrant odour, of which the best teas carried to Europe can scarcely give an idea." It is remarkable that the grape, although abundant, it not used in this country for the production of wine, which is fermented from rice, but nevertheless resembles some of our weaker white wines both in colour and flavour. The rice is soaked in water, with some other ingredients, for a considerable number of days. The liquor is then boiled, after which it is allowed to ferment, and subsequently drawn oft* clear from the bottom, to be put up in earthern jars, not unlike the amphorae of the ancients still remaining to us. The residue is used in the distillation of a very strong spirit, little inferior in strength to pure alcohol, which they sometimes introduce in an extremely small cup at the close of their dinners. When good, it resembles strong whisky, both in its colourless appearance and its smoky flavour. The Tartars are said still to preserve a remnant of their pastoral state, in their predilection for a strong liquor which is distilled from mutton. One of the soups, too, presented at the imperial feast conferred on the last British embassy at Tien-tsin, was said to be composed of mare's milk and blood ! The Chinese are little addicted to drinkhig plain water, which in a considerable portion of the country is extremely bad. On the Peking river, several of the persons in the em- bassies suftered severely from its use, by which tliey were afflicted with dysenteries and other unpleasant symptoms. It was FOOD AND DRINK. 149 generally of a milky colour, and though cleared in some measure by being stirred with a bamboo, in the cleft of which a piece of alum had been stuck as a precipi- tate, it always retained a portion of its noxious qualities. It may fairly be sur- mised that the badness of the water occa- sioned the first introduction, and subsequently the universal use, of tea as an article of drink. Notwithstanding their general repugnance to eating and drinking what is cold, none under- stand better than the Chinese of the north the use of ice during hot weather. Near to Peking, in the month of August, and when the thermometer stood above SO**, we con- stantly saw people carrying about supplies of this article of luxury. Two large lumps, whose solid thickness proved the lowness of the temperature which produced them, were suspended in shallow baskets at opposite ends of a pole, carried across the shoulders. Every vender of fruit at a stall either sold it in lumps, or used it in cooling his goods ; and the embassy was liberally supplied with ice for cooling wine. The mode of preserving it through the summer is the usual one, of depositing the ice at a suf- ficient depth in the ground, surrounding it with straw or other non-conducting sub- stance, and draining off the wet. The Chinese cookery has a much nearer resemblance to the French than the English, in the general use of ragouts and made- dishes, rather than plain articles of diet, as well as in the liberal introduction of vege- tables into every preparation of meat. The expenses of the wealthy, as might be ex- pected, run very much in the direction of sensual pleasures, among which the gastrono- mic hold a conspicuous place. Some of the articles, however, which they esteem as delicacies would have few attractions for a European. Among others the larvae of the sphinxmoth, as well as a grub which is bred in the sugar-cane, are much relished. Their dishes are frequently cooked with the oil extracted from the ricinus, which yields the castor-oil of medicine ; but as it is used by them in the fresh state, and with some peculiar preparation, it has neither the strong detergent properties nor the detestable taste by which this oil is known in Europe. The general prevalence of Budhism among the population is perhaps one of the reasons that beef is scarcely ever used by them; though the multitudes of bullocks killed annually, for the use of the European ship- ping, prove that their religious scruples can- not be very strong. It must, however, be observed, that some absurd prejudices and maxims, not to say positive laws, have always existed against an extended consump- tion of flesh food. There are, accordingly, no people in the world that consume so little butcher's meat, or so much fish and vege- tables. The rivers and coasts of this country are profusely productive of fish, and the people exercise the greatest ingenuity in catching them. Carp and mullet were ob- served by the last embassy in all the towns bordering on the route from Peking, It would be a mistake to suppose that the ex- tension of cultivation had rendered game scarce. There are abundance of wooded hills and mountains, as well as lakes, about which wild fowl, pheasants, red-legged partridges, and snipes, are plentiful. Wild geese are seen on the Canton river during winter in large flocks, as well as teal and wild ducks ; and the woodcock is sometimes, though rarely, to be procured. The most universal vegetable food in the empire, next to rice, is the Pe-tsae, a species of brassica, Avhich derives i(s name (white cabbage) from being partially blanched, as celery is with us. By our embassies it was frequently used as a salad, and when fresh, is little inferior to lettuce, which it greatly resembles as a plant, Tlie most celebrated place for its production is the neighbourhood of Tien-tsin, where the soil is a loose, sandy alluvium. From thence it is conveyed, either in the fresh state or salted, to all parts of the country. They are said to pre- serve it fresh, either by planting in wet sand, or by burying it deep in the ground ; and it is a popular remark, that the nine gates of Peking are blocked during the autumnal season with the vehicles bringing in the pe-tsae. Besides this vegetable, the northern provinces consume millet and tjie oil of sesamum, as general articles of diet. Many of the cottagers were observed to possess the means of independent support, in the patches 150 THE CHINESE. of cultivation which surrounded their huts, being supplied in many cases with a small ,and simple mill, worked by an ass, for the expression of the sesamum oil. The vege- table oils which are used to the southward are obtained from the Cainellia oleifera, and the Arachis hypogcea. as well as the Ricinus. As the embassies approached the south, the most common vegetables in use appeared to be the Sokminn melongena, several species of gourds and cucumbers, the sweet potato, and one or two species of kidney-bean, of which in some cases they boil the young plants. Peas, too, which were introduced by the Dutch factory for their own use, appear sometimes at Chinese dimiers in stews, being generally eaten in the pod, while this is young and tender. Near Macao the potato has become very common, but it does not spread so rapidly as might have been expected; for, after twent)-^ years since its first introduction, this vegetable is far from being either plentiful or cheap at Canton, only eighty miles distant from the former place. Nothing, indeed, will ever supersede rice as the staple article of diet among the Chinese populace, whose predilection for it may be gathered from what Mr. Gutzlaft" says in his journal : " Rice being very cheap in Siam, every (Chinese) sailor had provided a bag or two as a present to his family. In fact, the chief thing tliey wish and work for is rice : their domestic accounts are en- tirely regulated by the quantity of rice con- sumed ; their meals according to the number of bowls of it boiled ; and their exertions ac- cording to the quantity wanted. Every sub- stitute for this favoritue food is considered meagre, and indicative of the greatest wretch- edness. When they cannot obtain a suf- ficient quantity to satisfy their appetites, they supply the deficiency with an equal weight of water. ^ Inquiring whether the western barbarians eat rice, and finding me slow to give them an answer, they exclaimed, ' Oh ! the sterile regions of barbarians, which pro- duce not the necessaries of life. Strange that the inhabitants have not long ago died of hunger!" I endeavoured to show them that we had substitutes for rice which were equal , ' Makiug a sort of gniel of the rice. if not superior, to it ; but all to no purpose ; and they still maintained that it is rice only which can properly sustain the life of a human being." If the rich should appear to be fantastic in the selection of their diet, the poor are no less indiscriminate in the supply of theirs. They will, in fact, eat nearly every- thing that comes in their way; and, with one-half of the prejudices of the Hindoos, a large portion of the Chinese population would perish with hunger. They make no dif- ficulty whatever of dogs, cats, and even rats; and indeed the first of these are enu- merated as a regular article of food in one of their ancient books. Among the rich them- selves, a wild cat, previously prepared by feeding, is reckoned a delicacy. Chinese dogs are said to have a particular aversion for butchers, in consequence, no doubt, of the violation of those personal exemptions and privileges which the canine race are allowed to enjoy almost everywhere else. As might be expected from the economical habits of the people, that great save-all, the pig, is universally reared about cottages, and its flesh is by far the commonest meat : the maxim is, " that a scholar does not quit his books, nor the poor man his pigs."' If it be ti-ue that the frequent use of pork produces or predisposes to leprosy, (" ctti id animal obnoxium," says Tacitvis), the Chinese would go far to corroborate the ti-uth of the ob- servation, being very subject to that, as well as other cutaneous afi'ections; but it must be remarked, at the same time, that their foul- feeding is universal. They contrive to rear ducks very cheaply, by making them hunt for their own food. Large quantities of the eggs are hatched artificially, and the ducks brought up by thousands in peculiar boats, where their lodging is constructed upon broad platfonns, extending far beyond the sides of the boat. In this manner they are conveyed to difterent parts of the rivers, and turned out to seek their food upon the muddy banks and shoals. So well disciplined are these birds, that, uj^on a given signal, they follow their leaders with great regularity up the inclined board, by which they return to their habitation on the close of the day's feeding. The flesh is preserved by the FOOD AND DRINK. 151 bodies of the ducks being split open, flattened, and salted, and in this , condition exposed to the dry northerly winds during the cold months. The consumption of salted provisions is very general, and enables the government to draw a large revenue from the gabelle which it levies on salt. In consequence of the immense quantities of both sea and river fish which are daily caught, and the rapidly putrescent nature of that species of provision, a considerable portion is cured with salt, and dried in the sun, the haut gout which gene- rally accompanies it being rather a recom- mendation to the taste of the Chinese. In- deed it is one of their most favourite as well as universal articles of food ; and they even overcame their prejudice, or indifference for whatever is foreign, on the occasion of salted cod being introduced for two or three years in English ships ; the somewhat de- cayed condition in which it reached China being said to have been anything but a drawback. This species of cargo, however, besides its disagreeable nature, and the in- jurious effect which it might have on more delicate articles of shipment, was found during the long voyage to breed a peculiar insect, which, from the readiness with which it bored into the planks and timbers of a ship, was considered as dangerous, and ac- cordingly the import was greatly discontinued. The middling and poorer classes are amply accommodated with taverns and eating- houses, where, for a very small sum, a hot breakfast or dinner may be obtained in a moment. There are some favourable speci- mens of these at Canton, to the west of the factories, built up to the height of two stories, and looking down the river. Such is the jealous inhospitality of the local govern- ment, or rather of the Hong merchants, (who have charge of foreigners.) that the owners of these taverns are strictly prohibited from entertaining Europeans; and they have often refused all oft'ers from those who wished to try the entertainment which they aftbrded. Such of the Chinese of respectability as have not their families at Canton, frequently resort to these places in the evenir)g, where they are provided with a comfortable dinner; and about the period of sunset the whole range is seen gaily lighted up through its several stories. The public-houses for the poorer people are generally open sheds, and on particular festivals these consist of a temporary structure of matting, with a boarded floor, fitted up with tables and benches, and affording the means of gambling and drinking to the dissolute portion of the lowest class. To the credit of the Chinese, as a nation, it must be stated that the proportion which this descrip- tion of persons bears to their numerous popula- tion is not large. The sea-faring inhabitants of Canton and Fokien are perhaps among the worst. The dangerous profession of these poor people, and their unsettled, wandering habits, tend together to give them the reckless and improvident character which is often found attached to the lower grades of the maritime profession in other countries. Mr. Gutzlaff has drawn a very revolting picture of the sailors who navigate the Chinese junks, and his ac- count is no doubt in the main quite correct ; but it must be observed, in general, of the gentlemen of his profession, both Catholics and Protestants, that, accustomed habitually to view the heathen almost exclusively on the side of their spiritual wants, they have some- times drawn rather too unfavourable a picture of their moral character. This, how- ever, is more true of many others than of Mr. Gutzlaff, whose candour has occasionally done fair justice to the inhabitants of the Chinese empire, on the score of their good qualities. Though the lowest orders are certainly very prone to gambling, this is a vice which is chiefly confined to them. So much infamy attaches to the practice in any official or re- spectable station, and the law in such cases is so severe, that the better classes are happily exemyit from it. This seems to be a point on which the liberty of the subject may in any community (where public opinion is in- effectual) be unceremoniously violated, very much to its own benefit, since true liberty consists in the power to do everything except that which is plainly opposed to the general good. Those laudable inventions, dice, cards, and dominoes, are all of them known to the Chinese. Their cards are small pieces of pasteboard, about two inches long, and au 152 THE CHINESE. inch broad, with black and red characters on the faces. The idle and dissolute sometimes train quails for fighting, as the Malays do cocks ; aaid even a species of cricket is occa- sionally made subservient to this cruel pur- pose.^ The Chinese chess difiers in board, men, and moves, from that of India, and cannot in any way be identified with it, except as being a game of skill, and not of chance. They have two contrivances for the pro- motion of drinking at their merry-meetings. One of these, called Tsoey-moey, consists in each person guessing at the number of fingers suddenly held up between himself and his adversary, and the penalty of the loser is each time to drink a cup of wine. In still, calm evenings, during the continuance of the Chinese festivals, the yells of the common people engaged at this tipsy sport are some- times heard to drown all other noises. It is precisely the same as the game of morra, common among the lower orders in Italy at the present day, and derived by them from the Roman sport of " micare digit is," of which Cicero remarked, that " you must have great ' Two of them are placwl together in a bowl, and | irritated until they tear each other to pieces. i faith in the honesty of any man with whom you played in the dark;" — " muftu fide opus est, ut cum aliquo in tenehris micesy The other festive scheme is a handsome bouquet of choice flowers, to be circulated quickly from hand to hand among the guests, while a rapid roll is kept up on a kettle-drum in an adjoining apartment. Whoever may chance to hold the flowers at the instant the drum stops, pays forfeit by drinking a cup of wine. It may be easily imagined that this rational amusement, at which the author (proh pudor!) has more than once assisted, occasionally gives rise to scenes worthy of Sir Toby and his associates in Twelfth Night. In lieu of theatrical entertainments at their dinners, conjuring, sleight of hand, and other species of dexterity, are sometimes introduced for the diversion of the assembly. The con- juror has always an accomplice, as usual, who serves to distract the attention of the spec- tators. One of their best exhibitions of mere dexterity is where a common China saucer is spun on its bottom upon the end of a rattan cane, in a very surprising manner. The rapid revolution communicated to the saucer by the motion of the performer's wrist, through the medium of the flexible and elastic rattan, keeps it whirling round without falling. [Chinese Juggler.] AMUSEMENTS. 153 even though the cane is occasionally held nearly horizontally, and sometimes passed behind the back, or under the legs of the exhibitor. It may be observed, that the cup is seldom in danger of falling, except for the moment when the eye of the performer may be taken oft' from it. Among their out-of-door amusements, a very common one is to play at shuttlecock •with thefeet. A circle of some half-a-dozen keep up in this manner the game between tliem with considerable dexterity, the thick soles of their shoes serving them in lieu of battledores, and the hand being allowed oc- casionally to assist. In kite-flying the Chinese certainly excel all others, both in the various construction of their kites, and the heights to which they make them rise. They have a very thin, as well as tough, sort of paper made of refuse silk, which, in combination with the split bamboo, is excellently adapted to the purpose. The kites are made to assume every possible shape; and, at some distance, it is im- possible occasionally to distinguish them from real birds. By means of round holes, supplied Avith vibrating cords, or other substances, they contrive to produce a loud humming noise, something like that of a top, occasioned by the rapid passage of the air as it is opposed to the kite. At a particular season of the year, not only boys, but grown men, take a part in this amusement, and the sport some- times consists in trying to bring each other's kites down by dividing the strings. The taste of the Chinese court in its amuse- ments was observed by the several embassies to be nearly as puerile as that of most other Asiatics. Farces, tumbling, and fireworks were the usual diversions with which the emperor and his guests were regaled. Two of the sovereigns of this Tartar dynasty, Kang- hy and Kien-loong, maintained the hardy and warlike habits of the Manchows by frequent hunting expeditions to the northward of the Great Wall. They proceeded at the head of a little army, by which the game was enclosed in rings, and thus exposed to the skill of the emperor and his grandees. We find, from Pere Gerbillon's account of his hunting ex- pedition with Kang-hy, that a portion of the train consisted of falconers, each of whom had the charge of a single bird. The per- sonal skill and prowess of Kang-hy appear to have been considerable, and we have the following description from Gerbillon of the death of a large bear : — " This animal being heavy and unable to run for any length of time, he stopped on the declivity of a hill, and the emperor, standing on the side of the opposite hill, shot him at leisure, and with the first arrow pierced his side with a deadly wound, Whe„i the animal found himself hurt, he gave a dreadful roar, and turned his head with fury towards the arrow that stuck in his belly. In the endeavour to pull it out, he broke it short, and then, running a few paces farther, he stopped exhausted. The emperor, upon this, alighting from his horse, took a half-pike, used by the Manchows against tigers, and, accompanied by four of the ablest hunters armed in the same way, he approached the bear and killed him out- right with a stab of his half-pike.*' The amusements of the Emperor's court on the ice, during the severe winters of Pe- king, are thus given by Van Braam, who was one of the Dutch mission which pro- ceeded from Canton soon after Lord Mac- artney's embassy : — "The Emperor made his appearance on a sort of a sledge, supported by the figures of four dragons. This ma- chine was moved about by several mandarins, some dragging before, and others pushing behind. The four principal ministers of state were also drawn upon the ice in their sledges by inferior mandarins. Whole ti-oops of civil and military officers soon appeared, some on sledges, some on skaits, and others playing at football on the ice, and he that picked up the ball was rewarded by the Em- peror. The ball was then hung up in a kind of arch, and several mandarins shot at it, in passing on skaits, with their bows and arrows. Their skaits were cut oft" short under the heel, and the fore part was turned up at right angles."' These diversions are quite in the spirit of the Tartars, whose original habits were strongly opposed to those of the quiet and effeminate Chinese. However robust and athletic the labouring classes in the southern provinces of the empire, those who are not supported by bodily exertion are in general extremely feeble and inactive. Unlike the European gentry, they seldom mount on a 154 THE CHINESE. horse, if not of the military profession ; and as nobody who can afford a chair ever moves in any other way, the benefits of Avalking are also lost to them. Nothing surprises one of these Chinese gentlemen more than the volun- tary exertion which Europeans impose on themselves for the sake of health, as jwell as amusement. Mucli of this inactivity of habit must of course be attributed to the great heat of the climate during a considerable portion of the year; and they would be greater suf- ferers from their sedentary lives, were it not for the beneficial custom of living entirely in the opoi air, with warm clothing, during even the winter months — that is, in the south ; for to the northward, the extreme cold compels them to resort to their stoves and flues, with closed windows and doors. The apartments of houses at Canton are always built quite open to the south, though defended from the bleak northerly winds by windows of oyster-shells or glass. CHAPTER X. MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. Costume of better Classes — Absence of Arms or Weapons from Dress — Slimmer and Winter Costume- Paucity' of Linen — General use of Furs and Skins — Sudden changes of Fashion not known — All modes prescribed by a particular Tribunal— Singular Honours to just Magistrates — Shaving and Shampooing— Female Dress — Chinese Dwellings — Description of a large Mansion — Tiling of Roofs — Gardens — Furniture — Taste for Antiques — Travelling— by Land — (Government Post not available to Individuals — Printed Itineraries — Travelling by Water — Public Passage-boats — Passing a Sluice on the Canal — Same practice 600 years ago. " When dressed, every Chinese of any sta- tion wears by his side a variety of accoutre- ments, which would strike a stranger as being of a warlike character, but which prove. on examination, to be very peaceful append- ages. A worked silk sheath encloses a fan. A small leather bag, not unlike a cartouche- box, suspended to the belt, supplies flint and [Fan and Case.j [The Pelt-j COSTUMES. 155 [The Purse.] steel for lighting the pipe ; and the tobacco is carried in an embroidered purse or pouch." Dr. Abel thus describes the appearance of the first well-dressed Chinese whom he saw on reaching the shores of the Yellow Sea. Arms are, in fact, never worn on the person ex- cept by soldiers at parade ; and even the mi- litary mandarins do not wear swords on ordi- nary occasions of ceremony. The common people are not allowed to be seen with arms except for specific purposes of self-protection, as when carrying oft" their property from a fire, or for a defence against river pirates and the like. The possession o^ Jire-arms is altogether forbidden by the jealous Government, as may be seen from the following extract from a Peking gazette : — " For the people to have fire-arms in their possession is contrary to law, and orders liave already been issued to each provincial government to fix a period within which all matchlocks belonging to indi- viduals should be bought up at a valuation. With regard to those fire-arms which are in immediate use for the safeguard of the country, the said Governor has already di- rected the proper officers to carve on every matchlock the name of the person to Avhom it is delivered, and to preserve a general register of the whole. Let the Governor also give strict charge to make diligent search, and prevent the illicit storing up of fire-arms for the future ; and let the w^orkers in iron be rigidly looked after, lest they clandestinely manufacture and sell them : the evil may thus be cut oft" in its commencement. Those officers who have made full and complete musters within the limited period, the Gover- nor is directed to notice properly as an encouragement to others." Those Chinese near Canton who employ themselves in shooting wild fowl for sale, are said to belong mostly to the militia of the province. The extremes of heat and cold which pre- vail throughout the country at opposite seasons of the year, joined to the general custom of living very much in the open air, are the causes which have probably given rise to the broad and marked distinctions that exist between the summer and the winter dress of the better classes. The difterence is principally marked by the cap. The summer cap is a cone of finely woven filaments of bamboo, or a substance resembling chip, and 156 THE CH1>^ESE. [Summer and Winter Caps.] Surmounted, in persons of any rank, by a red blue, white, or gilded ball at the apex or point of the cone. From the insertion of this ornamental ball descends all around, over the cap, a fringe or rather bunch of crimson silk or of red horse-hair ; in front of the cap is sometimes worn a single large pearl. The winter cap, instead of being a cone, fits closer to the shape of the head, and has a brim, turned sharply up all round, of black velvet, or fur, and rising a little higher in front and behind than at the sides. The dome-shaped top is surmounted by the same ball as in the other case, denoting the rank of the wearer; and from the point of insertion descends a bunch of fine crimson silk, just covering the dome. On the commencement of the cold or hot weather, the first person in each province, as the Tsoong-to, or Viceroy, assumes his winter or summer cap ; the cir- cumstance is noticed in the official gazette, or court circular, and this is the signal for every man under his government to make the same change. In the embassy of 1816, the imperial legate, who conducted the mission down to Canton, being for the time superior in rank to the Viceroy, in this manner put on his winter cap, and gave the example to the province through which he was passing. Within doors they usually wear, in cold weather, a small skull-cap, either plain or ornamented. The summer garment of the better classes is a long loose gown of light silk, gauze, or linen, hanging free at ordinary times, but on occasions of dress, gathered in round the middle by a girdle of strong wrought silk, which is fastened in front by a clasp of agate, or of the Jade, which the Chinese call yu. In an oppressive climate, when the thermometer is at SO" or 90°, there is much ease and com- fort in the loose sleeves, and the freedom from restraint about the neck, by which this dress is distinguished ; and the tight sleeves with the huge collars and stocks of Euro- peans very naturally make them objects of compassion, if not ridicule. To the girdle are fastened the various articles noticed by COSTUMES. 157 [Chinese Fop and Servant. From Chinese Paintings.] Dr. Abel, as the fan-case, tobacco-pouch, flint and steel, and sometimes a sheath with a small knife and a pair of chopsticks. They are very proud of displaying st watch, which is inserted in an embroidered silk case or pouch. The winter dress, being nearly as loose as that of summer, is less calculated to promote warmth and comfort than the European costume, and at the same time more unfa- vourable to bodily activity and exertion. Over a longer dress of silk or crape, which reaches to the ankles, they wear a large- sleeved spencer, called ma-kwa (or riding- coat), which does not descend below the hips. This is often entirely of fur, but sometimes of silk or broad-cloth, lined with skins. The neck, which in summer is left quite bare, is protected in winter with a narrow collar of silk or fur ; their loose dresses always fold over to the right breast, where they are fastened from top to bottom, at intervals of a few inches, by gilt or crystal buttons (the latter in mourning) with loops. In summer the nether garment is loose, and not unlike ancient Dutch breeches ; but in winter an indescribable pair of tight leggings are drawn on separately over all, and fastened up to the sides of the person, leaving the voluminous article of dress above-men- tioned to hang out behind, in a manner that is anything but pleasant. Stockings of cotton or silk, wove and not knit, are worn by all Avho can aftord them ; and, in winter, per- sons of a certain rank wear boots of cloth, satin, or velvet, with the usual thick white sole, which is kept clean by whiting instead of blacking, in the usual style of conti-ariety to our customs. The thick soles of their boots and shoes in all probability arose from the circumstance of their not possessing such a substance as well-tanned leather, a thinner layer of which is sufficient to exclude the wet. The shoes made for Europeans at Canton are perfectly useless in rainy weather, and spoiled on the very first wetting. The Chinese dresses of ceremony are ex- ceedingly rich and handsome, and contrast to great advantage with the queer, unmean- ing capings and skirtings of our coats. The colour of the spencer is usually dark blue, or purple, and the long dress beneath is commonly of some lighter and gayer hue. On state occasions this last is very splendidly embroidered with dragons or other devices, in silk and gold, and the costamounts frequently to large sums. At the imperial feast of which the last embassy partook at Tien-tsin, the 158 THE CHINESE. [Men's Shoes.l crowd of mandarins in full dress, surmounted by their crimson caps and various-coloured balls, certainly produced a striking eftect. The great sin of the Chinese costume is the paucity of white linen, and consequently of washing. Even their body-garment is some- times a species of light silk, but capable of purification. All the rest of their dress being of silks or furs, there is less demand for white calico or linen, in proportion to the numbers, than in any other country. They spread neither sheets upon their beds nor cloths on their tables, and the want of personal clean- liness has of course a tendency to promote cutaneous and leprous complaints. Their substitute for soap is an alkaline ley, derived from a mineral substance, and rather cor- rosive in its nature. The skins of all animals are converted into apparel for the winter- The lower orders use those of sheep, cats, dogs, goats, and squirrels. Even rat and mouse- skins are sewn together for garments. The expensive fur dresses of the higher orders descend from father to son, and form sometimes no inconsiderable portion of the family inheritance. At an entertain- ment in Canton, where the party, according to the custom of the country, were seated in an open room without tires, the European guests began to complain of cold ; upon which the host immediately accommodated the whole number of ten or twelve with handsome wide- sleeved spencers, all of the most costly furs, telling them at the same time that he had plenty more in r-eserve. They have one sin- gular species of refinement on the score of skins. The young lamb in utero, after a cer- tain period of gestation, is taken out, and its skin prepared with the fine silky wool upon it for dresses, which of course require, on account of their small size, a great number of lambs to be thus " untimely ripped," and the luxury is therefore an expensive one. The Chinese, perhaps, may be said to pos- sess an advantage in the absence of those per- petual and frequently absurd mutations of fashion in Europe, which at one period blow- out the same individual like a balloon, whom at another they contract into a mummy ; and which are frequently ridiculed and followed in excess at one and the same time. They are not at the mercy and disposal, in matters of taste, of those who make their clothes, and their modes generally last as long as their garments. The human shape and dress are not varied with the infinite mutations of a kaleidoscope ; and that peculiar, though in- disputable species of merit, " being in the height of the fashion," the honours of which must be chiefly shared with the tailor and the milliner, is nearly unknown to them. The only setter of fashions is tlie board of rites and ceremonies at Peking, and to depart materially from their ordinances would be considered as something worse than mere mauiais ton. It is their business not only to prescribe the forms on all occasions of worship, or of ceremony, but the costumes which are to be worn must be in strict conformity to rule. The dresses of all ranks and orders, and of both sexes about the imperial palace, are specified, as regards cut, colour, and material, with as much precision as in any court of Europe. From the Tartar religion APPENDAGES OF DRESS. 159 of the Lamas, the rosary of 108 beads has become a part of the ceremonial dress attached to the nine grades of official rank. It consists of a necklace of stones and coral nearly as large as a pigeon's egg, descending to the waist, and distinguished by various beads ac- cording to the quality of the wearer. There is a smaller rosary of only eighteen beads, of inferior size, with which the bonzes count their prayers and ejaculations, exactly as in the Roman Catholic ritual. The laity in China sometimes wear this at the waist, per- fumed with musk, and give it the name of Heang-ehoo, "fragrant beads." The various appendages worn at the girdle, as the purse or pouch, the steel and flint case for lighting the pipe, the watch.-case, &c., are generally of the finest silk embroidery, which forms one of the principal accom- plishments of Chinese ladies. Indeed all the handsome crape shawls taken to England, some of which cost from sixty to eighty dol- lars, are entirely the work of women, many of whom earn more than twenty dollars a month by their labour. A Chinese is seldom seen without his snuft'-bottle, which is of oval construction, and less than two inches in length, the stopper having a small spoon attached, similar to that for cayenne-pepper, with which a portion of snuff is laid on the left hand, at the lower joint of the thumb, and thus lifted to the nose. The material of these bottles is sometimes of porcelain, or of variegated glass, carved with considerable skill in the style of cameos ; or of rock-crys- tal, with small figures or writing on the inside, performed in a manner which it is not easy to account for. Among the presents sent to, or, in the lan- guage of Peking diplomacy, conferred upon foreign sovereigns, is the embroidered silk purse, one of which the old Emperor Kien- loong took froni his side and gave to the youth who officiated as page to Lord Macart- ney. This, however, was of the imperial yellow colour, with the five-clawed dragon, and could hardly be woni by Chinese sub- jects, who always displayed the most pro- found reverence and admiration when they saw it, and knew it was from the great Em- peror's own person. The ornament which has sometimes, for want of a better name, been called a sceptre, is, in fact, an emblem of amity and good-will, of a shape less bent than the letter S, about eighteen inches in length, and cut from the jade or yu stone. It is cdl\edjoo-ee, "as you wish," and is simply exchanged as a costly mark of friendship ; but that it had a religious origin seems in- dicated by the sacred flower of tlie lotus {Nympha;a /teiumbo) being generally carved on the superior end. The Chinese have some singular modes of demonstrating their respect and regard on the departure of any public magistrate, whose government has been marked by moderation and justice. A deputation sometimes waits on him with a habit composed of every variety of colour, '•' a coat of many colours,"" as if made by a general contribution from the people. "With this he is solemnly invested, and, though of course the garment is not intended to be worn, it is preserved as an honourable relic in the family. On quitting the district, he is accompanied by the crowds that follow his chair, or kneel by the way-side, while at intervals on the road are placed tables of pro- visions and sticks of incense burning. These honours were shown to a late Fooyuen of Canton, a man of a most eccentric but up- right character, who, unlike so many others in his situation, would never take anything from the Hong merchants or others under his authority. He seemed to have a supreme indifference for human grandeur, and at length retired by his own choice, and the Emperor's permission, into private life, from whence it is said he became a devotee of Budh. On his quitting Canton, a very sin- gular ceremony was observed, in conformity with ancient Chinese usage on such rare occasions ; when he had accepted the various demonstrations of homage and respect from those who had been deputed by the people to wait on him, he proceeded from his residence towards the city gates, and, being there ar- rived, his boots were taken off, to be preserved as a valued relic, while their place was sup- plied by a new pair. This was repeated more than once as he proceeded on his way, the boots which he had only once drawn on being regarded as precious memorials. The conduct of the higher magistrates cannot fail to be influenced sometimes by the ambition 160 THE CHINESE. of earning such popular honours, and there can be little doubt that, in places less exposed to the contagion of vice and temptation than Canton, there are good magistrates in China as well as elsewhere. But to return to costumes. The head of the men, as we have before noticed, is in- variably shaven, except at the top, whence the tail depends iu conformity with the Tartar custom : the only change being in mourning, when the hair is allowed to grow. The Chinese having so little beard, the principal work for the razor is on tiie head, and consequently no j^erson ever shaves himself. The great number of barbers is a stiiking feature in all towns, and sufficiently explained by the prevailing custom. They exercise the additional function of shampooing, COSTUME. 161 which, with the antecedent shave, occupies altogether a considerable time. Every barber carries about with him, slung from a stick across his shoulder, all the instruments of his vocation in a compendious form. On one side hangs a stool, under which are drawers containing his instruments; and this is coun- terpoised at the other end by a small char- coal-furnace under a vessel of water which it serves to heat. Their razors are extremely clumsy in appearance, but very keen and efficient in use. It is not the custom for the men to wear moustaches before forty years of age, nor beards before sixty. These generally grow in thin tufts, and it is only in a few individuals that they assvime the bushy appearance observable in other Asia- tics. The women would frequently be very pretty, were it not for the shocking custom of daubing their faces with white and red paint, to which may be added the deformity of cramped feet. In point of health, however, tiiis is in a great degree made up by the total absence of tight lacing, and of all ligatures and confinements whatever about the vital parts. The consequence is that their children are born very straight limbed, and births are scarcely ever attended with disaster. Their dress is extremely modest and becoming, and, in the higher classes, as splendid as the most exquisite silks and embroidery can make it; for the Chinese certainly reserve the best of their silk manu- factures for themselves. "What we often choose to call dress they would regard as absolute nudity, and all close fitting to the shape as only displaying what it atiects to conceal. Unmai-ried women wear their hair hanging down in long tresses, and the putting up of the hair is one of the ceremonies preparatory to marriage. It is twisted up towards the back of the head, ornamented with flowers or jewels, and fastened with two bodkins stuck in crosswise. They sometimes wear an orna- ment representing the foong-hang, or Chinese phoenix, composed of gold and jewels, the wings hovering, and the beak of the bird hanging over the forehead, on an elastic spring. After a certain time of life, the women wear a silk wrapper round the bead in lieu of any other dress. The eyebrows of the young women are fashioned until they represent a fine curved line, which is com- pared to the new moon when only a day or two old, or to the young leaflet of the willow. Pink and green, two colours often worn by women, are confined exclusively to them, and never seen on men. The ordinary dress is a large-sleeved robe of silk, or of cotton among the poorer sort, over a longer garment, sometimes of a pink colour: under which are loose trousers which are fastened round the ancle, just above the small foot and tight shoe. A proverbial expression among the Chinese for the concealment of defects is — "long robes to hide large feet,"' Not- withstanding this the Tartar women, or their lords, have had the good sense to preserve the ladies' feet of the natural size. In other respects, however, they dress nearly as the Chinese, and paint their faces white and red in tlie same style. The ordinary dress of men among the labouring classes is extremely well suited to give full play to the body : it consists in summer of only a pair of loose cotton trousers tied round the middle, and a shirt or smock, equally loose, hanging over it. In veiy hot weather the smock is thrown off altogether, and only the trousers retained. They defend the head Irom the sun by a very broad umbrella-shaped hat of bamboo slips inter- woven, which in winter is exchanged for a felt cap; and in rainy weather they have cloaks of a species of flags or reeds, from which the water runs as from a pent-house. A large portion of the peasantry wear no shoes, but some are furnished, particularly those who carry heavy burdens, with sandals of straw to protect the feet. In describing the dwellings of the Chinese, we may observe that, in their ordinary plan, they bear a curious resemblance to the remains of the Roman habitations disinterred from the scoriae and ashes of Pompeii, They consist usually of a ground floor, divided into several apartinents within the dead wall that fronts the street, and lit only by windows lookhig into the internal court-yard. The principal room, next to the entrance, serves to receive visitors as well as for eating ; and within are the more jirivate apartments, the 162 THE CHINESE. [Husbandman.] doorways of which are screened by pendant curtains of silk or cotton. Near Pekin,?, the embassies found most of the apartments furnished with a couch or bed-place of brickwork, having a furnace below to warm it during the winter. This was usually covered with a felt rug or mat, which, with the assistance of the warmth, gave perpetual lodging to swarms of vermin, and rendered the° bed-places quite unavailable to the English travellers. These flues, however, are^very necessary during the severe winters, when the fires in' the better houses are lit on the outside ; but in poorer ones the furnace is within, and serves the double purpose of cooking and warmth, the whole family huddling round it. All houses of consequence are entered by a taiple gateway, consisting of one large foldhig- door in the centie, and of a smaller one on either side. These last serve for ordinary oc- casions, while the first is thrown open for the reception of distinguished guests. Large lanterns of a cylindrical shape are hung at the sides, on which are inscribed the name and titles of the inhabitant of the mansion, so as to be read either by day, or at night when the lanterns are lit. Just within the gates is the covered court, where the sedan-chair stands, surrounded by red varnished label- boards, having inscribed in gilt characters the full titles of any person of rank and conse- quence. We cannot better describe one of their larger mansions than in the words of Sir George Staunton^ : — '• This palace was built on the general model of the dwellings of great mandarins. The whole enclosure was in the form of a parallelogram, andsurrounded by a high brick wall, the outside of which exhibited a plain blank surface, except near one of its angles, where the gateway opened into a nai-row street, little promising the hand- some sti-uctures withinside. The wall in its whole length supported the upper ridge of roof, whose lower edges, resting upon an in- terior wall parallel to the other, formed a long range of buildings divided into apartments for servants, and offices. The rest of the en- closure was subdivided into several quadran- gular courts of different sizes. In each quad- rangle were buildings upon platforms of gra- nite, and surrounded by a colonnade. The columns were of wood, nearly sixteen feet in height, and as many inches in tliameter at the lower end, decreasing to the upper extremity about one-sixth. They had neither capital nor base, according to the strict meaning of those terms hi the orders of Grecian architec- > Embassy, vol. ii. p. 139. DAVELLINGS. 163 ture, nor any divisions of the space called the entablature, being plain to the very top, which supports the cornice ; and were without any swell at the lower end, where they were let into hollows cut into stones for their re- ception, and which formed a circular ring round each, somewhat in the Tuscan manner. Between the columns, for about one-fourth of the length of the shaft from the cornice down- wards, was carved and ornamented wood- work, which might be termed the entablature, and was of a difterent colour from the columns, which were universally red. This colonnade served to support that part of the roof which projected beyond the wall-plate in a curve, turning up at the angles. By means of such roofed colonnades every part of those exten- sive buildings might be visited under cover. The number of pillars throughout the whole was not fewer than six hundred. " Amiexed to the principal apartment, now destined for the ambassador, was an elevated building, intended for the purposes of a private theatre and concert-room, with re- tiring apartments behind, and a gallery for spectators round it. None of the buildings were above one story, except that which comprised the ladies' apartments during the residence of the owner : it was situated in the inmost quadrangle. The front consisted of one long and lofty hall, with windows of Corea paper, through which no object could be distinguished on the other side. On the back of this hall was can-ied a gallery, at the height of about ten feet, which led to several small rooms, lighted only from the hall. Those inner windows were of silk gauze, stretched on frames of wood, and worked with the needle in flowers, fruit, birds, and insects, and others painted in water-colours. This apartment was fitted in a neater style, though upon a smaller scale, than most of the others. To this part of the building was attached a small back court with offices : the whole cal- culated for privacy. " In one of the outer quadrangles was a piece of water, in the midst of which a stone room was built, exactly in the shape of one of the covered barges of the country. In others of the quadrangles were planted trees, and, in the largest, a huge heap of rocks rudely piled, but firmly fixed upon each other, and at one end was a spot laid out for a garden in miniature ; but it did not appear to have been finished." In the best Chinese mansions there are seldom any stairs beyond the few stone steps by which they are raised above the general level of the ground. The stonework of the founda- tion is extremely solid and handsome, and in the neighbourhood of Canton it is always of granite. The walls are of blue brick, fre- quently with an artificial facing or pointing, by which strangers are apt to be deceived as to the fineness of their brickwork. They work in stucco with great skill, representing ani- mals, flowers, and fruits, which are sometimes coloured to imitate nature, and the cheapness of this ornament makes it very common. The partition-walls of the inner courts are fre- quently broken into compartments, which are filled with an open work of green varnished tile, or coarse porcelain. The mode in which they tile their roofs is evidently derived from the use of split bamboos for the same purpose, as it is practised to this day by the Malays, and described by Marsden. The transverse section of these tiles being something of a semicircle, they are laid down the roof with their concave sides uppermost to serve as gutters, the upturned edges of every range being contiguous. But, as these would admit the rain at the lines of contact, other tiles are laid in a contrary position over them, and the whole secured in their places by mortar. In towns, where space is of consequence, the houses and shops of the greater number of the inhabitants have a story above the ground-floor, and on the roof is often erected a wooden stage or platform for drying goods, or for taking the air in hot evenings. This custom contributes to make their houses very liable to catch and to spread fires during a conflagration. Nothing surprises the Chinese more than the representations or descriptions of the five and six-storied houses of Euro- pean cities ; and the Emperor is said to have inquired if it was the smallness of the terri- tory that compelled the inhabitants to build their dwellings so near the clouds. They have the most absurd superstition in regard to the ill-luck that attends the elevation of dwellings above a certain height; and the erection of a gable end (which they denomi- m2 164 THE CHINESE. rate by their character for metal, approaching to the same shape) will fill a whole family ■with consteruatioTi, until certain ceremonies Lave been performed to dispel the " evil in- fiuence." These remedies are about as well founded in common sense as the evils which they are employed to remove, and resemble exactly the charms and exorcisms used in our olden time against witches, ghosts, and devils. In the same way that a horse-shoe, with us, nailed against the door was an infallible pro- tection from a witch, the figure of a dragon, with its mouth wide open, opposite to the iinlucky roof, swallows up all the yvjn-ky, " the bad air, or influence." The Chinese, however, never seem to have reached that height of judicial acumen by which, in for- mer times with us, many a helpless old woman was thrown into the water, to be drowned if she sank, or burnt if she floated. FURNITURE. 165 The magnificence of Chinese mansions is estimated in some measure by the ground Avhich they cover, and by the number and size of the courts and buildings. The real space is often eked out by winding and com- plicated passages or galleries, decorated with carving and trellis-work in very good taste. The walks are often paved with figured tiles. Large tanks or ponds, with the nelumbium, or sacred lotus, are essential to every country house, and these pools are generally filled with quantities of the golden carp, and other fish. Masses of artificial rock either rise out of the water, or are strewn about the grounds, in an alfected imitation of nature, and on these are often planted their stunted trees. Sir William Chambers's description of Chinese gardening is a mere prose vv^ork of imagination, without a shadow of foundation in reality. Their taste is indeed extremely defective and vicious on this particular point, and, as an improvement of nature, ranks much on a par with the cramping of their women's feet. The only exception exists in the gardens, or rather parks, of the Emperor at Yuen-ming-yuen, which Mr. Barrow describes as grand both in plan and extent ; but for a subject to imitate these would be almost criminal, even if it were possible. The apartments of the Chinese are by no means so full of furniture as ours in England, and in this respect they have reached a point of luxury far short of our own. Perhaps, however, they are the only people of Asia who use chairs : these resemble the solid and lumber- ing pieces of furniture which were in fashion more than a century ago, as described by Cowper : — " But restless was the chair ; the back erect Distress'd the weary loins, that felt no ease ; The slippery seat betray'd the sliding part That prest it, and the feet hung dangling down." Cushions, with hangings for the back, are sometimes used of silk, or English woollens, generally of a scarlet colour, embroidered in silk patterns by the Chinese women. Near the chairs are commoidy placed those articles of furniture which the Portuguese call cuspa- dores, or spitting-pots, rendered necessary by tlie universal habit of smoking. The dis- agreeable noise that attends the clearing the throat and fauces of the poison inhaled by this bestial practice, is perpetual among the Chinese, and makes one enter feelingly into the complaints which have proceeded from several visitors of the United States, in regard to similar habits among our Trans-atlantic brethren. Among the principal ornaments are the varied lanterns of silk, horn, and other mate- rials which are suspended from the roofs, adorned with crimson tassels, but which for purposes of illumination are so greatly behind our lamps, and produce more smoke than light. At a Chinese feast, one is always reminded of the lighting of a Roman enter- tainment : — " Sordidum flamraae trepidant rotantes Yertice fumum." The great variety, and, in the eyes of a Chinese, the beauty of the written character, occasions its being adopted as an ornament on almost all occasions. Calligraphy (or fine hand-writing) is much studied among them, and the autographs of a friend or patron, con- sisting of moral sentences, poetical couplets, or quotations from the sacred books, are kept as memorials, or displayed as ornaments in their apartments. They are generally inscribed largely upon labels of white satin, or fine- coloured paper, and almost always in pairSy constituting those parallelisms which we shall have to notice under the head of Literature and Poetry. In the forms of their furniture they often affect a departure froin straight and uniform lines, and adopt what might be called a regular confusion, as in the divisions and shelves of a book-case, or the compartments of a screen. Even in their doorways, instead of a regular right-angled aperture, one often sees a com- plete circle, or the shape of a leaf, or of a jar. This, however, is otdy when there are no doors required to be shut, their absence being often supplied by hanging-screens of silk and cloth, or bamboo blinds like those used in India. Their beds are generally very simple, with curtains of silk or cotton in the winter, and a fine mosquito-net during the hot months, when they lie on a mat spread upon the hard bottom of the bed. Two or three boards, with a couple of narrow benches or forms on which to lay them, together with a mat, and three 166 THE CHINESE. or four bamboo sticks, to stretch the mosquito curtains of coarse hempen cloth, constitute the bed of an ordinary Chinese. It may readily be supposed that, in the original country of porcelain, a very usual ornament of dwellings consists of vases and jars of that material, of which the antiquity is valued above every other quality. This taste has led to the manufacture of fac- titious antiques, not only in porcelain, but in bronze, and other substances, — points on which strangers are often very egregiously taken in at Canton. The shapes of their hi- pods, and other ancient vessels, real or imi- tated, are often fantastical, and not unlike similar vestiges in Europe. In these they place their sticks of incense, composed principally of sandal-wood dust, which serve to perfume their chambers, as well as to regale the gods in their temples. The Chinese are great col- lectors of curiosities of all kinds, and the cabinets of some individuals at Canton are worth examining. Having considered the accommodations of [Cliiiiese Jars and Household Ornaments. From Chinese Frawings.] the Chinese when at rest, we may view them in locomotion, or when travelling. The manner in which the greater part of the em- pire is intersected by rivers and canals makes water-carriage the most common, as well as commodious, method of transit from place to place : but where that is impossible, they travel (towards the south) in chairs; and in the great flat about Peking, in a one-horse tilted waggon, or cart, — for it deserves no better name. The multifonn inconveniences of these primitive machines were experienced by the members of the last embassy, and have been feelingly described by some of them. The wheels, frequently solid and with- out spokes, are low and fixed to very short axle-trees. The bodies, covered with tilts of coarse cotton, open only in front, and are just wide enough to admit two persons closely wedged. They have no raised seats, and the MODE OF TRAVELLING. 167 only posture is to be stretched at length, or with the legs drawn up, the sufferer being always in close contact with the axle, without the intervention of springs. A servant of the ambassador, who was an invalid at the time, and had not strength to avoid the violence of the shocks, actually suflfered a concussion of the brain. The Chinese occasionally travel on horse- back, but their best land-conveyance by far is the sedan, a vehicle which certainly exists among them in perfection. Whether viewed in regard to lightness, comfort, or any other quality associated with such a mode of car- riage, there is nothing so convenient elsewhere. Two bearers place upon their shoulders the poles, which are thin and elastic, and in shape something like the shafts of a gig connected near the ends ; and in this manner they pro- ceed forward with a measured step, an almost imperceptible motion, and sometimes with considerable speed. Instead of panels, the sides and back of the chair consist of woollen cloth for the sake of lightness, with a cover- ing of oil-cloth against rain. The front is closed by a hanging-blind of the same mate- rials in lieu of a door, with a circular aper- ture of gauze to see through. The Europeans at Macao furnish theirs with Venetian blinds, and never make use of any other cai-riage. Private persons among the Chinese are re- stricted to two bearers, ordinary magistrates to four, and the viceroys to eight ; while the Emperor alone is great enough to require six- teen. They divide the weight by multiplying the number of shoulder-sticks applied to the poles, as represented in a vignette to Staun- ton's embassy, in an instance Avhere the num- ber of bearers would be sixteen ; and this rule is made applicable to the conveyance of the heaviest burdens by coolies or porters. The Chinese constantly remind one of ants, by the manner in which they conquer difficulties through dint of mere numbers : and they re- semble those minute animals no less in their persevering and unconquerable industry. There is no country of the same extent in which horses are so little used for the purpose of either carriage or draft, and this seems to arise, in some measure, from their grudging to animals that food which the earth otherwise provides for man . Their horses are in general miserable stunted creatures, of the smaller order of ponies, and almost always in the worst condition ; nor is the caparison in most cases much better than the beast. The rider is wedged into a high saddle of the usual oriental character, of which every part, stirrups included, is extremely heavy and cumbrous. The bridles ought to be of stitched silk, but they are often of rope ; and tufts of red horse-hair are sometimes sus- pended from the chest of the animal. Where no rivers or canals afford the conveniences of water-carriage, the roads, or rather broad pathways, are paved in the south for horses, chairs, and foot-passengers; but no wheel- carriages were met with by the embassies except in the flat country towards Peking. Official persons are accommodated with lodghig on their journeys in buildings called Kooiig-kiidn, or government hotels, and wher- ever one of these does not exist, the priests of the Budh sect are called upon to provide for them in their temples. The gods appear sometimes to be ti-eated with little ceremony on these occasions. In 1816, a portion of the great temple on the side of the river opposite to Canton was appropriated to the British, embassy, and fitted up for them, at the requi- sition of the factory, in a very handsome style, altogether different from the mode in which they had been commonly lodged in the interior. Nothing surprised the Chinese more than the number of comforts and con- veniences which the English seemed to re- quire, and the quantity of their baggage. One of their own nation travels with little more than a hard pillow rolled up in a thin mattress, or a mat : and as for his wardrobe, he carries it all on his back, when not travelling by water. In the latter mode of carriage, the great officers of government sometimes con- vey no small quantity of goods, and, as their baggage is exempted from search, it is said that the privilege is often abused to smuggle opium. There is no post regulated by the govern- ment for facilitating the general intercourse of its subjects; though one would imagine that a system of the kind might be made very serviceable by this jealous autocracy (as it has by some others) in promoting the special objects of its police. The government ex- 168 THE CHINESE. presses are forwarded by land along a line of posts, at each of which a horse is always kept ready ; and it is said that when the haste is ur- gent, a feather is tied to the packet, and the express is called a fei-ma, " flying-horse," on which occasions the courier is expected to go at the rate of about a hundred miles a-day, until relieved. In this manner a despatch from Peking reaches Canton, or vice versa, a distance of 1200 miles, in a fortnight or twelve days. A letter from the Emperor himself is carried by an officer of some rank in a hollow tube, attached to his back. They have no telegraphs, but the embassies fre- quently observed that three conical, or rather sugar-loaf, beacons were erected on the most conspicuous points, to serve as signals by day or night, with the assistance of lighted wood or straw in the hollow, chimney-like inte- rior. ^^s^l TRAYELLIXG BY WATER. W9 There is printed for general use a very ac- curate itinerary of the empire, containing the distances in Chinese /y from town to town ; and one of these, on being compared with the actual distances on the map, as travelled by the last embassy, was found to correspond with sufficient exactness. But the greatest public accomodation consists in the arrange- ments for the conveyance of goods, which are regulated in the best manner. The public porters are under the management of a head man who is responsible for them. The wages for the number engaged are paid to him in advance, upon which he furnishes a corre- sponding number of tickets, and, when the work is done, these are delivered as vouchers for the several porters to carry back and re- ceive their money. The ordinary pay is one mace, or under 8d. per diem ; and so trust- worthy are these poor people, that not a single article was known to be lost by the embassies in all the distance between the northern and southern exti-emes of the empire. But, putting speed out of the question, there certaiidy is no country of the world in which travelling by water is so commodious as in China; and it seems reasonable to attribute this circumstance to the universal prevalence of that mode of locomotion. Indeed, all the river craft of this people may be said to be unrivalled. The small draft of water and at the same time, great burthen and stiffness of their vessels, the perfect ease with which they are worked through the most intricate Pjissages, and most crowded rivers, and the surprising accommodation which they afford, have always attracted attention. The Arab Ibn Batuta, whose travels we have before no- ticed, in describhig the inland trading vessels of the Chinese, states that they were moved by " large oars, which might be compared to great masts (in respect of size), over which live-and-twenty men were sometimes placed, who worked standing."' He evidently alludes to the enormous and very powerful sculls, which are worked at the stern of their vessels, exactly as he describes, at the present day. From its situation, in the line of the ves- sel's course, this machine takes up no room in the passage of their crowded rivers and canals, — an advantage of no small conse- quence, if considered by itself. It is a moving power, precisely on the principle of a fish's tail, from which it is well known that the watery tribes derive nearly all tiieir pro- pelling force, as the fins do little more than serve to balance them. The composition of the two lateral forces, as the tail or tlie scull is worked to the right and left, of course drives the fish, or the vessel, forward in the diagonal of the forces, according to a well- known principle in mechanics. Although in the Chinese river craft there is always a rudder to steer with in sailing, the scull will at any time serve in its stead, by merely shifting the balance of impulse to either side as required. Tliese sculls are sometimes thirty feet in length, and the friction is reduced to the least possible amount, by the fulcrum being a tenon and mortice of iron, working comparatively on a point. The track-ropes, made of narrow strips of the strong silicious surface of the bamboo, combining the greatest lightness with strength, are very exactly descril)ed by Marco Polo: — " They have canes of the length of fifteen paces, such as have been already described, which they split in their whole length, into very thin pieces, and these, by twisting them together, they form into ropes 300 paces long : so skilfully are they manufactured that they are equal in strength to cordage made of hemp. With these ropes the vessels are tracked along the river by means of ten or twelve horses to each, as well upwards against the current, as in the opposite direction.'' It is remarkable that the verj'^ instance where the practice of the present day differs from this faithful travellers narrative, may be con- sidered as an additional proof of his general correctness. Horses are not now used to track the Chinese boats, although it may have been the practice under the first jMongol con- querors ; but the Emperor's warrant to each officer specifies a certain number of horses, according to his rank, and men are supplied as trackers, in lieu of horses, at the rate of three for each horse. Du Halde gives a very correct account of this in his second volume. The oars which they occasionally use towards the head of their boats, besides the scull abaft, are rather short, with broad blades. These are suspended with a loop on a strong peg at the side of the boat, and there is an 170 THE CHINESE. advantage in Its not being always necessary to unship them, as, when useless, they are drawn by the water close to the vessel's side, without any retarding effect. There is, be- sides, no friction, nor any noise in a rullock, and no encumbrance of oars within the boat. The travelling barges, used by mandarins and opulent persons, aftbrd a degree of com- fort and accommodation quite unknown in boats of the same description elsewhere ; but it must be repeated, that speed is a quality which they do not possess. The roof is not less than seven or eight feet in height, and the principal accommodations consist of an ante- room at the head for servants, a sitting room about the centre of the boat, and a sleeping apartment and closet abaft. All the cook- ing goes on upon the high overhanging stern, [Accommodation-Barge.] where the crew also are accommodated. There are gangways of boards on each side of the vessel, which serve for poling it along the shallows, by means of very long and light bamboos, and which also allow of the ser- vants and crew passing from head to stern without incommoding the inmates. The better boats are very well lit by glass windows at the sides, or l)y the thin interior laminae of oyster-shells. Others have transparent paper or gauze, on which are painted flowers, birds, and other devices, while the partitions, or bulk-heads, of the apartments are varnished and gilded. The decks or floors of the cabins remove in square compartments, and admit of all baggage being stowed away in the hold. Everything in their river-boats is kept remarkably clean, and this habit presents a strong contrast to their general neglect of cleanliness in their houses on shore, which have not the same ready access to water, and are besides often very ill-drained. In short, their travelling barges are as much superior to the crank and ricketty budgerows of India, as our European ships are to the sea-junks of the Chinese, who seem to have reserved all their ingenuity for their river craft, and to have aftbrded as little encouragement as possible to maritime or foreign adventure. Where the expense is not regarded, Euro- peans often travel between Macao and Canton in the large Chinese boats, of some eighty tons bui'then, which are commonly used in unloading the ships, but fitted up when required with partitions, glass windows, and other conveniences for travelling. The charges of the mandarins, under the denomination of duties and fees, at length grew to be so oppres- sive, that the thing was brought to the notice of the Viceroy in 1825, and a considerable abatement made in the expense. Still, how- ever, this is so considerable, and the delays interposed midway in the passage, for the purposes of scrutiny and examination, are so tedious and harassing, that most barbarians prefer going up and down by the ship's pas- sage in European boats. In this, as well as many other instances, the cupidity of the mandarins has defeated its own purpose. Nothing could more sti-ongly characterize the busy trading character of the Chinese among themselves, and the activity of their internal traffic, than the vast numbers of pas- sage-boats which are constantly sailing along the rivers and canals, crowded both inside and out with a host of passengers. The fare in these vessels is, quaintly enough, termed shuey-keo, " water-legs," as it serves in lieu of those limbs to transport the body. None, however, above the poorer classes avail them- TRAVELLING BY WATER. 171 selves of these conveyances, as a small private boat can always be engaged, by natives, at a sufficiently cheap rate. That the company on board the public transports is not of the most select order, is plain from a caution generally pasted against the mast, " Kin shin ho paou,"" " Mind your purses." There is a species of tavern, or public house, a short way above the European factories in Canton, at the point whence all these passage-boats are obliged to start by the regulation of the police, and where the crowd and concourse is sometimes really surprising. Regular pass- ports are always required, and the whole system appears admirably arranged to pro- mote the objects of a very cautious and vigilant government, in the maintenance of order, without impeding the general circu- lation of industry. There is, in short, a business-like character about the Chinese which assimilates them in a striking manner to the most intelligent nations of the west, axid certainly marks them out, in very prominent relief, from the rest of Asiatics. However oddly it may sound, it does not seem too much to say, that in every- thing which enters into the composition of actively industrious and well-organised com- munities, there is vastly less difference be- tween them and the English, Freiich, and Americans, than between these and the inha- bitants of Spain and Portugal, whose prone- ness to stolid bigotry and oriental laziness were perhaps in part imbibed from the Arabs. Through the influence of climate and other causes, these seem still retained in a surprising degree, though they must be expected to give way to the example of more enlightened nations. Whenever the effects of our scientific ma- chinery in abridging labour are explained to an intelligent Chinese, the first idea that strikes him is the disastrous effect that such a system would work upon his over-peopled countrv^, if suddenly introduced into it, and he never fails to deprecate such an innovation as the most calamitous of visitations. We shall see hereafter that they have some inge- nious contrivances by which to avail them- selves of the natural moving powers presented by wind, water, and the force of gravity, and that they have managed to appropriate in practice most of the mechanical powers with surprising simplicity and effect : but of the strength that slumbers in the giant arm of steam they are at once theoretically and prac- tically ignorant, although they both under- stand and apply, in their commonest cookery, the heat of steam under confinement to dress vegetables. The canal and the Yellow River are a per- petual source of anxiety and expense to the Government, to keep their banks in repair, and prevent those inundations to which the country in the neighbourhood is constantly liable. The use of steam-vessels is therefore utterly precluded by the peculiar character and circumstance of one of the principal streams of China, as well as of the grand canal. But it was impossible to travel, with the embassy in 1816, along that noble river the Yang-tse-kiang, which divides as nearly as possible the empire into two equal parts, and flows through its finest climates, without wishing for steam -boats ; more especially while suffering under the delay that arose from sail- ing up against that mighty stream, which runs with a prevailing ebb towards the sea. It is indeed for such rivers as the Mississippi and the Keang that steamers are most peculiarly fitted, and nothing can be less like steamers than the progress of the Chinese travelling boats. Those very points of shape and con- struction, from which they derive their com- modiousness and safety, render them extremely slow under the most favorable circum- stances, and, with the exception of their smuggling boats, the Chinese may be said to be anything but economists of time on the water. The following extract from an unpublished journal of the last embassy^ exactly describes the singular process of passing the sluices, which are substituted on the grand canal for locks. The advantage of the latter mode (which seems unknown to the Chinese) is, the vessel being raised or lowered to a differ- ent level by the gradual rise or fall of the water in which it floats, by which means the dangers of a sluice are completely obviated. '' It was announced that some of our boats were come up for the purpose of passing through 1 Journal of Sir George Staunton. 172 THE CHINESE. the sluice, upon which the ambassador pro- posed to the legate that we should walk up to the pier-head, to see the manner in which this was etlected. The legate said he would accompany us with pleasure, being himself curious to see the boats pass ; and we all accordingly stood upon the pier-head, while | the four headmost boats (of sixty or seventy i tons burthen) were shot through the sluice. By means of the precautions adopted, and which consisted partly in hanging against the sides of the pier large fenders, or cushions of rope, to deaden any accidental concussion, the boats passed through with perfect safety. The fall was somewhat greater than that of the Tliames under the arches of old London Bridge, but still the hazard and difficulty seem to have been a good deal magnified. The stone abutments were constructed chiefly of large blocks of grey marble or lime-stone, with a few blocks of granite intermixed. After the boats had passed, we returned with the legate to the pavilion for a few minutes, and then rose to rejoin our sedans, and return in them to our boats. " At half-past twelve we passed through a second sluice similar to the first, without taking the trouble to quit our boats. We then brought to for some time, and did not pass through the third sluice until about four. The fall here was fully as great, and the torrent as rapid as in the first sluice : but we all declined the legates second invitation to land while the boats were passing through. The passage was effected by tlie whole of our squadron without loss or accident. The boats of smaller dimensions steered directly for the sluice, and shot through the opening at once ; but our common dinner-boat, and those of the ambassador and commissioners, were obliged to be warped along tlie bank up to the pier-head gradually. In both modes any failure or mistake from bad steer- age or ropes giving way, might have been attended with serious consequences ; for if any of the smaller boats had struck on the pier-head, or if any of tlie larger ones had swung round and presented their broadsides to the sluice, they would in both cases have run considerable hazard of being stove in and wrecked, and some of the persons in them might have been drowned in the confasion. The large boat in which I was had been warped up to a proper position, and was on the point of being loosened from the ropes in order to shoot through the aperture, when a succession of small boats unexpectedly came up, and possessed themselves of the passage, compelling us to hold on against the stream for about a quarter of an hour, in a situation that was awkward, if not hazardous."' It is curious to find this description of the jjassage on the canal so exactly agreeing with that of an Arabian traveller not much less than six hundred years ago, soon after that artificial route by water was constructed under the Mongol conquerors of China. The dif- ference of level is commonly from five to six feet at the sluices, but in passing by the town of Hoay-gan, near the embouchure of the Yellow River, the boats sailed at an elevation of between fifteen and twenty feet above the level of the city, and the travellers looked down upon the roofs of the houses, which any accident to the bank of the canal must in- evitably have consigned to destruction. The existence of such a work in China, at a time when Europe was involved in comparative barbarism, affords curious subject for reflec- tion. CITIES PEKING. 173 CHAPTER XI. CITIES PEKING. External Walls of Peking — Interior Aspect of Tartarian City— Circuit of the Imperial Wall — Southern or Chinese City — Difficulty of Feeding the Population — Dangers of the Emperor — Gardens of Yuen-ming- yuen— Occurrence there in the last Embassy— Expenses of the Court— Tartars and Chinese— Police of Peking — Efficiency of Chinese Police — Case of a French Crew murdered — Punishment of the Pirates. The most striking feature of all the principal cities of China consists in the high castellated walls of blue brick by which they are sur- rounded, and of which the wall of Peking may be considered as a specimen, with some considerable difference, of course, in respect to its superior height and thickness. Like the ancient rampart of the empire, this con- sists of a mound of earth or rubbish incased with brick. The height is about thirty feet, the thin parapet being deeply embattled, with intermediate loopholes, but bearing no resemblance to regular embrasures for artillery. Indeed cannon are not often seen mounted on the walls, although there are often some old guns lying about near the gates. The thickness of the wall at the base is nearly twenty feet, diminishing, by the inclination of the inner surface, to twelve or more at the summit. The height and weight of this wall, with its perpendicular external face, would only serv^e to facilitate the operations of battering-cannon, which, of course, would begin to breach from the base ; but the principal weapon, in the wars of the Chinese and Tartars, has always been the bow and arrow. At each gate the wall is doubled by an outer enclosure in a semicircular shape, the entrance to which is not opposite to the principal gate, but lateral, with a view to security and defence. Over both gates are erected towers of several stories, which serve to lodge the soldiers who guard them. At intervals of about sixty yards along the length of the wall are flanking towers or bastions of the same height, projecting about thirty feet from the curtain. Most of the plans of Peking represent a wet ditch entirely com- passing the sides of the city, and it no doubt extends round a certain portion ; but when the embassy passed, in 1816, it is quite certain that the north-east portion had not even a dry ditch, and that some of the gentle- men quitted their vehicles to take out speci- mens of the brick from numerous holes which time and neglect had produced in the face of the wall. The same thing was observed at Nanking, the ancient enclosure of which was nearly as lofty as the present bulwark of Peking, but no remains of a ditch could be perceived at that part which the travellers visited. The area on which Nanking stood was more extensive than the space enclosed by the walls of Peking, but the greater portion of the surface surrounded by the ancient defence is now devoid of even the traces of buildings ; and the city of Keang-ning-foo, as it is at present called, occupies only a corner of the original enclosure. Peking likewise contains so many void spaces of great extent, that it is very difficult, considering the lowness of the one-storied buildings, to imagine how it can hold such a monstrous population as some have attributed to it. A very large portion of the nortliern or Tartarian city is occupied by the enclosure which contains the palaces and pleasure-grounds of the emperor; the remainder is studded over with the official or religious buildings, all of them surrounded by large open courts ; and the Chinese city to the south has some very extensive spaces occupied by immensely spreading buildings, and grounds attached, where the emperor sacrifices to heaven, and performs the annual ceremony of ploughing, with various other rites. There are, besides, large sheets of water, and gardens devoted to the growth of vegetables for the city. With everj"- allow- ance, therefore, for the extent of area enclosed by the walls, the population of Peking can hardly exceed that which is comprised within the London bills of mortality ; though it has been stated at double that amount. Father Hyacinth, long resident in the capital of China as a member of the Russian 174 THE CHINESE. mission, has given a very circumstantial account of it, much of which is founded on personal observation, and the rest derived from inquiry or books. The short time which the mission of Earl Macartney passed there admitted of fewer opportunities of in- vestigation ; but Mr. Barrow, who was left at Peking and Yuen-ming-yuen, while the ambassador attended the emperor beyond the wall, made good use of his time, and has given us a graphic description of what he witnessed. The streets of Canton and of most other cities are extremely narrow, ad- mitting of only three or four foot-passengers abreast; but the principal thoroughfares of Peking, which connect its different gates, are fully one hundred feet in width. These are unpaved, no doubt in consequence of the difficulty and expense of procuring stone in the immense alluvial tiat on which the city stands ; and every inhabitant is compelled by the police to clean and sprinkle with water, during the dry months, that portion of the street which fronts his abode, with a view to allay the dust. In rainy weather, however, the principal ways are said to be in a dread- ful state, from the want of proper drains, and in consequence of the perfect level of the ground not allowing the water to flow off. Sir George Stamiton thus describes the appearance of the capital, when it was tra- versed by the embassy on the way to Yuen- ming-yuen : — " The first street extended on a line directly to the westward, until it was interrupted by the eastern wall of the imperial palace, called the Yellow WalP, from the colour of the small roof of varnished tiles with which the top of it is covered. Yarious public buildings, seen at the same time, and considered as belonging to the emperor, were covered in the same manner. Those roofs, uninterrupted by chimneys, and indented in the sides and ridges into gentle curves, with an effect more pleasing than would be pro- duced by long straight lines, were adorned with a variety of figures, either in imitation of real objects, or more commonly as mere works of fancy ; the whole shining like gold under a brilliant sun, immediately caught the eye with an appearance of grandeur in ' The Chinese name is "The Imperial Wall." that part of the buildings where it was not accustomed to be sought for. Immense magazines of rice were seen near the gate : and, looking from it to the left along the city wall, was perceived an elevated edifice, described as an observatory, erected in the former dynasty, by the Emperor Yoong-lo, to whom the chief embellishments of Peking are said to be owing."' Several circumstances, independently of the arrival of strangers, contributed to throng so wide a street. A procession was moving towards the gate, in which the white or bridal colour (according to European ideas) of the persons Avho formed it, seemed at first to announce a marriage ceremony; but the appearance of young men overwhelmed with grief showed it to be a funeral,"^ much more indeed than the corse itself, which wais con- tained in a handsome square case, shaded with a canopy painted with gay and lively colours, and preceded by standards of va- riegated silks. Behind it were sedan-chairs covered with white cloth, containing the female relations of the deceased. The white colour, denoting in China the affliction of those who wear it, is sedulously avoided by such as wish to manifest sentiments of a con- trary kind ; ^ it is therefore never seen in the ceremony of nuptials (met soon afterwards), where the lady, as yet unseen by the bride- groom, is carried in a gilt and gaudy chair, hung round with festoons of artificial flowers, and followed by relations, attendants, and servants bearing the paraphernalia, being the only portion given with a daughter in marriage by her parents. The crowd was not a little increased by the mandarins of rank appear- ing always with numerous attendants ; and still more by circles of the populace round auctioneers, venders of medicines-, fortune- tellers, singers, jugglers, and story-tellers, beguiling their hearers of a few of their fchen, or copper money, intended probably for other purposes. Among the stories that caught, at this moment, the imagination of the people, the arrival of the embassy was said to furnish 2 The Chiaese, who are not fond of using ill- omened words, call a funeral " a white affair." •* It is avoided as being unlucky, or ill-omened. The colour of compliment or congratulation is red. INTERIOR ASPECT. 175 no inconsiderable share. The presents brought by it to the emperor were asserted to include whatever was rare in other countries, or not known before to the Chinese. Of the ani- mals that were brought, it was gravely men- tioned that there was an elephant of the size of a monkey, and as fierce as a lion, and a cock that fed on charcoal. '■' * * * * * * As soon as the persons belonging to the embassy had arrived at the eastern side of the Yellow wall, they turned along it to the right, and found on its northern side much less bustle than in the former street. Instead of shops, all were private houses, not con- spicuous in the front. Before each house was a wall or curtain, to prevent passengers from seeing the court into which the street- door opened. This wall is called the wall of Respect. A halt was m.ade opposite the treble gates, which are nearly in the centre of this northern side of the palace wall. It appeared to enclose a large quantity of ground : it was not level like all the lands without the wall : some of it was raised into hills of steep ascent : the earth taken to form them left broad and deep hollows, now filled with water. Out of these artificial lakes, of which the margins were diversified and irregular, small islands rose, with a variety of fanciful edifices, interspersed with trees. On the hills of ditferent heights the principal palaces for the Emperor were erected. The whole had somewhat the appearance of enchantment * * * * * *. From the spot whence an op- portunity thus offered to take a glance, through the gates of the palace wall, at part of what was enclosed within it, the eye, turning to the north, observed, through a street extend- ing to the city wall, the great fabric, of con- siderable height, which includes a bell of of prodigious size and cylindrical form, that, struck on the outside with a wooden mallet, emits a sound distinctly heard throughout the capital. Beyond it, but more to the westward, was one of the northern gates, the ■watcli-toAver over which rendered it visible above the intermediate buildings. Proceed- ing on beyond the palace gates, directly to the westward, between the Yellow wall and the northern buildings of the city, is a lake of some acres in extent, now, in autumn, almost entirely overspread with the peltated leaf of the nyrnphcea nelumbo, or Uen-wha of the Chinese * * * * * *. The route was con- tinued westerly through the city. The dwell- ing-house of some Russians was pointed out, and, what Avas more singular, a library of foreign manuscripts, one of which was said to be an Arabic copy of the Koran. Some Mahometans were seen, distinguished by red caps. Among the spectators of the novel sight some women were observed ; the greatest number were said to be natives of Tartary or of a Tartar race. Their feet were not cramped like those of the Chinese ; and their shoes with broad toes, and soles above an inch in thickness, were as clumsy as those of the original Chinese ladies Avere diminutive. A few of the former were Avell-dressed, with delicate features, and their complexions heightened with the aid of art. A thick patch of vermilion on the middle of the lower lip seemed to be a favourite mode of using paint. Some of them were sitting in covered carriages, of which, as well as of horses, there are several to be found for hire in various parts of the town.^ A few of the Tartar ladies were on horseback, and rode astride like men. Trades- men with their tools, searching for employ- ment, and pedlars offering their wares for sale, were everywhere to be seen. Several of the streets were narrow, and at the entrance of them gates were erected, near which guards were stationed, it was said, to quell any occa- sional disturbance in the neighbourhood. Those gates are shut at night, and opened only in cases of exigency. The train of the embassy crossed a street which extended north and south the whole length of the Tartar city, almost four miles, and is interrupted only by several pai-loos, or triumphal fabrics; and passing by many temples and other capacious buildings and magazines, they reached, in little more than two hours from their entrance on the eastern side, to one of the western city gates. From this they issued towards the imperial park of Yuen-ming-yuen, and the route, thus accurately described, can readily be traced on the plan of Peking. The Tartar city, 1 None but privileged persons can use a chair so near to the Emperor ; but, in other parts, these are the common conveyances. 176 THE CHI^^ESE. through which they passed, is about three miles in breadth from east to west, and four in length from north to south. The portion traversed by the embassy was rather more than live miles, which was as much as they could accomplish, with all interruptions, in tte space of time mentioned above. Tlie observatory seen by them to the lei't on enter- ing the city was that of the Kin-sing (or planet Venus), near the south-east corner of the wall. A new set of insti-uments was made for it by order of Kang-hy, under the direction of the Catholic missionaries ; and the astronomical instruments brought out by Lord iNIacartney were subsequently deposited there. The high fabric, Avith its large cylin- drical bell, which the travellers observed between the north gate of the imperial wall and the exti-emity of the Tartar city on that side, is the Choong-lou; or '• Bell-tov/er," near to which is the office of the "' General of the Nine Gates,"' to whose charge is intrusted the police of the city. xV wooden mallet, being struck upon the huge bell, makes known the five watches of tlie night, and the sound is heard through the greater part of the city. Within the precincts of the Tartarian city, near the sovithern gate of the imperial wall, are the principal boards or tribunals of the supreme government ; and not far from them is the college of the Russian mission, con- sisting of ten persons, who are periodically relieved from St. Petersburgh. Near the westernmost of the three southern gates the Portuguese Jesuits had their college ; but the last of this fraternity was sent away in the year 1827, in the person of Padre Serra who then furnished us with some curious notes. The most favoured of the Catholics, who were the French Jesuits employed by Kang-hy, had their dwelling allotted within the circuit of the imperial wall, near the lake and gardens on the north and west of the enclosure. This great space, occupying an area of about two square miles, is just in the centre of the Tartarian city, and can be entered by none but authorised persons. It corresponds in shape to the outer limits of the city, being an oblong square, built on a very regular plan: and contains within itself a third and still more sacred enclosure, de- voted exclusively to the Emperor's abode, called " The Prohibited Wall.'" Tliis con- tains the private palaces of the Sovereign and his Empress, communicating by a gate on the north with a square two-thirds of a mile in length, in which are situated the artificial hills and woods mentioned by Sir George Staunton, as seen at a distance in his progress through Pekhig. The architecture and ar- rangements of the palaces and courts within the " prohibited wall,'" are described as far exceeding any other specimens of the kind in China. In regard to population, the vast areas in- cluded within the imperial' wall, and the central or prohibited wall, may be con- sidered comparatively as empty spaces. Father Hyacinth describes the lakes and gardens which he saw as occupying nearly the whole western side of the larger parallel- ogram, the lake alone being upwards of a mile in length. From his account it may be inferred that the palaces and gardens of the Chinese emperor are worthy of the master of so many millions of subjects, who have been estimated at a third of the wliole human race. So much of the capital, however, being devoted to the emperor, it is not easy to find lodging within the remainder for the three millions of people which some have stated that its walls, and those of the south- ern or Chinese city, contain together. This number nearly equals the whole population of the kingdom of Portugal bj^ the latest census. If we admit that the number of subjects who own the emperor of China for their master really exceeds the amount of three hundred millions, he may well speak with contempt of .states whose entire population goes not beyond the hundredth part of his own " black-haired race,'" as he calls them. On the east side of the Tartarian city is the Altar of the Sun, because the luminary rises in that quarter; and for a similar, though not the same reason, the Altar of the Moon is on the western side, because at the opposition, or at full moon, she sets in the west, while the sun rises on the otlier side. This regard to the place of the sun's rising serves to explain several points in Chinese customs. Their climate makes it necessary to build all considerable houses fronting the south, but closed to the north • POPULATION OF PEKIXG. 177 for the sake of admitting the southerly mon- soon in summer, and excluding the northerly in winter. The eastern side of the house is the most honourable, for the reason above given, and the master of a family is there- fore called. To»g-kea, " East of the house- hold," But the left-hand is likewise to the east of the principal seat iu the hall of re- ception, which serves to explain the circum- stance of their making the left side the place of honour, so contrary to the custom which generally prevails in other countries. The Chinese town, which lies to the south of the Tartarian, or '' City of Nine Gates," is not subject to the same rigid system of military police as that which contains the abode of the emperor; and its walls and defences are inferior to those of the other, being, in fact, like the ordinary Chinese towns. The included area is about equal to that of the Tartarian city, but of this a very considerable portion is occupied by the immense courts of the temples dedicated to '•' Heaven," and to the deified inventor of agriculture (sometimes styled the Temple of '• Earth"'), where the emperor sacrifices an- nually, and performs the ceremony of ploughing the sacred field. The Altar to Heaven stands in a square enclosure, mea- suring about three miles in circuit, near the southern wall of the Chinese citj-. The ter- race consists of three stages, diminishing from one hundred and twenty to sixty feet in diameter, each stage being surrounded by a marble balustrade, and ascended by steps of the same material. Towards the north- west of the enclosure is the Palace of Absti- nence, where tlie emperor fasts for three days preparatory to ottering sacrifices to the heavens at the winter solstice. On the other side of the great central street leading to the Tartarian city, and just over against the Temple of the Heavens, stands the Altar of the Earth. The square enclosure is about two miles in curcuit, and contains the field which is once a-year ploughed by the em- peror and his great officers, and the produce reserved for sacrifices. In the vicinity of tlie south-east angle of the Chinese city are extensive sheets of water, and large open spaces cultivated with grain and vegetables for the use of Peking. To- wards tlie south-west angle, also, beyond the Temples of the Heavens and the Earth, is a huge pool or lake, dedicated to the genius of the watery element, under the designation of He-loong, the " Black Dragon," where the emperor either deprecates or prays for rain, according as the countiy may be afflicted by deluge or drought. These great chasms in the population of the capital, with the vast spaces occupied by the imperial palaces and gardens, make it very improbable that the population of Peking should be more than twice that of London, especially as the houses are only of one story. The less strict police of the Chinese city makes it a place of retirement to many from the other, where the precautions for the emperor's jiersonal safety and quiet produce a system of disci- pline not unlike that of a garrison town. The " General of the Nine Gates," under whose charge it is placed, was sent, in 1816, to urge the departure of tlie embassy from Yuen-ming-yuen, and he did his best to excite their alarm, by telling them that he commanded '' a million of men." There seems to be some reason for the care with which the Tartarian city is guarded, if we take into consideration the dangers arising from occasional scarcities in an im- mensely populous city, which is fed, in a great measure with grain brought from the southern provinces. In the year 1824, the court were seriously alarmed by the conse- quences of a severe drought, which pro- duced, first want, and afterwards pestilence at Peking, The present emperor, then reign- ing, issued a proclamation in these words : — " The numerous resort of a hungry populace from the surrounding country has led to the occasional plundering of articles of food, and we have already issued our commands for restraining and controlling them. One of the censors has reported that sundry va- grants, with the excuse of want and starva- tion, have been committing depredations in the markets and other places of public resort, in contravention of the laws. The proper authorities are hereby commanded to issue proclamations on the subject, and to exercise a rigid control, that the neighbour- hood of the imperial residence may be well governed and orderly. The erection of ad- N 178 THE CHINESE. ditional playhouses (according to the same report) being highly prejudicial to the morals of the people, the police of the city must also resti-ain and keep them within bounds."' Soon after was issued the subjoined: — " The different stations at Peking have dis- tributed grain during a long-continued period ; but on the 20th day of the 5th moon let them all be shut, and the distribution cease, as the stores will not admit of further donations. The harvest is now approaching, and the people may return to their several districts to seek a livelihood by their own labour. Let the governor of the province enjoin the district officers to exercise a strict vigilance, at the same time soothing the distressed populace, and preventing their wandering about in a dispersed and vagabond manner ; thus seconding our patenial solici- tude to cherish them in our bosom." To avert the drought which had created this distress, the Emperor ordained certain reli- gious observances, and we give an extract ftom his edict : — " On account of the drought in the neighbourhood of the capital, and the destitution of the husbandman's tields, whicli have looked in vain for fei-tilizing showers, we sent down our will that altars should be erected at He-loong Taji^ and elsewhere. Although, diiring the last ten days, there has been a slight appearance of rain, it was quite inadequate to moisten the earth. Let our eldest son, Ye-heng, on the 7 th day of the present moon, proceed reverentially to the Temple of the Heavens to worship. Let our imperial relative, Mien-kae, proceed Avith reverence to the Temple of the Earth to sacrifice; and Mien-hia to the Temple of the Year. Let our son, Ye-chaou, likewise sacri- fice at the Temple of the Winds **** *, Having sent doAvii our will regarding the sacrifices to be performed by the prhices and great ministers on the 7th of the moon, we now intimate our intention to bum incense in person, on the same day, at the Altar of the Black Dragon."^ This may serve as a specimen of the state- worship of China. 1 He-loong is the Saghalien, or Black Dragon, which represents the principal river of Manchow Tartary, worshipped by the reigning family . The dragon always signifies tlie watery element, or But other dangers beset the emperor in his capital, either from the machinations of rela- tives, who may plot against the throne, or from the treason of secret societies or brother- hoods, of which we shall have to speak. '• Though the succession to the throne," ob- served Padie Serra, '•'depends on the arbi- trary nomination of the reigning prince, this does not always prevent usurpations. An instance of this was seen in the succession of Yoong-ching to his father, the great Kang-hy. The prmce nominated was the fourth ; but this latter being in Tartary at the period of the emperor's somewhat sudden demise, Yoong-ching, who was a privileged waiig (or regi/li/s), entered the palace and seized the billet of nomination. Before the immber four, which he there found, he boldly set the sign of ten, and thus made it appear that he. the foitrteenth prince, was the one nominated. He possessed himself of the sceptre, and ordered his brother to be arrested and imprisoned in a place which is standing to this day, four leagues to the north of Peking, in whicli it is said that he died."' On the 18th October, 1813, as the last emperor, Keaking, was about to enter Peking, on his return from the summer excursion to Je-ho (the Hot-springs, about one hundred miles north-east of the capital), a party of conspirators entered the imperial palace, and kept possession of a pait of it for some time. The present emperor, who was only his second son, is said to have owed his elevation to the good conduct he displayed on this occasion. He shot two of the rebels, and assisted to inti- midate the remainder of those who had penetrated within the precincts of the palace. The first intimation of the preceding oc- currence was conveyed in a proclamation from the Emperor, of which the following is an extract : — " Eighteen years have elapsed since, possessed of only inferior virtue, I looked up, and received with profound vene- ration the throne of my imperial father ; since which I dared not resign myself to ease, or neglect the affairs of government. I had but just ascended the throne, when the sect of the jmte lily seduced into a state of confusion four provinces, and the people suffered more than I can bear to express. I ordered my generals to proceed against them, and, after SCENE IN LAST EMBASSY. 179 a protracted conflict, reduced them to sub- mission. I then hoped that with my chil- dren (the people) I should have enjoyed in- creasing happiness and repose. On the 6th of the 8th moon, the sect of Tienly (celestial reason), a band of vagabonds, suddenly created disorder, and caused much injury, extending from the district of Chang-yuen in Pechele to that of Tsaovi in Shantong. I hastened to direct Wun, the Viceroy, to lead forth an army to exterminate them, and restore peace. This aftair, however, existed at the distance of one hundred leagues from Peking; but, suddenly, on the 15th of the 9th moon, rebellion arose under my own arm — the calamity sprung up in my own house. A banditti of upwards of seventy men, of the sect Tien-ly, violated the prohi- bited gate, and entered withinside; they wounded the guard, and rushed into the inner palace. Four rebels were seized and bound ; three others ascended the wall with a flag. My imperial second son seized a match- lock and shot two of them ; my nephew killed the third. For this deliverance I am in- debted to the energies of my second son." About eight miles to the north-west of Pe- king are the gardens, or rather the park, of Yuen-ming-yuen, which Mr. Barrow (who spent his time between tliat place and Peking) estimates at an extent of twelve square miles. As the face of the country on this side of Peking begins to rise towards the Great Wall, the diversity of hill and dale has afforded some natural facilities for embellishment, which have been improved by art. Accord- ing to the description of the fore-mentioned writer, the landscape is diversified with wood- lands and lawns, among which are numerous canals, rivulets, and sheets of water, the banks of which have been thrown up in an ap- parently fortuitous manner in imitation of the free liand of nature. Some parts are culti- vated, and others left purposely wild ; and wherever pleasure-houses are erected, the views appear to have been studied. It is said that within the enclosure of these gar- dens there exist no less than thirty distinct places of residence for the Emperor and his immerous suite of ministers, eunuchs, and servants, each constituting a considerable village. The principal hall of audience, seen by Mr. Barrow, stood upon a platform of granite four feet high, and was surrounded by a sort of peristyle of large wooden columns, which supported the roof. The length of the hall within was one hundred and ten feet, the breadth forty-two, and the height twenty. The floor was paved with slabs of grey marble laid checkerwise, and the throne, made en- tirely of carved wood, placed in a recess. The only furniture of the hall were " a pair of brass kettle-drums, two large paintings, two pairs of ancient blue porcelain vases, a few volumes of manuscripts, and a table placed at one end of the hall, on which stood an old English chimney-clock, made in the seventeenth century. It was at a place called Hae-tien, in the immediate vicinity of these gardens, that the strange scene occurred which terminated in the dismissal of the embassy of 1816. On his arrival there, about daylight in the morning, with the commissioners and a few other gentlemen, the ambassador was drawn to one of the Emperor's temporary residences by an invitation fiom Duke Ho, as he was called, the imperial relative charged with the con- duct of the negotiations. After passing through an open court, where were assembled a vast number of mandarins in their dresses of ceremony, they were shown into a wretched room, and soon encompassed by a well-dressed crowd, among whom were jirinces of the blood by dozens, wearing yellow girdles. With a childish and unmannerly curiosity, con- sistent enough with the idle and disorderly life which many of them are said to lead, they examined the persons and dress of the gentlemen without ceremony; while these, tired with their sleepless journey, and dis- gusted at the behaviour of the celestials, turned their backs upon them, and laid them- selves down to rest. Duke Ho soon appeared, and surprised the ambassador by urging him to proceed directly to an audience of the Emperor, who was waiting for him. His Lordship in vain remonstrated that to-morrow had been fixed for the first audience, and that, tired and dusty as they all were at present, it would be worthy neither of the Emperor nor himself to wait on his Majesty in a manner so unprepared. He urged, too, that he was unwell, and required immediate rest. Duke N 2 180 THE CHINESE. Ho became more and more pressing, and at length forgot himself so far as to grasp the ambassador's arm violently, and one of the others stepped up at the same time. His Lordship immediately shook them otf, and the gentlemen crowded about him : while the highest indignation was expressed at such treatment, and a determined resolution to pro- ceed to no audience this morning. The am- bassador at length retired, with the appear- ance of satisfaction, on the part of Duke Ho, that the audience should take place to-morrow. There is every reason, however, to suppose that this person had been largely bribed by the heads of the Canton local government to frustrate the views of the embassy, and prevent an audience of the Emperor. The mission, at least, was on its way back in the afternoon of the same day. The previous embassy of Lord Macartney, in 1793, attended the Emperor's court at Je-ho (sometimes written Zhehol), or '• the hot-springs," at some distance north of the Great Wall, in ]\Ianchow Tartary. The ele- vation of this place, at some thousand feet above the plain in which Peking is situated, renders it a cool summer retreat dining tlie excessive heats which prevail at the capital. The gardens and residences of the Emperor, though considerable, are described as inferior in extent to those of Yuen-ming-yueu. Still, however, the accommodation of such a suite as the Sovereign carries with him requires a town in itself. Peking, in fact, is chiefly supported throughout its vast bounds by the residence of the court and the supreme govern- ment. Being neither a seaport nor a place naturally suited to inland trade and manu- factures, it derives nearly its whole import- ance from being the dwelling-place of the *' Son of Heaven.'' His vast establishments are chiefly sup- ported by the surplus reveime, both in money and stores, remitted by the way of the grand canal from the provinces.^ An imperial relative of the first rank receives, according to P. Serra,^ 10,000 taels annually from the exchequer, with a large allowance of rice, 1 It is this that makes the southern entrance of the canal so valuable a point to a hostile squadron. 2 Roval Asiat. Trans, vol, iii. and as many as three hundred and more servants. As the multiplication of these ex- pensive idlers would soon ruin the govern- ment, their rank descends by one degree in each generation, until after five descents their heirs retain the simple privilege of wearing tlie yellow girdle, with a bare subsistence. From this degradation a few have been ex- cepted by especial favour, as it happened to a grandson of Kien-loong, to whom that Em- peror granted the first grade for ten lives. The expense to the state of a Wang of the first rank is about 60,000 taels, or 20.000^. annually, and this diminishes through the several grades down to the simple inheritors of the yellow girdle, v/ho receive only three taels a-month, and two sacks of rice. But they are allowed 100 taels when they marry, and 120 for a funeral; from which (says Serra) they take occasion to maltreat their wives, because, when they have killed one, they receive the allowance for her interment, as well as the dowry of the new wife, whom they take immediately ! In 1825, appeared the following order from the Emperor: — " The Wang (or regiihis) Chunshan has pre- sented to us a petition, entreating our im- perial favour in the advance of some years' salaries, wherewithal he may be enabled to repair the tombs of his family. We permit to be advanced to him the amount of his money allowances for ten years ensuing, and direct that his pay be annually deducted until the whole shall be repaid.'' This title of Jf'iu/g is the one by which the Chinese Emperor styles the sovereign of England, whose representative (consistently enough with such a broad assumption) is expected to beat his head nine times against the ground, on being admitted to the presence of the uni- versal monarch ! It is at Peking chiefly, and in its neigh- bourhood, that the privileges of Tartars, in contradistinction to Chinese, are most broadly marked, and most openly asserted. It must be sufliciently clear to a sagacious govern- ment, as that of the Manchows has always proved itself, that, being so enormously out- numbered b}- the original inhabitants of China, the wisest policy must be to display a tolerable partiality in tlie administration of the pro- vinces, and especially the distant ones. An POLICE OF PEKING. 181 examination of the Chinese red-book gave the following results : — Of the eight Viceroys, having each two provinces, or one of the largest, under his sway, there are no less than six Chinese ; and of the fifteen Lieutenant- governors, ten are Chinese. On the other , hand, the highest and most responsible mili- tary commands are always intrusted to Man- chows. The probability is, that the genius of the Chinese is better adapted to titting themselves for civil offices, for wliich the qualification is an adequate proficiency in that learning which is entirely founded on the ancient literature of the cuuntrj- ; while, for military commands, the Manchows are not only more likely to prove faithftil to the present dynasty-, but at the same time are better suited by nature and education. In the neighbourhood of the capital, veiy dis- tinct ideas of local claims and jurisdictions j appear to be entertained by the Tartars. \Vhen Ix)rd Macartney had passed just to the north of the Great Wall, on his way to Je-ho, one of the attendants, who was a Tar- tar, having been ordered for punishment by a Chinese mandarin, immediately resisted with great vehemence, exclaiming against the authority of the latter on that side of the na- tional barrier. The strict system of police, by which such an immense population is kept in due order, is essentially the same through the diii'erent cities and towns of the empire. Its efficiency arises in a great measure fi-om the principle of responsibility . which fonns so marked a feature of Chinese rule, and is earned among them j to an extent quite beyond om- notions of equity. Every town is divided into tithings of ten houses, and these are combined into ■wards of one hundred : or, as the Chinese term it, ''ten houses make a kea, ienkea make a paou,'' or hundred. The magistrate is responsible for his whole district, the hun- dreder and tithing-man each for his respective charge, and the householder for the conduct of his family. From this gradation of autho- rity all strangers and foreigners are rigidly excluded. So summary is the mode in which the objects of the police are eftected, that it is no light matter to be once in their hands. The Chinese emphatically express their sense of this unfortunate condition, by the popular phrase, '•' The meat is on the chopping- block," The gates of all Chinese towns are shut soon after it is dark, when the first watch is sounded by a huge bell, or drum, in some commanding station. At the end of e very- principal street is a strong barrier of timber, which is closed at the same time with the principal gates. These are only opened to such as can give a satisfactory reason for their being allowed to pass, or for being out at night : as, for instance, to call a midwife on a sudden emergency. Every one is ex- ])ected to carry a lantern, and is punished for being found without it. When the particu- lar watch of the night has been indicated by a certain number of strokes on the drum or bell at the principal station, this is answered by all the rest ; and a police soldier walks from one corps cle garde to another, repeating the number of the watch (and thereby mark- ing the time of night) by striking two hollow bamboos together. The great jealousy with which the personal safety of the Emperor is provided for at Pe- king renders the police very strict in regard to all access to the imperial palace and its neighbourhood. It has been well observed, that the subjects of a despot are amply re- venged by the fears in which such regulations originate. According to the penal code, '-In all cases of persons who have lived within the jurisdiction of the imperial city being condemned to die by the sentence of the law, their families, and all persons whatsoever who resided under the same roof with them, shall remove forthwith." The principal duty of the military of China is to perform the office of a police ; and it must be admitted that, by the aid of the unrelenting system of responsibility, there is no country- in the world in which a more efficient police exists than there. Not being very scrupulous as to the means, the government generally contiives in some way or other to accomplish its ends; and occasionally makes up for its own weak- ness by the policy of its measures. When the pirates at the commencement of the pre- sent Tartar dynasty ravaged the coasts of the maritime provinces, the want of a force to oppose them on the water rendered active measures impossible. The government, 182 THE CHINESE, therefore, offered no activ^e resistance; but merely obliged the inhabitants of the coast to move thirty ly, or about three leagues, inland, — a plan which proved perfectly suc- cessful. European residents in China have generally found that their property has been as secure from violent invasion as it could be in any other country of the world; and in one or t^vo instances, where flagrant acts of robbery combined with murder have occurred, the efficiency of the police has proved, in a very signal and remarkable manner, that the go- vernment was not only willing, but able to do them summary justice. In 1816, the American ship IFabash, having opium on board, came to an anchor ofl^ Macao, and being manned by a very small number of hands, was suddenly carried by a boatful of desperate^Chinese, who, coming on board under pretence! of offering their services as pilots, stabbed those who were on deck, or forced them into the water; and then, confining the re- mainder of the crew to the forepart of the vessel, plundered her of all the opium. When the fact was represented to the local government, whose horror of piratical violence is extreme, such prompt and effective measures were taken for the discovery of the ruffians, that they were most of them caught and con- demned to death, and their heads exposed in cages on the rocks near Macao as a warning to others. But the case of the French ship Navigateur, in 1828, was still more remarkable, and may be given nearly from the relation of M. Lap- lace, captain of the eighteen-gun corvette La Favorite, whose observations on the Chinese we have had occasion to quote in another place. The Navigateur, a merchantman, was compelled by sti-ess of weather to put into Touron Bay on the coast of Cochin-China. The disabled state of the ship, the difficulty of effecting the necessaiy repairs, and the well- known unfriendliness of the local authorities, forced the captain and crew to the necessity of selling her to the king of Cochin-China, and em balking themselves with their most valuable effects on board a Chinese junk, which was engaged to carry them to Macao. The voyage was short, but still long enough to enable the crew of the junk to conceive and execute a dreadful conspiracy against the Frenchmen. It was in vain that one of the oldest of the Chinese endeavoured by signs to draw the attention of the French captain to the danger which threatened him ;. the latter had contented himself with making one or two of his sailors keep watch by day, as well as during the night ; but this charge was the more negligently executed, inasmuch as most of the people, in consequence of their previous sufferings, had to contend with fever or dysentery. The junk was already within sight of the great Ladrone island, the mark by which iVIacao is made in the southerly monsoon, and the Chinese passengers disembarked at once into boats, with an eagerness which ought to have roused the suspicions of the Europeans, had they not been blinded by the most im- prudent confidence. The night passed quietly, and the da^vning light seemed to promise a happy landing to the Frenchmen ; but it was destined to witness their massacre. These unfortunate men, the gieater number still asleep, were despatched with hatchets and knives by the crew of the junk; and their captain, assailed by the assassins in the narrow cabin which he occupied with his mates, after killing several of the Chinese, fell himself the last. One seaman, however, still remained, who, armed with an iron bar, continvied to make a desperate resistance, although badly wounded in the head. Having reached the deck of the vessel, almost overcome as he was in this unequal conflict, he leaped into the sea, and appeared in this manner to ensure, by his certain death, impunity to the murderers. He contrived, notwithstanding, to swim to the nearest fishing-boat, but was denied succour, with the usual selfish prudence of the Chinese ; another boat, however, after- wards received him on board, and landed him by night on the shore at Macao. Sick and wounded as he was, the poor man wandered unknown for some time about the streets, but at length discovered the abode of the French missionaries, who with their ready humanity relieved him at once from his immediate wants. In the mean while, the French consul had arrived from Canton, and the affair being brought by him to the notice of the Portuguese authorities at Macao, was placed by them in XOX-SUBMISSION TO CHINESE PUNISHMENT. 183 the hands of the Chinese mandarins. By means of the information obtained from the French sailor, the Chinese passengers who had quitted the jmik previous to the massacre, and repaired in all haste to their respective homes, were summoned to Canton. From them was obtained a full evidence as to the criminals, and their design : and a strict embargo was at once laid on all the vessels within the ports of Canton and the neighbouring province of Fokien. The assassins being soon arrested in their junk, were put into iron cages and conveyed to Canton for trial and judgment. On their arrival there, it was ordained by the Emperor's strict order, that the trial and punishment should take place in the presence of the Euro- peans at that place. Among the English spectators was the interpreter of the East India Company, Dr. Morrison, the author of the Chinese dictionarj', whose labours have been so useful towards illustrating the litera- ture of the country, and who was destined on this occasion to experience a very gratifying reward for his pains in acquiring the language. His attention having been attracted by the loud complaints of an old man, who, like the others, was shut up in a cage with iron bars, and who, in protesting his innocence, called for the French sailor whose life he had con- tributed to save. Dr. Morrison approached the old man's prison, heard what he had to say, and promised him his assistance with the judges. In a word, accompanied by the Frenchman, he presented himself before the mandarins, pleaded the cause of his client, and called to their recollection that maxim of Chinese law, and of humanity in general, that "it is better to let even the guilty escape, than to punish the innocent."" He obtained the consent of the court that the sailor should be confronted Avith the accused; and these. on the first sight of each other, immediately embraced and shed tears, to the great in- terest and sympathy of the audience. The judges themselves yielded to the general sentiment, and at once absolved the old man. Out of twenty-four prisoners, seventeen were condemned and decapitated at once, and their chief put to a lingering death in presence of the Europeans. Captain Laplace has made a great mistake in supposing that, when Dr. Morrison enun- ciated to the mandarins that merciful and wise maxim which contributed to save the man's life, he told them anything that they had never before heard. We could prove to him, by chapter and verse, that the precept is perfectly well known to the Chinese, how- ever grossly it may have been violated by them in several cases where Europeans have itnintentionaUy caused the death of natives. It is, in fact, this knowledge of what is right in criminal practice that makes the conduct of the local government towards foreign homi- cides so perfectly unjustifiable, and renders it not only excusable, but imperative in Euro- peans to resist the execution, not of law, but of illegality. Were they treated like natives on these occasions, and according to the dis- tinct provisions of the Chinese penal code, it might be difficult to make out a right to op- pose the laws of the country in which they sojourn. But, as a just and equal adminis- tration of those laws to natives and foreigners must alwaj-s be the necessary condition of submission on the part of the latter, the absurd injustice and partiality of the local government has deprived it of the right to complain, if Europeans, in cases of accidental homicide, refuse to deliver up their country- men to be strangled without a trial, or with only the mockery of one. 184 THE CHI^TESE. CHAPTER XII. CITIES NANKING AND CANTON. Larger portion of area vithin the ancient Walls of ^Nanking depopulated — Occurrence ia the last Embassy — View within the Wall— General similarity of all Chinese Cities— Streets and Shops at Canton — Mercantile Associations - Charitable Institutions— Clans and Fraternities — Temples— Inundation of European Factories — Contracted Limits of these — China-street and Hog-lane — Population of Canton overrated — River Popu' lation — Female Infanticide— Kidnapping Children — People of the Coast — Military of Canton — Forts at the Kiver's Mouth — Passed by Frigates. Although the circuit of the ancient walls of I Nanking exceeds that of the present capital of ] China, it has been already stated that the larger portion of the ai-ea is now either a waste, or consists of fields in a state of culti- vation. The last embassy had an opportunity of inspecting it in 1816, having been detained in the immediate neighbourhood for about tvvo days, from the 21st to the 23rd October. The opportunity was improved to the utmost, and the liberty with which we were enabled to satisfy our curiosity received some addi- tion in consequence of an accident, wherein the firmness of the ambassador was exercised with a favourable effect. Soon after the fleet of boats which con- veyed the mission had reached the suburbs of Nanking, on that great river the Keang, which flows a few miles to the north-west of the old capital, the ambassador was induced, by the reports of some gentlemen of the mission, who bad already explored a portion of the interior of the walls without any objection being made, to visit the nearest gate on the north- west side. On reaching it, however, a man- darin of subordinate rank, on horseback, with a pack of Chinese soldiers after him, rushed past and closed the gates suddenly in the face of the party. In return for this rudeness to the principal person of the mission, the indi- vidual who had caused the gates to be shut was requested to open them again, and it was declared that on no other condition Avould the ambassador quit the spot. The underling, however, who had committed the oflence, showed no disposition to repair it, but took his departure in an impudent style. His excellency, on this, requested two individuals of his suite, of whom the writer was one, to proceed as fast as possible to the imperial legate, who acted as conductor to tlie embassy, and, complaining formally of the insult which had been offered him, require that reparation should be instantly made. We were very civilly received on board the Kinchae's boat, who, when we had explained the nature of the oflence, immeiliately said that tlie person Avho had been guilt)- of it must be out of his wits, and sent at once to the highest military officer in the neighbourhood, to desire that he would go and see the gates re-opened instantly. We in the mean while, walked back to rejoin the ambassador, accompanied by a very fat and asthmatic mandarin, of the Order of the Blue Button, who had much ado to keep up witli om- rapid pace. On our reaching the gate, the Cliinese general who had been de- spatched by the legate, presently arrived, and, apologizing for the folly of the officer, caused tlie gates to be re-opened. The ambassador expressed himself satisfied, and declined entering the gate, telling the general and the rest that he was sony they should have had so much trouble. A large assembled crowd had witnessed the transaction, and it evidently had a very favourable effect on their conduct, which became more civil than ordinary. In the course of the same day several gentlemen were allowed not only to pass the gate, but to proceed as far as they pleased into the interior; and, from a high wooded hill within the wall, could see the modern town to the south, which occupies barely a third of the immense area. The ancient name of Nanking (the southern capital) is still in common use, but no longer admitted in official docu- ments, wherein it is styled Keang -ning-foo, a cif)' of the first order, but still merely the chief town of a province. The porcelain tower of Nanking (which, however, is porcelain in nothing but its tiles) was a conspicuous NANKI^'G. 185 object in the distance, and tempted some of the party to undertake a walk to the modem town to inspect it. They reached the suburb without interruption ; but the vast and dense crowd wliich presently surrounded them made it imprudent to persevere, and they were obliged to give up the principal object of their excursion. It was satisfactory, however, to have gained even this insight into the present condition of the ancient capital of China, which had never been visited by a former embassy. The following is from an unpublished journal of Sir George Staunton on the same occasion : — " The view from the summit of the hill (within the gate) certainly well rewarded us for the labour of the ascent, and was a perfect panorama. On one side, and, as it were, beneath our feet, lay the suburb which we had just quitted: the noble stream of the Yang-tse-keang, with its several branches, or rather subdivisions ; and beyond them, the pagoda of the city of Poo-keu-hien, and a distant range of hills in the horizon. On the other side was a beautiful vale of many leagues in extent, the whole of which, with several lesser eminences within its enceinte, is included within the ancient boundaries of the imperial city. We could tiace with the eye, assisted by a telescope, nearly the whole circuit of the walls; but within the vast space which they enclosed we looked almost in vain for the habitations of men, or any traces of the former populousness of this ancient capital of China. Even the very ruins and vestiges of the buildings which we are led to conclude must formerly have filled this space have disappeared ; and at present clumps of trees, orchards, cultivated fields, aiid gardens, and a few scattered farm- houses occupy their places. At a distance, indeed, beyond an elevated ridge to the westward, we could perceive that a part of the valley was overhung with a cloud of smoke, which partially disclosed a few con- siderable buildings, and no doubt arose from that portion of the city which continues to be inhabited. We could distinguish pretty clearly the roofs of two or three buildings resembling temples, two arched gateways, and three pagodas, one of which, from its superior size and stateliness, and its proximity to tlie river, we immediately concluded to be the famous porcelain tower, and in this opi- nion we were confirmed by our Chinese conductors,"' The desolation which took place in this ancient seat of the native sovereigns may no doubt be ascribed to the Tartar conquerors, who demolished the imperial palace, and even the sepulchres in the rage of war. Much, however, may be attributed to another reason, which sufficiently explains why, except the Great Wall, there are few ancient monuments in China. Their edifices are far from being of a solid construction, the columns being in most cases of wood, and the climate throughout the country subject to the greatest vicissitudes of moisture and dryness, as well as of heat and cold. The nine-storied build- ings called pagodas, being of good solid brick-work, are among the most lasting. That of Nanking is at the head of these monuments, which are of a religious nature, and, like the steeples of churches, were at first attached to temples. Several still remain with the religious establishments to which they belong, besides the one at Nanking, a printed representation of which, with a des- cription attached, was purchased by some of the embassy while in the neighbourhood. Its dimensions are nearly two Imndred feet in height, the ground-plan being octagonal, and the spiral staircase built through the solid part of the wall, which surrounds a hollow space in the centre that is carried to the summit of the building. In niches at the sides of the stair are placed images of Budh, or of the goddess Kuan-yin. Nanking being situated in lat. 32o 04', the excellence of the climate, joined to its proximity to the great Keang, and the canal, still renders it a populous place with a very considerable trade, however fallen from its former splendour. Besides its silk manufac- tures, and the cotton cloth which takes its name, the Chinese highly esteem the paper, and the squares of ink which are made here. The pithy substance, in England vulgarly called rice-paper, is likewise prepared in tliis neighbourhood from a leguminous plant called Timg-tsaoii, which, like the rush, inhabits marshy places. When the pirate Koshinga ravaged the eastern coasts', he sailed 186 THE CHINESE. [Nine-storied Pagoda.] easily up the mouth of the Keang to Nanking ; and there is reason to suppose that to a European fleet, it would be one of the most vulnerable parts of the empire, as the canal opens into the great river, a little below the city towards the sea. To blockade at once the mouth of the canal and of the Yangtse- keang, could scarcely fail to distress the empire, and especially Peking, which is fed by supplies from the southern provinces. Nanking stands pretty nearly midway between Peking and Canton, the two most CANTON. 187 important extremes of China on the north and south. Notwithstanding the very con- siderable difference of climate which must he produced by no less than seventeen degrees of latitude, the general character of the cities and towns throughout the empire, and of the houses which they contain, is sur- prisingly uniform. The most striking features are the lowness of the houses, and the nar- rowness of the streets, which are usually paved with flag-stones, and calculated only for the passage of people on foot, or of those who are carried in sedan-chairs. The way is sometimes crossed by those triple gateways of an ornamental structure, which have been improperly styled triumphal arches, but which are of a square construction, and ap- pear to have been usually erected to the memory of individuals celebrated for their talents or virtues. Another species of me- morial, of the same kind, is a large stone slab, called She-pae, being about eight feet in height, two in breadth, and half a foot in thickness, covered with inscriptions, which record some honour conferred by the Emperor, or the merit of some eminent person. These are always erected perpendicularly on the figure of a tortoise, of the same stone from which the slab is cut. The portion of Canton in which the European factories are situated, being a mere suburb, does not contain any of the deco- rations above described ; but the arrangement and architecture of the streets and shops is precisely the same as within the walls of the city. The shops are commonly quite open towards the street, — that is, those appropriated to Chinese customers; for the few streets devoted to European ti-ade are rather on a dift'erent plan, the shops being of a closer structure, and less exposed to external observation. The several streets are com- monly devoted to distinct trades. There is Carpefiter-street, or rather square, as it is carried round a parallelogram ; Curiosity- street (as the English call it) is devoted to the sale of antiqiies, real and factitious ; and Apothecaivj -stxeet is full of druggists" shops, the drawers in which are neatly arranged aiid lettered, but filled principally with simples. By the side of each shop is suspended from on high a huge ornamental label of wood, varnished and gilded, on which are inscribed the particular calling of the tenant, and the goods in which he deals. This label being hung like the sign of one of our inns, with it's edge towards the street, and inscribed on both sides, can be read by all who approach, the shop in either direction ; and the vista of these immerous variegated sign-boards, glit- tering with gold and varnish, gives to the better streets a very gay appearance. The inscriptions in the shops are sometimes amusing, and at the same time highly charac- teristic of the keenness and industry of the people as traders. We have seen the follow- ing : — "Gossiping and long sitting injure business."' " Former customers have inspired caution — no credit given. "■ " A small stream always flowing." "Goods genuine, prices true."' '^ Trade circling like a wheel," &c. Either the police must be very good, or the populace tolerably abstemious ; for some of the shops, which are pretty richly supplied, appear to be much exposed towards the street. But the inhabitants of each division generally combine into a system of watch and ward for the common protection ; and, during the night, the streets are closed at each end by doors, which are guarded by the regular i police. Commissioner Lin made a complete revolution in the streets adjoining the Euro- pean factories during the year 1839, convert- ing these into a sort of prison by blocking up several of the principal thoroughfares, and leaving but one or two outlets. In this manner the foreigners could be shut up and starved at the shortest notice, and their con- dition was rendered quite as degrading as that of the Dutch at Nagasaki in Japan. Yet the Americans found trade profitable under these circumstances. The principal shops connected with Euro- pean and American trade are those occupied by dealers in silks, lackered and carved ware, and all those smaller articles that are not resti'icted to the Hong merchants, who have the exclusive privilege of trading in tea, cotton, and other chief commodities. When the latter feel occasionally inclined to push their monopoly beyond its established limits, and to encroach on the sufficiently narrow trade of the shopmen, these usually combine for the purpose of opposing them with some 188 THE CHINESE. chance of success. At the close of 1834, the Hong merchants showed a disposition to exercise the whole weight of their exclusive privileges against the English ij-ee-trade, and even to add to them by depriving the shop- men of their accustomed dealings. A con- siderable ferment was created among the latter, which gave rise to a species of trades' unions, composed of manufacturers and dealers, Avho combined to plague the Hong merchants and petition the government, and succeeded, at length, in retaining such portion of the trade as they had before pos- sessed. The silk- weavers and dealers are much in the habit of forming combinations to maintain the rules of their trade, and the prices of work as well as goods. The forfeit for vio- lating the laws of the combination is, to be at the sole expense of a dramatic exhibition, which lasts for three days, and to pay half the value of the commodity sold contrary to rule, for the support of the tradesmen's Hall, of which there is generally one in every principal city, belonging to each wealthy corporation of traders, if they maj'^ be so termed. The embassy of 1816 observed at Kan-chow-foo, a principal city of Keang-sy province, that by far the most considerable buildings were the commercial halls, belong- ing to the associated merchants and dealers. The principal room in the exchange of tlie gi-een-tea merchants (who pass by this on their way to Canton) was named Hychun Tung, or " Hyson hall." In the appropriation of these editices, observes a private journal of the embassy, there is a singular coml)ina- tion of religious with commercial objects. They generally contain a temple of Budh, or some local divinity, and at the same time are used as an exchange, and house of entertain- ment and lodging, for the society of merchants to whom they belong. The worshipful corporation of silkmen of Canton, having been of opinion in 1833 that .some of their fraternity had been luifairly dealt with by an American, in a contract for silk piece-goods, forthwith exhibited a rather amusing placard against him. ''In conduct- ing commercial tiansactions (said the paper) the Chinese and foreigners are generally the same ; in buying and selling with justice and equity, there is no difference between them. When the goods are delivered, the money is immediately paid; there are no perverse difficulties made, nor cutting deductions in- flicted. But there is now living in the Swedish factory, No. 2, an American devil, named Hot^, to whom a wolfish voracitj'- has become nature. He monopolizes silks and various goods for the Americans. A glut- tonous avarice fills his heart. There is long procrastination and money unpaid, — con- tracting for im/ch and then requiring little ; with the concealed and villanous intention of picking and clioosing. He would point at a. gem, and call it a stone, ^ and tlien advance to administer the deadly potion of cutting down the price ! And, again, when the time of payment arrived, he would enforce dis- counts. He scraped and peeled off from the trader both skin and fat. * * * * He, know- ing that when the goods were once prepared there was none to take them but himself, forced his reduction upon us, and the Chinese brokers likewise servilely complied with his wish, joining and assisting in his wickedness ; so that we have been torn by the wolf, and swallowed by tlie whale ! We have become fish and flesh to liim — our property is wasted without a return — all our hearts unite in detesting him ; and therefore we have issued this song of our discontent. All the weavers of satin, silk, and crape publicly unite in the above declaration.' The greatest risk to which the houses and shops of Canton are exposed is that of fires, which in frequent instances are not the results of mere accident. The Chinese have verj' generally adopted the use of our engines, which they themselves occasionally manufacture sufficiently well to answer the purpose. The foolish notion of fatalism which prevails among the people makes them singularly careless as regards fire, and the frequent re- currence of accidents has no effect upon them, although the fearful conflagration of 1822 went far to destroy the whole city. When the dry northerly winds of the winter season have set in, the Viceroy annually issues a notice to the people, calling on them to Chinese coiruption of the real name. 2 Fijifuratively. CANTOX. 189 beware of the acts of incendiaries, who pur- posely set fire to buildings with a view to rob and plunder in the confusion : and that there is sufficient ground for the apprehension seems proved by the fact, that fires break out most frequently at the season when they are most likely to spread, and most sophy merely human, there is much to con- demn in the principles of the Chinese sage. Ke carried his inculcation of filial duty to so absurd and mischievous an extent, as to enjoin it on a son " not to live under the same heaven" with the slayer of his father ; or, in other words, to exercise the lex talionis, and put him to death. This pushing to extremes of the paternal claim has (as we have before hinted) been the constant device of Chinese statesmen and rulers; the tendency being to strengthen the autliority of the Emperor, founded as it is in the rights of a father over his children. Confucius was renowned for his unpretending humility and modesty ; but this portion of his mantle has not descended on his disciples of the present day; for if distinguished occasionally by some of the virtues of stoics, they resemble that sect still more in the high tone of self- sufficiency and pride which marks the conduct of the Confucians to all who have not the honour to profess tlie state religion of China. By tlie marriage which he had contracted at the early age of nineteen, the sage had but one son, who died before his father, leaving, however, a grandson to Confucius, who inlie- rited the talents and virtues of his progenitor, and distinguished himself in high stations. The founder of another sect, calling them- selves Taoit-sze, or " Doctors of reason" (whom we shall hereafter describe), was con- temporary with the great philosopher, and perliaps has been indebted, in some measure, for the consideration in which he is held, to the attention bestowed on liim by Confucius, who is said to have repaired to his dwelling for the purpose of conferring with him, and exploring his tenets. After completing his last work, the Chim-fsiei/, which was a history of the times in which he had lived, Con- fucius died at the age of seventy-three, much regretted by the rulers of the states whose government and morals he had contributed mainly to ameliorate. Time has but added to the reputation which he left behind him ; and he is now, at the distance of more than two thousand years, held in universal vene- ration throughout China by persons of all sects and persuasions, with shrines and temples erected to his worship. Dr. Morrison, in the first part of his dictionary, has quoted various particulars relating to the life of the sage from several Chinese works. Confucius is said to have been more than nine cubits in height ; and, whatever may have been the cubit of those days, he was universally called '■ the tall man." Various prodigies, as in other in- stances, were the forerunners of the birth of this extraordinary person. On the eve of his appearance upon earth, two dragons encircled the house, and celestial music sounded in the ears of his mother. When he was born, this inscription appeared on his breast — *• The maker of a rule for settling the world." The pedigree of Confucius is traced back in a sum- mary maimer to the mythological monarch Hoang-ty, who is said to have lived more than two thousand years before Christ. The morality of his family, however, notwithstanding this high descent, and even of himself, was in one respect open to censure, for he divorced his legal wife, and the example was followed by his son and grandson. When he had concluded his travels through the various states, and retired to his native kingdom, which was at the age of thirty, disciples began to flock to him in great num- bers. '' At fifteen (says the sage in the Liin- yit) I commenced my application to wisdom, and at thirty my resolution w^as immovably fixed." The close of his life was far from tranquil, and he was either employed in the affairs, or implicated in the disputes of the petty states of his day. A quarrel, in which the Sovereign of Loo was defeated, obliged Confucius to flee northwards to the kingdom Tsy, situated in the modern gulf of Pechely. Between his fiftieth and seventieth years he was absent from home fourteen years together. When seventy years of age, his favourite dis- ciple Yenhoey died. Confucius being greatly concerned for the continviance and propaga- tion of his doctrines, and having entertained great hopes of this person, was inconsolable for his loss, and wept bitterly, exclaiming, ''Heaven has destroyed — Heaven has de- sh'oyed me !" In his seventy-third year, a few days before his death, he moved about, lean- CONFUCIUS. 201 ing on his staff, and sighed as he ex- claimed — " Tlie mountain is crr.mliling. The strong beam is yielding, The sage is ^\ithel•ing like a plant." He observed to a disciple that the empire had long been in a state of anarchy, and mentioned a dream of the previous night, which he re- garded as the presage of his own departure ; and so it came to pass, for after seven days of sickness he died. The 18th day of the second moon is kept by tlie Chinese as the anniversary of their sages death. In the Han dynasty, long subsequent to his existence, Confucius was dignified with the highest title of honour, Koong ; and he was subsequently styled the Sovereign Teacher. The Ming, or Chinese dynasty, which succeeded the Mongols, called him '* The most holy teacher of ancient times,' a title which the present Tartar family has continued. Thovigh only a single descendant (his grand- son) survived Confucius, the succession has continvied through sixty-seven or sixty-eight generations to the present day, in the very district where their great ancestor was bom. Various honours and privileges have always distinguished the family. The heads have enjoyed the rank of nobility ; and in the time of Kang-hy the total number of descendants amounted to eleven thousand males. In every city, down to those of the third order, styled Hien, there is a temple dedicated to Confucius. The Emperor himself, the magis- trates, and all the learned of the land do him service. The philosopher in his lifetime sometimes spoke as if persuaded tliat he had received a special commission to instruct the world. In a moment of apparent danger he exclaimed, "If heaven is resolved that my doctrine shall not fail, the men of Kuang can do nothing to me."' Dr. Morrison justly observes that "Con- fucius was engaged in politics all his life ; and even his etliics dwell chiefly on those social duties which have a political bearing. A family is the prototype of his nation or empire, and lie lays at the bottom of his system, not the visionary notions (which have no existence in nature) of independence and equality, but principles of dependence and subo7'dination — as of children to parents, the younger to the elder, and so on. These principles are perpetually inculcated in the Confucian writings, as well as embodied in solemn ceremonials, and in apparently trivial forms of mere etiquette. It is probably this feature of his doctrines that has made him such a favourite with all the governments of China for many centuries past, and down to this day. These principles and these forms are early instilled into young minds, and form the basis of their moral sentiment : the elucida- tion and enforcement of these principles and forms is the business of students who aspire to be magistrates or statesmen, and of the wealthy who desire nominal rank in the coun- try ; and it is, in all likelihood, owing chiefly to the influence of these principles on the national mind and conscience, that China holds together the largest associated population in the world." It is certain that no pagan phi- losopher or teacher has influenced a larger, if so large, a portion of the whole human race, or met with more unalloyed veneration. What- ever the other opinions or faith of a Chinese may be. he takes good care to treat Confucius with respect; and, as we have before observed that Confucianism is rather a philosophy than a religion, it can scarcely be said to come into direct collision with religious persuasions. The Catholics got on very well until they meddled with the civil and social institutions of China. A summary view of the original works or compilations which have come down from the age of Confucius and his disciples will perhaps enable us to form some judgment respecting that school of philosophy and litera- ture of which he was the head, and which constitutes, at tills day, the standard of Chinese orthodoxy. The classical or sacred works consist in all of nine; that is to say, the " Four Books," and the " Five Canonical Works." In the course of a regular education, the former of these are the first studied and com- mitted to memory, being subsequently fol- lowed up by the others ; and a complete know- ledge of the whole of them, as well as of the standard notes and criticisms by wliich they are elucidated, is an indispensable condition to- wards the attainment of the higher grades of lite- rary and official rank. The original text of these 202 THE CHINESE. works is comprised within a very moderate com- pass ; but the numerous commentaries, which from time to time have been added, contribute to swell the whole to a formidable bulk. The art of printing, however, which gives the Chi- nese such an advantage over other Asiatic nations, together with the extreme cheapness of paper, has contributed to multiply the copies ad iiif.nitum, and to bring these and most other books of the countiy within the reach of almost everybody. 1. The first of the Four Books is the 7a- heo, which has been correctly rendered '' The school of Adults '' by the Jesuits, meaning literally the study of grown persons. A later work which has been named in conti-adistinc- tion Seaou-heo, " the study of youth,'" com- monly precedes the other in education. The Ta-heo proceeds to show that in the know- ledge and government of oneself the economy and government of a family must originate ; and going on thence to extend the principle of domestic rule to the government of a pro- vince, it deduces from this last the rules and maxims which should prevail in the ordering of the whole empire. The first section of the work is ascribed to Confucius himself, and the remaining ten to his principal disciple. The pithy and condensed style of these cele- brated bequests of antiquity may be inferred from the fact, that the text of this work (how- ever it may be swelled by commentaries) contains less than two thousand words; and its contents are briefly summed up as tending " to the improvement of oneself; the regula- tion of a family ; the government of a state ; and the rule of an empire.'' The end and aim of the work is evidently political ; and in this instance, as in others, the philosopher and statesman of China commences with morals as the foundation of politics- with the conduct of an individual father in his family, as the prototype of a sovereign's sway over his people. In the sixth section of this work, " the beauty of virtue " is inculcated somewhat in the manner of the stoics, and its practice recommended as a species of en- joyment. There is some wisdom shown in pointing out the importance and utility of rectifying " the motives of action." The following sentence, too, is remarkable: "He who gains the hearts of the people secures the throne; and he who loses the people's hearts loses the throne." There is every reason to believe that the recollection of this has tended to soften in practice the absolute theory of the Chinese government, and contributed to its general quiet and stability. A very detailed analysis of their classics cannot be attempted in a work of this popular description, and we therefore conclude ovir notice of the Ta-heo by quoting a maxim from the tenth section, which might be recom- mended to the notice of European financiers : " Let those who produce revenue be many, and those who consume it few ; let the producers have every facilit5% and let the consumers practise economy : thus there will be constantly a sufficiency of revenue," — and f it might liave been added) no national debts. There is a fair translation of the Ta-heo. with the text, in Dr. Marshman's Clavis Sinica ; and M. Pauthier has lately published a Latin version at Paris. 2. The title of the second of the Four Books is Choong-i/oong, which means the " Infallible Medium," ov the J i/ste->nilien. It is an appli- cation of the Greek maxim — that " the middle is in all things the safest course.'' Whatever vicissitudes a man may undego, he is taught to be always equal and moderate ; never haughty or elate in an exalted station, nor base in an humble one. It must not, however, be supposed that the thirty-three sections into which this work is divided are always of a practical nature ; for they contain much that is extremely obscure and some- times alriiost unintelligible. The work serves generally to expound the ideas of the Chinese respecting the nature of human virtue. They commonly divide mankind into three great classes : — 1 . The Shiny, perfect or inspired, who are wise or virtuous independently of instruc- tion—the saints of China. 2, The Hien. good or moral, who become so by the aid of study and application. 3. The Fw, vicious or worthless, who degenerate into that state in spite of teaching. The Chinese consider that the nature of man is originally pure and in- clined to virtue, and that it becomes vitiated only by the force of evil example, and by being soiled with what they call "the dust of the FOUR BOOKS. 203 world."' The old Greek poet Hesiod hai four lines which define with surprising exactness the above triplicate classification of mankind. He says that — " He indeed is the Best of men who of himself is wise in all things : Though he is Good who follows a good in- structor : But he who is neither wise of himself, nor in listening to another. Remains mindful of advice— this is the Worth- less man." The best translation of the Choong-yoong is that by Abel Remusat, late professor of Chinese at Paris : but his version has been properly censured for being rather two verbal, and for too close an adherence to the nnere letter of the text, in a work which, of all others in that language, requires to be illus- trated with some degree of freedom in order to make it intelligible. 3. The Liin-yu, the conversations or say- ings of Confucius recorded by his disciples, together with the most remarkable actions of his life, is in all respects a complete Chinese Boswell. There is the same submissive re- verence towards the great master of letters and morals, and the same display of self-devotion in erecting the fabric of his greatness. The conversational style is preserved alike through- out, as may be seen from these examples : — LUN-YU. A disciple inquired, "What must the sage do to deserve renown?"' Confucius asked, " What do you call renown ?"" The other replied, " To be known among the nations, and at home." Confucius said, "That is merely notoriety, and not true renown. Now this consists in straightforward and honest sincerity, in the love of justice, in the know- ledge of mankind, and in humility," &c. Boswell. Talking of Goldsmith, he said, " Sir, he is so much afraid of being unnoticed, that he often talks merely lest you should forget that he is in the company."" Boswell, '' Ves, he stands forward." Johnson, " True, Sir, but if a man is to stand forward, he should wish to do it, not in an awkward posture, not in rags, not so as that he shall only be exposed to ridicule, &c." The advantage, however, to our taste, is much on the side of the modern philosopher. The Chinese work consists in all of twenty chapters, divided into two equal parts— the Shatig and Hea (upper and lower), first and second. The maxims turn chiefly upon pri- vate or public conduct, morals or politics. The demeanor and habits of the sage are diligently recorded : — " He was mild, yet firm ; majestic, though not harsh ; grave, yet agreeable."' He seems to have been fond of a simple and retired life. " The virtues of country people (he observes) are beautiful : he who in selecting a residence refuses to dwell among them, cannot be considered wise."' The following is a specimen of the style of the Lun-yu. Being asked by a dis- ciple to define the man of superior virtue, Confucius replied, " He has neither sorrow nor fear."" '• Does that alone constitute the character ?"' observed the other, surprised. " If a man," rejoined the sage, "searches within and finds nought wrong, lieed he have either sorrow or fear?"' This is nothing more than the sentiment of Horace : — " Nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa." The Chinese philosopher is stated to have been an enthusiastic lover of music, and to have done something to improve it. Certain it is, that whatever was said or done by him is made a rule of action at the present day, even to his personal demeanor. It has been observed before, that many of the provisions of the Penal Code are founded upon his maxims ; and one instance in particular was noticed, wherein it is enacted, " that chil- dren and near relations, or dependents, shall not be punishable for concealing the faults of those with whom they dwell."" The object of this seems to be the strengthening of kindred and domestic ties, founded on that precept of Con- fucius — " The father may conceal the faults of his son, and the son those of his father — virtue consists with this."' The most remark- able passage of the Four Books, and the best maxim of the Chinese teacher, is the following : — Being asked if any o/ie word could express the conduct most fitting for one's whole life, he replied, " Will not the 204 THE CHINESE. word Shoo serve?" — and he explains this by " Do unto others as you would they should do unto you." This word must be admitted to be one of comprehensive import. " There are three things."" said Confucius, *' to beware of through life. "When a man is young, let him beware of his appetites : when middle-aged, of his passions : and, when old, of covetousness especially." The follow- ing passage deserves notice: — "How can a mean man serve his prince ? (asked the sage) — "When out of office his sole ol)ject is to attain it ; and when he has attained it, his only anxiety is to keep it. In his unprincipled dread of losing his place, he will readily go all lengths."^ The extreme conciseness of the language in which these books are written, makes it sometimes very difficult to render their true meaning into English, except by some degree of paraphrase and circumlo- cution : and hence the apparent absurdities that have been justly ridiculed in some of the Protestant missionaiy translations. Those honest but injudicious men seemed to imagine that a verbal rendering was the one best calculated to convey the import of the original, whereas the very reverse is often the fact. The language of China is so much altered in point of copiousness, since the " Four Books"" were composed, that the native editions consist chiefly of commentaries and amplifications which are found to be abso- lutely necessary towards elucidating the text. This, it must be admitted, may occasionally lead the rulers of China to interpret their great oracle in tlie manner best calculated to suit their own purposes, and such was the opinion of a correspondent of ours, who had spent half his life at Peking : — " Confucius est toujours grave, sentencieux, laconique, mysterieux — les lettres y trouvent tout ce qu"ils veuillent."* 4. Ranking next to Confucius (similis out seciimlus) is the celebrated Mencius, so called by the Jesuits, from his Chinese name Meng-tse. He lived about a century after his great predecessor, whose doctrines he still farther illustrated and promoted, and left behind him the fourth of the sacred books, bearing his own name. His birth was, as 1 Chap. xvii. sec. 15. usual, said to be attended with prodigies, but the less fabulous part of the legend attri- butes the virtues and learning of Mencius to the excellent precepts and example which he received from his mother. Such was her care of the boy, that she three times removed her dwelling on account of some fault in the neighbourhood. Satisfied at length on this point, she sent her son to school, while she, a poor widow, remained at home to spin and weave for a subsistence. Not pleased with his progress, she learned, on inquiry, that he was wayward and idle, upon which she rent the web, which she was weaving, asunder, partly from vexation, and partly as a figu- rative expression of what she wished him to remember ; for when the affrighted boy asked the reason of her conduct, she made him understand that without diligence and eftbrt, his attending school would be as useless to his progress in learning, as her beginning a web, and destroying it when half done, would be to the procuring of food and clothing. He took the hint, addressed himself to learn- ing with all diligence, and became a sage, second only to Confucius himself. One anecdote of the mother of Mencius deserves notice. The boy on seeing some animals killed, asked her what was going to be done with them. She in jest said, "They are killed to feed you;"" but, on recollecting herself, she repented of this, because it might teach him to lie : so she bought some of the meat and gave it to him, that the fact might agree with what she had uttered. The Chinese hold her up as the pattern of mothers. The first book of Mencius opens with a conversation between him and the king of the state called Leang. Tlie latter had usurped the title, and when he invited the worthies and philosophers of the day to his court, Mencius Avent among the rest. On his entering, the King accosted him, saying, " I suppose you come to increase the gains of my country?"" To which he replied, "What need is there to speak of gain ? benevolence and justice are all in all ;" — and he illustrated this, by showing that if a spirit of selfish avarice went abroad among all ranks, from the prince downwards, mutual strife and anarchy must be the result ; upon which the king, as if convinced, reiterated his words, me:ncius. 205 and said, " Benevolence and justice are all in all.' Mencius lived to the age of eighty- four, and his memory remained without any particular marks of honour, initi] an Emperor of the Soong dynasty, about a, d. 1085, reared a temple to him in Shantong province, where his remains had been interred. He then obtained a niche in the temple of Confucius. Kea-tsing, an Emperor of the Ming dynasty, which expelled the Mongols, established the memory of the sage in its ancient honours, and made one of his real or supposed descendants in the Ji/fi/sijcth gene- ration a member of the Hanlin College, which title was to remain hereditary in the family for the performance of the requisite sacrifices. " If," as Dr. Morrison^ observes, '' the persons who now profess to be the posterity of Confucius and Mencius be really so, their families are probably the most ancient in the world." It would certainly be difficult to find even a Welsh pedigree to compete with them. The contents of the book of Mencius exceed the aggregate of the other three, and the main object of the work is to inculcate that great principle of Confucius — philan- thropic government. To our taste it is by far the best of the whole ; and while it must be confessed to contain a great deal that is obscure, and perhaps worthless, there are passages in it which would not disgrace the productions of more modern and enlightened times. It is curious to find in the text-book of an absolute goverimient sentences which savour much more of the rights of humanitj', and a regard to the general good, than could have been expected . Nothing indeed is more remarkable, in the Four Books, than the freedom with which Confucius and Mencius give their advice to kings. An instance occurs in the sixth chapter of the work under consideration. In reply to a proposition from the Sovereign, that certain severe or unjust taxes should be oi\ly lightened this year, and abolished the next, Mencius replies, '' This is like a man who should steal his neighbour's goods, and, on being censured, should answer, "I will take so much less very month, and stop next year. If you • Dictionary part i. page 732. know the thing to be unjust, give it up instantly." " The hearts of the people " are stated to be the only legitimate foundations of empire, or of permanent rule.^ " If, when with an equal strength (it is said) you invade a country, the people come to welcome you with supplies, can this be on any other ac- count than because you are about to rescue them from fire and water '^^ but if you deepen the water and increase the fire, they will turn from you," Were any European power ever disposed to gain an influence in China by expelling the Tartars, this would be the language to hold; and as a secret association actually exists, whose object is the restoration of the Chinese dynasty, this seems to be the mode in which tlie end might most easily be attained. In fact, the Tartars are at all times extremely jealous of any- intimate connexion arising between their Chinese subjects and foreigners ; and this lies at the bottom of their rigid system of exclusion. It was prior to the Tartar con- quest that Europeans had access to various commercial marts on the eastern coast, and only since that event that they have been shut out in the most effectual manner."* '' He who subdues men by force (says Mencius) is a tyrant ; he who subdues them by philanthropy is a king. Those who sub- due by force do not subdue the heart ; but those who subdue men by virtue gain the hearts of the subdued, and their submission is sincere." He at the same time explains very- well the necessity for governments, as well as. for the inequalities in the conditions of dif- ferent orders of society. It may be questioned whether the argument could be better put than in his fourth book, where the illustration he makes use of demonstrates, at the same time, the advantages resulting from the 2 " This obvious truth has been much insisted on in every period of Chinese history ; and, being more or less acted on, has ameliorated the condition of the people, who, though not formally represented in any legislative assembly, have always found other means of making their voice heard." — Morrison. '^ Explained in the Commentary as tyranny. * Being now at open war, we may perhaps have to put something like the above policy in practice ; though a scheme for revolutionizing such au empire is rather of the grandest. 206 THE CHINESE. division of labour. Let it be remembered tbat this was all Avritten more than two thousand years ago. In reply to the objection that one portion of the community is obliged to pro- duce food for the other, ^ " Does the farmer (asked Mencius) weave the cloth, or make the cap which he wears ? — No, he gives grain in exchange. Why does he not make them himself? — It would injure his farming. — Does he make his own cooking-vessels or iron implements for farming ? — No ; he gives grain in barter for them : the labour of the mechanic and that of the husbandman ought not to be united. Then (says Mencius), are the government of the empire and the business of the farmer the only employments that mat/ be united ? — There are employments proper to men of superior station, as well as to those in inferior conditions. Hence it has been observed, some labour with their minds, and some with their bodies. Those who labour with their minds mle, and those who labour with their bodies are ruled.'' This is exactly Pope's line — " And those who think still govern those who toil." The commentary appended to the foregoing in the Chinese work proceeds to add — '• The mutual benefit, derived by these different classes from each other's exertions, resembles the advantage that results to the fai-mer and mechanic from the exchange of their re- spective produce. Hence it is proved that the exemption of some froni manual labour is be- neficial to the whole community." It appears from the book of Mencius, that the Chinese have always considered the ground as the original source of all wealth, and the princi- pal subject of taxation. Agriculture is called the roof, and manufactures and trade the branches, and hence the higher honours and attention bestowed on the former. After the Four Books come the Five Ca- nonical Works, called King, of each of which Confucius was either the author or compiler. 1. The Shy-king, or Book of Sacred Songs, has been described by the author of this in the Royal Asiatic Transactions,^ as a collec- tion'of about three hundred short poems se- 1 Chap. v. sec. 4. • 4to., Vol. ii., On the poetry of the Chinese. lected by Confucius himself, after rejecting the licentious pieces, which were numerous. The earliest poetry of China, like that of all other nations, appears to have consisted in songs and odes, intended occasionally to be accompanied by music. They have the fol- lowing notion of the nature of poetical lan- guage : — " The human feelings, when excited, become embodied in words ; when words fail to express them, sighs or inarticulate tones succeed; when these are inadequate to do justice to feeling, then recourse is had to song." The Book of Songs is divided into four portions, of which the first, the largest and most interesting, is called Kiw-foong, " the manners of different states;" that is, of the states into which a portion of the present empire was then divided. These had all of them a kind of feudal dependence on one Sovereign, who, in order to possess himself of the best means of estimating the character and sentiments of the various people more or less under his sway, was furnished with the songs and odes most popular in each of them. This agrees in a singular manner with the following remark of a Avriter in the Spec- tator i^ — "I have heard,"' says he, "that a minister of state, in the reign of Queen Eli- zabeth, had all manner of books and ballads brought to him of what kind soever, and took great notice how much they took with the people ; upon which he would, and certainly might, very well judge of their present dis- position, and of the most proper way of ap- plying them according to his own purposes." The bulk of these curious vestiges of anti- quity in China do not rise beyond the most primitive simplicity ; and their style and language, without the minute commentary that accompanies them, would not be airways intelligible at the present day. This com- mentary, however, explains and elucidates their meaning, and by means of the historical associations which it serves to convey, renders these songs the favourite study of the better informed at the present remote period. Every well-educated Chinese has the most celebrated pieces by heart, and there are constant allu- sions to them in modern poetry and writings of all kinds. 3 No. 502. BOOK OF SOXGS. 207 The second and third parts of the ancient Book of Songs are said to have been composed for the purpose of being sung or recited on state occasions; they treat of the great and virtuous actions of heroes and sages, or express their sentiments. The fourth and last portion of the ancient poetical canon is called Soong, that is, eulogies or panegyrics on the ancestors of the dynasty Chow, then tilling the throne, and on the great personages of antiquity. They appear to have been a species of hymn, sung before the Emperor when he sacrificed as pontifex maximus (always the peculiar oflBce of Chinese Sovereigns) in the temples of Heaven and Earth, or in the hall of his an- cestors. Whatever may be the real character of the Shy-king on the score of poetical merit, it is at least curious as having been compiled more than twenty centuries prior to our time, and some portion of it composed at a still earlier period.'^ 2. The Shoo- king, which is the next of the Five Canonical Works, is considered by the Chinese as imperfect, and accordingly ob- scure in many parts, only fifty-eight sections remaining out of one hundred. The rest were perhaps destroyed in the great bonfire of books, by which the first univeisal Emperor, Chy-hoang-ty, made himself so celebrated. The Shoo-king is a history of the deliberations between the two Emperors Yaou and Shun, and those persons whom Confucius styles the ancient kings (rulers of petty nations or states), whose maxims are quoted by him as the models of perfection. Their notions of good government are founded on certain principles, sufficiently good in themselves, and " which being observed, there is order ; — if abandoned, there is anarchy." " It is vain to expect (they add) that good government can proceed from vicious minds." Here again one is oc- casionally surprised (as in the precepts of Coiifucius and Mencius themselves) to meet with maxims which could be hardly antici- pated as the groundwork of a mere Asiatic despotism. They rather prove, in fact, that if administered and preserved in strict accord- ance with its theory, the government of China is based in a great measure on public opinion.'^ ' Royal Asiatic Transactions, vol. ii. p. 422. ^ A philosopher of some celebrity left behind him these three maxims regarding government : — ''First, When the people (in the Shoo-king) rise against the tyranny of him with whom the Hea dynasty closed, they are justified by the maxim, that '-the people's hearts and heaven's decree are the same ;" which is nothing else, in fact, than vox populi, vox Dei. We have before had occasion to notice the account contained in the Shoo-king of a ge- neral inundation (by some identified with the universal deluge), whose waters were drained off by the exertions of the great Yu in the course, it is said, of nine years. This, together with other circumstances attending the Chinese account of the event, leads rather to the inference that it was only an aggrava- tion of those learful inundations to which the extensive country, watered by the Yellow river (descending at once from the hills of Tartary into an immense alluvial plain), is even now constantly liable. There is, indeed, fair ground for concluding that the course of that great stream near the sea has, at some remote period, been changed, and that it must once have emptied itself into the gulf of Pechely, north of the Shantung promon- tory.^ The unparalleled quantity of mud which its waters hold in suspension are now forming deposits, impeding its exit into the sea, and annually causing inundatioixs by throwing the stream back upon the flat coun- try. It is more than possible that the choking of the ancient embouchure caused the deluge of Yaou ; and a second deluge may be caused by the stoppage of the present exit. 3. The Book of Rites, Ly-king, which is to choose proper men; secondly, to consult tho wishes of the people ; thirdly, to act according to the times." 3 In the book of Mencius it is stated (chap. v. sec. 4) that Yu, in the course of eight years, removed the obstacles which choked several rivers, so that they flowed into the sea, and that he opened a vent for others into the Keang. Mr. Collie, the Protestant missionary who translated the Four Books, remarks that (according to this account) the country had been overflowed from the creation of the world down to the period in question, and that the water was put into proper channels by human efforts. " These circumstances (he adds) desene the consideration of such persons as have supposed that the Chinese WTiters alluded to the universal deluge." Mr. Collie seems quite right, except in the supposition that the inundation was primaeval. It was more likely to be accidental. 208 THE CHINESE. the next in order, may be considered as the foundation of the present state of Chinese manners, and one of the causes of their uni- form unchangeableness. Exterior forms were highly estimated by the earliest teachers of the country, on the ground of their being cal- culated to soften men"s manners, and restrain their natural pronenessto excess and violence. They observed, that the tempers and disposi- tions of all being difterent, the Ly (or rules of propriety in relation to external conduct) became necessary in order to harmonize such opposite characters, and reconcile their differ- ences. Hence it has been the constant en- deavour of Chinese moralists and rulers to stifle everything like passion in its birth, and to reduce all to a tranquil dead level. The ceremonial usages of the countrv' are com- monly estimated to amount to three thousand, as prescribed in the ritual ; and one of the Six Boards or tribunals at Peking, called Ly- poo, is especially charged with the guardian- ship and interpretation of these important matters, which really form a portion of the religion of the Chinese. 4. The Chim-tsieii, a history of his own times, and of those whichimmediately preceded them, was the last, and perhaps, strictly speak- ing, the only original work of Confucius. Its object appears to have been to afford warnings and examples to the rulers of the countiy, re- proving their misgovernment and inculcating the maxims of the ''ancient kings' for their guidance. This work commences about 750 years before our era, and concludes with the events which immediately preceded the death of the philosopher. Having been commenced in spring and conclvided in autunni, the Chiin-tsieu derives its name from this circum- stance; and such are the fanciful names fre- quently given by the Chinese to their literary productions. We believe that this work has never yet been wholly translated into any European language. The opinion given by Pere Premare of the Chinese histories in general is perhaps the real reason wliy they do not bear the labour or expense of a de- tailed version. In ultimo gradu pono his- toricos, non quod male scrihunt, sed quia nan tidmodum euro scire facta quce referunt — " I rank their historians the last in order, not on account of any intrinsic inferiority, but be- cause I do not take the same interest in the facts which they relate." 5. The last that we have to notice of the Canonical Works is the Ye-king^ which is a mystical exposition of what some consider as a very ancient theory of creation, and of the changes that are perpetually occurring in nature, whence the name of the work. The system may doubtless be extremely ancient in its origin, but little can be gathered from the Ye-king, the most oracular of perform- ances ; and this philosophy has been greatly added to in later times by the commentator Choo-tsze, and others who flourished in the eleventh century of our era, when the learned dynast)- of Soong governed China. The arithmetic diagrams of Fo-hy, as we find them in the Ye-king, bear some resemblance to the mystical immbers of the Greek philo- sopher Pythagoras, who, although he eidarged the bounds of science, appears to have allowed his speculations to be perverted by dreams of mysterious virtue in certain numbers and combinations. In the same way the Chinese make use in divination, and various other branches of their mock philosohpy, of the Pa-kua, or eight diagrams of Fo-hy, which, if they mean anything, may be supposed to represent a system of binary arithmetic. Chinese philosophers speak of the origin of all created things, or the premier principe materiel (as it has been called in French translations), under the name of Tae-keih. This is represented in their books by a figure, which is thus formed. On the semidiameter of a given circle describe a semicircle, and on the remainh\g semidiameter, but on the other side, describe another semicircle. The whole figure represents the Tae-keih, and the two divided portions, formed by the curved THEORY OF CREATION. 209 line typify what are called the Ydiig and Yin ; in respect to which, this Chinese mys- tery bears a singular parallel to that extra- ordinary fiction of Egyptian mytiiology — the supposed intervention of a masculo-feminine principle in the development of the nnimlnne egg} The Tae-keih is said to have produced the Yang and Yin, the active and passive, or male and female principle, and these last to have produced all things. The Heaven they call Yung^ the Earth Yin, — the Sun is Yui^g, the Moon Yin, — and in the same manner the supposed analogy is carried throughout all nature. One might sometimes be led by their definitions of the Tue-keih, to suppose it an intelligent being ; but the general drift of the system is plainly material, as it does not discriminate between the creature and the Creator. This dogma of materialism, how- ever ancient it may be in its first origin, became especially cultivated, or, according to some, originated in China, during the Soong dynasty, which preceded the Mongol Tartar conqviest. The learning and science of the Chinese, such as it was, being then much in vogue, some celebrated commenta- tors on the ancient books appeared about that time, the most famous of whom was the Choo-tsze before named. At lengtli, under Yoong-lo of the 3Iing dynasty, and in the fourteenth century, a joint work was com- posed, by name Sing-hj-tu-tseuen, or a com- plete exposition of nature, in which the mystery of the Tae-keih was fully treated of. Choo-tsze thus expressed himself: — " The celestial principle was male, the terrestrial female : all animate and inanimate nature may be distinguished into masculine and feminine : even vegetable productions are male and female, as, for instance, there is female Jiemp, and male and female bamboo. 1 This idea seems to have been very general. " In a mysterious passage of the Yajur-veda, Brahma is spoken of, after his emanation from the golden egg, as experiencing fear at being alone in the universe : he therefore willed the existence of another, and in- stantly he became masculo-feminine. The two sexes thus existing iu one god were immediately, by another act of volition, divided in twain, and became man and wife. This tradition seems to have found its way into Greece; for the Androgyne of Plato is but another version of this Oriental mythus." — The Hindoos, ^ol. i. p. 166. Nothing exists independent of the Yin and Ychfg."' Although the Chinese do not charac- terise the sexes of plants, and arrange them systematically as we do after Linnaeus, they use the above phraseology in regard to them ; nor do they confine it to the vegetable and animal creation only, but extend the same to every part of nature.'* Numbers themselves have their genders : a unit and every odd number is male ; two and every even number, female. The above might, with no great impro- priety, be styled, " a sexual system of the universe." They maintain that when from { the union of the Yang and Yin all existences, both animate and inanimate, had been pro- duced, the sexual principle was conveyed to I and became inherent in all of them. Thus I heaven, the sun, day, &c., are considered of I the male gender; earth, the moon, night, &c. j of the female. This notion pervades every department of knowledge in China. It exists in their theories of anatomy and medicine, and is constantly referred to on every subject. The chief divinities worshipped by the Em- peror, as high-priest of the state religion, are Heaven and Earth, which in this sense appear to answer in some degree to ovoavo; and yyj in the cosmogony of the Greeks. Of Tien, or heaven, they sometimes speak as of the Supreme Being, pervading the uni- verse, and awarding moral retribution : and it is in the same sense that the Emperor is styled " the Son of Heaven." At other times they apply the term to the visible sky only. Heaven stands at the head of their moral, as well as physical system, and most of the attributes of the Deity are referred to it. The common people colloquially apply to it a term of respect, equivalent to venerable father, or Lm^d ; and Choo-tsze himself says on one occasion, that " Heaven means God." Ty, the earth, is called by the Chinese mother, in the same way that Tien, heaven, is styled father, and between these two, all sublunary things are said to have been produced. The combinations of double and single lines, contained in the Ye-king, and denomi- nated Ktia, may be seen depicted on the circles of the Chinese mariner's compass. 2 Chinese Gleaner, vol. ii. p. 144. P 210 THE CHINESE. Of these, Dr. Morrison observed that they are called the signs, forms, or species of all things in nature, and seem somewhat like the intelligible numbers of Pythagoras, as the monad, duad, and so forth, of which nothing either certain or important is now known. Some have spoken of these numbers as '• the archetype of the world ;"' others, in language much more like that of the Chinese, call them " the symbolical representations of the first principles and forms in nature." But what is meant in either case it is not easy to determine. Whatever use Pythagoras made of his "• intelligiljle numbers," the only in- telligible use that is made of them in China is for the purposes of imposture, in fortune- telling or divination. The same writer remarked that, with the Confucians of China, the gods appeared to hold by no means an undivided supremacy, the saints are sages (shing-jin) seeming to be of at least equal importance. Confucius ad- mitted that he did not understand much respecting the gods, and therefore he pre- ferred being silent on the subject: and Choo-foo-tsze (or Choo-tsze) afiirmed that sufficient knowledge was not possessed to say positively that they existed ; but he saw no difficulty in omitting the subject altogether. Though the sages of China did not claim for themselves an equality with heaven, they yet talk of each other in a way that sounds like blasphemy. Heaven and earth (they say) produced man, but the work was incomplete ; men were to be taught the principles of reason, which heaven and earth could not do : the work of the sages was equally great, and therefore heaven, earth, and the sages form a triad of powers equal among them- selves.^ The Chinese division of human knowledge (it may be remarked) is into Hea- ven, Earth, and Man . '' The Joo-keaou, or sect of the learned (adds Dr. Morrison), which is so miserably deficient respecting the * " Then," says Coufucins, " the sage is united with heaven and earth, so as to form a triad. To be united with heaven and earth means to stand equal with heaven and earth. These are the actions of the man who is by nature perfect, and wlio needs not to acquire perfection by study." It may be obser\ed that the Emperors of Cliina are principally included in this list. Deity, is also entirely silent respecting the immortality of the soul, as well as future rewards and punishments. Virtue is rewarded, and vice punished in the individuals, or in their posterity on earth ; but of a separate state of existence they do not speak.'' ^ Among the sages of China, none perhaps holds a much higher rank in general esti- mation than the celebrated commentator Choo-foo-tsze. In the embassy of 1816, we visited the spot which had been consecrated by the abode of this person, and Avhich, from the natural beauties of the situation, possesses at- tractions of no ordinary kind. On the west of the Poyang lake, near the city Nan-kang-foo, is a range of mountains, consisting principally of mica-slate, in which are embedded great quantities of garnets, the whole in a state of rapid disintegration. The mica existed in such abundance, that our entire pathway, as the sun shone upon it, was in a blaze of light. At no great distance the Chinese were working large quarries of fine granite. Near the bot- tom of a beautiful cascade, which fell in a crj-stal column iiom a great height, was the commencement of a most romantic valley, in which, at a little distance from the foot of the mountains, was the spot formerly inha- bited by the philosopher : it was called " the Vale of the White Deer," from a circum- stance in his history. The most remarkable object, in the temple there erected, was a figure of Confucius, of whom the complexion was represented as quite black. On the tablet below his feet was inscribed. " The altar of the deified Confucius, the most holy teacher of ancient times." In one of the halls, at present used as a school-room for young stu- dents, where five large tablets, inscribed with the most noted precepts of the sage. There were also the two ] following inscriptions on either side of the entrance : — "Since the time of Choo-tze, learning has flowed as from an authentic fount." " By studying in the re- tirement of the mountains and waterfalls, man returns to the primitive goodness of his nature."' That the Chinese believe in the existence 2 Their philosophy makes man consist of a hing, figure, or visible body, and lij/, spirit, or animating principle. \Vhile the union continues, the body remains sensible, and their separation is death. CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHY. 211 of a.ninnafe moral sense, seems implied in this passage from Mencius : "If you remark the natural dispositions, you may see that they are towards virtue; hence I say tliat man's nature is virtuous. All men have (originally) compassionate hearts; all men have hearts that feel ashamed of vice : all have hearts disposed to show reverence and respect ; and all men have hearts that can discriminate between right and wrong. A compassionate heart implies benevolence ; one ashamed of vice, rectitude ; one which respects and re- veres, a sense of propriety;^ and one that clearly distinguishes right from wrong, wis- dom. Now the principles of benevolence, rectitude, propriety, and wisdom are not in- fused into us from without; we certainly possess them of ourselves.'' It will be re- marked that these notions are quite opposed to our own doctrine of original sin and human depravity. This notice of the state religion of China may be concluded by the following sketch of the principal objects of worship, and other points connected with it, abstracted from the detailed account contained in the ' Chinese Repository,' a work printed at Canton.^ The state-worship is divided into three classes : — first, theTa-sze, or great sacrifices; secondly, the Choong-sze, or medium sacrifices; and lastly, the Seaou-sze, or lesser sacrifices. Under the first head are worshipped the Hea- ven and the Earth. In this manner they would seem to adore the material and visible heaven, as contrasted with the earth; but they, at the same time, appear to consider that there exists an animating intelligence ■which presides over the world, rewarding virtue and punishing vice. Tien and Shang- ty, " the supreme ruler,'' appear always to be synonymous in the Shoo-king. Equal with the above, and like them resti-icted to the worship of the Emperor and his court, is the great Temple of imperial ancestors. If the Chinese Sovereigns are thus deified, we may recollect similar examples of madness and folly in the Roman Emperors, one of whom, still farther to outrage the common sense of mankind, made his horse a consul ; ' Ly, the word applied to their ceremon'es. 2 Vol. iii. p. 49. and even the " conquering son of Ammon" himself was not exempt from those disorders of the brain which infest the giddy heights of human prosperity. In China, however, this extravagance is rather the part of a system, calculated by design to work upon the feel- ings and opinions of the multitude, than the mere result of individual caprice and vanity. The objects of worship entitled to the '•medium sacrifices" are (among others) the gods of the land and grain. The former are generally represented by a rude stone, placed on an altar with matches of incense burning before it, which is commonly seen in every street and corner. The Sun and Moon, otherwise called the "Great light" and the " Evening light'' come under this head. The rest are various, gods, genii, sages, and others, the inventors of agriculture, manufactures, and useful arts. The god of letters stands principal among these. The "lesser sacri- fices' include a still larger class, among which is the ancient patron of the healing art^ together with innumerable spirits of deceased statesmen, eminent scholars, martyrs to virtue, &c. The principal phenomena of nature are likewise worshipped, as the clouds, the rain, wind, and thunder, each of which has its pre- siding god. The five mountains, the four seas, are rather figurative than exact expres- sions for the land and the ocean in general. Like the Romans, they worship their military flags and banners : and Kuan-ty, a deified warrior of ancient times, much honoured by the military, is especially adored by the present dynasty for his supposed assistance. Their right being that of conquest, tliey pro- perly worship the god of war. Loong-wang, the Dragon king, who represents rivers and the watery element, receives much sacrifice from those who have charge of the Yellow River and grand canal, both of which so fre- quently burst their banks ; and his temples were constantly recurring during the progress of the embassies through the country. Among others of the same class of gods is " the Queen of Heaven,"' Tien-hovfi, con- cerning whom the legend says, that she was a native of the province of Fokien, and dis- tinguished in early life for her devotion and 3 Worshipped also by the Budhists, see p. 95. p 2 212 THE CHINESE. celibacy. She became deified during the thirteenth century under the Soong dynastj', and, having originated in a maritime province, she is the peculiar patroness of seafaring people, who erect altars and temples to her on shore, and implore her protection on the water. She is supposed to have the control of the weather; and in seasons of severe drought the government issues proclamations, commanding a general fast and abstinence from animal food : the local magistrate, in his official capacity, goes to the temples and remains fasting and praying for successive days and nights, supplicating for rain. In no country are the vicissitudes of the seasons more irregular, nor tlie inconveniences resulting from them more severe, tlian in some parts of China. "That the material universe is the object of worship appears not only from the names of those several parts which have been given above, but also from other circumstances. Thus the imperial iiigh-priest, when he worships heaven, wears robes of an azure colour, in allusion to the sky. When he worships the earth his robes are yellow, to represent the clay of this earthly sphere. W hen the sun is the object, his dress is red ; and for the moon, he wears a pale white. The kings {wung), nobles, and crowd of official hierophants wear tlieir court-dresses. The altar of sacrifice to heaven is round, to represent the sky : that on which the sacrifices to earth are laid is square, but whether for a similar reason is not stated. The priests of the Chinese state religion, subordinate to the emperor himself as pontifex ma.iimus, are the kings, nobles, statesmen, and the crowd of civil and military officers, l^hejoo-keaou, or philosophic sect, monopolize both tlie civil and sacred functions. At tlie grand state-worship of nature, neither priests nor women are ad- mitted ; and it is only when the especial sacrifice to the patroness of silk takes place, that the empress herself, and the several grades of female rank at Peking, may take a part. " It is required of the Chinese hierophants that they be free from any recent legal crime, and not in mourning for the dead. For the first order of sacrifices they are required to prepare themselves by abhitions. a change of garments, a vow, and a fast of three days. During this time they must occupy a clean chamber, and abstain, — 1. from judging criminals; 2. from being present at a feast: 3. from listening to music ; 4. from cohabit- ation with women; 5. from intercoui-se with the sick;- 6. from mourning for the dead; 7. from wine; 8. from eating onions or garlic ; for," says the annotator, " sickness and death defile, while banqueting and feast- ing dissipate the mind, and unfit it for holding communion with the gods," The victims sacrificed consist of oxen, sheep, and pigs ; and the other ofterings are principally silks. ^ It is required that the victims be whole and sound, and a black colour is preferred. The times of sacrifice are specified thus : — those to heaven are offered at the winter solstice ; those to earth at the summer solstice ; and the others at regularly appointed periods. The punishment annexed to the neglect of due preparation, imperfect victims, &c., is either forfeiture of salary for a month or longer, or a specified number of blows with the bamboo, which may be com- muted for the payment of a very small sum of money, according to the number of blows adjudged to the delinquent; which, as in other cases throughout the penal code, may often be considered rather as a measure of the offence than as a specification of the real penalty inflicted. The case is far different if the common people presume to arrogate the right of worshipping heaven, for they are punished in such cases with eighty blows, and even with stiangulation. Notwithstanding the general aspect of ma- terialism that pertains to the Chinese philo- sophy, it is difficult to peruse their sentiments regarding Tien (heaven) without the persua- sion that they ascribe to it most of the attri- butes of a supreme governing intelligence. The work above quoted contains, in another place, the translation of the prayer of the reigning Emperor, Taou-kuang, on the occa- sion of a long drought with which the whole country had been afllicted in the year 1832.^ The following extract will show at once the responsibility which attaches to tlie 1 Tliese, as well as the flesh of the sacrifices, are probably divided among the worshippers eventually. 3 Chinese Repository, vol i.p. 236. STATE-WORSHIP. 213 conduct and administration of the Emperor, I and the notions of a Supreme Being associated with the Chinese ideas of Tien: — "I, the ! minister of heaven (says the Emperor), am \ placed over mankind, and made responsible for keeping the world in order, and tranquil- lizing the people. Unable as I am to sleep or eat with composure, scorched with griet^ and trembling with anxiety, still no genial and copious showers have yet descended. * * * * * * I ask myself whether, in sacri- ficial services, I have been i-emiss f w hether pride and prodigality have had a place in my heart, springing up there unobserved '? whether from length of time I have become careless in the aftairs of government ? whether I have uttered irreverent words, and deserved repre- hension? whether perfect equity has been attained in conferring rewards and inflicting punishments? whether, in raising mausoleums and laying out gardens, I have distressed the people and wasted property ? whether, in the appointment of officers, I have failed to obtain fit persons, and thereby rendered government vexatious to the people ? whether the op- pressed have found no means of appeal? whether the largesses conferred on the afflicted southern provinces were properly applied, or the people left to die in the ditches? * * * * Prostrate, I beg Imperial Heaven to pardon my ignorance and dulness, and to grant me self-renovation; for myriads of innocent people are involved by me, a single man. My sins are so numerous that it is hopeless to escape their consequences. Summer is passed, and autumn arrived — to Avait longer is impossible. Prostrate, I implore Imperial Heaven to grant a gracious deliverance," &c. It was the opinion of some among the Jesuits in China that the better portion of the learned in that country had not given way to the material and atheistical system current during the Soong dynasty, but ad- hered strictly to the ancient religion, in Avhich a Supreme and creative intelligence was acknowledged under the title of A7e«, or Shang-tij.^ The Confucian philosophers con- sisted, according to them, of two sects. First, of those who disregarded the modern com- mentators and philosophists, and retained the same notions regarding the Creator of the universe that had been handed down from remote antiquity. Secondly, of those who puzzle themselves with the speculations of Choo-tsze and his school, as they appear in the work before mentioned, and endeavour to explain the phenomena of nature by the operation of material causes. Others of the Romish missionaries were persuaded that all the Chinese learned were no better than atheists, and that notwithstanding the express declaration of the Emperor Kiuig-hy, in his com.munications with the Pope, wherein he averred that it was not to the visible and material heaven that he sacrificed, but to the true Creator of the universe, no faith could be placed in their explanations. We have before remarked tliat the Romish fathers, however much they may have extolled the Avealth, civilization, and resources of China, have generally viewed the moral and religious character of the people in a somewhat pre- judiced light; and the commercial adven- turers from Europe, confined in their com- munications with the people to the neigh- bourhoods of seaports, unable commonly to gain correct information from books, and treated by the government as barbarous inh-uders, have been sufficiently predisposed to give way to unfavourable impressions. 1 The Supreme ruler. 2U THE CHINESE. CHAPTER XIV RELIGION BUDHISM. Three systems' of Eeligiou, or Philosophy — History of Budhism — Resemblance to Popery — ^Temple and Monastery near Canton — Nine-storied Pagodas — Chinese Objections to Budhism — Debtor and Creditor account in Religion — Pagan and Romish Practices — Divinitj- of the Virgin — Budhists and Papists — Paradise and Hell of F6 — Doctrines of Budhism — Worship of Fo in China. When a Chinese is asked how many systems of philosophic or religious belief exist in his country, he answers, Three — namely, Yv, the doctrine of Confucius, already noticed ; F6, or Budhism ; and the sect of Taou, or *' Rationalists." It must not, however, be inferred that these three hold an equal rank in general estimation. Confucianism is the orthodoxy, or state religion of China ; and the other two, though tolerated as long as they do not come into competition with the first, have been rather discredited than encouraged by the government. " First (it is observed in the Sacred Instructions) is the honourable doctrine of the Yu, and then those of Fo and Taou. Respecting these latter, Choo-tsze has said the doctrine of Fo regards neither heaven nor earth, nor the four regions. Its only object is the establisliment of its sect, and the unanimity of its members. The doctrine of Taovi consults nothing more than individual enjoyment and preservation." The religion of Fo,^ or, as it is pronounced at Canton, Fi/f'h. is that of Bud'h, in the precise shape which that superstition has assumed throughout Thibet, Siam, Cochin- china, Ava, Tartary, and Japan. The ex- tensive dissemination of Budhism in countries foreign to India, its original birth-place, must necessarily be ascribed in a great measure to the rancorous persecution it experienced from the Brahmins, whose hatred towards this heresy gave rise, as soon as they became the predominant sect, to the most cruel treatment of the reforme7-s, for such the Budhists appear at first to have been. About one thousand years before the Christian era, an extra- ordinary man appeared in India, who laboured with unceasing assiduity, and not without success, to reform the popular super- 1 This has been constantly confounded with the name of the ancient Emperor Fo-hy. stitions and destroy the influence of the Brahmins. This was Budha, whom the Brahmins themselves regard as an avatar of Vishnu. The eflbrts of Budha were exerted to bring back the religion of his country to its original purity. He was of royal descent, but chose an ascetic life, and embraced the most abstruse system of philosophy prevalent in India. Many princes, among others the celebrated Vikramaditya, who reigned in the century that preceded the commencement of our era, adopted the faith of Budha, and, as far as their influence extended, obliterated the religion of the Brahmins and the system of castes. It is certain, however, that the learned adherents of the Brahminical religion did not remain silent spectators of what they deemed (or at least called) the triumph of atheism. They contended with their equally learned opponent, and this dispute, as is manifest by the tendency of many of the works still read by the Hindoos, called forth all the talents of both sides ; but here, as in innume- rable other instances, the arm of power pre- vailed, and, as long as the reigning monarchs were Budhists, the Brahmins were obliged to confine themselves to verbal contentions. At length, about the beginning of the sixth century of our era, an exterminating perse- cution of the Budhists began, which was instigated chiefly by Cumavila Bhatta, a fierce antagonist of their doctiine, and a reputed writer on Brahminical theology. This persecution terminated in almost entirely expelling the followers of the Budhist religion from Hindoostan ; but it has doubtless con- tributed to its propagation in those neighbour- ing countiies into which it had previously been introduced, through the intercourse of commerce and travel.^ 2 The Hindoos, vol. BUDHISTS. 215 The above is the Indian history of Budhism. According to the Chinese, it was introduced into their empire about sixty-five years after the commencement of our era, during the reign of Ming-ty of the Han dynasty. That monarch, considering a certain saying of Confucius to be prophetic of some saint to be discovered in the west, sent emissaries to seek him out. On reaching India, they discovered the sect of Budhists, and brought back some of them with their idols and books to China. The tradition is, that Budha was both king and priest in a country of the west, with a queen whom he made a divinity : that he was obliged to abdicate his power and seek a secluded retreat for twelve years, after which he taught the dogma of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, making that the vehicle of a system of rewards and punish- ments hereafter. He is said ultimately to have regained his power, and to have departed this life at an advanced age, being transformed at once into the god Fo, or Budha. It is a common saying of his disciples, that " Fo is one person, but has three forms,"' Avhich are represented by three distinct gilded images, called the " Three precious, or pure Budhas." The mother of the god is said to have dreamed that she had swallowed an elephant, Avhence the veneration for elephants in Siam and Pegu. Budha's character as a reformer is indicated by the Chinese legend, that he aimed at instructing men '' to amend their conduct and practise virtue." The five principal precepts, or rather inter- dicts, of Budhism must be understood as being addressed to the priests alone, or to those who devote themselves to the god. They are the following: — 1. Do not kill living creatures. 2. Do not steal. 3. Do not marry. 4. Speak not falsely. 5. Drink no wine. The Shama?)s, Hoshdnys, or priests, are associated together in monasteries attached to the temples of Fo. They are in China precisely a society of mendicants, and go about like the monks of that desciption in the Romish church, asking alms for the support of their establishments. How much their costume resembles that of the Catholic priest- hood, may be seen by the annexed cut, from original Chinese drawings done at Canton. Their tonsure extends to the hair of the whole head. There is a regular gradation among the priesthood, and, according to his reputation for sanctity, his length of service, and other claims, each priest may rise from the lowest rank of servitor, whose duty it is to perform the menial offices of the temple, to that of otficiating priest, and ultimately of Tae Hosha7ig, abbot or head of the establish- ment. The curious resemblance that exists between the observances of the Budhist priests of China and Tartary, and those of the Catholic church, has excited the surprise of the missionaries from the latter ; and the observations and surmises of Pere Gerbillon, who was intimately acquainted with the sub- ject, may by some be considered as worthy of attention. He questioned a well-informed Mongol, as to the time when his countrymen had first become devoted to the Lama of Thi- bet, who is a spiritual sovereign closely resem- bling the Pope. The reply was, that priests first came into Mongol Tartary in the time of Koblai Khan, but that these were really persons of holy and iiTcproachable lives, Tinlike the present. The father supposes that they might have been religious Christians from Syria and Armenia, the communication with which countries being subsequently cut off by the dismemberment of the Mongol empire, the Budhist priests mixed up their superstitions with the Catholic observances. Certain it is (and the observation may be daily made even at Canton) that they now practise the ordinances of celibacy, fasting, and prayers for the dead: they have holy water, rosaries of beads which they count with their prayers, the worship of relics, and a monastic habit resembling that of the Fran- ciscans. They likewise kneel before an idol called Tien-how, queen of heaveji. These strange coincidences led some of the Catholic fathers to conjecture that the Chinese had received a glimpse of Romish Christianity, by the way of Tartary, from the Nestorians; others supposed that St. Thomas himself had been among tliem ; but Pere Premare was driven to conclude that the devil had prac- tised a trick to perplex his friends the Jesuits. To those who admit that most of the Romish ceremonies and rites are borrowed directly from paganism, there is less difficulty in ac" counting for the resemblance. 216 THE CHINESE. [Mendicant Priest of Budha.] Chinese history relates, tiiat about the iniddle of the tenth century, the Emperor Kien-te, who founded the Soong dynasty, sent three hundred Shaman or Budhist priests into India, on purpose to procure the books and relics of the god. After passing the river Hetig-ho (Gunga, or Ganges) they saw a large image of Fo in the south. In the homilies of the priests there often occurs this sentence : — '* Oh Fo, existing in forms as nu- merous as the sands of the Heng-ho."' Their books mention a country called Sy-lun (Ceylon), in which, near the sea, there is on a certain mountain (Adam's Peak) the print of a foot three cubits in length. At the base of the hill is a temple, in which the real body of Fo is said to repose on its side ; and near it are teeth and other relics of Budha, called by the priests Shay-li/. It is but justice to the Chinese to say that, in importing some of the Indian deities and their superstitions, they have wisely left behind all the indecen- cies and fanatic madness of Indian worship, and that such horrors as those enacted at Jaggemath and elsewhere could never in the slightest degree be practised under a govern- ment like that of China. One of the principal objects of curiosity at Canton is a temple and monastery of F(>, or Budha. on a very considerable scale, situated upon the southern side of the river, just oppo- site to the European factories. It is said that towards the close of the last Chinese dynasty, and about A. D. 1600, a priest of great sanctity raised the reputation of the temple which had been for some time before established in that place; and a century afterwards, when the Manchows had taken possession of Peking, the son-in-law of Kang-hy, who had been sent to subdue Canton, and was therefore called " Subjugator of the South," took up his residence in the temple, which he at length patronized and greatly enriched. The funds soon sufficed to maintain a crowd of MONASTERY NEAR CANTON. 217 priests, who established themselves there with their monastic discipline, and it has been a place of consideration ever since. " I visited one evening," says Mr. Bennett,^ '-'the temple, situated at a short distance on the opposite side of the river to that on which the factories are built. Having crossed with my com- panions in a boat, we proceeded a little way down the river, and landed at a dirty cause- way near some timber-yards, in which a quantity of fir-timber of various dimensions was piled with an extreme degree of regularity. The entrance to the temple or temples, and extensive grounds about them, was close to the landing-place ; and passing some miserable fruit and eating-stalls adjoining, we noticed a large clean open space planted with trees, and having in the centre a broad pavement of granite kept very clean. The quietness that reigned within formed a pleasing retreat from the noise and bustle without. This paved way brought us to the first portico ; here we beheld on huge granite pedestals a colossal figure on each side, placed there as guards of the enhance to the temple of Budha; the one on the right in entering is the warrior Chin-ky, and on the left is Chin-loong. After passing these terrific colossal guards, we en- tered another court somewhat similar to the first, also planted with trees, with a continua- tion of the granite footpath, which led (through several gateways) to one of the temples. At this time the priesthood were assembled, worshipping, chanting, stiiking gongs, ar- ranged in rows, and frequently performing the Ko-tow in adoration of their gilded, sense- less deity * * * *. The priests, with shaven crowns, and arrayed in the yellow robes of their religion, appeared tu go through the mummery with devotion. They had the lowering look of bigoti-y, which constant habit had at last legibly written upon their countenances * * * * *. As soon as the mum- mery had ceased, the priests all flocked out of the temple, adjourned to their respective rooms, divested themselves of their official robes, and the senseless figures were left to them- selves, with the lamps burning before them."' The annexed ground-plan of the temple and monastery may serve to convey some 1 Wanderiugs, &c., vol. ii. p. 107. idea of the nature and extent of this old establishment. The nine-storied pagodas of China, of which that in Kew-gardens is a poor copy (the originals being more lofty, if not more substantial), are connected with the religion and worship of Fo. Images of that deity, and of the various gods and saints associated with him, are found in niches of the wall, in mounting the spiral staircase which conducts to the summit. Although Budha is not now worshipped in India, he is at least considered as the ninth incarnation of A'ishnu. It may therefore be conjectured that the ?iine stories of the pagodas in question have some refer- ence to this circumstance, the real meaning of the number never having been exactly ascertained. Again, in our progress through the interior, with Lord Amherst's embassy, pagodas with only seven stories were met with ; and it is possible that this immber may con- vey a mystical allusion to the seven Budhas who are said to Iiave existed at different periods. Wherever these pagodas are in good repair (for many are mere ruins), they are found attached to extensive establishments partaking of the nature of foundations, with a portion of their revenues derived from land adjoining. They are enriched by the con- tributions and bequests of their votaries, and most of them support a crowd of idle and ignorant priests ; but the government has nothing to do with their maintenance. The books of the Budhist religion, which are read and chanted in these establishments, are partly translated into Chinese from the originals in the Pali language, a dialect of the Sanscrit : and in the person of the Grand Lama of Thibet (whose soul on quitting the body is supposed instantly to animate that of an infant) the doctrine of transmigration is said to be practically illustrated. The indifference, and even repugnance, which is displayed by the government of China Proper towards the professors of Bud- hism, becomes quite altered on the other side of the Great Wall towards Mongol Tartary. When Gerbillon was sent by the Emperor in company with a Chinese mission beyond the wall, one of the principal Lama priests did not come out of his tent, nor even send a civil message to the representatives of the Emperor, 218 THE CHINESE. [Plan of Budliist Monastery near Canton.] ; a is a handsome paved way, of considerable breadth, leading through the middle of the space occupied by the temple, and composed of large slabs of granite, well laid down ; — b, the hill gate, as it is called, though erected on a dead level, the Budhist temples being generally in the recesses of mountains ; — c, d, two raised recesses, with various inscriptions in gilt letters on the walls : — e*-, two colossal figures of gigantic divinities, guarding the entrance ; — //", the hall of the four celestial kings, each of them seated on a lofty pedestal, and as large as the two preceding figures : one of them is said to be the benefactor of the temple before men- tioned under the title of "Subjugator of the South ;"—<;, the principal temple, in which are seen, fronting the entrance, three colossal gilded images of the Budliist triad, called the "Three precious Budhas;" the round spot on the forehead of each marking their Indian origin. On each side of the entrance are seated gilded figures, on a much smaller scale, of the eighteen Lulutn, or saints, who take care of the so\ils of those that die. A huge drum and bell serve, in this temple, to au-aken the atte>nim of the gods to tlieir worship- pers; — h, a single image of Omito Fo, or Amida Budha; — ;', temple containing a very well executed monu- ment, of a vase-like shape and gigantic dimensions, carved in white alabaster, or gjpsum, and sacred to the BUDHIST MONASTERY. 219 who (no doubt with authority from the Sove- reign) performed a sort of adoration to the living idols. These, in their swinish laziness and stupidity, are supposed to display a kind of mystical abstraction from mundane aftairs, and an absorption into the divine nature of F(). The truth seems to be, that a faith which is good enough for the barbarous and ignorant nomades of Tartary is not so well suited to the comparatively eidightened and sensible Chinese, with whom the rational system of Confucius (with all its faults and imperfections) must ever hold the supreme rank, even under a Tartar dynasty whose native religion is Budhism. It is specifically urged against the doctrines of Fo, by the Confucians, that they un- fit men for the business and duties of life, by fixing their speculations so entirely on ano- ther state of existence as to lead some fanatics to hang or drown themselves in order to anti- cipate futurity ; nay two persons have been known to commit suicide together with a view to becoming man and wife in the next world. The priests are sometimes accused of employing their superstitious arts in seducing women : societies of women at least, called Ny-koo, a species of nuns or female devotees, are encouraged by them. The tricks occa- sionally made use of by the priests resemble the practices of the fakirs in India. Le Comte tells a story of a bonze, who went about in a vessel stuck full of nails (some- thing like that in which the Carthaginians are said to have shut up Regulus), and pre- tending that it was a merit to relieve him from his pain, he sold these nails to the devout at so much per head. Their notion of total abstraction, or quiet- ism, seems to aim at getting rid of all pas- sions, even of thought itself, and ceasing to be urged by any human desires ; a species of mental annihilation. Certainly, to judge by its eftects on the priests, the practice of Bud- hism appears to have a most debasing in- fluence. They have, nearly all of them, an expression approaching to idiotcy, which is probably acquired in that dreamy state in which one of their most famous professors is said to have passed nine years, with his eyes fixed upon a wall ! They say, with re- ference to their system of moral retribution, that what a man receives now is an indication of his conduct in a former state ; and that he may augur his future condition by his be- haviour in this life. The merit however would seem to consist as much in inaction as action ; in the abstinence from evil, or the mere self- infliction of pain, as the practice of good. They make up an account with heaven and demand the balance in bliss, or pay it by suf- ferings and penances of their own, just like the Papists of Europe. Independently, however, of Budhism, the Chinese have a great idea of the efficacy of charitable and merciful acts, and of the merit of alms-giving. " The good and evil deeds of the fathers (they say) will be visited on the children and grandchildren. The Emperor himself on occasions of drought and public calamities, or when some of the imperial house are ill, grants general pardons and amnesties. The same ideas are attached to public fasts, when a severe interdict is laid on the slaughter of animals, and no meat can be oflered for sale. Such was the case at Canton relics (called Shiy-iy) of Budha. The -nhole is surrounded by lanterns and lamps kept continually burn- ing, and ou the sides of the monument stand bowls of consecrated or holy water, said to be a specific for various disorders, particularly of the eyes;— J, long-covered passages or cloisters, leading to the priests' apartments and offices •,—h, temple of Kuan-hin, a goddess worshipped chiefly by women; — /, apartments of the chief priest or abbot of the monastery, where Lord Amherst's embassy was lodged in 1816 ; — m, a great bell, struck morning and evening;— w, apartments for receiving visitors, where may be seen an idol with many arms, evidently of Indian origin; — o o, two pavilions, containing images of Kuau-foo-tsze, and another warrior demigod, to whom the present dynasty attributes its success; — p,a place devoted to the preservation of animals, principally pigs, presented by tlie' votaries of the temple. A chief tenet of this religion is to spare animal life. What Juvenal says of the Jews is exactly applicable to this establishment : •' Et vetus indulgot senibus dementia porcis;" — q, a book-room and a printing-press, exclusively devoted to the sacred books of the Budhist sect;— r, a place for idols, near which are a number of miserable cells for the inferior priests ; — .?, on this side there extends a considerable space of walled giound for the grow th of kitchen herbs, and containing besides a mausoleum, where are seen a number of jai-s, in which are deposited the ashes of the priests after their bodies have been burned. Here, too, is the building in which the act of cremation is performed. To the left of the temple are a variety of offices, as the kitchen, common room, &c. &c. 220 THE CHINESE. in 1834, on the occurence of the inundations. The system of promiscuous almsgiving is one principal encouragement to beggary. It has been mistakenly asserted that there are no beggars in China, while there are, in fact, a great many, notwithstanding the religious attention paid to the claixns of kindred. Beg- gars are seldom turned away from houses and shops without a triHe, which they extort by their whining and persevering importunities. In a work of some note on morals, called * Merits and Demerits Examined," a man is directed to keep a debtor and creditor ac- count with himself of the acts of each day, and at the end of the year to wind it up. If the balance is in his favour, it serves as the foundation of a stock of merits for the ensuing year; and if against him, it must be liqui- dated by future good deeds. Various lists and comparative tables are given of both good and bad actions in the several relations of life ; and benevolence is strongly inculcated in regard, first, to man, and, secondly, to the brute crea- tion. To cause another's death is reckoned at one hundred on the side of demerit ; while a single act of charitable relief counts as one on the other side. This method of keeping a score with heaven is as foolish and dangerous a system of morality as that of penances and indulgences in the Romish church. To save a person's life ranks, in the above work, as an exact set- oft" to the opposite act of taking life away ; and it is said that this deed of merit will prolong a person's life twelve years. A pretty correct idea of Chinese moral sentiment might be gathered from the scale of actions there given. To repair a road, make a bridge, or dig a well, ranks as ten ; to cure a disease, as thirty ; to give enough ground to make a grave, as the same ; to set on foot some very useful scheme or invention, ranks still higher. On the other hand, to reprove one unjustly counts as three on the debtor's side ; to level a tomb, as fifty ; to dig up a corpse, as one hundred ; to cut off a man's male heirs, as two hundred ; and so on. These notions are not peculiar to the Budhist sect, but prevail universally among the Chinese, who are as little troubled with sectarian divisions and animosities as any people in the world. A paper by the Rev. Mr. Gutzlaff, in the second volume of the ' Chinese Repository,' contains a very correct account of Budhism as it now exists in the celestial empire. He observes of the priests that they scarcely address themselves to the understanding, '• but are content with repeating the prayers delivered to them in the Pali, to them an unintel- ligible language; and they pay their adoration to an indefinite number of images, accord- ing to the traditions of their religion. In China, where the peculiarity of the language precludes its being written with alphabetic accuracy, the Pali degenerates into a complete jargon," wherein the sound is imperfectly preserved and the meaning wholly lost. Mr. Gutzlaff tried in vain to decipher the hard words, and, after all his inquiries among the priests, succeeded so little in satisfying himself, that he was obliged to relinquish the point. They seem, in fact, to repeat tlieir prayers altogether by rote, and to be ignorant of the meaning of a very considerable portion of their sacred books. Budhism being, as we have before observed, invited into China about the middle of the first century of our era, the progress of its profes- sors is thus explained by the same writer : — "Accommodating their system to all the existing superstitions, they opened the door to every sort of converts, who might retain as many of their old prejudices as they chose. They were by no means rigorous in enforcing the obligations of men to morality. To ex- piate sins, offerings to the idols and to the priests were sufficient. A temple built in honour of F6, and richly endowed, would suffice to blot out every stain of guilt, and serve as a portal to the blessed mansions of Budha. \Vhen death approached, they pro- mised to every one of their votaries speedy promotion in the scale of the metempsychosis, till he should be absorbed in Nirupan or Nirvana — nonentity. With these prospects the poor deluded victim left the world. To facilitate his release from purgatory, they said mass, and supplied the wants of the hungry departed spirit by rich offerings of food, which the priests in reality devoured. As Confucius had raised veneration towards ancestors into idolatrous ^ worship, they were 1 Not exactly idolatrous. They sacrilice to the in- visible spirit, and not to any representation of it in the tij^ure of an idol. BITDHIST ESTABLISHMENTS. 221 ready to perform the office of priests before the tablets of the dead. But notwithstanding their accommodating creed, the Chinese government has at times disapproved of it. As the importance of marriage has been acknowledged in China from time immemorial, and almost every person at years of maturity been obliged to enter that state, the celibacy of the priesthood of Fo was considered a very dangerous cus- tom. Budha regarded contemplation and exemption from worldly cares as the nearest approach to bliss and perfection ; therefore his followers passed lives of indolence, and practised begging as the proper means of maintaining themselves. This was dia- metrically opposed to the political institutions of China, where the Emperor himself sets the example of holding the plough. If such a system prevailed extensively, the immense population of the empire must be reduced to starvation, for it is only by the utmost exer- tion that it can subsist. These serious faults in the foreign creed gave occasion for its enemies to devise its extirpation. It was pro- scribed as a dangerous heresy, and a cruel persecution followed, but it had taken too deep root to be easily eradicated. Then again some Emperor would think more favour- ably of its tendency, and even adopt it him- self. Yet the natural consequence of its tenets was, that it could never become a religion of the state, and that the priests were never able to exercise any permanent influ- ence over the populace. Besides, the Chinese are too rational to believe implicitly all the absurd Budhistic fables, nor can they gene- rally persuade themselves that those nume- rous images are gods. When we add to this their national apathy towards everything con- cerning religion, from their being entirely engrossed by the aflairs of this life, we can easily account for the disesteem in which they hold Budhism.*' The present condition in China of the re- ligion of Fo is very far from flourishing, and the extensive and magnificent establishments, which have been founded in former times, are evidently in a state of dilapidation and decay. It is rarely that one meets with any of their nine or seven-storied pagodas in tolerable repair, though one or two of these striking and elegant objects occur in almost every landscape. Between Macao and Canton, there are no less than four or five nine-storied pagodas on elevated points by the river-side, and every one of them is in a state of ruin. They serve, however, as admirable landmarks in the navigation of the river. The monasteries, or establishments of mendi- cant priests, are generally found in the most romantic spots of the hilly country. One of these particularly attracted the attention of both our embassies, from its remarkable situation ; and Lord Macartney has given a description of it which must be admitted to be somewhat beyond the reality. This temple of the goddess Kitdn-yin (one of the principal idols of the Budhists) is seated in the face of a perpendicular limestone cliff, at least five hundred feet in height, and can be approached only by boats, as it rises abruptly from the side of the river about three or four days' journey above Canton. The natural fissure or cavern in the rock has been eidarged by human labour ; and the abodes of the priests and idols consist of seve- ral chambers, one above the other, which are severally approached by stairs and shelving portions of the limestone. In front of the middle story hangs an enormous mass of stalactite, at least a ton in weight, threaten- ing destruction to all who approach the temple from below. The resemblance which we have already noticed between the ritual of Fo in these temples, and the Roman Catholic ceremonies, has excited the attention of Mr. Gutzlafi". '•' That they should count their jorayers (says he) by means of a rosary, and chant masses for both the living and the dead ; that they should live in a state of celibacy, shave their heads, fast, &c. ; might be perhaps accounted for as a mere coincidence of errors into Avhich men are prone to fall : but their adoration of Tien-how, ' the Queen of heaven,' (called also Shing-moo, 'the holy mother,') must be a tenet engrafted upon Budhism from foreign traditions. We are unable to fix the exact date of the adoption of this deify. There is a legend of modern date among the people of Fokien, which tells us that she was a virgin of that province, who in a dream saw lier kindred in danger of being wrecked and 222 THE CHINESE. boldly rescued them ; but this affords no satisfactory solution. It is likely that some degenerate Nestorian Christians amalgamated with their faith and ceremonies the prevailing errors of China, and caused the priests of Budha to adopt many of their rites." In one instance that missionary saw a marble bust of Napoleon, before which incense was burnt in a temple; hence, he adds, it would not be extraordinary if they had also adopted among their other idols so conspicuous an object of worship as the Virgin is among Catholics. In coiToboration of this surmise may be adduced a very curious account of Christ, taken by Dr. Milne from the Chinese mytho- logical history, in which Jesus is ranked among the number of the gods,^ That the account was received by the Chinese from the Catholics seems indisputably proved by the epithets applied to the A'irgin, and the virtues and powers attiibuted to her. The work in which it appears is called 'A Complete His- tory of Gods and Genii," and was compiled in two-and-twenty thin octavo volumes by a Chinese physician, during the reign of Kang- hy, at a time when maiiy Cathcdics were in China. " The extreme western nations say, that at the distance of ninety-seven thousand ly from China, a journey of about three years, commences the border of Sy-keang. In that country there was formerly a virgin named Ma-le-a. In the first year of Yuen-chy, in the dynasty Han, a celestial god reverently announced to her, saying, ' The Lord of heaven lias selected thee to be his mother." Having finished his discourse, she actually conceived and afterwards bore a son. The mother, filled with joy and reverence, wrapped him in a cloth, and placed him in a horse's manger. A flock of celestial gods (angels) sang and rejoiced in the void space. Forty days after, his mother presented him to the holy teacher, and named him Yay-soo. "When twelve years of age, he followed his mother to Avorship in the holy palace. Re- turning home, they lost each other. After three days" search, coming into the palace, she saw Yay-soo sitting on an honourable seat, conversing with aged and learned doctors about the works and doctrines of the Lord of 1 Chinese Gleaner, p. 105. heaven. Seeing his mother he was glad, returned with her, and served her with the utmost filial reverence. When thirty years of age, he left his mother and teacher, and travelling to the country of Yu-teh-a, taught men to do good. The sacred miracles which he wrought were very numerous. The chief families, and those in office in that country, being proud and wicked in the extreme, envied him for the multitude of those who joined themselves to him, and planned to sla}' him. Among the twelve disciples of Yay-s;)o there was a covetous one named Yu-tah-sze. Aware of the wish of the greater part of his countrymen, and seizing on a pro- feried gain, he led forth a multitude at night, who, taking Yay-soo, bound him and carried him before Ana-sze in the court-house of Pe- lah-to. Rudely sti-ipping off his garments, they tied him to a stone pillar, inflicting on him upwards of 5400 stripes, until his whole body was torn and mangled ; but still he was silent, and like a lamb remonstrated not. The wicked rabble, taking a cap made of piercing thorns, pressed it forciby down on his temples. They hung a vile red cloak on his body, and hypocritically did reverence to him as a king. They made a very large and heavy machine of wood, resembling the character ten,^ which they compelled him to bear on his shoulders. The whole way it sorely pressed him down, so that he moved and fell alternately. His hands and feet were nailed to the wood, and being thirsty, a sour and bitter drink was given him. When he died, the heivens were darkened, the earth shook, the rocks, striking against each other, were broken into small pieces. He was then aged thirty -three years. On the third day after his death, he again returned to life, and his body was splendid and beautiful. He appeared first to his mother, in order to remove her son-ow. Forty days after, when about to ascend to heaven, he commanded his disciples, in all a hundred and two, to separate, and go everywhere under heaven to teach, and administer a sacred water to wash away the sins of those who should join their sect. Having finished his commands, a flock of ancient holy ones followed him up to the 2 The Chinese write ten with an upright cross. BUDHISTS AND ROMANISTS. 223 celestial kingdom. Ten days after, a celestial god descended to receive his mother, who also ascended up on high. Being set above the nine orders, she became the Empress of heaven and earth, and the protectress of human beings." There appears, upon the whole, some ground for supposing that the legend of Fokien pro- vince, concerning the Queen of heaven, may have had its origin in the Romish accounts of the Virgin Mary, since the title by which the Chinese designate their goddess is Tcen- hoiv Neang, '' Our Lady the Queen of heaven." On the other hand, the Chinese at Canton, who are fond of finding parallels and resemblances of the kind, give the name of the Virgin (in conversing with Europeans) to their Budhist idol Kudn-yin ; and in the same way apply the name of Knun-yin to the Romish idols of the Virgin. To every saint who has a church at Macao they contrive to give a name, founded on some supposed analogy in their own idols. St. Anthony they call " the fire god." There is nothing in the Catholic worship at that place, or in the character of the priests, that is calculated to give the Chinese a very exalted idea of this corruption of Christianity. In the former, they witness graven or molten images, processions, tinkling of bells, candles and incense, exactly resembling their own reli- gious rites; in the latter, a number of ignorant and idle monks, professing celibacy, but with indifferent moral characters, shaving their heads, and counting beads very much after the fashion of the Budhist priests. A few Catholic missionaries still make converts of the lowest and poorest Chinese, who occa- sionally appear at the churches and receive each of them a small donation of rice, for which reason they are sometimes called in Portuguese, " rice Christians." The curious resemblance between the prac- tices of Budhism and the Roman Catholic church goes still farther. Dr. Milne, whose zeal and talents accomplished much in a little time, but whose labours were cut short by an untimely death, supplied the following observations to the Chinese Gleaner:^ — " There is something to be said in favour of 1 Vol. iii. p. Ul . those Christians who believe in the mao-ic powers of foreign words, and who think a prayer either more acceptable to the Deity, or more suited to common edification, be- cause the people do not generally understand it. They are not singular in this belief. Some of the Jews had the same opinion ; the followers of Budha, and the Maho- medans, all cherish the same sentiment. From the seat of his Holiness at Rome, and east^vard through all Asia to the cave of the Jammaboos of Japan, this sentiment is espoused. The bloody Druids of ancient Europe, the naked gymnosophists of India, the Mahomedan Hatib, the Hoshang (Bud- hist priests) of China, the Catholic clergy, and the bonzes of Japan,— all entertain the notion that the mysteries of religion will be the more revered the less they are understood, and the devotions of the people (performed by proxy) the more welcome in heaven for their being dressed in the garb of a foreign tongue. Thus the synagogue, the mosque, the pagan temple, and the Catholic church, seem all to agree in ascribing marvellous efficacy to the sounds of an unknown lan- guage ; and as they have Jews, j\Iahomedans, and pagans on their side, those Christians who plead for the use of an unknown tongue in the services of religion, have certainly a host, as to number, in support of their opinion. That Scripture, reason, and com- mon sense should happen to be on the other side, is indeed a misfortune for them, but there is no help for it. " The sacred language of the Budhists is called ' The language of Fan,'' which is the name of the birth-place of Budha. It is totally unknown to the Chinese generally, and the priests themselves know nothing of it, beyond the sound of a few favourite words and phrases. There are, it is true, glossaries attached to some of their religious books, which are designed to explain these technical shibboleth; but the definition is sometimes given in other technical terms equally unin- telligible, and from their general ignorance of letters very few of the priests are capable of consulting such helps. Among them there may now and then be found a scholar, and some have written books, but as a body they are extremely ignorant. Beyond the 224 THE CHINESE. tated and occasional lessons of their Liturgy, which they have learned to repeat by rote, they have very little knowledge of books, and many of them cannot read. As a sect, how- ever, tliey profess to cherish the most profound veneration for the language of Fan. They ascribe miraculous effects to the use of the written character and of the oral language, and consider both to be of celestial origin. To the repetition of the bare sounds, without regard to the meaning, they attach the highest importance; hence they occasionally go over the same words hundreds and thou- sands of times. I once asked a priest, ' What advantage can you expect to derive from merely repeating a number of words, with the sense of which you are entirely unac- quainted ?' His answer was, ' True, I do not HELL OF THE BUDHISTS. 225 know the sense — it is profound and myste- rious ; yet the benefit of often repeating the sounds is incalculable ; it is infinite! " Let us now attend for a moment to the sentiments of the Malays on the same subject. Their religious opinions are derived from the Koran, the principles of which they profess to imbibe, and daily observe its ceremonies. No language but the Arabic is allowed in their public religious services, and though there be not one in a hundred Malays that understands it, they tenaciously stick to it, and consider worship as profaned by the use of any other. Let them speak for themselves. ' The Arabic language possesses superlative glory in the Islam religion, and no other can be allowed in the Mahomedan mosques. If prayers be oft'ered in the IMalay, Javanese, Buggis, Bornean, Hindoostanee, or other lan- guages, they are rendered profane and use- less. The Arabic is that in which the Maho- medan faith was first given. The angel Ga- briel was comiiianded by God to deliver the words of the Koran exclusively in Arabic to the prophet INIahomed.' " But to return to Budhism. The paradise of Fo includes those circumstances of sensual indulgence which the founders of most false religions have promised to their votaries ; but unlike the elysium of Mahomed, no houries are to be supplied to the saints of Budhism, for even the women that are admitted there must first change their sex. *' The bodies of the saints reproduced from the lotus ^ are pure and fragrant, their countenances fair and well formed, their hearts full of wisdom, and without vexation. They dress not, and yet are not cold ; they dress, and yet are not made hot. They eat not, and yet are not hungry : they eat, and yet are not satiated. They are without pain, irritation, and sick- ness, and they become not old. * * * * * * They behold the lotus flowers and trees of gems delightfully waving, like the motion of a vast sheet of embroidered silk. On look- ing upwards, they see the firmament full of the To-lo flowers, falling in beautiful confu- sion like rain. The felicity of that kingdom ' The lotus is a favourite type of creative power, and representations of it perpetually occur in con- nexion with Budhism. may justly he called superlative, and the age of its inhabitants is without measure. This is the place called the paradise of the west."' The hell of the Chinese Budhists may be described from a translation, ^ made by Dr. Morrison, of the explanatory letter-press on ten large wood-cuts, which are exhibited on particular occasions in the temples, and copies of which have been mistaken sometimes in Europe for the criminal punishments of China, giving rise to very unfounded notions of the cruelty of penal jurisdiction in that country. Prior to their final condemnation, the souls are exposed to judgment in the courts of the She-ming-wcmg, " the ten kings of darkness :"' ^ the proceedings in these courts are represented exactly after the manner of the Chinese judicial trials, with the diflerence in the ptinishmentSy which in these pictures of the infernal regions, are of course sufficiently appalling. In otie view are seen the judge with his attendants and officers of ihe court, to whom the merciful goddess Kuan-yin appears, in order to save from punishment a soul that is condemned to be pounded in a mortar. Other pvmishments consist of sawing asunder, tying to a burning pillar of brass, &c. Liars have their tongues cut out : thieves and robbers are cast up )n a hill of knives ; and so on. After the trials are over, the more eminently good ascend to paradise ; the middling class return to earth in other bodies, to enjoy riches and homiurs ; while the wicked are tormented in hell, or transformed into various animals, whose dis- positions and habits they imitated during their past lives. One of the Emperors of Ming dynasty, who was much attached to the Budhist tenets, and who meditated sending, about the com- mencement of the 16th century, an ambassa- dor with expensive presents to India, for the purpose of bringing some of the most learned of that sect to court, to explain their doctrines, was addressed by one of his ministers in the following strain : — " That for which the people of the world most honour and love Shakia himself amounts to this, that he con- 2 Chinese Gleaner, vol. iii. p. 288. 3 There is a festival to the lionjur of these about the mouth of August. See Festivals, vol. 1. p. 312. Q 226 THE CHINESE. tinued to teach his doctrines during the space of forty years, and that he died aged eighty- two. This was indeed a great age, but the years of Shun were a hundred and ten ; those of Yaou a hundi-ed and twenty. Supposing that your majesty's extreme atiection for the sect of Fo springs from a genuine wish to discover the good way, I venture to entreat youi majesty not to love the name merely, hut to seek diligently the reality-; not to regard the end only, but carefully to search for the principle ; and not to seek them from Fo, but from the spotless sages ; not from foreigners, but in our own country. Could your majesty be persuaded to regard our sacred sages with the same ardour with which you love Fo, to seek the the doctrines of Yaou and Shun with the earnestness which leads 3'ou to those of Sha- kia, there will be no need to send many thou- sand miles to the happy land of the west, for the object is at hand, and before your eyes. ***#**! adduce the testimony of Confucius, who says, ' The very moment that I desire to be virtuous, the attainment is made.' " &c. It is by arguments allied to these that the introduction of foreign innova- tions has perpetually been restrained and checked in China, although occasionally, as in the case of Budhism, they have been tolerated, and for short periods gained some strength. We may include within our sketch of Chi- nese Budhism some extracts from Mr. Hodg- son's account^ of that religion, as he found it in the ' Bauddha Scriptures of Nipal," much nearer to its source, and greatly better under- stood than it is in China. The primary mo- tive for doing good, and worshipping Budha, according to these scriptures, is the hope of obtaining absorption into the nature of the god, and being freed from transmigrations. Between the highest class of votaries and Bud- ha there is no difterence, because they will eventually become Budhas. Those who do good from the fear of hell, are also above the the class of sinners, and their sutierings will be lessened ; but they will be constrained to suffer several transmigrations, and endure pain and pleasure in this world until they ob- tain mukfi, or absorption. J Royal Asiatic Transactions, vol. ii. p. 232. The mystic syllable aum is not less re- verenced by the Budhists than the Brahmins ; but the latter apply it to their own Trimurfi, or Triad of Brahma. Vishnu, and Siva ; while by the former it is applied to Budha. Dhar/na, and Satiga, which is the Triad represented by the three gilded images in the Canton temple, described at page 218, and alluded to in the Chinese books, when they say that " Fo is one person, but has three forms." Their scriptures contain in native characters, which imitate as nearly as possible the Sai\scrit sounds, the following invocation to the Triad, Namo Biiddhdya, Namo Dharma>ja, Namah Sangaya — Om ! that is to saj^, " Adoration to Buddha, adoration to Dharma, adoration to Sanga — aum ! icludins: thus with the mystical monosyllable, which represents the three terms united in one sign.^ The three divinities are called by the Chinese " the three pure, precious, or honourable Fo,"* con- cerning whom Remusat has given the follow- ing explanation : — " According to the interior doctrine, Buddha, or the Intelligence, pro- duced Dharma. the Law, and the two united constituted Sariga, the Union, or combina- tion of several. According to the public doctrine, these three terms are still the Intelli- gence, the Law, and the Union ; but considered, in their external manifestations, the intelli- gence in the Buddhas to come, the law in the writings revealed, and the union in the multitude of the believers, or the assembly of priests. Hence it arises that the last have, among all the Buddhist nations, the title of Sanga, tmited, which, being abridged in the Chinese pronunciation, has formed the word »Sew^, rendered by the missionaries '"bonze," but which sigirifies literally, ecclesiastic. Such are the sense and the origin of this well- known word, the etynnology of which has not before been investigated." The same writer has the following observa- tion concerning the goddess Kuan-gin, one of the most important divinities in the Budhist mythology : — De Guignes (he says), wishing to explaui the Chinese names of Poo-sa and Kudn-she-yin, adduces a passage from Kircher, who supposes that the being to whom these names are applied is Nature, and calls her 2 Abel Remusat sur la p. 27, Doctrine Samaueenue, POOTALA. 227 the Cybele of the Chuiese. He remarks that she is also called Lotus-eyed, and born of the lotus flower. Kuaii-yiii, then, he concludes, is the Lakshmi of the Indians. Remusat, with apparent reason, combats this notion, and gives his own explanation in the following terms ^ : — The supreme intelligence (BudhaJ having by his thought (Dharma) produced union or multiplicity (Sanga), from the ex- istence of this Triad arose five abstractions or intelligences of the first order, that is, Budhas, each of which produced an intelligence of the second order, Bhodisatua.^ It is from this name that the Chinese have, by abbreviation, formed that of Poo-sa, common not only to these five secondary intelligences, but to all the souls which have attained the same de- gree of elevation. Kudu-she-yin, ovKtfdfi-yin, is placed in the first rank ; but Padmanetra, (Lotus-eyed) is the name of another divinity of the same kind. The Sanscrit name of the former (Kuan-yin) is Padma-pani, who re- presents, on account of her productive power, the second term of the Triad, and in die ex- terior doctrine is characterized by several signs of a female divinity. It is certain that no idol in China is more honoured than Kuan-yin.^ In the name of Poo-ta-ta, a temple, or rather monastery, described in Lord Macart- ney's mission, may be recognised the Chinese proimnciation of Budha. This extensive establishment, which was found in Manchow Tartary beyond the Great Wall, is described as a quadrangular stiucture of considerable height, each of its sides measuring two hun- dred feet, and the whole building affording shelter to no less than eight hundred priests or lamas.'* In the square court or quadrangle within is a gilded chapel, with representations of the Triad, and the whole description assi- milates it, though on the largest scale, to the monasteries in Nipal, as they are described 1 Observations, p. 51. 2 " Poo-te-sa-to, an Indian word introduced with the Budha sect ; now, according to the Genius of the Chinese language, contracted to Poo-sa.' — Morrison's Chinese THctiunary , Part II., p. 682. 3 M. Remusat observes very truly that Chinese Budhism can only l)e duly investigated by compa- ring the Chinese versions with the Sanscrit texts, and thus combining two departments of learning which have not as yet been united in the same person. * Staunton, vol. ii.p. 258. by Mr. Hodgson. " The vihar is built round a large quadrangle or open square, two stories high; the architecture is Chinese. Chaitya properly means a temple of Budha, and vihar an abode of his coenobltical fol- lowers. In the open square in the midst of every vihar is placed a chaitya : but those words always bear the senses here attached to them, and vihar can never be construed temple ; it is a convent or monastery, or re- ligious house." Pootala, then, is a vihar, with a chaitya within the quadrangle. The Chinese pronunciation of Budha seems also apparent in the name Poo-to, applied to an island of the Chusan group, in latitude 30" 3', and longitude 121°, where Mr. Gutz- laff ^ visited one of the largest establishments dedicated to Fo and his priests ; a place of such note as to be the resort of numerous votaries from remote parts. '" At a distance (says he) the island appeared barren and scarcely habitable; but as we approached it we observed very prominent buildings and large glittering rocfs. 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 celebrate the orgies of idolatry. We were quite engaged in viewing a large building situated in a grove, where we observed some priests of Budha walking along the shore, attracted by the novel sight of a ship. Scarcely had we lai^ded when another party of priests in common garbs and very filthy, hastened down to us chanting hymns. When some books were offered them, they exclaimed, ' Praise be to Budha," and i eagerly took every volume that I had. We then ascended to a large temple, surrounded by trees and bamboos. An elegant portal and magnificent gate brought us into a spa- cious court, which was surrounded with a long range of buildings not unlike barracks, being the dwellings of the priests. On enter- ing it, the huge images of Budha and his disciples, the rejiresentations of Kuan-yin, the goddess of mercy, and other idols, with the spacious and well-adorned halls, exhibit an imposing sight to the foreign spectator. 5 Journal of a Voyage along the Coast of China 1832—33. Q 2 THE CHINESE. The high-priest requested an interview. He was a deaf old man, who seemed to have very little authority, and his remarks were common-place enough. We afterwards fol- lowed a paved road, discovering several other smaller temples, till we 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 super- scriptions. On a sudden we came in sight of a still larger temple, with yellow tiles, by which we immediately recognised it as an imperial endowment. A bridge, very taste- fully 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 arrayed with all the tinsel of idolatry, presented numerous speci- mens of Chinese art. The colossal images were made of clay, [Officiating Priest of Budha.] and tolerably well gilt. There were great drums and cylindrical bells in the temple. We were present at the vespers of the priests, which they chanted in the Pali language, not unlike the Latin service of the Romish church. They held their rosaries in their hands, whicli 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 bell to rouse IJudha's attention to their prayers. 1 This is a common practice of visitors, who em- ploy artists to cut these gigantic letters very deep into the face of the rocks. The embassy of 1816 met with them near the Poyang lake. The same words were a hundred times re- peated. None of the officiating persons showed any interest in the ceremony, for some were looking around, laugliing and joking, while others muttered their prayers. The few people who were present, not to attend the worship, but to gaze at us, did not seem in the least degree to feel the solemnity of the ser- vice. 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 induce Heaven to grant a fertile spring ; and these exhortations were issued by the Em- peror himself. What inconsistency ! On the island are two large and sixty LAOU-KEUN. 229 small temples, which are all built iu the same style; and the idol of Kuan-yiri holds a prominent station. We were told that upon this spot, not exceeding twelve square miles, 2000 priests were living. No females are allowed to live on the island, nor any layman suffered to reside there, except 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 expeditions, 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. To every person who visits this is- land it appears at first like a fairy land, so romantic is everything that meets the eye. Those large inscriptions hewn in solid granite; the many temples tliat appear in every di- rection ; tlie 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, contahiing the bones and ashes of thousands of priests, quite bewilder the imagination.'' CHAPTER XV. RELIGION TAOU SECT Laou-keun, the Chinese Epicurus — His Sect called Doctors of Reason — Degenerated into Magicians and Alchymists— Fragment of old Romance— Illustrative Tale — The Philosopher and his Wife— Origin of the Tale of Zadig — Miscellaneous Superstitions of the Chiuese — Fatalists — ^Tale in illustration — Spells and Talismans — Belief in Ghosts — I.ucky and unlucky Omens — Divination. The third religious or philosophic persuasion that has established itself in China is that of Taoit, or of Laou-keun, which was the name, or rather title, of the founder. This person appeared nearly simultaneously with Con- fucius, by whom he is mentioned about 560 years before the Christian era. As far as can be gathered of the real drift of his doc- trines, he seems to have inculcated a contempt of riches and honours, and all worldly dis- tinctions, and to hav.e aimed like Epicurus, at subduing every passion that could interfere with personal tranquillity and self-enjoyment. As death, however, was something that they could not pretend to despise, his disciples and successors set themselves to Avork to in- vent an elixir of long life, or of immortality, and thus became in time a species of alche- mist. They have been alternately favoured and persecuted at different periods of Chinese history, but seem to have flourished most under the Soong dynasty, subsequent to the tenth century of our era, a period when all speculative opinions, and every species of spurious learning, were most in vogue. The principal commentator on the works of Confucius speaks of Laou-keun, or, as he is sometimes styled, Laou-tsze,^ with little respect, and calls him "an ignorant good man." He is there described as a recluse, who was distinguished by his humility, up- rightness, simplicity of life, and exemption from cares and passions. He taught and practised a weak inactivity and neglect of the world and its concerns, loving neither fame, nor pleasure, nor business. It is rea- sonable to suppose that the principal fabric of that doctrine which now distinguishes the professors of the Taou sect, was the work of those who succeeded Laou-keun, and made use of his name as the foundation of their system. They call him " the original an- cestor, or founder honoured of heaven :" and the account given of him in popular books is, that he was an incarnation of some superior being, and that there is no age in which he does not come forth among men in human shape. They tell the various names under which he appeared from the highest period of fabulous antiquity down as late as the sixth century, making in all seven periods.* 1 The legend sajs he was born with whit« hair, and thence called Laou-tsze, "the old infant." ■■' Morrison's Dictionary, Part I. p. 582. 230 THE CHINESE. In imitation, perhaps, of the Budhist Triad, the followers of Taou have also their ovvii Triad, which they denominate "the Three pure ones." This threefold source and supreme ruler is represented as presiding in heaven among the assembled gods, the sun, moon, stars, and constellations, and delivering his name, accompanied by many epithets of benevolence and mercy, to the " great bare-footed angel," to be promulged in the lower world, that amongst men, all who see and recite that name may attain infinite happiness and complete deliverance from all evil. Their principal scripture is the Taou-te-king, a Latin version of which exists in the library of the Royal Societj-. Besides the practice of alchymy, to which they were led in their search of the elixir of long life, the disciples of Laou-keun have at different times professed the science of magic, and their arts of imposition were, at various periods of Chinese history, practised upon the Sovereigns of the country. Under the Tang dynasty this superstition gained such credit that the title of Tien-sze, " Celestial doctors or teachers," was conferred on its professors : a superb temple was erected to Laou-keun, and his image placed in it. It is said that the representatives of the head of the sect have still a large establishment in the province of Keang-sy, where numbers flock from all parts to obtain cures for diseases or to learn their destinies. The sect appears, in fact, to have degenerated very much from the character and tenets of the original founder, and many who wear the garb of the Taou-sze are at present little better than cheats and jugglers, professing to have communication with demons. The chief point of distinction in garb between them and the rest of the Chinese, is the mode in which they dress their hair, which is fastened at the top of the head by means of a pin or skewer, somewhat after the fashion of the people of Loo-choo. It is by many degrees the least popular or pre- dominant sect of Chiua : its superstitions now engage only a few of the most ignorant, and the Taou-sze are bul rarely seen. In proof of the puerile nature of the super- stitious which have occupied this sect, we may produce an extract from an original Chinese work, the history of the '• Three States," in which are detailed the legends re- lating to the three brothers Cha?ig, who pro- fessed the doctrines of the Taou sect, and at the head of an insurrection of rebels, called " Yellow caps," produced those troubles which ended in the ruin of the Han dynasty. " Lew- pei took occasion to steal upon Chang-paou with his whole force, to baffle which the latter mounted his horse, and, with dishevelled hair and waving sword, betook himself to magic arts. The wind arose with loud peals of thmider, and there descended from on high a black cloud, in which appeared innumer- able men and horses as if engaged. Lew-pei immediately drew off' his troops in confusion, and, giving up the contest, retreated to con- sult with Choo-tsien. The latter observed, ' Let him have recourse again to magic : I will prepare the blood of swine, sheep, and dogs, and, placing a party on the heights in ambush, wait until the enemy approaches when his magic will be all dispersed by pro- jecting the same upon him." Lew-pei as- sented to this, and directed two of his leaders, each with a thousand men, to ascend the highest part of the mountain, supplied with the blood of swine, sheep, and dogs, and other impure things. '' On the following day, Chang-paou, with flags displayed and dixims beating, came to offer battle, and Lew-pei proceeded to meet him ; but scarcely had they joined before Chang-paou put his magic in exercise ; the wind and thunder arose, and a storm of sand and stones commenced. A dark cloud ob- scured the sky, and troops of horsemen seemed to descend. Lew-pei upon this made a show of retreating, and Chang-paou fol- lowed him ; but scarcely had they turned the hill when the ambushed ti'oops started up and launched upon the enemy their impure stores. The air seemed immediately filled with men and horses of paper or straw, which fell to the earth in confusion ; while the winds and thunder at once ceased, and the sand and stones no longer flew about. When Chang-paou saw his magic thus baffled, he would have retreated at once, but Lew-pei"s two leaders made their appearance on either side, while himself and his lieutenant pur- sued in the rear. The rebels were defeated with great slaughter. Lew-pei, on seeing the THE PHILOSOPHER AND HIS WIFE. 231 flag inscribed ' Lord of Earth," ran full speed on his horse towards Chang-paou, who took to flight, and in his retreat was wounded in the left arm witli an arrow discharged at him by his enemy." In regard to the word Taou^ Reason, which serves as the denomination of the sect under consideration, and with reference to which they style themselves " doctors of reason," it would seem that the ancient term philosopher in use among ourselves had very much the same origin. Some persons have spent much time in discussing the mysterious and re- condite meanings which in Chinese meta- physics have been attached to the words Taou and Ly ; but it would be useless to enter upon such a discussion in a work like the present, and we shall content ourselves with the popular meaning of those terms in con- nexion with each other, which is simjdy reason. One of the missionaries of the Ro- mish church supposed that Taou corresponded to the Greek Xoya; ; but it has been objected to this, with some truth, that what several of the Chinese books affirm of Taou being the original source and first productive cause of all things, does not so well comport with the definition of the Logos, given in the phi- losophical systems which have adopted that term, and where it has been considered not as the^/-«^ cause, but rather the first emanation from the Deity. Laou-keun had four principal disciples, the chief of whom was Chmhig-tsze, concerning whom the Chinese possess an agreeable tale, which has been translated into French by Pere Dentrecolles. It may be a relief to the dry dulness of Chinese philosophy, and at the same time illustrative of this sect, if we give an absti-act of the story, which is the more particularly deserving of notice, as it has supplied ample materials for the Zadig of Voltaire. The whole, it will easily be per- ceived, is a satire on the female sex and on marriage, and might perhaps be meant as an indirect dissuasive against tliat state. The story commences with an enunciation of the principles of the Chinese Epicurus. " Riches, and the advantages which they bring, are but a short and agreeable dream : honours and reputation resemble a brilliant cloud, which soon vanishes. The affection of those united by blood and other ties is commonly but a vain appearance ; the most tender friendships may convert themselves into the bitterest sh'ifes. Let us not wear a yoke because it is of gold ; nor bear the burden of chains because they consist of jewels. Let us purify our minds, moderate our desires, and detach our- selves from worldly affections : let us, above all things, preserve ourselves in a state of liberty and joy, which is independent of others." Chuang-tsze, the story proceeds to say, having married a young and beautiful wife, retired to his native countiy of Soong, the present Shantong, to lead the life of a philoso- pher. He declined the offer of the Sovereign of a neighbouring state, who had been led by the fame of his wisdom to seek his services as jjninister, with the following apologue : — " A heifer, prepared for sacrifice with high and luxurious feeding, marched in state, arrayed in all the ornaments with which victims are adorned. In the midst of her triumph she perceived some oxen at the plough, and her pride was redoubled. But when, on entering the temple, the victim saw the knife raised in readiness for her immolation, she would gladly have exchanged lots with those whose con- dition had only just before been despised as inferior to her own." One day as Chuang-tsze was walking, immersed in thought, at the foot of a neigh- bouring mountain, he on a sudden found himself among a multitude of tombs ; and being struck with the vast number of them, " Alas," exclaimed he, " here then all are equal: here there is neither rank nor dis"- tinction, but the most ignorant and stupid of men is confounded with the sage himself. The sepulchre is at last the eternal abode of all, and when we have once taken up our place in the habitations of the dead, there is no possibility of return." After spending some time in these gloomy reflections, he pro- ceeded along the tombs, and soon found him- self near a newly-constructed sepulchre. The hillock of tempered earth was not yet entirely dry. On one side of the tomb sat a young woman in deep mourning^ holding in her hand a large white fan, with which she con- 1 t. e. In a long wliite cotton garment without a 232 THE CHI^'ESE. [The Chinese Widow fanning the Grave.] stantly fanned the surface of the ground. Surprised at this sight, he ventured to ask whose tomb this might be, and why the lady took such pains in fanning iti She, however, without rising, continued to wave her fan as before, but muttered some words in a low tone, and at the same time let fall a i'ew tears — a proof (thought the sage to himself) that shame rather than "timidity prevented her from speak- ing out. "When he had pressed her a little farther to explain herself, she made him tliis reply : — '• You see a widow at the tomb of her husband, irom whom death has unhappily severed her. He whose bones rest in this sepulchre Avas very dear to me when alive, and loved me in return with an equal tender- ness. Even in dying he could scarcely bear to part with me, and his last words were these : ' IMy dear spouse, if you should here- after thhik of marrying again, ^ I conjure you to wait at least until the earth of my grave is entirely dry ; after which you have my sanction to espouse whom you please." Now, as it occurred to me that the surface of this ground, which has been newly tempered, would not very soon dry, I thought I would 1 Second marriages (as lietore stated) are rare on the part of women, and reflect some discredit on the widows. just fan it a little to assist in carrying off the moisture." The philosopher had much ado to avoid laughing outrightat this plain avowal. " The woman,'" thought he to himself, " is in a monstrous hurry ! How could she have the face to boast of the mutual aflection between herself and husband. If this be love, I won- der what wouUl have happened if tliey had hated each other!"' Then turning to her lie said, '- You wish that the surface of this tomb should dry with all speed ; but, delicate as you are, this exercise will soon tire you ; let me, therefore, give you some assistance." The young woman immediately rose, and making him a profound reverence, accepted his otfer by presenting him with another fan exactly like her own. The philosopher, who had the power of invoking spirits, now called them to his aid. He struck the tomb several times with the fan, and all appearance of moisture presently vanished. The lady upon this gaily thanked her benefactor, and taking a silver bodkin from her hair, presented it to him with her fan, begging he would accept the same as a small mark of her gratitude. Chuang-tsze declined the bodkin, but kept the fan, and the lady retired much satisfied with her adventure. THE PHILOSOPHER AND HIS WIFE. 23a As for the philosopher, he remained alto- gether in astonishment ; then abandoning himself to the reflections that naturally arose out of such an incident, he returned towards his home. Once seated in his chamber, he regarded the fan for some moments in silence, and presently broke out with such sentences as the following: " Would not one suppose, from this, that when two persons marry, it is only from some hate conceived in a former state of existence; and that they seek each other in wedlock solely for purposes of mutual torment?" — His wife had crept behind him without being perceived, but on hearing his words she came forward. " Might one know," she asked, " the cause of your sighing, and where it was you obtained that fan which you hold in your hand?" — Chuan^-tsze imme- diately related to his spouse the history of the young widow, as well as all that had passed at the tomb where he fell in with her. Hardly had he finished his recital, when this lady, with a face that beamed with wrath and indignation, loaded the young widow with a thousand maledictions, calling her the opprobrium of the human race, and the shame of her own sex ! Then, looking at her hus- band, " I say it again,'' exclaimed she, *' this woman must be a monster of insen- sibility." The philosopher, however, went on vvith the following reflections: — '"'While her husband is alive, where is the Avife that does not flatter and praise him ? Is he dead ? see her ready to take her fan and dry up his tomb with all haste. So in a picture you see an animal's exterior, but not the inner parts; you see the face, but not the heart." This put his wife into a great passion. '" How can you talk to me in that style,'' cried she, '' thus to condemn tlie whole sex in a heap ; thus unjustly to confound the virtuous with wretches who are unfit to live! Aie you not asliamed to pass such an unjust sentence ; and have you no fear of being punished for it hereafter ?"' " To what purpose are all these ejacula- tions ?"' said the philosopher calmly ; " but confess the truth: — were I to die to-day, surviving me as you would in the flower of your age with so much beauty and such attractions, do you pretend that you would allow three years to slip by without accept- ing another husband?" — " Is it not the maxim," rejoined the lady, " that a faithful minister never serves another prince ; that a virtuous widow never thinks of a second husband? Did one ever see a woman of my condition, who, after being once married, transferred herself to another family, and deserted her nuptial bed on her husband's first decease ! If, for my misfortune, you were to reduce me to the widowed state, know that I should be incapable of such an act, which would be the disgrace of our whole sex ; nay, I should not even dream of marriage for the rest of my life."' " Such promises,'' observed he, '■ are easily made, but not often kept ;" an observation which turned the ill-humour of his wife upon himself. — '^ Know," cried she, '' that women have often minds more noble and more constant than men of your stamp. What a perfect model of fidelity have you been ! \'our first wife dead, you took a second ; her you repudiate, and marry my- self, who am your third. You judge of others by yourself. As for us women who marry philosophers, we are much less at liberty than any others to form a second mar- riage. But you are quite Avell in health ; why then torment me with such remarks !" So saying she snatched the fan out of her husband's hand, and tore it into twenty pieces. '• Be quiet," said the philosopher ; '' your resentment gives me pleasure, and I am delighted to see you take fire upon such a subject." The lady became calm, and they talked of other matters. In a few days more, Chuang-tsze became dangerously ill, and, to all appearances, at the very last extremity. His wife never quitted the bedside, where she sat bathed in tears, and continually sobbing. " From what I can see,"' said the philosopher, " I shall hardly recover from this attack. To- night or to-morrow morning we must part for ever. Alas, that you should have torn up the fan I brought you ; it would have served so well to dry up the earth at my tomb!'" — '-Ah," exclaimed his wife, "do not, in your present state, let such distress- ing suspicions enter your mind ; suspicions, too, so injurious to myself! I have studied our books, and I know what our rites de- 234 THE CHINESE. mand. My faith having been once sworn to 3'ourself, it shall never be transferred to another ; and if you doubt my sincerity, I consent, nay, I demand, to die before you, in order that you may be persuaded of my truth." — "That is enough,"' replied he; '"I feel assured of your constancy : but, alas, I find myself dying, and my eyes are clos- ing for ever upon you."' So saying he be- came breathless, and lay without a symp- tom of life. The despairing widow, with loud cries of distress, now embraced the body of her deceased husband, and held it long locked within her arms. She then dressed herself in a long mourning habit, and made the neighbourhood resound Avith the expressions of her grief and desolation. She would indulge neither in food nor sleep, and, in short, seemed to be at her wits' end. The neighbours presently came to do honour to the remains of the deceased, whom they knew to be a sage of the first rank. As soon as the crowd began to withdraw, a youth was perceived, of fair exterior, and an elegant habit, who gave himself out to be descended from the sovereigns of that par- ticular state. " It is some years,'" said he, " since I announced to the philosopher Chuang-tsze my intention of becoming his disciple. I came hither with that express design, and now find alas, tliat he is dead ! What a loss have I sustained!"" He now discarded his coloured clothes, and put on a habit of mourning; then prostrating himself before the coffin of the departed, he touched the earth four times with his forehead, and exclaimed with a voice broken by sobs, "Wise and learned sage, your disciple grieves that he can no longer profit by your lessons ; but he may at least mark his attachment and respect by remaining here a hundred days to mourn for A'ou."' He then renewed his prostrations, and watered the earth with his tears. After this, he desired to see the lady that he might make her his compliments; but she sent several excuses. The youth, however, repre- sented that, according to the ancient rites, a woman might allow herself to be seen by the former friends of her husband. " I have," added he, " an additional title to this pri- vilege, since I am here as the disciple of the departed sage." At these pressing instances, the widow could not do otherwise than allow herself to be persuaded. She therefore issued from her chamber, and proceeded with slow steps into the hall, to receive her guest's compliments of condolence, which were few, and made in the usual terms. When, however, the lady had observed the elegant manners, the wit, and the other numerous attractions of this young gentle- man, she was altogether charmed, and began to feel all the symptoms of a rising passion, which she durst not yet confess to herself, but which led her nevertheless to hope that the young man would not very soon quit the neighbourhood. He, on the other hand, anticipated her by saying, " Since I have had the misfortune to lose my master, whose memory must be ever dear to me, it is my wish to seek a temporary abode here, wherein to spend the hundred days of mourning ; after which I may assist at the funeral cere- monies. At the same time I may take occasion to peruse the works of this illustrious philosopher : they will in some measure sup- ply the want of those lessons of which I have been robbed by his death.'" — "It will be an honour to our house,"" replied the lady ; " and I can see no objection to it.'" So saying, she ordered a slight repast to be ser\-ed up, and at the same time caused to be laid out, on a commodious table, the compo- sitions of the philosopher, to which was added a copv of the celebrated Taou-te-king, which had been a present from Laou-keun himself, the master sage. The youth re- ceived the whole of these with the politeness natural to him, and the respect due to the deceased.. On one side of the hall, where the coffin was laid out, were two chambers which opened into it : these were destined for the accommodation of the young stranger. The widow came frequently to the hall to weep over the remains of her husband, and on retiring, never failed to say something civil to the youth, who always presented himself to pay his respects. In these frequent interviews, many a glance escaped them, which betrayed the hearts of either party. If the youth him- self was half smitten, the young widow was THE PHILOSOPHER AND HIS WIFE. 235 wholly so. It was lucky for her that the house being in the counti-y, the negligence of the customary funeral rites was not likely to be noticed. To satisfy her curiosity, she sent quietly for the old domestic who had accom- panied the young man to her house, and in- quired of him if his master was yet married ? "Not yet,'" replied he. "And what sort of person would he wish his wife to be ?' in- quired the lady. " I have heard him declare,"' said the other, " that if he could only find one who resembled yourself, he should be at the height of his desires."" — " Very well, then," added the widow, " you may speak to him of me ; and if you perceive that he loves me, tell him from myself that I shall be very well satisfied to be his wife." " It is needless to sound him on that article," said the old man, "since he has frankly confessed to me that such a union would make him perfectly happy. ' But (observed he at the same time) that can hardly take place, as I am a disciple of the defunct, and such a marriage would scandalize the world.'"" — " But that is no hindrance at all," exclaimed the lady ; " your master was no real disciple of Chuang-tsze, for he had only promised to become one, and that, you know, is quite another thing. Go, and should any other objection equally trivial occur, you can easily remove it, and I shall recompense you handsomely for your services."' He promised to obey her. "Stop!" said she, as he was going ; " if the young gentleman desire that this marriage take place, you must come and inform me immediately, at whatever hour it may be." On his departure, she remained in a state of no ordinary anxiety, and went repeatedly to the ball of mourning under different pretexts, the real object being to discover what might be going on in that quarter. On one of these excursions, as she passed by the coffin of her husband in the dark, she heard a slight noise, which made her start aside with fear and surprise. " It cannot surely be the deceased coming to life,'" thought she to herself. Having repaired to her apart- ment for a lamp to investigate the mystery, the lady found her messenger stretched at full length on the table, which served as an altar for incense and offerings before the corpse. He was sleeping off the effects of the wine which he had drunk on his late visit. Another woman would have broken out in indignation at such an act of irreverence to tlie dead ; she, however, ventured neither to complain nor even to wake the sleeping sot, but retired to her chamber, where she found it impossible to rest. On the following morning the widow met her messenger walking at his ease, and ap- parently without thinking of the commission with which he had been charged. Perplexed by this cold silence, she called him, and when they had retired to her apartment, " How have you succeeded ?" inquired the lady. " There is nothing more to be done," replied the other, very drily. "How is that?" said she ; "did you not remember whati told you to say ?" — " I forgot nothing," he an- swered ; " my master is very anxious for the union, and thinks nothing more of the ob- stacle that occurred to him before, as the disciple of the deceased. ' But (said the young gentleman) there are still three insur- mountable objections, and I should be very unwilling to declare them to the widow herself.'" — "Let us hear these objections," interrupted the lady, " and I will tell you what I think of them." — "You shall have them as they were stated by my master," said he. " In the first place, then, the coffin of the deceased being still laid out in the hall, this melancholy spectacle is of itself sufficient to interfere with the celebration of the nuptials. Secondly^, the illustrious Chuang-tsze having so tenderly loved his wife, and she having evinced for him so strong an affection, founded on his virtues and great capacity, ' I am afraid (said the youth) that the heart of the widow must remain always devoted to her first husband ; especially when she perceives my inferior merit. Lastly, I am here un- provided with either money or any other kind of property. "Where, then, are the mar- riage presents, and other requisites, to be obtained T These, madam, are the obstacles to his wishes." " If those are all,"' observed the widow, "I can soon remove them. As to the first ar- ticle, of what consequence is this melancholy piece of furniture ? What does it contain ? — an inanimate body, from which there is 236 THE CHINESE. nothing to fear. I have at the extremity of my grounds an old ruin ; some countrymen, whom I employ, shall remove the coffin there out of sight. So much, then, for the first ob- jection. As to the second, my late husband was indeed a fine specimen of what he pretended be I — Before marrying me, he had already repudiated his second spouse. On the strength of his ill-founded reputation, the king of a neighbouring state wished to make him his chief minister. He, however, conscious of his incapacity, and afraid of showing it, came to hide himself in this solitary spot. Not a month since, he fell in with a young widow, who was trying to dry up, Avith her fan, the newly-turned earth about her hus- band's tomb, because she could not marry until tliis had taken place. The philosopher accosted her, and, taking her fan, did his best to please her by assisting to dry the tomb. He then kejjt this fan as a remem- brance of his new acquaintance, and brought it home with him ; but I took it from him and tore it in pieces. What great benefits, then, have I received from him, or what kind- ness did he ever show me ? As for the last objection, I myself will provide everything requisite for the marriage. There, take these twenty taels, oft'er them to your master ; they will provide his dres?. 'Make hasle and inform him of all that I have told you. If be agrees, I am prepared to conclude the marriage this very day. ' The messenger proceeded with the twenty taels to the youth, who now agreed to the proposals. As soon as the young widow heard it, she was quite overjoyed. She quitted her mourning at once, and began to adorn herself: at the same time that the coffin was transported, by her directions, into the old ruin. The hall was presently made ready for the celebration of the nuptials, and a grand feast prepared, in order that nothing might be wanting to the occasion. Towards night all tlie lanterns were lit, and the nuptial taper adorned the principal table. When all was prepared, the youth appeared, habited in a dress which set oti" to the best advantage his features and figure. The lady herself soon joined him, dressed in a silk garment splen- didly embroidered. They placed themselves near each other, opposite to the nuptial taper. Thus contrasted, they set off each other's attractions, as peai'ls and jewels serve to heighten the splendour of a golden tissue, and at the same time derive a brilliancy from it in return. Having made the accustomed ^ salutations, and wished each other all felicity, they proceeded hand in hand to the interior apartment, where they went through the ceremony of drinking out of the cup of alliance, and then sat down to table. Towards the conclusion of the repast, what was the astonishment of the late widow, and new bride, when the bridegroom all on a sudden fell into the most terrible convulsions! His features became distorted, his brows knit together, and his mouth twisted into frightful shapes. He could no longer hold himself erect, but fell at his full length on the floor. There stretched out, he beat his breast witli both hands, calling out aloud that he had a sickness which must destroy him. Enamoured as she was to the last degree with her new spouse, the lady cried out loudly for help, and without any consideration for herself^ fell on the floor and embraced the unfortunate youth, entreating him to tell her what was the matter : he, however, was in too great an agony to make any reply, and in short, appeared just ready to expire. The old domestic, running in at the alarm, took his master up and shook him. '' Has this ever befallen him before ?"' inquired the afflicted lady. " The distemper has seized him several times," replied the other ; — " there seldom passes a year without such an attack ; and but one remedy can save him !"" — •' Tell me quickly,*" she cried; "what it is?" — '• Our physician," continued he, "■ discovered the secret, which is infallible : let him take the brain of a man newly killed, and drink it in warm wine : the convulsions will imme- diately cease, and he will be as well as ever. The first time that this illness attacked him, the prince, his father, ordered a condemned prisoner to be put to death on purpose ; but, alas, where shall we find such a remedy at present!"" — *' Would the brain of a man who died naturally have the same efl'ecf?" ' For all the details of a Chinese marriage, the reader has been before referred to the Fortunate Union. THE PHILOSOPHER AND HIS WIFE. 237 inquired the lady. '•' Our physician," replied the other, '' told us, that in case of absolute need it might be used, provided that the person had not been too long dead," — " Oh,'" cried the lady, *' my lasthusband has been dead only a few days ; open his coffin, then, and take the remedy from thence :' ' — " I had thought of that," said the man, " but was afraid to propose it, lest it should offend you." — '• A great matter, truly !" exclaimed she. " Is not the present sufferer now my husband ? and ought I not to expend my own blood in his service? Why hesitate, then, to use the dead for the sake of the living?" With that she left her new spouse in the servant's care, and taking in one hand a hatchet used for cutting wood, while with the other she carried a lamp, away went the fair one to the old ruin, where the coffin of her late husband had been last deposited. Arrived there, she tucked up her long sleeves, seized the hatchet with both hands, and lifting it above her head, struck with all her force upon the lid of the coffin, which split immediately in two. A woman's strength would not have served to break the lid of an ordinary coffin ; but the philosopher, being aware that people sometimes return to life after seeming to be dead, had purposely directed that the planks of his coffin should be made very slight. A few more blows drove off the lid, and our lady, being out of breath with her exertions, stood still a moment to recover herself. At that instant she heard a deep sigh, and Ccisting her eyes on the coffin, she saw her former husband move himself and sit up ! One may imagine her dismay at this apparition ; she uttered a loud scream, her legs tottered under her, and the axe fell uinioticed from her hands. — " My dear wife," said the philosopher calmly, "lend me your hand to get out of this." Once upon his legs, he took the lamp from her and walked towards the hall. The lady followed him, but with faltering steps, and sweating big drops; for she felt that her new husband must be the first object that met the eyes of her old one ! When they reached the apartment, every thing looked gay and splendid, but the youth and his attendnt seeamed luckily to have vanished. This gave her a little courage, and she now began to contrive some way of escaping from her embarrassment; so casting a tender look at the philosopher, "Ah," cried she, " my thoughts have been occupied day and night with your dear memory : at length, having heard a distinct sound issue from the coffin, and recollecting the stories that they tell of dead persons returning to life, I flattered myself that you might be of the number. So I ran as fast as I could, and knocked ofi' the lid. Thank Heaven, my hopes did not deceive me ! What happiness to recover my dear husband, whose loss I should for ever have bewailed," "I am much obliged by your kind attention," said the philosopher ; — •' but have still one little question to ask you. How is it you are not in mourning; what is the reason that you are dressed out in this fine brocade ?" The answer was ready. " I went,"" she replied, " to open the coffin, with a secret foreboding of my happiness : the joy of the occasion called for anything but a mourning dress, and it was inconsistent to receive you alive in a habit that relates only to the dead : I therefore put on my wedding- clothes."" — •' Well, well,"' said he, " we will let that pass : — but why was my coffin stowed away in the old ruin, instead of this hall, which was its proper place ?"' This question posed the lady, and she had nothing to say. Chuang-tsze, then casting his eyes on the dishes and bowls, and other signs of rejoicing, considered tliem attentively without saying a word : he next called for some warm wine , and swallowed several cups in silence, while his wife stood by hi the greatest confusion. "Look behind you!"' at length said the philosopher ; and on turning round she per- ceived her intended with his follower, ready to enter the hall. This was a new subject of terror to her ; but on looking round again, they had vanished,^ In a word, this unhappy woman, finding all her intrigues discovered, and unable to survive her shame, retired to her chamber, and there, untying her silken girdle, hung herself by it to one of the beams. She soon became dead in earnest, without the chance of returning to plague her husband ; * The whole had been an illusion, practised by the adept in philosophy and magic. 238 THE CHINESE. who, finding her in that condition, cut her down very quietly, and, mending up his old coffin, laid her in it. Then striking tip a mock dirge on the cups and bowls intended for the feast, he broke them all in pieces with great shouts of laughter, and ended by setting Hre to the mansion, and burning his wife's body in the ruins, from which nothing was saved except the sacred book called Tuou-te- king. After that, the philosopher set out on his travels, quite resolved never to take another wife. In his wanderings, he fell in again with his master Laou-tsze, to whom he attached himself for ever after, and became the first of his disciples. It remains for us to describe a variety of superstitious customs and observances which are practised by the Chinese, either with or without a particular relation to some one of the three sects, or persuasions, which have been already noticed. In common with a considerable portion of the rest of mankind, they are pretty generally fatalists, or believers in inevitable destiny ; and the practical mis- chiefs of such a creed cannot be more strongly displayed than in the consequences resulting from their apathetic carelessness in regard to the use oijire. Notwithstanding tlie repeated conflagrations which every year devastate the town of Canton, the same unaccountable negligence is perpetually apparent to the most casual observer, who, in perambulating their streets, or taking notice of their domestic habits, cannot fail to be struck by the ex- treme carelessness with which burning paper and lighted sticks of incense are left about their combustible dwellings, or pipes smoked and bunches of crackers discharged in tem- porary edifices constructed entirely oi matting. It has been already mentioned that, in the year 1822, the whole of the European fac- tories were laid in ashes by a fire which originated in a small shop, and which, before it had run its course, destroyed a very con- siderable portion of the city. Some of these fires are doubtless the work of incendiaries, who hope to profit in the confusion ; but a large number must also be considered as the results of that stupid belief in fatalism^ which tends to paralyze eff"ort and to banish caution. Hence the thriving trade that is carried on by fortune-tellers and calculators of destiny. That the wiser and better portion of the Chinese, however, are occasionally above the influence of this grovelling sentiment, seems proved by the existence of a ti-eatise in their language, wherein it is shown that a man may " lay the foundation of his own destiny ;" or, in other words, that coiiduct is fate. The author relates, that being left by the death of his father without a guide at a very early age, he consulted an old man with a long beard, who professed the art of divination. This person told him that in such a year he should attain a scholar's degree at the public ex- amination within his district, and that, in some other year, he should succeed at the higher trial in the provincial capital. It so happened that these events occurred as they had been predicted, and his faith became accordingly confirmed in the skill of the soothsayer, who next informed him, after predicting the various vicissitudes of his remaining life, that he would die at the age of fifty-three, on a particular day, and at a particular hour of the morning. Being con- firmed in the belief that his whole course of existence was thus fixed by an immutable decree of fate, he became henceforward quite indifferent to active effort and exertion of every kind. It chanced that he fell in, some time after, with a sage of a very different description, who took him to task for his apathy. *" Can a man, then," inquired our disciple, '"escape the allotments of destiny?" To which tlie other replied, " Fate is of our own making, and happiness the result of our own conduct. The whole field of happiness is contained within the circumference of the heart, which, when once effectually moved, ensures success. Seeking rests with ourselves, and has a great influence upon attainment.'' Persuaded by this admonition, the reformed believer in destiny first prayed to F6 (for he was a Budhist) that he might be successful in his pursuits, and then vowed to perform three thousand acts of merit that he might deserve success. The sage drew out for him a register of conduct, in one column of which his good deeds were to be inserted, and in the other his en-orsj^ the first to be carried to his SUPERSTITIOUS PRACTICES. 239 credit, and the last to be scored out as the former increased. In the following year an examination was held at Peking of those who had attained the highest degrees in the provinces, and though the conjuror had predicted that our scholar should rank as only third among the success- ful candidates, it so happened that he was first on the list, and thus his faith in fortune- telling was completely overturned. When the three thousand acts of merit which he had formerly vowed were, after the lapse of some years, nearly completed, the thought of pray- ing for a son (an essential ingredient in Chinese prosperity) next arose in his mind. He again vowed the performance of three thousand good deeds ; and after some time a son was born to him. On tliis occa- sion, however, the registration of acts of merit seemed to be a joint stock concern, for what- ever he did himself he recorded in writing ; but his wife, who could not write, cut off the end of a goose-quill, and dipping it in vermilion, impressed a red point, for every good action she performed, in the register. The story says that there would sometimes be many of these in a day. By perseverance in a similar course of virtue, our scholar at length attained to the rank and office of governor of a district. He now commenced a new blank register, and vowed to perform no less than ten thousand acts of merit. Somewhat dismayed at the extent of the undertaking, he one night applied for advice and instruction to some spiritual being which presented itself in a vision. The answer was, •" Curtail the exactions on the people. This one act will be equal to the performance of the ten thousand." The land-tax of the district was then something more than one-fifth of a tael of silver per mou'.''^ A reduction was eftected of nearly one-half. The magistrate told his vision to the sage who had put him upon his present course of life. •■ Doubtless,'" said the old man, '■ to perform one single act like this, with perfect integrity of motive, may be equal to the performance of ten thousand 1 Seep. i;20. - About the eighth of an Englisli acre, from which it would seem that rather more thaa ten shillings per acre is considered as a high tax. minor acts ; for, by lessening the taxes of a whole district, ten thousand people may be benefited." — In a word, our Cliinese had employed his ten talents to the best advan- tage. The fortune-teller had calculated that he wculd die in his fifty-third year ; but he was already arrived at sixty-eight years of age, and was moreover quite well. Thus it was that the three great items of Chinese happiness, namely, '" male progeny, official employment, and long life," were all enjoyed in spite of fate. The story seems to have been written for the express purpose of coun- teracting the general belief in the decrees of immutable destiny, and lessening the credit of astrologers. The general proneness of the Chinese to superstitious practices (most of which pertain to the Taou sect) could not be more com- pletely proved than by an account of the charms, talismans, and felicitous appendages hung up in houses, or worn about the person, specimens of which were sent home a short time since to the Royal Asiatic Societj"-, by Mr. J. Morrison, a son of the late Doctor.^ It will be sufficient if we describe a few of these. Among the principal are '-money- swords," as they are called, consisting of a number of ancient copper coins, each with a square hole in the middle, fastened together over a piece of iron, shaped like a sword with a cross hilt. These are suspended at the heads of sleeping-couches and beds, that the supposed guardianship of the sovereigns, in whose reigns the coin was issued, may keep away ghosts and evil spirits. They are chiefly used in houses or rooms where persons have committed suicide, or suftered a violent death; and sick people sometimes resort to them in the hope of hastening their recovery. Their efficacy is no doubt fully equal to that of a horse-shoe nailed over a door, or any of those infallible devices formerly adopted in this country against witches and ghosts. The Chinese have commonly a firm belief in, and consequently a great dread of, the wandering spirits of persons who have come to an un- fortunate end, and which they denominate kuei. When Europeans first arrived in the country, their red or yellow hair, and high 1 Royal Asiatic Transactions, vol. iii. p. 285. 210 THE CHINESE. noses, were strongly opposed to the fair-ideal of Chinese comeliness. Mothers and nurses pointed them out as ogres and devils to their children, and hence the present term for any Europeans, yu?i-^W(?/, " foreign ghost, spirit, or devil," with some allusion, perhaps, to their wander iiig so far from their homes. In illustration of the Chinese belief in ghosts, and what may be styled " demoniacal possession," may be adduced an occurrence which took place at Canton in 1817. The wife of an officer of government had occasioned the death of two female domestic slaves, from some jealous suspicions, it was supposed, of her husband's conduct towards the girls ; and in order to screen herself from the conse- quences, she suspended the bodies by the neck with a view to its being construed into an act of suicide. As the parents of the girls ap- pealed to the magistrate for satisfaction, bribes were offered, and with success, to stop the progress of inquiry ; but the conscience of the woman tormented her to such a degree that she became insane, and at times per- sonated the victims of her cruelty, or, as the Chinese supposed, the spirits of the murdered girls possessed her, and employed her inouth to declare her own guilt. In her ravings, she tore her clothes and beat her own person with all the fury of madness; after which she would recover her senses for a time, when it was supposed that the demons quitted her ; but only to return with greater fury, which took place a short time previous to her death. In her last fit she became worse than ever, and was confined to a room with an old woman-servant. But the avenging demons (according to the Chinese) being incensed at this attempt to conceal guilt, possessed the old woman also, who, either from terror or symphathy, had become affected like her mistress. The latter died, and the affrighted husband endeavoured to quiet the distracted nurse, by telling her she should be main- tained in one of the Budhist nunneries, where she would become at length absorbed into the divine nature of Fo. She consented to this, on condition that he would worship her, which he forthwith pretended to do. The demons (say the Chinese), speaking by the old woman's mouth, farther insisted that the two daughters, who had assisted the mother in maltreating the girls, should also come and worship, which was accordingly done ; and on the arrival of the woman at the place of her retirement, the souls of the murdered females, having been appeased by the fore- going occurrences, left her in possession of her perfect senses. It may be reasonably supposed that a train of circumstances like the preceding, in themselves sufficiently ex- plicable on natural grounds, were magnified by ignorance and superstition into something preternaturaP. A common Chinese talisman* is the " hun- dred families" lock," to procure which a father goes round among his friends, and having obtained from a hundred different parties a few of the copper coins of the country, he himself adds the balance, to purchase an or- nament or appendage fashioned like a lock, which he hangs on his child's neck, for the purpose of locking him figuratively to life, and making the hundred persons concerned in his attaining old age. Another charm worn by children is a figure of the Ky-lin, a fabulous animal supposed to have appeared at the birth of Confucius, and therefore ominous of pro- motion and good fortune to the yoimg. Ou the 5th day of the fifth moon, sprigs and cut- tings of the Acorns calamus, and a plant called by the Chinese gae, are placed at the doors of houses to prevent all manner of evil from entering. The " Peach charm " consists of a sprig of that tree covered with blossoms, which, at the new year, is placed at doorways for the same purpose as the foregoing. The pa-kua, or eight mystical diagrams of Fo-hy, cut in stone or metal, are often worn as charms; and the bottle-gourd, a curious species of the genus cncurbitus closely resem- bling a bottle, is represented in ornaments as an emblem of longevity. We have before stated that the dried gourd itself, hung round the waists of children living in boats, frequtiitly saves their lives, by floating them until picked up after they have tumbled over- board. One might be led to conclude that the Chinese were generally a very happy people, could this only be inferred from the value ' Chinese Gleaner, p. 144. '^ Royal Asiatic Transactious, ut supra. SPELLS AND TALISMANS. 241 which they set on long life. The thing may- be partly explained, however, by the great reverence with which age is always treated, and by the fact, that old persons commonly enjoy an unusually great share of comparative ease and exemption from toil, by the services which both opinion and law impose on their juniors. The greatest favour and distinction that the Emperor can bestow on one of his ministers is the word show, "long life," written in a peculiar manner with his own hand, and supposed, no doubt, to be one of the best promoters of longevity. Persons of the lowest class, who have attained to an un- usual age, have not unfrequently been dis- tinguished by the Emperor ; and Kien-loong, when himself a very old man, gave a solemn feast to all liis subjects, of every rank, who had passed the usual term of human life! No doubt this solid foundation of their social and political system, on the patriarchal basis, has contributed to its steady duration. The written spells which the Chinese some- times use, consist of mystical compounds of various characters, or words, in which astro- logy is generally introduced, with the eight diagrams of Fo-hy, the twenty-eight lunar mansions, the^i-e planets, &c. Some of these spells are kept about the person, others are pasted on the walls of rooms. " Occasionally," observes Mr. Morrison, '-'they are used as cures for sick persons, by being either written on leaves which are then infused in some liquid, or inscribed on paper, burned, and the ashes thrown into drink, which the patient has to swallow." This is not much worse, however, than the aurum potabile of the old materia medica amoiig ourselves. For some reason or other, bats (which the Chinese call fei-shoo, "flying mice") are looked upon as good omens, and constantly depicted as an emblem of felicity on various objects of use or ornament. Even in this, perhaps, there is as much reason as in the Roman notion of learning the secrets of fate from the pecking of chickens, or in that zoological list of ill-omens which Horace, either in jest or earnest, imprecates against the wicked, — " Impios parrae recinentis omen Ducat, et praegnans canis, aut ab agro Rava dccurrens luia Lanuvino, Fetaque vulpes;" &c. The Chinese look upon rooks as unlucky birds, whose visits prognosticate visits still more unpleasant from the ma7i(larins. There is, however, a species of white-necked crow, for which they have a high veneration, as was proved in the last embassy. A gentleman of the party had carried a gun with him, in one of those long walks which we were accus- tomed to take at the frequent points of sojourn. The unusual appearance of this crow, with a white cravat, led to its being for once consi- dered as fair game, and the bird was shot. The occurrence was reported to the Emperor's legate, who conducted the embassy, and from him an earnest request was conveyed to the ambassador that no more such birds might be killed. " But it was ordy a crow," was the natural answer. "Only a crow!" ex- claimed the legate. — " Of all the birds that fly it should have been spared, for it is a sacred animal." He then related a story respecting crows having once performed some essential public service, just as geese are said to have saved the Roman capitol. This shows, at least, the utility of being acquainted with the most trivial superstitions of a country. But the sti-angest and most unaccountable of the Chinese superstitions, is what they de- nominate Foong-shitey — " wind and water," a species of geomanc^^, or a belief in the good or ill luck attached to particular local situa- tions or aspects, which we had occasion to notice before, and which, among the more rational classes of the people, is admitted to be nonsensical. Before a house is built, or a burial-place selected, it is necessary to con- sult certain professors of the occult science, who, at the ]n-ice of adequate fees, proceed with much solemnity to examine the situation. After frequently perambulating and examin- ing the ground, and even deferring their decision for months, they will fix on some I particular place. The lucky position of a I grave is supposed to exercise some influence on the fortunes of a whole family ; and if, after all the expense and trouble of consulting the cheats who profess the art, ill fortune rather than good should attend the parties, this is, of course, attributed to anything except the inefficiency of the foong-shuey . This term may in general be construed by the word luck, and it has been supposed that in a 242 THE CHINESE. country like China, where nearly all long j journeys are performed by water, " good wind and water," or in other words, good luck on a journey, has by degrees come to signify good luck in eveiy circumstance and condi- tion of life. It would seem scarcely possible that such fooleries as those above stated should meet with countenance or support in persons calling themselves Europeans ; yet in 1S21 a Portu- guese of some local consideration in Macao contributed to the erection of a pagoda for improving the fortunes of the place! The following notice was exhibited, but it does not appear that the whole of the proposed scheme was ever accomplished. " The Chi- nese and foreign merchants have hitherto been prosperous, their wealth abounding, and the destinies of the place altogether felicitous. Of late, however, its fortunes have waxed lean, and the influence of the atmosphere been unlucky, so that the acquisition of riches has become less certain. A proposal is accordingly made to erect a pagoda and a pavilion, in order to renovate and improve the commercial fortunes of the island. The plan has fortunately met with the concurrence of the Portuguese magistrate, who has oftered one hundred dollars to assist in its execution, Leang-ta-tseuen, whose skill is universally acknowledged, and everywhere attended by incontestible proofs, has visited Macao, in order to fix on a proper spot. He declares that a lofty pavilion should be erected on the sea-side, near the new village to the right of the temple of Ma-tsoo. and a high pagoda on the eastern arm of Monkey Island. He affirms that prosperity and riches will be the result — that both Chinese and strangers at Macao will share in the felicity. He has written a paper on the subject, and drawn out the plan, which has obtained the assent of the Portuguese magistrate ; the permission of the Keim-min-foo (the Chinese magistrate of Macao) has also been graciously given. It is therefore resolved," &c. The Chinese have a mode of divination by certain pieces of wood, in shape the longi- tudinal sections of a flattish oval. These are thrown by pairs, and according to the mode in which they turn up, a judgment is formed of any future event by consulting the inter- pretation afforded in a Sibylline volume, which is hung up in the temple. If the throw, however, happens to be unlucky, they do not mind trying their chance over again until the answer is satisfactory. A plan of divination, of somewhat the same kind, is described by Tacitus in his account of the ancient Germans. '' Sortium consuetudo simplex ; virgam frugiferse arbori decisam in surculos amputant, eosque notis quibusdam discretos super candidam vestem temere ac fortuito spargunt.'"^ 1 Germ. x. ROOTS OF THE LANGUAGE. 213 CHAPTER XVI. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. Uiiiversal medium for communicatinji; Ideas — Chinese Roots or Radical Characters — The elements of a philosophic Classification — Written and spoken Languages — Structures of Phrases — Chinese Ethics- Rules for Study — Literary Habits —Aphorisms — Histories — Chinese account of Europe — Biographies — Code of Civil Regulations — European Translations— Their Faults. The written language of China realizes to a great extent the theory of a universal medium for the communication of ideas, as conceived by Bishop Wilkins, and methodised by him into an elaborate treatise which he presented to the Royal Society. While the letters of our alphabet are mere symbols of sotmds, the Chinese characters, or words, are symbols of ideas, and alike intelligible to the natives of Cochin-china, Japan, Loo-choo, and Corea, with those of China itself. The best practical illustration of a written character, common to several nations who cannot understand each other's speech, are the Arabic numerals com- mon to all Europe. An Englishman, who could not understand what an Italian meant if he said renfi-di/e, would comprehend him immediately if he wrote down 22. This advantage, which belongs to our numerals only, pertains to the whole language of the Chinese, and those other nations who use the same characters, without affixing to them the same pronunciation. No connexion or resemblance whatever is to be traced between the written language of China and the Egyptian hieroglyphics. The former, indeed, is a much more artificial and ingenious system than the last, which had not advanced beyond the rude representations of visible objects ; while the Chinese, although it seems to have originated in something of the same kind, is now anything but a collection of mere pictures. They have no less than six dift'erent forms of writing or printing, just as we have the black letter, the roman, the italic, the written, and the running-hand forms. Indeed the Chinese running-hand might very easily be taken for an alphabetic character; though it differs from most of tliese systems in being wxitien'm perpendicular columns, like the Manchow Tartar language. The rumoured difficulties attendant on the acquisition of Chinese, from the great number and variety of the characters, are the mere exaggerations of ignorance, and so far mis- chievous as they are calculated to deter many from the pursuit, whose business takes them to the countiy, and would no doubt be greatly promoted by some practical acquaint- ance with its language. The roots, or ori- ginal characters of the Chinese, (or what, by a species of analogy, may be called its alphabet,) are only 214 in number, and might indeed be reduced to a much smaller amount by a little dissection and analysis. To assert that there are so many thousand characters in the language, is very much the same thing as to say that there are so many thousand words in Johnson's dictionary; nor is a knowledge of the whole at all more necessary for every practical purpose, than it is to get all Johnson's Dictionary by heart, in order to read and converse in English. Premare very correctly observes, — neminem esse qui non possit libros legere et Sinice componere, quando semel quatuor vel quinque millia litterarum (aut verborum) bene novit — " that there is nobody who might not read and write Chinese, after he had once acquired a good knowledge of 4000 or 5000 characters or words." A much smaller number might, in fact, suffice ; and it is worthy of remark that the entire number of diff'ej-ent words, apart from repetitions, in the Penal Code ti-anslated by Sir George Staunton, was under 2000. The roots which we have mentioned serve, like our alphabet for the arrangement of the words in the large Chinese Dictionary, com- piled more than a hundred years since by order of the Emperor Kang-hy ; and so inge- nious and lucid is the arrangement, that to a practised person there is little more difficulty in turning to a word than, among ourselves R 2 244 THE CHINESE. in consulting Johnson, The main portion of Dr. Morrison's Chinese Dictionary is arranged on the same principle. One part, however, is on a diflererent plan, which requires that tlie searcher after a word should know its pro- nunciation before he can tind it. This (which is an attempt to imitate the European method) is by far less certain than the proper Chinese mode, which requires no knowledge whatever of the sound of a word, but only of its composition ; and this is obvious to any person who knows the roots. These roots answer the purpose of our alphabet in lexico- graphic arrangement, and may be considered, besides, as the foundation of the meaning of each word to which they serve as root. From the principle on which the written language has been constructed, there has ensued to it a remarkable property, which did not escape the ])enetration of the late Professor Remusat, in his paper on " the state of the natural sciences among the people of Eastern Asia."' As the 214 roots or radical characters (whose combinations with each other form the whole language) singly repre- sent or express the principal objects or ideas that men have occasion to communicate in the infancy of their knowledge, they comprise •within their immber the heads of genera and classes in nature, and thus aftbrd the elements and means of a philosophical system of arrangement. As their knowledge increased, "a fortunate instinct," as M. Remusat calls it, guided the framers of the language, and led tliem, instead of forming characters alto- gether new, to express new objects by the in- genious combination of those elementary symbols which they already possessed. Thus, for instance, among the roots we find horse, dog, metal, &c. ; and the addition of some other significant symbol, expressive of some peculiar property or characteristic, serves to designate the different species comprised under these principal genera. In this manner, as M. Remusat observes, each natural object becomes provided with a binary denomina- tion, inasmuch as the complex character is necessarily formed of two parts ; one for the class, order, or genus, the other for the species or variety. Thus they express horse, horse-ass, horse-mule; dog, dog-ivolf, dog-fox, metal, 7netal-iron, metal-copper, metal-silver ; the elementary or generic words, horse, dog, metal, being those under which the com- pounds ai-e arranged in the dictionary. Thousands of terms have been thus com- pounded, and thousands more may be con- structed in the same way ; for the process by which they are created, and which is strictly analogous to the principle of the Liniisean no- menclature, is one which cannot be exhausted by repetition; and from this simple sketch it may be conceived how much aid the under- standing and memory may gain by tlie em- ployment of signs of this rational nature, in a subject of such immense compass, in which order and metiiod constitute the first pledge of the progress of studies and the advancement ! of knowledge. M. Remusat goes on to show ' that the Chinese have not derived the advan- ; tage which they might to their science, from I this happy constitution of their language ; and j that their naturalists have not made the pro- j gress which they should have done, in the I course traced out for them by the lexico- ' graphers. For it must be remembered that this systematic arrangement was a mere j classification of written signs, brought to- gether by the dictionary-makers, and dis- tributed by them according to the compo- I nent and elementary parts, with a view solely to facilitating the searcli for them. Persons, who could avail themselves of signs so judiciously contrived and arranged, and in- I eluding within themselves a principle of I order and the elements of analysis, might I have been expected to perfect in their sci- ! entitle labours w^hat the mere etymology of the characters suggested to them : but with- i out denying the decided superiority of the ' Chinese, in this respect, to the other people of I Asia, they must be confessed to have made ' but an imperfect use of their opportunities and means. The whole Essay or IM. Re- j musat on this curious subject is deserving of j perusal. i The highly artificial and philosophic struc- i ture of so singular a language entitles it to I the attention of intelligent persons, as a part I of the history of the humaTi mind. But it has now other powerful claims to notice, from being the medium through which at least four hundred millions of mankind, occupying countries which exceed the united extent of ELEMENTS OF A PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEM. 245 all Europe, communicate their ideas. With the growth of our commerce, and of our Protestant missions, the value and import- ance of its acquisition may no doubt increase in estimation. By only knowing how to write a few hundred Chinese words, a man can make himself understood over an extent of 2000 miles of latitude, from Japan in the north to Cochin-china in the south. As a portion of general literature alone, and with- out one-half of the practical importance which attaches to it among ourselves, the French have long since thought it worthy of the endowment of a professor's chair : and that nothing of the kind should as yet have existed in England is remarkable.^ The uniformity in the written character has not prevented the existence of very con- siderable diversities in the oral languages of the different provinces of China, and especi- ally the province of Fokien. These diversities are analogous to the different pronunciation given to the same numerals in the various countries of Europe. To adduce the example with which we set out, the number 22, which an Italian calls venti due, a Frenchman pro- nounces vingt deux ; and, in like manner, the Chinese rmmerals expressive of the same amount are read z/rh-she-nrh by the native of Peking, while the Canton man calls them ee-shap-ee, although both write them exactly alike. It is in this Avay that the universality of the Chinese language extends only to the written character, and that the natives of the two extremities of the empire, who read the same books, and understand each other per- fectly on paper, are all but mutually unin- telligible in speech. There is, however, one mode of pronounc- ing the written language, that of Peking, or of the court, which is universally adopted in official ti-anslations, and in the intercourse of the higher orders all over tlie empire. This has been tenned by Europeans the Mandarin dialect, and is called in Chinese Kuun-hi/a, which has the same meaning ; and this of 1 Since the above was \\Titten, a Chinese pro- fessorsliip has been instituted at the London Uni- versity. The cessation of our trade at Canton, and the commencement of hostilities, will render the language necessary in another way whenever negoti- ations are called for. course is the proper dialect for strangers to learn, as being of most extensive use. The total number of different syllables does not much exceed four hundred, but these are varied by intonations sufficiently distinct to the ear of a native, so as to treble or quadru- ple that amount. The danger of misunder- standing in speech, (for there can be none in writing,) is obviated by joining two words together to express any particular object, thus making in fact a word of two syllables. For instance, in the oral language foo means "father," but it also means '• an axe ;"' and the possibility of the equivoque is prevented by saying, in the first instance, foo-tsin (father-relation), and, in the second, foo-tow (axe-head), which circumstance tends to render the written language much more brief and concise than the spoken, as it has no need of such expletives. The Chinese attach much consideration to the graphic beauty of their written character, and make use of inscriptions for ornamental pui-poses, as may be often seen on the speci- mens of porcelain brought to this country. The advantage of simplicity (and a very great advantage it is) constitutes the merit of our alphabetic writing ; but that of variety and picturesque effect may fairly be claimed by the Chinese.'^ The importance of kalli- graphy as an accomplishment, is naturally esteemed more highly among them than it is in Europe ; and large ornamental inscriptions, or labels, are frequently exchanged as remem- brances among friends, or used as pictures are among us, for purposes of taste and deco- ration. The two most usual forms of their character are, first, that in which books are commonly printed,^ and which being stiff' and inelegant, lays claim only to clearness and accuracy; secondly, that in which all papers of consequence are written, and which combines correctness with elegance. The last is at once the most useful and the most studied form of the Chinese character. To attain skill in writing, it is more or less the 2 " The almost infinite variety of forms which the Chinese symbolical character is capable of receiving, is certainly favourable to the beauty, and, it may almost be said, picturesque effect of such inscrip- tions." — Staunton. ■^ Analogous to our Roman type. 246 THE CHINESE. aim of every educated Chinese ; and to im- part that skill, is the object of a work whose rules have been translated by the author of these pages, and its examples given in a series of lithographic plates, in the Royal Asiatic Transactions.^ Nothing can exceed the neatness and beauty of Chinese notes and letters, which are gene- rally written on ornamental paper of various colours, called by them " flowered leaves." They sign with a cipher, which every man adopts for himself, being a few characters combined in a complicated manner into one. Another mode of attestation is by affixing the stamp of a seal, not in wax, but in red ink. It would be an error to suppose that the lan- guage, however calculated from its structure for dvirability, has not changed to a certain degree in the course of time. Some charac- ters or words have become obsolete; others have been gradually adopted; and, above all, the whole is much more copious than in axicient times. In their earlier works (as in the sacred Classics noticed in our twelftli chapter) there is a much greater economy of words than in more modern literature. A portion of the difficulty or obscurity of an- cient authors arises from the same word being used, for example, in diflereiit senses, or as a diflerent part of speech, — a defect which time, and the multiplication of the symbols of ideas, have tended to supply. A great increase especially has taken place in those particles of speech, which become the more necessary in a language, in proportion as there is less inflexion, and which therefore abound more in the modern tongues of Europe than in the ancient sources whence they are derived. In Chinese there is no in- flexion whatever, and therefore these particles become the more indispensable ; indeed native writers call them by the express term of tsoo- yu, "assistants of speech." As we caimot go far into this subject in a work of the present description, it may suffice to observe, generally, that the grammar of the language is extremely limited. In the absence of all inflexion, the relation of words to each other in a sentence can only be marked by their position. The verb, for instance. Vol. must always precede its object, and follow its agent. The plural number is denoted by the affix of mtin to nouns, — -jin-miin, men, t'ha-mun, they ; or by repeating the noun, as jin jin, men. Either of these is rendered mmecessary when a specific immber is pre- fixed, as sanjin, three men. The genitive or possessive case is generally denoted by the affix che. succeeding the noun like our 's, as T'hien che gen, '' Heaven's favour." The comparison of adjectives is marked by affixes, as haou, " good," keng haou, " more good,'' ting haou, ^' most good."' The structure of Chinese phrases is often discoverable in the I broken English of Canton, which is a Chinese I idiofn in English words. The tenses of verbs I are denoted by auxiliaries, or expletives, as i t'ha kie, ''he comes," t ha yaou lae, "he shall I come." The cases of nouns and pronouns are I determined by prepositions, as yu ne, " to ! thee," which sometimes become postpositions, I as ty-hea, " the earth below" — under the i earth. They have a species of numeral ad- juncts which they join on to nouns, for tlie sake of perspicuity in speech, as ye pun-shoo, " a volume book," san kudn-peih, '' three reed pencils," &c. The collocation of words must upon the whole be considered as of more im- portance in this, than in those other languages where the relations of ditierent words to each other are marked by the infallible distinctions of number, gender, case and person, as shown by inflexion. The Chinese themselves divide their words into three great classes : first, '■ live words," or verbs — denoting action or passion ; secondly, '• dead words," or nouns, substantive and adjective — the names and qualities of things ; thirdly, " auxiliaries of speech," or particles that assist expression. By far the best introduction to the language of China is the Notitia Linguae Sinicce'^ o£ Premare, composed in the last century, but printed only a few years since at the Malacca college, at the expense of Lord Kingsborough. Professor Neiimann, of i\Iunich, has lately shown that Remusat's French Grammar was greatly indebted to this work. Where there is so little of what can strictly be called grammatical rules, the proper way to teach is by examples rather than precepts; and this - See list of works iu Introduction. RULES FOR STUDY. 247 is what Premare has done, illustrating the subject by quotations from the best works in the native character. It is a pity, however, in the present disuse of tiie learned languages, that the work had not been printed in English rather than in Latin, with a view to general utility. It consists of two parts, with an introduction giving a general account of Chinese books, and the method of studying them, and a treatise on tiie character and its pronunciation. The first part is on the ordi- nary language of conversation and popular books ; the second treats of the more abstruse and condensed style of scholastic composition and of the ancient books, which forms, how- ever, the basis of the popular language. With the aid of Premare's work, and Dr. Morrison's Dictionary, it is in the pov\rer of any one to learn Chinese, as far as books only are con- cerned. To be able to converse in it, he must go to China. Dr. Morrison has given a curious account, from original sources, of the rules which govern native scholars in the prosecution of their studies. The first thing needful is " to form a resolution,"' and this resolution is valuable in proportion as it is firm and per- severing. It is received as a maxim, that " the object on which a determined resolu- tion rests 7nust succeed." The student is directed to keep by him a common-place book and daily to record in it what he reads ; then at intervals of ten or twenty days to re- capitulate and con over svhat he has before learned; "thus the lover of learning daily acquires new ideas, and does not lose those he already possesses."' The scholar who does not rouse all his energies is told to consider how he is to get through his task when locked up with nothing but pencils, ink, and paper, at the public examination. " Should a theme be there given him which he cannot manage, let him leflect what his distress will be."' When a man is reading a particular sec- tion of a work, he is directed, in this treatise on ths conduct of the understanding^ to give up his whole mind to that alone, and on no ac- count to let it be diverted for the time by any other subject. " A caldron of water, for example, after fire has been long applied to it, will at last boil ; but if, in the mean while you change the water and put on fresh, though a great deal of water will be partially heated, none will be made boiling hot. I have seen (says the Chinese writer) those men who covet much, and devote themselves to uni- versal knowledge. When they read, they presume on the quickness of their genius, and section after section passes before their eyes, — but when do they ever really apply their minds to the subject? Better a little and fine, than much and coarse. The ancient military rule makes the power of an army to consist in its perfect training, and not in its mere numbers. I deem the same to be true in reference to reading." In study, a main point is to get rid of ex- traneous thoughts, and matters foreign to the object before one. The illustration of this subject of feeding the intellect is taken from the feeding of the body. " If a man's sto- mach (they say) is filled with coarse and ordinary food, he can swallow nothing more, though the most precious dainties be placed before him. In reading, the same is true of the mixed and vulgar thoughts of every-day life, which occupy and fill up the mind." Another important point is the ready applica- tion of acquired knowledge. A certain class of men, though they have read a great many books, are incapable of transferring and using the stores they have laid up. " There is one convenient rule (it is added) for a man who has many worldly affairs to attend to : it is to make a good selection of a volume of ancient literature, and another of modern composition, and to place them on his table. When a little leisure is gained, let him study them. If, instead of adopting this plan, he wait until he may be entirely at leisure for months, the expected period is likely never to an-ive. Time flies like an arrow ; in the twinkling of an eye a month, and again a month, is gone, and behold the year is at an end ! This loss and detriment arise entirely from putting off to the future. " Studies ought to commence (it is ob- served) during the fifth watch (before five in the morning), for these early hours are many times more advantageous than the subsequent forenoon, and later portions of the day. The attention should be as intensely exerted as that of a general at the head of his army, or a criminal judge in a court. ^ On no account 248 THE CHINESE. should there be breaks of five and ten days in one's studies. ' Do not fear being sIoav ; only- fear standing still — fear one days scorching heat, followed by ten of cold/ In prose- cuting a journey on the road, he who walks fast and stops frequently does not get on so well as he who walks constantly and at a slower pace. Study, however, though it should not be intermitted or delayed, ought not to be followed with too great eagerness and precipitancy ; for, admitting that a man can if he trys, walk a hundred ly a day, yet if he walk only seventy or eighty, he will feel himself sti-ong and equal to this exertion daily ; whereas, by working himself up to overstrained effort he will make himself ill, and thus more time will be lost than learning gained, '• When approaching the time of public examination, a student should particularly shun an eagerness to read much, for, if not before done, it is then too late. Let the duly- prepared scholar select twenty or thirty sec- tions of the best composition, and con it over till he relish its beauties and feel its spirit ; he will surely derive strength from this at the period of trial." The treatise goes on to com- ment on the folly of collecting books instead of reading them. There are many men (it is observed) who store up at home 10,000 volumes, and never read ten works ovit of them, they merely buy the books and place them in cases as playthings to look at. They have newly bound books, wliich no hand has opened, nor eye lias looked over. Such peo- ple are much below the poor starved scholar, who takes a few copper-coins, and buys a book which he carries home, but never puts out of his hand until it is entirely his own."^ These are the precepts by which the native Chinese student is urged on in a course which the ancient policy of his government has laid open by all ranks, and made the sole pathway to political employment, distinc- tion, and power. " One of the most remarkable national pe- culiarities of the Chinese,'" observes Sir George Staunton, '■ is their extraordinary addiction to letters, the general prevalence of literary habits among the middling and higher orders, and the very honourable pre-eminence which 1 Morrison's Dictionarj-, vol. i. p. 753. from the most remote period has been uni- versally conceded to that class which is ex- clusively devoted to literary pursuits Since the memorable era of Confucius, the Chinese empire has been repeatedly dismem- bered, and again restored to its integrity ; its sceptre has passed through the hands of many families or dynasties: it has been a prey to many intestine divisions and revolutions, and it has been twice subdued by a foreign foe ; but the reverence of the government and j people for the name and institutions of Con- ! fucius, has survived every change : Even now. under the sway of that compara- tively illiterate and warlike race which con- quered the empire in the middle of the seven- teenth century, and still holds it in subjection, several individuals, recognised as the actual heirs and representatives of the sage, are deco- rated with honorary distinctions, and main- tained in a state of respectable independence at the public charge. Schools and colleges for the Insti-uction of the people in his doc- trines continue to flourish in every part of the empire : a competent acquaintance with his writings continues to be an indispensable qualification for civil office. Under the influence of such institutions, it is by no means surprising that the proportion of the community exclusively devoted to letters should be much greater in China than it is in any other country on the surface of the globe. It is so great as to constitute of itself a distinct class in the state. It is the first and most honourable of the four classes, into which the body of the people is considered as divisible according to the Chinese political system ; namely, the literary, the agricul- tural, the manufacturing, and the mercantile. The advantages arising from so extensive a dift'uslon of a familiar acquaint- ance with what may be called their Confu- cian, or classical literature, will more fully appear when the nature of that moral system is considered, which it is the uniform tendency of its pages to inculcate. Du Halde Informs I us that ' Toute la doctrine de ce phllosophe tendolt H redonner a la nature humalne ce premier lustre, etcette premiere beaute qu"elle avolt re^ue du ciel, et que avoit ete obscurcie paries tenebres de Tignorance, et par la con- tagion des vices, II conseilloit, pour pouvoir CHINESE MORALS. 249 y parveiiir, d'obeir au Seigneur du ciel, de riionorer et de la craindre, d'aimer son pro- chain comme soi-meme, de vaincre ses pen- chans, de ne prendre jamais ses passions pour regie de sa conduite, de les soumettre a la raison, de Tecouter en toutes choses, de ne rien faire, de ne rien dire, de ne rien penser meme, quilui futcontraire.' In the same spirit is the statement or sum- mary of the Chinese moral system, which the Emperor of China in 1713 directs to be given by his ambassadors to the Russian govern- ment. ' If you are asked what we princi- pally esteem and reverence in China, you may thus reply ; In our empire fidelity, filial piety, charity, justice, and sincerity are esteemed above all things. We revere and abide by them : they are the principles upon which we administer the empire and as well as govern ourselves. We likewise make sacrifices and oblations: we pray for good things, and we deprecate evil things; but if we did not act honestly, if we were not faithful, pious, charitable, just, and sincere, of what avail would be our prayers and sacri- fices.' The universal veneration of the Chinese for the memory of Confucius is of itself no small homage to the excellence of his doctrines. It is strikingly manifested by the special dedication of temples to his honour in all the chief cities of the empire In the lateral galleries of their temples a number of smaller tablets are generally dis- played, on whicli are carefully recorded the names and virtues of such of the deceased inhabitants of the district as were deemed to deserve, either on account of their private worth or their public services, this posthumous distinction Everything that is subservient to, or connected with literary objects in China is carried to a degree of re- finement, and blended with all their ordinary concerns of pleasure and of business, in a way that may seem extravagant and puerile^ ; but such an attachment to the forms and instru- ments by which knowledge is conveyed could hardly exist altogether independently of a regard for their object.^" ' Their oistomary reverence for letters is such, that they will not tread upon written or printed paper. ^ Miscellaneous Notices. Part II. p. 6. In a general classification of the literature of the country, those sacred or canonical works, which have already been briefly de- scribed in the twelfth chapter, must of course be placed at the head of the list. The term king, which means a sacred book, has been usurped by the Budhists and sectaries of Taou in application to their own religious works, but in strictness can apply only to the writings of Confucius and his school. Next to these in rank are those moral and political essays which have the sanction of the govern- ment and of the learned. The Shing-yu, or sacred edict, a work to which we have had occasion to refer, stands high in the list of moral and didactic books, consisting of essays written by the Emperor Yoongching, or theses furnished by his father and predecessor, Kang-hy. A very respectable translation of this work was published by Dr, Milne many years back, and we may here give his own account of the book. '' It treats of moral duties and of political economy. Like all si- milar Chinese productions, it feajr/ws with filial piety, and thence branches out into various other relative duties, according to their sup- posed importance. Indeed, on whatever sub- ject a Chinese writer treats, he can at all times with the utmost facility draw arguments for its support from the relation between parent and child.^ Even the grossest absurdities of their idolatry are thus supported. The work we are now considering is in general, for the matter of it, well worth a perusal. Though Christians can derive no improvement to their ethics from it, yet it will confirm them more and more in the belief of two important points, viz., that God has not left himself with- out a witness in the minds of the heathen ; and that the bare light of nature as it is called, even when aided by all the light of pagan philosophy, is totally incapable of leading men to the knowledge and worship of the true God. Yet, for my own part as an in- dividual, I am of opinion that, as all truth and all good come originally from the same source, so we ought to look with a degree of 3 It maybe observed, that the duties of this relation are supported occasionally by ar;,'uments aud illus- trations drawn very unexpectedly from nature. "Look," say they, "at the lamb and the kid, which kneel when "they are suckled by the mother." 250 THE CHINESE. reverence on those fragments of just sentiment and good principle which we sometimes meet with among the heathen.*'^ There is more common sense, as well as more Christianity in this, than in that culpa- ble spirit of detraction which has sometimes pervaded the writings of those who undertook to enlighten the Chinese. Like the Hebrews, the Chinese number the words of their most valued books : and one object of this has been to divide the aggre- gate into daily or monthly portions for the learner. The work above noticed is called ffon-ye?i->/u,th.e "scripture of 10,000 words,"" and said actually to contain that number. It is appointed to be read publicly at new and full moon to the people and soldiery of each province, though in spring and autumn it is frequently omitted, on account of the labours of agriculture. Early on the first and fifteenth day of every moon, the civil and military officers meet full dressed in a spa- cious public hall. The superintendent, or master of the ceremonies, calls aloud, '• Stand forth in order;'" which they do, according to their rank. He then says, " Kneel thrice, and bow ihe head nine times."' They kneel and prostrate themselves with their faces towards a raised eminence, on which is a taljlet with the Emperor"s name. He next calls aloud, '•■ Rise and retire ;"" upon which they proceed to the place where the law is usually read, and Avhere the military and jjeople are as- sembled, standing round in silence. The reciter or orator, advancing towards an altar of incense, kneels, and reverently taking the board on which the Thesis appointed for the day is written, ascends a stage with it. Si- lence being then commanded by a species of wooden rattle, or sistnim, the text is read aloud, after which the orator explains the sense. The same forms are observed in ex- pounding the laws generally ; for the Chinese have a maxim, that '• to make the laws uni- versally known is the best way to prevent their violation."" Among their other moral and didactic works, they have collections of detached sentences and aphorisms, of which they are extremely fond, and for the expression of 1 Chiuese Gleaner, vol. ii. p. 29. which their language is singularly well adapted. Pairs of these sentences, displaj'^- ing a parallelism of construction, as well as meaning, and written in a fine character on ornamental labels, are a frequent decoration of their dwellings and temples. There is a work in a single volume called Ming-sin paou- kien, " A precious Mirror to throw light on the Mind,"' being in fact a dictionary of quota- tions, filled with such extracts from various works, and therefore very useful to a learner. The favourite sayings and proverbs of all nations are among the best sources of informa- tion respecting their real character and con- dition : and with this view the reader is pre- sented below with a collection, which has been made without any regard to arrange- ment or order : — '•' 1 , A wise man adapts himself to circum- stances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it. 2. Misfortunes issue out, where diseases enter in — ^at the mouth. 3. The error of one moment becomes the sorrow of a whole life. 4. Diseases may be cured, but not destiny. 5. A vacant mind is open to all suggestions, as the hollow mountain returns all sounds. 6. When the tree is felled, its shadows dis- appear. (Desertion of the great by their parasites.) 7. He who pursues the stag, regards not hares. 8. To be afraid of leaving a tract, and yet walk upon snow. 9. If the roots be left, the grass will grow again. (Reason given for exterminating a traitor's family.) 'lO. Relaxation above, produces remissness below. (In authority.) 11. The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials. 12. What is told in the ear, is often heard a hundred miles oft". 13. Ivory is not obtained from rats' teeth. (Said in contempt.) 14. A wnse man forgets old grudges. 15. Riches come better after poverty, than poverty after riches. 16. A bird can roost but on one branch; a mouse can drink no more than its till APHORISMS. 251 from a river. (Enough is as good as a 38. feast.) 17. When the pool is dry, the fish will be 39. seen. (When accounts are settled, the balance of profits will appear.) 40. 18. You cannot ship two skins off one cow. (There is a limit to extortion.) 19. Who swallows quick, can chew but little. 41. (Applied to learning.) , 20. What cannot be told, had better not be I done. j 42. 21. The torment of euvy is like a grain of j sand in the eye. ! 43. 22. He who wishes to rise in the world, } should veil his ambition with the foi-ms 44. of humility. ! 23. Extreme delight produces its constrast. j 45. 24. The gods cannot help a man who loses opportunities.^ ' 46. 25. Dig a well before you are thirsty. (Be 47. prepared against contingencies.) 26. Sweet words are poison; bitter words, physic. (Flattery and reproof.) 48. 27. The full stomach cannot comprehend the 49. evil of hunger. 28. To eat stolen food without wiping the 50. lips. (The practices of a rogue without his art.) 51. 29. Carelessness gives temptation to dis- honesty. 52. 30. Eggs are close things, but the chicks come out at last (Murder will out.) 31. To swim with one foot on the ground. (A safe and prudent character.) 53. 32. When Yen-u-dng (the King of Hell) has decreed a man to die at the third watch, 54. no power will detain him till the fifth. 33. Better be a dog in peace, than a man in 55. anarchy. 34. Letters and husbandry — the two principal professions. 56. 35. To add feet to a snake. (Superfluity in discourse when the subject is ex- 57. hausted.) 36. A diligent pen supplies memory and thought. 58. 37. Who aims at excellence will be above mediocrity; who aims at mediocrity will 59. fall short of it. 60. * " Pour etre graud liomme, il faut savoir proliter de toute sa fortune.'" — Larochefoucau/d. Pouring water on a duck's back. (Fruit- less counsel or advice.) To win a cat. and lose a cow. (Conse- quences of litigation.) To stop the hand is the way to stop the mouth. (If a man will not work, neither shall he eat.) JVo medicine is the safe medium in physic. (Between that which cures, and that which kills.) Old age and faded flowers, no remedies can revive. I will not try my porcelain bowl against his earthen dish. (Said in contempt.) He who toils with pain, will eat with pleasure. No duns outside, and no doctors within. (Absence of sickness and debt.) Forbearance is a domestic jewel. An oil-jar can be used again for nothing but oil. (A man must follow what he was bred to — Semel imbuta, 8^'c.) Kindness is more binding than a loan. Borrowed money makes time short ; work- ing for others makes it long. The friendship of mandarins impo- verishes ; that of merchants makes ricli. All that a fish drinks goes out at the gills. (Spent as soon as got.) If families have no sons devoted to let- ters, whence are the governors of the people to come. (Necessity for general education.) Those who cannot sometimes be unheed ing (or deaf), are not fit to iiile. Right should be preferred to kindred. (In patronage.) A wife can be answerable for no crime ; the responsibility rests with the hus- band. The bees have their kings and ministers; and ants their social relations. Parents' atlection is best shown, by teaching their children industry and self-denial. Something is learned every time a book is opened. The more talents are exercised, the more they will be developed. Unless the laws be executed even on the imperial kindred, they will not be obeyed. 252 THE CHINESE. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. Early preferment mates a lazy genius. The best thing in governing is example ; the next, impartial rigour. Great wealth comes by destiny ; mode- rate wealth by industry. The ways of superiors are generally car- ried by inferiors to excess. A rash man is fond of provoking trouble, but when the trouble comes, he is no match for it ; a clever man turns great troubles into little ones, and little ones into none at all. Large fowls will not eat small grain. (Great mandarins are not content with little bribes.) A truly great man never puts away the simplicity of the child. To obtain one, leads to wishing for two. (Enough is always something more than a man possesses.) Lookers on may be better judges of the game tlian the players. The best thing is to be respected, and the next to be loved; it is bad to be hated, but worse still to be despised. A fat hen makes fat chickens. (A rich master has sleek servants.) The poor cannot contend with the rich, nor the rich with the powerful. The man in boots does not know the man in slioes. (Boots are the official and full dress.) Good fortune is a benefit to the wise, but a curse to the foolish. While at their ease, men burn no in- cense; but when trouble comes, they clasp the feet of Fo. A man's words are like an arrow, straight to the mark ; a woman's are like a broken fan. Domestic failings should not be published abroad. A good action goes not beyond the doors; a bad one is carried a hundred leagues. Virtue is sought for in a wife; beauty in a handmaid. A foolish husband fears his wife ; a pru- dent wife obeys her husband. If the upper beam be crooked, the lower will be a^vTy. (Effect of example in superiors.) 82. Obsequiousness makes friends ; candour breeds dislike. 83. One lash to a good horse ; one word to a wise man. 84. He, who does not soar high, will suffer the less by a fall. 85- The grass endures but one season; man lasts but one generation. 86. The drunkard's fault is not the wine's, but his own. (Drunkenness cannot be pleaded in extenuation.) 87. The man who combats himself, will be happier than he who contends with others. 88. Sleepiness in an old man, and wakeful- ness in a young one, are bad symptoms. (Medical axiom.) 89. The fish dwell in the depths of the waters, and the eagles in the sides of heaven ; the one, though high, may be reached with the arrow, and the other, though deep, with the hook ; but the heart of a man, at a foot distance, cannot be known\ 90. It is equally criminal in the Emperor and the subject to violate the laws. 91. Let every man sweep the snow from be- fore his own doors, and not busy him- 1 self about the frost on his neighbour's I tiles. I 92. In a field of melons, do not pull up j your shoe; under a plum-tree, do not ! adjust your cap. (Be careful of your j conduct under circumstances of sus- I picion.) j 93. A man need only correct himself with I the same rigour that he reprehends others ; and excuse others with the same indulgence that he shows to himself. I 94. Though the life of man be short of a j hundred years, he gives himself as much i pain and anxiety as if he were to live I a thousand. 95. By nature, all men are alike ; but by education widely different."' Some of the ordinary expressions of the Chinese are pointed and sarcastic enough. • Dr. Milue remarked the similitude to Proverbs, XXV. 3. "The heaven for hei|,'ht, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable." HISTORIES. 253 A blustering, harmless fellow they call "a paper tiger," When a man values himself overmuch, they compare him to " a rat fall- ing into a scale, and weighing itself." — Overdoing a thing, they call '' a hunchback making a bow."" — A spendthrift they com- pare to '' a rocket,"' which goes off at once. — Those who expend their charity on remote objects, but neglect their family, are said to "hang a lantern on a pole,"" which is seen afar, but gives no light below. But to return to their regular literature, of which histories may be said to occupy the second class, after their sacred, moral, and didactic Avorks. There is a continuous his- tory of China from the earliest ages down to the conclusion of the Yeitn, or Mongol Tar- tar dynasty, called the '• Twenty-one histo- rians,'" consisting of nearly three hundred of those brochztres, or thin volumes stitched with silk, about ten of which are generally con- tained in a folding case. Vv'e shall treat of printing under the head of Arts hereafter, but may observe incidentally in tliis place, that the early invention of this art, in the tenth century, just tive hundred years before it was known in Europe, was a circumstance that tended to multiply and preserve the Chinese annals, and to afford abundant materials to the writers of later times. Yet •we should search in vain in their histo- ries for anything beyond a barren chronicle of facts and dates. Trains of reasoning and lessons of political philosophy can scarcely be looked for in a country, the theory of whose government has always been despotic, however tempered by other circumstances. " Instead of allowing (observes Mr. Gutzlaft' very correctly) that common mortals had any part in the affairs of the world, they speak only of the Emperors who then reigned. They represent them as the sources from which the whole order of things emanated, and all others as mere puppets who moved at the pleasure of the autocrat. This is truly Chinese ; the whole nation is represented by the Emperor, and absorbed in him."" The same writer quotes a native authority in support of that scepticism regarding the earlier or mythological periods of Chinese history which we took upon ourselves to ex- press in the tifth chapter. " Who (inquires Yangtsze) knows the affairs of remote an- tiquity, since no authentic records have come down to us ? He who examines the stories will find it difficult to believe them, and careful scrutiny will convince him that they are without foundation. In the primeval ages, no historical records were kept. Why then, since the ancient books that described those times Avere burnt by the first Emperor of the Tsin dynasty (about 200 B.C.), should we misrepresent those remote ages, and satisfy ourselves with vague fables'?"' The incon- sistencies contained in the early relations destroy the credit of the whole, and prove them to have been in a great measure, like the mythology of other countries, the inven- tions or improvements of after-times. Perhaps there is no portion of Chinese literature so little interesting to us as its bar- ren afifials, in which the principal events re- corded are the successions of long lists of sovereigns and the mere domestic chronicles of a country which has always had less con- nexion with the rest of the world than any other empire of the same extent. There is some reason, therefore, for the opinion al- ready quoted of Premare, who placed Chi- nese historians at the bottom of their list of writers, "not because they write worse than others, but because he did not much care to know the events which they relate." In our own opinion, the only readable Chinese chro- nicle is the San-ku6-chy, or " History of the Three States,"" comprising that period of its annals, when the monotony of universal do- minion was broken by the contests of several independent chiefs for the sovereignty. This work, however, is rather to be viewed in the light of an historical romance than as a mere matter of record, though the speeches which are put into the mouths of its heroes and actors are quite as likely to be genuine as those which we meet with in Livy, and other ancient writers of Europe. The interest of Chinese history, to a fo- reigner, is most engaging when the country is involved in contests with the Tartars, or sub- jected by their invasions. "The struggle (observes Mr. Gutzlaff) against the Tartar hordes on the north and west, became very violent during the Tang and Soong dynasties, and ended in the submission of the v.hole of 254 THE CHIXESE. China to the Mongols about a.d. 1280. This period is highly interesting. Chinese writers have dwelt much upon the reigns of the Em- perors (of their own nation) who held the throne during these times of commotion, and we find in their works abundant materials for a history of the period. But for composing a history of the Mongol dynasty, we ought to have recourse to foreign helps; as the Chi- nese writers say comparatively little respect- ing it. They consider the family which then reigned as usm-pers, sprung from the barba- rians who first laid waste the celestial empire, and then trampled ' the fiowery nation" under foot. Kublai, however, has his biographers and historians among the Chinese, but none of them equal Marco Polo, the Venetian tra- veller, in the interest of their narratives. To make ourselves acquainted with the Ming dynasty, (the native race, which expelled the Mongols.) the Chinese can afford us one work of more than sixty volumes. " They cannot yet publish their observations upon the present dynasty, which a second time expelled the native sovereigns, and established the dominion of the IVIanchow Tartars. A manuscript work called Tong-hua-l6, con- taining the reigns of the three first Emperors, is written in the same style as the annals of the empire under the preceding dynasties; but not being committed to the press, on ac- count of the risk in which it might involve those concerned, the copies are of course scarce and expensive. As a specimen of the style in which Chinese works sometimes notice foreign countries, the following pas- sage from the above history may be adduced : — " European navigators calculate their dis- tances by degrees^, as the Chinese do by watches. The Em-opeans coming to China sail first eighty degrees in a southerly course, until they reach the Cape of Storms, and thence steer in a northerly direction, until they arrive at the limits of the province of Quang-tong. This is a voyage of six months or more, during which they see no land. " There is also a mode of communicating from Europe with China by laud, but as the 1 The divisions of the globe, according to our method, were taught the Chinese by the Jesuits, and have been adopted by them. kingdom of Russia intervenes, and is difficult of access, the route by sea is always preferred. Russia is about 12.000 ly distant from Peking. It is bounded on the other sides by Europe and Turkey The climate to the north is so very cold, that although it is understood that those parts were formerly inhabited, travellers meet with no traces of natives at present, and they are supposed to have perished. The woods are very extensive, and the snow lies many fathoms deep. They have old accounts of mountains of ice in the northern seas, some thousand cubits high, which, though they have been disbelieved may perhaps be entitled to credit^." One of the most singular records of the Chi- nese, and a rare exception to the anti-social spirit generally prevails in their foreign policy, is that account of the embassy fi'om Kang-hy, (the second Emperor of the reign- ing dynasty, and perhaps the most enlightened monarch that ever ruled the country,) to the Khan of the Tourgouth Tartars, then situated between the Caspian Sea and the borders of Russia Proper. The work has been trans- lated by Sir George Staunton, and the best summary of it may be given in his own words. ''The ambassador commences his narrative with the relation of some particulars imme- diately concerning himself; he then gives at length the instructions he had received from his sovereign, and afterwards proceeds in the form of a journal, to detail the observations that occurred upon his route, his intercourse and conversations with the several public authorities among the Russians and Tour- gouths with whom he communicated, more especially with Prince Gagarin, the then go- vernor-general of Siberia, and with Ayuke, the Tourgouth Khan, or sovereign ; and he concludes with a recapitulation of the whole, in the form of an official report to his sove- reign of his proceedings. " The mission, the particulars of which are thus recorded, was undoubtedly a singular and remarkable event in Chinese history. The appointment of a deputation, consisting of several official persons with a suitable train, to proceed upon a laborious, and in some 2 Staunton's Miscellaneous Notices, vol. i, p. 60. RECORD OF A CHINESE EMBASSY, 255 degree, hazardous expedition to the distance of some thousand miles, and through the terri- tories of a powerful neighbour with whom they had but little previous intercourse, and that not always of the most amicable nature, certainly seems to bespeak the existence of a spirit of enterprise, and more enlarged and enlightened views in the government of China at that period, than we should probably have looked for at any time in that of an Asiatic nation. But in whatever respect the policy which suggested the mission may be considered to have been unusual and out of ordinary course in China, the narrative at least is perfectly Chinese both in its style and sentiments : the national spirit and character pervades it throughout, and will be obvious to every reader. It is possibly true that precisely such a mission would not have been sent under any other circumstances, or at any other period of the Chinese history ; but there is nothing either in the conduct of the mission, or in the narrative of it, which any Chinese or Tartar officer of ordinary attainments at the present day might not equally have done or written ; and the whole transaction seems to have ob- tained the unequivocal sanction and approba- tion of the government, the narrative having been published early in the next reign, under the Emperor's special authority, and a copy of it deposited in the Imperial Library at Peking, as appears from its title bemg duly registered in the Chinese printed and pub- lished catalogues of that collection.^ In addition to the circumstances Avhich thus authenticate the work, and give it a certain degree of authority, as an exemplifica- tion of the maxims of Chinese policy, we have the advantage also of being able to put the author's fidelity to the test, by comparing his statements and notices on passing objects with those of Mr. Bell (of Antermony), in his account of a nearly contemporary expedition by a similar route ; and it is certainly satis- factory to remark that there is a very general coincidence The descriptions of the ' The fact, that there is a printed and published catalogue of the Emperor of China's library, within the reach of any purchaser, is more than might have been expected. scenery, inliabitants, and remarkable objects which were seen in the course of the route, it must be confessed, are very meagre and un- satisfactory ; but they derive some incidental interest from the novelty of the quarter from whence they proceed ; besides which, the form of narration which the writer has adopted has led him to describe the manners, customs, and notions of his own counti-ymen, as fre- quently as those of the people whom he visits, a peculiarity which may, perhaps, add little to the value of his work to Chinese readers, but which cannot be unacceptable to us, to whom China is naturally an object of greater curiosity and interest than Tartary or Siberia." Of the history of individuals, or biography which the Chinese themselves call Sing-heo, " the Study of names," they possess a great variety, and at the head of these, as the oldest in date and estimation, may be instanced the Lun-yu^ or Discourses of Confucius, a work which, we have already observed, is in plan not unlike our own Boswell. There is a modern biographical work called Sing-poo, in no less than one hundred and twenty volumes, comprising the lives of eminent men and women, but withal a dull compilation, and deficient in interest and animation. The art of printing has put the Chinese in possession of as voluminous and cheap a literature as any people in the world ; though the differ- ence in the standards of intellect and taste render much of this but little calculated to please European taste, or satisfy European intellect. It is for this reason that very few Chinese works can bear to be translated in detail, and that the best way of making their general literature known is by short summaries or abstracts. Whatever their ignorance may be of matters extraneous to their empire, the numerous and extensive statistical works which they possess, demonstrate that the Chinese have a very detailed and accurate knowledge of their own country. The principal of these, Ta- tsing Ye-tung-chy, " a complete account of the Ta-tsing empire," consists of two hundred and forty volumes, giving particulars of the population, the geography, revenues, magis- tracy, and other details of every province of China Proper, as well as an account of Chinese Tartary. Every province, too, has 256 THE CHINESE. its own separate history in print, comprising particulars of its productions, manufactures, eminent persons, and every thing that can interest those connected with it ; so that the ignorance of the Chinese cannot be truly stated with reference to their own vast empire, exceeding as it does (with Tartary) all Europe in extent. Indeed the publicity, unreservedly given to political and state matters of every description, is a singular feature of their system. The Peking Gazette has very correctly been described as a state engine of no inconsiderable importance, ex- hibiting obvious proofs of an anxiety to influ- ence and conciliate public opinion upon all public questions, in a manner which could not be predicated of a government theoreti- cally despotic. Some account of their great work on criminal law has already been given in the sixth chapter. The civil code of the present Tartar dynasty is called Ta-tsing Hoeytien, and consists of no less than two hundred and sixty-one volumes, of which it may be worth while to abstract some particulars, from the appendix to one of the annual rejiorts (1829) of the Anglo-Chinese college. It contains not only the existing laws, but an account of all the changes and modifications of the law by successive Emperors since the conquest in 1G44, and frequently the reasons assigned at the time for the enactment of new, or repeal- ing of old laws. The whole is preceded by prints explanatory of all state ceremonies, both civil and religious. Then follow maps of every principal district in the empire, in- cluding not only China Proper, but eastern and western Tartary. The body of the work is divided into nine ])arts, of which the first contains all regula- tions concerning the imperial house now reigning, with the privileges of the descend- ants of the Tartar conqueror, in the direct and collateral lines. The second part relates to the palace and its regulations. The next six parts are concerning the Six Tribunals, or Boards, among which the whole details of the government are distributed in order, as before noticed. Under the ninth and last division are miscellaneous laws relating to public education, the examination of candidates for public honours and offices, peculiar laws con- cerning the Tartar dependencies, with the courts which take cognisance of their afi'airs. In that part which relates to the first of the Six executive boards (that of civil offices), is a detailed list of all the appointments in the empire, the relative rank of each officer, and the rules for selecting, appointuig, removing, rewarding, and punishing. In the manage- ment of official people the principle of a com- parison of merits and demerits is kept in view, and the one are set ofl" against the other. A graduated record of both is preserved, and an officer is accordingly promoted or degraded so many steps. Some approach to this system has lately been made in our own Indian em- pire, where it appears that a regular report is sent to the government of even the private conduct and demeanour of every civil ?nanda- rin, by his immediate superior. In China, there is a terrible round of espionage in pre- petual operation, and mutual J ea lousy is sub- stituted for the prmciple of honour. This may be very necessary and proper as relates to the Chinese, but we can hardly suppose it called for in our Indian empire, near as that may be to China. At Peking, mem- bers of the imperial house are all required to attend tlie public boards and listen to what is going on. In case of observing anything amiss, they are permitted to give information to the Emperor. When our last ambassador was in the neighbourhood of Peking, such persons were looking on continually as spies, and one of the conductors of the embassy, by way of caution to the strangers, told them that the Emperor had very lo/ig ears ; an asi- nine attribute which no one had the presump- tion to contest. Under the head of Science, we shall soon have more particularly to consider that portion of Chinese learning which relates to astronomy, geography, and medicine. The two former departments have been infinitely indebted to the Roman Catholic missionaries and to the parti-onage which those scientific and learned persons received from Kang-hy, the most liberal and enlightened of Chinese monarchs, who condescended even to take lessons in mathematics from the Jesuits. In the department of medicine (surgery they do not attempt) we shall see that the Chinese works contain their whole knowledge of na- EUROPEAN TRANSLATIONS. 257 tural history, with their peculiar theory of the circulation, and the materia medica of the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, as contained in that voluminous work, the Pun-tsaou. Considering the little inter- course that the Chinese have had with other countries, it is perhaps quite as surprising that they should know so much, as that they should know no more ; for everything they possess, with the exception of the two depart- ments of astronomy and geography, may fairly be considered as their own. Reserving the lighter literature of China, (its belles lettres,) as poetry, drama, and ro- mance, for a separate chapter, we may observe that specimens of more serious works have, in the course of rather more than a century, been but scantily presented, in various European translations, to the knowledge of the western world. It was as early as 1711 that Pere Noel's Latin version of the four books, with two other subordinate classics, was printed; at a long interval after that date, appeared GaubiVs translation oi the Shoo-king ; and in 1785 was published Mailla's voluminous work, in fourteen quartos, entitled " Histoire generale de la Chine," being a version of the nativeannals, called Tong-kien-kang-mo. Fresh translations of several portions of the "four books " have since been made ; among the rest, Mencius, by M. Stanislas Julien; Avhile a complete English version of the whole issued from the Anglo-Chinese press in 1828. A French translation of the ancient ritual, and ceremonial code of China, is said to be at present in preparation by M. Julien. Of some of the missionary translations, especially those of our own country, it may be observed, that if there is much that is ob- scure or worthless in tlie original works, this has been rendered still worse by the wretched attempt to render word for word, thus exhibit- ing the whole in a jargon which has not inaptly been distinguished as " missionary English." This of course must be anything but a faithful picture of the originals, which with all their defects in point of matter, are well known to be, in respect to manner and style, the models of the language in which they were composed. It is to this foolish and injudicious system of translation that we must attribute the following harsh judgment on that particular department of Chinese letters, which appeared some years ago in a critical work. '• The specimens which have reached us through the medium of the missionaries are not the best adapted to convey informa- tion respecting the present state of the Chi- nese. Their labours are sufficiently volu- minous, but their choice of subjects is not always the most happy. We may find an apology for the Chinese in endeavouring to make sense of their ancient records ; but we cannot conceive what interest a few insulated Europeans can possibly take in toiling to un- ravel the inextricable confusion of their king, or canonical books. ' The fact is, that the confusion of the originals has occasionally, by means of uncouth translation, been made " confusion worse confounded." 258 THE CHINESE. CHAPTER XVII. LITERATURE — (continued). Belles Lettres— The Drama— Passion for Tlieatrical Exhibitions— Neglect of the Unities — Character of Plays— Comparison with Greek Drama— Plot of a Play— Division into Acts— Analysis of a Tragedy— Poetry — Structure of; Verse — Character of Poetry — An Ancient Ode— Poem on London— Romances and Novels Outline of a Chinese Romance. "The Chinese stand eminently distinguished," says a writer very correctly in the Quarterly Review, ^ " from other Asiatic nations, by their early possession and extensive use of the art of printing — of printing, too, in that par- ticular shape, the stereotype, which is best cal- culated, by multiplying the copies and cheap- ening the price, to promote the circulation of every species of their literature. Hence they are, as might be expected, a reading people ; a certain quantity of education is universal among even the lower classes — and, among the higher, it is sujjerfluous to insist on the great estimation in which letters must be held under a system where learning forms the very threshold of the gate that conducts to fame, honours, and civil employment. Amidst the vast mass of printed books, which is the na- tural oftspring of such a state of things, we make no scrujjle to avow that the circle of their Belles Lettres., comprised under the three heads of Drama, Poelry, and Romances or Novels, has always possessed the highest place in our esteem : and we must say that there appears no readier or more agreeable mode of becoming intimately acquainted with a people from whom Europe can have so little to learn on the score of either moral or physical science, than by drawing largely on the inexhaustible stores of their ornamental literature." — We may therefore proceed to consider Chinese belles lettres, in the threefold division of Dra- ma. Poetry, and prose Fiction. In a moderate collection of Chinese books belonging to the East India Company, there are no less than two hundred volumes of plays, and a single work in forty volumes contains just one hundred theatrical pieces. The government of the country, though it does not (like that of imperial Rome) provide 1 Vol. xli. p. 85. spectacles for the people at its own cost, gives sufficient countenance and encouragement to such amusements, by permitting them to be erected in every street by subscriptions among the inhabitants. On some particular days the mandarins themselves supply the funds. The principal public occasions of these per- formances are certain annual festivals of a religious nature, when temporary theatres, constructed with surprising facility of bam- boos and mats, are erected in front of their temples; or in open spaces through their towns, the spectacle being continued for several days together. The players in general come literally under our legal definition of vagabonds, as they consist of strolling bands of ten or a dozen, whose merit and rank in their profession, and consequently their pay, difler widely according to circumstances. The best are those who come from Nanking, and who sometimes receive very considerable sums for performing at the entertainments given by rich persons to their friends.^ To prove the rage of the Chinese for their theatrical exhibitions, we insert an account of the expenses annually incurred at JMacao, which is partly a Portuguese town, and con- tains few rich Chinese, on account of play- acting.^ In front of the large temple, near the barrier wall that confines the Portuguese, twenty-two plays are performed, the acting of - The female parts are never performed by \\ omen, but generally by boys. " No women ever appeai-ed on the Greek, and the Roman theatres; but the characters in the dramas of the latter, as ^occ;xsionally) in those of Cliina, were sometimes played by eunuchs. The soft and delicate female characters of Shakspeare liad sot the advantage of being played by a female during his life ; Mrs. \ift- tertun, about 1660, being the tirst, or nearly tlie first, female who played Juliet and Ophelia." — Erief View of the Chinese Drama, p. 14. 3 Chinese Gleaner, 1821, p. 60. THEATRICAL EXHIBITIONS. 259 which alone amounts, without including the expenses of erecting the theatre, to 2200 Spanish dollars. At the Chinese temple near the entrance of the inner harbour, there are aimual performances, for which 2000 dollars are paid; and various lesser exhibitions through the year make up the total expendi- ture under this liead to upwards of 6000 dollars, or 1500/., among a small population of mere shopkeepers and artisans. A circum- stance, however, occurred at Macao in 1833, which must have impressed the Chinese with the notion that Europeans were fully as much devoted to such amusements as themselves. A party of Italian opera-singers from Naples, consisting of two women and five men, after having exercised their vocation with success in South America, proceeded on their way across the Pacific westward towards Calcutta, as to a likely and profitable field. Circum- stances having occasioned their touching at Macao, they met there with inducements to remain some six months, until the season should admit of their prosecuting the voyage ; and a temporary theatre having been con- trived, they performed most of Rossini's operas with great success. The Chinese were surprised to find what, in the jargon of Canton, is called a Sing-song, erected by the foreigners on the shores of the celestial em- pire, and in that very shape, too, which most nearly resembles their own performances, a mixture of song and recitative. As the nearest way home from Calcutta, for these Italians, was by the Cape of Good Hope, they were a singular instance of the Opera performing a voyage round the world. Before touching on the subject of their dra- matic compositions, we will say a word regarding the mere scenic exhibitions of the Chinese, which may at any time be viewed by strangers who visit the country, and of which even persons ignorant of the language can form a sufficient judgment. " They have no sceuical deception (observes the editor of the Heir in Old Age) to assist the story, as in the modem theatres of Europe ; and the odd expedients to which they are sometimes driven by the want of scenery, are not many degrees above Nick Bottom's ' bush of thorns and a lantern, to disfigure or to present the person of Moonshine' — or the man ' with some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast about him, to signify wall.' " Thus, a general is ordered upon an expedition to a distant province ; he brandishes a whip, or takes in his hand the reins of a bridle, and striding three or four times round the stage in the midst of a tremendous crash of gongs, drums, and trumpets, he stops short, and tells the audience where he has arrived. A tolerable judgment may be formed of what little assistance the imaginations of an English audience fonnerly derived from scenical deception, by the state of the drama and the stage as described by Sir Philip Sidney about the year 1583. " Now you shall have three ladies walk to gather flowers, and then we must believe the stage to be a garden. By and by we have news of shipwreck in the same place; then we are to blame if we accept it not for a rock. Upon the back of that comes out a hideous monster with fire and smoke; and then the miserable beholders are bound to take it for a cave : while in the meantime two armies fly in, represented with four swords and bucklers, and then Avhat hard heart will not receive it for a pitched field." It is very true (as observed in the journal before quoted), that " the Chinese in their theatres leave more to the imagination than we do. They neither contrive that the action should all proceed on one spot, as in most specimens of the Greek tragedy, nor do they make use of shifting scenes. ' You can never bring in a wall,' says Snug the Joiner, — so say the Chinese ; and though their contrivances are not quite so outrageously- absurd as those in the Midsummer Night's Dream, they are scarcely more artificial." The truth, however, on this subject seems to be, that though scenery and other adventi- tious aids of the kind no doubt tend to aid the illusion, they are by no means absolutely necessary to it; and in fact it is better to trust altogether to the imagination of the beholder than to fall into those palpable er- rors which even Dennis successfully ridiculed in Addison's Cato, resulting as they did from a rigid adherence to the unity of place. The best scenic preparation that ever was devised must still call largely on the imagination for assistance; and the whole philosophy of the s 2 260 THE CHINESE. subject is summed up in the words of the chorus to Shakspeare"s Hemry V. " But pardon, gentles all. The flat unraised spirit, that hath dar d On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth So great an object. Can this cock-pit hold The vasty held of France, or may we cram, AVithin this wooden 0, the very casques That did affright the air at Agincourt ? ,' O pardon since a crooked figure may Attest, in little space a million ; And let us, c\-phers to this great accompt. On your imaginary' forces work : Suppose within the girdle of these walls Are now confin'd two mighty monarchies. Whose high upreared and abutting fronts The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder; Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts, [ Into a thousand parts di\ ide one man. And make imaginaiy puissance ;" itc. It is very possible tliat the delicate taste of the Greeks, alive to this difficulty, chose rather to evade than encounter it, by that rule which confined the number of interlo- cutors, at one time on the stage, to three per- sons. But then mark the consequence ; half the events of the drama must be to/d to the audience, and in lieu of the stirring and active scenes which keep attention alive, and prevent the performance from flagging, we have those interminably long stories, which may be beautiful taken l)y themselves, and constitute a fine dramatic poem for the closet, but are quite unsuited to the stage. In one of the plays of ^schylus, the " Seven before Thebes," there is a spy, or messenger, who comes in and describes in a speech, of we forget how many pages, the details of the whole siege, with the arms and accoutrements of the besiegers ! The costume, at least, of the Chinese stage is sufficiently appropriate to the characters represented, and on most occasions extremely splendid. Their gay silks and embroidery are lavished on the dresses of the actors, and as most of the serious plays are historical, and for obvious reasons do not touch on events that have occurred since the Tartar conquest, the costumes represent the ancient dress of China, which in the case of females is nearly the same now as ever ; but, as regards men, very diflerent. The splendour of their theatri- cal wardrobe was remarked by Vsbrandt Ides, the Russian ambassador^ as long ago as 1692. i " First entered a very beautiful lady, magni- ficently dressed in cloth of gold, adorned with jewels, and a crown on her head, sing- ing her speech with a charming voice and agreeable motion of tlie body, playing with her hands, in one of which she held a fan. The prologue thus performed, the play fol- lowed, the story of which turned upon a Chniese Emperor, long since dead, who had behaved himself well towards his counti-y, and in honour of whose memory the play was written. Sometimes he appeared in royal robes, with a flat ivory scephe in his hand, and sometimes his officers showed themselves with ensigns, arms, and drums," &c. As the Chinese make no regular distinction between tragedy and comedy in their stage pieces, the claims of these to either title must be determined by the subject, and the dia- logue. The line is in general pretty strongly marked; in the former by the historical or mythological character of the personages, the grandeur and gravity of the subject, the tragical drift of the play, and the strict award of what is called poetical justice; in the latter, b}- the more ordinary or domestic grade of the dramatis personce, the display of ludi- crous cliaracters and incidents, and the inter- weaving of jests into the dialogue. Some of their stage pieces are no doubt of a vulgar and indecent description ; but these in general constitute the amusement of a Jjarticular class of society, and are generally ada^ited to the taste of those who call for them at private entertainments £is already noticed. A list of the plays, which the company of actors is pre- pared to represent, is handed to the principal guest, who makes his selection in the way most likely to be agreeable to the audience. The early travellers, as Bell and others, who have given an account of the impressions Avhich they received from the Chinese theatri- cal perfomiances, were able to judge of little more than the mere spectacle before them, and, being ignorant of the language, could give no account of the merits of the dramatic dialogue. The iirst specimen of a play was translated into French by the Jesuit Premare, who although actually resident at Peking, and a most accomplished Chinese scholar (as appears from his Notitia Linguee Sinicce), did not give more than Ure prose parts, leaving- CHARACTER OF PLAYS. out the lyrical portions, or those which are sung to music, because, as he observes, "they are full of allusions to things uiifannlllar to us, and figures of speech very difficult for us to observe." Voltaire made Premare's trans- lation of the Orphan of Chaou tlie groundwork of one of his best tragedies, L'Orphelin de la Chine: It is founded on an event which oc- curred about a hundred years before the birth of Confucius. A military leader having usurped the lands of the house of Chaou, is detennined on exterminating the whole race. A faithful dependant of the family saves the life of the orphan, and male heir, by conceal- ing him and passing off his own child in his stead. The orphan is brought up in ignorance of his real condition, until he reaches man's estate, when the whole subject being revealed to him by his tutor and guardian, he revenges the fate of his family on the usurper, and recovers his rights. In this plot, Dr. Hurd remarked a near resemblance in many points to that of the Electra of Sophocles, where the young Orestes is reared by his pcedagogus, or tutor, until he is old enough to enact summary justice on the murderers of his father Aga- memnon. It would be easy to point out a number of instances in which the management of the Chinese plays assimilates them very remark- ably to that of the Greek drama : and they may both be considered as originals, while the theatres of most other nations are copies. The first person who enters generally intro- duces himself to the audience exactly in the same way, and states briefly the opening cir- cumstances of the action. " These prologues (observes Schlegel) make the beginnings of Euripides" plays very monotonous. It has a very awkward look for a person to come for- ward and say, ' I am so and so, this and that has been done, and what comes next is thus and thus.' "' He compares it to the labels pro- ceeding from tlie mouths of the figures in old paintings ; and there certainly appears the less need for so inartificial a proceeding on the Greek stage, inasmuch as the business of the prologue or introduction, might have been transferred to the chorus. The occasional though not very freqtient or outrageous, viola- tion of the tmities in the Chinese drama may easily be matched in most other languages, and examples of the same occur even in some of the thirty-three Greek tragedies that remain to us ; for the unity of action is not observed in the Hercules furens of Euripides ; nor that of time in the Agamemnon of ^schylus, the Traychynians of Sophocles, and theSuppliants of Euripides; nor that oi place m. the Eume- nides of ^schylus. The unimportance, how- ever, of a rigid attention to these famous unities has long since been determined, and it is admitted that even Aristotle, to whom they have all been attributed, mentions only that of action at any length, merely hints at that of time, and of place says nothing what- ever. Premare's specimen of the Chinese stage was followed, at the distance of about a century, by the author's translation of the ' Heir in Old Age,' which is in fact a comedy from the same collection (the hundred plays of Yuen), that had afforded the former sample. In this the translator supplied, for the first time, the lyrical or operatic portions which are sung to music, as well as the prose dialogue, having endeavoured, as he observes in the introduction, " to render both into English in such a manner as would best con- vey the spirit of the original, without depart- ing far from its literal meaning." This was the more likely to be efficiently performed as he was then resident in the country, and could avail himself of native references. The ' Heir in Old Age ' serves to illustrate some very important points connected witli Chinese character and customs. It shows the consequence which they attach to the due performance of the oblations at the tombs of departed ancestors, as well as to the leaving male representatives, who may continue them ; and at the same time describes the ceremonies at the tombs very exactly in detail. The play serves, moreover, to display the true relation of the handmaid to the legitimate wife, and proves a point on which we have before had occasion to insist, that the former is merely a domestic slave, and that both herself and offspring belong to the wife, pro- perly so called, of which a man can legally have only one.^ 1 In the Penal Code» there are some express safeguards for the rights of a wife, aud it is provided 262 THE CHINESE. To give a brief abstract of this play from the introductory memoir — the dramatis per- sonoe are made up entirely of the members of a family in the middle class of life, consisting of a rich old man, his wife, a handmaid, his nephew, his son-in-law, and his daughter. The old man, having no son to console him in his age, and to perform the obsequies at his tomb, had, like the Jewish patriarch, taken a handmaid, whose pregnancy is announced at the opening of the play, in which the old man commences with saying, " I am a man of Tung-ping-foo," &c. In order to obtain from heaven a son instead of a daughter, he makes a sacrifice of sundry debts due to him, by burning the bonds, and this propitiatory holocaust serves, at the same time, to quiet some scruples of conscience as to the mode in which part of his money had been ac- quired. He then delivers over his aftairs to his wife and his married daughter, dismissing his nephew (a deceased brother's son), with a hundred pieces of silver, to seek his fortune, as he had been subjected at home to the per- secution of the wife. This done, the old man sets out for his estate in the country, recom- mending the mother of his expected son to the humane treatment of the family, and with the hope of receiving from them speedy con- gratulations on the birth of a son. The son-in-law now betrays to the daughter his disappointment at the expected birth, since, if it proves a girl, they shall lose half the family property, and, if a son, the whole. His wife quiets him by a hint how easily the handmaid may be got rid of, and the old man persuaded that she had suddenly disappeared ; and shortly afterwards both the son-in-law and the audience are left to infer that she had actually contrived to make away with her. In the mean time the old man waits that any man degrading his legal wife to the situ- ation of a handmaid shall be punished with one hundred blows ; and that he who during the life of his legitimate spouse treats any handmaid on an equality with her, shall receive ninety blows, and both parties be restored to their proper stations. It is added, " He who having a n-ife, mames another wife, shall be punished with ninety blows, and the second marriage shall be void." The notes on this law observe that "a wife is one whose person is equal in rank to that of her husband : a handmaid, one who is merely admitted to his presence." the result in great anxiety ; his family appear in succession to console him for the loss of his hopes. In the bitterness of his disappoint- ment he bursts into tears, and expresses his suspicions of foul play. He then attributes his misfortunes to his former thirst of gain, resolves to fast for seven days, and to bestow alms publicly at a neighbouring temple, in the hope that tlie objects of his charity may treat him as a father. Among the beggars at the temple, his nephew appears in the most hopeless state of poverty, being reduced to take up his lodging under the furnace of a pottery: he is insulted by the son-in-law, and reproached by the old man; but his uncle, moved with compassion, conti-ives to give him a little money, and earnestly advises him to be punctual in visiting the tombs of his family at the approaching spring, assuring him that a due attention to those sacred rites I must ultimately lead to prosperity. It is on ! the importance attached to the sepulchral ce- remonies that the whole drama is made to turn. The nephew accordingly appears at the tombs, performs the oblations as well as his poverty Avill admit, and invokes the shades of his ancestors to grant him their protection. He no sooner departs than the old uncle appears with his wife, expressing their indig- nation that their own daughter and son-in-law had neglected to come with the customary ofterings. They observe from the appearances at the sepulchre that their nephew must have ' been there. The scene at the tombs, and the reflections of the old man thereon, have considerable interest ; he reasons with his wife, and convinces her that the nephew is nearer in blood, and more worthy than the son-in-law ; she relents, and expresses a wish to make him reparation ; he appears — a recon- ciliation takes place — and he is received back into the family. The son-in-law and daughter now enter with a great bustle, and a proces- sion, to perform the ceremonies, but are received with bitter reproaches for their tardy piety and ingratitude, and forbidden to enter the doors again. On the old man's birth-day, however, they desire permission to pay their respects. Avhen, to the boundless surprise and joy of the father, his daughter presents him with the long-lost handmaid and child, both of whom, it ap- DIVISIONS OF PLAYS. 263 pears, had been secreted by the daughter unknown to her jealous husband, wlio sup- posed they were otherwise disposed of. The daughter is taken back, and the old man divides his money in three equal shares, be- tween her, his nephew, and his newly-found son ; the play concluding with expressions of joy and gratitude that the venerable hero of the piece had obtained " an heir in his old age.' Such is the brief outline of the story, which arises entirely out of the misery re- sulting from the want of a male heir to per- form the oblations at the tombs. The events follow each other in so natural and uuinter- Tupted a manner, that the time employed in the course of the piece, which is three years, would not be perceived but for the age of the child brought forward in the concluding act. The play, including the Proem or introduc- tory portion, consists in reality of just jive acts, and this peculiar division is common to the hundred plays from which this, and the other translated specimens have been taken. These separate portions of the play, how- ever, are not so distinctly marked on the Chinese stage as on ours, there being little need of preparation or change of scene, and the division seems to exist rather in the book than in the representation. The first, or in- troductory, portion is called the •' opening," and the remaining four are styled " breaks." All the directions to the actors are printed as in our stage books. " Ascend " and " descend " are used for enter and exit, and to speak aside is expressed by a term which means, to "say at the back" of any person. Thus in one of the Hundred plays, an intriguing lover, who meets his mistress by appointment, ex- claims on seeing her, as any other Lothario might do, " (aside) she has changed her habit of yesterday, and truly looks like a divinity." In the Chinese play-books certain invariable words or names are adopted to mark the particular relations of the different dramatis personce, as the first and secondary male and female characters (the prima donna, &c.), and these are used in every play indis- criminately, whether its complexion be tragic or comic. The musical portions, in accord- ance with the Chinese theory of poetry,^ ' See page 206. express the most passionate parts, and there- fore belong only to the principal characters. In this respect there is no resemblance to the Greek theatre, where the chorus, as a distinct body, sang together, or in responsive parts called strophe and antisti'ophe ; while certain spoken portions were delivered by their Cory- phaeus, or leader, who therefore speaks in the singular number. In another specimen of the Chinese theatre, which is of a tragic cast, and turns on the misfortunes of one of the native Emperors against the Mongol Tartars, the translator has followed the example of Premare, and having before (for the first time) given a drama in its whole details, including the lyrical por- tions, confined himself on this occasion chiefly I to the spoken dialogue, and the principal j course of the action. Love and war consti- tute the whole subject of the piece, of which the moral is to expose the evil consequences of luxury, etTeminacy, and supineness in the sovereign. The story is taken from that portion of the Chinese annals previous to the first conquest by the Mongols, when the declining sti-ength of the government em- boldened the Tartars in their aggressions, and gave rise to the system of propitiating those barbarians by tribute, and by alliances with the daughters of China. The play opens with the entrance of the Tartar Khan, who thus T^oXoyi^n : — '•' We have moved to the south, and ap- proached the border, claiming an alliance with the imperial race. I yesterday de- spatched an envoy with tributary presents to demand a princess in marriage, but know not if the Emperor will ratify the engagement v/ith the customary oaths. The fineness of the season has drawn away our chiefs on a hunting excursion amidst the sandy steppes. May they meet with success! — for we Tartars have no fields ; our bows and arrows are our sole dependence." [Exif.^ Then appears the Emperor's chief minister and favourite, who in a soliloquy makes known the system by which he governs his master, persuading him, " to keep aloof from his wise counsellors, and seek all his pleasures among the women of his palace." To him enters the Emperor, and, after a consultation, 264 THE CHINESE. it 13 settled that the minister shall proceed diligently through the realm in search of the most beautiful ladies, and furnish his master with faithful portraits of them, as a means of fixing his choice. He abuses his commission, however, and makes it an occasion for extort- ing bribes from those who seek the benefit of the alliance. The most beautiful of all is daughter to a cultivator of the land, who has not the means of satisfying the rapacity of the minister ; and the latter, in order to be revenged, misleads the Emperor by present- ing him with a disfigured portrait of the fair one. Chance, however, throws her in the Emperor's way, who is struck by her beauty, and the secret is now discovered, as he at once learns from her how he has been deceived by his favourite. " Keeper of the Yellow gate, bring us that picture that we may view it. (Sees the picture.) Ah ! how has he dimmed the purity of the gem, bright as the waves in autumn. (To the attendant.) Transmit our pleasure to the officer of the guard to behead Maou-yen-show, and report to us his execution." The traitor, however, conti-ives to escape, and canies his head safely upon his shoulders to the Tartar camp, where he exhibits a true likeness of the lady to the barbarian king, and persuades him, with ingenious villany, to demand her of the Emperor. An envoy is immediately despatched by the Khan, who adds, " should he refuse, I will presently invade the south : his hills and rivers shall be exposed to ravage." The unfortunate Emperor's fondness continues to increase, and the arrival of the Tartar envoy fills him with perplexity and despair. He calls on his servants to rid him of these invaders, but they bewail the weakness of the empire, point out the necessity of the sacrifice, and call on his majesty to consult the peace and safety of his realms by complying with the Khan's demand. He consents, after a struggle, to yield up the beauty, who is now a princess, but insists on accompanying lier a portion of the way. The parting scene has considerable interest, and the language of tlie imperial lover is passionate to a degree that one is not prepared to expect. Then at length comes the catastrophe. The Tartar retires with his prize, until they reach the banks of the river Amoor or Saghalien, which falls into the sea of Ochotsk. " Princess. What place is this ? " Khan. It is the river of the Black Dragon^ the frontier of the Tartar territories and those of China. This southern shore is the Emperor's — on the northern side com- mences our Tartar dominion. " Princess — (to the Khan.) Great King, I take a cup of wine, and pour a libation towards the south — my last farewell to the Emperor. (Pours the libation.) Sovereign of Han, this life is finished : I await thee in the next!" With these words she throws herself into the river, and perishes; and here the tragedy might properly end. The Khan in great sorrow decrees her a tomb on the river's bank, and, with more generosity than might have been expected from him, remits all further demands on the Emperor ; direct- ing that the wicked cause of these misfortunes shall be delivered over to the Chinese, to receive the just reward of his misdeeds. But the piece continues through another act, in which the Emperor's sorrows are either said or sung, until he is at length pacified by the death of the traitor. Another specimen from the Hundred Plays has been translated in France by M. Stanislas Julien, now professor of Chinese at Paris. As in the previous instance of the '• Heir in Old Age," he has given a version of the whole drama, including both the prose and the lyrical parts, and promises some farther samples of the same kind. The name of the piece which he has rendered into French is Le Cercle ds Craie, "the chalk ring, or circle," founded on the principal incident in the 1 In this name the Chinese have translated the Tartar, Saghalien aula, " Black Water Kiver," by Black Dragon River. The same fabulous monster is common to the mythological literature of ancient Europe and China, being always described and represented as a scaly serpent with claws, fraught with fire and smoke. AoaxovT avccfoXtTovi The Chinese dragon is in reality a hydra, but with one head; and we may perceive, in the analogy between the u-nving track of the monster, and the serpentine course of rivers, a similar origin for the hydras of Greece and China. POETRY. 205 piece, which is in fact so like the Judgment of Solomon, that it might lead one to believe the Chinese play had been borrowed from some obscure tradition, or report of it. Two women claim to be the mothers of the same child before a judge, who, in order to get at the truth, orders a chalk ring to be drawn on the floor of the court, and the contested child placed in the middle of it. He then declares i that the child shall belong to whichever of the women may succeed against the other in pulling it out of the circle. The feigned mother, having no compunction for the infant, gets the better of the real one, Avho from her maternal tenderness for the child is afraid of exerting her whole strength; and the sagacious judge, " a second Daniel come to judgment," gives the cause in favour of the right claimant. With this last specimen we conclude our sketch of the Chinese theatre. A very full and detailed notice of Chinese poetry has been printed in the Royal Asiatic Transactions,' with numerous examples, but we have not room in this place for more than an abstract of the subject. Soine account of their earliest poetry has been already given in the thirteenth chapter, where the ' Book of Songs' was mentioned with the other ancient classics. In later times the sh-ucture of their verse has undergone considerable im- provements, and there have been particular periods or eras of their liistory, when the art of poetry has been especially cultivated. They compare its progress, themselves, to the growth of a tree — "the ancient ' Book of Odes' may be likened to the roots; when Soolo flourished, the buds appeared ; in the time of Kien-gan there was abundance of foliage ; but during the Tdiig dynasty many reposed under the shade of the tree, and it yielded rich supplies of flowers and fruit." This Augustan age of Chinese poetry was in the eighth century of our era, or about 1100 years ago, when the whole of Europe was involved in barbarism and ignorance. It has generally been supposed that the Chinese words are entirely monosyllabic (though this is not always strictly the case), and hence it might be imagined that their 1 Vol. ii. p. 393. 4to. versification could not be susceptible of much melody. This, however, would not neces- sarily follow, for Pope himself, one of the smoothest of our versifiers, has whole couplets consisting of mere monosyllables; for in- stance — " Ah, if she lend not arms as well as rules, \Vh;it can she more than tell us we are fools ?" ! The ti-uth, however, is, that the Chinese abounds with diphthongal, as well as dis- syllabic ^ sounds, which contribute, when blended with others that are strictly monosyl- labic, to give to its verse a certain share of varied euphony. In addition to this, it derives cadence aiid modulation from the use of certain tones or accents, which appear originally to have owed their existence rather to the necessity of perspicuity in speech than of melody in verse. Another source of harmony is the use of what may strictly be called poetic numbers. Every word of Chinese poetry corresponds to a metrical foot in other languages. The shortest consists sometimes of as few as three, repeated as a kind of chorus in songs ; and tliis measure occasionally serves as a species of chiming verse for the inculcation of moral maxims. With the same view to assisting the memory, it has been adopted in the composition of the San- tse king, ' Trimetrical Classic,' a work which conveys to Chinese youth the rudi- ments of general knowledge. The line of four words constitutes the chief part of the 'Book of Odes' before mentioned. There, however, the measure of some pieces is altogether irregular, varying from three to seven or eight words in a line. Poetry in most countries begins with being the vehicle of religion and morality, and the first record of historical facts. A'eneriited at first as the language of wisdom or inspiration, it is at length cultivated as a pleasurable art, and never fails to improve in harmony, how- ever it may degenerate in other points, with the progress of time. For the same reason that Pope is more harmonious than Chaucer or Donne, Boileau or Racine tlian Ronsard, Virgil or Tibullus than old Ennius, so the poetry of China from the eighth century 2 See p. 245. THE CHINESE. down to the present time, is in point of mere versification a great improvement on the ' Book of Odes/^ The improved system of versifi- cation consists in lines of five words, as well as in the longer measme of seven ; but for examples of all these the reader must be referred to the treatise on Chinese poetry. Besides a regular caesural pause in a par- ticujar part of each verse (which we cannot dilate upon here), they have, in common with most other people, the use of rhymes, of Avhich it may be principally observed that they occur at the termination of every second verse. The length of the stanza is determined by the recurrence of the same rhyme, and in a poem of any contiimity it is generally of four lines only, that is, a quatrain, Avhose second and fourth lines rhyme together ; but occasionally eight or more verses will have the same ending. In our own Spencerian stanza, the same rhyme occurs four times in the course of nine lines. The Chinese, how- ever, do not seem to possess a very nice ear for the perception of true rhymes ; and this inaccuracy may partly arise from their not having such precise symbols or marks of sound as our alphabetic letters. The next feature in the construction of Chinese verse (observes the treatise already referred to), presents a striking coincidence with what has been remarked of the poetry of another Asiatic nation. In the prelimi- nary dissertation on Hebrew poetry, prefixed to his translation of Isaiah, Bishop Lowth has treated at some length of a peculiar pro- perty which he calls parallelism, consisting of the con-espondence of one verse with another, either in equivalency or opposition of sense, or in the form of grammatical con- struction. The learned prelate adduces examples of these dift'erent sorts of parallel- ism from the Psalms; as for instance, — " The memory of the just is a blessing : But the name of the wicked shall rot" — " Dart forth thy lightuings and scatter them : Shoot out thine arrows and consume them." There are perpetual examples in the Chi- nese, answering to the above description of the Hebrew ; and the peculiar structure of 1 On the poetry of the Chinese (ut supra). that language generally renders the parallel- ism much more exact, and therefore much more striking, as it is usually word for word, the one written opposite to the other. The following is a translation of such parallel- isms, taken from the ' Heir in Old Age,' but it can of course but imperfectly represent the original : — " Supinely gazing, now I vent my sighs. Now, bending down, in tears my sorrow flows; The wealthy alien claims cmnubial ties — The needy kinsman no relation knows." To proceed from the structure of Chinese verse to the character of their poetry — this seems to consist principally of odes and songs, of moral and didactic, and of sentimental and descriptive pieces : which different kinds, however, are so blended together, and run so much into one another, that it would not always be easy to separate them. One of the most ancient pieces in the ' Book of Odes/ the date of which may perhaps reach to three thousand years, has reference to the pain felt by the poet, at the unworthy conduct of some ungrateful friend. The allusions to the storm, &c., are of course figurative ; and the trans- lation of this antique specimen may serve to show the similarity that pervades the tone of human sentiment in the most distant ages and coruitries : — " Now scarce is heard the zephyr's sigh To breathe along the narrow vale : Now sudden bursts the storm on high, In mingled rush of rain and hail : — While adverse fortune louring frown'd. Than ours no tie could closer be ; But, lo ! when ease and joy were found, Spum'd was I, ingrate — spum'd by thee ! " Now scarce is felt the fanning air Along the valley's sloping side; Now winds arise, and lightnings glare. Pours the fell storm its dreadful tide ! — \\ hile fears and troubles closely prest. By thee my love was gladly sought; But once again with quiet blest. Thou view'st me as a thing of nought I " The faithless calm shall shift again. Another gale the bleak hill rend. And evei-y blade shall w ither then. And every tree before it bend : — Then shalt thou wail thy lonesome lot, Then vainly seek the injur'dman, "Whose virtues" thou hadst all forgot, And only learn'd his faults to scan." POEM ON LONDON. 257 The style of descriptive poetry among the Chinese may perhaps be best shown by the way in which they describe ourselves, for which purpose are selected the following stanzas from a poem on London, -vvritten as long ago as 1813, by a person better instructed than the generality of his countrymen who quit the celestial empire to travel abroad. This singular production has already excited some notice, and been quoted in several pub- lications from the treatise in the Royal Asiatic Transactions, where it was printed with the original text, and where the trans- lator observed that the poem, being a simple description, contains few flights of fancy. As it would, therefore, have been a hopeless attempt, however well they may sound in Chinese, to give dignity in verse to matters so perfectly domestic and familiar to ourselves, it was judged best to afford a literal prose translation, but with all the extravagancies and hyperboles of the original. I. " Afar iu the ocean, towards the extremities of the north-west. There is a nation, or country, called England : The clime is frigid, and you are compelled to ap- proach the fire ; The houses are so lofty that yon may pluck the stars. The pious inhabitants respect the ceremonies of worship , And the virtuous among them ever read the sacred books. They bear a peculiar enmity towards the French nation. The weapons of war' rest not for a moment (between them). II. " Their fertile hills, adorned with the richest luxu- riance. Resemble, in the outline of their summits, the arched eyebrows (of a fair woman) : Tlie inhabitants are inspired with a respect for the female sex, Who in this land correspond with the perfect fea- tures of nature ; Their young maidens have cheeks resembling red blossoms, And the complexion of their beauties is like the white gem : Of old has connubial affection been highly esteemed among them. Husband and wife delighting in mutual har- mony. . . . J Written in 1813. " The two banks of the river lie to the north and south ; Three bridges^ interrupt the stream, and form a communication ; Vessels of every kind pass between the arches. While men and horses pace among the clouds (fogs?): A thousand masses of stone rise one above the other. And the river flows through nine channels : The bridge of Loyang, which out-tops all in our empire, Is in shape and size somewhat like these. . . . VII. " The towering edifices rise story above story. In all the stateliness of splendid mansions : Railings of iron thickly stud the sides of every entrance, And streams from the river circulate through the walls. The sides of each apartment are variegated with de- vices ; Through the windows of glass appear the scarlet hangings : And in the street itself is presented a beautiful scene ; The congregated buildings have all the aspect of a picture. . . . IX. "Tlie spacious streets are exceedingly smooth and level, Each being crossed by others at intervals : On either side perambulate men and women, In the centre career along the carriages and horses : The mingled sound of voices is heard in the shops at evening ; During winter the heaped-up snows adhere to the pathway : Lamps are displayed at ni.'ht along the street-sides. Whose radiance twinkles like the stars of the sky," &c. It remains to take some notice of the Chinese works of fiction, in the shape of moral tales, novels, and romances, which, by the aid of the art of printing, so early in- vented, have become altogether innumerable. Among them, however, some have of course grown more famous and popular than others, and a very few are ranked under the title of Tsae-tsze, or "works of genius." Under the existing system of exclusion from the interior of the country, to which all Europeans are subject, they are perhaps the best sources to which we can address ourselves in order to obtain a knowledge of the every-day habits of the people. As the writers address them- selves solely to their own countrymen, they 2 Old London, Blackfriars, and Westminster bridges were then the only three in existence. 268 THE CHINESE. need not be suspected of the spirit of mis- representation, prejudice, and exaggeration, with which the Chinese are known to speak of themselves to strangers. An odd instance of this kind once occurred at Canton. A native being told that the King of England was accustomed, on particular occasions, to be drawn in a carriage with eight horses, answered with the utmost readiness, " China Emperor twenty -four /" Many of the Chinese novels and romances which were written in the fifteenth century of our era, and some much earlier tlian that date, would contrast very advantageously, either as literary compositions, or as pictures of society, with their contemporaries of Em-ope. The Chinese at that period were long past the stage of civilization which gives birth only to apologues or extravagant fictions, and could relish representations of actual life, and of the complicated situations into which men are thrown by the contests of interest and of passion in an artificial state of things. Their novels and romances paint Chinese society as it really exists, and if they are on this account less amusing for children, they may be more interesting to such grown per- sons as have the curiosity to contemplate a state of civilization which has grown up of itself, and owes none of its features to an in- tercourse with Europe, or with the rest of the world. Under the existing circumstances (we re- peat) of our exclusion from the interior of the country, these works have a peculiar value, as they supply the information regard- ing manners, customs, and sentiment, which might otherwise be obtained from the observa- tion of travellers, but can at present be gained only from books. Late changes in the trade have excited the jealousy, and raised the vigilance of the government to a degree which may render the access to any spot, except Canton, more difficult than ever ; and the barrier seems to be one which nothing but a change in the present Tartar dynasty, or a successful appeal to arms, can remove.^ Under these circumstances, we must acquire our knowledge of the country from native 1 Tfiis was written in 1835, and now we are ex- cluded even from Canton. works ; and the minuteness, which character- izes their pictures of social life, is particularly calculated to make us familiar with its most intimate recesses. M. Remusat observes of them, '• C'est dans la peinture des details qu'ex- cellent les romanciers Chinois, et c'est encore en cela qu'on pent les rapprocher de Richard- son, de Fielding, ou tout aumoins du Docteur Smollett, et de Mademoiselle Burney. C'est par la que les uns et les auti-es sont interessants, vrais, habiles a faire ressortir les traits des passions, a dessiner les caracteres, a produire un haut degre dillusion. Leurs personnages ont, comme on dirait a present, toute la realite possible. On a veritablement fait connaissance avec eux quand on les a vu agir ou entendu parler, quand on les a suivis dans les particularites miimtieuses de leur con- versation. "^ The ' Fortunate Union ' may be con- sidered as a favourable specimen of these native pictures of life and manners. To quote the preface, '-the interest and bustle of the scene, the spirit of the dialogue, the strong delineation and sti-ict keeping of all the characters, joined to the generally excel- lent moral that is conveyed throughout, may serve to impress us with no unfavourable sentiments in regard to Chinese taste. The story commences with an act of generous devotion on the part of the hero, and the gratitude of the person whom he obliges becomes the ultimate occasion of his own triumph over the combinations of his enemies. The proHigate, the malicious, and the base, when they have exhausted all the resources of ingenuity, meet with their just reward ; while rectitude, prudence, and courage carry their possessors not only unharmed, but glorious through every trial. "■ In the hero and heroine are accurately described the principles of the Confucian sect of philosophy, a sect which, in its professed admiration of virtue, and in its high tone of self-sufficiency and pride, assimilates some- what to the ancient stoics. As we often find in our own favourite fictions, a number of the names have a reference to the characters of those \vho bear them. Thus the hero is named from i>o;i (quasi Ironside) ; the heroine 2 Treface to Les Be-ue Coisines. A CHINESE ROMANCE. 269 is ping-sin, icy-hearted — a term, however, which in her country means chaste, and not what we sliould call cold-hearted. There are many remarkable points of resemblance between the Fortunate Union and our own novels and romances at the present day. Every chapter is headed by a few verses bearing some relation to its contents, and appropriate lines are occasionally introduced as embellishments to the story. Except in some highly sustained dialogues, the prose parts convey the tone of ordinary conversation or narrative." As the above work is rather celebrated among the Chinese themselves, and may serve as a sample of the particular department of literature to which it belongs, such readers as have not seen the English translation may like to be furnished with an outline, as it has been already epitomized in a popular perio- dical. ^ The hero of the Fortunate Union is a young student named Teihchungyu, whose family residence is at one of the chief cities of the province in which Peking is situated, but about two hundred and ^ity miles from the capital. He is beautiful in person, but with a disposition naturally harsh and inflexible, and an irritable temper, which is however set off l)y some generous qualities, and a ready desire to succour persons in distress. His father belongs to that privileged class of Censors, by which the constitution of the Chinese government is so singularly distin- guished, and he is marked by the boldness and uprightness of his advice to his sovereign. The son, on account of his hasty temper, is not taken to his father's official residence at Peking, but left at the family house in the province. At sixteen liis parents had thought of choosing him a wife, but this was post- jjoned at his own desire, and he continues his studies in solitude until the age of twenty, when, as he is one day reading at home, he comes upon the history of a minister famed in Chinese annals, who fell a victim to the honesty with which he reproved his sovereign. Reflecting on this incident, it occurs to him tliat similar fidelity might expose his father to a similar fate ; his anxiety leads him to determine on proceeding to Peking. On his 1 Asiatic Joiunal, vol. xxviii, p. 546. way thither, he puts up for the night at a village, where he hears the story of a young student who, through the violence of a power- ful noble, had lost the bride to whom he had been conti-acted in marriage. His enemy had seized the unfortunate lady, and shut her up in a retired palace, conferred on him by the Emperor for very diflerent purposes. Falling in, soon after, with the student him- self^ the youth inquires the particulars of his case, and promises to have his memorial presented to the Emperor. On reaching Peking our hero found his apprehensions realized re- garding his father, who had given umbrage to the Emperor, and been thrown into prison, for the zeal with which he exerted himself in this very case of the young student. The matter had been referred to the criminal Board ; but the guilty noble contrived, by his wealth and influence, to remove every species of evidence ; and then persuading the Emperor that the Censor had been deceiving him, he procured the degradation and impri- sonment of the latter. The hero proceeds at once to his father's place of confinement, and surprises him by producing the young students memorial, which of itself is sufficient to exculpate the Censor. They send a joint representation to the Emperor, praying for a secret warrant to apprehend all the parties concerned. This is obtained, and the youth, taking a brazen mace in his hand, sallies forth quietly and contrives to make his way into the secluded palace of the guilty noble. He there finds all the ob- jects of his search; the ravisher, who at first makes a bold resistance, is roughly handled, and the lady set at liberty. The Censor is restored to his former rank and dignities, and even promoted by the Emperor, who punishes the convicted noble, and highly lauds the courage and zeal of the youth by \vhom this had all been brought about. The fame of Teihchungyu exposes him to so much notice at Peking, that his father, dreading the effects of flattery and envy, advises his leaving the capital and proceeding on a " tour of insti-uc- tion," which in China often forms a part of education, but is of course confined to the- limits of their own vast empire. In a district of the adjoining province of Shantung, is the family residence of a mem- 270 THE CHINESE. ber of the military tribunal at Peking, who | has no son, but a daughter named Shueyping- \ sin, of exquisite beauty, with mental endow- j ments equal to her personal charms. To her, I his v/ife being dead, is mtrusted the charge of i his household and estate, while compelled by ] his office to reside at the capital. A worth- i less brother of this mandarin, named Shueyun, who has three sons, and an ugly daughter, casts a longing eye on his large estate ; the management of which, in default of male heirs i to his brother, would come to himself on the | marriage of Shueypingsin, his niece. His great object, therefore, is to bring thisabout,and (en- couraged by the banishment of his brother for some official error into Tartary) he colleagues with a young profligate of rank, but of noto- rious bad character, who is determined to obtain the reluctant young lady in marriage, having seen her by stealth with the conni- vance of the uncle. She pretends to comply ; but, by a series of dexterous contrivances, in which she avails herself of the various forms and preliminaries of Chinese courtship, causes her designing but stupid uncle to impose upon the young rake his own ugly daughter. The rage of the disappointed suitor is great on detecting this trick, when it seems too late to be remedied ; but the uncle, with charac- teristic baseness, suggests a scheme to pacify him, Avhereby the lonely and defenceless Shueypingsin may be still entrapped into the possession of her lover, claimed as his wife, and the real wife (his own daughter) reduced to the condition of a handmaid ! This scheme is so plausibly contrived, that the young lady narrowly escapes " falling into the dragon's jaws." The interest is here highly dramatic : the good sense and presence of mind of the heroine coming to her aid in the very crisis of her fate. The failure of their plot fills the uncle and suitor with rage and shame, but all hands are compelled to admire the ingenuitj^ and understanding of Shueypingsin. Another scheme is then devised, by the indefatigable and abandoned suitor, to seize the heroine by force, while returning from a filial visit to her mother's tomb, where she proceeds, according to custom, to perform the rites at the autumnal season. The young lady's suspicions are excited in time; she says nothing, but, changing her dress, steps into the chair of a female attendant, having before secretly placed a bundle of stones in her own sedan, and shut it up. This is waylaid on the return, and forcibly carried off by the lover and his attendants ; while Shueypingsin proceeds quietly and safely towards her home. The empty chair is opened amidst shouts of laughter from the neighbours and acquaint- ance of the libertine, who have thus been assembled only to witness his disgrace and disappointment. They counsel him to give up the pursuit of a person whose actions seem to prove that she is something more than human ; but his rage and ardour are only inflamed by these unexpected crosses; and he at length falls upon a third scheme. He had resolved to seize her by force, but as she now kept her doors barred against strangers, fraud was necessary to obtain ad- mission. A forged document is accordingly produced at her gate, purporting to be an account of her father's recall from exile. This gains entrance for the partisans and domestics of her abandoned admirer, by a numerous party of whom she is instantly surrounded. She desires to be conveyed to the magistrate, at the same time concealing in her sleeve a small dagger which may still avail her at her utmost need. As the magis- trate is the friend and ally of the suitor, they readily comply with her desire, and hurry the young lady oft' in her chair '• like a flight of crows or swallows on the wing." The hero, Teihchungyu, whom we left on the point of proceeding on his travels, has just entered the town, and is riding leisurely along, when, in turning a corner, he meets the cortege, and comes violently in contact with the chair that contains Shueypingsin. Being nearly thrown by the shock, he seizes with characteristic energy upon one of the party ; but, having received a suitable ex- planation, he is about to loose his hold when a plaintive female voice from within the chair exclaims, '' I am suffering violent wrong, and rely on your bravery for succour." As any other knight-errant might do, he takes the whole party prisoners, and brings them to the tribunal of the magistrate, who is sitting ready prepared to give judgment in favour of his profligate friend. Our hero strikes on the great drum at the gate, and boldly enter- OUTLINE OF A ROMANCE. 271 ing the court, addresses the judge on term of equality. The latter, however, is not deterred from awarding Shueypingsin to her suitor; which so rouses the indignation of Teihchun- gj'u, that he interferes in a manner which intimidates the compliant magistrate. He becomes acquainted with the rank and con- dition of the hero, and is obliged to return Shueypingsin in safety to her own home. Teihchungyu, in tlie mean while, becomes eperdu by the extraordinary beauty of the young lady whom he had thus rescued, ex- posed as she is to his gaze in the court of the judge : and her gratitude, for the service rendered her, is at least equal to his admira- tion. The discomforted suitor in revenge now engages some villanous priests, at the Budhist monastery where our hero had put up according to Chinese custom, to poison him in his food ! Shueypingsin, who well knew the characters with whom he had to deal, employs emissaries to keep her regularly informed of what is going on. These ac- quaint her with the youth's illness; she guesses the whole truth, and, as the only means of saving his life, adopts the bold mea- sure of removing him to her own house, to which he assents, though reluctantly, on ac- count of the slander to which it may expose Shueypingsin. Arrived there, he is soon re- stored to health ; though without ever seeing his hostess, and with the observance of the most rigid forms of Chinese decorum. The enemy, on finding that their intended victim had escaped, endeavour to foil and perplex the heroine by sending her uncle to remonstrate with her on the irregularity of admitting the youth into the house. She, however, justifies her conduct by the urgency of the case, by the gratitude she owes Teih- chungyu, and by telling her uncle that he would better show his solicitude for her by prosecuting the wretches from whose hands she had lately been rescued. After an in- eflectual attempt to get up an accusation against the young people, by introducing a spy into the lady's house, whose evidence only places her conduct in a fairer light, they are obliged to give up the case as desperate. Tlie hero, on his recovery, of course takes his departure with increased feelings of regard to his hostess, and after meeting with some other adventures which are calculated to put his address or courage to the test, he proceeds home with the determination to prepare him - self for the next public examination of literary graduates. Shueypingsin's indefatigable suitor mean- while makes one more attempt to get posses- sion of the young lady, by engaging the services of a newly-arrived imperial com- missioner, a frieiid and protege of his father at court. From this corrupt officer a warrant or license is obtained to espouse the maiden at her own house, according to a form which in particular cases is sanctioned by Chinese law. Shueypingsin is now driven to prepare a secret memorial to the Emperor himself, which she first despatches to Peking by a private emissary, and then appeals publicly to the commissioner, on whose refusal to aid her, she exhibits the memorial which she had already sent up against him, and fills him with consternation. On his countermanding the nuptials, she is induced to send off a despatch for the recall of her messenger. Teihchungyu now learns Avhat is going on during his absence, and, with the view of protecting his mistress, hurries off to Shan- tung province, which he reaches in a few days. On his first arrival he is seen by the profligate uncle, who soon makes his friend the suitor acquainted with the event. They try to entrap him, by sending a cunning boy with a pretended message froin Shuey pings hi, appointing an assignation at the back gate of her house. The inconsistency of this message with the lady's character opens his eyes to the fraud, and, seizing the boy, he forces him by threats to confess it is a trick of his enemies. The next step is to devise another plot against our hero, whose abandoned rival calls at his lodgings, and on being denied, leaves a ceremonial ticket. This compels Teih- chungyu to return the call, for which his enemy is prepared with an entertainment, to which the youth is, much against his will, detained. It is concerted that a num- ber of rakish fellows should join the party one by one, and get up a quarrel, in which, with their assistance, the host may revenge himself by maltreating Teihchungyu. His coolness, courage, and strength, however, avail him as usual, and when a fray becomes 272 THE CHINESE. inevitable he completely discomfits the drunken party, and leaves them vowing loud vengeance. The description of this Chinese entertainment, and of the growing row, is highly characteristic, and proves that the most ceremonious of people can sometimes be the most unceremonious. The defeated party lodge a false charge against the hero, but the result redounds to their entire shame and disgrace. Circumstances subsequently enable Teih- chung5^u to be of essential service to the exiled father of the heroine, and to procure at length his recall from banishment and reinstatement in his former honours. The families of the youth and maiden being thus drawn togetlier, a proposed alliance is the natural consequence. The ultra refinement, however, of the Confucian school imposes scruples on the parties, lest such a consum- mation should lead the Avorld to misconstme the disinterested nature of their former inter- course. These scruples being overcome, fresh plots are laid by tiieir enemies to oppose their union ; and as the aftair, from the rank of the parties, at length comes before the Emperor in person, an investigation is set on foot, which exposes the wickedness of the other faction, and leads to the marriage being sanctioned with high encomiums from the " Son of Heaven"' himself. All parties are punished or rewarded according to their deserts, and thus the ' Fortunate Union" is con- cluded. The interest of the story is sustained throughout, by tlie Chinese author, with more skill and eftect than in most native productions ; and as a genuine picture of manners it is among the best suited to the use of those who desire, according to the ex- pression of a French writer, " connaitre les Chinois par les Chinois eux-memes." CHAPTER XVIII. ARTS AND INVENTIONS. Chinese origin of Printing— of Gunpowder— of the Compass — Printed Books— Manufacture of Paper— of Ink— Composition of Gunpowder — Mariner's Compass — Variation of Needle — Navigation — Obstacles to Improvement— Industrious Arts— Metallurgy— Metallic Mirrors — Cai-ving — Silk Manufacture — Manage- ment of Silkworms— Porcelain Manufacture — Egyptian Bottle — Lackered Ware— Fine Arts — Painting — Sculpture — Music. There appear to be reasonable grounds for the belief, that what are justly considered in Europe as three of the most important inven- tions or discoveries of modern times, the art of printing, the composition of gunpowder, and the magnetic compass, had their first origin in China. However much we may have outstripped them in the use and appli- cation of these instruments or agents, the Chinese can urge claims to the priority of possession, which are sufficient to convince any unprejudiced person ; and it seems fair to conclude that the knowledge or tradition of these contrivances travelled slowly west- ward through the channels of oriental com- merce, and were obscurely derived, by those who first imported them to Europe, by the way of Asia Minor or the Red Sea. There cannot be the least doubt of the art of print- ing having been practised in China during the tenth century of our era. The precise mode in which they operate is certainly different from ours ; but the main principle, that of multiplying and cheapening books by saving the time and labour of transcription, is altogetlier the same. Shortly previous to the commencement of the Soong dynasty, about the middle of the tenth century, a minister of state named Foong-taou is said to have introduced to the notice of government the art of taking im- pressions upon paper. History states that the first essay in jninting was to transfer the pages from stone blocks, on which the writing had been engraved — a process by which the ground of the paper was black, and the letters white. This at length led to the improved invention of wooden stereo- ART OF PRINTING. 273 type blocks, on which the characters were cut in relief, as at present, and the effect thereby reversed, the paper page remaining white, and the characters being impressed in ink. Dugald Stewart, in his work on the Philosophy of the Human Mind, considers the invention of printing "rather as the result of those general causes on which the progress of society seems to depend than as the mere effect of a fortunate accident;'" — in fact, as a step in the social history of man, and as marking a particular point of his pro- gress. Admitting this to be true, it would follow that tlie Chinese in the tenth cen- tury were not only farther advanced than their contemporaries of p]urope, (of which there can be no dovibt whatever,) but that they hid reached a higher point of civiliza- tion than the ancient Greeks and Romans. 1 The high estimation in which letters have \ ever been held in China may certainly be supposed to have contributed to the invention by which books are rendered available to the greatest number of readers; and it seems evident, from Chinese history, that, as the period of Soong, which immediately followed, is celebrated for its writers, that invention gave an impetus to the national taste for its own peculiar learning. For all purposes of j cheapness and expedition the method of printing is perfect ; and a little consideration will show that the stereotype plan is more peculiarly suited to the Chinese characters than to any other. The European alphabet consists of only a few letters, whose infinite combinations form many languages ; with tiiem, on the contrary, every ivord is a dif- ferent character. The six-and-twenty letters of our alphabet are all within the reach of the compositor in setting up a page of type ; and, from long practice, he moves his hands to the little cells in which they are arranged almost without looking : but in China it would require the combination of a Briareus with an Argus to pick out the hundreds, if not thousands, of different characters in the printing of a single book. Then, again, the immense number of copies of their standard, or sacred, works, required in a population of hundreds of millions, all reading, if they do not speak, the same language, is another rea- son for stereotype. But, on the other hand, there are some rare occasions on which particular reasons exist to make single or moveable types pre- ferable, and on these occasions the Chinese use them. Mention has already been made of the Red Book, or Court Kalendar, con- taining the name and office of every functionary in the empire. A new edition of this is published every quarter ; and as the characters which it contains are always pretty nearly the same, with only tlje difference of arrangement, this particular case approxi- mates to that of our own alphabet; for which reason the Kalendar and some other works are printed with moveable types. For their general literature, the stereotype possesses another advantage ; they can take ofi" the impressions according to the sale of the work, and there is no needless expendi- ture of paper. When the faces of the letters are worn by use, they retouch them and render them available for farther impressions ; but, from the following account of their printing process, it will be remarked that there is not anything like the same pressure, nor consequently the same wear and tear, as in our European printing. This, however, may be compensated by the greater durabi- lity of material in our metal type. The material commonly used by the Chi - nese is pear-tree wood, called by them ly-mo. The wooden plate or block, of a thickness calculated to give it sufficient strength, is finely planed and squared to the shape and dimensions of two pages. The surface is then rubbed over with a paste or size, oc- casionally made from boiled rice, which renders it quite smooth, and at the same time softens and otherwise prepares it for the reception of tlie characters. The future pages, which ha\ e been finely transcribed by a professional person on thin transparent paper, are delivered to the block-cutter, who, while the above-mentioned application is still wet, unites them to the block so that they adhere; but in an inverted ■^o^it'ioxi, the thin- ness of the paper displaying the writing per- fectly through the back. The paper being subsequently rubbed ofl', a clear impression in ink of the inverted writing remains on the wood. The workman then with his sharp graver cuts away with extraordinary neat- 274 THE CHINESE. ness and despatch all that portion of the wooden surface which is not covered by the ink, leaving the characters in pretty high relief. Any slight error may be corrected, as in our wood-cuts, by inserting small pieces of wood : but the process is upon the whole so cheap and expeditious that it is generally easier to replane the block and cut it again; for their mode of taking the impression renders the thickness of the block an immaterial point. ^ Strictly speaking, "the press of China" would be a misnomer, as no press whatever is used in their printing. The paper, which is almost as thin and bibulous, or absorbent of ink, as what we call silver-paper, receives the impression with a gentle contact, while a harder pressure would break through it. The printer holds in his right hand two brushes, at the opposite exhemities of the same handle ; with one he inks the face of the characters, and the paper being then laid on, he runs the dry brush over so as to make it take the impression. They do this with such expedition that one man can take oft" a couple of thousand copies in a day. The paper, being so thin and transparent, is printed on one side only, and each printed sheet (con- sisting of two pages) is folded back, so as to bring the blank sides in inward contact. The fold is thus on the cw^er edge of the book, and the sheets are stitched together at the other; which might lead an uninformed per- son to take any Chinese book for a new work, with its leaves still uncut. In folding the sheets the workman is guided by a black line, which directs him in the same manner that the holes, made by the points in our printed sheets, direct the binder. Every Chinese volume is a species of brochure, neatly stitched with silk thread in a smooth paper of a drab colour, and every volume is numbered on the outer edges of the leaves. Collectors of choice books put up about ten volumes of the same work in a neat case, covered with flowered satin or silk. The popular works of the country are greatly ' For ephemeral works, this block-printing is of course less adapted. A daily paper at Canton is imperfectly printed from a composition of the con- sistence of wax, in which characters can be more rapidly formed. cheaper than ours ; they have no taxes on literature, and three or four volumes of any ordinary work, of the octavo size and shape, may be had for a sum equivalent to two shillings. A Canton bookseller's manuscript catalogue marked the price of the four books of Confucius, including the Commentary, at a sum rather under half-a-crown. The cheap- ness of their common literature is occasioned partly by the mode of printing, but partly also by the low price of paper. What is called huUa paper, by our engravers and print-sellers, is nothing but the large sheets in which the silk piece-goods of China are wrapped, as they are brought to us from Canton. These have commonly been pur- chased at an exorbitant price in London ; but they might be bought by the chest, upon the spot, for much less than our own paper costs. There is, however, a considerable duty on the importation. The date of the invention of paper seems to prove that some of the most important arts, connected with the progress of civilization, are not extremely ancient in China. In the time of Confucius they wrote on the finely- pared bark of the bamboo with a style ; they i;ext used silk and linen, which explains why the character chy, paper, is compounded of that for silk. It was not tuitil A. ©, 95, that joaper was invented. The materials which they use in the manufactory are various. A coarse yellowish paper, used for wrapping parcels, is made from rice-straw.^ The better kinds are composed of the Uber or inner bark of a species of fnon/s, as well as of cotton, but principally of bamboo ; and we may extract the description of the last from the Chinese Repository f " The stalks are cut near the ground, and then sorted into parcels according to the age, and tied up in small bundles. The younger the bamboo, the better is the quality of the paper which is made from it. The bundles are thrown into a reservoir of mud and water, and buried in the ooze for about a fortnight to soften them. They are then taken out, cut into pieces ^ of a proper 2 They also obtain paper from the re-manufacture of what has been used, as well as from rags of silk and cotton. 2 Vol. iii. p. 265. MANUFACTURE OF PAPER. 275 length, and put into mortars with a little water, to be pounded to a pulp with large wooden pestles. This semifluid mass, after being cleansed of the coarsest parts, is trans- ferred to a great tub of water, and additions of the substaiuce are made until the whole becomes of sufficient consistence to form paper. Then a workman takes up a sheet with a { mould or frame of the proper dimensions, } which is constructed of bamboo in small | strips, made smooth and round like wire, j The pulp is contiimally agitated by other hands, while one is taking up the sheets, which are then laid upon smooth tables to dry. , According to others, the paper is dried by placing the newly-made sheets upon a heated • wall, and rubbing them with brushes until dry. This paper is unfit for writing on with liquid ink, and is of a yellowish colour. The Cliinese size it by dipping the sheets into a solution of fish-glue and alum, either during or after the first process of making it.^ The sheets are usually three feet and a half in length, and two in breadth. The fine paper used for letters is polished, after sizing, by rubbing it with smooth stones."' "V\ hat is commonly known in this country under the name of Indian ink is nothing more than what the Chinese manufacture for their own writing. The writing apparatus consists of a square of this ink; a little black slab of schistus or slate,^ polished smooth, with a depression at one end to hold water ; a small brush, or pencil, of rabbit's hair inserted into a reed handle ; and a bundle of paper. These four articles, the ink, the slab on which it is rubbed, the writing-pencil, and the paper, are called (w ith that respect which the Chinese profess for letters) " the four precious imple- ments."' They are taught very early to keep them in high order and neatness, and, as men's impressions are always more or less the results of habit, this of course has its effect. The Chinese, or, as it is miscalled, Indian, ink has been erroneously supposed to consist of the secretion of a species oi' sepia, or cuttle- fish. It is, however, all manufactured from lamp-black and gluten, with the addition of 1 Sized paper is not required in their printing, where the ink is of a thicker consistency. ■^ This is found iu the mountains ctUled Leu-shdn, en the west side of the Poyang lake, wb.ers the last a little musk to give it a more agreeable odour.^ Pere Contancin gave the following as a process for making the ink : — A number of lighted wicks are put into a vessel full of oil. Over this is hung a dome or funnel- shaped cover of iron, at such a distance as to receive the smoke. Being well coated with lamp-black, this is brushed off and collected upon paper. It is then well mixed in a mortar with a solution of gum or gluten, and when reduced to the consistence of paste, it is put into little moulds, where it receives those shapes and impressions with which it comes to this country. It is occasionally manufactured in a great variety of forms and sizes, and stamped with ornamental devices, either plain, or in gold and various colours. Besides being the universal ink of China, this manufacture serves occasionally with them, as it does with us, for drawings and designs, in executing which they use the same hair pencils with which they write. They consider that the best ink is produced from the burning of particular oils, but the com- moner and cheaper kinds are obtained, it is said, from fir-wood. As almost every place in China is more noted than others for the manufacture or production of some particular article, the best ink is produced at Hoey- chow-foo, not far from Nanking; and a cer- tain quantity annually manufactured for the use of the Emperor and the court is called Koo/tff-me, "tribute-ink.'" The same name, however, is often given to any commodity, to imply its superiority over others of the same description, just as if the person who makes it were to call himself " Manufacturer to His Majesty."' The best ink is that which is most intensely black and most free from grittiness. Of the superior sorts a number of ornamented cakes are often tastefully disposed in small cases finely japanned and gilt; and, when their ink is very old, the Chinese sometimes apply it, as they do almost everything in its turn, in medicine.^ However ancient may be the discovery, among this people, of the composition of gun- powder, its particular application to fire-arms embassy saw quantities of these slabs manufactured for sale. 3 A black dye, but not ink, is obtained from the cup of the acorn, which abounds in gallic acid. T 2 276 THE CHINESE. was probably derived from the west^ The silence regarding cannon of the two elder Polos^, who served at the siege of Siang-yang- foo about the year 1273, and the circum- stance of those persons having taught the use of balistae tor hurling stones to the Tartar Emperor, seem to prove that the Chinese at that period were as little acquainted with fire-arms as Europeans. Their history no- tices the use of a composition of the nature of Greek fire, which, when thrown into the ditches that surrounded cities, exploded in contact with water, and proved very destruc- tive. The invention of powder, as com- pounded of " sulphur, saltpetre, and willow charcoal,'' is carried very far back by the Chinese, and was probably applied by them to fire-works (in which they excel at present), or other harmless and useful purposes, long before their unwarlike spirit could have sug- gested the use of guns to themselves, or they could have borrowed the notion from Euro- peans. It is reasonable to suppose that the early discovery of the composition of gunpowder was promoted by the abundance of nitre, a substance which abounds in the alluvial plains near Peking as much as it does in those of Bengal. Mr. Wilkinson, of London, in a lecture on the subject of gunpowder, has some observations deserving notice. He gives a table of the different quantities of nitre, charcoal, and sulphur, used by ditlerent nations in tlie manufacture, the proportions being expressed in 100 parts : — England . Nitre. CharcoM. Sulpliur. Total. • 75 15 10 100 France . . 7.3 15-5 9-5 100 Sweden . , 75 Ifi 9 100 Russia . . 70 18-5 U'5 100 Austria . . 76 13 11 100 China . . 75-7 14-4 9-9 100 "The powder manufactured in England"' (Mr. Wilkinson observes) '-is preferred in commerce to that of other countries of Europe, ' The Chinese name has no reference to guns, and simply means^Ve-drw^. ■^ Marsdeu s edition, 4to., page 488. as being much the strongest. It may there- fore be inferred that our proportions are the best, though no doubt the excellence of the powder may partly depend on the purifica- tion and perfect admixture of the materials. It is, however, worth observation, how nearly our proportions agree with those of the Chi- nese,^ and, as they seldom change anything, it has probably been the same from the be- ginning ; though, from the imperfection of the mixture and the impurity of the materials, their powder may be inferior in strength to that produced in many other countries."' That it is sometimes tolerably efiicient, was proved by the author of this seeing a seaman killed at his gun on board the Imogene fiigate by a shot which first came through the ship's side. It must be observed, however, that the ship was then within pistol-shot of the battery. Tlie Chinese, we may remark, have always acknowledged their great inferiority in gun- nery. Before the Jesuits taught them to cast cannon, there is reason to suppose that they used tubes of wrought-iron bound togetherby hoops, some of which were seen by Bell of Anter- mony. The last Emperor of the Ming dy- nasty, as we have before observed, invited the assistance of some guns and artillery -men from the Portuguese of Macao against the Tartars , and Kang-hy, after the conquest of China, employed Pere "\*erbiest to superintend the casting of some hundreds of guns — a union of military pursuits with clerical, which brought some scandal upon the enterprising father at Rome. One circumstance in the Chinese system must tend very much to the imperfection of their gunpowder. This munition of war seems, from the following extract of a Peking Gazette for 1824, to be prepared by the troops themselves, as required : " The governor of Hoonan province has pre- sented a report concerning the death of seve- ral persons by the explosion of gunpowder, as 3 " The Honourable Colonel Napier, when in the ordnance department, procured a sample of powder from China, which, on the average analysis of 2 oz., was found to consist of 720 gr. saltpetre, 141 charcoal, 89 sulphur, and 10 loss. Dividing the de- ficiency equally, and reducing it to the proportion in 100 parts, gives the result iu the above table."— Lecture. INVENTION OF GUNPOWDER. 277 they were manufacturing the same in camp. While pounding the materials in a stone mor- tar, in the camp of the left division of the governor's ti-oops, a spark which was struck ignited the whole quantity of powder, and the explosion killed live soldiers, together with six other persons."^ It remains to notice the claims of the Chi- nese to priority of invention in the case of the magnetic compass, and we may here refer to the sagacious investigations of Klaproth sur fi/ivetition de la Boi/ssole, in a letter addressed to M. de Humboldt. "2 The first disthict notice in Europe of the properties of the polar- ized needle, appears in a satiiical poem of Guyot de Provins, about the year 1190 ; and the next Mriter who reiers to tlie same phe- nomenon is Cardinal de Vitry, who visited Palestine in the fourth crusade, and a second time subsequently at the beginning of the thirteenth century. He says distinctly, *' Adamas in India reperitur ;" and moreover adds, " Acus ferrea, postquani adamantem contigerit, ad sfellam septentrionalem, quae velut axis f^rmamenti ahis vergentibtts iion moveftiV, semper convertitur ; unde valde neces- saria est navigantibits in mari.'' Subsequently to him, Brunetto Latini, author of a work in French called Le Trtsor, written about 1260, observes likewise that it was calculated to be highly useful at sea; but at the same time notices the ignorant prejudice by which navigators were deterred from its adoption ; for, says he, " No master mariner dares to use it, lest he should fall under the supposi- tion of being a magician ; nor would even the sailors venture themselves out to sea under his command if he took with him an instrument whicli carries so great an appear- ance of being constructed under the influence of some infernal spirit."' A more recent writer, the Jesuit Iliccioli, states that '' in the reign of St. Louis the French mariners com- monly used the magnetic needle, which they kept swimming in a little vessel of water, and prevented Ircm sinking by two tubes.'' From the above autliorities, and one or two others, M. Klaproth, with sufficient' reason, infers that the use of the magnetic needle was ^ Roval Asiat. Trans., vol. i. p. 395. 2 Date, 1634. known in Europe at the beginning of tlie thirteenth century ; but none of those writers state that it was invented in Europe; they rather afford a presumption that the kno.v- ledge of it was obtained during the crusades. That the mariner's compass was in use like- wise among the Arabs about the year 1242 is proved by a citation from Baylak, an Arabian writer, who mentions it as a contrivance gene- rally known to navigators in the sea of Syria. M. Klaproth then proceeds to show that the Chinese compass was, about the year 1117, made exactly in the same manner as that seen by Bay^lak among i\\e pilots of Syria. '* It follows from all these facts (observes Kla- proth), that this species of compass was used in Cliina at least eighty years previous to the composition of Guyot de Provin's satire ; that the Arabs possessed it nearly at the same time ; and that, consequently, this invention was communicated, either directly or indirectly, to the Arabs by the Chinese, and that the Arabs transmitted it to the Franks during the early crusades." Gioiaof Amalti, who is commonly supposed to have discovered the use of the needle at the commencement of the thirteenth century, probably obtained it from some Eastern traders. The attractive power of the loadstone has been known to the Chinese from remote an- tiquity, but its property of communicating polarity to iron is for the first tiine explicitly noticed in a Chinese dictionary finished in a,d. 121. Under the head of Loadstone appears this definition: — '"A stone with which a di- rection can be given to the needle."' Pere I Gaubil, in his history of the Tang dynasty, states that he found, in a work written one , hundred years later than the above, the use of the compass distinctly recorded. In a dictionary published in the reign of Kang- 1 hy (not the imperial work which goes by his name), it is stated that under the Tsin dy- ! nasty (previous to .\.D. 419) ships were steered to tlie south by the magnet. But it was not with the compass alone that the Chinese were so early acquainted: M. Klaproth has shown that they had observed long befoie us, the variation of the needle from the true pole. Tlie author of a Chinese work on medicine and natural history has the following pas- sage: — "When a steel point is rubbed with 278 THE CHINESE. the magnet it acqixkes the property' of point- i ing to the soidh ; yet it declines always to the east, and is not due south. If the needle be | passed through a wick (made of a rush) and 1 placed on water, it will also indicate the ; south, but with a continual inclination to- wards tl;e point ping, or a south."' Klaproth then shows that such is actually the case at Peking, according to the observations of Pere Amiot, who states, as the result of his own experiments during a number of years, that " the variation of the magnetic needle con- tinues the same in this capital, viz. between 2P and 2° 30' to the west." Now, as the Chi- nese suppose that the point of magnetic at- traction is to the south, they of course reverse the foregoing terais, and say that tlie needle points south, with a variation east. This very difference is a mark of tlie ori- ginality of the Chinese compass, which is farther proved (as Mr. Bairow observes) b)- their having engrafted upon, and com- bined with it, their most ancient astrological notions. From the numerous specimens in this country, it may be seen that this instru- ment, instead of consisting of a moveable card attached to the needle, is simply a needle of less than an inch in length, slung in a glazed hole in the centre of a solid wooden dish, finely varnished. The broad circum- ference of this dish is marked olf into con- centric circles, on which are inscribed the eight mystical figures of Fohy, the twelve horary characters, the ten others which, com- bined with these, mark the years of the cycle, the twenty -four divisions of their solar year, the twenty-eight lunar mansions, &c. The Chinese, however, appear to have applied the polarity of the magnet to a double purpose, and to have used it in ancient times as a guide on shore as well as at sea. This was efiected by a machine called a magnetic ' ca)\ in which was pliiced a little figure of a man turning on a point, and having its finger always dhrected to the same part of the hori- zon. A representation of the car is inserted in Klaproth's work, as copied from a Chinese encyclopaedia. It is stated, in a history of \ the Tsin dynasty, that the figure placed upon j the car represented " a genius in a feather dress," and that when the Emperor went out on state occasions, this car " always led the [ way, and served to indicate the four poin'.s of the compass.*' These magnetic cars were also known in Japan about the middle of the seventh century, as is proved from the testimony of Japanese works ; but they admit that the invention came from China. But however ancient their knowledge of the compass, the art of navigation among the Chinese has rather retrograded than advanced in later times. It is clear that they once navjgateil as far as India, and their most dis- tant voyages at present extend no farther than Java, and the ^Nlalay islands to the south. The principal obstacle to improvement con- sists in the unconquerable prejudice which forbids any alteration in the construction of their clumsy and unsafe junks. The hull of these in shape and appearance is not unlike a Chinese shoe, to which it is sometimes com- pared by themselves.^ The stern is cleft, and as it were open, to admit the huge rudder, and thus shelter it in some measure from the blows of the sea: but with the least steru- waA- on the vessel, it seems calculated to prove ftital. In lieu of pitch, they caulk with a putty composed of burnt gypsum and oil,* mixed sometimes with bamboo shavings for oakum. Their flat unyielding sails of mat enable them to lie much nearer to the wind in light weather, than our ships can do with canvass sails : but then, on the other hand, the flat bottom, without any keel whatever, occa- sions their falling fast to leeward, and gives the advantage altogether to our vessels. The clumsy anchors of the junks are made of a very heavy and hard wood, called by the Chinese teili-mo, " iron-wood," and they have only a single arm in some caises. It has been objected to the accuracy of Marco Polo, that he mentions junks having more than one sail to a mast, on the ground that ••' Chinese vessels do not carry any kind of topsail." The fact, however, is that they do very frequently, in liglit weather, and with the wind right aft, carry a topsail of canvass or 1 Tlie >0!/e painted on the bows has a singularly exact parallel in the eye of Osiris, painted on those curious models of Egyptian vessels contained in Mr. Salt's collection of antiquities, sold lately in Lon- don. 2 Extracted from the Tung-shoo, or Dryandra cor- data. ART OF NAVIGATIOjS'. 27^ [Trading Junk.] cotton. These, with a view to holding as much wind, with as little perpendicular strain on the mast as possible, are stretched to only about half the actual height of the sail; and they accordingly belly or bulge very much. It seems to have been proved, by the experiments of Mr. Edgeworth on the resistance of the air, that a curved surface of the same perpendicular heiglit holds more wind than a flat one ; or that the pressure of the wind is increased by augmenting the surface on which it acts. Admitting this to be the fact, it seems to be in favour of the sagacity of the Chinese in this particular instance. As long as their junks confine themselves to the neighbourhood of the coast, their course is pretty certain. They generally stand boldly across between the most prominent headlands, and are guided along the whole line of coast by a tolerably accurate directory, in which are noted the harbours, currents, shoals, and other particulars. The courses are pointed out by means of the figures, already de- scribed, on the circumference of their com- pass. They can take no observations of the sun themselves; but it sometimes happens that a junk sailing as far as Batavia will engage a Portuguese of Macao, who is just able, with an old rusty sextant, to take an altitude of the sun and work out the latitude in a rough way. This, however, is never done in short voyages, where they steer by their compass without any chart, and judge of the distances by the last promontory or island in sight ; a practice in which long ex- perience makes them very expert. Mr. Gutzlaflf was passenger in one of these junks from Siam to the north of China, and has given a very full and interesting account of the voyage, as well as of the management and internal economy of a Chinese trading- vessel. Besides perpetual ofterings to an image of the '• Queen of Heaven,"' whom we have before mentioned as the sailor's deity, they worship the compass itself. This is covered with a stripe of red cloth, some of which is also tied to the rudder and cable, the next objects of consequence to the sailors. Incense-sticks are burnt, and gilt paper, luade into the form of a junk, is kindled before it. The compass likewise constitutes head-quar- 280 THE CHINESE. teis on board. Near it, some tobacco, a pipe, and a burning-lamp are placed, and here tlie crew adjourn to enjoy themselves. In a dead calm, a quantity of gilt paper shaped like a junk is set adrift, and offerings m;ide to tlie goddess and sundry demons : but if all this proves inetVectual, the offerings cease, and they await the result in patience. The account which Mr. Gutzlaft' gives of the manning and discipline of these trading- junks serves to explain in part the loss of so many at sea, when combined with the other imperfections attendant on their construction and management. They seem to be filled -with the scum and offscourings of the Chinese population — abandoned and desperate cha- racters who have nothing to lose, and who cannot subsist on shore. Besides the princi- pal owner of the cargo, or agent for those who own it, there is the captain or pilot. He sits constantly on the weather-side of the vessel, observing the shores and promontories as they are approached, and from liabit seldom lies down to sleep. Though he has the nominal command over the sailors, these obey him or not according to their pleasure ; and some- times scold or brave him like one of their own mmiber. Next to the pilot is tlie helmsman, who manages the steering and sails. Besides clerks for the cargo, there is a purchaser of provisions, and another whose express busi- ness it is to attend to the offerings and to burn incense. The crew consists of two classes : the able seamen, who are called Tow-mo, " heads and eyes;" and the ordinaiy seamen, or " comrades."' All these, with the exception of the last class, have sleeping-berths, just large enough to hold one person. Every one is a share- holder, with the privilege of putting a certain quantity of goods on board. The principal object of all is trade, and the working of the junk would seem to be a subordinate point. The crew exercise full control over the vessel, and oppose every measure which they deem injurious to their own interest ; so that the captain and pilot are frequently obliged to submit to them. In time of danger the men often lose all courage ; and their indecision, with the confusion that attends the absence of discipline, not unfrequently proves the destruction of the junk. Mr. Gutzlaft' adds that, although they consider our mode of sailing as something better than their ov^n,^ they claim the superiority upon the whole for their own vessels, and would consider it as an imitation of barbarians to alter them. We are persuaded, however, that the risk of trouble and extortion on the part of the government is the chief obstacle to improve- ment in these respects. The Siamese have already adopted many things from our ships, and two copper-bottomed vessels came lately from Slam to Canton. On this very grovmd, the local government would not permit them to ascend the river much beyond Whampoa, the European anchorage. The ingenuity of the Chinese is best dis- played in their arts and manufactures on shore, and in nothing more conspicuously than the ready and simple modes in which they contrive \:o abridge labour, and occa- sionally to avail themselves of a mechanical advantage, without any of the aids of scien- tific knowledge. " Chance" (says Dr. Abel) " led me to the shop of a blacksmith, the manufacturer of various iron instruments, from a sword to a hoe. This man well un- derstood the modifying properties of heat, and took the fullest advantage of them in all the practical concerns of his business. He was forming a reaping-hook at the time of my visit. A large pair of shears, having one blade fixed in a heavy block of wood, and the other furnished with a long handle to serve as a lever, stood beside him. Bringing a piece of metal of the necessary dimensions from the forge at a white heat, he placed it between the blades of this instrument, and cut it into shai)e with equal ease and de- spatch." In exemplification of the same point, we may quote another instance from the journal of Dr. Abel, who was a very intelligent ob- server. '• A quantity of oil, recently taken 1 He was requested by the captain and others to explain the method of finding the latitude and lon- gitude. When he had endeavoured to make them understand the theory, the captain wondered that he could bring (with the sextant) the sun on a level with the horizon; and insisted that by the same pro- cess he could " also tell the depth of water." But, being disappointed in this, ho exclaimed that ob- servations " were entirely useless and truly bar- barian !" INGENUITY. 2SI from the mill (where it had been pressed), and contained in a wide shallow vessel, was continually agitated by a large copper pestle, with wliich a lad, for some particular purpose, gently struck its surface. Tlie fatigue that would otherwise have arisen from the weight of the pestle, and uniform motion of the arm in using it, was prevented by the following very simple contrivance : a small bow of bamboo being fastened to the ceiling imme- diately over the vessel containing the oil, the pestle was attached to its string, and, thus suspended, it received from the slightest touch an adequate impulse, while the elasticity of the bow gave it the necessary recoil." In this manner it was worked by a young boy, who otherwise would not have had strength to manage the pestle. With regard to some of their industrious arts, it may be a question whether they are original and indigenous, or borrowed from India; though, M'ith the known ingenuity of the Chinese, the presumption is in favour of the former. In cleaning cotton, they make 282 THE CHINESE. use of a double process, in most respects similar to that known in India. The machine for freeing the cotton from its seed consists of two wooden cylinders, placed horizontally one above the other, and veiy nearly in contact. These are put in motion by a wheel and treadle, i and the cotton, being applied to one side of the crevice, is turned over by the revolution of the cylinders or rollers to the opposite; while the seeds which are too large to enter between them fall to the gromid. The cotton is then freed from knots and dirt by the same process as in Hindooston. A very elastic bow with a tight string is held by the carder over a heap of cotton-wool. Pulling down the stiing with some force under a portion of the cotton, by means of a wooden instrument in his right hand, lie suddenly allows the bow to recoil, and the vibration thus continually kept up scatters and loosens the cotton, sepa- rating it into fine white flocks, without break- ing the fibre. In some other instances, and indeed in most, no doubt can exist of the originality of invention ; and the chief of these are the manufactures of silk and pot celaifi, which will presently be noticed. Their mode of making candles from the seed of the croton sebiferum is peculiar. This seed, which is contained in a three-lobed berry, is surrounded by a white substance not unlike tallow in consist- ence. It is first of all ground or crushed in an iron rut which forms the arc of a circle, and in which a heavy wlieel, suspended from a beam above, works backwards and forwards. When ground, it is heated over a fire to melt the vegetable grease, and then subjected to the press. The object is sometimes gained by boiling the bruised seed in water, and skimming the grease from the top. As this substance easily melts, the candles made from it are coated on the outside with wax. They burn rapidly, having a large wick, and give a very bad light with a great deal of smoke. The mode of procuriiig the oil from the beny of the Camellia oleifera is nearly the same as in the case of the croton. The seed is first crushed by pounding or grinding, and then put over the fire in bags, which are afterwards removed to the press. This oil is rather of a fine and delicate quality, and used in cookery, like olive-oil in the south of Emope. In various branches of the manufacture of metals the Chinese possess considerable skill. They have the art of casting iron in very thin plates, and of repairing vessels thus con- structed, by means of a small furnace and blowpipe, with which an itinerant workman goes his rounds. Their wrought-iron work is not so neat as our own, but extremely effi- cient. In point of cheapness, too, we excel them in this article ; and it seems likely that, if Chinese models of iron implements, and tools of every kind, were brought home and exactly imitated at Birmingham and Sheffield, without any attempts at improvement in the general shape or adaptation, they might be- come an article of commerce. As it is, the Chinese only import our iron in bars, and work it up themselves. A conformity to their own native models should guide the prepa- ration of nearly all articles for the Chinese market. They will scarcely look at what has a foreign fashion about it, even though it should be better than their own ; always ex- cepting, of course, clocks and watches, of which they admit the utility, but which they have now begun to manufacture for them- selves, importing the springs and some other portions of the works from England. Their white copper, which has much of the appearance of silver, has a close grain, and takes a good polish. It is an alloy of copper, zinc, and iron, with a little silver, and occa- sionally some nickel. "When in the state of ore, it is said to be powdered, mixed with charcoal-dust, and placed in jars over a slow fire, the metal rising in the form of vapour in a distilling apparatus, and being afterwards condensed in water. It is sufficiently mal- leable to be converted into boxes, dishes, and various household utensils. The most sin- gular application of this metal, however, is to the manufacture of certain tea-pots, which are formed In a very puzzling manner over an earthen vessel of the same shape, which ap- pears as an interior lining. The handle and spout are commonly of the stone caWedjaiUy to Avhich the Chinese give the name of yv. The outsldes of these tea-pots are generally cut with inscriptions and devices on the metal, and a specimen of one Is in the opposite page. The highly sonorous nature of their gongs arises from the large proportion of tin in com- METALLIC MIRRORS. 283 bination witli copper. In the most consider- able Budhist temples is always suspended a great cylindrical bell, which, however, is not rung like our bells, by swinging with a clapper, but struck on the outside with a large wooden mallet. The great bell of Pe- king, measured by one of the Jesuits, was fourteen feet and a half in height, and nearly thirteen feet in diameter. This, as well as most others of the kind, is very ancient ; and with such antique specimens we may include the vases and tripods of bronze and other metals, on which the Chinese place great store, but which are generally rather too clumsy to possess much elegance. Another of their antiques in metal is the circular mirror, the speculum of which is formed ap- parently of a mixture of copper and tin, with perhaps a portion of silver. Some of the round metal mirrors, sold in Mr. Salt's col- lection of Egyptian antiquities, are surpris- ing! y like these. [Metal Tea-pot, covering earthenware, j But there is a puzzling property in many of the Chinese mirrors which deserves par- ticular notice, and we may give it together with the solution furnished by Sir David Brewster : — " The mirror has a knob in the centre of the back, by Vthich it can be held, and on the rest of the back are stamped in relief certain circles with a kind of Grecian border. Its polished surface has that degree of convexity which gives an image of tlie face half its natural size ; and its remarkable property is, that when you reflect the rays of the sun from the polished surface, the image of the ornamental border, and circles stamped upon the back, is seen distinctly reflected on the wall," or on a sheet of paper. "The metal of which the mirror is made appears to be what is called Chinese silver, a composition of tin and copper, like the metal for the specula of reflecting telescopes. The metal is very sonorous. The mirror has a rim (at the back) of about l-4th or l-6th of an inch broad, and the inner part, upon which the figures are stamped, is considerably thinner. "Like all other conjurors (says Sir David Brewster), the artist has contrived to make the observer deceive himself. The stamped figures on the back are used for this purpose. The spectrum in the luminous area is not an image of the figures on the back. The figures are a copy of the picture which the artist has drawn on the face of the mirror, and so con-- cealed by polishing, that it is invisible in ordinary lights, and can be brought out only in the sun's rays. Let it be required, for example, to produce the dragon as exhibited by one of the Chinese mirrors. When the surface of the mirror is ready for polishing, 284 THE CHINESE. the figure of the dragon may be delineated upon it in extremely shallow lines, or it may be eaten out by an acid much diluted, so as to remove the smallest possible portion of the metal. The surface must then be highly polished, not upon pitch, like glass and specula, because this -would polish away the figure, but upon cloth, iu the way that lenses are sometimes polished. In this way the sunk part of the shallow lines will be as higlily polished as the rest, and the figure will only be visible in very strong lights, by reflecting the sun's rays from the metallic surface."' Metallic mirrors are now very much super- seded among the Chinese by the use of glass ones. Their looking-glasses, however, being extremely thin, and the surfaces not ground and polished, like our plate-glass, are very imperfect. They are coated at the back, like ours, with an amalgam of mercury. The glass at Canton is partly obtained by re- melting what is broken after it comes from Europe: but it is certain that the Chinese import our flhits chiefly for the glass manu- facture.^ The last embassy observed that there were no glass A\ indows near Peking, the universal substitute Ijeing a strong semi-transparent paj er which comes from Corea. The Chinese exphiin this, by saying that no glass window has ever been found to be proof against such Vvide exhemes of heat and cold as exist in the north of China. At Canton, it lias sometimes been found that an unusual change of tem- perature has broken the panes ; but this must have arisen from the pressure of the half- seasoned and ill-constructed window-frames on the glass. In their table utensils, the Chinese adhere to the use of porcelain in preference to glass or any other material. In the ornamental processes of carving •wood and ivorj-, and other substances, the Chinese greatly excel the rest of the world. Those ivory balls, containing sometimes as many as seven or eight others in the interior, have long excited the surprise of Europeans, and even led to the supposition that some deception must be exercised, in joining the 1 The materials are fused in a small reverberating furnace . exterior balls after the others have been inserted. They are, however, really cut one within the other, by means of sharp crooked insti-uments working through the numerous round holes with which the balls are per- forated, and which enable the workman to cut away the substance between, and thus to detach the balls from one another ; after which the surfaces are carved. Their skill and industry are not less shown in cutting the hardest materials, as exemplified in their snufl-bottles of agate and rock crystal, which are hollowed into perfect bottles of about two inches in length, through openings in the neck not a quarter of an inch in diameter : but more than tliis, the crystal bottles are inscribed on the inside witlv minute charac- ters so as to be read through the transparent substance ! The peculiar fashion of the Chinese tools in most cases proves their originality. Their carpenter's saw is formed of a very thin plate of steel, which for this reason is kept straight by a light frame of bamboo at the back, which serves at the same time as a handle. In appearance this has a heavy and clumsy look, but the lightness of the bamboo prevents it being si) in reality. Carpenters work their awls with a thong, whose two extremities are attached to the two ends of a stick. The thong being quite slack, a single turn of it is taken round the handle of the awl, which is then worked backwards and forwards with great velocity. Some of the articles of fur- nitvne made for the English at Canton could not often, in point of neatness, be surpassed in this country, and in respect to solidity are sometimes superior. The anvil of the Chinese blacksmith, instead of having a flat surface, is slightly convex or rounded. The iron that is worked upon it thus extends more easily under the haiumer on all sides, but the metal probably loses something in solidity. The bellows consist of a hollow cylinder, the piston of which is so contrived that the blast shall be continuous. But we have yet to say something of tlie two principal manufactures of China, those oi silk arid porci'la in, the originality of which was never contested, as the introduction of both iiito Europe is perfectly well ascer- tained ; and could the Chinese urge no other SILK MANUFACTURE. 285 claims to praise on account of their inge- nuity, these two alone might serve to give them a high rank among the nations of the world. D'Herbelot justly considers that, as Rome obtained the silk manufacture from Greece, and Greece from Persia, so the last was indebted for it, according to the best oriental authors, to China. The tradition, indeed, of the invention is there carried back into the mythological periods, and dates with the origin of agriculture. These two pur- suits or professions, namely husbandry and the silk manufacture, the chief sources of food and clothing, form the subject of one of the sixteen discourses to the people, which have been before noticed. It is there ob- served, that " from ancient times the Son of Heaven himself directed the plough : the Empress planted the mulberry-tree. Thus have these exalted personages, not above the practice of labour and exertion, set an exam- ple to all under heaven, with a view to lead- ing the millions of their subjects to attend to their essential interests." In the work published by imperial autho- rity, called '' Illustrations of Husbandry and j Weaving,'" there are numerous wood- cuts, I accompanied by letter -press explanatory of | the different processes of farming and the ! silk marmfacture. The former head is con- | fined to the production of rice, the staple article of food, and proceeds from the first ploughing of the land to the packing of the grain ; the latter details all the operations connected with planting the mulberry and gathering the leaves, up to the final weaving of the silk. Besides the common mulberry j of China, which differs somewhat from that of Europe, they occasionally, in feeding the worms, have recourse to a wild specimen of the morus tribe, as well as to the leaves of another tree, supposed to be a variety of ash. The production of silk in the Chinese method, and with the aid of natives of the country, was tried experimentally by the East India Company at St. Helena ; but has been aban- doned, with the rest of their establishments on that island, since the expiration of the charter. The principal object, in the cultiva- tion of the mulberry for feeding silkworms, is to produce the greatest quantity of young and healthy leaves without fruit. For this reason the trees are not allov/ed to exceed a certain age and height. They are planted at a convenient distance from each other, on the plan of a quincunx, and are said to be in perfection in about three years. The mulberry-tree for silkworms is chiefly cultivated in Che-keang, which province, together with the only three others that pro- duce fine silk, namely Keang-nan, Hoo-pe, and Sze-chuen, is crossed by the thirtieth parallel of latitude. Che-keang is a highly alluvial country, intersected by rmmerous rivers and canals, with a climate that corre- sponds pretty nearly to the same latitude in the United States of America. The soil is manured with mud which is dug from the rivers, assisted with ashes or dung ; and the spaces between the trees are generally filled M-ith millet, pulse, or other articles of food. The lime for pruning the young trees, so as to produce fine leafy shoots, is at the commejice- ment of the year. About four eyes are left on every shoot, and care is taken that the branches are properly thinned, with a view to giving plenty of light and air to the leaves. In gathering tliese, they make use of steps, or a ladder with a prop, as the young trees can- not support a ladder, and would besides be injured in their branches by the use of one. The trees, with their f.)liage, are carefully watched, and the mischiefs of insects pre- vented by the use of various applications, among which are some essential oils. The young trees of course suffer by being stripped of their leases, which are the lungs of plants, and this is an additional reason for renewing them after a certain time. They endeavour in part to counteract the evil effect, by pruning and lopping the tree, so as to diminish the wood when the leaves have been stripped, and it is probable that a few leaves are left on. It is surprising, however, to observe how soon a tree in those climates will recover its leaves in the summer or autumn, after having been entirely stripped of them by a typhoon, or hurricane. Fresh plants are procured by cuttings or layers, or some- times from seed. When the trees grow too old for the production of the tinest leaves, and show a greater tendency to fruiting, they are either removed altogether, or cut and managed so as to produce fresh and young branches. 286 THE CHINESE. Mr. Barrow, who observed the management of the trees and silkworms in Che-keang, confirms the usual Chinese accounts, by say- ing that " the houses in which the worms are reared are placed generally in the ceirtre of each plantation, in order that they may be removed as far as possible from every kind of noise ; experience having taught them that a sud- den shout, or the bark of a dog, is destructive of the young worms. A whole brood has sometimes perished by a thunder-storm."" The chambers are so conh-ived as to admit of the use of artificial heat when necessary. Great care is taken of the sheets of paper on which the multitudes of eggs have been laid by the silkworm-moths ; and the hatching of these eggs is either retarded or advanced, by the application of cold or heat according to circumstances, so as to time the simultaneous exit of the young worms exactly to the period when the tender spring-leaves of the mulberry are most fit for their nourishment. They proportion the food very exactly to the young worms by weighing the leaves, which in the first instance are cut, but after- wards, as the insects become larger, are given to them whole. The greatest precautions are observed in regulating the temperature of the apartments, and in keeping them clean, quiet, and. free from smells. The worms are fed upon a species of small hurdles of basket- work, strewed with leaves, which are con- stantly shifted for the sake of cleanliness, the insects readily moving oft" to a fresh hurdle with new leaves, as the scent attracts them. In proportion to their growth, room is aftbrded to them by increasuig the number of these hurdles, the worms of one being shifted to three, then to six, and so on until they reach their greatest size. The hurdles, as well as the rest of the apparatus, were sent from Canton to St. Helena for the use of the Com- pany's establishment there. When the worms have cast their several skins, reached their greatest size, and assumed a transparent yellowish colour, they are removed into places divided into compartments, preparatory to their spinning. In the course of a week after the com- mencemerit of spinning, the silken cocoons are complete, and it now becomes necessary to take them in hand before the pupae turn into moths, which would immediately bore their way out, and spoil the cocoons. When a certain number, therefore, have been laid aside for the sake of future eggs, the pupae in the bulk of the cocoons are killed by being placed in jars under layers of salt and leaves, with a complete exclusion of air. They are subsequently placed in moderately warm water, which dissolves the glutinous substance that binds the silk together, and the filament is wound oft' upon reels. This is put up in bundles of a certain size and weight, and either becomes an article of merchandise under the name of " raw silk,"* or is subjected to the loom, and manufactured into various shifts, for home or for foreign consumption. Notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of their looms, they will imitate exactly the newest and most delicate patterns from England or France. The Chinese particu- larly excel in the production of damasks and flowered satins. Their crape has never yet been perfectly imitated ; and they make a species of tvashing silk, called at Canton ponge, which becomes more soft as it is longer used. With regard to the porcelain of the Chinese, I it is indisputably the original from which the similar manufactures of Europe were bor- I rowed. The first porcelain-furnace on record I was in Keang-sy, the same province where it j is now principally made, about the com- i mencement of the seventh century of our era : but the famous furnaces of King-te-chin, just to the eastward of the Poyang lake, were not established until about a.d. 1000. In the progress of the last embassy through the country, we observed that the largest quanti- ties of porcelain were exhibited for sale at Naiichang-foo, just to the southward of the lake, from whence there is a water communi- cation with King-tc-chin. The Chinese have a printed history of the furnaces at this place, contained in four volumes : but the main difiiculty, in a translation, would be to identify the various substances used in the manufacture with the names by which they are distinguished in the original work. It is well known that the chief merit of the Chinese ware consists in its hardness, in the fineness of the fracture, and in the resistance which it ofi"ers to heat without cracking. The better POKCELAIN MANUFACTURE. 287 kinds have never yet been surpassed in point oi substance ; but as regards the painting and gilding, they must yield to the productions of England and the continent. The principal ingredients employed in the manufacture of the porcelain of China have been pretty well ascertained. It was soon dscovered that the Kao-Iin. mentioned by Pere Dentrecolles in Du Halde, was the felspar clay, or porcelain earth of Europe. The neighbourhood of the Poyang lake was observed, by our embassies, to abovmd in those disintegrating granite rocks which supply the largest quantity of that material. The de- tailed account of the manufacture by Dentre- colles was calculated to convey little inform- ation regarding the real substances used by the Chinese ; but some specimens of the various materials, which were subsequently sent to France from China, enabled our neighbours to imitate the ware, and establish the commencement of the manufacture. It has been satisfactorily shown by Marsden, that the word porcelain, or porcellana, was applied by Europeans to the ware of China, from the resemblance of its fine polished surface to that of the univalve shell so named; while the shell itself derived its appellation from the curved or gibbous shape of its upper surface, which was thought to resemble the raised back ofa.p07xel/a, or little hog.i Silica and alumine, or flint and clay, being the principal constituents of all chinaware, the Kao-lin of Dentrecolles is the clay, and the pe-tun-tse is the silica. The following facts are pretty well ascertained from the Chinese, They state that Kao-lin, or, more correctly, Kaou-Ung. which means " lofty ridge "" (probably where the granite is most exposed to disintegration), is mixed with small shining particles, meaning the mica, with which it naturally abounds. Of the pe-tun-tse, they observe that it is white, hard, and with a smooth surface. The former material is said to require less labour than the latter, or, in other words, it is a soft clay, while the latter is a very hard and stony substance. The Kaou-ling is dug from the mountain, "wherever the outer surface of the earth is of a reddish colour, and abounds with 1 Marco Polo, p. 423, Note. shining particles." The pe-tun-tse is pounded with difficulty in mortars, the pestles of which are worked by a stream, and the powder being reduced to a fine paste by mixture with water, it is made up into cakes fit for use, and sold to the manufacturers. The Chinese say that the former material derives strength from the latter, which is obtained from the hardest rocks. Another substance used by them-is hua-she, " slippery stone, ' which is steatite or soap-stone ; and a fourth is she-kaou, alabaster or gypsum, which they say is used in the painting process after it is burnt. On approaching the neighbourhood of King-te- chin from the eastward, the late Sir George Staunton observed several excavations, made in extracting from the sides of the adjoining hills the pe-tun-tse. He says it was a species of fine granite, in which the quartz (or silica) bore the largest pr'oportion. He afterwards re- marked some quarries, out of which were dug stones beautifully white and shining; they consisted, he says, of quartz in its purest state. There can be no doubt, therefore, respecting the two principal ingredients of Chinese porcelain. It would seem that Kaou-ling is the "growan clay,"' and pe-tun- tse the " growan stone " of Cornwall ; and tlie granite mountains by which the Poyang lake is surrounded afi'ord an abundance of both those materials. There is another manufac- tory at Chaou-king-foo, to the west of Canton, which supplies the limited demand of the European and Indian trade ; but it is greatly inferior in reputation to King-te-chin. The vitreous glaze of Chinese porcelain is obtained by the union of the pounded /??-??/«- tse, or silica, with the ashes of fern, abound- ing on the same steep hills that afford the other materials. The glassy combination of flint and alkali, called by chemists a silicate, is well known to give to porcelain its polished surface. The Chinese call this " varnish" or " oil,"' with an allusion to their lackered or japanned ware. In proof of the difficulty of acquiring any real information from the de- scriptions of Dentiecolles, we may quote his odd observation, that " this oil or varnish is got from a very hard stone, which is not very surprising, since it is stated that stories are formed of the salts and oils of the earth." This was written more than a hundred years 2S8 THE CHINESE. since, and seems to mean the combination of the powdered quartz with the alkali in the formation of the glaze. In the third part of Dr, Morrison's Diction- ary, under the head of "• porcelain, '" are some extracts from the history of the furnaces at King-te-chin. It is observed that Kaou-Ung is the name of a hill on the east side of the place of manufacture, and that the earth pro- cured from thence was the property of four diti'erent families, whose names were therefore stamped on the cakes of the material. The best pe-tiiii-tse is obtained near Hoey-chow, in the adjoining province of Keang-nan. It is pounded with pestles, which are worked by means of cogged wheels, turned by a moun- tain-stream. After pounding the stone, they reduce it to a nearly impalpable powder by suspension, and subsequent settlement, in water ; after which they mould it into bricks and sell it to the people at the potteries, Tiie government of China, for more than a thou- sand years past, has paid much attention to the manufacture of porcelain, and especially to tliat at King-te-chin, which pertains to the chief city Jaou-chow-foo. The Emperor Kien-loong sent a person from Peking to make drawings of the whole process in its details. In a voluminous Chinese work, the sub- jects of these drawings, which were twenty in number, are described at length. They com- mence with the process of procuring the materials and making the paste. Then is ! represented the business of preparing the ashes j for the glazing, and mixing them with the } silica, so as to form a thickish liquid. ' Earthen cases are provided in which to bake the ware, the round portions of which are turned on a latlie, and the others made in a mould. The subject of another picture is the selection of the •• blue material," which is supposed to be cobalt. After being turned on a lathe, or formed by a mould, the un- burnt biscuit (as workmen call it) is finished by smoothing and paring off all inequalities by the hand, the bits taken oft" being pounded and worked to a milky consistence, to be used by the painters. In painting the ware, one set of people design the outline, and another fill in the colours; and the Chinese say that this division of labour is to " con- centrate the workman's hand, and not divide his mind." It is said that, previous to baking, the same specimen of ware passes through twenty hands, and that, before being sold, it has gone through more than double that num- ber. The pictures proceed to represent the baking of the ware in open and in close fur- naces, and, when it is completed, the process of binding it with straw, and packing it in tabs for sale. The whole series of drawings concludes with the ceremony of sacrificing and giving thanks to the god of the furnaces ; and this god, according to Dentrecolles, owed his origin to the difficulties encountered by the workmen in executing some orders from Pe- king, on account of the Emperor. Several models were sent from thence, of a shape and size which defied all the efforts of tlie people to imitate them; and, though representations were made to that effect, these served only to increase his majesty's desire to possess the specimens required. With a view to meet the Emperor's inclination, much money and labour were spent, and both rewards and punishments held out to the people employed, but all in vain; when one of the workmen, reduced to despair by the result of his un- availing efforts, threw himself into the red-hot furnace, and was instantly consumed. The story says that the specimens then baking came out perfectly fine and conformable to the model, and from that time hence the un- fortunate victim passed for a divinity, be- coming the god of the furnaces. In connexion with the subject of Chinese porcelain it remains to mention a curious discovery lately made in Egypt. In a note to an article of the Quarterly Review on Egijpt and Thebes,^ it is remarked, — '• Signor Rosellini showed the other day to a friend of ours at Florence a sort of smelling-bottle, evidently of C/^//^ese/Jorc Vol. ii. p. 177. 2 The coustruction of a singular arch is described by Barrow. Travels in China, p. SB'S. [Bridge for Foot-paiseiii^ci- CHINESE CLASSIFICATION. 315 bridges that adom garden.? and pleasure- grounds, the arch is often of height sufficient to admit a boat under sail, and the bridge is ascended by steps. All the stones of a Chinese arch are com- monly wedge-shaped, their sides forming radii wliich converge towards the centre of the curve. It is observable, that according to the opinion of Captain Parish, who sur- veyed and made plans of a portion of the Great Wall, no masonry could be superior to it. The arched and vaulted work was con- sidered by him as exceedingly well turned. The Chinese, therefore, must have under- stood the construction and properties of the arch long before the Greeks and Romans, whose original and most ancient edifices con- sisted of columns, connected by straight architraves, of bulk sufficient to support the incumbent pressme of solid masonry. CHAPTER XX. NATUIIAL HISTORY AND PRODUCTIONS. Chinese Classification— Result of their peculiar Language — European Researches in China — Zoology — Mammalia — Birds — Reptiles — Fishes — Insects — Botany — Tea-plant — Timber Trees — Uses of the Bamboo — Dwarf Trees— Fruits— Flowers— Geological Features — Chalky strata nearly unknown — Abundance of Coal — Unstratified Rocks and older strata — No active Volcanoes — Minerals and Metals. conclude with a remark which is not destitute of interest to science itself: it is, that the Chinese and Japanese descriptions, when accompanied by the figures they refer to, may, with all their imperfections, enable us to distinguish the species we do, from those we do not possess, augment our knowledge of facts, diffuse some light upon the distribu- tions o£ the natural objects of the ancient world, and consequently may be consulted with advantage even by 7iaturalists, so long as circumstances shall continue to interdict European philosophers from countiies so abundant in objects of natural history, and hitherto so little explored." In the sixteenth chapter^ allusion was made to the advan- tageous hints which the constitution of their Avritten character had, from the earliest ages, afforded to the Chinese for a systematic nomenclature, and a rational classification of natural objects into certain genera or families, according to the most striking and obvious analogies that existed among them. The two hundred and fourteen roots, under which the whole language is arranged in Chinese dictionaries, include about one hundred and sixty, which serve at once (with the aid of other characters) as compo}ient parts in the After a curious analysis of the ggreat Chinese work on materia medica, which, although its name Pun-tsaou might literally imply that it was merely a herbal or history of plants, is in fact a classification of the chief productions of nature in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, M, Remusat comes to the following conclusion : '*' I think we may infer that natural history has engaged the attention of the Chinese from the remotest antiquity, aud that it became in consequence an object of pursuit among neighbouring nations,^ which caused it to make some pro- gress. The mode of writing employed in those countries, leading the people who used it to establish genera and orders, furnished them with the elements of an excellent no- menclature, and put them in the way of classification All that could be learned from mere superficial inspection they have observed and recorded: all that de- manded reflection or delicate research, they have remained ignorant of, or misapprehended. Superficial, however, as are the ideas they have collected, they constitute a scientific whole, which derives some value from the method to which it has been subjected. We 1 Using the same written characters as Japan and Cochin- China. 2 Page 244. 316 THE CHINESE. written designations of all known objects in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, and as heads under which they have been classed. " From this simple arrangement," observes M. Remusat, '' the very ideas appear which regulated the formation of the com- pound signs ; which ideas frequently coincide with such as intelligent naturalists might acknowledge and adopt as a basis for their arrangements. This may be observed on a glance at even their modem dictionaries, although the written language of China has undergone alterations of all kinds, and ad- mitted many iiTegularities, which have affected the nomenclature of natural objects as well as other parts of the language. In turning over the leaves of the commonest of these works, we easily recognize genuine natural families, imperfect, no doubt, and founded upon inaccurate views, imperfect observation, and an unphilosophical analysis ; but discovering almost always a judicious design, with sound and sometimes ingenious conclusions." Of the thirty roots, or radical characters, which constitute the genera or families above alluded to, fourteen include the animal kingdom. The mammalia are comprised under nine of these, viz. three families of car- nivora, one of rodentia, and three of rumi- nantia, as oxen, sheep, deer : while the horse and swine are the types of two other families. In the details of the above arrangement there has been (as might be expected) much con- fusion and a want of discrimination, in classing together animals between whom there was no real analogy, as well as separating others that were nearly allied : the ape and monkey tribes, for instance, are classed with the dogs ; and numerous other examples might be adduced of the same kind. Birds, one of the most numerous class of animals in China, are all comprised in one family. Then come the tortoise and frog tribes mider two heads. Fishes constitute o«e family^ and improperly include the cetaceous and saurian tribes, as well as lobsters, crabs and some of the moUuscae, The fourteenth family of animals, in the Chinese dictionary system, consists of insects. This may serve to convey some idea of the notions which tlie Chinese have of classifica- tion, and show at the same time in what they have failed. Their vegetable kingdom is divided into eleven principal families. The first comprises all herbaceous plants, which have a common tj'pe, and are very numerous : the second family has wood for its radical character, and includes all trees, as well as plants with a woody stem : the bamboo, on account of its importance in use, and the great number of its varieties, stands at the head of the fifth class, and includes under it all reedy plants. No less {hanfour separate radical characters serve as the heads under which the corn plants and esculent grasses have been arranged, and it follows of course that many repetitions and superfluous dis- tinctions have taken place. The four together should have formed one natural family. The eight family consists of leguminous plants, and has the bean for its type: the ninth comprises the cucurbitaceous, or gourd tribes : and under the tenth are included only about a dozen species and varieties of the alliaceous plants, as garlic, onions, and leeks. The importance attached to some of the smaller divisions no doubt arose from tlieir having been principal articles of food from the first. Tlie eleventh and last family consists of plants analogous to the liemp, which, from its con- sequence, has from the easliest times been designated by a simple and radical character. The mineral kingdom has been classed by the Chinese lexicographers under five radical characters. The first family consists of gems, of which the famous yu, or jade, is the type : to these have been improperly added all factitious stones, with glass, amber, &c. The four remaining families are distinguished into stones, earths, salts, and metals. " It must be remembered," observes M. Remusat very correctly of the system, " that this was not a methodical or systematic arrangement con- trived by naturalists, in order to classify the objects they wished to describe; but a mere distribution of written signs, brought together according to their orthography, and classed by the makers of dictionaries, solely with a view to facilitating and expediting the search for them. It cannot have escaped observa- tion, that in this composition of signs there are certain scientific ideas whence this re- markable classification arises, as it were, CHINESE CLASSIFICATION. 317 spontaneously ; and it may be asserted that there exists no other language in the world, the words of which taken intrinsically, and quite independently of definition or accessary explanation, could afford even to the vulgar such just notions of the natural affinities of things. This results from the figurative nature of the characters, which liais not been adequately appreciated ; and we ought, per- haps, to give some weight to this circumstance, in the speculative comparisons we are often so fond of instituting between writing which is adapted to represent speech, and that which is immediately directed to the painting of ideas/'^ M. Remusat proceeds to detail the classification of natural history in the great Chinese work on materia medica and the- rapeutics ; but as this is a subject much less curious and interesting, and would besides exceed our limits, it must be omitted. We may now proceed to a general con- sideration of such of the principal produc- tions of China in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, as have come under the notice and knowledge of Europeans ; observ- ing that, in a country Avhose interior is so little accessible to us, there must be a great deal that remains to be known and described. The animals, as well as vegetables, of Cliina belong almost exclusively to the tem- perate zone, for the low average of the ther- mometer (whose aimual mean as far south as Canton, is little above 70'^) and the cold winters are unfriendly to the existence of numerous tropical tribes that are found in corresponding latitudes of India. There is no subject connected with China (we must premise) on which Europe is less indebted to the Romish missionaries than natural history. The Jesuits, to whom was entrusted the charge of surveying the country and con- structing a map of it, performed their peculiar task admirably; but they lost an oppor- tunit)-, which may perhaps never again occur, for investigating and describing the natural features of the empire. The studies of zoology, botany, and mineralogy, had certainly not, in their time, attained the scientific advance- 1 See Paper on " the state of the Natural Sciences among the people of Kastern Asia," as given in the Asiatic Journal, vol. ix. p. 89. ment which they have since reached: but there is a peculiar poverty and indistinctness about the missionary notices of such objects as they met with, in the several departments of the three kingdoms of nature. The first European naturalist by profession, that seems to have visited the celestial empire, was Peter Osbeck, ^ who went to Canton in 1750, as chaplain to a Swedish East India- man, and recorded such discoveries as he could make within the limited range open to him at that port. He had the advantage of having been a pupil of the great Linnaeus, and was enabled by circumstances to extend his researches to a considerable distance about the city, with little molestation. As he col- lected and described many plants from the vicinity of Canton and Whampoa, the re- membrance of his zeal and success was per- petuated by Linnaeus in the Osbeckia Chinensis, and an assistant named Toreen was compli- mented with the Torenia Asiatica. It is remarkable that these were the only persons who, unaided by patronage or the assistance of their governments, did anything material towards the elucidation of Chinese natural history up to the end of the last century. The situation of Europeans at the very best is so uninviting, or rather so miserable, in that country, that it requires some resolution, and no small zeal in the cause of science, to encounter the obstacles and annoyances that meet one at every step. The trading pursuits of by far the larger portion of persons resort- ing to Canton, and the ports formerly open to the eastward, have also prevented the extension of researches in natural history. The embassy of Lord Macartney formed an era in this subject, as in most others con- nected with China, being amply provided with intelligent and enlightened men who made the best of the opportunities which they enjoyed. In Staunton's Embassy and in Barrow's Travels there is much valuable in- formation relating to the subjects of the present chapter. In the second volume of Staunton we find four considerable lists of Chinese plants: the first comprises those found be- tween the shores of the Yellow Sea and 2 For some account of Osbeck see Chinese Repo- sitory, vol.iii. p. S5. 318 THE CHINESE. Peking ; the second, the plants observed near Peking and Je-ho in Manchow Taitary ; the third relates to the productions of Shantung and Keang-nan ; and the fourth extends the observations down to Canton.^ Had it not been for the foolish jealousy and apprehen- sions of the Chinese, the embassies might have been rendered much more instrumental than they were to the promotion of natural knowledge. The natives can so ill appreci- ate the motives of men who pursue science for its own sake, that they always couple with the eager researches of Europeans all kinds of fanciful apprehensions, respecting the ulterior designs which they may entertain while surveying and examining the face of the country. A most able and indefatigable naturalist was appointed to attend the mission of Lord Amherst in the person of Dr. Clarke Abel, but a tissue of misfortunes unhappily frus- trated his objects and hopes. Soon after his arrival in the country, a brain fever, brought on by exposure to a burning sun in the prose- cution of his inquiries, confined him to his bed during a considerable portion of the journey, and in fact did all but bring him to the grave. JMuch, however, was effected by the activity of his numerous friends, who brought him all the specimens they could collect to enrich his herbarium and cabinet. The leisure of about a month, after reaching Canton, enabled him 1o classify and arrange his acquisitions in the way of plants and minerals, and to pack them for conveyance home. But the crowning disaster still re- mained. It is well known that the Alceste frigate, in which Lord Amherst and his suite embarked for England, was wrecked in the straits of Caspar on a sunken rock. There the fruits of so much diligence and care were irrecoverably lost, or, as Dr. Abel himself emphatically exclaimed — ibi omnis effusus labor ! Some specimens fortunately reached England with Sir George Staunton, in a sepa- rate ship, and, among the few that escaped the wreck, one new plairt received from Sir Joseph Bairks the irame of Abelia Chinen- sis. Among the resident English in China who 1 Embassy, vol. ii. pp. 165, 276, 435, 524. have devoted their attention to the natural history of the country, the names of Messrs. Beale, Reeves, and Livingstone, are associated with most of the later acquisitions that have been made by us in zoology and botany. The botanic garden of the first of these gentle- men at Macao, though far from extensive in its limits, contains what in this countr-y would be deemed a precious selection of trees and plants : and has in fact served as the nursery in which some of the rarest produc- tions of China have been prepared for trans- mission home. In the garden is an aviary of curious or beautiful birds, and as this is unique in its way, it may be described from the work of Mr. Bennett, who visited China in 1833.* The aviary is forty feet in length by twenty in breadth, and probably thirty feet high : it is divided iirto two portions, having communica- tions between them, which are usually left open, but capable of being closed if necessary. It is contiguous to one side of the house, the Avindows of which look through the lattice- work into the aviary ; and the whole of the en- closure above and around has a similar lat- tice-work of fine wire, surmounted by a dome at the summit. In the aviary large trees and a variety of shrubs are planted for the convenience of the inhabitants. In the branches of the former are placed small baskets to assist as nests to those birds whose habits lead them to build in trees, and in the same branches many of the present inhabitants of the aviary have been born and reared. Near a tank, con- stantly filled with water, a quantity of artifi- cial rock-work is constr'ucted, forming an ornament to the aviary, as well as an asylum for birds of that class who are accustomed to such situations when at liberty, and who breed in the crevices. Every precaution is taken to prevent the ingress of rats around the aviary, the attacks of those animals having caused much destruction among the birds when the place was first erected. There are separate cages for enclosing the males of any of the species who may have their combative- 2 Wanderings, &c. vol. ii. p. 50. This work con- tains a highly-interesting description of a live bird of Paradise belonging to Mr. Beale : the species which Linnaeus himself, strange to say, named Apoda. NATURAL HISTORY, 319 ness too highly excited. The punishment for such characters is in the first place solitary confinement, and should they not reform under that treatment they are finally dis- missed the aviary as incorrigibles. It once happened, Mr. Bennett relates, during a total eclipse of the sun, that, as that luminary be- came overshadowed, the feathered colony, if not in consternation at the event, was exceed- ingly perplexed at the rapid and untimely termination of the day, and all retired supper- less to bed ; they received, however, a second surprise, at the briefness of the night; for, before they could be well asleep, the cocks crowed at the re-appearance of the sun, and all again resumed their daily amusements and occupations. We shall have to particularize hereafter some of Mt. Reevess numerous contributions to natural history ; but may notice in this place a paper of Mr, Livingstone,^ addressed to the Horticultural Society, in which that gentleman reviews the means that had been adopted for enriching this country with the botanical productions of China, and states the remarkable majority of cases in which attempts to convey plants home had totally failed. It had been long the practice for individuals to purchase plants on the spot, and to carry them to England in the best manner that a long passage of four or five months at sea appeared to admit of. At a short distance above Canton, by the side of a creek or branch of the river, are a number of small nursery-gardens well known by the name of Fa-ty, or the "flower-grounds.'" Each of these contains nearly the same col- lection of plants, formed to meet the usual demand of Europeans. It was here, Mr. Livingstone observes, that the purchases were made with no sparing hand, notwithstanding the general want of success which they had pretty uniformly experienced. About the year 1804, a Scotch gardener was sent out from the royal gardens at Kew, for the purpose of enriching that splendid col- lection with the stores of China. Great pains were taken to supply him with the most judi- cious instructions, and the cabins for the re- ception of the plants were contrived with * Indo-Chinese Gleaner, vol. ii. p. 126. care. Yet with every facility and advan- tage, it seems that, on comparing the plants actually sent with those which reached Kew alive and in a healthy state, this gardener was not more fortunate than private adven- turers. It must be observed, however, that he did not attend the plants home, but re- mained in China to procure new ones. They accordingly fell victims to the ignorance or the neglect of those on board the ships, who either gave them too much water or none at all, and who exposed them to the spray of the sea in bad weather, or denied them a needful supply of fresh air in fine. The gardener himself, in the mean while, leading a solitary life in China, gave way to habits of intoxication, and became unfit for his business. Since that time no other at- tempt of the kind has been made; but it seems obvious that all the care and attention in selecting or preparing rare plants in China will be of little avail, unless they are under proper skill and management during the long voyage home. Mr. Livingstone cal- culates that not more than one plant in a thousand has reached England in safety ; but if we take only half the proportion, it will be very lamentable to those who appreciate the advantages of enriching this country with the useful or beautiful productions of foreign soils. As animals are, for obvious reasons, more generally diffused over continents than plants, it follows that the number of cases in which the zoological productions of China have been found peculiar to that country, or not known in other parts of Asia, are extremely rare in comparison with the botanical ones. It has been alwaj^s remarked that in either instance, whether of plants or animals, they are such, in general, as characterize a temperate, and not a tropical climate. For this reason the larger and more ferocious descriptions of car- nivorous quadrupeds are neither numerous nor common. In the forests of Yun-nan. to the south-west, the Bengal species of tiger is said to exist ; indeed the numerous representations of that animal, and the stories connected with it in Chinese books, are proofs that it is suf- ficiently well known in the empire. At Can- ton, however, which lies so nearly in the lati- tude of Calcutta, it is quite a stranger, as well 320 THE CHl^'ESE. as in those provinces to the north through which our embassies passed. Some smaller animals of the same genus were seen by Pere Gerbillon when he went with the Em- peror on his hunting excursion to the north of the Great Wall, as well as bears, and an abun- dance of deer. Lions are almost a fabulous animal among the Chinese. Specimens may | have reached Peking from some of the neigh- i bouring countries to the south and west ; but the \ Asiatic lion is quite a different animal, and | much inferior in power to the African species. ' The woods of Southern China abound in a fierce and untameable, though small descrip- tion of wild-cat. With a taste that is quite unaccountable to ourselves, this animal is considered by Chinese epicures as an exqui- site species ofgatne, and ser^'ed up in stews at table, after being fed for some time in a cage. By way of a great compliment, some gentle- men were asked to partake of the flesh of one of these wild grimalkins ; but they of course declined the flattering invitation. The domestic dog of China cannot be better described than in the words of that accurate observer, Mr. White of Selborne, " My near neighbour, a young gentleman in the service of the East India Company, has brought home a dog and bitch of the Chinese breed from Canton : such as are fattened in that country for the purpose of being eaten. They are about the size of a moderate spaniel, of a pale yellow colour, with a coarse bristling hair on their backs ; sharp upright ears, and peaked heads, which give them a very fox- like appearance. Their hind-legs are un- usually straight, without any bend at the hock or ham, to such a degree as to give them an awkward gait when they trot. When tliey are in motion, their tails are curved high over their backs like those of some hounds, and have a bare place each on the outside from the tip midway, that does not seem to be matter of accident, but somewhat singular. Their eyes are jet black, small, and piercing, the insides of their lips and months of the same colour, and their tongues blue. The bitch has a dew-claw on each hind-leg ; the dog has none. When taken out into a field, the bitch showed some disposition for hunt- ing, and dwelt on the scent of a covey of partridges till she sprang them, giving tongue all the time. The dogs in South America are dumb ; but these bark much in a short thick manner like foxes, and have a surly savage demeanor like their ancestors." The account goes on to state that these dogs are " not domesticated by the Chinese, but fed in sties." This, however, is a mistake, for al- though often eaten, they are very generally domesticated as guards, and a vigilant watch is called shen-kow, '' an accomplished dog. " The food on which they subsist is principally vegetable, and consists mainly of rice. This race of animal closely resembles the breed represented in the plates to the arctic voyages, and seems to extend along the whole of northern Asia and America, being perhaps the original of the species. Bears are quite common in the hilly parts of Shensy, west of Peking. They have often been seen in cages at Canton, whither they had most probably been brought from the westward, perhaps from Yun-nan or Sze- chuen. The paws of these animals, which abound in fat, are eaten by the Chinese as a delicacy. Tl>e country upon the whole is too well cultivated and thickly-peopled to afford lodging and entertainment to many of the larger wild animals, however much they may have abounded originally. Similar reasons may account (besides climate) for the paucity of the quadrumanous tribes of apes and monkeys. Some of these animals exist on the island of Lintin, near the mouth of the Canton river ; but it is most probable that they are descended from a few indi- viduals of the genus, which may have got loose upon the island from the riumerous junks and ships perjjetually arriving from the seas to the south. Dromedaries are much vised as beasts of bmthen between Peking and Tartary ; but in China itself tlie reasons which cause human labour to supplant every other have prevented their being adopted ; nor did we see one of these animals between Peking and Canton throughout the whole empire. Chinese horses are but rare, and of a very poor and stunted breed, probably from the same cause that renders their horned cattle so extremely dimiimtive, the deficiency of food and care. For their bulk, however, the horses are bony and strong, about the size of, or a little larger MAMMALIA. ?2l [Chinese Camel Driver.] tliaii Shetland ponies, and at t])e best very rough and ill-kept, with their fetlocks over- grown with hair. There is a white spotted species, often represented in Chinese pictures, and which might be considered as the produce of imagination had it not been verified by tlie actual observations of our embassies. The whole equestrian establishment of a mandarin, or person of wealth, is ragged and beggarly in the extreme : they have no idea whatever of either condition or neatness iu the turn-out of their horses. Asses and mules are common in the north of the empire. The mules are generally of a good size, and said to bear a higher price than horses, as being capable of more labour on less food. Of the common ruminant animals, the Chinese possess several species of deer, par- ticularly a spotted kind, which is sometimes kept about their residences. Gerbillon de- scribes a variety of antelope abounding in borders of Mongol Tartary, and called by the Chinese Httdnf;-yang, "yellow-goat."' This animal is found towards the sandy desert of Shamo, together with vast numbers of hares and a peculiar sort of birds styled in Chinese " sand-partridges,'" perhaps without being a true variety of that species, for they are not very exact iu their nomenclature. The sheep of China are the large-tailed kind, so common in Africa; and this extraordinary determi- nation of fat to the tail would almost appear to be the reason why they are not found to be such good stock as European sheep. As tlie Chinese themselves never use milk, cows are only met with near Canton or Macao, of a peculiarly small breed; perhaps the very smallest of the ox tribe, as they sometimes do not exceed the dimensions of an ass; being at the same time of a clean and sym- metrical shape, and without the hump com- mon to the kine of India. The buffalo used in ploughing up rice-tields is also a very small species, not so large as our English cattle, with A skin of dark slate colour, thinly covered with hairs. It iias all the sluggish habits of the species, and in summer seeks refuge from the flies tliat torment its hairless hide, by plunging up to the nose in muddy tanks, where it rolls in the ooze and covers itself with a coating of soil. These ugly animals are rendered very tractable by those who use them in agriculture, and may generally be seen driven by a young boy, Y 322 THE CHINESE. who will occasionally fall asleep upon the beast" s back. It is probably in consequence of the derivation of the Bud hist religion from India that most Chinese have a prejudice against eating beef of any kind. The domestic pig of China is well known in this country, where it has been introduced freely into our farm-yards, from being found an excellent and thriving ^ock on the home- ward voyage. Pork is the only flesh -food that a Chinese of the lower ranks ever con- sumes ; and even this is commonly substituted by salt-fifh, as a cheaper aliment to mix with rice. The wild boar may be found in the half-reclaimed countries on tlie western borders, but not in Central China, or on tire east coast, where tillage and population have arrived at their present height. Of the other wild pachydermatous tribes, the elephant is not at present an inhabitant of China, unless it be in Yunnan, nor is he used in that empire for purposes of either peace or war. The Emperor has a few at Peking, but they are sent as tribute from Siam or elsewhere, and merely kept for curiosity and state. The one-horned rhinoceros of Asia is found in the forests of the extreme v»est and south. The horn is sometimes converted, by carving and polishing, into a sort of cup, the root or point of junction with the nose being hollowed out, while the summit of tlie horn serves as the pedestal or handle. The notion of its being a charm against poison was imported probably by the Mongols from India. ' • There is a curious notice of the Siberian mam- moth in Sir Geor^'e Staunton's translation of the Chinese Embassy to the Tourgouths. " In the very coldest parts of this northern country," says the writer of the narrative, " a species of animal is found, which burro\ss under the earth, and which dies if it is at all exposed at any time to the sun and air. It is of great size, and weighs lo.ooo }:iii. Its bones are very white and shining, like ivory. It is not by nature a powerful animal, and is not therefore very dangerous or ferocious. It is found generally in the mud upon the banks of rivers. The Russians collect the boue.s of this animal, in order to make cups, saucers, combs, and other small articles. The flesh of the animal is of a very refrigerating quality, and is eaten as a remedy in fevers."* This account of the popular notions prevalent among the natives corre- sponds, as the translator observes, nearly with that given by Mr. Bell. He indeed qualifies it by adding * Chinese Embassy, p. 70. Of rodent animals, the common rat attains sometimes to an immense size, and is well known to be eaten by the lowest orders of the Chinese. These creatures inhabit hollows in the banks of rivers and canals, and are taken at night by means of a lantern, which, being held to the mouths of their holes, causes the in- mates to aijproachthe entrance to reconnoitre ; when the light dazzles their eyes in such a manner as to lead to their easy capture. ;Mr. Reeves discovered a gUrine animal, nearly allied to the bamboo-rat of Sumatra, with which it has been associated under the name of rhizomys. Mr. Gray describes it as a new genus, '' in teeth and general appearance most i:early ^ilied to spalax ; from which it diflers in its tail of moderate lengtli, its exposed eyes and ears, and the more complex character of its molar teeth. It moreover lives upon, and not under the ground, being found about bamboo-hedges, on the roots of v.'hich it principally subsists." To Mr. Reeves also we are indebted for the knowledge of two small carnivorous quadrupeds, new in zoology, and distinguished, since the arrival of the specimens, by the names He/icf is a.nd Pagwna . The first is described by 3Ir. Gray as possess- ing a dentition resembling that of gulo or mustela, but dilVering from both those genera in some particulars of the upper carnivorous teeth. The entire length of the animal is twenty-three and a half inches, of which the tail measures eight, and it smells strongly of musk. The second animal is allied, in respect to its teeth, w itli the genus viverro ; from which it is distinguished by the shape and inferior size of its skull, the space between the eyes being broader, and the nose both broader and shorter. The skin has the odour of civet.^ The ornithology of China is distinguished by some splendid varieties of gallinaceous birds, as the gold and silver plieasants, to which have been lately added the Reeves's pheasatif, that he gives it only as the report of the superstitious and ignorant ; and he says nothing of the flesh having been actually eaten. More recent discoveries, how- ever, have confirmed the truth of a portion of these relations ; for not only bones, but the flesh of the entire Siberian elephant has been found undecayed' amidst the ice and snows. il 2 Proceednigs of Zoological Society, 18^1, p. 95. f ORNITHOLOGY. 323 deserring of a particular description from Mr. ■ Bennett. The longest tail-feathers approach the extraordinary dimensions of six feet, and, even in the spacious aviary of Mr. Beale, already described, it was found that the ends of these magniticient trains were broken by the bird's movements. As they come quite from the north, it has proved extremely diffi- cult to procure specimens, nor has the hen- bird been ever obtained. Feur cocks were brought to Canton in 1830, and purchased for a hundred and thirty dollars, or about thirty pounds sterling. These furnished the specimens brought home by Mr. Reeves ; the difficulty of procuring the females being attri- buted either to a determination on the part of the sellers to prevent the birds being bred, or to their imagining that the inferior plumage of the hens might render them less attractive to purchasers. This obstacle is the more to be regretted, as the high latitude from which the species are procured renders it likely that they might be propagated here in a natural state. Another description is called by Mr. Bennett the medal/ion pheasant, from a beauti- ful membrane of resplendent colours, which is displaj-ed or contracted according as the j animal is more or less roused. The brilliant hues are chiefly purple, with bright red and ; green spots, which vary in intensity according to the degree of excitement ; and become devoloped during the early spring months, or pairing-season of the year. The country abounds in wild-fowl of all kinds, among with the immense flocks of geese, which during the winter months cover the Canton river, always excite the notice of strangers. They migrate to the north during the summer, and are distinguished, like all the tribe, by their gregarious habits ; but the Ciiinese, without any apparent foundation in fact, make use of them as emblems of connu- bial attachment, and as such tliey are always carried in wedding processions. There is much more gromid for this character in the instance of the Yuen-ydng, a teal of splendid plumage, usually called the "mandarin- duck," whose name is, with reference to the same conjugal quality, applied figuratively to tv/o species of fine black tea, which are generally put up in the same box. and used tofjether ; these are Pekoe, and a superior kind of Souchong. Mr. Beale's aviary^ affbrded a singular coiToboration of the fidelity of the birds in question. Of a pair in that gentle- man's possession, the drake being one night purloined by some thieves, the unfortunate duck displayed the strongest marks of despair at her bereavement, retiring into a corner, and altogether neglecting food and drink, as well as the care of her person. In this con- dition she was courted by a drake who had lost his mate, but who met with no encourage- ment to his addresses from the widow. On the stolen drake being subsequently recovered, and restored to the aviary, the most extravagant demonstrations of joy v,ere displayed by the fond couple. ^ But tins was not all, for, as if informed by his spouse of the gallant pro- posals made to her shortly before his arrival, the drake attacked the luckless bird who would have supplanted him, beat out his eyes, and inflicted so man}' injuries as to cause his death. Specimens of these curious and hand- some birds have been brought to this country, and some that were placed in the Zoological Gardens have been successfully bred. The plumage of the female is as plain as that of the drake is ornamented ; but the male, during four summer months, changes his fea- thers and becomes as plain as his mate. This teal, unlike the rest of the palmipedes, gene- rally roosts in high situations, upon trees or rocks, and his favourite position was over the windows of Mr. Beale's aviary. Wild-ducks are as numerous near Canton, during the winter months, as the geese. They abound especially in the interior, on those exterLsive shallow lakes through whicli the canal is carried ; and the ingenious mode of catching them is very characteristic of the Chinese. Large hollow gourds are purposely thrown into the water in great numbers, and allowed to float about. The birds being at length accustomed to approach these with impunity, their captors disguise themselves by placing similar gourds over their heads, with holes to see and breathe through, very much in the manner of a helmet. Then wading quietly along the shallow waters, Avith their bodies immersed abcve the shoulders, they have nothing to do but to approach the 1 Mr. Bennetts " Waud.-rings," vol. ii. p. 62. ' y 2 324 THE CHINESE. birds gently, and pull them under water by their legs in succession. It has been remarked that the same practice has been recorded by Ulloa of the natives of Carthagena, in the New World, upon the lake Cienega de Tesias. The fishing-corvorant, employed on the same lakes, has been pictured in the folio plates to Staunton, and described as '■ a brown pelican or corvorant, with white throat ; body whitish beneath, spotted with brown; tail rounded; irides blue; and bill yellow." While fishing, these birds are prevented from swallowing what they catch, by means of a ring over the lower part of the neck ; but v.'hen the work is over this ring is removed, and they are allowed to feed upon the refuse. Sometimes, however, they are said to be so well trained, as to need no resti-aint as to feeding whatever. A few of them were ob- served as far south as Keang-nan, iu the neighbourhood of the Mei-ling pass. [Fisliing Corvorant.] A species of pelican lias been seen on a group of roclcs called the Nine Islands, lying about six miles north-east of Macao, but it is probably quite distinct from the variety that is used in fishing. Among the miscel- laneous birds of China may be enumerated quails, often trained to fight ; the common ring-dove, of which great numbers breed in the woods about Canton; and the peculiar crow of tlie country, which is marked with M-liite about tlie neck. It has been noticed already that this bird is considered sacred, either for some service that he is supposed to have rendered the present dynasty, or because he is the emblem of filial duty ; from a notion, well or ill-founded, that the young ones assist the old when they are disabled, in Europe, the same character has been attributed to INSECTS. 325 llie stork 3 but the stork is, in China, con- sidered as emblematical of long life. Fi- gures of this bird, as well as of the pine-tree, are represented on the visiting tickets which are left at the new year; and they imply the wish, that the person so complimented may have " many happy returns of the season." Among the other common birds of China, we must not omit a delicate species of ortolan, which appears in the neighbourhood of Canton about the time when the last crop of rice is cut. As it feeds on the ears of grain, it is for that reason called the "rice-bird,'" in- the same way that the term wheat-ear is applied to a similar description in the south of England. Mr. Gray, in his Zoological Miscellany, has given the descriptive characters of twelve species of birds belonging to a large collection brought home by ^Ir. Reeves. But it is time to quit this part of the sub- ject, and to notice those reptiles of China that have come under observation ; concerning which it is remarkable tliat the largest kinds of saurians, as the crocodile and alligator, are unknown even as far soutli as Canton. Great numbers of the small lizard tribes are visible during the hot montlis, some of them infesting trees and shrubs, while others inhabit holes in rocks or old walls. Several fresh- water tortoises iiave been lately sent home and described in the zoological proceedings for 1834 ; and two new genera of batrachians, or the frog kind, are noticed by Mr. Gray. Notwithstanding its situation, under the tropic, Canton is little infested by the venom- ous kinds of serpents. The species most dreaded is a slender snake between two and three feet in length, and called by the Chinese "the black and white," from being surrounded from liead to tail with alternate bands of those colours. !Mr. Bennett brought home an individual of this species, which had been killed after biting a Chinese on the foot, and causing his death in a few hours. The head was cut off by a countryman of the sufferer who came to his assistance, and who, having bruised it, applied it as a poultice to the bitten part. It may be questioned, as the iiairator observes, whether the poison mingled with the mashed head may not have served to hasten the fatal termination. Of fishes, a large collection of Chinese spe- cimens has been lodged by Mr. Reeves in the British Museum. The golden carp is one of the most distinguished kinds, and has long been known and propagated in Europe from the original specimens which were carried by the Dutch, first to Java, and thence to Hol- land. They ornament most of the gardens in China, being kept in artificial ponds, or large earthen and porcelain vessels, interspersed with tufts of mosses or ferns over rock-work. It is sometimes necessary to cover these ponds with nets, to preserve the inmates from nume- rous king-fishers which come early in the morning to prey on them. Of edible sea-fish, the best kind near Canton is a sort of rock- cod, called Shek-pan, which has exactly the meaning of that term. A fiat fish, called Tsung-yu by the Chinese, and '• pomfret"' by Europeans, is esteemed, but inferior to the first. .Soles are good and plentiful ; but the fish most valued by native epicures is the sturgeon, partly because it is scarce, and partly on account of its gelatinous nature — a quality always valued in the dishes of the country. Tlie Chinese stew made from this fish is so palatable as to have been introduced at the tables of Europeans. Some gastronome or other has observed, that every country af- ford at least one good dish. Among insects, it has been elsewhere noticed, that the locust commits occasionally great ravages in particular distiicts, and re- wards are given for its destruction. Some of the most poisonous tribes, as scorj^ions, ai-e not met with at Canton ; but the centipede, which the Chinese call by exactly the same name, pe-tso (hundred feet), is common. There is a monstrous spider that inhabits trees, attain- ing to such a size and strength as to enable it to devour small birds. A large species of cicada is common also among trees, emitting a loud and even stunning noise by the vi- bration of two flaps under the abdomen, sup- posed to be a call to the female. Tliey generally keep up this whizzing sound most constantly during the hot sunny days. Dr. Abel enumerates the Scarabcpi/s molossus, the Cerambijx farinosus, as well as the mole- cricket, of a large size. At a mountain lying eastward of Canton, called Lo-fow-shan, there are butterflies of a gigantic size and very bril- liant colours, so celebrated as to be alluded 326 THE. CHINESE. to in poetry, and a selection of the most splendid specimens sent annually to Peking. The pe- la-shoo, or wax-tree, aflbrds nourish- ment to an insect which is supposed to belong to the coccus tribe, but has not been very ex- actly ascertained. In the Asiatic Researches (vol. xiv. p. 182) is described an Indian insect which generates a feather-like secretion from its abdomen; this, dropping on the leaves, hardens there into a substance resembling wax. It is probably identical with the species observed by our first embassy on the coast of Cochin-China, which is figured in the first volume of Staunton,^ and described as "of a curious structure, having pectinated appendages rising in a curve bent towards the head, not unlike the form of the tail- feathers of the common fowl, but in the oppo- site direction. Every part of the insect was in colour of a perfect white, or at least com- ^^J [Insects producing Wax, from Staciitou ] pletely covered v/ith a white powder." The [ stem of the particular shrub, resembling privet, i which was covered by the insects, was en- j tirely whitened by a similar substance. i In the department of botany, our limits j will not admit of noticing any but the j most remarkable or important plants and trees of China. At the head of these ' uf course stands the Tea-plant. The speci- mens 1 rought from the b/ack and gtren tea countries differ slightly in the leaf, the latter | being a thinner leaf, rather lighter in colour, and longer in shape than tlie other. But, besides this, the great difference in the pre- paration conti-ibutes to mark the distinctions between the two kinds of the manufactured article ; for the Chinese themselves acknow- ledge that either black or green tea may be prepared from any tea-plant. The green 1 Piige 353. TEA-PLANT. 327 teas are less subjected to the action of fire than the black, and therefore retain more of the original colour, and peculiar qualities of the leaf; but they are at Ipe same time infi- nitely more liable to suffer from time and damp. If the two kinds of tea-leaveserless cases without the assistance of the bamboo, with which he constructs the fences of his enclosures, and many of the instruments of his husbandry. The siliceous concretion, called Tabasheer, sometimes found in the interior of the joints, forms an item in their materia medica.^ The plant from which the pithy substance vulgarly called '• rice-paper "' is prepared, seems to be a leguminous species growing in marshes, and found in some parts of India. The square pieces purchased in China are obtained from the stem, which, not bein^ above an inch or two in diameter, is cut in a circular manner, and the cylinder in this manner rolled out and flattened. It is from the same plant, in all probability, that the pith-hats of India are made ; and the fisher- men there are said to use the substance as floats for their nets, the specific gravity being less than that of cork, and the buoyancy so much greater. A number of useful plants 1 The bamboo stem blossoms but once, and then dies, like other grasses. are, as might be expected, common to both India and China, among which may be named the cotton-shrub and indigo-plant ; the first of which forms the clothing of the mass of the people, and the last serves as the usurJ dye for it. Near the flat road between Peking and the Great Wall, Sir George Staunton observed, in the alluvial soil, a species of polygonum cultivated, and was informed that its leaves, macerated and prepared like those of the indigo, yielded a blue dye. This might be tried with advantage in other cli- mates which are too cold for the growth of indigo. A brief notice only can be taken of the remaining useful plants. The smilax, or China-root of commerce, commonly kn,)wnas a sudorific, is used by Chinese doctors for a variety of complaints, and may be seen grow- ing near Canton. That valuable medicine, rhubarb, grows to the northward, in the cold and mountainous province of Shensy; the colour is originally whitish, and it assumes its red appearance in drying. Curcuma, or turmeric, is used sometimes as one ingredient in colouring black-tea green to deceive foreigners; and the root likewise forms an article of export from Canton. Ginger is commonly cultivated all through the interior, and sold green in the shops as a vegetable. A fine oil is exti-acted from the kernels of apricots, to tlie north ; and this is exactly the case among the inhabitants of Tartary, close to the Himmaleh range bordering on Bengal. The Chinese cassia, an inferior cinnamon, is grown in the province of Kuang-sy, and largely exported in European ships. A species of sea-weed, or fucus, found on the sea-beach in the neiglibour- hood of Macao, is used as a jelly. It is first steeped in fresh water, and hung uj) to dry; being then boiled in water, it acquires, on cooling, the consistence and appearance of a jelly, and is used with various fruits to form conserves. The tobacco-plant seems to be grown nearly everywhere, but has dif- ferent degrees of strength, varying probably according to soil and climate. To the north it is of a pale colour, and sold in the leaf, which is reduced to a coarse powder by the pur- chaser. To the south, it is said to owe its occasional reddish colour to being steeped in FRUITS. 331 a solution of opium. It is cut into fine shreds for use, by means of a plane, applied to the edges of a quantity of leaves strongly com- pressed. The cultivation of the poppy is for- bidden altogether. Some notice must be taken of the most remarkable fruits and flowers of China. Among the former there are three distinct species of the orange, as different as one sort of i'ruit can be from another of the same genus. The first is the China orange of Europe ; the second is of a pale yellow colour, but very sweet, and with a highly aromatic rind, being the commonest and cheapest sort in the coun- try ; the third, and, perhaps, best sort, has a deep crimson rind when ripe, quite detached from the fruit, the lobes of which are almost loose, with a hollow space in the centre of them. The whole has a flattish shape, some- times four or five inches in diameter, and the loose skin, when broken, opens like a puff- ball, disclosing the juicy lobes surrounded with a kind of net-work of fibres. This has obtained at Canton the name of " mandarin- orange," which has been converted by bota- nists into Citrus ?/ohi!is. The Chinese have, besides, several dimiinitive species of the genus cit/t/s ; one of which, called Kti/n-kat, makes a good sweetmeat when preserved whole. Small red limes are common, but they are not equal to the lemon of Europe. The nearest approach to it is a curious result of horticultural ingenuity, by which a peculiar kind of citrus is made to run entirely into rind, the whole terminating at the head in long, narrow processes like fingers, whence it has obtained the appellation of Fo-show, "the hand of Fo." The odour of the mass of rind is very powerful and fine : but so entirely is this strange production the result of art operating on nature, that it does not appear a second time after the plant has been pur- chased. The flat peach, a curious natural species to which the Chinese give, on account of its shape, the name Ping-taou, or '•' cake-peach," is accurately figured in the Horticultural Transactions,^ from the first specimen pro- duced here in 1822, and thus noticed : '• This fruit is of truly singular form, ai^d perhaps 1 Vol. iv. p. 512. will be best described as having the ap- pearance of a peach flattened by pressure at the head and stalk ; its upright diameter, taken through the centre, from eye to stalk, being \^ of an inch, and consisting wholly of the stone, except the sldn ; that of its sides (which swell round the centre) is li inch, its transverse diameter being 2i inches." Some other curiosities of Chinese gardens are less natural, as their flower-pots containing stunted stems with full-grown fruit. The thick branch of a fruit-tree is deprived of a ring of bark, and the place covered round with a lump of rich loam. This is kept moist, and when the railicles have pushed into the loam, the whole is taken otf and placed in a shallow pot. The branches most loaded w ith blossoms are selected, and the abscission taking place when the fruit is nearly ripe, they are in that state sold in pots. When the dwarfing process is intended to be in imitation of old forest trees, the branch which has pushed radicles into the surrounding loam is separated from the tree, and planted in a shallow earthenware flower-pot, of an oblong square shape. The pot is then filled w^ith small lumps of olluvial clay, sufficient to supply a scanty nourish- , ment to the plant, and water is added in a i regulated quantity. The branches are re- pressed by cutting and burning, and bent into j shapes resembling those of an old forest tree in miniature. Roughness is produced in the bark by smearing it with sweet substances that attract ants ; and the plant in time ' acquires the desired smallness of leaf, and ■ general stunted appearance. The elm is I most frequently used for this purpose; nor do the dwarfs require any further attention, j when once fasliioned, than to have the young j shoots kept down by clipping.^ I Among the peculiar fruits of China, the j L«c/(i has been naturalized in Bengal. Another \ of the dimocarpus sort, called Loong-yen, or j '• dragon's eye," is much smaller, and has a ' smoother skin. The Loquat is a fine fruit of j the mespitus kind, not unlike an apricot in colour and appearance, but is commonly spoiled by being plucked while still im- 2 See a description of the process ; Hortic. Trans, vol. iv. p. 230. 332 THE CHINESE. mature. A specimen of the ripe fruit was exhibited by the Horticultural Society in 1825, from the gardens of Earl Powis. The IVampee, as it is called at Canton, has been sometimes compared to the gooseberry, which however it resembles only in size. The fruit, which grows in bunches on a good-sized tree, bearing leaves of a highly aromatic flavour, has a yellow skin (whence its name) enclosing a rather acid pulp that surrounds two or three smooth seeds of a greenish colour. ^Mangoes ripen in the south of China, but they are small and inferior, and the blossoms often fail in producing fruit: hence it is, that when the term '•' mango-llower"" becomes ap- plied to any person, it means that he promises more than he performs. Grapes in the neighbourhood of Canton are often unsuccessful, the alternations of dry heat and rain being too much in excess, while occasional tj-phoons tear the vines to pieces. Lord Macartney's embassy found the vine cultivated largely on the borders of the river between Hang-chow and the port of Ning-po, in latitute 30^, whence the fruit is carried in junks to Canton. As the vines spread from the bank, small uinight posts are driven into the water at several feet distance, and the branches trained on them, tlius gaining space over the shallow water. To the north are both apples and pears; but the latter are tasteless, and the former mealy and bad, tliough with a fine colour and smell. There is a species of date produced in Shantong, which, when dried like the French plum, iuis a flattish oval shape, and a dark -red colour, with shrivelled skin and pleasant sweet taste. To the north also are walnuts ; with two kinds of chesnuts, one the common European species, the other a dwarf kind, the nuts not larger than filberts, and only one in each cap- sule. The Chinese have besides the Arachis hypoga-a, or ground-nut, which is extensively cultivated for the sake of its oil, the common food of their lamps. The seeds, although originally a part of the flower, ripen in a singular manner under ground ; and previous to gathering them, the stems of the plants are cleared away with a hoe. The seeds are then taken up with the earth, and placed in a large sieve suspended between three poles, one man feeding the sieve, while another shakes it, and separates the dirt. The arachis has been found to thrive in this country, when placed in a tan-pit with pines, each plant aflbrding from twenty to thirty pods. At the head of cultivated flowers the Chinese place the Nehimbunn, or sacred lotus, whether considered in regard to its utility or its beauty. It is often raised for mere ornament in capacious earthenware or porce- lain tubs, containing gold-fish. Its tulip- like, but gigantic blossoms, tinted with pink or yellow, hang over its broad peltated leaves, which in shape oidy, but not in size, resemble those of the nasturtium, the stalk being inserted near the centre of the leaf. When cultivated on a large scale for the sake of its seeds and root, which are articles of food, I it covers lakes and marshes to a wide extent. j The seeds, in form and size like an acorn I without the cup, are eaten either green or I dried, when they resemble nuts. The roots are sliced and eaten as fruit, being white, juicy, and of a sweetish and refreshing taste. Another highly esteemed flower is the Oka fragrans, consisting of minute florets of a white or yellow colour, growing in bunchy clusters, just where the leaves spring from the twigs. It flowers through a great part of the year; and in damp weather the tine odour of the blossoms is perceived at some distance. The fruit is a small olive ; but it seldom appears on the trees, which commonly shed their flowers without fruiting. The slow growth of the shrub justifies the expression of TardcB crescefifis, applied by Virgil to its congener, the common olive. It is re- markable that a branch of this fragrant olive is one of the rewards of literary merit, aiid an emblem of studious and peaceful pursuits while in Europe likewise the olive was at- tributed to Minerva. The capital of Kuang- sy province is named Kuei-lin-foo, from the country abounding in plantations of the ki/ei-hi/a, or olea fragrans. The famous J/oM'-/rtn or tree-peony, scarcely survives a year so far south as Canton, and never blossoms there twice : very large prices are sometimes given by the Chinese for the plants which are brought to that place. A flower much cultivated is the Cnjsanthemum imlicitm, which is valued for the variety and richness of its colours. The Horticultural FLOWERS. 333 Society is in possession of forty original draw- ings from China, depicting as many varieties of the llower. Upwards of twenty are now cultivated in this country ; and some very beautiiul specimens have been depicted in the Transa«-iions. ^ The Moo-le-hita (jas- minum grandiflorum), a powerful smelling white flower, is sometimes worn in China, as well as all over the east, by women in their liair, and has given rise in the former country to a song, of which the music may be found in Ban'ow s Travels. The Chooldn (chhra/i- tht/s inconspicints), a small, greenish-yellow blossom, resembling strings of beads, is used in scenting tlie tea that bears its name. As a wild plant, the Myrtus tomentosa, or downy myrtle, of which the flowers, when they first expand, are of a rose colour, grows in great beauty on the hills of the Canton province ; as does also, in Keang-sy, the Eugenia micro- phylla, a beautiful myrtle-looking plant that covers the sides of every hill, and of which the thick terminal clusters of berries are eaten as fruit. For such scattered lights as we possess of the geology and mineralogy of the Chinese empire, we are principally indebted to the observations of the two embassies of 1793 and 181G ; and it may therefore be as well to give a summary of these observations in the order they were made, from the first landing of the missions in the Peking gulf to the termination of their journeys at Canton. That portion of the most northern province that extends from the mouth of the Peiho to Tien-tsin, where the canal terminates, bears every mark of a recent and alluvial forma- tion. There is not a pebble to be seen ; but the whole flat consists of a mixture of clay and sand in strata alternating with I'eds of shells. So little is the country raised above the ordi- nary level of the river which flows through it, that there seems some difficulty in confining the latter within its bed. " If the obstacles,"' observes Staunton, ^ that deflect a river's course consist of rocks or elevated compact ground, no subsequent accidents are likely to change the bed once formed ; but if the Avaters flow through a country nearly level, > Vol. V. p. 152. 2 Embassy, vol. ii. p. 17. and between banks of so loose a moidd as to be incapable of resisting a partial swell, or rapid motion of the river, it will probably on such occasions form new and circuitous channels for itself. It did so in the present instance, and to a degree of inconvenience which appears to have induced the govern- ment to take pains for confining it within its usual bounds; and accordingly, extraordinary quantities of earth have been placed along its sides, in order immediately to fill up any breach which from time to time might be made in them. There are mounds of this kind in the form of truncated wedges all along the banks of the Peiho, which may have partly been composed of mud collected from the river's bed. At present the banks of the river are higlier than the adjacent plains. Those plains extend as far as the eye could reach ; and tlie windings of the river through them made the masts of the vessels, sailing on it, appear throughout the country as if moving over the fields, in every direction, while the wafer lay concealed." Between Peking and the (ireat Wall, on the way to Je-ho, or the '' hot springs,"' lying to the north-east in Manchow Tartary, our first embassy observed, for the only time in China, a-chalky appearance, ^ and geological features approaching those familiar to us in the south-east of England. In the whole distance between Peking and Canton, no secondary formation so recent as chalk has been met with ; and at the latter place a cargo of English flints in ballast always finds a market, being used as a material in the manufacture of coarse glass. The plain on which Peking itself stands is an alluvial flat ; but the country rises rapidly into mountains towards the west, where the Chinese are said to obtain great quantities of coals for the use of the capital. These coals, from the speci- mens supplied to the last embassy. Dr. Abel supposed to be a species of graphite, which, from its analysis, has been found allied to Kilkenny coal. Of the higlier mountains bordering on Tartary, those wlio accompanied Lord Macartney observed that the lowest stratum was of sand and sandstone ; the next above was coarse-grained lime-stone, full of Embassy, vol. ii. p. 173. 334 THE CHINESE. nodules, and of a blue coloui- ; this was covered by an irregular and very thick layer of indurated clay, of a bluish and sometimes of a brown-red colour, communicated by iron, which in places was so abundant as to give the clay the appearance of ochre. In some parts were perpendicular veins of quartz, intermixed with granite at the tops of the mountains. When the embassies entered on the canal, they met with nothing but a succession of swamps and lakes, through the provinces of Shantung and the northern part of Keang- n&n, afltbrding cultivation on a large scale to the Nelumbiitm, or lotus, and the Trapa bicornis. This is the country which, from tlie earliest ages of Chinese history, appears to have been subject to disastrous inundations, which we have supposed it was the merit of the great Yu to reduce and regulate. The floods are at present perpetually renewed in a greater or less degree, by the bursting, from time to time, of the banks and dikes of the Yellow River — a destructive, rather than beneficent or useful stxeam, which, as already observed, the late Emperor himself styled " Chinas sorrow," On reaching Nanking, and ascending the course of the Yangtse- keang, the country rapidly improves, the swamps disappear, and the shores consist of a bluish-gre}" compact limestone, under a layer of vegetable mould. The islands in the river, on the authority of Dr. Abel, are an agglomerate composed of round and angular fragments of quartz, limestone, and felspar- porphyry, united by a thin argillaceous cement, or buried in sandstone. On reach- ing the Poyang lake, the mountains called Leushan, which border it on the north-west, were found to be composed of granite, con- taining milk-white felspar, grey quartz, and greyish-black mica. Occasionally appeared mica-slate, with but little quartz. Dr. Abel observes, " very large perfect crystals of felspar were found in the same place, many of them three or four inches in the largest diameter, and often conjoined with masses of mica in nearly equal dimensions."' At a short distance from the Poyang lake some shallow pits were seen of a species of coal which, from its imperfect carbonization and the evident traces of vegetable substance in its composition, resembled the Bovey coal of Devonshire. The alluvial character of the spot where the latter is found bears some resemblance to the neighbourhood of the lake, which receives the drainings from the granite mountains in the neighbourhood. It has been before stated ^ that some of the materials of Chinese porcelain are obtained near the Poyang ; and in this circumstance there is a further similitude, for it is observed by Dr. Kidd, " an inferior kind of porcelain-earth is found in that part of Bovey in Devonshire which is near the London road. It is met with not much below the surface of the earth ; and, from a consideration of its situation and the attendant circumstances, appearsevidently to be a natural deposition of eaithy felspar. Whoever considers the swampy nature of that heath, the appearances observable on its surface, and its relative situation to the ad- joining granite hills, may easily be convinced that it is derived from the detritus of these, I washed down and deposited by water; for I this heath is as it were a natural basin which I must necessarily receive whatever is brought ! down from the adjoining high ground ; and its surface, in a great measure, consists of a white i sandy quartz and occasional crystals and I fragments of felspar, that evidently corre- i spond with the quartz and unaltered felspar I of the neighbouring granite." On ascending the river Kan-keang, towards the ]\Ieiling ridge, the banks were observed to be composed of the old red sandstone resting on granite; and on reaching a point called She-pa-tdn. or '' the eighteen rapids," the rocks that obstructed the stream consisted of granite and a dark-coloured compact slate. The rapidity of the stream seemed to have worn av.'ay the superincumbent sandstone into a narrow channel that resembled a deep ravine, shaded by the pines that grew in the dark red soil on either hand. From thence the acclivity quickly increases up to the pass through the ridge, of which the substance was examined, and found to consist of lime- stone, under an argillaceous sandstone of compact structure. The road was cut with much labour through the narrowest part, being not more than forty or fifty feet in lengFh, as many in height, and about twenty 1 Chap.xviii. MINERALS. 335 broad. The rock was distinctly and horizon- tally I (ijHi/led ; the sandstone was small- grained, Wb fresh fracture having almost the dark-grey colour of clay ; but where loTig exposed to the weather it was reddish. On descending the southern side of the ridge, the road was lined with natural pyramidal heaps of limestone, which still preserved the re- mains of their original horizontal stratification. Soon after passing the city of Nanheung- foo at the foot of the ridge, Dr. Abel observes, that the hills which formed the banks of the river exhibited a breccial sti'ucturo at their base, covered with beds of ferruginous clay, which gave to the soil a remarkable redness. Bricks were making of this, which came from the furnace of a blue colour, and such is the hue of all Chinese bricks from Peking to Canton. Dr. Abel disproved, by experi- ment, the previous notion that the blue brick is only sun-dried, and found that a portion of the red clay actually became of that tint on being subjected to the fire. In descending the river towards Canton, the embassies passed a clitf some hundred feet in height, which consisted of greyish-black transition limestone, containing deep fissures and natural caverns, some of which have been converted, by a very little labour, into tem- ples and adyta devoted to the goddess Kuan- yin. Over the front of the principal cavern hangs an enormous stalactite formed by the percolation of water, charged with carbonic acid, through the rock above. The dark-grey marble used at Canton is of the coarsest grain, and unsusceptible of a fine polish.^ In the shops abound large quan- tities of striated gypsum, or alabaster, which works very easily into small figures. This substance, after being converted by burning into plaster of Paris, is used in combination with oil as a cement for the seams of boats and junks. The Chinese turn it to various other purposes, honest and dishonest. It is sometimes used as a tooth-powder ; but the strangest application of it is as a gruel in fevers, ' There is one species, valued on account of the curious resemblance which the fi'^ureson its polished surface bear to trees, animals, ike. But this is said to come from Yunnan. There is reason to suppose that the figures are sometimes artificial, from their too close resemblance to particular objects. under the idea of its being coeling. Perhaps the persuasion of the wholesome, or at least innocuous, qualities of powdered gypsum renders them less compunctious in using that substance to adulterate pounded sugar-candy, which it closely resembles ; and we shall see, , in a future chapter, that it serves as an ingre- dient in converting black teas, which come down damaged to Canton, into what is sold as green. The coal at Canton is far from pure ; it contains a small proportion of bitumen, abounds in sulphur, and leaves much earthly residuum. The coal-mines by the river were observed to be in the sides of cliffs, rising directly from the water-side, and worked by drawing a level from the river into the side of the mine, the coal beuig being laden in boats from the mouth of a horizontal shaft. The character given by Du Halde of the coal to the northward throughout the empire is much the same. He says, the fires made fi-om it are difficult to light, but last a long time. He adds, that " it sometimes yields a disagreeable smell, and would suftbcate those sleeping near it, but for a vessel of water, which attracts the fumes, so that the fluid becomes charged with them.'' This may be the sulphuric acid, for which water has a strong affinity. There can be no doubt of the abundance of coal throughout China, nor of its extensive use ; points which were both proved by the large supplies furnished to the boats of the embassy, and the heaps exposed for sale. The application of this mineral as fuel, so long ago as the end of the thirteenth century, is shown by the following accurate description of Marco Polo : — He says, " there is found a sort of black stone, Avhich they dig out of mountains, where it runs in veins. When lighted, it burns like charcoal, and retains the fire much better than wood ; inso- much that it may be preserved during the night, and in the moniing be found still burning. These stones do not flame, except- ing a little when first lighted, but during their ignition give out a considerable heat."* From the neighbourhood of Canton to the sea, the rocks are composed of red sandstone resting on granite, until, on reaching the 2 Quarto edition, page 273. 336 THE CHINESE. clusters of islands that line the coast, these are found to consist of a coarse granite only, crossed by perpendicular veins of quartz. Over the in-egular surfaces of the islands, and at the summits of the highest, are strewn immense rounded blocks of the same rock. They are generally imbeded in the coarse earth, v/hich is a disintegration of the general substance of the islands, and, as this isAvashed from under them, roll down the steep de- clivities until they reach a level space, and commonly stud the sandy margins of the islands with a belt of piled rocks, some of them many tons in weight. The scenery of these islands has been often compared to that of the Hebrides, and is quite as barren. A single instance of trap formation was detected ])y Dr. Abel, at an island called Ho7ig-ko)ig, v/hich is distinguislied by a waterfall : but many more would probably appear on further investigation.^ " I examined,'' he says, " the rocks by the waterfall, and found them com- posed of basaltic trap, exhibiting in some places a distinct stratification, in others a confused columnar arrangement."' Close to this was a mass, insulated by the sea-water, composed of two kinds of rock, granite and basalt, whose junction exhibited some curious facts. A dike of basalt passes upwards through the granite, and spreads over it. It is not in immediate contact with the granite, Init separated by three narrow veins which interpose, and follow the dike through its whole length, the width of each not exceed- ing four inches, while that of the basalt is as many feet. The veins were of three kinds ; first, graJiite and basalt mixed together in a confused manner; second, pure felspar; third, a sort of porphyry composed of very perfect crystals of felspar in a basaltic base. No active volcano is known to exist in China : but the line of movmtainous provinces which form the western side of the empire, from Yun-nau to near Peking, exhibits what are generally considered as slumbering vol- canic symptoms, such as wells of Petroleum, salt ami hot-water springs, gaseous exhalations, and occasionally severe shocks of earthquake. ]n Yun-nan there are salt-water wells near Yaou-gan-foo, in latitude 25° 35'; the south- 1 Some islands near Chusan exhibit basaltic rocks. west part of the adjoining province of Sze- chuen abounds in tlie same : in S^wi-sy, near the city of Yen-g:ni-foo, in latit^ 36^ 40', there is found petroleum ; and in Slian-sy there are hot-v,'ater springs, as well as jets of inflammable gas. said to be employed for the purpose of distilling saline Avater procured from wells in the neighbourhood. This con- nexion of the gaseous exhalations with sa- line springs has been considered as a cor- roboration of the fact, the same having been observed in Europe and America.* The Chinese are said to convey the gas to the place where it is consumed by bamboo pipes. These are teiminated by a tube of clay to resist the action of the fire ; and the combus- tion thus produced is so intense that the caldrons are rendered useless in a few months. A very severe and destructive earthquake oc- cured in Sze-chuen, during 1817, and another of the same description is remembered at Peking, as having happened in 1731. The slight shocks which have been only just per- ceived in the neighbourhood of Canton were probably nothing but distant vibrations, com- municated from some portion of that line of active volcanoes which extends from the north-east extremity of Asia through Japan, Loo-choo Formosa, Luconia, and other islands, to Java. We may conclude with noticing some of the principal minerals of China not already described. At the head of these must be placed the famous Yii stone, being nephrite or jade, of which was composed the Joo-ee or emblem of amity, sent by the late Emperor to the Prince Regent. The colour is a greyish-white, passing through intermediate grades into a dark-green.^ '' It is semi-transparent and cloudy, fractures splintery, and is infusible without addition."* The country in which it is principally found is said to be Yun-nan, where they discover it in nodules within the beds of torrents. This stone is so exti-emely hard, that the Chinese, in cutting it, use tlieir powder of corundum, sometimes called adamantine spar, 2 De la Bechc, Geology, p. 132. 3 A very large specimen may be seen at the British Museum, cut into the form of a tortoise, and found imbedded in the banks of the Jumna. •» Dr. Abel. MINERALS. 337 [Joo-ee, formed of Jade.] as they do in cutting lenses for their spectacles from rock-crystal.^ The corundum is met with in granitic rocks, of which it is some- times a component part. Its specific gravity is about four, and its hardness very great. From the subjoined analyses, stated in cen- tesimal ratios by Dr. Kidd, it appears that the constituents of corundum, as well as its specific gravity, are nearly the same as those of emery, which is used for the like purpose by European lapidaries.""^ Chinese corundum. Emery. Alumina • . ,84*0 Alumitie . 80 Silex .... 6-5 Silex . . . . 3 Oxydeoflron . 7-5 Oxvde of Iron . 4 Residuum . . . 13 100 As China abounds in the primitive rocks, it is consequently rich in metals. Gold is obtained chiefly in the native state from the sands of the rivers in Yun-nan and Sze-chuen, near the frontiers of the Burmese country. ^ This is very abundant, and the best comes from Fokien. 2 Mineralogy, vol. i. p. 153. which is v.ell known for the quantity of gold it produces. Wliat is called the Kin-sha- keang, or " Gold-sand River,*' is a portion of the great Keang in the earlier part of its course : and the largest amount of the precious metal is said to come from Ly-keang- foo, near that river, and Yoong-chang-foo, on the borders of Ava. In Yun-nan also are worked silver mines; and indeed the great quantities of silver brought to Lintin for many years past, to be exchanged for opium and exported to India, have proved that there must be abundant sources in the empire. Ordinary copper, whence the base metal coin of the country is made, comes from Yun-nan and Kuei-chov/. A good deal of this is called Tze-lae, or " natural,"' as being found in the beds of torrents. An abundance of malachite, or green copper ore, is obtained near the great lake in Hoo-kuang, and is pulverized by the Chinese for green paint. The famous pe-tung, or white copper, which takes a polish not unlike silver, is said to come exclusively from Yun-nan. A considerable quantity of quicksilver is obtained in Kuei-chow ; and there is a rich mine of tutenague, or zinc, in Hoo-pe. 338 THE CHINESE. [Cave of Camoens, Macao.] CHAPTER XXI. AGRICULTURE AND STATISTICS. Meteoiology- Aunual Averages — Tnihoons — Discouragements to Husbandry— Objects of Cultivation- Absence of Pasture— Allotment of Wastes— Manures— Irrigation— Rice-fields— Cheap Cultivation- Popu lation— Encouragements to it-Obstacles to Emigration— Chinese Census-Inconsistent Accounts-How to be reconciled-Latest Census-Positive Checks-Land-tax- Revenues partlv in kind— Salt-tax— Publi( Expenditure-Deficient Revenues-Existing Abuses. In connexion with the subject of this chapter It may be as well to make some general remarks on the climate and meteorology of such parts of the country as have come under the observation of Europeans. A distinguish- ing feature, the unusual excess in which heat and cold prevail in some parts of the empire at opposite seasons, as well as the low average of the thermometer round the year, in com- parison witli the latitude, has been already noticed ^ and explained as resulting, according ' Vol. i. p. 50. to the investigations of Humboldt, from the position of China on the eastern side of a great continent. Although Peking is nearly a degree to the south of Naples — the latitude of the former place being 39° 54', of the latter, 40° 50' — the mean temperature ot Peking is only 54° of Farhenheit, while that of Naples is 63°. But as the thermometer at the Chinese capital sinks much lower during winter than at Naples, so in summer does it rise somewhat higher; the rivers are said to be frozen for three or four months together, from December to March; while during the ANNUAL AVERAGES. 339 last embassy in September, 1816, we ex- perienced a heat of between ninety and one hundred degrees in the shade. Now it is well known that Naples and other countries in the extreme south of Europe are strangers to such a degree of long continued cold, and not often visited by such heats. Europe, observes Humboldt, may be considered al- together as the western part of a great con- tinent, and therefore subject to all the in- fluence which causes the western sides of continents to be warmer than the eastern ; and at the same time more temperate, or less subject to excesses of both lieat and cold, but principally tlie latter. The neighbourhood of Canton, and of other cities on the coast, to the sea causes this tendency to be greatly modified ; and indeed the climate of the larger portion of the empire seems to be, upon the whole, less subject to extremes than that of the capital. Taking it all the year round, and with the exception of some oppressive heats from June to Sep- tember, it may be questioned whether a much better climate exists anywhere than that of Canton and Macao ; the former place being as low as latitude 23'^ 8' north, and the latter about a degree to the south of it. The mean annual temperature of those places is Avhat commonly prevails in the 30th parallel. It is surprising to contrast their meteorological averages with those of Calcutta, a city which stands very nearly in the same latitude. The following table was the result of observations C 3 THf UMOMETER. S-3 - i 11 ll 2 3 il Ra nge From To January . . . 57 45 51 65 29 30-23 0-675 February . . . 58 45 51*5 68 33 30-12 1-700 March .... 71 60 65-5 79 45 30-17 2-150 ^. :::: 76 69 72-5 84 59 30-04 5-675 78 73 75*5 86 69 29-89 11-850 June 84 79 81-5 89 74 29-87 11-100 July 88 84 86 94 81 29-84 7-750 August .... 86 83 84-5 90 79 29-86 9-900 September . . October . . . 84 76 79 70 81-5 73 88 85 75 60 29-90 30-04 10-925 5-500 Total November . . 68 61 64*5 79 48 30-14 2-425 Rain, December . . 63 52 57-5 69 40 30-25 0-975 70-625 Annual Means. 74-1 66-7 ,0M 81-3 57-6 30-03 1 made at Canton during a series of years (the average fall of rain was taken from a register kept, for sixteen years, by Mr. Bealeat Macao), by which it appears that about 70^° of Fahren- heit is the average temperature of Canton and Macao, and that the months of October and April give nearly the mean heat of the year. The total fall of rain varies greatly from one year to another, and has sometimes been known to reach ninety inches and upwards. Vegetation is checked in the interval from November to February, not less by the dryness than by the coldness of the atmosphere ; the three winter months being known sometimes to elapse Avith scarcely a drop of rain. The north-east monsoon, which commences about September, blows strongest during the above period, and begins to yield to the opposite monsoon in March. About that time the southerly winds come charged with the moisture which they have acquired in their passage over the sea through warm latitudes ; and this moisture is suddeidy condensed into thick fogs as it comes in contact with the land of China, which has been cooled down to a low temperature by the long continued northerly winds. The latent heat given out, by the rapid distillation of this steam into z2 340 THE CHINESE. fluid, produces the sudden advance of tem- perature which takes place about March ; and its effect is immediately perceptible in the stimulus given to vegetation of all kinds, by this union of warmth with moisture. With the progressive increase of heat and evaporation those rains commence, which tend so greatly to mitigate the effects of the sun's rays in ti'opical climates. In the month of May the fall of rain has been known to exceed twenty inches, being more than a fourth of all the year, and this keeps down the temperature to the moderate average marked for that month; while, in Calcutta, there is no portion of the year more dreaded than May. At length the increasing altitude of the sun, which becomes just vertical at Canton about the solstice, and the accumulated heat of the earth, bring on the burning months of July, August, and September, which are the most oppressive and exhausting of the whole year. The extreme rarefaction of the atmosphere now begins to operate as one of the causes tending to the production of those terrible hurricanes, or rushes of wind, called typhoons {Tae-foong — "great wind "), which are justly dreaded by the inhabitants of southern China ; but which chiefly devastate the coasts of Haenan, and do not extend much to the north of Canton, The name typhoon, in itself a corruption of the Chinese term, bears a singular (though we must suppose an accidental) resemblance to the Greek Tu(puv. The Chinese sailors and boatmen have from habit become very clever prognosticators of these hurricanes, and indeed of all kinds of weather, without the aid of the barometer. They have a common saying, tliat " lightning in the east denotes line weather — in the tcest, successive showers, — in the sotith^ continuous rain — in the north, violent wind."' It is quite certain that typhoons always com- mence in the north quarter. The principal circumstances to be observed concerning these hurricanes are, the state of the barometer previous to and during the storm, the influence of the moon, and the localities in which they prevail. The barometer falls slowly for many hours, often a whole day before the commencement, the mercury sometimes de- scending nearly to twenty-seven inches during the progress of the gale ; and its rising is a sure sign of subsidence. Another sign of the ap- proaching storm is the long and heavy swell which rolls in upon the sea-beach, without any apparent cause, for some time before the hurricane begins ; but which may perhaps be explained by so much of the usual pressure of the atmos^jhere (equal to two inches, or a fifteenth part of the mercurial column) being removed from the surface of the water ; and this circumstance may likewise partly account for the overwhelming seas that are so much dreaded by ships encountering the typhoons. The most likely periods for their occurrence are August and September, just at the change of the moon. The gale commences at north, goes about to east and south, and finishes at west. Typhoons seldom prevail below 10° north latitude, or above the parallel in which Canton lies : and their range west and east is from the shores of Cochin-China to 130* longitude. About Haenan, and the strait which divides that large island from the main land, the typhoons are so dreadful that temples are built expressly to deprecate them, and on the 5th day of the fitfh moon the magisti-ates ofi'er sacrifices. In addition to the prognostics already noticed, they are preceded by a thick, muddy appearance of the atmosphere, and a show of unusual disquiet among the sea-fowl. Thunder is considered as a symptom of mitiga- tion. They seldom reach forty-eight hours, and their duration is commonly confined to twenty-four. In the year 1831, on or about the 21st September, a typhoon blew with un- usual fury at Macao. It commenced at night : and by three or four o'clock in the afternoon of the following day, the whole place was one scene of devastation, probably not unlike the ruin occasioned by the torna- does in the West Indies. Houses were un- roofed, ships stranded, and the solid granite quay in front of the town completely levelled. Great blocks of stone, some tons in weight, were carried a considerable way up accli- vities, which might appear impossible, but for the fact that the heaviest bodies are less ponderous in water than out of it, by the weight of the fluid they displace. No small portion of the destruction occa- sioned by typhoons extends to the productions , of agriculture and husbandry. The wind TYPHOONS. 341 which blows from the south and east, being charged with salt water, has a withering eftect on all the vegetation near the coast ; trees are broken or rooted up; and rivers, already swelled by the summer rains, are driven in floods over the low lands which rice-cultiva- tion chiefly occupies. But, besides hurricanes and floods, other disasters attend on Chinese husbandry. Long continued droughts are not unfrequent, assailing various portions of the empire by turns. The ravages of locusts are particularly dreaded in the north. Pere Bouvet, in a journey from Peking to Canton during the year 1693, observed that ''in Shantung the country was laid waste by a frightful multitude of grass- hoppers, called from their colour Houng-cJioong, "the yellow insect."' The air was full of them, and the earth covered in such a manner, even in the great roads, that our horses could not move without raising clouds of them at every step, The insects had entirely destroyed the hopes of the harvest in this country : the mischief, however, did not extend far, for within a league of the place where this havoc was made, all was perfectly free.'' The plague of locusts is said to occur when great floods have been followed by a long drought. These are some of the chief natural discou- ragements to agriculture in a country which possesses a large proportion of fertile lands, watered by the innumerable branches of those two great trunks, the Yellow River and the Keang. There is perhaps no point relating to China that has been more over-stated than the condition of its agriculture was by the early missionaries ; probably in consequence of the contrast which it presented to the exist- ing state of husbandry in Europe, at the time when they wrote. The opinion formed by Dr. Abel was, " that much as the Chinese may excel in obtaining abundant products from land naturally J^ertile, they are much behind some other nations in the art of im- proving that which is naturally barren."' They exhibit, however, great perseverence and skill, about the neiglibuurhood of Canton, in gaining muddy flats from the water by ex- tensive and well-constiucted embankments. The svibject on which most exaggeration has prevailed is the system of terrace-cultivation, which certainly exists in hilly districts, and may even be seen from tlie vessels at Wham- poa, but is by no means carried to the marvellous extent that has been supposed. "While passing through the mountainous provinces of the empire, we naturally looked for that far-famed terrace-cultivation which had led to the notion of China being one vast garden, with hills terraced from the base to the summit. The wild and wooded tracts which were occasionally passed, at length convinced us that they do not often attempt to cultivate a surface naturally sterile or dif- ficult, except in the immediate vicinity of towns; and that the terracing of hills is gene- rally confined to those lower situations where an accumulation of their degraded surface aflbrds a soil naturally productive.'" The following is a summary view of the difterent sorts of cultivation observed by our embassies from Peking to Canton. Upon first landing on the shores of the Gulf of Pechely, the extensive alluvial flats along the river leading to the capital exhibited a dreary waste, with only occasional patches of cultivation, confined chiefly to the Holcus, or tall millet, and small clumps of trees sur- rounding houses or temples. The banks of the river sometimes alone showed traces of of tillage, and even these, where of a sandy nature, remained barren. This continued until we approached the immediate neigh- bourhood of Tien-tsin, which terminates the grand canal to the north, and between which city and the sea the whole country is nearly an unreclaimed marsh, the inhabitants bear- ing in their general appearance the proofs of its unhealthiness. This is perhaps the best safeguard from an invading force on the side of the coast. After passing Tien-tsin considerable improvement was observed to- wards Peking, and various additions to the number of cultivated plants. Besides the Holcus, beans were grown, with the Sesamum orienfale, from which thay extract an esculent oil, and the Riciniis coinmiinis, or castor-oil plant ; but, above all, the pe-tsae, which is conveyed even to Canton. The trees com- prised elms, willows, and a species of ash. The fields were not divided by any sort of hedge, but, as in every other part of the em- pire, by narrow ditches or drains, or by a ridge serving for a pathway. 342 THE CHINESE. "When the travellers turned down the canal, on their way towards Canton, a great part of the land on both sides in Shantung had, as Mr. Ellis observed, " suffered so severely from inundation, that it was impossible to form a correct opinion of its usual appear- ance." But the presence of the Nelumbium argued its being generally swampy. On entering Keang-nan the country began to improve, and the northern parts of that pro- vince were highly fertile, being cultivated chiefly with rice and millet. In the neigh- bourhood of Nanking, the banks of the great river Keang were planted with groves of Thuya orienfalis, and with rice in flat alluvial patches. It was in this part of the counti-y that the cotton-shrub was first obser\'ed. In proceeding along the river towards Keangsy and the lake, the cultivation of rice prevailed ; but, on approaching the side of the lake, the counti-y became hilly and wooded. It was here that the finest scenery commenced ; for the whole of Keangsy, from the Poyang lake to the Mei-ling pass, was more or less moun- tainous. The cultivation of this province in grain, vegetables, and sugar-canes, bore no proportion to the hills, which were either entirely barren or covered with plantations of the single white camellia, whose seeds aflbrd the favourite vegetable oil of the Chinese. The shrub is generally from six to eight feet in height, bearing a profusion of large white single blossoms. '■* The hills over wliich it spread," observes Dr. Abel, " looked in the distance as if lightly covered with snow, but on a nearer view exhibited an immense gar- den. Their general bleakness and declivity imsuited them to ordinary modes of culture, and the soil was of a red sandy nature. But, besides the camellia, other plants or trees of great utility and beauty were ob- sen'ed in Keangsy, as the Croton, whose berry supplies a vegetable tallow, fir and camphor- trees, and the varnish shrub. As the stream of the river became most rapid towards its source, and the neighbourhood of the Mei-lmg pass, those water-wheels, already described at page 311, became numerous, for irrigating the sugar-cane plantations. On arriving at the ridge which divides off the Canton pro- vince to the south, extensive woods ai)peared to cover both sides ; and, from the pass itself to within two days* journey of Canton, we saw little else than a succession of sterile, but highly picturesque mountains. Down as far as Chaou-chow-foo the river was lined with barren limestone clifls, their intervals thickly wooded, but with little appearance of agri- culture. From the latter place southwards were red sandstone rocks, gradually flattening into an alluvial country, which, as it ap- proached Canton, was cultivated richly with rice and fruit-trees. Below the last city the river forms a great delta, the whole of which has been converted, by means of embank- ments, into an extensive level for tiie cultiva- tion of rice.^ Out of this level are seen frequently to rise clusters of granite hills, like islands in a sea. The foregoing describes the whole track of the embassy in 1816; but Lord Macartney's mission deviated at the point where the Keang is crossed by the canal ; and, instead of pro- ceeding up that great river to the northern extremity of the lake, they continued their comse on the canal to Hang-chow-foo. Then, crossing the province of Che-keang, they en- tered Keangsy to the east, and reached the lake at its southern end. In the course of this route they observed the cultivation of the Nanking cotton shrub, and the plantations of young mulberry^-trees for the nourishment of silk-worms. Here also rice formed a prin- cipal item in farming; and the hills M'ere planted with the useful trees and shrubs ob- served elsewhere. On approaching the neigh- bourhood of the lake from the east, the country consisted of swamps, the drainings from the hills, intersected by numerous branches of rivers; and the industry^ of the inhabitants was turned from agriculture to the business of fishing, as well as of entrap- ping the numerous varieties of wild-fowl which there abound. No good land is ever reserved in China for pasture, which in fact can scarcely be con- ^ The member of the Emperor's council, who con- tended against le