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diff --git a/38508.txt b/38508.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e43fcd9 --- /dev/null +++ b/38508.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10824 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Empires and Emperors of Russia, China, +Korea, and Japan, by Peter Vay + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Empires and Emperors of Russia, China, Korea, and Japan + Notes and Recollections by Monsignor Count Vay de Vaya and Luskod + +Author: Peter Vay + +Release Date: January 6, 2012 [EBook #38508] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EMPIRES AND EMPERORS *** + + + + +Produced by Meredith Bach, Eric Skeet and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + + + EMPIRES AND EMPERORS + OF RUSSIA, CHINA, + KOREA, AND JAPAN + + + + + EMPIRES AND EMPERORS + OF RUSSIA, CHINA, + KOREA, AND JAPAN + + NOTES AND RECOLLECTIONS + BY MONSIGNOR + COUNT VAY DE VAYA AND LUSKOD + + _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_ + + NEW YORK + E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY + 1906 + +[Illustration: _Monsignor The Count Vay de Vaya and Luskod._] + + + + +PREFACE + + +As the name of the author of this book may not be so well known to some +English readers as it is on the Continent, I have, at his request, +undertaken to write a few lines of introduction and preface. + +Count Vay de Vaya and Luskod is a member of one of the oldest and most +distinguished families of Hungary. Ever since his ancestor took part +with King Stephen in the foundation of the Hungarian Kingdom, nine +hundred years ago, the members of his family, in succeeding generations, +have been eminent in the service of that state. + +The Count studied at various European universities, and was destined for +the diplomatic service, but early in life he decided to take Holy Orders +and devote himself to the work of the Church. + +In this capacity he attended the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in +1897 as one of the envoys of Pope Leo XIII. + +The chief enterprise of his life, however, has been to study the work of +the Roman Catholic Church in all parts of the world--her missions, +charitable institutions, schools, and organizations of all kinds. + +Few men have travelled so far and into such remote quarters as the Count +Vay de Vaya has, with this object. His position has secured for him +access to the leading and most accomplished circles wherever he has +been, and his linguistic attainments, as well as his wide personal +experience of men and affairs in every quarter of the globe, give him an +almost unique opportunity of describing and commenting on the countries +which he has visited--their people, rulers, and institutions. + +Seldom has any region been subjected to such complete and revolutionary +changes as have the countries which he describes in the following pages. + +Russia has been compelled to relax that grip on the Far East which +seemed to be permanently tightening and closing: at home she has been +subjected to a social upheaval which at one time threatened the existing +form of government and the throne itself. And for the first time we have +witnessed the triumph of an Asiatic race over one of the leading Powers +of Europe. + +The substance of this volume was written in 1902 and the following year, +before any of these events had occurred, or were dreamed of, and this +may cause some of the details of the record to be a little out of date +historically; but the change, far from diminishing, has, on the whole, +probably increased its value to all thoughtful readers. + +A few passages of comment and forecast have been added since the +occurrence of the war, but in the main the narrative remains as it was +originally written. + +Japan, Korea, Manchuria, and the Siberian Railway have been described +over and over again, both during and since the war, but descriptions of +them on the eve of the outbreak may come with some freshness and enable +readers to compare what was yesterday with what is today. + +And what has been changed in the "Unchanging East" bears but a very +small proportion to what remains the same in spite of wars and +revolutions. + +I hope, therefore, that these first impressions of countries which, in +name at any rate, are far more familiar to the British public than they +were four or five years ago, may prove of great interest to many readers +in England and America. + +The chapters on _The Tsar of all the Russias_, _The Reception at the +Summer Palace_, _The Audience of the Emperor of Korea_, and _The Mikado +and the Empress_, appeared in "Pearson's Magazine," and thanks are due +to the Editor for kind permission to reprint them. The chapters on +_Manchuria under Russian Rule_ first appeared in the "Revue des deux +Mondes," and those on _Japan and China in the Twentieth Century_ in the +"Deutsche Rundschau," but none of these have been translated into +English before. The whole has been carefully revised, and considerable +additions have been made. + + JOHN MURRAY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +INTRODUCTION + + General situation--Eve of the war--Political outlook + in Russia--Characteristics of the two capitals--Siberia + and Siberians--Conquest of Manchuria--Position of China + and the Powers--Korea's difficulties--Racial tendencies _Page_ xvii + + +I + +THE TSAR AND TSARINA AT THEIR HOME OF PETERHOF + + The Baltic station of St. Petersburg--The Imperial "Special" + --Through the suburbs of the capital--Peterhof--Sentries + and passwords--The Imperial Family's favourite home-- + Alexandrovsky--A homely interior--The Empress and her tastes + --Mother and wife--H.M. Nicholas II--A conversation on + different topics 1 + + +II + +TO THE FAR EAST BY THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY + + Main characteristics--The Emperor's kind hospitality--Prince + Chilkoff, Minister of Communications--Last days at + St. Petersburg--The metropolis of incoherence--Typical + Russian departure--On the way to Moscow--The agricultural + districts--A short visit to Pienza--Conversations on board + the Trans-Siberian express--Political and economical + appreciations--Crossing the Volga--In the land of the Baskirs + --The Ural range--Western Siberia--The colonization of the + uninhabited regions--Growing townships--Central Siberia-- + Unlimited pastures and endless forests--The Altai range-- + Irkutsk--The Siberian Paris--Arrival--Luggage difficulties + --Civility and kindness--The luxuries of the Hotel du + Metropole--Plush and gold, but no air and no water--A gloomy + evening and a bright morning--The life and the lights of + the city--Lake Baikal--The islands of dwarfs and fairies-- + The large fairy coat--Myssowa a new mining centre--Petrovsk, + the town of inferno--Trans-Baikalia--Buriats and their + pilgrimages to Tibet--The Amur region--On the frontier of + Manchuria 16 + + +III + +MANCHURIA UNDER RUSSIAN RULE + + The Manchurian frontier--Russian soldiers and officials-- + Public safety--Trains provided with military escort--The + Eastern Chinese Railway Company--The system of construction + --On the borders of the desert of Gobi--The travel by goods + trains--My special car my home--The railway stations: what + they looked like--Geographical beauty and ethnological features + --Tsi-tsi-kar, the capital of Northern Manchuria--Customs and + habits--Primitive modes of living--Kharbin (Harbin), the + junction of the eastern Asiatic railway lines--The news of + the bridge by Liaoyang carried away by floods--The centre of + mobilization--Harbin's part in case of war--Pleasant surprises + --At last a new start--Central Manchuria--The mineral wealth + of this region--Kirin, a picturesque city--Fine scenery-- + A dull dawn--Station and station-master--The hunt for a + vehicle--A typical Chinese cart--The horrors of a night's + journey--Manchurian highroads--Exchanging the cart with a + mule--A beautiful bridge--_How-di_ and _Poo-how_--The + fantastic aspect of the scenery--The comforts of little Li-Hu + --In a marauders' inn--Lugubrious den and its keepers--In + midst of Chunchuses--The bargain with Li-Hu for his charge-- + Chinese diplomacy and Western art save my purse--Farewell + from my companions--A fine daybreak, and the sun throws a + veil of obligation over the misery of the night 63 + + +IV + +THE CAPITAL OF MANCHURIA + + First view of Mukden--The streets, shops, and inhabitants-- + Public buildings--The Palace--The Russian occupation-- + Friendliness of Russians and Manchus--Administrative + divisions of Manchuria--Official reception by the Governor-- + A luncheon party--Manchus and Hungarians--Visit to the + Imperial Tombs--A magnificent arch--The Great Ancestor-- + Outbreak of cholera--Dinner with the Russian Resident-- + Russian hospitality--Return journey to the station-- + An adventurous drive--Across country--Chunchuses--Safe + arrival at the station 88 + + +V + +PORT ARTHUR, DALNY, NIU-CHWANG, TIEN-TSIN + + Chinese agriculture--Friendliness between Russians and + Chinese--Rebuilding a bridge at Liaoyang--Difficulties of + crossing--Arrival at Port Arthur--The staff at Port Arthur-- + Essentially a military port--Dalny--Niu-chwang--Official + journal description--Trade--Niu-chwang a real Chinese town-- + Description--Future of Niu-chwang--The Catholic Mission-- + Official transfer of the railway to the Chinese + Governor-General of Manchuria--The famous Chinese wall-- + Hankan-chang--Dinner with the English Commander-- + Li Hung-Chang--His weakness for speculation--Taku-- + Tien-tsin--The home of the Progressive Party--The Boxer + rising, 1900--Drawing near Pekin--Wonderful sunset--First + Impressions 119 + + +VI + +PEKIN + + I: Gloomy arrival--The first disappointment--Incoherent + impressions of the following day--Yamen of the Legation + --How the city appeared on my round of exploration. + + II: Appreciations after the first month's stay-- + Contradictions of the Yellow metropolis--Plan and outline + --Light and shadow. + + III: Sights of Pekin--Chinese, Tartar, Imperial, Purple, + Inner, and Sacred cities--Winter and Summer Palaces-- + Neighbourhood and western hills--Pagodas--Temples-- + Shrines--Bell and Drum Towers--Chinese city--Commercial + life and shops--Pei-tang--International quarter of + Legations 141 + + +VII + +THE DOWAGER EMPRESS AND THE EMPEROR OF CHINA AT THE SUMMER PALACE + + Pekin in the early morning--En route to the Summer Palace + --Varied modes of locomotion--On the highway--Prince Ching, + Minister of Foreign Affairs--The pageant of the Dragon--The + Imperial residence--Princes and mandarins--The splendour of + the Court--Picturesque uniforms and artistic decorations--Her + Majesty the Empress Regent--A striking personality--The + Manchu fashions--Reception of the diplomatic body--The doyen's + complimentary speech, and the Regent's sarcastic answer--The + Emperor--The wonderland of the state banquet of hundred + dainties--Supper at the Pei-tang Orphanage 175 + + +VIII + +KOREA OF BYGONE DAYS AND ON THE EVE OF THE WAR + + Glimpses of the past and present--Geographical features-- + Topography--Soil--Mineral Wealth--Mountains and valleys-- + Rivers and bays--Climate and natural advantages--The flora + and fauna--Minerals--Ethnological--The Korean race: Its + origin--Physical and moral characteristics--The ancient + Korea--Early myth of the land--First history--Foundation + of the present dynasty--Chinese policy--Internal troubles-- + Home and foreign affairs--The administration of the country + --The defence--Justice--Torture--The criminal court--Public + education--Examination system--Language--The present dynasty + --The Emperor--Tai-Wen-Kun--The Royal Prince--Social and + public existence--Daily life--The role of men and women-- + Korean children--Marriage--General occupations--Agriculture + --Trades--Domestic routine--Spinning--Weaving--Sewing-- + Ironing--Cooking--Recreations--Music--Theatricals--Singing + --National dances--Old customs--Dwellings--Food--Dress-- + Games--Sports--The awakening of Korea--International + treaties--Commerce and shipping--Mining concessions-- + Means of locomotion--Pedlars' Guild--Railways--Electric + tramways--Changes in the last quarter of a century--Korea's + open ports--Foreign influences--Antagonistic movements-- + Apathy and fermentation--Puzzles and problems of the + present--Korea's future 189 + + +IX + +SEOUL, THE CAPITAL OF KOREA + + Late arrival--Moonlight impressions--General effects-- + A fairy city--The dawn--Military display--The Korean sons + of Mars--My first walk through the town--Street life--Shops + and booths--A battle-royal--The Emperor's commemoration + hall--The old palace yard--Korean vehicles--Servants and + liveries--A noble wedding--Quaint customs--The dowry-- + Korean T. Atkins--Native school--Master and pupils-- + The R.C. Mission--The new cathedral--Sunset--Barracks-- + Toy hussars--Canine street police--Faithful guardians-- + Glorious evening--Princely funeral--The catafalques and + cortege--_Danse macabre_--Some reflections 240 + + +X + +THE EMPEROR OF KOREA AT THE NEW PALACE + + The capital in a state of revolution--Imperial invitation + --My sedan-chairs--The little suite of _Kisos_ and _Mapus_ + --The New Palace--An incoherent _tout ensemble_--Court + dignitaries--Elaborate uniforms--The Imperial apartments-- + Court etiquette--The Emperor--A thousand questions-- + The Crown Prince--State robes--The chief eunuch--Farewell-- + Y.-Yung-Yk the favourite 263 + + +XI + +TOKIO + + First surprises--The Japanese capital on a dreary winter + morning--General aspect of the city--Artistic disappointments + --Sights of Yeddo--The famous Shogun graves--"Tories" and + pagodas--Natural beauties of the capital--Artistic qualities + --The Katsura-no-Rikyu Palace--The school of the aesthetics + --The world seen from the Tsuki-mi-dai--Actual characteristics + --Numbers and activity--Railways--Shipping--Electric + companies--Telegraphs and telephones--Modern institutions-- + Schools--University--Public library--Printing offices-- + Students and their work--Brain power and technical skill-- + Commercial museum--The capital at work 275 + + +XII + +THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS OF JAPAN AT THE YEDDO PALACE + + Tokio buried in snow--Black and white effects--The Imperial + grounds--Avenues of cryptomerea--The Yeddo Palace--The home + of the Mikado--Disappointments--Modern transformations-- + Western comfort and Japanese art--Private apartments-- + The Mikado--His Majesty's appearance--A long conversation-- + The Empress--A sincere interest in European topics-- + Education and charitable work--The Japanese woman--Her sense + of duty--The virtue of self-abnegation--The great halls-- + A Lilliputian garden--National taste and aesthetics 300 + + +XIII + +JAPAN AND CHINA ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY + + I: JAPAN. The Yellow Peril--Power of assimilation + in discipline--Bushido--Dr. Nitobe's description of its + origin: its great principles, justice, courage and honour-- + Hara-kiri--Kataki-ushi--The conventional smile--Sanctity of + the Mikado--Reverence for the sword--National influence of + Bushido--The Soul of the Nation--Christianity and Shintoism + --Western veneer. + + II: CHINA. Contrast to Japan--The Chinese Coolie-- + Resourcefulness--Feeling against Chinese labour--Trustworthy + traders--Guilds and clubs--Music--Culture--Art-- + Chan-chi-tung--His work and writings--Chinese views of + Western ideas--Government and public opinion--China and + European politics--Dissimilarity of Chinese and Japanese-- + Europe and the yellow races--Transformation in Japan-- + Chinese national inclinations--The progressive party-- + Yuan-chi-kai--Fashions and home-life--Chinese Christians-- + Education--The Chinaman's ideal--Ignorance and prejudice 313 + + +XIV + +CONCLUSION + + After the war--Peace negotiations of Portsmouth-- + M. de Witte and Komura--National feelings--Japanese + diplomatic triumph 381 + + +INDEX 391 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + MONSIGNOR THE COUNT VAY DE VAYA AND LUSKOD _Frontispiece_ + + TO FACE PAGE + + LE PALAIS ANGLAIS 4 + + H.I.M. THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA 6 + + H.I.M. NICHOLAS II, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA 12 + + MARSANKA 28 + + SAMARA 30 + + ON THE VOLGA 32 + + SIBERIAN HOME 34 + + A SIBERIAN TOWN 36 + + RAILWAY CHURCH SERVICE 38 + + M. DE PLEHVE 40 + + IRKUTSK 48 + + LAKE BAIKAL 52 + + THE STATION OF MANCHURY 60 + + TSI-TSI-KAR 68 + + KHARBIN 70 + + A STREET IN KHARBIN 76 + + FROM MUKDEN FLATS ON TO THE TOWN 80 + + THE ENTRANCE TO THE IMPERIAL TOMBS 104 + + GENERAL KUROPATKIN 124 + + THE LEGATION QUARTER 152 + + ENTRANCE TO THE FORBIDDEN CITY 158 + + TRIUMPHAL ARCH 162 + + THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN 172 + + THE EMPRESS DOWAGER OF CHINA 184 + + THE SUMMER PALACE 188 + + SEOUL 240 + + THE EMPEROR'S THRONE IN THE OLD PALACE 248 + + THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY IN SEOUL 252 + + THE THRONE ROOM 268 + + THE EMPEROR OF KOREA 270 + + THE STATE EXAMINATION HALL AT PEKIN 292 + + SHRINES AT NIKKO 296 + + DELIGHTFUL SCENERY 298 + + STREET IN JAPAN 300 + + THE TOKAIDO 304 + + A TYPICAL NIPPON BUILDING 312 + + MARSHAL OYAMA 322 + + ON THE YANG-TZE-KIANG 340 + + IN THE FLOWERY LAND 344 + + COUNT WITTE 384 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +During my prolonged stay in the Far East, I promised to send home notes +whenever I came across anything interesting, or whenever I had time to +do so. This is how it happened that the story of my visits to the +different cities of interest, of receptions graciously granted by the +various Emperors of Eastern Asia, and the chief impressions received +when crossing their empires, came to be jotted down. + +Naturally in these pages, written often under considerable pressure and +in spare moments, I was at the mercy of circumstances, and could not +dwell on all the points at such length as I should have liked to do. In +short, in these narratives, destined to be confided to couriers and post +offices, I was compelled to leave out much that might have been more +sensational. + +Some of the papers have already appeared in periodicals, and the +appreciation that has kindly been shown to them, and the favourable +criticism they have received, have been due to the sincerity and the +absolute lack of pretension with which I have tried to treat the +different subjects. + +My intention was simply to note what was striking at the moment and what +impressed me most vividly. I have tried to be as objective as possible, +and to deal with things as they are, not as I could have wished to find +them. Even in the most attractive books that have dealt with these +far-off countries, there has sometimes been a tendency to adopt the tone +of a mentor and to judge everything from a superior standpoint, as if +the complete difference between those remote lands and peoples and our +own had been forgotten, and as if the Westerner wished to ignore a +civilization which, though different from, is not less serious than his +own; in short, as though this mysterious Far East, with its almost +incomprehensible masses, did not possess anything at all of a higher +nature and lacked a mind altogether. + +Certainly it is difficult, almost impossible, for an alien to perceive +their inner qualities and mental powers; at the same time we shall have +opportunities in our everyday lives of noting explanatory +manifestations. It is from living in the same atmosphere and from +continual intercourse with all classes, high and low, that it will be +given us to understand a little of what is called the soul of a land and +its inhabitants. + +Thus, while describing events in their simplicity, we may succeed in +giving something of the local atmosphere too. This is the reason why we +always read with pleasure memoirs of past generations or correspondences +from far-away countries or of days gone by; and why all the best +descriptions in books dealing with the Far East are those unassuming and +faded letters from merchants or missionaries; and why the narrative of +Marco Polo, with all its _naivete_, will remain for all ages a standard +work. + +Strange adventures, depicted in brilliant hues and by an exaggerated +imagination, seldom help our general knowledge. Instead of adding to +what we see and encumbering real facts with more or less imaginary +occurrences, it is more useful to omit unnecessary details, just as the +important thing in painting a landscape is to know what to leave out, so +as to make the general character of the scenery clearer. This it is that +constitutes the difference between the very best photograph or +chromo-lithograph and a rough artistic study or water-colour sketch. In +short, one ought to strive to treat this land as its painters do their +sketches, always bearing in mind their design of giving in a masterly +manner general impressions more than worthless details, so as to get +hold of something more than can be seen--something of abstract value in +the life they are endeavouring to render. + +It was life with its everyday occupations that brought me into contact +with all social phases, and rendered my journey and stay of interest, +and made it possible for me to see the country and people in a stronger +light than if I had been an ordinary traveller. I was investigating the +civilizing, charitable, and spiritual work carried on by the Catholic +Church under different conditions, amongst various races. These matters +I have dealt with in another volume; but even the subjects that I +treated of in those unassuming pages may have acquired a certain local +colour, as having been seen by one who had interests and ties with the +places he wrote from, and the people he lived amongst. + +During the year I passed in the countries bordering on the Yellow Sea, I +had an opportunity of making the acquaintance of the greater number of +those eminent persons whose names have lately been so often in the +mouths of all the world. It was most interesting to listen to them and +to hear their views. Though there may have been great diversity in their +opinions, they were none the less instructive for that. + +My departure from St. Petersburg presented the first glimpse into +Orientalism. The splendour of the Imperial City, and the patriarchal +condition of the lower classes, gave it a different character from the +usual European capitals, and the network of interests in the metropolis +differs even more. I had to stay rather longer than I had expected, and +this prolongation gave me the best chance of making the amplest +preparations, and acquiring the necessary preliminary knowledge for my +journey across the empire. + +Moreover, since as an ecclesiastic I had to obtain special permission +even to get to Russia, it was therefore natural that I should have +expected to find the greatest difficulties and complications thrown in +the way of the accomplishment of my future journey. + +Thanks to the kindness of the Tsar himself, however, all possible +obstacles were smoothed over. He was personally acquainted with the +journey that awaited me, but with this difference, that he made it +before the railway was completed, and travelled by post. It was +interesting to listen to the narrative of the sovereign, giving his +impressions of the remotest portions of his empire, where he could not +but come into contact with all classes of his subjects, and where he was +obliged to share the vicissitudes of "inflexible circumstance," as we so +often read in official _ukases_. + +His Majesty evidently took the liveliest interest in everything he saw, +and gave charming accounts of his personal experiences. As in all royal +tours, everything was naturally shown to him in as favourable a light as +possible, and yet, apparently, the shadows had not altogether escaped +his observation. Being heir to all this enormous territory, he probably +traversed it full of hope of being able one day to ameliorate the +general condition of his country, and to prove a true and loving "Little +Father" to his folk. It is indeed a melancholy reflection that those who +are generally supposed to be blindly obeyed, to have all their wishes +accomplished, and whose will is imagined to be absolutely autocratic, +are those who are most tied by the _force majeur_. + +The little hermitage of Alexandrovsky, nestling in pine woods, with its +home-like character, stands, like an oasis, in the midst of Peterhof, +that town of palaces and splendour. The simplicity of the Imperial +family is in striking contrast with the luxury of the so-called Court +circle. All that one hears of the ostentation and extravagance of +Russian Court life entirely disappears when one comes to know the home +of the Tsar and Tsaritsa. + +Elsewhere there is undoubtedly much pomp and glitter, for the luxury and +lavishness of Russian officialism is too well known to need mention +here. Indeed, there is hardly a country where things are done more +elaborately, and the Exchequer seems to be inexhaustible. If the +administration leaves much to be desired and cannot be criticized too +severely, we must allow that the officials themselves are the most +accomplished men we could wish to know. Whether an official be a +minister of State, with all the polish of the old regime of the +eighteenth century, or a simple _tchinovnik_, a tram conductor or a +railway guard, it is equally pleasant to have dealings with him. + +A stay of a few weeks in St. Petersburg, filled with receptions at the +residences of the various members of the Imperial family, calls at the +Embassies, official visits, sight-seeing, and business of all sorts, +certainly gives one ample opportunity to gain a better insight into +local matters than the study of whole volumes. + +It was on the eve of the war that I was there. The atmosphere was full +of gunpowder, and yet nobody seemed to believe that such a thing could +happen; or, even if it really came to pass, that it could have greater +consequences than the annihilation of that far-away island folk, of whom +the Russian world seemed to know very little. For just as they are so +well informed and interested in Western affairs, that one might fancy +oneself in a suburb of Paris, so they are supremely indifferent to, and +have very hazy ideas of what they call the "Barbarous East." + +Such was public opinion and such the tone adopted by the newspapers. M. +de Witte was the only man who seemed to be of another conviction. He was +just then on his way back from Port Arthur and Dalny. He had been on +the spot and realized the situation. He had planned and built Dalny with +a view to having a great commercial stronghold to command the Far East, +in opposition to his neighbour, Kuropatkin, who commanded the +fortifications of Port Arthur. He believed that the best foundation for +Russia's supremacy lay in industrial development; Kuropatkin trusted in +the sword. Witte was dismissed--the rest we know. + +Moscow, my next stoppage, revealed another side of the empire. The holy +Moscow, the Mother of Cities, exhibited other features of interest +illustrative of the mystical Slavonic soul. The Kremlin, with its gilt +cupolas, is not only a monument unique of its kind, but also the +expression of a nation's sentiment. + +The history of the past, the aspirations of the future, are equally +manifested. The glory of arms, of arts, of thought, is expressed in this +Valhalla. It is the embodiment of the word "Muscovite," which means all +that is characteristic of Russia. Light and shadow, brightness and +gloom, virtues and vices, are equally perceptible in this marvellous +city, and what is not visible is even more impressive. + +All the transcendental tendencies, the shadowy mysticism, peculiar to +this strange population, all that is abstract, finds new and unexpected +expression within these venerable walls. Patriotism and anarchy, faith +and superstition, walk side by side. Churches, shrines, and ikons are +met at every corner, and before them all, large groups are on their +knees, prostrated in devotion. In this same city the most terrible +crimes are committed, and the same populace that seemed so repentant and +contrite, perpetrates the most cruel and bloody outrages. + +In fact, Moscow is an inexhaustible field of study, and not only for +historical research, but also for a more certain knowledge of this +paradoxical race, full as it is of inexplicable contrasts and incessant +surprises. + +Siberia was another mine of contrasts and surprises, and the longer I +was there the more I began to comprehend the vast possibilities of this +formidable stretch of country. It is a continent in itself, with all the +natural advantages to enable it to become rich and prosperous. Her +future development has the same chance as that of Canada, and her wealth +is even larger. To say nothing of Siberia's inexhaustible mines, the +land is better watered, and the timber-forests even more extensive. + +The population is still slumbering in its cradle. The life they lead is +archaic in the extreme. They dwell mostly in tents, lead a nomadic life, +and provide their own clothing and food themselves. + +They are uneducated, but not unintelligent. In fact, after having +visited different camps, I was most struck with their open expression +and self-reliance. But it must not be forgotten that, in +contradistinction to the Slavs of Russia proper, the various tribes of +the Ural-Altai race have never been serfs. They have always led a +wandering, independent existence under their Hetmans. + +The Baskirs and the Kirghiz are the most interesting, and are the finest +specimens of Mid-Asiatic types. The Kalmuks and Ostiaks represent a more +Mongolian stock. The farther we go to the East the more they resemble +the Yellow race, and the Buriats and Tunguses of Trans-Baikalia are +hardly to be distinguished from the Chinese. + +What tremendous force is dormant in this world of Tartars! and what a +shock their awakening will cause one day! + +Towns like Tomsk, Omsk, Tobolsk, and particularly Irkutsk, show us the +country from another side. Commercial enterprises, trade, and general +progress, have taken root. They are so-called centres of civilization, +but I fear that they might more fitly be called places of exploitation. + +Certainly these growing towns are not wanting in praiseworthy attempts +at culture, and I was especially struck by the philanthropic and +charitable institutions. Unfortunately, the moral tone of this +agglomerate population is deplorable, and money is spent in a reckless +way. + +Men, banished from their homes to such distant regions, allow themselves +to be dragged down and brought to contempt, instead of trying to +dominate the mass by superior character. + +Manchuria was entirely under Russian rule in those days. The famous +railway was in the hands of the Cossacks, although it ostensibly bore +the name of the "Eastern Chinese Line," and barracks for Muscovite +soldiers were dotted all over the country. The larger towns had +quartered on them Russian officials under various designations, such as +consuls, railway directors, bank managers, and so forth. Their influence +and domination were uncontested, although apparently they were on the +best of terms with the local officials. The Russo-Chinese Bank had +branches everywhere, and evidently the least services rendered them were +amply recompensed. This Asiatic method of colonization was not wanting +in interest to the observer. Its demoralizing effect was very sad, and +could not fail to bring retribution later on. For after all, political +life, like that of individuals, has a moral code, by which any criminal +actions are bound to find their punishment. + +After crossing the Great Wall and staying in China proper, I still found +the preponderating Muscovite influence. This was especially the case in +Pekin, where the success of M. Lessar, Resident Minister, and M. +Pocadiloff, Manager of the Russian Bank, was at its zenith. The +influence of St. Petersburg, which had succeeded in gaining over Li +Hung-Chang, was still in full swing, and Yung Lu was a not less useful +partisan. He was the man of the moment, and knew how to secure, even to +a greater extent than his predecessor, the sympathy and favour of the +Empress Dowager. + +The Court had only just returned from their flight. They had scarcely +settled down again in that marvellous Palace which they had expected +never to revisit. In fact, who could ever have imagined, after all the +outrages against Christian Powers, that those Powers themselves should +have brought back again the very people against whom they had fought +only a few months before? + +The diplomatic talent of the Dowager Empress must incontestably be of a +high order. She was herself a foreigner--a simple Manchu girl. No less +remarkable than her achievement in raising herself step by step to the +highest pinnacle of power is the manner in which she maintains her +position. The way in which she deals with her own provinces, and plays +them off one against the other, is most skilful. It will therefore not +be astonishing if she sometimes uses the same methods in foreign +difficulties. + +The victory of the Western Powers was complete, and yet, with the +exception of Russia, they did not reap any apparent advantage from it. +They could come to no agreement among themselves as to the partition of +the spoil, and the disappointment of Japan at seeing the territory she +had formerly conquered pass into the hands of her rivals, was only too +justly founded. + +The situation was most interesting, the general tension being extreme. +At the same time it was just this atmosphere of excitement which +rendered my stay so instructive and intercourse with leading men of such +great interest. Every one gained in importance at this critical moment. + +Men like Prince Ching, the Foreign Minister of China and a near relative +of the Emperor; his interpreter, Mr. Lee, who has such thorough +knowledge of European countries; Yan-Tsi-Kai, who represents the Chinese +military spirit and believes in introducing Western methods; and +Chang-Tsi-Tung, the great sage and strict disciple of Confucius--are +fine specimens of the children of this vast and unknown empire. + +After all, among so many interesting points in the Far East, the most +interesting is man. Situations may change, war and peace, power and +decadence, follow each other at intervals, but the essential +characteristics of this population will remain in their main tendencies +more or less the same as long as the race endures. The expressions of +national sentiment that surround us, great and small, whether +apparently superficial or really striking, are human documents which +must be considered with earnestness and attention, for after all it is +they, more than political treatises, diplomatic achievements, or +victories of armies, which will direct the natural tendencies and the +relentless march of progress in and development of nations in the +future. It is when observing, in all its phases, the life that surrounds +us, that we can gain an approximate idea of the possibilities of the Far +East. + +I arrived in the Land of the Morning Calm, which might more suitably be +called the Land of Continual Upheaval, when a revolution was in +progress. Y-yung-Ik, Minister of Finance, was being attacked by those +who sympathized with Japan. The capital was divided into two camps. +Skirmishes took place in the open street. Everybody was excited, and +anarchy reigned supreme. + +Y-yung-Ik, whose views were favoured at the Palace, and who, on the +occasion of the last riots, had saved the Emperor's life, carrying him +on his back to the Russian Legation, where he remained for over a year, +was in concealment in the Palace, and the mob was raging vociferously +before the Imperial abode. It was a typical situation, throwing a strong +light on the condition of the country. + +The nation was divided into two factions. There were pro-Russians and +pro-Japanese, but no pro-Koreans. This fine country, instead of +constituting a guarantee of the peace of the Far East, was a prey to +rivalry. Once suzerain of China, then under Japanese influence, during +my stay she seemed to be at the mercy of the Slav. + +It seemed to be the last flicker of the candle of Russian preponderance +in the Far East. Their hegemony was not only apparent at Court and in +the Ministries, but even began to be established all over the country. +As in Manchuria, so in Korea, Russian soldiers and sailors, who were +billeted on the country for various reasons, made themselves quite at +home. + +Between the Russians and Koreans there did not appear to be the same +difference which separates Europeans from Orientals. The uncultured +children of the Steppes amalgamated naturally with the native +population. It was striking, particularly in Manchuria, to notice how +the so-called conquerors began to be conquered in their turn by the land +they occupied, which, indeed, in the long run, has always absorbed those +who dreamed of dominating her, whether Mongol, Tartar, or Manchu. +Probably what happened to the descendants of the famous Genghis Khan +would have happened to the victorious Muscovite. + +Arms cannot solve problems of a higher order. In spite of their +superiority of military equipment, the new invaders of the Eastern +Asiatic continent, the new masters of Manchuria, did not seem to be +conscious of their moral duty towards their lately acquired subjects. + +Instead of attempting to raise the population among whom they had +settled, to a higher degree of civilization, and to inculcate nobler +ideals, they were on the point of slipping down to the level of the +so-called conquered barbarians. + +The life and the mode of thought of the camps were low, and the moral +dangers of every kind that surrounded the soldiers and officials were +too great for people who, in many cases, had only a veneer of culture +themselves and very little practical experience of civilizing and +ennobling work, to struggle against. + +After all, a state has only the right to conquer when, instead of +oppressing, they strengthen and educate those weaker and more primitive +than themselves. Conquest can only bear ripe fruit when it is for the +general welfare. + +Nations, like individuals, have their moral codes, and vocations. +Nemesis must always overtake evil of every kind, and to the virtuous +alone is granted the palm of final victory. + + + + +EMPIRES AND EMPERORS + + + + +I + +THE TSAR AND TSARINA AT THEIR HOME OF PETERHOF + + +It is half-past nine in the morning, as I start on my journey to +Peterhof, having been honoured by the Tsar with an invitation thither. +It is yet cold and chilly. The great metropolis is covered with a veil +of fog. One would imagine that winter had already begun, and it is +difficult to realize that according to the calendar it is the month of +August. The street leading to the Baltic station, St. Petersburg, is +still half deserted. + +There Switzers begin to sweep the doorways, and detachments of soldiers +hurry to take up their different posts. There are a few milk-carts that +rattle to and fro, and one or two private vehicles occupied by people in +full dress and uniforms covered with decorations, throwing into sharp +contrast the dreary surroundings of the humble suburb. In fact, +contrasts are the most striking feature of the capital of the vast +Russian Empire--contrasts in light and shadow, splendour and humility, +and I dare say contrasts in everything that is characteristic of the +West and the East. + +The railway station, where I arrive at last, is certainly one of the +most interesting illustrations of what I have just pointed out--the very +link and meeting-place of the West with the East. It is crowded with +people: their countenances are so different, their dress so picturesque, +their behaviour so unconventional, yet so characteristic, that I forget +that I am on a railway platform, and imagine myself amidst the +picturesqueness of a great caravanserai. + +Perfect order is kept. The train is already at the platform, ready to +start, and I am shown without delay into my compartment. There are a +great many officials, all of them in striking uniforms. In fact, there +are nearly as many railway employes as travellers, and together they +form incoherent groups of Oriental brightness. + +The train winds through colourless and uninteresting suburbs for some +time. Here and there we have a glimpse of the white Neva, arched by +beautiful bridges and skirted with magnificent palaces. We pass near +many small villages full of summer-houses, all built of wood. Each house +is painted in different colours, and has its own pretty garden. There +are some red, some green, and some blue, making a polychromatic mosaic +on the green fields. They are all summer residences of the official or +semi-official world, who are obliged to pass the summer near town. +Indeed, the great charm of St. Petersburg consists in its neighbourhood. +These attractive retreats, or, as they are called, _Datshas_, are on the +riverside or on the seashore, or hidden in a quiet neighbourhood like +the magnificent Imperial residences, Tsarskoe Selo, Pavlovsk, and +Gatschina. + +But among them all, Peterhof is the most famous--the Versailles of the +North. I think Peterhof undoubtedly deserves the first place. There is +not only splendour, but there is real beauty too. Art and nature +contribute to make it one of the loveliest spots on earth. There is, in +fact, only one royal residence, I think, that can compare with it, and +that is the castle of Pena on the high peaks overlooking the ocean near +Lisbon. + +To get an idea of Peterhof we must imagine a luxuriant forest +overshadowing the blue waters of the Baltic. Buried in the woods are +summer-houses, gardens, fountains, Greek temples, and triumphal arches. +The palace itself stands on a hill that has been cut into +terraces--terraces that are surrounded by balustrades and ornamented by +statues and flower-vases. Then as a centre there is a magnificent +cascade looking like a crystal staircase leading up to a golden palace; +it spreads out its waters into a silver carpet covering the pathway and +flowing in a broad canal to the sea, bordered by an avenue of rippling +fountains. + +And when we get tired of the golden palace, of its silver carpet and its +dazzling brightness, we return to some of the smaller residences, of +which there are many scattered about in the grounds. Some are little +French chateaux, some others imitate Dutch farms or Roman villas. They +are all different in style and taste, but they are all charming, and +contain priceless collections of art. Each has interesting annals; each +has some historical connexion and a past of romantic or tragic memory. +Wars have been declared, treaties ratified, peace re-established in its +lofty halls and gilded salons, every one the scene of important events. +Peter the Great's many schemes were born within these walls; and from +these groves Catharine II ruled with her iron sceptre. + +[Illustration: LE PALAIS ANGLAIS "The great charm of Petersburg is its +neighbourhood" To face page 4] + +The present Tsar selected for his home one of the smaller chateaux, +called Alexandrovsky. + +Alexandrovsky is indeed a modest house. It has no lofty cupolas, no +magnificent gates, no stately _cour d'honneur_. It is a simple villa +such as is seen in the neighbourhood of well-to-do commercial towns. It +might be somewhere near Birmingham or Queenstown. It is built of bright +red bricks, has some friendly bow windows, and is ornamented by some +little turrets. + +Its charm consists in its homeliness. Its beauty is its situation. + +It stands in the centre of a green lawn on the border of the sea. It is +surrounded by a little flower-garden, where, instead of magnificent +fountains and marble statues, there are masses of bloom full of colour +and scent; borders of lilies, hollyhocks, poppies, and sweet peas form a +natural fence of many hues against the sombre background of the wood. It +is a garden which you can realize is tended with affection. + +The Empress herself takes an interest in it, and, surrounded by her +daughters, passes in this charming retreat many quiet hours of the long +summer afternoons. Undoubtedly, this must remind her of lovely +Wolfsgarten, hidden in the Hessian forests, where she passed the merry +days of her childhood, where she returns so faithfully nearly every +year, and where she is so beloved by all the villagers. + +Her Majesty is tall, has a fine presence, and is extremely graceful in +all her movements. She is refined in the highest degree and very +artistic in her disposition. Her leisure hours are mainly occupied in +drawing, painting, and music. She is an ardent supporter of all the +artistic societies in the capital, and gives a great impetus to literary +training in all the different schools which are under her patronage. +There are a large number of these schools in St. Petersburg, and she +pays personal visits to them frequently. + +Her greatest interest, however, is concentrated in her children, and she +finds her chief happiness in her own home. Her domestic virtues are +those which make her respected by the whole nation. Coming as she did +from a far-away country, and being a foreigner, it must have been no +easy matter to be at once understood. For refined and retiring natures +it is specially difficult to become at once popular. It is only in time, +and by having opportunities to show deeper qualities, that sympathy can +be awakened. By kind actions, by benevolence towards those she came in +contact with, and by unbounded charity, the love of the nation was +secured. But how she won the hearts of all was by being an ideal mother. + +[Illustration: _Copyright, Nops Ltd._ H.I.M. THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA To +face page 6] + +The Empress is a devoted mother. She attends to her children, as much as +possible, personally, and with the greatest care supervises the +education of her four little daughters. + +The nurseries are established entirely on the English system. There is +great simplicity in the furniture, but plenty of fresh air and a good +water supply. + +The nursery governess is an English lady, and the rules of this little +world are strictly observed and precisely carried out, Her Majesty +herself having been brought up, as a grandchild of Queen Victoria, on +the same principles. Method and punctuality are strictly observed, and +the little Princesses must attend to their duties most scrupulously; +lessons, recreation, exercises --everything is timed and planned in +advance. There is a great deal to be done in the twenty-four hours, +lessons and all sorts of small duties of many kinds. + +The simplicity of everything might serve as a model to many households. + +The food they partake of is of the plainest kind, healthy, but nothing +elaborate, consisting mainly of porridge, bread and butter, milk and +vegetables, and a little meat or fish. So it is with their attire; +generally they are dressed in scrupulously neat white cotton, but it is +devoid of all ornament. They pass many hours of the day on the seashore, +and as they are running about, laughing, building castles in the sand, +or clasping their beloved mother round the neck, they make a perfect +picture of happiness. + +I reach Peterhof at half-past ten by the special train which daily +conveys the Tsar's guests and visitors. Officials, Court dignitaries, +aides-de-camp, and others of those who are on duty, have hurried to the +large platform, which, covered with red carpet, presents the appearance +of a reception-hall. There is great animation at the Peterhof station +all the time the Court is there, as the greater part of the suite live +in town. + +Before the station is a long row of carriages belonging to the Imperial +household; peculiar-shaped victorias are there, horsed by enormous black +Orloff stallions with great arching necks and flowing manes and tails, +looking very much as if they had stepped from one of the pictures of +Wouvermans or Velasquez. Lackeys, with three-cornered hats, gaiters, and +heavy scarlet coats covered with gold lace, usher each guest to his +vehicle, and each starts in a different direction to the many palaces +and offices. Rattling over gravelled roadways, I first fully realize +that in a few moments I shall be in the presence of the mighty Tsar of +all the Russias, the ruler over the greater part of the enormous Asiatic +continent, the autocratic head of millions of human beings. + +My request is a very modest one--simply permission to get to my +destination in the Far East through Siberia. There was some difficulty +at the Russian frontier about my further journey, and I was advised to +get the obstacles removed by His Majesty himself. He very likely knew +that I am only interested in the spiritual and philanthropic +institutions established in the Far East, my desire being to get through +to my objective as soon as possible. + +We drive for quite a quarter of an hour through woods, and here and +there as we pass by different residences meet sentries marching up and +down. We pass through several gates, all of them made of plain wooden +bars--they might almost be in Leicestershire--each opened and closed by +a Cossack. As we get nearer there are more sentries, and several times +the password is given by the groom. + +Alexandrovsky stands isolated in a quiet corner of the vast domain. Its +home grounds are surrounded by walls and a kind of palisade. At last, +having passed the last sentry and the last gate, the carriage stops at +the private garden entrance. + +I am received by an officer who shows me immediately into the palace--I +ought to say villa. Villa indeed it is in every respect, and the +entrance-hall is so small that it scarcely holds the few servants who +are in attendance. The staircase is very narrow, too, and winds in +exactly the same way as in small old-fashioned English houses. + +The drawing-room gives the same impression of comfort and +cheerfulness--the privileges of English homes. It is small, and with a +rather low ceiling. The furniture is extremely plain. The few sofas and +armchairs are covered with bright material, and the woodwork is +lacquered white. The walls are covered with watercolours, sketches, and +photographs. In one corner there stands a piano with music, and in the +window a desk, apparently both much in use. The main feature of this +room is the quantity of flowers. Tables, brackets, and furniture, are +laden with jars, vases, and bowls filled with fresh-cut, sweet-smelling +flowers. + +But I have no time for further observations or to analyze more minutely +this bright, homely abode in all its detail, giving as it does such a +good insight into the private life of its owners. Simple, bright, +unassuming, it is a sincere illustration of domestic happiness; and with +its writing-desk littered with papers, its piano covered with music, and +tiny jars and vases full of sweet-smelling blossoms, it is a human +document in itself. + +The door opens and an imposing A.D.C. enters and announces that His +Majesty is ready to receive me. He is one of the Grand Dukes on duty at +the palace for the day. He is a first cousin of the Emperor, an officer +in the Russian army, and a most accomplished linguist. He narrated to me +many interesting details of his yachting tour in far-distant seas. He +had just returned from India, and seemed much impressed by the beauties +of that wonderful land. + +A bell begins to ring, a signal that the Emperor is ready to receive me. +I am shown into the next room, which is even smaller and simpler than +the one which I have just left. In its extreme modesty the furniture +seems to be reduced to a few chairs, a lounge, and a large writing-table +which occupies the greater part of the room. + +This is His Majesty's study. + +But if the interior is so very unassuming, the view out of the windows +is simply magnificent; it looks straight on to the sea--a grey and +shining mirror, crowned by the dark battlements of majestic Kronstadt. +The famous citadel floats like a mirage in the blue haze of the +distance, looking even finer than usual as I see it from one of the +Tsar's windows. + +The room is so small that there is no space to make the obligatory three +bows. I have scarcely stepped into the room when His Majesty gets up and +meets me himself with his well-known affability. Nicholas II wears the +undress uniform of a Russian general--dark blue and green, with a very +little gold lace, and a single medal on his breast--a modest garment, +subdued in colouring, suited very well in every respect to its owner. + +The portraits of the Emperor are well enough known to make it +unnecessary for me to go into minute details. He is not tall, and of +rather delicate frame, but healthy, and with a good complexion. What +strikes one at the first moment is his open and kind-hearted expression. +The two main features that impressed me at the first glance are the +turquoise-blue colour of his eyes and their open gaze. Those eyes, which +are the chief feature of his countenance, and seem to be a family +inheritance, can hardly fail to arouse deep sympathy in the beholder. A +very great likeness exists in this respect to the heir to the English +throne. + +[Illustration: _Photo, Levitsky_ _Copyright, Nops Ltd._ H.I.M. NICHOLAS +II, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA To face page 12] + +His Majesty seemed to be much interested in my proposed journey across +Siberia, and wanted to know how long I intended to stay in those +regions. He spoke in an interesting way about his own experiences; he +knows the whole length of the country in fact, as Tsarevitch he turned +the first sod for the railway about twelve years ago in Vladivostok, and +now the line runs from one end to the other, linking two continents. But +he himself has travelled over the greater part of the route in the +simple Russian _tarantas_. + +He gave me with great vivacity many of his innumerable reminiscences and +impressions. He was interested in every question, and tried to see +everything as much as possible for himself. He stopped at each place of +any importance and investigated the situation in detail. Besides his +official engagements, he was keenly interested in the purely historical +and scientific sides of these unknown regions. The knowledge he gathered +during his journey is unique in value, and of the greatest importance to +students of the Asiatic races, their origin, life, and future +development. Undoubtedly there has been no other ruler of this +enormous empire who ever before ventured to enter these remote +districts. + +He told me what never-failing interest it was to him to come across the +different races in his Asiatic dominions, and to see the nomadic tribes +there leading their own primitive life. It was a pleasure to listen, not +only to his world-wide experiences, but to all his different +impressions, gathered with the fresh conception of a young man, and to +realize the keen interest which every sentence so eloquently expressed. + +He spoke with such benevolence about his subjects, with such love about +all those with whom he came in contact throughout his endless +wanderings, that there should be no doubt that the Tsar of all the +Russias really loves his subjects tenderly, and that their welfare is +the highest aim of his life. + +And he spoke further of his hopes of improving their condition, of +witnessing their advancement, and of his earnest wish to have peace +during his reign all over his territory. When he spoke about the great +blessing of universal peace his voice vibrated with an emotion that +carried the conviction, that so long as the fate of his vast empire +depended entirely on his personal desire, there would be no cruel wars, +but calm peace and prosperity over all his possessions. In replying I +ventured to remark, "What could prevent the mighty Tsar of all the +Russias carrying out his wishes?" He only answered, with a +never-to-be-forgotten expression, "I see you are yet a new-comer in this +country." + +His Majesty showed the greatest care in making my journey through his +vast empire, across Siberia, not only possible, but also in insuring +that I should see as much as possible--that I should be able to observe +and learn as much as would be useful to my endeavour. + +His Majesty's permission was extended to embrace such hospitality as I +would not have sought. I took the liberty of saying I would prefer to +proceed as a humble missionary to my destination. + +His Majesty kindly insisted: + +"If you will not accept it for yourself, accept it for the satisfaction +of your mother. She must be very anxious. I know from my own travels how +hard it is for parents to be separated from their children by thousands +of miles. I sent a telegram every day, but, even then, I knew what their +sufferings were. It will give your mother some relief to know that while +you are in this empire you are under my protection...." + + * * * * * + +Time seems to have flown. On my way back I write with difficulty in my +solitary compartment, by the rays of a single light. My day at Peterhof +has seemed to vanish as a moment, but it has been so full of interesting +incidents that to look back upon it is as if a month had been crowded +into a day. I have no time to go into details in my diary, so to be +correct I limit myself to generalities, and if I cannot put down _in +extenso_ all that was of interest--I might say of importance--I want to +fix the main outlines of the picture. + + + + +II + +TO THE FAR EAST BY THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY + + +I + +FROM PETERSBURG TO MANCHURIA + +Is it really possible to get to the Far East by land? Is the Siberian +Railway open to the public? Is it comfortable? Those were the universal +questions that everybody without exception addressed to me on my +arrival. As for the first: yes, it is possible. With reference to the +second, we must make distinctions. It is well known that to get through +Russia everybody must be provided with a passport signed by the local +Russian consul. It is different for priests and other church dignitaries +who do not belong to the Greek denomination; these require a special +permission granted by the Tsar himself. About comfort! The express +trains are not only comfortable, but luxurious. In my many travels I do +not remember having seen anything better fitted up, or affording to the +traveller greater facilities for forgetting the long strain of the +journey. The Trans-Siberian Railway is undoubtedly a marvellous piece +of engineering. It may have defects, and it may need several +alterations, but as a whole it deserves full admiration. Besides its +commercial and strategical importance, as a mere civilizing influence it +might become incalculable. + +Another question which is constantly addressed to me is: Is not the +journey very monotonous? Is it not a most uninteresting and flat +country? Are not the natives of a very low type? The answer to these +questions depends entirely on what the wanderer is interested in. If he +looks for variety and excitement, the journey may be to a certain extent +uneventful. For those who are in search of Swiss scenery and Alpine +grandeur, it may seem flat and colourless. As for social intercourse and +pleasure, naturally, these cannot be expected. But to anybody who is +interested in land and folk--I mean those whose emotions are awakened by +the deeper characteristics of the different countries and their +inhabitants--the journey across the Asiatic continent cannot fail to +offer a series of continuous revelations. From a geographical point of +view, I admit it is in part very flat, and sometimes for days the train +pursues its way in an unbroken line through green pastures or the +denseness of virgin forests. The people one meets at different hamlets +are certainly rough-looking, children of the Steppes; but it is exactly +the untouched state of those regions, and the originality of their +inhabitants, that render it all of the greatest value to the student of +history and folk-lore. The land may be hilly or flat; its greatest +interests are not dependent upon its mere external features, and the +attractive points of a race do not consist purely in the state of its +advancement. They may still be very primitive, living in tents, wearing +skins, leading nomadic lives, unaffected, and yet give us an insight +into their characteristics and capabilities. When untouched and +unaffected by outside influences, they afford even better material for +psychological observation, and present us human documents of exceptional +interest in regard to the possibilities of their future. + +But what compensates largely for the lack of panoramic effects is the +vastness of the scenery. Grand it is in every respect. Undulating +steppes like the wave-beaten ocean; never-ending, densely wooded regions +which seem to extend without limit. Its chief beauty--if beauty it may +be called--is the sentiment. The charm of these northern regions of Asia +vibrates in their atmosphere. Sentiment and atmosphere! These are the +two features of that strange land which impressed me most during the +endless hours I looked from the balcony of my railway car, or when I +stopped at one or other of the various townships; or, again, when I was +visiting some of the native encampments. Among all I noticed that was +new and striking, the most surprising thing was undoubtedly the +"unseen"--what one might call the moral or metaphysical sides; the +impression of unseen strength, exuberant vitality, primeval power, which +forces itself on the traveller indirectly again and again in endless +forms and aspects. We see it in the soil and in the people. It is +equally expressed in the inanimate and animate nature. We perceive it in +the yet unploughed fields, and we feel it among the unawakened humanity. +It is more an instinctive sensation than the absolute reality which +gives us revelations as to the future of this part of the globe. + +I proceeded slowly, stopping at every place of interest, and made a +short halt wherever there was anything that appealed to me. And when my +journey was ended, I regretted it had been so short, and I was sorry the +time was too limited to permit me to penetrate deeper into the matter. +But I did not fail to put down my impressions from day to day. I made a +short note of everything that was interesting, new, or striking, just as +it presented itself to me--just as I saw it at the moment. + +At present, when the general interest towards the Far East is widening, +and people seem to wish to know a little more about Asiatic nations and +their different races, and when every year will see more travellers and +students trying to make the link between West and East stronger, I hope +a few extracts from my diary may strengthen their wish, and help them to +realize and put their intentions into execution. There are great +openings for activity, and scope for intelligence; and there is a great +deal to be done from commercial, scientific, and humanitarian points of +view, for the benefit of the whole civilized world and the greater glory +of the Almighty. + + +II + +FROM PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW + +The Tsar very kindly consented to all the concessions necessary to +traverse his extensive empire, and, after my leave-taking, an official +brought me all the requisite papers, which had been signed by the +Minister of Railways. What an interesting man Prince Chilkoff is! and +such an enthusiast too! He lives literally in the midst of his +locomotives, rails, and sleepers. I think his favourite abode is the +extensive railway workshops of the metropolis. Looking at him, you would +think he was born in Chicago; he speaks perfect English, but with a +slight American intonation. He is American moreover in his keen sense of +business and boundless energy. To hear him talk about the land, new +tracks, almost impracticable tunnels, and steel bridges crossing the +large rivers, is like a most descriptive geographical lecture; and when +he starts on his favourite theories on locomotives, boilers, and pumps, +one regrets not knowing more about the mysteries and fascinations of +mechanics. + +Prince Chilkoff[A] went through a very thorough mechanical training, and +has been studying the matter in the United States for many years. He +worked there himself, and got initiated into all the secrets of railway +communication. He returned finally to his own country, where he hoped to +devote his knowledge and qualifications to the benefit of his +countrymen. But every post of any importance seemed to be occupied. I +hear he was told there was only a subordinate vacancy in the mechanical +department. "Give it to me," was his answer, and he is today Minister of +all the Russian State Railways, and controller of nearly 25,000 miles of +railway and other means of communication. + + [A] It is needless to add that since this was written Prince Chilkoff + has earned a world-wide reputation by his management of the railway + transport during the Russo-Japanese war. + +His study is a large room in the Ministry of Railways, which is a +country-like residence, standing in extensive grounds. In the centre of +his famous office are two large tables, covered, as are also the walls, +with books, plans, and railway charts; and as he kindly explains the +route I shall take, he gets up and points it out on a geographical map +opposite his writing-table. What an enormous territory this Asiatic +continent is! I look at it with a kind of amazement and a sort of fear. +Shall I really get across it in a comfortable railway carriage, as you +would go on a trip into the country? My host seems to divine my +thoughts, and with a smile assures me that from one end to another the +line is entirely under the same central management, and a telegraph +apparatus from the head office brings him unbroken news throughout the +entire length. "I quite understand it might seem strange and unusual to +other countries, but you must not forget our tendencies and our force +consist in centralization." He has made the Siberian journey again and +again, and gives me most valuable information respecting what to see, +and where to stop, and what is really of interest. It is a grand work, +and, considering the space of time in which it was achieved, and its +extent, it seems nearly incredible. Including the branch lines, the +Siberian Railway is over ten thousand kilometres long, and its +construction was begun only twelve years ago. Prince Chilkoff has, +moreover, under his management, 10,400 post offices, and over 100,000 +miles of telegraph line. + +I leave his house charged with valuable hints and a packet of letters +and recommendations; and Prince Chilkoff, with a cordial hand-shake, +repeats, "Good luck! and don't forget to let me know if anything should +prove unsatisfactory." + +My last day at St. Petersburg is even more crowded than the rest of the +week has been. Calls of farewell, final preparations, leaving cards and +inscribing my name in visiting-books, occupy the greater part of it. But +this going to and fro gives me opportunity of seeing it again from end +to end in all its immensity before I leave. What an extraordinary idea +to build a town in the midst of a marsh! to dig canals where one cannot +build roads, and to be surrounded with a plain as flat as a table. Peter +the Great must have been very much impressed by Amsterdam! There are +corners in St. Petersburg drenched and misty as on the borders of the +Zuyder Zee. But if it has reminiscences of quiet, home-like Holland, +again there are brilliant thoroughfares like a Parisian boulevard. The +Nevsky Prospect, in its bustle and traffic, full of colour and of life, +is unique. Nevsky is the main artery of the capital--palaces belonging +to the Imperial family and the grandees, public buildings, bazaars, +workshops, and every edifice you can think of. And each is of different +style, each of different height, and each is painted in a different hue +of the rainbow. Its main feature--I dare say attraction--is its +incoherence. + +During this last week the Russian metropolis presented itself to me from +a thousand different sides, and in how many different lights too! Trying +to remember them all before I depart for good, I do so with preference +for what was pleasant, instructive, and good. Besides, I do not come to +criticize, I merely come to pass through, and so I prefer to put down in +my diary what might prove instructive. I fully understand the great +attraction which St. Petersburg always has for foreigners. I admit it +also, though I should not choose it for my residence or for my sphere of +labour. The polish is perfect, and of course, if one does not belong to +a country, as a passing visitor one scarcely requires more. The +conditions of life--at least, for the well-to-do--are most agreeable; +manners all that can be desired; refinement exquisite. I do not think +you can come in contact anywhere with better informed and more richly +equipped people than here. Some of the scientific institutions, like the +Naval Academy and the Public Library, are quite remarkable; and the new +Polytechnic School--a regular town in itself, with its five faculties +and its laboratories--stands alone. Then the museums and galleries +contain the most celebrated art treasures. The famous Hermitage, large +as it is, can scarcely hold them all. Antiques, gems, jewels, weapons, +vases, engravings, and pictures, all of the first order; and I must say +they appreciate what they do possess, and the arrangements of the +museums are excellent. Unquestionably there is a highly intellectual +current, or, if you would prefer to call it so, undercurrent, which +comes to brilliant manifestations here and there; sometimes most +unexpectedly, amid squalor and debris. + +The huge electric globes cast a cold and glaring light over the gloomy +square in front of the Moscow station. A dense crowd invades passages, +halls, and waiting-rooms, and, like the swelling tide, groans, surges, +and finally overflows the platforms. Travelling in Russia has a +different meaning altogether from that which it possesses elsewhere--it +really means a removal: a regular deplacement. Then, people seem to +leave for ever: all their belongings appear to follow them, so enormous +and so diverse is their kit. From simple boxes and knapsacks to kitchen +utensils and even furniture, it embraces everything one could desire in +one's own abode. And afterwards, when they take leave, their shaking of +hands, embracing, and tears, give the impression that they never are to +meet again. And this is only the local train, taking me as far as +Moscow. What will it be there, at the Siberian terminus? + +The journey lasts only one night, across the famous wheat-growing +plains, and to-morrow, in the early hours of the morn, I hope to reach +the ancient capital of the Tsars. I want to break my journey to see the +ancient metropolis of the mighty rulers, to revisit all the famous +scenes where so many important chapters of eastern history were once +displayed to view. I want to see again the towering Kremlin, with its +mosaic basilicas and treasure-houses, slumbering at present in quiet +dreams of the past under their golden domes. And I want to get prepared +and acclimatized to a certain extent for Siberia; for Moscow belongs +altogether to the other continent; it is really the capital of Asia. + + +III + +THROUGH EUROPEAN RUSSIA + +The fading disc of the sinking sun disappears slowly beneath the horizon +of the waving corn-fields. The first day of the journey is over. It was +uneventful, calm, but it has not lacked interest. We have ploughed +through endless fields of rich land, with a peaceful agricultural +aspect. Here and there a few scattered villages of dark mud huts, and +large white churches. Sometimes there is a country seat of some landed +gentleman, buildings which remind me very much of an Indian bungalow. +They are very long and of only one storey high, half hidden by ancient +trees. On the high roads peasants are just returning in endless streams, +with carts and kettles, from their daily work. However far off they may +have been working, they always return home for the night, for Russian +peasants seldom live on their farms. The whole picture speaks of such +perfect peace: the slowly moving and singing workmen, and the little +villages bathed in the afterglow, express such simple happiness, that I +can scarcely realize that some of those very districts have been the +scene of violence and cruel outrages. It is indeed difficult to believe +the reports of the latest troubles and dissatisfaction which have burst +forth in the midst of the quietest of mujiks. How difficult it is to +understand the inner feelings of these quaint folk! Sleepy as they may +look, uncultured, and a couple of centuries behind the rest of the +world, they can yet occasionally awaken; and when they awake, their +passions burst out like as a stream of lava without restraint. + +During the day we stop at many smaller and larger places, nearly all +insignificant, and generally very far from the station--sometimes so far +that I can scarcely understand the reason of our stopping. For miles and +miles around there is no human habitation, and we wonder by whose hands +all those fields are worked. The most important township seemed to be +Marsanka. It is a typical Russian country town, with its wooden houses, +each surrounded by a flower-garden, and each garden fenced by +lattice-work. The houses and gates are all painted in bright colours. A +river encloses the entire place like a loop, and beyond the river are +low-lying hills. The main feature of the place is given by innumerable +windmills, of all sizes and of every imaginable construction--all +equally conspicuous, equally high, and equally equipped with gigantic +sails. They all whirl--they all work as if they would never stop. I do +not think I ever saw so many windmills within view at one time; I +counted more than a hundred. What a fertile country it must be, to keep +so many busy! + +[Illustration: MARSANKA AFTER A WATER COLOUR DRAWING BY THE AUTHOR "The +main feature of the place is given by innumerable windmills" To face +page 28] + +It is night as we arrive at Pienza, and we can see nothing except the +railway station; but, as I hear, this is the main sight of the place. A +fine building, though constructed of wood. I must also add that the +stations all along the line are fine and convenient. They are well kept, +a great many have restaurants, abundantly stocked, with richly laid out +tables, and fair attendance. Prices are high, but this is to be +expected, considering the distance from which they sometimes procure +their provisions. Here at Pienza I find even luxury. Grapes and +peaches from the Crimea, wine from Germany and France, and all kinds of +American and English conserves; and, as ornamentation, fine old French +candelabra, derived probably from some ruined noble's residence. + +The station is animated. A great many officers and a great many +officials, all dressed in uniform. Some are travellers, some have just +come from the town for mere amusement. The great express has not yet +lost its novelty, and twice a week is the object of universal +admiration. Our train consists of two first-class and three second-class +carriages, a dining-car, luggage-van, tender, and engine. A long +corridor leads from one end to the other, and affords a convenient walk +for daily exercise. The compartments are nicely fitted up; the one I +occupy, a so-called saloon, affords me a comfortable home during the +journey. The dining-car is fitted up in American style; and, as I see, +all the seats are taken from morning till night. To my fellow-passengers +their meals seem to be their only occupation, for if the train stops, +and there is a restaurant, they alight and commence each time a fresh +meal. Indeed, my fellow-passengers are great eaters and great talkers; +they seem to speak about everything with the same ease and unreserve. +Especially when they start on their own countrymen and government, +there is no end to their sarcasm and witty remarks. To any one liking to +hear about the local conditions, the Siberian journey gives an +exceptional opportunity. People soon become acquainted, and if so they +are delighted to find somebody to whom to grumble. Before twenty-four +hours had passed I learnt more about the corn-fields and little villages +we skirted; about Russian agricultural and industrial aspirations; about +agrarian Plehve and M. de Witte's commercial enterprises than I ever +should have expected. + +[Illustration: SAMARA "I shall make a short stay at Samara" To face page +30] + +It seems that Russia is at present passing through a serious crisis +which affects everybody, rich and poor--especially the latter. The +conditions of the peasantry are often very hard, though the reports we +read are generally exaggerated. Education and moral training might do a +great deal to lift them out of their stagnant state, to inspire +self-reliance, and awaken sound ambitions; but this is exactly what +appears to be lacking, and where so much good could be done. And the +people deserve education, for these Russian peasants, as a whole, are a +fine stock--strong and healthy, easy to lead, and not difficult to +improve. Even more, they have generally an unspoilt heart, and are +capable of gratitude. What I hear unanimously abused is the local +administration. If I were to believe half what I heard about the +unworthiness of the official employes, their untruthfulness and +bribery, it would be bad enough, and would easily explain the reason of +the continuous outbreaks. The antagonism between the so-called +Progressives and Conservatives is becoming more intolerant, and +strivings for reform on a smaller or larger scale seem to be universal. +Some are hopeful, some pessimistic; some see Russia's future secured on +the same old patriarchal and primitive foundations, others believe in +commercial prosperity, trade, and advance. It is a great problem, and it +is equally interesting to listen to the advocate of one or other theory. +Yet I am afraid that in their sanguine anticipations they are equally +far from what will prove to be the reality. + +All the talk I listen to serves as a description of, or comment on, the +uninterrupted panorama which unfolds itself without ceasing before us as +we glide swiftly along. It is a kind of prologue to the epic of this +land which we shall soon leave altogether. + +To-morrow we shall cross the Volga by the famous steel bridge of nearly +a mile. I shall make a short stay at Samara, and shall visit its +well-known orphanages, asylums, and other charitable establishments +which the town is so proud of; and, somewhat farther towards the east, +the train will wind along the Ural Mountains to Siberia. + + +IV + +WESTERN SIBERIA + +At half-past nine in the morning we cross the boundary of the two +continents. We are in Asia. A kind of mysterious feeling impresses +itself on my mind. New sensations infuse themselves into me. Encouraging +hopes awaken, which I trust will give me endurance to carry out my work +and aims. + +Asia! What a field for exploration! What an unlimited area for higher +aspirations! Modest as our endeavours may be, the result may prove +incalculable in the future. From a commercial, civilizing, or spiritual +point of view, there is an equally vast field for action. + +[Illustration: ON THE VOLGA "The famous steel bridge of nearly a mile" +To face page 32] + +Our last day in Europe passed on the Baskir land--a high plateau, a +severe and cold region, covered with rich pasture and inhabited by a +semi-nomadic race of the same name. Fine people they are, of heavy +countenance and magnificent frame; very conservative in their habits, +very clannish in their intimacies, and even today living from preference +in tents. They wear sheepskins; cover their heads, like Eskimos, with +furs; and, instead of boots, roll round their feet and legs skins +fastened like a classic sandal with endless straps of leather. They look +uncouth, but picturesque. Their movements are unquestionably plastic. +This race is one of the finest of the Tartar stock, and I am sorry to +learn that they are slowly dying out. + +We stop at different places, and on each platform there are many +Baskirs, men and women all looking very much alike. They are bringing +from their encampments milk, eggs, and poultry, to sell. I ask several +of them the prices of their goods, and I am astonished at the cheapness +of the market. The price of meat per pound amounts to the trifle of five +kopecks; while for twenty roubles one may buy a horse, and a good one +too. The soil is rich, its fertility is exceptional, and it possesses +every quality for agricultural purposes. The future of the district is +bound to be prosperous, and, what is more, the climate is most +invigorating--raw and windy, but withal reminding me very much of the +northern Scottish moors. Even the scenery, when it becomes a little more +hilly, has a certain likeness to Scotland, and the same charm of +solitude and melancholy. All this district impressed me very much, both +from a geographical and an ethnological point of view, and by its +magnitude it cannot fail to appeal to our minds. + +The famous Ural range, I must simply confess, did not come up to my +expectations. I understand the beauty of glaciers and snow-clad peaks, +barren as they may be, and I fully appreciate all the beauty of a vast +plain, or the charm of a sand-covered desert; but the medium--what is +neither one nor the other, neither handsome nor grand, but what so many +admire and call "pretty scenery"--never appeals to me. What interested +me more was the economic possibility of this long stretch of slopes. The +extent of the treasures of this range is yet unknown, though there are +mines which were flourishing in the eighteenth century. Suleta's shafts +were sunk in 1757, and are still under the workman's tools. The mines +belong largely to the Crown; they are partly worked by societies, and +some are private property. The Strogonoffs and Beloselskys have all made +their great wealth in these mines. Some of them seem to be +inexhaustible. What is more, besides gold, silver, lead, iron, almost +every mineral seems to be contained in their depths. We met a great many +workmen as we stopped, apparently without any reason, on our way, +winding up endless zigzags to the top of the mountain. I am rather +astonished that they do not in the least look like miners. They are +neither blackened by coal-dust or smoke, nor have they the gloomy +expression and sad countenance of those people who are bound to work and +live underground, deprived of the rays of the sun for the greater part +of their lives. They look much more like farmers--people of bright +disposition. I hear the wages are low; but their needs are small, so +that they can easily procure all that seems necessary to their +happiness. On the top of the mountain there stands a lofty granite +obelisk, with a short but significant inscription. There are only two +words: on one side "Europe," on the other "Asia." + +[Illustration: SIBERIAN HOME "Very conservative in their habits" To face +page 34] + +We are in Western Siberia, in the midst of an expanse of steppe. It +seems to be boundless, and it has nothing to mark its space. It is like +a sea, with all the suggestiveness of the ocean. Our train crawls like a +black reptile, like a monster of a fairy tale, breathing its steam and +black smoke against the cloudless sky. What a sky it is! Pale blue, cold +and without a single cloud. I am afraid I must again contradict the +general opinion of travellers about this corner of the earth. I have +repeatedly heard travellers tell of the gloom and tediousness of the +journey across it. I cannot agree with either remark. Instead of gloom, +I rather think repose would be a more appropriate expression to describe +its true character; and tediousness is really a question of personal +disposition. + +I again break my journey at several places, and always find more of +interest and more new material for study than I should have dared to +anticipate. Western Siberia is a marvellous territory, and it possesses +all that is required to make a country flourishing. I quite understand +the great interest which it arouses, and it is natural that the country +should invest money lavishly for the furtherance of its progress. They +have built up in a comparatively short time some important townships. +Petropaulovsk, and especially Omsk, Tobolsk, and Tomsk, are already +well-known centres, provided with richly endowed public institutions. +The Government maintains some large schools and colleges, and does +everything in its power to attract new settlers to the uninhabited +regions. + +[Illustration: A SIBERIAN TOWN "They have built up in a comparatively +short time some important townships" To face page 36] + +The colonization of Siberia is one of the most important national +questions--to people thousands and thousands of square miles; to exploit +all its resources; to make a country where there is now only surface and +space. And the Government knows how to offer attractions. Land is +granted under the most favourable conditions; there is no taxation for +the first three years, seed is provided on easy terms, and, if required, +agricultural implements and machinery are sold on the instalment system. +The journey is nearly free, the fare being reduced to a few kopecks per +hundreds of miles. Petropaulovsk is bound to become one day the junction +of Central Asia, when railway lines will run to the north along the Obi +valley and south _via_ Atmolinsk, to Tashkend and Bokhara. All this is +well thought out, and already carefully planned. Its accomplishment +seems to be a mere question of time, and, as indeed is well known as an +historical fact, time has never seemed to be an obstacle to the +achievement of any aspiration conceived by Russia. + +The long line across the vast desert area is marked at intervals by +smaller or larger railway stations. For whom, and what for? one might +ask, as there is nothing in sight. No town, no village, not even one +human habitation. But, we are told, Government will soon build a +township. It already has a name, and some of those imaginary cities even +have a small Greek basilica, surmounted with glaring green cupolas. +Again, some are partly finished, and their wide streets are bordered by +a few wooden buildings. At the corners there are commodious shops; on +the open square very likely a school; near it store-houses for wheat and +temporary lodgings for settlers. It all looks so attractive from the +railway station that I wonder if they do it on purpose to make it +tempting. + +Some of these new places do not entirely lack artistic beauty, and +certainly they all have the same characteristic of appearing very +national, holding firmly to the native taste and following the Muscovite +style of architecture. Everything, it must be confessed, is in keeping +with the surroundings, and at the same time practical and adequate to +the locality. The new settler builds a small house of wood, and at the +same time tries to make it look neat by carving it elaborately if he +can, and never fails to paint the wood in all kinds of bright colours. + + +V + +CENTRAL SIBERIA + +From unlimited pastures we pass to endless forests. For days we are +surrounded by magnificent vegetation, including beautiful trees of +varied hues. There are dark oaks and pale elms, copper beeches and +silver birches, the colour of which is just turning. The foliage is +fading, and as one pierces through their depths the leaves shake and +rustle and pour down in golden showers. Beautiful this Siberian woodland +is! Unknown, unpenetrated, striking in its virgin prime. + +[Illustration: RAILWAY CHURCH SERVICE "A rolling Greek basilica" To face +page 38] + +The railway cuts through in a straight line for hundreds of miles, and +there is nothing to be seen on either side but centenarian trees and +feathery ferns. What a field of exploration for a botanist! What a +collection of beautiful herbs and mosses! What exquisite wild flowers! +The colour of them is so deep and glorious, and the green of the grass +is of the richest shade. Many of the species are scarcely known yet, +and it is quite astonishing to find, in these far-away regions, plants +belonging to families of quite different latitudes. If the flora is so +surprising, the fauna is even more so: animals of every size and of +every description, from large bears to tiny squirrels. There are many +kinds of quadrupeds: wolves, foxes, snow-leopards, wild goats, martens, +sables, ermines, and all the innumerable members of the feline race. But +what are even more interesting than the animal nature are the fossils +found along the banks of the rivers and deep in the gloom of the earth. +Some magnificent specimens of antediluvian skeletons have been +excavated, and these are zealously kept in the museums of St. +Petersburg, Moscow, and Irkutsk. And for the ornithologist it is a +perfect land for research. The birds and their lives seem to have in +Siberia a most interesting past, and the laws of migration offer a +special field of observation. Some come from as far as Australia, while +others choose for their winter home New Zealand. The theories explaining +this mystery of nature are rather conflicting, and scientists have +devised various explanations of these far-distant wanderings. The +butterflies and beetles are unique also; in fact, it is a world in +itself lost in far-away Siberia. + +The long track between Tomsk and Irkutsk has the reputation of being +the dreariest and the most desolate part of the journey. I did not +expect to find much, which may very likely be the reason that I was so +surprised to come across towns like Krasnoyark, Kanks, and Udinsk. The +first, especially, is an important centre for trade and business. +Besides wheat and other cereals, it is the great depot for the +increasing exportation of skins, furs, tallow, grease, and lately +butter. The export of butter is becoming of the greatest importance in +Siberia. Farming is increasing from day to day, and the Danes accomplish +a great deal in this respect. The yearly export to Europe, especially to +the English market, is quite astonishing, even more so when we take into +consideration that there are no winter pastures, and that all the cattle +must be kept on stable food. It is easy to understand the amount of +labour and care it requires, and yet it must pay, considering the number +of Danish families which come yearly to settle down in Siberia. For some +time Krasnoyark has been the terminus of the Western Siberian line, and +it derives its present importance partly from this fact. Udinsk is +growing rapidly too, and is the centre of a vast area. Around its +station I saw an enormous encampment of small Russian tarantas, or cars, +heavily laden with piles of sacks. Barns near the line were packed with +wheat and corn; and yet these stores do not seem to remain there +long, for all through the journey we constantly passed trains loaded +with cereals. What will it be when all of this enormous land, the whole +of Siberia, is under cultivation! + +[Illustration: _Photo, Levitsky_ _Copyright, Nops Ltd._ M. DE PLEHVE To +face page 40] + +It was most interesting to watch all these and many other features; to +realize all that has been done already since the railway was +constructed, and to conjecture the country in its full development; for +nature seems to have provided it with everything. I am more and more +astonished to find "dreadful Siberia" in reality as rich as, or even +richer than its neighbour across the sea--the beautiful Canada. + +Behind the green forest a dark blue wall seems to fence the plain in +towards the south. This is the Altai range. Its length is six hundred +verst, and its peaks seem to be crushed under the heavy clouds. On the +other side is China. The Altai district has some of the most beautiful +scenery of the whole globe. It is densely wooded, and dotted with lakes +and watered by endless streams and rivers, for the largest streams of +Asia flow from there to the Polar Sea. The mighty Yenisei, Lena, Obi, +all have their sources among this wilderness. The Altai range was the +cradle of the most ancient races, for the earliest inhabitants of the +earth belonged to the same stock as the Finnish and Turanian, and +prehistorical remains of them are to be found to this day. Even +Herodotus mentions these early folk. Later on Mongolian hordes swept +over the calm valleys, and the present populace show visible traces of +the extraordinary mixture of the different races which arose in or +overran this country. What great people some of them became! What +extraordinary might some of them acquired! With what striking lines they +have filled the pages of history! And as in those days long gone by, +some of those tribes still preserve their independence and unlimited +freedom. They have even kept the old name of the highest peak, and call +it, as ever before, Chin-Chan, the golden mountain. + +I was roused from my reflections by the clanging of the railway bell at +the Irkutsk station. At last I had arrived at the largest town, what +people here call the "Paris" of Siberia. Since yesterday morning I have +been travelling in the territory of the government bearing the same +name, of which it is the administrative centre. The district of Irkutsk +is enormous, with its five divisions of Nijni-Oudinsk, Balagansk, +Kirinsk, Irkutsk, and Erbolinsk, of which each is a territory in itself. +It extends south to China, and submerges north into the Arctic Ocean. +Its variety equals its size. Besides the flat pasture regions, it has +mountains towering up to Alpine elevations. Moonkov-Sarde is 11,430 feet +high. The fertility of the soil is equalled by the richness of the +mines; but this vast area contains scarcely a million people. The +northern part of it is entirely barren, and hardly explored at all. The +present populace derive their origin from Mongolian lineage. The most +numerous are the Buriats, Tungus, and Kalmuks, who lead nomadic lives, +and for occupation rear their herds, hunt, and fish. They are not yet +acquainted with agriculture, and when they settle by the sides of rivers +and fertile districts they leave the land to be cultivated by the Slavs, +and acquire their tools and requisites by the simple method of exchange. +Their religion is idolatry. In the south there are a great many +Buddhists, and Mohammedanism appeals especially to the Tartars. + +Of all the strange folk by whom Siberia is inhabited, general curiosity +seems to be most interested in the convicts, of whom, during the last +century alone, more than one hundred thousand were sent into exile. Only +half of them ever returned to their homes again--many died; and only a +small contingent settled down after the expiration of the punishment. +But all this has often been narrated and described by famous authors: +sometimes in such vivid colours, depicted in all its gloom, lamented +with sighs of agony, that on visiting some of the prisons and workhouses +I am quite astonished to find them far above my expectations. +Considering the ordinary condition of a Russian criminal, the +difference between home and prison is not harder than in any other +country. If the officials and jailers are men with human sympathies, +there is every opportunity of spending their time in a way which will +lead to general improvement. Where the misery really comes in is with +those who are of a higher culture and greater refinement, and who are, +justly or unjustly, punished for some uproar, and who suffer merely for +their convictions. + +To give an adequate idea of the Irkutsk station on a foggy and rainy +autumn night, at the hour when the express arrives, is simply beyond +possibility. And to describe the way of getting from the station to the +town is even more so. To begin with, the railway station does not look +like a station in other parts of the world at all. Roads or streets +cannot be seen, and a town, in our acceptation of the word, does not +exist. The words seem to change and to lose their meanings there. If it +had been light I should have tried to take some pictures of the +desolation; but it is pitch dark, so I will confine myself for the +moment to putting down a few notes--my first impressions. + +The train stops with a sudden jerk. The door of my compartment is torn +open with violence, some brigand-looking men jump in, and as suddenly +as they came disappear again, but alas! with all my luggage. How long it +took to gather and regain it altogether, I do not remember; and the +extent of my walks from one end of the long platforms to the other I +cannot calculate. On the chilly platform of Irkutsk station all ideas of +time and space vanish completely. I think I should be seeking to the +present hour if a martial-looking officer had not come to my help. His +height is imposing, his gestures commanding, and his voice resounding. +He uses all his enviable qualities at once, and all for the same +purpose--to find my kit. He fights his way to achieve this by cutting +through ground heavily barricaded by cases, sacks, travelling-bags, and +furniture. He makes people stand up and clear out of his way, scolds and +threatens all the porters and every mujik he comes across. And, strange +as it seems to me, his efforts are crowned with success. He hands me +over all my belongings! I thank him heartily for his kindness and +express my sincere hope that, owing to his great strategical abilities, +I may find him, if ever I return to Siberia, promoted to the rank of +general. At the same time I cannot omit remarking that the general +civility and kindness which were shown to me, by employes and passengers +alike, were most gratifying. Everybody seemed to wish to help, to give +information, and offer whatever they possessed. Their manners, from the +highest to the lowest, were irreproachable. I will go further, and say +that on no railway have I ever met guards showing more attention and +more good-nature. And much patience they require. The electric bells of +the different compartments seemed to tinkle incessantly, as if the only +occupation of some of the travellers was to ask what they already know, +and to order what they do not require. + +Whips crack, horses neigh, coachmen yell, travellers scream, porters +quarrel. Such is the scene which awaits me in front of the station. I +secure one of the many small droshkies, of which there are hundreds, and +all shaky and open like the public vehicles of sunny Naples. The only +difference is that instead of sunbeams there is sleet falling on us from +above. My belongings are put on another droshky, skilfully fitted +together like an elaborate mosaic. We start in a sea of mud--dark and +liquid as a sauce--which covers everything like a shiny varnish. The +depths beneath must be great, for sometimes my droshky is nearly +submerged, and the lava-like stream floods our small vehicle. But it +seems to be built for use on land or on water, for sometimes I have a +sensation of floating in a canoe, rather than rolling along on wheels. +We reach terra firma in the shape of a bridge formed of logs, nailed and +tied together. The bridge is long, but at last, on coming to the end of +it, the driver announces with pride, "We are at Irkutsk." I cannot help +asking, "Where?" for I do not see any buildings or any sign of a town. +It takes some time before I can distinguish in the depths of the night +high palisades, looking very much like those surrounding soldiers' +encampments in the Middle Ages. Above the palisades a few roofs emerge, +low and sloping, very much like a tent. But at a sharp turn a brilliant +electric globe spreads its beams, like those of a lighthouse at sea, to +lead the wanderer to a secure harbour. Following its course, we land at +the doorway of the famous Hotel du Metropole. + +For famous it is! I shall certainly not forget it, and hope never to see +it again, for I think it contains all that Western bad taste and Eastern +filth combined can produce. Along a passage carpeted with red Brussels +and mud a waiter, in evening dress, but apparently without linen, shows +me to an apartment furnished with green plush, but devoid of bedding. I +am told that travellers are expected to bring their own sheets and +blankets. I have none, and after some rushing about I am provided with +sheets which I prefer not to use, and would rather content myself for my +night's rest with an easy chair and some travelling-rugs. There is, +moreover, no washstand, for the queer apparatus in the corner, bearing, +apparently as an ornament, only one basin about the size of a +finger-bowl, cannot be so described. No hot water! And if you call for +any they bring a few drops in a cream-jug. Finally, there is no air +either! The windows are nailed up all the year through. On trying to +open one it nearly fell to pieces. So if people nowadays ask me what +hotels in Siberian towns are like, I am bound to say you have plush and +gold, but no fresh air and no hot water! + + +VI + +THE SIBERIAN METROPOLIS + +[Illustration: IRKUTSK "As I walk down to the Angara's banks I am short +of adjectives" To face page 48] + +How shall I record all the tumultuous impressions of the first +twenty-four hours passed in Irkutsk? After the gloom of the night a +brilliant morning broke forth, brilliant as it is only seen on these +high plateaux. As I took my first glance round, everything seemed to +swim in a blaze of light. The small log houses seemed to have grown into +palaces. The palisades presented colours of hundreds of different +shades. Monuments and gilded domes seemed to have arisen out of the +ground. All the gloomy picture of last night vanished altogether, +dispersed by the light of the sun like the melting away of a nightmare. +What a magician this celestial body is! Painter, sculptor, and +architect, he can construct and raise marvels out of nothing, and +make us see and admire where all is only glamour. + +As I walk down to the Angara's banks I am short of adjectives. Language +fails to describe the pureness of the atmosphere, the variety of the +tints of the distant mists, and the whole scenery of the plain with its +vibrating mirages. I think it is at the early hours of the morn and at +sunset that one can best realize the charm of this strange country, +understand the dreamy legends which were born on the soil, realize the +soul of its people, and penetrate into its wondrous atmosphere, full of +enigmas and mysteries. + +Irkutsk is a large and important centre, the seat of the military and +civil governors, of the Catholic bishop, of the commander of the forces. +There are high schools, many public institutions, and factories. Irkutsk +is a famous commercial town, and is one of the most prominent markets +for international trade. The high street is an endless row of shops, +full of goods made in Germany, and some in America. I do not see much +English merchandise; but, as I hear, English commercial interests are +only represented in a few of the larger mines and building enterprises. +The Siberian national museum deserves special mention. It is a fine +stone building, rich in all that relates to the origin, history, and +folk-lore of Siberia. A few hours passed in its halls give one a most +extensive insight into the conditions of the different races and tribes +which have peopled these regions for centuries. + +Irkutsk from a social standpoint seems to offer some advantages too. +Government employes, officers, and others regard it as a special favour +to get an appointment here. There is a great deal of entertainment, and +in the centre of the town is a most pretentious building--the Imperial +Opera House. Life is expensive, and the population shows a great +tendency to luxury, and even more, what one might call waste. Money is +spent easily and uselessly, as is generally the case in growing places +and recent settlements. In this respect there is a slight resemblance +between Irkutsk and a Western American ranch or an Australian mining +town; and in the afternoon, when everybody promenades on the wooden +pavements, which run like bridges across and along the muddy streets, +the inhabitants show exactly the same variety of origin and of social +condition as in those towns beyond the seas. + +Besides Russian, I hear German spoken. Poles are numerous too, and all +the different Baltic provinces have a fair number of representatives. +Nearly all the trade is in their hands. Russians are not commercial +people as a rule. And there is a large Chinese colony, mostly occupied +with the famous overland tea trade _via_ Kiahta. They walk for hours +and hours up and down all these endless pathways, and a great many sit, +covered with furs, in front of their house doors to see the show. About +eight o'clock everything becomes quiet; streets are deserted, doors are +closed, shutters fastened, lights extinguished; and there are only the +watchmen sauntering slowly from corner to corner, monotonously tapping +their wooden rattles to let householders know that they are awake, and +to give the robber at the other side of the street time to escape. + +It is worth while! I should, after all, recommend travellers to stop for +a few days in some of the largest Siberian towns, in spite of the rough +hotels and the primitive ways; it gives such a definite idea of their +buildings, inhabitants, and mode of living, as could never be procured +from books. + + +VII + +TRANS-BAIKALIA + +I have arrived at the climax of the journey. We are crossing Lake +Baikal. It is the most celebrated passage of the whole overland journey; +the scenery is fine: an extensive sheet of water, brilliant like a +mirror, surrounded by high mountains and majestic rocks; but I am +inclined to repeat what I said before about hilly scenery: lake +districts do not appeal to me. A sea in its greatness, and a marsh in +its diverse variations of colour, are both perfect in their artistic +values, only different in conception. The former imposing, like a +picture of Meesdag; the latter, hazy like a Corot, each perfect in its +style. But a lake, even the prettiest, does not rise above the effects +of a chromo-lithograph. Lake Baikal, viewed from the north, loses its +banks, and so has the advantage of appearing as an ocean. + +[Illustration: LAKE BAIKAL "There are some enormous rocks as if thrown +in by the hand of a Titan" To face page 52] + +The whole distance is flat, veiled in silver mists and pierced through +here and there by the crystal peaks of the distant mountains. There are +a few islands scattered about, some enormous rocks, as if thrown in by +the hand of a Titan. To each a legend is attached. Each has a different +fairytale. All of them, I am told, were inhabited by dwarfs and fairies, +possessed of marvellous gifts, and belonging to a wondrous past. At +least the mythical minds of these archaic people endowed each striking +spot with a different tale, and there are many such, especially on the +south-eastern shore, which displays a great variety of scenery, and this +proves to be a serious hindrance to the completion of the railway track. +The line around Lake Baikal is not completed yet, for there are several +tunnels still to be bored and a great many rocks to be cut through; +but it is, after all, the only portion of the track which offers any +serious difficulty to the engineer. All the rest has been easy to +accomplish, and, with the exception of building the great railway +bridges, consisted mainly of simply laying the rails on level ground. +But although it was not difficult to construct, it might have been +better done. The rails are altogether too light, and after a few years +of traffic working it is already under constant repair, and will have to +be altered altogether very soon, as it is so defectively ballasted. + +At present the train is carried across the lake by a huge vessel built +in Newcastle. In winter they sometimes use an ice-breaker, which +apparently works very slowly, for generally the railway provides, for +passengers and goods, sledges on which to traverse the frozen waters. + +Our boat is overcrowded. Passengers of all nations and of all grades. +Besides Russian officials, there are foreign tradesmen, a few Germans, +one American, and a Dane, a detachment of soldiers guarding convicts, +and a few settlers. And so I have an opportunity of watching the four +leading classes of this new country. These are, indeed, the four +different elements by which Siberia is becoming populated. I am rather +impressed by the perfect cordiality with which they share the common +fate in their new home. The soldiers are Cossacks, a kind of irregular +troops, and enjoy perfect freedom. The Government gives them a certain +territory, where they go in for agriculture and raise cattle and horses, +and at the same time are liable for some military service. They are fine +men, excellent soldiers, and deserve their long-established fame for +courage. The settlers are all of a different race, coming mostly from +central and southern Russia. They are indifferent-looking, miserably +clad, poor folk, with sallow faces and sad eyes. Whole families--fathers +and mothers, grandparents and grandchildren--have all gone together to +the far-away promised land to live and to die. + +The Russian Government is very anxious to settle agriculturists in these +Eastern Siberian regions, for the land is as yet barely cultivated at +all. Farmers are very scarce, and the famous mines are also short of +labourers. It seems that possibilities here are even greater than in +Western Siberia, the only drawback being the enormous distance. Yet the +journey scarcely costs anything, as I mentioned before; the fare is +merely a nominal sum. It is evident that Russian railways can afford to +lose; their deficits last year amounted to the sum of fourteen million +roubles. But the main object of these State railways is not to make +money--anyhow, not at present. They are designed to colonize this +newly-acquired country, and settle Slavs among the native Mongolian and +Tartar tribes. And besides--and I think before and above all--there are +the strategical interests to be considered. Undoubtedly the Siberian +Railway is a military one, and with all its junctions and crossings +seems to have been planned with the view to forwarding troops and +ammunition speedily. And even the often-discussed puzzle--why does the +Siberian Railway so very frequently avoid entering the most important +townships?--might be partly explained from a military standpoint. +Opinions differ as to whether the railway in its present state can prove +entirely satisfactory for the conveyance of large army corps. At the +same time, we must not forget that it is partly under construction +still, and its final completion seems to be far in the future. + +The crossing of Lake Baikal takes between four and five hours. The +passage is extremely rough, and squalls burst forth very unexpectedly. +We arrived about sunset on the eastern shore, at a place called Myssowa, +where there are a few log houses scattered about, and a rough railway +station; but in the dining-room there is a table laid out in a lavish +style, and, like the smallest of them on the line, it does not lack its +pride--a gilt centre-piece and five-armed candelabra. We do not start +again until midnight, so I have time to go for a walk, though soon +return from it, for it is very dreary. There are but few buildings, and +I am afraid every one is a public-house, for Myssowa, being the centre +of a rich mining district, shows all the sad sides of the miners' life. +The money they earn during a hard day's work is thrown away in the hours +of the night. In the front of the station are a few dozen of them +standing about; dismal and stolid-looking creatures, emerged from the +slums of Western towns and launched in Eastern Siberia. In these +far-away regions, workmen are rather well paid, and that is the reason +so many remain for some time in the course of their flight. + +It is snowing hard. The feathery flakes fly and skim like so many +white-winged butterflies against the pale grey sky. It is bitterly cold, +and the windows of my railway carriage are thickly frozen over, and when +they clear there is not much to be seen. The high mountains have +disappeared, and there is no majestic plain before us. The whole +district is hilly, with here and there a river, and very scant +vegetation. Villages seem to be unknown, and the first place of any +importance we stop at is Petrovsk, a locality which owes its origin to +its deep mines, enormous factories, and a large prison to furnish the +workmen. What a gloomy site! Never have I seen factories and forges more +desolate, and never has smoke appeared heavier and blacker to me than +that which I see puffing from the numberless chimneys. It is an inferno, +whose horrors only the genius of a Dante could describe. And if Petrovsk +had a city gate, its sole inscription could be "Lasciate ogni speranza +voi ch' entrate." + +And how many have entered this ghastly place! How many of the Russian +and Polish nobles have been exiled here! Nariskins, Mouravievs, +Anenkoffs, Volkonskys, Troubetzkois--we find descendants of all. How +many historical families have had their political aspirations stranded +here! The miseries of Omsk have been described by Dostoievsky, but those +of Petrovsk will never be entirely known. Many of the exiles have been +followed by their brave wives, ladies of marvellous courage, leaving +palaces to follow their husbands and to suffer voluntary exile. + +Through the frozen lands of Trans-Baikalia we continue our way. I am +told the country is very rich. There are over thirty mines in work at +present, and there might be a great many more. Where they have already +started farming it has proved a great success, and some of the towns +show signs of rising commercial activity; but I know not why this part +of Siberia misses altogether the great charm, in admiration of which I +was lost a few days ago. The high plateau of the Baskirs, the steppes +of the Kirghiz, and the dense forests of the Kalmuks, all had a peculiar +charm and atmosphere; but Trans-Baikalia, though undoubtedly possessing +great economic possibilities, seems to have no beauty at all. The +inhabitants are Buriats, and nomads, like the others, but lack their +sympathetic features, and seem so strange--so entirely different. Their +yellow, parchment-like skins and beady eyes lack all expression, or if +they have any, it is so incomprehensible to us that we look at them as +mere curiosities--as children belonging to another planet. + +They live in tents or in huts covered with a kind of felt prepared from +horsehair and furnished with skins; and breed horses, of which they +possess large studs of their own. Men and women are famous riders, and +live in saddles from the cradle to the grave. Men and women wear very +much the same kind of garments, heavy boots and low felt hats, and leave +their long hair hanging in greasy tresses. They resemble the Chinese +very much, and even more so the Tibetans and Bhutanese, and profess the +same religion too--for nearly all are Buddhists. Hundreds of Lamas swarm +all over the country, and there are several monasteries belonging to +them. The Government, which is generally hostile to any creed except the +Greek Church, not only tolerates, but apparently supports their claims +to a certain extent. Russia seems of late to be taking a great interest +in its Buddhist subjects, of whom it possesses several hundred +thousands. It even accords them every facility to make their great +pilgrimages to the Lama of Lhassa, in mysterious Tibet, and by this +means gets into constant communication with the forbidden land. + +The last day of our journey is passed in the Amur region; that enormous +district, which was granted to Russia without the drawing of a sword and +without any cost, by a single stroke of the pen of Count Muraviev after +the Treaty of Pekin in 1860. From Chitta the line turns to the +south-east, and we are proceeding to the so-called Chinese frontier. At +midnight we reach our destination, a settlement called Manchury, lost in +a corner of the desert of Gobi. On the other side extends Manchuria, +which I am emphatically assured belongs to the Yellow Empire. From here +the railway runs under a different title. Instead of being the "Russian +State," it is called the "Eastern Chinese Railway Company." It has three +main branches. One runs from Siberia to Harbin, the second from Harbin +to Vladivostok, the third from Harbin to Port Arthur. They unite the +Yellow with the Black Sea through Moscow, and the Pacific with the +Baltic through St. Petersburg. What may have appeared to be a dream only +a few years ago is a reality today. + +A saloon car containing a bedroom, study with verandah, servant's +quarters, and a kitchen, which the Company very kindly put at my +disposal, and which is to serve as my home while getting as far as +Niu-chwang and Port Arthur, is now being attached to the new train, and +while it is being got ready I have time to sum up recollections and +arrange my papers. + +[Illustration: THE STATION OF MANCHURY "Lost in a corner of the desert +of Gobi" To face page 60] + +There is more to note than I expected, for I found interest in every +direction and in every respect. Siberia is more than a country, it is a +continent--I might even say a world of its own. It has its +characteristics and special features; its own soil and its own folk; its +own geography, ethnography, and climate. It is an unknown land +altogether; new or old, as you like to call it. To understand it +requires more instinct than erudition, more sympathy than analysis. The +observer must have sentiment; and even so it may or may not appeal to +him, and he may like it or not, yet he cannot fail to regard it as +impressive and imposing. It is a land of nearly five million square +miles, and it has eight organized provinces, of which each is larger +than most of the Western kingdoms. It can be maintained and developed +from its unlimited resources, and guarded by an army amounting, if +required, to millions. It is grand in every respect. It is watered by +the largest streams of Asia, and possesses the most extensive +fresh-water lake of one hemisphere. It has a greater area of +productive land than all Europe put together; its forests are hardly +measurable; its mountains tower high to the sky; its reputed monotony +should rather be called vastness, for variety it does not lack, only it +occurs at enormous intervals. + +The same distinctions prevail with regard to the inhabitants; they +belong to various tribes and descend from different races. Some belong +to the Tartar, some to the Mongolian, some to the Caucasian family. Some +are yellow, and some are white. To-day the rulers are the latter, but it +is the home of the former. Will the white remain the dominating race, or +will it be overwhelmed by the yellow, or will it become amalgamated and +swallowed up by the great majority? What an interesting problem, and how +inexplicable! It is, indeed, hard to understand the nature of these +people; to read their thoughts; to comprehend their lives; and to +realize their ideals. + +Once mighty, now in decay; leading a subordinate, unorganized existence, +lacking energy, unfit for higher aspirations. And yet physically all +these nomads are fine creatures, possessing all the power of their +forefathers of the time of Genghis Khan. How long will it take them to +awaken? How long will it require to realize and acquire all the +advantages of Western civilization and the elevating power of +Christianity? + +These are questions which can only be answered by the history of the +future. The best forecast, I am afraid, will fall short of what will +prove to be the reality. I fear there may yet be many wars, and I hope +peace too, and conferences and treaties; but racial struggles cannot be +settled on battle-fields or in houses of parliament. The destiny of +mankind has a higher tribunal. + +Whatever may be the future of the Far East, the Siberian Railway will +have undoubtedly a certain share, if not by altering, certainly by +hastening its course. + +It was a mighty step forward. The step of a Colossus! + + + + +III + +MANCHURIA UNDER RUSSIAN RULE + + +Am I on Chinese territory? Does Manchuria really belong to the Yellow +Empire? Since I crossed the Russian frontier several days ago there has +not been the slightest change that I could see. Everything has remained +Russian. + +Our train was in charge of Muscovite soldiers, the railway officials at +the stopping places were Russian officers, the barracks around were +inhabited by Cossacks. The line was guarded by Russian troops, and if +the latest reports could be trusted, public safety seemed far from +secured. Hardly a day passed without atrocities of some kind being +reported, and skirmishes between Manchu marauders and Russian scouts +were of frequent occurrence. The railway itself was constantly +threatened, the banks destroyed, and the rails torn up; so even our +train was provided with a military escort to defend it in case of +necessity. + +The "Eastern Chinese Railway Company," so called in order that there +might be something Chinese at all events about the name, is an +exclusively Russian enterprise, and no one disputes its entirely +strategic object, which is to connect Vladivostok and Port Arthur with +Moscow and St. Petersburg. This became very evident to me during my +journey. The line is constructed by Russian troops and military +engineers under the direction of officers. It is still far from +complete, and I was therefore the better able to watch the progress of +this interesting undertaking. The work is carried on at great +speed--thousands of coolies are employed upon it under the supervision +of Cossacks. The sand is moved in wheelbarrows, sleepers are laid and +rails fixed, all at one and the same time, by different gangs of +workmen. The system of construction is the same as that so successfully +adopted by General Annenkoff for the Trans-Caspian Railway. + +I had plenty of time to give my full attention to it, for there was +nothing else to see. We were crossing the north-eastern border of the +Gobi desert, and if ever desert was rightly so named, it is this one. +The Sahara has at least the charm of the tropics, the Arabian desert has +the beauty of a cloudless sky, the desert of Bikanir possesses the +golden hues of the Indian sun; but the Gobi desert has nothing to +commend it; it is absolutely desolate. There is neither colour nor +charm, but a leaden sky hangs over an endless expanse of grey dust--or +rather, ashes--which, when whirled about in the wind, obscures heaven +and earth and covers everything as with a shroud. Not a village was in +sight, not even a solitary dwelling. The only living creatures in this +desolate region seemed to be the Russian troops and the legions of +coolies working under their orders. + +Before going any further I must explain that I was travelling by goods +train. The line, as already said, was not finished, the rails hardly +laid, and there were no proper stations; guards and officials being +accommodated in temporary huts and encampments. There was no regular +tariff and no tickets were issued. Trains of trucks with materials for +construction plied between the main junctions, and these same trains +also conveyed the workmen and the persons connected with the +undertaking, to their various destinations. + +It was necessary to get a special permission from the authorities to +travel by this route. Of course I was prepared to rough it, and the +directors had not disguised from me the fact that as yet no arrangements +had been made for the convenience of passengers. They could not even +promise that I should reach Port Arthur without delay, for some of the +temporary bridges had been destroyed by the autumn rains, and the +railway banks in various parts were washed away by the floods. But a +special car was placed at my disposal for the whole journey across +Manchuria, and this semi-saloon car became my domicile for several +weeks. + +To give some idea of my movable house, I may say that although the +exterior was extremely simple, the interior was comfortable enough. It +consisted of a bedroom, a study, a passage, a lavatory, and a small +balcony; besides these, there were a kitchen and sleeping accommodation +for my servant. The balcony was my favourite resort: many a peaceful +hour have I spent there in reading or writing, and looking out upon that +dismal landscape unfolding itself in its monstrous immensity. + +Sometimes my home was shunted and I was left for days to amuse myself in +the vicinity of some place of interest. Then it would be hooked on again +behind trucks carrying bricks, iron, and all kinds of machinery. My +carriage was my home, my stronghold. And indeed it was not unlike a +fortified castle when it stood motionless near one of the stations, with +sentries and watches patrolling round or halting in the neighbouring +encampment. I was never quite sure whether they regarded me as a convict +or whether they kept a kindly watch over me. + +Along the route various stations were in process of building, some +already roofed. Unpretentious structures they were, never more than one +storey high, and roofed with black tiles. Outwardly they resemble the +Chinese houses, and the beams are curved in the "Ting" style. Although +unfinished, they impress one as if encumbered with a weary past, rather +than as having a bright future in store. + +Everything, in fact, has a doleful aspect here. There are no gardens and +no cultivation of any kind worth mentioning. The station yards are +swamps, or pools of mud. Here and there an attempt has been made to +improve matters, and stones or planks are laid down at intervals to +assist the traveller in crossing. + +Refreshment rooms are liberally provided on the Trans-Siberian line, and +occasionally they even have some pretence to luxury; but in Manchuria +they are of the most primitive description, scarcely provided with the +barest necessities. A wooden table and a rough bench are the usual +accommodation, and the cabbage soup or the national _kasha_ made of +buck-wheat is served by an amateur cook with all the air of a novice in +the profession. At the junctions, where trade is somewhat brisker, one +is able to get _piroshki_, which means, as it is, one of the favourite +Russian dishes. + +Primitive as the refreshment places are--a bare tent sometimes serving +the double purpose of kitchen and dining-room, with an old kerosene-oil +case for table and dresser--they are always much frequented. On the same +principle as that adopted for the construction of the railway, the +Russian "chefs" make the Chinese coolies do all the work. + +Travelling through Manchuria in this leisurely manner, I had plenty of +time to obtain a thorough acquaintance with its different regions. From +a geographical point of view the northern portion consists of a barren +tableland; towards the south it becomes wooded, and in the vicinity of +the towns the ground is fairly well cultivated. + +[Illustration: TSI-TSI-KAR "The capital of Northern Manchuria is +Tsi-tsi-kar" + +To face page 68] + +The capital of Northern Manchuria is Tsi-tsi-kar. The Governor of the +province resides there, and it is the centre of that part of the +country. But the town itself is very primitive, and far behind the other +two chief towns, Kirin and Mukden. The population is a mixture of +Manchus, Chinese, and Buriats, who do a small trade in raw materials, +more especially in skins of all sorts. + +From a very early date caravans have made this place one of their +stopping stations on their way from the southern provinces to the +districts north of the Amur. The people still use the same primitive +carts as in those remote times, sometimes drawn by Mongolian ponies--I +have seen as many as sixteen or eighteen to one cart--more often by +oxen. + +The peculiar way in which the harness was fixed always amused me: it +seemed an inextricable confusion of straps and cords. How do they +manage it? It is a problem which only Chinese patience can solve. + +I had equally good opportunities of studying the local dress and the +customs of the natives. In this vast, barren region, where no European +had ever penetrated before the construction of the railway, everything +is still in its primitive state. The people live partly by agriculture, +such as it is, and partly by fishing. The houses are extremely poor; we +should call them hovels, built of bricks or dried mud. There they live, +together with their cattle and other domestic animals. Like all +Asiatics, they are devoted to horse-breeding, and I visited several +large _haras_. + +Flocks and herds abound, but the animal one meets with most frequently +is the pig; but the pigs of this region are very different from ours. +They are usually black, with long, thin tails, looking rather like +boars. Numbers of them are to be seen in every yard, rooting up the +ground and giving the Manchu homestead about as untidy and dirty an +appearance as is possible to conceive. + +Of poultry there is no lack either. Geese, ducks, and fowls share the +family abode. The entrance to every house is guarded by half-savage +dogs, like so many wolves, and certainly not less ferocious. More than +once I was nearly devoured by them, and as it is not advisable to fight +them I always took care to have my pockets full of biscuits. + +A Manchu home, in short, has the appearance of a cattle show, or a +Noah's ark, and the life lived is unquestionably antediluvian. + +Speaking generally, the cultural standard of the Manchus is much below +the average Chinese level. The people look more barbarous to begin with, +their occupations are all of a rough nature, and the old Confucian +doctrines have never penetrated to them. They have always led a merely +animal rather than an intellectual life, an existence of strife rather +than of thought, and to this day the Imperial army consists almost +exclusively of Manchu soldiers. + +Our progress was very slow. For many days we travelled on leisurely, +with occasional stoppages long enough to enable me to make excursions +into the interior. I tried every means of conveyance--bullock-carts, +Mongol ponies, Cossack horses. It was tiring work, but gave me +extraordinary opportunities of making myself familiar with the country +and its inhabitants. At last I reached Kharbin, a famous town, being the +junction where the three railways of Manchuria meet, viz. the +Vladivostok, the Port Arthur, and the Siberian lines. + +[Illustration: KHARBIN "Of all the places I have visited during this +long journey, Kharbin seems to me the dreariest" To face page 70] + +Of all the places I have visited during this long journey, Kharbin seems +to me the dreariest, the most desolate. A dull, cold autumn afternoon +greeted me on my arrival. The rain fell in torrents; not only did the +water pour down from the skies, but it oozed up from the ground as well. +The river had overflowed, and all the land was inundated. Half the place +stood under water. The railway station looked like a little island in +the midst of a marsh. Together with the few passengers for Vladivostok I +was carried on men's shoulders into the waiting-room, a mere barn, where +we found a mixed crowd of mujiks and Cossacks with their luggage, which +consisted of bedding, cooking utensils, packages and bundles of all +sorts and sizes, tied together, piled around them. + +The same place also served as refreshment room, and at one end of it +about a dozen officers were dining at a big table. A pretentious gilded +chandelier--ironically reminding one of Western luxury--formed the +centre-piece. But I had no time to admire its beauty or even to sit down +to my meal, although I was nearly famished. The station-master came +bustling up to me with a very disconsolate countenance and informed me +that he had received a telegram intimating that a bridge near Liaoyang +had been carried away by the floods, and that in consequence of the +defective state of the roads it was impossible to say when the next +train would start. + +It would be difficult to describe my consternation on hearing this +depressing announcement, for I fully realized the awfulness of my +position should I be compelled to make a prolonged stay in this place. +The roads were so bad that excursions would be out of the question, and +I should have to remain a prisoner in my carriage until the road was +open again. + +Meanwhile, I gladly accepted the offer of a seat in a _tarantass_ to +drive round the town. Kharbin is of interest from a modern point of view +because it is one of the headquarters of the Russians in Manchuria. + +The town has sprung up within recent years, about the time of the +Chino-Japanese war. It consists of barracks and military quarters, +ammunition stores, railroad factories, and a few private houses for the +families of officers, railway officials, and employes. It has no +pretence to beauty, and in the flooded condition in which I saw it, its +gloomy buildings, streaming with rain, looked deplorable. We came past +some shops where tinned meats, vegetables, and other provisions are +sold. There is also a hotel, which I prefer not to describe. I was told +that the place even boasts a cafe and music-hall, the only place of poor +amusement for the officers and their wives in garrison there. Kharbin is +supposed to have about fifteen thousand inhabitants, but where were +they? Were they dead, asleep, or hiding? I could not see a single living +being. Could this be altogether accounted for by the weather, even +allowing that the water in the streets rose to the knees of the horses, +and that the wheels of our vehicle were submerged to the axle? + +As we drove along my amiable guide explained to me that Kharbin is a +military place, destined to see much active service in the event of a +war, because, being situated on the junction of three great railway +lines, it would be the centre for the mobilization and concentration of +the troops. It would probably become the headquarters of the intendant +and of the ammunition service. Hospitals, too, would be erected and the +Red Cross would have a large staff there. I listened with interest to +all these conjectures and plans for the future. + +It was night when we returned to the station, where an agreeable +surprise awaited me. I was told that a goods train with a convoy of +coolies and troops to repair the line which had been destroyed, would be +ready to start a little after midnight. Could my carriage be attached to +it? I inquired. At first it seemed doubtful. No one appeared to know how +far we could get, and there was even some question as to whether the +road would bear the weight of the train. However, anything, no matter +what, would be better than Kharbin, I thought; even the uncertainty of +the future was preferable to the certainty of the present. + +About three o'clock in the morning, after an interminable night of +bustling, coming and going of troops, rushing about of coolies, shunting +and whistling of engines, we at last began to move. The train presented +a curious appearance. It consisted chiefly of open trucks and a few +wagons in which the soldiers lay huddled together, with their winter +coats tucked under their heads for pillows, while hundreds of coolies +were packed like cattle in the open carriages. + +At first we passed slowly through a vast, partially submerged plain. +Often the road was entirely under water, and in various places so badly +damaged that we had to proceed with the greatest possible caution. More +than once the coolies had to turn out with pickaxe, shovel, and building +material to repair the line, under the strict supervision of the +officers of the railway service. I availed myself of the frequent +stoppages and our altogether casual progress to study the country. + +When at last we reached the large province of Central Manchuria there +was a notable change in the geographical aspect. The ground became hilly +and wooded. We followed several winding valleys, irrigated by tortuous +watercourses, and surrounded by mountain ridges. In some parts it was +decidedly pretty. The soil is fertile, and nature has endowed it with +many precious gifts. The mountain slopes are rich in minerals and the +woods abound with game. The mineral wealth of Manchuria is as yet +unexplored, and there are comparatively few gold, silver, and copper +mines in process of exploitation. Some foreign syndicates have been +formed, more especially in the south, and these have proved successful, +but since the Russian occupation of the railway district they have been +hampered by all sorts of difficulties, and except in the free port of +Niu-chwang, the introduction of foreign capital has been stopped. + +In actual size Central Manchuria is considerably smaller than the +northern district of Tsi-tsi-kar--also known as Halung-kiang--but the +population of the north is only about one million, while Central +Manchuria contains twice as many inhabitants. The seat of government for +this latter district is at Kirin, a very ancient town with quaint houses +built in the old Chinese style, yamens with shining roofs, temples and +pagodas, all very picturesque. + +Kirin itself is famous for the battlemented wall which, with its heavy +ramparts and pagoda-like towers, is very imposing. But the chief +attraction of this provincial capital is the surrounding scenery. +Valleys and mountains, dark forests and distant blue mountain peaks, +form a most charming picture. It is indeed a glorious region, and a joy +both to the sportsman and to the artist. The fishing in the mountain +streams is excellent, and there are still numbers of leopards, bears, +wolves, a certain kind of deer, foxes, and hares in the forests. For the +artist the opportunities here are not less ample; pretty woodland +scenery, attractive bits of street corners, and town scenery, and above +all the historical monuments, the celebrated royal tombs, and the +commemorative tablets on the river banks, or hidden in the sacred +groves; all these are excellent subjects for sketches. + +The great difficulty at the present moment is how to reach these +beautiful regions. There are, so far, only a very few stations in +process of building on this route, and it must be remembered that even +these, though called by the names of the various places, are often +twenty or thirty miles distant from the towns they represent, and that +there are scarcely any means of conveyance, and that in many cases there +is not even a road! + +It would seem as if the Eastern Chinese Railway scrupulously avoided all +inhabited regions, and certainly in its present condition, and as long +as there are no branch lines, it is useless for all purposes of ordinary +traffic or commercial enterprise. The Russian officers who have +projected it appear to have had only one object in view, to connect in +the most direct manner Vladivostok and Port Arthur with the Siberian +line, for the sole purpose of transporting troops in case of need +with the least possible delay. + +[Illustration: A STREET IN KHARBIN "The water in the streets rose to the +knees of the horses" To face page 76] + +All this great work has been done quietly, unostentatiously, and without +arousing any ill-feeling among the natives. At the present moment one +may travel for a whole day without catching sight of anything more +conspicuous than railway buildings, barracks, and encampments with +Russian soldiers lining the entire length of the route. + +After several days' travelling we emerged into cultivated plains, rich +pasture land intersected by patches of Indian corn, beans, etc. Crops of +all kinds presented themselves before our eyes. The country no longer +showed the barren desolation of the Gobi desert, nor the romantic +wildness of Central Manchuria. It was peopled! There were men working in +the fields, and I could see houses and little farms, poor and miserable +enough it is true, but at least indicative of human life. + + +FROM MUKDEN STATION TO MUKDEN TOWN + +It was dawn when I looked out of my carriage window--a dull grey dawn. +The sky was covered with leaden clouds and the rain came down in +torrents. The river banks were entirely submerged, and the train stood +still in a sea of mud. The scene of general deluge vividly recalled my +ideas of the Flood, and it was like stepping out of the ark when I +alighted from my carriage. Close by I saw a modest structure, one storey +high, more like a peasant's hut than anything else, and I could scarcely +believe that this was the station intended for Mukden, the capital of +Manchuria. To my consternation I learnt that the train would go no +farther that day. It might go on to-morrow or perhaps in a week's time. + +There was plenty of time therefore to explore Mukden, although the town +was over twenty miles away. But how was I to get there? There was no +road to be seen and no vehicle anywhere about. I made inquiries from the +station-master, a Russian officer, with a long beard and resplendent +with gold lace. He advised me to send my interpreter to one of the +neighbouring farms, where I might possibly obtain a Chinese cart, a +driver, and a couple of mules, to convey me to Mukden in as short a time +as the state of the roads would permit. I followed this advice. The +courier wasted the greater part of the day in arguing with the farmers, +while I was left in my carriage at the mercy of the hurricane, and +occupied the time in writing down my unpleasant impressions, wind and +rain supplying the accompaniment of music. + +Towards the close of the afternoon my faithful Sancho returned, and +pointed to a kind of cabriolet on two wheels with three mules harnessed +in tandem fashion, and driven by a crooked little Chinaman. I cannot +deny that the effect was extremely picturesque. The car was lacquered +yellow, the hood covered with blue; the mules were grey, and the little +driver was sheltered by a huge umbrella of gold-coloured oil-cloth. But +although picturesque, it was far from comfortable. The vehicle had no +springs and no seat; in fact, it consisted simply of a wooden board +about two and a half feet square, on which one had to sit cross-legged +like a Turk or a tailor. If the occupant happens to be neither the one +nor the other, he suffers agonies before five minutes have passed. The +only attempt at comfort was a small calico rug at the bottom of the +cart, but this was a poor protection against the extremely hard wood of +Manchuria. + +I hesitated a moment before venturing to enter this uncomfortable +conveyance, and pictured vividly to myself the horrors of a night's +journey in it. But I had promised to visit, if possible, the site of our +Mission station, which had been pillaged and burned in the last Boxer +insurrection, and which had been the scene of so much noble martyrdom. +So after all I made up my mind to go. + +Little Li-Hu cracked his long whip, which, by the by, looked more like a +fishing rod than a whip. And indeed, I might have amused myself with +some angling on the way, for the mules were up to their fetlocks in +chocolate-coloured liquid mud. + +The first sight which attracted my attention on the road was a +one-storeyed building, used as barracks and occupied by Cossacks. I +learnt that it served as an encampment for the protection of the railway +station. + +Then followed a long stretch of road without anything remarkable to be +seen. + +[Illustration: FROM MUKDEN FLATS ON TO THE TOWN AFTER A WATER-COLOUR +DRAWING BY THE AUTHOR "Then followed a long stretch of road without +anything remarkable to be seen" To face page 80] + +There were fields on both sides of the way, but they could not be seen +because all the land was entirely submerged as in Egypt at the rising of +the Nile. I presumed that we were on a road, for we advanced between two +rows of irregularly planted trees; I also concluded that at one time +this road had been paved, perhaps centuries ago, but it was decidedly +bumpy now. + +These speculations were presently confirmed when we arrived at a bridge +delicately arching a creek. It was a very fine structure, carved in +Chinese fashion, and of great architectural beauty. I left my carriage +to examine it more closely, and when I had scraped off some of the mud +with which it was encrusted, I found that it was entirely built of white +marble. + +After crossing the river the road became still worse. I was jolted up +and down, thrown from side to side, my head was knocked against the +wooden frame of the hood, and after a mile or so of this torture I could +bear it no longer and decided to try the back of one of the mules. + +Riding without a saddle on the back of a thin Manchu mule cannot be said +to be a comfortable mode of travelling, and my agonies are better +imagined than described. + +Here was I, in an unknown country, surrounded by a desert which seemed +more desolate than ever in its flooded condition, the rain coming down +as if all the sluices of heaven had been opened, while the tiny driver +at whose mercy I was, might, for all I knew, be a cut-throat. + +My vocabulary was as yet limited to two words, _how-di_ and _poo-how_. +Perhaps they are written quite differently, but this is how they sound. +The former stands for everything that is good, pretty, pleasant (I have +never had occasion to use it); the other expresses the reverse, and I +was quite tired of saying it, because it never proved to be of the +slightest effect. + +We encountered no one on the road, but passed one little vehicle like +mine, in which I counted at least ten visible occupants. Four were +seated on the shafts, some on the mules, and the others outside on the +hood. I could not see how many there were inside. All the outside +passengers had large umbrellas of oil-cloth, the same as my driver, and +they looked like big sunflowers. It was quite cheering to see those +people so perfectly happy, laughing and joking under such wretched +conditions. + +Their stoicism gave me relief, and I shook the water from my dripping +clothes and felt a little better too. But as night approached and the +desolation became more oppressive, my self-confidence fell from hour to +hour. Darkness magnified all the surroundings, and gave them a fantastic +aspect. The lights in the distant farm-houses looked like +will-o'-the-wisps; the trees became phantoms, and the barking of the +dogs sounded like the roar of the dragons, which, as every one knows, +are natives of the Yellow Empire. All the fairy stories of my childhood +came back to my memory, and assumed a shape in the reality of my +surroundings. + +I must add, too, that what I had read lately about Manchuria was not +encouraging. The country, I knew, was still in a state of agitation and +suppressed revolt. Gangs of bandits traversed the country in all +directions, burning farmsteads, pillaging villages, murdering +travellers. Skirmishes often took place between them and the Cossacks, +and more than once during my journey I heard the firing of shots. The +most dreaded of all these ruffians are the Chunchuses; they are formed +into more or less organized bodies, like the bandits of ancient Italy, +and they possess as much influence as the Mafia of Sicily. + +It was getting late and we had travelled for many hours without seeing +any trace of houses. I could ask no questions, because I could only say +those two words, _poo-how_ and _how-di_. Even if Li-Hu had been of a +communicative turn of mind I should not have understood his +explanations, so we continued our lugubrious ride in perfect silence, I +perched on the back of a mule, with the shafts of the cart for stirrups, +while Li-Hu had the carriage all to himself. He wriggled about like a +serpent and finally sought consolation for the bitter reality of the +present in the happy dreams of the past. + +At last the will-o'-the-wisps drew nearer, the phantoms took the form of +ordinary trees, and the roars of the dragons resolved themselves into +the barking of dogs. + +I scarcely dared to believe that I had reached my destination, lest I +should be disappointed. Li-Hu was sound asleep, but the mules made +straight for a dismal-looking building, and stopped as by instinct in +front of a conspicuous signboard. By the same instinct, I suppose, Li-Hu +awoke and I asked eagerly, "Mukden? Mukden?" But evidently I was wrong, +for he emphatically shook his head. + +After a while the innkeeper appeared on the threshold and looked even +more forbidding than the house itself, through the open doors of which +escaped thick clouds of opium-smoke. I should have preferred to remain +on the back of my mule, as there was no possibility of stretching my +legs because of the mud, but they were already unharnessing my beast, so +I had no choice, and was obliged to enter the house. + +The place was lugubrious in the extreme. It looked like a witch's cave, +and all things combined to complete this impression. There was the +cauldron hanging on a chain over the fire, while enormous logs of wood +diffused a sulphurous flame in the light of which the inmates of the +place looked truly terrible. At least a dozen men were crouching on the +floor, and several others lay asleep on the kang or heated earthen bench +which ran all along the dwelling. They were smoking opium in small +bronze pipes. + +At my entrance most of them roused themselves from their stupor, and +their small eyes expressed astonishment, united with curiosity, +mistrust, and hatred. I could detect all the hostility of the East +against the West in that look. The ill-will of the yellow race towards +"the white devils" manifested itself in all its bitterness and force. I +must confess that I did not feel quite at my ease in this uncanny +company, and it was only the deep interest which I felt in these people, +in the den and its surroundings, the novelty of the situation and my +passionate interest in human nature, which helped me through the ordeal. + +What was going to happen? Would they remain passive, or were they going +to attack me? They were interrogating Li-Hu. It was like a play to watch +the proceedings. Without understanding the language, it was easy enough +to follow the drift of the argument. "Who is it? Where is he going? What +has he got?" + +From the expression of Li-Hu's face and his hesitation in answering, I +gathered that the information he had to give concerning his charge was +not satisfactory, but I also noted with interest how cleverly he +concocted a story to his own advantage. Evidently the shrewd Chinaman +had in his mind two strong points in my favour. In the first place I had +not yet paid him, and in the second place I had been entrusted to his +care by the station-master, by whom he was known. I also detected that +he did not want to rouse the animosity of the other men, consequently he +never mentioned my private car, probably also by the advice of the +station-master, and from the expression of his face and the manner in +which he turned out his pockets, he was clearly representing me as a +poor missionary who was going to Mukden to fetch his pay at the bank, +and whom it would not be worth while to kidnap on his way there. + +The minutes dragged on like so many hours; the night seemed endless. +Finally, to pass the time, I began to draw with some coloured chalks. +Would that interest them? I wondered. I could not be sure at first, but +the ruffians slowly gathered round me and I never had more complacent +spectators. Those men who, a few minutes ago, would have taken my life, +or at least my purse, suddenly became quite friendly. Like the lyre of +Orpheus, my pictures did wonders, soothing the savage instincts and +softening the passions of these brigands. It was the greatest triumph my +modest crayons ever won for me. + +At last there was a general stir. Li-Hu prepared his cart, and we +started once more. It was still dark, but the rain had ceased and the +cold rays of the moon from time to time broke through the parting +clouds. By means of these occasional flashes of light I discerned in the +distance, silhouetted against the horizon, the dark outlines of a +pagoda. Surely that was the point we were making for. We had long since +left the so-called main road, and were jolting and jerking along by +fields of turnips and Indian corn. The shocks were perhaps not quite so +rough as before, on the half-paved highroad, but their violence was yet +amazing. + +It was daybreak when we arrived before the principal gate of Mukden, and +after the night of darkness and peril the glories of the city seemed +enhanced. The sky was cloudless and intensely blue, as if enamelled in +cobalt on a golden ground. The richly sculptured fronts of the houses +shone with truly Oriental splendour. It was the early hour of the morn. +People poured out of the city gates to start their daily tasks in the +fields and farms. Every one wore bright-coloured garments, and looked +happy and cheerful. Everything breathed contentment: the effect was +charming. It was the victory of light over darkness. + +The sun, like a great magician, had waved his wand, touched and +dispersed clouds and gloom, and thrown, so it would seem, a veil of +oblivion over the sadness and misery of the past night, to give courage +and hope to begin another day. + + + + +IV + +THE CAPITAL OF MANCHURIA + + +My surprise on first beholding the famous city of Mukden was as complete +as it was agreeable. The scene before me was simply delightful. At first +I could not distinguish anything clearly, neither lines nor forms. I was +dazzled by the intensity of colour and light. + +The facade of every house was ornamented with strange carvings and +mouldings; never before had I seen such fantastic prodigality of human +imagination. All the lines curve upward, and every house resembles a +pagoda on a small scale. So many motives, so many different colours; +red, yellow, green, blue, in endless profusion, the effect being +increased by rich gilding. + +In front of the houses are shops or booths, where are exposed--generally +in the open--goods and merchandise of all kinds, arranged in fanciful +pyramids in accordance with Oriental caprice. Embroideries, rich silks, +artificial flowers, fans, and umbrellas, anything, in fact, to tempt the +local taste or satisfy the daily demands. The displays of porcelain are +particularly attractive, also the shows of silver and brass ware. Most +fascinating are the stalls of the bric-a-brac dealers with their fine +lacquer-work, fluted vases of priceless value, old porcelains, cloisonne +boxes, and artistically designed snuff-bottles.[B] + + [B] The Chinese do not use boxes, but snuff-bottles of great value. + +Before every booth a tall mast or pole is dressed, from which floats a +flag as signboard, and both are elaborately inscribed with +advertisements of wares sold inside the shop. The bootmakers' insignia +are particularly artistic and only surpassed in splendour by the rich +festoons of gold which mark the pawnbrokers' shops. The main +thoroughfare, with its endless variety of cabalistic design and rich +colouring, is like an Oriental bazaar or the gorgeous scenery of a +theatre. But what struck me most was the enormous vitality and activity +of this marvellous city. + +It was like watching an ants' nest to see this surging tide of human +beings incessantly flooding the squares and streets. Men and women, +young and old, of all ranks and all nationalities, push and press past +one another. Some are carried in beautiful chairs, others content +themselves with a modest kind of wheelbarrow, in which six or seven +persons can be accommodated on a narrow board, and which is pushed along +by a famished-looking coolie. These wheelbarrows answer the purpose of +omnibuses in the Manchu capital, and they take a person from one end of +the city to the other for about a quarter of a halfpenny. "Rickshaws" +have recently come into fashion; they are a great improvement on the old +means of conveyance, for instead of being pushed they are pulled along. +All true Manchus, however, prefer riding on horseback to any other mode +of locomotion. + +Whatever room is left in the street is taken up by pedestrians, +labourers carrying enormous loads, and coolies going about their daily +business. It is an impressive sight, and once more I came to the +conclusion that the intrinsic character of a place is not expressed in +the arrangement of its streets, or in the height and style of its +buildings, but in the general manifestation of its activity. + +While the eye takes in all these various details, the ear need not be +idle. The air is full of sound. Strains of music proceeding from the +tea-houses, costermongers' cries, shrieks of quarrelsome children, and +high-pitched voices in admonition; shouting and noise of all sorts and +in endless variety are heard. + +At every step there is a fresh surprise. Fortunately, so far, no +guide-books have been written to describe the attractions of the Manchu +capital, and no cumbersome descriptions spoil the effect of its genuine +charms. + +To form an idea of the plan of the city, imagine an oblong chess-board. +Like all Chinese towns, it is regular in the principal lines. There are +two main streets in the form of a cross, intersected by innumerable +narrow lanes, and in the middle of the town, where the two chief +thoroughfares cross, stands a high tower from the top of which a drum +and a gong announce the beginning and the close of the day. Also from +this high vantage ground the alarm is given in case of danger, and a +detachment of soldiers, stationed in a sort of pigeon-holes, spend the +hours of their watch in peaceful slumber. + +It would be difficult to enumerate all the places of interest which +Mukden contains, for everything is interesting to the Western mind, even +to the smallest cottage with its curiously shaped roof and quaint style. +And the interest lies not only in their material conception or in their +exterior, but also in their inner qualities, and especially in the fact +that they give expression to the mental and artistic ideas of the +nation. As has already been said, it is at first the general effect, the +picturesqueness, and the novelty, which strike one as so charming. Some +of the houses are very dilapidated, the walls lean over, and the roofs +are covered with a tangled growth of moss and grass. But all this makes +them the more attractive from an artistic point of view. + +Among the most interesting public edifices are the yamens belonging to +the Government, and occupied by the Governor and some others of the +mandarins of high degree; one or two Lama monasteries; the large +buildings where the Russian Consul and the Commander-in-Chief reside; +and last, but not least, the building occupied by the famous +Russo-Chinese Bank and its agents. + +Naturally the Imperial Palace is a place of great interest. With its +enclosure of walls it forms a city within the city. It is divided into +various courts, and consists of a great many separate structures, +detached houses, halls, and pavilions. Taken separately these are not of +great importance, but the whole effect is very striking. The colonnades, +beams, and brackets are of carved wood, richly painted and gilded. All +the woodwork is painted dark purple, and the roofs, like those of all +edifices connected with the Imperial Family, or dedicated to Confucius, +are covered with yellow tiles. The greater part of the palace is now +occupied by Russian troops. + +Near the palace gate is a low building in which a whole detachment of +soldiers is quartered, and the open court is lined with cannon. It was +only on my showing them a special permission from the commander that the +sentries allowed me to pass. + +The interior of the palace is in a sad state of ruin. Since the Imperial +Family departed for Pekin, it has never been inhabited, and the few art +treasures still remaining are carelessly scattered about the place. +There are some valuable panels, some precious jades, and exquisite +porcelains, but the greater portion of them disappeared after the last +war. Some say that these treasures have been stolen by the Boxers, but +according to another version the thieves must be looked for elsewhere. I +was told that the very rare collection of old manuscripts and official +documents is now quietly reposing among the archives at St. Petersburg +to be protected from destruction. + +My eyes wandered from the reception-halls to the vestibules, from the +terraces to the gardens. It was all so original, so quaint. But the +thing which specially strikes the visitor is the incongruity of +transforming this sacred cradle of the master minds of the Celestial +Empire into a Cossack encampment. As I passed out through the principal +entrance, a Muscovite warrior stood on guard by the Dragon's door, and +his white blouse contrasted strangely with the heavy bulk of the palace. + +As the day advanced, the crowds in the city increased. Russian soldiers +paraded the streets and patrolled the ramparts in small detachments. I +saw officers on frisky ponies and ladies with their families going +about in the national _troikas_. + +It is especially noteworthy that these Russian people not only feel +perfectly at home among the Manchus, but that the conquered people +associate on the most friendly terms with their conquerors in the +taverns and inns. They sit amicably side by side and appear to be the +best of friends. It is true that many of the enemies were born on the +same soil; they are practically semi-Asiatics themselves; often have a +common origin, and belong to the same race; above all, live the same +primitive and uncultivated life. + +The great difference which separates the European, whether of the +Anglo-Saxon or the Latin race, from the Mongol and the Tartar, does not +exist here. As soon as a fight is concluded, they settle down to their +ordinary life; the greatest cruelties committed on either side are soon +forgotten. Hatred may lurk in their innermost minds, but outwardly they +live in peace together. + +They have the same tastes, the same amusements, and agree particularly +on the question of frugality. Contempt of comfort, indifference to +refinement, and a very rudimentary degree of culture, are common to both +of them. One thing which even more prevents any feeling of coldness +arising between them is that, far from trying to transform and educate +the conquered nation, the conquerors often stoop to the low level of the +subjugated people. + +With the exception of the railway I am not aware that any attempts have +been made to civilize the Manchus. Commerce is not encouraged and +international traffic does not exist, because all the towns have thus +far been closed to foreigners. The Russian Government is even taking +steps to get into its own hands the English and American mining +operations which are being financed by some new loans. In spiritual +matters the same restrictions prevail, and the difficulties which are +put in the way of the missionary work increase from day to day. + +In local government a semblance of the old forms is preserved. Manchuria +is divided into three administrations, Tsi-tsi-kar, Kirin, and Mukden. +Each province has a governor, and all three are under the authority of a +viceroy or mandarin of the highest rank, who resides at Mukden. + +The official yamen, and the staff of dignitaries of various degrees, are +here exactly what they are everywhere else. They all appear extremely +busy, writing extraordinary cabalistic signs on sheets of rice-paper. +The small details of local affairs keep them occupied all day; probably +they know nothing of matters of serious importance, but they seem +admirably suited to fill a post which involves a minimum of +responsibility and brings with it a good substantial salary. There +appears to be a perfect _entente cordiale_ between the Manchu mandarins +and the Russian generals, and if perchance a difference of opinion +should occur, the difficulty is generally smoothed over by the +irresistible influence and the mysterious power of the Russo-Chinese +Bank. + +The important event of my first day was the official reception given by +the Governor. I was carried to the palace in a chair, followed by an +interpreter and my little major-domo. The canopy of the chair was +covered with green silk, and four stalwart fellows carried me through +the narrow, tortuous streets. The shaking was terrible, for where the +pavement should have been there were big holes filled with liquid mud. I +could forgive my bearers for their rough handling of my chair, but it +was difficult not to resent being bumped on to the ground every time +they changed shoulders, which they did without slackening their pace. It +was not a great height to fall from, but the sensation was decidedly +unpleasant. It was like a nightmare; the time occupied by the fall +seemed interminable, and on reaching the ground I felt like being hurled +to the bottom of a precipice. + +At last we came to the principal entrance of the palace, at least what +I supposed to be the principal entrance, judging from a group of queerly +attired creatures, who presented arms--and such arms! It was an +extraordinary collection, reminding me of the get-up of some old Chinese +play. They were fierce-looking warriors, carrying halberds, javelins, +and sickles on long poles, glittering and sparkling in the midday sun. + +As seen from the outside, the palace is a poor structure. The massive +wall which flanks the front gate is decorated with pictures of dragons +to scare away, as I was told, evil spirits and "the white devils." The +first court I came to was not much more attractive. It seemed, in fact, +no better than a stable yard. There were a few horses tied to their +stalls and some shelters for the soldiers and servants. I had to cross +several courts before I arrived at the court of honour, which was square +like the others, and had halls on each side. It was beautifully +decorated with flowers and shrubs. There were chrysanthemums, and dwarf +orange, peach, and pear trees, especially cultivated for the purpose of +ornamentation. The effect produced was exquisite, and though the +surroundings are all more or less in a state of decadence, that inner +court is a picturesque specimen of Chinese domestic architecture. + +But I had no time to study it in detail, for the Mandarin stood there +in the centre, surrounded by his court. He was in a robe of dark blue +silk, magnificently embroidered, and his suite was no less gorgeously +attired. When I appeared upon the threshold of the vestibule we +exchanged profound bows, and repeated this salutation until we met half +way. Then we shook hands in Western fashion, no easy task, considering +that my host's finger-nails were at least two inches long. The customary +introductions over, he led the way to his private apartments. + +The first room was entirely Chinese, and contained some exquisitely +carved armchairs. The effect of the second room was spoiled by two easy +chairs of Vienna manufacture, a hideous French clock, and a tablecloth, +probably of Manchester make. + +The preliminary compliments once exchanged--a formidable business +here--His Excellency asked me some dozen questions which in the West +would be considered most indiscreet, but are obligatory in the East. +Then he conducted me to the dining-hall, where luncheon was set on a +round table profusely decorated with flowers and sweetmeats. + +Innumerable little dishes were scattered over the silk tablecloth, and +saucers filled with raisins, grapes, almonds, olives, and a variety of +dainties. Etiquette prescribes that the guest shall be placed on the +left of his host, and that the first mouthful of food shall be put on to +his plate by the host himself. After that the servants bring in dishes +containing the most delicate productions of the Chinese culinary art. +Fish soup and snail soup, sharks' fins in unpalatable jellies, all kinds +of minces and hashes, and patties with sauces most unpleasant to Western +taste, composed the menu. + +Custom, which regulates all public and social functions in this country, +demands that no less than fifty different dishes be presented to a guest +of distinction. All these concoctions are handed round on large trays, +in series of eight at a time. They look different, but all taste alike, +at least so it seemed to me. They are both sweet and sour, and whether +they go by the name of minced birds'-nests, or croquettes of dog-flesh, +I could detect no difference in taste. The other guests, however, fully +made up for my want of appreciation. + +As the meal proceeded, the conversation became more animated. When the +subjects dictated by ceremony had been disposed of, the company +expressed much interest in my researches and studies. My host questioned +me on many points. He was decidedly clever, and although one was apt to +forget the solemnity of the occasion on looking at his somewhat +ridiculous costume and hat, formed in the shape of a pagoda surmounted +by a precious stone the size of a potato, and adorned with waving +peacock's feathers--in which attire even the wisest man would look a +fool--I could not help being impressed by his sagacity. + +He was somewhat reserved, but seemed pleased to talk about his country, +and gave me some valuable information when he saw how much interested I +was in the ancient history of the land, and the origin of its +inhabitants. For they, thousands of years ago, had proceeded from the +same stock as the people of my own race, who had founded the kingdom in +Pannonia. The foundation of the Manchu empire is connected even more +closely than I thought with the migration of the Huns. It would, indeed, +open a vast field of study for the historian to seek the connecting link +and the affinity existing between the first Magyars and Manchus. + +The repast over, the Governor proposed a visit to the imperial tombs, +the chief sight of the country. Indeed, there is nothing the people +venerate more deeply than those monuments of the defunct members of +their dynasty; they are the pride of the nation. + +We started without much delay. It was a glorious afternoon, and in the +brightness of the autumn sun the country looked its best. Our cavalcade +galloped across pasture land, where horses and cattle peaceably grazed +together. Here and there a shepherd sought diversion in the consoling +melody of some old song, like all human beings whose lives are spent in +solitude, and in the contemplation of the immensity of nature. The music +was simple and the instrument simpler still, an archaic flute cut out of +a reed. + +Skirting the far end of the pasture was a dark brushwood; my companions +told me that this was the sacred grove containing the imperial tombs. +The distance to the town might be about six or seven miles, but our +little horses carried us quickly over the ground. The Manchu +dignitaries, in their flowing silken robes, their pagoda-like hats, +their embroideries and long pigtails, looked unquestionably most +picturesque. My mount and my saddle were similar to theirs, pretty, but +at the same time I must say that I never rode on anything more +uncomfortable than a Chinese saddle of embossed wood, with stirrups in +the shape of slippers, and fixed so high that knees and chin nearly +meet. + +Two large stone monuments flank the path which leads to the sacred +grove. Forbidding-looking dragons guard the entrance. A deep cutting +gives access to the place of interment, and this long alley is guarded +on both sides by monsters of various descriptions. Elephants, camels, +gigantic human figures, are placed at intervals facing each other, all +cut in stone, and intended to ward off the evil spirits. + +The beauty of the place is indescribable. The darkness of the foliage, +the white stone statues, and the paved pathway winding through the +woods, all help to give it the character of an enchanted forest, where +solitude reigns, and the air is full of poetry. + +Later we crossed some marble bridges of exquisite workmanship, their +curiously sculptured balustrades softly reflecting themselves in the +blue waters of the little streams flowing lazily between the flowering +banks. I was told that the statues, the streams, and the bridges, have +all of them some allegorical meaning in connexion with the spirits of +the departed. + +At length, passing through a porch, we stood face to face with an arch +of such surpassing beauty, that for a moment I was dazed and lost in +speechless admiration. Surely this must be one of the greatest, one of +the most wonderful architectural creations of the Yellow Empire. +Material, design, proportions, all the details, are so supremely +beautiful. It is of marble, the arch resting on two huge blocks with +cross-bars and buttresses supported by imperial dragons. The decorations +are exquisite, and the carving of the friezes unique of its kind. Not +even among all the marvellous monuments of Pekin, Nankin, or Hankow, did +I find anything to rival it. The beauty of the conception, as well as +the finished workmanship, impress one most forcibly, because of its +being so perfectly in keeping with the signification of the whole +triumphal arch, which symbolizes the passage of the spirit, after a life +of strife and victory, to the abodes of their ancestors and everlasting +peace. In this respect I know of nothing to compare with it, unless it +be that pearl of Asiatic architecture, the Taj Mahal. + +The tomb itself is enclosed by courts, halls, sacrificial temples, +guard-houses, and sentry-sheds. We left our horses at the inner +entrance, and the massive doors of red lacquer-work groaned on their +hinges as they were slowly pushed open by half a dozen soldiers. We +found ourselves in a square yard, a kind of court of honour, with +avenues of trees many centuries old, giants and monsters in stone, and +canals fenced in with marble balustrades and arched by bridges. These +courts are divided by open galleries which lead to the central pagoda. +This square building contains the commemorative tablet, a monument cut +out of a single stone of about thirty feet high. The whole stands on a +colossal tortoise, larger than two elephants. + +Immense cauldrons, big enough to cook a whole ox at a time, for +sacrificial purposes, are placed at short distances. Once a year a +great ceremony is held in honour of the Great Ancestor. On this +occasion the Emperor should be present in person, but for many years the +imperial court has been represented by ambassadors; and considering what +a journey from Pekin to Mukden involves, it is not surprising that the +sovereign is content to be present by proxy. I was told that the +mandarins selected to undertake this onerous pilgrimage are often +persons whose presence is not desired at Pekin. Their adventurous +journey often occupies many months, and often there have been cases in +which the envoys never returned at all. + +The Great Ancestor was one of the founders of the Manchu dynasty in +China, and his real tomb is cut out in the heart of the mountain, but +the exact spot is unknown. We spent the greater part of the afternoon +among the tombs, and I made the best use I could of the permission to +sketch and to take photographs. But the most perfect apparatus, and the +pen of the most accomplished narrator, are bound to fail to do justice +to the reality. Art and nature are blended so exquisitely here that it +is impossible to give an adequate idea of the place. However beautiful +the individual monuments may be--and they are very beautiful--the real +charm of the ideal site lies in the perfect harmony of solitude and +peace. + +[Illustration: THE ENTRANCE TO THE IMPERIAL TOMBS "The massive doors of +red lacquer-work groaned on their hinges" To face page 104] + +On the return journey we again passed through the muddy, dreary +suburbs. Most of the houses along the dull, deserted roads, are built of +clay and covered with straw. Rough planks close the entrance, and from +the windows the rice-paper hangs down in tatters. We met several funeral +processions, the huge black coffins being carried in front. + +I have forgotten to mention that cholera was raging in the town; +hundreds of people died daily, and the sanitary conditions of the place +were so wretched that nothing could be done to stop it. Considering the +manner in which the coolies live, it is only surprising that they do not +all succumb. On this account the authorities at first had been averse to +the idea of my visit to Mukden, but as there was smallpox in China and +typhoid fever in Korea, there did not seem much to choose between the +two; and, besides, I was firmly convinced that Providence would let me +finish the work I had undertaken to do. + +The epidemic broke out three months ago, and had claimed many victims +among the Russian troops. The morale of the men was at a very low ebb in +consequence. Upon the coolies and the Manchus the effect was different. +Their innate fatalism teaches them to look upon death as a benevolent +friend, and as they bear away the coffins with the remains of their +loved ones, they look as unconcerned as if they were taking them to a +place of joy. All the small objects cherished by the dead are placed +upon the coffin to be burned at the grave-side, and when the smoke rises +up to heaven, popular superstition has it that all these objects assume +shape again in a higher sphere, for the gratification of their former +owners. It is only right, however, to add, that as the heirs are +solicitous to save anything that may be of value, counterfeits of the +real things, in paper or cardboard, are often substituted, and so the +_auto-da-fe_ takes place only in effigy. + +Having been entertained at luncheon by the Chinese Governor, to make the +day complete I was the guest of the Russian Resident at dinner. We may +criticize the Muscovite system of government, we may censure the ways +and means employed by the Russian administration, but there is only one +opinion as regards Russian hospitality. No matter what quarter of the +globe one comes from, whether one be a political ally or a traditional +foe, a Russian never fails in the duties of hospitality. As long as the +guest is under his roof he is looked upon as a member of the family. +Host and hostess, in fact all the household, go out of their way to show +kindness to him. And it is all done on such a lavish scale! His room is +overheated, rugs and furs are wrapped round him whether he desires them +or not, and above all a special point is made of loading him with food +and drink at all hours of the day and of the night. + +The Russian Residence, or Consulate, as it is still sometimes called +before the world, is a yamen like all other public buildings in China, +only perhaps a little more ruinous than those I saw in the morning. The +interior is greatly lacking in comfort and luxury. It gives rather the +impression of a camp than of a home; there is no furniture beyond what +is strictly necessary, and nothing has been done to make it pretty or +attractive. The only redeeming feature is the table, which appears to be +permanently set for meals. It is covered with quite as many little +dishes as the table of the Mandarin, but instead of fruit and +sweetmeats, they contain hors-d'oeuvres, such as caviare, herrings, +smoked salmon, cucumber, and all the innumerable varieties which compose +the famous national _Zakouska_. There was a perfect array of bottles on +the table; I do not remember ever seeing so many crowded on to one +table. There were wines from the Crimea, various liqueurs, and vodka. +During dinner the guests smoked perfumed cigarettes, and talked of their +family affairs and distant homes. It was difficult to realize that the +boundless plains of Siberia separated us from the banks of the Neva, for +the picture before me was so typically Russian, in all its variety of +shades and colours. I almost felt as if I were "in company with the +gentlemen" of Tourguenieff. + +My visit to Mukden had certainly been full of interest. Not only the +town itself, its famous monuments, and its strangely superannuated +people, but the whole situation as it is at present, offers endless +scope for speculation. Chinese mandarins and Russian generals, Cossacks +and coolies, how oddly they are amalgamated in incoherent groups! What +developments may not the future have in store? Truly this is a +fascinating problem. Will Manchuria be more prosperous under the new +regime? Will the people be able to rise to a higher level? As I took +leave of the spot, now so desolate, where the mission settlement once +stood, I asked myself whether it would ever be rebuilt and whether men +would come forward to take the place of those martyrs who had sacrificed +their life in the cause of the orphans and forsaken children of China. +Casting one last lingering look upon the place, which I should probably +never see again, the dismal outline of the ruined bell-tower seemed to +rise up in pathetic protest against human intolerance and blind +persecution. + + +THE RETURN JOURNEY + +The city of Mukden contained so much that was of interest to me, that my +stay there was prolonged beyond my original intentions. The Governor, +to whom I had related all the difficulties and discomforts of my +journey, very kindly placed a carriage at my disposal and gave me an +escort to see me safely back to the station. But perilous as the outward +journey had been, the return was no less full of various emotions. + +It was a beautiful autumn day when I left the town. Nature seemed to be +making one last effort to assert the power of her charms before falling +into her winter sleep. As we passed through the precincts of the city, +the gardens literally glittered with colour. All imaginable shades, from +copper-tinted saffron to bronzed purple, were there displayed. These +gardens are certainly most beautifully cultivated. Presently we emerged +into the open plain, and now I had the opportunity, which I had missed +before, of forming some idea of the fertility of this privileged land. +Manchuria is undoubtedly one of the richest countries in the world. The +soil is excellent, the hills are thickly wooded, the mountains abound in +minerals. Along the route we passed farms where maize and beans seemed +to be chiefly cultivated, and all the people, men, women, and children, +were at work in the field. + +The landscape is rather monotonous. We traversed a wide plain enclosed +by mountains which touch the horizon; but although the scenery cannot +be called picturesque, it is not devoid of a certain grandeur. It has a +charm peculiar to itself, an atmosphere of vague melancholy. All vast +plains, those of Egypt for instance, or of Rajputana, have this same +undefinable, intangible characteristic, of which one is faintly +conscious without being able to describe it. The people who live in such +a free atmosphere are naturally affected by it, and the Manchus possess +all the characteristics of a race inhabiting an exposed country. + +The Manchu is attached to his native land; he loves to live in the open, +and is never so happy as when galloping across the endless plain or +hunting in the virgin forests. As we laboriously proceeded on the uneven +road, my fancy had full play, and I received new ideas and impressions +from these novel surroundings. Since I had explored the interior of the +country more carefully, my ideas about Manchuria had certainly undergone +a great change. Every now and then, however, my cogitations were rudely +interrupted as we jumped over ditches, crawled up or ran down the +inclines, and it was a wonder that my poor _tarantass_ was not smashed +in the attempt. It may be as well, perhaps, to give some idea of what a +_tarantass_ is like. Four small wheels, very far apart, and joined by +wooden axles, were fixed in the centre to a long pole, on which the +basket, in shape something between a boat and a bath, was fastened. The +vibration of this pole takes the place of springs, although it would be +incorrect to say that it performed the office of such civilized +improvements. But the pole kept the wheels and the basket together, and +this, after all, is an accomplishment to be proud of on the highroads of +Asia. My carriage was not drawn by mules this time, but I had three +horses harnessed abreast, in the Muscovite style. They were small +Cossack horses, with long manes and tails, slightly larger than Shetland +ponies, strong and lively. The middle one was somewhat bigger than the +two others; it could trot, while the ponies to the right and left of it +had to gallop all the time, their heads gracefully arched and held a +little to one side. The harness was most eccentric, and consisted of +straps without number, the use of which it was difficult to see, but the +silver-nailed mountings, studded in Eastern fashion, looked decidedly +picturesque. + +My coachman was a Cossack, and evidently very much impressed with the +importance of his mission. About fifteen men formed the escort, their +white blouses and flat white caps forming a striking feature in the +landscape. They are good-natured, simple-minded folk, these mujiks, with +bright blue eyes, clear complexion, and a childlike expression. They are +evidently quite at home in this far-away country, for the ways of life +in their native land are primitive and patriarchal, and differ but +little from those in this foreign land. It is difficult to believe that +these men can ever be cruel, and in time of war commit the greatest +atrocities in cold blood and almost unconsciously. When the war is over +they at once make friends with the conquered people, and freely mix with +the yellow tribes. A little two-wheeled cart, containing provisions, and +with a young Cossack as driver, completed my escort. + +If I were asked what were the most striking objects I passed on the +road, I should mention two pagodas, one of which is particularly +beautiful, seven storeys high, and richly carved. Monsters of Chinese +mythology and all the embellishments which the sickly imagination of +that ancient race could devise, have been lavishly represented upon it. +We also passed some remarkable commemorative stones--massive blocks, +resting on enormous tortoises--on which are inscribed the exploits of +the defunct heroes of the country. The many farms on our route testified +to the agricultural resources of the land, and the villages are not +without interest from a sociological point of view. The houses are very +shabby and dilapidated, but what amused me was the number of children +there were playing about. There did not seem to be room enough to +contain them all, and there were hardly any doors to be seen; the +population appears to jump out of the ground like mushrooms. We met +carts of various descriptions, pedestrians, strange equipages, and +stranger horsemen, and to finish up with, a mandarin travelling in +state. This personage was carried in a litter covered with embroidered +silk, and the luggage packed, in cases of wonderful lacquer-work, was +carried by his men on their backs. Suite and servants followed him in +single file, and all the emblems of his dignity, flags, Chinese +lanterns, umbrellas, and banners, with various inscriptions, were +carried before him. His Excellency was guarded by a detachment of native +soldiers, in crimson mantles with lozenge-shaped pieces of velvet let in +at the front and back, and elaborately embroidered with Chinese +characters. Of course, many of the details of this show were very +shabby. The canopy of the litter was torn and faded, the velvet of the +uniforms was caked with mud, the banners were in rags, and yet as a +whole it was one of the most artistic displays I have ever seen. +Asiatics certainly have the knack of making their pageants effective. A +mandarin of secondary order, visiting a functionary about equal in rank +to a tax-collector, has an escort of followers and soldiers amounting +to several dozen men, while the highest Western officials are content +with two footmen behind their carriage on grand occasions. + +I have already said that the journey back to Mukden station was no +improvement on the journey thence, and yet, as I write these lines, +seated in my comfortable railway carriage, my adventure, now that it is +a thing of the past, seems like a dream to me. To make the story more +interesting I must begin at the end, namely, with the dramatic incident +of the journey, and tell how we only just escaped being kidnapped or +possibly killed by a band of brigands. Thanks to Providence, however, no +more serious harm was done to us than the fall of the _tarantass_ into +the swollen river, a compulsory bath in full uniform for some of the +Cossacks, various bruises and scratches, and a broken litter. The +intended attack was changed into flight, and the tragedy turned into a +comedy, to the satisfaction of all. I will briefly relate the facts. + +When we arrived at the first village, the Cossacks declared that the +horses were thirsty, and that a halt was therefore necessary. They all +dismounted and hurried into the wayside inn, leaving me alone with the +horses. But as I could see neither well nor bucket, I could do nothing +for the poor beasts. After a while the men returned, and there was no +mistaking the state of affairs. If the horses had had no water, the men +had found plenty to drink. Presently we came to another village, and the +same thing occurred there, only this time they did not trouble to invent +any excuse, and never mentioned the thirsty horses. I need hardly say +that after each halt the conversation waxed more animated, and the +horses were pushed on more furiously. After the third stoppage the +situation became alarming. They no longer talked, but all shouted at +once, the clatter of their voices being intermixed with snatches of +popular songs, while the trot of the horses changed to a gallop. + +I felt desperate, for I knew that I was quite powerless against the +inveterate national custom of these children of nature. They continued, +however, to behave well towards me, and treated me with the greatest +respect. They were only very hilarious, that was all. They shouted and +sang and waved their red kerchiefs as we sped along. + +The last hamlet passed, and there being no further chance of obtaining +refreshment until Mukden station was reached, a steeplechase was +proposed across country, to the station. I cannot tell what distance we +thus covered, for the speed at which we went exceeded all my previous +experiences. The race over the uneven ground caused me many different +sensations. Across the plain it was rapid and exciting, and I fully +participated in the exhilaration of these wild children. Across the +cultivated ground it was pleasant enough for those on horseback, but to +me, in my _tarantass_, it was like being on the rack. But it was in +crossing the maize-fields that I suffered most. + +The race increased in speed. Horses and men completely lost their heads, +and it was no longer a question of restraining them. The horses took the +bits between their teeth and simply went like the wind. We seemed to fly +over the ditches and tore through the reed hedges. Some of the animals +slipped and the men fell head over heels in the mud, while guns and +swords described glittering circles in the air. Finally, in trying to +clear a deep creek, one of the wheels of the provision-cart came off, +and all the contents were scattered. Then, to my joy, I saw looming in +the distance, like a haven of refuge, the miserable shed which is called +Mukden station. + +I lay down at the bottom of the _tarantass_, with a feeling of +deliverance near at hand. I must explain that my straw seat had fallen +to pieces at an early stage of our mad race, so that the only way to +remain in the _tarantass_ was by lying down at the bottom and holding on +to the sides. But even this comparative degree of comfort was extended +to me for only a short time, for suddenly I received a terrible shock; +there was a grinding noise produced by the carriage, followed by an +exclamation from the driver, unintelligible to me; the sound of horses +struggling in the water; and finally I felt an icy wave dashing over me. +I thought I was drowning, and instinctively raised myself in my basket. +We were in the middle of a river which had overflowed its banks! My +little horses were half submerged. Some of the Cossacks were still in +the saddle; others were wading through the muddy stream up to their +waists in water. They were all in a state of great excitement, talking +and shouting, but all quite cheerful. Some were washing their scratches, +others struggling desperately to rescue their belongings, which were +floating away on the stream, and the horses, at last, with supreme +contentment, were able to drink their fill of the water so long withheld +and so fully deserved. + +The steeplechase under ordinary conditions may be a noble sport and may +have its charm and many dangers, but it cannot be compared with such a +cross-country race in a _tarantass_, escorted by a detachment of +Cossacks. And yet, in spite of all, I am indebted to these hardy +companions, for their mad escapade and their wild merriment saved our +lives. Whilst in full career, with horses neighing, Cossacks shouting, +and swords flashing, we became aware of a body of men, who had +presumably been hiding in the bushes, escaping towards the distant +woods. Evidently they thought we were pursuing them, and they fled in +disorder. I learnt afterwards that it was a band of those Chunchuses who +have been the terror of the district for many years, and very likely the +same I met on my previous journey. Not long ago they kidnapped Mr. +Wetzel, the director of the East China Railway, whose adventures have +been described at length in the newspapers. He was carried into the +interior, underwent the most terrible tortures, and was on the verge of +losing his mind when his ransom arrived. + +If my Cossacks had not indulged in that steeplechase my journey might +have had a tragic ending. Thanks to our furious riding, we startled the +band lying in wait for a prey; but if they had seen us quietly +proceeding like ordinary travellers along the highroad, they would +undoubtedly have attacked us; and I will therefore conclude with the +well-known proverb: "All's well that ends well." + + + + +V + +PORT ARTHUR, DALNY, NIU-CHWANG, TIEN-TSIN + + +The country between Mukden and Port Arthur is the granary of Manchuria. +Rice, corn, and maize grow in great profusion, and there are from +thirty-five to forty different kinds of peas and beans. Chinese +agriculture is based on excellent principles. The system of irrigation +and the methods of working fully deserve our attention; but the +plentiful harvests are chiefly due to the remarkable mode of manuring. +The same piece of ground can yield several crops in rotation in one +year. It would seem that the land never requires to lie fallow. + +As I watched the Chinese farmers and labourers, I was vividly struck by +the contrast between this peace-loving, agricultural population, and the +armed Cossacks who lined the route. The nearer we came to the coast the +more numerous they seemed to become, and there were more and larger +barracks also. Yet the Russian military and the Chinese farmers appear +to live on friendly terms with one another. I frequently saw Russian +soldiers and Chinamen sitting at the same table, merrily talking +together, and I even noticed signs of Russification among the natives, +for many pigtails were twisted up and hidden under a Russian _schapka_. +They eat the same food with an equally good appetite, and appear to have +many tastes in common. If, during the Boxer agitation, the Russian +troops behaved with exceptional cruelty towards the natives, it is +certain that at present there is a perfect understanding between them. +And after all they belong more or less to the same stock; their historic +past is very similar, and they both live the same primitive life. + + * * * * * + +I was now nearing the end of my journey, and although the progress had +been slow it had been full of incidents. The last obstacle on the route +we encountered at Liaoyang, where a bridge had been swept away. I was +prepared for this delay, for some weeks before, the station-master at +Harbin had given me a thrilling account of the accident. I remember +wondering at the time whether he was exaggerating and trying to dissuade +me from penetrating further into the interior of Manchuria; but when I +saw the state of affairs at Liaoyang I realized that his story had been +perfectly true. The scene before me was one of general confusion. +Thousands of Russian soldiers and Chinese coolies were engaged in +carting sand, cutting poles, and fixing rails; all talking and shouting +at once in different tongues and dialects. + +It was a veritable babel. About a thousand men were occupied in +constructing a bridge of stone and iron. A few thousand others were +throwing up sandbanks to check the water, while another gang of workmen +was making a pontoon. We stopped several hours and no one seemed to know +how or when we should get across. But the scene was so exciting, and +gave me such an excellent opportunity of watching the Chinese at work, +that I did not grudge the delay. At last some engineering officers +suggested dividing the train and trying to take it across by the pontoon +in portions. + +How it was exactly managed I am unable to describe, for what with the +jerking and bumping of my carriage, and the whistling, creaking, and +groaning of the engine over the swaying pontoon, I had no chance of +making observations. And when the temporary rails over the pontoon +became submerged and the waves dashed up to my carriage door, I followed +the example of the stoker and the guard and stood on the step, +barefooted, ready to jump and attempt to swim to land if the whole +tottering structure should collapse and disappear under the waves. + +Thus ended my journey across Manchuria. Many delays and excursions into +the interior had retarded my progress, but at last I arrived safe and +sound at Port Arthur, where I remained two days, including a visit to +Dalny. Port Arthur, as I saw it, was merely a military station on the +extremity of the peninsula of Liaotung. At one time it was the chief +naval arsenal of China, but after the war with Japan its defences and +military works were destroyed. When, in 1898, the Russians leased the +two places, Port Arthur and Dalny, they made the former into a great +military and naval fortress. It was placed under the control of an +admiral who had chief command over the troops and the maritime forces. +He had under him a double staff of naval and military officers, +comprising the commander of the port, the chiefs of the naval staff, the +riflemen, the artillery, the engineering service, and the intelligence +department, the harbour master, the chief of the torpedo division, the +first assistant to the commander of the port, the second assistant, the +commander of the commercial port, the ordnance officers of the +Governor-General, the civil governor, the diplomatic agent, the +secretary of finances, and the chief of the police. + +Port Arthur undoubtedly has a very complicated form of administration, +and at first it was suggested that it should be made into an eastern +Kronstadt, or the Asiatic citadel of the great empire. The place itself +and the surrounding hills are full of fortifications, and I have been +assured over and over again that it would be perfectly impossible to +take it by sea. It is one long line of arsenals, torpedo depots, +barracks, and encampments. The fact that Port Arthur is essentially a +military port is not disguised; there are only a few buildings, +including those of the East China Railway Company and the Russo-Chinese +Bank, which do not openly serve military purposes. + +A new town has grown up on the opposite side to satisfy the demands of +trade. This is called Dalny, and is situated on the bay of Talienwan, to +the north-west of Port Arthur. The territory, like that of Port Arthur, +was given in lease by China, and it is intended to make this into a free +port connected by the Manchurian Railway with Vladivostok, Moscow, the +Black Sea, and the Baltic. It might in time become the great commercial +centre of the extreme East. The port is about six miles long and very +deep, and offers exceptional facilities for navigation. + +Dalny in its present condition has a somewhat paradoxical aspect. +Palaces emerge from the sands, public monuments fill the deserted +squares, avenues and boulevards are traced out on the shore. Dalny is +the hope of the partisans of Russian commerce and progress, while Port +Arthur is the pride of the military party. The development of the former +is encouraged by the energetic efforts of Mr. White; the latter finds a +powerful protector in General Kuropatkin. + +[Illustration: GENERAL KUROPATKIN To face page 124] + +Port Arthur impressed me greatly on account of its strategic importance, +but what I saw of Dalny did not inspire me with much confidence as to +its commercial future. During my visit I saw all that has been +accomplished since 1898, and certainly, although many things are still +far from perfect, and the mistakes made are very palpable even to the +uninitiated, one cannot fail to recognize that much has been done in so +short a time. But if we knew at what cost all this has been +accomplished, our admiration would probably be considerably reduced. + +No boat for Taku was likely to start for some time, so I decided to +continue my journey to Pekin by rail. As far as Ying-tse we travelled +over the main Manchurian line, whence a branch line runs to Niu-chwang. +This is the most northerly port of the Yellow Empire open to foreign +trade. It is situated at a distance of thirteen miles from the mouth of +the river Liao, which discharges into the gulf of Liaotung, a +continuation of the gulf of Pechili. The railway line, which brings +Niu-chwang into direct communication with Siberia and Pekin, was just +finished. Branch lines in the direction of Tien-tsin had existed before +this, but they were destroyed in the late Boxer troubles. To give my +readers a somewhat accurate idea of the importance of this town I +will try to quote from the Official journals:-- + +The town of Niu-chwang is rapidly growing in importance since the +construction of the railway. The East China Railway between Port Arthur, +Dalny, and the junction of Ta-shik-chia, whence a branch line runs to +Port Arthur, was finished as far as Mukden towards the close of 1899. +The Chinese Imperial line was also completed then. It was subsequently +decided to deal systematically with the mineral resources of Manchuria, +owing to the East China line having laid open the coal-mines at +Mochi-Shan and Z'mershan near the Liaoyang, and at Wafungtien in the +south of the Liaotung peninsula. The railway line runs right along these +rich exploitations. An unprecedented commercial activity has accompanied +these developments, resulting in an increase of 49 per cent. for 1898. + +The chief articles of trade for this port are beans and oil-cake, with +an export of 2,241,053 piculs of the former and 2,289,544 piculs of the +latter in 1899. The net quantity of opium imported in 1898 was 92 piculs +as against 2453 in 1879. The importation of opium has been steadily +declining in the course of the last few years, the poppy seed being +largely and successfully cultivated in Manchuria. The total figure of +the trade of this port for 1899 has risen to 48,357,623 taels as +against 32,441,315 in 1898. The port figured conspicuously in the +disturbances of 1900; the Chinese troops which attacked the town being +defeated by the Russians, who took possession of the port. Trade was +necessarily at a standstill in 1900. + +Niu-chwang was a revelation to me. I saw for the first time a real +Chinese town in all its immensity. It appeared an inextricable labyrinth +of streets and alleys overflowing with people. All our Western ideas are +reversed here; indeed, buildings and people alike seemed to belong not +only to another hemisphere, but to another planet. The lines are so +strange, the colours so brilliant, the sounds so sharp, that one is at +once deafened, blinded, and astonished. Beyond the city, on the solid +earth, is the floating town on the river. The Liao at this point, little +more than half a mile wide, is literally covered with vessels of every +description. + +It is a thronged mass of large merchant ships, smaller boats, and wooden +junks. Each boat is a home, in which always one, and often several, +families are housed with all their belongings: children, pigs, and +poultry filling the decks. Those of the better classes who can afford it +have regular summer-houses on the river, built like pagodas, elaborately +furnished and surrounded by artificial gardens with dwarf trees in +costly pots. In between this confusion of boats, narrow passages and +regular canals are left free on the water, in which graceful canoes are +seen gliding and winding about like gondolas. Both on land and water, +the crowds of human beings, and exuberance of life, are overwhelming. + +One feels ill at ease and lost among this surging mass of humanity. The +narrowest streets and the largest squares, the courts and the floating +houses, all teem with life; and, in contrast with the sleepy, passive +multitudes of India, all are active here, from the youngest to the +oldest. All seem intent on their business, all appear to have some +strenuous end in view. The capacity for work which this race possesses +manifests itself everywhere from morning till night. Chinese strength +and vitality are here seen in all their original energy and force. + +Niu-chwang is an important place even now, but it has every possibility +and likelihood of becoming one of the great commercial centres of the +future. Its international trade has been hitherto hindered by the fact +that the river is frozen for three months in the year, but since the +completion of the Tien-tsin line the town has become easy of access by +land. A railway bridge over the Liao is projected, and when this is +built the train will run directly from Pekin to St. Petersburg. At +present travellers have to cross the river in wooden junks, and +continue their journey by the Chinese trains. + +In the centre of the commercial town is the settlement of the Catholic +Mission. Buried in a maze of tortuous streets, it is almost lost sight +of in the bustle and noise of the adjacent fair, giving the impression +of some Oriental bazaar. The little church, and the few small houses +belonging to the Mission, are enclosed as far as possible by a +whitewashed garden wall, which is but a poor protection in case of siege +or serious disorders. If the populace were to show signs of hostility +that ruinous wall would not hold out long against the mob; but they who +join the Mission, who devote their lives to deeds of charity, who feed +the starving, and care for the destitute, put their trust in a defence +stronger than the strongest towers of this world. From the time that the +missionary leaves his native land and offers his life to the Almighty, +he spends his days in a constant state of uncertainty. From the moment +that he sets foot on the shores of the Yellow Empire dangers of all +kinds crowd around him. These martyrs to duty are continuously exposed +to open and secret persecution, terrible epidemics, privations, and +hardships of all kinds. Yet in spite of manifold trials and dangers, +young priests and nuns who have only just taken the vow, go over to the +Far East, happy and full of zeal, ready to devote their lives to the +noble spiritual work. + +On the day of my departure from Niu-chwang I had the good fortune to +witness an historical event, the official transfer of the railway to the +Chinese Governor-General of Manchuria. Since the last war the route +between Niu-chwang and Hankau-chwang had been under the military control +of Russia, while the other route between the latter town and Tien-tsin +was held by British troops. There were great festivities in honour of +the day. The station buildings were decorated with all the pomp of +Asiatic taste; everywhere Venetian masts, floating banners, Chinese +inscriptions, and Russian trophies, announced the great event, with +laurel garlands symbolizing victory, and olive branches speaking of +eternal peace. Ambitious mandarins and gold-bedizened Russian generals +exchanged salutes and bows in sign of mutual respect. No doubt it was a +case of "live and let live," for all appeared quite satisfied. + +An interminable programme marked the order of the festivities, and if I +had had an aptitude for journalism I could have written columns upon +"The Official Transfer of the East China Railway Line by Russia to +China." I could have indulged in lengthy descriptions of the receptions, +presentations, floral offerings, banquets, with streams of champagne, +and endless flow of toasts. But the best correspondent could not have +said more than I have done here upon the principal event, the actual +transfer of the railway. He could not have pierced, any more than I +could, that thick veil which hides from us the knowledge as to whether +that railway has actually become Chinese property or not. + +The country between Niu-chwang and Hankau-chwang is at first flat and +uninteresting, although rich in vegetation. Nearer to the sea it becomes +more varied, and in parts it is quite picturesque. Some of the bays of +the Yellow Sea--which, by the by, is intensely blue just there--resemble +the fjords and are dominated by craggy rocks. We advanced slowly and +stopped at many stations, the Russian soldiers still always +predominating over the native contingent. + +It was late in the evening, when our train, with much noise, passed +through the breach in the famous wall, by which I was greatly impressed. +That enormous mass of masonry, one of the most colossal structures ever +made by human hands, is here seen to the best advantage, skirting the +steep inclines of the mountains, ascending to the tops of the highest +peaks, or descending into the plains to lose itself finally in the +unfathomable depths of the sea. + +It is indeed a wonderful sight, and, like that other gigantic human +undertaking, the Pyramids of Egypt, this wall is interesting, not only +for its own sake, but also as marking a stage in the history of the +civilization of the world. I gazed at it, and looked at our powerful +engine, with its long train of American-built carriages, as it passed +through the breach, and in that one glance there was much to comprehend +both from the past and for the future of Asia. + +At Hankau-chwang a surprise awaited me. The English troops had finished +their mission, and on this momentous occasion the commander gave a +dinner. The guests were assembled in the little yamen near the station. +The dining-room was tastefully draped and hung with pretty watercolours. +Books and knick-knacks lay about, and the table was covered with an +immaculately white cloth and set out with a dinner-service of severe +simplicity, but scrupulously clean. A simple abode it was, but every +detail of it would bring to temporary inmates the pleasant recollections +of the comforts and the charm of their English homes. + +Another interesting stage of my journey was from Hankau-chwang to +Tien-tsin, through one of the richest districts of China. Our train +stopped frequently, for we touched many important towns. Trade is brisk +in this part. In places the ground was cultivated like a vegetable +garden, but the real wealth of the district lies in its coal-mines. In +the way of structural curiosities the two chief sites on the road were +the country house of Li Hung-Chang and Fort Taku. + +The late Viceroy and great politician had also been a clever financier. +His weakness for speculation and commercial enterprise was well-known +throughout the country. The coal-mines of this neighbourhood were partly +his property. He not only looked well after his personal affairs, but +also took care to inquire into the financial position of those with whom +he dealt. Whenever he entertained a foreign diplomatist, or granted an +interview to the director of some international company, or even the +head of some ordinary business house desirous of gaining information +about special concessions or privileges, the first question the Viceroy +asked invariably was: "What is he worth? How rich is he?" The success of +a petition depended, so I was told, to a great extent upon the sum of +money poured into the coffers of the statesman as a preliminary +investment. + +Fort Taku does not need to be described at length. It has played a +conspicuous part in the history of the last five-and-twenty years--in +the struggles between the West and the East, the White and the Yellow +races. It has been several times bombarded, destroyed, and rebuilt. At +present it is again in ruins. + +There is now a new commercial town in course of erection. In the place +of the old-world style, modern colonists have introduced a somewhat +vulgar and insipid form of architecture, which possesses neither the +picturesqueness of the old Chinese towns nor the advantages of our +European cities. The colony is as yet in its infancy, and only counts a +few rows of small houses and some miserable shops. + +The last stopping-place on my journey was Tien-tsin. Situated on the +crossing of the Peiho and the Grand Canal, this is one of the most +important towns of China. It has a population of over a million, and is +divided into the city proper, the foreign confines, and the suburbs. The +old part is a perfect specimen of a Chinese town, overpopulated, +brilliant, noisy, and dirty; a hustling, bustling crowd of humanity +living like bees in a hive. It contains many interesting monuments, +although the chief attraction of the city no longer exists, I mean its +enclosure, the wall which surrounded a square of four thousand feet. It +was pulled down to make room for trade traffic. + +The European quarter is very different in character; it has large +squares, shady avenues, and beautiful buildings. Each nation represented +there has a little colony of its own, with barracks, commercial offices, +and consular residences. The English colony, which is close to the +French, boasts of the best buildings, has large, well-kept streets, and +is guarded by some very fine-looking Sikhs. The large dwelling-houses, +the homely bungalows, and the turbaned figures of the tall soldiers, +remind one of some Indian cantonment. The Italian and Austrian quarters +are on the other side of the canal, and almost lost among the native +town. Since the occupation of the Allied Troops the importance of +Tien-tsin has grown considerably, and in time it is likely to become a +powerful rival to Shanghai as far as international commercial interests +are concerned. In fact, it has all the commercial advantages of +Shanghai. When we consider that at the time of the Ming dynasty it +occupied only a secondary position, its development is the more +remarkable. Tien-tsin is about eighty miles distant from Pekin, and lies +near the sea; its commercial advantages as the market for export and +import trade are therefore evident. + +The railway has added another considerable advantage to the many already +possessed by Tien-tsin, namely that of bringing it into direct +communication with the mainland. Li Hung-Chang, who, in his capacity of +Viceroy, resided there for many years, was a strong supporter of the +place. Under him it became, not only a large commercial centre, but with +the normal schools for the organization of army and navy, other elements +were attracted towards the place, and different occupations introduced. + +Tien-tsin, in fact, has become the home of the progressive party. +Pamphlets, daily papers, literary and political clubs, have propagated +the views and ideas of the great Viceroy. It was Li Hung-Chang who +started the first coal-pit in the neighbourhood of Tong-shan, about +thirty years ago, and the export of coal is making rapid progress. The +output amounts at present to nearly three hundred thousand tons. Another +local industry of great importance is the production of salt. This is a +Government monopoly, and is obtained through the evaporation of +sea-water. The salt lies piled up in heaps along the banks of the river. +Spirituous liquors are distilled in large quantities and sent into the +interior. The exports include wines, furs, skins, bristles, and wood. +Export trade, which did not exist five-and-twenty years ago, now reaches +a total of about fifteen million taels per annum. + +From the time of the first European expedition in 1858, Tien-tsin has +been the scene of much fighting and many desperate battles. During the +last rebellion the disturbances were greater there than anywhere else, +and it was there also that the Boxers, in the beginning of June, 1900, +set fire to the Foreign Mission settlements. At first no one seemed to +realize the imminence of the danger, and it was not until the second +half of the same month, after the bombardment of Taku, that hostilities, +attended with all the horrors of war, were seriously commenced. The +attack on the European colony, the blockade of the barracks, the +destruction of the railway station, and the massacre of the missionaries +and Christians, followed each other rapidly. Eye-witnesses have given us +graphic descriptions of the atrocities committed during the +insurrection. The bravery of the troops, the missionaries, the Christian +women, and the children, has excited the admiration of the world. Many +ruins still testify to this prolonged siege. + +The chief event of my stay in this place was my visit to the Viceregal +Palace. If Li Hung-Chang had been a great statesman, his successor was +not unworthy of him. Yuan-tsi-Khai and Chan-chi-Tung are the two most +prominent men of modern China. Nature has endowed them very differently, +but they are alike zealous in their endeavours to rouse China from its +apathy. Although the ways and means by which they hope to effect their +object are different, the end in view is the same. Chan-chi-Tung is a +peace-loving man, an ardent follower of the doctrine of Confucius, and +strongly attached to the national principles of morality. He favours +reform in undertakings of a purely commercial and industrial nature, in +financial transactions; but in intellectual and spiritual questions he +is very conservative. In his own province he has made successful +attempts at improvement. He has established factories, cotton mills and +looms, forges, local railways, and an important arsenal on the +Yangtse-kiang. + +His adversaries--and he has many, like every one who rises above the +common level--accuse him of being an idealist. But in most cases his +ideas, practically carried out, have proved to be of very real benefit +to his country. He is a deep thinker and a most pleasant and interesting +companion. His writings on various political and social questions are +fine specimens of human philosophy. + +Yuan-tsi-Khai is, on the contrary, before all a man of action, a soldier +at heart. He loves to fight his enemies and to press forward without +considering the difficulties in the way. + +My sojourn at Tien-tsin was of special service to me in obtaining +clearer ideas as to the actual conditions of China. I made the +acquaintance of many interesting persons, some of whom are the makers of +the history of our time. They were not all of the same nationality, nor +did they all pursue the same vocation, nor were they all of the same +mind; their opinions also were widely different. But it is to a certain +extent owing to the antagonism of their views that I was enabled to form +some provisional conclusions. + +It was on a bright afternoon of the short St. Martin's summer that I +accomplished the last twenty-four miles of my long railway journey +across the two continents. As I neared my final destination, Pekin, and +passed through the flat and barren country I could hardly realize that I +had traversed such an enormous distance during the last few months. I +tried to recall to mind the different countries I had passed through and +their inhabitants, the prosperous towns and the miserable villages I had +visited; the centres of civilization and the primitive solitudes. + +Then I began to comprehend all I had seen. Much of my previous +conceptions of this part of the world had been vague, for the difference +between what one imagines and what actually is, is great! One may gather +the most reliable information, listen to the most explicit descriptions, +or study the best books, but how far all this falls short of personal +experience! The best references, the most accurate figures, the most +lucid writings, will never produce the same effect as reality, and it is +not upon those somewhat abstract notions that our faculties are +exercised with the greatest profit. What one feels has even more weight +than what one sees, and psychological studies are of greater value than +statistics. To know a country, it is the life, the everyday existence, +of its inhabitants that we have to study. Life in all its varied +expressions, in labour and in rest, in its fundamental principles and +its manifold manifestations, this it is which reveals to us the deep +source from which the energizing elements flow in diverse directions. + +It was growing dark as we neared the end of our journey. On the +platforms of the small stations we passed, I saw foreign soldiers +belonging to the Allied Forces; here fair Teuton giants, there short, +brown _bersaglieri_. And at each succeeding station there was more +movement, more confusion, till we reached the metropolis. The sun was +setting as we skirted the imperial deer park. Every moment the light +effects increased in beauty. The sombre masses of foliage, framed by the +blue lines of the eastern hills, formed an enchanting picture. + +Outlines and colours were so unexpected, so strangely blended, that it +looked like a painting from the magic brush of some great Chinese +master. The forests stood out dark and menacing, as if still sheltering +the monsters and dragons of ancient folk-lore, and the hills were like +so many pointed sugar-loaves, heaped up by some awful giants. + +It was as perfect a Chinese landscape as I could have wished to see, and +to crown all, the sun went down in a blaze of light; it was as if fiery +darts were being shot across the flaming sky. I have seen many sunsets +in the tropics, and in the East, but never anything to equal this. The +brightness of it flooded with saffron the clouds of dust always hanging +over the capital, and illumined all the million atoms which rise from +the Mongolian desert.... + +At an unexpected turn in the road it seemed as if the golden veil was +torn aside to give me a glimpse of the mysterious city. The stage effect +was perfect; the curtain might have been drawn by a clever manager's +hand to reveal the great Hatamen Gate in all its magnificence. The +famous crenellated walls; the lofty towers and proud pagodas, first +described by Marco Polo; the heavy bastions, and the marble bridges, +were but indistinctly visible, and therefore all the more suggestive and +beautiful. In fact, my first impression of Pekin was of a fancy or +dream. What the city really looked like was as yet mercifully hidden +from me; my imagination could have full play, untrammelled by the +disillusions of knowledge and experience. Afterwards I saw things +differently, but that first day the great city of the mighty Khan seemed +as a mirage to me. + +The crumbling citadel of a great nation, nay, of the whole glory of a +mighty race, the monument of its art, the Walhalla of its history, shone +in the dazzling splendour of the afterglow, like a golden city floating +on golden clouds. + + + + +VI + +PEKIN + + +I + +THE ARRIVAL + +It is evening when I arrive in Pekin. The train stops outside the Tartar +Wall. Darkness shrouds everything, and the place seems to be deserted. +Not even a guard or porter is to be seen. Alongside the embankment a few +coolies with gigantic lanterns are waiting for the passengers, and, in +quaint procession, with innumerable balloons hanging from long bamboo +sticks, are searching for their masters. They all shout, but no one +seems to understand them. There is no trace of any vehicles or +carriages, and I don't see even a platform. I am standing in the midst +of a desert; behind me, some sandhills and a pool are all I can +distinguish, and in front, among the crowd of coolies, a tall figure is +conspicuous, which approaches, and, by the yellow rays of a pumpkin-like +lantern, I recognize an old acquaintance. Here he occupies the position +of First Secretary of Legation, and brings me an invitation from his +chief. My trunks are taken in charge by an attendant, and we walk +towards my new abode, which my friend tells me is close by. + +It is explained to me that the present railway station is only a +temporary one; only since the occupation by the Allied Forces have +trains been able to penetrate as far as the inner wall. They used to +have to stop miles away, as no engine was allowed to desecrate the holy +city of Pekin. At a short distance from the temporary station is a +tunnel-like opening in the wall, and I am informed that it was made for +the use of members of the legations and foreign settlement, and has +ex-territorial rights granted to it. I pass through the so-called Gate +of the Nations full of expectation, for I am most anxious for surprises, +which certainly are not wanting. + +I hope to see before me a fairy city and scenes like those on the stage; +but instead of splendour and glitter I see mist. By the flickering light +of a few paraffin lamps I begin to distinguish the famous international +quarter, but I feel it would be better if they were not lit, for they +only disclose ruins and debris. Among heaps of bricks and mortar we +reach the edge of a ditch of stagnant water, which, as my companion +informs me, not without some pride, is the so-called Canal of Jade. It +is a magnificent name, which I have known for a long time. If I have +pictured it to myself as different from what it is in reality, it is not +the fault of an exaggerated fancy; and as we stumble along in the lane +skirting the ditch--I beg its pardon; on the banks of the waters of +Jasper--I still cannot perceive anything else but garden walls. I don't +even see the famous Jade Stream, for though long ago there may have been +water in the ditch, there are now only puddles here and there. But if I +can't see, I smell all the more; smell all kinds of unimaginable and +imaginable odours. + +At last we approach a gate with a martial sentry in front of it. The +password is given, and we are at last at home. In the courtyard, on the +edge of the grass, are a number of lanterns. Large and yellow, they look +like melons. The effect is charming, but as they give but very +indifferent light, I can only distinctly discern some pillars and +arches. Now we pass through some open halls and reach a garden-like +square. To the right and left from the windows of small summer-houses +the light of candles filters through. In front is another building in +the same style, a few columns supporting a heavy roof; the columns are +of red lacquered wood, and the tiles of emerald-green. Beyond this is +another garden, and lastly the legation proper. The door is open and the +hall ablaze with light. On the broad staircase are servants in +red--pigtailed Chinese, dressed after the fashion of their country. They +salute us, bowing low, with their hands folded. + +The scene is interesting, the setting fine. By the light of the lanterns +the roof of the old yamen appears even more gabled than it is, and its +eaves the more bizarre than in reality. At last I have before me a truly +Chinese picture, thousands of years old, artistic and brilliant. But the +scene quickly changes as we go inside, and from the past we come to the +present, from Oriental surroundings we step into a Western interior. + + * * * * * + +The rays of the rising sun wake me as they burst brightly into the +courtyard of the yamen, filtering, rosy-coloured, through the embrasures +of the crenellated walls. + +My quarters have a verandah looking upon a small courtyard, the pillars +of which are of ruby lacquer, its roof of emerald glaze. In the yard are +many flowers planted in old china vases. Four cedars, ages old, stand in +the corners, and their branches form a lovely shady tent under the +canopy of a morning sky. The branches of the old trees and the eaves are +swarming with birds which awake with me, and merry with their songs. + +On opening my eyes I scarcely know whether I am awake or still dreaming. +It takes me some time to realize my surroundings. In the little garden +some one is noiselessly crossing the grass in paper shoes. He wears a +light blue kaftan over a white tunic, and the colours harmonize well, +for this slate-blue suits his yellow complexion, and a long pigtail +hangs down his back. + +This is reality. I am indeed in the Flowery Land. I am actually awaking +in Pekin. + + +II + +THE FIRST DRIVE THROUGH THE TOWN + +It is eight o'clock in the evening. I have just returned from Pei-tang; +it takes nearly an hour to come from there. And what a road! Imagine a +brilliant stereoscope with living figures rushing forward upon you as +you gaze--a gigantic kaleidoscope in which, among multitudinous and +dazzling fragments a heap of ants are busy. And if we look at these +through a magnifying glass, the effect will be somewhat similar to one's +first impression of Pekin. Bedlam, uproar, chaos; and all this half +concealed by a veil of whirling dust. It would be difficult to recount +what I have seen, and even more difficult to explain what my sensations +were. I was amazed by the brilliant spectacle. + +It is early in the morning when I set out on my exploring expedition. +From the street in which the legation stands we suddenly turn into the +grand Imperial Square. The yellow-roofed palace in front of us may be +called the focus of Pekin, nay, the centre of the whole Yellow Empire, +for every road leads thither. + +The principal street is broad, crossing the wall of the Tartar city. A +few miles farther to the south it strikes the Chinese town, and through +gates like triumphal arches, and over bridges, across moats, and +skirting bastions, reaches the open. This is the perspective before me: +my eyes penetrate in a straight line, almost any distance, to the sea at +the farthermost point of the realm, but the crowd is so dense and the +traffic so thick, and there are such clouds of dust, that we can hardly +see what is going on within a yard of us. Caravans of camels, people on +horseback, carriages, and carts follow each other incessantly. Every +moment we narrowly escape a collision. It is a wonder that numbers of +the shaky little vehicles do not get smashed, for there is a continuous +stream of fresh phantom-like objects. + +The palace is surrounded by a high wall painted red, and roofed with +yellow tiles. Red likewise is the large gate studded with yellow nails. +In fact, there are three gates side by side--in China everything is +threefold--but they are all closed. In front of them are sentries, for +the palace is sacred, and entrance into it means decapitation. On the +other side are small shops and stores, in the windows of which are +exhibited motley wares, while the facades are carved with a hundred and +one very quaint pictures. What they represent I am at a loss to know. + +We escape into one of the many side streets. It is narrow, dark, and +seems to be endless, running along between the houses like a river, to +right and left. + +Now we reach something like a desert. I cannot call it a common, because +there is no grass; there is nothing but dust and dirt. Farther away are +some ruins, and still farther a red wall can be seen. It is again the +wall of the Imperial city, that gigantic structure that follows us +wherever we go. It is either in front of us or behind us, on one side or +the other. Beyond the wilderness are rows of houses. Behind huge walls +the tops of some shadowy trees are visible now and again, the gabled +roofs of yamens and a few flagstaffs. + +A little more wilderness is followed by a few rows of houses, and beyond +them come some streets; shops crowded with customers, and, lastly, the +ubiquitous red wall again. + +In the middle of the wall is the gate, a wooden structure, with gabled +towers and aggressively golden dragons painted on it, and little bells +hanging down from the corners. Crowds are streaming from the archway; +sunburnt coolies endeavouring to get their light carts over the marble +steps. Now we face the broad Imperial street. The shops on both sides +are still more carved and gilt than the others. The gables are like +umbrellas blown inside out by the wind, and the edges do not lack +ornament, being decorated with carved tassels and lace and every +conceivable trimming. The signboards are well worth studying. Some are +of wood, others of metal, cast iron, or paper; but all display glaring +colours. No wonder they attract the attention of passersby. The +shoemakers' wooden signs are of unusually large size, showing the latest +fashion in foot-gear either painted or carved, and apparently floating +in the clouds or in higher spheres. The sign is generally suspended in +the claws of some grinning monster or lion by a chain that is fastened +to the eaves. Next in point of merit are the signs of the Pekin +apothecaries, who in this respect decidedly excel us; and the +pawnbrokers' symbols deserve even more attention than the others from an +artistic point of view. + +The pavement is occupied by stalls and booths, their only protection +from the sun being a sheet of canvas fixed to a pole. The wares are +spread out on the ground. Street kitchens abound, consisting of little +earthenware stoves or small iron grates which are used for cooking. +Half-naked workmen are huddled round the tables, which are covered with +little mugs about as large as teacups, each containing something +different, hundreds of delicacies with sauces both bitter and sweet at +once. Long thin sticks are used instead of forks, and the skill shown in +the handling of them is simply astonishing. I have never seen people +eat more daintily. A dinner of eight or nine courses can be had for +about one farthing. With their chopsticks they pick out some of the +solid dishes, seasoning them with four or five different sauces. The +Chinese are the greatest gourmets in the world, for I notice that the +ordinary meals of labourers are more complicated than the choicest menu +of a French chef. + +The end of the street is enclosed by a wall--the usual red wall--the +inner defence of the Imperial city. Here stands the Western Gate, and +the monumental quarter, with yellow tiled roofs, begins. In front of it +is a sentry, the entrance to the garden being strictly prohibited. + +My way is not in that direction, but to the north. In the centre of the +park, which has recently been replanted, stands the cathedral, finished +a few months ago. + +The work of the Chinese Missions is written on one of the latest pages +of universal history. The events of two years ago are still vividly +impressed on our memories, when the few hundred Christians who had +sought refuge at the Mission in Pei-tang seemed to be doomed. No one +believed that they could stand the siege of the frantic mob, for, except +a garden wall a few feet high, there were no means of defence. It was +due to the most resolute courage and valour that the little flock did +not surrender. Old and young, priests and soldiers, fought side by side +in the breaches from morning to night. + +During the weary weeks of the siege many fell under arms, and many more +among the orphans and sisters of charity died of exhaustion. + +The recent graves forming the small cemetery in the inner garden were +dug to receive the bodies of these new martyrs. + +But, after all, Christian faith triumphed over pagan hatred, and finally +the hour of deliverance struck. And today Pei-tang and its cathedral +stand finer and stronger than before, to the benefit of humanity and the +glory of God. + + +III + +THE NEW LEGATION QUARTERS + +It is now a month since I arrived in Pekin. The autumn has passed +quickly--and October is the finest time during the whole year in the +yellow capital, for the weather is mild and clear. In the morning it is +cool, and frosts are not rare at night. But later in the day the skies +are cloudless, and the sun is often as hot as in summer. As regards +climate--which, by the way, is an important factor in the life and +progress of a nation--Pekin is a bundle of contrasts. The summer is hot, +the winter extremely cold, the spring wet, and the autumn very dry. +Since my arrival there has been no rain, but occasionally it has become +cloudy, and as dark as if the sun were eclipsed. The wind, when blowing +from the north, sweeps sand from the desert of Gobi before it, and +shrouds the whole town in a veil as it were. This sand spreads over the +whole atmosphere like a dense fog, through which one can hardly see a +yard's distance. It penetrates windows, doors, even cracks, and buries +the whole district like a stream of lava. After a sand-storm the sky +clears, and becomes bluer than the blue dome of the Mediterranean, +smooth and translucent as though cut out of a gigantic sapphire. This +contrast between dull and bright weather seems to create two distinct +towns; in the one all is gloomy, in the other all is bright. That is the +reason why those who have described Pekin have either found everything +sombre, or have looked upon it through rosy spectacles. The truth lies +between the two extremes. I go so far as to say that each is +correct--but only relatively. + +The traveller who would describe Pekin ought to make daily notes of what +he has seen and heard when he sees and hears it, and use light and shade +as an artist on his canvas. He who adopts this method will be more +successful than those who merely restrict themselves either to recording +salient points, or matters of historical importance, or to advocating +some political idea. + +The longer I live within the walls of Pekin the more am I convinced +that, in spite of her decadent condition, she is yet full of vitality +and, like Constantinople, embodies a national ideal. + +In the afternoon I stroll over to the international area and pay a visit +to all the legations. My amiable guide, who was here during the siege, +when so many of the defenders perished, can supply information as to +many dark episodes of the Boxer rebellion, and shows me where the most +serious attacks were made, how they bombarded the legations from the +city wall over there, how they used to throw blazing torches on to the +roofs of these houses, and how they tried to blow up that quarter. + +Looking at the place now, it seems incredible that the garrison--a mere +handful--should have been able to withstand the frenzied crowd; but one +must not forget that it was a mob, not a disciplined army. + +As to the French and English legations, the former was reduced nearly to +ruins, while the latter suffered comparatively little damage, but lost +more lives. + +The so-called European quarter is a large area of about a mile and a +half square, lying between the Imperial city and the Tartar wall, and +crossed by the Rue des Legations. + +[Illustration: THE LEGATION QUARTER "Long rows of caravans coming from +the western frontier and Tibet" To face page 152] + +I start on my round at the Legation Yamen. In front of the royal palace +on the right are the new American barracks, before the gates of which +a number of soldiers of every nationality are lounging. Opposite is the +International Hospital, a two-storeyed building painted light blue; an +uglier erection I have never seen, but I am pleased to find the interior +arrangements excellent. + +The Dutch and American legations came next, adjoining each other, as do +also the Russian and English, but of these only the garden walls are +visible. Architecturally the American legation is decidedly +unattractive, and therefore it does not matter much that it is hidden +from view, but the Russian and English legations are typical Chinese +dwellings. The architecture of the latter is interesting, for the house +itself belonged to one of the Imperial princes, and was built in a style +worthy of his rank. On the opposite bank of the canal the Italian and +Japanese concessions form a square. A new wall has been built quite +recently, and is fortified at the corner by a turret. The German +legation is on the other side of the Rue des Legations. The barracks +have just been completed, and if they were built for vindictive reasons, +Germany has more than attained her end, so hideous are they. Built in +Gothic style, they are the most conspicuous of all, and utterly destroy +the harmony of the Oriental forms around them. The Austro-Hungarian +legation is still in course of erection, in the style of a villa with +porticoes; its chief merit lies in its simplicity, but it would +certainly have harmonized better with its surroundings had the architect +adhered to the style of the old yamens. Though the walls and slender +pillars may appeal to the aesthete, it reminds one of a castle of cards, +which will easily collapse in future troubles. + +The series of legations is closed by the Belgian. The Russo-Chinese and +Shanghai Banks are also in the Rue des Legations, the former supported +by Russian, the latter by English capital. Their operations spread far +and wide. + +Such are the main features of the so-called international territory, +that famous and historic spot, the theatre of the recent Chinese +troubles. Every inch of it was most gallantly defended by its feeble +garrison, day and night, for many months. These heroes were decimated by +the bullet, sickness, or famine. + +The great distance between Europe and China was probably the reason why +the outer world knew so little of the serious nature of the siege, and +the isolation of the legations made matters worse. + +At the time of my visit it was barely two years since it all happened, +but, during that short time, a new city had arisen on the ruins of the +European concession. To get a better view I ascend a bastion, and +wherever I look busy workmen meet my eyes. The Powers seem to be vying +with each other; one patronizes gables, another prefers towers, or +adorns its walls with bastions; but all is with the view of +overshadowing their neighbours. My eye was at first offended by the +artistic shortcomings of these buildings, but now it is their practical +defects that are conspicuous. It looks as if the oft-quoted and +melancholy chaos which followed the victory of the Powers has found +visible expression in this new quarter. There seems to be neither +uniformity of plan nor advantage of position. + +But this is not the only weak point of the Treaty of Chefoo. Its +provisions fixed the war indemnity, established commercial treaties of +dubious worth, and made a few concessions valuable only for the moment, +and this at a time when the Powers were absolute masters and in a +position to dictate reforms, not only of local and temporary importance, +but of universal, historical, and moral value. + +The Boxer movement of 1900 came as a great surprise, at any rate to the +majority of the Powers, and during the outbreak the sole aim of some of +the legations seemed to be to secure their own advantage and defeat the +aspirations of the rest. This might partly explain how the most guilty +persons escaped punishment, and the old state of affairs in China soon +returned. + +The foreign ministers came back and occupied their new quarters, +protected by thicker walls, which the Boxers would have more difficulty +in pulling down. I do not know whether I ought to take all I was told +about these fortifications seriously, but the garden walls seemed to +have been built in the belief that they were indestructible. A few +hundred soldiers are kept here by the respective Powers to protect their +subjects in case of war. They might suffice in the event of a street +riot, but if this nation of four hundred millions should some day +determine to act in unison, these walls and the ornamental sentries +would, I am afraid, make a very poor defence. In fact, it is hardly to +be believed that, if China were once more to attack the European +legations, she would employ a mob for the purpose. It is more likely +that she will wait until her army is reorganized and armed with modern +rifles and Krupp guns. + +The new quarter exhibits the same defects as the old. The walls, indeed, +are a little higher and the barracks have additional wings, but they +remain isolated as before. + +It is always a difficult task to throw up defensive works within a +city--even the value of the most efficient is questionable; but, if +these precautionary measures were absolutely needful, it would certainly +have been better to enclose the entire European quarter with a stronger +common wall, as is the case with the Imperial city. This would have +made it possible for the garrisons of the legations to defend any point +attacked conjointly. And it would have had the further advantage that a +really pretty, shady town would have been built in the Anglo-Indian +style, amongst earthworks planted with trees, instead of a number of +insanitary separate walled prisons. + +Or would it not have been better to build the European town outside the +city gate, between the canal and the railway, where the movement of +Pekin is least felt? Neither money nor concessions were wanting, and, +both for hygienic and strategical reasons, it would have been far +better. The air is purer there, and, in the event of danger, the chances +of escape or of obtaining assistance from without are far greater. + +The present European quarter in Pekin reminds one of a town which has +been rebuilt, after violent earthquakes, on the same spot and in the +same way, on that most unsubstantial foundation--chance. + + +IV + +THE TARTAR CITY + +The outward appearance of the city, with the exception of the European +quarter, is the same as of yore. The ground plan of Pekin is very +regular, and is formed of two squares, one the Tartar, the other the +Chinese town, each surrounded by a separate wall, with a total number +of thirteen gates, with gigantic double-roofed towers. + +The centre is occupied by the Imperial city, within which is the Purple +or Forbidden City, and inside this we come at last to the Emperor's +palaces, private mansions, villas, tea-houses, and temples. The Imperial +Palace is itself intersected by gardens, lakes, and streams, and looks +more like a city than a palace, nay, like a miniature picture of this +whole-walled country. + +[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE FORBIDDEN CITY "The centre of this +marvellous maze is the Emperor's sanctuary" To face page 158] + +From the large gate a broad street leads through the Imperial and Tartar +towns to the great Southern Gate, one of the strangest thoroughfares in +the world. The innermost wall is set in a square of broad moats. Four +arched marble bridges lead to the four gates. The jagged wall, the +pagoda-like towers of the bastions, the arches of the bridges, all are +decorated with finely carved dragons, as rigidly prescribed by law. +Walls, moats, towers, and palaces, are repeated in all parts of the +gigantic palace; the walls of all buildings being painted red. The shape +of the yellow-tiled roofs is that of booths. Everything is planned in +accordance with traditions thousands of years old. The threshold must +not be larger than that which Confucius crossed, nor must the door be +wider than the length of the great teacher's arms. + +Every detail of the dwelling, to the minutest ornament, has some +symbolic or mythical significance; for instance, at the entrance one +never fails to find the wall which tradition demands to protect the +peaceful inhabitants from evil spirits, while the ceiling of the house +must not be higher than any of the goblins would care to ascend. + +In the same way the trimming or embroidery of the dress of an official +or courtier has its particular meaning. This likewise applies to private +individuals, and the innermost chambers of their homes, simply because +it is required by law. + +It is this rigid system that makes China appear so uniform, at any rate +outwardly. This same system, too, gives her her great interest from a +psychological point of view. + +There is hardly any nation or people, throughout the whole history of +civilization, whose life has been so profoundly and lastingly influenced +by doctrine as the population of the Yellow Empire has been by the +teachings of Confucius. From the celestial altar (representing the +centre of the universe), where only the Son of Heaven may worship his +Father, down to each separate temple, yamen, and stone of sacrifice, +everything expresses one and the same ethical idea. It is this gigantic +moral system, with its organic life penetrating to the minutest detail, +that keeps China strong, even in her present decadence, and makes +Pekin, even amidst its ruins, one of the greatest cities on earth. It +is the plan, or let us say conception, which makes us wonder. The +metaphysical qualities of this people fascinate us; their ancient +traditions are still their strongholds, and their old systems, however +degenerate, the source of moral strength. But I hope to deal more fully +elsewhere with the psychological side of China. At present I only want +to give a hasty sketch of its capital. + +One can scarcely imagine a more systematically laid out city than Pekin. +The throne is in the centre; thence radiates every street, thither leads +every road. It is the focus of the city, the heart of the empire, +but--forbidden ground. The man who sets foot therein forfeits his life, +so sacred and inviolable is it. Within the second wall the Imperial +Family and the Court reside, precious stones set in gold, as the bards +say. + +Next comes the so-called Imperial city. The extensive Lotus Lake, the +long marble bridge, the Maisan hill, the summer residence of the Dowager +Empress, are all contained in that vast area--a number of little towns +whose wonders would take whole chapters to describe. Each of them has +its own mysterious history. + +There was a time when, among the clusters of the lotus, more blood +flowed than water. Upon one of the islets stands a summer-house, a very +homely building, looking as though its only purpose must be to shelter +happiness; but fate made a most gloomy prison of it. There the young +Emperor was confined, in anguish, like a criminal, and never knowing +whether the morrow would find him alive or lying at the bottom of the +lake. + +Poor young Emperor! Though he has regained his liberty--if leaving the +island for the palace walls can be called freedom--his mind is wrapped +in darkness. His youthful dream of making his people happy has vanished +for ever. His lofty ideals have crumbled to dust, and of his early +counsellors, some are in exile, others in the eternal silence. + +The new town residence of the Empress is along the south-eastern wall, +and there are other houses enclosed in gardens, all exhibiting the same +architectural uniformity--red walls and yellow roofs. The only +decoration is the marble staircase with carved dragons. In the adjacent +gardens are the quarters of the household staff, and close by the old +Foreign Mission and the cathedral. The Mission exchanged those quarters +for a fine site farther off, where it is now established. + +The _Maisan_ (meaning "mount of coal") is an artificial hill in front of +the principal Northern Gate. Its five peaks are adorned with fine +summer residences of unequalled beauty, and roofed with enamelled tiles, +displaying a number of the porcelain towers so familiar to us from our +school-books. + +Many versions have come down to posterity as to the origin of the +_Maisan_, but I am inclined to think that originally it was erected for +the same purpose as the walls round the gates--that of protection +against evil spirits. My assumption is rather confirmed by the fact that +in the grove extending along the side of the hill stands the great +death-chamber, a hall supported on colossal pillars, wherein is +deposited the coffin of a deceased Emperor. The funeral procession +passes through the large Northern Gate in front of the graves of the +Emperors. In China, where everything has a meaning, it would be +fallacious to assume that the _Maisan_ did not symbolize something, and +the uncertainty and mystery only enhance the beauty of the evergreen +groves of the place. It is like the Roman Testaccian Hill in this +respect, the only interesting feature of whose barrenness lies in its +mysterious origin. + +[Illustration: TRIUMPHAL ARCH "The Maisan is an artificial wall in front +of the principal Northern Gate" To face page 162] + +The fourth wall is that of the Tartar city, which is almost square, and +has altogether ten gates--three to the north, three to the south, two to +the east, and two to the west. The wall is about seventeen miles long +and fifty feet high, and so wide that a dozen soldiers abreast can ride +on it comfortably. At its four corners are four three-storeyed +bastions with double-gabled, green-tiled roofs. Over the gates are +towers with similar roofs, and everywhere the same Imperial emblems, the +same dragons and ornamentation. Everything bears the stamp of +uniformity, embodying one canon of taste and one idea. + +One can hardly imagine a grander and more sombre structure than the +symmetrical, harmonious walls of Pekin, and the more we see of them the +more we are charmed. + +The wall of the Chinese town was added to that of the Tartar city to +form a parallelogram; it is similar to the former, though somewhat more +modest. To the north the three gates of the Tartar city serve as +entrance, while on its eastern and western sides are two gates +respectively, and to the south is the principal entrance to Pekin. Then +come the moats and ditches and the ubiquitous bridges. So any one +desiring to approach the throne must pass altogether through five +cities, seven gates, and five bridges, and in the Imperial city one must +walk through five halls and five courts ere the throne itself is +reached. + +The conception of all this is as grand as it is masterly. Nowhere is the +idea of majesty enhanced so infinitely, and nowhere is power adorned to +such an extent as in China. The Winter Palace and Windsor Castle are +merely private dwellings, and even Versailles loses much of its +grandeur when compared to the Imperial Palace in Pekin. + +It is only a few months since the Court returned from its protracted +exile to the deserted palaces; and what a brilliant and magnificent +spectacle that grand procession afforded on the long route through five +cities and so many gates and bridges! although the uniforms of the +soldiers must have looked rather shabby and the coats of the mandarins +somewhat worn. The pageant must have been one of the most striking ever +seen. + + +V + +THE CHINESE CITY + +The skill of the mechanics and industry of the Chinese artisans are +proverbial, and it is a never-ending source of interest to watch them, +or to study the commercial spirit of the people. I have lately seen a +good deal of the commercial life of Pekin, though I am more familiar +with that of Niu-chwang. The long rows of caravans, coming from the +western frontier and Tibet, and laden with merchandise peculiar to those +regions, are characteristic of the former. + +The centre of trade is in the Chinese city; but how can I convey an idea +of this to those who do not know this people and this part of the +world? What a blending of colours! what noise and dust! what an infinity +of light and shade! what a wonderful mosaic! Who could ever grasp the +total effect in all its splendour? Who could ever understand it in all +its mystery? + +Every detail is so novel, and everything I see comes as a surprise. +During my prolonged stay I go out every afternoon on some extended walk +of exploration, and the greatest charm of my wanderings is that I come +across famous monuments when I least expect them. I divide the city into +different portions, and each day I visit another quincunx. My task is +the easier owing to the fact that the town is built on a chess-board +plan, like a military encampment. Strictly speaking, it is composed of +several towns, each having its own distinct characteristics and purpose, +and each a peculiar architecture, while each is inhabited by a different +caste. The so-called Tartar city is the home of all the Manchus, who +followed the present dynasty from their native land. They are mostly +public officials, or enrolled in the Imperial army. + +The Inner, or Imperial city, is reserved for mandarins and higher Court +dignitaries, and encloses the more restricted area with the three +consecutive cities--the Purple, Forbidden, and Sacred. One part of the +Purple City is entirely reserved for the Empress Dowager, and the other +part contains the abodes of the Court and their guardians. The centre +of this marvellous maze is the Emperor's sanctuary. + +On the southern side of the Tartar city extends the Chinese city, set +apart entirely for commercial purposes, where all the Chinese live, +whence its name. All the famous shops are there, and there a bustling +trade is carried on from morning till night. + +"Are the Pekin sights worth seeing?" is the universal question of new +arrivals. It would be easier to give an answer if one were asked, "What +is _not_ worth seeing, and what can be omitted in Pekin?" Among my many +excursions there was not one devoid of some striking discovery--a fine +building, unknown spot, or quaint scene; and even when I did not come +across any regular sight, I was always surrounded by a world full of +interest, a world by itself. + +If I were to give my opinion, I should advise the foreigner, before +everything, to examine this quaint world which surrounds him, and to +seek to understand its exuberant life; and it would be a great advantage +to visit the different parts of the city at different hours of the day, +to watch the sun rise from the city walls when the town seems to awake +with the sudden burst of light, and to pass the morning hours in the +narrow lanes, overcrowded with shops; at midday to pay visits to the +official yamens and to local grandees, or to drive in the afternoon to +one of the temples, or make an excursion to the neighbouring shrines and +watch the sun set from the eastern hills, or the top of the famous +pagodas, lost amidst the country. + +From an artistic standpoint there are a great many gems to be found, +while so far as nature is concerned, the surrounding hills are +unsurpassed in their scenery. + +The Imperial deer-park is very fine too, and in its quiet melancholy +offers a charming haunt for solitary rides. Another place for an outing +is the famous Princesses' Tombs, which are worth while visiting in every +respect. And there is the charming old Portuguese cemetery, with its sad +graves of the first Christians, who played such a leading part at the +Emperor's Court in the seventeenth century. The inscriptions on the +monuments and white marble crosses are so many records of the first +missionaries' work. And farther on is one of Pekin's architectural +marvels, the well-known so-called Thirteen-storeyed Pagoda. Its walls +are richly carved with uncanny figures, and it is covered with an +indescribable roof, looking like thirteen umbrellas put one on top of +the other. + +There are, moreover, the two Summer Palaces, one of rich French rococo, +but now lying in ruins, and the other, which still serves as a summer +abode, occupying a vast area, scattered over with many kiosks, +tea-houses, and yamens, laid out with marvellous gardens, artificial +fishponds, and marble bridges. Unluckily, entrance to it is strictly +forbidden, and a trespasser would be punished by decapitation. Until +quite recently permission was never accorded to a foreigner to penetrate +this forbidden paradise. Now on certain occasions the diplomatic body is +received within, and at such a function I was an invited guest; but as I +have endeavoured, in another chapter, to give a description, however +inadequately, of this wonderland of china pagodas, hanging gardens +belonging to the modern Semiramis, and forests planted with miniature +orchards and pines, I will not enlarge upon them here. It would indeed +be impossible to depict in words what can only be realized by sight. I +can only hope that others may have the same privilege. + +I would give the same advice with regard to the Imperial Palace in +Pekin, which, after all, is the greatest wonder of this wondrous city. + +While rambling in Pekin, no one should omit to explore the main +thoroughfares of both cities, to visit the side lanes, nor to stop +before the great Chinese Gate, or Ta-chin-men, and look straight down +and enjoy the marvellous panorama of the Ch'ien-men, or Great Street. +Sitting on the marble balustrade of the Ch'ien-men San-tau Bridge, one +could spend hours in watching the extraordinary scene. The whole +population of this gigantic city seems to assemble here at certain +hours of the day. Rich mandarins on horses with elaborate trappings and +humble coolies, princes coming from Mongolia, carried in splendid +litters, are stopped by the half-naked members of the celebrated +Beggars' Guild. There are shops on both sides and booths in front of +each shop, displaying more modest wares; and besides this double row of +shops, there is a third row of goods for sale; but this department +consists merely of mats or sheets of paper spread out in the gutter, +where ragamuffins offer the treasure-trove of the preceding night. +Behind the Ch'ien-men Street is a maze of alleys, packed with warehouses +and richly carved fronts, which form the most marvellous bazaar ever +seen. And the effect of this fairyland built of cardboard and tinsel is +enhanced by the sun coming through the open spaces in the awnings in +shafts of light. Indeed, I would strongly recommend every one to take +his first reconnoitring walk through the Ch'ien-men quarter. + +As for sights and architectural treasures, there is such an amazing +number of them that it is necessary to employ a little discrimination +and to put aside the ambition of the average sightseer, which is to say, +"I did them all." + +Among the temples, the Hall of the Classics, or Pi-yung-kung, also +called the Temple of Confucius, which contains the complete text of the +nine King or Classical Books, the foundation of ancient Chinese +literature, is one of the most remarkable. There are several interesting +buildings in its shady grounds, and the entrance arch, covered with +beautiful yellow porcelain, is a triumph of Chinese art. Kwo-tsze-chien +is another fine pile, and its foundation dates from the time of the Yuan +dynasty, which reigned in the thirteenth century. The main hall contains +a most interesting wooden tablet, with a characteristic inscription as +follows: "The tablet to the soul of the most holy ancestral teacher, +Confucius." + +The best known and most often described temple is that of the famous +Lama monastery, which is a town in itself, composed of many buildings +and still owning many art treasures, some very good pieces of cloisonne, +and excellent jade work. At certain hours of the day the monks have +services with wonderful ritual, and a procession of the Great Lama, clad +in royal purple and saffron-yellow, followed by his silk-draped staff, +wearing helmets and crests bristling with feathers. It is a spectacle of +unquestionable novelty to a European. + +Outside the wall one must not omit a visit to Hwang-ssu, where, in the +centre court, stands a white marble monument, erected by the Emperor +Kien-lung to the memory of the Teshoo Lama, who was the uncle of the one +in Lhassa, the Dalai Lama, and who, during a visit to the Imperial +city, where he was the guest of the Emperor himself, died suddenly, as +the inscription says, of malignant smallpox. Not less famous is the +Ta-chung-ssu, or Temple of the Great Bell. It was built in the sixteenth +century, and contains the largest bell in the empire, which a century +and a half before was cast by order of Yung-Lo. + +But among all the temples, as its name indicates, the finest is the +so-called Temple of Heaven, where only the Emperor has the right to +offer sacrifice. It stands in a grove, occupying over a square mile, in +the south-eastern quarter of the Chinese city, and although it consists +of but a few buildings only, each is one of the marvels of the East. + +The main hall is a rotunda, a kind of pagoda built on top of a platform, +which, with its balustrade and the flight of steps skirting it all +round, are of finely carved marble. The colonnade, supporting the +umbrella-like roof, is of purple lacquered timber, the tiles being of +blue porcelain; and I think it is the only building which is permitted +to be covered with the colour of the sky. From this unique shrine, +across the grass and through the grove, leads a marble pathway to the +Imperial altar. + +This altar, if so it can be called, is really another platform like the +previous one from which we came, but it is even more imposing, higher, +and surrounded by more elaborate stairs and finer balustrades. It has no +shrine and no pagoda on the top of it; its colonnade is formed by the +cedars and cypresses of the grove which surround it, and the dome of +this spotless white marble pedestal is the cloudless blue sky. + +[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN "The main hall is a rotunda" To face +page 172] + +It would be vain to try to make the beauty of this spot comprehensible. +Besides, my aim is not to trespass on the domain of a guide-book, which +very likely would give a whole chapter to this place, and even so, I am +afraid, would never succeed in conveying the poetic impression of the +unique shrine. + +I must, however, mention a few other places of interest. The Temple of +the Earth, for instance, which is also very extensive, has some very +fine buildings, a delightful old sundial, and an emblematic well. In an +open space there is a field of rice, the symbol of fertility, where the +Emperor ploughs the first furrow of the year. + +Of course, the two huge towers which look down upon us at a distance +through all our wanderings should not be omitted either. One is the +Tower of the Gong or Bell, and the other that of the Drum. They are, in +fact, two belfries, for announcing all good or evil news to the +citizens. + +I would also recommend everybody to go where the two Gothic spires lift +their graceful forms towards heaven, and to pass an afternoon at the +Mission of Pei-tang, where they will meet with an excellent reception +and be offered sincere hospitality. They may still see traces of the +Boxer vandalism, ruins and shells piled up in pyramids, a small cemetery +where all the martyrs are buried--soldiers and priests, starving +children and helpless women--and a small commemorative chapel. It will +unquestionably please them to see that most of the ruins have been +restored, and that the extensive orphanage houses several hundred +children. Pei-tang is a centre, not only of faith but of work, and the +children go through hard training schools before they are able to earn +their daily bread. The boys as a rule become artisans or tradesmen, and +those who show greater aptitude become silversmiths, or cloisonne +makers. Those who like study can enter the adjoining grammar school or +the seminary. Needlework is the main occupation of the little girls, who +make beautiful lace and fine embroideries, and their products find an +easy market in the European or Legation quarter. + +Pei-tang is certainly worth visiting, and most edifying, and not only +co-religionists will find satisfaction in all they see, but any one +interested in history, art, education, charitable work, and civilization +in general, will gather useful information and find valuable documents. + +As for the evenings in Pekin, even the best guide-book will fail to give +advice. At sunset everything is closed and everybody retires; the city +gates are barred, and traffic is stopped. Even the famous theatres are +deserted, and the plays, which begin early in the morning, must finish +at dusk. During the night Pekin is wrapped in silence and darkness. It +is only in the European quarter that lights are to be perceived, and +loud talk, hoarse laughter, or a hackneyed chorus, issues from a newly +opened bar--sad recreation ground for the Allied Troops, giving the +Chinese but a sorry example of the European idea of amusement. + +Furnished with letters of introduction, which are more necessary in the +East than passports, the traveller will have an opportunity of passing +some charming evenings at the different legations, and in the houses of +the resident diplomatists, officers, priests, and so forth, and they +will be able to see how their compatriots live in exile and discuss the +last events that have occurred in the West, and, by the blue smoke of a +cigar, forecast the possibilities of the East. + + + + +VII + +THE DOWAGER EMPRESS AND THE EMPEROR OF CHINA AT THE SUMMER PALACE + + +The glorious rays of the sun burst through it the eastern hills. From +night to day is but a moment. There is no lingering dawn. The country is +ablaze with colour, and yet the autumn is well advanced towards the +so-called St. Martin's summer. In spite of the early hour, the streets +of Pekin show unusual bustle. These endless thoroughfares, which on +ordinary mornings are so gloomy and deserted, have awaked to life. At +the doors of those quaint and attractive shops, full of the strange odds +and ends that are of perennial interest to the wanderer in the East, and +at the street corners, groups of people are talking vivaciously. Curious +eyes are peeping from little windows, and everybody is evidently in +expectation of some unusual sight. But what gives the most unfamiliar +aspect to the scene is that there are street-sweepers here and there, +more or less busy at their work, and a few policemen, in the most +fanciful uniforms. It is the day of the Imperial reception of the +diplomatic corps. It is an innovation in the functions at the Court of +the Dragon that the representatives of the Western nations should be +annually received in state, a favour which has been granted since the +Allies entered Pekin, one of the very few concessions, I am afraid, that +have been granted. + +The Court passes the autumn in the beautiful residence some sixteen +miles from the city. We are compelled to travel all this way, and by any +means we may find convenient, as there is no railway. Some are riding, +some are carried in old-fashioned canopied palanquins. I see the +conservative representative of Portugal carried by a magnificent team of +stalwart Cantonese, with endless pigtails and rich harness--I ought to +say livery. Germany, on the contrary, rattles over the most +impracticable, neglected highway in a Tyrolean carriage, an object of +great wonder and interest to the natives, as it is the first and only +four-wheeler in the city. + +It is a long journey, but not devoid of interest. We pass through a +series of villages and hamlets, each of them teeming with busy life. I +must say the energy and industry of the Chinese fill me with admiration. +All along the road we meet people bearing signs of trade or commerce. +Some are carrying huge baskets of fruit, of flowers, or grain. Others +are laden with many kinds of goods. Many push wheelbarrows burdened +with more than a European cart could bear. Caravans of heavy Mongolian +camels roped together travel to and fro in one never-ending, sinuous +line. But the greater part of the traffic is absorbed by the Imperial +household. + +We must not forget that the Summer Palace is a town in itself, a city +inhabited by thousands of mandarins, Court functionaries, attendants, +servants, and labourers. The number, I believe, is estimated at ten +thousand, and the daily expenses at something incalculable. The country +all round is marvellously cultivated. It is interesting to watch the +people at work in the fields, and see by what primitive methods they +obtain such surprising results. + +At last we arrive at the palace, and are met by such a crowd that it is +with difficulty that any progress can be made at all. Most of the +legations have sent out guards with tents, where the representatives can +put on their full dress. We gather afterwards before the palace gates in +a typical yamen, a choice specimen of Chinese domestic architecture, +simple in conception, but elaborate in detail. + +Prince Ching, Minister for Foreign Affairs, arrives; unquestionably a +striking figure and an interesting personality. Slim, even fragile, his +yellow skin covers the bones of his face like an old parchment, pale and +wrinkled, and the brightness of his small, beady eyes makes a striking +contrast. The introductions at once begin; but as Prince Ching does not +speak either French or English, his secretary acts as interpreter. + +If I remember correctly, this gentleman is a member of one of the +numerous Li family; but what I specially recollect is his exquisite +manner, exceptional refinement, and wide knowledge. He speaks perfect +French, has travelled all over Europe, has stopped in our capitals for +years, and taken a special interest in our scientific institutions. I +confess to very much surprise when he began to testify his personal +appreciation of my own national university of Buda Pesth. Perhaps it is +the old-fashioned Chinese dress, mandarin hat, or pigtail, that causes +Western people to feel astonished at finding among natives of the Yellow +Empire sometimes a more thorough knowledge of the West and a deeper +insight into our minds than we can realize. + +The empty compliments have been exchanged--and empty indeed they are. At +last an escort of palace guards and mandarins arrives, to lead us +towards the inner palace gate. + +I wish I could have fixed the picture then unrolled before my eyes; or +have possessed a lantern of real magic, that could picture now all I +saw, outline and colour and haze, all that was bright and all that was +shadow! + +It was a scene never to be forgotten. + +A crowd dressed in all the hues of the rainbow, carrying silken flags, +embroidered banners, painted inscriptions, gauze-covered lanterns, and +glittering trophies: all the emblems of power, all the symbols of the +Celestial Empire. The wondrous crowd stretches into a scattered +procession and winds across the narrow lane like a giant serpent, with +shimmering scales, in a fairy tale. + +A more fitting pageant could not approach the Dragon's Court. The huge +scarlet gate, studded with golden nails, swings open on its groaning +hinges. Soldiers, like the fantastic creations of an uncanny dream, +present their strange medley of arms--long spears, crescent-shaped +scythes, threatening spikes, and grim battle-axes, are silhouetted +against the peaceful sky. + +We enter the huge courtyard, and there is another surprise. A large +square, paved with white marble, enclosed on the four sides by four +marble terraces supporting each an open hall, covered with yellow tiles, +and the whole domed by the sapphire firmament of the Eastern sky. The +open space is filled with mandarins, all dressed in dark blue silk +embroidered with gold; at first sight all very much alike, and yet in +the embroidery very different, each minute detail expressing some +distinction. Through the central hall we get to another great courtyard, +apparently a copy of the first, larger, finer, and more magnificent, +but in style always the same; four open halls, white marble terraces, +white marble pavements, golden roofs, and sapphire dome. All the inmates +are clad in sapphire and gold, the only colours I could perceive. The +whole picture is painted in the gradations of these hues. It was a +perfect harmony of colour, so artistic and refined that it compelled +admiration. + +I have been at many great receptions, but I can remember none more +impressive than the reception at the Summer Palace. That suppliants at +the throne must arrive through many gates and courts and halls enhances +the effect. As you approach, each gate is more magnificent, each +courtyard larger, each hall loftier, all combining to add grandeur to +the ceremony. + +In each court there are suave courtiers and silky mandarins. As we +advance the rank is higher, until in the inner court there are assembled +the highest Viceroys and Princes of the Imperial blood. + +But I have no leisure to observe the glory of the place--gold, jewels, +and sunshine are too much together. I can only see a dark blue carpet +that leads us to the steps of the central hall--or pagoda, as I would +prefer to call it--one of those fancy structures we read about in +nursery tales. + +The hall seems indeed strange to us; marvellous to Western eyes. It +takes me some time to distinguish between colour and shape, what is +reality and what is fiction. At first I perceive flowers gathered into +wreaths and hung in rich festoons. They are chrysanthemums of many +shapes and shades, some exceedingly small, some exceptionally large, +some resembling the rose, some like huge spiders; from pale sulphur to +dark bronze, there is every hue of gold. They are placed in bowls and +vases, marvels of age, of incomparable beauty and priceless value, +which, as I hear from my friend Li, were rebought at extortionate +figures from the Europeans who looted them. + +And in this perfect garden of flowers there are mounds of magnificent +fruit piled up in brightly enamelled cloisonne dishes, fresh peaches, +luscious pears, bright oranges; but again, all of them in the tints of +gold. Each fruit and flower, of which there are so many standing +isolated, has its symbolic meaning in China--the peach, longevity; the +plum, youth; the cherry, affection; and the chrysanthemum, everlasting +beauty. + +But I do not want to read the language of fruits and flowers. What +interests me is the artistic beauty of the decorations and the perfect +stage management of the surroundings. + +From the point of view of the artist or the organizer it is perfect. It +is an exquisite harmony, limited to the tones of gold, the sapphire, and +the emerald, with the rich hues of a peacock's feather carried to its +climax in decorations, paintings, embroidery, dresses, flowers, and +fruit. + +Each object in the hall has its purpose in the magnificent scheme. It +may be a simple chrysanthemum or a flag on the canopy over the throne +itself, but they all emphasize the same grand central idea. + +Whatever our opinions of Chinese art may be, we cannot fail to admire +its vigour and its refinement. During my repeated visits to that land, +it gave me continuous interest and constant surprises. It is always +grand, always strong, and always refined. + +These same features strike me here today in the Summer Palace. The +greatness of the architectural conception, the marvellous plan of the +surroundings, the amplitude of the accessories, all contribute to make +the Summer Palace of Pekin more royal and imperial than any other palace +in the world. And again, as to refinement, I cannot imagine anything +more charming than the decorations and embellishments, which are +modulated like a symphony. + +What is the Dowager Empress like? What do you think of the young +Emperor? are questions everybody will ask. In the first place, the +Empress is of average height, strongly built, and completely +self-possessed. As for her dress, I am afraid I cannot describe ladies' +attire as I can objects of art. She was, I remember, clad in some dark +blue colour, embroidered with golden thread. What struck me most was the +Manchu head-dress, which causes the hair to project from the head like +the long wings of a bat, each decorated with a bunch of chrysanthemums. + +The Empress is a Manchu, and clings to her national garments and +fashions, which, if they have no other advantage, at least permit the +children's feet to be at liberty, contrary to the Chinese custom. + +She was seated on a high throne, elaborately carved, heavily gilded, and +covered by a magnificent canopy. Before her was a table, on which she +rested her long-nailed fingers. On her left, one step below, the Emperor +was seated, making in his meek appearance a striking contrast to his +imperious aunt. + +It cannot be denied that the Dowager Empress of China has a commanding +appearance. Nearly seventy years of age, she looks younger, and her +strong features have kept all their mobility. The square forehead, +strong nose, and firm mouth, are the most prominent features; but I +think her character is best seen in the drooping twitch of the mouth, +and her searching gaze. Nothing seems to escape her. During the whole +reception her keen glance followed every movement, and examined +separately every individual. + +[Illustration: THE EMPRESS DOWAGER OF CHINA Reproduced by kind +permission of Mr Eveleigh Nash, from Miss K. A. Carl's volume "With the +Empress Dowager of China" To face page 184] + +We stood in a long row before the steps of the throne, and the _doyen_ +of the diplomatic body stepped forward to deliver his official greeting. +It was a cordial speech; taking recent events into consideration, almost +too cordial, and I am afraid, as translated by Prince Ching, it assumed +an even more complimentary tone. + +Even so it did not rise to this proud woman's expectations. She heard it +unmoved, without any visible sign of emotion, I venture to say without +interest. + +Her mouth retained its sceptical curve, her glance was cold and haughty; +and when old Prince Ching had kow-towed for the last time to the ground +the Empress gave the order by a commanding sign that the answer should +be read, but without uttering a syllable. + +The answer was read, and listened to in perfect silence. The fall of a +leaf could have been heard. It was not long, and merely said, "Her +Majesty the Empress was glad the representatives of the Powers had had a +favourable day for their visit." + +Was it meant to be a compliment or was it sarcasm? It would be difficult +to judge. It was ambiguous, but it gave a certain insight into the +speaker's character. It might have served to explain a little bit more +of this extraordinary mind which has manifested itself in such manifold +ways, and led to so many paradoxical actions. Of the dark stories that +are whispered of the palace, I would not like to speak. Whether they are +true or false must always remain in doubt. + +If the Empress is not talkative when receiving a diplomatic body, if she +is silent on a state occasion, it only shows her great caution. It was +by her personal ability and hard work she rose step by step to the +highest position of the empire. To attain it undoubtedly hard work and +strength were required, and to keep it all her life must have called for +even greater efforts. And this is so much more the case on account of +the insignificance of the part played by women in Chinese life. What +ways and means she employed must be left for history to narrate. + +As I mentioned before, she seemed to be a keen observer. All she saw, +the whole reception, must have been so new to her, if we consider that +to be seen by ordinary human eyes is to the Celestial Imperial Family +like a crime. Each time the Court moves from the Summer to the Winter +Palace, along the whole length of the road each door and shutter is +heavily closed, and the punishment of decapitation hangs over anybody +discovered gazing at her. + +It must seem even harder to have to receive a body of men in the privacy +of her home, for such a proceeding is utterly repugnant to all Eastern +conceptions. + +But it might interest people to know that, on one occasion, when she +invited only the ladies of the foreign legations, her reception of them +was most cordial. She took tea with them, and showed unlimited interest +in all their domestic affairs. She wanted to know the number of their +children, the exact amount of their incomes; but what seemed to interest +her most of all was their age. She admired some of their jewels, and +went so far as to ask as a souvenir a very costly fan, and returned, as +the greatest sign of her regard, one of her own. Its value was small, as +it merely consisted of a few square inches of rice-paper, on which were +painted a few chrysanthemums. But, as the Empress explained with a witty +smile, the painting was the work of her own hands, and she hoped that +would be an ample reward. + +There is no question, the Dowager Empress is a clever woman and a +skilful politician. The best proof of her diplomatic ability is that she +is seated before us on her golden throne. The day on which the rescuing +force was led into the besieged city to relieve the famishing legations +and help the tortured Christians, the Empress and all her Court were +fleeing through a devastated country in a lumbering wooden car. The +mighty Empress took refuge in humble houses, hid herself in stables, and +crawled for concealment into caves. Who would have believed that those +deserted beings, that scattered Court, would return to the palace under +the protection of the same allied force that arrived to avenge outraged +Justice and set her once more on her throne? + +The life of the young Emperor is familiar to all. His struggle for +freedom and progress failed utterly, and he now seems, morally and +physically, a wreck. I was told that when his ideas had been discovered +he was separated from his entourage, shut up in a pavilion, and kept as +a prisoner. He sat in his armchair, immovable, almost as if he were +asleep. It was a sad spectacle, and one to arouse the deepest sympathy. + +We remained for the whole of the day as guests of Their Majesties, +wandering in the wonderland of their favourite grounds, going from +palace to pagoda, from temple to hall, each a separate gem of Chinese +art, and each bearing evidence of wanton mutilation by the allied +troops. I felt grieved that such monuments of history and pieces of art, +which should have been a cherished possession of all the world, should +have been destroyed by what we call civilized white men. + +We strolled over marble bridges, climbed pagodas built of china, were +shown the marvellous orchard, planted with dwarf trees, the favourite +resort of the Princess, and had tea served on the Marble Boat. + +[Illustration: THE SUMMER PALACE "We remained for the whole day as +guests of their Majesties, wandering in the wonderland of their +favourite grounds" To face page 188] + +But the great feature of the day was the state banquet, where we were +served with, I dare say, a hundred courses of unimaginable dainties: +sharks' fins, water-sparrows, eggs of great age, nests of sea-birds, and +puppy chops. But I will not weary my readers with such details. + +I only want to tell of my journey back along the dusty highway to Pekin. +I was so worn out and faint with hunger, not having been able to +appreciate the Chinese cooking, that I stopped for rest and a dish of +boiled rice at our orphanage at Pei-tang, where the popular hooded nuns, +so well known for their heroic sacrifices on battle-fields, in plague +hospitals and leper homes, maintain an asylum to save the lives of +little children who would otherwise sometimes be killed by their own +parents. + +These children are brought up to be good men and useful citizens; and I +can only wish that the Empress, instead of giving banquets of a hundred +courses at the Summer Palace, would send some crumbs to the little +starving babes. + +And never have I appreciated a meal more than on that evening, after so +much gold and glitter and external show, in the humble abode. + + + + +VIII + +KOREA OF BYGONE DAYS AND ON THE EVE OF THE WAR + + +I + +The history of Korea reads like a fairy tale. The Land of the Morning +Calm beyond the seas is so quaint, so very much out of the common, that +we can hardly realize that all we hear of it is reality and not mere +fiction. + +The country, the people, and the life are all strange, and totally +different from what we see and meet with in other parts of the world. I +can scarcely imagine anything more impressive than for a traveller +coming straight from some Western port to land in this country--one of +the remotest in the East. It is as though he had set foot in a +topsy-turvy world; everything is the reverse of what he has been +accustomed to. Facts and ideas are antagonistic to ours; things material +and spiritual seem to be governed by other rules and other natural laws. + +The origin of Korea is buried in myth and mystery; its past is so +varied, such an ever-changing chiaroscuro, that we look upon it as +legendary. Its present remains true to tradition. + +Within the limits of this chapter I would like to deal with Korea from a +more utilitarian point of view, and not merely to describe the +traditions, quaint customs, and picturesque features of the land. My +desire is to represent Korea not only as one of the quaintest countries +on the surface of the globe--a land of old-world type--but as a country +in the first stage of transition. + +The difference between ancient and modern Korea is stupendous; a few +years seem to have done the work of centuries. Korea of the past is +undoubtedly the more attractive to the traveller, but Korea of the +present does not lack interest for one anxious to find in this corner of +the earth something more than panoramic scenery. + +The old order still catches the eye everywhere; new reforms are lost in +the crowd. Outwardly everything is old, but an inward change is being +effected day by day. The ancient cut and faint colour of the garb have +been preserved, but new ideas are being constantly interwoven and are +obliterating the old. Ancient habits and customs are dying out hourly +and irretrievably, and have to give way to modern utilitarianism. The +days of old Korea are numbered. + +The appearance of the whole country is altered. Railways now intersect +the quiet, dreamy countryside; buildings of architectural beauty, as +well as humble cottages, are disappearing to make room for modern houses +and factories. The charm of the scenery will inevitably vanish in face +of the commercial and industrial progress. The world is moving on; it is +necessary that it should, and change must follow the flight of time. + +But I am glad that I am here today and not to-morrow; glad that I know +Korea as it has been in the past. For who knows what future awaits her? + +I shall never be able fully to describe my first impressions. Everything +that meets my eye is new, that which surrounds me is unintelligible, +almost mysterious. Korea and Tibet are the most isolated countries in +Asia, and have, therefore, most completely preserved their ancient +traditions and customs. It is only a quarter of a century since Korea +first opened her gates to foreigners. Radical changes can hardly be +expected to take place within a few years; the remodelling of a country +and its people is the work of many generations. + + +II + +Korea, as we see on the map, lies at the furthest eastern extremity of +the Asiatic continent. It is a peninsula in the shape of an irregular +oblong. Its frontiers on three sides are formed by the Japanese and the +Yellow seas, and only on the north does a short strip of land divide it +from Manchuria. Its area is eighty thousand square miles. The aspect of +the country is of great variety, extremely mountainous, just here and +there intersected by valleys. Some of the peaks are over seven thousand +feet high; but what is more striking than their height is their +formation. They are all very rich in mines, and the valleys are +extremely fertile, and yet Korea has been, within the memory of man, one +of the poorest countries of the world. The mines have never been worked, +and the ground yields just enough for daily food. Various reasons for +this have been assigned. The mines have not been worked because the +Government feared that the gathering together of so many workmen at +far-away districts would be favourable to revolutions. A crowd was +considered a danger to the reigning family. And I have been told that +the cause of the scanty cultivation of the fields is that it is not +worth while to have much grain stored in the granaries, for in that +case it would surely be confiscated by the Government officials. + +The larger rivers, like the Yalu and the Han, would afford excellent +means of communication, but navigation is as yet practically unknown. +The natural bays could easily afford harbour accommodation for all the +fleets of the world, but, except the few open ports, they are only +visited by some miserable native wooden junks, and a few Japanese or +Chinese fishing-boats. + +The climate is excellent; cold, of course, in the winter, but bright and +dry; and the heat is never as oppressive in summer as it is in the same +latitudes further inland. The natural advantages are plentiful in every +respect: the rainfall is sufficient to secure the watering of the +fields, the snow in winter protects the ground for several months, and +there is bright sunshine in the summer to ripen the most beautiful fruit +and grapes; but the refreshing sea-breezes prevent it from being too +hot. + +The Korean flora resembles, to a great extent, ours. The best-known +flowers grow there. I could say the same of vegetables, such as cabbage, +carrots, beans, peas, etc., which are all plentiful. The one exception +is potatoes, which, though they were imported and flourished well in the +soil, were forbidden to be grown on account of their being a foreign +importation. Turnips, peas, and beans are most commonly grown, and I +have counted more than twenty-four varieties of beans, of different +sizes, shapes, and colours, but having no taste at all, at any rate not +when they are cooked in Korean fashion. Tobacco has been grown lately, +and so have grapes; but the most valuable plant cultivated is the +_gin-sen_, which is a Government monopoly, and is regarded as possessing +the miraculous power of rejuvenating those who drink the liquor which is +made of it. It is worth its weight in gold, and a little while ago the +Emperor, fearing that the _gin-sen_ crop was growing too plentiful and +that its value would consequently decline, ordered that the surplus +production should be conveyed to an island near Chemulpo and there +burned. The closed boxes were carried in procession to the island, +watched with great interest by the people, and were burned with great +state. Nobody knew exactly what had been the victim of the _auto-da-fe_, +but it is more than probable that the _gin-sen_, which is assumed to +have met with such a sad fate, was devoted to some more profitable +purpose. + +Korean timber is of world-wide fame. The huge Korean forests are +protected by law, and each individual Korean has certain rights to so +much for building purposes, and so much for firing. + +Pasture land is scarcely known, and the cultivable areas are nearly all +converted into bean and rice fields. + +The animal world is of great variety. Among domestic animals we find +nearly all our old friends--such as the horse, a rather rough example +but strong, oxen with magnificent frames, goats and pigs in great +numbers. There are very few cows, as the Koreans are not great +meat-eaters, and do not know how to milk, and, consequently, never use +milk or butter. Sheep are prohibited by law, as only the Emperor may +possess them for sacrificial purposes. Wild animals are very plentiful. +The most dreaded are, of course, the tiger and the bear. There are also +wolves, jackals, and wild boars. Birds are present in the greatest +abundance. Pheasants, partridges, and quails are so plentiful, even +today, that, travelling through the country, one may buy a brace for a +few pence. + +But the real wealth of Korea consists in its minerals. The different +mountain ranges are rich in the most valuable metals: coal, copper, +lead, silver, and gold are found in abundance. To this subject further +allusion is made later on. + +As a race the Koreans were for many years thought to belong to the same +family as the Chinese, but it is now considered that they belong to +another stock of the great Mongolian race. Its origin is today sought, +not so much in the Altai, as on the slopes of the Himalayas. There is a +difference of opinion as to the route of their migration. One theory has +it that they reached their present home by way of Siberia and Manchuria; +another that they travelled through Southern Asia, and partly by sea, +from the cradle of mankind. + +With regard to their physical characteristics, the Koreans are tall, +well built, and fair complexioned, with a scanty beard. They are not +quite so tall as the Chinese of the north, but far better proportioned, +and generally quite a head taller than their Japanese neighbours. The +women are very hard workers, and their strength is exceptional. The +children are regular pictures of health. + +Whoever desires to form an idea of the moral characteristics of this +race must penetrate to their homes and watch their daily life. Their +mental and spiritual qualities can best be perceived by daily +intercourse. The attempt to enter thus will not be easy, and seldom +pleasant, but it will never fail to be of great and permanent interest. + +The daily round of the Koreans is yet as primitive and archaic as it was +centuries ago, and time seems to have left little mark on their customs +and habits. + + +III + +What are the most extraordinary things in this Hermit Country? is the +question which has been frequently addressed to me since my return. The +answer would be much easier to give if the question were, What are the +least striking? Everything equally astonishes a stranger--country, +people, customs, and daily life; every detail is characteristic, and +every feature--visible and invisible--affords immense scope for +observation. For the student of psychology Korea is a country full of +interest. + +To form some idea of the present condition of Korea it is absolutely +necessary to know something of her past; to understand the character of +her people one must be familiar with the conditions of life in centuries +gone by. + +Korea's historical origin, like that of most Asiatic countries, is +shrouded in darkness. Her earliest records are legends and stories +rather than serious history. Kings and gods, heroes and monsters, figure +in a chaotic epic, which has preserved a few of the principal events for +posterity. + +The founder of the nation is supposed to be Ki-Tsze, a Chinese noble, +who, with his soldiers and followers, settled on the peninsula in 1122 +B.C. But it is difficult to say how much of this is true, for the +Koreans come, not from a Chinese, but from a really different Tartar +stock, and consequently Ki-Tsze could only have been a later conqueror. +The reason why subsequent chroniclers attributed the settlement of Korea +to him was probably to glorify China. A stringent law forbidding the +writing of history makes it very difficult to collect any authentic +facts about the past of Korea. That a record of the principal events +still survives is due to a remarkable custom. + +Some of the Court officials kept diaries in which they recorded +everything of any importance that took place. Each related what seemed +to him of interest, sealing up the rolls with great secrecy. Four copies +of these records were kept in iron chests at the four different seats of +government. There the documents were to remain until the then reigning +family became extinct, and not until the last representative of the +dynasty had departed this life might they be published. + +In the absence of national historical literature foreign +conquerors--Chinese and Japanese--have issued a number of books on +Korea, more particularly in reference to their own conquests. It would, +however, be difficult to ascertain how far these works are to be +trusted. + +Only one popular Korean history is in existence, which, however, is more +of an illustrated nursery tale than anything else. The diaries kept by +some of the noble families are more interesting, wherein they have +recorded in unbroken series the events of each day, year by year. + +The first reliable information we possess dates from the early centuries +of our era. It is an established fact that Korea was then divided into +three kingdoms--Sin-La in the south, Kao-Li in the north, and Pet-Si in +the west. These early centuries witnessed constant civil wars, in which +sometimes one and sometimes another of the kingdoms was victorious; but +the greatest advantages were won by Sin-La in the south. In a good many +cases these successes were due to outside aid. Kao-Li and Pet-Si became +more than once vassals of China or Japan. + +The three kingdoms were united in the eleventh century. Sin-La lost its +supremacy and, with Pet-Si, was annexed to Kao-Li. The king of this +country was assisted by China in his expedition to the north, and in +return the Mongol emperor was made the overlord of Korea. The united +kingdoms were then ruled for three centuries by the Kao-Li dynasty, but +their power ceased with the expulsion of the Mongol rulers from Pekin. + +The emperors of the Ming dynasty, who became masters of China in the +fourteenth century, also conquered Korea in 1392, re-establishing the +ancestors of the present Emperor in place of the house of Kao-Li. +Tao-Tso, the first king, transferred his capital from Kai-Teng to +Hang-Jang, the present Seoul, recognizing the suzerainty of China as a +protection. He adopted the Chinese calendar and sent envoys to China to +pay homage every year. + +Subsequent events of Korean history can be explained in the light of +these facts. With the Tsi-Tsien dynasty she became the openly +acknowledged vassal of China. The sending of envoys to do homage, the +presentation of previously settled gifts, and also the adoption of the +Chinese calendar afford proofs of this. + +The succeeding kings managed the affairs of the country successfully, +and Tormer-To in the thirteenth century annexed several Japanese +islands, but this burst of glory soon died out. + +With the fall of the Mings the history of Korea reached its nadir. The +conquering house of Mand-Su inundated with its troops the whole country +and broke into Seoul, rendering even stricter the obligations of the +tributary. The Chinese calendar became official from this time, and the +Celestial Son was not only sovereign, but also managed absolutely all +the private and public affairs of the king of Korea. + +A good number of imperial rescripts referring to family quarrels has, to +this day, been preserved, and throws an interesting light on the +dissipated life of the Court of that remote period. + +Korean kings stood repeatedly like criminals before their judge, and +carried out the emperor's sentence to the letter. But they went further +than this, even to asking the Chinese emperor for counsel in reference +to petty domestic troubles, divorce cases, etc. + +As a rule the sentence was light. The former Mongolian despots lost +their crowns partly through over-severity. The Mings, on the contrary, +were clever diplomatists, and by their tact retained Korea's goodwill. + +It is therefore not to be wondered at that their memory is still held in +esteem, and the administration of the country, its customs and laws, to +this day represent the Ming spirit. + +China's present Manchu dynasty has never been popular, although it did +not attempt to perpetuate, literally, the strict conditions of its first +conquest. + +Since the middle of the seventeenth century Korea has never been at war +with any foreign power; but though no attacks have come from without, +intestine troubles have been even more marked and destructive. + +The example was set by the royal family. In the absence of male issue, +the relatives split into two parties, who, under the names of _Piek-Pai_ +and _Si-Pai_, have been rivals for years. Bloodshed and murder followed +each other; dagger and poison were hidden under each cloak at the Court. +These two factions are still in existence. The followers of Piek are +for fighting and progress; the Si party, on the contrary, represent +rather conservative views. + +The example of the Court and of the chief officials was followed by the +nobility. The principal persons of the country formed themselves into +four parties. We can trace back the origin of the strife to the +sixteenth century; its cause was the possession of an office. Two of the +most powerful tribes claimed it, and their personal contention soon +assumed the form of a general principle. Each party had its supporters +until the whole country fell a victim to party strife--as was the case +with the clans of the Montagus and Capulets, or between the houses of +York and Lancaster of old. + +After considering these premises it will be easier to understand Korea's +present political situation. + +We have seen that for many centuries the country was under foreign rule, +governed now by China, now by Japan; generally by China, who more often +than not was a very mild and lenient mistress. + +Although she gave Korea a free hand in her government, she retained the +exclusive control of foreign affairs; and, correctly speaking, she did +not manage them at all. But no matter who the ruler was, Japan or China, +their sole object was always to isolate the country as much as possible +from the outer world, to surround her with a visible or invisible +wall--in the same way as their own flowery lands. This is one of the +principal causes why Korea has been utterly secluded for centuries. + +But here is another cause. The people, not being able to defend their +country against invaders, were anxious that it should remain as unknown +as possible. They went even further than that, and hid the natural +treasures from their own citizens. + + +IV + +The ancient government of their kingdom was, as in most Oriental +countries, extremely complicated. The system undoubtedly shows knowledge +of considerable statesmanship, China being the model. The mistakes and +shortcomings lay in the execution and administration. + +The absolute master and owner of the country was the king, who had by +his side three ministers of the first, and six of the second rank. Each +minister was assisted by one secretary of state and one councillor. The +cabinet was called Tai-Sin, forming the Council of State. The power of +the council was only nominal, and was invested in the three ministers of +first rank, or, rather, in the premier, whose office was for life. Is +it to be wondered at that every means was employed to attain it? + +It is worth noticing that the bearers of the title were not necessarily +in power. They succeeded each other, some of them having only honorary +rank. + +The country was divided into eight governorships. Each governor, with +powers similar to those of a Chinese viceroy, had under him +vice-governors, county judges, public notaries, collectors of taxes, +etc. Considering that the eight governorships were divided into 332 +provinces, the administration naturally was extensive, requiring a +complicated administration. + +The organization of the army was likewise well developed--on paper at +any rate--the generals being distributed according to the provinces. +Each governorship had its separate army corps, forts, arsenals, and +stores recorded with precision. The national defence nominally numbered +not less than _one million two hundred thousand men_, although not +one-hundredth part of those had ever seen a rifle. All this looked very +imposing in the documents placed before the king. The same applied to +the forts, arsenals, and stores. The forts were in ruins, the arsenals +empty, and as for the stores, they did not exist. At any rate, this was +the condition of the army when the first European troops entered the +country. There is probably not another land in the East--and this means +a good deal--where the government was more corrupt than in Korea. + +The principal offices were sold at fixed prices. To obtain one was +simply a financial transaction. Of course, directly the mandarin took up +his position he was anxious to recoup his expenses. Under some pretext +he confiscated the property of well-to-do citizens and extorted money +from the people. This system had another disadvantage--the tenure of +office was of short duration, lasting altogether a few years. The holder +had, therefore, to be very economical with time. The mandarins generally +remained two or three years only at one place, in order not to make +themselves "at home." But the principal reason for such continual +changes must have been that it was considered desirable at headquarters +to sell the office to a new purchaser. So the succession went on, and +one official after another devoted his energy to confiscation and +robbery. + +Is it to be wondered at that the people were reduced to poverty? But +even those who were possessed of property lived the life of beggars, as +otherwise the mandarins would have confiscated it under various +pretexts. + +Such was the administration of Korea for centuries. This was the +condition of public life. Both action and thought were tainted. This +corruption of officialdom not only drove people to beggary, but also +poisoned the public morals. + +The people were no longer capable of governing; they could only suffer +patiently. + +If government and administration were in such a lamentable condition, +justice was even more contemptible. Bribery, perjury, and treachery were +of daily occurrence. Envy and greed demanded and secured their victims. +To be possessed of property was sufficient cause for being denounced and +for confiscating the belongings of the owner, and the victim was very +grateful indeed if his life was spared. The administration of justice in +Korea was originally patriarchal. Any dispute between two parties was +submitted to the _elders_ of the village. The local council was the +court of first instance. In case of non-agreement the mandarin was +appealed to. The governor had to decide complicated cases. The supreme +court was the minister of justice himself, and the final appeal lay to +the king, who, here likewise, had absolute power in rendering justice. +He condemned or pardoned at his pleasure. + +Tradition has preserved some of the quaint ways employed to obtain the +king's good graces or attention. As it was an impossibility to get into +the palace of the king, and he never quitted it, a large drum was placed +before the gate, and the applicant used to beat this drum in order to +attract the royal attention. + +Another way was to light a bonfire upon the top of the surrounding hills +in the hope of the king perceiving it and dispatching one of his +messengers to the spot, by whom the petitioner could send his papers to +his majesty. + +Criminal cases were heard before the military authorities. + +Here also the system was very much the same, and the procedure was +equally defective. The way cases were tried was not only one-sided, but +shockingly unjust. The saddest part of judicial administration was the +way of obtaining the accused person's confession. Torturing is, even +now, the prevailing practice, and in this, as in many other things, +Korea has entirely followed China's example. + +Considering the various kinds of torture, their inventive powers seem to +have been inexhaustible. The most cruel torture, like the crushing of +the knees or the use of red-hot irons, was prohibited long ago, and the +new law ordered them to be entirely abolished; but I am afraid some of +the methods of obtaining the desired evidences are still terrible. + +Those who have seen the notorious dungeons of _Canton_ will find the +Korean prisons similar to them. Generally the courtyards of the +magistrates are used for guarding the convicts. Stables are crammed +with prisoners--mostly innocent. Furniture is a thing unknown, and so +are all means of cleanliness. + +In the Yamen of Judicature at Seoul I saw a few small private cells +reserved for the better class. The inmate of one of these was a +venerable-looking white-haired gentleman. He was, so the prison warder +informed me, one of the wealthiest bankers in the town. "He squeezed," +as he put it, "and now the mandarin is squeezing him." + +Attorneys-at-law and jurists were not wanting, but in most cases the +number of witnesses and their evidence was decisive--there being always +any number of them at hand. In fact, giving evidence meant a living to a +portion of the community, who favoured those who paid best. + +The methods of punishment also varied. In most cases fines were imposed, +which formed one of the principal sources of revenue to the authorities. +Imprisonment was rarer. In order to save the expenses of keeping +prisoners who could not pay a fine, these were often given a chance to +escape, or disappeared by some other means. + +Capital crimes were tried by a criminal court. Decapitation was carried +out in various ways according to social position. _Lese-majeste_ and +treason were likewise dealt with by special authorities. In this +respect severity knew no bounds. With the guilty person all the members +of his family had to suffer. More than once whole clans, which were +suspected of being traitors or rebels, were extirpated. Hundreds of +persons perished through being falsely accused of crimes. + +Such was the judicature in days gone by, and no wonder that the people +lost faith in judges whose sense of justice was of the lowest standard. +Things seem to be improving, but a less cruel death implies cruelty all +the same. + + +V + +How did Korea educate her sons that her rule, her justice, and her +people sank so low? is a question that involuntarily suggests itself. + +We must at once point out that there existed no such thing as _public +education_; as regards _public instruction_, Korea entirely followed the +Chinese system. As in the Yellow Empire, it was only the successful +passing of the various university examinations that qualified for public +positions and Government offices. Here also training was purely +classical. But while in China the national masters--Confucius and +Menzius--were studied, Korea, without any regard for her history or +literature, adopted the ready material in an unaltered form. Her own +authors thus found no field for their labours, and even if endowed with +talent they were unable to develop it. This condition was in many +respects similar to that prevalent in Europe in the Middle Ages, when +colleges paid more attention to Greek and Latin than to their national +language, and when students knew more about the history of Hellas and +Rome than of their own country. + +The Chinese system of examination is so well known that it does not +require any explanation. Prior to the final examination the students +gather in Pekin. There they are walled in in small cells at the +examination hall, entirely isolated from the outer world. + +Korean youths proceeded to Seoul. From the remotest parts of the country +they came, and it was there decided whether they were qualified for +office or not. + +The Chinese system is perfectly democratic in its ground principles, +granting the same right to every student and considering only his +knowledge. In Korea, where, quite differently from China, there is an +aristocracy of birth, only the sons of this privileged class competed +for the principal offices. But in this instance too, as in most other +things that affected public life, corruption manifested itself. Those +who paid the highest examination fees won the highest offices. + +The Korean is probably one of the Tartar languages, although its grammar +shows many analogies with that of the Dravidian tongues of Southern +India. It is mostly spoken by the common people, whilst the court, +nobles, and mandarins employ Chinese. As a matter of fact, the latter is +the official language of the country, and the records and proclamations +of the King, the edicts of the mandarins, and the judgments of the +courts are all in Chinese. No doubt Korea's long vassalage to China +accounts for this; but the Chinese, as spoken in Korea, is almost a +dialect, and could scarcely be understood by the Celestials, who, as is +well known, are themselves often at a loss to understand each other. For +Chinese differs even more in different provinces than some of the Latin +languages, like, for instance, Spanish from Italian. + + +VI + +The present Emperor, Li Hsi, is a man of but little over fifty, and has +reigned for just forty years. The son of Li Cheng Ying, he succeeded his +brother, Li Ping, in 1864. During his minority his father, Tai Wen Kun, +assumed the regency, which lasted till 1873. A man of strong will and +boundless ambition, he used every means, permissible or otherwise, to +further his own ends. Of narrow judgment and of most reactionary views, +he has been the cause of much misfortune to his country. He opposed +every innovation and reform, hated everything that was not Korean, and +instigated the persecution of the Christians, causing many hundreds to +be killed. The young Emperor held entirely different opinions, but all +his attempts to introduce advanced ideas have been checked by the party +of reaction. Hardly had he commenced his reign when he was asked by his +own father to commit suicide. Later on Tai Wen Kun began intriguing +against the Empress, fearing her influence over the Emperor, and he was +so nearly successful in a scheme to murder her that she only escaped +with her life by hiding for a whole year. She was believed to be dead, +and mourning was worn by the whole country. Finally public opinion +became so enraged against this unnatural father-in-law that he was +banished from Korea. His supporters, however, were still numerous enough +to be a cause of trouble, and in 1884 they broke into insurrection, and +the Emperor, in his turn, had to flee, escaping on the shoulders of a +slave. Shortly afterwards, during a state ceremony, a bomb of the most +modern construction exploded, killing one of the ministers and some of +the escort. Tai Wen Kun was not present at this ceremony! + +It was in the revolution of 1895 that the Empress lost her life. Her +palace was surrounded by rebels, she was stabbed, and then her body was +burnt in an open space before the palace. The Emperor was more +fortunate. Hidden in a sedan-chair he was taken to the Russian Legation, +where he remained a guest for a prolonged stay. It would, however, be +impossible to give an account of all the intrigues and plotting during +the Emperor's forty years' reign. Poison has been found in the food, the +palace has been set fire to, murderers have been found hidden in it; in +short, it would require a whole chapter to describe the narrow escapes +the Emperor has had. But even what I have said will show that Korean +sovereigns are not always to be envied! Yet after the Japanese war of +1894 the King (for till then he had been only a king, the vassal of +China) declared his land to be independent of Chinese control, and +elevated himself to the rank of emperor. Such are life's ironies. + +But if the Emperor's public career has not been very glorious, his +family life has proved even less happy. He lost his wife, a woman of +more than average ability and to whom he was devoted, in a terrible +manner as we have seen. The Crown Prince has always been unsatisfactory +and of no political importance. The second royal prince, who is +unquestionably clever and enterprising, is considered a dangerous +innovator, and so strong is the feeling against him in his father's +palace that he is obliged for the safety of his life to live in America. + +The question who will succeed Li Hsi interests everybody in Korea, and +is the occasion of much plotting and intrigue, but I am afraid it is one +of the problems which no one can answer or even guess at! + + +VII + +The home life of any country is always of the deepest interest. Old +memoirs and diaries never fail to fascinate, more especially in the case +of a country almost entirely unknown, whose habits and customs will +surely be so modified as to disappear altogether, and it is therefore +well to preserve the memory of them for the coming generations. + +A Korean home, however flimsy it may appear, is a regular stronghold. It +has its own traditions, and its inhabitants form a regular community of +their own. Its rule is patriarchal and its organization entirely +Oriental. Divided into two distinct parts, the front is occupied by the +male, and the inside reserved for the female sex. However small the +house may be, this rule is strictly observed; even though the division +may sometimes be only a sheet of paper, its moral strength is as great +as the ramparts of a castle. Conventions are stronger than stone walls. + +In order to enable the reader to form some idea of Korean family life, I +will give a passing notice of some of the habits, customs, and +institutions, such as marriage, education, occupations and recreations, +festivities and funerals. + +The condition of women in the Land of the Morning Calm is abominable, +for they are considered as mere slaves, with no privileges or rights +whatever. + +In the upper classes the children of the two sexes, as soon as they +reach the age of eight or ten, are separated from each other, the boys +being removed to the front part of the house where the father lives, +whilst the girls are left with their mother at the back. + +It is considered very bad form for brothers and sisters to associate +with each other. The inevitable consequence is that family life, as we +understand it, has no existence there. + +The Korean regards his wife as a being far below him, and would not +think for a moment of consulting her on anything of consequence. +Although man and wife live under the same roof they are practically +aliens to each other. But strange to say, though women in Korea have no +rights, either social or within their own family circle, they are +outwardly respected and addressed in terms of high esteem. + +If we consider that the bride has innumerable duties to observe towards +her consort, while he has none towards her, it seems only natural that +the number of happy unions is strictly limited. But notwithstanding the +abnormal relations that exist between the parents, the children are +brought up by the mother to respect their father deeply. Disrespect +towards the mother is of no consequence, but insubordination to the +father is severely punished. In prison, sickness, or old age, a father +can always rely on the assistance and support of his son. No virtue in +Korea is esteemed more than filial devotion. + +A peculiarity of a Korean marriage is that it is a matter of interest to +every one except the parties mostly concerned, who see one another for +the first time at the beginning of the ceremony. The parents and friends +arrange the match, in accordance with their own interests, and if both +parties agree and the bargain is concluded, the formalities are of the +simplest. There is no religious ceremony and no legal contract. Early in +the morning the best man arrives to tie the bridegroom's pigtail in a +knot on the top of his head, and this not only remains for ever as an +outward and visible sign of his condition, but entitles him to be +treated as a man and to enter public life. He may be a mere child, just +over ten years of age, but he has no longer any right to play with his +friends and must choose his associates among old men--octogenarians they +may be. He has all civil rights and is expected to behave accordingly. +If, on the contrary, a man is unable to afford the luxury of a home and +a wife, he may reach the age of fifty, but he must still wear his +pigtail down his back, has none of the advantages of a citizen, and is +expected to play with kites, marbles, and such-like, and any folly he +may commit is excused, as would be the naughtiness of a baby, who is not +responsible for his actions. + +The wedding ceremony itself is most simple. There is no going to the +registry office or to church. The whole function consists of a +procession, when the bride and bridegroom are conducted by their +respective relations to a dais; there they are put face to face, and see +each other for the first time, look at each other, bow, and the knot is +tied indissolubly. The mutual surprise sometimes must be rather +unexpected. But, whether agreeable or not, it is considered very bad +taste to show any emotion. Without exchanging a single word, a few +minutes afterwards the young bride is conducted to her home, where she +is cloistered for ever. Social etiquette demands that the bridegroom +shall return to the company of his young bachelor friends for a few +days, which are passed in festivities, if not orgies. A honeymoon is +unknown, and wedding trips have never been instituted. The young wife +becomes more or less a head servant to her mother-in-law, and no visible +change is introduced into the husband's daily routine. If married life +begins in such extraordinary conditions, it remains equally ill-balanced +all through life. The husband has everything, the wife nothing; she has +not even a name. And yet, though legally a nonentity, socially, if +clever, she can attain to a certain position. Unseen, unknown, and +nameless, in a hidden corner of the women's quarter, she can receive her +lady friends, get all the news of the outer world, and send messages by +her slaves. There have been cases when women had even decisive political +influences, and, like spiders, ambushed in corners, spread their nets. + + +VIII + +The main occupation of the Korean is agriculture. It is the ground which +produces everything that is necessary for life, and it is the ground, +also, which is taxed principally to furnish the necessary funds for the +Government. The methods of cultivation are exceedingly primitive, but +the soil itself is so extremely fertile, and the irrigation so good, +that the crops are quite sufficient. The women share in the cultivation +of the fields, besides which they do all the domestic work, which is no +mean task if we take into consideration that many functions performed in +other countries by tradesmen must here be performed by them, such as the +cutting of the flax, the preparing and weaving and the making of it into +garments--so that they are field labourers, manufacturers, weavers, +tailors, and finally washerwomen to their own husbands and households. +It is the same with all the food. The poor women must first grow the +rice and beans, then cut and dry them, pound them, and lastly cook them. +But the principal occupation of the women of Korea is the preparing of +their husbands' suits of clothes. A Korean has generally two suits of +white linen, each of which he wears in turn for a week. These suits are +not sewn, but stuck together, and every week the suit that was worn the +week before must be taken to pieces, washed, and then glazed by beating, +which last occupies almost a whole week. + +The recreations of the women are very few, and, in fact, they are +treated as slaves to their husbands. The men, on the contrary, have all +kinds of amusements. The two great national sports are shooting with +bows and arrows, and flying of kites. They are very fond of open-air +gatherings, and arrange most delightful picnics, where they entertain +their friends, and engage professional singers and dancers to amuse +them. These singers and dancers are women who form a separate caste. +Westerners find it difficult to appreciate Korean music, but I could not +help liking its quaint cadence and plaintive melancholy. The songs +mostly treat of historical legends and reminiscences of old days, but +some, of course, are lyric. Korean dancing, on account of its dignity +and calm, is by far the most plastic and rhythmical of all Oriental +worship of Terpsichore. + +Among the old customs, birthday festivities occupy the first place, +particularly when a man attains his sixtieth year. On that day he +becomes an object of admiration to the whole community, having been +spared by Fate to such an age. After this day whatever he may say is +listened to with great respect, even if his advice is not always +followed. + +But of all the social institutions funerals play the most important +part. These last for days, or weeks, and even sometimes for a whole +month, and mourning is observed for several years. And this observance +is strict in Korea. One may even say that a mourner is buried alive, for +he must cover his face, and, if he meets his friends in the street, he +may not stop to speak to them or shake hands. During my stay in Seoul +one of the late Empress's relations, General Ming, died, and I never +saw a more magnificent pageant than his funeral. The cortege was over a +mile long, and led by paid weepers. As it wound its way along, it was +the most extraordinary conglomeration of riders, dancers, children, +mourners, officials, torch, lantern, and flag bearers, and, in fact, it +seemed to absorb the whole population of Seoul. + +Children do not receive too much attention in this far-away country. The +little girls soon share in the housework, and the boys leave their +mothers when they are about six, being sent first to school and then to +the men's quarters, where they are carefully secluded from any kind of +woman's society, even from that of their own sisters. + +Any one who is interested in Korean children will have an opportunity of +studying their national characteristics and natural abilities in the +schools, of which there are a great many in Korea. Besides the +old-fashioned Primary Schools, there are the Chinese Classical Schools, +Missionary Schools, and, last but not least, the different National +Schools for Interpreters. There are several English, even more Japanese +and Russian, all of which undoubtedly will be of some use; and there is +even a German School, and, of course, a French Interpreters' School. I +must say I was deeply interested to see the scholars, neatly dressed in +white cotton, sitting with Oriental patience at their desks, and +pronouncing with the greatest assiduity the unpronounceable and to them +unintelligible syllables. I admired the endurance and self-control of +the children. If they are not quick and have not the imaginative +capacity of a Japanese child, they are good, even if not so deep +thinkers as the Chinese. + +The houses in Korea are very small and offer but little comfort. Most of +them have not more than two rooms, exclusive of the kitchen. +Three-roomed dwellings are very uncommon, and without exception are most +scantily furnished. The roadside inns naturally are of the most +primitive kind, and visitors are expected to bring their own provisions +and bedding with them. + +The staple food consists of rice and a few vegetables; people with some +means eat occasionally a little meat or fish. Milk and butter are +unknown. Beef is difficult to obtain, except in the capital. There is no +mutton, but plenty of dog's flesh. + +The principal beverage is made of fermented rice. Koreans, like Chinese, +are fond of their pipes, and smoke a great deal. + +Their dress is very ample. To be smart, you must wear two or three pairs +of trousers, as many shirts, and four or five kaftans made of white +linen. Sandals are the principal foot-gear. + +Chess is one of their popular games. High and low are alike enthusiasts. +In fact, the Koreans have almost as high a reputation for skill in the +game as the Chinese. + +They are also fond of card-playing. Gambling seems to be in the blood of +the Yellow races. There is no country where card-sharpers drive so brisk +a business as in Korea. + +In outdoor sports the Korean does not excel. His disinclination to +physical effort is too strong and his nature is altogether too lethargic +for violent exertion. Such mild diversions as kite-flying and archery he +sometimes does indulge in, and, if so, shows no little proficiency. + +Game is plentiful, but energy rare, and so we do not find many types of +the shikari of India, but more of the trapper class. + +The Koreans are a musical people. Every village has its choir--its +amateur musical society. With them songs are largely used as an +accompaniment to the dance. Here, at last, the Korean awakes. + +The theatre proper is not represented in this country, but they have +dramatic performances of a kind. + +Recitations are given by a single performer, who himself plays all the +characters of the story. It reminds one somewhat of the Homeric +rhapsodists, or the medieval jongleurs. + + +IX + +The last quarter of the nineteenth century has brought about some +unexpected changes in Korea. The rigid isolation is gradually vanishing. +Not even Chosen is able to conceal from the outer world her hidden and +Hermit Land. + +The first breach was made by the United States Navy. Commodore Shufeldt +was the first representative of a Western Power to conclude a treaty +with her. A year later the Anglo-Korean commercial agreement was +ratified. Then the other European Powers came in their turn to establish +diplomatic relations there. In the meantime the prejudice against the +foreigner is losing a good deal of its virulence. The first steps +towards international intercourse had been made. + +These relations with foreign countries promise, above all, to be +advantageous to commerce and industry; and considering the comparatively +short period during which this influence has been at work, and the +primitive conditions of locomotion, foreign trade is making unexpected +progress. The receipts of the foreign Customs are steadily increasing, +and whilst the returns of 1893 amounted to 7,986,880 yen, in 1898 they +reached the sum of 24,702,237 yen. The latest statistics show the +Customs revenues as L122,783. The _total_ import of the last year +represented L1,382,381, and the exports L846,034. + +Besides the capital, _Seoul_, _Chemulpo_, _Fusan_, _Gen-San_, _Mokpo_, +_Chinampo_, _Masampo_, _Kunsan_, and _Song-ching_ are being opened to +trade. The general commerce is almost exclusively in the hands of +Japanese and Chinese. In this respect Japan has made extraordinary +progress during the last few years. In 1897 her imports amounted to +1,911,851 yen, and those of England were 3,713,907 yen. Four years later +the Japanese trade increased to 2,844,815 and England's dropped to +2,853,866. Since the Commercial Exhibition at Osaka, Japan's trade with +Korea has advanced even more, so that, for instance, cotton goods, once +imported exclusively from Manchester, are now replaced by the fabrics of +Nippon. The latter seem to be in a more advantageous position, for, +considering that the distance between Japan and Korea is inconsiderable +and the wages in these two countries are only one-sixth of those in +English manufacturing towns, European products are experiencing more and +more difficulty in competing with the Japanese in Asia. The shipping +trade, too, is in the hands of Japan, and in the course of last year +3920 vessels with nearly a million tons of cargo anchored in the ports +of Korea. Besides Japan and England, there is America that is seeking a +new market for her exports. Of continental European countries, Germany +is represented by the greatest number of articles, though of small +importance and size, like nails, stove pipes, needles, chemicals, and +aniline dyes. The total imports from Germany at present scarcely +represent a quarter of a million marks. + +The Chinese share the local trade with the Japanese. The shopkeeper +belongs to one or other of the neighbouring states. As we observed when +referring to the past state of Korea, her own people possess no +commercial instincts. Their needs are few, and even those are supplied +in their homes. Their clothes are woven and sewn by their wives. The +flax grows in their gardens. Every house has as much ground attached to +it as suffices, more or less, for the wants of the family. More than +that is not required. It is owing mainly to this patriarchal simplicity +that, though the soil of the country is rich, not half of it is under +cultivation. + +The manner of tilling the soil is rather primitive. Up to this day +wooden ploughs are used. Threshing is done by ordinary poles. +Agricultural implements are unknown. + +In spite of her fertile valleys, favourable climate, and cheap labour, +Korea is not agriculturally developed. Of its products, rice takes the +first place. There is also plenty of wheat, barley, oats, and beans. +The most profitable plant is _gin-sen_, which has already been +described. + +The principal wealth of Korea is undoubtedly stored in its mines. The +amount of ore contained in the mountains of the country is prodigious. +There are numerous ancient gold and silver mines, although their working +was prohibited by law. Since the conclusion of the international +treaties some of them have been taken over by foreign companies, and +already, during the last few years, have produced considerable profits. +In 1897 the export in gold amounted to 2,004,049 yen, in 1901 to +4,993,351 yen. But under the present conditions it is impossible to +ascertain the exact amount. The mountains in the north-eastern part of +the country are the richest in gold. The capital invested is mostly +German and Belgian. + +In addition to gold and silver, there are copper, iron, and coal mines +in working, but commercial enterprise is rather handicapped by the want +of means of communication. + + +X + +Until recently Korea was not only almost devoid of railways, but had +scarcely any roads. Transport by means of carts is to this day +exceptional--oxen and pack-horses only being employed. Endless strings +of caravans cover the whole length of the land. Seeds, timber, fuel, +metal, and stones--everything is carried by cattle to its destination. +But human labour is even more general and much cheaper than animal +labour. It is still the man's shoulder that carries most of the load and +burden. What a Korean can carry is almost incredible. Besides heredity +it is only through long training that he has acquired such exceptional +strength. + +One of the most ancient organizations of Korea is the Pedlars' Guild. It +was founded centuries ago. There are families who for generations have +known no other occupation than carrying the miscellaneous pack from one +part of the country to another. They wander over hills and dales from +morning till night. Like their ancestors they migrate continually. It is +little wonder that they should have known the inner state and life of +the country better than anybody else. They were the carriers of news in +Korea, and represented the Press of their land, and their influence and +power still prevail. Public opinion finds in them its most direct +interpreter. There is no movement, outbreak, or revolt in which they do +not participate. The most important messages are conveyed through the +pedlars, and it is their guild that nourishes the flames of all +rebellions. + +In Korea there are several fine rivers. The _Han_, watering the central +provinces of the country, and the _Yalu_ in the north, are the two +principal ones. During a few months of the year both are frozen. Neither +of them is used as a waterway. The traveller who is fond of adventures +hires a fishing-barge, engages a dozen fishermen, and taking with him +some old furniture and provisions, tries to make himself comfortable in +that Noah's ark. Steamers are unknown on the rivers. + +Railways are now in a somewhat more advanced stage. Between Chemulpo and +Seoul there is a regular train service, and the short distance of +twenty-six miles can be covered with Western comfort. + +Japan is at present engaged in building the great southern line as far +as Fusan. A French company has obtained the concession to build the +northern line. On the other hand, the work of a private company on the +line leading towards Manchuria is making little headway. Still, it is +only a matter of time for Korea to become a network of railways. Then +her harbours will be the natural gates of Eastern Asia. Her bays in the +south are always free from ice, making most excellent ports, and capable +of harbouring any number of ships. Chemulpo, but more particularly +Fusan, the extreme southern point of the peninsula, must necessarily +become one of the termini and one of the principal emporiums of the +whole continent. I do not think that those who look upon it as the +Shanghai of the future are mistaken. + +Besides railways, Seoul possesses also an electric tramway and electric +light. Both concerns were planned by American companies, and are said to +be very profitable. The new Mint is also organized on European +principles. The standard money is the Japanese yen; the brass rings used +formerly as small coins are being replaced by the nickel sen. The +various commercial articles are steadily undergoing changes, and +manufactured goods are ousting the homemade products of the small shops. +Each day supplies new things and ideas. Each week marks another step on +the road to progress. The work is slow, being rendered difficult by many +obstacles from within and without, but it cannot now be stopped in its +natural course. + +Korea is at present in her first stage of transition. The old system has +collapsed, and a new order must be inaugurated. Most striking to the +stranger are the antagonisms of the present day. Almost everything is in +a state of metamorphosis, and it is curious to notice institutions of +past centuries by the side of recent reforms. Through the ancient city +gate electric cars are passing, and in the vicinity of the gabled pagoda +can be seen the chimney of a factory. Day by day some Western +institutions, customs, and ideas are being adopted. It looks like +gradual advancement. + + +XI + +It is barely some decades since Korea opened her doors to foreigners, +and even in this short time she has introduced innovations which have +shaken her to her foundations, and I fear even greater changes are +awaiting her in the near future. Her ancient suzerain, China, has +retired from her political arena, but Japan has taken even stronger hold +of the country than ever before, and a new element has been introduced +into the field by the occupation by Russia of Manchuria and the Yalu. +Such was the condition of the country when in 1894 the war broke out +between China and Japan. Korea obtained her independence without +participating in any way in the great fight. Her king became an emperor. +But all these changes were only superficial. A new internal +administration could not be consolidated in a few days, and Korea's +independence is only on the protocol. + +The freedom of Korea was, as we saw, proclaimed with great pomp just at +the moment when she had the least chance of making use of that +unexpected independence. Surrounded by enemies, she had neither the +moral strength nor the military force to maintain it. She was bound to +follow the advice of one or the other of her neighbours; in fact, it was +only by showing herself to be of no use to her allies that she could +ensure her very existence. One day it was the Chinese, the next the +Japanese, then the Russians. She has always been a mere instrument in +the hands of these Powers. Their influence has changed very rapidly +without any apparent cause. Which of her attachments has been the most +sincere, who can say? The manifestations of both were equally ostensible +and complete, and the Koreans went so far as to proclaim their adherence +by adopting the uniform of the favoured country for their soldiers, and +the inhabitants of Seoul have had the pleasure of seeing their army +parading the main streets first in the uniform of Cossacks, and then in +that of Nippon. + +Ever since the latter part of the nineties Japan has been showing +remarkable activity. She has invested considerable capital in the +country, opened banks, founded large commercial firms, built railways, +and established a regular steamship service. She goes even farther and +is endeavouring to instil fresh life into the people. She is trying to +remodel the Korean government on Japanese principles. As to the army of +(nominally) eighty thousand soldiers, of which nearly eight thousand +are stationed in Seoul, it is being drilled by Japanese officers and +supplied with European rifles and uniforms. Japan is establishing modern +schools, and desires to transform young and old alike. + +During my visit Russian influence contended with Japanese for the +mastery, but in the midst of all these antagonistic fluctuations it is +scarcely possible to speak of political convictions. The people dislike +the Russians as much as they detest the Japanese. They resemble a man in +danger of drowning, who stretches out his hand to his enemy, in the vain +hope of not being submerged in the floods. Public men are divided into a +great many parties and form different political groups. Some even belong +to the most reactionary of the time, while others are more favourably +disposed to progress, and all of them are open to conviction where +personal advantage is concerned. If the dislike of foreign nations is +intense, the hatred of their compatriots who are attached to other +political factions is still greater. And when the national apathy and +indolence are broken through by animosity to rivals, the people become +blind to reason, cruel, and bloodthirsty. They have no self-control, as +they have never been trained to a higher moral standard, and there is no +education such as will develop their better qualities. Among all the +puzzles of the present day in Korea, certainly the most important is how +to bring up the rising generation. The conditions, not only of Korea but +of the neighbouring states, being entirely changed, her old methods are +of no practical use for the present situation. The future requires a +different system. In order to face the difficulties of the present, they +must bring up their children to be men; and I have been most interested +to note how the children respond to a better method of training. During +my stay in the country I visited again and again native, foreign, and +missionary schools, and came to the conclusion that the Koreans are not +lacking in the mental qualities which are required by our Boards of +Education. I listened to boys of fourteen and fifteen, not only +translating the classics as well as the children in our schools do, but, +what was more exceptional, they showed a real pleasure in dealing with +deeper questions, where logical thought and sequence of ideas were +requisite. They like to study, and, to my great astonishment, I was told +by the rector of our seminary that, during the vacations, many of the +boys go on with the next year's course. + +Their moral training is not very difficult either. The children are +docile, obedient, and good-natured, and are most amenable to religious +principles. Catechists have a high opinion of their catechumens, who +take deep interest in theological doctrine. As a rule, they evince a +real desire to be better acquainted with spiritual matters, and, if they +become Christians, conscientiously adhere to their faith and observe the +religious rites. All who have lived in Korea are of the same +opinion--that this unexplored country and its backward people need +before all cultivation and education, and it depends entirely on those +who take this great work of development into their hands whether it +shall become a flourishing land and its people happy or not. And in that +case, instead of the country being the seat of disturbance and war, and +the inhabitants mere instruments in the hands of their enemies, the land +of the Morning Calm may deserve its name and become a guarantee for the +commercial prosperity and the peace of the Far East. + +Such was the general situation at the moment of the outbreak of the +Japanese-Russian war. + + +XII + +It is evident that Korea is yet incapable of self-government. She is +dependent on one or the other neighbour. Since China fell out of the +ranks of conquering Powers Japan has taken up arms as she did centuries +ago. To-day it is she who is aiming at ruling Eastern Asia, as if it +were her mission to awaken the peoples of Asia and to instil Western +civilization into them. The movement is of great interest and of more +import than we should dare to believe. Its significance is incalculable. +Whether Japan will be the master who is to transform the Asiatic races +is another puzzling problem. Already a considerable number of young +Chinese are frequenting Japanese high schools and colleges. Delegates +are being sent from Pekin, at the expense of the Government, to Japanese +commercial and industrial institutions to study and to become acquainted +with modern ideas. + +Korea is face to face with similar problems of transformation. Who is to +secure her definite leadership--Japan or Russia? The present war is more +than a boundary dispute; it means the old struggle between the white and +yellow races for the hegemony of Asia. On whichever side success +ultimately lies, on that of Russia or of Japan, let all those who know +Korea and are interested in her fate, hope that the conquerors will +fulfil the duties victory involves. The little country deserves that her +rulers should earnestly study her conditions and seek to improve them. +Even from a merely utilitarian standpoint it will prove a better policy +to develop and help than to exploit to excess or to oppress her. It is +just as important that her people, who ever since their infancy have +been the victims of cruel foes and the prey of bad government, should be +elevated to a higher standard. + +For those who like to gather knowledge, not only about the outward +circumstances of foreign countries but also about their inner life, it +will be of interest to know that in spite of their degradation Korea's +people have preserved unimpaired the sensitiveness of their mind. They +are by no means insensible to lofty ideas. They are even capable of +showing some enthusiasm for higher ideals. There is hardly another +nation in the East which evinces more sincere appreciation of Christian +ethics and doctrines than the Koreans. + +Scarcely half a century has passed since the first Roman Catholic +priests began their work, and they already number about fifty parishes +and over fifty thousand parishioners. The old religious hatred is +gradually changing into sympathy. Recently a few orphanages were built +where children, abandoned by their parents, are being brought up and +trained for some useful vocation. + +The people are beginning to conceive clearer ideas about Christian +virtues, and those who see under what wretched conditions the +missionaries live, in what poor huts they dwell, on what scanty fare +they have to live--especially when they realize that these men have left +their own families, homes, and their country to educate little orphans, +to help the needy, and to nurse the sick, no matter of what creed or +sect, be they pagans or worshippers of the sun or of ancestors--regard +this self-sacrifice with an admiration which is general and sincere. + +For those who wish to form an estimate of the intellectual powers of a +people, the missionary schools offer undoubtedly the greatest +facilities. It is there that the natural inclinations, good or bad, find +direct expression. Of all my surprising experiences in Korea--a country +rich in surprises--nothing equalled my impressions of the new college +and seminary at Yong-Sang. There young people of twelve to fifteen gave +as precise answers to questions put to them as one could hear in the +best European high schools. And there Korea's primitive children can +express themselves fluently in classical Latin. It was interesting for +me to get an insight into their capabilities and observe their industry. +For hours they would pore over their books if the teacher would not call +them away for recreation. With the inherited inclination of Oriental +people for abstract sciences, they enter with delight and pleasure into +any metaphysical question. I was delighted to hear how successful their +training is, and how easy it is to form their minds. I saw young Korea +in a new light. There I best realized the force of the maxim that the +future of a nation lies in the potentialities of its youths and their +sound bringing up. But education can be of value only when carefully +founded on higher morality and guided by true religion. + +With such an education Chosen's children might hold in their hands one +day their country's independence and prosperity. + +Korea's exceptional geographical position, its natural wealth, and +inborn physical strength, should tend to make her in the extreme Far +East a sort of buffer state, and a bulwark of international good +fellowship and established peace. + +Nations, like individuals, have their moral codes and vocations. Nemesis +must always overtake evil of every kind, and to the virtuous alone is +granted the palm of victory. + + + + +IX + +SEOUL, THE CAPITAL OF KOREA + + +I have arrived safely in Seoul. It is eventide, and the moon is just +appearing. In the dimness the most desolate imperial residence in the +world seems still more desolate, more wretched, miserable, and forlorn. + +My sedan-chair is being carried through a long street, or rather road, +of small houses--but houses they cannot be called: those I have seen up +to the present can at the best be termed hovels. + +At last we reach the walls of the inner city--for till now we have been +merely in the outer town. The wall is ragged and thorny. In front stand +a number of roofed and painted gates. I almost imagine myself back in +Pekin, for the picture is a replica, but in miniature. I am, however, +unable in the dusk to see how much smaller it is, only the general +effect is the same, stamped with the familiar Chinese characteristics. + +[Illustration: SEOUL "The broad streets seem an immense cemetery, and +the mean little flat-roofed houses graves" To face page 240] + +The moon is now shining brightly, but it shows nothing new in the aspect +of the road within the walls. The main street of Seoul is as deep in +clay and mud as it was at the time when the "waters dried up." Its +houses have not altered; they are scarcely more than the clay huts of +prehistoric man, his protection against cold or heat. + +The first sight of an unknown country stamps itself on our minds in a +manner unique, and I requested the bearers of my chair to walk slowly, +for I did not wish to lose my first impression. There is a fascination +in the unknown--a wonderful interest attached to the unexpected. Our +wanderings amongst strange peoples in the streets of a city which we +have not visited before are not for the pen to describe. + +Everything that is unknown is mysterious, until reality tears aside the +veil, and so long as it is built up by our imagination and peopled by +fantastic creations it remains to a certain extent a City of Dreams. + +The streets are gradually getting broader, and the clay huts grow even +more insignificant. I stop for a moment in the great square, which may +be the centre of the city, but is little more than a cross-road leading +into a few side-streets. + +It is scarcely seven o'clock, and yet over all broods a death-like +silence, a peaceful calm, as complete as one can imagine. The broad +streets seem an immense cemetery, and the mean little flat-roofed houses +graves. One might think it is All Saints' Day, for on each grave a +little lamp is burning. A lantern hangs from the eaves of each roof, +showing a yellowish flame. + +But the people themselves are returning like ghosts to their homes, each +robed in white--each and all mute. Without a sound they flit over the +roads of the endless graveyard, until they disappear into the depths of +some one of the illuminated tombs. + +I have never been so impressed by any other city I have seen as I was by +my first sight of Seoul. As I saw the city just now, by the light of a +November moon, dark, dumb, desolate, and ghostly, it resembled some +fairy city more than reality; like those storied places sung of in the +poetry of almost every people, the tale of which is listened to with +such rapture by the little folk of the nursery, who know nothing as yet +of life's seamy side. + +Such a town was Seoul to me, the first few hours after my arrival. + +Next morning I was aroused by the sound of drums and trumpets. But +whose? Do they belong to the ghosts? What can have happened that the +home of silence should have been disturbed by such an awful uproar? + +I hasten to my window. The long street, the square, every inch of +ground, is occupied by soldiers. These are short and yellow, wearing a +black uniform, the black cloth of which, set off by a broad red collar +and contrasted with the yellow faces, makes a motley colour-scheme, +almost like a chequered field. The men seem to like it. If the mixture +serves no other purpose it offers an excellent target for an enemy, +which was probably the idea of its inventors. + +The din continues. The trumpets blare, and these black, red, and yellow +little people, like tin soldiers, keep moving before me; to and fro, up +one street and down another they go, like stage-property soldiers, now +appearing on and again disappearing from the stage--always the same +supers; but one would think they were a mighty army. And all the time +the bayonets flash on the rifle-barrels, whose weight seems rather too +much for the little men. The drums still beat, and fanfares ring out on +the frosty morning. + +What has happened? Has the coronation not been postponed after all? Is +the Emperor at last inaugurating the long-awaited festivities? + +I ring the bell, and a servant, dressed in white, and wearing a pigtail +twisted up in a knot, enters. His long coat is of linen, his head +covered by a hat of horsehair, which resembles in shape the wire lid +used to protect preserves from flies. + +This quaint servant seems more surprised at my question than I at his +livery. + +"But the army has been reorganized by European officers. It has been +taught, in the Western style, to march, manoeuvre, and kill, and for +the performance of this gay farce new taxes have been raised. And now +you, a European, coming from the West, ask, with obvious irony, 'What +does this all mean?'" + +I can see how amusing the whole situation is, and what a ludicrous side +it has. The fact of the collar being a few inches deeper, or of the +colour of the tunic, does not alter the character of the uniform; it is +still a distinctive mark, even in its best form, whether the mechanism +which propels the bullet be new or old fashioned. The rifle always +destroys, and whether a soldier is a couple of feet taller or not, +whether he has a yellow or a white complexion, his calling is a rather +gloomy one. For do we not consider that soldier most efficient who +destroys the greatest number of lives? + +Dawn now turns into morning, and the doors of the shops open one by one. +Most of them are only protected for the night by mats or a few planks. + +Later on the customers begin to arrive, all of them dressed in white. +Men and women alike wear long linen coats (kaftans), and their lined +foot-gear is also of linen; in fact, they are white from top to toe, +excepting the black hat of horsehair. + +Now and again I see a sedan-chair, which, however, is not larger than a +good-sized box, its occupant huddled up inside. I cannot perceive any +carriage, trap, or horse, in spite of the growing traffic, which, +however, is perfectly noiseless. Perhaps this may account for the fact +of my still being under the impression of being in a deserted city. + +It is generally on the first day that we catch the most characteristic +traits, or, at any rate, that the most salient features strike our +imagination. While our perceptive powers are still fresh, we are able to +be impressed by the smallest peculiarities. + +After breakfast I go out for a stroll, and find in front of me the +palace gate, outside which some soldiers are standing. Beyond it +stretches a long street, towards which I turn. This is the same +thoroughfare which yesterday resembled a vast graveyard, but the houses +now stand open, as the wooden wall, looking on the street, has been +removed. There are a considerable number of shops, but small and mean, +displaying no wares that attract my attention. Those of the +cabinet-makers make the best show, consisting of small chests, inlaid +with brass ornamentation, having large polished locks. These are no less +quaint than they are tasteful. There seems to be a great demand for +them, for in a whole row I can see nothing else. There is also no lack +of fruit and seeds, but the baskets do not offer a quarter of the +variety of a Chinese grocer. I do not think I saw any more shops, at +least any that I remarked. They seemed small and empty, never more than +a couple of customers in them. + +What especially attracted my attention was the large number of +sentry-boxes. Every five or ten yards you came across a box, with a +stubby black-red-and-yellow soldier inside, armed! + +No matter where I turn, there are sentry-boxes everywhere--to the right, +to the left, in front and behind me. Can it be a fact that this army is +required to keep these little folk in order? + + * * * * * + +No sooner had I put this question to myself than I became aware of a +disturbance going on--some coolies, carrying vegetables, engaged in a +battle royal, and two boys pitching into each other. But the private +stands there unmoved. His look seems rather to approve than condemn. He +is evidently not intended to keep the peace; this does not seem to be +part of his duties; so the coolies may fight as much as they like among +the cabbages. (The group, by the way, forms a pretty picture--the +coolies in white, with the green loads on their backs, in the thick of +the fray.) The smaller of the boys commences to cry, as blood is +dripping from his forehead; but the soldier is not affected by the sight +of this either. I wonder if what he just muttered was that the "Red +Cross" was not his business. + +As I went on I heard more screaming and quarrelling, and witnessed a few +more little skirmishes. It was not until now that I realized how +unaccustomed I was to quarrels and fights, as in China I never saw one +man fighting another--they have their thousands of years of civilization +to thank for that. + +Later I approach a hall which is being repaired. It has a pointed roof +and broad eaves, similar to those of the palace at Pekin. + +A whole forest of wood is stored up there in the shape of beams. As I +see with what precision the workmen make the various parts fit together, +without the use of nails, I am delighted that the traditions of ancient +architecture are not yet extinct. + +I am now in the neighbourhood of the Royal Palace. In front of the main +gate is a large square, which farther on turns into a street, with +public buildings on either side. These are the Ministerial Offices, +where is spun the web of the Korean Government. + +Externally the palace has little to distinguish it. The facade is rather +low, and the walls are mud-coated, while the gates are not much better, +in the Chinese style, and crowned by tiles. + +The gates, which are wide open, lead into a large inner courtyard, where +there are a number of ordinary and state sedan-chairs. Crowds of +servants, attendants, and coolies, are warming themselves in the sun, +others are playing at ball, which they kick off and catch with their +legs. + +[Illustration: THE EMPEROR'S THRONE IN THE OLD PALACE "The throne is +reached by a short flight of steps, and the canopy is of barbaric +splendour" To face page 248] + +In the middle of the street one meets mandarins hurrying to their +offices, magistrates and other men of consequence, most of them in +chairs, or rather boxes, carried by two servants. The vehicle is covered +with a cloth, that of the better class matching in colour the servants' +liveries. I have seen grey and yellow ones also. These belong to the +Korean aristocracy. + +The most attractive of all was the "carriage" of a noble in mourning. +His chair had quite recently been covered with cloth of a yellowish hue, +the same as that worn by his two servants, their coats reaching nearly +to the ground. In order to give their limbs free play, these had been +split up as far as the waist. But this can be nothing more than fashion, +for not even the whip would make a Korean hurry. The servants also wear +a broad girdle, tied up in a bow, round their waists. + +When in mourning they wear straw hats, not black, but shaped like a +fair-sized old-fashioned bread-basket. These have wide sloping brims, +reaching the shoulders, and entirely concealing the face. In such a +weird costume they strongly resemble yellow mushrooms sprung up on a +summer's day. Straw sandals complete the costume. + +In spite of these strange details and absurd combinations, the general +effect is good; the colours, the silk-covered chair, straw hat and +sandals, blend harmoniously together. Seen from a distance, they almost +have the appearance of ivory knick-knacks, such as you see exhibited for +sale in Japanese curio shops. + +But I hear a noise in the distance, and from the direction of the +western gate a motley crowd comes towards me. It must be either a +funeral or a wedding. So far I cannot distinguish which. The next moment +two children detach themselves from the crowd and seem to lead the +procession. Their dress is glaring, of green, purple, and scarlet silk, +with their dark hair encircling their foreheads in gleaming plaits. They +are also decked out with flowers and butterflies. + +Behind them is carried a large box, painted red, and polished. It is +evidently a wedding, and this is very likely the dowry. Now follow the +dancers, in pairs, but wide apart from each other. Their costume--I +cannot describe it! Almost shapeless, it consisted of skirt over skirt, +kerchiefs, veils, all pell-mell and of every colour of the rainbow. + +I take note of many things which to-morrow might escape me. + +Street life is one ever-flowing stream. In Seoul, I observe, everybody +lives on the thoroughfares, and this is probably the reason why the +roads are so wide and the dwellings so cramped. In this trait the Korean +is like the Spaniard or Italian, for he is never so happy as when out of +doors. There he stands on his threshold, or basking in the sunny +courtyards; or he lights his pipe and strolls up and down for hours. His +carriage is slow and stately. I wonder where he is going, and what he is +thinking of--nowhere and of nothing. I should say, "Il flane." There is +no suitable word in another language for this aimless meandering. +"Loitering" indicates only physical slowness, nor does even "to lounge +or saunter" exactly convey the idea. Physical sluggishness and moral +vacuum are not simultaneously connoted by them. + +Now and again a private comes by. He is the coming man! If he learns +nothing else in the barrack-yard, he certainly does learn how to walk. + +His pigtail has been shorn off. At first he bemoaned it, for this +antiquated head-dress of his embodied a general principle, and with its +departure he was cut adrift from all his old associations and +traditions; but, like the child he is at heart, he soon forgets his +pigtail and its traditions along with it, and today is proud of the +metamorphosis. + +As the man of progress and of the future, he scorns the white coats, +sandals, and hats, of his countrymen. + +On reaching the hotel I find a gentleman awaiting me; it is the Minister +of Great Britain. He has learnt of my arrival, and is come to offer me +his hospitality, my country not having a legation in the city. + +The Hotel du Palais in Seoul is new and fairly well managed, and so I +did not wish to put any one to inconvenience. The bishop being away, and +having no legation, I was anxious to remain my own master. We never know +when we may become a nuisance to the kindest of hosts. The pleasantness +of a visit, after all, depends more on circumstances than on the host or +guest. + +All this I frankly explained, and in the end we made a compromise in +such a way as not to disturb our daily programme. I was to be his guest, +but each of us was to attend to his usual occupations, and we were to +meet only at luncheon time. As for the afternoons, we left everything to +circumstances. + +The British Legation, on the other side of the new palace, is a pretty +country mansion, with a loggia, built on a bank, and enclosed by a +garden. The secretary's house stands in another part of the grounds, and +at the entrance a pavilion for the guards is in course of construction. + +The interior is typically English, the same as we find it in the houses +of the well-to-do classes, whose root principle is, "My home is my +castle." Among those with whom the family life is such a fine example of +domestic virtues, the "home" strikes us very forcibly and with such +graciousness. Indeed, the "home" idea is one of Great Britain's +bulwarks. + +My room was ready for me, bright and cheerful. The creeper on the +balcony was still green, and my windows looked out on to the courtyard +of the neighbouring palace. + +In the afternoon I went to the German Consulate, and passed on the way +the Temple of Heaven--a pagoda standing on a hill, with a fair double +roof and in front of it a marble altar. + +It is a replica, a poor one it is true, of Pekin's masterpiece, but +quite pretty from a scenic point of view. + +From a small house at the corner a very babel of sound issues forth. It +is the inarticulate mechanical repetition of one chapter--exactly the +same method our own schoolmasters used to employ for instilling +knowledge. + +As the door in the courtyard is open, I enter. In front of me I find a +room, not more than ten feet square, in which ten or more youngsters are +crowded together. There they sit on the floor, dressed green instead of +white, and their long hair hanging down in fine plaits. + +[Illustration: THE IMPERIAL LIBRARY IN SEOUL "One of those charming +buildings full of originality" To face page 252] + +Each has a big A B C book in his hand. Every word has a different +letter; these they repeat, and in this way knowledge is driven into +them. They pronounce everything out loud, moving the upper part of their +body to right and left, backwards and forwards, all the time. + +The dominie is seated in front, also squatting on the floor. His eyes +are shielded by goggles of enormous size, and he wears on his head a +horsehair crown. + +He is wisdom personified, outwardly at any rate, and his thoughts seem +to be ranging far away in the distance; and from his Olympic seat he +casts an indifferent eye on his perspiring pupils. But, as a famous +Chinese pedagogue says, "Chinese spelling and writing can only be +mastered mechanically; the best scholar is the jackass." + +The German Consulate is a new building, but by no means as comfortable +as the English. The Consul-General is also entrusted with +Austro-Hungarian affairs, and would look after them if there were any to +look after. But I am afraid that the Viennese Foreign Office of the +present regime does not quite realize the commercial interests which it +might promote, and follows strictly the advice of the late Secretary of +Foreign Affairs, Ct. Kalnoky, given to an enthusiastic youth, "If you +want to succeed in your career and maintain your position when once +acquired, do not forget 'On n'est jamais en disgrace pour ce qu'on n'a +pas fait.'" He is very courteous, and talks a good deal of Japan, where +he acted as Councillor of the Legation. + +From there to the Roman Catholic Mission is but a few yards. As I enter +its iron grilled gate, my surprise is as great as it is agreeable, for I +see before me a grand cathedral, and on either side spacious buildings +standing in their own wooded grounds. + +It was built on the model of one of the old cathedrals in the +Netherlands--red brick, Gothic, a style which, as I invariably avow, I +do not like to find in the East. But this is only a criticism due to my +artistic sense. As a building, nothing can be said against it, for of +its kind it is perfect. But what struck me most was its cleanliness. The +stone floor was as bright as a mirror. + +The bishop was away on circuit, and would not return for ten days, so +Father ----, the vicar, received me, and showed me over the whole little +colony, the school, and convent and orphanage; but of these I will speak +more fully elsewhere. + +As I took my leave the sun was setting. The peaks of the encircling +hills were reflected in purple tints on the topaz sky. The Mission down +below, in the dell, appeared in a bluish mist, only the cathedral +cresting the hill. + +Returning home by a circuitous route, I find the streets even more +thronged than in the morning. I glance into a few shops, but there is +not much worth seeing. The furriers, who are engaged in cutting out and +sewing a number of tunics, capes, and fur coats, seem to be the busiest. +There are also a good many jackets and still more waistcoats without +sleeves to protect the chest and back. Over these are worn white linen +kaftans. No wonder the wearers look like walking eider-down quilts. + +To the right I noticed a tavern, much like the Chinese roadside inn, and +in the large open stable a row of small rough-haired horses were +standing with straw rugs on their backs. A coolie was carrying water +from the well in two brass vessels, hanging on the ends of a long pole. +The pole does not, however, rest upon his shoulders, but is fastened +crosswise to his back, giving man and load the appearance of a living +pair of scales. + +Next come some unpretentious little barracks, which, in their smallness, +are after the pattern of the soldiers, a number of whom are looking out +of the windows. In the absence of any better occupation, they are +chewing pumpkin-seeds. + +Now we arrive at the curiosity shops displaying several porcelain +articles, a few of bronze, many tiles, and a farrago of rubbish. + +On the cross-road are some more barracks, comprised in a long low +building, the little men in front of which were wearing, not only red +collars, but also red dolmans. Here the cavalry are garrisoned, and a +little scrap of a hussar is just galloping home. This warrior is not a +whit taller than Hop o' my Thumb, his charger scarce larger than a +well-developed calf of two months. + +By the side of this toy hussar rattled a formidable sabre, which seemed +in danger of pulling him down from his horse. + +Without that impediment his seat is poor enough. On his coming nearer I +see that the murderous instrument is an ordinary cavalry sword. His +uniform is the most chequered I ever saw. The dolman of the Korean +hussar is of a cinnamon colour, his collar and cuffs emerald-green, and +his breeches stripes saffron. If the pattern of his uniform was the +plumage of a parrot, the imitation is indeed most successful. + +I was wandering farther on, when in front of a gate some dogs nearly +knocked me down. + +The streets of Seoul, like those of Pekin and Constantinople, are full +of them, but with this difference, that the dogs here are well-kept and +strong. If a single one of these starts barking, this signal of some +approaching danger is in a minute responded to throughout a whole +quarter. It was so in my case. As I came too near the threshold, the +guardian on duty there was under the impression that I intended to +encroach on his domain. His attitude towards me was anything but +friendly, and not being armed with either stick or umbrella, I +instinctively stooped down to pick up a stone. This movement on my part, +however, was sufficient to make him retire summarily into his own +courtyard. He was perfectly in the right, and it only showed what a +faithful watch-dog he was. + +The Korean canine race is a subject worthy of a few words, because it +affords some of the most typical figures in the streets of Seoul. I must +confess I never have seen better-trained dogs than these. In the streets +they are the meekest of quadrupeds, and as quiet as lambs. + +A single word is quite sufficient to make the Seoul dog scamper home to +his doorway. He knows that it is his duty to be there. He will lie in +the little yard for hours and hours, but prefers, best of all, to take +his ease on the doorstep, with his head in the street, so as not to lose +sight of any one approaching. He hardly takes any notice of you, as long +as you walk in the middle of the road. At most he would stare at +dark-clothed people with other than yellow faces, to the sight of whom +he is not accustomed, for ever since he came into this world he has seen +none other than white kaftans. + +But the moment any stranger directs his steps towards the house, the +dog gives a growl or two, and on further approach barks as loud as he +can. He reserves his attack until you are within his range, that is to +say about a yard from him. By that time the auxiliary forces from the +neighbourhood have concentrated, and you have the whole brigade snarling +and yapping at your heels. + +This fearsome pandemonium at last brings the master of the house, or a +member of his family, to the seat of the disturbance, and a single word, +or merely a sign, suffices for Cerberus to retire to a corner, wagging +his tail. + + * * * * * + +Darkness has set in. Calm reigns supreme. The fresh autumnal night is +silently spreading its grey veil of mist over the white city. But look! +is not that the northern light breaking through the dark? In the +direction of Puk-Han it begins to dawn. The sky unexpectedly flashes up; +its subdued red light is getting more and more brilliant. Now flames of +hundreds of torches illuminate the atmosphere. Here is another surprise, +as if the many strange phenomena of the day had not yet reached their +climax. + +It is a torchlight procession, the like of which I have never seen +before. Pedestrians, sedan-chairs, men on horseback, are coming forward +in an endless string. And what a pageant this is! What effective +grouping! The minutest detail has been carried out with artistic taste. +The smallest traits are wonderfully harmonized, to enhance the general +effect. + +The procession is headed by children, dressed in white from top to toe, +wearing bell-shaped head-gear. Then follow bearers of torchlights and +banners, servants carrying inscriptions attached to poles, others +dangling lanterns, and behind these another group burning straw plaits. + +The next section of the procession consists of riders, of whom eight are +entirely covered by white cloaks. You would imagine they were phantoms, +if it were not that they are weeping bitterly. These are the paid +mourners, like the moaning women of ancient Rome; for it is a native +funeral. A member of the Min family is being taken to his last +resting-place. He is a descendant of a famous clan, a relative of the +late Empress of Korea, so regal pomp is awarded him. And the funeral +procession is really grand, although all dresses worn therein are of +unbleached linen. The trimmings are for the most part of paper, but in +such striking combinations, and designed and finished so perfectly, that +we disregard the details and only admire the general effect. The group +of moaning women is followed by monsters, dressed as guys, such as +gruesome fables are peopled with. One wears a red, another a yellow, +mask; this a green, and that a blue one. The appearance of all is +awe-inspiring, their heads being adorned with horns, cockscombs, and +crowns. Now more and more new groups follow, approaching in a stately +way, and disappearing slowly in the darkness of the night. + +How long the procession lasted I could not ascertain, but some thousand +persons must have marched by ere the two gilt catafalques appeared on +the scene. Both were alike, resembling monumental pagodas, gabled in +many places, designed with the quaint originality of this people, and +ornamented with all the fullness of their fancy. The two coffins, +prescribed by ancient traditions, rest on pedestals in the shadow of +high baldachinos. Behind the coffin walks a person wrapped in sackcloth, +suggestive of the cloth worn over their uniforms by members of the +society of the Misericordia in Italy. The catafalques and coffins are +carried on their shoulders by thirty-two mourners, proceeding slowly and +rhythmically. + +But the pageant is not yet at an end. On a number of sedan-chairs are +heaped up the personal belongings of the deceased. His clothes, +household furniture, horses, and cows, all follow him, so that they may +be consumed as a burnt-offering by his grave-side; all in _effigy_, for +they are but of paper. It is in such cheap counterfeit that the ancient +traditions are being preserved by the more practical progeny of the +present day. The silver coins, thrown by the riding "weepers" amongst +the crowd, are likewise make-believe, being really nothing but small +discs of paper. One sedan-chair follows another; hosts of carriers and +servants accompany the members of the family. There is the whole tribe; +a whole brigade is riding behind the gabled catafalque. All are covered +with sackcloth; even the mendicant is dressed in white--the whole +procession is white. And as they turn round at the top of the hill, the +effect of the picture is unique. The weeping women, the monsters, the +mourners and attendants, the gigantic catafalques, and the immense +crowd, formed one of the strangest sights I ever contemplated. The +furled banners, dangling inscriptions, open sunshades, lanterns with dim +lights in the darkness of the night, formed the quaintest setting. The +light of torches, the burning bunches of bulrushes and straw, are +tinting in a vibrating red the long, white and ghostly procession. The +beating of drums, and the droning of bagpipes, furnish the music, and +the weeping women the proper chorus. This strange funeral, in fact, is +the most perfect "danse macabre." + +The full moon, fuller than usual, as though anxious to light up the +weird procession, is rising in a slow and stately manner behind the +hills. Her melancholy rays filter through the night, her silvery +splendour intensifying the ghostliness of the scene. + + * * * * * + +The first day spent in the capital of Korea is nearing its end. +Quietness penetrates the night--such profound quietness as can only be +enjoyed in Seoul. The alley leading to the legation is dark and +deserted. And as I walk home I try to recall to my memory all that I +have perceived and heard; all that was new to me and striking; all the +contrasts and the incoherency of earliest perceptions. + +No guests were bidden to dinner, and when my host put the question to +me, "What do you think about Seoul?" I was scarcely able to express my +thoughts clearly. What do I really think about Seoul? What about her +people, her life, physiology, and atmosphere? I will write it down +forthwith, ere _knowledge_ spoils the glamour of first impressions, +whilst every tint is shining in glaring colour, whilst every detail can +be observed through the microscope of novelty. + +On the last day of my sojourn here, I will look through these short +notes, and, like a schoolmaster, correct in red ink any mistakes that +may be found therein. Town and people will then be better known, but the +charm of the first day will vanish for ever. + + + + +X + +THE EMPEROR OF KOREA AT THE NEW PALACE + + +Since last night we have been in the midst of revolution; but it seems +that a revolution in Korea is very much like everyday life in other +corners of the earth, and nobody attaches any importance to it. +Everybody pursues his daily task, the ordinary routine goes on in its +slow and lumbering way. Official life maintains its sluggish pulsation, +and to my astonishment I even get an invitation to be received in the +course of the afternoon by the Emperor and the Crown Prince. + +It is a calm day, calm in every respect, and the people of Seoul seem to +be at rest, as I am carried by eight unusually large bearers towards the +New Palace. The little _cortege_ is of a strange character. My +sedan-chair is covered with green silk, and, with the bearers in dark +purple, makes quite a patch of colour in the whitewashed streets. + +Seoul might be called the white city. The houses are white, and every +living being, young and old, man and woman, is clad in white cotton. I +should really think that the absence of colour and sound is the most +striking feature of the Land of the Morning Calm. + +The reception takes place at the New Palace. There are four palaces in +Seoul, the Eastern, Northern, Western, and the one I am just entering. I +have passed a great many delightful afternoons in their magnificent +grounds, forlorn gardens, quaint summer-houses, and charming pagodas. + +I returned again and again to sketch for a while, or to admire the +once-famous Korean art, which, I am afraid, has vanished for ever, like +the famous bronze-workers, sculptors, and cloisonne makers, like the +whole once-famous civilization that has left only a few magnificent +monuments of its existence. + +The sedan-chairs are put down before the main entrance, which looks very +much like that of a suburban railway station, with its glass roof, +supported by iron posts. It is modern indeed. It may be useful, but it +is sadly commonplace. There is a platform, too, not to miss anything to +complete the _tout ensemble_. + +I am shown first into an ante-room which might be that of any small +country villa, and our coats are hung on racks which have every +appearance of having come straight from Tottenham Court Road. And then +we step into a drawing-room, which I prefer to call a waiting room, an +exact replica of those dreary places where we are compelled to waste so +many hours of our lives. It might belong to a dentist, a doctor, or a +public official at home. + +In the centre there is a huge table with the kind of books which nobody +ever dreams of reading. The furniture is featureless, but not altogether +unpretentious, and the engravings and pictures are of a sort that nobody +cares for. I was told by way of compliment to the West that the Court +arranged this apartment for foreign receptions, and I wonder if it was +entirely without sarcasm or pardonable malice that visitors are +confronted with a room that makes all the faults of modern Western taste +so manifest. It was a climax of all that is banal. + +Whilst waiting we are entertained by His Excellency the Master of +Ceremonies, the Lord Chamberlain, and several A.D.C.'s. They all wear +European uniforms, dark marine-blue tunics, with many black and gold +badges and heavily braided dark red trousers. Everything is of the best +material and highly finished, apparently made far beyond Korea's +frontiers. Some of the officials talk French, some English, and all are +most interesting and entertaining. They have charming manners and all +the natural refinements of an ancient race. + +Two of them are old acquaintances. I met them years ago at Buckingham +Palace, on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Prince Min +is an accomplished man of the world. He has just built a new house on +the outskirts of the city, "with all the most modern improvements," but +I am rather sorry he has left his old home, lost in the maze of the +inner town and buried in the shade of a few fine chestnut trees. It was +such a typical old Korean home, looking outside like a hut built of mud +and covered with thatch, but inside looking like a white paper box. Its +tiny rooms were carpeted with silky matting, and for furniture it had +half a dozen silk cushions--for ornamentation, but a single flower +stand. + +There is a striking contrast between this modern waiting-room and the +old Korean house; a contrast of vulgarity and refinement. I am sorry to +say I saw only a few of these quaint old places, and I fear that on my +next visit they will all have disappeared. To pass the time, tea, +champagne-cup, and cigarettes, are handed round, as they would be in any +Western house. + +The New Palace and its diplomatic receptions are managed by a Western +lady. + +There are some other Westerners holding Court appointments here, some +with the title of teacher of languages, and many others under different +pretexts. But few of them render services that are ever required. + +The building of this New Palace is unquestionably strange and +antagonistic, but I will confine myself to observing the material sides. +Its conception and architecture are equally incoherent; it is such an +unintelligible mixture of old and new, national and foreign. Near the +hall, built exactly like an old yamen, there stands a shed of corrugated +iron, and a wonderful old gate leads to a passage furnished with +Viennese chairs. The whole palace was built as opportunity offered, +without previous plans. It came to be erected in the following way. +During the last revolution, the Empress lost her life: she was dragged +out of her room, atrociously tortured, and stabbed by ruffians, or, as +some say, by foreign soldiers. Afterwards, her body was burned in the +adjoining deer park, at the foot of the eastern hills. The Emperor +himself escaped only with the greatest difficulty, in a disguise, +carried on men's shoulders, as Anchises was out of the burning ruins of +Troy. He never returned to those ill-fated walls, but took refuge in the +Russian Legation, and remained there for a long time to be in greater +security. + +After this, land was secured near the legations, amidst the foreign +settlement, and there the New Palace was erected. It is not completed +yet, and I am afraid it will remain unfinished for many years, and offer +a source of income to the commercial, trading, labouring, and idling +classes of the country. + +At last His Majesty awoke from his siesta and was ready to receive me. +There are no ushers and no Court functionaries, and little or no +display. The servants who came with the message wore a red calico kaftan +to the ground, with a red calico hood that looked like a domino. It is +the Court livery, simple to make and cheap to buy. Calico is the +national material, that everybody wears at all seasons of the year--in +winter padded with cotton-wool or sheepskin. There are over 10,000,000 +purchasers of calico in Korea, and it has become quite an interesting +commercial question whether Japan's Osaka or England's Manchester will +secure the future market. + +By a little door and through a narrow passage, built of white deal +boards, we get to the inner court, which is really a backyard surrounded +by store-rooms and servants' sheds. + +[Illustration: THE THRONE ROOM "Since the revolution, in which the +Empress lost her life, the Emperor has never returned there" To face +page 268] + +To avoid the mud it is necessary to use a pathway composed of two +planks. They are narrow enough to test the skill of an equilibrist, and +it may be they are put down to drill the courtiers in that useful art. +On this occasion these planks are covered with narrow bright red +carpet--a poor specimen of the thing usually found in "furnished +apartments," not at all conducive to comfort, and apparently only a +harbour for the dust. The yard is deserted. Here and there, out of +peep-holes and half-open doors, a few red-calicoed servants are gazing +with inquisitive eyes, but not one of them is in attendance. + +From the central building a wide, unpainted door leads into the yard. +The door is open and we see a kind of hall, with its walls covered with +a large-patterned blue-and-white paper, which probably lay for years +neglected and unadmired in some mean shop. There is a table in the +centre and a high screen behind. Squeezed in between the two stands the +Emperor. I can hardly realize that I am in the presence of the +all-powerful potentate--an Emperor who is more than ruler, and more even +than despot, in fact, an idol in the eyes of his people. His person is +sacred, his power is boundless, his word is law, and he owns everything, +land and people, without restriction, his simple wish is a command. + +If human hand touches him it is sacrilege, and the punishment for +sacrilege is death. Even the dead body of an emperor must be lifted into +the coffin by a special device. If the Emperor touches a subject, the +body so touched becomes blessed. The Emperor's name must not be +mentioned except in whispers. His portrait is never painted except after +death, when it becomes an object of worship in the ancestral halls. +Once a foreign envoy sought to present the Emperor with the portrait of +his sovereign, but the Minister for Foreign Affairs regarded the offer +as an outrage and the portrait was never accepted. How very strange all +these customs seem to be! But it is scarcely thirty years since Korea +was still, if not the "Land of the Morning Calm," at least the "Hermit +Kingdom," secluded and unknown. + +[Illustration: _Copyright, Nops Ltd._ THE EMPEROR OF KOREA To face page +270] + +My impression of the Emperor is favourable. His features are heavy, but +the face is kind and his expression is benevolent. Physically he is +delicate. I cannot imagine him to be a man of strong likes or dislikes, +and his shyness approaches timidity. He wore ancient Korean state robes +of rich yellow hue, embroidered with numberless cabalistic signs. Around +his waist was clasped a stiff ceremonial girdle, inlaid with jade. It +looked much like an iron hoop round a shrunken barrel and seemed +peculiar to Western eyes, accustomed to belts that, on the contrary, +grip the body only too closely. + +The representative of my country, who has lived for many years in Korea, +and is an excellent scholar, had scarcely time to make the necessary +introductions before the Emperor opened the conversation. He was most +interested in the way I had come, and hearing that I had used the +overland route, his questions were inexhaustible. "When did you leave +home?" + +"How long have you been travelling?" "What interested you most?" "What +is the country like?" "What do the people do?" "What are their +ambitions?" and so on. He seemed to be interested in my own country, and +especially in all the different manners and customs of the West. + +"Is your country a very hilly one?" "Are the people agricultural, as +here?" "Is your capital a very fine one, and what is the Emperor's +palace like? I hear there are magnificent Court functions, and pageants +with a great many carriages. My envoys, coming home from the European +tour, gave me very interesting details of your magnificent cities and +great wealth, and brought home many valuable souvenirs and pictures. I +am sorry to be too old, otherwise I myself would start to see all I have +heard about." + +The state coaches seemed to appeal most to his imagination, which, after +all, is but natural, considering that such a thing as a carriage has +never been known to the Koreans. His Majesty even expressed a wish to +order one in Europe. + +Question after question came, giving me scarcely time to give answers. +I, of course, could not ask questions except in an indirect way, for in +this respect Korea sticks firmly to the etiquette of all Courts, which +provides that the monarch alone is allowed to start a new topic of +conversation. + +"You must have been very glad on your arrival at Seoul to find that the +finest building is your cathedral? What it must have been to have built +up such a high tower! and I am told its interior is beautiful. Who was +your architect? How much did it cost?" I explained that it was built by +one of the fathers who studied with great care the architectural books +of Viollet Le Duc, and that the expense had been very limited, on +account of nearly everything being made on the spot. + +But he was even more interested to hear about our orphan schools close +by, where nearly two hundred children are saved from misery and death. +He was pleased to hear a little more of what happens outside the palace +gates, to know something more about the charitable work carried out in +his own country. + +It was astonishing to see with what keen interest he followed my +explanations. + +He wanted to know my ideas concerning Koreans, and especially Korean +children and the rising generation trained in our schools. I was glad to +have an opportunity of expressing my satisfaction, and I told him how +very much surprised I was at seeing the Korean children at work, and +hearing their answers. + +I could scarcely believe that boys out here could be such good Latin +scholars, some of them far in advance of boys of the same age in +European schools. I was even more astonished to see the real pleasure +it gave them to study and to improve. To me it shed quite a new light on +the Korean character and mind. What is more satisfactory still is, that +when these children go back to their forlorn homes, as they do for +several months each year, they seldom fail to return, and never forget +what they have been taught. + +Next the Emperor sat the Crown Prince, a man slightly over thirty years +of age, overgrown and heavy, apathetic, and lethargic in all his +movements. He shows little interest in anything outside his own sphere, +and scarcely any capacity for the reception of new ideas. He is married, +but has no family. + +But there is a younger brother who is in every respect the reverse. He +is bright, clever, active, and instead of the heavy atmosphere of the +palace seeks the fresh air of far-away countries; At present he is in +the United States, working hard, studying and gathering knowledge, +experience, and statesmanship, which may, as he hopes it will, be of use +to himself and to his country. + +Behind the Emperor and Crown Prince stands a huge dark figure, casting a +heavy black shadow on them. His expression is stolid, and he is mute, +but he watches and follows everything that goes on around us. He is the +chief eunuch of the palace, a man of great importance and influence. + +The chamberlains and princes accompany me to my sedan-chair when I go. +Before I leave them they make an appointment for next day to show me the +ancestral hall and some of the public buildings. + +I must say they are all very courteous, and want to show me much that +they think would prove useful to me. At last we start, sedan-chairs +begin to swing, hanging from eight bearers' shoulders. A horseman rides +ahead, while the legation servants and the Kisos form a guard. As we +come to the large place before the palace there is a dense crowd, a +faction of the revolutionists as I am told. The city is in great +excitement. As we pass along we meet crowds everywhere. + +Seoul is divided into two parties. One is bitter against Russia and +claims the delivery and punishment of Y.-Yung-Yk, on whom all the +Imperial confidence and favours are bestowed at this moment. Another +party is in favour of him and Russia. The former is for Japan--but there +is no party to support their own country, to work for its independence, +and to secure its freedom. There seem to be very few Koreans for Korea. + + + + +XI + +TOKIO + + +As the train stops at the terminus of Shimbashi, I can scarcely realize +that I have reached the capital of beautiful Japan. The huge station is +one of the most commonplace erections I have ever come across in my long +journeys. Platforms, booking offices, waiting rooms, are perfect copies +of all that the Western mind has produced to be useful, but from an +artistic point of view featureless and colourless. And even the crowd, +which bustles along and overflows the whole place, is as drab as it +could be in any commercial centre on our side of the globe. Even those +who still cling to the national _kimono_, instead of keeping to the old +bright colours, have it made of dark cloth or modern cotton material. As +I step out into the street my disappointment is even greater. I see a +few buildings constructed of wood, without any ornamentation, the +unpainted timber grey and weather-beaten. + +I must say the day is very much against the creation of a favourable +impression. It is a cold January morning, gloomy and dark, sleet +falling from leaden clouds, and the streets are thickly covered with +black mud. I can almost imagine myself in the suburbs of Pittsburg, for +there is a great deal of smoke, the only apparent difference being that +steel is replaced mostly by timber. As my jinrickshaw rolls along +through the maze of wide streets and narrow lanes, I do not feel elated. +My extraordinary vehicle, which is drawn by two men harnessed tandem +fashion and pushed by another, has, however, an Eastern flavour, though +the 'rickshaw was actually invented by an Anglo-Saxon genius. + +During the first weeks of my stay I visited all the ancient monuments, +temples, and pagodas, and all the usual haunts of the traveller. There +are some fine specimens of Japanese art, though they cannot be compared +to the buildings of the smaller cities. I come from Nara and Kyoto, and +this may be one of the reasons that everything is so far below my +expectations. Some of the temples are certainly large, and one or two +pagodas quaintly designed, many of the carvings being elaborate. But +even the best specimens can only be classed as decorative art. Among +them all, the most noteworthy examples of Japanese architecture are the +temples dedicated to the memory of the Sh[=o]guns. The decoration of the +inner halls is sometimes exquisite, the beams and friezes being +beautifully worked. Bronzes, finely cast, magnificently finished, make +the interiors delightful. I specially admired the specimens of +lacquer-work I saw in the course of my rambles. Nearly all the temples +had panels, doors, chests, boxes, utensils, and odds and ends of +exceptional beauty. It takes a long time for a Western eye to appreciate +fully the real qualities of good lacquer; but when once it has been +trained it will always put their lacquer-work foremost among the +artistic productions of this people next to bronzes, if not before them. +The industry still survives in full vigour, and I saw several specimens +which came very near those in the carefully guarded collection of Nikko. +I also saw many fine bronzes, though their beauty is often depreciated +by the too-great elaborateness of the design. Old national armour is to +be found in many of the temples and collections of the capital, but, +though most beautiful, it is not yet in much demand in the bric-a-brac +market. + +But I have come to the conclusion that the real charm of ancient Yeddo +must have lain more in nature than in art, in its bright suburbs, +evergreen groves, wistaria-covered arbours, and chrysanthemum gardens; +nature in her exuberance, in her spring bloom, or the varied tints of +autumn intermingled with arched bridges, carved balustrades, and flights +of steps, relieved by art. Monuments in Japan seem to serve above all as +a foreground to a fine view: the most conspicuous towers, ex-voto +lanterns, or finest "tories," acquire an artistic value more from their +surroundings than from their intrinsic worth. The way in which the +monuments are placed, the effect they give to the landscape, and +especially the view to be seen from them, are the main points of +interest. I am sorry that books written on Japanese art generally fail +to perceive its real value, and point out merits it does not possess. It +is particularly the imagination that ought to be dwelt on; not merely +the handiwork, but the conception of the brain. Shrines, kiosks, +pagodas, may sometimes be very primitive, but in the imagination of the +artist they represented fairy buildings. It is the same with their tiny +little gardens, or dwarf woods. Though they are in reality minute, they +grow in the owners' minds to veritable parks or virgin forests. Some of +the so-called Imperial palaces around Nikko are most humble abodes, +surrounded by a little strip of land. Katsura-no-Rikyu Palace, for +instance, consists simply of a few planks nailed together, forming a +kind of log house of one storey, a few feet square, and divided in the +interior by partitions or the so-called sliding screens. Certainly it is +no palace; it can scarcely be called a house. It is literally a shed +roofed with bamboo and thatch,--nothing more. And yet the followers of +the imaginative school of aesthetics saw it with different eyes. To them +it represented what their fancy imagined, not what they saw in reality, +and the little open space before the building, which, with the best will +in the world, can only be called a gravel yard, dotted with unhewn +stones, was to them the illimitable surface of the ocean, the scattered +blocks so many islands and continents. In the corner stands a little +estrade of bamboo, where the Mikado and his chosen friends used to sit +in deep contemplation before the elaborate world of their fancy, and +enjoy the passive happiness of the Zen doctrine. + +It would interest me to treat this subject most explicitly, and to deal +with Japanese art from a psychological point of view; to consider not +merely the objects it has created, but rather the mind and genius which +have been manifested in its different creations; to deal more at length +with the founders and pupils of the famous masters' schools of Nara and +Kyoto, and to explain where their real value lies. To discuss the +paintings, statuary, and architecture, the refinement of their +watercolours, which can only be called sketches, small bronzes and jade +or stone figures, the netsukes on masks, makimonos, "tories" and +pagodas, would afford to our matter-of-fact appreciation an opportunity +of realizing more fully the strength of their imagination. The average +European generally admires in Japanese work the finish of detail, +elaborateness of execution, and the patience of labour, applied to its +object. He pays high prices for the workman's skill and manual +dexterity, but seems to be quite indifferent to the artist's idea as +such, and the originality of the conception escapes him entirely. + +Yet in the most famous creations of the celebrated aesthetes we are more +struck by the force of their imagination than by the actual work itself. +The _cha-no-yu_ style consisted, as mentioned above with reference to +the Katsura-no-Rikyu Palace, of a few planks, bamboo beams, and thatched +roof, and Kobori Enshu, Nippon's Le Notre, designed his gardens to offer +a panoramic effect more than a place of recreation. It was not the house +nor the grounds in their real grandeur which effected the impression +desired; in fact, it was not reality at all that was before them in its +crude and sometimes primitive material; but the suggestiveness of log +house and gravel yard, which developed in their vivid fantasy into +enchanted palace and fairy land. Men retiring from active life; generals +crowned with many victories; distinguished, even abdicating Mikados, +secluded themselves in different rural retreats to enjoy, after the +struggles of life, perfect peace. They led a life of their own, an +existence not so much of active reality as of passive contemplation, in +which they discussed different ideas and strove for new ideals. They +invented an artificial life of artistic refinement, admiring for days +together a single work of art or a flower in full bloom, inhaling choice +aromas and smelling exquisite perfumes. And stately processions were +organized to go and partake of afternoon tea in a summer-house, where +every movement was prescribed by strict etiquette, and where the handing +and receiving of the cup were attended by fastidious courtesies, and the +making of the beverage of a special green leaf, pounded to powder, and +poured out of a black earthen pot, was an occupation requiring several +hours. The tea ceremonies have often been described; there is a whole +literature at our disposal, in which the regulations respecting these +proceedings are put down with the authority of a code. But what is far +more interesting than the description of the elaborate ceremonies is the +problem of how the mind of the people could have manifested itself in +such a complex and, to us, incomprehensible way. We shall never fully +realize how these men could have sat on the _Tsuki-mi-dai_, the bamboo +dais, for hours, watching the moon rising behind the meadows, gazing at +the scene before them, lost in the intricacy of their contemplation. And +we shall never understand their thoughts as we shall never realize the +world as seen from a Tsuki-mi-dai. + +Is it astonishing if, in their imagination, reality and fiction became +"confusion worse confounded," huts grew to palaces, the single stones to +islands, and, finally, they built up a world of their own? As children +gazing at clouds give full play to their fancy, so did they see in the +external world what really existed only in their inner consciousness. +The explanation of many of those vagaries lies in the strength of their +fantasy, the vividness of their illusions; but we might go even further +and justly say that one of the strongest qualities of the nation is the +strength of their imagination. With them fiction almost becomes reality, +fancies acquire positive values, and subjective sensations are allowed +to act upon the objective world. Any one who is interested in +metaphysical questions will be struck by this trait, not only in their +art, but in every incident of their existence. Whether in the past or +present, it will strike us as one of the main characteristics of the +Japanese, and, turning over the pages of their long history, it is one +of the prevailing features. It was a potent factor, which gave strength +to their convictions and endurance to their arms. In fact, their whole +ancient moral code and their laws of chivalry were based on the same +principle. The two qualities which inspire sincere admiration all over +the world--their great loyalty to the sovereign and boundless +patriotism--are emanations of the same disposition. In fact their +greatest achievements were carried out under the influence of some +abstract conception and brought to success by a national or ethical +ideal. + + +II + +If the artistic colouring of Tokio has faded away for ever, its present +aspect is marked by the evidences of practical life, and if one's first +impression is one of general disappointment, the second is one of deep +interest. We soon realize that the capital of Japan has ceased to be a +mere bazaar, full of glitter, where all the toys and fancies of the East +have been stored to make a pleasant resort for the Western traveller. It +is a place of hard work, for the accomplishment of serious aims. + +Though my expectations in visiting the old monuments were not fulfilled, +and, as I said before, from an antiquarian and artistic standpoint the +town failed to satisfy me, I became daily more deeply interested in the +busy life and commercial enterprise of modern Nippon. Workshops, +manufactories, banks, insurance offices, are increasing rapidly in +number. The electric and steam companies, railways and shipping, +telegraph and telephone companies, have developed in a most astounding +manner. If we consider that the railway was only introduced into the +country in 1872, for the short distance from Tokio to Yokohama, which +was followed by another short line in 1876 from Kobe to Kyoto, and the +first long line connecting the two capitals was opened in 1890, it is +even more astonishing to see what has been done in the succeeding ten +years. To-day railways have been laid all over the country, and all the +main cities are connected by direct lines. To give an idea of this rapid +development, I may refer to the fact that in 1887 there were 580 miles +open for traffic, and in 1899 there were 3421 miles. Besides the +Government railways a great many private companies have been formed. +About thirty years after the commencement of Japan's new era, the +Government lines extended to 833 miles, including 60 miles in Formosa, +and the routes still under construction 1250. There were forty-four +private companies as well, with a capital of 228 million yen. The +rolling stock of the Government railways amounted to about 1500 +locomotives, 5000 cars, and 18,000 goods wagons. Among private lines the +Nippon Tetsudo is the most important; it is about 1000 miles long. The +next in importance are the Kiushiu and Sanyo railways. To-day it is +possible to go from the north end of the country to the south, a +distance of 1400 miles. The only interruption on the whole track is the +Straits of Moji, where there is still a ferry, but this, it is said, +will probably be replaced by a steel bridge, such as that over the +Forth. The greater part of the rolling stock is manufactured at home, +only wheels and axles being imported to any great extent from abroad. + +The first telegraph line was installed in 1869 by English engineers. In +1877 all the foreign employes had been replaced by natives, and ten +years later Japan joined the International Telegraph Union. In 1891 the +Government purchased from the Great Northern Telegraph Company, with +great strategical foresight, and took into its own hands, all the cables +forming a direct connexion with Korea. The telegraph offices are not far +off 2000 in number, and the length of the wires is close on 30,000 +kilometres. The number of internal messages amounts to 16 millions, and +of international messages to about 300,000. The longest main line is +from Tokio to Nagasaki--877 kilometres. There are several thousands of +employes, and in many places bicycles are used for delivering the +telegrams. + +The telephone in Japan is more common than in any other country in the +world, except perhaps Norway. Besides the Government and public +telephone offices, nearly every large commercial house, and most private +homes, have telephones. + +The establishment of the electric system of illumination has become most +popular in the smallest villages, and forlorn hamlets are lighted by +electricity. + +Steam navigation companies are numerous. Besides local companies running +small steamers in the larger bays and inland seas, there are several +companies for international commerce. Among all these companies the most +important is the Nippon Yusen Kaisha. It is the pride of modern Japan, +and I quite agree that there are very few enterprises in the shipping +line which could surpass it in size and excellence of organization. To +quote from their annual report, which will be of interest as giving an +idea of the success they have achieved: "With a capital of 22 million +yen, establishing regular steamship services all over the world, and +with a fleet of 70 steamers aggregating 200,000 tons gross, the majority +of them new and provided with every resource for contributing to the +comfort of passengers and every modern facility for the carrying trade, +the Nippon Yusen Kaisha now ranks among the greatest enterprises of the +kind in the world. The regular services maintained by it, independently +of its lines between all the principal ports in Japan, are with China, +Asiatic Russia, the Straits Settlements, India, the Red and +Mediterranean Seas, Europe, Canada, America, and Australia. The Japanese +Diet in 1899 resolved to grant subsidies to the company's European and +American Lines, and thus all foreign and home lines, with but a few +exceptions, have been ordered to run under the mail contract of the +Imperial Japanese Government. The Head Office is in Tokio, and Branch +Offices and Agencies to the number of over seventy, particulars of which +are given elsewhere, are situated at all the ports of call and other +important points. The total number of the Company's employes is about +1200, in addition to about 3500 of crews, firemen, etc." + +This synopsis grows in interest, and is even more surprising when we +consider that the first enterprise in steam navigation was started only +in 1868 between Osaka and Tokio, and in 1880 the Company possessed a +fleet comprising about fifty boats. Skippers, engineers, and all the +chief officers, were Westerners, and nearly all Englishmen. But the +Japanese proved to be apt pupils, and every year a greater number of +foreigners were replaced by natives. To-day there are only the captains +and a few other officers on the international lines who are still +foreigners, but even their days are numbered. + +During my lengthened stay in the Far East, I travelled a great deal on +their lines, crossed the Yellow Sea in several directions, went down +once to Shanghai and once to Hong Kong, made an expedition to the +Philippines and the neighbouring islands, and, finally, made a journey +in one of their largest boats to Australasia; and I can speak of them +with high praise in every respect. Of course, a great many of the boats +are built in England, with all the latest improvements. They have +electric light and ventilators. And if people who are hard to please +sometimes find fault with the _chef's_ department, I think they are +epicures who would make the same objections on all other lines. But +every one unites in praising the general cleanliness on board. + +One of the suburbs of Tokio is almost entirely devoted to shipbuilding, +and on the strand of the large inner bay there are numberless boats in +course of construction, though the most important shipbuilding yards are +in Nagasaki. Tokio itself is the central point of all the most important +commercial enterprises. The national and other banks, railway and +shipping companies, all have their headquarters here. Next the modest, +old-fashioned wooden houses, huge palaces of brick and steel tower +aloft, built on the newest principles of American skyscrapers. I must +confess I don't admire them, and I was sadly disappointed to find such +commonplace and up-to-date erections in the Mikado's capital, where I +expected to be delighted with mysterious pagodas of a romantic age. + +Every day I passed several hours in these huge blocks, and steadily +became more and more interested in Japan's commercial activity. In fact, +since the reorganization of the country on Western principles the +questions of education and commerce are the most pressing of all the +problems with which they are confronted. Since the establishment of the +new era, which opened their once secluded country to the outer world, +transformed their patriarchal system of government into a parliamentary +constitution, and reformed the whole army and effected a complete change +in the juridical system, the national economics and the education of the +rising generation are the riddles to be solved in the future. All the +commercial life gave me a great opportunity of realizing the exceptional +physical capabilities, diligence, and capacity for hard work, displayed +by this people. The number of hours of work an average man can do in the +fields or in the factories greatly exceeds that of the Western races. +And what is even more striking is the great manual skill shown. The +dexterity of a Japanese artisan is too well known to need description, +but what I cannot omit to mention is the rapidity with which they +execute their work; this faculty seems almost instinctive or innate, and +one glance at a model is enough to enable the workman to reproduce the +object with absolute accuracy. Another great advantage possessed by +them is that the necessaries of life are so restricted. The frugal meals +consist merely of a little rice or raw fish; for luxury they have half a +cup of _sakki_ or rice wine, and for recreation and pleasure an +afternoon walk in the flowering orchards or cherry-groves. And if they +have a superfluous coin, they can go to the theatres, where national +epics are performed in the old-fashioned fascinating style, and where a +penny gives admittance from morning to night. Their physical endurance +and freshness of mind are two qualities which contribute to the great +success they have achieved. How long will they be able to preserve them +unspoilt? How long will they be able to guard them from corruption? It +is evident that with a different manner of life they are bound to +undergo a change; with an increase of daily needs, dissatisfaction is +certain to grow. + +Baron Ivasaki, one of Japan's principal financiers, and the leader of +many social enterprises, after his return from a voyage of investigation +round the world, wrote a most interesting paper, not only dealing with +his personal experiences but pointing out possibilities, both of +financial and moral crises that might occur if the country did not unite +to promote, not only commercial and financial endeavour, but a high +moral tone. All good patriots and friends of Japan agree with the author +in this respect. Unquestionably, there is always a great danger when a +nation's ideals become merely material. It is even more disastrous if +its spiritual life threatens to become extinct. One of the causes of +Japan's strength has been her firm belief in her religious, national, +and domestic codes. The great rapidity with which she has adopted +Western civilization might easily have resulted in her acceptance, not +only of our good points, but also of our bad ones. Considering her +marvellous gift of adaptation, the question arises whether this does not +happen sometimes, to the detriment of better judgment. In her great zeal +to advance and to use all Western means, some of her deeper thinkers +begin to realize the dangers which might beset her. The rapid +transformation of the old social order must develop by gradation to +avoid fresh revolutions, and to spread over the whole country. It is not +enough for her to accept merely the technical side of Western +civilization, she must understand and be fully convinced by its moral +and spiritual principles. The nations of Europe may belong to different +denominations, but their mind and soul are imbued by the higher laws of +Christianity. Baron Ivasaki, in his articles, points out with great +foresight that it is not enough for his countrymen's future greatness +and happiness to improve materially, if there is not a corresponding +moral elevation. + +It becomes evident that the most important question of the day is that +of education. During my prolonged stay in the capital I visited a great +many schools and colleges. Besides the well-equipped Government Primary +Schools I saw many Grammar and High Schools, Public and Private +Colleges, and Missionary Establishments. Public instruction, as a rule, +is very satisfactory. The teaching of foreign languages, and especially +of technical knowledge, is quite surprising, and the examinations in +these subjects have the best results. Education, as such, is less +successfully carried out; the chief defect of our Western system of +devoting itself exclusively to the imparting of knowledge, to the +detriment of the formation of character and the arming of the child for +the battle of life, more from a moral than from a material standpoint, +is also the drawback of this country. Among Tokio's scholastic +foundations the University is the most important. To give an epitome of +its history:-- + +[Illustration: THE STATE EXAMINATION HALL AT PEKIN "The students are +secluded for several days in the small cells, while the professors watch +from the tower" To face page 292] + +"The germ of this institution was the _Bansho Shirabejo_, or 'Place for +the Examination of Barbarian Writings,' founded by the Tokugawa +Government in 1856. Seven years later, this name was altered to that of +_Kaisei-jo_, or, 'Place for Developing and Completing,' which indicated +a change for the better in the views held by the Japanese as to the +value of European learning. Numerous other modifications have taken +place, both in the name and scope of the institution, which since 1881 +has been placed on a thoroughly modern footing, and now includes +colleges of Law, Medicine, Engineering, Literature, Science and +Agriculture, where lectures are delivered by a large staff of professors +of various nationalities and in various languages. The students number +over 2700. The courses that attract most students are those of Law, +Medicine, and Engineering. A large hospital connected with the +University stands in the same grounds. Other institutions under the +authority of the President of the University are the Botanical Gardens +in the district of Koishikawa, and the Tokio Observatory at Ligura." + +It is a large establishment, covering a huge area of park-like ground, +dotted with long red brick piles. Different faculties occupy separate +buildings, and if not picturesque, they are well adapted to their +function. The library is especially fine, very well equipped, and +cleverly organized. It interested me to observe that whenever I came the +large reading-room was always filled with students, and it afforded a +good opportunity of watching the keenness with which they pursue their +studies. I made acquaintance with several of the leading professors, +some of whom are Western. They all assisted me very kindly in my +investigations. The statements of Professor von Koerber, who is the +teacher of the history of modern philosophy, were of especial value. To +judge the mental capacity of the rising generation, it is essential to +see how metaphysical questions appeal to them, and, as I perceived, they +were more prone to accept theories which appealed to their great +imaginative qualities than to draw abstract conclusions by the medium of +purely logical deductions. They prefer Schopenhauer to Kant, Plato to +Aristotle, and so it will be easy to comprehend the unquestionable +influence which the modern evolutionist school exerts over the mind of +young Japan. + +Another institution of great importance is the Government Printing +Office, the so-called _Insatsu Kyoku_, its scope including much besides +printing, the paper currency of the country being manufactured here too. +The offices are marvellously equipped, but the skill of the workmen is +even more marvellous. The reproduction of different old prints, +etchings, and watercolours by mechanical means, is a triumph of art, and +the _editions de luxe_ of the old Japanese masters are unique in their +way. As I said before, manual skill and the faculty of copying are +national gifts, and, during my repeated visits to workshops, factories, +and builders' yards, it was these characteristics which most impressed +me. I returned frequently to the new Commercial Museum, where there is +such a good opportunity given to judge what Japan's commercial +production will be in the future. There are already several branches in +which they run us very close, if they don't surpass us. In the +production of cheap articles they are certainly already ahead, and +common calico and cotton goods have not only replaced the European +supply for the requirements of the country, but they almost monopolize +the market of Korea, and export a great deal to China and Eastern Asia. +Cheap china is manufactured to a great extent also, and so are cloth, +felt, and leather goods of all kinds. In the Museum there are specimens +of the different home industries, and if the quality leaves something to +be desired, and does not promise to be very durable, the prices are so +low that the customer can afford to purchase, as all Orientals like to +do, something new constantly. Unquestionably within a very short time +Tokio's and Osaka's large firms will be the great competitors of +Birmingham and Manchester, and the European trade in the East will be +mostly secured by Japan. + +In speaking of Tokio's noteworthy establishments, I finish, where I +might have begun, with the Arsenal, where the famous _San-ju-nen Shiki_, +Japan's victorious weapon, is manufactured. Arms, guns, soldiering and +fights are out of my sphere, but I could not help observing the +up-to-date character of Tokio's military equipment. Not only do the +barracks bear witness to perfect order and cleanliness, but the military +schools and training establishments are well organized and demand hard +work in every respect. Soldiers and officers impress us equally by their +neatness and perfect turn-out and their spirit of discipline; and still +more impressive are the extraordinary vivacity and unceasing activity +which they display. Their endurance and capacity for work are, I think, +unsurpassed by any other army. + +[Illustration: SHRINES AT NIKKO "To conjure up the past or to recall +bygone traditions, one ought to linger in Nara's sacred groves and +Nikko's hidden shrines" To face page 296] + +Finally, if I were asked to enumerate the interesting sights of Tokio, +or to give advice what to see, and especially how to see Tokio, I should +to a certain extent deviate from the generally adopted plans of the +guide-books. Instead of drawing attention to the past, I would deal more +with the present; instead of describing the monuments of bygone ages +only, I would point out the modern institutions of the capital; instead +of dreaming in the old cemeteries of the Shoguns and Ronins, I would +awaken some interest in schools, factories, and barracks. In fact, +instead of dwelling on what is dead, I would study what is to be born +and what is already alive. And so the first disappointment of missing +the expected gay fairyland will turn into interest in serious reality. +Thus travellers would derive greater benefit and waste less time, if +they were prepared at the outset for Tokio, not as it may once have been +and as we still imagine it from description, but as it has developed in +the last quarter of a century. To conjure up the past or to recall +bygone traditions, one ought to linger in Nara's sacred groves and +Nikko's hidden shrines; but on arrival in Tokio and Osaka, one is +awakened to the reality of modern times, and dreams are bound to give +place to the hard work of life. After the first disappointment caused by +the capital's inartistic and rather incoherent aspect of today, one +cannot fail to be impressed by the activity of its inhabitants; and the +repugnance roused by its prosaic outlook, where new and old mingle +indiscriminately, once overcome, one begins to understand and appreciate +the indefatigable labour by which all this change has been achieved. + +I would advise my friends, if they can do so, to choose a favourable +season for visiting Tokio. If possible, they should arrive in the middle +of the spring, when the magnificent forests and shady groves are in +foliage, when the orchards are in bloom, and the flower-gardens most +luxuriant; or in the autumn, when the leaves begin to turn, when the +maples glow like fires on the hillsides, and the sea-breeze scatters the +yellow leaves of the birch in golden showers. To stay there during the +months when the beauty of nature is at its zenith, and by its marvellous +harmony of colour and outline, which is, after all, Japan's main beauty, +makes one forget what time has destroyed and civilization ruined, and +recompenses one for many charms vanished for ever. At this time of the +year the different suburbs offer delightful retreats for the traveller's +leisure hours. And some of the old monuments, even though they be not +works of art of great value, yet, surrounded as they are by rich +vegetation, present a perfect _tout ensemble_. To those who have the +privilege of entering the Mikado's palace, and perchance obtain an +invitation to the celebrated Imperial chrysanthemum festival, the beauty +of the grounds at this season will compensate for the modesty of the +buildings and the simplicity of the interior; and though the brilliant +hues of the courtiers' embroidered kimonos are replaced by black +frock-coats, the chrysanthemums are still gorgeous and dazzling. + +[Illustration: DELIGHTFUL SCENERY "When the magnificent forests and +shady groves are in foliage" To face page 298] + +I can't help repeating with emphasis my advice to take interest in +life's more serious factors. As soon as possible after arrival, observe +and study, whenever there is a chance, the daily routine of one of the +most advancing young countries which unfolds before the visitor. Do not +restrict your visits merely to sights; besides museums inspect some +schools, and instead of hunting up pagodas of little artistic value, +see some of the workshops. In particular, look carefully at the work, as +such, and form your conclusions from your personal experience. And I +would counsel the getting of introductions to managers of large firms, +to the directors of railway and shipping companies; in fact, to all the +leaders of Tokio's various social movements. Call on the different +ministries, and do not omit to make the acquaintance of the chiefs of +the numerous political parties, whom you will find marvellously well +informed on political matters, and generally very interesting. And +witness some of the sittings of Parliament and a few public assemblies +and meetings of shareholders. In short, my last word of advice would be, +do not go with the idea of idling, but of studying, in Tokio; and in +this case you may not think it pretty, but unquestionably you will +realize that it is one of the most interesting cities in the whole wide +world. + +If Japan has proved herself a very clever scholar of the West, the West +on its side can learn a great deal today from Japan. In this respect we +could not find a better object-lesson than the Imperial capital, Tokio. + + + + +XII + +THE EMPEROR AND EMPRESS OF JAPAN AT THE YEDDO PALACE + + +It is snowing. The white flakes fall persistently, and are driven round +and round in whirlwinds. Looking out of my window the landscape is cold +and dreary. The large square roofs of the houses and the trees are +covered with a heavy white mantle. + +In no direction can a single soul be seen. It is as if the whole town +and the inhabitants had gone into their winter sleep; all is silent and +dead under Nature's immaculate pall. I can scarcely believe that I am in +the Land of the Rising Sun; it is so difficult to realize that this +snowed-in city is the capital of Japan, as colour and glitter form the +two main features in our primary conception of Nippon's Island. + +We expect to see the brilliant shades of the bright pictures and rich +embroideries and heavy silks of Japan even more brilliant under the +beams of this Eastern sun, as it is represented on the national flag. + +[Illustration: STREET IN JAPAN "I never saw more poles and beams and +masts of different height piercing the sky" + +To face page 300] + +The European hopes to find Japan above all an Asiatic, even an exotic +country. He wants something like the bazaars of Cairo or Ceylon's +palm-groves, tropical like the wildernesses of Java, and ever-blooming +like Burmah's gardens. Arriving at Tokio, disappointment in this respect +is general, for Tokio is neither bright nor artistic. In fact, the +capital of Japan is one of the most colourless and prosaic places on the +globe. + +Its buildings are nearly all of logs of wood--planks nailed to each +other--without any external ornamentation; to commend their style or +taste is impossible, for most of the houses have not even an attractive +appearance. The old pagodas and the historic temples make an exception +to the general rule, but their number is limited, and they are hidden by +the groves of centuries. + +The general impression of the town is monotonous, and what makes it even +more so is that the houses are, as a rule, only one storey high, and the +unpainted wood they are constructed of assumes in time a weather-beaten +hue; in fact, the outline is only broken by an innumerable number of +telegraph-poles. I never saw more poles and beams and masts of different +height piercing the sky. + +I was rather sorry to have such a cold morning for the day of the +audience graciously accorded to me by the Emperor. I must confess that I +should have preferred a warm, bright day in the late spring, when +everything is in blossom, every corner full of flowers, and Japan looks +more as it is pictured on its rich screens and artistic fans. + +It is still quite early when the large, heavy barouche belonging to our +legation comes to fetch me, and the two strong, well-bred, native horses +have hard work to get through the snow-covered streets. Our way is +uninteresting; the thoroughfares are too wide altogether, and the small +houses on both sides are dwarfed and insignificant. + +But we also pass some large modern buildings, American brick-and-steel +erections. These are public offices and banks, and make a rather +unpleasant contrast in the calm scenery. For some time we skirt a large +canal partly frozen over; this forms the outer moat of the Imperial +castle. + +We stop before a large gate. It is opened at once, and a detachment of +small but well-set-up Japanese soldiers present arms. Next comes a +bridge, a new stone construction, ornamented with huge candelabra, +without much architectural beauty, and without any Japanese flavour. But +it leads to a magnificent avenue of cryptomerea, each tree a giant, and +all of them of venerable age, their trunks covered with dark moss, and +their foliage forming an emerald arch--emerald set in crystals, for +their branches are heavily laden with frost. + +The avenue looks like a corner of the famous Tokaido highway, the +Japanese main artery for centuries, where the whole country +wandered--rich and poor, mighty and humble, from Kioto to Tokio, from +the Mikado's to the Shogun's Court, the Daimios with their retinues in +gold and silver; where, too, all the warriors rode in their rich armour, +and all the troops marched to war, or home to rest; where all the +pilgrims walked to the famous shrines of Nara and Nikko. + +This avenue, leading to the palace, affords compensation for all the +inartistic streets outside the walls. I am even glad that it is covered +with snow, and that its sole inhabitants are a few gardeners shovelling +the ice aside. The dark trees and the white snow, and these few men clad +in straw capes looking very much like the back of a porcupine, and +wearing hats like flat tea-trays, are so original and so typical. At +last I have a real Japanese picture before me, and not one of those we +get at home highly coloured and made partly for the cheap Western +markets, but a picture full of harmony in an artistic setting, like one +of those famous Kakomenos in black and white by the most celebrated +disciples of the great Kano school. + +A sharp turn brings us to an open space, and the palace is in front of +us. + +I am afraid "palace" is not the right expression, as it looks from the +outside like a large Indian bungalow. It is only one storey high, +mainly constructed of wood and beams, scarcely ornamental, and covered +with a sloping roof of indifferent tiles. There is nothing striking +about it, nothing that would attract attention, nothing that is at all +imposing; it looks comfortable and nothing more. + +The carriage stops before a flight of steps leading to a simple but +spacious ante-room. There is a large table on which are the Imperial +visiting-books, a few chairs; round the room stand some servants, +dressed in ordinary French livery. I am shown through a long corridor, +which is Japanese in character. It has no furniture at all; the beams +are carved, and if not imposing are perfect in detail. The large +drawing-room, where we sit down, is entirely modern. + +The furniture is such as you would see anywhere in Europe, and specially +in America--rich, but without any special style or individuality, the +only exceptions being a fine cabinet of priceless old lacquer ware, and +a large golden screen ornamented with an enormous dragon and signed +"Kano Montonabu." + +[Illustration: THE TOKAIDO "The avenue looks like a corner of the famous +Tokaido highway" To face page 304] + +I was rather sorry that the decorations of the whole room did not adhere +to the national taste. I should have liked to banish every gilded +bracket and velvet lounge, and restore it to its original +simplicity--such simplicity as is to be found in the Katsura Palace at +Kioto. + +The Emperor is a late riser, and until he is ready Baron S----a keeps me +company. He speaks perfect English, having studied in England for many +years; and, even more, he married an English lady whose house has become +the meeting-place of all Western and local celebrities. + +It is a charming villa, looking very much like an English cottage, and +overlooking one of the prettiest corners of the Bay of Tokio; full of +English books and Japanese art treasures--English comfort and Japanese +taste--it is one of those homes that one remembers with pleasure, and +looks forward to seeing again. + +The Baron is certainly a most accomplished Master of Ceremonies; he has +all the gentleness of old Japanese manners, and all the culture of +Japanese civility, and performs his somewhat tedious duties as if they +gave him a personal pleasure. + +There are several other gentlemen in attendance--the Lord Chamberlain, +also a few A.D.C.'s and chamberlains-in-waiting. They are all wearing +Court dresses of dark blue, or of red with gold lace. + +His Majesty receives me in his private apartment, whither I am escorted +through endless passages. The nearer we get, the colder is the +temperature. All the reception-rooms are heated with water-pipes to suit +Western taste, but in the Imperial rooms there are only old-fashioned +braziers. The reception-room is small, typically Japanese, has no +windows, but only sliding screens, and is denuded of all furniture. The +Mikado is standing in the centre, and for the occasion is wearing the +uniform of a general of his army, consisting of a dark blue tunic, and +even darker red trousers; and as a kind attention he wears the +diamond-set star of St. Stephen, first King of Hungary. He is surrounded +by his staff and several A.D.C.'s, and throughout, the formalities are +carried out with perfect Court ceremonial. + +His Majesty shakes hands in a military fashion and at once puts me at my +ease by asking questions. First, he wants to hear about my country and +our venerable monarch. + +"When did you leave home?" "How is His Majesty, your benevolent +sovereign?" "By what route did you come out?" "Did you find the Siberian +line comfortable?" "Prince Katsura came from King Edward's Coronation by +the same line, and enjoyed his journey very much. Your journey through +this region which is so little known must have interested you." "How +long did the last part of your journey through Manchuria take, and what +were your experiences like in Korea?" "It must be most interesting +coming from Europe to see such entirely different countries and +people." "I hope your experiences have been satisfactory." "I wish you +to see as much in Japan as you think would be of interest to you. As you +may observe, we are working very hard, and we try to adopt in many +respects the main features of Western civilization and ideas. I am glad +to hear you are interested in education. I dare say you liked our +University library and the new printing establishments; you ought to see +some of the provincial towns, too, and the commercial activity carried +on in some of them. Don't omit to see Osaka; I am going myself next +month, so I hope I may meet you there again." + +Commercial and economic questions evidently interested His Majesty, who +was taking a very active part in the arrangements for the Exhibition at +Osaka, which was about to be opened. And he spoke about many other +questions regarding the country and its development. + +The Emperor detained me for an unusual length of time, and seemed to be +interested in all the different matters that formed the subject of our +conversation. It must be rather difficult for a sovereign who is brought +up from birth within these palace walls to realize the outer world, and +it must be even more so to get an insight into human nature, meeting it +only at official receptions. + +Before I left a message came from Her Majesty the Empress, expressing a +wish to receive me too. Her apartments are in an adjoining wing. Her +boudoir is ornamented in the French style, and her windows overlook a +small Japanese garden. Her dress was of Western fashion too, rather +elaborate for that early hour of the day, but in good taste. Her two +ladies-in-waiting were clad in the same fashion. + +At the first glance I understood the Empress's great popularity. Her +gentleness and kind heart are visible in her glance in an exceptional +way. There is something very small and fragile about her. She looks +rather delicate, and her pale features wear an expression of sadness +which cannot fail to impress. She seems, besides being kindly disposed +and benevolent by nature, to have had sorrows like most other human +beings, and this feature, shared in common by owners of palaces and of +hovels, makes her very human, and very sympathetic. She has led, in her +vast palace and high position, a rather solitary life, and solitude +gives time for thought, and to ponder deeply on the problems of our +destinies. Nobody could better understand this spirit of abnegation for +the sake of a higher ideal than Her Majesty. Indeed woman's devotion of +herself to the good of her family has always been as much praised in +Japan as man's loyalty to his country. The paramount qualities of the +female side of this nation are not yet known by the world at large, and +are very often misjudged by those who have passed through Nippon's +island. But all those who have stayed for some length of time, +especially the members of the Missions, speak with great respect of +their qualities and virtues, and particularly of the marvellous sense of +duty and spirit of self-sacrifice of the daughters for their parents, of +the wives for their husbands, and of the mothers for their sons. + +Our conversation was mainly about abstract questions, family life, +education, charitable works, hospitals, orphanages, and homes. She is +patroness of the Red Cross Society of Japan, and listened with great +interest to my account of the work carried on by the Sisters of Charity, +and in the different institutions under the Archbishop's care. Her +sympathy can do a great deal, and I hope she will use it in favour of +this great work, carried out with such apostolic zeal for the benefit of +the sick and forlorn orphans, to save the children's lives, and to nurse +the lepers and the incurables, whatever the cost and sacrifice. + +She went into all kinds of details, and asked hundreds of questions +about these poor little mites, and exhibited that interest which only a +woman can when she is talking about children. It seemed to appeal to her +heart, and she repeatedly expressed her gladness at having had the +opportunity of hearing about the good work carried on by our church. + +I left the room full of the hope that her noble kindness might prove to +be a support to this little fraction of her needful subjects. + +As a special favour, I was shown over all the different apartments. We +went through the state rooms and inner apartments, walked through +endless corridors, and viewed the numerous art treasures. There is an +extraordinary mixture in taste of West and East, but there is no doubt +that the supremacy belongs to the latter, for what is Japanese is really +fine. + +All the long dadoes are carved elaborately and of exquisite workmanship, +and the fretted ceilings are charming in design and colouring. They are +as a rule of dark beams, framing gilt grounds; the carving and bronze +casts are finely executed. + +We finished our wanderings in a delightful little garden, which is +Japanese indeed in the highest degree. There is a tiny pond, no larger +than a good-sized basin, surrounded by a rockery imitating Fuji; and +across an almost imaginary stream a few inches wide is thrown a wooden +bridge. Everything is minute: even the little rustic summer-house is no +larger than that of a doll. It is a Lilliputian world of its own. Even +the trees are dwarfs; but the Japanese imagination makes everything +large. + +If any one is interested in the Japanese mind and its imaginative +qualities, the best fields of study are some of these famous gardens +laid out by the great aesthetes of the seventeenth and eighteenth +centuries; men of undoubted refinement and culture, some being statesmen +retired from the excitement of political life, and many Mikados seeking +rest in solitude, after the glitter and pomp of the Court. + +Their gardens simply consisted of a few square yards of ground, +surrounded by a plain bamboo hedge, a log house built of a few planks, +and consisting of two rooms, with gravel scattered before the doorways, +and a few tiny bushes growing round. Small and simple, I dare say +primitive to European eyes, but to a Japanese mind these shrubs +represent a virgin forest, the log house is a palace, the gravel court +unlimited sea, and the stepping-stones so many islands. + +With their love of artistic refinement and elaborate civilization, they +look through the shades of broken prisms, and scent perfumes of +different compositions, and build up a whole imaginary world of dainty +colours and exquisite odours. But who, coming from the West, would ever +understand any of these details of an historical past and ancient +customs and strange manifestations of national culture? + +And who, returning from one of these gardens, so full of reminiscences +of old Japan, to the modern streets, would understand how the new towns +are being built up of brick and steel, and how the whole nation is +changed by hard work and boundless energy? + +And above all, who can at this moment explain or understand all the +progress of modern Japan and fully realize all its future importance? + +[Illustration: A TYPICAL NIPPON BUILDING Small and simple, I dare say +primitive to European eyes, but to a Japanese mind the log house +represents a palace" To face page 312] + + + + +XIII + +JAPAN AND CHINA ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY + + +I + +JAPAN + +The question of the Yellow Peril has once again come to the front +through the recent East-Asiatic war. The unprecedented success of Japan, +both by land and sea, has roused universal surprise. When the first news +of victories gained by the small insular power reached Western Europe, +they were received with genuine joy; but as the Japanese advanced on the +mainland of Asia, symptoms of anxiety began to manifest themselves. + +What would happen if they conquered all Eastern Asia, and perhaps +Siberia also? Above all, what would happen if Japan, united with China, +were to overrun the Russian dominions, and one day threaten Central +Europe? Already here and there the sad recollection of the old Tartar +campaigns was being revived; and indeed, why should not a modern, +ambitious commander follow in the wake of his famous predecessor, +Genghis Khan? A modern military genius, a Yellow Napoleon, enjoying +equal popularity and possessing the same magic power, with millions of +money and countless troops at his disposal, might surely become a very +serious and formidable antagonist. But would it be to the interest of +the yellow race to overrun Europe? This problem is yet awaiting its +solution. + +I venture to think that under the present conditions the majority of the +Eastern people have no intention or desire to enlarge their territory +beyond its original borders. If they can only get back what is nominally +theirs--what, not more than half a century ago, was possessed by +them--they will be satisfied. Japan, which is decidedly overpopulated, +and cannot adequately provide for its nearly fifty millions of +inhabitants, dispersed over the various islands, may possibly have an +eye on some of the neighbouring Asiatic coastlands, but for colonizing +purposes is more likely to turn its attention towards the South Sea. And +since the ambition of Japan has been awakened, and its adaptabilities to +modern culture, its unflagging energy, and its admirable military skill, +been developed, there is more possibility that in a remote future Nippon +might make Australasia the Utopia of its colonizing efforts. + +Certain it is that a brilliant future awaits Japan. The land is rich, +and its position, between Eastern Asia and Western America, most +advantageous, both from an economic and from a strategic point of view. +The people are healthy, strong, industrious, and possess in an +extraordinary degree the faculty of assimilation. In this respect, +indeed, Japan is unrivalled by any other race. + +The primary cause of their present marvellous success must +unquestionably be sought in this faculty of assimilation and in the +power of discipline--in the wonderful ease wherewith they appropriate +all the acquisitions of the West--the way in which they carry them out. +The second cause of their success is their old military system of +government, which has produced the present-day soldiers. But in order to +grasp thoroughly the situation it is necessary to cast a cursory glance +on the past history of Japan. In doing so we should remember in the +first place that ancient Nippon was built upon the system of vassalage. +The land was divided into principalities of various sizes, at the head +of each of which was a _Daimio_, or vassal chieftain, just as the +empires of the West were formerly protected and ruled over by baronial +chiefs. Feudalism in Europe led to perpetual frontier quarrels and wars, +and this was the case also in Japan. The Daimios were always at enmity +with one another, and their government was a period of petty warfare. + +The military element, therefore, naturally occupied a prominent +position, and just as in Europe the knight became the founder of +_Chivalry_, so in Japan the _Samurais_ established the _Bushido_. And as +the German knight of Chivalry created a legal system called _Club-law_, +for the protection of his own interests, so the soldiers of Japan had +their own military code. The military thus became the privileged class +of society. This caste, with its rigorous rules and external +organization, had a perfectly developed existence, a special moral +standard, and to a certain extent a religion of its own. As the age of +Chivalry was created by the knights of old, so "Bushido," the ethics of +the Samurais, originated in the Land of the Rising Sun. + +To give an exact definition of the word "Bushido" is impossible, because +the conception of it is unknown to us. There are no analogous +circumstances necessitating its existence with us. The idea of chivalry +is the nearest approach to an interpretation of the word, although +literally "Bushido" means "Military manner"--the manner and the way in +which it is the duty of the armed nobility to fight, to live, and to +die. We notice that according to this definition the word includes more +than a mere title; it expresses a whole social system, and regulates +the views and appreciations of life of all its members. + +The description given by Dr. Nitobe enables us to form some idea of +Bushido from a Japanese standpoint. "Bushido is the code of moral +principles which the knights were required or instructed to observe. It +is not a written code; at best it consists of a few maxims handed down +by oral tradition or coming from the pen of some well-known warrior or +savant. More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten, but +impressed on the fleshy tablets of the heart. It was founded, not on the +creation of one brain, however able, or on the life of a single +personage, however renowned. It was an organic growth of decades and +centuries of military career. It perhaps fills the same position in the +history of ethics that the English Constitution does in political +history; yet it has nothing to compare with the Magna Carta or the +Habeas Corpus Act. It is true that early in the seventeenth century +Military Statutes (Buke Hatto) were promulgated, but their thirteen +short articles were taken up mostly with marriages, castles, leagues, +etc., and didactic regulations were but meagrely touched upon. We +cannot, therefore, point out any definite time and place, and say, Here +is its fountain-head. It is not till the feudal age that it attains +consciousness. Its origin, in respect to time, may be identified with +feudalism. But feudalism itself is woven of many threads, and Bushido +shares its intricate nature. As in England the political institution of +feudalism may be said to date from the Norman Conquest, so we may say +that in Japan its rise was simultaneous with the ascendancy of Toritomo +late in the twelfth century. As, however, in England we find the social +elements of feudalism far back in the period previous to William the +Conqueror, so, too, the germs of feudalism in Japan have been long +existent before. + +"Again, in Japan as in Europe, when feudalism was formally inaugurated, +the professional class of warriors naturally came into prominence. These +were known as samurai, meaning literally, like the old English cniht +(knecht, knight), guards or attendants, resembling in character the +soldurii, whom Caesar mentioned as existing in Aquitania. A +Sinico-Japanese class, named Bu-Ke or Bu-Shi (fighting knights), was +also adopted in common use. They were a privileged class, and must +originally have been a rough breed who made fighting their vocation. +Coming to profess great honour and great privileges, and correspondingly +great responsibilities, they soon felt the need of a common standard of +behaviour, especially as they were always on a belligerent footing and +belonged to different clans. + +"'Fair play in fight!' What fertile germs of morality lie in this +primitive sense of savagery and childhood! Is it not the root of +military and civic virtues? We smile (as if we had outgrown it!) at the +boyish desire of the small Britisher, Tom Brown, 'to leave behind him +the name of a fellow who never bullied a little boy or turned his back +on a big one.' And yet, who does not know that this desire is the +cornerstone on which moral structures of mighty dimensions can be +reared? May I not go even so far as to say that the gentlest and most +peace-loving of religions endorses this aspiration? This desire of Tom's +is the basis on which the greatness of England is largely built, and it +will not take us long to discover that Bushido does not stand on a lower +pedestal. If fighting in itself, be it offensive or defensive, is, as +Quakers rightly testify, brutal and wrong, we can still say with +Lessing, 'We know from what failings our virtue springs.' Sneaks and +cowards are epithets of the worst opprobrium to healthy, simple natures. +Childhood begins life with those notions, as does also knighthood; but +as life grows larger and its relations become many-sided, the early +faith seeks sanction from higher authority and more rational sources for +its own justification, satisfaction, and development. If military +systems had operated alone, without higher moral support, how far short +of chivalry would the moral ideal have fallen! In Europe Christianity, +interpreted with concessions convenient to chivalry, infused it +nevertheless with a spiritual ideal. 'Religion, war, and glory were the +three rules of a perfect Christian knight,' says Lamartine." + +Bushido has no written laws; it has been handed down as a tradition from +father to son. Its originator was not a sage like Confucius, not an +ascetic like Buddha; it was the people itself. It is the immediate +expression of past ages, and, as far as man's memory reaches, the +interpreter of the sentiments of victorious warriors. + +With the increasing power of the Samurais grew also the necessity, as +was the case with knighthood, to purify the atmosphere of their +fortresses by self-prescribed rules. And it lies in the natural order of +things, embracing all national codes, that those points should be most +carefully guarded on which the people felt themselves to be weakest. + +The first principle, then, was, Justice to all. The Samurais despise +above all things trickery and deceit, all unfairness. "Adhere inflexibly +to thy principle,"--thus writes a Bushi--"and be ready to die for the +sake of duty; but also be ready to strike and to kill if honour demand +it of thee." And the more the general situation became degenerated, the +more prominent became the letter of this law in the clash of swords. + +The second principle was courage. From his earliest childhood the +Japanese boy was brought up to be a soldier, and in his education many +points remind us of the old Spartan rigour. Often the mother would +admonish a crying child with such words as: "Shame not the honour of thy +family; men of this house have never been known to cry." Or again, she +might stimulate her son's courage by saying: "What wilt thou say when in +battle thou losest arm or leg?" or, "How wilt thou control thy face if +the Emperor should bid thee to cut off thine ears or to perform the +hara-kiri?" To be brave was the aim of every boy, and frequently was he +called upon to prove his courage. He was made to go hungry, to walk +great distances, and in many cases this system of hardening verged on +cruelty. + +On the other hand, the benevolence of the Samurai often degenerated into +sentimentality, and the Bushida-nashake--the warm soldier's heart--has +become proverbial. To render assistance to the weak and helpless was one +of the soldier's paramount duties, and, like the Italian Condottieri and +the knights of the Middle Ages who, although they tyrannized over the +people, were yet anxious to appear civilized and cultured, and were not +blind to their own faults and cruelties, so the Samurais laid special +stress upon the observance of social forms, and taught their boys, +besides the military arts, such accomplishments as poetry, music, and +other fine arts. + +Courteousness became a second nature, and to this day, although it +sometimes may lack sincerity and has in many cases become an empty form, +Japanese politeness always excites the astonishment and admiration of +the foreigner on his first arrival in the land. Nippon society manners +are the most complicated and tedious imaginable. The smallest affairs of +everyday life are circumscribed with the most childish and elaborate +rules. The way to enter a friend's house, how to address him, what to +talk about, everything is carefully prescribed, even the slight +attention of offering the guest a cup of tea amounts to a ceremony, +regulated in its minutest details. The Cha-no-yu (tea-drinking), in +truth, is more than a ceremony, it is a precious tradition, a rite, +illustrating the refinement of taste and the imagination of the people. + +[Illustration: _Copyright, Nops Ltd._ MARSHALL OYAMA To face page 322] + +The third fundamental principle of Bushido is honour; more particularly +expressed in Guai-bun and Men-moku, which form the basis of the +conception of the Samurai. But even the valour of the most heroic +Samurai is as nothing compared to his pride and vanity, and to a certain +extent these two qualities are still striking characteristics of the +nation. Extreme sensitiveness and readiness to take offence are the +unavoidable consequences of such highly developed self-constrictions. +The "affaires d'honneur" of the Latin races, and the often mistaken +chivalry of the German "Junker" are but weak parallels to the +sensitiveness of the Bushi. The hot-blooded Samurai was offended on +every possible occasion, and many an innocent life has been sacrificed +to this intensely developed military pride. + +Whole volumes have been written upon the manner in which these +"questions of honour" should be dealt with, and more than one tragic +page had its comical features also. Thus, for instance, the story is +told of a Busiaki, who killed a peasant for drawing his attention to the +fact that there was an insect on his coat. For, argued the Busiaki, +vermin feed on beasts, and therefore his remark amounts to an insult. +And as the simple peasant was not entitled to give satisfaction for the +supposed offence in any other manner, he had to pay for it with his +life, in order that the honour of the Busiaki might be cleared. This +condition of things might lead also to vengeance and suicide, and the +favourite form of the latter was "hara-kiri," which has attained +world-wide fame. It is suicide by cutting open the abdomen, and this +custom was one of the institutions by which distant Japan has been so +often misjudged. To the European the idea is revolting and sinful, but +the pride and imagination of that far-away people magnified it into a +sublime action. + +The most sympathetic characters in the history of Japan have thus ended +their days, and many popular heroes of national epics thus gave up their +lives. In every Japanese drama there is at least one hero who dies on +the stage in this manner, amid the thundering applause of an +appreciative audience. If not a punishment, the motive for committing +suicide is almost always an exaggerated conception, not of despair, but +of offended dignity or vanity. And like every action of this enigmatical +people, hara-kiri and supuku became in time a ceremony, in which every +detail of the proceedings was carefully formulated. The victim, dressed +in white, and with unmoved countenance, had to perform the operation +with a sharp-edged sword. This formality gone through in the supreme +manner in which Bushido prescribed it, and the personal vanity being +apparently satisfied, the victim seemed not to feel the bodily +suffering, and faced his death with calmness. To realize the pagan +standpoint of hara-kiri I will quote the following lines of the Japanese +author. + +"I do not wish to be understood as asserting religious or even moral +justification of suicide, but the high estimate placed upon honour was +ample excuse with many for taking one's own life. Death involving a +question of honour was accepted in Bushido as a key to the solution of +many complex problems, so that to an ambitious Samurai a natural +departure from life seemed a rather tame affair and a consummation not +devoutly to be wished. I dare say that many Westerners will admit the +fascination of, if not a positive admiration for, the sublime composure +with which Cato, Brutus, Petronius, and a host of other ancient +worthies, terminated their own earthly existence. Is it too bold to hint +that the death of the first of the philosophers was partly suicidal? +When we are told so minutely by his pupils how their master willingly +submitted to the mandate of the state--which he knew was morally +mistaken--in spite of the possibilities of escape, and how he took up +the cup of hemlock in his own hand, even offering libation from its +deadly contents, do we not discern in his whole proceeding and demeanour +an act of self-immolation? No physical compulsion here, as in ordinary +cases of execution. True the verdict of the judges was compulsory; it +said, 'Thou shalt die, and that by thine own hand.' If suicide meant no +more than dying by one's own hand, Socrates was a clear case of suicide. +But nobody would charge him with a crime; Plato, who was averse to it, +would not call his master a suicide. Now, my readers will understand +that hara-kiri, or seppuku, was not a mere suicidal process. It was an +institution, legal and ceremonial. An invention of the Middle Ages, it +was a process by which warriors could expiate their crimes, apologize +for errors, escape from disgrace, redeem their friends, or prove their +sincerity. When enforced as a legal punishment it was practised with due +ceremony. It was a refinement of self-destruction, and none could +perform it without the utmost coolness of temper and composure of +demeanour, and for these reasons it was particularly befitting the +profession of bushi." + +_Kataki-ushi_, or vengeance, is another strong feature of national +feeling. Contrary to the Christian doctrine of forgiveness, the Japan of +olden days endeavoured to exalt the original instinct of human nature, +"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," into a decree. And how deep +this notion has rooted itself into the hearts of the people is best +illustrated by the story of the forty-seven Ronins, which everybody in +Japan knows by heart, and which is the favourite nursery tale of each +Nippon child. + +Simple as the story is, it is very characteristic. A nobleman is +betrayed by his adversary and put to death. Forty-seven of his followers +become bandits and swear to revenge their lord. After many vicissitudes +the object of their revenge falls into their hands and they kill him. +When brought to justice all the forty-seven commit hara-kiri. + +Their graves remain to this day in the grove of Siba, and it is one of +the first places visited by country people who come to Tokio. Devout +hands keep the modest little tombstones supplied with wreaths of fresh +flowers. And thus the forty-seven Ronins have become the most popular +heroes of the nation, because their offence and expiation interpret one +of the most salient features characteristic of the race, which, judged +from a national standard, shines in a different light as we can see from +the following passage:-- + +"We have thus seen the Bushido institution of suicide; we will now see +whether its sister institution of revenge has its mitigating features. I +hope I can dispose of the question in a few words, since a similar +institution--or call it custom, as you will--prevailed among all +peoples, and has not yet become entirely obsolete, as attested by the +continuance of duelling and lynching. Among a savage tribe which has no +marriage, adultery is not a sin, so in a period which has no criminal +court murder is not a crime, and only the vigilant vengeance of the +victim's people preserves social order. 'What is the most beautiful +thing on earth?' said Osiris to Horus. The reply was, 'To avenge a +parent's wrongs.' To which a Japanese would have added 'and a nearer's.' +In revenge there is something which satisfies one's sense of justice. +The avenger reasons: 'My good father did not deserve death--he who +killed him did great evil. My father, if he were alive, would not +tolerate a deed like this. Heaven itself hates wrong-doing. It is the +will of my father, it is the will of heaven, that the evil-doer should +cease from his work. He must perish by my hand, because he shed my +father's blood; I who am his flesh and blood must shed the murderer's. +The same heaven shall not shelter him and me.' The logic is simple and +childish, but it shows an innate sense of exact balance and equal +justice. Our sense of revenge is as exact as our mathematical faculty, +and until both terms of the equation are satisfied we cannot get over +the sense of something undone. Both of these institutions of suicide and +revenge lost their _raison d'etre_ at the promulgation of the criminal +code. The sense of justice satisfied, there is no need of Kataki-uchi. +As to Hara-kiri, though it, too, has no existence _de jure_, we still +hear of it from time to time, and shall continue to hear I am afraid, as +long as the past is remembered." + +In spite of his valour, his passion for war, his thirst for revenge, the +Samurai always preserved in his demeanour the utmost calm. Bushido +ordained that a knight was never to show either joy or anger. And while +remarking that the foreigner in Japan is struck by the often exaggerated +politeness of the people, I should have added that he is certainly no +less impressed by the inexpressiveness of their faces. Whether sad or +joyful, they always wear the same conventional smile, which is sometimes +cold as ice, sometimes nervous, or in cases of strong emotion passes +into subdued laughter; but traces of really deep emotion are never +visible. + +What a Baldasare Castiglione or a Lord Chesterfield attempted to +exemplify in the West, was bred in the blood of these people as the +highest form of good manners. I have seen weddings and witnessed funeral +processions where the family on either occasion wore exactly the same +expression. In emotions of any kind that conventional smile alone +betrays their feelings. + +That same smile is on every countenance at great national festivals. +With that smile wives took leave of their husbands, children of their +fathers, mothers of their sons, when the troops started for the +battle-field. The outward form and expression of it remains the same +always. The face, or rather the mask that is worn on the stage of life, +as in the theatre of ancient Greece, never changes. No matter if the +piece enacted change in its course to be a comedy, tragedy, or a drama. +So it was ordained by the code of Bushido, which, very likely because it +was an unwritten law, came to be all the more binding. + +Bushido thus had its own ethical laws, its own religious tenets. As the +knight of the Middle Ages created his own rules of life for use within +his own turreted stronghold--a code which scarcely held good beyond the +trenches of the castle, but which at the same time he magnified into a +divine law, a "Gottesurtheil"--so also the Samurai created his own +dogmas. + +The basis of his creed is Buddhism mixed with the doctrines of Confucius +and Shintoism, the primitive faith of the nation. Originally this was +nature worship and the cult of the sun, but subsequently it came to be +extended to the person of the Mikado. The Samurai thus elevated his +emperor into a deity, or rather an idol, and the emperor, gradually more +and more isolated from his people, passed his days within the walls of +his palace in a series of ritualistic ceremonies, while the burden of +the government was laid upon the Shogun, who acted at the same time as +Regent and Generalissimo. Loyalty and devotion to their ruler were +exalted into a cult. The person of the Mikado was sacred and inviolable. +Land and people were, so to speak, his personal property, to do with as +he liked. His smallest wish was a command, the blind fulfilment of which +was incumbent upon every citizen of the state. The first petition in the +prayers of the Samurai was always for his emperor, and the second for +his country. And if with us the first gift a child receives is a little +cross, in token of his Christian calling, so the Japanese mother of old +would place a miniature sword by the side of her babe, to show that his +purpose in life was to defend his emperor, his country, and his honour. +At the age of five the soldier's boy would receive as a toy a small real +sword, and at fifteen the Samurai was of age, and from that time he wore +a sharp-bladed weapon. + +The sword represented with them more than a weapon of defence. It was a +precious and symbolic possession. The manner in which it should be worn +was carefully prescribed, and whenever the warrior sat down to his meal +or to rest, his weapon was placed on a tray by his side, and woe to the +person who touched it with his foot! Such an offence could be wiped out +only in blood. + +As a mark of the highest reverence, the Samurai raised his sword to his +brow, and this act, too, was made almost into a solemn rite. Cutlers and +sword-makers occupied a privileged position among the tradespeople, and +in welding the blade, every stroke of the hammer was accompanied by the +repetition of appropriate sayings and heroic devices. And when the sword +was finished, inlaid with gold and silver, in Damascene fashion, sharp +as an arrow, and flexible as a Toledo stiletto, it was, of its kind, a +masterpiece. We may safely assert that neither in painting nor in +sculpture, nor in any branch of industrial art, has Japan ever reached +such a high standard of perfection as in the manufacture of bronzes and +armour. + +The most treasured possession of the Samurai, his pride and his glory, +was his sword. And now, since these weapons have been replaced by Krupp +guns and Maxim bayonets, every Japanese gentleman preserves the sword of +his ancestors as a token of former greatness. + +For times are changed. During the last forty years the feudal system of +Japan has grown into a representative government, and the old +conservative manner of thought and conventions have had to give way to +progressive ideas. In outward form the European system is generally +adopted, although intrinsically many things remain eminently national; +for whether the external form be American or English, the underlying +principle remains national. + +The Japanese are still as determined as of old; their valour is +unchanged; their loyalty undimmed. The grandson of the Samurai of +antiquity still boasts many of the proclivities of his ancestors, and +above all, the moral law of Bushido is still in his blood. The masses +still think as their predecessors thought. It is only in dress and +armament that they have changed: their feelings have remained as of old, +and the same may be said of most of the national institutions, from the +organization of the family to the constitution of the state. What has +changed is the form and the colour; but the work of internal +transformation is left for future generations to accomplish. + +In order rightly to apprehend the present situation of Japan, to explain +the admirable military discipline of the soldiers, to understand why in +their blind devotion to their country they think nothing of sacrificing +thousands of lives, it is necessary to make ourselves acquainted with +the inner workings of the feudal system, the moral basis of their +actions, the principles of Bushido and Samuraism. For it is only by a +full knowledge of all these influences, and the conditions of the past, +that we can arrive at a true understanding of its present strength. + +The life and the death of the forty-seven Ronins may account for the +fixed determination wherewith the troops met their death before the +walls of Port Arthur. Nippon's sons are in the first instance warriors. +They have fought for centuries; they have fought for the honour of their +country, they have shed their blood for the glory of the Mikado, and +with the same stoic determination they now fight to glorify their land. + +To form a better idea of the Japanese army we must indeed bear in mind +the peculiar features embodied in the principle of Bushido and the +Samurais code. Even the true character of the Japanese youths studying +in Western lands and wearing European clothing, can only be adequately +understood by those who have been to a certain extent acquainted with +their fathers. And the same applies to the whole of modern progressive, +fighting Japan; its administration, its state organization, its +politics, its military ambition, its social agitations, its industrial +developments, and the entire transformation of its labour. + +Just as we can only understand the existing condition of the land and of +the people, by studying its evolution in the past, so with regard to its +future development it is only from psychological features that we can +draw definite conclusions. During my stay in Japan I was particularly +interested in collecting data from the personal experiences of those +Europeans who had resided there for many years. Besides the members of +the various European legations it was chiefly the commercial class and +the merchants who furnished me with many valuable details. Daily +intercourse with the different grades of Japanese society has shown me +the life of the people from many varied points of view. Particularly +interesting to me were the experiences of the European teachers attached +to the numerous civil and military schools. They were all unanimous in +praise of their pupils, for their industry and perseverance. + +Like most Asiatics, the Japanese are fond of study and of books in +general, and even the school-children seem to do their lessons with +pleasure. They are quick and sharp, ambitious and untiring in their +zeal. The national inclination of the Japanese tends towards technical +science. Everything practical appeals to them, and even philosophical +problems are looked at from a utilitarian point of view. + +The course of Modern Philosophy at the University of Tokio gave me some +striking illustrations of the manner in which the Japanese look upon the +great thinkers of the West. Upon this point I have dwelt more at large +in another work of mine, and I will therefore only mention here, that as +in science material rather than the moral questions appeal to them, so +in the case of philosophy it is the manner in which Western thought +bears upon the imagination which takes hold of them, more than the way +in which the conclusions are deduced by strictly logical processes. + +But the inner life, the soul of the nation, is unquestionably best known +to the missionaries who have laboured among them for generations. Since +the time of St. Francis Xavier, who landed in Japan as early as the +sixteenth century and founded the first churches and schools, there +has, with longer or shorter intervals, been a supply of priests and +teachers from Europe. + +In the course of the seventeenth century, long accounts from Japan came +to the Holy See, giving graphic descriptions of the condition of the +land. In these are detailed the first missionary attempts, which met +with such unexpected success, and these reports present a very vivid +picture of the days when people accepted Christianity by hundreds and +thousands, and nearly the whole of Southern Japan became Christianized. +Later followed the long period of religious persecution, of suffering +and torture. Yet in spite of so much cruel bloodshed, in spite of the +numerous hecatombs of martyrs, there are still some direct descendants +of the first Christian families. + +Since the middle of the nineteenth century Christianity has received a +fresh impetus, and at present Japan is divided into four dioceses, at +the head of which is the Archbishop of Tokio. Scattered throughout the +land are many missionary establishments and Christian communities. In +the larger towns many primary and middle schools are established, and +educational institutions for girls exist in large numbers too. The +orphanages are most successful, and the leper establishments--where +those living dead are cared for by the nuns at the sacrifice of their +own lives--cannot fail to excite universal admiration. + +Although at present the public spirit of Japan does not show much +enthusiasm concerning religious questions, Christianity is at any rate +free from persecution. The Japanese of the present day is more or less +indifferent to matters of religion. He seeks satisfaction in earthly +goods. The old Buddhistic faith has lost much of its influence, and the +adherents of the doctrine of Confucius are rapidly decreasing in number. +With the introduction of the new constitution, the Government has +resuscitated the ancient Shintoism and made it the religion of the +state. The sovereign, the Mikado, himself professes this faith. +Shintoism, or nature-worship, now chiefly serves as one of the great +vehicles of patriotic force. Its ceremonies are most primitive, +consisting mainly of short prayers of a sentence or two, and of bowing +of the head and the clasping of hands. Their chapels are also of the +simplest. They are plain, four-walled wooden structures without +ornaments or pictures or decorations of any kind. The only conspicuous +object in them is the symbol of their deity, a smoothly polished metal +disc, representing the sun. + +But this religion, which was universally re-proclaimed from one day to +another by imperial command, does not appear to satisfy the masses--at +any rate not the devout among them--who prefer to seek peace and +consolation in constant prayer and supplication, and therefore continue +to visit the Buddhist temples and convents. The cultured and more +advanced classes are more and more interested in learning the tenets of +the Christian faith; yet, although it is doubtful whether Christianity +will ever make much progress in Japan, it is certain that Western +civilization, being based on Christianity, is very deficient without its +moral support. The leading circles in Japan are conscious of this fact, +and realize more and more that a purely material life, and the lack of +all spiritual comfort, can never give lasting satisfaction. + +Should the day arrive when the people will abandon their ancient +beliefs, without having had the opportunity of becoming familiar with a +higher creed, a sad deterioration must be the inevitable result. And the +nation may be exposed to a similar danger should the old moral basis of +their existence be shaken by the too sudden introduction of new +conditions, and before the growing generation has had time to reach a +standard of spiritual development corresponding to it. Thus far the +rapid progress of Japan has been confined chiefly to material efforts; +there has not been leisure to give sufficient care to the spiritual and +moral needs of the people. The first aim and object of the young +Japanese is to become rich, great, and mighty. Blindly they follow the +example of the commercial Powers of Western Europe. With marvellous +rapidity they have assimilated all that was external, all that was +palpable. The Japanese fleet in the harbour of Nagasaki is a marvel of +efficiency, while Kobe and Yokohama, as commercial towns, compare +favourably with some of the largest trade centres of the United States +and Britain. Osaka and Tokio, encouraging factories of every kind, have +secured to Japan the market of the East, and life in the principal +cities is in almost every respect a faithful copy of European +institutions. But whether the people are essentially happier, with this +external veneer, and the strong strain and high pressure it involves, is +quite another thing, and a question of great importance to all who have +the welfare of the nation seriously at heart. A too rapid transformation +of existing conditions might very easily lead to an economic crisis, +symptoms of which are already beginning to manifest themselves. + +Greater still would be the danger of a moral crisis, and equally +unavoidable, so long as the people conform only outwardly to the +exigencies of the newly acquired culture, without realizing its moral +value, and whilst ignoring its spiritual aims. + + +II + +CHINA + +China is in almost every respect diametrically opposed to Japan. In the +first place, the two empires are entirely different in their +geographical features and geological formation. In China towering +mountain crags and vast, immeasurable plains alternate with one another. +Some of those plains are dreary, desolate, barren wastes, while in other +parts the ground is closely cultivated, yet wholly inadequate to feed +China's millions. The canals which traverse the land in all directions +are like so many huge rivers, and the streams sometimes widen into +regular lakes, the borders of which cannot be descried by the naked eye. + +[Illustration: ON THE YANG-TZE-KIANG AFTER A WATER-COLOUR DRAWING BY THE +AUTHOR "And the streams sometimes widen into regular lakes, the borders +of which cannot be descried by the naked eye" To face page 340] + +Everything is large, gigantic, in this yellow empire, and even in those +parts where the country offers neither geographical advantages nor +natural charms, we are impressed by its vastness, its immensity, as all +that is truly great is imposing. + +Japan, with its groves of evergreen, its flowering meadows, its smiling, +graceful scenery, delights the beholder; but China, with its wide +expanses, its enormous tracts of land and its virgin forests, captivates +us by its sombre magnitude. + +And if the difference between the external conditions of the two yellow +empires is great, still greater is the distinction between the peoples +which inhabit these neighbouring states. + +Physically the Japanese is small, but strong and wiry--he is all muscle. +The Chinaman is big, broad-shouldered, and his nervous system is more +developed. The Japanese is before all things a man of action. He lives +in a perpetual state of motion, he is always doing, and works from +morning till night. His marvellous vital power finds expression in a +multitude of ways. He acts hastily, often too hastily to give himself +time to consider his actions. The Chinaman, on the contrary, is +reflective. Before he undertakes anything he thinks out every detail of +it, and his intelligence thus greatly reduces his actual labour. The +Chinese coolies and labourers are like so many intelligent machines. +They work imperturbably, with systematic precision, and always attain +their end. Instructive instances of this may be seen among the Chinese +labourers abroad, where a Chinaman does the work of two Europeans with +half the trouble. The secret of the advantage which they thus gain over +their Western rivals lies first in the right distribution of labour, and +secondly in that great moral quality which ensures their success, namely +temperance. The Chinese working in the fields of California, in the +gardens of Australia, or as miners in South America, are good examples +of the vitality and energy which these people possess. + +It is foolish to say--as I have often heard it said--that the advantage +lies simply in the stronger constitution of the race; on the contrary, +very often we must admit that the true advantage lies in their +intellectual superiority. These national characteristics may be best +observed in the lower classes, and particularly in the domestic servant. +Every European residing in China acknowledges the superiority of the +native servant above any other. He is quiet in his movements, +intelligent, industrious; and it is almost incredible how quickly these +Chinese peasants learn to anticipate the wishes of their European +masters. At the foreign Embassies at Pekin and at the Consulates of the +interior, I observed how the pigtailed cook prepares the most delicate +dishes according to the latest art in French cooking; the blue-robed +house-servant keeps the establishment in perfect order, and the day +labourer performs his task with accurate precision. + +But it is on a journey that we have the best opportunity for learning to +appreciate the salient qualities of the Chinese servant. Far in the +interior, in lonely, barren regions, our yellow companion always found +ways and means to prepare a warm meal for us, and to improvise a tent +or hut wherein we could pass the night. The missionaries in China tell +many stories of the marvellous resourcefulness of their Chinese +attendants; how they saved the itinerant pastor from dying of hunger and +thirst; how, if there was nothing better to be had, they would catch a +few sparrows and make a savoury dish of these tiny birds. And, if even +tiny birds failed, they would make pasties of locusts or a dinner from +leaves and grasses. + +Of the Chinaman it may be said with truth that he never gives in. This, +indeed, is one of the chief characteristics of his race. He is +resourceful even where the European has given up in despair. And we must +have the courage to face this truth. The recent hostility against the +Chinese coolies in San Francisco, and the laws against yellow labour +lately put in force in Australasia, are the expression of it. It is true +that among the Chinese labourers abroad there are many spoiled +characters, drunkards and card-players; but I venture to think that it +was not out of consideration for them that the decrees were issued which +prevent the Chinese coolie from enriching the public-houses in America +and Australia through his intemperate habits, nor yet to save him from +wasting his substance in the foul quarters of the harbour towns. No; all +these measures rather indicate the existence of a racial jealousy, for +as a rule the Chinaman is more industrious and more temperate than the +European. The question of Chinese labour has in our times become one of +the economic problems of the Far East, of America and Australia, and +recently also of South Africa. However, this is not the place to enter +further into this question. Here, as relating to our subject, it is only +of importance to note that the coolie who belongs to the lowest class of +Chinese society, although he is poor, has fewer wants, and receives +smaller wages, than the labourer of any other country, does not on that +account do less work or work of an inferior quality. On the contrary, +both intellectually and physically, he is generally not behind his +social equals of other nationalities. + +[Illustration: IN THE FLOWERY LAND "The coolie, who belongs to the +lowest class of Chinese society, although he is poor, has fewer wants, +and receives smaller wages, does not on that account do less work" To +face page 344] + +Very marked also are the virtues of the Chinese tradespeople and +merchants; in other words, of the lower middle class. Here again, what +strikes one most is the amount of work done and the indefatigable zeal +of the people. In the second place we note with surprise the simplicity +of their way of living, their evident contentment with the bare +necessities of life, even among the fairly well-to-do, and their desire +to be and abide in the state of life in which they have been born. The +joiner's son becomes a joiner, the builder's son a builder. Only by way +of exception does a Chinaman strike out in a new direction. The +height of his ambition is, at most, to become a better joiner or a +better builder than his father was before him--to improve in quality +more than in quantity. Another prominent feature of the Chinese trader +is his respect for his caste. As in Japan with the Daimios and Samurais, +whose moral basis was a military one, the pledged word was sacred, and +the white flag inviolable, so the peaceable trader of China, whose life +is governed by the civil code, is always true to his bargain. There is +scarcely an instance on record in which a Chinese tradesman has broken +his word. In the large commercial towns, overcrowded with merchants and +goods from all parts of the world, written contracts with Chinamen are +hardly ever thought necessary. Market prices and rates of exchange may +vary--and in many cases the local producer incurs heavy losses by a +premature selling of the harvest to the European agent--but when a sale +is once concluded, a Chinaman never attempts to evade his obligations. + +European bankers and wholesale dealers tell us that the difference +between China and Japan in this respect is great. In the case of the +latter, unfilled engagements and arrears of payment are a standing rule +in the ledger accounts of most Continental firms, and considerable loss +is sometimes incurred by these houses through the avarice and the +subtle devices of some traders. The Japanese to a certain extent, in +imitation of the Latin nations, aims at becoming rich, or at least +well-to-do, quickly. It is his object to amass sufficient wealth, by a +few profitable speculations, to enable him to retire into private life. + +The Chinaman, on the contrary--like the Anglo-Saxon--makes trade his +vocation in life. "Life is business," he says. + +And so in China as in England, or perhaps even more in America, the +industrial classes and the merchants have become the ruling power in the +country. Socially they constitute a privileged class. As in Anglo-Saxon +states the Chambers of Commerce and the Trade Unions, so in China the +ancient Guilds arrange all business matters for themselves. The Guilds, +indeed, are a most important institution in Chinese society. Their +influence is not confined to trade and commerce; it dominates many other +relations in life, and the often secret resolutions passed by the Guilds +are of great force in matters of local administration and general +politics. + +Some of the larger Guild or Club houses are well worth our attention. +From an architectural point of view they are good specimens of old +Chinese style. They generally consist of several buildings, or more +correctly, of a row of halls and pagodas, separated by flower-gardens +with small fishponds, and courts with shady groves. Besides the official +departments there are conversation-halls and tea-rooms, much frequented +by the members after the transaction of business. The most magnificent +of these houses are found in the interior, in the cities on the Hoang-ho +and the Yang-tze-kiang. The club-house of the tea-merchants at Hankau +ranks first in point of artistic perfection. It is a good specimen of +the national taste. Slender pagodas, china towers, trim gardens, boldly +arched bridges, all harmonious in form and colour, testify to the +marvellous creative genius of this people. Never have I seen such finely +pointed, tent-shaped roofs, such delicately tapered gables, such +carving, and such tracery. Never could I have believed it possible for +any architect to build, in fragile clay and line pottery, such +bastion-like walls, and towers reaching up into the sky, and surmounted +by a roof of porcelain as delicate and rare as a precious teacup. These +Guild-houses are truly store-houses of old Chinese art treasures, and in +them receptions and dramatic performances often take place. + +Among the musical and theatrical entertainments of China, there are some +which continue from morning till night. On their merit, however, a +European can hardly be expected to pass a fair judgment. The queerness +and quaintness of the performance is what strikes one most at first. Yet +among the old dramatists there were many of first-rate talent, and life +and knowledge of the world were very forcibly expressed by them, but in +a form unfamiliar to the European mind. The Chinese, we think, are +sometimes too realistic and somewhat formal actors; but yet, even in +their modern, degenerate, historical pieces, we find frequent traces of +the prehistoric ideals of the Greek drama. + +The musical accompaniment of the performance is no less interesting. +Contrary to the generally accepted idea that the Chinese have no feeling +for music, I venture to think that Chinese music, although it may be +discordant and unpleasing to the European ear, is not without great +merits. We should not forget that the Chinese musical scale is set quite +differently from ours, and is offensive to us chiefly because it is +unfamiliar. But notwithstanding its deafening shrillness, it has great +rhythmical power; and after all it only sounds harsh to us on account of +its complexity. It must not be forgotten that their musical tones are +not, as in the West, divided into two, but into four parts. In fact, +they have not only half, but third and fourth gradations. + +The same with regard to their plastic art--the foreigner is easily apt +to consider the external form only. He appreciates or rejects it +according as it comes up to our Western standard of beauty or not, but +does not stop to look at it from the national cultural point of view. +And yet it is impossible to understand Chinese art without doing so. In +China art was confined to experts, while in Japan it acquired an +ever-increasing popular character. But the Chinese is by far the higher +form of art. The Chinese have always been the teachers and pioneers in +all matters of thought and creative genius in the Far East. +Architecture, sculpture, painting, with all their various ramifications, +date back to the remote ages of Chinese antiquity. What we have on +record of the time of the first emperors gives us some idea of their +refinement and of the art treasures then already in existence, and of +still greater value in this respect are the few known monuments of the +Shung Dynasty and of the subsequent Mongol period. + +Interesting above all are remains of buildings dating back to the Ming +Age, which still exist in considerable numbers. Chinese art surprises +one principally on account of its force and of the originating power +manifested by it. In their colossal structures we chiefly admire the +height of the pagodas, the length of the bridges; we are struck by the +earnestness of the conception, the magnitude of the design, the +masterful execution, the concentration of thought; all these appeal to +us even now, in their dilapidated condition. The Imperial Palace at +Pekin, although in ruins, is still one of the most magnificent +structures in the world. And the same might be said of all other +branches of art. We see it in the old bronze statues, in the delicate +porcelain work, the exquisite carvings, and the precious cut stones. +These relics in themselves may leave us cold, design and colour may not +be to our taste, but the artistic idea, and above all the artistic +ideal, underlying all these masterpieces, and the power of execution, +cannot fail to impress any one at all interested in art. + +We must remember that although the Chinese conception of art is so +different from ours, the interest of it to us lies not exclusively in +the productions themselves, but rather in the mind which produced them. +The longer we associate with the Chinese the more we feel attracted to +them, the more we recognize their worth, embodied in the versatile +spheres of art and culture. In process of time we learn to appreciate, +not only the civilization of Chinese antiquity--which was centuries in +advance of ours, and had already reached a high state of development +when Europe was still peopled by wild, unknown hordes--but we also begin +to appreciate the different embodiments of that strange culture too. + +When we study the history of the people in the days of their glory, or +read the biographies of their great emperors, we almost become +reconciled even to the inferiority of their existing form of government. +Only as we glance through the works of their sages and great writers, +who lived many centuries before our era, do we get a somewhat clearer +idea of the intellectual capacity of this race, whose culture extended +beyond their own boundaries far into neighbouring lands; penetrated to +the uttermost borders of the East, and finally--making its way across +Korea--laid the foundation of Japanese civilization. + +This primeval culture has crumbled away. Only here and there among the +ruins do we find glowing fragments and brilliant pieces of it; but even +these remnants fill us with genuine wonder, and are eloquent witnesses +to the greatness and strength of the nation's genius. + +What has remained strong, above all, to this day, amid the complete +general disorganization, is the race itself, as such. The prejudice +against the Chinese may still be as general as ever, yet one cannot help +drawing attention to the fact that neglected, uneducated, and wretched +as the population is at present, there are everywhere abundant proofs of +unflagging energy and exceptional capacity for work. These two +characteristics strike one most forcibly among the lower classes, while +among the partisans of the European movement, the progressive mercantile +middle class, or among the scientists, scholars, and statesmen, who +still occupy the old classical standpoint, a rare power of perception +and intellectual development is worthy of recognition. + +The greatest living statesman of China is undoubtedly Chang-chi-Tung. +His influence as viceroy of the two important provinces of Hupek and +Hunan is supreme. Since the death of Li Hung-Chang he ranks first in the +estimation of his countrymen. He may not possess an equally keen insight +and the extraordinary knowledge of human nature which the late viceroy +had at his command, and he may lack his political shrewdness, but from a +moral point of view Chang-chi-Tung occupies an incomparably higher +level. He is not only a statesman, but he is also a sage and a +philosopher. He is a follower of Confucius and every inch a patriot. He +is said to encourage Confucianism among his countrymen, but he is +tolerant towards other religious convictions, and within the radius of +his colossal viceregal dominions, hospitality is shown to all, including +Christians. In politics he is moderate, and although conservative in +principle, he favours practical reforms and innovations, as may be +gathered from the many industrial establishments in his capital. +Personally he owns cotton-mills and factories, built a few years ago by +Belgian engineers, which, under European management, have from the first +yielded good results. Gradually the foreign employes have been replaced +by natives, and at present the whole administration of this extensive +concern is in the hands of natives. + +The mercantile spirit of this enterprising viceroy is not in any way +inferior to his political genius. Brick-kilns, china-, glass-, and +iron-works and gun-factories, besides a whole network of railways, have +been established under his administration. His soldiers, instructed by +German officers, are probably the best drilled and best organized troops +of the empire, and his well-equipped, excellently armed cavalry is the +pride of the land. His energies, however, are more particularly centred +upon the educational problem. He favours practical instruction, and in +order to further this, he proposes to convert some of the unused pagodas +into schools. Chang-chi-Tung, himself a writer of no mean order, is +perhaps the best read, and certainly the most influential Chinese author +living. His work entitled "China's Only Hope," published shortly after +the last war with Japan, caused a great sensation. Several million +copies were issued, and the Emperor himself wrote a dedication for it. +This book is of great interest, not only for the Chinese, but also for +us, because it throws a strong side-light upon the character of the +author and upon the party to which at present the most important portion +of the Chinese belong. + +A few extracts will give some idea of the tendency of the work:-- + +"Comparing the history of China during the last two years with the +history of Europe during the last fifty years, the question +involuntarily arises whether the governments of Western states can +furnish examples of benevolence, self-sacrifice, and loyalty equal to +ours. + +"Although China is not as rich as Europe, its people, whether rich or +poor, high or low, enjoy greater freedom. European states may be very +powerful, their ruling classes very rich, but the labouring population +is disproportionately poor and miserable, and frequently unjustly dealt +with. A system of government which ignores such social contrasts, or +rather, which creates them, can never be an example for us to follow." + +Elsewhere he says:-- + +"The standpoint of the West is practical; we, on the contrary, are +idealistic. Our sages and our scholars have taught us that the happiness +of a nation consists in the well-being of its people. Our religions +teach us equality and charity; our customs, the organization of our +family life, all social institutions, point to this one thing; to make +the millions of our people contented." + +Again, in another passage, speaking of inventions, he says:-- + +"I do not contest the technical superiority of the West. I myself am a +promoter of progress, but I do not desire that our institutions, which +have stood for centuries, should be transformed all in a moment. I note +with satisfaction--speaking of progress--that the same elements which at +first raged so fiercely against the introduction of railways and steam +navigation, have now become the most staunch supporters of these useful +inventions." + +An equally interesting specimen of a modern Chinaman's opinion of +European affairs, is a pamphlet which appeared some years ago, in the +English language, under the title of "Letters from a Viceroy's +Residence." + +The author is a young Celestial who spent many years in the West, and +upon his return was appointed secretary to one of the viceroys. The +object of these letters was, in the first place, to convince his master +of the fact that, in spite of his long residence in the West, he had +remained a good patriot. In the second place, he hoped to awaken the +interests of the Queen Regent. Several of these letters appeared first +in the columns of an English newspaper, published in Japan, and +unquestionably praise is due to the author, Ku-hung-ming, at least for +his zeal in making himself acquainted with the various languages and +literatures of Western lands. The power of his discernment and +discrimination may be seen from the manner in which he points out what +there is defective, puerile, and unintelligible amongst us. When he +condemns shortcomings he generally does so by quoting our own writers +against us, and he exposes our mistakes to the merciless scourge of our +own criticism. There is not a writer, a statesman, or a philosopher, of +any note, to whom he does not in some way or other appeal. He concludes +an elaborate study of the civilizations of the West and the East with +the words of Carlyle: "Europe is an Anarchy, with a policeman at its +head"; and he quotes Ruskin, to apply to China the theory that "culture +means a society of cultured beings." + +"To the ordinary European trader it seems no doubt a strange thing that +we should object to what he describes as the opening out of our national +resources. Viewing everything, as he habitually does, from the +standpoint of profit and loss, he conceives that if it can be shown that +a certain course will lead to the increase of wealth, it follows that +that is the course that ought to be adopted. The opening of China to his +country and his trade he believes will have this result; and he +concludes that it is our interest to welcome rather than to resist his +enterprise. From his point of view he is justified; but his point of +view is not ours. We are accustomed, before adopting any grave measures +of policy, to estimate their effects, not merely on the sum total of our +wealth, but (which we conceive to be a very different thing) on our +national well-being. You, as always, are thinking of the means of +living, we, of the quality of the life lived. And when you ask us, as +you do in effect, to transform our whole society, to convert ourselves +from a nation of agriculturists to a nation of traders and +manufacturers, to sacrifice to an imaginary prosperity our political and +economic independence, and to revolutionize, not only our industry, but +our manners, morals, and institutions, we may be pardoned if we first +take a critical look at the effects which have been produced among +yourselves by the conditions you urge us to introduce in China." + +This statement is of peculiar interest as showing that with regard to +European innovations China occupies a position diametrically opposed to +that of Japan. Evidently China is not blind where European conditions +are concerned. The Chinese do not ignore the material and technical +advantages and achievements of Europe. They realize with tolerable +clearness the superior material conditions which modern life offers. +The only point upon which they are not clear is how far all these +innovations help us to make life more tolerable, and how far they +contribute to the inner satisfaction or happiness of the people. + +"I have learned that the most brilliant discoveries, the most fruitful +applications of inventive genius, do not of themselves suffice for the +well-being of society, and that an intelligence which is concentrated +exclusively on the production of labour-saving machines, may easily work +more harm for the dislocation of industry than it can accomplish good by +the increase of wealth. For the increase of wealth--that is, of the +means of comfort--is not to my mind necessarily good in itself; +everything depends on the way in which the wealth is distributed and on +its effect on the moral character of the nations. And it is from that +point of view that I look with some dismay upon the prospect of the +introduction of Western methods into China." + +The author then describes at some length, and perhaps in somewhat too +glowing terms, the cheerfulness, the contentment, the philosophy, the +joy of living of the Chinese people. He speaks of the strong bond of +affection which unites families, their literary and artistic tastes, +their deep-rooted love of nature, all of which stand them in such good +stead in time of trouble. + +"All this is peculiar to our nature, it is the basis of our inner +contentment, a contentment which no one can give, but which may easily +be taken from us." + +Even for the much-criticized, and unquestionably corrupt institution of +the state, the loyal patriot has a few condoning words:-- + +"The simple and natural character of our civilization, the peaceable +nature of our people, above all, the institution of the family, itself a +little state--a political, social, and economic unit--these and other +facts have rendered us independent of government control to an extent +which to Europeans may seem incredible. Neither the acts nor the +omissions of the authorities at Pekin have any real or permanent effect +on the life of our masses, except so far as they register the movements +of popular sentiment and demand. Otherwise, as you foreigners know to +your cost, they remain a dead letter. The government may make +conventions and treaties, but it cannot put them into effect, except in +so far as they are endorsed by public opinion.... Our fundamental +institutions are no arbitrary inventions of power, they are the form +which the people have given to their lives. No government created and no +government would think of modifying them.... Law, in a word, is not with +us a rule imposed from above; it is the formula of the national life, +and its embodiment in practice precedes its inscription in a code." + +Referring to the political disputes between China and Europe, another +Chinese writer says: + +"When first your traders came to China it was not at our invitation; yet +we received them, if not with enthusiasm, at least with tolerance. So +long as they were content to observe our regulations we were willing to +sanction their traffic, but always on the condition that it should not +disturb our social and political order. To this condition, in earlier +days, your countrymen consented to conform, and for many years, in spite +of occasional disputes, there was no serious trouble between them and +us. The trouble arose over a matter in regard to which you yourselves +have hardly ventured to defend your conduct. A considerable part of your +trade was the commerce in opium. The use of this drug, we observed, was +destroying the health and the morals of our people, and we therefore +prohibited the trade. Your merchants, however, evaded the law; opium was +smuggled in, till at last we were driven to take the matter into our own +hands and to seize and destroy the whole stock of the forbidden drug. +Your government made our action an excuse for war. You invaded our +territory, exacted an indemnity, and took from us the island of Hong +Kong. Was this an auspicious beginning? Was it calculated to impress us +with a sense of the justice and fair play of the British nation? Years +went on; a petty dispute about the privileges of the flag--a dispute in +which we still believe that we were in the right--brought us once more +into collision with you. You made the unfortunate conflict an excuse for +new demands. In conjunction with the French you occupied our capital and +imposed upon us terms which you would never have dared to offer to a +European nation. We submitted because we must; we were not a military +power. But do you suppose our sense of justice was not outraged? Or +later, when every power in Europe, on some pretext or other, has seized +some part of our territory, do you suppose because we cannot resist that +we do not feel?" + +These passages, one-sided though they may be, give us some idea of what +the Chinese think of Europe, of the politics of the West, and of our +civilization as a whole, and we cannot be greatly surprised that the +yellow empire looks upon us as its greatest enemy. From the time that +our first trading vessels touched the coasts of China, closely followed +by men-of-war, the Chinese have been on the losing side, both +economically and politically. One great Power after another came upon +the scene of action, and seized and occupied provinces, many of them +larger than their own European dominions. When a Chinese schoolboy of +today studies the map of his country, and considers how much smaller it +has become in the course of the last hundred years, how can it fail to +make him sad? + +Almost ever since the victorious English navy first made its appearance +at Hong Kong, foreign Powers have been occupied in tearing away pieces +from the empire. Russia owns the whole northern portion of the land, and +with one stroke of the pen Count Muravieff has torn from China and +incorporated into the Russian Empire the gigantic Amur district, or, as +it is now called, Eastern Siberia, the area of which is almost larger +than that of the whole of Central Europe. Korea, once a vassal state, is +practically governed by Japan, while Tonking and Annam have become +French colonies. + +Besides suffering these territorial losses China has been compelled to +pay heavy damages after each war. In order to procure these moneys fresh +taxes have to be levied, so that it may be said with truth that every +son of the land--apart from the ignominy put upon his national +pride--has personally to bear some part of the burden laid upon his +country. Such was the condition of things at the time of the riots in +1900, and feelings have not greatly altered since then, although on the +surface all appears smooth and quiet. The recent war between Russia and +Japan has roused the people afresh; and do we wonder at the exultation +which fills the masses of the yellow race, now that one of its nations +at last appears to be getting the better of its white opponents? + + * * * * * + +Will China, in case of need, unite with Japan to destroy the common +enemy? Will the Chinese seek retaliation for what they consider to have +been an injustice done to them, and which they evidently have not +forgotten? It is hardly likely--at any rate, not just yet. Japan and +China are now farther apart than one would think possible, considering +their close geographical vicinity, and the cultural analogy which till +recently existed between them. + +Looked at from a distance, and when one does not know all the +circumstances, certain kindred features may stand out prominently; but +the likeness vanishes when one comes to live amongst them. As a matter +of fact, a greater dissimilarity can hardly be imagined than that which +separates China from Japan. The difference may be traced throughout +their past and present histories. Corporeal build and manner of thought, +state organization, government and system of education, all were +different. Their similarity begins and ends in the basis from which they +both started, namely, the old Chinese civilization founded on Buddhist +principles, and early borrowed by Japan from China. The Nippon of the +past had no national culture. From China, across Korea, Japan received +the doctrines of Buddha, of Confucius, of Mencius, or Thao. From China +also came the first scholars, artists, and writers. What to us are the +Greek and Latin classics the writings of the old Chinese academicians +are to Japan. Upon them the Japanese have based their views of life; +from them their artists received their inspiration, and the ideas +conceived in China found expression in Japanese literature. As with us +Latin, so in Japan Chinese is the language of ancient literature. It is +probably owing to this circumstance that so many erroneous views exist +in the West concerning the mutual relationship of these two Eastern +nations. They are always being mistaken the one for the other, their +virtues and failings confused, their good and bad points confounded. + +Formerly everything that came from the borders of the Yellow Sea was +simply called "chinoiserie," and now in the same way everything that +arrives from there is called Japanese. It would seem as if Europe even +now could not distinguish between them; above all, as if we were unable +to realize the psychological and metaphysical differences of the two +nations. We do not judge by what is essential, real, and original, we +only go by outward appearances, by what is conspicuous at first sight. + +And now, since Japan has made its mark in the contest with Russia, it is +only its external success which causes us surprise, the internal change +of the people leaves us unmoved. The public of Europe is strangely +ignorant of the moral worth of Japan. The interest of the moment is +concentrated on the little Japanese soldier, who handles the British gun +so dexterously, who blindly rushes into danger, and dies by thousands. +And all one knows or cares to know about China is, that it is backward, +dull, and stupid. + +But as regards the real cause of the present relations, and whether +there is a possibility of further developments--this is a matter of +small interest to the general public. The nations of Europe seem to be +as little concerned to understand the inner qualities of the peoples on +the Yellow Sea, their psychological divergences and moral strength, as +they trouble to know the history of their early culture and intellectual +existence. + +This want of interest is noticeable in all our dealings with the yellow +races. In industrial undertakings we constantly confuse China and Japan, +and Japanese goods often pass for Chinese. Even those who profess to +have studied the history of Japanese art have been found to attribute +to Japan the fundamental ideas which originated in China. The more one +comes into contact with Chinese and Japanese works, the more clearly one +sees that the honour of originality and initiative belongs to China. + +The celebrated Japanese painters, sculptors, and bronze-workers were +taught by China; they were clever imitators of Chinese art. In point of +execution they have doubtless in many cases surpassed their masters. The +detail work of Japanese art is decidedly finer and better finished than +the Chinese, and in the work of reproduction they have attained a degree +of perfection unparalleled in any other industrial nation. But this, +after all, is rather a matter of skill than of genius. The artistic +conception, the creative power, was far more original in ancient China +than in ancient Japan, and although the minutiae of Chinese art were +often crude and imperfect, the fundamental idea was always noble and +grand. We notice this particularly in their architecture. China's marble +and stone yamens and pagodas were imitated by Japan, but with this +difference, that they are built of wood and roofed over with shingles or +thatch. In the various branches of sculpture and painting we see the +same divergence. The Japanese was always an excellent copyist, but he +drew his inspirations from China, in much the same manner in which the +masters of the Renaissance school used the antique masterpieces for +their models. + +Just as the Japanese imitated and appropriated the customs and +institutions of the ancient Chinese Empire, so they have now, with +astonishing rapidity, adopted European civilization. Their power of +assimilation is incredible. When we compare the Japan of today with the +land as it was five-and-twenty years ago, our surprise is fully +justified. From being under the most antiquated feudal system, the +empire has suddenly become one of the most progressive states. At the +Mikado's command all things were changed: government, army, education, +even national views of life and ideals. The authority of the Shogun is +replaced by a parliament. The descendant of the old Samurai becomes a +soldier, moulded after the German pattern. The agricultural classes are +gradually transformed into factory hands. From day to day the old +institutions and beliefs are being destroyed, and with the new +constitution a new religion is also called into existence, or rather the +obsolete and somewhat obscure Shinto cult is converted into the religion +of the state. How much of real conviction there has been in this magic +change or how much of it has been the work of natural evolution, it is +difficult to say. Inward convictions and the problems of moral +satisfaction are outside the pale of politics. Whether the present-day +Japanese, who wears a silk hat, is happier than his ancestor with his +kimono--whether the workman in the factory is more contented than the +former agricultural labourer--whether the internal peace of the land is +better secured under the new system than it was under the old +regime--who shall say? It will even remain doubtful whether their thirst +for glory was not more gratified when guarding the frontiers and the +territory of their ancient Daimios than now, when, according to Western +notions, their chief object is occupation and material gain. + +The most serious of all future eventualities is evidently whether these +rashly accomplished innovations, and the total transformation of all +existing conditions, may not, as was the case in Europe, lead to a +material and moral crisis. In the most progressive circles of the land +this is a much-discussed point. The recent labour riots, and the +continually occurring strikes in the great cities, cast a certain shadow +over the possibilities of the future. Baron Ivasaki, the greatest +industrial power in the land, whose ships frequent all parts of the +world, who has banking connexions in all commercial centres, who employs +a large number of clerks, and has every opportunity of investigating +the labour question in all its details, has published some interesting +articles on the social questions of Japan. Another prominent Japanese +writer, Okuma, occupies himself chiefly with the moral condition of the +people, anticipating with fear the time when the innate religious +feeling, and the once imperturbable loyalty to the Head of the State, +should be shaken to its roots. The ultimate crystallization of the +economic and moral relations of future Japan is, after all, the most +interesting problem which this nation at present offers. + + * * * * * + +The reason that China still delays its reorganization, and cannot +blindly follow in the footsteps of Japan, lies chiefly in the internal +constitution of the land. The population, which is above all things +peaceful and cautious, waits to see what effect the transformation has +upon Japan, whether it is really for the good of the people. The +above-quoted passages from the works of Chinese writers clearly show +that the Chinese as a people do not covet either military glory or +exorbitant material wealth. For them the basis of happiness is peace and +stability. The disturbance of harmony is irksome to the nation. This was +the initial thought which prompted them in olden times to build a great +wall to protect their native land from foreign intrusion. The Chinese +are now beginning to realize that the highest wall cannot stem the +current of time; that progress--or let us say the course of +events--sweeps away even the mightiest obstacle before it. The necessity +of their ultimate reorganization is more and more apparent to those +natives who have come into contact with the outer world; only, as +Chang-chi-tung said, "It cannot be expected or desired that we should be +transformed in the twinkling of an eye." + +The more impetuous advocates of reform, the representatives of the +so-called "Progressive Party," have their headquarters at Shanghai. The +members of this faction are mostly educated, travelled persons, speaking +several European languages, students who have finished their university +career, officials, merchants, and authors. Some amongst them, on account +of their revolutionary tendencies, have been banished from Pekin or from +the interior, and reside in the European quarters and districts governed +by consular magistrates. These are the leaders of the discontented. They +reject all existing conditions and demand the total abolition of the +present system of government. But the man of the day I should say is +Yuan-chi-kai. It is he who represents the Progressive Party at the Court +of Pekin. To his influence may be attributed the various reforms +introduced during the last few years, and the notable changes in the +politics of the Tsung-li Yamen. Of all the viceroys of the united empire +he is the one most directly in touch with the representatives of foreign +Powers. + +Yuan-chi-kai is in the first instance a military leader. His policy, +which is to secure peace for his land, is based on military principles. +It is probably at his instigation that a number of young Chinamen were +sent at state expense to Japanese universities, in order that they might +there study the effect of the imported reforms upon an Asiatic nation +already imbued with European ideas. To a Chinaman all these institutions +would appear in Japan in a more intelligible form than in Europe, where +all conditions are so absolutely contrary to their preconceived notions. +Perhaps, in his capacity of soldier, Yuan-chi-kai also hoped that the +Japanese might impart some of their military enthusiasm to the lethargic +youths of his country. So far the results have been satisfactory. A +residence in Europe has seldom proved of much benefit to Chinese +students, but a visit to the universities and schools of Tokio, +Yokohama, or Kobe, has seldom failed to answer its purpose. + +The already modernized Chinaman is doubtless an interesting figure, and +he displays highly intellectual qualities. Life in the harbour towns, +where he has free intercourse with foreigners from all parts of the +world, has considerably widened his field of vision, and offers him +ample opportunity for making comparison between the natives of the +various European countries. It enables him also to become more familiar +with the achievements of Western culture. The latest products of French +industry, Manchester goods, or any of the most recent European +inventions, reach these shores within a very short time. There are many +wholesale merchants and bankers who have for several years been in +direct communication with the city of London, or Wall Street in New +York. They are bold and enterprising men, and work their business +exclusively on modern principles. Their offices are fitted up in +European fashion with telephones and type-writers; only here and there a +rare plant, some precious object of art, or a singing bird in a cage, +betrays the native instinct of love of nature and art. The national +dress is still worn, and the wide silk trousers and traditional pigtail +strike one at first as somewhat out of place in these modern +surroundings. + +At Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tien-tsin, one has excellent opportunities +of seeing the business man at home. During my stay in those towns I +thoroughly enjoyed the social intercourse with these people. It is +interesting to ponder over what may become of them as they continue to +acquire all the advantages of Western accomplishments. What +possibilities this nation possesses! + +The millionaires generally build their houses in European style. The +furniture of their reception-rooms is also of foreign make, and only the +beautiful porcelains and other art treasures remind us that we are in +China. Honestly speaking, all this modernization in house-building and +furnishing is to be regretted, for surely the Chinese yamen is more +tasteful than the European house of iron and brick! + +Dress has thus far not been touched by the fashion, and anything more +beautiful than the richly embroidered silk and velvet mantles of the +wealthy classes can hardly be imagined. Neither has Americanism been +able to obliterate the old-world manners and rules of courtesy, or to +sever the bond of family affection and the inborn respect to parents. A +Chinaman protects his home above all that is dear to him. In my +intercourse with the Chinese I have noticed that even the most advanced +among them, who have lived for years in England or in France, and who +have enjoyed all the advantages of our commercial and industrial +achievements, scrupulously avoid imitating the private life of the West. +All that relates to business is zealously excluded from the home, and +it frequently happens that the wife or the child has never entered the +office of husband or father, nor does the father ever mention business +matters in the home circle. The office is for work, he says, the home +for rest. + +It has often been remarked to me that with us the wear and whirl of +business and of excessive ambition, destroy the joy of living. One of my +acquaintances at Hong Kong once said, "The conditions of life in the +West nowadays make man his own enemy. He sacrifices his whole life to +acquire what is in the main worthless, without giving himself time to +enjoy what he already possesses." + +A banker expressed himself in a similar manner. "Most people in Europe," +he said, "love money for its own sake, but not for what money can do to +ennoble their lives." + +The more intimately I have become acquainted with Chinese mood and +thought, the better have I learned to understand the psychical condition +of the people. It has been said that the Chinaman, when first he comes +to Europe, is struck by the sad expression on all the faces. They say +that the Anglo-Saxon, or perhaps more still the Latin nations, appear to +be more upset by some paltry superficial annoyance, a social slight or +deception, than the Chinaman is at the sight of death. They say that we +prize exorbitantly what is of small real value, while the things which +make life worth living and give inward satisfaction are neglected by us. +And I must confess that I have not been able to confute this statement. +Life in the West--that is to say, the stability of the moral equilibrium +of existence--is very precarious. Steam-engines have long since killed +all sentimentality in us, and deeper feelings are only too frequently +sacrificed to outward appearances and conventionalities. Where even the +basis of religious conviction fails, there is nothing left to compensate +for the vicissitudes of life. + +The Chinese Christian, as the progressive element of the land, desires +above all things that his children should lead pure, Christian lives, a +point which is frequently neglected with us. I have known many Chinese +Christian families. I have been in the houses of simple labourers and in +the huts of peasants, as well as in the mansions of the wealthy, and I +have found, as a rule, with poor and rich alike, that charity and +brotherly affection are not empty terms, but that they find expression +in their daily life. Their care for the poor and needy is quite +touching. Such at least has been my experience, and I have heard the +same from missionaries who have spent their lives amongst them. The +charge of insincerity, which is so often brought against the Chinese +converts, is greatly exaggerated, at any rate as far as the Catholics +are concerned. + +We must not forget that the greater portion of the Chinese Catholics +have been Christians for many generations, and receive regular religious +instruction. The arrival of the first missionaries dates back to the +thirteenth century. It was Kublai Khan who invited them first to settle +in the country, and in course of time he entrusted the education of his +son to them. + +More than six hundred years have passed since the foundation of the +bishopric at Pekin; Monte Corvino was appointed first bishop by Pope +Clement V, and Marco Polo, the famous Italian traveller, accompanied +him. Six thousand baptisms took place in the course of the three +following years, and the number of Christians soon grew to a hundred +thousand. Frequently recurring persecutions hindered the spread of the +gospel; however, it is not my object here to trace the history of +Christianity in China, a question I deal with in another volume, but +rather to point out that the descendants of those early converts have +embraced the Catholic faith already as the religion of their fathers. +With regard to the so-called forced, or paid conversions, I must mention +in the first place that adult conversions very seldom occur, and have +seldom brought the person concerned any material advantage, but on the +contrary exposed him to injustice and persecution. A Chinaman rarely +renounces or changes a once settled conviction, and the greater number +of baptisms recorded were administered to the children of Christian +parents or to orphans and deserted boys, and especially girls, who, +without the intervention of the Church, would have died of starvation or +neglect. Such children are put in orphanages under the supervision of +nuns, and taught a trade which afterwards enables them to provide for +themselves. The more talented among them are educated in the Middle +Schools belonging to the Mission, and in the colleges established in the +larger towns. The administration of these institutions is in the hands +of the clergy, and their popularity is best proved by the fact that a +considerable number of their students profess other religions. + +The children of the well-to-do merchant class, before they can receive +any appointment or start on a foreign tour of study, generally finish +their education at one of these establishments, which, especially in the +harbour towns, are of a very high standard. Their usefulness and +superiority are also universally acknowledged. All classes of society, +regardless of creed, contribute to the maintenance of these schools. The +"Christian Brothers" at Pekin have quite lately erected a large college +on entirely modern principles, which supplies a long-felt want in the +capital. + +In spite of all these reforms, it will be long before China acknowledges +the superiority of the West. Although public opinion is slowly and +gradually changing, this is not entirely because the people recognize +the superiority of Western culture, but rather because they are in +self-defence obliged to make reforms in order to ward off the dangers +which threaten on all sides. + +To a Chinaman the ideal of happiness was quietness and peace; the object +of his civilization to conquer and subdue the brutishness of human +nature, and to combat all desire for violence. As a result of this +education and such a turn of mind which have been in force for more than +ten thousand years, militarism has not only been banished from their +social code of law, but died out of the upper social classes. From +generation to generation the Chinese are taught that the greatest of all +virtues is equanimity; can we therefore wonder that they do not yet +appreciate European civilization, which appears to teach the reverse? If +the Chinese have been at last compelled to relinquish their ancient +views of life and to accept ours, can we blame them if they do it +grudgingly? + +After all, it is only a question of time: how long the Chinese can hold +out, and stick to their old civilization. It may be decades, it may be +hundreds of years. Time is a factor of only secondary importance where +it concerns the transformation of a whole race. But the day is coming, +must come, when not only China's four hundred millions, but the milliard +of the whole Tartar races shall, without exception, adopt the European +civilization, and all the advantages of it. And if in that remote future +the question of the Yellow Peril should arise, the consequences may +indeed be serious. For China would naturally remain hostile to the West, +and, in conjunction with Japan, be its most formidable foe, so long as +the two cultures of the West and the East do not learn to understand +each other. Little as we really know of the peoples of the East, still +less do they know of us. To remove the mutual misunderstanding should be +our earnest endeavour. And this, though not an easy task, considering +the prominence which has been given to the existing differences, is not +an impossible one; for does not the burden of it fall alike on both the +white and the yellow race? + +When we shall have succeeded in dispersing the prejudices existing on +either side; when we shall have learnt to appreciate the virtues of the +yellow race, and they shall have recognized the nobler ideals which +animate us; then the two races, instead of opposing one another in the +battle-field, will, let us hope, offer one another the hand of good +fellowship, and the banner on the one side of the united brotherhood +will bear as a device, "Mutual Aid and Help" instead of "Aggression and +Oppression"; and on the other side, "Friendship and Confidence" instead +of "Violence and Mistrust." + +Let us hope that the Chinese will benefit, not only by our military +equipments and material achievements, but that they will also share our +spiritual supremacy, and above all learn or recognize the fundamental +principles--the basis of all true civilization, the Christian virtues of +Faith, Hope, and Charity. XIV + +CONCLUSION + + +The foregoing chapters were written on the eve of the war. Since that +time the situation is, to some degree, altered, though not so +essentially as might be imagined; and I even believe the general feeling +to be, to a certain extent, the same today as it was yesterday. Neither +party is entirely satisfied; the interests and aims of neither the one +nor the other seem to have been fully realized, and both appear to have +lost more than they have gained in the lengthy, costly, and cruel war. +On the one side, the Russians have had to renounce the most valuable +provinces of what they regarded as their former acquisitions, whilst the +Japanese have not been compensated, either by the definite annexation of +Korea or of Manchuria. The political situation is fundamentally +identical with that of yesterday, or rather with that of a decade ago. +The Peace of Portsmouth does not alter the _status quo_ much from what +it was after the Treaty of Simonosaki, still less from what it was +before the Alliance of Chifu. + +The problem of the domination of Eastern Asia is not solved; the two +great races, the white and the yellow, with their conflicting interests, +are striving for the mastery as before. + +The Peace of Portsmouth might more justly be called an armistice. A +truce has been concluded, and we hope that this truce may be of longer +duration than the last. And, above all, let us hope that it may really +tend to the well-being of the countries interested, and of cultural and +moral advantage for the nations concerned. + +Though the Peace of Portsmouth may be unimportant, the moral influence +of its articles is all the more real from a purely material point of +view. Japan, in spite of her admirable self-restraint, has become one of +the Great Powers, and she shows her strength, her security, and her +power, more especially by her moderation and self-control. The +renunciation of certain points and the ratification of many conditions +required, undoubtedly, a self-control and a political foresight which +this young nation has lately proved she possesses. After an unexpected +succession of brilliant victories--when the fleet of her rival had been +annihilated, the forts of Port Arthur laid in ruins, the hostile armies +forced back step by step--it was hardly credible that Nippon would +refrain from insisting upon complete evacuation of Manchuria, annexation +of Saghalien, and at least a certain amount of war indemnity. + +Was it not natural that Count Witte should inform his depressed +countrymen with satisfaction, that Russia is still as much a Great Power +in the Far East as she was before? Was it not pardonable if this piece +of news, and many others of a similar kind with regard to Russia's +diplomatic acquisitions, gave rise to tumult in the streets of Tokio, +and, at any rate among the lower classes of Japan, to loud expressions +of dissatisfaction? Such spontaneous manifestations of a people's +feelings are easily understood and cannot be taken amiss; but these +people, in spite of their dissension, will daily recognize more and more +what uncommon astuteness has been displayed by the envoys of the nation, +in their acceptance of the present and, to some extent, unsatisfactory +terms of peace. + +Time will prove what were the motives which chiefly determined the +Japanese Government to desist from further prosecution of the war. +Certainly the role played by the leading Powers must have been an +important one. It seemed increasingly doubtful if the forms of future +loans would ensure the same interest for the groups concerned. +Anglo-American credit, which Japan apparently possessed to an unlimited +extent at the outbreak of the war, became circumspect and cautious to a +degree. Further financial undertakings, which, in consequence of the +unexpected and decisive defeat of Russia, might have resulted in +insolvency, could of course not be agreeable to the French and +Continental stockholders. + +[Illustration: COUNT WITTE To face page 384] + +From an international point of view it was desired that the situation, +at any rate as far as appearances went, should remain unchanged. What +was aimed at was equilibrium, not preponderance. Opinions which made +themselves heard, not only in Central Europe, but also in the English +and American newspapers, showed more and more plainly how critical the +situation would be if Japan alone possessed undisputed paramount power +in Eastern Asia. The leading papers, which at first had been so +enthusiastic and described with such unbounded admiration Japan's +gallant battles and unexpected victories, grew gradually reserved as the +question of how far Japan's ambitions might one day extend, became +doubtful. + +Economic acquisitions were feared even more than the actual strategic +conquests. Already a portion of the commerce of the Far East has left +European hands and fallen to the share of Japan, and evidently this will +more and more be the case. The vicinity of the country, the cheap rate +of wages, the simplicity of social conditions and those of labour, even +at the present day, all contribute to give Japan the advantage in the +competition. What their Government chiefly covet, at any rate just +now, are new commercial spheres--safe markets--to profit by the great +wealth of neighbouring states. By adroit commercial treaties with China, +exploitation of the mineral riches of Manchuria and the Korean mines, +Japan may, in a very short time, not only make good her war expenditure, +but consolidate the economical condition of the empire and increase the +general well-being. + +From a political point of view, it can no longer be denied that the +Pacific Ocean will be, at least on the eastern half, dominated by the +Japanese fleet. In short, it is this point which is the essential one. + +As I have already stated, Japan's schemes of conquest, if she had any, +would be directed less towards the north than towards the south. Siberia +never seems to have had a great attraction for her, and I believe that +even Manchuria, together with the Amur Provinces, leaves her +indifferent. She intends to let the original possessor, China, reconquer +it one day. Her far-seeing policy seems to be governed by the assumption +that the Eastern Asiatic continent belongs to her neighbours, the +Chinese. For herself, she wants to secure the position of a great Sea +Power. Her island home, and more especially her sea-faring population, +tend to guide her in this direction. As factors to this end they have +not only subjective competency, but the greatest objective +possibilities. The Island Empire of the Pacific is still, to a great +extent, with all her wealth, a _terra incognita_. We may say the same of +the South Sea Islands, which are mostly only under the nominal dominion +of the white races. Honolulu and the Philippines might one day be +included in the dominions of this newly-arisen great Power; and her +sphere of action will possibly create a yet larger circle. + +Australasia, even, might become the ultimate aim of Japanese Imperialism +and commercialism. The climatic conditions of the northern parts are +such that Europeans find it difficult to settle there, and in the +limitless sugar and coffee plantations the employment of white labour +has always been unsuccessful, in spite of every effort. The number of +the white inhabitants is still very small, although the continent was +first occupied over a hundred years ago. The original native tribes have +slowly died out; but the new settlers, over this whole extent of +enormous territory, do not number as many as the population of London. +Sparsely peopled, she stands there isolated and unfortified, +defenceless, so to speak, in the midst of the sea. + +The actual guarantee for her independence is offered by the circumstance +that she forms part of the British Empire. This dominion is of course +nominal; still, it is enough, at any rate at present, to protect the +continent from foreign attack. But it is not hard to foresee what would +happen to Australia, with the adjacent islands, Tasmania and New +Zealand, should she be severed from Great Britain. Indeed, it is much to +be feared that if ever the present alliance between England and Japan +were to change into hostility, the former pupils and friends might be +obliged to turn their arms against their instructors and allies. + +Now, however, a truce has been declared in Eastern Asia. The Peace of +Portsmouth has been concluded, and the consequences of this recent event +will undoubtedly be greater than the bloodiest battles of the past few +months, although it occasioned less noise. I must acknowledge that I am +somewhat astonished that the world which welcomed with such jubilation +Japan's victories at sea, seems to fail to understand her greatness in +the field of diplomacy. Yet nothing was harder than to find such a +solution of the various antagonistic problems as should ensure a free +path for progress in the future. After such glorious battles, after the +unchecked progress of an army intoxicated with success, it must have +been very hard to halt, and to utilize this interlude for future +strengthening and eventual expansion. Nothing could really have +hindered the march to Harbin or to the Baikal district. Even the +occupation of Vladivostok was merely a question of time. But, as has +already been stated, it was not to Japan's interest to press northwards, +and still less to carry the day by sowing the seeds of a yet greater +hatred, and exciting the conquered country to a policy of revenge. + +That, probably, was the reason why the Japanese gave up the war +indemnity, and hope to refund it themselves from the agricultural wealth +of the strip of land annexed, instead of from the Russian coffers. Japan +did not desire either to increase the animosity of her enemy or to lose +the sympathy of her allies. Above all, she abstained from rousing +hostility and jealousy on too many sides before the definite attainment +of her goal. + +The self-command evinced by the Japanese is the greatest feature that, +in the whole course of her history, we have had occasion to admire, it +is even greater than her bravery, and this same attribute was manifested +in a remarkable manner during the entire war. In the battles, whether in +their dealings with prisoners and wounded, in slight advantages, or in +important victories, they strove to manifest their moderation, +self-control, and humanity. + +Komura's task was no easier than Oyama's or Togo's. To accept and carry +into execution the peace, in its present form, must have been all the +more distasteful in that the whole country was against it and expressed +its opinion in an exceedingly hostile manner. + +Yet, had the populace been more deliberate in its judgment, they must +have appreciated the diplomacy of their statesmen no less than the +strategy of their generals. They may, moreover, rest assured that the +present peace, though it may appear somewhat unjust to them, will prove +to be of as great benefit and of as sure advantage as if better terms +had been arranged. Was it not so, in the case of past victorious wars, +especially as regards the terms of peace concluded with little glory and +renown at Simonosaki and Chifu, which yet contributed so much to +heighten the army's thirst for combat, and to develop the patriotism of +the nation? Undoubtedly Japan is reckoning upon future eventualities and +struggles in which she will demand yet more courage from her army and +even greater enthusiasm from her sons. + + * * * * * + +But for the moment, at least, we may look with confidence to the Peace, +and hope that Nippon, which has won the admiration of the whole world in +the late war, will show herself not less capable in time of peace. May +she assist the countries that have come within her sphere--especially +Korea--to a higher development! May she improve the conditions of +agriculture, industry, as well as of culture, and truly strengthen all +those moral, ethical, and spiritual aspirations which alone make for the +positive weal of mankind! In one word--may the Land of the Rising Sun +earnestly strive to cast rays of light on Eastern Asia! + + + + +INDEX + + +Agriculture, system of, in China, 119; in Korea, 218, 226 + +Alexandrovsky chateau, style, 4, 9; situation, 5, 9; garden, 5; +drawing-room, 9; study, 11 + +Altai range, 41 + +Amur district, incorporated into the Russian Empire, 59, 362 + +Angara river, 49 + +Anglo-Korean commercial agreement, 224 + +Annam, under French administration, 362 + +Annenkoff, General, 64 + +Art, character of Chinese, 182, 348-50; of Japanese, 278 + +Asia, 32 + +Atmolinsk, 36 + +Australasia, the future of, 386 + + +Baikal Lake, crossing the, 51-3, 55; islands, 52; railway line, 52 + +Balagansk, 42 + +Baltic, the, 59 + +Baskir plateau, 32, 58; character and dress of the people, 32; climate, +33 + +Bikanir desert, 64 + +Black Sea, 59 + +Bokhara, 36 + +Boxer movement of 1900, 155 + +Buddhists, 58 + +Buriats, 43; their appearance, 58; dress, 58; religion, 58 + +"Bushido," establishment of, 316; definition of the word, 316; code of +moral principles, 317; origin, 317; unwritten laws, 320; principles of +justice, 320; courage, 321; honour, 322; "hara-kiri," or suicide, 323-6; +"kataki-ushi," or vengeance, 326-8 + +Butter, export of, 40 + + +Calico, sale of, in Korea, 268 + +Cemetery, Portuguese, at Pekin, 167 + +Chan-chi-Tung, Viceroy, his characteristics, 136, 352; attempts at +reform, 136, 352; writings, 137; political views, 352; mercantile +spirit, 353; views on education, 353; extracts from his work on "China's +Only Hope," 353-5 + +Chefoo, Treaty of, 155 + +Chemulpo, 225, 229 + +Ch'ien-men, or Great Street, in Pekin, 168 + +Ch'ien-men San-tan Bridge, 168 + +Chilkoff, Prince, Minister of Railways, his characteristics, 20; +mechanical training, 21; his study, 21; management of the railway +transport during the war, 21_n._ + +Chin-Chan Mountain, 42 + +China, 41; method of agriculture, 119; suzerainty of Korea, 200; system +of education, 209; language, 211; outbreak of war in 1894 with Japan, +231; magnitude, 340; territorial losses, 362; payment of war +indemnities, 362; relations with Japan, 363-7; originality and +initiative, 364-7; delay in reorganization, 369; advocates of reform, +370 + +China, Emperor of, imprisoned, 161, 187; failure of his struggle for +freedom, 187 + +China, Dowager Empress of, her summer residence, 160; appearance and +dress, 183; character, 183; reception of the representatives of the +Powers, 184; interest in the ladies, 186; diplomatic ability, 186 + +"China's Only Hope," extracts from, 353-5 + +Chinampoo, 225 + +Chinese, relations with Russians, 94, 119; capacity for work, 127; +energy and industry, 176; character of their art, 182, 348-50; +characteristics, 341-3; superiority of the native servant, 342; labour +question, 344; virtues of the lower middle class, 344; honesty of +tradesmen, 345; guild or club houses, 346; musical and theatrical +entertainments, 347; intellectual capacity, 351, 371; ideal of +happiness, 369, 378; dress, 373; family affection, 373; their view of +Anglo-Saxons, 374; care of the poor, 375; number of Christians, 376; +schools, 377 + +Ching, Prince, Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs, 177; his appearance, +177; characteristics, 178 + +Chitta, 59 + +Cholera, epidemic of, at Mukden, 105 + +Chopsticks, use of, 148 + +Chunchuses, band of, 82, 118 + +Clement V, Pope, appoints the first Bishop of Pekin, 376 + +Confucius, influence of his teaching, 159 + +Convicts, number of, 43 + +Cossacks, their characteristics, 54; escort of, 111; hilarity, 115; +steeplechase 115-18 + +Cryptomerea, avenue of, 302 + + +Dalny, 123 + +_Datshas_, 3 + +Dogs of Korea, their character, 256-8; of Manchuria, 69 + +Dostoievsky, on the miseries of Omsk, 57 + + +Earth, Temple of the, in Pekin, 172 + +Eastern Chinese Railway Co., 59, 63, 76, 125; system of construction, +64; festivities on the transfer to China, 129 + +Education method of, in Japan, 292; in Korea, 209, 234, 238, 272 + +Erbolinsk, 42 + + +Formosa, 284 + +Funeral, torchlight procession in Seoul, 258-62 + +Funerals, style of, in Korea, 220 + +Fusan, 225, 229 + + +Gardens, style of, in Japan, 310 + +Gen-San, 225 + +Genghis Khan, 61 + +Germany, trade with Korea, 226 + +_Gen-sen_ plant, value of, in Korea, 194, 227 + +Gobi desert, 59, 64 + +Goods train, travelling by, 65 + +Guild or club houses in China, 346 + + +Halung-kiang, 75 + +Han river, 193, 229 + +Hang-Jang, 200 + +Hankau, club house at, 347 + +Hankau-chwang, 129, 131 + +"Hara-kiri," or suicide, 323-6 + +_Haras_, 69 + +Harbin, 59 + +Heaven, Temple of, in Pekin, 171; in Seoul, 252 + +Honolulu, 386 + +Hwang-ssu temple, 170 + + +_Insatsu Kyoku_, or Printing Office in Tokio, 294 + +Irkutsk, 39, 42; characteristics, 42; inhabitants, 43, 50; railway +station, 44-6; impressions of, 48-50; attractions, 50; Imperial Opera +House, 50; Chinese colony, 50 + +Ivasaki, Baron, his articles on Japan, 290, 368 + + +Jade Canal, 142 + +Japan trade with Korea, 225; outbreak of war in 1894 with China, 231; +administration of Korea, 232, 235; temples, 276; lacquer-work, 277; +monuments, 277; character of art, 278-81; Katsura-no-Rikyu Palace, 278; +tea ceremonies, 281, 322; construction of railways, 284; telegraph +lines, 285; telephones, 285; electricity, 286; steamship service, 286-8; +reorganization of the country, 289-91, 314, 332, 367; education, 292; +Tokio University, 292; character of the military equipment, 296, 316; +reception at the Yeddo Palace, 301-10; avenue of cryptomerea, 302; style +of gardens, 310; history, 315; system of vassalage, 315; the _Samurais_ +military code, 316-23, 334; definition of the word "Bushido," 316; +origin, 317; "hara-kiri," or suicide, 323-6; "kataki-ushi," or +vengeance, 326-8; creed, 330; military discipline, 333; religion, 336-8; +Shintoism or nature-worship, 337; imitations and appropriations, 364-7; +development, 367; relations with China, 363-7; conclusion of peace with +Russia, 381; motives for desisting from war, 383-5; moderation and +self-control, 382, 388; policy, 385, 387-9 + +Japan, Emperor of, 305; audience with, 305-7; his interest in various +questions, 306 + +Japan, Empress of, audience with, 308-10; her dress, 308; +characteristics, 308 + +Japanese, their force of imagination, 280, 282; characteristics, 280-3, +289, 296, 311, 315, 341; gift of adaptation, 291, 315; causes of their +success, 315; faculty of assimilation, 315, 367; power of discipline, +315; courteousness, 322; conventional smile, 329; creed, 330; sword, +331; fondness for study, 335; religious views, 337 + +Jasper, waters of, 143 + + +Kai-Teng, 200 + +Kalmuks, the, 43, 58 + +Kanks, 40 + +Kao-Li, 199 + +_Kasha_, 67 + +_Kataki-ushi_, or vengeance, 326-8 + +Katsura-no-Rikyu Palace, 278 + +Kharbin, 70-73 + +Ki-Tsze, founder of Korea, 197 + +Kiahta, 51 + +Kien-lung, Empress, 170 + +Kirghiz, steppes of the, 58 + +Kirin, 68, 75 + +Kirinsk, 42 + +Kinshiu railway, 284 + +Kobe, 284, 339 + +Koerber, Professor, 294 + +Korea, its origin, 189, 197; difference between ancient and modern, 190; +situation, 192; area, 192; mines, 192, 227; rivers, 193, 229; climate, +193; flora, 193; value of the _gen-sen_ plant, 194, 227; timber, 194; +animals, 195; minerals, 195; founder of the nation, 197; law forbidding +the writing of history, 198; diaries of court officials, 198; three +kingdoms, 199; history, 199-203; under the suzerainty of China, 200; +system of administration, 203-5; number of governorships, 204; +organization of the army, 204; corruption of officials, 205; system of +justice, 206; criminal cases, 207; practice of torture, 207; prisons, +207; methods of punishment, 208; education, 209, 234, 238, 272; +language, 211; Emperor Li Hsi, 211; revolution of 1895, 213; family +life, 214; condition of women, 215; rights of marriage, 216; wedding +ceremony, 217; methods of agriculture, 218, 226; work and recreations of +women, 219; amusements of men, 219; music, 220; funerals, 220; children, +221; schools, 221; houses, 222; food, 222; dress, 222; games, 223; +recitations, 223; relations with foreign Powers, 224; trade, 224-6; +means of transport, 227; the "Pedlars' Guild," 228; railways, 229; +harbours, 229; money, 230; independence, 231; under Japanese and Russian +influence, 232, 235; character of the people, 233, 237; college at Yong +Sang, 238; dogs, 256; governed by Japan, 362 + +Korea, Crown Prince of, 273 + +Korea, Emperor of, his attempts at reform, 212; intrigues and plots +against his life, 213; sons, 213; his power, 269; appearance, 270; +costume, 270; interest in the West, 270-2 + +Korea, Empress of, murdered, 267 + +Koreans, their origin, 195; physical characteristics, 196, 233, 237; +intellectual powers, 238; costume, 244, 248, 263; method of education, +252, 272 + +Krasnoyark, 40 + +Ku-hung-ming, extracts from his "Letters from a Viceroy's Residence," +356-60 + +Kublai Khan, 376 + +Kunsan, 225 + +Kuropatkin, General, 124 + +Kwo-tsze-chien temple, 170 + +Kyoto, 284 + + +Lacquer-work in Japan, 277 + +Lama of Lhassa, pilgrimages to, 59 + +Lama monastery in Pekin, 170 + +Legations in Pekin, 152 + +Lena, 41 + +"Letters from a Viceroy's Residence," extracts from, 355-60 + +Li Cheng Ying, 211 + +Li Hsi, Emperor of Korea, 211 + +Li-Hu, 80 + +Li Hung-Chang, Viceroy, his country house, 132; character as a +financier, 132; development of Tien-tsin, 134 + +Li Ping, 211 + +Liao river, 124, 126 + +Liaotung, peninsula, 122, 125; gulf of, 124 + +Liaoyang, bridge near, carried away by the floods, 71, 120; crossing +the, 121 + +Lotus Lake, 160 + + +Maisan Hill, 160, 162; origin of the name, 162 + +Manchuria, 59; journey across, 66-121; refreshment rooms, 67; capital, +68; inhabitants, 69, 70; homes, 69; pigs, 69; poultry, 69; dogs, 69; +mineral wealth, 75; size, 75; population, 75; fertility, 109; character +of the scenery, 110; occupied by Russia, 231 + +Manchury, 59 + +Manchus, their characteristics, 70, 110; mode of locomotion, 90; +relations with the Russians, 94; fatalism, 105 + +Mandarin, mode of travelling, 113 + +Marsanka, 28 + +Masampo, 225 + +Metropole, Hotel du, arrival at, 47 + +Mikado, audience with, 306. _See_ Japan, Emperor of + +Min, Prince, his typical old Korean home, 266 + +Mines in Korea, 227 + +Ming dynasty, 199 + +Ming, General, his funeral, 221 + +Mission, Roman Catholic, at Niu-chwang, 128; at Pekin, siege of the, +149; at Seoul, 254 + +Mochi-Shan, coal mines at, 125 + +Moji, Straits of, 285 + +Mokpo, 225 + +Monte Corvino, appointed first Bishop of Pekin, 376 + +Moonkov-Sarde Mountain, 42 + +Moscow, 26 + +Mujiks, their character, 111 + +Mukden, 68; journey to, 78-86; impressions of, 88; mode of locomotion, +89; plan of the city, 91; public edifices, 92; Imperial Palace, 92, 97; +interior, 93; character of the people, 94; system of local government, +95; the yamen, 95; reception given by the Governor, 96-100; number of +dishes, 98; visit to the Imperial Tombs, 100-4; epidemic of cholera, +105; journey from, 109-18 + +Muraviev, Count, 59 + +Myssowa, 55 + + +Nagasaki, shipbuilding yards, 288, 339 + +Neva, the, 2 + +New Zealand, 387 + +Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, his appearance, 11; reminiscences of his +journey across Siberia, 12; love for his subjects, 13; on the blessing +of peace, 13 + +Nijni-Oudinsk, 42 + +Nippon Tetsudo Railway, 284 + +Nippon Yusen Kaisha Steam Company, annual report, 286 + +Nitobe, Dr., 317 + +Niu-chwang, Port, 124; railway, 124; trade, 125, 127; importation of +opium, 125; life on land and on the river, 126; settlement of the Roman +Catholic Mission, 128; festivities on the transfer of the railway to +China, 129 + + +Obi, 41; valley, 36 + +Okuma, 369 + +Omsk, 36, 57 + +Opium, importation of, 125 + +Osaka, 339; Commercial Exhibition at, 225 + + +Pacific, the, 59 + +Pagoda, thirteen-storeyed, at + +Pekin, 167 + +Peasants, Russian, condition of, 27, 30 + +Pechili, Gulf of, 124 + +"Pedlars' Guild," organization of, in Korea, 228 + +Pei-tang, 145, 172 + +Peiho, 133 + +Pekin, first impressions of, 140, 145-9; arrival in, 141; shops, 147; +signboards, 148; use of chopsticks, 148; the Western Gate, 149; siege of +the Mission, 149; climate, 150; legations, 152-4; Banks, 154; siege, +154; result of the Treaty of Chefoo, 155; fortifications of the European +quarter, 156; ground plan, 158, 160; Imperial City, 158, 160, 165; +Purple or Forbidden City, 158, 165; Imperial Palace, 158, 164, 168; the +Southern Gate, 158; influence of Confucius, 159; the Northern Gate, 162; +Tartar City, 162, 165; Chinese City, 165; excursions, 167; Imperial deer +park, 167; Princesses' tombs, 167; Portuguese Cemetery, 167; +thirteen-storeyed pagoda, 167; summer palaces, 167; Ch'ien-men or Great +Street, 168; temples, 169-72; towers, 172; reception at the Summer +Palace, 177-88 + +Pekin, Treaty of, in 1860, 59 + +Pena, Castle of, 3 + +Pet-Si, 199 + +Peterhof, 3; palace, 3; cascade, 3; chateaux, 4; station, 7 + +St. Petersburg, impressions of, 23; conditions of life, 24 + +Petropaulovsk, 36 + +Petrovsk, 56 + +Philippine Islands, 386 + +Pi-yung-kung, or Hall of the Classics in Pekin, 169 + +_Piek-Pai_ party, 201 + +Pienza, 28 + +Pigs of Manchuria, 69 + +_Piroshki_, 67 + +Polo, Marco, 376 + +Port Arthur, 59, 122; military and naval fortress, 122 + +Portsmouth, Peace of, result of the, 381, 387 + +Punishment, methods of, in Korea, 208 + + +Railway, Eastern Chinese, 59, 63, 76, 125; system of construction, 64; +festivities on the transfer to China, 129 + +Railway, Trans-Siberian, 22. _See_ Trans-Siberian + +Railways, construction of, in Japan, 284 + +Railways, Russian, deficit of, 54 + +Roman Catholic Mission, at Niu-chwang, 128; Pekin, 149; Seoul, 254 + +Ronins, the forty-seven, story of, 326 + +Russia, travelling in, 25; condition of the peasants, 27, 30; state +railways, deficit of, 54; hospitality, 106; occupation of Manchuria, +231; incorporates the Amur district, 59, 362; conclusion of peace with +Japan, 381 + +Russia, Empress of, her appearance, 5; characteristics, 5; devotion to +her children, 6; simplicity of living, 7 + +Russians and Chinese, relations between, 94, 119 + + +S--a, Baron, 305 + +Sahara desert, 64 + +Samara, 31 + +_Samurai_, meaning of the term, 318; unwritten laws, 320; principles, +320; benevolence, 321; courteousness, 322; calm demeanour, 328; +conventional smile, 329; creed, 330; sword, 331 + +_San-ju-neu-Shiki_, manufacture of, 295 + +Sanyo Railway, 284 + +Sedan-chairs, use of, in Korea, 244, 248 + +Sentry-boxes, number of, in Seoul, 246 + +Seoul, 200, 225; railways, 229; electric tramways, 230; first +impressions of, 240-2; uniforms of soldiers, 242-4, 256; shops 245; +number of sentry-boxes, 246; the Royal Palace, 247; sedan-chairs, 248; +wedding procession, 249; British Legation, 251; mode of education, 252, +272; German Consulate, 253; Roman Catholic cathedral, 254; barracks, +255; dogs, 256-8; funeral torchlight procession, 258-62; revolution, +263; the white city, 263; number of palaces, 264; reception at the New +Palace, 264-6; style of the building, 267; court livery, 268; the +Emperor, 269-73; the Crown Prince, 273; the chief eunuch, 274 + +Shimbashi, 275 + +Shintoism, or nature-worship, 337 + +Shops, signboards of, in Pekin, 148 + +Shufeldt, Commodore, 224 + +_Si-Pai_ party, 201 + +Siba, grove of, 327 + +Siberia, export of butter, 40; convicts, 43; characteristics, 60; +extent, 60; provinces, 60; inhabitants, 61; Central, 38; vegetation, 38; +animals, 39; birds, 39; Eastern, cultivation of, 54; Western, 35; +townships, 36; colonization, 36 + +Siberian Railway, 16. _See_ Trans-Siberian + +Sin-La, 199 + +Song-Ching, 225 + +South Sea Islands, 386 + +Steam navigation companies of Japan, 286 + +Suicide, or "hara-kiri," 323-6 + +Summer Palace, reception at, Pekin, 177-88; artistic beauty of the +decorations, 181; state banquet, 188 + + +Ta-chung-ssu, or Temple of the Great Bell, 170 + +Ta-shik-chia, 125 + +Tai Wen Kun, assumes the regency of Korea, 211; his character, 212; +schemes against the Empress, 212; banished, 212 + +Taku Fort, 132; bombardment of, 135 + +Talienwan, Bay of, 123 + +Tao-Tso, first King of Korea, 199 + +_Tarantass_, 72, 110 + +Tashkend, 36 + +Tasmania, 387 + +Tea ceremonies in Japan, 281, 322 + +Telegraph lines in Japan, 285 + +Telephones, number of, in Japan, 285 + +Temples of Japan, 276; Pekin, 169-72 + +Teshoo Lama, 170 + +Tien-tsin, 133; railway, completion, 127, 134; population, 133; European +quarter, 133; situation, 134; export of coal, 135; fighting at, 135 + +Tobolsk, 36 + +Tokio, impressions of, 275, 283, 301; University, 292; number of +students, 293; the library, 293; Printing Office, or _Insatsu Kyoku_, +294; Commercial Museum, 295; arsenal, 295; style of the buildings, 301 + +Tombs, Imperial, at Mukden, 100-4 + +Tombs, Princesses', at Pekin, 167 + +Tomsk, 36, 39 + +Tong-Shan, first coal-pit, 135 + +Tonking, under French administration, 362 + +Tormer-To, 200 + +Torture, practice of, in Korea, 207 + +Trans-Baikalia, mines, 57; inhabitants, 58 + +Trans-Siberian Railway, 16; extent, 22; construction, 12, 22, 55 + +_Troikas_, 94 + +Tsi-tsi-kar, 68, 75; population, 68 + +Tungus, the, 43 + + +Udinsk, 40 + +Ural Mountains, 33; mines, 34; inscription, 35 + + +Vladivostok, 59 + +Volga, the, 31 + + +Wafungtien, 125 + +Wetzel, Mr., director of the East China Railway, kidnapped by +Chunchuses, 118 + +White, Mr., 124 + +Windmills, number of, 28 + +Witte, Count, 383 + +Women, treatment of, in Korea, 215; form of marriage, 217; work, 219; +recreations, 219 + + +Yalu river, 193, 229 + +Yangtse-kiang, 137 + +Yeddo Palace, reception at, 303; decorations, 304 + +Yellow Sea, 59; bays of the, 130 + +Yenisei, 41 + +Ying-tse, 124 + +Yokohama, 339 + +Yong-Sang, college and seminary at, 238 + +Yuan-chi-kai, Viceroy, 370; his policy, 371 + +Yuan-tsi-Khai, 137 + +Yung-Lo, 171 + + +_Zakouska_, 107 + +Z'mershan, coal-mines at, 125 + +PLYMOUTH WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON PRINTERS + + + +Transcriber's Notes : +(1) Obvious typographical, punctuation, and consistency errors +have been corrected. + +(2) Italic text is represented by _underlines_. + +(3) [=o] indicates the letter o with a macron mark. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Empires and Emperors of Russia, China, +Korea, and Japan, by Peter Vay + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EMPIRES AND EMPERORS *** + +***** This file should be named 38508.txt or 38508.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/5/0/38508/ + +Produced by Meredith Bach, Eric Skeet and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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