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diff --git a/39486-h/39486-h.htm b/39486-h/39486-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8d807ee --- /dev/null +++ b/39486-h/39486-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12261 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Sidelights on Chinese Life, by J. Macgowan</title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + + body {margin-left: 12%; margin-right: 12%;} + + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right; font-style: normal;} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center; clear: both;} + + hr {width: 33%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; clear: both;} + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + .giant {font-size: 200%} + .huge {font-size: 150%} + .large {font-size: 125%} + + .poem {margin-left: 15%;} + .note {margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%;} + .hang {margin-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;} + .caption {text-align: center; font-size: small;} + .title {text-align: center; font-size: 150%;} + + .right {text-align: right;} + .center {text-align: center;} + + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .smcaplc {text-transform: lowercase; font-variant: small-caps;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + p.dropcap:first-letter{float: left; padding-right: 3px; font-size: 250%; line-height: 83%; width:auto;} + .caps {text-transform:uppercase;} + + a:link {color:#0000ff; text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:#6633cc; text-decoration:none} + + .spacer {padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em;} + + .vertsbox {border: solid 2px; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; margin: auto; width: 24em;} + + hr.full { width: 100%; + margin-top: 3em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + height: 4px; + border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ + border-style: solid; + border-color: #000000; + clear: both; } + pre {font-size: 85%;} + </style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Sidelights on Chinese Life, by J. Macgowan, +Illustrated by Montague Smyth</h1> +<p>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 <a +href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></p> +<p>Title: Sidelights on Chinese Life</p> +<p>Author: J. Macgowan</p> +<p>Release Date: April 20, 2012 [eBook #39486]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIDELIGHTS ON CHINESE LIFE***</p> +<p> </p> +<h4>E-text prepared by<br /> + the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> + from page images generously made available by<br /> + Internet Archive<br /> + (<a href="http://archive.org">http://archive.org</a>)</h4> +<p> </p> +<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + Note: + </td> + <td> + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive. See + <a href="http://archive.org/details/sidelightsonchin00macgrich"> + http://archive.org/details/sidelightsonchin00macgrich</a> + </td> + </tr> +</table> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1><small>SIDELIGHTS ON CHINESE LIFE</small></h1> + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<div class="vertsbox"> +<p class="center">BY THE SAME AUTHOR</p> +<p class="center"><span class="huge">The Imperial History of China</span></p> +<p class="center">Being the History of the Empire as compiled by the Chinese Historians</p> +<p class="center"><i>SECOND EDITION NOW READY</i></p> +<p class="center">Enlarged and brought up to date. Royal 8vo, half calf.<br /> +<b>£1 1s.</b> net. To be obtained of</p> +<p class="center"><strong>KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & Co., Limited,</strong><br /> +Dryden House, 43 Gerrard Street, London, W.</p></div> + + +<p> </p><p> <a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a></p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">GOLDEN ISLAND<br />(ON THE YANG-TSE).</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p class="center"><span class="giant">SIDELIGHTS<br />ON CHINESE LIFE</span></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center"><small>BY</small><br /> +<span class="large"><span class="smcap">Rev.</span> J. MACGOWAN</span><br /> +<i>London Missionary Society</i><br /> +<small>AUTHOR OF “THE IMPERIAL HISTORY OF CHINA,”<br />“A DICTIONARY OF AMOY COLLOQUIAL,”<br /> +“PICTURES OF SOUTHERN CHINA,” ETC.</small></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center"><i>WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR</i></p> +<p class="center"><small>BY</small><br /> +<span class="large">MONTAGUE SMYTH</span></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center"><i>AND THIRTY-FOUR OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS</i></p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center">LONDON<br /> +KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO., LIMITED<br /> +DRYDEN HOUSE, 43 GERRARD STREET, W.<br /> +1907</p> +<p class="center">[<i>All Rights Reserved</i>]</p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Richard Clay and Sons, Limited</span><br /> +BREAD STREET HILL, E.C., AND<br /> +BUNGAY, SUFFOLK</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> +<p class="title">CONTENTS</p> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table"> +<tr><td><small>CHAP.</small></td> + <td> </td> + <td align="right"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td> + <td>THE CHINAMAN</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td> + <td>FAMILY LIFE</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td> + <td>CHILD LIFE</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td> + <td>RELIGIOUS FORCES IN CHINA</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td> + <td>SERVANTS</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_94">94</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td> + <td>THE ADAPTABILITY AND TENACITY OF PURPOSE OF THE CHINESE</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td> + <td>AMUSEMENTS</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td> + <td>THE FARMER</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td> + <td>A RAMBLE THROUGH A CHINESE CITY</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td> + <td>HADES, OR THE LAND OF SHADOWS</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td> + <td>A CHAPTER ON SOME OF THE MORE SHADY PROFESSIONS IN CHINESE LIFE</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td> + <td>SCHOOLS, SCHOOL-MASTERS, AND SCHOOL-BOOKS</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td> + <td>THE MANDARIN</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td> + <td>PEDDLER LIFE IN CHINA</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td> + <td>THE SEAMY SIDE OF CHINESE LIFE</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td> + <td>A TRIP THROUGH THE COUNTRY</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_346">346</a></td></tr></table> + + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" summary="table"> +<tr><td colspan="3" align="center">LIST OF COLOURED PLATES</td></tr> +<tr><td>GOLDEN ISLAND (ON THE YANG-TSE)</td> + <td colspan="2" align="right"><a href="#frontis"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> +<tr><td>AN IMPERIAL CONFUCIAN TEMPLE</td> + <td><i>To face p.</i></td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_64">65</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>THE WHITE STAR TEMPLE, NANKIN</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_88">89</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>JUNKS (ON THE YANG-TSE)</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_113">112</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>NETTING FISH</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_128">129</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A FARM HOUSE</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A HARBOUR SCENE (HONG KONG)</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>CHINESE FARMERS</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A TEA HOUSE</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A TYPICAL VILLAGE</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_248">249</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>ENTRANCE GATE (NANKIN)</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>CHINESE LOCOMOTION</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_346">346</a></td></tr> +<tr><td> </td></tr> +<tr><td colspan="3" align="center">UNCOLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS</td></tr> +<tr><td>A CHINESE GENTLEMAN</td> + <td><i>To face p.</i></td> + <td align="right"><a href="#gentleman">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>CHINESE EATING RICE AND DRINKING SAMSHU (WHISKY)</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A JOKE</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>SOME CHINESE BOYS</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#boys">21</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>WOMEN CARRYING BABIES ON THEIR BACKS</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_25">24</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>AN OLD LADY</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_38">39</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>LITTLE URCHINS</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>LITTLE LADS</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>STUDIES OF CHINESE BOYS</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_50">51</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A BOY CARRYING BASKETS</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr> +<tr><td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>A SEDAN CHAIR</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>PLOUGHING WITH A WATER BUFFALO</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A PASSENGER BOAT</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_127">126</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A BOAT CARRYING SEDAN CHAIR</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_127">126</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A DRAGON BOAT</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_138">129</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A STREET SCENE</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#street">131</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>ACTORS IN COSTUME</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_146">147</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A BARBER AND HIS CUSTOMER</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">178</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A REFRESHMENT STALL</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_185">184</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A STREET SCENE</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_195">194</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>CARRYING A COFFIN</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#coffin">201</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A BUDDHIST PRIEST</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>CEMETERIES</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A SCHOLAR IN OFFICIAL DRESS</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A POLICEMAN</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_281">280</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A PEDDLER</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A SHOEMAKER AT WORK ON THE STREET</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A PEDDLER</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A WAYSIDE KITCHEN</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_316">317</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>FRUIT-SELLERS GAMBLING</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_326">327</a></td></tr> +<tr><td>A FAMOUS BRIDGE</td> + <td> "<span class="spacer"> </span>"</td> + <td align="right"><a href="#Page_361">361</a></td></tr></table> + + + +<p> </p><p> <a name="gentleman" id="gentleman"></a></p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img02.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A CHINESE GENTLEMAN.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 16em;"><small><i>To face p. 1.</i></small></span></p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> +<p class="center"><span class="giant">Sidelights on Chinese Life</span></p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> +<p class="title">THE CHINAMAN</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">The Chinaman a puzzle—Oblique methods—Instances given—Mind +turbid—Shrewd—A bundle of contradictions—No love of truth in the +abstract—Hypnotizing power of the Chinese, in business, in foreign +official life—Full of human nature—Inability to be thorough.</p></div> + + +<p>The Chinaman’s mind is a profound and inexplicable puzzle that many have +vainly endeavoured to solve. He is a mystery not simply to the foreigner, +who has been trained to more open methods of thought, but also to his own +countrymen, who are frequently heard to express their astonishment at some +exhibition of character, that has never occurred to them during the whole +of their oblique life. A Chinese cook who was living in an English family, +and who found life so intolerable through some petty devices and schemes +of his fellow-servants that he was compelled to resign his situation, was +so taken aback at the ingenuity and skill of the manœuvres that had +been employed to oust him from his employment that, with flashing eyes and +a face flushed with excitement, he said, “I know the Englishman well, I +can accurately gauge his mind, and I can tell exactly how he will usually +act; but my own countrymen are a mystery to me that I do not profess to be +able to comprehend.”</p> + +<p>This of course was an exaggeration, as there must have been a great deal +in his own people that he must have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> quite familiar with. He merely +meant that there were depths in the Celestial mind that even he had never +yet fathomed. Any one who has ever studied the Chinese character must have +come to the conclusion that the instincts and aims of the people of the +Chinese Empire are distinctly the reverse of those that exist in the minds +of the men of the West. An Englishman, for example, prides himself upon +being straightforward and of saying exactly what he believes. A Chinaman +would never dream of taking that position, simply because it is one that +he does not understand, and consequently he could never carry out. A +straight line is something that his mind recoils from, and when he desires +to effect some purpose that he has before him, he prefers an oblique and +winding path by which in a more roundabout manner he hopes to attain his +end.</p> + +<p>It may be laid down as a general and axiomatic truth, that it is +impossible from hearing what a Chinaman says to be quite certain of what +he actually means. The reason for this no doubt arises from the fact that +a speaker hardly ever in the first instance touches upon the subject that +he has in his mind, but he will dwell upon two or three others that he +believes have an intimate relation with it, and he concludes that this +subtle line of thought ought to lead the hearer to infer what he has all +the time been driving at. One of my servants, for example, had a grievance +against another also in my employ. He did not dare to complain of him to +me, for he belonged to a powerful clan bordering on his own in the +interior, and if anything unpleasant had happened to this particular +member through any accusation that might be laid against him, they would +have wreaked their vengeance not only upon the man who had troubled him, +but also upon the members of the weaker clan who were connected with him.</p> + +<p>The direct method that would have been pursued by a foreigner without any +regard to consequence, because he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> has no dread of hostile clans, and +because he has the law to protect him in case of need, evidently cannot be +adopted by the aggrieved person here, and so he naturally adopts the +method that he believes will secure him a redress of his wrongs without +any danger to himself or his clan.</p> + +<p>He accordingly appears one morning with that blank expressionless visage +with which a Chinaman can conceal his thoughts, and asks permission to +return to his home in the country. He had just got news, he says, that a +brother of his has suddenly become very ill and is not expected to live, +and urgent entreaties have been sent him to come home as speedily as he +can. You are rather startled at this sudden demand to be left at a +moment’s notice without a servant who is necessary to carry on the work of +the home; and besides, you have the uncomfortable feeling that this may be +one of those obscure but oblique ways by which the Yellow mind is working +to secure some end that lies concealed within its fathomless recesses.</p> + +<p>You ask particulars, but he has none to give. He simply waves before you a +letter covered with strange and weird hieroglyphics, and hands it to you +for inspection, though he is aware that you can no more decipher it than +you could the wedge-shaped symbols of the Assyrian language, and he +declares that he knows no more about the illness of his brother than what +is contained in it. As you cannot read the letter, and moreover you would +get no light from it even if you could, you look him straight in the face +to see if you cannot discover some little ray of light on this perplexing +question; but no, it is just as impenetrable as the document he holds in +his hands as evidence of the bad news he has received from his home. It is +perfectly sphinx-like, and gives no clue to the thoughts that lie behind +it. The eyes are liquid and childlike, and just that touch of sadness that +harmonizes with his sorrowful feelings has laid its lightest shadow over +his features,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> and you begin to feel that you have been doing the man an +injustice by doubting him.</p> + +<p>You have gone through similar processes before, however, and the memory of +them inspires you with caution, so you tell him to go away and you will +think over the matter. You call another of the servants whom you know to +be on good terms with the other, and you ask him if he has heard of the +distressing news that has come to his friend. A flash of surprise like a +streak of lightning out of a clear sky shoots across his face, which he +instantly suppresses, however, and with a calm and unruffled look he says, +“I have not heard that any letter has come, but there may have been one. I +have been busy, you know, doing my work, and so have not been told.”</p> + +<p>This is decidedly suspicious, for if there is one thing that a Chinaman +cannot do it is to keep a secret. After a little further conversation with +this man he remarks in a very casual off-hand way—</p> + +<p>“I have heard that so-and-so had a brother; it is very strange, and I +cannot quite understand this business,” and after one or two miscellaneous +remarks he suddenly looks round, goes to the door, and peers up and down +the hall, to assure himself that there is no one looking about. He then +walks on tiptoe to the open window, and gives a rapid glance amongst the +flowers and shrubs in the garden to see that none of his fellow-servants +are there to catch snatches of the conversation, and, still treading like +a cat that scents a rat, he comes up close to you, and whispering in your +ear he utters just one word, “Examine,” and then with a face full of +mystery and with the same cat-like motion he vanishes out of the door with +a face covered with smiles, and you feel that you are now on a fair way to +find out the secret of the hieroglyphic letter and the alarming sickness +of the brother.</p> + +<p>You “examine” the matter, and you find that the man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> never had a brother, +that the letter was written by a clansman next door, and that the whole +plot was devised to get you to rectify wrongs without arousing in the +offender a suspicion that he had been informed against. There is +consequently no feud and no vendetta, and after a few strong and forceful +words as to what may happen if people do not behave themselves, the +household returns to its normal state of order and quietness.</p> + +<p>In order thoroughly to understand and appreciate the Chinaman, a man must +be possessed of large powers of inference, for it is almost certain that +what lies apparent in his conduct is not the real thing that he has in +view.</p> + +<p>One day a Chinaman walked into my study in the free and easy way with +which people enter each other’s houses in this land, with a basket of eggs +in his hand. He was a complete stranger to me, but he talked as glibly to +me as though he had been well acquainted with me. He told me that he had +brought me a present, that the eggs had been laid by his own fowls, and +that though they were too small a present to be accepted by one so much +higher than he was, he hoped that I should still condescend to take them +from him. “But I do not know who you are, and moreover I do not see why +you should make me any present at all.” “Oh, I merely wished to do myself +the honour of meeting with you, for I have heard others speak with great +respect of you, and my wife and I thought that a few eggs from my own +farm, though not worthy of your acceptance, would be a little token of the +respect in which we hold you.”</p> + +<p>In spite of all his professions of devotion and esteem for myself, I felt +convinced that he had some favour to ask of me; but, true to the +peculiarity of the Chinese mind, he kept it at first in the background, +and after talking with him for about an hour, and after I had hinted that +I had an engagement that would compel me to leave him, he began<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> to +stammer out that he was in great trouble with some persons in his village, +and as he knew that I had great influence, he had come to me to help him +out of his difficulty. The secret was now out, and the basket of eggs and +the hour’s conversation about everything in the world, except the one +subject that he had come miles to discuss with me, were but oblique +methods of leading up to the one important thought that was filling his +mind.</p> + +<p>The Chinese as a rule are a highly shrewd and thoughtful people. They are +keen observers of human life as well as of the natural world that lies +around them. It is very striking to notice with what intelligence the +uneducated countryman, who has never had any education, and whose life has +been spent in labours that never call forth any effort of the imagination, +will describe the leaves of the different kinds of trees, the habits and +lives of a great variety of birds in the region around, and the +peculiarities of insect life which they have never studied scientifically, +but simply with that keen power of observation which the Chinese seem +intuitively to possess.</p> + +<p>In spite of all this it is quite safe to say that the Chinese mind is +wanting in lucidity, and in the ability of grasping an idea with the same +readiness that a Westerner does. This is specially the case with the +uneducated, and therefore with the great mass of people. You tell a +coolie, for example, to take a letter to the post-office. He has gone +there perhaps a dozen times before. He stands and gazes at you with a +perplexed look, as though you had told him to go to New Zealand. Knowing +this peculiarity of the Chinese mind, you repeat your order, and you ask +him if he knows where the post-office is? The blank look becomes more +confirmed, and he says, “I’ll inquire of some one where it is.” As you +feel anxious about your letter, you say, “Now tell me what I have asked +you to do.” “Asked me to do?” he exclaims, and the dense look<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> deepens on +his face. “Yes, I have asked you to take this letter to the post-office, +the place where you have often gone before. Do you know where it is?” +“I’ll inquire,” he says briskly, as though it was just beginning to dawn +upon him that he had some idea where the post-office was. He moves away, +and you have doubts in your mind whether your letter may not go astray and +never be posted, when the coolie returns with hasty steps and with an +anxious look on his yellow face, and inquires of you, “Did you say that I +was to take this letter to the post-office?” “I did, and I hope you +understand now where it is.” “I’ll inquire,” he says, and vanishes.</p> + +<p>This singular feature in an otherwise intelligent mind is a continual +source of irritation to a foreigner, who has never had any experience of +such turbidity of thought in matters that seem to him to require no +exertion to grasp at once. You say to a man, for example, more for the +purpose perhaps of having something to say than anything else, “How old +are you?” A blank look of amazement comes over his countenance, much as +though you had asked him if he had committed murder. “Do you mean me?” he +asks. “Yes, I mean you; how old are you?” “How old am I?” and now the idea +seems to have filtered into his brain, and the vacant, dazed look is +replaced by a slight smile that ripples over his face, and he tells you +his age. It is no exaggeration to say that all over this great empire, +wherever the above questions have been put, the same comedy has invariably +been gone through in getting a reply to them.</p> + +<p>This haziness of thought is especially annoying to the medical men who are +in charge of general hospitals, where all classes of people come for +treatment. One day a woman came to one of these to consult the foreign +physician about her health. She was tall and severe-looking, with a face +that forbade any attempt to trifle with her.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> She was evidently a person +that never indulged in a joke, for the lines on her countenance were hard +as though they had never been relaxed by any of the pleasantries or +humours of life. You could fancy her being a hard-working, industrious +housewife, but one that neither husband nor children would ever approach +excepting with a certain diffidence and restraint.</p> + +<p>Coming to her turn to be treated, the doctor said to her, “What is your +name?” This question always seems to paralyze a Chinaman, so that he never +answers it at once. The woman’s face was at once convulsed with amazement, +and her eyes became staring as she gazed intently on the doctor. “You mean +me?” she asked with every line livid with emotion. “Yes, I mean you,” he +said; “what is your name?” “You mean my name?” she cried, and she struck +her breast with her open hand to make sure that she was the person he +meant. “Yes, I mean you; so answer me quickly, as I have no time to +waste.” “I have no name,” she answered, with a pathos that seemed to +tremble through her voice. “No name!” he said. “What do you mean? You must +have a name, everybody has some name or other.” “I have no name,” she +answered deliberately, whilst she slowly shook her head as if to give +emphasis to her statement. “May I ask,” said the doctor, with a smiling +face, “what people generally call you?” “They do not call me anything, for +I have no name,” she protested. “Well, when you were a girl what did your +mother call you?” “She called me ‘Pearl,’” she said, and now a flash of +sunlight came into her face, as no doubt a vision of by-gone days rose +before her. “Very well,” said the doctor, “I shall put your name down as +‘Pearl’ in my register,” though if he had only persevered a little longer +he would no doubt have got the one by which she was commonly known amongst +her neighbours.</p> + +<p>One of the reasons that has led the foreigner to entertain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> the idea +that the Chinaman is incomprehensible arises from the fact that he seems +to be an absolute bundle of contradictions. It is the existence of totally +diverse qualities in the same person that has made one feel that after an +intimate knowledge of him for many years there are still surprises in his +character that show the complex nature of his being, and the difficulty of +predicting what he will do in the future under any circumstances. He would +be a daring man indeed that would take upon himself the <i>rôle</i> of prophet +about any individual, no matter how well he might be acquainted with him.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img03.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">CHINESE EATING RICE AND DRINKING SAMSHU (WHISKY).</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 9.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>A coolie, for example, is engaged by you to do general household work. He +comes to you from an inland country where poverty is the prevailing +characteristic of the whole population. Sweet potatoes are the staple food +three times a day, year in, year out, helped down perhaps by salted +turnip, bean curds and pickled beans—for it is only on special occasions +that they have the rare happiness of indulging in the luxury of rice.</p> + +<p>He has absolutely nothing excepting what he stands in, and so few cash +that no sooner have you agreed to employ him than he at once asks for an +advance to buy his next meal. The sum you promised him is princely when +compared with what he could earn in his own country, and his mode of +living is on a most luxurious scale, when contrasted with the meagre food +he had in his native village. Now he has rice every day and fish, and +luxuries brought from northern seas, no longer a vision of dreams, but +realities that he indulges in every day.</p> + +<p>Now, judging from an English standpoint, one would imagine that this +poverty-stricken Chinaman, whose experience of want has been so real, +would hold on like grim death upon a situation where life has been made so +easy for him. But here comes in one of the surprises that often makes the +Chinese character so inexplicable. A month<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> goes by, and one day with the +silent tread of his shoeless feet he sidles up to you, and he says he +wants to tell you that he is going to leave you. You are astonished, and +you ask him, with a look of wonder on your face, what he means and what he +intends doing? He is not going to do anything, he declares, and he gives +you nine reasons for his conduct, not one of which is the true one, the +tenth and real one being hidden away in that mysterious brain of his, and +he leaves you. A few days hence you see him loafing about with no apparent +means of livelihood, and he is fast reverting to the original potatoes-fed +type that he was when he left his country home.</p> + +<p>Another point that is inexplicable in the Chinese is his amazing +credulity. His character is naturally a strong one, his common-sense of +the broad and robust kind. There is hardly any subject in common life +where his opinion is not of a healthy, breezy description. It is one of +the mysteries of the inscrutable Chinaman that at times he seems to be as +credulous as the most unenlightened African that trembles before the +decision of the Obi doctor.</p> + +<p>In the early years, when the foreigner was an unknown and dreaded +character, the wildest and most improbable stories were circulated amongst +the common people, and more believed in. A mandarin in a large city in the +northern part of the Empire, where the people were inspired with a dread +lest they were going to be attacked by the English, took advantage of +their credulity by putting out proclamations all over his district, which +informed them that they had no reason whatever to fear the foreigners, +because, as they had no knee-joints, when they fell down they could not +rise up again. This was at once accepted as a truth, and the agitation and +alarm from that time passed entirely away.</p> + +<p>About the same time, in a very wide and extended district, a rumour arose +that the missionaries, when any of their converts died, took out their +eyes and made them into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> opium. The thing was so utterly absurd and the +number of Christians then so very small, that it seemed as though the +monstrous report must speedily die a natural death. But this was not the +case. It spread with remarkable rapidity through towns and villages and +hamlets, and was implicitly believed in not merely by coolies and rough, +uncultivated labourers, but also by scholars of high degree and by great +mandarins, and for more than twenty years it was a prime article of faith +with millions of people.</p> + +<p>It is the unexpected that so often happens in Chinese life that has given +such an air of mystery to this strange and wonderful people. The very +opposite virtues and vices seem to flourish and exist in the same +individuals. The Chinese, for example, in ordinary and everyday life have +no sense of truth. It is not that they are any worse than other nations of +the East. The moment you pass through the Suez Canal and have come upon +the confines of the Orient, you realize that truth as it is looked upon in +the West does not exist in all the vast and glowing regions beyond.</p> + +<p>You are in a new land, and the atmosphere of straightforward honest +expression of thought has vanished, and now it seems that, except in the +most trivial affairs of life, where concealment is unnecessary, you are in +a world where every one has a mask on, and the great aim is to conceal the +face that lies behind.</p> + +<p>The oblique and angular way by which a Chinese loves to express the +intention he has in his mind has no doubt intensified the Oriental +disposition to lie, until now he seems to have absolutely no conscience on +the subject. A Chinese coolie one day made some statement to me that I +knew to be false. I was exceedingly annoyed at this, and so told him, and +yet I could not help being amused, for the look of childish simplicity and +artlessness that beamed over his face was so real and natural that I +could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> not but admire the perfect acting of this rough, uncultivated +fellow. “You are mistaken,” he said to me, “when you accuse me of telling +you a falsehood, for I assure you that I never told a lie in all my life.” +I instinctively thought of a picture that appeared in <i>Punch</i> many years +ago, where two rough miners stood by the roadside, one of them having a +kettle in his hand, which was to be given to the one that could tell the +greatest lie. A person comes along who asks them what they are talking +about? When told, he was shocked, and declared that he had never told a +lie in his life, and he was rather taken aback when the kettle was handed +to him, and he was told that he rightly earned it. I thought if only I had +had a kettle at hand I would have passed it over to him and told him the +legend.</p> + +<p>Now the contradictory element in the Chinaman’s character comes out +particularly strong in connection with this national defect of +untruthfulness. A lie to him has no moral side, it is simply a display of +cleverness, and the more perfectly it succeeds the greater is the applause +it elicits; and yet there are occasions when the Chinaman’s word is as +good as his bond, and is as much to be relied upon as that of an +Englishman who may have gained a reputation for integrity and honour.</p> + +<p>A Chinese merchant, for example, makes a contract months before to deliver +so many chests of tea at a certain rate. The market in the meanwhile +rises, a dearth has suddenly occurred in the foreign trade, and the buyer +finds that if he keeps his engagements he will lose thousands of dollars. +He never for a moment hesitates as to what he shall do; he does not even +attempt to get the purchaser to make an advance upon the terms agreed to. +The tea comes down the river from the mountain side on which it is grown, +over rapids and down through whirling gorges, and away from the pure +breezes of the hillside, and it is brought to the city where the merchant +lives, and is handed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> over to him with as scrupulous a care as though he +were being paid the advanced price that the later teas are getting.</p> + +<p>It is no uncommon thing for foreign merchants to bear testimony to the +perfect honesty of the Chinese with whom they may have large business +transactions, and one manager of a banking concern even declared in public +that, though business extending over hundreds of millions of taels had +been transacted with Chinese, the bank had never suffered by one single +defaulter. This is all the more extraordinary, and is one of the startling +perplexities in the Chinese character, since we know that in ordinary +business life one has to keep one’s weather eye open or he will find +himself cheated most unmercifully.</p> + +<p>In spite of the complex nature of the Chinese, and the veiled way in which +that mysterious brain of his works, there is no doubt but that there is a +fascination about him to the men of the West such as none of the other +nations of the East possesses. It is not because he is handsome, for, +taking the ordinary run of Chinese that one sees in the streets, they are +entirely wanting in all the elements of beauty that constitute the +standard of the West.</p> + +<p>The features of the face, with the exception of the eyes, have not a +single good one amongst them. The cheek-bones of the typical Chinaman are +high and protruding; the nose is flat, as though the original progenitor +had had his bruised by falling on a fender and had transmitted it +flattened and disfigured through successive generations, and the mouth, +too, is large and sensuous looking. In addition to all this there is a +yellow strain that lies as a foundation colour through all the others that +nature or the burning sun lays on, and the effect is not at all a pleasing +one. That there are really handsome women in common life and amongst the +more refined classes, and that there are good-looking men in all grades of +society is undoubtedly true,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> but they are by no means common. The great +mass of the people are exceedingly plain-featured and unattractive, and +they are wanting, too, in those delicate and refined graces that of +themselves are sufficient to give a charm even to a personality that is +otherwise anything but pleasing.</p> + +<p>The attraction lies in the people themselves, and without any effort on +their side the foreigner feels himself drawn by a kind of hypnotism +towards them. You cannot explain this and you cannot tell the reason why. +A rude, rough-looking coolie comes in, and you do not feel repelled by him +as you would were the person a countryman of your own who had suddenly +appeared out of the slums. A man has cheated you, and you know that he +has, and though you may at first feel indignant, it is not long ere you +are laughing at the whole affair because of the grotesque side that almost +invariably accompanies such a transaction. A person comes to see you about +whom you are suspicious. You stand on your guard, and you put on your +coldest and most reserved air, as you ask him to be seated. The Chinaman +acts as though he were quite oblivious of your state of mind. There is a +smile upon his face that travels over the rough hollows of his expansive +countenance, and spreads to the back of his neck, and seems in some +mysterious way to vanish down his long tail. No amount of coldness can +long resist the eyes that are flashing with good humour and the features +that are lighted up with such a pleasant look. Insensibly you begin to +thaw, and before you are aware of it you are talking with him on the most +friendly terms. You laugh and chat with him, and when he leaves, you +accompany him to the door, and with the usual polite phrase to the parting +guest, you entreat him “to walk slowly, and come again as soon as he can.” +Ten minutes after he has gone, your old suspicions revive, and you wonder +at yourself in being such an egregious fool as to give yourself away as +you have done. The fact is, it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> the nameless something about the man +that worked the miracle, and now that the bright black eyes have gone, and +the moorland of smile has vanished, and the hypnotism no longer works, you +come back to the old thoughts that you had before, which you are certain +after all are right.</p> + +<p>Circumstances of this kind are of exceedingly frequent occurrence. You go +into a bank that has a large business. The manager is an energetic, shrewd +business man. He is full of schemes and plans to promote the interests of +the establishment, and people speak of him as being the cause of the +prosperity that is now giving it a golden reputation. The real man who +lies at the back of all this success is the Chinese compradore. He is a +most unpretentious man, and if you visit him in the little room that he +uses as an office, you would be anything but struck by him. His clothes +are of a very common description, rather slovenly and untidy, and his +shoes are slipshod. He is perhaps smoking a long bamboo pipe of +vile-smelling native tobacco, but this quiet, unassuming Chinaman is the +force that lies behind the business that brings in such large dividends to +the shareholders. He has the whole of the markets in his brain, he knows +which of the clients of the bank are prosperous and which are tottering on +the brink of bankruptcy. He finds out to whom amongst his countrymen loans +may be made with safety, and he will know by a single glance at documents +that have been drawn up in the hieroglyphic language of the Chinese of +what value they are for the purpose of negotiating large monetary +transactions. No bank in China, and no large business firm could exist for +a month without its compradore.</p> + +<p>The hypnotic influence of the Chinaman is seen in almost any direction in +which you like to turn. The mistress of a home is as wax in the hands of +her cook, whose words, as far as the table is concerned, are a law that +even she would be very chary of opposing. A foreigner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> engages a Chinese +teacher, and ere long he comes so thoroughly under his influence that he +will accept every word that he says about Chinese subjects, will repeat +his very mistakes, and will refuse to listen to any criticism that +outsiders may make either regarding his scholarship or his methods of +teaching.</p> + +<p>Perhaps the most conspicuous instance of the dominating influence of the +Chinaman is seen in the foreign Consulates. In each of these there is a +Chinese official employed that is called a writer. He is a gentleman and a + +member of the literary class. His duties are to write dispatches in +Chinese to the mandarins and to be the one connecting link between the +native authorities and the particular foreign Consul in whose service he +happens to be. All petitions or complaints from the Chinese have to go +through his hands, so that his position is one of great responsibility and +power.</p> + +<p>If the Consul happens to be a man of strong, independent character he will +hold his own, and the business of the Consulate will be in a large measure +under his own control. If he is, however, easy-going or of average +intellectual ability, he comes at once under the hypnotizing influence of +the wily self-contained Chinaman, who before long becomes the master +spirit in the office. This fact is so far realized by the leading mandarin +of the place that he actually subsidizes him to influence the policy of +the Consul to be favourable to him. A hostile writer could so easily +influence his mind against the former, and cause such strained diplomatic +relations, that he would incur the resentment of his superiors and be +dismissed from his office.</p> + +<p>I have known a case where the whole policy of a Consulate was dictated by +the writer, who was a clever, intriguing scamp. All Chinese documents had +to pass through his hands, and it depended upon the amount of the bribes +received whether any of them got a dispassionate investigation at the +hands of the Consul. His reputation became<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> so bad that he was finally +asked to resign, but he did so with a very comfortable fortune that +enabled him to take a commanding position amongst the leading men in his +neighbourhood.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img04.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A JOKE.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 17.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>In whatever direction one likes to take the Chinaman, he seems to have an +hypnotic power that secures, if not favour, at least attention. An English +mother takes her little girl, a delicate, fragile little morsel, with blue +eyes and golden hair, and she puts her into the arms of one of her coolies +to amuse and care for her. He is about as ugly-looking a specimen as you +could pick out. He has large, uncouth features and hair unkempt, and the +general air of a rowdy. You would naturally suppose that the +refined-looking little mortal would shrink from him, but nothing of the +kind happens. Her eyes glisten, and she jumps into his arms with alacrity, +and by and by you will see her with one arm round his neck and looking +with pleasure into his face, full of the most perfect content.</p> + +<p>There is no doubt but that one secret of the extraordinary power that the +Chinese undoubtedly have is the very large amount of genuine human nature +with which as a race they are endowed. The Chinaman is a person that is +full of fun. It would seem as though a sense of humour lay at the basis of +his character and tinged everything with its subtle influence. A joke with +the Chinaman is a solvent that disperses anger and drives away passion +from the heart, and makes the broad, uncouth faces shine with a light, +like sunbeams playing upon the rugged sides of a hill. If the Chinese had +been a nation of sombre, gloomy people, without a gleam of humour in their +natures, they would have been a positive peril to the world. As it is, the +genial strain that is the woof and warp of the Celestial’s being makes him +a person that can win his way into the hearts of strangers, and slowly +dissipate the prejudice that they at first have, because of his homely and +unattractive features,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> and the yellow hue that tinges his skin with a +most inartistic colour.</p> + +<p>He can be very cruel when the passion is upon him, but under ordinary +circumstances he is full of kindness and sympathy, and he will exercise +these qualities in such a genial way that one’s heart feels drawn out +towards him. When one gets beyond the outside formalities and into the +inner life of the people, and beyond the crust of selfishness that +heathenism has caused to gather round their hearts, one discovers a fund +of possible human virtues that under the influence of Christianity will +expand and develop so that the nation that the world has been accustomed +to look upon with a smile, and as simply an ingenious puzzle that the West +has never been able to put together, will turn out to be amongst the most +fascinating and most attractive of the peoples of the earth.</p> + +<p>There is one feature about the Chinaman that, from a Western point of +view, is a most disappointing one, and that is his apparent inability to +be thorough. The watchword of the West is “thorough,” and in every +department of life the aim is to do everything as perfectly as human hands +or brains can make them. Now in China there is no such ideal motive +anywhere to be found. A workman, for example, will make some exquisite +work of art, and yet he will finish off some part that is not obvious to +the eye in the most slovenly and inartistic manner. You order a hardwood +table, to be inlaid with pearl, and after weeks of patient toil and most +elaborate workmanship, that will bear the keenest investigation, you find +the legs, or perhaps the underside of the table, finished off in a +slovenly, careless way, more suited to an article that was intended to be +used in the kitchen. One is being continually provoked by Chinese workmen +bringing in things, that have been ordered, without proper finish. You +remonstrate with them, and they look at you with amazement. They are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +amused at your being annoyed at something which the turbidity of the +Yellow brain never discovers as being at all wrong. A broad smile +illumines their faces, and they say, “Oh, well, never mind, for after all +it is a matter of no importance; let it go.”</p> + +<p>This tendency of the Chinese mind is visible in every direction. You +arrange with a builder for some work to be done. You impress upon him that +the matter is urgent. You give him your reason for thinking this, and he +agrees with you, and you finally settle with him a near day when he will +have his workmen assembled and operations will be begun. As the Chinaman’s +brain is apt to work slowly, and it is difficult to get him to grasp a +consecutive statement of any length, you go over the whole thing to him +once more, and finally you make him repeat in his own words the ideas you +wish him to carry out. Everything now seems plain, and although doubts +will flash through your brain, you dismiss them at once as unreasonable, +and you look with certainty to the contract being carried out.</p> + +<p>The day arrives and you proceed to the spot, expecting to see a hive of +busy workmen, but not a soul turns up. You send for the builder, and you +ask him how it is that he has broken his agreement with you. He smiles and +looks amused that you should be in such a hurry. He cannot understand it, +for the difference of a day or two, or a week even, is such a trivial +matter in this land, that the Chinese are constantly wondering why a +foreigner gets excited if a thing is not done at the precise time that has +been agreed upon.</p> + +<p>The fact is the great Eastern Sun is in his eyes, and his rays have +entered into his blood, and the languor of the Orient is upon him, so that +time marches by and he feels that he dare not attempt to keep step with +it. To be efficient and thorough means intensity, but that the Chinese +race will not attempt. Some writers have predicted that a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> day may come +when, inspired by a spirit of war, they will flash their swords in a wild +conquest of the West. This is a dream that will never be realized. Both by +instinct and by ages of training, the Chinese are essentially a +peace-loving people. The glory of war is something that does not appeal to +them. Trade, and commerce, and money-making, and peaceful lives are the +ideals of the race. No sooner is a clan fight begun, or a war with another +nation, than the air at once resounds with the cry, “Mediate,” “Mediate.” +Mediation is in the very blood of the nation, and the man who is a +successful mediator is one that wins a golden reputation for himself.</p> + +<p>What the West has to fear is not the warlike spirit of the Chinese, which +has never been a very important factor in their past history, but their +numbers. They are a people that multiply rapidly, but through the +operation of Fung-Shuy and other endless superstitions, the resources of +China have never been allowed to be developed so as to support the huge +population. Large numbers of people have consequently been compelled to go +abroad to earn a living.</p> + +<p>These, as far as the native populations have been concerned, have rarely +been desirable immigrants, but this is especially the case with the great +nations of the West. The Chinese are a strong race, and can live in +comfort, and even luxury, on incomes that would mean starvation to +American or Australian workmen. The battle of the future with the Yellow +race will not be fought on any battlefield, but in the labour markets of +the nations that they would invade.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> <a name="boys" id="boys"></a></p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img05.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">SOME CHINESE BOYS.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 21.</i></small></span></p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> +<p class="title">FAMILY LIFE</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Chinese character studied in the home—How marriages are arranged in +China—Love of husband and wife must be concealed—Daughters go out of +clan, sons remain—Story of a famous community in former +days—Solidarity of family—Story of general accused of +treason—Disposal of sons—Occupation of women in +homes—Wife-beating—Suicides of wives—Women treated as +inferior—Filial piety, views on—The famous book describing the +twenty filial sons—Filial piety not extensively carried out by the +Chinese.</p></div> + + +<p>If one desires to understand the Chinese, he must study the family life, +for there we find the secret for much that is amusing and perplexing in +their character. In all the long years of Chinese history, the ideal of +the family has been an exalted one. Ancient sages have dealt with much +eloquence upon it, and it has been made the model upon which the State has +been built up. It is declared in books written on China that the Chinese +Government is a patriarchal one, the meaning of which, put into simpler +language, is that the system by which this vast and ancient Empire is +ruled has been borrowed from any one of the countless homes that exist +throughout the land. It has been plainly stated by Confucius, more than +two thousand years ago, that a man that did not know how to rule his home +was quite unfit to govern a kingdom.</p> + +<p>That the family ideal is held in the highest honour by every class of +society is evident from the fact that every one that can by any +possibility scrape together the amount required to be paid to the parents +of the young girl, gets married; whilst for every woman, without any +regard for her personal appearance or even for her infirmities, when the +marriageable age comes round, a marriage is arranged, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> she is carried +to her husband’s home with as much ceremony as though she were the most +beautiful woman in the land. If a woman does not get married it is her own +fault or that of her family, who for selfish or other reasons fail to make +the necessary arrangements for her, and never because her features are +uncomely or her complexion bad, or because she has some bodily infirmity +that in England would condemn her to a spinster’s life, though she lived +to the age of Methuselah.</p> + +<p>Let us now take the case of a family, such as one may see anywhere, and +look at the peculiar way in which it is built up and developed in +accordance with the antique methods that seem dear to the Yellow brain in +this land. A young man is going to be married. The parents have decided +that question for him, and they have called in a middle-woman, who does +all the selecting and all the courting that is possible in China, and by +her intrigues and falsehoods, the girl that is to be his bride is settled +for him absolutely, without any power of appeal from the sons or the +parents should they discover by and by that the young lady would be an +undesirable acquisition when she came into their home.</p> + +<p>With us it is an accepted axiom that to secure the happiness of the +married couple, there must be love and there must be a thorough +acquaintance with each other. The Chinese hold that all that is Platonic +nonsense, and is the reasoning of a barbaric mind that has never come +under the benign influence of the sages and teachers of the Celestial +Empire. They declare that neither of those two things are requisite, and +they point to China, where marriage is the rule in social life, and where +a Divorce Court does not exist in all the length and breadth of the land, +as a convincing evidence that love at least is not at all a requisite for +marriage. The young man and his wife then begin their married life without +any knowledge of each other. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> have never seen each other, and they +have never dared to inquire from their parents what their future partners +were like. To have done so would have filled the hearts of their fathers +and mothers with a shame so intense as to be absolutely unspeakable.</p> + +<p>Their first look into the faces of each other, after the bride has been +carried with noise of music and firing of crackers in the crimson chair +into the home of her husband, must be one in which is concentrated the +agony and passion of two hearts, trying to read their fate for the years +that are to come, from what a bashful glance at each other’s faces can +tell them. If either of them is disappointed, the wave of despair that +flashes through the heart is hidden behind those sphinx-like faces, and no +quivering of the lips and no glance of the coal-black eyes betrays the +secret that has sprung up within them.</p> + +<p>They are both conscious that their marriage is a settled fact and that +there is no possibility of its ever being annulled, and so with the heroic +patience that the Chinese often show in ordinary life, they both determine +to make the best of things, knowing that in time love will grow, and +tender affection for each other will ripen amid the trials and disciplines +of life through which they will have to pass together.</p> + +<p>The years go by, and without daring to show by word or look to the rest of +the world that they love each other, the deepest and the purest affection +has sprung up in their hearts. The Chinese language is full of tender +epithets and phrases full of poetry to express the emotions of love, but +the husband and wife may never use any of these excepting behind closed +doors where none can hear them but themselves.</p> + +<p>In the course of time the family grows in numbers, and three sons and as +many daughters are born. There was indeed another girl, but as it was +considered that there were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> enough of them in the family, she was put to +death immediately after her birth, so she was never counted. As the years +rolled by, the children grew up and the boys were sent to school, whilst +the sisters were taught household work, such as cooking, mending and +embroidery. At last, when these latter arrived at the age of eighteen, the +services of middle-women were called into requisition, and they were +severally carried into other clans, for no person may marry a member of +his own, even though these may be counted by the thousands.</p> + +<p>After a few years more, the same process was pursued with regard to the +sons, and three young brides were brought into the family circle to add to +its members and to increase its dignity and importance. And here it is +that we see the wide difference in the Oriental and Western conception of +the family. The latter believes in the hiving off of the children and the +formation of new homes, until finally very often only the old father and +mother are left solitary and alone in a house that used to resound the +livelong day with the sounds of laughter and merry voices.</p> + +<p>The ideal of the former is to keep the sons in the home. They seldom if +ever leave that to start housekeeping for themselves. The daughters go out +and are lost to the clan, and are no longer looked upon as belonging to +it; but, on the other hand, their places are taken by the brides that come +from other clans, and so the balance is preserved. It is no uncommon thing +to meet with homes where fifty to a hundred people are housed in one +spacious compound, and where four generations of men, with their sons and +grandsons, a motley group where the sires of the home, with their hoary +flowing beards, and the infants in arms live in the common home.</p> + +<p>It is recorded in Chinese history, that in early days there was a famous +branch of a well-known clan that numbered several thousand people, the +descendants of nine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> generations, that were all under the control of the +chieftain of the clan, and lived together in a series of large compounds, +that resembled a miniature walled city. The story went abroad that the +whole of this community lived in the most complete harmony. The men never +had any disagreements and the voices of the women and children were never +known to be raised in angry dispute. The very dogs even, touched by the +general atmosphere of peace that reigned over the miscellaneous crowds +that swarmed in this miniature town, seemed to lay aside their natural +ferocity, and all quarrelling and fighting had disappeared, and they lived +in the utmost harmony and contentment.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img06.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A WOMAN CARRYING BABY ON HER BACK.</p> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img07.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A WOMAN CARRYING BABY ON HER BACK.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 20em;"><small><i>To face p. 24.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>Rumours of this wonderful settlement had spread throughout the province, +and had been carried by travellers to the palace of the Emperor. Being +somewhat concerned as to the truth of these, he determined to visit the +place, and see for himself if the facts were really as they were stated. +Accordingly on his next tour to the great mountain Tai-Shan, to worship +God from its summit, which the kings in those days were accustomed to do, +he called at this famous establishment. Never had such a gorgeous retinue +stopped in front of its doors. There was the Emperor in his vermilion +chair, carried by bearers dressed in the royal livery of the same colour. +In front marched a detachment of the Household Guards, great stalwart men, +that had been selected from the bravest that the fighting province of +Hunan could supply. Behind, in a long and splendid train, were the highest +nobles in the land, who were there to attend to the wants of their Lord +and Master, and to see that every strain of anxiety should be removed from +the royal mind. Further in the rear was a small army of servants of every +description, and cooks in abundance prepared to serve upon the imperial +table every delicacy and luxury that China itself could provide, or that +could be procured from other countries.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>The prince of the clan received the Emperor on bended knees, and then he +was graciously allowed to stand up and conduct him over his little +kingdom. His Majesty, who had a keen common-sense mind, examined very +minutely into every detail of the life of this unique community.</p> + +<p>He was perfectly satisfied with everything that he saw, and just before +leaving, whilst he was having some refreshment, he asked the chief what +system he employed to ensure such perfect order and harmony in such a +large and varied establishment, where even the very dogs seemed to have +caught the infection, and to have lost the quarrelsome disposition natural +to them.</p> + +<p>He at once sat down, and taking up a pen he proceeded to fill a page with +Chinese hieroglyphics. Handing it to the Emperor on bended knees, he told +him that he would find there the secret of the source from whence the love +and unity that prevailed was to be found. With a good deal of curiosity +his Majesty glanced over the document. To his astonishment he discovered +that the writing was composed of one hundred identical words, whose +meaning was “Forbearance.” “It is by forbearance in a hundred different +ways that this great company of people have arrived at its present +harmony,” explained the prince. “Forbearance has been a mighty force with +us, and has helped us all to subdue our passions so that we have been able +to bear with the infirmities of one another.”</p> + +<p>The Emperor was so pleased that he took his pen and wrote out a sentence +expressive of his admiration for the masterly and statesmanlike manner in +which so large and varied a community had been ruled with such splendid +results to the country, and ordered it to be affixed over the main +entrance, so that every one should know that this great and harmonious +establishment possessed the royal approbation and protection.</p> + +<p>It will be thus seen that a family in China has a much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> larger meaning +than it has with us. It is by no means the narrow thing it is in the West, +but spreads beyond the limits that are tolerated there. It in reality +includes the members of the collateral branches of either the father or +the mother, and these are often spoken of as though they were members of +the same home. A young fellow with whom you are acquainted introduces +another about the same age. You ask him who he is, and without a moment’s +hesitation he says that he is his younger brother. For the moment you feel +perplexed, for you know as a fact that he never had a brother. After a +little further probing of the matter, you discover that he is the son of +his father’s younger brother, in fact his cousin. You ask him why he did +not say so at the beginning, and thus save all misunderstanding. “But he +is my brother,” the man repeats, with an amused stare on his face at the +density of the foreigner.</p> + +<p>The intimate union that exists between the family so-called and those +nearest of kin makes a perfect tangle in Chinese relationships, and leads +to some very amusing and ludicrous developments. This is rendered all the +more easy because the Chinese marry young, oftentimes repeatedly, and not +uncommonly late in life, and so it happens that one occasionally meets an +elderly man who addresses as his grandfather a young fellow who is not +half his grandson’s age.</p> + +<p>The family basis that is thus broadened to include the nearest collateral +branches is real and effective. The tie that binds the various members +together is no merely sentimental bond. A particular member of the family, +for example, becomes wealthy. He has perhaps gone abroad and amassed a +considerable fortune, and he returns to his old home to enjoy it amidst +his kindred. In one sense it is his own to dispose of as he thinks best, +and yet every member of the extended family feels that he has a +proprietary right to the blessings that it brings with it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> They gather +round him to give him a hearty welcome, and whilst they do so every heart +throbs with the expectation that any pecuniary difficulties from which +they may have been suffering will be removed as soon as their cases have +been made known to their wealthy relative.</p> + +<p>But it is not simply in cases of good fortune that the solidarity of the +family is proved. It is seen most conspicuously when any misfortune comes +on any individual in it. Then all the rest are more or less affected by +it. A man, for instance, breaks the law, and in order to avoid being +arrested, flies from his home. When the officers come to take him they can +find no trace of him. One would naturally suppose that these men would +return and report to the mandarin that the criminal had fled, and that the +whole process of law would be stayed until the culprit himself could be +apprehended, but that is not so. They proceed to arrest any male member of +the family that they can lay their hands upon, whether it be a brother or +a cousin or a son, and carry him to the mandarin, who keeps him in prison +until the real offender has been caught.</p> + +<p>An Englishman would say that is unjust, and if he were present when the +policeman made his capture he might possibly protest against the +illegality of the seizure. They would simply assure him that they were +quite within their rights. The man they had arrested, they would say, was +a member of the offender’s family, and as they were all in the eye of the +Chinese law responsible for each other, they were quite justified in +arresting any one in it, and keeping him in prison until their relative +who had broken the law was either captured or had delivered himself up to +justice.</p> + +<p>The laws of China are all based upon the assumption of the solidarity of +the family, and that in its prosperity or adversity all members of it must +take their share.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> Chinese history abounds with the most terrible +instances of the operation of this law.</p> + +<p>On one occasion, a general in command of a division of the army, fancying +that he had been slighted by the Emperor because he had not been rewarded +as he thought his services deserved, began to intrigue against the dynasty +and to plot for its overthrow. As he was a famous man and had rendered +signal services to the State in many a brilliant campaign, it was some +time before any suspicion of his treasonable designs were at all +entertained by any one. At length, rumours faint and uncertain began to be +whispered about. These grew in intensity, until ere long the proofs of the +terrible conspiracy were so clear and definite that there could be no +question as to the man’s guilt. He had been betrayed by a confederate who +was deep in his confidence, and who was terrified at the fearful +consequences that would happen to him were his guilt discovered. He +consequently determined to save himself by the sacrifice of his friend. In +the small hours of a dark and stormy night a small body of chosen troops +surrounded the house of the general, who was seized and hurried off to the +execution ground, where by torchlight his cries and his sorrows, as far as +this world was concerned, were speedily put an end to.</p> + +<p>But the tragedy had only begun with the death of the unfortunate +conspirator. Revolution is a word of such a dread import in China, that it +can be expiated only by the death of the offender and by every member of +his family. As the general was a noted man, the Emperor decided that four +generations on the father’s side and four on the mother’s, in all eight +generations of absolutely innocent people, should be slaughtered without +any trial and without any opportunity of defending themselves.</p> + +<p>The murderous edict was at once drawn up and signed by the vermilion pen, +and soldiers were sent out post haste to execute the decree, lest any of +the unfortunate victims<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> should escape. And so it came to pass that eight +generations of people, without distinction of age or sex, were set upon +and ruthlessly murdered. The old man whose footsteps were tottering to the +grave, and the baby still in its mother’s arms; the matron in the midst of +her family, and the young girls full of spirits and with the expectation +of many happy years before them, without a moment’s warning were hacked +and stabbed to death, until not a single member of the clan was left alive +to tell the tale.</p> + +<p>A Chinese family is in some respects a very interesting sight. The parents +in this land are passionately fond of their children, especially the boys, +and deny themselves for their sakes, and indulge them to such an extent +that many of the lads when they grow up become anything but a credit to +their homes. In the well-to-do families, the sons go to school from the +time they are seven or eight till they are fifteen or sixteen, when, if +they are not planning to be scholars, arrangements are made for them to go +into business, and they become clerks or book-keepers or assistants in +shops.</p> + +<p>When the home is a poor one, the lads begin their life at a very early +age; there is no schooling planned for them. As soon as they can handle a +rake, they are sent out to collect firewood for the home. By and by, as +they grow in strength, a pair of baskets and a bamboo carrying-pole are +given them, and their life as coolies may be now said to have begun. The +coolie in China may be said to be the unbought slave that does the rough +and menial work of the Empire, and in large numbers of cases performs the +labours that the beasts of burden do in our home lands.</p> + +<p>The girls until they are five or six are allowed to run about the house +and amuse themselves with the simple enjoyments that childhood is so +ingenious in inventing. After that comes the serious business of +foot-binding, when for several years they have to endure the most +agonizing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> pains during the hideous process of maiming and distorting the +feet, a procedure that nature never ceases for a single day to protest +against. There is no question but that whilst this cruel custom is so +dreadful that there is no language strong enough to condemn it, it has +undoubtedly had the effect of developing in the woman’s character a heroic +fortitude, and a power of endurance that enables her to bear up against +many of the ills and trials that women are called upon to suffer during +the course of their lives.</p> + +<p>From the standpoint of the West, a girl’s life in China is a very +monotonous one. She has no dolls to while away her idle moments. She never +goes out to school, where she might meet other girls and give free play to +her exuberant spirits on the playground, or enjoy the fun and jollity that +girlhood knows so well how to appreciate. She may never take a walk, or +stroll out in the moonlight, or ramble along the seashore, or race up and +down the hillside. Her place is in the home, in the stuffy, ill-ventilated +rooms, where she eats out her heart in the dreary monotonous life to which +custom condemns her, and where her sole view of the great world outside is +through the narrow doors through which, when no one is looking, she may +catch a glimpse of the moving panorama that passes by them.</p> + +<p>No wonder that the one day that to her is full of romance and poetry is +that on which the troupe of actors erect their boards right in front of +her house, and perform some comedy that fills every one with fits of +laughter, and lets her see a phase of life that she never dreamt existed +until these merry rogues acted it with such realistic power before her. +The passion for theatricals in China is a symptom of the unrest and +absolute weariness at the intolerable sameness that characterizes heathen +life in this land.</p> + +<p>After a careful study of the family life of this great people, one +reluctantly comes to the conclusion that it is anything but a happy one. +The main cause for this is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> absence of mutual love when the married +life begins, and the lower position that the woman occupies in the +estimation of the men everywhere. That there are happy homes where hearts +are knit to each other by true devotion and affection is undoubtedly the +case, but they are the exception and by no means the rule.</p> + +<p>One very unpleasant evidence of this is the frequency with which +wife-beating is carried on by all classes. The Chinese, who adopt ten when +they wish to give any idea of comparative numbers, declare that in six or +seven families out of ten the husbands regularly beat their wives. Sixty +or seventy per cent of the husbands treating their wives in this rough and +brutal manner is a terrible commentary upon the home life of the Chinese, +and yet no one, as far as my observation goes, ever expresses any +condemnation of the custom. It seems to be considered as an inalienable +right that has come down from the ancient past, before the civilization of +the sages had begun to touch their forefathers with their humane +teachings, and with the intense conservatism of the Chinese, the husbands +continue to exercise it, whilst the great public looks on and takes no +step to stop the barbarous custom.</p> + +<p>That the wives have never consented to this unwomanly and savage treatment +is evident from the fact of the large numbers of suicides amongst them +that occur annually in any given area that one may select at random. A +village is startled with the report that a woman has thrown herself into a +well. Some one happening to pass by at the moment observed the poor +creature with flushed face and flaming eyes throw herself headlong into +it. At once every one is mad with excitement. The women run shouting and +screaming to each other, expressing their loud commiseration; the men move +along with sphinx-like faces to see if help can be rendered, and the dogs +tear about yelping and barking and having free fights with each other.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>The unfortunate woman is hauled out of the well with her long hair +dishevelled and streaming with water, and with a look of terror on her +face, as though death, when she came face to face with it, had filled her +with an unspeakable horror. She is quite dead, and so amid noise and +uproar and the wailing of her children, who have heard the terrible news, +she is carried to her home. It seems that she had had a few words with her +husband, and being high-spirited and independent, she had answered him in +a way that had been hurtful to his dignity as a man, and seizing a heavy +piece of wood, he had beaten her most unmercifully, without any thought as +to where the blows fell. With her body bruised and with her heart +breaking, and with her sense of womanhood utterly crushed out of her, she +determined that she would hide her disgrace in the well, and in doing so +would avenge herself most thoroughly on the man who had so injured her. +Her husband in his desolate home, though he might feel no sorrow for the +woman he had wronged, would be made to realize what a grievous mistake he +had made when he found that he had to attend to the details of the home +management that had hitherto been left to her care.</p> + +<p>It must not be supposed that the Chinese husbands because they beat their +wives do not love them, for that is not the case. Looking at the Chinese +home in a rough and general way, one is struck with the fact that there is +really a great deal of mutual affection shown both by the husband and the +wife for one another. It is less demonstrative than with the peoples of +the West. Oriental thought and tradition are against the open +demonstration of the love that they feel for each other, still it is +unquestionably the fact that the great majority of the homes in this land +are bound together by a true and a solid affection.</p> + +<p>The Chinaman, stolid and unemotional looking, has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> within him a world of +passion waiting till something rouses it, and then it breaks forth like +one of his own typhoons, reckless of what it may destroy. But beside this +fiery volcanic nature, that leads men who are accustomed to beat their +wives into the most cruel treatment of them, he is moved by forces that +would never influence us; so much so that the forty per cent. that treat +their wives with courtesy and respect are occasionally influenced to join +the ranks of the wife-beaters, simply to avoid the imputation that they +are afraid of them and dare not use the stick to them.</p> + +<p>In that most charming and humorous book, <i>The Chinese Empire</i>, written by +Abbé Huc, he describes a scene that seems incredible, but which is a true +portrait of what frequently takes place throughout the country. He tells +of a man who was really fond of his wife and who for two or three years +lived on the most affectionate terms with her. He noticed that smiles +passed over the yellow visages of some of the young fellows that he was +acquainted with whenever they passed each other on the street. Flashes of +fun, too, made the black eyes of others gleam, as though the laughter +within them was too great to be suppressed. Furtive glances, too, were +cast upon him by men who seemed anxious not to catch his eye.</p> + +<p>He was perplexed at these cryptic signs and tried to get an explanation. +At last one day, a kind friend enlightened him, and explained to him the +mysterious conduct of his neighbours, who, he said, were exceedingly +amused because he had never beaten his wife, and the only reason they +could think of was because he was afraid of her.</p> + +<p>There is nothing in the world that a Chinaman dreads so much as being +laughed at. He can stand a great deal, but that stirs his soul in a way +that transforms the solemn, staid-looking Celestial into a raging wild +beast. “If that is all my neighbours have to be amused at,” he said, +whilst passion was tearing his soul with a perfect storm of fury, “I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> can +soon prove to them that they are utterly mistaken, and I will show them in +a most convincing manner that they have been so.”</p> + +<p>Without a moment’s delay he hastened home, and seizing the first heavy +implement that lay handy, he began to belabour his wife with it, with such +terrible effect that soon the air resounded with the shrieks and cries of +the unhappy woman. When the passion had died down, he confessed that he +had done wrong, but nothing could save his wife, for the injuries he had +inflicted on her had been so severe that in two or three days she died in +the greatest agony.</p> + +<p>Chinese law in many respects is as curious as the Chinese mind. In civil +offences, it refuses to take the initiative, and if no complaints are put +before the mandarin, the most outrageous crimes, that in England would at +once set in motion the whole machinery of the law until ample justice had +been done upon the criminal, are left without any punishment. In this case +there was no one to bring any complaint before the authorities; for what +was the crime? A man had beaten his wife, but sixty per cent. of the +husbands throughout the Empire do that habitually. Public opinion had +nothing to say against him excepting that he had carried his beating a +little too far, for which he was a fool, for he would be simply so much +out of pocket when he came to purchase another wife.</p> + +<p>The poor woman was dead, dead of a broken heart, dead from the awful +injuries that she had sustained, simply that her husband’s face might be +preserved in the estimation of his neighbours; and now not a word of +sympathy for her, not a tear was shed, and scarcely a shadow passed over +the face of any one, as she travelled through unutterable sorrow into the +unknown land.</p> + +<p>The inferior position that a woman holds in the estimation of the men is +shown in their absolute indifference<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> to her when she happens to fall +sick. She is allowed to drag on in pain and weariness for weeks and +months, and the expense of a doctor and the medicines he might prescribe +are not entertained until she gets so seriously ill that without medical +aid she would inevitably die. A doctor is then called in to diagnose her +case, but one has a grim suspicion that the main factor in the husband’s +willingness to sacrifice a few cash for his wife, was not any inordinate +love for her, but dread lest she should die and he would have to be out of +pocket in providing himself with another.</p> + +<p>A Chinese doctor whose opinion I was one day asking with regard to this +very question, assured me that in his medical practice he had found the +men invariably opposed to the spending of money on their wives when they +were ill. “I was on one occasion,” he said, “attending a country-woman for +some complaint. It was not a serious case, but it was such that if no +remedy had been applied, it might have grown into one that would have +caused her considerable inconvenience. I sent in my bill to the husband +for my attendance and for the medicines I had supplied, but he refused to +pay. It only came to forty cash (about a penny), but he declared that he +had not called me in, and therefore he would not accept my account. The +woman I knew had no money, and so I told her I would not charge her.”</p> + +<p>The Chinese family is supposed to be bound together by a virtue that is +unique in China, and which has never been looked upon with the same +reverence by any other country in the world as in it. I refer to filial +piety. There is no question but that this as an ideal virtue has been held +up before the nation during the whole length of its existence. Confucius +immortalized the subject by writing a book on it, and though it is wanting +in the nerve and vigour of his other classical works, because it is from +his pen it has through successive generations exercised a marvellous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> +influence in keeping up the national belief in this virtue amongst all +classes of society, from the Emperor on the throne down to the poorest +beggar that sits with sore legs and tattered garments by the roadside, +though his own parents perhaps years ago drove him on to the streets, and +because of his badness refused to recognize him as their son.</p> + +<p>The utterance of the word “Hsiau,” has an electrical effect upon any +Chinaman in whose hearing it is mentioned. The ordinary citizen will +discourse with you by the hour upon its beauties, and he will enlarge upon +the excellence and nobility of the children that carry it out in ordinary +life, especially when great obstacles exist in the performance of it. The +man upon whose face profligate is plainly written with the pen of whisky +and opium hears the word “Hsiau,” and a softened look passes over it, and +his eyes lose their hardness, and any goodness that lay in his heart is +for the moment supreme. In fact, I have never yet met any one, scoundrel +or honest man, who has not been moved more or less by the mention of this +universally reverenced virtue.</p> + +<p>Next in importance to the brochure of Confucius on filial piety is a book +quite as widely known, which is entitled <i>The Twenty-four Examples of +Filial Piety</i>. A brief account of twenty-four famous instances of devotion +to parents under various trying circumstances are given, and these are +printed age after age, and read eagerly by the people.</p> + +<p>They are certainly most amusing reading, and they give the impression that +whatever other qualities the Chinaman may possess, he is endowed with a +strain of romance and poetry that explains how popular he can be when he +lets himself go. One story tells of a man who was looked upon as a model +for filial piety. His family consisted of his mother, himself and wife, +and a little infant son. Quite unexpectedly his mother falls dangerously +ill and is unable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> to eat any food. Distressed beyond measure at this, and +fearing lest she should die, he kills his child, and the milk that his +wife used to give to the little one is now absorbed by the sick mother.</p> + +<p>This deed is evidently so pleasing to Heaven, that whilst he is digging a +grave in which to bury his murdered child, he suddenly comes upon a bar of +gold, which he at once accepts as a special present to himself for his +filial piety. Whilst he is congratulating himself on the good fortune that +has befallen him, he hears a cry from the mat in which he had wrapped his +son, and to his delight he finds that he has come to life again, without +any of the marks upon him to show the brutal treatment he had received +from his father. Returning home with the gold and the baby in his arms, a +fresh delightful surprise awaits him, for his mother comes to the door to +meet him, perfectly restored to health—another special favour from Heaven +to reward him for his devotion to her.</p> + +<p>Another of these twenty-four is a young lad, who acts in such a way as to +excite the admiration of all who read his story. His mother had died and +his father married a second wife, who was exceedingly unkind to him. She +had a son of her own by a previous marriage, upon whom she lavished all +the love of her heart. After years of ill-treatment, his father one day +quite unexpectedly discovers the true state of the case, when he is so +enraged that he drives his wife and her beloved son from his home, and he +declares that he will never have anything more to do with them.</p> + +<p>It is at this juncture that the filial piety that has immortalized the +young fellow’s name is conspicuously manifested. He so pleads with his +father to forgive his stepmother that he is permitted to go and bring her +home again, though he is quite conscious that her return means sorrow to +himself.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img08.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">AN OLD LADY.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 16em;"><small><i>To face p. 39.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>He has successfully performed his mission, when lingering on the road he +is seized by a band of robbers, who decide, for reasons not stated, to +murder him. The stepmother hears of this, and filled with remorse and with +gratitude too, she takes her own son to the robbers’ camp and offers them +him in exchange for the other, to be killed in his stead. The thieves are +so impressed with the noble self-denial of both stepmother and stepson, +that they all agree to abandon their evil lives and to become honest +citizens of the Empire, which they proceed to do at once, and the band is +broken up.</p> + +<p>One of the most famous amongst the twenty-four heroes, however, is one +whose name it would seem to any one but a Chinaman ought to be covered +with infamy, instead of being inscribed on the roll of fame, and held up +for the admiration of the whole Empire. His name is Ting-lan, and it is +told of him that for many years he cruelly beat and ill-treated his +mother. One day he happened to be on the hillside caring for his flock of +goats, when he saw a young kid kneel down by its mothers side to drink. He +was so struck with this beautifully submissive action of the animal, that +he was led to think of how different had been his own conduct to his +mother. A wave of repentance swept over his heart, and he determined that +his whole future life should be an atonement for the wrongs he had done +her.</p> + +<p>Just at this moment the old lady appeared coming over the hill towards +him, when Ting-lan, his heart filled with his good resolutions, ran +eagerly in her direction, to kneel down before her to confess his sins and +to tell her how he had determined to be a dutiful son in the future. The +mother, knowing nothing of the change of heart that had come over him, and +thinking that he was rushing at her to beat her, turned and fled in hot +haste, and threw herself into a deep and rapid river that flowed near by.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>Her son, terrified and distressed beyond measure, jumped in after her in +his endeavour to save her, but all in vain. The fast-flowing stream had +claimed her as its victim, and no trace of the unhappy mother could be +found in the turbid waters that hid her from the gaze of her weeping son. +By and by there seemed to rise from the very spot where his mother had +disappeared a flat oblong piece of wood, which he seized upon eagerly as +the only memento that remained of her, and on this he had engraved her +name and the date of her death. Popular tradition holds that the first use +of the Ancestral Tablets, which are believed to contain the spirits of the +dead and which are worshipped twice a year by the living descendants, +began from this time and from this circumstance. If this is so, which is +extremely doubtful, then it may be said that Ting-lan was the originator +of a form of worship that is more powerful and more deep-seated than any +other in the whole of the Empire.</p> + +<p>When the Chinese are asked how it is that such an unworthy character as +Ting-lan could be admitted into such a renowned gallery of national +worthies, the only reply you get is, “Oh, he repented, you know,” as if +that were enough to condone years of cruel treatment of his mother, and +quite sufficient to entitle him to a more than common place amongst the +great moral teachers of his country. One cannot conceive of any other +nation in the world but the Chinese being willing to canonize such a very +doubtful character as Ting-lan.</p> + +<p>The mere fact that there has been such a high ideal of filial piety +maintained from the very earliest days of Chinese history has been of +incalculable service to the Empire. It is an ideal that every one accepts, +and it must be admitted that but for it society in general and the home in +particular would have degenerated more than they have done in the passage +of the centuries. That there are as fine examples<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> of filial piety to-day +as any of those recorded in the popular book that has been quoted is +unquestionable, but they are rare. A boy to be filial must be dutiful and +submissive, he must neither gamble nor smoke opium; whatever wages he +earns he must hand over to his parents; he must support them in old age, +and when they die he must perform the regular services to the spirits in +the grave and in the Ancestral Tablet, and in the Ancestral Hall.</p> + +<p>From examination that I have made, the prevailing testimony is that not +more than one or two per cent, of the sons of the present day are in any +true sense filial. You speak to a young man about filial piety. His face +is leaden-hued, and has all the marks of the dissipated opium smoker. His +face lights up and he becomes eloquent as he expatiates on the virtue. You +examine into his home life, and you find that he is leaving his old +parents upon the very verge of destitution. He has borrowed money on the +farm, and he has carried off the best of the goods in the home and pawned +them. This man represents a large class who are all enthusiastic, in the +abstract, about filial piety, but who look on whilst the old father is +slaving himself to death, but who will not lift a finger to keep the wolf +away from the door.</p> + +<p>You meet another young fellow who is not an opium smoker. He has the +appearance of robust health. He lives well and generously, for his salary +is an ample one. The ruddy hue on his face becomes tinged with a brighter +colour, as you talk with him about the duty of sons towards their parents, +and you feel now that you have a genuine case of filial piety such as +might be enrolled amongst the famous twenty-four. You ask him casually how +much he sends home regularly to the old folks in their country home. A +shadow falls over his face, he stammers and hesitates, and mumbles out +something about his expenses being so heavy that he has not been able to +spare anything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> out of his salary; but he says, and his face brightens up +as he does so, “I am going to send some as soon as I draw my next money.” +For the moment he means to do this, but he never does.</p> + +<p>That filial piety exists in China, in the books of its sages, in its light +literature, and in a deep sentiment imbedded in the hearts of all classes +of society, is a fact that no one who knows anything of this strange and +perplexing land can dispute. It is just as true, however, that in actual +practice it is no more prevalent here than it is in England or America, if +quite so much, and that the reputation that China has obtained for the +carrying out of this virtue is one that she does not deserve.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> +<p class="title">CHILD LIFE</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Passion amongst the Chinese for sons—Rejoicings at the birth of a +son—Sorrow at the birth of a girl—Birth of an heir to the +throne—The Great Forgiveness—Polite phrase for a girl—Amusements of +childhood—Home training to lie and swear—Going to school of the +boys—Books they read—Binding of girls’ feet—Origin of this +custom—Evils connected with it—Chinese love for home.</p></div> + + +<p>There is no nation that is fonder of children than the Chinese. They have +a perfect passion for them, and it is, very rarely that a family can be +found without one or more of them in it. If there are none born into it, +arrangements are made to supply that deficiency by buying some, for the +Chinese seem to have a perfect dread of a childless home. If a man has the +means, he will buy several sons, who are treated as though they were his +own, and, when they grow up, they will inherit his property, and have all +the privileges that are given to those that were born in the family.</p> + +<p>It is this passion for children that makes a man marry more than one wife. +He desires to surround himself with those who will perpetuate his name, +and who when he is dead will come to the tomb and make offerings to his +spirit, that shall in some mysterious way reach him in the dark world, and +which shall be a source of comfort to him in the gloom and shadow that +surround him there.</p> + +<p>A childless wife in China is a person to be profoundly pitied. She is +looked down upon by her mother-in-law, who is anxious to have the dignity +and the reputation of the home maintained by the birth of a grandson, who +some day in the future, dressed in sackcloth, will act as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> chief mourner, +when his father shall be carried to his long home and laid to rest amongst +the hills. The neighbours, too, have an undisguised contempt for her, +which they show in only too brutal a manner, when some row takes place and +they have a chance of telling each other what their private opinion is +with regard to one another.</p> + +<p>The worst is, her own husband begins to treat her with coldness and +neglect, when the time goes by and the home still remains without a son. +If he is very sympathetic he will buy one and make her a present of him, +though she will never occupy the place in his affections that she would if +the child were her own. If his nature is of a coarser grain, he will bring +in a second wife, who will usurp her position in the home, and make her +life one long-continued misery.</p> + +<p>When a son is born into the family there are great rejoicings amongst +every member of it. The one most concerned in the matter, the mother, has +had her fears and anxieties for many a day, and her heart has throbbed +with doubt and fear as she has asked whether the little one is a boy or a +girl, and when she has been told it is a son, the terror has gone out of +her heart, and a sense of supreme joy has filled her with immense content. +Her position in the home and in the street or village in which she lives +is now an established one. Her husband’s affections are bound to her, the +hectoring, domineering tone of the mother-in-law is softened down, and she +has a recognized place in the home that will never be questioned, whilst +she can now look into the faces of the wives and mothers of the +neighbourhood with a consciousness that no thrill of contempt will ever +taint their thought of her.</p> + +<p>As for the father, he walks about as proud as a turkey-cock, although +according to Chinese etiquette he assumes an air of indifference as though +nothing special had happened, whilst all the time under those stolid +features<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> that are as undemonstrative as a tombstone, a world of passion +and joyous feeling and romantic thoughts are playing their sweet music +around his heart.</p> + +<p>And now, congratulations pour in from every quarter upon this most happy +event of the arrival of a son. It would indeed for the moment appear as +though such a thing had not happened for years, and that the coming of a +baby boy was something so rare as to transport the family and all the +numerous relatives, and even the nearest neighbours, with such feelings of +gladness, that these could only be expressed by the most exaggerated +expressions of joy at the wonderful event.</p> + +<p>The little mite is but a speck in the great ocean of babyhood that fills +this land with its swarms of children, and yet, happily for it, it is +welcomed as though it were the only one in the Empire, and faces are +wreathed in smiles, and the choicest phrases are culled out of the +language of poetry, and minds are set to work to invent new phrases by +which to express the gladness of soul that men feel at the coming of the +little one into the world.</p> + +<p>Let us peep for a moment into the home; it is a middle-class one, and +presents the usual untidy, slovenly and unswept appearance that is +characteristic of every such one in the country. But to-day an air of +peculiar happiness seems to pervade the house that makes one forget the +dust, and the litter, and the atmosphere of discomfort that makes a +foreigner feel as though he dare not sit down, whenever he enters any +ordinary dwelling-house. The faces are all lighted up with smiles, and +every one is prepared to say something pleasant. By and by an elderly +woman comes in with a strapping black-haired girl, her daughter, by her +side. They have come to see the baby, and they have brought with them a +fowl, a special gift for the young mother, who for the next month will +need some nourishing food. Shortly after two or three more drop in with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +presents of pigs’ feet, and vermicelli, and hemp oil in which the dainties +are to be fried. All these articles are supposed to be exceedingly +nutritious and exactly suited to one in the condition of the mother.</p> + +<p>It is a pleasant picture to look upon. The great Eastern sun outside is +doing his best to flood the world with his beams, and he sends his rays +flashing into the home, and he lights the faces of the women as with +animated conversation they discuss how babies should be treated and how +the mother should be nursed to keep off the evil spirits that at this +particular crisis are roaming out seeking to find a chance of bringing +disaster upon the family, and of carrying off the infant son that has +brought happiness to the parents.</p> + +<p>The scene presented to us on a similar occasion in the homes of the very +poor is of a very different character from the one just described. Whilst +the father and the mother have a joy as deep and as profound as that +experienced by those who are better off, they have no visits from friends +that troop in with presents and with loving greetings, and no anxiety is +shown as to whether the baby shall ever grow up to be a great man, or +whether the mother shall be so cared for that no mishap may befall her. +The poor have no time for such luxuries, and so the arrival of a son and +heir to the toils and sorrows of his parents usually makes little +difference in the daily routine of the home. A tiny stranger has arrived +with his pathetic appeal for the loving care and support of his mother, +but the poor mother has to carry on her daily duties just the same as +before, and no surprise is excited when she appears in the fields on the +very same day and performs some of the heavy duties connected with the +cultivation of their little farm.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img09.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">LITTLE LADS.</p> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img10.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">LITTLE URCHINS.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 46.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The birth of a son is hailed with delight in every home in China, from the +highest to the lowest. In the palace of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> the Emperor, when the heir to +the throne is born, there are rejoicings that extend from the capital to +the furthest extent of the Empire, and every mother’s heart goes out in +sympathy and gladness for the queen who has given a ruler to sit on the +Dragon Throne. The birth of this Royal Son has brought such happiness to +the Imperial Home that it is felt that it ought to be commemorated by a +special act of grace that would bring freedom and deliverance to large +numbers of the most unhappy of the Emperor’s subjects.</p> + +<p>This is called the “Great Forgiveness,” because no sooner is it known that +the Empress has borne a son, than an edict is issued, stamped with the +vermilion seal, and dispatched to the viceroys and great mandarins in +every province and department of the Empire, ordering them to at once +release certain classes of prisoners who are confined in prison, and who +without this royal clemency might lie confined within their dingy cells +for years to come without any hope of release. This is a noble act, and +all connected with the coming of a little son, who has only just opened +his eyes to the light of heaven, and who yet has had the happiness of +flinging wide the prison doors and of setting free countless numbers of +men and women, who otherwise would have pined and fretted within their +dungeons till hope had died out of their hearts, and, filled with despair, +they had closed their eyes upon life.</p> + +<p>Let us now try and picture another scene. The little one, long expected +and long speculated about, that has filled the fancy of the mother, and +that has helped to weave a story of romance in the mind of the father, +turns out after all to be not a boy, but a girl—only a girl. The visions +die away, and the poetry loses its romance, and becomes the commonest +prose, when it is found that the stranger is a girl. It is quite safe to +make the assertion that in all the countless homes that exist in the huge<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> +population of China not one of them is prepared to welcome a girl or to +feel that she could ever take the place of a boy.</p> + +<p>We become convinced of this when we look upon the scene that I am +endeavouring to picture, for it is a typical one, and the ages have +stereotyped it, as one of the correct photographs of social life in this +land.</p> + +<p>No sooner is it announced that the child is a girl than a kind of dismay +falls upon the household. The father’s face becomes darkened with a scowl +that shows the passion that is raging in his heart. His very love for his +wife is for the moment turned into bitterness, for he considers that she +has wronged him and brought disgrace upon the home.</p> + +<p>The mother, instead of being loyal to her sex and gathering the little one +to her bosom, as she would have done had it been a boy, thrusts it +indignantly from her and refuses even to look at it. She now begins to +weep and sob out her sorrow in tears and bitter expressions at the bad +fate that is clouding her life. The baby has been wrapped up hastily and +thrown with contempt upon a bench in the room, where, uncared for and +despised, as something that has brought bad luck into the home, she sends +forth her wailing cry without its once touching the mother near by.</p> + +<p>It is at this particular period in the little girl’s history that the +greatest peril to her life arises, for it is just at this point that so +many take their last look at the world and vanish into darkness. With a +mad passion of disappointment in the hearts of both parents, it is so easy +to snap the thread of the little life, and sweep away the sorrow and the +shame from their home.</p> + +<p>On one occasion we had a nurse in our family. She was a woman of a great +deal of character, modest in her demeanour and a willing and untiring +worker. Her name was the one thing about her that was peculiar, and that +in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> Chinese meant “Picked up.” It was a most unusual one, and I felt that +there was a history connected with it that would reveal some incident in +her early life. Anxious to learn what that was, I said to her one day, +“What an extraordinary name you have. How did it come about that your +mother gave it you?”</p> + +<p>A smile lighted up her plain features, whilst she exclaimed, “I can easily +explain that. The name was given me very soon after my birth, in +remembrance of a rather tragic affair in which, as my mother believed, +Heaven interfered to preserve my life. The evening I was born, both my +father and mother were so distressed at my being a girl, that in a fit of +anger the former seized hold upon me and threw me out into the open +courtyard in front of our house. Fortunately it was the height of summer, +and the night air was hot and scorching, and so as I lay there all night +long, I received no injury from the wind that blew over me.</p> + +<p>“At dawn next morning, my father came out for something, and was +astonished to find that I was still alive. He had expected that the fall +on the hard stone slabs that paved the courtyard and the long exposure +would have killed me. He was a very superstitious man, and so he believed +that my escape from death had been due to the intervention of Heaven, and +that it was designed by it that my life should be preserved. Impressed +with this idea, he picked me up and carried me to my mother, who took me +to her heart and decided that I should not be destroyed. In memory of that +eventful night, and my father’s rescue of me next morning, I was called, +‘Picked up.’”</p> + +<p>There is no doubt but that countless baby girls have thus disappeared +within the first two or three hours of their birth, when the unnatural +passion of the parents has been excited by anger and disappointment. If +they are spared long enough to let that cool down, and the child still +lives, the voice of nature begins to be heard, and the mother will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> ask +for the little one to be given her, and from that moment there will be no +more talk of putting it to death.</p> + +<p>Under the most favourable circumstances, and where it has been decided to +rear the child, no congratulations are ever uttered by any one on her +birth. To do so would be considered so grim a joke that it would be looked +upon as an insult so marked and so offensive that a perpetual feud would +be engendered that would never be dissolved as long as life lasted.</p> + +<p>The neighbours who have been on the alert with their congratulations all +ready to offer to the happy parents in the event of a son being born, are +placed in the most awkward position, and they get out of it as deftly as +they can by the use of polite phrases and airy nothings of which the +Chinese language has such an abundance. In these attempts no one would +ever dream of using the common word “Girl.” That would grate harshly on +the ears of those whose sensitive feelings are only too ready to think +that some reflection is intended by a reference to their daughter. A +polite phrase is used instead, which means “A thousand pieces of gold,” a +title which by a subtle species of legerdemain lifts the poor forlorn +little mite, who has barely escaped drowning or suffocating, into the +region of an heiress with a large fortune with which to begin her life.</p> + +<p>The early years of a child seem on the whole to be happy ones. In the +swarms of children that one sees almost anywhere, one gets the impression +that on the whole they thoroughly enjoy themselves. They run about and +romp and dance and gambol very much as a similar number of English +children would do on the village green, or in the streets and lanes of a +home city.</p> + +<p>The Chinese are far from being a gloomy race of people. Their hearts are +full of fun and vigorous life, and this is seen in the sturdy urchins that +race about with each other and that fill the air with their merry sounds +of childish laughter.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img11.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img12.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">STUDIES OF CHINESE BOYS.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 51.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>With very young children this is all the more remarkable since so little +is provided for their amusement. Such things as pictures or story-books or +toys in the large and profuse sense with which our nurseries are supplied +in England, do not exist in this land. Childhood is left very much to its +own resources to find out the means of passing the time pleasantly. It is +pathetic to watch how, with the fewest and simplest materials, the little +ones will pass the day, with apparently perfect contentment. The method +most popular, because it involves no expense, is the making of mud pies, +and the building of miniature houses with broken pieces of tiles that can +be picked up from the streets.</p> + +<p>The parents never seem to consider it a part of their duty to suggest +means of recreation for their children. The mothers are intensely ignorant +and slovenly, and are too occupied with their household duties to have any +time to devote to the education or amusement of their little ones, and so +they are allowed to grow up very much as nature or their surroundings +mould them, until the time has arrived, for the boys at least, when they +must enter school, and come under the discipline of a school-master.</p> + +<p>It is interesting at this point to consider what are the moral restraints +that are at the command of the parents to train up their children to be +good and honest citizens of the Empire. Apart from the natural conscience +which no amount of heathenism can entirely eradicate, and the lofty ideals +which their sages and teachers in olden times sent forth as beautiful +spirits to permeate and wander through succeeding generations, the family +has no influence whatsoever in guiding the little ones into a noble and +virtuous life.</p> + +<p>How could one expect that it should? There is absolutely no religion in +it, for the occasional worship of the idols, when some favour is requested +from them or some sorrow to be averted, has no moral effect upon a single<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +member of the home. The idols are supposed to be mysterious forces that +have great power in the supernatural world, who have to be bribed and +coaxed not to send down evil upon men, for whom in their inmost hearts it +is believed that they have a natural antipathy. They are never appealed to +as loving or caring for men. There is nothing that will bring a smile over +the yellow face sooner than to ask a man if the idols love men. It is a +question that is so brimming over with fun to a Chinaman that it is +irresistible in its effects, and the soberest face will be wreathed with +smiles whenever it is put.</p> + +<p>There is no Bible, of course, and not a single book in the home, and if +there were the mothers could not read them. It will be seen, then, that +the machinery in the West for the training of the children does not exist +out here. There is no God, no churches, no Sunday or Sunday schools, no +pictures, and no special literature to influence the minds of the young to +withstand the evil forces that grow rank and wild all around them in +whatever grade of society they may happen to be.</p> + +<p>It may be said without any exaggeration that it is in the home that the +children learn the evils that cling to them all their lives, and that it +is the mothers that are the principal teachers of them. Lying, for +example, as a fine art is one that is indoctrinated by the mothers’ +example. It is upon it that they mainly depend for the governing of their +children. As a rule there is no proper discipline in the home, and no +attempt made to make the children obey promptly any order that is given. +The result is that the mother, who has most to do with them, depends +largely upon loud-voiced threatenings and an occasional beating when her +passion gets the control over her, though this latter is rare, since the +Chinese parents really love their children, and seldom resort to this +severe method of curbing the unruly or high spirits of their offspring.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>The great weapon in her armoury in the earlier days of her children’s +lives is a technical expression that is known in every family of +“Deceiving the Children.” One day a visitor called upon a family with +which he was acquainted. The lady of the house was in and so also was her +little son of four or five years of age, a bright, interesting child, with +snapping black eyes, and as full of life as a healthy child could be.</p> + +<p>During the conversation the child got restless and was inclined to get +into mischief. He was approaching a corner of the room, when his mother +called out in a loud, excited voice, “Don’t go there, there is a huge rat +waiting for you, that will pounce out upon you, and tear out your eyes.” +The little fellow, with terror depicted upon his face and with an agonized +cry, made a bee-line to the opposite side of the room, and crouched near +his mother in the most abject terror.</p> + +<p>After a while, having nothing to do, he began to move about in what his +mother considered forbidden paths, when once more, with a shriek that had +assumed a natural look of alarm, she shouted in her loudest tones, “Come +away quickly, don’t go there; there is a black snake hiding in the corner. +It will bite you, and you will die in a few minutes.” Again a wild look of +horror on the little fellow’s face, and a sudden rush to his mother’s side +to escape the deadly serpent that was lying in wait for him, and sobs of +agony broke from him as he clung to her for protection.</p> + +<p>After a while he once more, with the restlessness of childhood, began to +move about in search of something to amuse himself with, and was once more +getting on ground that his mother considered unsafe, when again, with red, +excited face and shrill tones she yelled out, “Why do you go there? Don’t +you know there is a devil hiding round the corner that has a great love +for the flesh of a young boy, and he will seize you and devour you, and +crunch your bones with his great teeth?”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>At this juncture the gentleman said to the mother, “How is it that you +have in a very short time deceived your son three times by telling him +that something will happen that you know cannot possibly occur? Are you +not afraid of teaching him to be a liar? He will find out in time that +what you say cannot be relied upon, and then he will lose faith in you and +learn to regard lying as a thing of no importance.”</p> + +<p>The woman’s face became suffused with smiles, and then she broke out into +laughter, which for some time she could not suppress. “Oh,” she said, “I +did not think of all the terrible things that you talk of so seriously. I +merely wanted to keep the little fellow quiet. I knew that he would not +obey me if I simply asked him to be a good boy, and so I thought I would +frighten him. Everybody uses this plan in China, and I don’t see that +there is any harm in it.”</p> + +<p>Another exceedingly injurious habit that is learned in the home is +swearing. It seems an incredible thing, but it is no doubt a fact that +every one swears in China, without distinction of sex or position in +society. The rough coolies that one meets with on the roads interlard +their ordinary conversation with the foulest expressions, but only let two +of them fall out with each other, and there will be such a torrent of +obscenity and such a bombardment of one another by filthy epithets that +one recoils with disgust at the degrading terms that flow from their lips.</p> + +<p>You are standing talking to a fine, scholarly gentleman. His home near by +is a perfect mansion as compared with the hovels that press up against the +wall that surrounds his property. You are charmed with his manner, so +elegant and refined is he in his conversation with you. His talk, too, is +high toned, and shows that he has been imbued with the ethics of the great +sage Confucius, who drew a wonderful picture of the ideal man, that he +called “The son of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> King,” and that he has been studying his lineaments +so that he might copy him in his own life.</p> + +<p>All at once two coolies come along with a steady run, bearing between them +a great heavy pig, that squeals and grunts with pain from the ropes that +cut into its feet. The road is rough and uneven, and they make a false +step and bump heavily against the scholar, who falls to the ground. The +transformation that takes place in this refined and gentlemanly person is +instantaneous and amazing. His company manners have fled, the picture of +the ideal man has vanished from his brain, and he now stands on the level +of the most profane coolie, that has never read Confucius, and has never +studied etiquette of any kind. The language that flows from him is obscene +and so filthy, and of such a Sodom and Gomorrah character that you turn +away from him in absolute loathing as a man that would pollute and +contaminate you by his very presence.</p> + +<p>Two women have a difference, and, like all Chinese quarrels, it has to be +fought out in the open street, where every one can hear and decide for +himself the merits of the case. They begin with a few desultory remarks, +not very highly complimentary, and with just sufficient edge in them to +show that each of them means war to the knife, and that they are now +fleshing their swords for the real encounter that is imminent. By and by a +single word is shot like a poisoned arrow by one of them that inflames the +other to madness. The flood-gates are now open, and there pour from the +lips of each a perfect cataract of foul and obscene language, that makes +many of the bystanders, whose minds are stored with these very terms, +actually shudder with a vague sense of abhorrence.</p> + +<p>Now all this is learned in the home. The first notes of this terrible +language were first heard from father and mother, but mainly from the +latter. In her anger and passion she will hurl epithets at her daughter +that will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> describe her as one of the vilest of her sex, whilst the boys, +from the awful terms she uses about them, might be the very refuse and +offscourings of the earth. The little ones can say nothing, but they store +up in the innermost recesses of their minds these awful phrases, to be +used as the years go by when passion stirs up the fiercest elements of the +heart into wild bursts of fury.</p> + +<p>And thus the years go by for both boys and girls, with nothing very +eventful in the lives of either, until they are about eight. The Chinese +are not an idle race of people, and as soon as the little ones can put +their hands to anything, their small services are utilized for the general +benefit of the home. If they are poor, the boys go out and gather grass +and fallen twigs to be used as firewood, whilst the girls help as far as +they can in the ordinary duties of the household.</p> + +<p>Their main occupation, however, is play, and the most of their hours are +devoted to that. Chinese children develop slowly. Neither in intelligence +nor in physical development are they at all equal to the boys and girls in +England, so up till they are ten years of age it is considered that their +services are of no material value to the family, and that their time is +best spent by doing nothing but running wild.</p> + +<p>At about eight preparations are made for the lad to go to school. Terms +are made with the school-master of the nearest school, a certain number of +books splashed and dotted over with mysterious-looking hieroglyphics are +bought, and one morning at early dawn, just as the pale grey light begins +to colour the landscape, the little fellow finds his way along the silent +road to the school-house. Here for six or seven years he will spend the +best part of his days in the study of books that contain the ideals of the +nation.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img13.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A BOY CARRYING BASKETS.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 56.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>They are the driest of dry books, and were really<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> written for scholarly +men, and for men of thought, whose thinking powers were considerably +developed. There is not a single story in their pages. No child or woman’s +voice is heard from beginning to end, and no laughter, and no sob of pain, +or any touch of the finer qualities of the human heart.</p> + +<p>The boy begins at eight not with “Jack and Jill,” or the “House that Jack +built,” or with any nursery rhyme that would appeal to a child’s +imagination, but with the solemn statements on high ethical questions that +some of the greatest thinkers and teachers of China have produced. Some +idea of the style of the books that these little urchins have to grind at, +may be gathered from the fact that the first book that is put into the +hands of that eight-year-old scholar is called <i>The Three Words Classic</i>, +from the fact that each sentence is made up of three words rhythmically +set. It is about as crabbed and as profound a piece of writing as exists +in the whole language. Its first sentence makes a dogmatic statement which +has not been generally accepted in China, viz. “Man by nature is +originally good.” Just imagine a boy of ten, accustomed till to-day to run +as wild as a climbing plant, that creeps up trees, or over ruined walls, +or down the side of a precipice, brought face to face with a statement +like this, instead of the conventional one, “My dog,” or “His cat,” that +confronts the English lad as he first enters the domain of learning.</p> + +<p>Try and conceive the wear and tear upon a child’s spirit in having for +years to shout and scream out at the top of his voice, as Chinese scholars +do, such profound teaching as the above, and you will then have caught a +glimpse of the steep and precipitous way along which these eight-year +scholars have to travel in their pursuit after knowledge. A more dreary +system of education, where imagination and humour, and poetry and romance, +and all the finer emotions of the soul are rigorously excluded, it would +be impossible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> to conceive than that which every Chinese scholar has to go +through in every school throughout the Empire to-day.</p> + +<p>And so the years go by, childhood is being slowly left behind, and young +manhood comes with its own responsibilities and its own ambitions. It is a +dreary road along which the young scholar travels. He gets no knowledge of +life that will make him tender and sympathetic with his fellow-men in +their sins or their sorrows. He acquires a profound contempt for every +other country but his own. His natural hardness and selfishness of heart +are intensified by a pride that nothing can soften, whilst his antipathy +to any change or progress either in his own village or in his country is +deeply rooted and the adoption of new ideas or liberal thoughts is +considered a heresy so abominable as to brand any one that adopts it with +the terrible name of “Barbarian,” a term from which every self-respecting +Chinaman shrinks as from a plague.</p> + +<p>With the leaving of school, childhood has passed away, and now the lads +will have to select the occupations they are going to pursue in the +future. Some elect to be scholars, especially if they have shown +proficiency in their studies, and they finally join the great army of +school-masters that are required for the countless schools throughout the +country. Others become clerks in business houses, but as arithmetic is not +a branch of school education, they are obliged to pay a small premium and +learn the use of the abacus or counting boards, in one of the cash shops +in the town. Others, again, engage themselves as book-keepers or shop +assistants, or in some of the many employments that are open to young men +who can read and write.</p> + +<p>Not a few of them drift into evil habits and finally become opium-smokers +and gamblers. If they are clever scamps, which this class usually are, +they turn their attention to medicine, and gathering together a few herbs +they travel through the country as strolling doctors, professing to cure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +every disease to which the human frame is heir, and living a most +precarious and, on the whole, a very wretched life.</p> + +<p>About the same time that the great change takes place in the experience of +the boy, the girl too comes to a point where the easy conditions under +which she has hitherto lived suddenly stop and the great trial of her life +begins. I refer to foot-binding.</p> + +<p>In every home that professes to any respectability, foot-binding is an +absolutely essential thing for the girls in it. To neglect this would be +to confound them with slave girls, whose feet are never bound, and with +the children of the very lowest classes whose poverty would not admit of +their adopting this polite custom. It has been found by a very large +experience that a girl must be eight years old before her feet will bear +the tremendous strain that is put upon them, in the effort to destroy the +handiwork of nature.</p> + +<p>It is true that in some of the more wealthy homes, where a very small foot +is a sign of blue blood, they begin as soon as the girl is six to put her +to the torture, but this is not the general rule. By the time the girl is +eight, the bones of the feet have become sufficiently hardened to bear the +incessant pressure that is put upon them to contract the feet into such a +small compass that they will go into a shoe of two or three inches in +length.</p> + +<p>The process begins by turning all the toes, except the large one, on to +the sole of the foot. This of course is a slow but an exceedingly painful +one. It is continued week after week and month after month for several +years until the toes have been thrown back, at the expense of the instep, +which is made to bulge out by the pressure of the bandages; until finally +the “Golden lilies,” as these unsightly objects are called, are complete, +and the poor girl is a veritable cripple for life.</p> + +<p>The cruelty that is practised upon these poor children during the initial +operation of binding is very severe. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> first few weeks are so very +trying that attempts are made by the girls to tear the bandages from their +aching, tortured feet. This is resisted by their mothers, who have to +resort to brutal methods to keep the little hands from endeavouring to +relieve themselves of the pain that has become intolerable.</p> + +<p>Tears and shrieks and groans that last all day long, and are heard through +the sobs of the poor things, as sleep, restless and disturbed, comes to +try and make them forget the agony they are enduring, are the constant +experiences in that unhappy home.</p> + +<p>The girl begs and entreats the mother to loosen the bandages a little so +that the agonizing pain may be diminished, and life may become somewhat +more tolerable. The only reply is a tighter wrench upon them, and a +strain, that were not nature so elastic, would send the poor thing mad. +The morrow comes and the rebandaging takes place. For an instant, as the +feet are relieved of the old bandages, and they are shown inflamed and +discoloured, a momentary relief is felt by the poor girl who has slept in +fitful dozes during the past night, but the moment they are rebound by the +new ones, a cry of horror proceeds from her as though a raw sore had been +touched, and the house resounds with her screams, whilst the mother, +apparently untouched by the agony of her daughter, proceeds with her +revolting task, as though she had no heart and no feeling left in her +heathen soul.</p> + +<p>This terrible martyrdom goes on with scarcely any alleviation for three or +four years, the poor victim to fashion suffering acutely all the time. +There are moments often repeated when the poor child actually quivers all +over from excruciating pain, and it would seem as though flesh and blood +could no longer endure the frightful strain put upon her, but must +dissolve in tears and groans and unutterable agony.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>Foot-binding is one of the most senseless and cruel customs it is possible +to imagine. Its origin is dimly hidden in the maze and mist of the past, +and no one can say positively how it originated. Tradition holds that it +arose in the palace of an Emperor, who had a most beautiful concubine, but +whose feet were deformed. To hide their defect they were so manipulated +that their glaring deformity was concealed, and the ladies of the court in +order to gain her favour bandaged their own in such a manner as to be an +exact imitation of those of the royal favourite. From that time, it is +said, the insane and hideous custom began to spread from the court into +the capital, and from there it began to be copied by the women of the +Empire.</p> + +<p>The popular legend makes this woman to be T’a Ki, the famous concubine of +Show Sin, the last ruler of the famous Chow Dynasty (<span class="smcaplc">B.C.</span> 1146). She is +said to have been the most beautiful woman that ever lived, but to have +been inhuman and vicious beyond anything that human language can express. +She was the cause of the fall of the dynasty, a dynasty in which was +enshrined the great names of Confucius, Mencius, Tau-tze the founder of +Tauism, and Wu Wang.</p> + +<p>To account for the fatal influence of this famous beauty, it is declared +that she was a fox fairy, who had assumed the form of a woman in order to +be able to hurry on the ruin of China. In the transformation everything +was changed but her feet, and in order to disguise these she had to resort +to the most ingenious methods. To curry favour with her the +ladies-in-waiting in the palace bound theirs to imitate the appearance of +hers, and so the custom of foot-binding was commenced that has lasted all +these ages.</p> + +<p>This legend has become part of the national faith and is firmly believed +in by every one. Of course it is absurd, and one that originated in an +after age, but with the innate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> love of the Chinese for the mysterious and +the supernatural, it is transmitted age after age as though it were part +of authentic history.<a name='fna_1' id='fna_1' href='#f_1'><small>[1]</small></a></p> + +<p>Foot-binding is a lifelong misery even after the first few years during +which the feet are being tortured into such a hideous mass of deformity +that no women will willingly show them to any one. Nature never becomes +reconciled to the cruel caricature they present. She continues to make a +vigorous protest by pains and suffering that more or less last as long as +life itself. The bandages may never be loosed even for a single day, for +nature, as if on the eternal watch, would at once begin to revert to the +original size and shape with which she was born, and the feet would +gradually return to their original shape, though with marks of the cruel +treatment to which they have been exposed, and which can never be entirely +effaced, no matter how long the owner may live.</p> + +<p>The girls are employed in household duties, in learning to embroider, to +weave cotton cloth, to make their own shoes, and to learn all kinds of +sewing. The years pass on, and when they reach the age of sixteen their +childhood begins to vanish, and womanhood, with its responsibilities and +its stern demand that the girls shall leave their own clan and become +members of others, looms up before them. The transition stage may be +delayed for a year or two, but when a girl gets to be eighteen it is +considered ample time for her to open her wings and to fly for ever from +the parent home.</p> + +<p>We have thus taken a very rough and bird’s-eye view of Child Life in +China. There are countless details that might have been gone into, but +they would have required an entire book for themselves. The main outline +that has been given will suffice to convey a very general idea of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> +kind of life that the black-eyed children of the Empire have to go +through.</p> + +<p>There is one thing about which there can be no manner of doubt, and that +is that the children never forget the home in which they were reared. The +home is to the Chinese what the country is to the most devoted patriot of +other nationalities. The home is larger and dearer than the nation. It is +the one thought that is always enshrined in his inmost heart, and which +never dies out. A Chinaman went abroad and lived for a quarter of a +century in Australia. He married an Irish woman, had several almond-eyed +daughters, who had caught the brogue of their mother and might have been +emigrants from Cork or Kerry. He had a thriving money-making business, he +possessed a vote, and he was a man of substance in the community.</p> + +<p>One day the home hunger came upon him. He handed over his business to his +wife and daughters, took his balance out of the bank and returned to his +home in China. This was situated by the edge of the sea on a sand dune, +the most forlorn and mouldy-looking place one could possibly imagine. He +regained his spirits as soon as his feet touched the desolate spot that +lay within a few yards of the home where his childhood was spent, and +nothing could induce him ever to think of returning to the far-off land +where the family he had left behind him were living.</p> + +<p>A strong and vigorous coolie showed symptoms of being far from well. +Physically there seemed nothing the matter with him. Gradually he lost his +appetite and his spirits. He occasionally acted as though his mind was +affected. One day he said to his master, “I must go home. I feel very ill, +but I am convinced that no medicine that I can take will cure me. Let me +go home.” The <i>mal du pays</i> of the Switzer was upon him, and when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +permission was given him, his eye brightened and his step became elastic, +and by the time he reached the old homestead every trace of disease had +entirely vanished.</p> + +<p>A man becomes a mandarin and is sent to another part of the Empire. He is +gradually advanced in rank until he becomes a Viceroy of two Provinces, +and rules over thirty millions of people. He marries, and has sons and +daughters, and he amasses property in the place where his greatest honours +have come to him.</p> + +<p>He never has time to get away to his ancestral home, which is more than a +thousand miles distant, but it is never out of his thoughts, and when he +dies full of honours and wealth, his coffin is carried to his far-off +village where he was born, and he is laid to his final rest almost in +sight of the house in which his boyhood was passed.</p> + +<p>The Americans are greatly distressed because when the Chinese come to +their country they do not bring their wives and families with them. The +fact is to do so would be opposed to the spirit and genius of their race. +It would tend to alienate them from their home, which they intend to +revisit as soon as ever they can, and to finally lay their bones amongst +their kindred there. Every merchant and scholar, every coolie that lands +with but the clothes he has on his back, every spendthrift and +opium-smoker and gambler, and every millionaire of the Yellow race in the +United States has one dream that never dies out of his brain, and that is +the picture of his home, which either in life or in death it is his +unalterable purpose to visit. To move their families and become denizens +of their adopted country would be to run counter to one of the strongest +instincts of their race.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img14.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">AN IMPERIAL CONFUCIAN TEMPLE.</p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> +<p class="title">RELIGIOUS FORCES IN CHINA</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Chinese efforts to propitiate their gods—Figures of men on roofs of +houses—Stone tiger—Fung-Shuy—The “Mountain City”—The county of +“Peaceful Streams”—Density of population—The “dead hand”—Ancestral +worship—Idolatry—Koan-Yin—Heaven—Description of a scene in a +popular temple.</p></div> + + +<p>The Chinese are an exceedingly superstitious people, but they are capable +of being intelligently religious when they become acquainted with the +truths of the Gospel. Until then all their offerings and ceremonies and +ritual are performed, either to avert the sorrows that the supernatural +beings might bring upon them, or for the purpose of putting the minds of +their gods into such a pleasing state of satisfaction that they will be +ready to send sons into the family and prosperity into the business, and +riches and honour and a continued stream of blessings upon the home. The +spirits and the gods of all denominations are credited with having +unlimited wealth at their command, which they can dispose of to any one +who has gained their favour, without in the least degree impoverishing +themselves. They are also believed to be high-spirited, easily offended +and vindictive, and careless as to the moral qualities of those who +worship them. The great thing is to keep these capricious beings in a good +humour by making them constant offerings, which though comparatively +valueless in themselves, by some sort of a hocus-pocus during the process +of reaching the idols, become worth large sums of money to them.</p> + +<p>Evidences of superstition abound in almost any direction in which one may +turn. Looking at the roofs of the houses,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> one is struck with the large +numbers of miniature figures of men, in all kinds of fantastic shapes and +attitudes, armed with bows with which they seem to be shooting at the sky. +These are supposed to be fighting with the invisible forces that are +flying through the air, seeking for opportunities to descend into the +houses and to bring plague or pestilence upon the people residing within +them. Were it not for these little warriors it is believed that human life +could not exist, and the homes that are now happy and prosperous would be +filled with mourning and lamentation.</p> + +<p>Walking along a straight street that terminates in another that is at +right angles to it, one is surprised at seeing in the wall of the house at +the extreme end of this road a rough slab of stone about three feet high +and one in breadth, with the three words cut into it, “I dare defy.” Where +the road is winding, or deviates from the straight, no such stone is ever +found.</p> + +<p>The reason for its existence at all is simply a superstitious belief that +everywhere prevails that evil spirits who are at war with mankind have +special power to work mischief along roads that have no turnings in them. +Mad with glee, they fly swifter than the wind along them, and woe betide +anything that lies in their course whilst they are careering along. It is +for this reason that the owners of the house that abuts on this racecourse +of the gods hasten to put up the stone with its three-worded inscription +in order to avoid the baleful effects of their coming full tilt against +it. Some calamity, they believe, would certainly be the result, but no +sooner do the spirits see the words “I dare defy,” than, paralyzed with +fear, and trembling at the mystic words that have struck terror into them, +they fly in disorder from the scene.</p> + +<p>The Chinese on the whole are endowed with broad common-sense, and in +anything that has to do with money-making or with commercial matters they +are as wideawake<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> and as shrewd as a canny Scotsman or a Yorkshireman. +They are gifted, too, with a keen sense of humour, and yet when they come +to deal with the question of spirits and ghosts and ogres, they seem to +lose their reasoning faculties, and to believe in the most outrageous +things that a mind with an ordinary power of perception of the ludicrous +would shrink from admitting.</p> + +<p>Quietly sauntering along by a road that skirts a hill, a rock is pointed +out that plays an important part in the fortunes of the town that may be +seen stretching away over the plain in front of us. Looked at from a +certain angle it certainly conveys to one the impression that it is a huge +crouching tiger. It has a defiant look about it, and an air of alertness, +as though some enemy were about, that it must be on its guard against. Its +gaze is fixed on the smokeless city, from which no sound can be heard and +which would seem to be a veritable abode of the dead.</p> + +<p>It turns out that this great stone brute that nature has so deftly +chiselled is the presiding genius of the city that lies so silently in +front. The Chinese believe that objects in natural life which, by a freak +of fortune, have any resemblance to bird or beast are inhabited by the +spirits of that animal, and have all the natural powers of such, only in a +greatly intensified degree. The physical strength of the tiger and its +naturally ferocious character make it an object of dread, and so when a +district is found to possess the figure of such, only in an immensely +exaggerated size, then it is seized upon as the embodiment of physical and +supernatural forces that can be used for the protection of a city or +sometimes of a whole region many miles square.</p> + +<p>In this particular instance, the stone tiger, with its massive jaws and +huge body that seems to be vibrating with nervous energy, is looked upon +as the real protector of the town and region which it overlooks. Through +its mysterious influence plague and pestilence are kept away, and trade<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +prospers, and twin sons appear in certain families, and boys are born and +the ratio of girls is kept down, whilst a general air of prosperity +pervades the city and the villages and hamlets on the plain beyond. This +is not the casual belief of a few cranks. It is the profound conviction of +the scholars and literary men, who are the leaders of thought. It is also +one of the articles in the creed of the working men, and of the coolies +and labourers, and it is tenaciously held by every woman in all the +region. If any one should have the daring to suggest that this impostor of +a tiger should be blown up by dynamite to see what it was made of, he +would be looked upon as a dangerous heretic who ought to be put into a +lunatic asylum, only there does not happen to be such a thing in the whole +of China.</p> + +<p>This form of superstition meets one in every direction, and is popularly +called “Fung-Shuy,” which means “Wind and water,” chiefly, I presume, +because in the province of the natural world these are the two agencies +that seem to have a tremendous power in producing changes on the earth’s +surface.</p> + +<p>We have another instance of its dominating influence in this beautiful +valley before us. More exquisite scenery one could hardly find in the +whole of China than that which has been grouped here by Nature’s artistic +hand. A mountain stream runs right through the centre of it, and night and +day the sounds of its music break upon the air. The hamlets and villages +scattered over it add to the beauty of the scene, for they give the charm +of life to the silent forces that lie around.</p> + +<p>The most beautiful feature about the whole, however, is the hills, which +group themselves so artistically around this charming valley. They seem +like colossal walls that mighty heroes built in ancient days to turn it +into a city of which they should form the battlements. So obviously does +this seem to have been the purpose, that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> place has been called the +“Mountain City.” Now the stone of which these hills are composed is a +beautiful granite, that is specially adapted for house-building, and one +would naturally imagine that the houses in the valley and in the city +which lies just over the hills would all be built of the stone that is +found in such abundance around.</p> + +<p>But such was not the case. A tradition has come down from the past that +underneath these hills are mighty spirits who would never tolerate that +the granite they contained should ever be quarried, and that should any +one dare to lay a chisel upon these rocks they would send disease and +death upon the valley and exterminate every human being in it.</p> + +<p>The result was that all the stone that was used in this region had to be +carried up the river from some place fifty or sixty miles distant, where +the geomancers had declared that no spirits were to be found. Such is the +force of superstition that all the rocks and boulders and stones of this +region are absolutely safe from the chisel of the mason, and the people +prefer to go to the expense of importing the material for their homes and +bridges, rather than incur the anger of the spirits, who would use all the +terrible power they possess to avenge themselves upon them.</p> + +<p>Superstition has been a most potent force during the whole course of +Chinese history in preventing the development of the nation. The mineral +resources of the country are exceedingly abundant, and if they had been +rightly exploited, would have been the means of enriching great masses of +people who are now in extreme poverty. To understand this let us come in +imagination to one district in the county of “The Peaceful Streams.” As we +stand gazing upon the scene before us, we are struck with the grandeur and +magnificence of its scenery. In the far-off distance the mountains are +piled up, one range higher than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> another, till the last with its lofty +peaks seems to be resting against the sky.</p> + +<p>In the foreground are countless hills along whose sides the tea plants +flourish, and there are undulating plains, and miniature valleys, and +gently flowing streams that have come from the distant mountains, and +which have lost a good deal of their passion as they have travelled away +from them. The soil is poor, and the farmers have to expend the severest +toil upon it to be able to extract out of it enough to keep their families +from starvation. The struggle for existence is so severe that large +numbers every year have to leave their homes and their farms and emigrate +to other countries, where they hope to make sufficient money to be able in +the course of a few years to return to the old homesteads and start a new +life of independence and comfort.</p> + +<p>Now, but for a wretched superstition, this region ought to be one of the +richest in China, and its people should be living in affluence; and +instead of having to desert the land and being scattered in Singapore, and +Penang and the Malay Peninsula, toiling to save their ancestral homes from +perishing through poverty, every man would be called back in hot haste to +share in the wealth that would be enough to enrich ten times the number of +people that now exist on the land struggling to make ends meet.</p> + +<p>The land that stretches before us is rich in coal, and one hill at least +contains such a large percentage of the finest iron, that one engineer who +examined it reported that there was enough of the ore in it to “supply the +whole world for a thousand years,” and still it would remain unexhausted. +Expert after expert has visited this region, and with unvarying unanimity +they have declared that seams of coal abound throughout it that if worked +would turn this poverty-stricken district into one of the great workshops +of the South of China, and would give employment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> not only to its own +population, but also to large numbers from the adjoining counties.</p> + +<p>Now the one controlling reason why this great natural wealth, that God has +put into the soil of this beautiful county for the service of man, is left +untouched is because it is believed that there are huge slimy dragons who +lie age after age guarding the treasures of coal and iron, and that any +attempt to take them from them would end in the destruction of the people +of the whole region. The pickaxe and the shovel and the dynamite would +disturb their slumbers, and, filled with passion and mad with anger, they +would hurl plague and sickness and calamities upon the unfortunate +dwellers on the land. These unseen terrors, more potent than hunger and +poverty and famine, have kept the mines unopened and the iron from being +smelted, and have driven thousands of people into exile, very few +comparatively of whom have ever come back to look upon the land of great +mountains and peaceful streams, where untold riches lay ready for the +gathering.</p> + +<p>China is a country that is distinguished for its dense population. +Wherever you travel you never seem to be able to get away from the human +Celestial. The great cities and market towns and public thoroughfares +present a never-ending succession of Chinese forms and faces that becomes +absolutely monotonous. It is natural to expect them in these great centres +of population, but you go into the most out-of-the-way places, and even +there you are confronted with the same perplexing problem.</p> + +<p>You wish, for example, to be alone, absolutely alone for a time, where no +Mongolian visage with its acres of features and its yellow bilious-looking +smile shall gaze upon you. There is a hill near by that you believe to be +entirely deserted, and you think if you could only get up there, the +desire of your heart would be gratified.</p> + +<p>You walk briskly down the street, as though you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> were projecting a good +long constitutional, in order that no one may be mad enough to think of +following you. By and by you make a sudden flank movement that takes you +into a lane leading off from the main road. Casting hurried glances back +on the way you have just travelled to see that no one is watching you, you +make rapid strategic doubles in the direction of the hill, till you find +yourself calmly and with a contented mind slowly rising higher and higher, +until at last you have fairly left all traces of human life behind you, +and you are actually alone.</p> + +<p>Seating yourself on a grassy mound, you look out on the broad expanse +before you, and you breathe a sigh of content. No mechanical sounds of +voices, as though they were being ground out by some creaking machinery, +fall upon your ears. You hear the sighing of the wind and you see the +grasses waving their heads as though they would talk in dumb show with +you. You look down at the river, that winds like a silver thread along the +plain, and you feel that this contact with nature is a most delightful +break on the eternal monotony of faces that may suggest humour and pathos +and lurking fun behind a yellow exterior, but never beauty.</p> + +<p>All at once you receive a shock. You catch the gleam of an eye through an +opening in two or three bushes that you never dreamed of concealing +anything human behind them. You are startled, for you feel that the +Chinaman has outwitted you. You turn round and cast suspicious glances +towards a hedge, where wild flowers are growing and that you thought to be +the very picture of sylvan solitude, and you see several figures dodging +behind it.</p> + +<p>The delightful sense of being alone vanishes, and you realize that that is +an impossibility in China. You stand up disgusted, but with the feeling of +amusement predominant, and one after another comes out of his +hiding-place, where the black, piercing eyes have been scanning your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +every movement for the last ten minutes, and at least a dozen ungainly +forms creep up to you and with smiling faces try to make friends with you.</p> + +<p>Now, mighty and overwhelming though the living force of Chinese life may +be, it is an undoubted fact that the dead and sleeping nation, as a +religious factor, in many respects controls and dominates the living tides +of men that impress us so vividly with their vast numbers. Even the casual +traveller in China cannot help but be impressed with the way in which the +graves of the dead thrust themselves upon the attention of the living. +There is no getting away from them. The mountain sides very often are so +thickly covered with them that one has to tread upon them if one would +pass from one part to another. Every uncultivated spot on the lower levels +has been eagerly seized upon as spaces where to bury the dead. Even the +cultivated fields have been invaded by them, and mounds right in the +centre of some diminutive rice or potato patches show how the little farm +has been narrowed down in order to make room for some members of the +family that have passed away. These graves thrust themselves up to the +edge of the great roads, and seem to be prevented from grasping even them +only by the incessant march of the countless feet that hurry along them +from dawn till dark. The clearings and little hills outside the cities +that cannot be used for cultivation are all seized upon as unprotected +cemeteries for the dead, and the little mounds like tidal waves advance up +to the very edge of the walls of the town, and are stayed in their +progress only by these huge bulwarks.</p> + +<p>But it is not simply by the signs that appeal to the eye that one gets an +idea which is apt to appal one of the vast problem of the dead in China. +In countless houses throughout the land, and more especially in those of +the rich, one is astonished to find how many lie in their coffins,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> +hermetically sealed, for weeks and months, without being buried. It is a +most gruesome sight, and would give an Englishman the shivers to have the +dead in the next room for many months and sometimes for years.</p> + +<p>Now, it is an unquestionable fact that the “dead hand” is a most mighty +and a most potent factor in the religious life of the people of China. All +the gods and goddesses that are worshipped throughout the Empire are not +believed to have the same influence over human life in sending misery or +in bestowing happiness as the dead members of a family have in regard to +their relatives that are still alive on the earth. A man, for example, +dies. He was a poor worthless fellow when he left the earth, and his life +was a constant record of failure and incapacity. He never accomplished +anything, and he was a mere nonentity not only in society but also in his +own home till the very last. All that is changed now, and as he lies in +his tomb he has acquired a new power that, in conjunction with the unseen +forces that are supposed to gather round the grave, will enable him to +pour riches and power upon the home he has left.</p> + +<p>The dead to-day all over China hold the living within their grip. They are +believed in some mysterious way of having the ability to change the +destinies of a family. They can raise it from poverty and meanness to +wealth and to the most exalted position, but if they are neglected and +offerings are not made to them at the regular seasons, they will take away +houses and lands from it, and turn the members of it into beggars.</p> + +<p>A man died in a certain village. He was so poor that a grave was dug for +him by the roadside and he was buried with but the scantiest of ceremony. +He had never shown any ability in the whole course of his life, and he +seemed in no way different from the ordinary commonplace looking men that +one meets in shoals anywhere.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>The eldest son who buried him was a young man of exceptional ability. He +was rough and overbearing in his manners and a very unpleasant man to have +to oppose, but he had the keen passion of the trader, and seemed to know +by instinct every phase of the market, and what it was safe for him to +speculate in. As he had no capital of his own, he was compelled to begin +his life at the very bottom and to work his way up. This he did with great +success, so that in the course of time he amassed a considerable fortune, +and his name was known as that of one of the merchant princes in the +region in which he lived.</p> + +<p>Now, this man’s steady rise from poverty to wealth was not put down to his +own ability or to any skill that he had shown in the management of his +business affairs, but almost entirely to the old father who lay buried at +the crossroads. It was he, the son believed, that guided the golden stream +that flowed into his life, and it was his mysterious hand that had so +prospered the combinations which the son had made, that the firm was built +up till it was distinguished for the magnitude of its transactions. So +convinced was he of this that he would never allow the grave to be +touched, and he would never have a stone put up to show to whom this +common-looking, neglected mound of earth belonged. He was afraid lest +careless hands should break the spell that hung around it, and perhaps +annoy the old man so that the run of prosperity should be broken, and in +anger he should send misfortune instead.</p> + +<p>Countless instances could be given similar to the above, all illustrating +the profound faith that the Chinese have in the power of the dead to +influence the fortunes of the living either for weal or for woe. From this +has arisen the most powerful cult, ancestor worship, that at present +exists in China. Its root lies neither in reverence nor in affection for +the dead, but in selfishness and in dread. The kindly ties and the tender +affection that used to bind men<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> together when they were in the world and +to knit their hearts in a loving union seem to vanish, and the living are +only oppressed with a sense of the mystery of the dead, and a fear lest +they should do anything that might incur their displeasure and so bring +misery upon the home.</p> + +<p>Looked at from a sentimental point of view, ancestor worship seems to be +very beautiful and very attractive, but it is not really so. The unselfish +love that is the charm that binds the members of a family to each other, +and the willingness to endure and suffer for each other, are entirely +absent in the worship that the living offer to their dead friends. The +bond that binds them now is a vague and a misty one, and exists solely +because there are hopes that lands and houses and wealth may come in some +mysterious way from the unseen land, and sorrow and pain and disaster may +be driven from the home. It is no wonder that this worship has such a +powerful hold on the faith and practice of the Chinese, when it is +considered how much that men hold dear is involved in it. It is the +greatest religious force in the land, and will survive in some form or +other even when all the others that are at present recognized have passed +away from the hearts of the people.</p> + +<p>We now turn to what to a casual onlooker might naturally seem to be the +dominant and most powerful factor in the religious life of the people of +this Empire of China, and that is idolatry. This popular and universal +form of worship meets one everywhere and is practised by every class and +condition of people throughout the country. The rich and the poor, the +learned and the unlearned, the common coolie who earns his living in the +streets and the most learned scholar who has risen to the highest rank in +his profession, men and women of all grades, good, bad, and indifferent, +all more or less believe in the idols and worship them.</p> + +<p>That this is so, is evident from the almost universal presence of the +idols. Every house has at least one, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> is the household god of the +family, whilst the more religious and devout will have several others as +well. Then the cities abound with temples dedicated to certain well-known +gods that have been built, some of them at great expense, and are kept in +constant repair by the free-will offerings of the people. The villages, +too, not to be outdone by the towns, have each of them at least one public +temple where the people can make their offerings to their patron god, and +where on the birthday of the idol the whole population gather to witness +the play which is performed in honour of it.</p> + +<p>Then, again, there are monasteries scattered very liberally through the +provinces, some of them so large that they will have over a hundred +resident priests, all engaged in the one duty of chanting the praises of +the various gods in them, and in superintending the worship of the throngs +of people who crowd to such places to make their offerings to the +different idols. There are also numerous nunneries where women devote +their lives exclusively to the service of the Goddess of Mercy, and spend +their years in trying to get from her the peace of mind they have not been +able to obtain in their own homes. The inhabitants of these establishments +are nearly always widows whose homes are unhappy, or married women who, +dissatisfied with life, and with the consent of their husbands, have +retired to the quiet and solitude of these retreats, in the hope that by +prayer and meditation the unrest of spirit that has made life intolerable +may be exchanged for one of calmness and contentment.</p> + +<p>In addition to the above, there are mountain temples that abound in all +the hilly regions, and little shrines built by the roadsides, where +passing travellers may offer up their devotions to the gods enshrined +within them, and a multitude of devices for drawing the attention of men +and women to the duty of remembering the services they ought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> to pay to +the gods of the land they live in. The more one studies this question, the +more one is impressed with the fact that idolatry is a huge system that +completely covers the whole of the Empire with its ramifications. If the +faith of the Chinese is to be measured by the money that they are willing +to put out for its support, then it must be profound indeed. When one +considers the innumerable number of temples of all sizes and description +that meet one in every direction, and that the expense of building them +and keeping them in repair falls entirely upon the people, one cannot but +be struck with the sacrifices they are willing to make for the sake of +their gods. But when one considers further that the huge armies of +Buddhist and Tauist priests who are connected with these religious +establishments are all supported by voluntary gifts freely bestowed upon +them, one stands amazed at the amount of money that must be annually +expended throughout the Empire upon a system that has no State endowment, +but which depends entirely upon the spontaneous offerings of the people at +large for its very existence.</p> + +<p>But it is now time to go into detail with regard to the working of +idolatry in order to understand what is its exact effect on the masses who +practise it, and in order to make the picture as vivid as possible, I +shall first describe how the home is affected by this form of religion. +Any house taken at random will do equally well for our purpose, for, like +the Chinese themselves, they are all built on the same general model, and +a description of one would do for all the rest.</p> + +<p>As we pass through the courtyard and enter in at the front door which +stands open all day long, no matter what the weather may be, the first +thing that we catch sight of is an oblong table on which is seated the +family idol. The most popular and the most generally worshipped is +Kwan-Yin, or the Goddess of Mercy. Her face is placid, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> there is a +look of tenderness about it that has won the hearts of the millions of +China so that in nearly every home in the land her image is found as the +one conspicuous object towards which all hearts are drawn.</p> + +<p>Her whole attitude and the air of benevolence that sits so naturally upon +her agree well with the beautiful story we have of her life, and the +reason why she, an Indian woman, should have become almost the national +goddess of the Chinese nation.</p> + +<p>Kwan-Yin was the daughter of an Indian prince, and as a child she showed +herself to be possessed of a most loving heart. As a girl she used to run +in and out of the houses of the common people that stood near her father’s +palace, and she was so distressed at the sights of poverty and sorrow that +she constantly witnessed that she made a vow that when she became a woman +she would never marry, but would devote her life to alleviate the miseries +that the women of India were compelled to endure.</p> + +<p>This vow she carried out to the very letter, and her days were spent in +ministering to the wants and ailments of women, no matter how low in +society they happened to be. Her fame spread far and near, and the story +of her devotion and self-denial touched every one that heard it. With true +Oriental imagination people declared that she was a fairy that had been +born into the world in human shape, for never had such tenderness and +compassion been shown by any human being, and therefore her home must +originally have been amongst the gods and the goddesses that lived in the +land of eternal sunshine, where no shadow ever fell upon their hearts to +dim the happiness that perpetually filled their lives.</p> + +<p>When she died it was felt that such a woman should be deified, and that +her name and image should be added to the list of those that were +worshipped by the nation. The story of this beautiful life somehow or +other travelled over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> the mountains and plains and deserts that divide +India from China, and the “Black-haired race” became so enamoured with it, +that those who heard it declared that she was worthy, even though she were +a foreigner, of being placed amongst the gods that they trusted in. With +wonderful rapidity her cult was adopted by all classes, but especially by +the women, till to-day her image is found in nearly every home in the +Middle Kingdom.</p> + +<p>The recognized place where the idol is enshrined is in the living-room of +the family. It thus becomes a silent member of the home and a witness of +the daily life of its worshippers. It seems to be treated with but scant +courtesy, however, for no care whatever is bestowed upon it, and the dust +that comes in at the doors, and that rises from the earthen floors, falls +thickly on its head and makes it have a grimy, disreputable appearance. +The furniture in the room and the table on which the idol rests may be +cleaned and dusted, but no damp cloth may ever be used to relieve it of +the dust that has accumulated upon it, lest it should consider itself +insulted by such familiarity and express its resentment by sending down +some calamity upon the family. The gods are believed to be very human, and +to be liable to fits of passion, and to be very anxious to maintain their +dignity, and to be cruel and merciless with those that offend against +them.</p> + +<p>A general theory with regard to the idols is that they have to be +propitiated in order that they may exercise their power in the protection +of the home. For this reason they are never formally approached on any +occasion without at the very least an offering of incense or of paper +money burned in front of the idol, which it is believed find their way to +the spirit of the god, who can appropriate and use them for his own +benefit. It is customary on the days of the new and full moon to burn a +number of sticks of incense, just to keep the idol in a good humour, on +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> principle that a man makes a present to another, in the hope that +should circumstances demand it, he will show himself friendly when he is +appealed to.</p> + +<p>The one great occasion in the year when the idol is worshipped with great +ceremony is its birthday. Then special preparations are made to do it +honour, and offerings of roast fowl and duck and boiled ducks’ eggs, and +certain vegetables, are placed in front of it, and it is called upon to +partake of the good things that its worshippers present to it. In the more +wealthy homes, where money is plentiful, in addition to the usual +offerings of food, the head of the house will engage a band of +play-actors, and selecting some popular piece, he will have it performed +in the courtyard right in front of the idol, so that it can be amused by +the merry performers and be made to remember its birthday with feelings of +pleasure and satisfaction.</p> + +<p>There is one feature about idolatry that is very striking, and that is +that it never proposes to have any effect on character. The theory seems +to be that its help is only available when men are in trouble or want to +get rich, or when they wish to be avenged on an enemy, or the business is +failing and they desire that it should prosper, and so be relieved from +the dread of poverty in the future. There may be a thousand things in the +same line as these, and it is believed that the idols have resources at +their command that enables them to meet all such contingencies in human +life and to fill men’s hearts with content.</p> + +<p>The idols, however, are never supposed to have any influence for good on +the characters of those that worship them. A man never feels that as he +has just been making an offering to the household god, he must therefore +be a better man. Such a thought never occurs to a Chinaman. The connection +between a lavish service to the idols and a life altered for the better is +never dreamed of in this land. A man, for example, is an opium-smoker, and +every day the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> habit grows upon him till at last he is perfectly powerless +under its grip. He becomes indisposed to work and gradually the home +becomes impoverished. The opium craving that comes over a man when the +hour for smoking arrives is so intolerable that at all hazards it must be +satisfied, but this man has stripped his home of everything he can pawn, +and now only a bare and desolate house is left, and his wife is almost +starving. Driven almost to despair by the awful pains that fill every +joint and muscle of his body with the most exquisite agonies, he sells his +wife, and she, only too glad to escape her wretched life, willingly +consents.</p> + +<p>Now, during the whole time that this gradual descent in the man’s +character has been going on, the idol has been a daily witness of his +conduct, but it has never entered the thoughts of the opium-smoker that +the god that sits on the oblong table and gazes calmly upon him without a +wink cares anything at all whether he smokes or not, or is concerned in +the slightest degree whether he lives a moral life, or whether he wrecks +it by the grossest iniquities.</p> + +<p>I once said to a man who looked like an animated skeleton, though not half +so cheerful, “Are you not afraid that the idol that is so close to you, +and that sees how wretchedly you are living, may punish you for the great +wrongs you are committing?” He smiled a grim and sickly smile, as though I +was perpetrating a huge joke, and he was vastly amused at it. The idol had +no concern with human character, and it was only a barbarian that would +ever dream in his unsophisticated nature that such a thing was possible.</p> + +<p>Again, a mistress of a home, who was a devout and earnest believer in the +Goddess of Mercy, had a young slave girl about fourteen years of age. +Whilst drawn by the beautiful and benevolent-looking face of Kwan-Yin to a +keener belief and worship of her, she was daily treating this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> poor child +in the most savage and brutal manner. Her body and her legs were all +covered with scars caused by the beatings she had received. One of her +eyes was nearly torn out of the socket, and she was brought to the +hospital, so maimed and wounded that the doctor feared she could never be +cured.</p> + +<p>It never occurred to this cruel woman that the savage way in which she was +murdering her slave girl, in the very presence of an idol who owed her +power to the reputation she had universally gained for mercy and +compassion, would so set the goddess against her that her prayers and her +offerings would be rejected. What had her conduct got to do with the +favour of the goddess? Absolutely nothing. The gods have no concern about +human motives and mundane morality. They have other things to attend to, +and certainly no time to give to such complex questions, and so men and +women are left very much to themselves, and if in the cycles of time +retribution comes upon men for their evil lives, it is not the gods and +the goddesses that men worship that will see to the ordering of that.</p> + +<p>That the Chinese have profound faith in their idols is a fact that cannot +for a moment be questioned. China is a nation of idolaters, and neither +learning nor intelligence nor high birth tends to quench the belief that +has come down from the past that these wooden gods have a power of +interfering in human life, and of being able to bestow blessings or to +send down curses upon men.</p> + +<p>There are times, however, in the life of the people when the gods seem to +vanish out of their sight, and they turn to a great power which they call +Heaven for deliverance or protection. In the very earliest days of Chinese +history, ages before idolatry was introduced into China from India (<span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> +61), there is no doubt but that the people worshipped the true God. In the +course of time the word for God became mixed up with certain heroes that +were deified by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> successive emperors, and so the monotheistic craving of +the nation took refuge in the word Heaven. The Chinese character for that +is composed of two words, “one” and “great.” The combination then means, +“The One Great,” which truly expresses the thought that men have of the +Great and the Mighty One whose power is absolute and whose decisions are +final throughout the whole of creation.</p> + +<p>That this belief is no mere abstract one is seen in many instances in +ordinary life where men appeal directly to Heaven instead of to the idols. +The country, for example, is suffering from the want of rain. Months have +gone by and the rainy season has come and passed away without the usual +rainfall, the crops are withering in the fields, and there is a prospect +of hunger and famine unless the clouds send down of their richness and +revive the drooping forces of nature.</p> + +<p>The priests of a certain temple notify that on a certain day a procession +will be formed to march through the city to beseech Heaven to pour down +the much-needed rain upon the land. The people gladly respond to this +appeal, and on the day appointed, scholars dressed in their long robes, +and priests in their yellow dresses, and the common people in the clothes +that they wear only on special occasions, all turn out and join in the +long line that winds its way along the narrow unsavoury streets to +intercede with Heaven, that it will send down copious showers on the +thirsty earth.</p> + +<p>One singular feature in this public demonstration is the attendance of the +idols. They are brought out from their temples and carried in the solemn +procession to join with the people in the universal prayer for rain. Every +ten yards or so the slowly-moving line makes a halt, and every one kneels +down and a piteous cry is raised to Heaven, that it would have pity upon +the land, so that the crops may not perish and the poor may not die of +hunger and starvation. It is intensely interesting to watch the long<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> line +of suppliants at this stage in their supplications. Many of them, in order +to show the intensity of their purpose, have come dressed in sackcloth; +others who are musical have brought their instruments with them, and as +they walk with a solemn step they play a sombre funereal air that is +intended to show to Heaven with what sorrow their hearts are filled at the +calamity that threatens to overwhelm the people if the rain is withheld.</p> + +<p>Now the music is stopped and the whole procession is on its knees, and +even the idols, as it were, with silent supplications join in the mournful +confession of sin and in the agonized entreaties to Heaven to have pity +upon the people.</p> + +<p>Heaven is recognized as being supreme in power. In the mottoes that the +Chinese paste on their doorposts and lintels at the beginning of the year +are several that show the popular thought on this great subject. “May +Heaven send down upon our home peace and happiness”: “Life and Death, +adversity and happiness are all decided by Heaven”: “Honour and wealth as +well as poverty and lowly station are in the hands of Heaven”: “Men may +plan, but it is Heaven that decides what the result shall be.”</p> + +<p>There is no reference to the idols here. In fact, when Heaven is mentioned +they are never referred to as having any authority in the great movements +and principles by which human life is controlled and influenced. Heaven to +the Chinese is a great impersonal power, so far exalted and so mysterious +that in despair they have adopted the idols as a means by which they can +communicate with the unseen. And yet there are occasions when men seem to +lose their dread of Heaven, and they appeal to it, as Christians do to +God. Heaven, for instance, is believed to have a stern sense of justice +and of righteousness. It is also the redresser of wrongs, which it +invariably puts right, upholding the innocent and bringing swift judgment +on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> guilty. Its government is one that is founded on great principles +of right, that work automatically in the destruction of all that is evil +and in the furtherance of all that is good.</p> + +<p>There are many times in the life of this people when Heaven becomes to +them a veritable Person, who can hear their cry when they are in distress +and who, they believe, is ready to vindicate their character when it has +been unjustly assailed.</p> + +<p>One day, in passing through one of the side streets of a great town, a +crowd was observed standing with a kind of shocked look upon their faces +gazing upon a woman that seemed to be raving mad. It turned out that she +was a poor woman living down the street, who had gone to assist in the +household work of the family opposite to where she was now standing. Some +trifling thing had been missed in the house, and she had been accused of +stealing it. She defended herself passionately and with all the eloquence +at her command, but without avail. Being originally of a high temper and +of a hasty, fiery disposition, she was enraged beyond measure not only at +the false accusation that had been levelled against her, but also because +the woman refused to accept her defence of herself, and still reiterated +her firm conviction that it was she that had stolen the missing articles.</p> + +<p>Feeling that there was no other way of clearing her character except by +appealing to Heaven, she rushed out into the street, and letting down her +long hair till it fell in thick tresses over her shoulders, she looked up +at the sky where the Power she called Heaven was, and she poured out the +grievance that was filling her heart almost to bursting. She told how she +had been falsely accused, and how every attempt to right herself had been +listened to with scorn and contempt. Then with tears streaming down her +face, she called upon Heaven to avenge her and show to the neighbourhood +that she was guiltless of the charges that had been made against her. With +a rush and a torrent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> of imprecations that positively made one shudder she +then prayed “The Great One” to hurl down upon the woman that had injured +her all the miseries and woes that poor human nature has ever been called +upon to endure. Her vocabulary of evils was amazing in its luxuriance, and +as each was shot forth from her passionate lips, some of the onlookers +actually shuddered with horror at the awful sorrows that she wished her +enemy to have to suffer.</p> + +<p>In studying the religious forces that are in operation amongst the +Chinese, one is deeply impressed with the illogical position that is +maintained in regard to each of them. “Fung-Shuy,” for example, especially +when it is acting in conjunction with the graves of the dead, is declared +to be able to fill a home with boundless wealth, and to secure that sons +shall be born into the family and the highest honours of the State be +bestowed upon the sons and grandsons. The idols again are credited with +the most marvellous powers. They can get men out of scrapes, and they can +build up businesses so that colossal fortunes shall be made. They can fill +the desolate homes with troops of children. They have the power, when they +are enraged at the neglect of the people of any particular district in +paying them proper honour, of sending cholera and deadly fevers that shall +carry them off by the hundreds. All these are firmly believed in by +priests and gentle-faced looking nuns, and fortune-tellers will all prove +to you that the popular faith is founded in philosophy and experience. You +retort to all the laboured arguments of these various interested parties +by asking them whether it is not a fact that life and death, and +prosperity and adversity, and kingly honours as well as the meanest +station in society, are all decided by Heaven, and that they are its +special gift. There never is any other answer to that question but one, +and yet five minutes after the same person will be as enthusiastic as ever +in his glorification of the idols, and in his profound<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> belief that some +favourite god has the power of bestowing every blessing that the heart +longs to possess.</p> + +<p>I have described the idol in the home, and I will conclude now by giving a +description of a temple scene such as may be witnessed on the birthday of +the chief idol or on the first or the fifteenth of the moon, which days +are supposed to be specially lucky for those who wish to make their +offerings to the gods.</p> + +<p>The temple I am about to describe is situated on a rising hill that has an +outlook of great natural beauty. Immediately below it and stretching +considerably in the distance is a large city containing over one hundred +thousand inhabitants, that live in the confined streets that look from the +temple like narrow arteries along which the human tide ebbs and flows +without cessation. Beyond the town there runs an arm of the sea, dotted +with numerous islets and sparkling with the rays of the great Eastern sun, +which he flashes on islands and capes, and the sails of the junks that are +passing up and down from the inland waters to the coast. Further on and +completely filling up the background are ranges of mountains with the +great shadows resting on them and their lofty peaks bathed in sunlight, +whilst here and there the floating clouds rest like beautiful crowns upon +the summits of some that tower the highest amongst them towards the blue +sky.</p> + +<p>The scene in the temple and its surroundings was very charming and +attractive, for the sun shone upon the temple, and played amongst the +solemn-looking pine-trees, and sent his rays down courtyards that seemed +to delight in shadow, till everything appeared to be laughing for very +joy. Even the idols looked as though they had caught the spirit of the +day, and the “God of War” appeared to be less stern and bloodthirsty than +was his wont, and the “God of Literature” had put on a light and jaunty +air, hardly in keeping with the profound subjects that ever claim his +attention.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img15.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">THE WHITE STAR TEMPLE<br />(NANKIN).</p> +<p> </p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>But see! here come the people from the great city below, slowly winding +their way up the stone steps that the feet of countless worshippers in the +years gone by have worn smooth and thin. Some few are coming with purposes +intent upon appealing to the “Goddess of Mercy,” for their faces are +sombre, and the shadows of troubles from which they hope the idol may +deliver them, cover them with a sad and sorrowful aspect. Others, again, +have come for an outing and to get out of their monotonous surroundings, +to catch a glimpse of the far-off hills, and to see the sun as he puts +forth his powers to turn the world into a thing of beauty.</p> + +<p>Here is a jolly little party that has almost reached the top. It consists +of an old lady whose hair is completely grey, but whose face is made +beautiful by as sunny a smile as ever lighted up a human face. With her +are two lads, evidently her grandsons, full of life and fun, and wild with +the excitement that the mountain air has put into their blood. They race +and chase each other up and down the steps, and round the huge boulders +that lie on the roadside, and they dodge behind the old granny, who seems +as if she would like to be a girl again and join them in their mad romps.</p> + +<p>Whilst she is standing taking breath, and gazing with rapture upon the +distant hills flooded with great waves of light, and upon the waters of +the sea that are sparkling with sunbeams, a woman of about forty with slow +and sorrowful motion climbs up the steep ascent. She has a slave girl with +her, and she leans one hand upon her shoulder to support her as she walks. +She is a widow, and evidently has some sorrowful story that she is going +to tell the goddess. One is struck with the pallor of her face, and the +utterly hopeless air that rests on every feature in it. She hardly looks +at the pleasant-looking old lady, but passes up with downcast eyes till +she reaches the open space that is in front of the temple.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>Immediately behind these people I have been describing, there appears a +party of young fellows of the better class. They are well dressed, and +have an air of refinement about them. There is no sign of trouble or +sorrow among them, for they laugh and chat and joke with each other, +whilst the road resounds with the echo of their merry voices. Their visit +to the temple to-day is merely one of pleasure. The streets below are +grimy and evil smelling, and in order to have some object in view they +have determined to spend the afternoon in a picnic to the well-known +temple on the mountain side.</p> + +<p>The temple as a whole consists not simply of one large room where the +image of the goddess is enshrined, but is made up of a number of smaller +buildings connected with each other in a cunning and artistic fashion by +winding ways that nature seems to have devised in order to add to the +attractions of the place. In each of these lesser temples there are placed +images of some of the more commonly worshipped idols, a veritable kind of +Pantheon where each visitor can find the particular god that he deems the +most suitable for his individual requirements. Leading to these various +buildings, there are little grottoes, and covered pathways, and natural +adjustments of rocks, in which stone seats and granite tables have been +arranged, and where the crowds of worshippers, tired with their climb up +the mountain path and anxious to get out of the glare of the great sun, +can sit and enjoy the refreshing coolness that these recesses in the +hillside naturally give.</p> + +<p>But let us take our stand a little to the side of the goddess and watch +the worshippers as they come in turn and take their position in front of +her to offer their petitions to her. The widow with the sorrowful face, +whom we saw climbing the hill, without one thought of the glorious scenery +that filled the landscape with its beauty, comes in with the shadow +deepening on her face, and lifting up her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> folded hands in the attitude of +devotion to the goddess begins to mutter to her the story of the trouble +that is weighing on her heart. The sight is truly a most pathetic one. The +face is in agony, and the eyes are turned with an intensity of gaze upon +the calm face of the wooden image before her. The faith expressed in the +impassioned look is profound, for it would seem as though her whole soul +was absorbed in the telling of her story and in her wish to touch the +heart of the placid image of the goddess.</p> + +<p>After a few minutes, anxious to know what the answer of the idol is going +to be, she takes up two pieces of bamboo that are lying on the table in +front of it, and throws them up in the air. With a clatter they fall on to +the tiled floor, and by the way they lie she learns that her prayer has +been granted, and that the goddess will give her the desire of her heart. +A smile like a flash of sunlight in a winter sky fleets across her pale +thin face, and one can see what a sweet one it might be, were her heart +relieved of the sorrow that has painted it with such sombre colours.</p> + +<p>Her place is taken by another who has been standing by waiting her turn. +Evidently her business is not a very pressing one, or such as to cause her +much trouble at heart, for after a few seconds of muttering she tosses up +with almost an irreverent fling the two divining bits of bamboo, and looks +with a casual air at the position they take on the floor. The answer they +give is No—her prayer is not granted—so with a bow to the goddess, and a +kind of pout upon her lips, she passes out into the open air. Her matter +could not have been of any importance whatever, for in a moment she is +laughing and gossiping with her friends, as though her visit to the +goddess had been a joke that was now ended.</p> + +<p>And so one after another come and take their stand before the idol. Some +have a free-and-easy air about them, whilst others are intense and +impassioned. Some accept<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> at once the answer of the goddess as final, +whilst others again continue to fling up the two coarse pieces of bamboo +until they give the reply that they wish to have. One young lad about +eighteen attracts my attention. For fully a minute, with calm and +untroubled face, his lips keep moving and his gaze is concentrated on +Kwan-Yin. I ask him when he is finished what he has been asking of her. “I +have been out of employment for some time,” he replies, “and I have been +round to several temples and entreated the gods there to find me a place; +but they have done nothing for me, so I thought I would come here and see +if I should be more successful with the idol of this temple.”</p> + +<p>As the evening sun began to set behind the mass of clouds that seemed to +gather on the Western mountains to catch the last glimpse of him before he +disappeared, we began to descend the hill. Numbers of those that I had +seen standing with devout faces and uplifted hands before the idol were +fellow-travellers. Others, again, who had ascended the hill for an outing, +and whom I had watched sitting in the grottoes, eating peanuts, and deftly +cracking dried melon seeds, and sipping tea, moved down at the same time. +The wooden gods were left behind in the gathering gloom of their shrines, +and the only figures they saw were the opium-visaged priests that flitted +about like ghosts. The people at any rate had had a pleasant day, and a +breath of pure air, and a vision of nature in her most beautiful aspect, +but nothing more. “What have you gained to-day in your appeal to the +goddess?” I asked of a man that I had seen very devout in his prayers. He +looked at me with a quick and searching glance. “You ask me what answer I +have got to my petition to the goddess?” he said. “Yes,” I replied, “that +is what I want to know from you.” “Well, you have asked me more than I can +tell you. The whole question of the idols is a profoundly mysterious one +that no one can fathom. Whether<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> they do or can help people is something I +cannot tell. I worship them because my fathers did so before me, and if +they were satisfied, so must I be. The whole thing is a mystery,” and he +passed on with the look of a man who was puzzled with a problem that he +could not solve, and that look is a permanent one on the face of the +nation to-day.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> +<p class="title">SERVANTS</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">General character of servants—The duties and perquisites of the +cook—Taking account with cook—His oblique ideas of morality—The +boy, his duties, etc.—The way that small things mysteriously +disappear in a house—Percentages—The servant question.</p></div> + + +<p>The general experience of Englishmen in China with regard to the servants +is, taking it all in all, a pleasant one. The average intelligence of the +class of men and women that are employed is a fairly good one. They +consequently learn their work easily, and as they are industrious and +moved by a sense of fidelity they render such very pleasant services that +when families have to return to England, they think with regret of the +home life they have left behind them in that far-off land, which owed a +good deal of its charm to the cheerful and willing service rendered by the +servants in it.</p> + +<p>It must not be inferred that there never is any friction. That would be to +assume a state of things that could be found nowhere in the wide world. +Disagreements do happen and collisions do take place, but these are but as +it were the occasional clouds in a sky that is usually sunny, and besides +there is so much of the grotesque mingled with the unpleasant, that after +the affair is over and the irritation has subsided one is more inclined to +laugh at the whole affair than to be angry.</p> + +<p>If there is a family, the servants usually required are a cook, a table +boy, a water coolie to carry water, and an amah or nurse, who will help +with the children, if there are any, look after the bedrooms, and do any +mending that may be needed. The most important amongst them all is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> the +cook, for the comfort of a home depends in a very large measure upon him, +so the great aim of every housewife is to secure a man who knows his work +well, is clean, and is fairly honest. If such a one as this can be +secured, there will never be any disposition to get rid of him, even +though he may have serious faults that it requires considerable patience +to endure.</p> + +<p>As soon as it is known that you wish to engage a cook, you have almost an +immediate application for the situation. You gaze upon the applicant with +a good deal of anxiety, and if it were possible you would like to read +into his very heart to know what kind of a character he is. Is he +good-tempered, or is he touchy and masterful, and, like most Chinese, does +he want his own way? You scan his face to see if you can catch a glimpse +of the soul within, but it is as expressionless as a statue. The control +that a Chinaman has over his features is one of the mysteries of this +wonderful people. He has so schooled them, that when he likes they will +show no trace of what is going on in his mind.</p> + +<p>You inquire of him if he knows how to cook. If he is a really clever +artist, he will reply, “A little.” There is a double motive in saying +this. It is a sign of pride, and it also secures him in the future from +any very serious criticism of the mistress, for if he should fail to +please her in any particular dish, he will remind her that he warned her +when she was engaging him that he did not profess to be an adept in +cooking.</p> + +<p>All the time you have been questioning him he has been looking at you with +those black, piercing eyes of his and trying to read you. Are you shrewd +and wideawake, or are you so green that you can be cheated with your eyes +open? Are you acquainted with the wiles of the Chinese mind, or will you +accept everything you are told as though it were gospel truth? Will you +watch everything that is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> going on in your kitchen, or will you leave the +full control in his hands? These are some of the questions that flash +through the Yellow brain, and before he quits you he will have formed a +very accurate idea of the kind of mistress you are to whom he has engaged +himself.</p> + +<p>There is one thing that is quite settled, and that is from the moment of +his engagement the one great aim of his life is to make as much money as +he can out of the situation he has just gained. His facilities for doing +so are very great, for the custom in the East is for the cook to purchase +all the daily food that is used in the family. The mistress never does +this. It would be impossible for her to rise every morning by daylight and +go into the narrow ill-smelling streets and buy from the farmers as they +bring in their produce from the country in the early dawn. There are +months in the year, besides, when the heat is so intense and the rays of +the sun are so scorching that she would not dare to venture out to make +her purchases. The result is, the duty of buying is left to the cook, and +as his conscience is an exceedingly elastic one, it may easily be +conceived what an opportunity this gives him of making money.</p> + +<p>In the art of doing this every Chinaman is an adept. He begins to learn it +when he is a boy. His mother sends him out when he is a small lad to buy +some simple thing for the home. He returns with the article minus ten per +cent., which he considers his lawful commission, though he is careful not +to let his mother know, and with this he plays pitch-and-toss with other +youthful gamblers in the street. As he grows in years, he becomes more +expert in the art of extracting commissions from every sum entrusted to +his care, and now that he has become a cook a golden field is opened up +before him, where his gains are only bounded by the ignorance or +carelessness of his employer.</p> + +<p>As it is impossible for his mistress to follow him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> down the narrow, +crowded streets where the provisions for the day are to be bought, he has +a wide field for the exercise of his ingenuity as to how much extra he is +to charge for everything he buys. She does not know the market rates, and +therefore within certain very undefined limits she is at his mercy.</p> + +<p>It is as good as a play to watch the progress of the taking an account of +the purchases for any particular day, and to see how the wily Chinaman, +with his childlike, innocent-looking face, and the Englishwoman with her +open-hearted, guileless disposition, settle such a difficult financial +problem.</p> + +<p>The latter seats herself at the table with her account-book open and with +pen in hand. She is restless and uneasy, for she is conscious that she is +going to be cheated, and that she herself will have to register the +figures that will ensure her own defeat. The Oriental stands some way off, +with head slightly drooping and with a face that might have been that of a +saint. With a calmness and simplicity of manner, as though he were stating +one of Heaven’s eternal principles, he mentions the first item of his +account. There is no faltering or hesitation in his accent, or any sign of +guile, though it is precisely fifty per cent. more than he actually paid +for the article he has mentioned.</p> + +<p>The lady moves restlessly in her seat. Her heart is beginning to swell +with indignation, for she is positive that she is being overcharged. She +has no proof, however, and with her Occidental training that it is not +right to bring an accusation unless supported by some evidence, she puts +down the lying figures. The Oriental looks on without the shadow of a +smile, though with his sense of humour bubbling up within him, he is +conscious of the huge comedy that is being played. He has scored his first +success, but to let his face show that would be to throw victory from him +when it was just within his grasp.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>Another and another item is given, as though they were quotations from his +own sacred classics, each one as mendacious as the first, and the scribe, +conscious that with every additional figure sums are being stolen from her +own pocket and transferred to the cook’s, nervously writes them down, +though her heart is vigorously protesting all the time. The only protest +she can make is an indignant “Too dear, too dear by far,” which the +Oriental listens to unmoved, and as though they were eulogies upon his +honesty.</p> + +<p>At length one sum, that she has certain information about, that is a +hundred per cent. over the market price is given her, without a quaver in +his voice. She at once asks him, with a ring of passion that up to this +time she has managed to suppress, how it is that he dares to charge her +just double of what he gave. The Chinaman is equal to the occasion. No +man, indeed, in this great Empire is ever at a loss for an answer on the +spot to the most awkward question that may be put to him. An Occidental +will stammer and hesitate when a difficulty of this kind occurs, and the +scarlet flush that will flash over his face will announce his confusion. +An Oriental will instantly become more calm. His eyes will melt into +gentleness, and his face assume the appearance of one that is absorbed in +some great moral problem that he is endeavouring to solve.</p> + +<p>The cook looks at the lady in gentle wonder. The charge has steadied him, +and made him more tranquil and composed. “What does the mistress mean?” he +asks. His face is childlike in its assumption of innocence. “Do you really +think I would cheat you? I may be poor,” he continues, “but I am honest, +and if you only go to the market and inquire the price of goods, you will +find that I am charging exactly what I paid.” “Well,” she triumphantly +replies, “I have been there already, and I find you have charged me just +double the market rate.”</p> + +<p>This seems to be a crushing answer, but it only serves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> to bring out the +true resources of the Chinese mind. Instead of being flustered with this +decided evidence of his guilt, he becomes more self-possessed. “It is +quite true,” he says, “that such goods can be bought at the price you +name, but they are inferior articles, and such as would not be accepted by +you, were I to buy them for you. You always want the best, and I would +never dream of purchasing such things. I can get them for you at the price +you mention, but you must not complain if they are not as good as you are +used to.”</p> + +<p>The lady is determined not to be beaten, so she puts down the price at +half that he has named, the cook meanwhile protesting that he is a loser, +and that himself and family will have to suffer.</p> + +<p>But it is not simply in the matter of overcharges that the cook finds a +large field open to him for successful financial operations. Overweights +are also a fruitful source of revenue to him. When he goes to market he +always carries with him his steelyard, and every purchase that is made is +weighed with it.</p> + +<p>Chinese law has never legislated with regard to weights and measures, and +no inspector ever goes round to see that the public is not cheated when +they make their purchases. The consequence is that every man that can +possibly afford it carries his own steelyard, in order to check the +tradesmen who might be inclined to give them short measure. The cook would +no more dream of going out to market without his steelyard than he would +think of going without his fan in the dog days. It is his <i>vade mecum</i> by +which he can measure his gains, for when he returns home he reports to the +mistress that he has bought so many ounces more than he really has, and +the money she pays him for these mythical weights is so much pure gain +that he pockets.</p> + +<p>If the lady, however, takes a pride in the management of her household and +is anxious to keep down expenses, she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> will insist that every article that +the cook buys shall be brought and weighed in her presence before she pays +for it. This home is not an ideal one for a cook. He has, however, to +submit to the inevitable, but he at once sets his wits to work to +circumvent her by ingenious ways and dogged perseverance in his plans, +such as no watchfulness on her part will ever enable her entirely to +frustrate. There is no profession in China like a cook’s for developing +the inventive faculties or for stimulating the imagination.</p> + +<p>The mistress in self-defence gets a steelyard. Without that she would be +at the mercy of the man whose whole aim in life is now to circumvent her, +and circumvent her he will, or the Yellow brain will have lost its +cunning. Some of his schemes are most ingenious. For example, he is told +one day to go out and buy a fowl. He goes to the market, and secures one +after an immense amount of haggling and carries it home.</p> + +<p>After he has got there he proceeds to cram down its throat some very +common stuff, till its crop is as full as it can contain. This is to +increase its weight and consequently his gains, for the animal is sold at +so much an ounce.</p> + +<p>The cook brings the fowl to be weighed, with a look of the sweetest +simplicity on his face. Such a thing as guile could never exist behind +such a bland and childlike countenance as his. The mistress, who is up to +all his dodges, is unmoved by the seraphic air his face wears. She feels +the fowl that is hanging by its legs from the hook on the steelyard, and +she remarks how thin it is, and then points to the distended crop, and +asks him what he means by such cruelty, and how he dares to try and cheat +her by such a transparent device. The cook at once assumes an air of +surprise, and looks at the swollen crop with the utmost indignation. “Oh!” +he exclaims in a truly theatrical tone, “I have been cheated. This was +done in the shop, and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> as it was dimly lighted, I did not perceive how I +was being taken in. I shall give that man that sold me the fowl a piece of +my mind when I next see him.”</p> + +<p>The lady is accustomed to such tricks as this, and she says, “I shall +deduct two ounces from the weight you have given me.” The man puts on an +injured air and in a plaintive voice says, “You surely do not wish me to +be a loser by my purchase, I am a poor man and I cannot afford that.” The +lady, however, is firm, and by and by his usually placid look once more +overspreads his sphinx-like countenance, whilst his admiration for his +mistress’ ability is vastly increased.</p> + +<p>One day a cook brought in a round of beef to his mistress to be weighed. +There was an ingenuous look about him that disarmed suspicion. There was +evidently no deception there, and she was just about to accept it, when +the instinct of suspicion that lingers in the mind whenever you have to do +with the Chinese about money prompted her to say, “Undo the string that +ties this beef and let me see inside.” A sudden flush ran through the +man’s face, and he hesitated for a moment to carry out her orders, but +knowing that any delay would only excite her anger, he cut the string, +when out rolled a stone of fully half-a-pound in weight. A look of +surprise and indignation swept across the face of his mistress, for even +she, with all her knowledge of the fertility of the Chinese brain, had +never dreamed of such a cunning device to cheat her.</p> + +<p>She looked at the cook with flashing eyes, but he was apparently unmoved. +No flush of shame mantled his cheeks. Instead of that an innocent air +crept over his countenance, and a look of wonder stole into his eyes, as +he exclaimed, “Dear me, however did that stone get there? The people of +the shop must have put it in whilst my head was turned. How dishonest of +them! I really must give up dealing with them. The principles of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> Heaven +are evidently unknown to them.” The withering tones of indignation uttered +by his mistress seemed to make no impression upon him, and he left her +presence, muttering to himself, “How wrong of that butcher to cheat me as +he has done to-day, and to cause me to lose face, and to make me a +laughing-stock to every one that may hear this story.”</p> + +<p>The steelyard is an invention that is intended to promote honest dealing. +It is sometimes, however, the unconscious instrument of a systematic +deceit, which is all the more effective because it is so entirely +unsuspected. On one occasion a young fellow had been engaged as cook. He +was a man of engaging manners, with a pleasant open face, and a winning +disposition that made one unconsciously have great faith in him. He was +consequently greatly trusted by his employers, though they never forgot +the terrible temptations to which as a cook he was exposed.</p> + +<p>It seemed that after a while the spell of money spun its subtle web over +him, and he succumbed to its fatal fascination. With the implicit faith +that his mistress had in him, the opportunity for making money on all his +purchases became enlarged. This led him into gambling, and as the gambler +nearly always loses, he had to look around for some method that would give +him a larger revenue than could be secured by his squeezes on the articles +he bought every day for the use of the home.</p> + +<p>In this dilemma, a bright idea occurred to him; he would so manipulate the +steelyard that it should serve his purpose, and enable him to pay his +gambling debts, and still give him funds to pursue his favourite vice. He +accordingly filed off two ounces from the iron weight attached to it, and +which acted as a counterpoise to the goods that were being weighed at the +other end of the yard, and by a single stroke he secured to himself twelve +and a half per cent. on every purchase that he made.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>The mistress had no suspicion of this deep-laid scheme, for she never +dreamed of testing the iron weight, and the cook with guileless looks and +childlike smiles gathered in his gains, feeling confident that he had now +struck a mine that would never be exhausted. But a Nemesis was at hand, +and one day his treachery was revealed by a person with whom he had +quarrelled, when he was instantly dismissed as a man with a mind too +original and too dangerous to be allowed to hold any position in the +household for the future.</p> + +<p>From the above it will have been inferred that the difficulty of +controlling a cook in China is one that no foreigner ever hopes to cope +with successfully, and the same thing only in a milder form exists with +regard to all the other servants that are employed in the running of a +home in this land. If the Chinaman was less expert in disguising his +thoughts, the matter would be simpler. Ages of practice, however, have +taught them to conceal their feelings from the keenest scrutiny to which +they may be subjected. Looks and language, which in other peoples are +usually an index to the condition of the mind, are in their case no guide +whatsoever.</p> + +<p>The boy, for example, who really is a full-grown man, comes to you one +morning, and in a low, melodious voice informs you that he wishes you to +engage another servant, as he is compelled to leave you. You are +surprised, for no intimation of anything of the kind has come to you till +the present moment. You ask him why this sudden decision, and if there is +anything in the home with which he is dissatisfied. He says, “No, you have +been very kind to me, and I am exceedingly unwilling to leave you, but I +have had a letter from my father, and he is very urgent that I should go +home as quickly as I can. The fact is,” he continues, “he is getting old, +and he needs my help on the farm, and I must ask you to let me go.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>He tells his story in such an easy, natural manner, that you are inclined +to believe him, though lingering doubts will run through your mind. You +remember that his family is desperately poor, and depend very largely upon +this son for the wages he earns to keep them from starvation. You are +perplexed to know what to do, but finally you pay him the wages due to +him, and with many bows and a genial smile lighting up his yellow +features, he bids you good-bye.</p> + +<p>Not long after he has gone, the true secret of his desire to leave his +employ comes out. The letter from his father, and the need of his help on +the farm, are myths that his fertile imagination conjured up, and never +had any existence in fact. The real truth is he had a row with the water +coolie, who comes from a village in the country contiguous to his own, and +who belongs to a more powerful clan than his. He dreads any further +collision with this man, who might send word to his relatives there, who +would speedily take measures to avenge their wrongs on their weaker +neighbours, and so, to save himself and the family, he resigns.</p> + +<p>Chinese servants, taking them all in all, may be considered to be honest. +It is true that from a ten commandments point of view, and the higher +morality we have been accustomed to in England, they cannot in a strict +sense be said to be so. Of course they have never heard of the Decalogue, +and therefore they cannot be blamed for not knowing what it demands. The +training they have been subjected to during the past two thousand years +has taught them to look with very different eyes upon certain subjects +from what ours do.</p> + +<p>Overcharges, for example, and skilful manipulations of the steelyard to +make it lie, are not considered so much moral defects as tokens of an +unusually active brain. A man who does not know how to do such things is +not looked upon as one who has a higher standard of life, but one who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> is, +in the expressive language of the vernacular, “idiotically honest.” It is +not a question of conscience with such a man, but rather a lack of brain +power, which has made him less mentally fit for those keen and rapid +movements of thought that are essential in the conflict of mind with mind.</p> + +<p>It is not simply, however, in the question of overcharges and the +manipulating the steelyard that the servants’ ideas of morality differ +materially from our own. There are a good many other points where they +certainly look with leniency upon certain questionable actions that we +should never dream of doing. Small things, for example, of comparatively +little value, will mysteriously disappear. The Chinese would repudiate the +idea that they were stolen. They simply vanished, and no trace is left of +them. A kerosine tin, for example, has been emptied and placed in the yard +for a short time. The mistress is aware of the peculiar idiosyncrasies of +the Chinese with regard to articles of the kind, and she keeps a sharp +look out upon it. She happens to have to go to another part of the house +for a few minutes, and when she returns it is gone. She calls each of the +servants, and asks them all where is it. They all feign surprise, and +remark to each other about the daring of the man that had carried it off. +“Very remarkable,” says one. “Why, I saw it myself only a moment ago! +Where can it have got to?” “The men of the present day are not to be +compared with those of ancient times,” remarks another sententiously, as +though he were one of the sages of China. They gather round the spot where +the tin stood and peer into the ground, as though some sprite had +bewitched it into the earth.</p> + +<p>The acting of the servants on this occasion is inimitable. Not only is the +one that absorbed it present, but each of the others knows that he is the +culprit; yet not a twinkle of the eye, nor a movement in the muscles of +the face of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> any one of them can be discerned to show that they are either +moved by the absurdity of the matter, or indignant that the honesty of the +whole should be called in question by the act of one of them.</p> + +<p>Again, a half-dozen empty bottles are left on a table. One by one they +slowly disappear, and nobody knows where they have gone, though the +itinerant rag merchant who makes his daily rounds could tell you exactly +how much he gave for them, and from whom he bought them. If there is one +thing, however, more than another that has a fascination for the Chinese, +it is a pocket-handkerchief.</p> + +<p>The nation as a whole knows nothing of this useful article. The ancient +worthies that founded the Empire never dreamt of such luxuries. Their +descendants, however, have taken to it with an avidity that is perfectly +amazing, and whenever they can get a chance they quietly absorb them. You +buy a dozen and have them marked with the blackest of indelible ink. The +identity of those handkerchiefs can never be disputed, so you feel +satisfied that you will have a fair service out of them.</p> + +<p>A week passes by, and you suddenly find two of them have vanished. You are +staggered, for you remember that handkerchiefs have a fatal facility for +disappearing. You put off the decision of the question by assuming they +have gone to the wash, or they are hidden away in some of your pockets, +and they will turn up by and by. Another week goes by, and others vanish, +till in the course of no very long period only one is left. You question +the servants, but blank and child-looking faces meet you at every inquiry +that you make.</p> + +<p>It is never suggested that the cat has walked off with them, as might be +in England, where all kinds of unspeakable immoralities are put down to +that animal. Chinese civilization has never yet produced a cat that has +got the reputation of the same species in the West. Everybody<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> simply +denies that he ever saw the handkerchiefs, or knew indeed that they +existed; and yet it is quite probable that if you were to visit their +homes, you would find the lady members of their families sporting them on +all public occasions, and making their female members green with envy +because they could not have the same.</p> + +<p>Now, it must not be inferred that the Chinese servants are systematic +thieves, because they are not. With regard to the more valuable things in +a house, they may be said to be strictly honest. Articles of considerable +value, such as clocks, opera-glasses, and ornaments for the mantelpiece, +one need never have any anxiety about. They would fetch much more than +some of the other things that are bound, by a law as unvarying as that of +the Medes and Persians, to disappear, but they are as safe in the rooms as +though a policeman’s eye was constantly upon them. What are the mental +processes a Chinaman goes through to enable him with a good conscience to +appropriate something worth a dozen cents or so, whilst he would scorn the +idea of walking off with any of the more valuable property of his master, +is a mystery to the foreigner. Perhaps he could hardly analyze his own +feelings on the subject. His love for the indirect and curvilinear method +of approaching a subject may have had some influence in making him unable +to decide the question even for himself.</p> + +<p>There is one subject that must not be omitted in this discussion of the +servants, and that is the percentages they claim upon everything that the +dealers from outside bring into the house. These are quite distinct from +those that the cook makes in his purchases, and he never lays claim for +any share in them. Although they are perquisites that are supposed never +to come to the ears of their superiors, and are strictly private +transactions, they do in a certain sense seriously affect the pockets of +their masters.</p> + +<p>The baker and the milkman, for instance, have to pay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> the boy ten per +cent. at the end of the month when they receive payment for the goods they +have supplied, whilst the washerman is more severely taxed, for, in +addition to the above tax, he has to wash all his clothes for nothing. No +tradesman attempts to evade these impositions, for he well knows that were +he to do so, the boy would so manipulate matters that he would lose the +custom of the house, which would at once be transferred to a rival that +could offer more.</p> + +<p>On one occasion a milkman was being coerced into increasing the percentage +that he had been accustomed to pay. He declared that he could not possibly +afford to do so, as his profits were so scanty. The boy became silent, but +there was a gleam in his eyes that boded no good to the milkman. Next +morning the latter as usual brought round the daily bottle of milk for the +house. The boy placed it beside the hot kitchen range and, when the family +assembled for breakfast, he brought the milk to his mistress and showed +her that it had gone bad. When he was asked the reason for this, he +assured her it was the milkman’s fault, whose milk was of a decidedly +inferior character; and as for his cows, they were well known to give only +adulterated milk at the best. The lady is naturally indignant, and at once +asks him if he cannot get another man to supply the home with milk. “Oh! +yes, I have number one man, milk number one good, can do.” He is directed +to see if he could not get sufficient immediately to do for breakfast, +which he declares can be easily done. This he can well guarantee, as he +has already a man outside just waiting to be called. He produces a bottle +of milk, which it would appear he came by accidentally, though the whole +thing is planned and engineered by the boy. The milk turns out to be so +excellent that the whole family is charmed with it. It has a rich creamy +look about it, such as they have not seen since they left England,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> and +which they will not probably see the like of for many a day to come. It +has the look and taste of milk, and has no suspicion of the pump about it, +and so the tea this morning has not tasted so nice since they know not +when.</p> + +<p>Imperative orders are issued that the old milkman who had dared to bring +such inferior milk should be at once dismissed and the new one taken on, +and so the deep-laid scheme of the boy has succeeded, and his increased +percentage secured. From this moment the services of the pump will come +into requisition, and the old sky-blue hue will colour every bottle of +milk that comes into the house.</p> + +<p>Chinese servants as a rule never accept a situation under a foreigner +simply for the wages that are offered them. These usually are higher than +could be got in a purely Chinese home. It is the fat percentages that are +the main attraction, for by these the salary will often be increased as +much as fifty per cent. A Chinaman is ever on the look-out for these, and +like the eagle in the sky can scent his prey from afar.</p> + +<p>You have had occasion, for example, to dismiss your boy. The news spreads +in the most rapid and unexplained manner. There are no registry offices +that are interested in supplying servants. Not an hour has passed by, +however, before you are told that two men want to see you. “Ah! the new +boy,” you mutter, as you walk out to see them. One of the two is your +cook, and a glance shows you that the other is the expectant boy.</p> + +<p>The cook does all the talking, whilst the other looks nervous and +uncomfortable. He moves uneasily from one foot to the other, gives now and +then a short, dry cough, all signs of that species of nervousness that a +man feels when some important question is going to be decided. He hangs +his head, and his black, piercing eyes seem absorbed in his contemplation +of the ground, but in the meanwhile he is reading your character and +figuring up in his own mind<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> how much he is going to make and whether he +is likely to get on with you.</p> + +<p>The cook seems to be in the happiest of moods. His face is wreathed in +smiles, and his speech is adorned with Oriental similes that excite poetic +thoughts in your mind, if it is capable of such. He knows that you are in +want of a boy, he says. Boys are difficult to be got: they are at a +premium just now. Good capable ones are not to be obtained at any price, +but as good luck would have it, here is one that has just turned up, a +very paragon in his way, and one that would suit the master down to the +ground.</p> + +<p>You look at the man with a critical eye, but you get but very little out +of that sphinx-looking face of his. Does he understand his work? you +weakly ask the cook, more for something to say than for any hope of +obtaining any exact knowledge about the man before you. “Certainly he +does,” he replies, with a toss of his head in the air and a wave of his +right hand as though he had just demonstrated a problem in Euclid, and was +ending with the triumphant formula, Q.E.D.</p> + +<p>After some further questioning, you ask the cook if he is prepared to +stand security for the man and be responsible for his honesty. He is +evidently ready to do so, for he at once strikes an attitude, slaps his +breast with his open palm, and with gleaming eyes and impassioned look he +says, “This is my affair; I will guarantee the man that he is a good and a +safe one, and you may accept him as a servant without any fear.”</p> + +<p>You are satisfied, and you at once take him on. The cook is also pleased, +for the man will have to pay him the heavy percentage of one-half of his +month’s salary for the service he has just rendered him.</p> + +<p>The servant question is a most interesting one for watching the play of +thought and the subtle and unexpected ways in which the Yellow brain +works. It is at times a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> very irritating one, and is apt to give one +distorted views of the whole Chinese race, and to cause one to make +sweeping statements about the general incapacity of the whole nation. In +one’s saner moments one will freely confess that the home servants are on +the whole less obliging and more exacting than the same class out here. +There is besides the ludicrous element in the Chinese, that always takes +off the edge of almost any unpleasantness. Even when one is most annoyed +there is something so funny about the way in which a Chinaman acts, that +one’s anger is most likely to explode in laughter. There is one thing +highly in their favour, and that is their great love and tenderness for +children. Taking them all in all, any one who has had large experience of +the servants in China can honestly declare that on the whole they are a +faithful and satisfactory class of people.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> +<p class="title">THE ADAPTABILITY AND TENACITY OF PURPOSE OF THE CHINESE</p> + + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Can live and thrive in any climate—Absence of nerves—Bear pain +heroically—Great staying power—A long ride through the +country—Dogged inflexibility of ordinary Chinese—Contempt for other +countries.</p></div> + + +<p>The strength of the Chinaman lies in his power to adapt himself to the +circumstances in which he may be situated. Place him in a northern climate +where the sun’s rays have lost their fire, and where the snow falls +thickly and the ice lays its wintry hand upon the forces of nature, and he +will thrive as though he had descended from an ancestry that had always +lived in a frozen region. Transport him to the torrid zone, where the sun +is a great ball of molten flame, where the air is as hot as though it had +crossed a volcano, and where the one thought is how to get cool in this +intolerable maddening heat, and he will move about with an ease and a +comfort just as if a sultry climate was the very thing that his system +demanded.</p> + +<p>He is so cosmopolitan in his nature that it seems to be a matter of +indifference where he may be or what his environment. He will travel along +lofty peaks, where the snows of successive winters lie unmelted, or he +will sleep in a grass hut where the fever-bearing mosquitoes will feast +upon him the livelong night to the sound of their own music, and he will +emerge from it next morning with a face that shows that the clouds of +anopheles have left him a victor on the field. He will descend into the +sultry tin mines of Siam, and at night<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> he will stretch himself on the +hard, uneven ground, with a clod for his pillow, and he will rise as +refreshed as though he had slept on a bed of down.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img16.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">JUNKS<br />(ON THE YANG-TSE RIVER).]</p> +<p> </p> + +<p>You meet the Chinaman everywhere under the most varied circumstances, and +he seems natural in every one of them. He walks about in an easy, +unsurprised way, a first-class passenger in a crack mail steamer, or he +curls himself up in a native river boat, in a space where no human being +but himself could live an hour, and he sleeps a dreamless sleep the +livelong night in a fetid atmosphere that would give an Occidental +typhoid, from which he would perhaps never recover. Whatever the social +condition of the Chinaman may be, whether merchant, or coolie, or artisan, +one becomes conscious that behind those harsh and unæsthetic features +there is a strength of physique and a latent power of endurance that seems +to make him independent of climate, and impervious to microbes, germs, +bacteria, and all the other scientific scourges that seem to exist for the +destruction of all human life excepting the Chinese.</p> + +<p>One advantage the Celestial has over the Occidental is what may be called +his absence of nerves. The rush and race and competition of the West have +never yet touched the East. The Orient is sober and measured, and never in +a hurry. An Englishman, were all other signs wanting, could easily be +distinguished, as he walks along the road, by his rapid stride, the jerky +movements of his arms, and the nervous poise of his head, all so different +from the unemotional crowd around him, who seem to think that they have an +eternity before them in which to finish their walk, and so they need not +hurry.</p> + +<p>There is no doubt but that this absence of nerves is a very important +factor in enabling the Chinaman to adapt himself so readily to the +circumstances in which he may be placed. Take the matter of pain. He bears +it with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> the composure of a saint. The heroic never seems to come out so +grandly in him, as when he is bearing some awful suffering that only a +martyr could endure. I have seen a man come into a hospital with an +abscess that must have been giving him torture. His face was drawn, and +its yellow hue had turned to a slightly livid colour, but there were no +other signs that he was in agony. The surgeon drove his knife deep into +the inflamed mass, but only the word “ai Ya,” uttered with a prolonged +emphasis, and the twisting up of the muscles of one side of his face, +showed that he was conscious of any pain. An Occidental of the same class +would most probably have howled, and perhaps a couple of assistants would +have been required to hold him whilst the doctor was operating.</p> + +<p>It is this same absence of nerves that enables the Chinese to bear +suffering of any kind with a patience and fortitude that is perfectly +Spartan. He will live from one year’s end to another on food that seems +utterly inadequate for human use; he will slave at the severest toil, with +no Sunday to break its wearisome monotony, and no change to give the mind +rest; and he will go on with the duties of life with a sturdy tread and +with a meditative mystic look on his face, that reminds one of those +images of Buddha that one sees so frequently in the Chinese monasteries or +temples.</p> + +<p>The staying power of the Chinese seems unlimited. The strong, square +frames with which nature has endowed them are models of strength. They are +not graceful, neither are the lines of beauty conspicuous either in face +or form, but for endurance there is nothing to surpass them anywhere +throughout the world.</p> + +<p>On one occasion, I had to make a journey to a large city some twenty miles +or more distant. It was in the hottest days in summer, when the +temperature was over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> ninety in the shade. I engaged two chair-bearers to +carry me, who were taken at random from the nearest chair shop, where such +men wait to be hired. There was nothing to distinguish them from the +ordinary men who get their living by carrying chairs. They had the look of +the farmer class from which they were taken, and were as dull and as +uninteresting as shabby clothes and tanned and bronzed faces could make +them. They had a mean and insignificant appearance, being not more than +five feet and a half in height, and the blue colour in their garments, +which is so popular with the Chinese, gave them a commonplace look that +did not raise one’s opinion of them.</p> + +<p>We started very early in the morning, just before the light of the dawn +had touched the darkness that covered the land with its shadows. We had +not gone far before the men began to show their mettle. With the heavy +chair upon their shoulders, they kept on at a steady swing of over three +miles an hour, in spite of the fact that the roads were simply footpaths, +that had been worn into ruts and hollows by the feet of countless +travellers and by the wear and tear of storm and rain.</p> + +<p>The first hour’s travelling was comparatively cool, for the sun had not +risen above the mountain tops to flash his fiery rays upon the world +around us. The scene at this time was full of beauty. The earth lay +clothed in a dim, subdued, cloisterlike light that gave it an air of +mystery. The rice in the fields looked shy and modest as it appeared to be +hiding itself amid the shadows that still rested upon the earth. The +clumps of trees took fantastic and grotesque shapes, and seemed like +spectres that had come out to travel during the uncanny hours of night and +had dallied too long by the way. But most beautiful of all were the hills +in a blue thin haze that clung to them, and turned the rocks and boulders +into seeming fortresses and castles, behind which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> one could fancy gallant +knights and armed soldiers kept watch and ward.</p> + +<p>After a time, the sun rose with fire in his face and flashed his molten +rays across the land, till everything glowed beneath their touch, and made +life a misery. My men, however, strode on through the scorching air, with +as firm a step as though they were on a Highland range with the purple +heather at their feet. The sun blazed down upon their bare shaven heads +till it seemed as though I should have a sunstroke out of sheer sympathy +from looking at the glare that flashed about them; but on they went, their +bodies steaming with perspiration, but with overflowing spirits that made +them catch the humours they met by the way, which now and again sent them +into uproarious fits of laughter.</p> + +<p>The hours went by, and with a tread like fate they marched on along the +burning roads, through villages and across flooded plains, till at last we +reached the great city. It was a little after midday when we passed +through the great gates that gave us entrance into the narrow streets, +where the crowds jostled each other, and where the tide of human life +flowed in a perpetual stream.</p> + +<p>After transacting our business, I spoke to the men about returning. This +was a most unusual proceeding, for one such journey was universally +considered to be enough for one day. The day, however, was young, and the +heat in the city, where the crowded houses kept away the breeze, made it a +perfect oven where men could scarcely breathe, and where the mosquitoes +revelled in the luxuries that the half-dressed people afforded them.</p> + +<p>I asked them whether they could engage fresh men to carry me back, for I +never dreamed of suggesting that they might be able to do so. “What need +is there,” they replied, “to search for other bearers, when you have us, +who are perfectly willing to make the return journey with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> you?” As they +said this, their eyes perfectly danced with delight at the prospect of +earning two days’ wages in one.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img17.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A SEDAN CHAIR.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 117.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>I was perfectly delighted at this, for I knew the men by this time to be +pleasant, good-tempered fellows, who would play me no tricks by the way, +and then they were going home, and would not dally by the journey as +strangers might be tempted to do. Preparations were at once made to start +back immediately. The chair was brought round to the door, and the men +with beaming faces and as fresh-looking as though they had done nothing +all day, started back on the long weary journey of fully twenty miles.</p> + +<p>Once more we were retracing our way through the long, winding streets of +the city, and then we emerged through the gates into the open country +beyond. A haze of heat lay upon the fields and on the hills. The afternoon +sun, still breathing out fire, glared into the chair and shone upon my +face and played upon the bare skulls of the bearers. Surely that fierce +heat would break their spirit, for I began to feel limp and fagged, though +the only exertion I had to make was to try and keep cool by fanning +myself.</p> + +<p>As the afternoon went on, the steps of the bearers became less elastic, +and when we rested at the regular stopping-places, they were less eager in +resuming their journey. Beyond this, they seemed as vigorous as ever, and +forged their way through villages, and past market towns, and round the +foot of hills glowing with amber colours that were flung there with the +lavish hand of the fast-descending sun.</p> + +<p>We reached home long after darkness had settled on the landscape, and had +blotted out the hills around which the clouds had gathered to let the sun +paint his evening pictures. We could hear the rustling of the rice, as the +night wind sighed amongst it, and sometimes we would be startled by the +sudden looming up of trees like huge fantastic spectres<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> that had escaped +from the land of darkness to terrify men by their presence.</p> + +<p>Travelling in the dark was not an easy matter, for we had to pick our way +over narrow uneven pathways, and across broken dilapidated bridges, and +over stepping-stones in a mountain brook, till finally, worn out and +wearied to death, we stumbled down the dark street that led to our home, +and there I threw myself into the first chair I could find, utterly +exhausted by a journey that few men would undertake even in the coldest +days in winter.</p> + +<p>The chair-bearers, after a few whiffs at their bamboo pipes, started to +light the furnace and cook their supper. All the weariness they had shown +during the last hour or two seemed to have vanished, and they laughed and +chatted about the incidents on the road and the funny sights they had +seen. One chopped the wood, whilst the other washed the rice and poured it +into the cauldron, and prepared the vegetables they were to eat with it.</p> + +<p>No one looking in casually upon the scene and listening to the merry +voices and to the animated conversation of these men would ever have +dreamed that they had travelled fully fifty miles, carrying two hundred +pounds’ weight upon their shoulders, through the blazing heat of an +Eastern summer day.</p> + +<p>In one’s dealing with the Chinese one is continually being reminded of the +strain of dogged inflexibility that runs throughout the character of +nearly every individual that one comes in contact with. It is not simply +occasional instances that one runs up against. It is in the race, and +there is no doubt but that it is this force that has given it such a +strength that it has been able to stand the wear and tear of ages and to +be as strong physically as it was a thousand years ago.</p> + +<p>Of course there are differences. There are strong men and there are weak +men. There are those whose wills are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> as firm and unbending as the granite +hills around. There are others, again, whose temperaments are of an easy, +yielding description, and one is apt to imagine that they can be moulded +this way or that at the will of another. Up to a certain extent this is +true, and yet one soon discovers that even with them, when the true temper +of the man is tested, there is a tenacity of will that nothing seems to be +able to shake.</p> + +<p>A man, for example, comes in to see you. He is common looking, with a face +hardened and battered by toil. His clothes, which are shabby and well +worn, consist of the ordinary blue cotton cloth that in its dull and dingy +colour helps to give a mean and uninteresting look to the wearer. If the +nation would but depart from the eternal tradition that has come steadily +down the ages in regard to its clothing and would take some hints from +nature, whose varied moods make her look so charming, how different would +these unæsthetic people appear from what they do now!</p> + +<p>His face is a weak one, and there are lines about his mouth that in an +Englishman would indicate a want of will. Your idea of the man is a very +low one, and you ask him with as much politeness as your poor opinion of +him will permit you, what he wants with you.</p> + +<p>In a hesitating, nervous kind of way, he informs you that he has ventured +to come and ask a favour of you. It is a very important one, he says, and +as he knows no one that is so kind as you are or who has so much influence +as you have, he has taken the liberty to address himself to you and he +hopes that you will not refuse his request.</p> + +<p>You find as he tells his story that he wants you to use your good offices +to get his son into employment in a responsible firm in the town. You are +startled, for you do not know any one in the said firm, and moreover you +have no knowledge of the young man either as to his character or +abilities. You try and impress upon the father that it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> impossible for +you to help him in the matter, because you really have no influence with +any one responsible in the house of business to which he refers, and that +therefore he had better apply to some one else who has the ability to help +him.</p> + +<p>The man in a weak kind of way appears to agree with you, expresses his +appreciation of your kindness in so pleasantly listening to him, and bids +you good-bye, and any one not acquainted with the Chinese character would +certainly come to the conclusion that the whole incident was at an end and +nothing more would be heard of it.</p> + +<p>To-morrow morning you are engaged, say, in writing when the same man is +ushered into your room by your “boy,” and he in a timid, hesitating way +expresses a wish to say a few words to you. In his hand he carries a fowl, +with its legs tied and its head hanging down, and as this is the usual way +in which such animals are carried in China, it seems to recognize the +universal custom and to utter no protest against the indignity to which it +is exposed.</p> + +<p>Without referring to it, he lays it down in a corner of the room, and +proceeds to make his request for his son in precisely the same language +that he had done the previous day. Your statement then that you had no +influence in the firm mentioned was considered by him to be a pleasant and +refined way of showing your displeasure that a present had not been made +you, and so to-day he is atoning for this by bringing you the fowl that +lies fluttering on the ground.</p> + +<p>You try and make him understand that you really cannot help him, that you +would do so if you could, and you insist upon his taking away his present, +as you absolutely refuse to accept it. He agrees with all you say, +expresses his admiration at your disinterested and generous conduct, is +quite sure that you cannot help him, and finally leaves you holding the +fowl which you have forced upon him in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> his hand, and declaring that he is +afraid you are angry with him since you refuse his gift, which he declares +he knows is too small to be accepted by a person of your position and +character. You happen to go out half-an-hour after and you see the +identical fowl lying in the yard struggling to get free, and with a look +of pain and misery in consequence of its legs having been tied so tight +and because of the cramped position in which it has been compelled to lie +so long.</p> + +<p>You call the “boy” and you ask him why the man has not taken the fowl +away, as you had positively refused to accept it. “Oh! it would never do,” +he replies with an anxious look that pushes its way through its permanent +sphinx-like veneer, “for the man to take back the trifling present that he +has made you. He would have lost ‘face,’ for people would say that you +were angry with him for making you such an insignificant gift that you +could not possibly receive it.”</p> + +<p>Next morning the man once more appears, but this time accompanied by a +person well known to you. After a few complimentary remarks, the newcomer +introduces the man, and begs of you to use your influence to get his son +the employment about which he has already spoken to you. You state the +case fully to him and explain that it is quite a mistake to imagine that +you can assist him in the way he wishes. Both men listen with the most +wrapt attention to what you say, and by smiles and vigorous nods of the +head seem to believe in every word you speak. By and by they leave, and +you feel convinced that the incident is at an end, and that you will hear +nothing more of it.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon of the same day, the man turns up once more, with a +smiling countenance and a look of supreme satisfaction upon it. He holds a +letter in his hand which he delivers to you with the air of a man who is +delivering a pleasant ultimatum that will settle the whole question in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> a +manner satisfactory to all. It is from an Englishman who has been +approached on the subject, and he asks me to do what I can to get the old +fellow’s son into a firm where he has been told I have some influence.</p> + +<p>You are getting annoyed by this time, not simply because all your +protestations have not been believed, but because you see that the dogged +persistence that lies rooted in the Chinese character will not allow the +matter to drop until you have either given him a piece of your mind, more +forcible than polite, or taken some plan to carry out his wishes. After a +few minutes’ consideration, you remember that an acquaintance of your own +has business relationships with the firm in question, so you at once write +a note to him and request him as a great favour to exert himself to +introduce the son of the bearer to the manager of a certain business house +with which he is intimately concerned. Having sealed it up, you hand it +over to the man, and direct him to take it to your friend, who may +possibly be able to assist him in procuring the employment he wishes for +his son.</p> + +<p>The very next day, he once more appears, but this time with two fowls, a +small basket of oranges and a tiny box of tea, and also with the most +profuse thanks for getting his son that situation. You tell him that you +have had nothing to do with that, and that if he is inclined to make +presents, he had better take them to the friend who has really engineered +the business. If the Chinese could only see the humour there is in a wink, +there is no doubt but that he would express his feelings by one just now, +but as he has never been taught the subtle part that the eye can take in +conveying a joke, he simply smiles prodigiously, clasps his own hands +instead of yours and leaves you with a profusion of the most elegant and +polite phrases, such as the great Sage of China penned more than two +thousand years ago for the guidance of people in contingencies such as +this.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>It must be perfectly understood that the man never believed from the very +first that you could not have got that situation for his son, if you had +been so disposed, and the fact that you procured it for him at last proved +that. Your writing the letter and sending it to a friend were but little +subtle by-plays to save your “face.” Acting like that is something +inexpressibly dear to the Chinese, who are always posing before each +other, and exhausting their histrionic powers to produce certain effects +that shall redound to their credit. The one thing that was really to be +admired in this Chinaman was the tenacity of purpose that caused him never +to falter until he had gained the object that he had in his mind.</p> + +<p>This distinguishing virtue in the Chinaman has unquestionably been a very +large factor in the building up of their Empire, and yet on the other hand +it is just as true that it has been one of the most powerful forces in +preventing its progress and development.</p> + +<p>The very persistence of character that made the Yellow race build the +Great Wall of China and extend their conquests from their original home on +the banks of the Yellow River, until the whole of the vast extent of +territory embraced within the eighteen provinces has been subdued by them, +has made them cling to old traditions and customs with a tenacity that has +stayed the progress of new ideas, and has prevented them from adopting new +methods that would have benefited both the people and the Empire.</p> + +<p>The Chinese within certain limits are practical common-sense people and +keenly alive to anything that will improve their worldly condition, but +the moment they scent an innovation they recoil from it as though it were +an enemy that was going to destroy them.</p> + +<p>Illustrations of this abound everywhere. Take the farmer, for example. He +has been accustomed to plough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> his fields with an old-fashioned implement +that was devised ages before the Christian era. It is of the exact pattern +that it was when it issued from the brain of the man who is credited with +having thought it out. Through countless ages it has done the work of the +Empire, but time has left it absolutely untouched, and if the inventor +could come to life to-day he would see that the old clumsy thing that he +had hastily thought out when the fathers of the race, tired of their +wanderings, settled down on the banks of the mighty river that met them as +they wandered eastwards, had never changed with the advancing fortunes of +their children, but was identical in every detail with the one with which +they began their first ploughing in the far-off misty ages of the past.</p> + +<p>You talk to a Chinese farmer about the wonderful ploughs of the West, and +how sometimes they were driven by steam, and in a few hours acres of land +would be ready for the harrow. His eyes flash, for he is a farmer to the +very tips of his fingers, and he thinks of the days of toil that it takes +him to accomplish the very same thing, and for the moment he would like to +have some of those ploughs to upturn the hard and rugged soil that his own +antiquated implement seems so helpless to break through. He has a vision +for a moment of how the monotony and drudgery of labour might be exchanged +for a time of comparative rest, when nature in response to a new impulse +should yield the fruits of the soil with a more generous hand. But the +vision quickly dies out of his imagination, and the old conservative +instinct flashes once more through his brain, and so the old plough and +the hoe that have done the work of the centuries are more firmly fixed in +his imagination than ever they were before.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img18.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">PLOUGHING WITH A WATER BUFFALO.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 124.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>One of the great results of the intense tenacity of purpose that +characterizes the Chinese is to repress original thought. From their very +loyalty to the discoveries and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> inventions of past ages, they have +become merely imitators, and any one who should dare to deviate from +well-established lines on any subject would be looked upon as a man +dangerous to the well-being of the Empire. It may be confidently asserted +that for a thousand years no new thought or original ideas that have +quickened the pulse in this old country have been propounded by any one of +its vast or varied population. Whilst the West has been seething with +excitement and new continents have been discovered and society has been +upheaved by vast discoveries, this great nation has been going on in its +easy-going, sleepy way, content with the half-dozen or so of meagre ideas +with which it started its career ages ago.</p> + +<p>The Chinese are a proud people, and look down with supreme contempt upon +every country outside of their own. They are very impartial in this and +make no exceptions, for they call them all by a term that has been +generally translated “Barbarian,” and which really means uncivilized, +untaught, idiotic, and wanting in refinement; and yet after one has got +over the first excitement caused by the odd and grotesque sights that +Chinese life and scenes afford to the Westerner, there comes a sense of +oppression at the absolute monotony that prevails in every department of +life, and all as the result of the one idea of being true to established +ideals. A man, for example, builds a house. There is no use asking him +what is the plan he is going to adopt. That was settled for him a good +many centuries ago, and though slight variations are allowed to meet the +peculiar requirements of the land, the essential idea is scrupulously +retained by every builder throughout the eighteen provinces. It is for +this reason that the profession of architect is unknown in this land, and +the sacred plan upon which every house is built is conserved with as much +fidelity by the people of this Empire as though it were a great moral +principle that lay at the root<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> of all noble action and that had been +specially revealed from Heaven for the guidance of the nation.</p> + +<p>You travel up a river and you expect to find great diversities in the +population, that has deserted the land and taken up its permanent +habitation on the water, but the same inflexible devotion to ancient +ideals is just as marked as it is on shore.</p> + +<p>Here is a typical boat that belongs to the fisher class. Let us examine it +for a moment, for I can promise that we shall get a glimpse into the +mysteries of Chinese life and see how men and women can lead what seems to +be a merry, happy existence in the closest possible quarters. It is twelve +feet long and five feet wide in the centre, and tapers slightly as you +approach the bows. It is divided into three distinct divisions, the front +part being the open space from which the nets are cast when they are +fishing. In one sense it might be called the workshop of the family, for +besides the manœuvring with the nets, any odd jobs that are required to +be done in connection with their mode of life are performed on this part +of the boat. The centre is the family residence, and performs the part of +sitting-room, dining-room, and bedroom, and is covered in with thick +bamboo matting that is capable of resisting the heaviest rain. The hinder +section is the family kitchen, where all the meals are cooked, and where, +too, the steerer stands when he is guiding the boat.</p> + +<p>The family in this particular craft consists of an elderly fisherman and +his wife, a grown-up son with his wife and two little ones, six people in +all, and as though the space were too ample for these, they have +improvised at the extreme bows a small pigsty, where a pig that will add +to the comforts of the home when it is ready for the market, lies +apparently contented with its narrow and confined surroundings. It will +never move from its home till it is carried to the butcher. The old couple +are weather-beaten<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> and their faces are covered with the wrinkles that +advancing age has put into them, but they are perfectly content with their +life, and though they take a ramble now and again on shore when they wish +to buy anything or when they want to look at some theatricals, they return +to their home with as much zest as though it were a spacious house in +which every accommodation was provided for their comfort.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img19.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A BOAT CARRYING A SEDAN CHAIR.</p> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img20.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A PASSENGER BOAT.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 126.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>There is really, after all, no mystery in this. Fifty or sixty years ago +they were both born upon a boat of the precise size and shape of the one +they are now living in. The old lady with the wrinkled features, and the +eyes of which the flash and the sparkle have died out, and with the raven +locks that have turned to grey, came here forty years ago as a bride, from +a neighbouring boat, amid the sounds of fire-crackers and the chorus of +congratulations that the Chinese are always prepared to give the +newly-made wife.</p> + +<p>The young fellow that received her then as his future wife was the pick +out of all the fisher lads in the fishing fleet of that time, but he, too, +is old now. Yet both husband and wife are content, for their home is a +happy one. Have they not their own son to care for them in their declining +years, and to save them from sorrow and hunger now that their strength is +not what it used to be?</p> + +<p>The son is indeed a man to be proud of by a Chinese father. He has the +look of a man who can hold his own in the world, and though utterly +uneducated, his face has a semi-refined appearance, that speaks of a +tender heart and of a mind that would easily be influenced for good. His +young wife has a face that it is a pleasure to look upon. It is not by any +means a beautiful one, for there is not a single feature in it that could +by the widest charity be called pretty, and yet it is just such a one that +has an attraction about it, that it wins men’s homage though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> every canon +of beauty is defied by it. She has high cheek-bones and a large mouth, and +a nose that is as far removed from the Grecian as it is possible to be +conceived, but her eyes are bright and sparkling, and it seems as though +the spirit of fun lay close behind them, for there is a perpetual +suggestion of laughter in them. Her face, too, browned with the great +Eastern sun, is a most kindly and pleasing one, and smiles at the least +provocation ripple over it, and fill it with sunshine or shadows, as the +mood happens to take her.</p> + +<p>She and her young husband are busy hoisting the nets high up on a bamboo +pole to have them aired and dried in the sun. The youngest child, which is +but a baby, is strapped on her back, where he is sound asleep, the motions +of the mother acting as a cradle would do in lulling him into +forgetfulness of everything around him. The other child is a little over +two, with a round, chubby face and large, staring black eyes, that look +upon you with wonder as you make various signs of friendliness to him. He +is stationed in the “sitting-room,” to be out of the way of the workers, +and to guard against his moving beyond certain limits and tumbling +overboard, a good strong string has been tied to one of his legs, which +effectually prevents any such accidents happening to him.</p> + +<p>The old father, calm and placid looking, is sitting on his heels near the +tiller smoking a long bamboo pipe. This mode of resting is a most popular +one amongst the middle and lower classes of the Chinese, but one which an +Englishman could not endure for five minutes without considerable +discomfort. His wife is fussing about the diminutive kitchen, getting +ready the meal for the family, and deftly cooking the rice and the salted +turnips and the pickled cabbage that are the principal features in the +daily meal of vast numbers of the Chinese.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img21.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">NETTING FISH FROM THE SHORE.</p> +<p> </p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>The above is an attempt to describe the kind of boat that a certain class +of people who get their living by fishing in inland waters everywhere use. +They are absolute facsimiles of each other. The question often arises, how +is it they are all so identical? Why should not some of them be, say, a +foot or two longer, and a few inches wider, so as to anticipate the needs +of a growing family?</p> + +<p>Such a thought never occurs to a Chinaman, or if it does, it is at once +rejected as heterodox, or as treason to the original designer. A profound +sense of the benefits conferred upon them by the man who had the brain to +devise such a boat, though an Englishman would have the daring to think +that any idiot could devise a much better one in five minutes, will +prevent this nation from ever venturing to think it possible that any +change could be made in it that would improve it in one single respect.</p> + +<p>The fishermen are absolutely content. They spend their lives on these +boats. Men are married upon them, and children are born upon them and grow +up to be men and women, and men lie down and die upon them, and from them +they are carried to their long homes on the shore, which during their +lifetime they have looked upon as a place where they had no inheritance, +but which perforce would have to give them a narrow space when they had +finished with life, in which to hide them away from the world.</p> + +<p>The boats I have described are but a sample of the multitude of ways in +which the Chinese are circumscribed and prevented by forces greater than +the enactment of special laws from making progress in their national life. +There are signs at the present moment that China is awakening and that the +dead hand of the past is being lifted. It will be long, however, before +the new movement will permeate into the villages and into the more +retired<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> and out-of-the-way places of the Empire, where under the shadow +of lofty mountains, and out of the lines where human thought and human +traffic are most vigorous, men cling to the traditions of the past. But +that the movement will spread and finally change the whole character of +the country, there is not the least shadow of a doubt.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> <a name="street" id="street"></a></p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img22.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A STREET SCENE.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 131.</i></small></span></p> + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> +<p class="title">AMUSEMENTS</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Chinese a laughter-loving people—Fond of society—Sources of +amusements few—No seaside outings or holidays—New Year’s +time—Dragon boat festival—Feast of Tombs—Theatricals—Battledore +and shuttlecock—Kites—Punch and Judy.</p></div> + + +<p>The Chinese are a laughter-loving people, and their broad, +unæsthetic-looking faces seem to have been made with a wide and generous +area, in order to allow their latent humour to have plenty of scope for +its expansion.</p> + +<p>No matter what a Chinaman does, there always seems to be a comical element +about it that provokes one to smile. With other nationalities, when +certain unpleasant things are done, one is inclined to be roused to sudden +passion and to strong and vigorous language, and a feeling of indignation +that takes a long time to die out. With a Chinaman the experience is quite +different. He does something most aggravating, and your mind is filled +with the deepest resentment, and you feel as though you could never +forgive him. You look with indignation upon the man who has offended you. +As you gaze at him, the subtle humour that somehow or other seems to lie +about his yellow homely features grips you, and you find a smile rising to +your face and your anger explodes in laughter.</p> + +<p>There are no people in the world that seem to have such a hypnotizing +power over the men of the West as the Chinese. It is not their beauty or +their eloquence, nor the fascinating way in which they talk, but in the +large amount of human nature they all possess, and in the strain of humour +that seems to run through them as music does through an exquisite piece of +poetry.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>From this it may be easily believed that they are fond of laughter and +merriment and the bright and joyous side of things, and social +intercourse, and plenty of company, and loud-sounding music and firing of +crackers. The solitary feeling that makes an Englishman like to be alone, +and shut himself up day after day in a house by himself and not care to +see visitors, is something that is quite incomprehensible to a Chinaman.</p> + +<p>A man rents a house, for example, and he finds that in the other rooms +that are built round an open courtyard there are one or two other families +already residing. He welcomes this as one of the advantages that the house +he has taken possesses. He comes in with smiling face, and remarks how +very cheerful everything is. His wife stands by his side and expresses her +pleasure that there are so many people close by them, so that they need +not feel dull or lonely. They are both received with overflowing +expressions of welcome, and are assured that their coming is an immense +comfort, and will make their homes much more cheery and enjoyable than +they would be without them.</p> + +<p>Their love for their fellow-kind is a passion with the Chinese, and they +seem to be able to stand an amount of noise and loud talking and screaming +babies and barking of dogs, such as would send an Englishman off his head.</p> + +<p>Now, many of the sources of amusement that are open to the people of the +West have no existence in this country whatever. They have no Sunday on +which they can lay aside the eternal round of work, and forget for one day +that life is a treadmill which never stops its grinding. There are no +stated holidays, when people rush off to the seaside or to the moors or to +some fishing stream, where midst the hills they can forget the heat and +pressure of the city. The legislators of China have never dreamed that any +one needed a vacation. The school-boys, indeed, after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> eleven months of +cramped school life have been thought worthy of a month’s holidays at the +end of the year, but the grown-up people have to work. Without that, large +sections of the community under present conditions would starve.</p> + +<p>The most serious thing of all, however, is the illiterate character of the +people. It has been reckoned by competent critics that only ten, or at the +most fifteen, millions out of the four hundred can read. The result is +that, excepting in the houses of the favoured few, there are no books or +magazines or pictures, or, in fact, literature of any kind in the vast +majority of the homes into which one may enter. What this means for the +young people, full of restlessness and with an immense fund of animal +spirits, may be more easily imagined than understood.</p> + +<p>In their idle hours or during the dark nights of winter, they are thrown +upon their own resources, and as these are extremely limited, it is no +wonder that the young fellows take to the only things that they can think +of to while the hours away, and that is gambling and opium smoking.</p> + +<p>Of course, for the nation at large, these two forms would not meet the +demand there is in human nature for some sources of amusement that shall +be harmless. There are troops of children, in this land so prolific in +little ones, who have to be amused with laughter and smiling faces, and +feasts, and outings on the hills, and visits to relatives. There are +equally large numbers of young girls, who must have the monotonous life in +which they are compelled to live in their narrow homes changed from the +unending routine that confronts them almost every day of their lives.</p> + +<p>In order to satisfy this demand for recreation, there are certain forms of +amusement that have become popular throughout the country, and which, to a +limited extent, do meet the needs of the case. They may be roughly divided +into two classes.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>The first of these is the great festivals, that are religiously observed +by the people of the whole Empire. The most important amongst these is the +New Year’s holiday. The feasting and jollity really extend over three +days, though, as is natural, it is the first one that stands out the most +conspicuous of them all.</p> + +<p>On this day all business is suspended, and for once during the year China +puts on a Sunday look, for the shops are all closed, with the exception of +those that deal in shoes and stockings, which by a licence that has come +down from the distant past, are permitted to sell their wares, even though +it is a New Year’s day.</p> + +<p>Every one is dressed in his very best, and the women put on their gayest +and most attractive garments. The children, too, decked out in clothes +that have been carefully folded and put away in boxes for this special +occasion, appear early in the morning, with faces full of joy and eyes +sparkling with delight, ready for all the fun and enjoyment that the day +is going to bring them.</p> + +<p>The male members of the household go and pay visits to their friends, +whilst the ladies stay at home and entertain the neighbours or relatives +that may be calling upon them. It seems to be the object of every one to +be as nice and agreeable to each other as they can be. No unlucky words +must be uttered, for they might bring sorrow and disaster during the +coming year, and so one sees everywhere pleasant, smiling faces, whilst +the air resounds with kindly greetings and with wishes for prosperity and +happiness.</p> + +<p>Even the very houses put on a festal appearance, and bright red papers on +the lintel silently join with the well-wishers in their loving +congratulations to all and sundry, by themselves offering up a prayer to +Heaven to send down blessings upon the home within.</p> + +<p>It is the custom on this festal day of the year to paste bright red papers +on the lintel and on both sideposts of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> door, on which have been +inscribed in large Chinese characters a wish for some form of happiness to +be bestowed upon all that live within. “May the five happinesses descend +upon the home.” “May Heaven bestow peace and happiness, and may clouds of +trade gather round the business carried on here.” “May righteousness have +its fullest accomplishment in this home.” “May the days of Shun and the +times of Yau (two ancient rulers of China, when it is believed that the +country attained its greatest prosperity) be the experience of this home.”</p> + +<p>The above are quotations from some of the thousands of gaudy-looking +strips of paper that deck the houses and give an air of gladness to the +scene. Every house in the town, and even the temples of the gods have some +pasted over the front doors. For three days the feasting and the visiting +and the congratulations go on, and then the people go back to the old +humdrum style of things, and to the steady grind and wear and tear of +life, but in the meanwhile there has been a delightful break in the +eternal monotony that has made things look so grey, and that has put so +many shadows into the everyday working life of this patient people.</p> + +<p>Another great festival is one that is held wherever there is a sea or a +river or a stream on which a boat may be floated. This is called the +“Feast of the Dragon Boat,” and is held in honour of an ancient statesman +who committed suicide in the river Mi Lo. The story is that one of the +feudal states into which China was then divided, named Tau, was prospering +under the wise guidance of Ku Yuan, who was the Prime Minister of its +Prince. The people were happy, and peace and plenty made the state a good +one to live in. Suddenly, through the machinations of a rival, the ruler +was tempted into evil courses, Ku Yuan was dismissed, and adversity loomed +in the distance for the country.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>Unwilling to be a spectator of the sorrows that were coming on the people, +Ku Yuan threw himself into the river and perished. As soon as the news of +his death was known, boats were sent out to search the river for his body, +but days went by, and it was never recovered. So grieved was the nation at +his loss, that it was determined that the anniversary of his death should +be commemorated by boat races, in which the fiction should be kept up that +the boats were not simply racing, but were in search of the long-lost +body. The death happened about <span class="smcaplc">B.C.</span> 314, but though ages have elapsed, and +revolution after revolution have torn and convulsed the country to its +very foundations, the custom is as keenly kept to-day as though it had +only just lately been established.</p> + +<p>It is, indeed, one of the most popular festivals of the year, and is +looked forward to for weeks before it takes place, and during the three +days on which it is being kept, the whole place is full of excitement. It +has been our good fortune on several occasions to witness the gatherings +of the people who have assembled on a famous estuary to watch the racing +of the boats in their mad search for the body of Ku Yuan.</p> + +<p>This happens at the beginning of the Chinese fifth moon, which corresponds +with about the middle of our June. The weather then is hot and the sun is +bright, though rain often falls during some part of the three days, as +though Heaven were weeping for the sad fate of the lost minister.</p> + +<p>Nearly every one of the population who can possibly get away from their +duties deserts the town and hastens to the seashore to witness the moving +scene on the water. As it gets towards noon, strings of people may be seen +wending their way in the direction of the harbour. There are young men, +full of life and merriment, and with their black eyes flashing with +excitement, for the dulness of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> dingy, evil-smelling town is going to +be forgotten amidst the salt sea breezes that have blown over many a +hundred leagues of ocean.</p> + +<p>There are old ladies, with the young girls of their families chattering +and laughing about them, glad to get out of the narrow homes in which they +are usually confined to gaze upon the life of the streets and to look upon +the strange faces of the people that are hurrying on to the great +gathering by the seaside.</p> + +<p>Wherever one looks one sees signs that the Dragon Boat Races are the great +thought that is upon every heart. The peddlers are going to have a royal +time of it, and see how, with flushed faces, they are rushing on with +their goods to the hungry crowds on the hills and rising grounds by the +sea shore. Here is a man with two great baskets balanced on a bamboo pole +that rests on his shoulder. They are full of all kinds of cakes, just +fresh from the oven, and some of them that have the appetizing name of +“mouth-melters” seem longing to be bought, so that they may show how crisp +and luscious they are, and how suited for such a holiday as this.</p> + +<p>Following hard upon his heels, for the street is too narrow to allow of +two such men walking abreast, comes the “Sweet and Sour” man, with his two +loads heaped up with all kinds of goodies, such as every one likes to +indulge in on a huge picnic such as the town is keeping on this bright, +sunshiny day.</p> + +<p>This popular street-dealer in toothsome and, to the younger generation at +least, fascinating luxuries, has prepared himself to meet the large demand +of the crowds, who at a merry time like this will be more reckless of +their cash than they would be on ordinary occasions. He has sugared orange +lobes, and pine apple cut into dainty succulent little mouthfuls. He has +also crab apples from the far North, crushed and flattened, but just as +sweet as sugar can make<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> them. These and other varieties of fruit that +have no English names are pierced with thin slips of bamboo, which the +buyer can hold between two of his fingers and drop each piece into his +mouth without soiling his fingers.</p> + +<p>Then for the sours, he has pickled olives, and rich luxurious-looking +arbutus berries, that in the distance look like strawberries, and delicate +little plums, and sliced peaches, and limes with the green of the trees +still upon them. Every one can take his choice, and whether he likes +sweets or sours he can put his hand into his pocket and select the kind +that suits him best.</p> + +<p>And now the crowds have gathered by the seaside; and what a scene of +delight and joy it is to the men and women and children, who have been for +weeks “cribbed and cabined and confined” in their homes, in the narrow +streets and alleyways, where the green fields are never seen and where the +sight of the sun is what they see of him as he passes overhead, as he +pours down his fiery scorching rays upon the unsavoury, vile-smelling +streets below!</p> + +<p>There is hardly a sombre-looking face amongst them all, for the spirit of +the day is upon every one. They present a most interesting and beautiful +appearance; usually only men are seen in any numbers on the streets, but +to-day women are quite as numerous as the men, and their gay and showy +coloured dresses relieve the sombre blue in which the sterner sex delight +to array themselves.</p> + +<p>All at once the hum of voices is hushed and all eyes are turned in the +direction of the sea, for there the Dragon Boats have suddenly made their +appearance, each one madly striving to beat the other as they both race on +towards a junk anchored in the stream, from which flags and many-coloured +streamers float in the breeze, and which has been appointed to be the goal +towards which the boats must race.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img23.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A DRAGON BOAT.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 129.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The Dragon Boats are long and narrow, and only just wide <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>enough to +allow two men to sit side by side and use their paddles to propel the +boat. The number that is commonly employed in one of them is sixty, not +including the coxswain, who stands in the stern holding a long oar with +which he steers his way through the crowds of boats that have come with +their passengers to get a good look at the races.</p> + +<p>The effect of these sixty men paddling with all their might is very +striking, and puts one in mind of a huge centipede, though the Chinese, +with more imagination and more poetry, have likened it to the fabulous +dragon that plays so large a part in the mythology and superstition of the +nation.</p> + +<p>The festivities continue for three days, and the inhabitants of the city +with unabated zeal gather by the seashore to laugh and joke and gossip, +and to look at the blue sky and to see the sea tossing and foaming under +the pressure of South-West Monsoon.</p> + +<p>With the conclusion of the sports, the great masses of people that lined +the hills and eminences near the edge of the sea melt away down the narrow +arteries that constitute the principal streets of the town. They slowly +vanish down the winding alleyways that seem to be like runs that lead to +the burrows where the Chinese, as dense as rabbits in their lodges, pass +their lives with little to vary the monotony excepting these joyous +occasions that break in upon the dulness and greyness of their everyday +experience.</p> + +<p>Another festival that helps to divert the minds and thoughts of the vast +majority of the people is the “Feast of Tombs.” This has its serious side +as well as its pleasant one, and many a heart pours out its sorrows in +tears and heartrending cries over the loved ones that have vanished into +the dark world, whilst others, again, gather round the graves to hold +fellowship, in spirit at least, with those whom they believe are conscious +of their presence, and who can in some way or other affect the fortunes of +the living.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>Once a year the whole population turns out to visit the family graves. The +wear and tear of wind and rain during the twelve months have flattened +them down and given them a neglected and disordered look. They need +repairing and returfing, and so with loving hearts the relatives wend +their way amongst the countless tombs that cover the hillside to the ones +that belong to them, and with their hoes they dig about and fix them up to +bear the brunt of storms of rain and fierce typhoons for another year.</p> + +<p>Another purpose of this yearly visit to the graves is to secure their +rights to the ones that belong to them. For this purpose each family +scatters paper money over them and bind them down with stones lest the +wind should blow them away. They thus advertise to every one that the +owners are still living and will resent any attempt of others to +appropriate them. China is a country so densely populated that it is +sometimes difficult to find resting-places for the dead. If a grave is +left for a year or two without these symbols of ownership, some poor +family who has not the means to purchase a piece of ground for their dead +will pounce upon it, and use it for themselves. They are pretty safe in +doing this, for if no papers mark the grave at the “Feast of Tombs” it is +almost certain that the old family has died out, and not a single one is +left to care for it at the annual festival.</p> + +<p>It is a very pretty and interesting sight to see the hillsides dotted with +the countless figures that are moving about on them, making their +offerings to the spirits, and doing up the graves that have become +dilapidated during the year.</p> + +<p>But see, here is a family group that has just arrived, and as they fairly +represent the hundreds that have come on the same errand, a description of +them will give a fairly correct idea of what the “Feast of Tombs” means to +the people throughout the Chinese Empire. It consists of a father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> and +mother and one sturdy little fellow and a sister somewhat younger than +himself. The father has a hoe over his shoulder, whilst the mother carries +a basket which contains a variety of cakes, and several bundles of white +and yellow paper money. The hoe is at once set to work to repair the +damage that the weather has done to the grave, whilst the children romp +about and gather wild flowers to take with them to their home that lies +hidden in the town that seems to be creeping along the base of the hill on +which they are standing.</p> + +<p>It is the old grandfather’s grave, and for over three years he has lain on +this quiet hillside, with only the sound of the wild wind blowing across +it and the cry of the hawks as they hover high up in the air looking with +their keen eyes for their prey, to disturb the perpetual stillness that +reigns here the whole year through.</p> + +<p>When they have done their work, and the new sods have been beaten well +down on the top and sides of the grave to enable it to stand another +year’s wear and tear, the cakes are taken out of the basket, and laid out +in front where the spirit can see them. Then a little bottle with whisky +in it is brought forth, and three diminutive cups holding about a +tablespoonful each are filled with it and placed beside the cakes. Finally +a small piece of boiled pork that has lain snugly at the bottom of the +basket is taken out and laid carefully amongst the other good things.</p> + +<p>Everything is ready now for the offering to be presented to the old +grandfather, and the family stand up, and with hands clasped bow before +the grave as though the old gentleman were in the flesh standing in front +of them, and could hear every word that is said to him.</p> + +<p>The scene now becomes most realistic and pathetic. The father, with a face +full of intensity and eyes lighted with passion, tells the dead man how +lately troubles have come upon the home, and how trade has been so bad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +that it has been a continual struggle to make ends meet. “Things have been +so different,” he continues, “since you left us; we have missed your wise +counsels, and when cases of perplexity have arisen we have longed to have +you with us, so that we could go to you and you would tell us what to do. +We now appeal to you to come to our rescue; we are your children, and +unless you use the mysterious power you possess to deliver us, the family +will be dispersed, and then when the ‘Feast of Tombs’ comes round, there +will be no one to appear before your grave to make the offerings to your +spirit. Come, father, come: see, we your children, with bowed heads and +with hope in our hearts, appeal to you to change the fortunes of our home, +and send prosperity to it.”</p> + +<p>After the worship has been concluded, the cakes and the pork are laid out +in picnic fashion on the grass and the family gathers around them, and +they laugh and chat, and the youngsters break out into boisterous mirth. +Everything around them conduces to clear away the shadows from their +hearts. The stifling air of the city has vanished, and the smells and the +monotonous surroundings, and here the purest forces of nature combine to +lift their thoughts out of the narrow ruts in which they have been +running.</p> + +<p>And is it any marvel that this should happen? The sun shining in an +unclouded sky has filled the wide landscape with his beauty, as though +to-day he would cheer the hearts of the hundreds that dot the mountain +side. The hilltops are ablaze with his glory, and his rays dart across the +sea, and play fairy antics amongst the trees, and flash upon the graves +where countless generations lie buried, as though they would break the +gloom that rests upon them and point to a brighter day when the bands of +death would be for ever unloosed and the dead should rise again.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>The birds, too, as if in the luxuriance of their joy sing their songs, fly +from branch to branch and hover about, whilst the kingfishers with their +brilliant plumage skim about in the hollows, where streamlets trickle down +the mountain side.</p> + +<p>It is a joyous day indeed, and to the children is as full of happiness as +it can contain. The grasses and the wild flowers, and the wide expanse of +sunshine instead of the narrow court where their home lies, and the +freedom to skip and dance to their very hearts’ content fill every moment +with the most supreme delight, the minutes pass only too quickly, and +their only regret is that they cannot live out there for ever.</p> + +<p>In the midst of these delights the time seems to fly as though the sun +were racing down the great vault of heaven. Gradually the shadows begin to +lengthen, and to lie deep and thick in the valleys and underneath the +projecting cliffs, whilst the glory that still rests on the summit of the +mountain, and on the solitary peaks, begins to be dimmed with the coming +twilight creeping through it.</p> + +<p>The time at last comes when the countless groups scattered so +picturesquely amongst the newly-fashioned graves, where their loved ones +rest, should begin to move homeward. The sun goes down quickly in this +land, and the fast-fading light gives warning that if they would reach the +city before darkness falls upon it, they must not linger too long on this +delightful mountain side.</p> + +<p>The little family we have described slowly and unwillingly begin to make +preparations to tear themselves away from the spot where they had spent +such a pleasant day. There is but little preparation indeed needed, for +the basket that had contained the good things is empty. Just one more +scamper by the little ones and one last look at the grave where the old +grandfather lies, who has been feasted with the delicacies that are +believed will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> satisfy his hunger till the coming round of the next feast, +and then they descend, winding their way amongst the trim-looking mounds +decked with paper money, till they reach the large road that leads to the +town below.</p> + +<p>About the same time, the whole face of the hills begin to be alive with +moving groups. The glory has faded from the summits, and now a grey light +with a touch of sadness in it is spreading over the landscape. The golden +ripples on the sea have toned down and have put on the sombre air of +twilight. The birds have all fled, and the great hawks that hovered far up +in the sky have flown away, whilst the flash of the kingfisher has ceased +with the setting of the sun. The holiday is over, but for many a day will +the toilers in the narrow streets, and the women and the children in their +poor untidy homes, have visions of glorious sunlight, and lights and +shadows chasing each other, like school-boys, up and down the hillsides +and right up to their very summits, and the fresh breezes, and the +pleasant picnics beside the graves of the dead.</p> + +<p>There are several other festivals, such as the Feast of Lanterns, and the +Seventh Moon Festival, when all over the Empire tables are set with +abundance of food for the spirits of the dead world, who have no living +friends in this. The most expensive plays, too, are performed for the +enjoyment of the hungry, wandering ghosts, who have been let loose by the +prince of that gloomy land for one month to try and get some recreation +and comfort in this upper world.</p> + +<p>Whilst the ravenous spirits are supposed to enjoy the food that has been +so abundantly provided for them, and to look with delight upon the actors +that are putting forth their best artistic talent in order to amuse them, +it is the people who provide these entertainments that really enjoy this +month of feasting. The food that has been provided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> for the troops of +hungry spirits that hover invisibly in the air, is diminished neither in +quality nor in quantity, and a merry time the town has in disposing of the +good things which nominally they have provided for the guests from the +lower regions, but which they have arranged should be eaten by friends and +relatives who have been specially invited beforehand.</p> + +<p>It is the same with the theatricals. The highest talent has been engaged, +and the most amusing and comical plays have been selected from the actors’ +repertory, but whilst they profess to be moved by a desire to entertain +the ghosts, it is their own amusement and pleasure they are thinking about +all the time. “What would happen,” I asked a broad-faced, jolly-looking +Chinaman, “if the spirits were really to come and eat up the numerous +dishes that you have laid out for their special benefit?”</p> + +<p>“They would never have a chance of doing so again,” he promptly replied, +“for we should take very good care never to make any offerings to them +again in the future.”</p> + +<p>Whilst the great festivals provide large sources of recreation, there is +one other form of amusement that to the Chinese is most popular and most +fascinating, and that is theatricals. As these are expensive the common +people would never be able to indulge in them were it not the custom to +have them performed in the open air, where everybody that likes may come +and look to their hearts’ content, without being asked to contribute +anything toward the expenses.</p> + +<p>The birthday of an idol, for example, comes round, and to please it and +its worshippers, a troupe of actors are engaged, the stage is erected in +the large open space in front of the temple, and the performance is held +where the god can keep its eye upon it, and the whole neighbourhood can be +accommodated to witness the play. As the idol’s birthday is everywhere +known, there is no need to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> advertise, and so the people come trooping +from all directions with the certainty of having a most enjoyable time, +and of being made to forget the worries and cares of life in the living +drama that is depicted with such wonderful power by these native actors.</p> + +<p>A rich man wishes to celebrate his birthday, and of course to do that he +must have a play. A feast there will be as well, but there would be no +<i>éclat</i> and no jollity and no letting the whole neighbourhood know of the +happy event so well as can be done by having a good rousing performance by +some well-known actors, whose fame has travelled far and near.</p> + +<p>A stage is at once erected right in front of the great man’s door, and the +beating of a drum and the shrill notes of the fife advertise the +neighbours that the troupe has arrived and is at the point of beginning to +act. The news spreads like wildfire, and by the time the men have fairly +begun, people may be seen streaming in from all directions to witness for +nothing something that is inexpressibly dear to the Chinese heart.</p> + +<p>And this is not something that is to last merely for an hour or two. +Chinese plays are not such trivial things that they can be finished off in +so short a time as that. The men begin the production of some popular +comedy at noon. They play on till the evening is drawing near, when there +is an intermission of an hour or so for the actors and the people to cook +their rice. By the time this is finished, night has set in and the work of +the day is over. Great flaring lamps are lighted that defy the wind, the +drums are beaten, the shrill musical instruments fill the air with their +weird sounds, and men and women and children, carrying their own stools +with them, hurry with beaming faces towards what might be figuratively +called the “Palace of Delights,” and take up their position in front of +the stage to enjoy the scene that is going to be acted.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img24.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">ACTORS IN COSTUME.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 147.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>The hours pass by and the great lamps flare in the night wind, and the +actors, as they get more and more into the spirit of the comedy they are +performing, become filled with enthusiasm, and with impassioned gestures, +and with the very voices and tones of the characters they are personating, +keep their audience spellbound in their attention.</p> + +<p>The hours still move on, but the interest never flags. The rapid strokes +on the drum in some of the exciting scenes, and the shrill falsetto tones +of the actors, and the bursts of laughter as the crowd is convulsed by the +dry humour that runs through the piece, wake the silence of the night, and +people living near by, who could not leave their homes, are startled out +of their first sleep by the unwonted sounds that wake up the echoes of the +night.</p> + +<p>Midnight strikes, but there is no sign that the play is near its end, or +that the audience dreams of moving from the uncomfortable seats that each +one has extemporized for himself. The small hours begin to lengthen and it +would seem time for the women at least to be in their homes. The stern and +strict etiquette of the country forbids women to mingle with men, but when +a play is being acted, etiquette is flung to the winds, and the wives and +the young maidens sit on into unseemly hours, forgetful of the nation’s +ideals.</p> + +<p>The wind becomes chiller and the darkness of the East deeper and denser, +but still the merriment grows more fast and furious, when suddenly, as if +with the wave of an enchanter’s wand, a thin streak of light touches the +border of the thick curtain that has fallen on the world, and ere long the +dawn dyes the eastern sky with its colours and night begins to fly before +the coming day.</p> + +<p>This is the signal for the play to stop. The actors, weary with their long +night’s work, descend quickly from the stage, whilst the audience, with +pale faces and worn looks, hurry away to their homes to cook their rice +and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> prepare for a long sleep to make up for the loss of it during the +night.</p> + +<p>It has been a merry time for them all, and the blue feeling that had been +gathering round their hearts and made them have long faces and caused them +to be unpleasant in their homes, has vanished in the laughter that caused +them almost to split their sides. A celebrated humorist has declared that +if he could have but one laugh a month, the whole character of his life +would be changed. During the pleasant hours in which the actors beguiled +the time, they must have laughed scores of times, and the memory of those +jokes will linger in their brains for many a week to come, and make them +look on their sorry surroundings with a lighter and a more cheerful heart.</p> + +<p>I have in the above mentioned the chief source of amusement, but I have by +no means exhausted all that the Chinese have devised wherewith to while +away the hours that would hang heavy on their hands. There are tops and +kites, some of which represent birds fighting in the air, which old men +with hoary heads may now and again be seen flying as well as the younger +generation. There is also the popular game of shuttlecock, played not, +however, with battledores, but with the sides of the soles of the shoes, +and done so expertly that the shuttlecock will be kept flying in the air +for several minutes at a time. There is also Punch and Judy, and puppet +shows that have a fascination about them because of the ingenious and +marvellous way with which the operator causes the figures to imitate the +motions of actual life, simply by a deft movement of the strings attached +to their limbs.</p> + +<p>Another and less informal way of getting amusement is in gossip and +chatting with friends and neighbours. There is nothing stiff or formal +about the Chinese. It requires very little introduction to make people +acquainted with each other, and their powers of conversation are so great +that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> with apparently nothing to say they are able to talk and laugh and +spin yarns that make the time pass both rapidly and pleasantly.</p> + +<p>The Chinese are a humorous and jolly race of people and absolutely +misrepresented, excepting in their mere physical appearance, in the +popular pictures that appear of them on the tea-chests and in facetious +literature. If they had not been, they would not have borne the strain of +thousands of years of dulness and poverty and fierce struggles for +existence that have tried to crush all life out of them so well as they +have done. The position that they hold to-day in the Far East is a signal +proof of the vitality and the determined pluck that have carried the +Yellow race through the revolutions<a name='fna_2' id='fna_2' href='#f_2'><small>[2]</small></a> that during the past centuries have +rent and shattered the Chinese Empire.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> +<p class="title">THE FARMER</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Society divided into four classes—Farmers stand high in the +estimation of the nation—Poverty of the Chinese—Money lending and +borrowing—Small farms—Cause of poverty—Sell daughters to meet +debts—Farmers have to engage in various occupations to meet the +necessities of life—Some become coolies—Some chair-bearers—Some +emigrate—Chinese farmer second to none in the world—Implements +few—His knowledge of manures—Description of rice culture—Tried by +droughts—System of tenant farming—Method of paying their landlords.</p></div> + + +<p>In the four great divisions into which the Chinese have roughly divided +the whole of society, viz. scholars, farmers, artisans, and traders, the +one that holds the highest place for usefulness is undoubtedly the farmer. +The fact that the scholar is placed first shows the high estimation that +the nation has always entertained for learning. This is not a modern idea +that has gradually sprung up with the growth of civilization. It was +started at the very dawn of the country’s history, for the men that have +really been the moulders and fashioners of the Empire were scholars whose +writings still continue to influence the thoughts and habits of the +people.</p> + +<p>What Confucius thinks, no literary man, and much less the great unwashed, +would ever dare to dispute. In great moral questions the maxims he has +transmitted for twenty-five centuries are accepted by all as the very +inspirations of Heaven, whilst in matters of government and the guiding of +the affairs of the nation, the great principles that he and Mencius have +enunciated for the ruling of a people have been accepted by nearly every +ruler that has ever sat on the Dragon throne.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img25.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A FARM HOUSE.</p> +<p> </p> + +<p>It is for this reason that the only aristocracy that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> exists in China +is that of learning. Wealthy tradesmen or artisans have no right to become +members of it, and the only possible way by which they can enter the +privileged circle is by buying literary degrees and passing themselves off +as scholars. This is sometimes done when the Government is in want of +funds, for the rich merchants are willing to pay fabulous sums for the +honour they gain by being allowed to wear the hat and button of a +mandarin, and to attend receptions where only the literati are permitted +to be present.</p> + +<p>Next in rank and in importance are the farmers, who in their own special +line are no less honourable than the scholars. One of the great kings in +the remote times of Chinese history was a man who was taken direct from +the plough, to be a colleague with the famous Yau, a fact that has shed a +lustre upon the calling of the husbandman ever since. One of the very +greatest names in history was a farmer who subsequently sat upon the +Dragon throne, and the rulers of the various dynasties that since his time +have governed China, have all seemed to think that the farmer king has +left them a legacy in the land which was to be as much one of the glories +of the throne as any other that has descended to them through the long +range of the past centuries.</p> + +<p>Every year, as the spring time comes round, and Nature proclaims to the +world in the awakening of tree and herb and flower that she is going to +begin her work for the year, the Emperor comes out of his palace with his +retinue of ministers and high officials, and guides a plough across a +field that has been prepared for his royal coming. By this act he assumes +the leadership in the agricultural work of the nation, and just as he +stands on the sacred hill by the Temple of Heaven once in the year and +becomes the High Priest for his people, so in this annual ceremony he is +for the moment the supreme farmer that would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> invite the golden harvests +that are to be reaped by and by, and which will fill the homes throughout +the wide extent of his Empire with abundance and prosperity.</p> + +<p>The great mass of the farmers in China own their own land, which has in +the main descended from father to son for many generations, though in +consequence of the poverty of the people a very large amount of buying and +selling of farms is constantly going on all over the country. The +absolutely insolvent character of Chinese society is to the foreigner one +of the most remarkable features about it, and one that contains so many +perplexing elements, that after many an effort to solve it he drops it as +a puzzle to which he can find no answer.</p> + +<p>It may be assumed as an undoubted fact that fully seven-tenths of the +whole nation are in hopeless debt, from which they will never be able to +release themselves as long as they live. Another tenth owe money, and +though these have the means of freeing themselves whenever their bills +become due, the tendency to borrow seems to have become so inwrought into +the very blood and fibre of a Chinaman that he cannot resist doing so on +the least provocation. The remaining fifth are the men of means that have +capital at their disposal, and who are the money-lenders to any one that +can give the least shred of security that the interest and capital will be +forthcoming at the particular times that are agreed upon.</p> + +<p>But even these last are borrowers as well as lenders. No Chinaman would +ever dream of possessing money and not putting it out to interest. It +would be considered the sheerest waste to let it lie idle for a single +day, and so they are continually on the look-out for impecunious people to +whom they can lend with safety. In addition to this, he will borrow at a +certain interest, and then relend at a higher rate, and so money keeps +flowing backwards and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> forwards into his coffers, and though he loses +occasionally, his gains are so large and on the whole so certain, that his +wealth slowly but surely increases, whilst the seven-tenths I have already +spoken of become more and more hopelessly involved.</p> + +<p>There are several reasons why the farming population should be so much at +the mercy of the money-lenders, though it must be understood that these +are not a special class of people that get their living by letting out +money at any extravagant rate of interest. Every man or woman that has a +spare dollar, at once becomes a money-lender, so that the creditors to +whom they are in debt are those in the same position in life, but who are +fortunate in having a little more spare cash at their disposal.</p> + +<p>The smallness of the great mass of the farms is one great disposing cause +why their owners are always in such a perilous financial position. Under +ordinary favourable circumstances, these small farmers can work their +holdings so that they can make ends meet. Still, even then there is only a +very small margin left for the contingencies that this Eastern climate and +its great red-hot fiery sun are always producing. Should there be a +deficiency in the rainfall, and the rice be left in a waterless field, or +should the great typhoons blow with hurricane force, and the flood-gates +of Heaven be opened so that the growing crops shall be beaten down and +submerged beneath the deluge of waters, then indeed the condition of the +farmer is pitiable in the extreme.</p> + +<p>There is no resource left them but to borrow, and with the fatal facility +of the Chinese for adopting this plan to relieve their immediate +necessities, they resort to it with a carelessness of spirit that is +perfectly astonishing to a Westerner. An Englishman, for example, with an +ordinary sense of honour will shrink from borrowing money, unless he has +in his mind some definite plan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> of being able to repay it at some period +in the near future. A Chinaman’s mind being afflicted with turbidity is +not troubled with thoughts of this kind. He seems to be able to grasp but +one idea at a time, and that is that he is desperately pressed for money, +and that by bringing along the deeds of his farm, and depositing them with +a rich neighbour, sufficient money will be advanced him to meet his needs. +Beyond that he does not take the trouble to think, but he hopes that in +some indefinite way he will be able to pay the debt and redeem his deeds.</p> + +<p>The light and airy way with which a man will borrow sums that he must know +he can never hope to repay is most charming for its naïve simplicity, +especially when the high rate of interest that is demanded everywhere is +considered. Twelve per cent. is a moderate charge, and is asked where the +securities are of a first-rate character. Where these are slightly +doubtful, double amount is demanded and obtained, and even as much as +thirty-three per cent. is paid by persons who are in great straits, and +who wish to be accommodated for a short period of time. An ordinary farmer +that borrows at this ruinous rate of interest, unless he has a series of +exceptionally good years during which his crops have been most abundant +and luxuriant, can hardly hope to pay anything beyond that, and happy will +he be indeed if he has not occasionally to add some of the unpaid interest +to the original sum he borrowed, and thus add to the liabilities that he +is unable to discharge now.</p> + +<p>This widespread existence of debt, which I may say is just as prevalent in +the cities as in the rural districts, is the cause of a great deal of +suffering, especially amongst the farmers, and comes very heavily upon the +girls. A farmer, for example, borrows fifty dollars (£5) from a well-to-do +man, with the stipulation that fifteen per cent. be paid for the use of +the money. When the time comes for the payment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> of the interest there is +not a spare dollar in the house. The year has been a bad one, and sickness +has been in the home and medicines have had to be bought. The result is, +all the money that had been gradually put aside to give to the +money-lender has vanished. The creditor insists, however, upon being paid; +he will not be put off, and when he is assured that they have no possible +way of raising money before the taking in of the next crop, he quietly +points to their little daughter, that with the guilelessness of childhood +is amusing herself in her own childish, simple way, whilst the discussion +is going on with her father and mother, about the money that has fallen +due.</p> + +<p>This child is a sweet-faced little girl of about eight years old. She has +large black eyes, and a round fat little face, and a merry smile that +flashes across it and that gives it such a sunny look that she seems like +a sunbeam as she darts in and out of the house in the course of her +childish gambols. Both the father and the mother understand exactly what +the money-lender means by that significant motion, and without any further +discussion they promise that if he will come again in three days more, +they will pay not only the interest due to him, but the fifty dollars they +had borrowed from him.</p> + +<p>Next morning the little girl, who is their only child, is asked if she +would not like to go into the great city a few miles away, and see the +sights and buy some rare toys that she knows can be got there. She dances +for very joy at the idea, and after breakfast she sets out in high glee +with her father to see the wonderful things in that great town and to +bring back a present for her mother, who bids good-bye to her with +tear-dimmed eyes, and a weight upon her heart as she takes a last +lingering look at her little one that she knows she will never set eyes +upon again.</p> + +<p>Upon their arrival in the city, the father, instead of visiting the +toy-shops, makes his way to a large <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>imposing-looking mansion where a +wealthy family resides, and after some bargaining the little girl is sold +to them to become their slave, and to be their absolute property to treat +and dispose of as they may deem right. When this transaction is finished +and seventy dollars have been transferred to the father, he tells his +little girl, who has been looking with wondering gaze at the glories of +the house to which she had been brought, to rest awhile and he will call +for her by and by when he has seen to some little business that he has to +do in a neighbouring street. She little dreams as he goes out of the great +door that she will never see him again, and never more will her mother’s +eyes look down upon her with the light of affection beaming in them, nor +ever again will she see the flash of love illumining her face as she runs +to her with some childish grievance or some question that she wishes her +to answer. She is a slave now and has lost her freedom, and her new master +can dispose of her as he thinks best; and all this she suffers that the +debts of the home may be paid and the homestead may be saved from passing +into other hands.</p> + +<p>The Chinese farms as a rule are small. This is almost entirely due to the +custom that prevails in China of the land being divided amongst the sons +when the father dies. The constant subdivision that has been going on +during the centuries of the past has resulted in the great diminishing in +the size of the holdings, and the leaving of many of the rural population +without any land at all.</p> + +<p>There are of course many rich landowners who have invested their capital +in land, and who have a superabundance of it. Where the native banks are +uncertain and the modes of investment few and precarious, it has been +found that to buy up farms brings in after all the highest interest, and +is more to be relied upon than any other method of disposing of surplus +funds.</p> + +<p>A large number of farms are just large enough to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> support a family, say, +of four or five people, but should the seasons be unfavourable, and the +crops be parched by the fiery-faced sun and gradually be scorched to death +in the fields, then sorrow comes upon the home, and the money-lender has +to be sought to give relief. A still more considerable number of farms are +too small even under the very best conditions to support the family. The +fields are too few, though cultivated with the deft and cunning hand of +the Chinese farmer, to produce food enough for the home, and so plans have +to be thought of by which the deficiency may be met, and food and clothes +provided for the wife and the little ones.</p> + +<p>It is this widespread condition of affairs that has made the farmer in +this land one of the handiest men in all the four great divisions into +which society has been divided. The pressing needs of his home, and the +absolute necessity for some mode of increasing his income if he would keep +it together, have taxed his wits to the very utmost, and consequently have +developed his thought and his ingenuity.</p> + +<p>Some of them open little shops, where they sell miscellaneous articles +that do not require a large capital to the neighbours and others who do +not care for travelling as far as the neighbouring city to make such small +purchases. Others, again, who have no money whatever to invest in even +such small enterprises as these, start for some great centre of trade and +there act as coolies. They become the beasts of burden of the whole city. +Their muscles have been toughened by toil on their farms and their minds +have been developed in their struggle with nature, so that they become +valuable auxiliaries in doing the heavy work connected with the business +of the town.</p> + +<p>The favourite resorts of these farmers that are striving to keep a home +above their heads, are the great shipping ports, where foreign vessels +bring their cargoes from the four corners of the earth. Here labour is +abundant and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> better paid, and consequently the chances of saving money +considerably greater.</p> + +<p>In Shanghai, for example, and Hongkong, the two greatest shipping ports in +this extreme East, it is intensely interesting to watch how the farmers +flock to them, to do the rough and dangerous work of loading and unloading +the steamers and sailing ships that come in almost daily from their ocean +voyages. Thousands of them congregate on the wharves and jetties waiting +to be called off to the ships that are lying in the stream. Usually they +are a rough-looking crowd, and, judged by a similar class of men that are +seen in our home ports, they would seem to be of a much inferior character +to those that we are accustomed to see there.</p> + +<p>They are poorly clad, and their clothes are of such an unpicturesque +description and so badly fitting and usually so full of patches, that they +give one the impression that they must be the very refuse of the +neighbourhoods from which they have come. If they were Englishmen, we +would call them loafers and tramps who had gathered round the dock gates, +not really to get work, but to pose as members of the unemployed in order +that charity might be doled out to them.</p> + +<p>But every man there is a <i>bona fide</i> farmer, who has so studied the +mysteries of nature that he is able to wring her secrets out of her, and +cause the fields to be covered with luxuriant crops. They nearly all have +farms, and the wives and children are working them whilst they are away, +and living on the barest subsistence that will keep body and soul together +until they return with their hard-earned gains to drive away the wolf from +the door, and to satisfy the inexorable money-lender, who will have +nothing less than his pound of flesh.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img26.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A HARBOUR SCENE<br />(HONG KONG).</p> +<p> </p> + +<p>And bravely do the men toil at the work that is to bring independence to +their homes. Down in the deep <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>holds of the great ships, with but small +intermissions the livelong day, the huge bales of goods are swung by +sturdy arms that seem made of iron into the lighters alongside, and at +last as the sun shows signs of setting, the men wipe the dripping +perspiration from their faces, and with laughter and jokes that show the +unconquerable pluck of these brave fellows they quit their work for the +day.</p> + +<p>Other farmers, again, have heard of the golden legends that have been +wafted to them from the Straits and Java and Borneo, and from Sumatra, +which have told of the fortunes that are to be made there by men who are +willing to work. Those lands are to the Chinese what the fabled country +that was said to contain the Golden Fleece was to the Grecian heroes that +set sail to gain possession of it for themselves. They feel that if they +linger in their homes, poverty and hunger must be the lot from which there +is no escape, and so, leaving their farms to be worked by the women, they +set their faces towards the setting sun, and with their brains dancing +with visions of fortunes that they are to discover there, they start on +the long journey, in the hopes that in a very few years they will return +with money sufficient to pay off their debts, and with enough left to +enable them to live in comfort the rest of their lives. And so the lands +that lie about the equator, and the countless islands that look straight +up at the sun, and the Malay Peninsula, where the forests cover the land +and countless myriads of mosquitoes sing their high-keyed songs, men from +the great Empire of China abound throughout them all. They make the roads, +and they dig in the tin mines, and they pull the jinrickshaws, and they +seem to be the great workers everywhere. Who are these men that thrust +themselves so prominently upon the notice of the stranger and the +traveller? They surely must be the refuse of the land from which they have +come, for here they are the hewers of wood and the drawers of water.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> They +are nothing of the kind, for nearly every man you see is a farmer in that +great Empire of China, and through the stress of poverty and the desire to +save his home from distress, he has come to do any work, no matter how +menial, that will enable him to accumulate enough to return to his beloved +home to bring succour to those who are enduring whilst he is away.</p> + +<p>The farmer is truly the handy man of China, for he seems to be able to +turn his hand to almost anything, and to succeed fairly well in whatever +he touches. He can turn sailor at a moment’s notice, and he seems as +familiar amongst the ropes and in the management of the helm as he is +amongst the growing grain, that appears to recognize his presence and to +rustle and whisper with gladness as he passes unconcernedly with the air +of a master down through its midst. All the great fleets of boats that +cast their shadows upon the mighty rivers of China are manned and worked +by farmers, who, when their voyages are over, return home it may be for a +shorter or longer period, and aid the wives in the management of the few +fields, that they manage with the same tact and cunning touch of hand as +their husbands would do were they not compelled to go afield to earn +something to eke out the scanty produce that they are able to get out of +their farms.</p> + +<p>The stranger from abroad travelling by the native boats that sail, say, up +the Yangtze for a thousand miles or more, is struck with the intelligence +and activity and pleasant, sociable character of the men that work the +boat. He is with them for weeks together, and he admires the quiet, +efficient way in which they manage the sails, or get out on the bank and +tow her against the stream when there is a head wind or perhaps a dead +calm. He never once suspects that they never spent any time as apprentices +in learning their business, but that every one of them, even including the +captain, is a born farmer, and that his real<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> vocation is to till the +lands that his fathers have transmitted to him.</p> + +<p>A picnic party is organized to ascend a mountain that rears its lofty head +above the plain that lies at its feet. The gentlemen can walk, but the +ladies must have sedan chairs to carry them up the narrow pathways trodden +by the feet of the buffaloes, and by those of the woodcutters who climb up +high on the hillsides to cut down fuel for the homes in the villages +below. The ordinary chair-bearers accustomed to carry on the level roads +would be no use on these rough and rocky ribands of pathways, that only +men who are surefooted and have the wind to mount up steep inclines could +travel with safety.</p> + +<p>In this emergency a number of farmer lads are engaged, and though they do +not carry the chair as scientifically as the regular carriers, they will +fly up the steepest hill, and jump over chasms, and surmount boulders in a +way that these latter would never attempt. The process is a little rough +and one is apt to get somewhat shaken, but there is never any danger of +the men falling or of their precipitating their fare over the edge of a +precipice into the yawning ravine beneath.</p> + +<p>Where the villages are near the great thoroughfares, the carrying of sedan +chairs is a very favourite method with the farmers of earning a few extra +cash to help to meet the expenses of the home. After the crops have been +gathered in, and the rush of work is over, they are accustomed to stand at +various points on the roadside, and watch for the coming of sedan chairs +that may be passing up or down. No sooner do they come opposite them than +they call out and ask the bearers whether they do not wish to engage some +one to give them a rest for a few miles and to carry their burden for +them. If the men they address have been carrying for some hours and have +grown weary, negotiations ensue which end in their dropping the chair on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +the road, and its being hoisted on to the shoulders of the new men, who, +full of vigour and anxious to get their job finished, rush on like +racehorses over the rough, uneven road.</p> + +<p>The payment for this toilsome labour is of the most meagre and +unsatisfactory description. One day I was travelling over one of these +great thoroughfares, and the men that were carrying me were becoming +somewhat exhausted. The road, which had been very much left to nature to +repair, was in a shockingly bad condition. It ran, moreover, through a +very hilly country, and sometimes it wound up the sides of hills, and +again it descended by rough, circuitous windings into the valley far +beneath. The men had the greatest difficulty in keeping from falling. The +chair on their shoulders was heavy, and the road was strewed with stones, +and tiny waterways that the rains and the streams from the hills had cut +into it had to be jumped. Very often I had to hold my breath in terror +lest in passing over the face of a sloping rock the men’s feet should +slip, and I should find myself rolling down the hillside into a miniature +rapid that fretted and foamed as it whirled and tossed in its wild career +towards the plain below.</p> + +<p>My two bearers, who would have trotted along on an even road with only an +occasional grunt, or a muttered expression as to the hardness of their lot +in life, broke into expressions of disgust as the various difficulties of +the way came one by one upon them; still they struggled manfully on, till +finally we reached a small oasis in the hills, where a few houses +embowered amid splendid banyan-trees offered refreshments to the +travelling public as well as to our panting, perspiring chair-bearers, who +dragged their weary limbs under the shadow of the great boughs of the +trees, and dropping the chair in the middle of the road, threw themselves +utterly exhausted and worn out on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> benches that had been provided for +those who intended to purchase refreshments before they proceeded further +on their journey.</p> + +<p>After sitting for a moment listless and drooping, with apparently no +strength to utter a word, one of my men held up his hand deftly fashioned +into the shape of a bowl, when the shopkeeper, who had kept a keen eye +upon the newcomers as possible customers, at once dipped out a bowlful of +steaming rice from a huge cauldron that was kept on the boil, and placed +it within the bowl-shaped fingers with a pair of chopsticks laid across +it, ready for the immediate use of the weary coolie. At the same time he +placed before him a tiny little platter in which were some nicely browned +strips of fried bean curds to act as appetizer to the rice, and to arouse +his flagging appetite.</p> + +<p>After a few minutes of solemn stillness, when the only sounds that were +heard from the weary men were the music of the chopsticks and the +satisfied sighs as the rice was driven down their throats by the two +“nimble boys” (a pleasant title given by the Chinese to the chopsticks), +the faces of the men began to lighten up. The weary look vanished, smiles +covered the yellow visages, and soon jokes were cracked and bantering +language was tossed from table to table, until the air rang with the +echoes of their laughter.</p> + +<p>At this juncture two farmers stepped out from a number who were hanging +about in a listless fashion, and asked my men if they did not wish to hire +for the next stage, which was about three miles long. At first they +pretended that they did not, but that was simply bluff and intended to +knock the price down. After some noisy discussion, the men said they would +carry for forty-five cash. It must be remembered here that one cash is the +thousandth part of two shillings. My men objected that the sum asked was +extravagant, and offered ten less. Another wordy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> contest ensued, when the +farmers came down to forty, whilst my men came up to thirty-eight.</p> + +<p>Both sides refused to budge an inch, so my chair was once more hoisted +upon the shoulders of the chair coolies, and we issued from beneath the +branches of the banyan into the glare of the great sun, and the weary +march along the toilsome roads was once more begun. We had proceeded on +our journey fully a third of a mile, and the whole incident had passed +from my mind, when loud sounds of voices calling out were heard behind. In +an instant my men let the chair slip from their shoulders on to the road, +and stood quietly within the bamboo poles, as though they were expecting +some one. “What is the matter,” I asked, “and why do you stop?” “Oh,” one +of them replied, with a twinkle in his eyes, “the farmers have consented +to carry you this stage for thirty-eight cash, and so we are going to have +a rest.”</p> + +<p>By this time the men had come up, and putting on their straw sandals to +protect their feet from the rough stones, tightened their girdles, twisted +their tails round the crowns of their heads, and tossing the chair on to +their brawny shoulders, they started with a run on their three-mile race. +They might have been chair coolies all their lives, considering the easy +manner in which they manipulated the chair, and the perfect way in which +they kept step, and yet they were simple farmers, whose lives are spent in +the cultivation of the soil, but whose poverty has compelled them to +devise some rough methods to enable them to drive the wolf from their +doors. Some idea of the strain that has been put upon them may be gathered +from the fact that these men were willing to carry me for three miles and +walk back the same distance for the trifling sum of thirty-eight cash, +which was to be equally divided between the two, and which would thus give +each one a little under a halfpenny.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>The Chinese farmer stands second to none in all the world. It would seem, +indeed, as though nature recognized in him a master hand, and that she +responded to his touch, and poured out her riches in willing obedience to +a mind that understood her and had learned her secrets. There is nothing +in the world of agriculture that a Chinese farmer does not +understand—that is, as far as the products of this land are +concerned—and he seems to know the peculiarities of each, and their moods +and their whims, and to be able to coax them to show their best face when +the time of the harvesting comes round.</p> + +<p>This is all the more remarkable since he has really so few implements with +which to work the marvels he produces. These are the hoe, the plough, and +the harrow, and beyond these the Chinese farmer never dreams of desiring +any other. The first of these seems never to be out of his hands, for it +is the one upon which he relies the most, and the one that is really the +most effective implement that he possesses for the cultivation of the +soil. It really takes the place of the spade in England, though the latter +is never put to such extensive and general uses as the hoe. The Chinaman +can do anything with it but make it speak. A farmer well on in years can +easily be recognized amidst a number of working men by the curve his hands +have taken from holding the hoe in the many years of toil in his fields +with it.</p> + +<p>With it, if he is a poor man and has no oxen to plough the ground, he +turns up the soil where he is going to plant his crops, and with it he +deftly, and with a turn of his wrist, levels out the surface so that it is +made ready for the seed. With a broad-bladed hoe he dips to the bottom of +a stream or of a pond, and he draws up the soft mud that had gathered +there, and with a dexterous swing he flings the dripping hoeful on to his +field near by to increase its richness by this new deposit. The stump of a +tree will send<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> out its roots wandering for moisture underneath a choice +little plot where his potatoes are growing, and the farmer feels that +these are an infringement upon the rights of the plants that look to him +for protection. He seizes his hoe, and with a few sturdy strokes of its +keen, sharp edge driven into its very heart in a short time the stump has +vanished, and the roots have ceased tapping the moisture that the potato +tubers require for their own growth.</p> + +<p>But it would take up too much space to describe all the thousand and one +ways in which this truly national implement is used by the farmers of +China. It is quite enough to say that without it they would be left quite +helpless, and if the agriculture of the country was to be carried on, some +other implement equally serviceable would have to be devised to take its +place. The plough and the harrow are of secondary importance to the hoe, +but still they occupy a prominent position in the agricultural economy of +the nation. They are of course antiquated, for they have come down from +the remote past untouched by any inventive genius during the long +centuries that have elapsed since they were devised in the early dawn of +Chinese history. To alter them, or even to make a suggestion that they +could be improved in any way, would be such a monstrous heresy that the +nation’s hair would turn grey, and would cause the spirits of their +ancestors such misery and shame that there is no knowing what calamities +they might send upon the Empire to avenge their wrongs.</p> + +<p>The ability of the farmer in this country is measured by the crops he is +able to produce. China is an old country, and for countless generations +the teeming populations have had to get their living out of the land. +There is no rest given it, for one rarely sees any of the fields being +allowed to lie fallow in order to give them time for recuperation. The +pressure of the hungry mouths is upon it, and to satisfy the needs of the +people they must go on indefinitely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> producing sustenance for them. It is +here where the genius of the Chinese farmer comes in. If hungry stomachs +can only be satisfied by a supply of food, so the impoverished, famished +land can be made to bear the strain upon its resources by putting into it +a liberal supply of manures.</p> + +<p>This, after all, is the true secret of abundant crops. The land, in the +South of China at least, is mostly of a poor and indifferent character. +Along the courses of rivers and in the alluvial valleys it is rich enough, +and produces splendid crops year after year. But when you get beyond +these, and come into the hilly regions, you touch upon territories that +are exceedingly reluctant, excepting when they are liberally supplied with +manures, to produce crops that are worth the gathering.</p> + +<p>The Chinese farmer has no scientific knowledge as to how he should best +develop his farm, but he knows by experience that unless the land is +coaxed and petted with an ample supply of manures, no acquaintance with +the art of farming will avail to cover it with the harvests that will keep +his family from hunger, and that will still leave a margin to be sold in +the market to bring enough to meet the incidental expenses of the home.</p> + +<p>The list of fertilizers in China is a very brief one, and bones and +beancake are two important ones in it, but the one that stands the first +and foremost in the estimation of the farmers throughout the country is +nightsoil. This is the one that is universally used because it is the +cheapest, and also because it is the only really available one. The system +by which that important manure is collected and distributed is a +thoroughly perfect one, and ages of practice has made the managers of this +intricate business so well up in it that there is never any hitch in it. +The towns and cities, and any place indeed where a considerable population +has collected, are so relieved of their accumulations that the Government +is never called upon to interfere, nor are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> sanitary inspectors ever +appointed to see to their cleanliness or to prevent the people from +suffering from insanitary conditions.</p> + +<p>A regular trade is carried on between the towns and the farms that lie in +all directions around them in this particular manure, and the farmers’ +wives, who are the principal carriers of it, will come into town in the +early morning and carry it miles away to their houses in all directions +throughout the country places. On one occasion I had started out from a +large city of at least a hundred thousand people and had got a few miles +from it, when I overtook twenty or thirty young farmers’ wives carrying +their purchases in buckets slung on bamboo poles resting on their +shoulders, and a merrier set of women it would have been difficult to have +met with.</p> + +<p>They seemed quite unconcerned at the heavy loads they had to carry or the +miles that still lay between them and their homes, nor did they appear to +consider that there was any disgrace in having to perform the duties they +were doing. They seemed, indeed, to forget all about the toil they had to +endure, for they laughed and chatted and joked with each other till the +road echoed with the sound of their merry voices. The exercise, which was +severe, did not seem to fatigue them, for their eyes twinkled with humour +and their brown faces were covered with smiles, and they looked so good +humoured and full of pleasant thoughts that it was really a treat to look +upon them. Every day these women would come into the city until they had +carried enough to their little holdings to suffice for the crop they were +going to put in, and then they would have a respite until that had been +gathered and it was time to make preparations for the next one.</p> + +<p>In the South of China there are two great crops in the year, that absorb +the greater part of the energies of the farmers whilst they are in the +fields. These consist of the rice which is the staple food for all classes +of society, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> which occupies the place in the social economy of the +Chinese that wheat does in that of the English. The first is gathered in +July and the second in November, and from the time that the first crop is +put in during the month of April, until the second one is garnered, it may +be positively asserted that there is a continued tension on the mind of +the farmer.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img27.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">CHINESE FARMERS.</p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The planting of the rice is not the simple thing that the cultivation of +wheat is. This latter is sown in land that has been carefully prepared for +it, and after that it is left very much to nature to do the rest. The rain +falls, and the sun shines and the dews lay their diamond drops on the +growing grain, and the farmer looks at the miracles of changes that are +wrought upon it, until golden-hued he puts the sickle in and gathers it +into his barns. With the rice there is no such luxurious rest or waiting.</p> + +<p>He first of all sows his seed in a plot of land that is full of water, and +they fall into the soft oozy mud at the bottom and take root. As the +little spires pierce above the surface, they have the most exquisite +light-green that the eye has ever been pleased to look upon. They grow up +rapidly with an airy look about them as though they were conscious that +the farmer is depending upon them for the whole of his rice crop during +this season. They do indeed constitute the stock from which he draws the +materials to fill his empty fields waiting to be planted with rice plants.</p> + +<p>After they have grown to the height of five or six inches they are all +pulled up by the roots, and in little bundles of four or five they are +replanted in the larger fields that have been prepared for them, each +bundle standing apart from the rest about three or four inches. And now +the race of life begins with the several little bunches that have their +roots submerged in water, and their emerald pointed leaves looking up at +the blue sky. They started life together and grew up side by side, and now +marshalled in groups they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> are not rivals, but friendly competitors in the +race to show which shall give the best of beauty and power to the farmer +who is caring for them.</p> + +<p>From this day until the hour when they are cut down golden-hued, there +must be no faltering in the care that is bestowed upon them. The water in +the field must always be kept up to a certain level, for should that fail +the serried ranks of rice would soon show how keenly they felt its loss, +by their drooping heads and distressed-looking manner, as the great sun +beat down upon them, and seemed to paralyze them with his scorching rays. +Water must be led in some way into the field, or if there is a stream +running close by, the endless water-wheel must be set in motion until +little rivulets have flowed in, and the gaping cracks in the mud are +closed up, and the thirsty roots have drunk their fill, and the drooping +stalks once more stand up erect and look the sun in the face without +flinching.</p> + +<p>Every now and again, too, the farmer must walk between the marshalled +ranks and with his hands tenderly feel at the roots of each separate bunch +of the growing rice to remove any impediment there may be to the free +access of water to them. These roots seem like spoiled children that need +petting and coaxing and humouring in order to be willing to send up the +vital forces through the stalks above so as to help them to produce the +healthy heads of grain that are to give delight to the farmer when he +comes to gather in the harvest.</p> + +<p>In addition to this precious crop that needs so much attention, the +cultivator has others that claim his thoughts and time. These are the +beans that are used in the manufacture of soy and in the making of bean +curds that are considered so important as condiments to be eaten with the +rice. There are also the sweet potatoes which in some of the poorer +counties are the staple food of all but the well-to-do. There are also +various kinds of vegetables which the Chinese are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> most expert in growing, +but the cultivation of these is considered as pastime when compared with +the incessant care and labour that have to be bestowed on the rice crop +from the very first day that the seed is cast upon the waters until the +moment when the fields are allowed to run dry, and the golden-hued stalks +rear their heads in the air with no more anxiety as to whether the rain +shall ever fall again or not.</p> + +<p>The one element that causes the farmer most distress in his cultivation of +the rice is the uncertainty of the weather. When the rainy season has been +one in which abundance of rain has been poured down upon the earth, so +that the fountains that lie beneath the wells and close by the ponds are +filled to overflowing, then his mind is comparatively at rest. He knows +there is a perennial supply that can constantly be drawn upon, when the +water begins to ebb away in the fields where the rice is growing. Should +the showers that the thunderstorms pour down occasionally from the clouds +that gather so quickly in the sky come with any kind of regularity, his +mind is still more relieved, and he can think with equanimity of the day +that is coming when he will gather his precious crop into his garner.</p> + +<p>Such an experience, however, as this is not one that falls very often to +the lot of the anxious farmer. The rainy seasons are apt to be capricious, +and to withhold the rich stores of rain and moisture without which not +only his rice, but his beans and his potatoes will be scorched in the +field and will wither and perish before his very eyes. It is pitiful to +watch the efforts that he has to make to try and preserve his crops from +destruction when the year is a dry one.</p> + +<p>The days go by, and every morning his first looks are towards the hills +around which the clouds have gathered during the night. There seems a +great promise in the dense masses that have gathered around some lofty +peak,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> and it is hoped that to-day at last, after weary days of expecting, +the rain that is to save the crops will come down in abundant showers. The +sun by and by rises in a great red orb of scorching heat, and his rays +flash as though they had come straight from a furnace, and they touch the +clouds that have taken refuge on the hills, and slowly they vanish into +thin air and are gone.</p> + +<p>Another day of heat, and the sun in a cloudless sky draws up the water +that is standing at the feet of the rice, and he looks upon the ponds and +they dissolve in vapour, and he touches the vines of the sweet potatoes +with his breath and they turn pale with anguish, and the tubers within the +ridges wither up and die for want of moisture. Days and sometimes weeks of +this go by, till one wonders at the vitality of nature that can endure +such a fiery ordeal and have anything left to tell the tale.</p> + +<p>It is on such occasions as these that the profoundest grief and sorrow are +felt by the farmers. The dried-up ponds are dug still deeper to reach any +reserve of the precious fluid that may have sunk below the surface, and in +order to secure that none of that shall be absorbed by the sun, they carry +on their operations about the hours of midnight, when the air has become +slightly cooler, and when every drop of water can be saved for the dying +crops near by. It very often occurs that the farmers of a whole district +will be out in the dark nights, and with their hoes are busily engaged in +turning up every available spot of ground to discover whether there is any +water below. Where the ponds border on each other’s fields, the fiercest +struggles will frequently take place for the possession of the discovered +treasure, and the night air will resound with the noise of battle, and +wounded men will be carried to their homes to add to the bitterness and +the grief that have already thrown their shadows there.</p> + +<p>In the earlier part of this chapter it was stated that in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> consequence of +the custom of dividing the farms amongst the sons and not handing them +over to the eldest, as is done in England, a great many of them are too +small to support even a small family, whilst many of what might be called +the younger sons are left without any land whatever. It has become the +custom with many such people to rent lands from others who have a surplus +of such on their hands. It is the custom for rich men to invest their +money in the purchase of farms, which they let out to others to cultivate, +and taking one year with another they find this is a very profitable way +of disposing of the ready money they have at their command.</p> + +<p>The system of letting out their lands is thoroughly Oriental and quite +different from that which is in vogue in the West. The landlords do not +charge any rent, but they share the produce with the tenant. This seems a +most equitable arrangement, for when the years are good both tenant and +owner mutually reap the benefit, whilst in the seasons when a scarcity of +rain prevents the ground from producing as much as it legitimately ought +to do, both parties share in the sorrow of diminished crops.</p> + +<p>The rule that prevails very generally is for the landlord to take half the +crop after it has been gathered. The tenant provides seed, manure, and +labour, and for his use of the land he hands over a half of all that it +produces. It is very interesting to watch the proceedings that take place +when the times comes for harvesting the various kinds of crops during the +year. The tenant, with his wife and sons, if he has any, repairs to the +field where the grain is ready for the sickle. It is a time of great +rejoicing, as it is in all countries, and the months of labour and anxiety +are for the time being forgotten in the joy of the golden grain that is +now waiting to be gathered.</p> + +<p>But another figure is there, who takes no share in the harvesting. He is +well dressed and does not have the air<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> of a farmer about him. He has +taken his seat on a bank or some place where he can keep his eye upon the +whole of the joyous proceedings that are being carried on. Upon inquiry we +find that he is an agent of the landlord, and has come to receive his half +of the contents of the field. He has bags with him to put his share in, +and when the rice is cut and at once threshed on the field, the half is +duly measured and handed over to him.</p> + +<p>By this arrangement all arrears of rent are avoided, and the distress of +feeling in debt to one’s landlord is never experienced by the farmers of +China. That their life is an anxious and a troubled one, I have shown very +fully, and that sometimes their crops are too small to meet the needs of +the family. These are inevitable in the very nature of things, but there +is one thing that they are never troubled with, and that is excessive +rents. Rack-renting is a thing from which they are mercifully preserved, +and it is one sign of the common-sense of the Chinese, and of their +instinct for fair play both for landlord and tenant, that the present +system was initiated ages ago, and is still carried out all over the +country.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> +<p class="title">A RAMBLE THROUGH A CHINESE CITY</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Peculiarities of a Chinese town—Narrow streets—Smells—Mean-looking +buildings—One storey—Description of a silk shop—Uncleanness the +rule—Sights on the streets—Itinerant kitchen—Crowds on the +streets—No rows—A mandarin and his retinue—Beggars—Fish +market—Shoe street—No public-houses—An opium den.</p></div> + + +<p>The sight of a Chinese city is something that one never forgets, for there +are so many features about it that are absolutely new, that our minds are +so impressed by what we see that a photograph of them is engraven upon our +memories that will never be erased. Our conceptions of a city are those +that we have gathered from those that we have seen in England, and we +picture to ourselves wide streets with pavements on each side, where the +foot passengers walk in comfort without having to jostle each other. We +see, too, in imagination lofty houses, built with a certain degree of +regularity and with taste about them. Cleanliness, too, is one of the +things that we remember as being associated with it, whilst policemen day +and night patrol the streets and preserve order amongst the people that +travel along them. Cabs, and trams, and omnibuses crowded with passengers +are the conspicuous objects that are to be met with in any moderate-sized +towns in the homeland.</p> + +<p>Now, all the above things are absent from any part of a Chinese city that +one may happen to visit in any portion of the Empire. This statement is +made with a good deal of confidence, for, unlike the cities of the West, +which all vary more or less one from another, the Chinese towns are very +much facsimiles of each other, and when you have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> seen one, you may +confidently assert you have a very true conception of what all the rest +are like.</p> + +<p>The ideal city was drawn in the brain of the designers and builders of the +first one in the remote and misty past of Chinese History, and the +spectacle evidently has seemed so sublime and overpowering to the +succeeding generations of Chinese that no original genius has appeared +since then to dare to suggest anything better. And so every city is built +upon the same model throughout the length and breadth of the land, and +whilst some are larger and more imposing than others, the plan of the +walls and the configuration of the streets, and the architecture of the +houses are pretty much the same everywhere.</p> + +<p>But here is a town close at hand, and so, without waiting to discuss the +theory of a Chinese city, let us boldly enter in and see with our own eyes +exactly what it is like.</p> + +<p>The first street we travel along gives us a shock.</p> + +<p>Instead of the broad and spacious roadway along which the traffic is +carried, we come into a narrow, dingy-looking artery which at its extreme +breadth is not wider than twelve feet, and even that is not all available +for the use of those that have to pass up and down it. The shopkeepers on +both sides have put out their counters, on which they expose their goods, +so that only five or six feet are left free for the use of the public.</p> + +<p>This particular street which we are now in is not an exceptional one, in +fact it is one of the principal ones in the town, and therefore is a very +fair sample of what the business quarter is like. If we were to diverge +down the side streets that run into it we should find them all much +narrower, more forbidding, more dingy and very much dirtier.</p> + +<p>We have not advanced far in our walk before we begin to be conscious of +peculiar odours that seem to be the heritage of the East. The air is never +fresh, but at corners<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> of the street and indentations in the houses, and +on the spots not actually in use, there are always accumulations of refuse +and garbage that fester in the sun and send out the most abominable +smells. But these are healthy and playful when compared with others that +now and again seem to strike one as if with a sledge-hammer and paralyze +one for the moment.</p> + +<p>These are caused by the foulness of the drain that lies underneath the +centre of the street. As the roads are so narrow and are occupied by +houses on both sides, the only available place for the drainage of the +city is right through the middle of the roadway.</p> + +<p>There is no Public Board of Works to superintend the construction of +these, and as the Chinese as a race have very hazy and elementary ideas as +to the necessity for drains of any kind, it may easily be imagined how +badly they make them. The result is that gases generate and evil smells +collect for which there is no escape excepting through the cracks of the +stone slabs that pave the streets. Never has there yet been a writer with +the genius to describe these. It is simply enough to say that they have +the concentrated essence of the ages in them. They trace back their +ancestry to the times that are lost in myth and fairy tales, and they +would look with disdain upon any of the modern smells, just as an +aristocrat that holds his title from the times of the Conqueror would gaze +with scorn upon some upstart, whose father sold soap and was knighted for +the wealth he had amassed.</p> + +<p>It is astonishing that the people that live in the houses near by are not +carried off by typhoid or other deadly fevers, but they are not. They +have, on the other hand, a lively, healthy look about them as though they +lived in some country place, where the air comes fresh from the mountain +near by and where they breathe a wholesome stock of ozone all the year +round.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>The fact of the matter is the Chinese have no belief in the word +infection. There is nothing in this huge cumbrous language to express the +idea of germ, bacillus and such like, and so when some terrible odour from +a drain that is seething and frothing in the sun, such as would knock off +the head of a water buffalo, the Chinese puckers up his nose for an +instant and then puts on that childlike smile with which he so often +adorns his countenance, and attends to his business without any more fuss.</p> + +<p>Now, this is one of the best streets in the town, and contains goods to +the value of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the wealthiest +merchants in the town have their places of business in it, and yet there +is not one to be compared with any ordinary shop that one meets with in +any of the ordinary streets that abound in our cities in the West.</p> + +<p>They have all a comparatively mean-looking appearance. They are only one +storey high and have no fronts in them. When the shutters are taken down +in the morning, the whole of the interior is at once laid bare to the +public gaze, and as only the poorer shops attempt to display the goods +they have for sale, one can see nothing but rolls on the shelves, and +drawers tightly closed, and a number of Chinamen lounging about in a free +and easy way, who are really clerks, but who act with a freedom that would +ensure them being packed off at a moment’s notice by any vigilant +shop-walker in a good business house in England.</p> + +<p>But here is a silk shop that it will be interesting to visit. It is one of +the best in the whole town, and it is said to contain specimens from all +the famous silk-producing districts in the Empire. It does not seem to +have anything in it, beyond what one sees lying on the shelves, carefully +wrapped up in paper as though the great purpose <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>was to conceal +everything from the gaze of the public. We find our progress impeded by a +large counter within which the clerks lounge about, and as purchasers are +never supposed to sit down, we have to stand on the outside of this, as no +chairs of any kind have been provided, not even for the women, when they +come to buy. Ladies of course never by any chance come out shopping, so +the great majority of the customers are men, and occasionally elderly +women of the middle class, who are not supposed to need to sit down.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img28.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A BARBER AND HIS CUSTOMER.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 16em;"><small><i>To face p. 178.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The appearance of a foreigner causes a commotion, and a +responsible-looking man steps forward with a hesitating manner, evidently +questioning with himself how he is to address you, since he knows nothing +but his own mother-tongue. You inform him, however, in Chinese, that you +have come to look at his silks, and at once his countenance clears, and a +look of pleasure flashes into his eyes and across the wide and expansive +area of his Mongolian features.</p> + +<p>The clerks, too, without any apparent restraint from their master’s +presence, crowd around and make remarks about your personal appearance, +and criticize your dress, and give their opinion about the way in which +you pronounce Chinese. In the meanwhile two or three have been dispatched +to an inner room, where the precious silks are kept, and they soon appear +with a dozen rolls or so carefully wrapped in paper, and tied with string +to keep the dust and the sunlight from getting to them.</p> + +<p>As each one is unrolled, you gaze with absolute delight upon the exquisite +colours that flash upon your sight. Here you have one piece of a delicate +creamy white, that seems too pure to be touched without being defiled. +Next to it is another of a beautiful rose pink, a colour that the +designers must have caught from some rose that had just opened its petals +to the sun, and so as the men deftly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> unwind the various rolls you have +displayed before you the whole array of colours that the Chinese weavers +have woven into their fabrics, and for the moment the unæsthetic-looking +Chinaman becomes sublimed in your imagination, because of the marvellous +power with which he has reproduced the various hues of nature in the rolls +of silk that are deftly unfolded before you.</p> + +<p>The silk you have been examining is of an inferior quality and will not +cost more than sixpence a foot, the standard measure with the Chinese, as +they know nothing of yards in any of their measurements. You ask to see +some of their more expensive articles, and soon the clerks return with +specimens from the looms of Canton, Hangchow, and Soochow, each with its +own distinctive characteristics, and so exquisitely beautiful that you +stand gazing upon them all with admiring looks, and with words that are +quite inadequate to express your high sense of the workmanship displayed +upon them. The amazing thing is to understand how the weavers, in their +poor tumble-down cottages, and with looms so cumbersome and antiquated +that they might have come out of the Ark, could have produced such +exquisite specimens of art as these rolls of silk undoubtedly are.</p> + +<p>We pass along this narrow unsavoury street, when we turn into one of the +smaller ones that run into it. The shops here are of a decidedly meaner +character, being inhabited by a much poorer class of people. In plan, +however, they are very similar to the ones in the street we have already +described. There are no fronts to them, and everything that goes on in +them can be distinctly seen and heard by the passers-by. There is this +decided difference in them, that the back part of the shop is the home of +the family that are carrying on the business, which is never the case with +the better ones.</p> + +<p>Fortunately the Chinese do not believe in the privacy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> of the home as we +do. They do not mind having the whole details of their daily experiences +seen by every one that cares to look. How they live, what they eat, and +even the family jars that we try and hush up from the public are things +that seem to be common property, and not to belong exclusively to this +particular family who are most concerned.</p> + +<p>The impression one gets from a look into these miserable homes is that the +Chinese idea of comfort differs essentially from our own, and that they +can put up with a vast amount of discomfort such as would drive an +Englishman mad. Their houses are filthily dirty and untidy. The wife after +a few weeks of married life loses the trim, neat appearance she had as a +young girl. She drops naturally into the slattern ways of the women who +are her neighbours, and ere long dust and dirt and cobwebs, and frowsy and +untidy garments, are the leading features of the home.</p> + +<p>It would be unwise to infer from this state of things that the Chinese are +unhappy, or that they are conscious that their surroundings have something +in them to induce melancholy or discontent. The ideal of the West is +cleanliness, a thing that the East never seems to aim at, or to even dream +of. This great city through which we are walking is an example of this +latter statement. Its streets are unswept from one year’s end to the +other. Heaps of rubbish festering and fermenting in the sun and exhaling +the most unpleasant odours meet you at every turn. The drains are badly +made and left absolutely to themselves until, choked up, they are opened +up for repairs, when the hidden compressed effluvia send their noxious +vapours into the homes around.</p> + +<p>The people are highly uncleanly in their persons. They never bathe, and +even in the homes of the rich the bath tub is an unknown luxury. The face +and hands are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> about the only parts of the body that on ordinary occasions +ever make the acquaintance of water. Their clothes, too, from a Western +standpoint, are anything but satisfactory. They are frowsy and wanting in +the crisp cleanliness that a liberal supply of soap and water impart to +them. There are always certain garments that are worn day after day and +week after week, that men never dream of cleansing in any way whatever. +The lower you go down in the scale of life, the more conspicuous is this +disregard of cleanliness, and yet it does not seem to affect either the +general health or spirits of the people. They are a laughter-loving race, +and jokes and funny stories and everything that would raise a smile to the +face find a ready echo in their hearts. The fact that they are surrounded +by dust and dirt and untidiness such as would put the shivers into any +ordinary Englishman, and dim for the time being the very light of life, +have no seeming effect upon this long-lived race.</p> + +<p>The people of this town appear to be endowed either with very good +appetites, or to have very defective arrangements at home for supplying +the wants of the inner man, for there seems to be an altogether +extravagant number of itinerant kitchens with food already cooked +stationed at various corners where the traffic is the greatest, to cater +at once to the public appetite.</p> + +<p>Here is one close at hand, and as we have a few minutes to spare let us +draw near and see what it is like. It consists of two wooden stands which +can be slung on to the ends of a stout bamboo pole and carried at a +moment’s notice in any direction that suits the owner. Where trade is +brisk at any particular spot, he remains there until his customers desert +him, and then, shouldering his miniature eating-house, he goes off at a +quick trot to the localities where the hungry are most likely to +congregate.</p> + +<p>On one of the stands there is a large rice pan which is filled with rice +that is kept just on the boil by a fire that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> burns underneath. The heat +must be so modulated that it will never blaze into a flame, for to allow +it to do that would be fatal to the success of the enterprise. The +Chinese, who are connoisseurs in the art of cooking rice, can never +tolerate it being boiled to a pulp. The grains must to a certain extent +retain their individuality, and though boiled to the very heart, there +must be no loss of that. The man who would wish to be popular must have +learned the secret of how to please the taste of the most critical. The +other stand is a kind of rough dresser, where the condiments that are to +allure a pleasant passage to the rice are tastefully set out. These are +salted turnips of a brown, leathery look, and the most popular, because +very cheap, of all the various articles that the Chinese eat with their +rice. There are also bean curds and cucumbers pickled crisp and juicy, and +celery and lettuce, and salted beans and plates of various kinds of fish, +and different kinds of soy, which are sprinkled with a sparing hand over +the bowl of rice to give it a flavour in order to induce an appetite with +the first sip that the customer takes of the savoury compound.</p> + +<p>It is interesting to watch the deft way with which the man fulfils the +orders that are given him. He first of all ladles out enough rice from the +pan to nearly fill one of the bowls that lies turned upside down on the +dresser. He then selects with his chopsticks a bit of salted turnip and +drops it into the very centre of the steaming rice. Then once more, with +the eye of a connoisseur, he picks up a bit of crisp pickled cucumber +about the size of a bean and drops it on the top. If his customer is +extravagant and is going in for luxuries, he selects a tiny sprat that +lies cooked and ready for use, and places it in a tempting position just +within the lip of the basin, and resting on the rice as though it were in +its native element. A little savoury soy is then sprinkled over the whole, +a pair of chopsticks are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> daintily laid crosswise over the steaming +compound, and the man whose mouth has been watering all the time this +process has been going on takes it with eager hands, and without any delay +proceeds to satisfy his appetite, and all for the modest sum of a little +over a halfpenny.</p> + +<p>Several men are seated on their heels round this peripatetic kitchen, +shovelling down with their chopsticks the good things contained in their +bowls. It does not seem at all strange to any one that they should thus in +the sight of all the passers-by and without tables or chairs be willing to +be seen eating on the public streets. The free-and-easy methods of Eastern +life, as well as the intensely sociable character of the Chinese mind, +make many things possible here that would be considered highly improper in +the West.</p> + +<p>The scene before us is a thoroughly Oriental one and in some respects a +very picturesque one. The narrow street only six feet wide, packed as it +were with human life, is a splendid place from which to view the various +items of which the life of the city is composed. Here is a scholar in his +long gown, threadbare and showing signs of decay. Amidst the crowd of +passers-by we should never mistake him for anything but what he is. His +face has that keen intellectual look that the students of this Empire +usually have. Though poor, he has a proud and haughty air, as though he +felt himself higher than any of the crowd that brushes up against him. +Coming close behind him is a farmer, rough and unsophisticated, with the +sun burnt into his face, and with the air of a man who never opened a book +in his life except the ancient one of nature which he has studied to such +a purpose that he can read her secrets and can extract such crops from her +as make his fields laugh for very gladness. Following on is a countryman +whose home lies at the foot of the hills in the near distance. He is +carrying a huge load of brushwood balanced on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> ends of a bamboo pole +slung across his shoulders, which he is carrying to the market to be sold +as firewood. He occupies more than half the roadway, and when he swings +his burden from one tired shoulder to the other, the width of the street +is only just enough to contain it. He passes along, however, at a steady +trot as though the town belonged to him. His loud cries, “Clear the way,” +“Get to the side,” “I’ll bump against you,” are uttered with an air of +authority as though some royal edict had given him the authority to take +possession of the road in this masterful manner.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img29.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A REFRESHMENT STALL.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 184.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>It is amusing to watch the good-natured way in which the ebbing and +flowing crowds yield to this man from the hills. Every one gets out of his +way, and even the scholar, with pride and contempt in his heart for the +unlearned masses, stands meekly at the side of the road and crushes +himself up against a counter to let the imperious seller of firewood pass +by. No thanks are given and none are asked, and as the tide of men close +up behind him, we can hear coming down the air, “I’ll bump you,” “I’ll +bump you,” “Go to the side,” “Fly, fly,” until the sounds so masterfully +given and so meekly obeyed are lost in the distance.</p> + +<p>In looking at this moving panorama there is one thing that is strikingly +conspicuous, and that is the good-natured, easy, tolerant way with which +they treat each other on the street. It would seem as though every man, +the moment he got on it, had determined that forbearance shall be the word +that should guide his conduct in his treatment of every one that he meets. +Just think of it: a roadway of five or six feet wide, along which constant +cross currents of people, of all kinds and conditions, are travelling, and +yet no collisions, or at least so rarely that they are not enough to be +quoted. Business men, clerks, coolies, opium-smokers, thieves and +vagabonds, country bumpkins and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> elegant and refined scholars, all with an +instinctive sense of the rights of others, yield to the necessities of the +road, and bear with infinite good nature whatever inconveniences may +arise, and treat each other with patience and courtesy.</p> + +<p>As we have been watching the motley crowds passing and repassing before +us, the man with the kitchen has been doing a roaring business. Customers +have come and gone with most pleasing succession, and the heap of cash +that he has received in payment for the savoury bowls of rice has grown +into a little mound, and as he looks at it his eyes glisten with pleasure. +All at once there is a sudden and mysterious change in his attitude. +Instead of standing with a benevolent look upon the group sitting on their +haunches round his eating-house, he becomes agitated, and hastily bidding +his customers to hurry up, he begins to make preparations for an immediate +move. The men gulp down their rice, the bowls are hurriedly piled up on +the dresser, and before one can hardly realize what is taking place the +kitchen has been shouldered, and he has disappeared at a jog-trot amid a +stream of people that have engulfed him and his belongings.</p> + +<p>Whilst we are wondering what it is that has caused this sudden panic and +collapse in a business that was so prosperous, we hear the clang of the +slow and measured beatings of gongs. Higher, too, than the voices around +us there comes trailing on the air, as though unwilling to leave the +locality from which it started, the sound of the word I-O in a crescendo +note, but which finally dies away in a slowly decreasing volume till it +finally vanishes in silence. There is now an agitated movement amongst the +crowds in the street before us. Some seem full of hesitation, as though +undecided what to do; others assume a perplexed air and look about for +some opening into which they may escape. A sedan chair, that comes +lumbering up with the shouts that the bearers usually indulge in to get +the people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> to make way for them, comes up, but no sooner is the sound of +I-O heard than the men hastily retrace their steps and disappear in the +opposite direction from which they were coming.</p> + +<p>The beating of the gongs, and the prolonged wailing sound I-O, in the +meanwhile advance rapidly in our direction, when all at once, all +indecision on the part of the passers-by vanishes, and every man flattens +himself up against the outstanding shop counters, drops his queue that has +been twisted round his head, lets fall his hands by his side and assumes a +look of humility and respect. The centre of the street is in a moment +deserted, and there bursts into view a mandarin with his retinue.</p> + +<p>The first members of it who come swaggering down the empty lane are the +men that fill the air with the sound of I-O, in order to warn the crowds +ahead of the coming of the great man. They are a most villainous-looking +set of men, and seem as though they might have been picked up out of the +slums and gutters for the special duty of to-day. At first sight one is +inclined to burst into a loud fit of laughter, for to a Westerner they +have a most comical and ludicrous appearance. Each one has a tall hat on +his head, shaped very much like a fool’s cap, but set on awry to meet the +contingencies of their tails that are twisted round their heads. This +makes them look like clowns that have come on to the street from some +neighbouring circus to amuse the populace. A closer look at them, however, +soon dispels that idea, for in their hands they carry long rattans, which +they wield menacingly as though waiting for a chance to let them fall +heavily on the shoulders of some unwary one who is transgressing the rules +of the road and thus showing disrespect to his Excellency. They have a +truculent look as they furtively glance over the silent walls of human +beings that line the roadway, and a discontented, sullen frown overcasts +their faces as they find no chance to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> use their despotic power on the +person of any unfortunate one.</p> + +<p>Immediately behind them comes another set of men, quite as evil-looking, +with chains in their hands. These have a proud and haughty mien, as though +the supreme authority of the town rested in their hands. Should any one be +unwise enough to dispute that for a moment, he would find himself +instantly bound and shackled, and bundled off to prison, where ample time +would be given him to review his temerity.</p> + +<p>Coming closely behind these scamps, the luxurious chair of the mandarin, +carried by eight bearers, fills the vacant space in the street. He is the +mayor of the town, and for all practical purposes the supreme power in it. +He is an ideal-looking official, for he is large and massive in +appearance, whilst he has that stern and uncompromising look that is +supposed to be necessary in any magistrate who would hope to keep his +subjects in order. He has a stern and forbidding aspect, as though he were +on his way to the execution ground to have some criminal decapitated. This +is the kind of air that the mandarins put on when they appear in public. +In the course of many years’ experience, I have never once seen any one of +them, from the highest to the lowest, with a smile on his face or a look +of sympathy for the people whilst he was being carried officially through +the streets. In a few seconds the procession has passed by, and the human +stream again flows along its ancient channel, and the life of the street +is once more resumed.</p> + +<p>We saunter along again closer to humanity than the most crowded city in +the West, except on some great festival, could let one have. The sensation +is not in every respect a pleasant one. The ancient odours of China assert +themselves and will be felt, whilst the aroma of unwashed garments and +persons that never used a bath, gives a delicate taint to the air that is +purely Oriental.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>But whilst moving slowly on and carefully guarding lest our feet should +trip against the uneven slabs of stone with which the road is so badly +paved, a strange procession of men catches our eye and at once arrests our +footsteps. We count them one by one, and there are just ten of them, as +gruesome and unsavoury a collection of human beings as could be made were +the whole city to be ransacked to find their equal.</p> + +<p>They are beggarmen, and are taking advantage of the privilege allowed them +by a custom that goes back into the remote past, of soliciting alms from +the shopkeepers on the days of the new and full moon. They are +perambulating the streets and visiting every shop that lies in their way, +and almost demanding from each their accustomed toll of one cash each. A +cash, I may remind the reader, is the one-thousandth part of two +shillings.</p> + +<p>They walk in a string, each man behind the other. The leading one in this +particular set is an old man, with wrinkled face and hair turned to grey. +His clothes are in rags and tatters, and so dirty that one would not care +to touch them even with a long pole. He is a thorough gipsy in look, and +there is a vigour about his sharp-set features and a flash in his +coal-black eyes that show him to be a person of considerable independence +of thought.</p> + +<p>Close behind him is another with his hand resting on his shoulder, and +depending upon him to guide him through the streets. He is quite blind, +and it is most pathetic to see how he raises his head up towards the sky, +as though the sun in some mysterious way could impart light to the deep +sockets where his eyeballs ought to be. Following close on his heels is a +jolly musical beggar, whose soul, amidst all his dirt and squalor, is +touched with the spirit of music. He has an old banjo, with two strings, +that he uses in his profession, and as he moves along his fingers strike +the chords, and the first notes of a Chinese ballad sound out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> with a lilt +that for a moment seems to relieve the tragic look that this weird +procession has.</p> + +<p>Behind this Orpheus of the band come several ragamuffin degraded specimens +of the begging fraternity, the last of whom holds a bamboo stick, which a +blind man, who brings up the rear, holds in his left hand to act for him +in the place of eyes. As each one comes to the shop door the owner stands +ready with a cash for each one, which he hastily puts into his hand and +motions him on.</p> + +<p>There is no attempt to evade this poor-rate which custom has decided shall +be paid. Were any man so mad as to defy the unsavoury crowd, he would soon +be brought to his senses in a way that he would not forget for many a long +day. They would stand around his counter till the cash was paid, and they +would in turns appeal to his pity, and then call down the imprecations of +Heaven upon his head because of the hardness of his heart.</p> + +<p>No one in the meantime would dare to come near his shop. His customers +would be so terrified by the dirt and smells of the diseased and unwashed +crowd that they would take their custom for the time being elsewhere, and +when, finally worn out by the noise and disorder at his door, he gave the +cash, he would find perhaps that some of his wares had been so damaged by +the mere presence of these filthy beggars, that he had lost far more than +he would have gained if he had come out victorious in his contest with +them.</p> + +<p>It is only on two days in the month that the beggars are allowed the +privilege of collecting their tax from the shopkeepers, for these latter +have originally compounded with their king for a regular payment, which +prevents them from being annoyed with their visits at any other time. As +soon as the amount has been settled a printed form, with the picture of a +gourd on it, is pasted over the door, and no beggar will dare to approach +it for the purpose of asking alms. There are many specimens of humanity in +China<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> that, through destitution and in the bare struggle for existence, +have to go through want and hunger and intense suffering both of mind and +body, but for real degradation and acute acquaintance with the pains and +penalties of poverty there is no one to be compared with the beggarman in +this land. The beggar in the West is a royal personage when compared with +him, clothed in purple and fine linen, and living sumptuously. He is often +able to lay by money, and cases have been not infrequent that when he has +died sovereigns and bank-notes have been found stitched in various parts +of his garments.</p> + +<p>Such an experience in China is absolutely unknown. A beggar here is really +poor, and always close up to the border line across which is starvation. +Besides, he is nearly always diseased. A beggar, except he is a wandering +minstrel, would fail to charm the solitary cash that is usually thrown at +him, unless he had some glaring disease that would excite pity. The +stock-in-trade of the begging fraternity is some hideous sore, or twisted +legs or sightless eyes, or some abnormal deformity that disqualifies the +person from gaining a living by manual labour. And then, too, the hovel +into which he crawls when night drives him from the streets is something +unspeakable for its wretchedness and discomfort. The beggars’ camp is +filthy, and so unsavoury that it may never be pitched within the precincts +of the city, but is always erected in some open space outside its walls, +where its smells and abominations may not contaminate the rest of society.</p> + +<p>As we wander aimlessly along, only anxious to witness the sights that an +Oriental town gives in such striking contrast to the cities of the West, +we come upon a street where there is an unusual bustle, and a sound of +many voices and loud tones, as though men were quarrelling. One accustomed +to Chinese life would never make the mistake of imagining from these signs +that there was any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> trouble going on. They are simply evidences of +increased activity. The Chinese are fond of noise and high-toned speaking, +and clash of voice, and bawling to each other. They have absolutely never +properly learned the art of whispering. Two men are carrying a heavy +burden on a common bamboo pole through the streets, and they shout in a +rhythmical strain that can be heard a hundred yards in the distance. A +play is being performed, and from the very beginning to the end, the drum +keeps beating and the cymbals clash, and drown the actors’ voices at those +points where it would be supposed the greatest silence would be required. +And so in many other things, it would seem as though noise were an +essential for the performance of any effective work in China.</p> + +<p>The sounds we hear are evidences that we have come upon one of the busiest +streets in the town. It is the fish market for the whole city, and as we +move slowly along it we begin to understand how it is that such loud tones +caught our ear a minute or two ago. Here are great brawny fellows with +sleeves tucked up, and the sea breezes, as it would seem, blowing on their +faces. In loud voices, as though they were trying to outbellow the roar of +the storm where the fishes were caught, they cry up the superior quality +of the catch they are displaying for sale. Others are chaffering with +their customers, for no true Chinaman ever gives the price that is first +asked of him, and with jest and banter he gradually comes down to the sum +which he finally means to take.</p> + +<p>The very best fish in the whole town are to be found in this street, for +the moment that the fishing boats come in from sea, the very choicest of +their catch is hurried off by men who are interested in the trade and +brought to the dealers here. It is interesting to stroll along and watch +the ingenious way in which the fish is presented in the most attractive +way to the various kinds of purchasers.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>Here is a heap of the less expensive kind such as the poorer classes can +afford to buy. They look like magnified sprats, and a man stands by and +continues to sprinkle them with salt water, and he does this in such a +deft way that they present a sparkling appearance as though they had just +been brought out of the sea and were fresh and full of life. Close by are +some splendid mackerel that were caught this morning, and they lie with a +stiff and dignified air, as though they resented being laid out here to +the public gaze. Some of them have already been cut into slices and +customers are trying to beat down the dealer to a more reasonable price. +It is noticeable that the most of those who are bargaining for the fish +have brought their own steelyards to weigh their purchases, as they +evidently have no faith in the honesty of the one belonging to the shop.</p> + +<p>Further on we notice a young shark, that seems very much out of place, and +altogether plays a mean and inglorious part for an animal that takes so +conspicuous a place amongst the dwellers in the sea. Close beside it is a +native fish that evidently has been too long out of the water to add to +its market value, and so it has to be doctored to induce customers to look +upon it with favour. To carry out this idea, it has been cut in two, and +the ends have been ingeniously smeared with pig’s blood to make it appear +to the uninitiated that it has only just ceased to live, and the red +streaks show where its own life-blood has just ceased to ebb out. Yet this +simple and childlike deception is plain to every one that comes to buy, +and no one is taken in by it. It is one of the devices of the trade, that +some clever scamp invented in the past when the forefathers of the race +were more ingenuous and more easily taken in than men are to-day, and so +the trick is kept up, in order that the inventor of it, wherever he may be +to-day, may not “lose face” in the eyes of his descendants.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>After we emerge from this busy and unsavoury market, where the odour of +decaying fish mingles with the national and purely Chinese exhalations of +the drains, which here are peculiarly foul, we turn into a narrow street, +where the passengers are few, and the shops have a dull, semi-respectable +look about them. They have no counters outside of them, and so the whole +street, which is about five feet in width, is entirely available for foot +passengers. We discover to our astonishment that every shop in it sells +shoes. It is in fact the great centre of the shoe trade for the town, and +also for the country districts for many miles outside of it.</p> + +<p>At first sight it would seem that this placing of a considerable number of +shoe shops side by side would interfere with the trade of each, but the +Chinese think differently, and the result has proved that they are right. +Instead of diminishing the business of each it has had actually the very +opposite effect. When people want shoes, they have not to wander all over +the city in search of a shoemaker. They make their way to this particular +street, the first shop that takes their fancy they step into, and they are +soon served with what they require.</p> + +<p>This plan is especially serviceable to the countryman, who looks upon the +town very much as a country bumpkin does at home, when he leaves his +fields and green lanes for the busy streets of a great city. He wants a +pair of shoes, say, for his wedding day, and the village shoemaker has not +sufficient style to suit him for such a great occasion. He must go away to +the great city where the latest fashions in shoes are to be found, and +where he can purchase a pair that will be the envy of every young man who +shall attend the joyful ceremony. But how amid the maze of narrow streets +shall he find a shop where he shall be able to make his selection? He +would be lost in the windings and intricacies of the labyrinths along +which the streams of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> human life pour incessantly the livelong day, and +in inquiring for such he might be recognized as a greenhorn by some +sharper, who would soon relieve him of his spare cash. The fact that the +shoe shops are all in one street renders it easy for him to inquire his +way there, where without delay he will be served with the very article he +requires.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img30.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A STREET SCENE.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 194.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>In our stroll through the city, there is one feature about it that has +been most noticeable, and that is its freedom from rows and disorders. It +contains fully two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, and yet there +is not a single policeman patrolling any of its streets during either the +day or the night. No doubt this is due in a large measure to the +law-abiding character of the Chinese. They are essentially peacemakers, +for not only do they avoid breaking the peace themselves, but they also +exert themselves most vigorously to put an end to any row that may be +started amongst others. The result is the disgraceful scenes that often +disfigure the streets of the West are of very rare occurrence in any of +the cities of this great Empire.</p> + +<p>There is no doubt but that one potent reason for this is the absence of +the public-house. Fortunately that is an unknown institution in this land, +and consequently the mad excesses and wild disorders and terrible rows +both in private and on the public streets that are the result of the use +of alcohol are never seen anywhere throughout the country.</p> + +<p>Whilst we have been sauntering around, we have noticed one particular kind +of building that differs from all the others about it. It is not a private +dwelling-house, and yet it has none of the signs that it is a shop, where +goods of some special description may be purchased. Its front is not open +like those next door to it so that the public can see what is going on +inside. Its aim, indeed, seems to be to conceal from the passers-by the +movements of the people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> within, whilst at the same time intimating that +any one that likes to enter may do so freely.</p> + +<p>Every window is closed up so that one can get no glimpse of what is going +on behind them. The door, indeed, stands wide open, but hanging about two +feet in front of it is a bamboo screen that effectually guards the secrets +of the house. Any attempt to peer inside will be ineffectual, for the +utmost that can be seen beyond the sentinel screen is the posts of the +door that are but the outer works of the fortress beyond.</p> + +<p>As we stand speculating why this house and others that we have seen of a +similar character during our stroll should be so different from the rest, +a man approaches in a furtive manner, with head cast down as though he +were ashamed, and glides in a ghost-like manner into the opening behind +the screen and vanishes into the dark interior. We caught but a glimpse of +him, but what we did see did not favourably impress us. His clothes were +greasy and dilapidated looking, and his face wore a leaden hue as though +his blood had been transmuted by some chemical process into a colour that +nature would never recognize as a product of her own. He was a man, we +should judge, that we should not care to have much to do with, for there +seemed to be a shadow on his life, and he was not anxious to get into the +sunshine where men could have a good look at him.</p> + +<p>Hardly has he disappeared when a man still in the prime of life, with +slightly stooping shoulders and the same dull colour in his cheeks and on +his lips, advances quickly to the screen, dives behind it, and except for +a momentary shadow that falls upon the doorway, disappears at once from +sight.</p> + +<p>We begin to speculate as to what kind of a place this is that pretends to +have a huge secret from the public, and what is the nature of the goods +that it supplies to men that have one characteristic at least that seems +common to them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> all. It cannot be a pawn shop, for the two men had no +parcels with them, and besides, the “Uncle” in China does this business +openly and hangs no screen in front of his door to conceal his operations +from the public. Whilst these thoughts run through our own mind, a young +fellow of about twenty hurries up with an impetuous rush as though he were +racing to catch a train, and after a quick glance up and down the street +plunges behind the screen and is gone.</p> + +<p>Our curiosity is excited. This man differs from the two that preceded him +in that he has no leaden hue, but the evident desire to avoid being seen +going into the place is just as strong as it was in the case of the others +that came before him. We feel we must investigate, and so we cautiously +get within the screen and peer into a dimly-lighted room that lies right +in front of us. No sooner have we got to the doorway than a sickening, +oppressive odour at once reveals to us the secret of the place. It is an +opium den.</p> + +<p>We advance into the room and the fumes are so dense that we feel inclined +to retreat, but we are inquisitive, and we should like to have a glimpse +at what at the present moment may be called the curse of China. We find +the owner seated in front of a little desk where he keeps the opium all +ready for the use of his customers. In the dimly-lighted room and in this +dull and drowsy atmosphere he seems just the man to preside over a place +where men lose their manhood, and where the ties of nature and of kindred +dissolve before the touch of an enchanter that no writer of fairy stories +has ever had the genius to imagine.</p> + +<p>His face is thin and emaciated and his Mongolian high cheek-bones jut out +like rugged cliffs that have been beaten bare by the storms. A leaden hue +overspreads his parchment-like skin, and his eyes have lost their flash +and are so dull and listless-looking that they might have been made with +balls of opium fashioned by some cunning hand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> to imitate the creation of +nature. His fingers are long and attenuated and stained with the dye that +the opium has put into them, and they are deftly measuring out into tiny +little cups, in anticipation of coming customers, the various amounts that +he knows by experience each may need.</p> + +<p>With a ghastly smile that would have suited a corpse he invited us to be +seated, for he knew at a glance that we were no opium smokers, but had +wandered in simply out of curiosity, and with no intention of smoking.</p> + +<p>As we complied with his request we noticed that the three men who had +preceded us were already curled up, each one on his own particular bench, +busily manipulating the opium and with infinite pains thrusting it with a +knitting-like needle into the narrow opening in the bowl of his pipe. He +then held it close to the flame of a small lamp, and as it gradually +melted, he drew a long breath, and the essence of the opium travelled in a +cloud to his brain, while at the same moment he expelled the smoke from +his mouth.</p> + +<p>“You do not seem to be particularly busy just now,” we remarked, as we +noticed a considerable number of empty benches in the room, all set out +and ready for immediate use.</p> + +<p>“No,” he replied, “this is our slack time, as it is still early in the +afternoon. We shall have to wait till night falls before our regular +customers will begin to drop in, and then we shall be busy until the small +hours of the morning. You know,” he continued, “that the ideal time for +the opium smoker is the night time, when the duties of the day are over, +and when, free from care or anxiety of any kind, he may dream and while +away the hours under the soothing influence of the pipe.”</p> + +<p>“How is it, then, that these three have come so much earlier in the day +than is the custom with opium smokers?” we ask him.</p> + +<p>“Oh! these are exceptionally hard smokers,” he replies,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> “and so they +cannot wait for the usual evening hours when the others assemble to allay +the craving that comes upon them. Look at that young fellow over there, +with what feverish eagerness he is filling his pipe and taking in long +draughts of the opium. When he came in just now he appeared to be wild +with pain and every bone throbbed with agony, and every joint seemed as if +it would dissolve amidst intolerable suffering.</p> + +<p>“The man on the next bench to him is one of the heaviest smokers in the +town, and can take as much as would poison two or three beginners. He has +smoked over thirty years, and now he seems to have lost all will of his +own, and all ambition for anything, excepting the one passionate desire to +get the opium when the craving creeps into his bones. At one time he was +fairly well to do, but now he is a poor man. Everything he possessed was +gradually disposed of to get him his daily amount of opium. His business +of course was neglected and failed to support the family. By and by he had +to sell his little son to get money to satisfy his craving, and when that +was spent he disposed of his wife, and now the child is in one part of the +town and his mother in another; and a happy release it was for them both,” +he added with a grim smile, “for the man is hopeless and could never have +supported them.</p> + +<p>“Opium,” he continued as he fixed his lacklustre eyes upon me, “is an +imperious master and treats its subjects like slaves. It first of all +comes with gentle touch as though it were full of the tenderest love for +man. Then in a few weeks, when it has got its grip upon the man, it shows +itself to be the cruelest taskmaster that ever drove men to a lingering +death. It knows that no one in the world can allay the intolerable craving +that comes over a man’s life but itself, and as though it were playing +with a man’s soul, it demands that before relief is given the dose must be +increased. It has no pity or remorse. It will see the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> home wretched and +the girls sold into slavery, and the boys calling another man father, and +the wife in the home of a stranger, rather than remit a single pain or +give one hour’s release from the agony with which the opium tortures both +body and soul.</p> + +<p>“By the way,” he added suddenly, as though the subject were too painful +for him and he had been rehearsing his own life’s experience, “is it not +true that opium was brought to China by you English? How cruel of your +people,” he said with a passionate flash in his eyes, “to bring such +wretchedness upon a nation that never did them any wrong!”</p> + +<p>The subject had taken an unlooked-for turn, and in that dimly-lighted room +and with three men lying with ghastly upturned faces on the benches and +the man gazing with ghoul-like features upon us, we felt that the opium +question had entered upon a tragic phase that we were not prepared to +discuss. Bidding the man a hasty good-bye, we passed out of the reeky, +vile-smelling room past the screen, and into the open air, and though the +ancient aroma of China was in it, it seemed as though we had got into the +green fields and the fresh breezes were blowing over us, and we had +escaped from a prison where we should have been stifled with a poison that +would have killed us.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> <a name="coffin" id="coffin"></a></p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img31.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">CARRYING A COFFIN.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 201.</i></small></span></p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> +<p class="title">HADES, OR THE LAND OF SHADOWS</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Death a great problem that has been studied by the Chinese—Attempts +to solve the mystery—Conception of the Dark World—A counterpart of +China—Story of the scholar—Other life a continuation of +this—Doctrine of retribution—Metempsychosis—Modifications of this +great doctrine possible—The stories of the witch—Happiness of the +dead influenced by the condition of the graves—No babies in the Land +of Shadows.</p></div> + + +<p>The great problem of death is one that has oppressed the Chinese people in +all ages with its profound mystery, and has cast its shadow upon the +thought and life of the nation. The great sage of China, Confucius, +discoursed eloquently upon Heaven and its great principles, and has left +on record statements about it that cause those who can read below the +surface to see in the picture he has drawn a dim and shadowy vision of the +true God. He discoursed also about the duties of life and the human +relationships with such broad and statesmanlike views that twenty-five +centuries have passed by since they were first penned, and yet the Empire +accepts them to-day as the very inspiration of genius.</p> + +<p>The subject of death was one that he would never discuss. He had evidently +pondered over it, but had found it too full of mystery for him to grapple +with, and he was too honest to pretend to be able to lay down any rules by +which the anxious seeker could find comfort when he came to stand face to +face with this grim enemy of our race. One of his disciples said to him +one day, “Master, I venture to ask you to tell us something about death.” +Confucius replied, “Whilst we do not know sufficiently of life, how can we +know anything about death?”</p> + +<p>A most pathetic commentary on the national feeling of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> helplessness with +regard to the question of death is seen in the graves that form so +conspicuous an object in any landscape that may be seen in any part of +China. The overwhelming population that must have peopled the plains and +valleys and mountain sides of this great country may in no uncertain +manner be estimated from the prodigious number of tombs that project +themselves upon one’s attention everywhere. The one marked feature about +every one of these is the utter absence of any indication that the living +have any conception of where the dead have gone to. The gravestones are +absolutely silent on this point. In Christian cemeteries they speak with +affection of those that are gone, and they predict a joyful union in the +future, whilst some of them at least declare with confidence the happy lot +in the unseen world of beloved ones that have been snatched away by death +from those who have been left mourning their loss here.</p> + +<p>A Chinese tombstone is usually stereotyped in the cold and dreary +statement it has to make about those who lie beneath it. On the top is the +name of the dynasty or of the place where the person was born, then in a +perpendicular line in the centre of it is the sex and family name of the +deceased. To the left, in smaller letters, is the name of their sons, and +positively nothing else. There is no loving record of their virtues, and +no hope expressed as to any meeting them in the future. They seem to have +dropped completely out of life, as far as any mention is made of them. It +is true that in the worship at the graves on the “Feast of Tombs,” and in +the ancestral temples on the anniversary of their death, they are spoken +to as though they were still living; but they are approached on those +occasions not in the loving and affectionate way that was done when they +were alive, but rather as spirits that must be propitiated in order to +send blessings on their former homes, or coaxed into good humour so as to +cause them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> to refrain from hurling calamities upon the friends whom they +have left behind them.</p> + +<p>But whilst death is a secret that none may fathom, it has not led men to +give up in despair the hopes of solving it. The Chinese, whilst feeling +themselves unable to find out what lies behind it, have built up a +mythical and yet at the same time a very human conception of what the +“Shadowy World” is supposed to be like. Having nothing to guide them in +their thoughts but the world of matter around them, they have imagined +that Hades is an exact counterpart of China, and that it has its emperor +and great and small mandarins, and provinces and counties with exactly the +same names that these have in the actual and visible lands of the +Celestial Empire.</p> + +<p>That this is the conception of the thinkers and writers of this country is +evident from one of the fairy stories contained in a popular work which +gives a large number of exciting and wonderful incidents where the fairies +are the principal actors in the stirring events that are recorded.</p> + +<p>In this it is told how that a certain scholar became seriously ill, and it +became evident that unless some great change took place, he would soon +die. As he lay in great pain and weariness on his bed, a man of stately +and dignified appearance, and one that he had no recollection of ever +having seen before, suddenly stood in the doorway of his bedroom, and, +saluting him with a pleasant smile, invited him to rise and go with him. +“I have a horse outside ready to carry you,” he said, “and I want you to +accompany me on a journey that I wish you to take with me.” “But I am too +ill to get up,” the scholar said. “I feel so weak that I can hardly lift +my hand, and to attempt to travel would certainly end in failure.” “Oh! +no,” gently said the stranger, who was really a fairy, “with my assistance +I think you will be able to manage it,” and taking him by the hand, he +tenderly raised him from the bed and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> led him with slow and faltering +footsteps into the open space in front of the house, where a white horse, +beautifully caparisoned, awaited his coming.</p> + +<p>No sooner had he mounted on its back than his disease seemed in an instant +to vanish from him, and he felt himself light-hearted, and with a keen +appreciation of the beautiful scenery through which they were passing. It +seemed, however, very singular to him that he could not recognize ever +having seen it before. It was all new and strange, and it had a beauty and +a fascination about it that he had never experienced in any of his +previous travels.</p> + +<p>After some hours, they came to a magnificent city, whose walls towered +high like those that might belong to the capital of an empire. Passing +through one of its lofty gates, he noticed how wide its streets were, and +how crowds thronged them, though they seemed shadowy and unreal, and there +was a silence and a gloom about them that he had never seen in any city +that he had ever visited before. After winding in and out through these +spacious thoroughfares, they came at last to what seemed to the scholar +like a royal palace, so grand and imposing was its appearance.</p> + +<p>Entering through its massive doors, and ascending numerous flights of +stone stairways, he was led by his guide into a magnificent +reception-room, where a number of what looked like mandarins of high +official rank were sitting as though they awaited his coming. The chief +one amongst them had a kingly air about him, and it seemed to him that he +strongly resembled the pictures he had often seen of the King of the +Shadowy World. Pointing him to a seat close by a table on which were paper +and pens and ink, and at which another scholar was seated, a subject for +examination was given them both, upon which they were to write an essay.</p> + +<p>As soon as they were finished they were handed up to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> the royal-looking +personage, who after carefully examining them both, decided that the one +written by our scholar was decidedly the best, and was worthy of the +highest commendation and praise. “In consideration of the talent you have +shown, and your evident ability to do useful service for the State, I +appoint you to be the prefect in a certain city in the Province of Honan,” +said the kingly president.</p> + +<p>The scholar now realized for the first time that he was really dead, and +that the noble-looking man that had been examining him was after all the +King of the Shadowy World. Trembling at the truth that had just burst upon +him, his thoughts flew back like a flash of lightning to his widowed +mother, and, rising from his seat, he pleaded with passionate earnestness +with the King to give him back his life and allow him to return to earth +and live as long as his mother, so that he might comfort and care for her +in her declining years.</p> + +<p>His Majesty was deeply moved with this exhibition of filial piety, and +turning to one of the men sitting on the bench asked him to bring him the +“Book of Life and Death,” in which the destined hour of every human +being’s life was recorded, in order that he might see how many years the +mother had still to live. Turning to the page where her birth and death +were recorded he found that she had still nine years to live.</p> + +<p>Turning to the filial son he said, “Your prayer is granted, and for nine +more years a fresh lease of life will be given you, and the man who has +been examined with you to-day shall act in your place as prefect, till you +can return and take up your post in Honan.”</p> + +<p>This is a very pretty story, and we could wish that it were one that was +founded on fact. The reason for quoting it here is to show how the other +world is considered to be the exact counterpart of this, only life there +is filled with gloom, for the shadows of a sunless land rest upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> every +department of society, and take away the joyousness and the hope that the +bright sun shining in a cloudless sky is apt to impart to men living in +this upper world.</p> + +<p>The conception that China should be the ideal that ought to be followed +when the “World of Shadows” was devised as an abode for the dead, has been +carried out not simply in the arrangement that has been made with regard +to its territorial and political divisions. Even society has been mapped +out on the same lines as those we see in what may be called the +Mother-country. The same businesses and callings are carried on by the +dead as those they pursued when they were alive on earth, for it is an +extraordinary fact that the inhabitants of the dark land have managed to +be clothed with the same bodies that they had when in life, and whilst +these are mouldering in the graves on the hillsides they seem in some +mysterious way to have regained possession of them when they reached the +other shore, and with the instinct of industry that is deep in the Chinese +race, they no sooner get there than without any loss of continuity they +begin to carry on the trades or professions that occupied them when they +were in life.</p> + +<p>The carpenter, for example, continues as soon as he can get his breath in +the other world his old trade by which he has been lately earning his +living. No one ever supposes that either enterprise or ambition will +induce him to desire to enter upon any other line of life. The blacksmith +with his brawny arms, and his muscles as hard almost as the metal that he +has been working on, will naturally find his way to the smithy, and in +that darkened land where only an evening light ever penetrates, the sparks +will again be made to fly, and the red-hot metal, which glows with a +brighter light in the subdued and gloomy atmosphere, will as of yore yield +to his sturdy strokes and take the shape that he has in his mind.</p> + +<p>The man in high position here will naturally gravitate,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> by a conservative +law that secures the continuity of life, into the same social position +there, whilst the men and women in the humbler ranks will just as +certainly move into similar spheres when they pass the narrow bourne that +divides the two lands from each other.</p> + +<p>There is, of course, a great deal of vague statement and often a +contrariety of opinion with regard to the other world and how things are +carried on there. In such a profound subject and where speculation only +can be relied upon for any thought upon the question, it is evident that +the popular beliefs must often be at fault to explain difficulties that +arise in the logical carrying out of any theories that may be held on a +matter of such vast moment to the countless millions of this Empire.</p> + +<p>There are certain leading ideas that men generally have about the World of +Shadows and the condition of the men and women there, and when they are +confronted with difficulties of details, they are either silent as to how +these are to be explained, or they boldly acknowledge that they can +suggest no solution to them, and they go on holding them precisely as they +did before the objections were raised. The turbidity of mind that is +constitutional in a Chinaman, enables him to accept theories which are +often in themselves self-contradictory, and in a Westerner would so shake +his faith in them that he would infallibly reject them before long. The +idols, for example, have so many vulnerable points about them, that these +have simply to be stated to be at once accepted, but this does not seem to +undermine the faith of their worshippers in them. They will laugh with the +objector, and will even suggest points that he had not thought of, and yet +they will be as earnest and devoted in their belief in them as though no +suspicion had ever been raised concerning them.</p> + +<p>In addition to the belief already stated that Hades is but a continuation +of the Chinese Empire in its social and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> political aspects and conditions, +there is another one, most mysterious and most fateful, that is held by +the masses, and that is that where retribution had not been visited upon +the transgressor in this life for the evils he has committed, it will be +meted out to him in full measure by the King of the Land of Shadows when +he comes within his jurisdiction.</p> + +<p>This is a Buddhist idea that came to this country with the idols from +India. It is true that the thought was dimly foreshadowed in the teachings +of the early sages, who declared that “virtue had its rewards, and vice +its retribution, and that if neither the rewards nor the retribution had +yet been meted out, it was because the time had not yet arrived for such +action.” It was seen, however, that good men often died in sorrow, and +their noble life had not been rewarded as the sages declared it would be, +whilst men who had passed their lives in the commission of great wrongs, +accumulated great wealth, had sons and daughters born to them, and finally +died without the prediction of the great teachers of the nation being +verified.</p> + +<p>The Buddhist doctrine about retribution in the next life filled up the +space that had been left undefined by the sages, and men everywhere have +accepted it as a solution of the difficulty. The teachers of this faith +are most emphatic in the way in which they preach it, and in many of the +Buddhist temples there are gruesome and realistic pictures of the various +kinds of tortures to which these men are condemned in the prisons or hells +that are kept in Hades for the special benefit of the men and women that +have violated the principles of Heaven during their stay on earth. These +are forcible reminders to the wicked and ungodly who will not repent and +abandon their evil lives, that even though they escape the consequences of +their misdeeds here, a day will surely come when in the prisons of the +Land of Shadows they will pay the full penalty for the wrongs they have +committed in their previous existence.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img32.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A BUDDHIST PRIEST.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 16em;"><small><i>To face p. 208.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>Now, it is evident that at an early stage in human thought, the idea of +men and women suffering such terrible torments in the prison-houses of the +under world touched men with infinite compassion, and a new doctrine was +conceived that was intended to mitigate the horrors connected with the +retribution for wrong-doing. This was the famous theory of metempsychosis, +which has permeated the whole of the East, and has made a permanent +impression upon every one of the native religions.</p> + +<p>Metempsychosis, as it is understood in China, declares that every adult +sixteen years after entering the Land of Shadows is allowed to depart to +be born again into some position on earth. There is a general release to +every one, good, bad, and indifferent, and once more they may return to +the upper world and be relieved from the pain and gloom of that sunless +realm.</p> + +<p>But even in this great act of mercy the ideas with regard to retribution +for evil and reward for virtue are sedulously maintained. The bad man who +is let out of the hideous prison in which he has been confined is not to +be allowed to escape the consequences of his previous vicious life. He is +allowed to return to the world again, but he will appear perhaps in the +shape of a pig or a dog, or some other of the lower animals.</p> + +<p>It is for this reason that the Buddhists are so opposed to the taking of +animal life. The animal upon whose flesh they are feeding may have been +when he lived before on the earth a notorious criminal, who for his +iniquities has been degraded by being transformed into, say, a buffalo. +Wrong-doing is a serious matter, and though released from the pains of +hell and allowed back again to earth, the criminal must pay the penalty in +the debased condition in which he is allowed to live once more amongst +men. A cock that is waking the morn with his shrill and defiant cries may +have been a man that a few years ago lived<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> in another part of the Empire, +and who for his wickedness has been condemned to take the shape of the +animal whose voice fills the barnyard with its echoes. It may take a good +many births before these two individuals shall have expiated the crimes +they committed, and shall be allowed again the dignity of appearing +amongst mankind on earth.</p> + +<p>Even in regard to the criminals who are undergoing the extreme tortures +that the King of the Land of Shadows knows how to inflict, the thought of +mercy comes in to break upon the monotony of their suffering. Every year +for the whole of August their prison doors are opened and their chains and +fetters are unloosed, the great entrance to the upper world is thrown wide +open, and they are allowed their freedom to wander once more at their own +will wherever they like throughout the whole of the Chinese Empire. So +firmly is this belief held by the people of this country, that during the +whole of their seventh month in every town and city and almost every +village in China, tables are spread out in the open with every ordinary +luxury that usually appeals to the Chinese tastes. There are roast +chickens and ducks, and ducks’ eggs, and a variety of savoury vegetables, +delicately cooked and browned, so that the very look of them makes the +mouth water. These are left for hours where only the blue sky looks down +upon them, and the hungry spirits that have been famished in their +prison-houses tearing up and down, with invisible forms, through the air, +feast and feast again upon the good things that the benevolent have spread +out for their use.</p> + +<p>The Buddhist Church has devised a system by which it can give deliverance +to the imprisoned souls without waiting for the seventh moon. They have +invented a service which is called “The breaking open the prison doors,” +and consists of chanting certain rituals, and going through a lot of +mummery, as the result of which the person for whom the service is +performed suddenly finds<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> the torturer stay his hand, the saw that had +been ruthlessly grinding through his limbs gently and tenderly removed +from his body, and with a polite bow he is ushered through the prison +gates into the Shadowy Land outside to wander at his own free will, until +the sixteen years are up, and he is reborn again into the world in that +particular shape that the King may think that he deserves.</p> + +<p>This process is a very expensive one and brings in a considerable revenue +to the Church, especially when the person who is incarcerated has wealthy +relatives on earth. This service reminds one of the practice of which +Roman Catholic priests were accused at the time of the Reformation,—of +professing, for a consideration, to lighten the pains and sorrows of those +in purgatory, which was one of the principal abuses denounced by the +Reformers in Germany in the sixteenth century, and has actually been said +to have been borrowed from the Buddhists.</p> + +<p>With regard to the men who have lived the average life, or who have +distinguished themselves for their nobility of character in their previous +state of existence, the King sees that they shall be properly rewarded +when they pass away from under his jurisdiction. Some of the more noted +are born to be kings or mandarins, or men with lofty titles that shall +bring them great honours and emoluments. Others, again, become sages or +statesmen and famous literary characters, whose writings will influence a +nation for many generations. The ordinary rank and file compose the usual +members of society that one finds throughout the towns and villages of the +Empire, and who are the steady law-abiding citizens upon whom the +Government mainly depends for the preservation of law and order.</p> + +<p>The usual time of sixteen years that the popular theory gives before a +person is again reincarnated into the world may in special circumstances +be very considerably shortened. A man or woman, for example, enters the +Land of Shadows<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> with a first-class reputation. In some mysterious way the +King knows his whole history and is prepared to treat him liberally. After +watching his conduct for some time, and marking that he still continues to +exhibit the same admirable features that made him a power before he died, +he hastens on his rebirth, considering what a loss society in the upper +world would suffer from his absence. He is therefore sent back into the +world, but never into the same locality from which he originally came. The +recollection, moreover, of the scenes and sights and strange mysterious +experiences that he passes through in that gloomy, sunless land are all +blotted out from his memory. No story is ever told of that life by any one +of the countless millions that have come under the sway of “Yam-lo,” the +Yama of the Hindoos and the mighty King of Hades, and though men have +implicit faith in the myth that the Buddhist Church has propagated, never +in the history of the past has any one hinted at any personal experience +that he has passed through in any of the many periods in which he must +have been a dweller in the land of gloom and twilight.</p> + +<p>There is, indeed, the story of an adventure connected with the Shadowy +Land that puts one in mind of the Greek hero, who went down to Tartarus in +search of his beloved wife who had been torn from him by death, but it +appears in a book of fairy tales, and as the writer was a man of a +romantic turn of mind no one is inclined to take his statement as sober +history.</p> + +<p>The story describes how a certain young man had become enamoured of a +certain damsel who had bewitched him with her black eyes and her +fascinating manners. He had seen her one day as she passed along the +street with some girl friends, and he had been so entranced with her +beauty, that he had fallen desperately in love with her. So fully had he +made up his mind that he could never dream of ever having any one else for +his wife, that he was making arrangements<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> to engage a middle-woman to +discuss the question of marriage, when he was told that the girl had been +taken suddenly very ill, and in a few hours she had died.</p> + +<p>The news distressed him beyond measure and almost broke his heart. +Pondering over his great sorrow he determined that he would descend into +the Dark World and try and discover in what part of China the woman that +he had fallen in love with would appear when “Yam-lo” decided to let her +return again to earth. With the licence of the romancer, the writer of the +fiction declared that he successfully accomplished his purpose, and that +the dread King, touched by the devotion he had shown, not only shortened +the time of residence of the girl within his dominions, but also managed +in some way or other to let him see the “Book of Life and Death,” where +the exact date of her rebirth was recorded and the locality where she was +to reside. The lover returned to earth, though the writer does not explain +how he could do that without a rebirth, which would have obliterated all +knowledge of the past, and would have quenched his passion for the girl. +At any rate, he leaves the Land of Shadows, and, guided by the information +he had obtained there, he proceeds directly to the new home into which she +has been born, and after various adventures that belong to the region of +fancy and romance she becomes his wife.</p> + +<p>No sober writer has ever dared to suggest that the men and women who have +travelled into the unknown and mysterious land where perpetual shadows +rest, and where the gloomy torture chambers for the unrepentant criminals +and transgressors of this world are to be found, ever whisper the secret +of what they have seen when they are once more born again into the world. +The mystery has been well preserved by the ages, and the Buddhist Church +has discreetly kept its own counsel about a matter that every one longs to +penetrate, but which countless multitudes for a thousand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> generations have +with absolute unanimity refused to say one word about.</p> + +<p>This is all the more remarkable because there is a most passionate desire +amongst the living to find out what the inhabitants of the gloomy land are +doing, and there is a class of women who get their living by professing to +be able to penetrate the mystery and describe what is going on there. +These persons resemble very much the Witch of Endor, who is recorded to +have called forth the prophet Samuel from the invisible world to predict +the calamity that was going to fall upon King Saul in the battle to take +place on the morrow.</p> + +<p>These women are utterly illiterate, and belong to what may be called the +lower middle class of society. They are shrewd and clever, and have a +rough persuasive manner with them that commands the belief of the less +intelligent women that resort to them to learn about the relatives and +friends that have been removed by death. There is the most profound faith +in their utterances, for though they do make mistakes and say things about +the deceased that are contrary to fact, they so often hit upon real facts +that the inquirer, astonished that they should know something that was +supposed to be a family secret, at once jumps to the conclusion that they +must certainly be inspired by the spirits.</p> + +<p>Some of the more famous of these witches are constantly being resorted to +by sorrowing relatives, so that they make a very comfortable living, +whilst a few lay by money and in time become quite wealthy. But I will +here describe one or two cases that have come under my own knowledge as +having actually occurred. A lady in respectable society had lost her +daughter, who was eighteen years of age. Both the girl and her mother were +devotedly attached to each other. The latter, anxious to know how the +loved one was faring in the dark country where no sun or moon or stars +ever shone, called in a witch that she might describe to her the condition +of her daughter.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>The witch having seated herself, the ancestral tablet that was believed to +contain the spirit of the dead maiden was placed upon a high table and +several sticks of incense were burned in front of it. The mother then in a +loud, clear voice called out the name of her daughter, her age, and the +date on which she had died, and she entreated her to come and reply to the +questions that the witch was now going to put to her.</p> + +<p>The woman, who had been sitting with a stern and stolid looking face as +though wrapped in spiritual meditation, now addressed the girl who it was +believed had obeyed the summons of the mother. “Is your name Pearl?” +“Yes.” “Did you die on such a date and were you eighteen years of age +then?” These questions are asked in order to identify her, and to prevent +her from being confused with any other vagrant spirit that might have +wandered here in order to play a trick upon her.</p> + +<p>“Now tell me,” the witch continues, “how are you in the world of darkness, +and whether you are happy in your life there.” “Oh! I am pretty well,” is +the answer that comes at once in reply to these questions, “but I cannot +say that I am very happy. I am continually thinking of how distressed my +mother is at my death. I know that she is thinking of me morning, noon and +night, and that her heart is full of sorrow because she feels that she +will never see me again. With regard to my condition in this gloomy land, +it is not all that I could wish, but it is on the whole bearable. I am +living in the house that mother had made for me and that was burned at my +grave, so that in that respect I have nothing to complain of.”</p> + +<p>The question of what friends she has made, is answered by the statement +that she lives very much alone and that she knows hardly any one, but that +her father, who came into the Land of Shadows some time before her, +occasionally visits her, though, singular to say, she makes no suggestion +about planning to live with him. It would seem from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> popular, though +somewhat vague ideas on this subject, that relatives keep strictly apart +from each other in that mysterious country, and though they do now and +again come and see each other, the intimate relationships that they +sustained with one another whilst they were on earth are almost entirely +broken off in that other country.</p> + +<p>Another very important question was now put to her, viz. “Do you find that +your grave is dry or wet?” and she at once replied that she has been quite +satisfied as far as that is concerned, for that her mother has evidently +taken great pains that the rain or running streams from the higher ground +above it shall not flow in upon it. It would seem that the Chinese hold +that in some mysterious way the condition of the dead is very largely +affected by the wetness or dryness of the grave in which they have been +buried. This explains the extreme care with which they select the spots in +which to lay their friends that have departed this life.</p> + +<p>There is a class of men called geomancers, who get their living by giving +their professional opinion as to the suitability or otherwise of plots of +land that people have in view to use as graves. There are certain +conditions that these must fulfil, or else they will be rejected. One of +these is that they must be dry. This specially the case in the South of +China, where a wet piece of land would attract the white ants, and in a +very short space of time the coffin would be eaten up by them, and worms +and noxious insects would then have free access to the body.</p> + +<p>But, independent of this disastrous result, damp seems to be a potent +factor that affects the happiness of the departed, which not only renders +their life more miserable in the other world, but which also induces them +in revenge for the want of care of the living to send all kinds of +misfortunes upon the homes they have left.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img33.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img34.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">CEMETERIES.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 216.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The mother at this stage asked the witch to describe <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>what her daughter +looks like. Taking a black cloth which is usually one of her +paraphernalia, she puts it on her head, letting it droop down over the +face, and getting into an assumed kind of trance, she begins in a slow and +solemn chant to describe the scenes that she pretends she sees in the Land +of Shadows. “The country that lies before me,” she says, “is a gloomy one, +and there is no sun to be seen. Shadows lie everywhere, and an air of +depression rests upon the hills and on the plains that stretch before my +vision. I see men and women passing up and down the roads, but they all +look like spectres, for there is no laughter on their faces, and no signs +of joy about them. They seem to be oppressed with a sense of their +desolate condition. But wait! here is the figure of a young girl standing +by a bridge looking into the sullen stream that is flowing rapidly and +with scarcely a sound underneath it. She is about eighteen years of age, +and though her face is pale and has caught the colour of the land in which +she lives, she does not seem to be in bad health. Her house, which is on +the bank of the river, is a very pleasant one and has a courtyard, a +guest-room, and a bedroom. She has a pleasant face, and one that could be +very sunny did she not live in so gloomy a country. She has a spray of +jessamine in her hair, and her dress is put on with exquisite taste.” “Ah! +that is my daughter indeed,” exclaims the mother. “Jessamine was her +favourite flower, and she was always so neat about her person, and had +such fine taste about her dresses,” and here, overcome with the sad +thoughts that filled her heart, her tears began to flow and she sobbed +forth the bitterness of her heart in words of anguish and despair.</p> + +<p>This was the end of the witch’s visions, and having received her fee of +about twopence, she went off with a smiling face to explore the mysteries +of the Land of Shadows for the benefit of other sorrowing ones whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> +sight could only reach to the scenes and people of this world.</p> + +<p>Many of the scenes in which these second-sighted women engage are really +most interesting, and supposing for the moment that the pictures described +are inventions of their own—which, of course, they indignantly deny—they +usually manage to import into them a fine sense of poetical justice that +one would hardly expect from minds so illiterate and so untutored as they +always possess.</p> + +<p>On one occasion a wealthy man invited one of these women to his home to +call up a vision of his father, who had died a few months before. It will +make the story more plain by explaining that the old man had been a +mandarin, who had been notorious everywhere wherever he had held office +for his avaricious, grasping disposition. His ability to accept bribes was +immense, and no case came before him but was finally decided not on its +own merits, but by the amount that either the prosecutor or the defendant +was able to give him.</p> + +<p>When he died he had a grand funeral, and houses and wives and concubines, +and male and female slaves, fashioned at great expense in paper, were +burned at the grave, which by some mysterious and unexplained way were to +follow him into the Land of Shadows, where he could set up house on the +same princely scale that he had been accustomed to on earth. Nothing had +been neglected that money could purchase to make his life in the Dark +World as thorough a success as it was possible to ensure, for in addition +to a complete suite of furniture and kitchen utensils, and the providing +even of a dog to guard the house from robbers, immense quantities of +ingots of gold and silver, and piles of dollars and copper, all in paper, +were dispatched by a fiery way into the land of gloom to prevent him from +suffering any hardships that money could prevent.</p> + +<p>It was felt in his late home that everything had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> done that religion +or money could suggest, for not only had every convenience for living a +high-class life been lavishly provided, in paper, but Buddhist priests had +been engaged to perform the most elaborate services to deliver him from +the pains and sufferings of the infernal prisons, in case Yam-lo should +have decided to have him imprisoned in one of them. These last had cost +them thousands of dollars, which they had willingly spent, however, since +they had been solemnly assured by the priests that their relative had been +safely delivered from the horrors of the gaol in which he had been +confined.</p> + +<p>The witch having arrived, the ancestral tablets of the deceased mandarin, +elaborately carved and chased with gold, were placed on a magnificent +black wood table. Incense sticks were then lighted, and the usual +questions identifying the spirit were asked and satisfactorily settled. +This preliminary is a very essential one, for it has often been discovered +that the inhabitants of the Land of Shadows retain many of the +peculiarities of character that they had in the land of the living, and +the witches are frequently taken in by vagrant spirits, who assume the +name of others in order to obtain the offerings that are being presented +to their friends in the other world.</p> + +<p>The witch being satisfied that the spirit of the dead mandarin was really +in the tablet before her, asked him if he was happy in the dark land, when +it burst out into sorrowful complaints about the utter wretchedness of the +life he was leading. Yam-lo, because of his exactions and disregard of the +claims of justice when he was a ruler, had condemned him for his sins to +be a chair-bearer, and his days were now spent in the severest toil, and +at night he was tortured with cold, for he had not enough clothes to put +on to keep out the damp air that struck a chill into his very bones.</p> + +<p>“But did you not receive the mansion I burned for you,” broke out the son +in an excited tone, “and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> servants, and the thousands of gold and +silver, that would have enriched you until you were released from that +terrible land by being born again into the world of men?” “I have received +nothing of all the offerings you made me,” the father replied, “for Yam-lo +intercepted them, because my life had been such a bad one, and he declared +that I deserved to suffer misery and degradation; and so I am working as a +chair coolie, bearing hardships and sorrow every day of my life.”</p> + +<p>“And is there nothing we can do for you?” asked the son. “Yes, there is +one thing that will be of great service to me, in my present miserable +condition. Buy two hundred pairs of straw sandals, such as chair-bearers +wear, and send them to me at once; also a few rain hats to keep me from +the wet. My feet are cut and lacerated with the rough roads, and I am +continually wet through with the rain that seems to be always falling in +this gloomy land, so that my life is one continued misery.” With the +promise that these things would be burned and sent to him, the <i>séance</i> +ended, and the family were left to mourn the sufferings of the man who had +brought upon himself such a terrible fate through his passion for money, +and because he had wished to enrich his family so that they should not +know what want was after he had been taken away from them.</p> + +<p>As might have been expected, there is a great diversity of opinion with +regard to the dwellers in the Land of Shadows. Some hold that relatives do +not know each other there, whilst even those who dispute this theory still +believe that whilst they may visit each other occasionally, they never +dream of reuniting the scattered members of a family and living together +as they used to do before death divided them.</p> + +<p>The general theory that after the lapse of sixteen years men and women are +released and allowed to return to earth is subject to a good many +modifications. A person of high<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> moral character, for example, and one who +has gained the approbation of the stern and inflexible Yam-lo by +uprightness of life, is sent back many years sooner than the allotted +time. Young boys and girls, unless they have developed decidedly vicious +tendencies, are dismissed after a very short probation, to begin again the +experiment of life that had been so rudely interrupted by the cruel enemy +of our race.</p> + +<p>It is a remarkable fact that there are no babies in that gloomy under +world, for never having done any wrong against society, no sooner do they +die than Yam-lo sends them back to life to begin once more their struggle +with evil, by which their characters are to be developed, and, after a +number of births, they may become the teachers and the sages of future +generations.</p> + +<p>This doctrine of metempsychosis has its fascination for a good many +people, for where the future would otherwise be a dark, mysterious thing, +with no ray of light to break the solemn darkness that broods over it, +this breaks its awful monotony and gives men hope of escape from its +mystery and power. A colonel was one day haranguing his soldiers just as +they were about to engage the enemy. With the natural timidity of the +Chinese soldier, they showed symptoms of alarm, and he was afraid that, +carried away by their fears, they would incontinently bolt with the first +sound of the bullets flying about their ears. What motive could he bring +before them to induce them bravely to meet death? He could not appeal to +their love of their country, for that does not exist in the hearts either +of the common people or in the army. Neither could he bring forward high +and lofty incentives from their religion, for though of a deeply religious +nature, there is not a single system of belief in China for which any one, +man or woman, would be willing to lay down their lives.</p> + +<p>Looking at them with steadfast gaze, he said, “Soldiers, let me exhort you +to be courageous in the presence of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> foe to-day. You are better men +than they are, and if you only stand firm they will fly in terror before +you. Do not be afraid to die, for though you fall during the fight, +remember that in sixteen years hence you will be men once more on earth, +and for your valour Yam-lo may send you back to high positions in your +country’s service.”</p> + +<p>A poor incentive this to induce men to risk their lives on the +battlefield, but it was the highest that this officer could think of, for +the shout of “King and country” would have failed to inspire them, and +idolatry produces no enthusiasm to raise a war cry at the sound of which +death would cease to have any terrors.</p> + +<p>One day a poor woman was bending over her baby that lay dead upon the bed. +The home was wretched and forlorn and showed signs of the greatest +poverty. There was not a single comfort in it, and to add to its utter +desolateness death had come and taken away the little joy that filled the +mother’s heart. Never had the house seemed so dreary as to-day, for the +smile that used to fill her heart with sunlight and the childish voice +that had thrilled her soul with the sweetest music, both had died out in +the solemn stillness and silence of a sleep that would never know an +awakening. “Oh, my dear little one!” said the heartbroken mother. “I shall +never see you more, and your sweet laugh will never again fill me with +gladness. Your life has been a short one, and very little happiness in it, +for we are so poor that we could not give you the comforts I should have +liked. And now my hope is that when you are born into the world once more, +it will be into a family where they will be rich enough to give you every +luxury, and where you will grow up to be a great scholar; and though I +shall never see you, or be able to share in your good fortune, still as +long as I live my thoughts will go out to you, where in some unknown part +of China you will be living a happier life than you were able to do with +me.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>The whole conception of the Land of Shadows and of the doctrine of +metempsychosis are a most pathetic attempt to penetrate the profound +mystery that lies about death and the unknown future. Where no revelation +from God has reached men on these two profound and mysterious subjects, +they are bound to fashion out for themselves some theory that will be an +attempt at least to solve some of the perplexities that the heart can +never get rid of until some light has been thrown upon them. The Chinese +theories are oftentimes vague and contradictory, and when they are put to +the touch of logic, they fail utterly before its tests. They are as brave +an effort, however, as has ever been made by any heathen people to +construct a system that shall try and satisfy the cravings of the human +heart about the unknown. They are profoundly human, and an exalted vein of +righteousness runs throughout them. There is no paltering with evil, and +no elevation of vice or impurity, and even their ideal ruler of the Land +of Shadows, stern and severe as he is represented to be, can always unbend +before the exhibition of goodness in any of the spirits under his +control.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> +<p class="title">A CHAPTER ON SOME OF THE MORE SHADY PROFESSIONS IN CHINESE LIFE</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">The geomancer—Description of—Instances of his +profession—Fung-Shuy—Laws of geomancy—The quack—His +methods—Instances given—Disreputable character of the +story-teller—Examples of his stories—Kung-Ming—The story of the +prince and concubine—The interpreter of the gods—Mode of +selection—Depraved character.</p></div> + + +<p>There are certain trades and professions in this Empire that are looked +upon by the Chinese with respect, because they all represent an honourable +attempt of men to earn their living in a straightforward and honest way. +As in England, some of these are looked upon with more respect than +others, and men pride themselves, just as in the countries of the West, on +the higher local standing that their trade or profession gives them in the +eyes of the community. Outside of the Government officials, there are +practically only two respectable classes of professions, viz. the +school-master and the doctor. There are of course others, such as the +geomancer, the pettifogging lawyer, the priests, and members of the +theatrical professions, and those who get their living in connection with +the idols, but these are all looked upon with a suspicion that their +morality is not of the highest, and consequently society refuses to accord +to them the respect and honour that they spontaneously give either to the +scholar or to the <i>bona fide</i> medical man.</p> + +<p>This chapter will be devoted to an account of some of the more well-known +professions that belong to this doubtful category of professional men, and +the first that I shall take is the geomancer. This man is a product of the +beliefs that the Chinese have regarding the dead,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> and also with regard +to the malign and evil spirits that are supposed to people the air and to +be always on the lookout to bring sorrow and calamities wherever the +unwary have not taken measures to frustrate their evil designs. In spite +of their high-sounding beliefs that life and death are all arranged and +settled by Heaven, the Chinese universally hold that the ground in which a +man is buried has much to do with his happiness in the Land of Shadows, +and also with his ability to benefit the members of his family that still +remain in the land of the living.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img35.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A TEA HOUSE.</p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The study of this subject has become an exact science with the Chinese, +and there are men that spend their lives in mastering its principles, and +they become so familiar with them that they are constantly employed in +pointing out the precise spots where the dead may be buried so as to +secure the highest benefit both to them and to the living.</p> + +<p>The poorest and the commonest amongst the people have not the means of +engaging these professors of the geomantic art, neither have they the +funds to buy expensive plots of ground where the “Fung-Shuy,” as it is +popularly called, works with a strong and imperial will to summon to +itself the forces in nature that will secure wealth and fortune and +worldly honours to all that are connected with it. Their homes are narrow +and will barely suffice to accommodate the living, and so the dead have to +be hurried away and laid in any piece of ground on the side of a hill that +some benevolent individual may make them a present of.</p> + +<p>Persons with any means and with a spare room where the dead may be laid +for a few days, would never dream of burying any of their relatives +without engaging a geomancer to examine all the available vacant plots of +ground that may be in the market for sale, and in giving his professional +opinion as to which of them would be likely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span> to satisfy the feelings of +the dead and bring the greatest prosperity to the home they had left +behind them.</p> + +<p>It would seem that according to the laws of geomancy, a low position where +the soil is damp, and where the rains would be allowed to settle, is one +of the very worst that could possibly be selected for the burial of the +dead. It would mean that in the South, at least, before very long, white +ants, captivated and allured by the scent of wood, would come in their +myriads and attack the coffin. As they can do no work without moisture, +the damp and sodden soil would supply them with an abundance of that, and +the working members of the great army would continue their labours with a +perseverance and an industry that would soon riddle the abode of the dead +so that only the merest and flimsiest shell of the coffin would survive +after the attacks made on it.</p> + +<p>This it is believed the dead resent with a fierce and bitter feeling that +seems to set them in the wildest hostility to the friends who are +responsible for this state of things, and in the Land of Shadows they plan +how they shall be revenged upon those who have shown so little feeling for +them, as to bury them in such a position.</p> + +<p>The professors of “Fung-Shuy” are careful to prohibit all permanently damp +localities, or where the drainage is so imperfect that during the rainy +season, when for weeks the annual rains pour down in more or less +continuous torrents from the heavens, the grave must be thoroughly sodden +with the wet. They know that then, unless the grave is dug in a situation +where the water will easily drain off, the most disastrous results will +happen to the coffin, such as would bring lasting mischief both to the +living and the dead.</p> + +<p>There are several things that according to geomantic laws are essential to +the making up of a good grave or Fung-Shuy. The first of these is, it must +be dry. Next,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> it must have a wide and if possible a charming outlook, for +there is nothing that the dead dislike so much as to be confined in their +view by high walls, or by mounds, or elevations that would limit them in +looking at the landscape that stretches out before them in the distance. +Any proximity of large trees is considered to be specially obnoxious to +the occupants of graves. It seems that the waving of the branches during a +storm, and the sighing of the winds through them, produce such doleful +sensations that the spirits are apt to get irritated, and by and by to +vent their wrath by hurling calamities on the living.</p> + +<p>The gentlemen that get their living by catering for the dead have all +these things to keep in mind when they are in search of a place where the +dead are finally to be laid. Proceeding to the hills with their large +compass in hand, which is inscribed with cabalistic characters and lines +and divisions that mark off the cardinal points with a precision that +would be needed to guide an ironclad across the ocean, they cast their +eyes across the landscape, and with the look of experts they take in at a +glance the general features that combine to make any particular spot a +Fung-Shuy, where the dead will have all the consolations that external +circumstances can afford them. It would seem, indeed, as though these +demanded very much what the living would like to have if they had the +choice. A wide and extensive scenery with mountains in the distance, and +hills standing as sentinels to the right and the left; also grassy mounds +sloping down towards a stream that fills the air with its music as it +travels on in graceful curves and loses itself amongst the ravines in the +distance. These are the ideal elements that go to form a Fung-Shuy where a +king might be laid with the certainty of finding complete rest.</p> + +<p>Whether it is their training that has developed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> artistic element in +these geomancers or not it is impossible to declare definitely. There is +one thing, however, that one may be quite sure of, and that is, they have +the keenest instinct in at once pitching upon the most romantic and the +most exquisite spots in a landscape as the places where they declare the +dead may alone with safety be buried. As a result of this, one continually +is struck with the way in which the graves have been constructed on points +of a hill or a mountain, where the widest outlook may be observed from +them. They may be looking over a wide expanse of fertile plains, or +peering along some mighty ravines, or catching a vision of a +far-stretching sea, but in each case they are there not by any accident, +but in obedience to the decision of the geomancers, who selected them with +a special view to the beauties of the location where the dead were to be +buried.</p> + +<p>There is one point on which all geomancers are agreed, and that is that +wherever any natural object has the shape or appearance, say, of a man or +of some of the more intelligent or powerful of the brute creation, you +have there a collection of the strongest forces of nature which will all +work for the welfare of everything that lies within their influence. Such +objects as these make the finest Fung-Shuy, for there is nothing in the +whole range of natural scenery that can in any way be compared to them.</p> + +<p>On one occasion there was a civil war being carried on between two +powerful clans. Scores on each side armed with guns and pitchforks, and +any deadly weapon that could be got hold of, made fierce forays against +each other, and inflamed with passion risked their lives in their mad +desire to kill their enemies. In one of the houses that lay on the +borderland of the fight a man had recently died, and fearful lest the +attacking party should set fire to the building and so burn the coffin +with the corpse inside, a number of the relatives made a rush with it from +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> house, and in a cleft of the rock that went by the name of the +“Crow’s Beak,” they placed the coffin in the narrow opening. It was so +called because in the distance it exactly resembled the mouth of a crow as +it looks when it is perched motionless on a branch. Hastily thrusting it +into the very mouth of the bird, they flew down the narrow path that led +to the village, and taking up their arms they again joined in the battle +that was going on.</p> + +<p>After hostilities had ceased and peace was proclaimed between the two +parties, a geomancer was called to find a lucky spot in which they might +bury the man who for the time being had been thrust with so little +ceremony into the “Crow’s Beak.” He belonged to a well-to-do family, and +they could afford to engage the services of such a man. On their way to a +specified locality where a suitable place was likely to be obtained they +passed along the foot of the hill which contained the “Crow’s Beak.” +Casting his eyes up towards it, this gentleman caught sight of the coffin, +and in the greatest excitement exclaimed, “There is no need of our +proceeding any further, for you have already laid the dead in the finest +Fung-Shuy that could be obtained in all this district. The coffin is in +the very place of power, and if you value the comfort of your deceased +relative and the honour and prosperity of your family you will not remove +it from the place it now occupies.”</p> + +<p>This advice was attended to with the greatest possible care, and the +strange spectacle was seen of a coffin perched up in this rift in the rock +instead of being laid away in mother earth, where it would have been +sheltered from the storms of wind and rain that now and again battered +around it. Very singular to say, from the very day that the dead man was +placed in the “Crow’s Beak,” prosperity seemed to come to the house he had +left, and for many years wealth and honours flowed in without cessation +upon his friends and relatives. As the sons grew up they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> became +distinguished scholars and took high positions in the service of the +Government. That in itself was enough to ensure that the family should be +enriched, for the posts they held were so lucrative that fortunes must +come to those in possession of them. The family finally became of such +importance, and held so much landed property in the neighbourhood, that +its influence became supreme in the whole of that region. All this was +ascribed to the coffin in the “Crow’s Beak,” and the members of the clan +guarded that with the most scrupulous care, lest any outsider should +interfere with it or surreptitiously displace it by the body of a person +belonging to another clan, when the good fortune would pass away from the +family and flow into that of another.</p> + +<p>Whilst the geomantic art is a recognized one and is believed in by the +whole of the nation, the professors of it are not held in the highest +esteem by the community at large. There is so much room for lying and +deception in their statements about the plots of land that they may +recommend that it is felt by the public generally that their honour and +their veracity are not of the highest character, and that when an +opportunity is presented them of making money, they will seize upon it +without any regard to the fact that they may be violating the principle of +truth and equity.</p> + +<p>The next person that I shall attempt to describe is the “quack” or +strolling doctor.</p> + +<p>If ever there was a people in the world that believed in doctors it is the +Chinese, in fact they seem in themselves to be a nation where every one +has more or less a knowledge of medicine. Learned and unlearned alike +profess to be able to understand almost every disease that the Chinese +race are subject to, and to have nostrums of their own that will cure +those that are afflicted. It is this fatal facility for diagnosing disease +and for suggesting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> remedies that crowds the medical profession with so +many incompetent practitioners in this land.</p> + +<p>The State takes no cognizance of the men who profess to keep society in +good health, and then it is so easy to put on a long gown, look profound, +and ape the airs of a literary man, and be transformed in the twinkling of +an eye into a regular doctor, who is prepared to treat any disease under +the sun, with the confidence of a President of the College of Surgeons in +England. No study is required to be a doctor. There are certain traditions +floating amongst society as to how a number of diseases should be treated. +These are stored up in the mind. Then there are well-recognized books that +have been written in former days by famous physicians with prescriptions +for an unlimited number of diseases, and there are also secrets how to +treat special ailments that have been transmitted through several +generations in some particular family, and are never allowed to leak out +to the general public.</p> + +<p>All these are sources to which the man who aspires to be a doctor can +apply, and by a careful study of which he may get such a knowledge of the +Chinese herbarium that he will be able to deal with simple and elementary +cases with some degree of success. He must also have unbounded cheek, a +fluent tongue, and a natural eloquence that will win its way to men’s +hearts and fill them with a confidence in his skill that they will never +think of questioning his ability to deal with their particular ailments, +no matter how difficult or complicated they may be. Of these three +elements nearly every Chinaman has an abundant supply, so as a doctor he +starts business with a stock-in-trade that are most valuable assets in +dealing with the troubles of his countrymen.</p> + +<p>But my business now is not with the regular practitioner, but with that +medical species that is popularly known as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> the strolling doctor. And now +let me give a description of a typical specimen of this Bohemian +representative of the medical faculty in this land. In nine cases out of +ten he is a degenerated member of the literary class. He is a man of good +ability and well versed in the classical writings of China. He has always +been wanting, however, in character, and consequently managers of schools +became chary of engaging him as a teacher in any of them. His roving and +unsteady habits really disqualified him for the long hours demanded of him +in Chinese school life. He would teach a few days and gain the approbation +of the parents by the scholarly way in which he would read and explain the +profound statements of Confucius and Mencius, and then, to the great +delight of the lads, he would wander away, impelled by the vagrant +instinct that was in his very blood, and not appear in the school-room +again for perhaps several weeks.</p> + +<p>To add to his disqualifications he became an opium smoker. He was not +induced to do this by a purely evil spirit, but rather because life was +dreary and unsatisfactory, and he hoped in the solace and blandishments of +that dangerous drug the monotony of life would be broken by an occasional +glimpse into the realms of Elysium. The parents became still more opposed +to the idea of sending their boys to a school that had him as their +teacher, and so he found himself without employment and without any means +of satisfying the craving that came upon him morning and evening, and +which refused to be banished until the fumes of the opium had filled his +brain with visions and dreams of such bewildering beauty that the pains +and sorrows of earth seemed to have vanished, and he was in a realm where +mortal feet had never trodden and sighing and tears were utterly unknown.</p> + +<p>As he had no resources of his own to fall back upon and the doors of every +school-house were shut upon him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> the only means of making a livelihood +now was to turn travelling doctor. This was a very simple proceeding, as +it required but very little capital, for his whole stock-in-trade could be +laid in for a few shillings. Besides a scanty supply of herbs, second-hand +teeth, etc., he had to provide himself with a banner on which was +inscribed the diseases he was able to cure, and the wide renown he had +achieved wherever he went for the marvellous cases of recovery from +dangerous sicknesses that had been affected by his patent medicines and by +his skill in treating disease.</p> + +<p>And now behold the man as he starts upon his travels, that will take him +wherever the fortune of the day may lead him. His face is a sharp and a +shrewd-looking one. His eyes are bright and piercing, but they are +restless, and speak of a mind that is ill at ease and is continually +discussing the question how the needs of life are to be met. One looking +at him would not say that he was a bad man, but the opium pallor that +rests upon his features would not incline one to put him down as a saint. +In spite of his bad luck and his low fortunes, it is evident that a sense +of humour is strong within him, and that the comical side of life still +appeals to him; for when he smiles it is not an artificial lighting up of +the countenance, but a veritable flash from a heart that still knows how +to laugh in spite of the misfortunes he has brought upon himself.</p> + +<p>The travelling doctor does not care much for the cities. There are too +many of the regular practitioners there who are called in regularly by +their patients; still one does occasionally see one of them now and again +passing along the crowded thoroughfares, casting wistful glances at the +open doors and the people that are lounging about them, in the hopes of +picking up a case that may give him the means of providing himself with a +meal and the money to pay his lodging-house bill during the night.</p> + +<p>The places where they appear most in their element<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> are in the country +fairs, where great crowds of country bumpkins and farmers and +unsophisticated people gather either for business or for pleasure. Here he +has no rival and no competitor, for the regular doctor would as much +disdain to set up his stand in any such places as a first-class doctor in +London would wheel a barrow to some of the slums or great thoroughfares in +it, and display his medicines to induce the public to patronize him.</p> + +<p>Fortunately for the quack, the country abounds in just such gatherings. +The very large villages have one every second or fifth day. The farmers in +the district know this, and they come with their produce and their cattle +to sell to those who are in need of such. Young fellows, too, wishing for +some change from the monotony of country life, come to get some enjoyment, +for all kinds of entertainments are prepared by itinerant caterers for the +amusement of the public, and for a few hours they forget the <i>ennui</i> and +mouldiness of their daily experience, and, having laughed at the funny +things they have seen, they return with lightened hearts to their homes. +Every day in the year, in a large district, there are scores of fairs that +the people in the neighbourhood can attend, and it is to these that the +gamblers, and puppet shows, and Punch and Judys, and conjurors resort, in +the certainty that there will always be a crowd ready to be entertained, +and with none of the highly critical notions that the townspeople are +accustomed to indulge in. The strolling doctor selects a suitable place +where he can best display the various articles that he hopes will attract +those who may be in need of his services. Perhaps it is under the great +boughs of a banyan-tree that cast their leafy shade between the people and +the great red-hot sun, or it may be on the steps of a temple, where the +grim and solemn-looking idol looks out complacently on the crowd that +gathers to listen to the eloquence of the doctor.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>Gathered closely around him are his medicines that he is going to +prescribe for his coming patients. These consist of dried roots, and +withered-looking stalks cut from bushes on the hillside, and various kinds +of grasses, that seem fit only to be swept into the gutter as useless +rubbish. There is one little mound that he builds up with deft and careful +fingers, as though he relied much upon its component parts for his success +to-day. It is a gruesome sight, for on looking at it carefully, one finds +it to consist of a considerable number of teeth in a pretty good state of +preservation that have been extracted from patients in days gone by, and +that have still sufficient vitality in them to enable them to do service +in other people’s mouths for some years to come.</p> + +<p>Slowly the crowd gathers in the front of the doctor, who soon shows how +profound is his knowledge of human nature by the way in which he +captivates the attention of the rustics, who gaze at him with open mouths, +and wonder what great scholar is this that has come with such a flow of +eloquence, and such an amazing knowledge of medicine, to deliver men from +diseases that the local doctors have not been able to cure.</p> + +<p>Whilst he is talking, a man rushes up with face flushed and eyes +congested, with both hands holding one side of his face. He is evidently +in the greatest anguish, for, oblivious of what the crowd may think, he +fills the air with his groans and breaks out into agonized cries that show +the extreme pain from which he is suffering. With a piteous look up into +the face of the quack, he slowly opens his mouth, and, pointing to the +interior with mute but eloquent language that every one understands, he +asks if he can do anything for him.</p> + +<p>The doctor, with a complacent smile that shows that he perfectly +understands the case and will instantly relieve him, whips up an old rusty +pair of forceps that lies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> conveniently at hand, and before the man can +realize what he is about to do, he has taken a grip of the offending molar +and is dragging the patient about, howling and screaming because of the +agony he is enduring, and at the same time holding on to the doctor’s hand +to try and get him to unloose his hold upon the tooth.</p> + +<p>At last, after one tremendous pull, the man staggers back, and the quack, +holding the forceps in the air with the tooth enclosed within its fangs, +excites the admiration of the whole crowd, who with open mouths and wonder +on their faces, express themselves delighted with the skill of the doctor. +This open-air dentistry has an immediate effect in instilling confidence +in those who have witnessed it, for several people at once apply for the +herbs that he has for sale, and a few others consult him upon the various +complaints from which they are suffering.</p> + +<p>The fees for these, however, are so small that he begins to feel that his +receipts are so insignificant, that he is apprehensive whether he will +have enough to pay even for his lodgings during the night, without +considering the good round sum he will require for the purchase of the +opium, without which he would have to spend the night sleepless and in the +greatest possible agonies. In order to bring in the cash to meet these +demands he determines upon a ruse. Amongst the crowd is a well-dressed +farmer who is evidently absorbed in admiration at the eloquence of the +doctor, and keeps his eyes fixed upon him as he discourses upon the +virtues of his medicines. That he is well to do is manifest from the whole +look of the man. Fixing his eyes upon him steadily for a few seconds, the +doctor says, “My friend, I hope you will excuse the liberty I am taking +with you, and not be offended at anything I may say to you. My knowledge +of diseases and their symptoms enables me to see that you are on the verge +of a very serious illness, and that unless you take speedy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> measures to +avert it, your life will be in the greatest danger.”</p> + +<p>Every eye was now turned upon the countryman, and looks of sympathy begin +to flash over their faces as each one fancies he can detect symptoms of +the threatened disease. The man himself is paralyzed with terror, for the +Chinese are an exceedingly superstitious people, and are easily influenced +by vague fears into a belief of what may be absolutely unreasonable and +absurd. He trembles in every limb, and the perspiration breaks out in +beads on his forehead. The people nudge each other, and point to these +symptoms as evidence of the clearsightedness and ability of the doctor.</p> + +<p>The latter, who feels that he is master of the situation, says to the +trembling farmer, “Put out your tongue.” The mere sight of the red healthy +organ that is shot out in an agony of fear is quite enough to prove to any +one who has half an eye for such things, that he is in the most robust +health, but there is not one amongst these country bumpkins that knows +anything about tongues as indicators of disease. “You see, my friends,” +says the quack, taking the crowd as it were into his confidence, “how true +it was when I declared that this poor fellow was on the point of having a +very serious illness. Look at his tongue,” and here every one gazes at it +intently, as though he sees blue death in that exceedingly healthy organ, +“and just mark how the symptoms of the coming disaster are plainly +outlined upon it. He should see a doctor at once about his case, who, if +he knows his profession only tolerably well, will be able to take such +measures that the disease may be stopped. It will be rather expensive to +have this done, for the particular medicine required in this case is a +very rare one, and consequently a high price will have to be paid for it.”</p> + +<p>By this time the feelings of the farmer are wound<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> up to the highest +pitch. He already feels himself getting ill, and he can feel the grip of +the disease fastening upon him by slow degrees. He has become so +hysterical that he is ready to believe anything that this scamp says. +“Doctor,” he cries out, “I quite believe what you say about my going to be +ill, for I feel the disease you have spoken of has already begun to work +upon me. Have you the medicine you just now spoke of as essential in my +case? If you have, I need not apply to any one else. Why delay? Let me +have it at once, so that I may take it and be relieved from the terrible +feeling that oppresses me now.”</p> + +<p>The quack’s eyes gleam with delight as he realizes that his little +financial scheme has succeeded so well. “I certainly have the medicine,” +he said, “and I can give you a dose at once that will give you instant +relief,” and, taking up a folded paper that contained some white powder, +he pours a few grains upon the man’s extended tongue, and tells him to +swallow it. Pausing for a short time after it had disappeared with a gulp +down the man’s throat, he asks him how he feels. “Very much better,” he +replies; “in fact I feel cured, for the distressing sensation that I had +has almost entirely disappeared.” A fee is paid by the farmer that makes +the quack’s heart leap for joy, whilst the farmer, with elastic steps and +a radiant face, starts off for his home, to tell how he has been saved +just in time from a calamity that might have imperilled his life.</p> + +<p>The strolling doctor’s profession, which is the last resort of the +dissipated Bohemian literary man, is in some respects a picturesque and +amusing method of getting a living. A book could be well written on this +one subject alone, and if it were composed by one who could enter heartily +into the spirit of the thing, it would be a most entertaining and amusing +one. There is no doubt but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> that one would get from it a most realistic +picture of the common life of the Chinese such as has never yet been +written. The humorous and the grotesque would abound in it, and tragedy +and comedy would follow each other in rapid succession as the experiences +of these flotsam and jetsam of human society were recorded in it. Men +write ponderous tomes upon China that generally are insufferably dry, and +that give the West an idea that the Chinaman is an absurd, bizarre kind of +individual, and that the main features about him are a pigtail and a pair +of chopsticks. The fact of the matter is, he is brimful of wit and humour, +and is just packed with as much human nature as one would meet with in any +other part of the world. If the Chinese could only jump to the idea of +having a Punch of their own it would be so filled with jokes and +witticisms, though Oriental ones, that not even the famous English weekly +would be able to surpass it for true wit and humour.</p> + +<p>The next professional that I shall try to depict is the public +story-teller. This man, as in the case of the strolling doctor, is almost +always a man with a certain amount of talent, and with a literary cast of +mind that has inclined him to study the ancient writings of China, but +more particularly those that deal with fiction and romance. The literature +of China is particularly rich in works of this latter description, and +those who are fond of exciting adventures and hairbreadth escapes, and +dark and mysterious plots, will find a large field in the countless models +that have come down from the past for their satisfaction and +entertainment.</p> + +<p>A man sometimes becomes so saturated with the stories he has read that he +feels himself competent to entertain a crowd, whilst he describes in a +graphic and realistic manner the men and women that are depicted in some +famous novel. Few men do this, however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> unless they are driven by hard +necessity; for a story-teller, though popular with the masses, is not held +in high respect, but is looked upon as a man who has failed in the more +respectable walks of life, and has taken to this simply because it is the +only way left him by which he can lead a lazy, indolent life, and earn +just enough to supply him with opium and the small amount of daily food +that his opium-drenched system will allow him to take.</p> + +<p>The story-teller, or, as he is popularly called by the Chinese, “The +Narrator of Ancient Things,” is really the historian of the common people. +Without him, the history of the past, and the story of the great men that +lived in ancient times, and the deeds of heroism, and the revolutions of +dynasties, would all be lost in oblivion. The great mass of the Chinese +are absolutely illiterate, and cannot read the books that contain the +stories of the past. The story-teller comes in to supply the lack of +learning, and he recounts the tales of great battles that were fought in +the dawn of Chinese history, and he tells of the struggles that the Empire +has had with the warlike tribes that lay along the northern frontiers of +China, and in vivid word-painting he describes the heroes and sages that +have played so mighty a part in the building up of the Middle Kingdom. It +is entirely due to him that the past lives in the thought and imagination +of the men of to-day, and that men’s blood is fired and their passions +moved at the thought of the great deeds that their fathers in days gone by +were able to accomplish.</p> + +<p>These men are accustomed to come out every afternoon when the weather +permits and take their positions in some well-known public resort, and +recount their stories to the groups of people that very soon gather round +to listen to them. Their favourite place is in front of some popular +temple towards which the roads converge,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> and where incessant streams of +people pass and repass without ever ceasing their flow. Some of these are +always sure to stop awhile and listen to the stirring tales that never +seem to lose their attraction for the Chinaman.</p> + +<p>Some of the most popular of these are taken from a standard work, half +fiction and half history, called <i>The Three Kingdoms</i>. This book contains +a description of the times when three great rivals, occupying three +different sections of the country, were contending for the mastery with +each other (<span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> 221). It is written in a very delightful style, and is +crammed full of adventures of the most exciting and romantic description +from the first page to the very end.</p> + +<p>The hero that shines most conspicuously in this historical novel is +Kung-Ming, the beau ideal general and warrior, and the audience is never +weary of listening to the exciting stories of his adventures, whilst he +was striving to uphold the falling fortunes of his royal master. One of +these is exceedingly popular, as it deserves to be, since it illustrates +the fertility of Kung-Ming’s mind in his ingenious devices in carrying on +the war with the two rival leaders with whom he was contending.</p> + +<p>On one occasion he had sent on a large army that he had collected to fight +with a rival general who was nearly as able as himself, whilst he followed +behind, hoping to reach it before the enemy came into contact with it. He +was proceeding leisurely along, when he was suddenly disturbed by a rush +of defeated soldiers who were flying in the utmost disorder as though +pursued by a successful foe. He found to his dismay that these were his +own men, who had been routed and dispersed by the opposing army; and so +thoroughly had they been demoralized by their defeat that all the +influence and prestige that he possessed had no power to stay their +flight, or to induce<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> them to gather round his standard and once more +follow him to meet the enemy.</p> + +<p>The panic indeed was so universal and the fear of the pursuing enemy so +great, that he was deserted by every one excepting two of the most devoted +of his followers, and with these he retreated to the city of Han-chung +that lay some miles away in the rear. Entering into this, he ordered the +city gates to be thrown wide open, whilst he and his two friends took up +their position on the city wall with guitars in their hands, and there, as +though they were celebrating a great victory, they sang songs and played +the most lively airs on their instruments.</p> + +<p>Before long the first ranks of the advancing foe appeared in the distance, +and ere long the whole army, with banners flying and trumpets braying and +with every sign of exultation, rapidly advanced in the direction of the +city with the certainty of capturing it without a blow. As the troops drew +near, what was their astonishment to find that the gates were flung wide +open, whilst Kung-Ming, the redoubtable general, was seen playing the +guitar on the walls of the town in full view of the whole army.</p> + +<p>The general immediately ordered a halt of all the troops under his +command, and rode forward with his staff to examine into this remarkable +state of things. The city gates truly were thrown wide open, but not a +soldier could be seen either there or upon the ramparts, neither was there +any sign of defence whatsoever. All that could be seen was Kung-Ming +sitting with a gay and festive air on one of the towers, twanging his +guitar and singing one of the national songs of the time. As the general +gazed in the utmost perplexity the notes of the music vibrated through the +air, and the loud tones of Kung-Ming, heard above the highest strains, +reached the listening soldiers as they stood to their arms.</p> + +<p>There was something mysterious about these open<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> gates, and the musical +entertainment that could only have been prepared for the enemy. Kung-Ming +had always been noted for the fertility of his resources, and now he had +evidently thought out a deep-laid scheme to involve his enemies in utter +ruin.</p> + +<p>The general was a man of consummate ability, but he recognized that in +military tactics he was no match for the man that was singing so blithely +on the walls above him. Fearful lest his army should be involved in some +terrible disaster by the wily foe with whom he had to contend, he gave +orders to retreat, and every man under his command felt that he was not +safe until some miles had been placed between him and the famous general +who had been entertaining them in so strange and unlooked-for a manner.</p> + +<p>Thus by this famous ruse Kung-Ming saved his town for his master, and at +the same time gave him an opportunity of gathering together his forces for +a new campaign with his enemies. The story has come down the ages, and +to-day is perpetuated in the language in the well-known proverb, +“Kung-Ming offered the empty city to his enemy,” which is often applied to +clinch an argument about something that is happening in daily life.</p> + +<p>Another story is told that is always listened to with wrapt attention, and +it is that of a Prince that ruled in the far-off distant times who was +often in collision with the Barbarians that lived just outside the +frontiers of the Empire. He was a valiant man and greatly beloved by his +feudal barons and earls that owed him military service, and who were bound +to call together their retainers and follow him to the field whenever they +were summoned by him to active service.</p> + +<p>After a time he came completely under the fascination of a beautiful +concubine whom he had in his harem. Through her influence he neglected the +duties of the State, and the greatest disorders prevailed throughout it. +The wild and warlike tribes across the border who used to be restrained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> +by the firm hand of the Prince, now made incessant raids into his +dominions and ravaged the lands of the people, and murdered or carried off +into slavery many of the inhabitants, without any action being taken to +punish the marauders or to protect the people against their inroads.</p> + +<p>Several years went by and frequent appeals were made to their ruler to +take up arms and drive back the robbers into the wilds and steppes of +their native land, but the fatal influence of the court beauty had made +him careless whether his people were protected or not. At length the +predatory excursions of the Mongols and the Kins and the Huns, the roving +migratory tribes that found China such a fruitful field for plunder and +robbery, became so incessant and so destructive to his dominions that he +was compelled to organize an expedition to drive them across the border.</p> + +<p>Lighting the beacon fires throughout the State, which was the usual signal +for the assembling of the feudal chiefs to repair to the capital with +their various quotas of men and arms, there was soon assembled a +formidable force prepared to follow their Prince wherever he desired to +lead them against the enemies of their country. On the morning of the day +on which the army was to start to punish the robbers who were desolating +the northern districts of his dominions, a select body of the chiefs had +an interview with their ruler, and they declared that not a soldier would +obey the orders to march until he had consented to grant them one request, +and that was that he should order the instant execution of the concubine +who had wrought such injury to the State, and that her head should be +handed over to them, so that they might be sure that she had really been +put to death.</p> + +<p>The Prince, who was desperately in love with the unfortunate woman, at +first resolutely refused to do what they asked. As the very existence of +the State, as they believed, depended upon its being granted, they were +firm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> in their determination not to march against the enemy until the +bloody deed had been carried out. After holding out for several days, and +finding that the leaders were inexorable, the executioner was sent into +the palace, and soon the head of the famous beauty was delivered to the +barons, and the army took its march to avenge the wrongs that the wild and +lawless tribes had so long inflicted upon the country.</p> + +<p>The story-teller has an inexhaustible store of adventures, and romances, +and love scenes, and great episodes in history upon which to draw. He has +also the free use of his pictorial powers in drawing the scenes and +pictures with which he would stir the imagination and the enthusiasm of +his audiences. Many of these men are real artists in their profession, and +they can hold their hearers spellbound whilst they give a realistic +picture of some stirring event that happened ages ago, or of some great +catastrophe in which a dynasty disappeared amidst scenes of carnage and +bloodshed, and the new one came in to the sound of music and amidst the +rejoicings of a nation. They are, however, a vulgar, dissipated set of +men, and though they do occasionally get inspired with their subjects and +rise to high flights of eloquence, there is not a single noble feature +about them. It is not love for their art that makes them reproduce the +comedies and tragedies of the past, but an irrepressible longing for the +opium, which has put its leaden hues on their faces, and its fierce and +unholy craving into their hearts.</p> + +<p>There is another profession that ought to stand the very highest amongst +all the honourable occupations that give men employment in this land, and +that is the one that might in a rough and general way be called that of +“interpreter of the gods.” This individual occupies the position he does +not by any human choice, but by the special selection of the idol for whom +he is to act. A vacancy, say, occurs in a particular temple, and a man +must be appointed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> who can report to the worshippers the answers that the +god has to give them to the particular petitions they have made to it. +Without such a man the idol is dumb. It has a mouth, but it cannot speak; +it has eyes, but they look out of wooden sockets, and no tears of sympathy +have ever been known to fall from them; and it has a face with human +features, but no story, the most pathetic that was ever told in the +hearing of man, has ever been known to cause it to be suffused with +emotion or to touch the cold and passionless features with a touch of +pity.</p> + +<p>The man that aspires to occupy this high position must go through a +certain ordeal before he can be accepted by the temple authorities as the +one whom the idol is willing to employ to be the medium by which it shall +communicate its purposes to the people. A certain weird ceremony is +performed in front of the god during some dark night, when only a candle +or two show the idol surrounded by the mystery of darkness. Incantations +are slowly chanted, and invocations made to the wooden image to inspire +the man that stands motionless in front of it. The tap of a drum now and +again sounds as a kind of bass note to the higher notes of the reciter of +the vague and mystic language that is supposed to move the idol to a +manifestation of its will.</p> + +<p>After an hour or so of this monotonous dirge and occasional tapping of the +drum, which is evidently meant to quicken the decision of the god, the man +who has been as silent and as motionless as a statue begins to slightly +sway from side to side. The taps on the drum now become more rapid and +more vigorous, and ere long the wretched man becomes convulsed and falls +on the ground as though he were in a fit.</p> + +<p>The scene is ended, and the god, it is believed, has entered and taken +possession of the man, and now whenever he speaks officially he does so as +its inspired oracle,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> and his utterances are accepted as though they had +been spoken by the idol itself.</p> + +<p>One would naturally imagine that candidates for this exalted position +would come from among men of culture and refinement, and that the highest +in the land would eagerly desire a position where they would be so +thoroughly in communication with the supernatural and be recognized by +their countrymen as worthy of the highest places in the religion of the +masses. But this is not the case. No scholar would ever dream of demeaning +himself and of rendering himself contemptible in the eyes of the literary +classes by consenting to become an interpreter of the gods. No respectable +citizen would agree either for himself or for any member of his family to +degrade himself by accepting such a position.</p> + +<p>The men that actually are employed are opium-smokers who have lost their +property in their indulgence of the popular vice, and as a last resort +have come to the point of bearing the stigma and the disgrace connected +with the office in order to get the gains that come to them when they are +doing duty in the temple. If by some accident they should not have +acquired the habit of opium-smoking, then it may be taken for granted that +they are persons of no moral standing in the community—gamblers, loafers, +or hangers-on to the outskirts of society, and such like.</p> + +<p>Such are the men that assume the sacred office of being so inspired by the +gods that they shall be qualified to carry messages from the invisible +world to those who are in sorrow and distress, and who can find comfort +only in the thought that the unseen powers are working on their behalf. +That their new position does not affect in the slightest degree their +moral character is seen by the lives they lead after they have undergone +the process of being specially inspired by the idols to qualify for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +delicate office of interpreting their very thoughts to their worshippers.</p> + +<p>They are lazy and idle and profligate. Their leisure time, which is +extensive, is spent in gambling and in occupations entirely unsuited to +their sacred character. They have been known to make excursions during the +darkness of the night when honest men are in their beds and dig up +people’s potatoes, or, if no obstacles occur, to despoil a farmer’s +henroost of all the birds in it. There certainly is a Nemesis that attends +the irregular lives of these regular clergy of the idols, for they have +not only an evil reputation, but according to popular report death invades +their families until one after another is taken away and the home becomes +extinct. That this happens often enough to warrant the tradition is quite +evident to those who have studied the question. It is also a remarkable +fact, that whilst these men who are the ministers of the idols are looked +down upon with contempt, the gods who select and employ them are never +censured by the public or considered to be involved in the evils of their +servants.</p> + +<p>It is a strange system that allows men of a low and depraved character to +be the chief actors in the spiritual movements of a nation, but it is on a +par with the fact that in the worship of the idols, goodness or +reformation in heart or life is never required from a single worshipper. +The bad man brings his offering without any promise that there will be a +change in his life, and it is apparently accepted just as freely as that +of another whose reputation stands high amongst all classes of the +community. This latter fact is a sufficient explanation of how it is +possible for such men as now act as interpreters of the gods to be +tolerated in the service of the temples at all.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img36.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A TYPICAL VILLAGE.</p> + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> +<p class="title">SCHOOLS, SCHOOL-MASTERS, AND SCHOOL-BOOKS</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Chinese passionately fond of education—Reverence for printed or +written words—State makes no laws for the education of the +people—The school-house and the school-master—System of +teaching—Boys first learn sound of words—After years of study learn +the meaning of each character—Small percentage of readers in +China—One set of school-books in every school in the Empire—The +<i>Three Word Classic</i>—The “Four Books” and the “Five Classics,” with +analyses.</p></div> + + +<p>There is no nation in the world that has a more passionate and earnest +desire for education than the Chinese. In the four great divisions into +which all society has been roughly divided, the scholar is placed at the +head of the list, as the one that is considered most worthy of honour. +Outside of official rank, the highest title that the Chinese have in the +whole of their language is bestowed upon the school-master. He may be a +man so poor that he has hardly enough money to buy food for himself and +his family, and his clothes may be of the plainest and the meanest +description, and yet he has a title given him that is never bestowed upon +any of the three other classes. A man might be a millionaire and rolling +in wealth, but if he were simply a merchant or a tradesman, the coveted +title that the poorest scholar gets would never be given to him, even by +the most loyal of his friends or by the meanest servant in his employ.</p> + +<p>The reverence that the nation has for learning has induced a sentimental +and what might seem to be a superstitious regard for the mere written or +printed word. Even that dead form is held to be so sacred that it may not +be misused or treated with contempt or indifference. A very common sight +in a Chinese street is to see a man with a basket slung over his shoulder +on which is inscribed two large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> characters which mean “Have pity on the +writing.” His eyes are kept steadily on the roadway, and on any nook or +cranny by the side, and he eagerly pounces on any scraps of paper, no +matter how frayed or dirty, and places them in his basket. Occasionally he +catches sight of a broken piece of pottery or a fragment of a rice bowl on +which are some of the precious characters that were burnt into them when +they were being manufactured. These also are picked up and reverently laid +aside with the pieces of paper that have been rescued from the feet of the +passers-by.</p> + +<p>You stop the man and you ask him what he means by picking up this rubbish +on the street, and he tells you that he is employed by benevolent persons +who cannot bear the thought of seeing the sacred characters that were +invented by the sages and that had been the cause of China’s greatness +trodden under foot of men. And so he is gathering all that he can find on +the streets, and at a certain time with due ceremony the whole will be +burnt, and be thus saved from the dishonour that had been put upon them.</p> + +<p>The devotion to education is not a mere sentimental one, but one that has +covered this great Empire with schoolhouses, for in all the towns and +cities and in all the larger villages even the people have established the +common schools in which the children of the locality may receive an +education. There are no such things as Government schools, neither are +there private ones. It is true that rich men sometimes engage teachers for +their sons and have the tuition carried on in their own homes, but what +may be called the common schools of the country are managed and supported +entirely by the elders or leading men in the various localities in which +they exist.</p> + +<p>The State takes no cognizance whatever of the educational efforts of the +people, neither is it called upon to spend a cash in upholding the +institutions that are in existence for the teaching of the youth of the +country. The people have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> from time immemorial taken these duties upon +themselves, and they have willingly borne the responsibility of raising +the funds that have been necessary for the successful carrying on of the +schools.</p> + +<p>The usual practice is at the close of the year for the leaders, say, of a +village to meet together and discuss the question of the next year’s +school. They have already canvassed the parents who have sons, and +ascertained how many of them will attend and how much they are willing to +contribute towards the teacher’s salary. They are thus in a position to +know whether they have sufficient funds to invite a first-class man to +take charge of the school, or whether they will have to be content with an +inferior scholar instead.</p> + +<p>This question being settled, the next point is to secure the +school-master. If there happens to be one belonging to the village, or one +connected in any way with the leading men, the difficulty is then very +much simplified, but if an unknown man is to be engaged, then it may mean +endless complications for a whole year. He may turn out to be an +opium-smoker, or he may be a vagabond and rarely be seen within the walls +of the school-house; for when once he is engaged the people have no +redress whatever, but must tolerate all his misdeeds and pay him the +salary agreed upon without a murmur or a complaint to him personally. Any +attempt on the part of the villagers to compel him to carry out his +contract faithfully would simply end in their being censured and fined by +the mandarin for daring to assert themselves against one of the +highly-privileged classes in China. We will suppose, however, that a +fairly respectable man has been obtained, and that all the arrangements +for opening the school have been satisfactorily made. The usual time for +the commencement of the school year is three or four days after the “Feast +of Lanterns,” which takes place about the middle of February.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>The school-house is usually situated in a central part of the village, and +consists of a school-room capable of accommodating twenty or thirty +scholars, a small bedroom for the teacher, and a diminutive kitchen also +for his special use. The managers provide him with a four-poster, a high +oblong table and a few chairs, and also a mosquito-net to be used during +the warm weather when those plagues of the East carry on their campaign +with such unceasing vigour against all animal life. They also place a +table and chair in the school-room, which are to be for his own exclusive +use, but beyond these they leave the furnishing of the place to the +individual scholars, who bring their own stools and tables with them on +the day that the studies begin. On the table are an inkstone, a diminutive +water-bottle, two or three camel’s-hair pens or brushes, a stick of Indian +ink, and last, though not least, a good solid piece of bamboo with which +the refractory and the indolent will frequently make acquaintance during +the coming months of the session. There are also a miniature teapot and +Lilliputian teacups, all deftly placed on a lacquer tray, ready for use +whenever the master feels that he would like to refresh himself with a few +sips of the popular beverage that “cheers but not inebriates.”</p> + +<p>The school life of a boy in China would seem to one who has not been +brought up in Western methods as a dreary and intolerable one, and such as +would take the heart out of any English lad and make him hate the very +sight of books as long as he lived. The duties of the day begin at a very +early hour, and with certain intermissions for meals last until the +evening shades have entered the school-room and blurred the faces of the +books so that the strange, weird-looking words cannot be recognized one +from the other.</p> + +<p>The little fellows have to rise as the dawn begins to fling its grey and +trembling light across the darkness that clouds the earth, and to send its +kindly messages into the homes of rich and poor. Feeling the terror of the +master<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> upon them, they quickly jump out of bed, and with no time to wash +their faces or to brush their hair, they hurry along the various paths +that lead to the school, where they find the teacher waiting for them, and +with a frown upon his face if they should happen to be a few minutes late.</p> + +<p>The lads never enter the school-room without a feeling of restraint. It is +considered that a cold and haughty kind of bearing on the part of the +master is essential in order to maintain the discipline of the school. +There is, therefore, very seldom if ever any feeling of affection or +devotion between the scholars and him. To them he appears to have no +kindliness of heart and no human sympathies, nor any lovable thought for +any one of them. He is simply there as a kind of living machine to teach +these youngsters this huge Chinese language, but as for sentiment or any +tender feeling for them, that is utterly out of the question.</p> + +<p>The method in which the studies are carried on is the very reverse of what +is demanded and insisted upon in the home schools. There the great aim is +to secure not only perfect order but as complete silence as possible. When +there is anything like noise in the school-room it means that the lads are +talking with each other and not studying their lessons. An English lad can +best master these by thinking over them, and in silence committing to +memory the various thoughts or problems that may be contained in the book +he is called upon to study.</p> + +<p>Now it seems impossible for any Chinese boy to impress upon his mind’s eye +the intricate and apparently meaningless strokes that make up the ordinary +Chinese word. He seems to be able to do this only by bawling them at the +very top of his voice. Efforts have been made to get the scholars in a +school to learn them without raising their voices, but failure has always +been the result. The consequence is, that silence amongst the lads is most +displeasing to a Chinese school-master, and a stern, severe look from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> him +will set them all off into shouts so deafening that only one great uproar +can be heard resounding through the building, each lad seeming only to be +contending with all the rest to see if he cannot outshout them all. The +drudgery of learning to recognize the Chinese words is something that +cannot be appreciated by a Western student. With English words, for +example, each one is composed of so many letters, has a definite sound and +definite meanings, and after a time, if a boy fails to remember any +particular one, he simply spells it, and at once sound comes tripping back +to his recollection. There is no such easy process to the grasping of the +Chinese characters. Each one is a solemn, hard-featured picture that +stands apart by itself and has no connecting link with any other one in +the language. You cannot reason out what shall be the sound or meaning of +any one word by analogy, for each one is complete in itself and has a +solitary entity of its own. A page of Chinese print gives one the +impression that one has lighted upon a series of cryptic puzzles that the +inventor has made as intricate and involved as the complex and oblique +mind of the Chinese could make them.</p> + +<p>The Chinese school-masters throughout the country having realized that to +grasp the sounds of these weird and unromantic figures and the meaning +that lies concealed behind them would be an absolute impossibility for the +youth of the country, have divided up the great attempt into two distinct +efforts. The first thing, therefore, that a lad has to do when he goes to +school is to shout out in all the various tones of the gamut the names of +these ancient, hoary-headed symbols, and at the same time to impress upon +his memory the picture of each one, with its dots and curves and minute up +and down strokes, that it shall be a living picture that his mind can call +up at any moment that he hears its name pronounced.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>The primary process goes on for about five years, during which time he has +read through most of his school-books. With one’s notions that one has got +from English school life it is impossible at first to realize the +stupendous work that is involved in this dreary way of being educated. The +boy comes to school at early dawn, and he is kept at his desk, with the +exception of his meal hours, till night is throwing its shadows over the +earth. There is no intermission and no racing about the playground at +certain intervals to break in upon the eternal monotony of grinding study. +The playground is a Western institution that has never found its way into +the East. The lads have no time for such inventions that would interfere +with work. Life out here is serious and life is earnest, for the +school-boy at least, and no frivolous methods must be allowed to stay the +studies of this gigantic language.</p> + +<p>The whole day, therefore, is spent in acquiring the sounds and the look of +each particular word, without having the remotest idea what they mean. He +comes the next day and the same grinding goes on. The spring passes into +summer and summer into autumn, and one day is like another in its weary +monotony, and the sounds in growing numbers clang and ring within his +brain, and the weird little pictures are hung up in the picture gallery of +his mind, but they tell him no story, neither do they suggest the poetry +and romance that often lie hidden within so many of them.</p> + +<p>This fearful kind of treadmill education goes on for four or five years +with boys of ordinary intelligence, but for three or four with lads of +exceptional abilities and fine memories, who have the faculty of +remembering both the sounds and the faces of the thousands of characters +that they meet with in their school-books. During all those precious years +when the intellects of the lads are just in that stage when they are open +to development and expansion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> they are bound and contracted by a +miserable system that has kept this nation from advancing in thought and +from claiming the position amongst the nations of the world that it would +have been entitled to had a wider liberty been given it in the training of +its youth.</p> + +<p>The cruel thing about it is that though of extreme age, having been +started in the famous Han Dynasty (<span class="smcaplc">B.C.</span> 296-<span class="smcaplc">A.D.</span> 23), it is in no sense an +outcome of the teaching of the sages. There is ample evidence from Chinese +documents to show that the common schools were conducted in the time, say, +of Confucius (<span class="smcaplc">B.C.</span> 550) more as they are carried on in Western lands, and +that even girls were instructed in the <i>Book of Odes</i>, one of the stiffest +of the sacred classics, and that books were read not simply in the +mechanical way that they have been for two thousand years, but because of +the interest of the subjects that were discussed in them.</p> + +<p>The years have gone slowly by and nature in successive seasons has poured +out of the bounties of an untrammelled heart the riches that have filled +men’s hearts with gladness, but the school-house has continued to be the +prison-house where thought was never allowed to blossom, and where the +possibilities of the human heart were crushed and cramped beneath an iron +system that made the spirit of romance and fairy tale and adventure die +out of the youthful manhood of the nation.</p> + +<p>At last the morning came to our scholar when the teacher began to explain +the meaning of the strange old-world pictures that stood in columns down +the pages of his books. Their names were all known and their faces were +very familiar, for with many a sigh, and sometimes almost with breaking +heart they had been read and reread, until every lineament in their +wizened faces had been printed on the pupil’s hearts. And what a +revelation was the rendering made by the stern master who had simply been +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> corrector of wrong sounds, the cold, severe tyrant of the school who +had never seemed to feel one touch of sympathy for the young hearts under +his control.</p> + +<p>Many of the dry and colourless pictures under the touch of this stern and +apparently cold-blooded teacher became instinct with life, and human faces +peered through them, and the voices of men that lived ages ago could be +heard speaking in the language of to-day, exhorting the scholars to a +noble and a virtuous ambition. Others, again, exhaled the fragrance of the +fields and the perfume of flowers, whilst one could hear the rustling of +the corn as the breeze swept over it, and could see in imagination the +mountains with their sun-crowned summits and the shadows chasing each +other like school-boys along their rugged sides.</p> + +<p>The whole of Chinese history that had lain within the cold and lifeless +grasp of these square little puzzles which he had looked upon with +unutterable loathing for five years, now under the magic touch of the +teacher’s hand began to tell the story of the past. He now heard for the +first time of the great revolutions that had changed the destinies of +proud dynasties, and listened to the clang of battle, and the mighty +heroes who had figured in the nation’s life centuries ago now seemed to +march by, and he appeared to be able to catch a glimpse of their faces and +to compare the pictures of them that he had imagined in his mind with the +reality now before him.</p> + +<p>One very unhappy result of compelling the boys to spend four or five years +in merely learning the sounds of the words, and in familiarizing them with +their look without at the same time acquiring a knowledge of their +meaning, is to greatly reduce the number of those who can read any book +that is put before them as is the case in the West. Fully sixty per cent. +of the lads that enter the common schools leave before they reach the +second stage. There are many reasons for this, but the chief one is a +financial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> one. The parents are poor, and so when a boy reaches a certain +age his services may be required to help in the support of the family, or +a good situation is offered that does not demand much education, and the +lad is glad of any excuse that will take him away from the heartbreaking +drudgery of simply learning sounds; and so he jumps for joy when his books +are thrown aside, and as he realizes that he is never more required to +enter the school-room again.</p> + +<p>All these boys have acquired a certain smattering of knowledge, which, +however, is absolutely useless to them for the purpose of enabling them to +read. One constantly meets with men that can read a page of a book who +have not the remotest idea of what the meaning of the passage is. This is +because they left school before the second stage in their education was +reached, and therefore for all practical purposes they are no better off +than those who have never received any instruction when they were lads. +The mandarins are accustomed to put out proclamations about anything they +wish to order or to instruct the people under their charge. These are +posted up in prominent places throughout the town, and knots of men gather +round them who seem to be able to read fluently the strange +mysterious-looking symbols that compose them. You ask a man who is reading +one of these to explain to you what the mandarin wishes to be done. He +says he really cannot tell you, for when he was at school he never got +further than the initial stage of learning to recognize the characters +with the names that belong to them, and therefore he is unable to explain +to you what the mandarin is forbidding or what regulations he is issuing +for the conduct of the people.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img37.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A SCHOLAR IN OFFICIAL DRESS.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 16em;"><small><i>To face p. 258.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>The consequence of this utterly insane plan of education is that for a +civilized country such as China claims to be, the people are grossly +ignorant and uneducated. Taking the population at four hundred millions, +and say half of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> these are women who may safely be said to have never +been to any school when they were girls, that leaves two hundred millions +of men to be considered. Sinologues who have been well qualified to deal +with the subject, after serious calculations have come to the conclusion +that not more than fifteen millions of readers exist throughout the length +and breadth of the land. These include men who have a mere smattering of +education, but who know enough to be book-keepers and accountants, and +doctors who can write their own prescriptions, and shopkeepers who can +make out their bills, but in such misshapen and uncouth hieroglyphics that +they would make Confucius shudder with disgust were he allowed to visit +the earth, and see what caricatures these men have made of the marvellous +inventions of the darkest ages of China.</p> + +<p>Fifteen millions is to my mind a most liberal estimate of the readers of +this country. Why writers on China should have persistently represented +the people of this land as being highly educated is a mystery to those who +profess to be only moderately acquainted with the subject. The country is +illiterate, grossly illiterate, and as a result is festering with pride +and with contempt for every other nation outside of the Middle Kingdom. +There is just now going on throughout the country, however, a tremendous +awakening, and the rush after education on Western lines is one in which +all classes of society are united. The old obsolete system is doomed, and +the youth of the future will be no more subject to the pain and the +weariness and the heartbreaking that countless generations of the young +manhood of the country have had to endure in the past.</p> + +<p>We now come to the school-books of the nation, for though there never has +been an Educational Board in China, and none of the dynasties that have +successively sat on the Dragon Throne of this Empire have ever legislated +with regard to the teaching of the youth of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> land, there has always +existed but one set of books that are the text books in every school +throughout the country, and which have been used in every scholastic +institution that has ever existed in the long ages of the past. The +Chinaman is thoroughgoing in his conservatism. He has never weakened on +that subject. Even in his smells he is the rankest Tory that ever lived. +The odours that reek through the streets, and send their aroma down the +alleyways, and gently mingle in the atmosphere of the homes, have nothing +modern in them, but are the lineal descendants of a long line of ancestors +that vanish from sight in the mist and obscurity of a remote past.</p> + +<p>As a result of this national instinct, no teacher has ever had the +hardihood to propose that there should be any alteration in the books that +should be used in the instruction either of the young or of the more +advanced pupils who may be planning for literary honours. This is all the +more remarkable considering the wide extent of territory of the Chinese +Empire, and of the varieties of languages that are used by the people.</p> + +<p>The Chinese are generally spoken of as one race, and so they are in the +great outstanding features that constitute them one distinct nation, and +yet they are divided off from one another in many large regions by +dialects so different from each other, that the people occupying them +cannot understand the languages that are spoken in those outside of their +own.</p> + +<p>It would have seemed that such radical differences as those produced by +what is practically a foreign language would have led to different methods +and different ideals as to the management of their schools, but they have +not. You pass along the great plains where the fertility of the soil has +given prosperity to the people, and you examine the schools and you find +one set of text books in every one. You travel over mountain ranges where +the people are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> having a severe struggle for existence and where a +language is spoken that needs an interpreter before you can enter into +conversation with them. You enter into their village schools and you find +the same familiar books, but the names given to the strange weird-looking +little pictures are so different from those they call them on the other +side of the mountains that you cannot recognize them. You pass up the +great Yang-tze, the “Son of the Ocean,” and you step out of your boats a +few hundred miles apart from the last place you rested at, and you +discover that every locality has its own dialect. You make your way to the +nearest school, and still the same books meet your eye, with just the same +dog-eared, uninviting appearance that they present in any latitude or +longitude of the Empire in which you may meet them. You listen to see if +you can catch the tones in which the lads scream out at the top of their +voices the uncouth metallic tones in which they call out the names of the +pictures that fill the pages of their books, but they change in every +place you visit, and your mind is filled with a kind of wonder at the +immense variety of tones and dialects in which the students of this vast +country ring the changes on the books that for countless ages have been +the only ones from which they have had to study.</p> + +<p>With regard to these school-books it has to be stated that there has never +been any attempt made to render them attractive to the children that use +them. In England the very reverse of this is the case. They are printed as +a rule on clean white paper, and in a type that is so distinct that the +pupils have never to strain their eyes to make out the letterpress. In +addition to this, most of the books are illustrated with beautiful +pictures that give a fascination to the pages, whilst they help the +scholars to grasp the meaning of the subjects that they have to study.</p> + +<p>Now in China there is nothing done to ease the sorrows<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> of the lads in +their grappling with this huge language of cryptic pictures that refuse to +have their meanings explored excepting after years of most painful study. +The books are printed upon the very poorest paper in order to lessen the +cost. The words, too, are often blurred and indistinct, for the wooden +blocks from which they are printed are generally so worn by years of use, +that the delicate strokes and minute touches with the pen, and the +involved and complicated interweaving of straight and waving lines that go +to the making up of the old-world-looking pictures, get frayed and broken +in the printing, so that it requires a practised eye to distinguish some +of them from others that have a natural likeness.</p> + +<p>The pages of these books present a most dreary and uninviting appearance. +They are never lightened by any pictures, and no artist has ever attempted +to vary the dreariness of school life by any sketches from nature or any +scene from human life. It is no wonder that the artistic faculty in the +Chinaman has been developed in a grotesque and unrealistic fashion, or +that nature seems to be made to be conformed to the stiff and formal +characters upon which the eyes of the youth of China have to look during +the early years when the artistic element is waiting to be moulded into +those finer shapes that will produce the great pictures that are seen in +the West. Art in China has never had any room in which to play her part in +the development of the mind, or in training the fancies and the +imagination of men. The artist in this land is a man that draws his scenes +by rule and compass, and he would lose caste were he to violate certain +canons that must be observed in the drawing of a landscape or in the pose +or attitude of the human figure. He never dreams of going out into the +fields or of sitting on a hillside and of trying to reproduce the scene +that lies stretched before him. There is no freedom and no losing of +oneself in the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>inspiration of the moment, when forgetful of rules and +mastered by the subtle forces that have touched his dreams into action, he +shall produce something that no man has ever done before him. The chill of +the years is upon him, when he was compelled, at the very time when his +soul was in the process of formation, to keep his gaze upon those square +unartistic hieroglyphics, and crushing down all the poetry and all the +romance that lay dormant in his nature, to take these as the highest +ideals for all his conceptions of art in the future.</p> + +<p>The first book that is put into the hands of the young scholar is called +the <i>Three Word Classic</i>, because it is written in stanzas of three words +each. It would naturally be supposed that this book was of the simplest +and most elementary character, and suited for the immature minds and +brains of the lads who are called upon to study it. In the West this would +certainly have been the case, but the East, with its metaphysical trend of +thought and tendency to mysticism, refuses to consider that it has to come +down to the level of the young who are just beginning their studies, and +whose minds can grasp only the commonest and the most everyday thoughts.</p> + +<p>The result is there is not to-day a single child’s book in China, and no +fairy stories for children, and no household rhymes that can be bought at +the booksellers, and put into the hands of the little ones in the nursery. +The books in this land are for grown-up men, and demand thought and study +and ponderous commentaries in order to be understood; and yet it is these +very same that are put into the hands of a youth of tender years when he +begins to grapple with this gigantic system of mystic pictures that +contain the thoughts and passions and feelings of the Chinese race.</p> + +<p>The <i>Three Word Classic</i> is a very admirable instance of the beau ideal +kind of book that the educationist of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> this land puts into the hands of a +boy, say, of eight or nine years of age. It begins by saying—</p> + +<p class="poem">“Man at birth,<br /> +His Nature’s virtuous,<br /> +All natures alike,<br /> +Vary by experience.<br /> +Formerly Mencius’ mother<br /> +Chose her locality,<br /> +Son refused study<br /> +She severed web,” etc.</p> + +<p>The meaning of this passage when put into a little more diffuse language +is that when a child is born his heart is naturally good and inclined to +virtue. All children in fact come into the world with natures very much +like each other, and that it is only as they grow up and come under the +influence of surrounding circumstances that they do not all turn out good. +It is not men’s natures that are corrupt, but it is the influence of evil +companions and bad training that lead so many astray, and prevent men from +following the bent that is in every man’s mind towards virtue.</p> + +<p>To illustrate this, the case of the great philosopher Mencius is described +with some minuteness. It appears that he had a mother who was a woman of +great force of character. She was determined that her son should grow up +to be a great man, but in order to secure this it was essential that his +surroundings should be such as would be helpful to the carrying out of +this ambition of the mother’s heart. Three times did she remove from the +localities she had chosen for her home, because the neighbours were not up +to the moral standard that would qualify them to be proper examples for +her son.</p> + +<p>At length having found the home that satisfied her, she discovered to her +sorrow that Mencius was not inclined to work up to her ideal. He was a +high-spirited lad and full of animal spirits, and preferred to be flying +kites or spinning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> tops, or tossing the shuttlecock from one to another +with the side of his shoe, to serious study with his books. She was a +brave woman was this mother of the future philosopher. She was quite alone +in the world, for her husband was dead and her relatives lived far away, +and her only source of livelihood was the loom on which she wove the webs +that she disposed of in the nearest market town.</p> + +<p>At length the crisis came. One day she had been begging and entreating her +son to be a good boy and give his heart to his studies. He did not seem +moved, however, by her passionate appeals, and in her agony of spirit, and +feeling that life had no charm for her, she grasped a knife that lay by +and began to cut and mangle the web she was weaving. Mencius was so +horrified at this proceeding of his mother, and so cut to the heart that +his conduct should have driven her to such an act of despair, that with +tears in his eyes he promised that he would never trouble her again with +any misconduct of his. From that day he was completely changed. With heart +and soul he entered into his studies. He became a distinguished scholar, +and finally produced works that have moulded and influenced the thinkers +of this nation from his own times (<span class="smcaplc">B.C.</span> 372-289) down to the present.</p> + +<p>Other examples are given in this famous school-book of men who, desiring +to conform to the high principles that lie embedded in the soul of every +child at birth, have fought manfully against external circumstances and +have come out successful in the end. It is told of one man who +subsequently became very distinguished, that when he was a young man he +was so poor that he had no money to buy oil with which to study after +dark. So determined, however, was he that his evenings should not be +wasted, that he hit upon the ingenious plan of catching a number of +fireflies, and from the light they threw out he kept up his reading as +late into the night as he desired. Another man equally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> poor used to take +his book out on a winter’s night, and by the lights of the snow that fell +on it pursue his studies after all the rest of the family were buried in +slumber.</p> + +<p>The next book that follows hard upon the <i>Three Word Classic</i> is the +<i>Classic on Filial Piety</i>, a book that was written by the great sage +Confucius, and is a voluminous disquisition upon the duties and virtues of +honouring one’s parents. There is no doubt but that the profound respect +that the Chinese have for the doctrine of filial piety has been fostered +in the nation by this work having been for so many centuries the +school-book of the children in all the schools throughout the length and +breadth of the land.</p> + +<p>Although in practical life one looks often in vain for a large and general +carrying out of the principles laid down by Confucius, there is no doubt +that there is such a universal acceptance of this divinely commanded +virtue that the effect on the nation has been extremely beneficial. The +ideal is in the air and permeates human life at every point, and though +men through the infirmities of their fallen nature often transgress the +teachings of the sages on this point, there is still a vast amount of +restraint that is put upon the passions of men’s hearts in their treatment +of their parents.</p> + +<p>Before the <i>Classic on Filial Piety</i> has been read through, the youthful +pupils are introduced to the study of the masterpieces of the great +writers and thinkers of the nation. There are no gradual and easy stages +that are to land them finally into the abstruse style and profound +thinking of the books that have really shaped the life and thought of the +Chinese race. In England there are innumerable stepping-stones between the +story of Jack and Jill and Macaulay’s <i>History of England</i>, and boys of +ten or eleven would never be called upon to attempt the study of the +latter. The lads of China, however, are not treated with the same +indulgence, for they are put to the study of books that test the thinking +powers of the wisest and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> most distinguished scholars in the land. A +brief statement of the teaching of these will show what is the kind of +studies that the youth in China has for a long course of centuries been +compelled to submit to.</p> + +<p>The first in order of the “Four Books” that is put into the hands of the +pupils is <i>The Great Learning</i>. The leading thoughts that are discussed in +it are how men are to control themselves so that they may become useful +members of society; how they are to manage their families so that peace +may be preserved in the home and the sons and daughters turn out well; and +lastly, the best methods of governing a state so that the highest +happiness may be secured to all its inhabitants. These three points that +affect the whole of society in some form or other, may well be considered +the greatest kind of learning that any man might desire to master.</p> + +<p>The next is <i>The Doctrine of the Mean</i>, a book that is insufferably dull +and monotonous, but is filled with arguments to show that men should not +rush into extremes, but should pursue the middle path in every undertaking +in which they may engage. It is one of the most difficult of the “Four +Books” to understand, but its main drift is that which has been indicated +above. Following on this confessedly difficult work are the writings of +Mencius, to whom reference has been made in the previous pages. This +philosopher was a most practical and a most genial kind of writer. To him +belongs the honour of defining what he calls the five virtues that are +eternal in their character, viz. love, righteousness, courtesy, a wise +appreciation of life, and sincerity. He dwells, however, more fully on the +two first, and shows how in the management of a state they are most +important factors, without which it must eventually come to destruction.</p> + +<p>The fourth book is called the <i>Analects</i>, or it might be termed the Table +Talk of Confucius, for it is largely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> made up of brief and pithy +utterances of the great sage whilst conversing with the various characters +that appear in its pages. Like Mencius, he has had the distinction of +marking out a fivefold relationship that has been accepted by succeeding +ages as a very masterpiece of thought and genius. These are the relation +between sovereign and people, between parents and children, between +husband and wife, between elder and younger brothers, and between friend +and friend. These are discussed very fully, and it is shown that the +divisions that Confucius made, if properly recognized and carried out, +would secure happiness and prosperity to all the people of any country or +state.</p> + +<p>There are two figures, however, in this interesting work that are of +surpassing interest, and that have had a profound effect on the character +and thought of the nation ever since. These are what Confucius calls “The +Son of a King,” and “The Small Man.” The former of these is the conception +in the mind of the great sage of what he deemed to be the ideal man. It is +not, however, one born in a palace and heir to a throne. He might first +have seen the light of day in a cottage, and have spent all his life +there. The conception was of a man of princely mind, who acted as though +he were really the son of a king and was destined one day to rule an +Empire. His thoughts were all noble, and no shadow of anything mean or +despicable ever fell upon his soul. “The Small Man” was the very reverse +of this. He was common and mean in all that he did. No lofty thought ever +crossed his mind, and no ambition to excel in the finer qualities that +make up the beautiful life ever lifted him up for a moment from the low +level in which he constantly lived. If Confucius had never written another +word, but had been simply content to have flashed this inspiration of +genius in the pictures he has drawn of these two characters upon the +coming centuries, he would have done incalculable service to his race.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>Following on the “Four Books” there come in quick succession the “Five +Classics,” which are given to the boys to read. The first of these is the +<i>Book of Poetry</i>, which contains the national songs that were sung by the +fathers of the race, as well as those used on royal and solemn occasions, +such as when some great function was being performed in the presence of +the sovereign, or when in the ancestral halls the members of the clans +were assembled to offer sacrifices to the spirits of their ancestors. From +a Western standpoint they are insufferably dull as a whole, for they are +wanting in passion and intensity, and never seem to be able to stir men +into enthusiasm or to set the blood on fire.</p> + +<p>The next in order of study is the <i>Book of History</i>, which contains the +brief record of some of the leading events that took place in the first +five dynasties that ruled over the Chinese race from <span class="smcaplc">B.C.</span> 2357, down to +the year <span class="smcaplc">B.C.</span> 627.<a name='fna_3' id='fna_3' href='#f_3'><small>[3]</small></a> Then comes the <i>Record of Ceremonies</i>, which +contains minute directions how to act with ceremonious politeness to the +members of one’s own family, to strangers, to those in authority, and to +any one that one may meet in society under every and any conditions +whatsoever.</p> + +<p>It is most amusing to read of the minute directions that are given in this +manual of etiquette with regard to the way in which parents should be +treated by their children. “Boys and girls who are still under age ought +to rise from their beds at dawn and wash their hands and rinse their +mouths, and carefully comb their hair. They should then hasten to the +bedroom of their parents and inquire if they are in need of any +refreshment. If they are, they must at once proceed to the kitchen and +provide something savoury for them to partake of, and they must stand by +with heads slightly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> lowered in token of profound respect whilst they are +eating the food they have prepared for them.”</p> + +<p>Rules even are laid down as to how the children should act when a father, +for example, has been doing something that needs reproof. “When he has +been in error the son must point this out in an exceedingly humble manner, +in a gentle tone and a countenance on which there must not be the shadow +of a frown. If the father refuses to listen, the son must become still +more dutiful than he has ever been, until finding that any unpleasant +feeling has passed away he must again with great respect point out what he +considers ought to be rectified in his conduct, and try and show him the +injury he is doing to the department, district, village or neighbourhood +in which he lives. Should the father be so enraged at this as to beat his +son till the blood flows down, he must not dare to harbour the least +resentment against him, but must serve him with increased respect and +reverence.”</p> + +<p>The fourth of the “Five Classics” is called the <i>Record of the Spring and +Autumn</i>, and was composed by Confucius. His object in writing it was to +give a narrative of events in continuation of the history contained in the +<i>Book of History</i> mentioned above. He desired also to give the nation a +lasting monument of himself, for he seemed to be haunted with an idea that +if he did not leave some record of himself, his name and his memory would +perish from the face of the earth.</p> + +<p>His narrative of events extends from <span class="smcaplc">B.C.</span> 722-480, but the whole thing has +been done in the most inartistic fashion. The sentences are brief and +matter of fact, and whether it be an atrocious murder or a deed of heroism +that is recorded, the author is careful to conceal what his own views are +with regard to them. No details are given and no opinion expressed, the +facts are simply recorded, and that is all; and yet Confucius declared +that it would be by the <i>Records of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> the Spring and Autumn</i> that +succeeding ages would either honour or condemn him, a prediction that was +bound never to be fulfilled.</p> + +<p>The last of the “Five Classics” is the <i>Book of Changes</i>, the most +mysterious and the most unfathomable of all the books in the Chinese +language. It consists of sixty-four short essays, and is founded upon the +same number of lineal figures, each made up of six lines, some of which +are whole and some are divided. From these figures are evolved all kinds +of theories on moral, social, and spiritualistic questions. It is the +happy hunting-ground of fortune-tellers, who can predict from the peculiar +way in which the lines happen to be placed in relation to each other +whether prosperity is to come into a man’s life, or whether misery and +sorrow are to close it in disaster.</p> + +<p>In the above I have given a very rough and general summary of the +school-books that the youth of China have had to study from the earliest +days down to the present. The common subjects that are taught in the +schools at home, such as arithmetic, geography, grammar, and such like, +have no place in the schools of this country. The result is that the whole +nation is grossly ignorant of every other country outside of their own, +and this has engendered conceit and contempt and an arrogant spirit for +countries that stand in the van of civilization in the West.</p> + +<p>But a mighty change is even now working in this old Empire, and men are +beginning to realize that the system of education that has so far been in +existence is a radically defective one, and must be displaced by those +that are more in a line with the ones that have raised the West to such a +high pitch of learning in so many departments of study. There is just now +a tremendous thirst for Western education, and the nation seems prepared +to abandon the old conservative systems that have been such a hindrance to +the advance of thought in the past.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> +<p class="title">THE MANDARIN</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Mandarins’ great power—Ambition of every father that son should be a +mandarin—A famous Prime Minister—Description of a mandarin of a +county—His three titles—Clever method of squeezing complainant and +defendant—A typical case—Crime not noticed until officially brought +before the notice of the mandarin—Violations of law by mandarins for +the purpose of squeezing—Methods of judicial procedure—Torture used +to cause confession—Mandarins allowed large discretionary powers in +their decisions—Two typical instances.</p></div> + + +<p>Any man who is in office under the Government is called a mandarin. It +must be understood, however, that he is actually in its service to get +this honourable title for whilst many, through courtesy, are addressed as +mandarins, it is only those who are in the <i>bonâ fide</i> employment of the +country that really can be considered as such.</p> + +<p>The mandarins as a class are the privileged men of the Empire. They have +large and extensive powers. In the exercise of their functions a wide +discretion is allowed them, and in their decisions as magistrates, whilst +they have to keep themselves within certain general laws recognized as the +statutes of the dynasty, they are left very much to their own wit and +common-sense as to how they shall reach the conclusions they may finally +come to. In addition to the above, the mandarins have almost unlimited +opportunities of making money and of enriching themselves and their +families.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img38.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">ENTRANCE GATE<br />(NANKIN).</p> +<p> </p> + +<p>This latter has a fascination for the Chinaman, which explains the intense +longing that every youth, who has any ambitions for the future, has to +some day become a mandarin. I presume there is hardly a son born in this +wide Empire, about whom the father does not at once begin to have his +dreams. He pictures to himself the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> time when the little fellow whose +cries are awakening new echoes in the home shall have taken his degree and +have qualified himself for some Government appointment. His visions widen +and he sees him advanced from one post to another, and growing in power +and in wealth, until he finally returns to his ancestral home to build a +magnificent mansion and to enrich every member of it.</p> + +<p>As the mandarins all spring from the people, without any reference to +class or social position, the dreams that the parents often have about +their sons are not the fairy creations of fancy like those of Aladdin’s +wonderful lamp, but in countless instances are real romances that are more +marvellous than any writer of fiction has ever conceived. In one of my +travels in the interior of China in passing along a great thoroughfare, I +came upon a magnificent grave. I saw at once it was the tomb of a man that +had been a great mandarin, for only such could possibly have had such a +splendid monument erected in connection with his last resting place.</p> + +<p>The tomb, that stood high and conspicuous far back from the highway along +which a constant stream of travellers passed to and fro, was situated at +the end of a great avenue flanked on both sides by huge stone figures +larger than life. The whole was intended to represent the official +residence and court of a high mandarin. There were stone lions guarding +the approaches to where the great official was supposed to be visiting, +and granite horses with their riders waiting patiently for the coming of +their lord, and stone footmen who had been standing for more than a +century for one whose footsteps would never again be heard by human ears.</p> + +<p>There was quite a romantic story connected with this grave. Nearly two +hundred years ago, the ground occupied by it was a poor little farm, +cultivated by a family who could barely get enough out of it to keep body +and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> soul together. A son was born, and as the lad grew up, the parents +seeing that he was a child of uncommon natural abilities, determined that +he should be a scholar, and that he should retrieve the glories of his +house which tradition declared had in former years been most conspicuous, +and should bring back the good fortune which had been vanishing slowly +from their home.</p> + +<p>He was accordingly kept at school when he should have been helping on the +farm or going out as a labourer to earn a few cash to ease the poverty +that held the family within its grip. To do this meant a struggle for them +all, and ceaseless self-denial both for the parents and for the young +scholar himself, but after years of a stern struggle to keep the wolf from +the door, the faith and patience of them all were rewarded by the success +of the son.</p> + +<p>He passed his examinations with such brilliant success, that he was soon +made a mandarin, and he was appointed to the control of a rich county +where he had ample opportunities of showing the Government how well fitted +he was to rule. From this time the shadow that had rested on his home +lifted, for he was now in a position to send sufficient money to his +parents to enable them to live in luxury. The old house, battered by the +weather and falling into decay, was rebuilt and enlarged. Fresh fields +were bought and added to the farm, and servants and field hands were +employed to gather in the harvests that filled their home with abundance.</p> + +<p>In the meanwhile the son had been advanced from one post to another, until +finally he was summoned to the capital by the Emperor and made Prime +Minister. During these years his wealth had been accumulating, until now +he had a large fortune at his command, which, true to Chinese nature and +to Chinese traditions, he had sent to his old home, and which he had spent +largely in the purchase of lands which he added to his own, and of farms +which he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> let out to farmers, who had lost their own, to cultivate for +him.</p> + +<p>At length the time came for him to die, and with the strong passion for +his home where he was reared that supplies the place of patriotism to the +Chinese, he made arrangements that his body should be carried to the place +where he was born, and should be buried in one of the fields in sight of +his old home, where his grave could be cared for, and where his spirit +could be sacrificed to by the members of his own family.</p> + +<p>This meant a journey of over a thousand miles, over great plains and up +and down hills and mountains, and across wide rivers, and months of steady +journeying for a large retinue that would have to follow the dead +statesman in a kind of triumphal march across the Empire.</p> + +<p>At length the great procession reached the place where the illustrious +dead was to be laid. The whole country round had gathered to witness the +proceedings, for never before, in this region at least, had such a +magnificent funeral been witnessed by any one. There were civil mandarins +of various ranks, dressed in their official robes, with their retinues and +attendants and gorgeous sedan chairs. There were also the highest military +mandarins of the province, with long lines of soldiers, that had been +ordered by imperial edict to do honour to the dead by their presence.</p> + +<p>And now the coffin was lowered into the grave amid the blare of trumpets +and the loud wailing of the mourners dressed in sackcloth, whilst crowds +gazed on the scene from every little rising ground, and the proud and +haughty officials pondered with solemn faces upon the honour that had been +done that day to a man who had risen from such a humble condition in life.</p> + +<p>One would have imagined that as the mandarins, or rulers of the country, +are all recruited from the ranks of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> people, they would naturally be +in sympathy with them, and would do their utmost to deliver them from the +tyranny and oppression from which they too often suffer, but this is not +the case. The fact is the mandarins, as a whole, are the great curse of +the nation. They are rapacious and exacting. They have no regard for +justice or mercy, when these conflict with their own self-interests, and +they are the bitter opponents of any plans of reform, knowing that the +carrying out of such would endanger their own vested interests, and +deprive them of the arbitrary powers they now possess.</p> + +<p>In order to give the reader some practical idea of what are the duties and +responsibilities of a mandarin, I propose to select one and describe him +as graphically as I can, so that one may have a picture of him before the +mind’s eye. For this purpose, I shall take the “County Mandarin,” for +though there are many others that are superior to him in rank, there is +not one whose duties are so multifarious, or who is so responsible for the +order and good government of his district as he is.</p> + +<p>He has three titles by which he is equally well known throughout the whole +of the Empire. The first of these is the “County Mandarin,” because he is +the chief official in it, and his authority is the predominant one +throughout the whole of the county. Even in cases where his immediate +superior wishes any action to be carried out within his jurisdiction, he +has to request the county mandarin to see it executed. The second of his +titles is “The man that knows the County,” from the fact that it is +assumed that he is so intimately acquainted with everything that goes on +within his district that nothing can possibly happen in it without his +being thoroughly cognizant of it. This assumption of course is an utterly +ridiculous one, as it would be manifestly absurd to suppose that any +mortal man could know what is happening by day or night<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> throughout a +large county. The title, however, which has come down from the past, and +which the man accepted when he took office, serves to make him responsible +for all that goes on within his jurisdiction. The theory of the Chinese +Government that every one in some way or other is responsible for what may +take place in society, enables it to at once put its finger on the person +who has to be dealt with in the case of any infraction of the law, though +he himself may not be the individual who has committed the offence.</p> + +<p>A murder, for example, is committed during the darkness of the night. It +was done in some alleyway and there is no trace of those who killed the +man. The bailiff of the ward is summoned to appear before the local +mandarin, and he is asked if he has apprehended the murderer. He makes the +excuse that the whole thing happened during the night when the whole city +was asleep, and therefore he could not possibly be cognizant of what all +the scamps and ruffians were doing when honest men were in their beds and +were fast asleep.</p> + +<p>That excuse, which would at once be accepted in England, would be laughed +at in China, and the bailiff would be reminded that it was his business to +know everything that went on in his ward, and very likely he would receive +a hundred blows to refresh his memory, and the promise of as many more if +the culprit were not captured within a certain limited time. By this same +doctrine of responsibility, “The man that knows the County” is held by the +Government to be one that must bear on his shoulders the consequences of +whatever may happen in any part of the county over which he rules.</p> + +<p>A third title that is given to the official I am describing is, “The +mandarin that is the Father and Mother of the People.” This term is a very +pretty one and is given to no other official. It is intended to indicate +the very intimate relationship that exists between him and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> people, +and the tender concern that he ought to have for their welfare. As the +child runs to its mother in time of trouble and gets comfort from her +sympathy, so the people of a county turn to this mandarin, when they are +threatened with injustice or oppression, and so he, in the spirit of a +father when he sees his own son in distress, bends all his energies to +protect and comfort them. This is a beautiful theory, which the ancient +legislators of this country in some moment of inspiration conceived, but +the actual fact is that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, instead of +being a father or a mother, he is more like a hungry tiger that desires to +dig its claws into the flesh of a lamb, to satisfy its appetite upon it.</p> + +<p>The mandarin whom I am describing has just received an appointment to the +county, say, of “Eternal Spring,” for which he has paid the modest sum of +a thousand pounds to the high official who had the disposal of the office. +He is an ambitious man, and his great aim is not only speedily to recoup +himself this initial outlay, but also to lay by a considerable sum to +carry with him to his ancestral home and enable him to live in easy +circumstances for some years to come. As his term of office lasts only +three years and his salary is not more than three hundred a year, it would +seem that he would require to be a conjuror to accomplish these two +objects in the limited time at his command.</p> + +<p>That he can do, and in the great majority of cases actually does perform, +such remarkable financial legerdemain is a fact that is entirely due to +the vicious system on which the whole civil service in China is based. It +is perfectly understood by the Government that when a mandarin is +appointed to any official position under it, the squeezes he has to pay +for it, and the inadequate salary he will receive for his services, are +all to be met and supplemented by what he can wring out of the people. +This system is as old as the nation, and has become so <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>inwrought and +worked into its very fibre, that a new creation of national life would +seem to be essential before it could be eradicated from the body politic. +When the mandarin arrives at his Yamen, which is his residence and the +place where all the official business of the county is transacted, he is +met by the whole staff of men who are to assist him in the arduous duties +that fall to him as the chief magistrate in the large district he has been +appointed to rule. These consist of a private secretary, an interpreter, a +number of writers who write dispatches and conduct any correspondence that +may arise, a large body of policemen, or runners as they are generally +called in the East, and a dozen disreputable-looking men who form the +retinue of the mandarin, when he is called out to settle disturbances in +any part of his large field, or adjudicate on cases that have to be tried +on the spot.</p> + +<p>Nominally he is responsible for all the salaries that this great crowd of +men receive, and one wonders how he manages to pay them all out of his +three hundred a year. The real fact of the case is, the only man that +receives any salary from him is his private secretary. All the rest +purchase the privilege of being employed in his service, and give the +whole of their time free simply for being permitted to extract out of the +people who come to engage in lawsuits, or from those who have fallen +within the grip of the law, fees and squeezes and perquisites enough to +give them a very good permanent income.</p> + +<p>It is very interesting to watch the way in which these gentry carry on +their official work, and how as ministers of justice in executing the +decisions of the mandarin their one aim seems to be to extract as much out +of the pockets of the people they are operating on as it is possible for +them to do.</p> + +<p>A farmer, for example, comes one day into the Yamen to lay a complaint +against a rich neighbour who has taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> forcible possession of some of his +fields. He produces the deeds of his lands, and shows how they have been +in his family for several generations and that they have never been +alienated either by sale or by mortgage. The rich man has simply taken +forcible possession of them because he belongs to a formidable clan, he +declares, and not because he has any right to the fields.</p> + +<p>The runners are delighted with this case, for the fact that there is a +rich man in it makes it certain that some of his dollars will be +transferred to their pockets. The complaint is formally accepted by the +mandarin, and the court fees having been paid, a warrant is issued for the +arrest of the man who has been accused.</p> + +<p>The runners or policemen start out on their journey with light and joyous +hearts. The road that leads away from the main thoroughfare takes them +through rice fields, and skirts the foothills, and runs through villages, +until at last it brings them by a narrow pathway to the house of the rich +man they have come to arrest.</p> + +<p>The whole village is excited by the arrival of these messengers of the +law, for they are always a sign of ill omen, and the only man that can +face them without being terrified is the man who knows that he has the +means to satisfy their cupidity and to thus avoid being roughly handled by +them. A crowd as if by magic silently gathers round the open door through +which the runners have entered, and the women from the neighbouring houses +collect in excited knots, and with flushed faces discuss the wonderful +news of their village life.</p> + +<p>The rich man, with as calm and as indifferent a manner as he can assume, +though his heart is beating fast, comes out into the courtyard where the +runners are standing and politely asks them what is their business with +him. They tell him they have a warrant for his arrest for seizing some +fields that belong to one of his neighbours, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> mandarin has +ordered them to bring him to his court to be tried for the offence.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img39.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A POLICEMAN.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 16em;"><small><i>To face p. 280.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>Whilst the warrant is being read, the accused has had time to collect his +wits. He of course denies the accusation, and politely asks the men to be +seated. At the same time he calls the cook, and declaring that they must +be tired and hungry after their long walk, he orders him to at once get +dinner ready for them, and in a whisper he gives him a hint that he does +not wish him to spare any expense in providing such a meal as will put +them in the best humour possible.</p> + +<p>The runners freely protest that they have no time to delay, that their +orders are imperative, and that the “Father and Mother of his People” is +impatiently awaiting their return. This of course is all put on, for +dinner is just the one thing they have been looking forward to; so +pretending to yield to the entreaties of their host, they at once make +themselves at home. They smoke their pipes and then laugh and chat with +the members of the household, just as though they had been invited guests, +and not policemen who had come to carry off the head of it to prison.</p> + +<p>After a time, when they have got into a comfortable humour with each +other, the rich man takes the head runner aside, and after a few minutes +of earnest conversation and the slipping of a few dollars into his hand, +an air of increased geniality seems to have suddenly sprung up between him +and his uninvited guests. They are now most polite and deferential to him, +and the swaggering, bullying manner natural to them is replaced by a +childlike gentleness that is really most touching. Dinner over, instead of +incontinently grabbing him by the tail and hauling him along the road as +their instinct would prompt them in the case of any of the common people, +they part from him with smiles and bows and high-flown compliments, whilst +the culprit actually stands at his door, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> ostentatiously, for the +benefit of the man who has accused him of stealing his fields, entreats +them not to leave him too soon, and assures them that his heart will be +desolated if they do not come quickly and pay him another visit.</p> + +<p>When they reach the Yamen, the “Man that knows the County” demands of them +where their prisoner is. They have their story all ready, and they explain +that when they reached his home they could find no trace of him, and that +without any explanation to his friends he had disappeared and they could +not find him. They declare, however, that they are keeping an eye upon the +family, who they are convinced are hiding his movements, and that before +long they will be able to arrest him and bring him before the magistrate. +There is no doubt but that both the “Man that knows the County” and these +scamps whose faces are dyed with the opium hue, all had their tongues in +their cheeks whilst this fable was being rehearsed. Both sides know that +the whole thing is a farce, but seeing that the original idea was devised +by the thinkers and humorists that lived when the history of the nation +was in twilight, it would not do for their far-off descendants to give the +show away, and so with solemn faces they play out the thing, as though a +tragedy and not a comedy were being enacted.</p> + +<p>The runners have scarcely left the house, when the rich man hastens, as +fast as he can hurry, to the city, and enters his reply to the accusation +that has been laid against him. He denies that <i>in toto</i>, and produces +deeds, that have been so deftly manufactured that they have the impress of +a hundred years upon them, and which he declares prove decisively that the +fields in question belong to him, and have come to him in proper legal +succession from his forefathers.</p> + +<p>He is careful, however, after he has put in his plea, to find out some +relatives of the “Father and Mother of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> People” who have followed him +from his distant home for occasions like this, with whom he confers. An +earnest but not an unduly prolonged conversation takes place, when a +certain sum of money changes hands, which is destined to find its way into +the pocket of the mandarin, and whose purpose is to give him such a clear +and profound grasp of the case that he will have no difficulty in deciding +that the accusation against the rich man has been a trumped-up one.</p> + +<p>Ten days go by and no further proceedings have been taken. The +complainant, well aware of the cause of this, scrapes together as large a +sum as he can possibly afford, and by the same underground method sends it +to the “Man that knows the County,” with the hope that he will be able to +see the justice of his case and give him back his fields. At the same time +he enters what in legal phraseology is called a hurrying petition, the +object of which is to hasten the action of the mandarin so as to finish up +the case without delay.</p> + +<p>Upon the receipt of this, an order is issued to the runners to go and +arrest the accused with all possible dispatch and bring him to the Yamen +so that he may be tried. The previous farce such as I have already +described is once more gone through. The runners are received with lavish +hospitality and a certain number of dollars are transferred to their +pockets, that put a smile on their features that lights them all up and +that spreads away to the back of their necks, till it finally vanishes +down their tails into thin air. On their return to the Yamen they report +that the man is still away from home, and though they have made diligent +inquiries they have not yet been able to trace his whereabouts.</p> + +<p>And so the case goes on, bribes being paid by both sides that go to swell +the gains of the “Father and Mother of his People,” whilst fees also are +squeezed out of them by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> the runners, who, as in some difficult cases in +Chancery in England, grow fat upon the spoils that they extract out of +both the complainant and defendant. Finally, after many months of +vexatious delays, when the whole hungry tribe in the Yamen see that no +more money can be got out of either side, the case is tried, when some +compromise is suggested and the parties leave the court fully convinced +that there is no such thing as justice in China.</p> + +<p>The mandarins in this land take a very Oriental idea of what their duty is +in regard to crime. They act upon the principle that unless it is legally +brought before them, and a complaint is entered in their court, they will +take no cognizance of it. Two large and wealthy villages have a quarrel, a +very common thing in China. The feud grows and the passions become excited +till finally they determine to take up arms and settle the case by a +fight. To get the aid of the supernatural on their behalf, each side +appeals to the village god, that is the patron of the clan, to know +whether it approves of the taking up of arms. Almost invariably the idol +does so, and in addition promises to give their side victory in the coming +struggle.</p> + +<p>All the old rusty jingals are brought out and furbished up; gunpowder is +bought, and spears and cruel-looking pronged instruments that have been +hidden away when there was no occasion for them, are thrown into the +common stock and are served out to the young bloods who have been getting +blue-mouldy for want of a beating.</p> + +<p>Fighting now goes on every day, and other villages round about take sides +with one of the parties, till sometimes as many as thirty, divided into +different camps, are at open war with each other. Fields are desolated, +and crops are ruthlessly destroyed. All this time the “Father and Mother +of his People” knows exactly what is going on, but as he has never been +officially informed of it, he acts on the assumption that the district +where men are being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> murdered is at absolute peace. Not a soldier is sent +to apprehend the lawbreakers, and no notice whatever is taken of the fact +that combatants are being seized and subjected to the most horrible +tortures, whilst they can get no redress from the constituted authorities +who ought to protect them.</p> + +<p>The fact of the matter is the mandarin is simply waiting his time, and +when that arrives he will come in force and rake in the golden harvest +that awaits him. In these clan fights it invariably happens that after a +time both sides become tired of the whole business, and mediators are +appointed to bring the two sides to terms with each other. This process +goes on smoothly until the question as to how much blood-money should be +paid for those who have been killed on each side arises. Where an even +number have fallen in the struggle the solution of the difficulty is an +easy one, but when the number of the slain is greater on one side than on +the other, it is in nearly every case necessary to appeal to the mandarin +to get him to use his authority to settle the matter. It is then that he +finds his opportunity of making a lot of money out of both the belligerent +parties. They have broken the law, he tells them, by carrying on war in +his Majesty’s dominions, and he must fine them for daring to take this +liberty. In many cases he has been known to return to his Yamen thousands +of dollars richer than when he left it.</p> + +<p>In the question of crime, the democracy is allowed a much larger liberty +than is the case in the West. With the exception of rebellion, or any +overt act against the Government, a Chinaman may commit the most atrocious +misdemeanours without being held responsible to the authorities, unless, +indeed, some formal complaint has been made against him. Murder, for +example, is a crime that in nine cases out of ten is always settled by the +families concerned, by a payment of blood-money. They will fight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> and +wrangle, and discuss for days together as to the compensation that is +demanded, but when once the amount has been settled and paid the whole +thing is finished, and society never dreams that the murderer owes +anything to it, or that he ought to atone to it for the injury he has done +it in killing one of the members of it.</p> + +<p>It is interesting to observe how the mandarin, with his impecunious staff, +who all represent the majesty of law in this Empire, systematically assist +certain classes of people to evade the law of the land, in consideration +of a regular payment being made to allow them to do so. Take gambling, for +instance. The gambling instinct is one of the strongest passions by which +the whole of the Chinese race may be said to be moved. There is no class +exempt from it. The rich and the poor, the men of learning in common with +the coolie who earns his living on the streets, refined ladies and the +wives and daughters of the labouring classes, all have this passion in +their blood. This is so well recognized by their rulers that gambling is +strictly forbidden throughout the Empire. There are standing laws against +it which forbid the indulgence of it in any form whatsoever. There is only +one exception to this, and that is during the first three days in the new +year. Then the nation gambles openly, and tables are placed on the +streets, around which crowds of men gather; and in the homes the women, +forgetful of their duties, are so absorbed over their cards and dice that +until the fourth day, when the gambling must stop, they seem to be driven +with as mad a passion for gain as are the men on the streets.</p> + +<p>Now the mandarin and his low-class, opium-dyed gang of followers take +advantage of this terrible weakness of the people to make money out of it; +and so a stranger to the ways of China would be immensely astonished to +find that in the market towns, and especially in those where regular fairs +are held, gambling shops where games of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> chance are played openly before +the public everywhere exist, and crowds of country bumpkins, drawn by the +universal passion, gather round the tables and, forgetful of time, lose +all sense of everything else, and become absorbed in the changing figures +of the board that bring them either fortune or despair.</p> + +<p>You naturally ask how it is that in a country where gambling is so +strictly forbidden, that here is a shop entirely given up to that vice, +and that openly and in sight of the crowds that usually flock to a fair, +the place is packed with men who make no attempt at disguising what they +are engaged in. You will soon discover that the owner of the place pays a +certain settled sum into the Yamen that is divided amongst the “Man that +knows the County” and his disreputable set of underlings; and should any +policeman happen to have official business in the fair, and were passing +along the street and saw the eager, noisy gamblers gathered round the +tables, he would profess the utmost ignorance as to what was going on in +that disreputable place. Should any of the more respectable inhabitants +make a formal complaint against the betting and gambling fraternity, the +magistrate would appear to be filled with indignation, and runners would +be sent to apprehend the lawbreakers to bring them before him to be +punished according to law. They would find, however, when they arrived +that every trace of gambling had been removed, and only perhaps a young +lad would be found, with an innocent-looking face, selling peanuts and +candies. The fact is, before they started with their warrant from the +mandarin, they sent on a swift-footed messenger ahead of them to warn the +men they were coming, and telling them to clear out.</p> + +<p>China is a country full of lofty ideas. These are found in the writings of +the sages. They are pasted up in crimson strips of paper on the doorposts +of the houses and shops in every city in the Empire. They are found +staring at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> one over the temples of the gods, and on the lofty doors of +the Yamens, so that one would suppose that these latter were churches +where the highest morality and the profoundest of theological teachings +were being daily expounded. There is no place indeed that is considered so +bad that a public sense of decency would demand that they should be +excluded from it. Low, miserable opium dens, and houses of ill-fame, and +gambling hells, and homes that are the abode of thieves are adorned with +the most exquisite sentences full of the highest morality, and seemingly +culled with the greatest care from the vast repertory that the language +contains, as if to condemn the very vices that are rampant within.</p> + +<p>One would imagine that these beautiful and choice epitomes of all the +virtues would have made the Chinese a highly moral and virtuous people, +but they have not done so. The exquisite sentences that give you a thrill +as you read them for the first time, stare down upon the inmates and upon +the passers-by without the remotest apparent effect upon any one. The +opium-hued runner, and the mandarin whose sole aim is to enrich himself, +pass in and out of the Yamen with sentences that extol righteousness and +benevolences as the highest virtues, but the Yamen remains unchanged, and +continues to be the abode of the greatest villainies. It is an undoubted +fact that it has the worst reputation for roguery and cheating and +chicanery, and the violation of all justice, of any other place throughout +the kingdom.</p> + +<p>This is no new development of modern times, but has been in existence from +ages immemorial.<a name='fna_4' id='fna_4' href='#f_4'><small>[4]</small></a> It is not, moreover, the result of any class +legislation, for all the mandarins spring from the masses, and therefore +all their vices and defects are inherited from them. There needs a +renovation of the whole social fabric to make men honest in life, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> to +cause them to refrain from the practice of things that would never be +tolerated in the common life of the Englishman of to-day. The methods of +judicial procedure in China are entirely different from those in the West. +There is no jury, no summoning and questioning of witnesses, and no +lawyers to defend their clients or to expound the law, so as to deliver +them from any penalties they might have incurred. Everything is left in +the hands of the judge, who takes whatever view may seem to him to be the +best in the case, and to decide without any reference to law books or +statutes or to legal precedents.</p> + +<p>A case, for example, is going to be tried. A man is accused of robbing a +grave, one of the most heinous crimes of which a Chinaman can be guilty. +As it is one of the axioms of Chinese law that an accused person is +assumed to be guilty, he is brought in forcibly and with brutal roughness +by some of the runners, wildly declaring that he is absolutely guiltless +of the offence with which he is charged.</p> + +<p>This protestation is, of course, taken as a kind of joke that every +prisoner is accustomed to make, so he is forcibly bumped down on to his +knees, whilst his head is made to strike the ground with a sound that is +heard throughout the court. The judge looks on him with a stern and solemn +visage, and enlarges on the enormity of his crime. He must be guilty, for +how otherwise would he be here charged with this offence? The mandarin +calls upon him to confess, but as he refuses to do this, but, on the +contrary, adheres to his statement that he is innocent, a signal is given +to the runners, who proceed to beat him most unmercifully, till his cries +ring throughout the building, and he calls in the most piteous tones to +all present to bear witness that he never committed the crime with which +he is charged. After a time, seeing that he remains obstinate, the +castigation is stopped, and the man, bleeding and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> wounded, is dragged out +by his tail by the runners and thrown into a dismal dungeon, with some +dirty straw in a corner, and where he can consider whether he will confess +as the mandarin commands him, or whether he will consent to endure the +barbarous treatment he will receive till he does.</p> + +<p>A few days pass by, and he is again dragged into the court and the same +process is repeated, until at last, exhausted by his sufferings and unable +to endure the horrible tortures to which he is subjected, he finally +confesses that he did rob the grave. This is exactly what the mandarin has +been manœuvring for, for according to Chinese common law procedure, no +prisoner can be condemned, and there can be no execution of his sentence, +until he has signed with his own hand his confession that he is guilty. It +would seem to the unsophisticated mind of the Barbarian that has never +been enlightened by the civilizing influences of the sages, that criminal +law would find itself at a complete standstill, seeing that no man would +be willing to sign his own condemnation.</p> + +<p>This, however, is an utter mistake. The mandarin has ways and means of +persuading a refractory prisoner to make just the very confession that +will justify him in punishing him to the full extent that he believes he +deserves. There is the prison where a man may be slowly starved, and +chains and manacles, and stout bamboo rods wielded by sturdy brawny arms +that no touch of pity ever weakens. These can be used with such steady, +unfaltering perseverance that life becomes intolerable, and the poor +fellow would be ready to sign a hundred criminating documents rather than +continue to endure the tortures that are inflicted upon him.</p> + +<p>In the above accounts of the methods of judicial procedure in China, I +have selected cases that are of constant occurrence throughout the Empire. +How a nation with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> such a system of judicature has managed not only to +exist, but also to retain a vitality such as China has to-day, is a marvel +that testifies to the law-abiding character of the Chinese race. The +mandarin of to-day is about as mean and as ignoble a specimen of a ruler +as can be conceived, but he has always been the same. He is a product of +the ages. All the teachings of the sages in which he is an adept, have +never been able to produce a better. The people universally hate and +loathe him. He is the synonym for oppression, injustice, and cupidity, and +yet when a man rises from the ranks and is numbered amongst this +aristocracy of power, he never remembers the loathing of the people for +this class, whose name is distasteful to all honest men. It is quite true +that one does occasionally meet with a high-minded and honourable +mandarin, but he is simply an exception that proves the rule. The love and +devotion that the people manifest to such an exceptional character as this +only shows what a longing men have for those to rule over them who shall +exhibit in their lives some of the higher virtues by which human life is +adorned.</p> + +<p>The mandarin being untrammelled by juries or by precedents or by statute +books, and often having to depend upon his own mother wit to find out the +truth in some intricate case that comes before him, is accustomed to use +independent and original methods that would shock the legal mind of our +judges in England. Not so in this land, where they are applauded by those +who hear of them as being exceedingly ingenious and as showing the subtle +character of the minds of those who devised them. A description of some of +these may be interesting to the reader.</p> + +<p>On one occasion a farmer was going to market with two huge bundles of +firewood that balanced on a bamboo pole he was to carry on his shoulder +from his farm to the neighbouring market town. Just before leaving, his +wife<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> thrust some yards of cotton cloth that she had woven into one of the +bundles, and asked him to take them to the draper’s and dispose of them +for her at the best price he could get for them.</p> + +<p>Arriving at the town, he applied at the house of a rich scholar to whom he +had been accustomed to sell, and asked if he wanted to buy any firewood. +Finding that he did, he saw that the bundles were duly weighed and paid +for; when, walking down the narrow, ill-paved street and congratulating +himself that he had disposed of his wood so easily, he suddenly remembered +that he had forgotten all about the cloth that had been hidden in one of +them. Hastily retracing his steps, he explained to the purchaser that +there was some cotton cloth belonging to his wife concealed amongst the +wood, and he would be infinitely obliged to him if he would kindly take it +out and give it to him.</p> + +<p>The man protested that it was quite a mistake to say that there was any +cloth in either of the bundles. They had both been taken to pieces, but +nothing of the kind was found in them. He must have dropped it by the way, +or his wife may at the last have forgotten to put it in.</p> + +<p>The farmer, perfectly certain that the cloth was in the possession of the +rich man, and seeing no way of obtaining redress, wended his way to the +Yamen of the mandarin to ask his advice on the matter. This man happened +to be one whose reputation for ferreting out crime was the admiration of +all the country round. He listened to the farmer’s story very attentively, +and after a few pertinent questions he sent one of his runners and ordered +the suspected man to come and see him at once. When he came he vigorously +denied that the cloth was amongst the wood he had bought, and he declared +that the farmer had trumped up this false charge against him and ought to +be severely punished. “The Man that knows the County” seemed to sympathize +with all that he said, and rather inclined to side<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> with him against the +poor farmer. “Is it at all likely, your Excellency,” he said, “that I, a +wealthy man, would do such a mean and dishonourable act as to rob a man of +an article only worth two or three shillings in value?”</p> + +<p>In reply to this, the mandarin begged to be excused for a moment, and +going into a side room he called one of his runners, and told him to go to +the wife of the rich man and tell her that her husband had confessed that +they had the piece of cloth in their possession, and that she was to hand +it over to the runner, who would bring it to the mandarin. Fully believing +this story, she brought the stolen cloth out of the hiding place where it +had been placed for concealment, and handed it over to the policeman. It +may be easily understood how utterly dumfounded the culprit was when the +runner walked in with the stolen cloth in his hand, and how delighted the +farmer was when it was handed over to him by the “Father and Mother of his +People.” Turning to the rich man, the mandarin addressed him in very stern +language upon the meanness of his offence. “I do not like to send you to +prison,” he continued, “for that would degrade you in the sight of the +people and the members of your family. My Yamen is out of repair, and if +you will call a builder and have it thoroughly overhauled, I shall be +willing to let you off any further punishment.” As this would cost him +fully a hundred pounds, it will be quite evident that he paid dearly for +trying to rob the farmer of his cloth.</p> + +<p>One day a mandarin was being carried along a certain road in his sedan +chair, when a man who had been having a quarrel with another appealed to +him to defend him against an attempt that was being made to wrong him. He +explained that as he was walking along the road, it began to rain, and +seeing a stranger who had no umbrella he offered to share his with him as +far as they went together. Now when they were about to part, the man +claimed that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> umbrella was his, and had forcibly taken it away from +him. “The Man who knows the County” declared that it was rather a +difficult case to settle, because there was no outside evidence to be got +to help him to a decision. There was simply one man’s word against the +other, so he decided that the umbrella should be cut in two and a half +given to each.</p> + +<p>There was no appeal against this action of the mandarin, and so the men +went off, with the hacked and mangled pieces of the umbrella, much to the +amusement of the crowd that had gathered to witness this impromptu trial +on the road. They had not gone many yards ahead when the official called +one of his runners, and ordered him to follow the two men, listen to their +conversation, and mark which one of them was most severe in his +condemnation of his judgment. He was then to apprehend them both and bring +them to his Yamen, where he would give his final decision on the matter.</p> + +<p>In a short time both men were brought into court, when the runner reported +that the man that claimed that the umbrella was originally his, and that +out of good nature had shared it with the other, was most indignant at +what he called the unjust decision of the judge. The other individual, on +the other hand, treated the whole thing as a joke, and highly applauded +the conduct of the mandarin. “The Father and Mother of his People” +addressed the latter in the severest terms. He spoke of his ingratitude +and baseness of heart in returning a kindness in such a dastardly way as +he had done, and he ordered him to buy a new umbrella and give it to the +man he had wronged as a punishment for his offence. He issued also an +order that he should be made to wear the cangue<a name='fna_5' id='fna_5' href='#f_5'><small>[5]</small></a> for a fortnight, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> +that he should be made to parade up and down in front of the house of the +man he had maligned during the day, and be shut up in prison during the +night. This decision gave great satisfaction to every one excepting the +man who was so seriously affected by it.</p> + +<p>If money could only be eliminated out of the life of a mandarin he would +cease to be the despicable character he often is. In their private life +they are kind and hospitable and have the courtly manners of gentlemen. In +their public capacity, when a bribe is not in view, they have a desire as +a rule to do justice in the cases that are brought before them. In some +respects they are much to be pitied. As no man may be a higher official in +his own province, it follows that he has to live far away from his home +and his friends, amongst people strange to him, who often speak a +different language from his own. It is true that his wife and children +accompany him to his new position, but they never cease to long to be back +again at the place where their kindred dwell. To be a mandarin means power +and the facility for acquiring a fortune, but it means also exile for the +time being from the ancestral home, and constant danger of being involved +with the higher authorities should any of his mistakes or his misdeeds be +brought to light.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> +<p class="title">PEDDLER LIFE IN CHINA</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">The Chinese thrifty—Nothing wasted—Besides regular shopkeepers, +there are itinerant dealers—The “candy man”—His various kinds of +sweets—The “sweets and sours man”—The cloth peddler—Describe him +minutely—The pork peddler—The jewellery peddler—The fortune-teller.</p></div> + + +<p>The Chinese are a thrifty race. Stern necessity and a widespread poverty +that has placed vast masses of them on the very borderland of starvation, +have compelled the nation to exercise economies such as are absolutely +unknown in the richer lands of the West. We get some idea of the narrow +line that divides countless numbers of people from absolute want, by the +fact that with regard to food there is nothing of that ever wasted in +China. “Wilful waste brings woeful want” is a proverb that Chinese in +common life would have great difficulty in understanding, or indeed in any +rank of society. The famines that have in all ages desolated great regions +in China, and the desperate struggle that is constantly going on for +simply enough to eat, have surrounded food as it were with a halo, that +would make it seem like sacrilege to misuse what we should throw away as +useless or positively hurtful.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img40.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A PEDDLER.</p> +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img41.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A SHOEMAKER AT WORK ON THE STREET.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 296.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>On one occasion, I was travelling in the interior, when I was disturbed by +a violent explosion of wrath on the part of the captain of the boat. He +was evidently incensed beyond measure with one of the members of the crew, +and he used the strongest language in condemnation of him. They were all +gathered round the great rice pan having their evening meal, and with +every mouthful that was taken out of the bowl that contained the condiment +to go<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> with their rice, the anger of the captain blazed out in a fresh +burst of indignation. “What is the matter,” I at last asked, “and why are +you making such a row over your meal?” “Matter!” he replied, “there is a +great deal of matter, that is quite enough to make one as angry as I am. +Do you see this man?” he said, pointing with his chopsticks to the +delinquent upon whom his wrath was being expended. “I sent him this +afternoon to the market to buy some oysters to eat with our rice this +evening, and he had not the sense or the nose to buy good ones. He allowed +the dealer to cheat him most egregiously, for the oysters are not simply +tainted—which would not have seriously mattered—they are positively +stinking, and the taste is so offensive that we can hardly get them down +without being sick.” “But are you really going to eat them?” I asked, with +a look of consternation on my face. “Eat them! of course we are; you would +not have us waste the food, would you? We have paid for it, and we +certainly could not afford to lose our money,” and the whole crew went on +popping the unsavoury, unhealthy morsels into their mouths, grumbling all +the time at the man who was the cause of their discomfort, but who in +order to cover his mistake pretended to be perfectly satisfied with the +almost putrid oysters that one could smell from a distance.</p> + +<p>The preciousness of food and the jealous care that is taken not only of +what is wholesome and appetizing, but also of what would be rejected by +our poor in England as positively uneatable, show unmistakably how near +the greater part of the nation is to the ragged edge of destitution and +want. The result is that the desire to maintain life in the fierce +struggle that the masses have for mere existence has made the Chinese +amongst the most industrious people in the world. Mere poverty alone would +not have developed this feature in the national character, had there not +been a deep instinct of industry in the race<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span> which has tended to develop +industrial habits that permeate every class of society.</p> + +<p>The whole population of China has been roughly divided by one of its great +thinkers into four classes, the scholars, the farmers, the workmen, and +the tradesmen. As the last-named produce nothing, but simply deal in +articles that other hands have manufactured, they stand the lowest in the +estimation of the public, and are deemed of less service to the community +than any of the other three. The scholar is the thinker without whom no +State can ever rise in intelligence or in civilization. The farmer is the +man that tills the soil and produces the food of the nation. Without him +the people would perish, or revert to their primitive state when they were +compelled to hunt the wild beasts in the forests and live a wretched, +precarious life. The workman supplies society with everything that is +needed for the necessities or the luxuries of everyday life, and +transforms by his skill the raw material into the thousand and one forms +that are needed for the comfort of the persons or the homes of the entire +nation.</p> + +<p>The tradesman is neither an originator nor an inventor, and his +contribution, therefore, to the assets of the country is not to be +compared to those that the three other classes are continually making for +the benefit of the community. In spite, however, of the inferior position +that is assigned to him, the tradesman occupies a very prominent position +in the public eye, for the Chinaman, in addition to all his other +qualifications, is a man who is imbued with a passion for trade.</p> + +<p>The towns and cities of the Empire are full of shops, and men with as keen +wits as can be found in any country in the world are constantly on the +alert as to how they shall make their business boom. The fairs and +markets, too, that are regularly held all over the kingdom, are popular +gatherings where the farmers can indulge in the national love for driving +a bargain.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>Outside of the regular traders, however, who have capital and business +places where they can carry on their trade, there is a vast army of +peddlers who are everywhere to be met with, and are a recognized +institution, supplying a distinct want that the regular shopkeepers are +not always prepared to do.</p> + +<p>The first of these that I shall describe is the “candy man.” This +itinerant dealer in sweets is one of the most popular of all the men that +are to be found appealing to the public for a living. His outfit consists +of two baskets on which boards are placed, where he daintily arranges the +delicacies that are to prove so attractive to old and young, that the +stock that he has laid in may soon be turned into hard cash. He will then +be able to return home with his heart full of gladness because of the +speed with which he has been able to dispose of his fascinating goods. +From past experience he knows exactly where to place his baskets with +their tempting wares, so that he may be within easy call of those that are +likely to become customers of his. It is usually under the spreading +branches of a great banyan, where loungers congregate to catch the breezes +that are ever wandering about beneath the huge boughs that stretch out +almost horizontally as though to shield those that seek their shelter from +the great, hot, blazing sun. Or he takes his stand at the junction of two +or more roads where people are constantly passing, and near which he may +know there are a good many children living.</p> + +<p>No sooner has he settled upon the spot where he hopes to commence business +than he ostentatiously makes a clanking sound with a huge pair of shears, +that are very much like those that the tailors use for cutting in England, +but which he employs to cut off lengths of toffy for those who would buy +from him. The sound of these jangling shears acts like magic upon all the +youngsters within hearing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> distance, and with mouths watering they gather +round his baskets to gaze in rapture upon the array of good things, so +temptingly laid out, that he has for sale.</p> + +<p>Most of the lads have a few cash with them, but they delay buying because +they have not yet quite made up their minds what they are going to invest +in, and besides, it gives them an air of importance to keep the man +waiting; which he does with the greatest good nature, knowing that any +sign of impatience would drive his customers away, whilst with patience +and tact he is sure of drawing from their pockets every cash that they +possess.</p> + +<p>His stock-in-trade consists of great slabs of what the Americans call +peanut candy. This is made, as the name indicates, from a combination of +the best white sugar and peanuts. These are boiled together in a great +cauldron, and stirred and stirred, till they are thoroughly mixed and the +now consistent mixture has been cooked, so that it can be emptied on a +board. It is then allowed to cool somewhat, when it is rolled by a wooden +roller to a certain thickness, after which it is ready to be eaten.</p> + +<p>The combination of the sugar and the peanuts makes a very pleasant and +succulent compound. The latter gives a nutty flavour to the former, whilst +the sugar imparts some of its own essence to the nuts, and a mixture of +flavours is produced that is popular amongst all classes.</p> + +<p>In addition to the candy, the peddler has also a very delicate sweet that +is less substantial, but none the less popular because a larger amount can +be bought for the same money. The material out of which it is made is +moist sugar, as white as the manufacturers can produce it. This is put +into a large pan and boiled over a slow fire. After a certain time it is +turned by the heat into a very consistent and a very sticky substance. At +the proper moment this is taken out of the pan and transferred to a board, +where it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> moulded with deft and knowing fingers into a length of two or +three yards.</p> + +<p>Then begins a most peculiar process that is to change the whole character +of the material before us. It is first of all stretched with a cunning +hand just as far as it will go without actually snapping. It is then +doubled back on itself and pulled again to the breaking-point, and so on +time after time until the work is done.</p> + +<p>During this peculiar manipulation, the sweet has undergone a remarkable +change. From a dark, almost black colour, it has been turned into a golden +hue, and from being dense and heavy it is light and flaky, so that when it +is cut into lengths for sale, each one looks like a stalactite that might +have been taken out of Fingal’s Cave. A bite from one of these crumbles at +once in the mouth and a crackling sound is heard and a beautiful aroma is +perceived, and before one has hardly had time to realize it, the sweet has +dissolved.</p> + +<p>Another thing that the eager eyes of the little fellows catch amongst the +dainties is molasses candy, made in the orthodox home fashion, but cut +into little squares and sold for just one cash apiece, which is about the +thousandth part of two shillings. This is cheap and therefore popular, for +it will stand a good deal of sucking before it disappears, which is a +consideration with the generality of the buyers, for their finances are +not usually in a very flourishing condition.</p> + +<p>Besides the above there is real sugar candy, not in sticks, but in lumps +as they have come from the sugar refinery. There are also a great variety +of sugar-coated combinations that all have their patrons, and as the +little knots of purchasers come in from different directions at the +well-known call of the peddler, one marks how varied are the tastes of the +lads by the way in which they select the articles they like from those +laid out so temptingly on the boards that contain his stock.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>Another very popular peripatetic merchant is the man who is popularly +known as the seller of “sweets and sours.” Like the man already described, +the people that patronize him the most are the children, though a goodly +proportion of his sales is made to persons of all ages. His goods consist +entirely of fruits prepared in such tempting and fascinating ways that the +general public is ready to put their hands in their pockets at the sound +of the little bell that announces the presence of this popular caterer to +the public taste.</p> + +<p>He has quite an assortment of all the most popular fruits that are known +in Chinese life. He has the arbutus, which at a rough glance appears very +much like a strawberry, though it is really essentially different, for it +has a large stone, and even when it is fully ripe it has a decidedly tart +taste about it. He has these in several distinct forms, so as to meet the +wishes of those who vary in their views as to how the fruit should be +eaten. Some have been prepared with the slightest dash of sugar, so that +the sour and sweet are so nicely adjusted that both can be distinctly +perceived as it is slowly eaten by the purchaser. Some, again, have been +so deluged with sugar, that the naturally acid flavour has almost +vanished, and there remains but a remnant of the old nature left to modify +the ultra-sweetness of the sugar. Others, again, have been dried in the +sun until nearly all the juice has vanished. They have then been steeped +in brine, and the combination of salt and tart that is the result has a +fascination for some that one can hardly understand.</p> + +<p>All these are strung on thin slips of bamboo in fives, and the buyer +holding these in his fingers can slip them off one by one into his mouth +without soiling his fingers. Three or four cash is the usual price for +this delicacy.</p> + +<p>In addition to these, there are plums from the country districts, and +luscious-looking peaches and large fat mangoes all drenched in sugar, +which has not only preserved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> them from decaying, but has also added a +new flavour to each of them, which is specially attractive to those that +favour any particular kind. Again, amongst the collection there is one +fruit that always finds a ready market—the dwarf apples that are brought +by the steamers and the huge merchant junks from Tientsin and Newchang in +the far North of China.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img42.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A PEDDLER.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 303.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>When they are thoroughly ripe they are rosy cheeked, and resemble the +Baldwins that come from America and are sold by the barrowmen in London +and in different parts of England, only they are diminutive, for they are +only about the fourth of the size of the ordinary English apple. These are +crushed flat, and the whole are allowed to lie in sugar until they are +entirely permeated with it. They are then strung on the bamboo sticks and +are always the chief attractions that the “sweets and sours” man has to +offer to the public. As they come from a great distance, and have been +rendered more perishable by the long journey they have had to travel, they +are a great deal dearer than the other local productions, and so it is +only those who have a larger command of money that can afford to purchase +them.</p> + +<p>This peddler has attractions that never fail to draw around him a group +both of old and young, who usually enjoy their purchases on the spot. Some +stand and chat with each other as they slowly crush the sweet and +toothsome morsel between their teeth. Others, again, of a more meditative +turn of mind, take the favourite posture of sitting on their heels, and +give the whole force of their minds to the enjoying of the flavours +contained in their favourite fruits. The buzz of conversation and the +ready wit of the peddler, and the passing crowds that would like to join +in but have not the time, and the great sun flashing down his rays upon +the scene, all combine to make such gatherings as these very picturesque +and very attractive to look upon.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>Another well-known peddler who is very popular with the housewives is the +cloth-seller. His is a form that is easily recognized, as he daily goes +his round up and down the district that use and wont has made him consider +to be especially his own. It is very possible, indeed, that he may have +bought the right from the man that preceded him, just as with us a doctor +purchases a practice and becomes the rightful successor to the man who is +retiring.</p> + +<p>He is distinguished by the fact that he carries all his stock on one of +his shoulders. To carry it anywhere else would seem in the conservative +eyes of the Chinese to disqualify him for his profession. As the burden he +has to bear is usually over one hundred pounds in weight, it would seem an +impossibility for any man unless he were a Sandow to continue day after +day and for many hours in each to support such an enormous weight as this. +But the fact is that they do so, and without apparently any very great +effort. The men as a rule are small and wiry, and as they move along at a +steady trot, without any panting or perspiring, one is apt to imagine that +the goods they are carrying are not nearly so heavy as they really are.</p> + +<p>In order to cater for the wants of the women of the houses of his +district, he has to have with him specimens of every kind of dress goods +that they are likely to require, and in addition a liberal supply of the +more common stuffs that are worn by the poorer classes. These stocks he +must have on hand, for he must take advantage of the immediate wants of +his clients, and the impression that his eloquence makes upon them at the +time, to dispose of his wares. Were he to depend upon their taking +to-morrow what he has not ready for them now, he might find that their +mood had changed or they were short of cash when he returned with the +goods, and so his sales would be lost.</p> + +<p>This cloth peddler is really a most advanced man, and a true pioneer in +promoting liberal ideas with regard to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> dress. The Chinese one +<i>beau-idéal</i> with regard to that is the blue cotton cloth. Just as bread +in England is the staple article of the food of the masses, so that in +China is the one eternal type of what is considered the proper kind of +material with which to clothe the nation. The common people everywhere +make that the basis of their dress. The farmers all dress in this +distressingly dull-coloured material. The common coolies and workmen of +every grade in life, following the national instinct, seldom wear anything +else. It is only the well-to-do or the very rich that emerge out of this +universal worship of the blue cotton, and adopt silks or satins as their +common wear.</p> + +<p>The women, it is true, have a few bright colours in addition to the blue +in which they appear when they are fully dressed and on holiday occasions, +but for ordinary and common everyday life the blue cotton asserts its +mastery, and holds its own against everything else.</p> + +<p>Now this peddler is slowly causing a revolution in the ideals of the women +at least. In order to advance his business he brings the newest patterns +and the most attractive goods that enterprising merchants, both native and +foreign, are introducing from the West. He has no large stocks in hand +that he must dispose of before he can bring in new and fashionable +materials. All that he possesses, or nearly so, he carries with him on his +shoulder, and when they are disposed of, he simply goes to the merchant +and selects other goods that he has found by experience will catch the eye +of the younger women and girls that he meets on his round, and induce them +to buy from him.</p> + +<p>The great aid that this man gets in his introduction of new ideas amongst +the women no doubt is Christianity. This has worked a perfect revolution +in family life wherever it has been received. Not only is the condition of +the women ameliorated, but their position is distinctly elevated.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> They +are not left to the tender mercies of heathen society to be treated with +the indignities to which they are constantly liable. The Church is always +behind them to stand out in their defence when any wrong is going to be +inflicted on them. A new power has come into the land that demands rights +for them that no legislation in the past and no tradition has ever dreamed +of asking.</p> + +<p>In addition to all this, there are the new methods that a faith in the +gospel has developed. The custom that amounts almost to a law in China is +that young women shall not be seen on the streets. They must remain +indoors till they are married, and afterwards till they are getting on in +years. One of the most remarkable features about the streets and roads is +the few women that are seen upon them. Elderly women, with perhaps girls +under ten, and slave women, are to be met with, but maidens and young +married wives are a rare sight either on the public thoroughfares or on +the by-ways in the country places.</p> + +<p>The morals of China, in spite of the high ideals that have been +transmitted by the sages, and that have permeated into every section of +the people, are not sufficiently elevated to permit women the freedom that +they have in Christian lands. Now Christianity has already begun to work a +remarkable change in delivering the women of China from the bondage that +an idolatrous system had imposed upon them. Whether young or old they are +required to attend church on Sundays. No distinctions are allowed. The +young girl of eighteen, that would never be seen out of the doors for +years, the newly-married wife, the maiden that has just been betrothed, in +common with elderly ladies whose sons and daughters are grown up, and the +old grandmothers that travel as they like, all are expected to attend at +the regular services, and no dispensation excepting absolute necessity +will be given to allow them not to be present.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>Sunday at present is the happiest day in the week for the Christian women. +They get out of their narrow, confined houses into the sunlight. They meet +large numbers of their own sex in the church. They see new faces and get +fresh ideas, and broader views of life. They look at the various styles of +dresses, and the result is that on the morrow, when the peddler comes +round, he will get orders for new kinds of materials that they would never +have dreamed of had they not seen how pretty and becoming they looked on +the women they had met in the church.</p> + +<p>But listen! there is the blast of a conch shell, blown by a man whose +lungs are sound, and who knows how to manipulate it so that he shall +produce the greatest volume of noise, and send it echoing along the +street. No need to ask who the man is, for every one is perfectly aware +that it is the pork peddler who is drawing near, and now every housewife +who is preparing dinner begins to count her cash to see if she can afford +the luxury of pork to-day.</p> + +<p>Pork to a Chinaman is what beef is to an Englishman. Excepting in the +ports and in those centres where Europeans congregate, beef is but very +rarely seen. In the interior of China, pork shops abound in every city in +the Empire, but one would have to look long before he could find a beef +shop. By a thoroughly conservative and orthodox Chinese the killing of +cattle in order to sell their flesh for food is considered highly immoral. +He would tell you that these animals help in the tilling of the soil, that +therefore they are the producers of the food of the nation, and as a +matter of gratitude for their services they should be saved from the +indignity of being slaughtered for food. That is the way in which an +orthodox Confucianist would talk when the question of eating beef might be +the subject of conversation.</p> + +<p>There are no such metaphysical discussions with regard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> to the pig, or +indeed any other animal that is used for food. Swine have precisely the +same animal properties that they have in any other country, and those +brought up in this extreme Eastern land might be transported to the cabins +of the Irish and they would never discover that a “furriner” had invaded +their homes.</p> + +<p>As a domestic animal the pig has the same unpleasant habits that he has in +the British Isles. He likes to wallow in the mud, and feed on garbage and +other insanitary matter that a horse or a cow would absolutely refuse to +touch. He is on the whole a quiet and inoffensive animal, and in his +restless peregrinations after food he does not care to interfere with the +comfort or liberty of his neighbours. But let his usual meal time come +round, and if his mistress has neglected to fill his trough with something +strengthening, he will squeal and grunt and make such a fuss and a +disturbance that for the peace of the household speedy steps will have to +be taken to satisfy his hunger.</p> + +<p>Were it not for his low and ungentlemanly habits, the pig would doubtless +have been the national emblem of the Chinese, instead of the mysterious +and inscrutable dragon, and poets would have sung his praises, and artists +would have immortalized him in their paintings. There was too little +romance, however, about him to allow of such an honour being put upon him, +but there is no question that he is the most popular animal in the whole +of the eighteen provinces. The only word in the language for flesh meat is +one that means pork, and throughout the four hundred millions of people, +the one popular dish that makes all eyes glisten about meal times is the +one that is composed of some preparation of the succulent flesh of this +animal.</p> + +<p>The pork peddler, as already intimated, is known by the powerful blasts +that he blows from a sea shell. His outfit is of the simplest. It consists +of two baskets, on one of which a board is spread, and the pork is laid +out in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> dainty fashion so as to tempt the intending purchasers to buy +what they want. In the other are thrown odds and ends, for the peddler has +really no need for it, as its main idea is to form a kind of balance so +that he may be able to carry his load with comfort from the bamboo pole +that rests on one of his shoulders.</p> + +<p>Lying beside the pork is a large chopper, with which he cuts off the +pieces that his customers may desire, and a steelyard for weighing his +sales. As he rests his apparatus in front of some houses, he is soon +surrounded by a little knot of people, some of them with private +steelyards of their own, in order to test whether the peddler’s has not +been doctored, so as to cheat them of their due weight.</p> + +<p>Sometimes when the peddler has had his pork watered there is great +dissatisfaction, and no one will buy from him unless he sells at a +considerably reduced price. This watering is a vicious custom that +prevails largely amongst all butchers, and is intended to make it possible +to sell the meat at a lower rate to the very poor. The way it is managed +is to pump a quantity of water down the main arteries of the animal +immediately after it is killed until the whole animal is saturated with +it. As this injection of water drives out the blood, the flesh has a pale, +anæmic look that tells the secret, and the aim of the peddler is to +conceal this from the public by plastering the flesh over with the blood +that flowed from the body when the animal was killed. This is the +universal practice of the trade, though it does not deceive a single +person, nor can it give the healthy look to the pork that the unwatered +meat has.</p> + +<p>No doubt this wretched system exists because the peddler can sell cheaper, +and as cash are few and precious amongst the poor, the national delicacy +would certainly be less attainable by large numbers of them were they to +have to pay the higher price that is demanded for the unwatered article.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>It is very amusing to watch the group that has gathered round the peddler, +and to note how keen the Chinese are in everything where bargaining is +concerned. The instinct of trade is deep seated within them, and they seem +to have a positive enjoyment in the mere chaffering and bargaining, and in +the final victory of a few cash that would seem to us such a trifling gain +that we would not condescend to spend any time over the transaction. Here +is a man that is evidently an important one, for he comes up with a +dignified air and with his steelyard in his hand, as though he were going +to buy the whole of the peddler’s stock-in-trade. After many +uncomplimentary remarks about the pork, and declaring that it is of very +poor quality and would be found tough in the eating, he selects a piece +that seems to have caught his eye, and he requests the man to cut that off +for him.</p> + +<p>He does so, weighs it with his steelyard, and in doing this he allows +himself the liberal margin of the sixteenth of an ounce, so as to add to +his profits and to save himself from any loss in the weight. The purchaser +has an eagle eye, and watches this weighing with a very suspicious glance. +The Chinese are adepts in manipulating the steelyard, so as to make it +weigh heavier or lighter according as they desire. Besides, as there is no +standard to which the dealers must conform, and no inspectors of weights +and measures to help to keep them honest, there is constant friction +between buyers and sellers as to the true weight of the article that is +being disposed of.</p> + +<p>The man says, “Let me weigh the pork,” and fixing it on the hook that is +attached to his steelyard, he declares after a very careful manipulation +of the instrument that it is lighter by two-sixteenths than the peddler +was going to charge him for. This results in a wordy contest between the +two men, and a weighing and reweighing by each, and an appeal to the +crowd, and even to Heaven itself, as to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> the justice of each man’s +statement. Finally the dispute is settled by splitting the difference, +which probably gives the true weight of the pork, and the people who sided +with the purchaser, because of the prospective contests they are going to +have with the peddler when they have their purchases weighed, declare that +the principles of Heaven have been vindicated, and now every one ought to +be satisfied. As the whole amount in dispute amounted to about one-sixth +of a penny, and the time spent in adjusting the matter occupied fully ten +minutes, whilst numerous appeals to heaven and earth and to the +consciences of the peddler and the purchaser were pointedly made to them +by the onlookers, it did really seem ludicrous and hardly worth the candle +to go through such an amount of fuss for so small a sum as was involved +either way.</p> + +<p>After the question is settled amicably, and both parties have saved their +face, the peddler ties the pork with a rush, gathered from the banks of +some mountain stream, deftly makes a loop to act as a handle, and hands it +to the man. Immediately an elderly woman from a neighbouring house selects +a piece which weighs exactly two ounces, and for this she hands him cash +to the value of about three halfpence. There is no paper needed to wrap it +in, for the rush again comes into requisition, and with the loop in her +forefingers she bears it away without any danger of violating the +proprieties, or of soiling the meat by the dust that might have gathered +on her hands.</p> + +<p>Another very popular peddler is the middle-aged woman who goes round with +a very unpretending-looking basket that contains all kinds of jewellery, +such as women in the middle and upper classes are accustomed to wear. All +these may be purchased at any of the goldsmiths’ shops in the city, but as +the younger women are not allowed to go out and visit these for +themselves, they gladly welcome<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> the travelling jeweller, from whose store +they can pick and choose the precise ornaments they wish to buy.</p> + +<p>Articles of jewellery hold an important place in the dress of the Chinese +women. As they do not wear hats or bonnets in the coldest weather, or when +the sun in all his strength is pouring forth his fiery rays in the height +of summer, a woman is never supposed to be completely dressed unless she +has a certain number of golden or silver hairpins stuck in her hair, and +bracelets on her wrists. In addition to these she must have some sprays of +flowers, either natural or artificial, before she is dressed well enough +to receive visitors or go outside of her own door. The laws of etiquette +are very severe on this point, and even amongst the lowest classes, a +woman who is old enough to go out on business of any kind must wear her +earrings and have flowers in her hair, unless she wishes to be looked upon +with a great deal of suspicion.</p> + +<p>The articles of jewellery are of a very miscellaneous character. Those +used on the head are long, dagger-looking pins, made of gold and inlaid +with kingfisher’s feathers. They are meant really to add to the beauty of +the coiffure, and not to keep their hair from falling down, for that is +tied with red silk and plastered with unguents, so that it needs no +further aid to keep it in position.</p> + +<p>Next in importance to these are the bracelets that figure very largely in +the toilette of the women of all classes. They are chiefly made of gold +and silver and jadestone, and vary in prices from a few shillings up to as +many pounds.</p> + +<p>The rich indulge in very expensive ones and wear several on each arm. The +poorer women are pleased if they can afford to get one silver one, whilst +those in the lowest ranks never dream of aspiring to any such luxury.</p> + +<p>The earrings are things that every woman wears no matter what her position +in life may be. When a girl is five or six<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span> years old her ears are bored. +This is done if possible on the tenth day of the tenth moon, as that is +the one lucky day in the year when it is believed that no inflammation of +the ears will follow from the process. In order to fully insure that, +however, the needle that has been used for the operation must be thrown +down the nearest well.</p> + +<p>The fashion of the earrings varies in different localities, and if one is +very observant, he will be able to tell the district to which a woman +belongs by looking at the shape and size of her earrings. In one +particular county with which the writer is familiar, the earring assumes +enormous dimensions, being several inches in diameter; so large are they +indeed that a child that is being nursed can easily pass its arm through +one of them without any inconvenience to the mother or danger to itself.</p> + +<p>Now the peddler has a large field in the countless homes in a considerable +district in which to carry on her operations. She is usually a woman with +a very fluent and persuasive tongue, who knows the foibles of women and +their love for finery. She has a large stock of jewellery which she +exhibits with such consummate art that women are inveigled into buying +what they do not really need, and which they had no intention of +purchasing.</p> + +<p>The sight, however, of so many attractive works of art proves so +irresistible that this clever dealer manages to dispose to those who can +afford it many of the articles she has in her basket. The result is that +some of these peddlers make in the course of years quite little fortunes, +which enable them to spend their declining years in comfort and in +comparative affluence.</p> + +<p>One of these women, with whom I was acquainted, was the wife of a +silversmith who had a shop in one of the principal streets of a very +populous city. The business was a prosperous one, for the shop had a good +reputation and the master of it was a man who knew his trade well and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> +could produce goods that could not be surpassed by any other shop in the +town. The true secret of the prosperity, however, lay not with the sales +that were made over the counter, but with those that were effected by the +wife. She was very plain and far from prepossessing in appearance, and +utterly uneducated, for the family had risen from very humble +circumstances. She was a woman, however, of great natural abilities, with +shrewd common-sense, and she had the power of presenting anything she had +to say in a forceful, eloquent manner that was very convincing.</p> + +<p>She decided to take up the <i>rôle</i> of peddler, so as to increase their +trade by disposing of a larger number of goods than could be done in the +shop. That she was willing to do this showed her strong and independent +character, for a woman that pursues this calling must be prepared for a +great many rebuffs, as it is not held in the highest honour by the +community at large. She persevered in her intention, and the result was +that she kept the business of the shop at high pressure in order to be +able to supply her with the requisite amount of goods that she was able +constantly to dispose of, and in the course of years from a Chinese point +of view they became quite rich.</p> + +<p>Another peddler with less ambitious aims than the one just described is +the man that gets his living by coming round to the various houses where +he has got to be known, and buying the tinfoil that remains as an ash +after the paper money has been burned to wooden images. The Chinese +believe that the idols in order to be induced to do any service for the +worshippers must be bribed by presents of money. A moderate amount of the +current coin of the realm they are willing to expend in this way, but it +must be limited, and so in order to make the gods believe that they are +giving them vast sums, they have invented a system of paper notes, +representing ingots and gold coins and common cash all done up in +hundreds. Tinfoil beaten as thin almost as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span> it will bear, is used to +represent the more precious metals. In its natural colour it is supposed +to be silver, and a yellow tinge is given to it when the worshipper wishes +to propitiate the idol with gold. These different coloured pieces of +tinfoil are pasted on coarse paper of a settled size and are then burned +in the presence of the idol, who is credited with not having sense enough +to know that it is being cheated. If a hundred pieces representing a +hundred dollars are presented, then the god is believed to be so much the +richer by that amount, and that it has stored them away in its unseen +treasury where countless sums of money are being accumulated. If a hundred +pieces of gold are burned, the idol is then supposed to be all the more +pleased and to be ready to send down blessings on the worshipper.</p> + +<p>After the paper has been burned the tinfoil falls down amongst the ashes +and is carefully collected by the priest of the temple, who in time sells +the collection to the tin-beater, who can utilize the material for future +service with the idols. In some of the more popular shrines, where the +gods have the reputation of being able to bestow large favours on those +who worship them, the income derived from this burned and shrivelled +tinfoil is very considerable. There is one famous temple that at times is +visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, who all burn more or less of +this paper money, and where the sale of the scorched and apparently +useless tinfoil brings in thousands of dollars a year.</p> + +<p>The peddler I am describing has nothing to do with the buying of the +refuse tinfoil in the temples. That is kept in the hands of the +authorities in each, who dispose of it to meet their current expenses. +Where his business lies is amongst the families that are situated within +his round. These are accustomed all more or less to offer bribes of money +to their household gods whenever they wish to obtain any favour from them. +With the thrift of the Chinese they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span> always carefully pick out from the +ashes what the gods were cheated into believing were precious pieces of +gold and silver. The next day when the peddler makes his rounds they are +sold for a few cash to him, and thus they perform the double service of +bribing the gods and of putting money into their own pockets.</p> + +<p>Of late this man has added to the original idea of being a collector of +burnt tinfoil, the name by which he is popularly known amongst the +Chinese, by also acting as a rag and bone merchant. As was remarked at the +beginning of this chapter, nothing is wasted in China, and what would be +thrown into the dust heap in England and carried away next day by the dust +cart, is here carefully set aside and kept to be sold to this peddler. A +sardine tin, for example, has been opened, and it seems now to be only an +incumbrance and of absolutely no value. The Chinaman thinks differently, +for he puts it away on a shelf in his kitchen, and when the cry of the +collector of burnt tinfoil is heard heralding his approach, it is taken +down and in consideration of a few cash is added to his collection of what +seems useless rubbish.</p> + +<p>A chicken is killed and all the feathers are sedulously preserved, and +even the very bones that are left after it has been eaten are collected +and put aside to be sold on the morrow. All kerosene tins and empty +bottles, unless carefully watched by the mistress, will disappear +mysteriously and no one appears to know where they have vanished to; but +the peddler, if he would consent to reveal all he knows about them, could +tell exactly where they are and how much he has gained by their sale.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img43.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A WAYSIDE KITCHEN.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 317.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>It is a very singular thing that the characters of the various kinds of +peddler seem to be influenced by the particular business in which each of +them is concerned. The pork peddler has a bluff and breezy air about him, +and he sends forth his blasts from his shell as though he were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> the +advance guard of an invading army. The seller of “sweets and sours” is +distinguished by a pleasing countenance on which a winning smile seems +perpetually to rest. His association with children and his constant effort +to win their confidence have no doubt been largely instrumental in giving +this pleasant character to his face. The cloth peddler, on the other hand, +has a severe and dignified countenance, as though he were conscious of the +responsibility that belonged to him in being the interpreter as it were of +the fashions, and the introducer of foreign goods into a land that was +accustomed to look upon any one as a traitor to his country that had any +traffic with anything associated with the “Outer Barbarian.”</p> + +<p>The profession of the collector of burnt tinfoil has unquestionably had a +demoralizing effect upon him. He is usually pale and thin, with the air of +a man of broken-down fortunes. He walks along with a timid, shrinking air, +as though he scented a policeman at every turn in the road, and when he +looks at you it is with a kind of side glance, apparently fearful lest if +he looked you straight in the face you would discover the depravity that +is deep down in his heart.</p> + +<p>Beside the above that I have attempted to describe there are many other +kinds of peddlers who are equally interesting in their way. There are, for +example, the vegetable seller, and the fruiterer, and the peddler that +deals exclusively in needles and threads and tapes. There are also the +peddlers with the travelling kitchen, and the one that may be found on the +streets at all hours of the night with pork rissoles for the special +benefit of opium smokers, who have a weakness for delicacies of this sort. +There are, again, the peddlers who are only to be found from about nine +o’clock in the evening up almost to the time when the dawn threatens to +disperse the shadows of the night. These men are to be found at street +corners<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> with portable stoves and a plentiful supply of hot rice. Some of +them attempt to cater not simply to the hunger of the late wanderers on +the streets, but also to their fastidious appetites, for they have +prepared good stocks of vermicelli, and a very pleasant combination of +soft-boiled rice and oysters, so as to tempt those who would otherwise be +inclined to hurry on their way homewards.</p> + +<p>There is one man who though he does not strictly belong to the class I +have been discussing, yet as his life is spent on the street in his +endeavour to make a living, I shall attempt to describe, and that is the +fortune-teller. He is to be found in a niche on some great thoroughfare, +where the crowds are passing incessantly the livelong day, and where he is +just out of the crush of the living tide that surges just outside of him. +His stock-in-trade is about a dozen bamboo slips with enigmatic sentences +carved on each of them, that to the mind of the man who can read into the +mysteries of the unknown land contain the clues to the story of each one +that applies to him to have their future revealed to him or her. He has +also a Java sparrow enclosed within a diminutive cage, that is believed to +be the interpreter of the spirits in helping to unfold in some slight +measure the secrets they hold about the men on earth.</p> + +<p>Here is a man, for example, who comes out of the crowd with an +anxious-looking face and a deep shadow resting upon it that has driven all +the sunlight and joy out of it. The fortune-teller is at once all +attention, whilst the sparrow from interested motives of its own cocks up +its head and takes a kind of knowing glance at the customer. The man, +evidently distressed at the subject that is occupying his mind, pours +forth in voluble and vivid language the story of his woes. It seems that +he and a neighbour are having a lawsuit about the house in which he is now +living. This man he declares to be a thoroughly unprincipled one, who has +no conscience and does not know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> what the fear of Heaven means. He has +claimed the house as his own, though he has not the slightest particle of +right to it; but as he belongs to a powerful clan and has plenty of money +at his command, he is afraid that might will prevail and he will lose his +property, and thus be deprived of his home. He explains that the case has +gone before the local mandarin, but as he has not the means to bribe him +and the smaller officials under him, whilst his opponent is making lavish +presents to them all, he is fearful that when the matter comes to be tried +the decision of the judge will be in favour of his enemy. What he would +like to know now is, is there any likelihood of his gaining his case. If +the fortune-teller could only give him any light on that subject that +would relieve his mind he would be infinitely obliged to him.</p> + +<p>These fortune-tellers are keen judges of human nature, and they know that +men like to have pleasant answers to their requests, and so they +manipulate them so that, like the Delphic Oracles, they can be interpreted +either favourably or the reverse according as they eventually turn out. +This man listens with the utmost attention, with a keen look on his face, +and as the story becomes more intense, he sways his head from side to side +as though he were deeply moved at its recital.</p> + +<p>When it is finished he throws down the twelve divining slips of bamboo on +to a little board on his knee, and asks the inquirer whether he wishes to +have the assistance of the bird in his case, for this will involve him in +a slight extra expense. Having expressed his willingness, the door of the +little cage is opened, and the bird, that has been looking with a wistful +eye on the whole of the proceedings, hops out and touches one of the slips +with its beak, as though the spirits had commissioned it to select that +particular one as containing their answer to the man’s request to be +allowed to peer into the future.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>The bird waits for a moment whilst the fortune-teller drops a grain of +rice in front of it, which it instantly picks up, and disappearing again +into its cage, it begins to preen its feathers whilst it keeps a watchful +look on the passers-by, in hopes evidently that it may again soon be +called upon to earn another grain of rice.</p> + +<p>The fortune-teller now takes up the slip, and reading aloud the +inscription on it, he declares that there is no doubt but that he will be +successful in his lawsuit, that Heaven will intervene to frustrate the +malice of his enemy, and that he may go home with his mind at ease. To a +Westerner the statement on the bamboo is exceedingly vague. It declares +that the river which has been flowing amongst the hills and has been lost +to view, is again appearing round the curve of a mountain cape, and will +soon flow up to the very feet of the eager onlooker. The river is supposed +to be the case that has been giving the man perplexity, and its vanishing +out of sight the anxiety he has had as to its ultimate issue. Its sudden +turn into sight when it seemed to be lost is an indication that the affair +will turn out prosperously.</p> + +<p>Should, however, judgment be given against him, the fortune-teller will +free himself from blame by declaring that he had misread the sign given by +the returning stream, as it really was a good omen that the spirits had +given in favour of his enemy, who was finally to remain victor in the +contest for the house.</p> + +<p>No sooner has this man gone, than a young fellow of about twenty steps up +and says that he would like to get some indication from the spirits about +a question that is giving him some anxiety. He had obtained a situation in +the town with an employer of labour, who had a reputation for ill-treating +the people that were in his service. He was very anxious, he said, for +some employment, but he would prefer to be without any for some time +longer, rather than suffer harsh treatment and be compelled to leave.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> Was +it safe, therefore, for him under these circumstances to accept the offer +that had been made him, or should he reject it?</p> + +<p>Again the slips were thrown carelessly on to the board, and the sparrow, +that had been watching the young fellow whilst he was telling his story, +being let out of its cage, touched one of the bamboo slips with its beak, +and then waited for the grain of rice that was dropped in front of it. +Looking carefully at the inscription, he once more proceeded in a +mysterious and enigmatic way to say what the spirits advised to be done in +the matter. This was so vague and unsatisfactory, that the young man +declared that he would not risk the trouble that he might have if he +decided to accept the billet that had been offered to him, that he would +just make up his mind now to reject it; and with a smile on his face and a +few pleasant words of thanks, he disappeared in the crowd that was passing +and repassing in front of them.</p> + +<p>With this man I will close my chapter, though there are many others who +get their living in the streets whose stories are just as interesting as +his, illustrating the peculiar modes of thought of an idolatrous people, +and the strenuous nature of their life in trying to satisfy their +spiritual and physical necessities.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> +<p class="title">THE SEAMY SIDE OF CHINESE LIFE</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Some of the moral aspects of the Chinese—Their religion takes no +cognizance of men’s lives—Heaven looks after great moral +questions—Objectionable features of Chinese +society—Unchaste—Foul-mouthed—Passion for gambling—Instances +given—Lawless classes numerous—Opium vice—Evil results.</p></div> + + +<p>The comparatively elevated moral condition of Chinese society is very +often a source of pleasure and at the same time of perplexity to strangers +who have lived long amongst them, and who have narrowly watched them in +their social and domestic life. This state of things has not been produced +by the popular form of religion that is practised amongst them, for that +never seems to influence their lives in the slightest degree. A man, for +example, of notoriously bad character will come and make the most lavish +offerings to a certain idol in whom he has the most implicit faith. He +will stand in a most reverent manner before it, and he will beseech it to +bestow blessings upon him and his home, and to save him from calamity and +suffering, and when he turns to go home he is just the same man as he was +before he came into the temple.</p> + +<p>The idols are not supposed to have anything to do with character. The +thief, and the prodigal, and the gambler join in the crowd that wind their +way up the hillside to the shrine, say, of the Goddess of Mercy, and they +burn their incense and make their offerings to the benevolent-looking +idol, whilst she, with a smile that seems to be struggling through her +gentle features, looks apparently with complacency upon them all alike, +and the hardened sinner and the shy, shrinking young wife are both treated +as though they were the same in her eyes.</p> + +<p>There are two forces, quite outside of any of those that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> are supposed to +exist in the common religion of the people, that exercise a tremendous +influence for righteousness in all the various phases of Chinese life, and +are usually referred to as The Principles of Heaven. This phrase is used +whenever any question of morals is at stake, or perhaps some principle of +righteousness is involved, and it has a potency about it that nothing in +the whole range of Chinese thought could in any way equal.</p> + +<p>An idol is never appealed to to confirm some statement about which there +may be a dispute, but Heaven is, and it is felt that when this is done, +the person who has dared to call upon that great name to be a witness as +it were to the truth of what has been said, he is not to be lightly +disbelieved. Heaven has eyes, it is commonly asserted, and when a person +recklessly holds up his hand to Heaven and asks it to attest to something +he knows to be false, it is confidently believed that ere long some signal +manifestation of its anger will be witnessed in the disasters that will be +hurled upon him and his family.</p> + +<p>Any violations of the great law of justice or any injury done to another +man’s character are things that Heaven is supposed to look upon with a +very jealous eye, and it is its part to see that due punishment shall be +inflicted upon the transgressor when the proper time comes. The writings +of Confucius and Mencius, the two great sages of China, have done much to +keep alive this idea, and as these really are a kind of Bible to the +nation, the influence they have exerted upon the scholars and thinkers of +each generation, and through them upon the people at large, has been on +the whole of a most beneficial kind.</p> + +<p>Now it is very extraordinary, that whilst it is firmly believed that in +cases of conscience, or in matters that involve great moral questions, +Heaven always interferes to punish the wrongdoer, no one thinks that any +vices that a man may commit for his own personal gratification are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> looked +upon as improper by this great Power, or that it will take the trouble of +inquiring into his conduct and of meting out either rewards or punishment +for it.</p> + +<p>The result is a very lax state of morality in regard to what may be called +the social virtues. Heaven is a great impersonal Power, that in some +mysterious way rectifies injustice, and avenges human wrongs, and at the +cry of a city pours down rain upon a district that has been parched and +dried up by drought. Life and death are decided by it, as well as the +wretchedness and happiness of mankind, but the fatherly instincts that are +deep in the heart of the true God are not considered to have any place in +this great and dread Force, and unless men come into collision with the +laws that it has established for the governance of the world, it leaves +them to work out their lives as best they may.</p> + +<p>The passions of men, therefore, have a very wide scope for their +operations, and the consequence is the Chinese are anything but a highly +moral race of people. That they are less so than other Eastern peoples is +very seriously to be doubted, for wherever men feel themselves +unrestrained excepting by an impersonal Force that does not question too +closely the daily life of a man, the home virtues as practised by the true +Christian are sure to be neglected and ignored.</p> + +<p>With regard to the Chinese, the facts above stated are abundantly verified +by the records of the hospitals that have been opened by foreigners +throughout the country for the treatment of the sick, and also by the +elaborate system that is in existence in every town and city, as well as +in the market places and even in the larger villages throughout the +Empire, to meet the social evil that everywhere exists.</p> + +<p>There is one thing that mitigates somewhat the terrible tragedy of this +widespread disregard for chastity, and that is that it is sedulously kept +in the background, and the public gaze is never allowed to rest upon it. +Day or night<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> one might pass throughout the public thoroughfares, and +along the less frequented side streets, or into the lowest slums of a +great city, and yet no sign of anything wrong either on the streets or in +the dwelling-houses could be discovered by the most critical eye.</p> + +<p>One of the ideals of Chinese life is purity. It is sung about in their +ancient songs, and is the theme of the great poets who composed their +lyrics and their epic poems in the centuries that have fled. It is the one +element that goes to the making of a sage, and no man who is deficient in +this beautiful grace can ever hope to win the homage and respect of his +fellow-men. It is this ideal virtue that seems to permeate the atmosphere +in which men live with its impalpable touch that has made the nation +desire to hide the grossness of their lives from one another, and to put +on an air of innocence that they do not possess.</p> + +<p>The immoral tendency of the Chinese mind is seen in a variety of ways. One +very offensive one to a person who is acquainted with the language is the +obscene character of the swearing that the people indulge in as a matter +of common usage. It is quite safe to say that everybody in China, learned +or unlearned, refined or unrefined, lady or gentleman, does habitually use +bad language, and it is particularly painful to have to listen to the +loathsome expressions that people hurl at each other when they are in a +passion and wish to cut into the very soul of the person with whom they +may be at variance. In passing along the street, one now and again comes +upon a group that has been attracted by a quarrel, say, between two women, +who, inflamed by passion, use the most degraded language, and for the time +being ignore their sex, and seem to be utterly regardless of the number of +people that are silent witnesses of their depravity.</p> + +<p>Another insight that one gets into the unrefined character of the Chinese +mind is the kind of plays that are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> popular with the masses. As the +theatricals are performed on the streets, in front of some heathen temple, +or on some open space where the crowds can congregate to witness the +performance, one gets a lurid view of the workings of the Chinese mind by +observing the kind of pieces that most suit the popular taste, and which +will draw the largest audiences. It is an undoubted fact that, putting +aside the historical plays, which from their nature are the very purest +that are presented on the stage, the pieces that are most attractive and +most sought after are such as would never be tolerated in any of the +Western theatres. These seem to have a wonderful fascination for the +playgoers, and men and women will sit during the long hours of an evening +and right away past midnight, and will listen to the words of a play and +to the innuendoes of the actors that any person with a chaste mind would +fly from in utter loathing and disgust.</p> + +<p>Another very objectionable feature in Chinese life is the passion that +every one seems to have for gambling. There are sections of people in +England who are as much addicted to this vice as are the Chinese, but +there are vast numbers who have never had anything to do with games of +chance, and who would be horrified if they were asked to do so. Now, in +this land there is no class of people similar to those. High and low, rich +and poor, seem to have the gambling spirit in their very blood, and, like +the craving in the opium smoker, that must be satisfied at all hazards, so +the cards and the dice must be fingered to allay the passion that is +burning within their hearts.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img44.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">FRUIT-SELLERS GAMBLING.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 327.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>That this vice affects not simply certain classes within the Empire is +evident from the fact that the wealthy men who have no need to increase +the huge fortunes they have at their command are amongst the most +determined gamblers in the community. Gain is not the sole purpose of such +men, when they spend days and nights with the cards in their hands, and +everything else is forgotten in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> the mad excitement that the varied +fortunes of the game brings to the players. Not long since, the chief +mandarin of a district that contained several large counties, and who was +immensely rich, became so enthralled with the gambling mania that he +utterly neglected his official duties, and spent his whole time with a +number of wealthy men in playing the various games of chance that are so +well known to the Chinese. The Viceroy of the province got to know in some +way or another of his disgraceful conduct, and not only dismissed him from +his office, but also got the sanction of the authorities in Peking to +decide that he should never be allowed to hold any position under the +Government in the future, and so his official life came to a sudden and +disastrous termination. That this ignominious close to the ambitions of a +life will have any effect in delivering him from the craving for +excitement that has got such a grip upon him, is extremely improbable. His +curt dismissal and his reduction to the ranks of the common people will no +doubt have a beneficial effect upon the mandarins throughout the province, +for he was a well-known man, and was a member of a family that had within +it officials of the highest possible distinction.</p> + +<p>This fatal tendency of the Chinese for gambling is fully realized by the +rulers of the country, and the most stringent measures have been adopted +by them to repress it. That they have been only moderately successful is +not to be wondered at, for the passion within the hearts of the people is +like a stream that has been dammed up, and that by and by scatters +everything before it, and carries destruction in its mad career. Wherever +a vigorous mandarin holds rule and the gambling laws are carried out with +a certain amount of strictness, the people are afraid openly to indulge in +the national propensity. Where, however, an easy-going official and +perhaps a gambler himself holds the reins of office, then the people, +feeling the curb removed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> plunge with wild excitement into the gambling +fray, and neglecting every other business in life, give themselves wholly +to the cards and the dice.</p> + +<p>On one occasion, in a certain district, an opium-smoking mandarin whose +brains were dazed and muddled with his midnight orgies allowed the law to +be very loosely administered within his jurisdiction. His runners or +policemen took advantage of the situation to earn a little extra money by +receiving bribes from the owners of gambling houses, and to wink at the +trade that was being carried on by them. Immunity from police inspection +not only gave encouragement to these gentry, but at the same time struck +as if with a whip the slumbering passion in the hearts of the community +and roused it into a fury.</p> + +<p>It soon became known that the Yamen was not to be feared, and that there +were no penalties against the infraction of the gambling statutes, for the +mandarin’s soul was steeped in opium, and all his executive staff were +gathering in a golden harvest that prevented them from seeing how the +people were breaking the laws. One firm, having literally bribed every +official, including even the mandarin himself, had the audacity to open a +large gambling establishment, and to announce publicly that a particular +form of gaming was going to be carried on in it, and to invite the public +to come and purchase their tickets from them.</p> + +<p>The system that was proposed was one that was exceedingly popular with the +Chinese, but it had been so demoralizing in its effects, that it had been +repeatedly suppressed at various times by the authorities. It consisted of +thirty-six well-known gambling words, one of which was selected by the +head of the concern and concealed within a series of small boxes, which +were to be opened in the presence of a committee, on a certain drawing +day, when all those who had tickets with the lucky word would be rewarded +by certain specified prizes in money, far in excess of the sums they had +originally paid for them.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>The whole country for miles round was in the wildest excitement about this +lottery business. The great question with nearly every one was what word +should they speculate on, for with the gambling mania strongly aroused +within them, every one wanted to take his chance of gaining the coveted +prize. Soothsayers and fortune-tellers were consulted to see if by their +jugglery they could not reveal the word that had been hidden away so +carefully so that none should know its secret. Men and women in large +numbers visited the various idol shrines in the region and made vows to +gods of valuable offerings if they would but disclose to them the unknown +Chinese character that was going to bring wealth to those that should +purchase the lucky ticket.</p> + +<p>There was one large temple, famous for the potency of the idols that were +enshrined in it, and every evening for weeks before the drawing hundreds +of men and women used to repair to it in the hopes that the idols would +reveal to them in their dreams during the stillness of the night which +word they should select as the right one. Singular to say, some declared +that they got such clear illuminations from the idols that they proceeded +to buy tickets which subsequently gave them the coveted prizes.</p> + +<p>After a time society became so disorganized that the whole thing was put a +stop to, and gambling was more sternly forbidden than ever. The +Government, however, is conscious that it cannot be absolutely prohibited, +and so three days of grace are given, when every one is allowed to gamble +to his very heart’s content without any fear from any one. The first +begins on the Chinese New Year’s Day, when the whole of the Empire is +having a holiday. All work is suspended and the shops are closed, so that +for one day at least in the year the towns and cities have a genuine +Sunday look about them.</p> + +<p>In all the public thoroughfares tables are set up, where the crowds may +gather and throw their dice and venture their cash, and look with their +solemn, unemotional faces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span> upon the varying fortunes of the games, as +their money that they have hoarded up for the occasion passes into the +possession of the winner, and they are left penniless. The chances are all +in favour of the man that runs the concerns, but an occasional success +where ten times the amount risked is gathered in by the delighted winner, +so stirs the gambling instincts that they keep putting down their money on +the board, hoping in every throw of the dice to woo fortune to their side.</p> + +<p>Another decidedly unpleasant feature about the Chinese is the hazy and +indefinite ideas they have generally with regard to <i>meum</i> and <i>tuum</i>. +They are wanting in that straightforward honesty that is the +characteristic of the typical Englishman. There is no typical Chinaman +that corresponds to him. It is quite true that in certain business +relationships a Chinaman’s word is as good as his bond, and that contracts +entered into by leading Chinese firms are faithfully carried out, even +though they may be large losers by the transactions. This is not the +result of a profound instinct for honesty, but rather the carrying out of +a commercial code of honour, the infraction of which would cause them to +lose face amongst business men, and thus imperil the credit of their +firms. These very men that would be willing to bankrupt themselves rather +than disavow some business engagement that had turned out badly, will +under other circumstances act very much like the rest of their countrymen +and take advantage of you for their own benefit, and fleece you +unmercifully.</p> + +<p>The first and most practical experience one has of this deteriorated moral +character in the nation is with one’s cook, who sets himself +systematically to cheat upon every article he has to buy for the home +use.<a name='fna_6' id='fna_6' href='#f_6'><small>[6]</small></a> As he has the purchasing of everything required from the Chinese +market, it may easily be imagined what a field he has for gradually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> +making his fortune out of the unsuspicious foreigner. He will charge just +as much per cent. extra upon every article as he thinks he can safely do +without raising the ire of his employer. He does not call this stealing. +It goes under the more euphonious designation of earning, for to steal +would mean that he was a thief, and that he would never under any +circumstances consent to be. If you were to ask him if in his daily +purchases he earns anything upon them, a pleasant smile would flash over +his yellow countenance and he could deny that he did, but in such a way as +to confess in a shy and ingenuous manner that he did. If, however, you +were to ask him if he stole from his master, he would be filled with +indignation, and anger would flash from his eyes, whilst he would +indignantly repudiate the idea that he had ever stolen from any one in his +life. Universal custom and the inbred instinct of the Chinaman to earn an +honest penny whenever the opportunity may occur has given the nation +decidedly low ideas of morality, and has led the people into huge systems +of overreaching each other that have had the effect of dulling the +conscience and of lowering the moral standard.</p> + +<p>The transition from stealing in what might be called a legitimate and +recognized way into downright theft and burglary is not a very difficult +one. The fabled days of the times of Confucius have long since passed away +when no man needed to shut his door at night when the family retired to +rest, and no one felt any concern about his purse that he may have +accidentally dropped on the road, since he would simply have to go back +over the way he had travelled and he would find it on the exact spot where +it had accidentally fallen from him. The nation has fallen upon degenerate +times since then, for locks and bars and bolts and walls that would seem +to be meant to act as fortifications are now all required by those who +have any property that would be worth the carrying off.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span>This fact is most conspicuous in the houses of the rich, who are apt to +keep considerable sums of money in them, and who thus tempt the cupidity +of the thieves in the neighbourhood, and even of those that live at a +distance, who will come suddenly one dark night in considerable force and +in one fell swoop carry off all the valuables in them.</p> + +<p>The pawn shops, that are known to contain all kinds of precious property +that are held as pledges for money lent on them, have to be built strong +enough to resist the organized attack of desperate bands of robbers. They +are in fact miniature fortresses, with walls of granite slabs that would +resist a battering-ram, and iron plated doors, and jingals placed inside +the doors ready to resist an onslaught of the thieving mob of ruffians. As +these are under the special protection of the mandarins, it shows the +lawless character of the Chinese robber fraternity, that they dare to +assemble in such numbers to attack such formidable buildings as they are, +and yet such things are by no means uncommon.</p> + +<p>One stormy, cloudy night when the inmates have retired to rest, and there +is no suspicion of anything unusual going to take place, the sudden +barking of dogs, that seem mad with excitement, arouses the sleepers from +their slumbers. Peering through the narrow stone slits of the windows +upstairs, they catch a glimpse of a large number of dark figures moving +restlessly about. Immediately the whole establishment is alive. The place +is going to be attacked, and now with cries of terror and alarm every one +hastens to his post to repel the onslaught of these midnight marauders. +The battle is sharp and fierce, and there is none to bring aid to the +defenders, for the neighbours, though they hear the sounds of firing, and +the shouts of the ruffians and the screams of the terrified women inside +the pawn shop that startle the midnight air, dare not come to the rescue, +for the robbers are not in a mood to spare any one that dares to interfere +with the carrying out of their plans.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>After some hours of conflict, the main door is battered in with axes and +the robbers intent only on plunder decamp with their huge spoils, that +will enable them to gamble to their hearts’ content, and to steep their +senses in opium for many a long day to come. They have so effectually +concealed their identity that all investigations made by the mandarins or +by detectives specially employed by the firm, fail entirely to discover +who the midnight thieves were that so successfully raided the wealthy +establishment.</p> + +<p>The processes of law are so uncertain in China that there is a positive +temptation to the criminal classes to indulge in all manner of nefarious +schemes that are for the detriment of society. The mandarin of a certain +county, who is declared, in the poetic language so often employed by the +Chinese, to be “The Father and Mother of his People,” happens to be a +weak, vacillating character, or his few senses have been saturated with +opium so that he is quite incompetent to see to the government of his +district.</p> + +<p>The lawless characters within it, who might have been restrained by a firm +and vigorous hand, now assert themselves, and the large clans with their +powerful followings domineer and oppress the weaker ones. Travellers are +stopped on the highways, or carried off and shut up and tortured until +they are redeemed by their friends by the payment of a heavy ransom.</p> + +<p>The river that may run through this unhappy region is infested with +pirates who sally out at night and capture the trading junks that may be +lying at anchor in some snug bay where they have taken refuge for safety. +They also land their men at the villages along the banks and raid and +plunder the defenceless inhabitants, and when the morning comes there is +despair in the hearts of those who have been deprived of their all, for +they know that no redress will ever be obtained from the mandarin, who is +the cause of the lawlessness that prevails on the land and along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span> +streams and away down to the river’s mouth, where it pours its waters into +the ocean.</p> + +<p>Wherever there is an efficient executive, the men who prey upon society +are compelled for the time being to take to honest courses to earn a +living for themselves and their families. It is very interesting to watch +how a whole district may be kept in order and laws obeyed and confidence +restored by the action of one vigorous mandarin. On one occasion a certain +region was in a most disturbed condition. Travellers passing through it +did so at the greatest risk of being seized and held to ransom. They were +compelled to go in companies for the sake of the protection that numbers +would give them, and even then they had to pay the headmen of a certain +large and turbulent village stipulated fees for passes that would carry +them for a few miles on their journey without being molested by other +blackmailers. Even the very poorest in going from one place to another +were called upon to pay a few cash before they were allowed to proceed, +and men were stationed outside the village to collect the toll from every +one that passed by.</p> + +<p>There were loud grumblings and complaints at this distressing state of +things, but no steps were taken by the local authorities to put an end to +it. The lawbreakers were rich enough to bribe the mandarins and every +member of their Yamens, so that the story of their misdeeds was quietly +ignored and they were allowed to grow rich on their illegal exactions.</p> + +<p>After a time a new general was appointed to take military charge of the +whole district. He was an exceedingly active and intelligent official, and +had the reputation of being impervious to a bribe. A tremor of excitement +ran through the ranks of the blackmailers when they heard of his +appointment, but they contented themselves with the idea, that if he could +not be reached by money, his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> subordinates, whose livelihood depended upon +such perquisites as they were prepared to give them, would certainly not +refuse the liberal sums they could have for the asking.</p> + +<p>The general soon found what a disgraceful condition his district was in, +and he quietly took measures to restore law and order in it. He knew that +he could get no reliable information from the members of his own Yamen, so +he used to go out every evening after dark in various disguises and mingle +with the people. He would sit in the tea shops and hobnob with coolies, or +he would enter the restaurants and converse with the more staid and +respectable citizens and glean from their conversation information upon +all manner of subjects that would be serviceable to him in his government +of the people.</p> + +<p>He found that the greatest disorders existed and that it would require +very stern and decided measures to put an end to them. He got a complete +history, too, of the particular village that had become so notorious for +its exactions, with the names of its leading men and all their cruelties +to the victims that had been seized in order to extract large sums out of +them. He knew that these very men had spies even in his own Yamen who were +ready to report any action that he might be going to take with respect to +them, and therefore he had to keep his plans a profound secret even from +his most confidential advisers.</p> + +<p>At length after weeks of patient waiting, during which the suspicions of +the lawbreakers were lulled to sleep, he decided upon immediate action. He +had not informed any of his officers what he was going to do, neither had +any of his troops the slightest suspicion that anything special was going +to take place. Rousing the camp at midnight, he ordered five hundred men +to prepare for instantly marching to a destination that he would reveal to +no one. Taking the lead, the troops, who had been commanded to keep the +most profound silence, glided like spectres through the dark<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span> and gloomy +streets till they reached one of the great gates of the city. These were +thrown open at the command of the general, and the soldiers trooped along +the high road wondering what was the meaning of this midnight march and +what scheme was working in the fertile brain of their leader.</p> + +<p>Ten miles had been travelled and darkness still lay upon the land, and the +trees and the houses, as they suddenly loomed up, looked like ghosts that +had wandered out of “The Land of Shadows,” and were waiting for the dawn +to return to their dreary abodes in that sunless world. Suddenly the order +was whispered through the ranks to halt, and in tones of stern command the +soldiers were ordered to surround the village that lay in the profoundest +stillness at their side. They were to see that no one of its people were +allowed to escape, and that for every one that managed to do so the life +of the soldier on guard would have to pay the forfeit. The men knew too +well the temper of their general to imagine that this was an idle threat.</p> + +<p>With noiseless tread each man took up the station assigned to him by his +officer, and the whole command stood in breathless silence until the dawn +in the east lifted up the curtain of the night and revealed the village to +them. A detachment of men were marched into it, and half-a-dozen of the +leading men of the clan were seized and marched to an open space outside +of it, where the general was standing with some of his officers. The +executioner with bared arm and gleaming sword awaited but the word of +command, and six heads rolled on to the ground and the tragedy was over. +The bugles sounded and the men fell into their ranks, and almost before +the whole of the village had time to rub their eyes to assure themselves +that they were awake, the avengers of law were hurrying back to the city +they had left at midnight.</p> + +<p>The effect of this stern act of justice was perfectly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> magical in its +effects. The news spread with the rapidity of lightning through the length +and breadth of this famous general’s jurisdiction. With the fall of those +heads, every trace of lawlessness vanished from the great clans that had +been terrorizing society. Men could now travel freely without any danger +of molestation, and even in the darkness of the night no one dared to lay +his hand upon a member even of the weakest of the clans. The fear of the +general was in the hearts of the transgressors, for conscience made +cowards of them all, and stories were circulated about the almost +supernatural knowledge that he had of men’s doings, and which every one +implicitly believed in.</p> + +<p>And so during the term of his office there was an end to blackmailing, and +the region became as peaceful as though the gamblers had burnt their cards +and had taken to reading religious books, and the opium smokers had become +reformed, and the passion for unlawful gains had died out of the hearts of +the men who had made it impossible for honest men to travel freely either +for business or for pleasure very far from their own doors. But whilst +this was the case, there was no real reformation in the hearts of a single +one of those who had made society unsafe for men and women who wished to +live a law-abiding life. They were simply afraid of the man that had the +instant power of life and death, and who without trial of judge or jury, +and without the fear of any superior court to call in question his +decisions, could hand over a person at a moment’s notice to the man who +held the gleaming sword, and who with one stroke of it could decide in two +seconds a matter that lawyers in England would wrangle over for months.</p> + +<p>The lawless classes in China form a considerable percentage of the whole +population. They are ruthless and cruel, and in the carrying out of their +fell purposes they show but little consideration for the lives or property +of those whom they may select to be their victims. There is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> a general +impression in Western lands that the idolatrous races of people living in +the East are a simple-minded folk, with but few passions and generous and +tender-hearted to each other. They are supposed to lead a sunny life, and +imitating the luxuriance of nature that the great sun continually spurs +into action by his fiery heat, to have the widest sympathies with +everything human. This is an ideal picture that could only have been drawn +by the vivid forces of imagination. China is no Eden of this kind, and it +may be accepted as a general truth that where men have lost the knowledge +of God, and are not drawn into a noble life by an impression of His purity +and tenderness which He wishes reproduced in the lives of the world, men’s +own conceptions of what a noble life ought to be will always fall far +short of the Divine.</p> + +<p>The best days for China were in the ancient past, according to the sacred +books of the nation, when God and Heaven were the prominent words in the +religious life of the people, and when the idols had not yet come from +India to lower the conceptions of the Divine. With the gradual +disappearance of God, as a personal Power, from the thinking of the people +there came the lower standard of morality that has its legitimate +successor in the types we see in modern life.</p> + +<p>We are told that three centuries after Confucius wrote his lofty system of +ethics, though even he began to give evidence that he was losing touch +with a personal God that the illustrious sages whose writings he professed +to be editing undoubtedly had, the nation had practically adopted the +worship of nature, and made their offerings to the spirits of the +mountains and of the streams that flowed through the land and brought +fertility in their train. Morality, however, had in the meanwhile +degenerated, and one has but to read the history of China<a name='fna_7' id='fna_7' href='#f_7'><small>[7]</small></a> to see how +the baser<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span> passions that influence men in the present day were very much +in evidence in those primitive times.</p> + +<p>An incident in the life of one of the most famous Emperors that lived two +centuries before Christ will confirm my statement on this head. Some time +before his death he had a tomb built for himself that was constructed on a +royal and a magnificent scale. It was really an underground palace and +furnished in a style that suited the exalted ideas of the man who was +designing it. It was furnished with every necessary for a luxurious life, +and vast stores of gold and silver and precious jewels were deposited in +strong rooms that no robber bands could break into.</p> + +<p>Magnificent suites of apartments were constructed that were fit to +entertain a kingly company, for the Emperor when he died and was buried in +this great sepulchre did not mean to be the only occupant of it. He had +planned that some of his favourites from his harem should accompany him, +and that men-servants and maid-servants and hosts of attendants should be +shut up with him in the gloomy underground mansion. He could not bear the +thought of being alone. He desired that life in some mysterious way should +be continued in “The Land of Shadows” very much as it had been in the one +he was forced to relinquish.</p> + +<p>His one concern in the midst of all this preparation for another life was +the feeling that the great wealth that he had stored in the new palace +would excite the cupidity of the thieves and the gamblers and blackmailers +that had begun to exist in that early stage of the nation’s history. He +accordingly called in the cleverest and the most cunning artificers in +brass and iron and asked them to make locks of such ingenious and subtle +designs that no housebreaker would ever be able to open them. They were +also to construct full-sized figures of men in metal, standing with bow +and arrow in hand in front of the door by which the palace was to be +entered. A touch of the intruder’s foot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span> on a secret spring would cause +the mechanism of these dumb sentinels to work, and in a moment the deadly +arrows would be shot into his body and he would fall lifeless on the very +threshold. The safeguards against invasion of the tomb after the Emperor +was laid to rest in it were complete, for none knew the secret of the +locks or of the silent figures that stood ready with their arrows to slay +the robber but the artificer that designed them, and in order to secure +that none should ever learn it from him, he was quietly put to death one +morning after he had fully explained to the Emperor the details of his +wonderful invention.</p> + +<p>Another feature about Chinese life that is sadly illustrative of its seamy +character is the prevalence of the opium habit, and the saddest feature +about this is the fact that it is not a native vice, one indigenous to the +soil, that has grown up as the result of some peculiarity of temperament +of the Chinese, but is an import that was first brought into the country +and made an article of trade by an English company of merchants, viz. the +East India Company.</p> + +<p>One of the most unfortunate days for this old Empire was that on which the +ships of that famous Company sailed up the Pearl river with their +consignment of a drug that was to prove more disastrous and more fatal to +its people than all the revolutions that during the past centuries have +deluged this land with blood, or all the epidemics that have at various +times swept like destroying angels through the ranks of society.</p> + +<p>People who have been jealous of English honour have tried to prove that +the opium was in common use amongst the Chinese before the ships of +England appeared before Canton with their deadly cargoes, but this is an +absolute mistake. Isolated travellers from India may have brought some for +their own individual consumption, but the drug was unknown and unused by +the Chinese people. That this statement is true is proved by the fact that +there is no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> word in the language of this people for opium, for the only +one that has ever existed is the one that attempts to give the sound of +the foreign name that those who produced it in other lands gave it. If the +thing had been an indigenous product, the Chinese would have had a name +for it that would have had no flavour of a foreign land.</p> + +<p>It has been a most disastrous thing for China that the one nation that has +championed opium and has made treaties for its sale in this land, and that +in the interests of its merchants and for the sake of its Indian revenue, +insisted upon these treaties being carried out, should be England. If it +had been a smaller Power the Chinese Government might have successfully +resisted the attempt to force upon it a trade that was inevitably bound to +degrade and demoralize its people. But England, the mighty power of the +West, whose guns had thundered over Canton, and had waked the echoes of +the Yangtze, and had even sounded through the capital of the Empire, was +one that China dared not contend with, and so it has come to pass that the +country that has always professed to be the refuge of the oppressed and +the freer of the slave, has been the one to bind the shackles of opium on +a people that, whilst they have fallen under its spell, yet feel the +profoundest indignation against the Power whose legislation has helped to +enslave them.</p> + +<p>Opium in China is sometimes compared to the drinking habit in England, and +terrible though the latter is, men have become so accustomed to the sight +of it, that it is apt to be looked upon with considerable leniency. People +in the highest positions in the land have drink upon their tables, without +any one commenting unfavourably, except perhaps the members of the +temperance party. Clergymen, highly respectable heads of families, +philanthropists, and men who are prominent in society for their +benevolence, all feel that they are doing no wrong by using in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> moderation +wines and spirits themselves, and by offering them to their friends or +guests who may be visiting them. Many honestly believe that a moderate use +of wine is not only allowable, but is also highly beneficial for the +health, an idea that is largely believed in by the medical faculty, who +are apt to recommend their patients to use it, whenever their health +becomes impaired.</p> + +<p>Now, supposing that the moderate and daily use of liquors for, say six +months, would so enchain and bind a man or woman that they must, at all +costs, have their daily allowance of drink that they have been accustomed +to, and that if they were denied it they would be mad with pain, and so +racked with agony that they could neither rest nor sleep until the awful +craving had been dulled by a draught of wine or spirits, how would society +look upon the use of beverages that in so brief a time would bring about +so terrible a tragedy? It is quite safe to say that in a vast number of +homes where to-day they are used with the utmost lightheartedness, they +would be excluded with the most feverish and jealous care as enemies with +whom there could be no compromise.</p> + +<p>Let us suppose, for example, a family of six, the father and mother, two +sons and two daughters. Every day, twice a day, at lunch and at dinner, +one or two glasses of wine are drunk at each meal. This goes on steadily +for six months, and then it is proposed that for the future there shall be +no more drinking. This is agreed to; but, as the evening advances, it is +found that a strange and mysterious restlessness has taken possession of +the whole family. They cannot sit long, but are impelled to move about. +Gnawing pains rack the bones and render life intolerable.</p> + +<p>Retiring to rest for the night is absolutely useless, for it is found +impossible to remain for more than a few minutes quiet; and besides, the +mental faculties are so active and the eyes so wide awake, that sleep is +the very last thing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span> that the imagination can think of. It is soon +discovered that the only thing that will restore the normal tone to both +body or mind is a copious draught of wine or a bumper of brandy and soda; +when, after a few minutes, the restlessness gradually vanishes, the pains +and aches slowly subside from the bones and muscles of the body, and a +perfect peace reigns where before mind and body were both racked in a +fierce conflict with an unseen foe.</p> + +<p>Now this is an imaginary and highly impossible picture with regard to the +effects of alcohol, but it is one that is extremely applicable to the +opium smoker. Let a Chinaman steadily smoke opium for six months and he +can no longer call his life his own. He cannot let a single day go by +without taking the amount that will relieve the tension and the strain +that are put on his physical forces at a certain hour every day when the +craving for the drug creeps over him. He must then have the pipe to inhale +its fumes, or the agony and oppression will be so great that he will be in +the greatest torture.</p> + +<p>There is no such a thing as temperance in opium as there is in the +indulgence of intoxicating liquors. Unless a man is a confirmed drunkard +he can abstain for a longer or a shorter time from them without any very +serious inconvenience, but such liberty is never accorded to the opium +smoker. After a daily use for six months, he may never have a day off, but +as the hours pass by he is reminded by the enemy that creeps over him, and +that fills him with pains and languor, that he must light his pipe. +Sometimes in cases of severe illness his usual dose must be doubled before +his torture is relieved, and when it comes to pass that he does not wish +to smoke, it is then known that a stronger than opium is going to claim +him as its victim.</p> + +<p>If a man has plenty of means he lays in a supply, and when the time comes +round for him to take it, which it does with the inflexibility and cruelty +of fate, he reclines<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span> on a couch and fills and refills his pipe, and draws +in one volume of fume after another until the pains that have gripped +every bone in his body loose their hold, and the craving that has brought +a shadow over his life, and blotted out sun and moon and stars, and that +has shut out of his heart his home and his wife and his children, and has +given him a vision only of his own wretched self, slowly disappears, and +he finally drops into a childlike sleep. He rises perfectly free from pain +or weariness, but he is oppressed with the thought that twice every day he +has to go through this terrible experience, and that never as long as he +lives will he ever be a free man again. There is a release for every one +that desires it; but the price to be paid is so great and the agony to be +endured so intolerable that but very few of those upon whom opium has laid +its grip would dare to attempt to free himself from its shackles.</p> + +<p>If the opium smoker is a poor man, then indeed the lot of the home is a +miserable one. At all costs he must have his pipe at the regular time, no +matter who else may suffer. His wife and children may go without food, but +he must be supplied. One article after another is sold to buy the opium, +until the house is so bare that there is nothing left to be disposed of. +Then one of the children disappears, for a childless man in another part +of the city has bought it, and it now belongs to him. One after another +vanishes in the same way, till no one is left except his wife. At last +when all the funds have gone and there are no more little ones to dispose +of, negotiations are entered into with a middle-woman, and his wife too is +no longer to be found in her wretched home, for she has become the spouse +of another man, and the miserable opium smoker is left alone, content with +the thought that for the present, at least, he has got the funds to enable +him to satisfy the craving and to keep off the horrors that would make his +life one long torture.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>In the middle classes where the husband is an opium smoker, and where the +means are at hand to supply the daily needs of this cruel and exacting +tyrant, things go on tolerably smoothly, for opium does not send men into +wild and insane fits such as alcohol does, but it deadens the senses and +puts them to sleep, and it tends on the whole to repress the fighting +passions of a man.</p> + +<p>The indirect influence of opium is very disastrous in its results, for it +is in a large measure the producer of some of the dangerous classes that +prey upon society. When a man has spent all and sold any little property +that he may have possessed, he then joins the ranks of the thieves and of +the gamblers, and henceforth he seems to live only for the one great +purpose of grasping from any quarter that may be ready to his hand, the +means of satisfying the inexorable craving that comes upon him twice every +day.</p> + +<p>This terrible evil exists throughout the length and breadth of the Empire, +and there is no power outside of Christianity that seems to be able to +cope with it. Human affection, and sense of honour, and pride of race, all +succumb before the touch of opium. The Church of Christ in China alone +possesses the one motive that will enable the victim to bear the agony of +giving up the habit, or that will restrain the man that is tempted from +indulging in it, and that is supreme affection and fidelity to Christ his +Saviour. The same mysterious power that has touched the men of other lands +into the most intense and unwavering devotion to Him, has in countless +instances kept men in this old Empire of China from the seductions of the +pipe, and has made them bear heroically and without flinching the bitter +pains that opium makes its victims endure before it will loose its grasp +upon them.</p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> +<p class="title">A TRIP THROUGH THE COUNTRY</p> + +<div class="note"><p class="hang">Preparations for the journey—Headman of sedan—chair shop—Fares +settled—Morning scene—Chinese disregard of time—Start on +journey—Scenery—Rice-fields—Great roads and small +roads—Refreshment places by roadside—Villages on line of +travel—Crops—Arrive at river—Description of a famous bridge—River +boat—Gorges—Sugar canes—Sugar factory—Anchor boat.</p></div> + + +<p>Two of us had for some time been planning a trip into the interior. We +were anxious to see the tea growing on the mountain sides and to travel up +some of the rivers that for ages have been pouring their waters to the +plain, and up and down which the tides of life have for long centuries +flowed incessantly. The day had at length arrived when we could carry this +purpose into effect, and we were looking forward with pleasure to the +varied scenes and experiences through which we should have to pass.</p> + +<p>The preparation for a journey differs essentially in this land from the +same thing in England. Here we have to provide plates and cups and saucers +as well as knives and forks, for such things are never used by the +Chinese, as a few bowls and chopsticks are all that are ever seen in any +home in China. We must also take our own bedding and blankets, as the +Chinese ideas of cleanliness are such as to make us chary of using any of +theirs. It is also necessary to lay in a moderate stock of tinned meats, +so as to provide for certain contingencies when anything beyond potatoes +and rice may not be procurable in some of the districts through which we +shall have to pass.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img45.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">CHINESE LOCOMOTION.</p> +<p> </p> + +<p>Having stocked our provision basket with the various articles that were +absolutely necessary for our comfort by the way, and having seen to our +bedding and inserted amongst<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span> the blankets a few choice books to enable +us to while away some of the dull hours that we were sure to have on the +journey, we had to arrange for the chairs that were to carry us for the +next few days.</p> + +<p>We accordingly sent for the headman of the nearest chair establishment to +settle with him the rates we were to pay for the chair-bearers. This is a +question of no small difficulty, for these men have an evil reputation for +being dishonest, and unless they are carefully watched, one is certain of +being cheated by them. The man who shortly appeared in obedience to our +summons well sustained the character that his class have everywhere +obtained. He had a frowsy look about him as though he had been sleeping +all night in his clothes and had not washed for many a long day. That of +itself would not be a very serious indictment against him, for the +disregard of soap and water is no test whatever of a person’s character in +China. There was something about the man’s face that led us to form no +very high opinion of him. In the first place he was an opium smoker. That +could be seen from the leaden hue that had driven out nature’s colours +from his face, and also from something nameless in the eyes that the opium +with its subtle alchemy had put into them. In the next there was a low and +cunning look about him that made you feel that you were in the presence of +a man whose ideas of morality had never been fashioned on the high +principles of Confucius and Mencius, or indeed of any of the other sages +who have been models to the people of this Empire.</p> + +<p>After a considerable discussion and beating down of prices, it was finally +settled that we were to pay for one chair with its two bearers at the rate +of about five pence a league,<a name='fna_8' id='fna_8' href='#f_8'><small>[8]</small></a> with a specified sum for the days when we +rested<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span> by the way, either because it was Sunday or for any other special +reason that might induce us to loiter on the journey. As we were anxious +to start early in order to reach a certain stopping-place where there was +a well-known Chinese inn, we stipulated that the bearers with their chairs +should appear next morning at daylight, when we would have everything +ready to make an immediate start.</p> + +<p>True to this arrangement we had packed up and had breakfasted before any +sign of the coming sun could be seen in the eastern sky, and we kept +looking out to see when the dawn would disperse the darkness that lay on +the earth, and we could start on our journey. By and by the great +banyan-tree near by that looked like a weird and uncanny mass of shadow, +denser and blacker than those that concealed everything from view, +suddenly and as if with the touch of an enchanter’s hand began to assume a +tangible shape, and great boughs swung into view, and countless branches +with their evergreen leaves came out of the night as if to greet the day +with their smiles. Soon the light had flashed across the fields and on to +the tops of houses, and had touched the summits of the hills with its +glory and had driven away the last lingering shadows from the landscape, +and another day had broken on the world.</p> + +<p>Impatiently we waited for the coming of the chairs, but the minutes passed +by, and the sun rose higher and higher, and his rays flashed amongst the +forest of leaves that sprung from boughs and branches of the venerable +banyan, but still no sign of them or the bearers. We had been long enough +in China to realize that time to a Chinaman is of no importance whatever, +and that the difference of an hour or two in any engagement that is made +is a matter so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span> trifling as not to be considered worthy of mention. Still +with true Occidental pertinacity and training we clung to the idea that +because the daylight had been mentioned and had been agreed to as the time +when the men should put in an appearance, the men, of course with the same +exact ideas of time that we had, would promptly appear as soon as the +first flush tinged the sky in the east.</p> + +<p>The foreigner in dealing with the Chinese always forgets that they are +usually accustomed to look at things from a different standpoint from +ourselves, and that their minds are more turbid and less keen than ours. +Daylight, for example, with us has a definite meaning, but with a Chinaman +represents a time that begins with the dawn and with the indolence of the +East may extend to seven or eight o’clock.</p> + +<p>By and by, and just as the clock was striking eight, the men came +sauntering up the street smoking their bamboo pipes and chatting and +joking with each other. They seemed to be perfectly unconscious that they +were fully two hours late, and they tossed the chairs on the ground with +an air as though they were in advance of their time and were anxious to be +on the road.</p> + +<p>They seemed to be mightily taken aback when we asked them, with a good +deal of indignation in our tones, why they had not kept to the agreement +of coming to us at daylight. “But we have come at daylight,” they replied, +with amazement in their looks; “what is it now but daylight?” We speedily +showed them from the current use of the word daylight, that that event +happened more than two hours ago, and that by this time we ought to have +been at least five miles on our journey.</p> + +<p>They all seemed really surprised that the present moment could not be +fairly called daylight, but with the readiness of the Chinese in repartee +one of them said, “We really had to rise before daylight to be here now, +for we had to cook our rice and have breakfast, for the work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span> before us is +no light one, and we dare not undertake it on an empty stomach. Then we +had to smoke our usual quantity of opium. Until we had done that we dare +not attempt the long journey that we have before us to-day. You blame us +for being late, but just think of what we have had to do before we could +come here. We had to cook our own breakfast and eat it, and that took up +some time. Then we had to get our opium pipes in working order, and slowly +manipulate the opium, and that you know is not like tobacco that you can +take a few whiffs of and the thing is finished. We had then to lie on the +opium-bench for some time till the drowsiness passed away and we had +recovered our senses. How could we come earlier with all these things to +do? You decided that we should come at daylight, and here we are. Did you +expect us to come without having had our breakfast? You are no slight +weight to carry, you know, and if we had done so, we should have had to +drop you on the road before we had been an hour on our journey.”</p> + +<p>The Chinaman has a wonderful facility for putting the best face upon a bad +argument. He has the most ingenious ways of presenting his view of the +matter, so that by and by he will have turned the tables, and he will make +it appear that he has been altogether right whilst you have been +absolutely in the wrong. His favourite method is to confuse the issues, +and the Chinese, with their turbid way of looking at things, continually +fall into the snare, and having accepted his premises they must perforce +accept also his conclusions. Here were these rough, noisy chair-bearers +insisting that they had acted upon our agreement to come at daylight, +though the sun was high in the heavens and it was getting close upon nine +o’clock. They ignored all our attempts to prove that the hour of daylight +had passed some hours ago by simply insisting that we were wrong. The +hypnotic influence of assertions made confidently and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span> persistently began +to have its effect on our mind. Were we really labouring under a mistake, +and were the broad daylight and the great sun that glared down upon us +simply visions of the imagination? We felt that if we did not stop the +discussion we should soon be consenting to all they said, so we got into +our chairs and with a peremptory wave of the hand ordered them to go on.</p> + +<p>With smiling faces and with an air of victory in their voices, they lifted +the poles on to their shoulders and commenced the long journey of twenty +miles that lay before us. When the bearers are strong and know their work, +and when they have got into step with each other, the motion of the chair +is a very pleasant one and the time passes by very quickly.</p> + +<p>This latter is in a great measure due to the constantly changing scenes +that meet one by the way. After leaving the city we emerged into the open +country, where we had ample evidence of the skill with which the farmer +cultivates his fields. He seems, indeed, to have penetrated into the +secrets of nature and to have learned how to manipulate his fields, and +how to coax and win the various kinds of seeds that he plants that they +shall all respond to the efforts he puts forth and gladden his heart with +their fruitful harvests.</p> + +<p>The Chinese farmer is a most unæsthetic, most uninteresting looking +character, and strikes one as far inferior to the rosy-cheeked, +jolly-looking specimens that till our lands in England. He has altogether +a mean appearance and does not at first sight induce us to have any high +respect for him. His dress is against him. It is made of sombre-looking +blue cotton cloth, slouchily made, and usually anything but clean. He +absolutely neglects his toilette, and his face and hands show an ingrained +dislike to water. Whether as the result of hard work or of exposure to the +sun, which burns like X Rays into his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span> skin, his countenance in a +comparatively early stage becomes furrowed with wrinkles, and in time he +gets prematurely old looking.</p> + +<p>It is when you become acquainted with him, and chat with him, that these +external disadvantages seem to vanish from your thoughts, and you realize +that here you have a man who has held deep communion with nature, and who +knows her so well that she responds to his touch, and pours with no +unwilling hand out of the abundance of her treasury the riches that are to +fill the homes with gladness and content.</p> + +<p>The fields that we are now passing through are an evidence of the skill +and ingenuity of the farmers. They are all covered with luxuriant crops of +rice, and as the sun shines down upon the heads that have just issued from +their leafy enclosures, and his rays flash upon the water at their feet, +making it to sparkle and glisten as so many diamond points that reflect +his glory, the sight is one that the eye never gets tired of looking upon. +One is led to reflect in gazing upon these fields with what exquisite +beauty and with what marvellous detail God fashions the growing grain so +that it shall come with as perfect and divine a form as His great Master +Mind can devise it.</p> + +<p>As far as the eye can reach there is little else to be seen but rice. One +sees it down in the hollows where the little rivulets flow, and where they +have left their trace in the deeper green and the ranker growth of the +crops near by. On the rising ground one’s eye is caught with the lifelike, +graceful motions that the passing breeze with the art of a master makes +the stalks that stand so thickly side by side perform. Like the waves +breaking on the shore, one never wearies looking at them, for they vary +with every gust of wind, so that they never become monotonous.</p> + +<p>The only exception to this universal growth of the rice are fields of +sweet potatoes that occupy grounds where the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span> water cannot reach. As this +is an essential for the cultivation of rice, which must stand in it during +the whole time of its growth, until within a few days of its being +harvested, other kinds of crops have to be planted in what are called “the +dry fields.” These are mainly sweet potatoes, though various others are +also cultivated in them.</p> + +<p>Here, for example, is a small plot of land that we are passing by, which +illustrates not only the ingenuity of the Chinese farmer, but also shows +the varied purposes to which “the dry fields” may be put. There are no +fewer than three distinct crops growing harmoniously side by side on it. +There are peanuts with their short, insignificant growth and their tiny +yellow flowers that seem the very embodiment of retiring modesty. Out of +their very midst there spring up the sturdy millet-stalks, with their +lofty ambitions that would make them stretch far beyond the humble leaves +and flowers at their feet; and last, but not the least important, there is +a crop of sweet potatoes that will quietly survive when the other two have +been gathered, and will gladden the hearts of the farmers after the others +have been garnered.</p> + +<p>As we travel on, we notice how very bad the roads are. We are on what is +called the “Great Road,” for it is a great thoroughfare, and for more than +two thousand miles it runs over great plains, and winds up and down hills +and mountains, and crosses great rivers and countless streams, and +penetrates great and populous cities, and yet, excepting at occasional +places, it never averages more than ten feet wide. It seems, too, to be in +a chronic state of disrepair. The rains fall, and the storms and the +typhoons spend their fury on it, and try their very utmost to obliterate +it. The countless feet, too, of weary travellers, and of coolies with +burdened shoulders, and chair-bearers with their weighty fares tread it +down and fill it with ruts, and wear away the stones, and disfigure its +surface with heights<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span> and hollows that make travelling in the rainy season +a serious trial to those who have to journey along it.</p> + +<p>If this be the case with the “Great Roads” it may easily be imagined what +the character of the “Small Roads” must be. These latter are practically +but footpaths that exist like a huge network throughout the Empire, and +are reserved for the local traffic that goes on between village and +village, and between market town and market town, and whilst on the whole +they aim at being as straight and as direct as possible, they are from the +very nature of the case generally very winding and roundabout. Fields have +to be crossed and private property has to be invaded, and so the traveller +has to accommodate himself to the necessities of the case, and follow the +windings and the turnings by which the least damage may be done to those +whose farms or homesteads have been invaded by those who never dream of +paying any compensation for the liberty they have taken.</p> + +<p>In travelling on these “Great Roads,” one finds that about every two miles +or so apart there are recognized stages or resting-places where +refreshments of a very primitive kind may be obtained, and where men +wearied with the strain of walking, or oppressed with the great flaring, +scorching sun may find some respite from the strain that has been put upon +them.</p> + +<p>But here is one of these stages, and as the rule of the road demands that +the chair-bearers shall stop at it, we shall be able to see for ourselves +exactly what they are like. At first sight it has a very tempting, +picturesque appearance. Several magnificent banyan-trees send out huge +spreading boughs, which, with their great forest of leaves, cast a most +refreshing shade over the road and over the eating-houses that stand by +the wayside. These latter are of the simplest and most elementary kind, +and consist of one large room that is practically a kitchen, where the +rice and the sweet potatoes are cooked and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span> where the owner and his wife +carry out the orders that their customers may give them.</p> + +<p>In front of this are small tables and rough wooden benches for the +accommodation of those who wish to have refreshment. No sooner do our men +drop their chairs on the road, than they stagger to one of these tables, +and, at a kind of masonic sign that is easily read, a bowl of smoking-hot +rice is put into the hands of each, a pair of chop-sticks are grasped from +a hollow bamboo receptacle on the table, and without a word it is quickly +being shovelled down their throats. It is not until at least half the +basin has been emptied that signs of contentment escape from them, and the +innate humour, which has been crushed by the pain and weariness on the +road, finds expression in laughter and in humorous conversation that fills +the air with merry sounds that linger among the branches and wander down +along the road into the great glare beyond where the shadows of the banyan +lie.</p> + +<p>In order to ease ourselves from the cramped position we have had to +maintain in the chair, we get out and stretch our legs, and finally sit +down on one of the benches and watch the moving life that passes and +repasses in front of us.</p> + +<p>Here is a young fellow that has just staggered out of the sunlight into +the shadow, and he lets down his burden from his shoulder as though he +were tearing off the skin and places it carefully within a few feet of us. +He must be about twenty-five, and is as good a specimen of a man as one +would find in a day’s journey. His face is flushed and excited, and he has +a strained look upon it as though he had been bearing a pressure that had +become simply unendurable.</p> + +<p>“How far have you travelled with your load?” we asked him.</p> + +<p>“One hundred and fifty miles,” he replied, “and I have thirty more before +I reach the end of my journey.”</p> + +<p>“What is its weight?” I inquire of him.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span>“It is a hundred and fifty pounds at the very least,” he said, and he cast +a wistful, anxious look upon the huge burden that he had carried so far.</p> + +<p>“But why engage to bear so heavy a load? A hundred pounds ought to have +been your limit, for so long a journey,” I continued.</p> + +<p>“I could not afford to carry less,” he quickly replied; “I am paid so much +a pound, and I have to pay my own expenses. I have to eat often,” he +explained, “or I should break down. I have to pay for my bed at night, and +I must have a certain amount over to take home to my wife and family. If I +were to reduce the weight I could not do that, and so I am compelled to +put every pound into my load that I can possibly carry in order that my +family may not suffer.”</p> + +<p>But here comes a sedan chair that has come in with a rush whilst we have +been talking. The bearers are both young strapping fellows, and we can +tell from the hot flush on their faces that the strain upon them is a +severe one. They are too proud, however, to acknowledge that, and instead +of letting the chair down gently, they give it a toss in the air as though +it were a plaything, and with a jaunty air they drop it on to the ground. +They then begin to chaff some of the other bearers that are seated on the +tables, and in a leisurely, easy way saunter to a seat as though it were a +matter of perfect indifference whether they had any refreshment or not. +The keeper of the eating-house, however, knows exactly the requirements of +these two brave young fellows, and so he quietly slips a bowl into the +hand of each, and, in spite of their feigned unconcern, they are soon +shovelling down great mouthfuls of the hot savoury rice.</p> + +<p>As we sit looking at the shifting scene that passes like a moving panorama +before us, we are impressed with the pathetic side that seems to us to be +the prominent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span> one. The passers-by are nearly all representatives of the +working classes, and even they come from the poorer stratum. Some of them +are men from a distance, as may be seen by their dust-soiled garments and +their air of weariness. Others are farmers who have been to the +neighbouring city to dispose of their farm produce, whilst not a few are +nondescripts, the waifs and strays that heathen society tosses up, whose +hold upon life is always a precarious one, and who may any day be landed +amongst the beggar class to fight and struggle for existence as best they +may.</p> + +<p>Now and again a man in easier circumstances may be detected by the +independent swing of his walk, and by the jolly look that illumines his +broad, but unæsthetic features. There are young fellows, too, who, full of +exuberant spirits, lark and joke with each other, and make the air ring +with their laughter, but there are only too many with a shadow on their +faces that tells of an inner life where the heart throbs with a hidden +pain. For one thing, at least, the Chinaman is a man to be greatly admired +for the patience and the heroism with which he bears the ills and the +disappointments of life. It is not because he is of a callous nature, or +that he is insensible to the human touches that sweep over the spirit of +other races, and make the heart break down in tears. It is simply because +he has a wonderful power of self-restraint; and because pain and distress +are inevitable as he considers, he hides within his bosom, under a face +that absolutely refuses to let out his secret, the sorrow that amongst us +we could not disguise.</p> + +<p>The chair-bearers have had their bowl of rice. They have seized a handful +of peanuts which lie in little mounds on the table, and are hastily +cracking their shells, and as they pick their kernels out they propel them +with a jerk into their mouths. Finally they fill their diminutive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span> bamboo +pipes with tobacco, and after three or four good long whiffs, they call +out in a cheery voice, “Now let us go.” The chair is swung up on to their +shoulders, they shuffle their feet until they get into step, and then, +with a steady trot, they start for the next stage that lies two or three +miles ahead.</p> + +<p>Our way lies across a plain that is thickly dotted with villages. These at +a distance have a very charming appearance, and remind one very much of +similar places in the homeland. They are nearly always embowered amongst +great stately trees, that the forefathers planted when the foundations of +the new home were laid. They have grown since then, and now beneath their +spreading branches only a pointed roof or a whitewashed gable can be +caught sight of through the rifts in the foliage of the trees.</p> + +<p>The plain is a populous one, and the road on which we are travelling being +a great thoroughfare, little market towns have sprung up on it. If there +is one thing more than another that these impress upon a stranger from the +West it is the absolute want of taste that the Chinese show in the +building of their houses and in the laying out of their streets. +Broken-down shanties, badly kept houses, streets that reek with smells, +people dressed in an untidy and slovenly manner, and with hands and faces +that very rarely become acquainted with soap and water; these are the +common sights that meet one wherever he travels in this great land of +China. The country has an old and worn-out look about it, and seems as +though it needed whitewashing and renovating; whilst the people as a whole +require washing and scrubbing and a liberal use of “Sunlight Soap,” to +remove the grimy, dusty accumulations that rest upon them wherever you +meet them.</p> + +<p>Our journey so far has taken us through a very fertile district, and +luxuriant crops of rice testify not only to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span> excellence of the land, +but also to the skill of the farmers in the wise methods they have learned +to employ in the cultivation of the land. That they succeed so well is no +doubt due to the long and assiduous care that the nation has given to +agriculture. From time immemorial the farmer has held a high position in +the estimation of the nation. One of the most honoured amongst their +ancient kings was a man that was taken from the plough, and was made a +co-ruler with a man that, for the probity of his reign, has always been +spoken of in the annals of the empire as a sage.</p> + +<p>The Chinese, therefore, have had long experience in the art of cultivating +the soil, and out of this has been developed the touch in their fingers +that nature recognizes and responds to so readily. They seem to have no +trouble in making things grow. Apparently without any effort they plough +their land and scatter their seed with careless hand, and granting that +the rain falls with tolerable regularity, everything springs up just as +they have planned.</p> + +<p>After passing through a number of villages and hamlets, and small market +towns, all frowsy and slattern-looking, and pervaded with the Oriental bad +smells wherever a human habitation exists, we came late in the afternoon +to the mouth of a wide river, where our land journey was to end, and where +we were to continue it by boat until we should reach our destination.</p> + +<p>In order to get to our boat, which we had arranged should meet us at this +place, we had to cross the bridge that spanned the river here to get to +the other side where it lay awaiting us. This bridge is a famous one, and +is a very fine specimen of what the Chinese builders can do in the +construction of such. It consists of about twenty-five spans, the widest +of which is sixty-five feet, whilst the others vary somewhat in their +measurements.</p> + +<p>As the river flows here with a very rapid current,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span> and moreover is liable +to sudden rises after heavy rains in the interior, it was essential, in +the erecting of this bridge, that it should be built so strongly that it +would be able to stand not only the wear and tear of the ever-flowing +river, but also the mighty strain of the deluge of waters that comes +roaring down the gorges that lie above it either after some tempest, or in +consequence of an unusual downpour during the rainy season in the spring.</p> + +<p>The great width between each pier was not a matter of choice but of +necessity. To have placed them any nearer to each other might have risked +their being swept away by the river tide, which when swollen by the storms +of summer rolls down with prodigious volume and force over the very spot +where the bridge had to be built. It was also equally necessary that the +slabs of stone that composed the roadway of the bridge should be +enormously heavy, so that they might be able to resist the impetus of the +flood that would at times roll over them and yet not be strong enough to +lift them from their positions and hurl them down the river.</p> + +<p>It was a bold design and one seemingly impossible of achievement, and yet +it has been done. Many of the slabs are seventy feet long, six feet in +thickness and about four feet in width. As you slowly tread your way over +them and try and pace out their length, they appear Titanic in their +dimensions, and the question that is most often in the mouths of the +visitors who have come to witness this great engineering feat is how ever +did the builders manage two hundred years ago not simply to cut such huge +blocks of granite from the mountain side, but also to place them in the +position they have occupied for two centuries at least.</p> + +<p>This question is one that was easily answered by the untaught architects, +who, without any other guidance than their own common-sense and their +general knowledge of building, had undertaken to throw a bridge over a +stream that depended for its moods on the changeful, fitful temper<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span> of +the elements. They first of all built their piers in the river when the +water was at its lowest. They waited till the winter months, when the +north-east monsoon had driven the winds in wild confusion far down into +the South, and the mountain streams were dry, and the current flowed in a +sluggish, indolent stream.</p> + +<p> </p> +<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/img46.jpg" alt="" /></div> +<p class="caption">A FAMOUS BRIDGE.</p> +<p class="center"><span style="margin-left: 32em;"><small><i>To face p. 361.</i></small></span></p> +<p> </p> + +<p>They then began to quarry out the mighty slabs that were to make the +roadway of the bridge, and that should be so weighty as to be able to +resist the fierce onrush of waters when the river, maddened by the storms, +flung itself down the gorges and, flecked with foam, careered in wild +confusion towards the sea.</p> + +<p>The hills near by that ran down to the very edge of the water abounded +with stone exactly suited for the purpose, and as the proper lengths were +chiselled out of the hillsides, they were deftly slid down on rollers and +placed on rafts that were moored by the edge of the shore. Here they were +allowed to rest in peace and quietness until some great downpour filled +the rivulets and the mountain streams and the thousand and one tributaries +that sent their gurgling, gathering forces to swell the waters of the main +river.</p> + +<p>Men with keen and eager watch marked the rise of the tide, and when it was +found that the flood had risen higher than the tops of the piers, the huge +rafts with their mighty cargoes were skilfully guided down the flowing +river, and the slabs having been moored in the position they were to +occupy as parts of the roadway of the bridge, the workmen waited for the +fall of the waters, when they each subsided into the exact place they were +intended to fill. The river itself was thus made the engineering force by +which at a comparative little cost and at no very great expense of labour, +those huge masses of stone, that no hydraulic power in the world could +have lifted into position, were placed in the very simplest manner where +they have remained for more than two hundred years.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span>We found the boat we had ordered waiting for us by the river side, nestled +under a great clump of bamboos, that stretched their feathery, graceful +branches right over it as though they would cast their protecting shadow +over the place where it lay.</p> + +<p>At this point our land journey ends, but before going on board we have to +settle with our chair-bearers, and, as is universally the case in China, +to part with these usually demands a little diplomacy. In spite of the +fact that we had agreed upon the sum we were to pay them at the end of the +journey, they were very insistent that we should make them a present in +addition. This is one of the traditions of the profession, that “wine +money,” as the tax is called, should be demanded from every fare they +carry. If the day is stormy and the roads bad, amidst the loudly expressed +complaints of the bearers at their sorrows and miseries, there will be +continually heard the comforting assurances uttered by themselves, that at +the end of the journey the present of the “wine money” will be a very +liberal one. They repeat this so often that they finally come to consider +that they are entitled to the sum they have mentioned, and when the +stipulated fare has been handed over to them, they will assume an injured +air as though they were being defrauded, and they will demand the “wine +money” as a right which may not be denied them.</p> + +<p>As they had been very nice during the journey, we made them a present of +one hundred cash, equal to about twopence halfpenny, with which they +expressed themselves highly pleased, and declared that we had hearts that +knew the sorrows that chair-bearers had to endure, and that we were +tender-heated enough to sympathize with them in a way they could +understand.</p> + +<p>It would have seemed from this that our parting from these men was going +to be a very pleasant and a very amicable one, but those who are +acquainted with the wiles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span> of this class of men will easily understand +that this outward expression of good-will did not mean that they were not +going to try and squeeze some more money out of us. The usual way in which +payment is made is in copper cash. These are made up in hundreds, and ten +of these are so strung together that they form a string of a thousand. In +ordinary transactions these are accepted at their full value of nine +hundred and ninety eight, two being deducted to pay for the string on +which the whole are strung.</p> + +<p>The chair-bearers for private reasons of their own refuse to accept these +strings of cash until they have all been counted over and the five per +cent. of bad ones that custom allows have all been eliminated. They +insist, too, that the counting of these unwieldy coins shall be done on +the ground and by themselves. Each string of one hundred was accordingly +unloosed and cast upon the ground, and with the deft fingers of these +unscrupulous bearers not only were the spurious cash spotted and laid +aside in a heap by themselves, but a few of the really good ones were also +abstracted in such a clever fashion that no one could catch the motion of +their nimble fingers. In the dispute about the disappearance of the cash, +one of the men was observed putting his bare toes on two or three that lay +together and grasping them with them. He then quietly and naturally drew +up his leg behind his back, and in an easy, unsuspicious way removed them +and concealed them in his hand.</p> + +<p>We felt that there would be no credit in disputing about the stolen cash, +for the whole amount did not come to more than a little over a penny, so +the men departed highly pleased with the cumshaw (present) that had been +given them and with the few cash that they had been able to abstract under +our very noses.</p> + +<p>We had no sooner got on board than the large sail was hoisted, and the men +taking to their oars we were soon speeding away at a tolerably quick rate +on our journey up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span> the river. Our boat was a very comfortable one, and it +was quite a relief after being cramped up in the chair to be able to +stretch one’s legs and to indulge in a lounge or sometimes to take a walk +along the bank of the river.</p> + +<p>The boat was about twenty feet in length and five or six in width at the +centre. It was divided into four sections. There was the bow, where the +men stood when they rowed or hoisted the sail. Next to this was a room +that was used as sitting-room, bedroom and dining-room. Further aft was a +diminutive space where the servants could lie, and in the stern was the +section where the steersman stood and guided the boat. It served also as a +kitchen, for all the meals were prepared here, and at night, after the +boat was anchored, the crew of four men lay upon the planks of the deck, +and covering themselves with their wadded quilts, slept soundly till the +dawn called them again to their work.</p> + +<p>As the wind freshened our boat rushed through a narrow gorge, where the +hills, beautifully wooded down to the very water’s edge, presented a most +charming and picturesque view. It was not an extensive one, and so we soon +emerged from it into an extensive plain which was in the highest state of +cultivation. This was rendered possible by this noble river that flowed +through the very centre of it. The farmers had taken advantage of this, +and with great ingenuity had managed to train the waters so that they +should flow into the fields far beyond the banks on either side of the +river, and flood the fields of rice.</p> + +<p>The effect of all this was seen in the luxuriant crops of rice that could +be seen stretching far into the distance. It would seem indeed as though +they were conscious of the boundless supply of water that ran on in an +endless stream close within sight. There was a deeper colour in the +dark-green hue with which they were tinged, and a sturdier and more +independent growth, than where the grain was dependent on the rainfall or +on the ponds that had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span> filled during the rainy season and that were +intended to be the supplies from which they were to draw when there was a +dearth of rain.</p> + +<p>There is one feature in the cultivation of this plain that is but rarely +seen in any other district. You might travel for fifty miles in any +direction you please, and you would never be able to catch a trace of it. +I refer to the numerous clumps of sugar cane that occupy every little bit +of rising ground, where the water would not lie so as to bear a crop of +rice. Scattered over the great area of this extensive valley, they seem +like sentinels placed to guard the growing grain that looks so beautiful +in the great sheets of water that gleam and glisten in the sun’s rays at +its feet.</p> + +<p>There is something special in the soil of this region that is favourable +to the cultivation of this plant, for the sugar that is produced in this +district is famous, and it finds a ready market not only in far-off +distant places in China, but also in countries beyond the limits of the +Empire. The amount of sugar actually raised is large enough to form an +industry that is of sufficient importance to give employment to +considerable numbers of the people in the towns and villages on the plain.</p> + +<p>But here is a village, right on the water’s edge, that is evidently a +centre of the trade, where we shall be able to get a good idea of the +processes through which the sugar has to go before it is ready for the +market. We stop our boat, and climbing the grassy bank and crossing the +path that runs close along the river side, we come at once into a scene of +the greatest activity. Men and women and young lads are gathered round the +sugar-crusher, which is being turned by a huge water buffalo, which with +slow and ponderous tread and with a look of oppression in its large liquid +eyes travels round and round in a perpetual circle, causing the pair of +huge stones to revolve in the same<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span> direction and to crush the canes that +are thrust in between them by the feeders.</p> + +<p>Underneath the crushers is a drain into which the juice from the canes +drops and which conveys it into a large vat that stands ready to receive +it. The liquid in this is of a very dark colour, very sticky, and has a +strong resemblance to treacle. So intense has been the pressure of the +crushers upon the canes, that after they have come out from between the +revolving stones, not a particle of moisture is left in any of them, and +they are no longer of any use except for firewood.</p> + +<p>This treacly substance is then put into earthenware jars of the shape of a +pyramid with a slight perforation at the apex and turned upside down and +allowed to drain. The sugar at the broader end is covered with a layer of +damp mud from the river, and the moisture from it is allowed to soak +through the mass. The result is the whole becomes refined, and there +remains, after a certain time has been allowed for the process to work, a +light-coloured specimen of soft brown sugar.</p> + +<p>A further stage is reached by boiling the brown sugar in huge iron pans +and pouring the liquid into coarse jars, the whole of whose interiors have +been threaded backward and forward with coarse string. By the wonderful +alchemy of nature these have the power of crystallizing the boiling +liquid, and the result is a brown sugar candy, that whilst it is wanting +in the golden hue and the delicate fascinations of the English article, it +is just as toothsome and a great deal less expensive; for a catty (1⅓ +lb.) of the very best can be purchased in any of the shops that deal in +such articles for about three pence halfpenny.</p> + +<p>We leave the sugar factory, and proceed up the river, but as the sun has +gone down beyond the mountains, and the shadows fall thickly upon the +darkening waters, the captain chooses a place where he will anchor for the +night. Just ahead of us there are a number of junks that have already +lowered their sails and let down their anchors, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span> towards them our boat +is steered. In a few minutes we too have joined company with them, and +form part of the little fleet that will safely defy any attempt of river +thieves to molest us.</p> + +<p>The scene on the river is just now a very pleasing one. Boats of various +sizes and descriptions are making vigorous efforts to reach their +destination at villages on the river. The glory of the setting sun that +tipped the mountains in the near distance is gradually dying out, and the +deep shadows settle on their sides, making them look grand and gloomy. The +crows that have wandered far during the day in search of food, warned by +the waning light, are hurrying in flocks up the river and from across the +plain in the direction of the great tree upon which they are accustomed to +roost during the night. The sounds of human voices from the boats anchored +near us come to us with a pleasant sense of companionship as the night +deepens on the river. The laughter at some side-splitting joke, the noisy +discussion of some disputed point—for the Chinese never can talk in a low +voice—the voice of some mother hushing her little one to sleep, all fill +the air with a music of its own, and seem to be a pleasant ending to the +events of the day. A spice of mystery, too, is added, for some of the +crows that have been abroad, heedless of time, have delayed their return +till darkness has almost settled on the land. Attracted by the lights of +the boats they fly close over our heads so that we can hear the whirr of +their wings, and then with a rush like an arrow from a bow they dash with +the speed of lightning into the night and are gone, leaving an uncanny +feeling in our minds, as though we had been visited by spirits from the +vasty deep.</p> + +<p>Supper ended, the Chinese sit for a short time smoking their pipes and +chatting indifferently upon any subject that may turn up, but before long +the captain takes a look at the sky to see what weather may be expected. +He then examines his cable to see whether the anchor is holding or not, +and having satisfied himself that there is no danger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span> of his boat drifting +during the night, he utters the welcome order, “Now let us sleep,” and in +a few minutes the crew are in the land of dreams, from which they will not +return until the dawn with its silent touch brings them back once more to +a busy working world.</p> + +<p>We do not feel inclined to retire so soon as these boatmen, who have been +trained to early hours. The evening is too young, and besides the beauty +of the night scenery has an attraction for us that banishes the thought of +sleep from us. We sit out on the bow of the boat and become absorbed in +the beauty of the scene, which is lost to the sleeping world. The clouds +that had been flying across the sky during the day have all vanished, and +now the heavens are bright with stars that seem to shine with unwonted +brilliance. The mountains on which we have gazed all the day long look now +like sleeping giants hiding themselves in the gloom of night and invested +with an air of mystery as we try in vain to catch an outline of them. The +people on the boats are all asleep, and only an occasional sound from a +restless child can be heard coming from them. Everything is silent but the +flowing river, and this ebbs on with ceaseless motion, and as if to remind +us of its presence swishes up against us, and with inarticulate language +gives us a cheery hail and then passes on. We go on dreaming, for the +stars and the land lying in the vague mystery of night, and the undefined +forms of the mountains and the ceaseless voices that nature utters all +night long lay their spell upon us. By and by a dreamy, drowsy feeling +creeps over us, and we retire to our cabin, and soon with the lullaby of +the river that murmurs its music alongside our boat, we lose all sense of +the world outside.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p class="center">THE END</p> +<p> </p> +<p class="center"><i>Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London and Bungay.</i></p> + + + +<p> </p><p> </p> +<hr style="width: 50%;" /> +<p><strong>Footnotes:</strong></p> + +<p><a name='f_1' id='f_1' href='#fna_1'>[1]</a> See Macgowan’s <i>Imperial History of China</i>, where T’a Ki is discussed, +in the chapter on the Chow Dynasty.</p> + +<p><a name='f_2' id='f_2' href='#fna_2'>[2]</a> For an account of these see Macgowan’s <i>Imperial History of China</i>.</p> + +<p><a name='f_3' id='f_3' href='#fna_3'>[3]</a> See Macgowan’s <i>Imperial History of China</i> for fuller information on +this book.</p> + +<p><a name='f_4' id='f_4' href='#fna_4'>[4]</a> See Macgowan’s <i>Imperial History of China</i>, passim.</p> + +<p><a name='f_5' id='f_5' href='#fna_5'>[5]</a> The cangue is a huge wooden collar which is fastened about the neck. +It is so broad that the man cannot feed himself, neither can he frighten +away a mosquito that may settle on his nose, nor can he sleep comfortably +whilst he wears it. He is usually made to parade near the place where his +offence was committed, as an object lesson to others.</p> + +<p><a name='f_6' id='f_6' href='#fna_6'>[6]</a> See Chapter on “Servants” for a disquisition on this point.</p> + +<p><a name='f_7' id='f_7' href='#fna_7'>[7]</a> See Macgowan’s <i>Imperial History of China</i>, passim.</p> + +<p><a name='f_8' id='f_8' href='#fna_8'>[8]</a> A league in China is equal to ten Chinese miles. With the want of +precision, however, of the Chinese in their weights and measures, a league +is a very variable denomination. On what are called the “Great Roads,” +that is on a great thoroughfare, the length is as stated above, but on +cross-country roads, where the farmers are great walkers, a league may +sometimes extend to as much as ten English miles. The fact is, as we have +often found by experience, the length of a league depends very much upon +the measuring capacity of a man’s mind, for it is a rare thing to get a +number of people to agree as to the exact distance between one place and +another.</p> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIDELIGHTS ON CHINESE LIFE***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 39486-h.txt or 39486-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/9/4/8/39486">http://www.gutenberg.org/3/9/4/8/39486</a></p> +<p> +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p> +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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