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diff --git a/43456.txt b/43456.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a1ed1c5..0000000 --- a/43456.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14162 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Intimate China, by Mrs. Archibald Little - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Intimate China - The Chinese as I Have Seen Them - -Author: Mrs. Archibald Little - -Release Date: August 13, 2013 [EBook #43456] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INTIMATE CHINA *** - - - - -Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: - - Inconsistent hyphenation, diacritics, and spelling in the original - document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been - corrected. - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - - On page 18, "sanpans" should possibly be "sampans". - - - - - [Illustration: THE WAY IN.] - - - - - INTIMATE - CHINA - - The Chinese as I have - seen them. By Mrs. - Archibald Little, Author - of _A Marriage in China_ - - With 120 Illustrations - - HUTCHINSON & CO. - Paternoster Row, London ... 1899 - - - - - PRINTED BY - HAZELL, WATSON, AND VINEY, LD., - LONDON AND AYLESBURY. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PRELUDE. - - FIRST IMPRESSIONS. - - PAGE - - Arriving in Shanghai.--My First Tea-season.--Inside a - Chinese City.--Shanghai Gardens.--In the Romantic East at - last! 1 - - - CHAPTER I. - - ON THE UPPER YANGTSE. - - Boat-travel.--Vegetation.--Trackers.--Terrace of the - Sun.--Gold Diamond Mountain.--Meng Liang's Ladder.--Great - Szechuan Road.--Steamer Voyage.--Chinese Hades.--Caves 31 - - - CHAPTER II. - - A LAND JOURNEY. - - Large Farmsteads.--Wedding Party.--Atoning for an - Insult.--Rowdy Lichuan.--Old-fashioned Inn.--Dog's - Triumphal Progress.--Free Fight.--Wicked - Music.--Poppy-fields.--Bamboo Stream 58 - - - CHAPTER III. - - LIFE IN A CHINESE CITY. - - Arrangement of a Chinese House.--Crowd in Streets.--My - First Walk in Chungking City.--Presents.--Cats, Rats, and - Eggs.--Paying a Call.--Ladies Affectionate.--Shocked at - European Indecency.--Cost of Freight.--Distance by - Post.--Children's Pleasures.--Precautions during - Drought.--Guild Gardens.--Pretty Environs.--Opium Flowers, - and Smokers.--Babble of Schools.--Chinese Girl-child 74 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - HINDRANCES AND ANNOYANCES. - - Sulphur Bath.--Rowdy Behaviour.--Fight in - Boat.--Imprisonment for letting to - Foreigners.--Book-keeper in Foreign Employ - beaten.--Customs Regulations.--Kimberley Legacy.--Happy - Consul.--Unjust _Likin_ Charges.--Foreigners - massacred.--Official Responsibility 98 - - - CHAPTER V. - - CURRENT COIN IN CHINA. - - Taels.--Dollars.--Exchange.--Silver Shoes.--Foreign Mints 120 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - FOOTBINDING. - - Not a Mark of Rank.--Golden Lilies.--Hinds' - Feet.--Bandages drawn tighter.--Breaking the Bones.--A - Cleft in which to hide Half a Crown.--Mothers sleep with - Sticks beside them.--How many die.--How many have all - their Toes.--Feet drop off.--Pain till Death.--Typical - Cases.--Eczema, Ulceration, Mortification.--General Health - affected 134 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - ANTI-FOOTBINDING. - - Church Mission's Action.--American Mission's - Action.--T'ien Tsu Hui.--Chinese Ladies' Drawing-room - Meeting.--Suifu Appeal.--Kang, the Modern Sage.--Duke - Kung.--Appeal to the Chinese People 145 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE POSITION OF WOMEN. - - Official Honours to Women.--Modesty.--Conjugal - Relations.--Business Knowledge.--Opium-smoking.--Typical - Women 164 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND MARRIAGES. - - Missing Bride.--Wedding Reception.--Proxy Marriage.-- - Servants' Weddings.--Love for Wives.--Killing a - Husband.--Wifely Affection.--Chinese Babies.--Securing a - Funeral 184 - - - CHAPTER X. - - CHINESE MORALS. - - How Chinese look upon Shanghai.--A Viceroy's - Expedient.--Method of raising Subscriptions.--Deserving - Deities.--Trustworthiness.--Hunan Hero.--Marrying English - Girls 197 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - SUPERSTITIONS. - - _Fung shui._--Devastating Eggs.--Demon Possession.--Sacred - Trees.--Heavenly Silk.--Ladder of Swords.--Preserving only - Children.--God of Literature on Ghosts.--God of - War.--Reverence for Ancestors 211 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - OUR MISSIONARIES. - - European Prejudice.--French Fathers.--Italian - Sisters.--Prize-giving.--Anti-Christian Tracts.--Chinese - Saints and Martyrs 230 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - UP-COUNTRY SHOPPING AND UP-COUNTRY WAYS. - - Buying Curios.--Being stoned.--Chinese New Year.-- - Robbers.--Protesting Innocence.--Doing Penance.--Medicines 253 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - SOLDIERS. - - Tiger Soldiers.--Woosung Drill.--General's - Gallantry.--Japanese War.--Admiral Ting.--Dominoes with a - Sentry.--Viceroy's Review 269 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - CHINESE STUDENTS. - - Number of Degrees.--Aged Bachelors.--Up for - Examination.--Necessary Qualifications.--Crowding.-- - Scarcity of Posts.--Chinese Dress 292 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - A FATHER'S ADVICE TO HIS SON. - - Tseng Kuo Fan.--"Neither envious nor fawning."--Repose of - Manner.--Cultivation of Land.--Early Rising, Diligence in - Business, and Perseverance.--Dignity.--Family - Worship.--Reading 317 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - BUDDHIST MONASTERIES. - - Monastery near Ichang.--For the Dead.--Near - Ningpo.--Buddhist Service.--T'ien Dong.--Omi Temples.--Sai - King Shan.--Monastery of the Particoloured Cliff 327 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - A CHINESE ORDINATION. - - Crowd.--Nuns.--Final Shaving.--Woven Paces.--Burning - Heads.--Relationships.--A Living Picture 350 - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - THE SACRED MOUNTAIN OF OMI. - - Luncheon with a Chief Priest.--Tigers.--Mysterious - Lights.--The View of a Lifetime.--Pilgrims.--Glory of - Buddha.--Unburied Priests 362 - - - CHAPTER XX. - - CHINESE SENTIMENT. - - In Memory of a Dead Wife.--Of a Dear Friend.--Farewell - Verses.--AEsthetic Feeling.--Drinking - Song.--Music.--Justice to Rats 383 - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - A SUMMER TRIP TO CHINESE TIBET. - - Drying Prayerbooks Mountain.--Boys' Paradise.--Lolo - Women.--Salt-carriers.--Great Rains.--Brick-tea - Carriers.--Suspension Bridge.--Granite Mountains.--Tibetan - Bridge.--Lamas.--Tibetan Women.--Caravanserai at - Tachienlu.--Beautiful Young Men.--_Lamaserai._--Prayers?-- - Fierce Dogs.--Dress.--Trying for a Boat 396 - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. - - Porcelain.--Bronzes.--Silver-work.--Pictures.-- - Architecture.--Tea.--Silk.--White Wax.--Grass-cloth.-- - Ivory Fans.--Embroidery 425 - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - A LITTLE PEKING PUG. - - Enjoyment.--Anticipation.--Regret 446 - - - - -_AFFAIRS OF STATE._ - - - PRELUDE. - - PART I.--GETTING TO PEKING. - - House-boat on the Peiho.--Tientsin.--Chefoo.--A Peking - Cart.--Camels.--British Embassy.--Walking on the - Walls.--Beautiful Perspectives 457 - - PART II.--THE SIGHTS OF PEKING. - - Tibetan Buddhism.--Yellow Temple.--Confucian Temple.--Hall - of the Classics.--Disgraceful - Behaviour.--Observatory.--Roman Catholic - Cathedral.--Street Sights.--British - Embassy.--Bribes.--Shams.--Saviour of Society.--Sir Robert - Hart 473 - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE CHINESE EMPEROR'S MAGNIFICENCE. - - The Emperor at the Temple of Heaven.--Mongol Princes - wrestling.--Imperial Porcelain Manufactory.--Imperial Silk - Manufactory.--Maids of Honour.--Spring Sacrifices.--Court - of Feasting.--Hunting - Preserves.--Strikes.--Rowdies.--Young Men to be prayed for 493 - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE EMPRESS, THE EMPEROR, AND THE AUDIENCE. - - A Concubine no Empress.--Sudden - Deaths.--Suspicions.--Prince Ch'uen.--Emperor's - Education.--His Sadness.--His Features.--Foreign - Ministers' Audience.--Another Audience.--Crowding of the - Rabble.--Peking's Effect on Foreign Representatives 515 - - - CHAPTER III. - - SOLIDARITY, CO-OPERATION, AND IMPERIAL FEDERATION. - - Everybody guaranteed by Somebody Else.--Buying back - Office.--Family Responsibilities.--Guilds.--All Employes - Partners.--Antiquity of Chinese Reforms.--To each Province - so many Posts.--Laotze's Protest against Unnecessary - Laws.--Experiment in Socialism.--College of - Censors.--Tribunal of History.--Ideal in Theory 532 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - BEGINNINGS OF REFORM. - - Reform Club.--Chinese Ladies' Public Dinner.--High School - for Girls.--Chinese Lady Doctors insisting on Religious - Liberty.--Reformers' Dinner.--The Emperor at the Head of - the Reform Party.--Revising Examination Papers.--Unaware - of Coming Danger.--Russian Minister's Reported Advice 549 - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE COUP D'ETAT. - - Kang Yue-wei.--_China Mail's_ Interview.--Beheading of - Reformers.--Relatives sentenced to Death.--Kang's - Indictment of Empress.--Empress's Reprisals.--Emperor's - Attempt at Escape.--Cantonese Gratitude to Great - Britain.--List of Emperor's Attempted Reforms.--Men now in - Power.--Lord Salisbury's Policy in China 570 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - The Way in _Frontispiece_ - - Shanghai from the River 1 - - Shanghai Creek, with Drawbridge 3 - - Tea-garden in Shanghai Chinese City 7 - - Porters waiting for Work 11 - - The Bubbling Well 15 - - Soochow Creek, Shanghai 18 - - Guild Garden at Kiangpei 22 - - Pavilion in Country Gentleman's Garden 25 - - Street Scene 29 - - Wheelbarrow 30 - - Bow of Travelling-boat 32 - - Entrance to Yangtse Gorges 33 - - Trackers 36 - - Poling a Boat up a Rapid 43 - - In the Niukan Gorge 48 - - White Emperor's Temple, looking down the Gorge of the Fearsome - Pool, or Bellows Gorge 49 - - New and Glorious Rapid 53 - - Tree moved 100 Yards by Landslip that formed New Rapid 54 - - Iron Cover of Bottomless Well 55 - - At Fengtu 56 - - Free School 67 - - Poppies and Terraced Rice-fields 71 - - Chungking, Commercial Capital of Western China 75 - - Dinner Party in the Garden of a Member of the Hanlin - College,--White Cloth spread in Compliment to Europeans 78 - - Morning Toilette 80 - - Outside Governor's Residence in Chungking 83 - - Country House near Kiukiang 86 - - A Chinese Country Club, or Guild Garden 94 - - A Hot Day 95 - - Market Street outside City 101 - - The Oldest Official in the Province of Szechuan 105 - - Giving Evidence in a Court of Justice 111 - - Chinese Mode of Salutation 123 - - Chinese Roman Catholics of Many Generations 135 - - Woman's Natural Foot, and another Woman's Feet bound to 6 - Inches 138 - - Woman's Natural Foot, and another Woman's Feet bound to 41/2 - Inches 139 - - Chinese Roman Catholic Burial-ground 146 - - Family of Literati, Leaders in the Anti-footbinding Movement - in the West of China 157 - - Bridge near Soochow 163 - - Memorial Arch leading to Confucius' Grave 165 - - A Country House Party 174 - - Foot Shuttlecock 175 - - Wedding Procession 185 - - New Kweichow, built by Order 193 - - Memorial Arch 201 - - Shoes to mend 206 - - Ichang from the City Wall, Hall of Literature, and Pyramid - Hill 212 - - Monastery 217 - - The 564 Images of Hangchow 221 - - Pavilion of the Moon in Grounds of God of War's Temple 225 - - Missionary Group at our House-warming 231 - - Soochow, with Mission Church 243 - - Temple to God of War, Yuenyang 246 - - Colossal Gilded Buddha 248 - - Punch and Judy 255 - - Stone Animals at General's Grave. A Peasant seated on one with - Straw Hat 259 - - Entrance to Fairies' Temple, Chungking 261 - - Play at a Dinner Party in a Guildhall 262 - - Audience at a Play in a Guildhall 263 - - Junk 271 - - Captain of Chinese Gunboat 276 - - Soldier 278 - - Soldier 279 - - Gunboat Soldiers 284 - - Soldiers 287 - - Temple of God of Literature 294 - - Map of China, showing Chief Examination Centres 297 - - Outside Confucius' Grave 303 - - Approach to Confucius' Grave 307 - - Fortress of Refuge, Country House, and Memorial Arch 319 - - Near Ningpo 331 - - Salisburia adiantifolia 335 - - Entrance to Monastery 343 - - Buddhist Images cut in Cliffs on the River Ya 347 - - At Fengtu, Chinese Hades 351 - - Begging Priest, once a General 359 - - Jack (Long-haired Shantung Terrier) 365 - - Sacred Tiger 367 - - Great Precipice of Mount Omi 369 - - Priest and Pilgrims on Edge of Omi Precipice 373 - - Cloud Effects on Mount Omi 377 - - Guard-house near the Arsenal 384 - - Roof and Roof-end at Chungking 387 - - Bridge at Hangchow 389 - - Bridge and Causeway on West Lake 395 - - Sacred Sai King Mountain 397 - - Brick-tea Carriers on the Great Brick-tea Road 403 - - Caravanserai at Tachienlu 410 - - In a Chungking Guild-house 431 - - Packing Tea 435 - - Chinese Hydraulic Apparatus 439 - - Peking Pug (Short-haired) 447 - - Peking Lion-dog (Long-haired) 451 - - On a Mountain Road 454 - - A Wheelbarrow Stand 456 - - Interior of Governor's Official Residence at Hangchow 459 - - Farmer and Water Buffaloes 466 - - Paper-burning Temples 468 - - Approach to Ming Emperors' Tombs, Peking 471 - - Tomb over Banjin Lama's Clothes, built after Tibetan Model - of Marble. Bell-like Cupola and Upper Ornaments of Gold. - Inscriptions in Devanagari Character, Sanscrit, and Chinese 477 - - Lotus Pond and Dagoba in Emperor's Garden 483 - - Mountain Village, with Sham Beacon Fires to Left, Foochow - Sedan-chair in Front 489 - - Shan Ch'ing, Prince Ch'uen, and Li Hung-chang 495 - - Late Viceroy Tso Tsung-tang 505 - - Emperor Kwang-shue, 1875 516 - - Prince Kung 523 - - The Great Wall 528 - - Incense-burner 531 - - Country House in Yangtse Gorges 537 - - Kiangsi Guild-house in Chungking 540 - - Downward-bound Cargo-boat 548 - - Bridge at Soochow 549 - - Mr. King, Manager of the Chinese Telegraph Company and - Founder of High Schools for Girls 554 - - Wen Ting-shih, the Reformer, Late Tutor to the Ladies of - the Imperial Household 563 - - Head Eunuch of the Empress-Dowager 574 - - Kiaochou, seized by Germany 583 - - British and Chinese Flags, June 15th, 1898: Town of - Wei-hai-wei in Distance 586 - - Ferry at Ichang 597 - - Approach to Ming Emperor's Tomb, Nanking 605 - - - - -DRY STATEMENTS. - -(TO BE CARRIED WITH THE READER, IF POSSIBLE.) - - - The Chinese Empire is rather larger than Europe. - - Being on the eastern side of a great continent, it has the - same extremes of climate as are to be found in the United - States. - - Fruits, flowers, and crops vary in like manner. - - Peking is on about the same parallel as Madrid, Chungking - as Cairo, Shanghai as Madeira. - - The population of China is over 385 millions. - - That of the British Isles in 1891 not quite 38 " - - That of France in 1896 381/2 " - - One alone of China's eighteen provinces, Kiangsu, - has over 391/2 " - - The Russian nation, already extending over one-sixth of - the globe, while China only extends over a little more - than one-twelfth, musters little over 129 millions, and - thus has about one-third of the Chinese population, with - about twice its territory to stretch itself in. - - There is no Poor Law in China. There are no Sundays. - - It is considered very unwomanly not to wear trousers, and - very indelicate for a man not to have skirts to his coat; - consequently our European dress is reckoned by Chinese as - indecorous. - - Chinese begin dinner with dessert or Russian _sakouska_, - and finish with hot soup instead of hot coffee. - - Their cooks are second only to the French; their - serving-men surpass the Germans. - - Chinese love children; are ready to work day and night for - their masters; and if occasion demand, to be beaten in - their place, or even, if needs be, to die for them. - - In fine, although in all details unlike ourselves, a great - race, with some magnificent qualities. - - -7, PARK PLACE, ST. JAMES'S, S.W. - - - - - [Illustration: SHANGHAI FROM THE RIVER.] - - - - -PRELUDE. - -_FIRST IMPRESSIONS._ - - Arriving in Shanghai.--My First Tea-season.--Inside a - Chinese City.--Shanghai Gardens.--In the Romantic East at - last! - - -I. ARRIVING IN SHANGHAI. - -It was in the merry month of May, 1887, that I first landed in China; -but from the first there was nothing merry about China. It felt -bitterly cold, after passing through the tropics; and in Shanghai one -shivered in a warm wrap, as the wind blew direct from the North Pole -straight at one's chest, till one day it suddenly turned quite hot, -and all clothes felt too heavy. Every one almost knows what Shanghai -is like. It has been admirably described over and over again, with its -rows of fine European houses fronting the river, the beautiful public -gardens and well-trodden grass-plats interposed between the two; with -its electric lights and its carriages, and great European stores, at -which you can buy everything you could possibly want only a very -little dearer than in London. There used to be nothing romantic or -Eastern about it. Now, darkened by the smoke of over thirty factories, -it is flooded by an ever-increasing Chinese population, who jostle -with Europeans in the thoroughfare, till it seems as if the struggle -between the two races would be settled in the streets of Shanghai, and -the European get driven to the wall. For the Chinaman always goes a -steady pace, and in his many garments, one upon the top of the other, -presents a solid, impenetrable front to the hurrying European; whilst -the wheelbarrows on which his womankind are conveyed rush in and out -amongst the carriages, colliding here and there with a coolie-drawn -ricksha, and always threatening the toes of the foot-passenger. Too -often there are no foot-pavements, and the whole motley crowd at its -very varying paces is forced on to the muddy street. Ever and anon -even now a closed sedan-chair, with some wealthy Chinaman from the -adjacent Chinese city, threads its way in and out among the vehicles, -noiseless and stealthy, a reminder of China's past glories. There are -also now wholly Chinese streets in the foreign settlement, where all -the shop-fronts are gorgeous with gilding and fine decorative Chinese -characters, where all the shops have signs which hang perpendicularly -across the street-way, instead of horizontally over the shop-front as -with us, and where Chinese shopkeepers sit inside, bare to the waist, -in summer presenting a most unpleasing picture of too much flesh, and -in winter masses of fur and satin. - - [Illustration: SHANGHAI CREEK, WITH DRAWBRIDGE.] - -Shanghai has got a capital racecourse, and theatre, and -cricket-ground--grounds for every kind of sport, indeed. It has a -first rate club, and an ill-kept museum. Its sights are the bubbling -well and the tea-garden in the China town, believed by globe-trotters, -but erroneously, to be the original of the willow-pattern plate. -Beside this, there is what is called the Stone Garden, full of -picturesque bits. A great deal that is interesting is to be seen in -the China town by those who can detach their minds from the dirt; in -one part all the houses have drawbridges leading to them. But even -the Soochow Road in the foreign settlement has never yet been treated -pictorially as it deserves. It is the Palais Royal of Chinese -Shanghai. At the hour when carriage traffic may only pass one way -because of the crowd, it would reward an Alma-Tadema to depict the -Chinese dandies filling all its many balconies, pale and silken clad, -craning their necks to see, and by the haughtiness of their gaze -recalling the decadent Romans of the last days of the empire. Their -silken garments, their arched mouths, the coldness of their icy stare, -has not yet been duly depicted. _Chun Ti Kung_, by the late Mr. Claude -Rees, is so far the only attempt to describe their life. Yet they, -too, have souls possibly worth the awakening. With their long nails, -their musk-scented garments, their ivory opium-pipes, and delicate -arrangements of colours, they cannot be without sensibilities. Do they -feel that the Gaul is at the gates, and that the China of their -childhood is passing away? - -It is this China of their childhood, with here an anecdote and there a -descriptive touch, which I hope to make the English reader see dimly -as in a glass in the following pages, which are not stored with facts -and columns of statistics. People who want more detailed information -about China, I would refer to Sir John Davis's always pleasant pages; -or to my husband's _Through the Yangtse Gorges_, containing the result -of years of observation; or to dear old Marco Polo's account of his -travels in the thirteenth century, revivified by the painstaking -labours of Colonel Yule, and thereby made into one of the best books -on China extant. For my part, I shall endeavour to make the reader see -China and the Chinese as I have seen them in their homes and at their -dinner parties, and living long, oh! such long summer days among them, -and yet wearier dark days of winter. And to make the reader the more -feel himself amongst the scenes and sights I describe, I mean to adopt -various styles, sometimes giving him the very words in which I at the -time dashed off my impressions, all palpitating with the strangeness -and incongruity of Chinese life, at others giving him the result of -subsequent serious reflections. - -But here let me record my first great disappointment, because it may -be that of many another. Brown mud is the first thing one sees of -China. Brown mud accompanies the traveller for miles along the Yangtse -River, all along the Peiho, up to brown and muddy Tientsin, and on up -to Peking itself. China generally is not at all like the -willow-pattern plate. I do not know if I really had expected it to be -blue and white; but it was a disappointment to find it so very brown -and muddy. - - -II. MY FIRST TEA-SEASON. - -It was dull and leaden all the six hundred miles up the great river -Yangtse; and at first it poured nearly all day and every day at -Hankow, and we shivered over fires. Nevertheless, in spite of -absolutely leaden skies and never a glimpse of sunshine, the coolies -and the twenty-years-in-China-and-don't-speak-a-word-of-the-language -men wore sun-hats, and pretended to get ill from the glare, when any -one fresh from England would certainly say it was the damp. The floods -were all the while advancing on what looked like a beleaguered city, -when we went out on the plain outside, and gazed back at the city -wall, with its dark water-line clearly marked all round close to the -top. - -The country round certainly did not tempt one to go out very often on -to the rotten flag-stoned way by which one walked three or four miles -in order to reach a one-mile distance as the crow flies, -feeble-looking corn and marsh at either side, with an occasional -tandem of buffaloes groaning not in unison with the discordant -creaking of the cart they drew. Yet we plodded past the little -homesteads, each planted on its own artificial hill, faced with stones -on the side the floods come from. The very friendly people all used to -come out of their cottages, and call out, "Do rest with us awhile," -"Come in, do, and have some tea"; but till I spoke a little more -Chinese, I did not care to repeat this often: though I rather enjoyed -the first time going in and having tea, delicious tea, brought us at -once--next a pipe, and then a bowl of water. Nothing could be -friendlier than the people; and somehow or other I used to fancy from -the first I held quite conversations with them. But what we either of -us said to each other in words it is impossible to tell; there is so -much one understands without knowing the words. So on and on we used -to plod, resisting all kindly pressure to turn in, till gradually the -reflection of the setting sun gave a red glow to the water in the -ruts, and frogs hopped in numbers across the path, and bats whirled -after mosquitoes. Then at last by an effort we summoned up will enough -to turn, and plod just exactly the same way over the selfsame stones -back to Hankow, the beleaguered city, with its avenues of over-arching -willows, and beautiful Bund half a mile long--a mile walk up and down, -therefore, as every one takes care to tell you the first day you -arrive, as if afraid lest, stricken by a sort of midsummer madness, -you should actually leave the English settlement, with its willows and -its villas, and attempt to penetrate into the Chinese town. - - [Illustration: TEA-GARDEN IN SHANGHAI CHINESE CITY. - _Believed by globe-trotters to be the original of the willow-pattern - plate._] - -The stories I heard about the Chinese town gave me quite a feeling of -excitement the first time I went into it. People threatened me with -horrible sights, and still more horrible smells. But I fancy those, -who talk in this way, can know very little of the East End of London, -and nothing of the South of France or Italian towns. Hankow certainly -struck me as very fairly clean, considering how crowded its streets -are, and the people at that time for the most part as wonderfully -civil. I should not care to hear the shower of abuse, that would greet -a foreigner in one of our English towns, who turned over and examined -all the articles on a stall, then went away without buying anything, -as English people do not hesitate to do there. The Kiangsi and Hunan -Guild-houses are both well worth a visit, although the former has been -in large measure burnt down, and thus stripped of those wonderful -coloured tiles about which the few, who have seen them, are still -enthusiastic. Most people have never seen them at all. As it is now, -the temple to the god of literature at Hanyang has more charms for me, -with its many curved roofs making such an harmonious, rich, dark -medley. However, of course in Hankow no one in the month of May is -thinking about architecture. "Thou art not science, but thou -_tea-chest_ art" is the riddle they were all engaged with, and they -were very sad over it. For the tea was bad; and though the Chinamen -had bound themselves under awful penalties to have no second crop, yet -of course the second crop would be there soon. I looked sadly at the -men from Hunan, sitting so truculently in their boats, with their -pigtails twice coiled round their heads, counting over beforehand the -gains they meant to take back home; for probably there would be none. -We talked tea at breakfast and tiffin and dinner, and we took it at -five and considered its quality. But that would not make the people at -home give up Indian tea, with all its tannin and nerve-poisoning -qualities. So in between-whiles we counted up how many suicides there -were last tea-season. For Chinese have a fine sense of honesty, if not -of honour; and merchants are apt to kill themselves, if they cannot -meet their obligations. "There will be more suicides this year," said -first one, then another. - -Meanwhile, the pretty painted boxes streamed past the house at the -rate of eighty a minute sometimes--always noiselessly carried by -coolies in huge sun-hats, and too often through the dripping rain. And -the great gamble went on, and the men who dropped in to call looked -wearier and wearier. But that was all in 1887, which might almost be -called the last year of the great China tea trade of which Hankow had -since 1861 been the centre. There was quite a fleet of ocean steamers -there even that year to take the tea away; in 1898, barely one for -London. English people will not drink China tea. It is so delicate -that, though in itself inexpensive, it comes dear from more leaf -having to be used to produce the same strength of liquor. But it is -soothing, whilst Indian tea puts a fresh strain upon our already -overtaxed digestions. - - [Illustration: PORTERS WAITING FOR WORK.] - -In old days the Hankow tea trade was a great business. Tea-tasters -came out from England in crowds, arriving in May and going away in -July. They would taste two hundred different teas, not swallowing the -tea, but just savouring its flavour, and smelling it, and handling the -leaf. Then the man who could not tell the same tea again when he went -over the two hundred the second time was no tea-taster. They were pale -men for the most part, of rather finely strung susceptibilities, or -their palates would not have been so critical. And they did not care -much for games of chance, they gambled so high in tea, a fortnight's -business easily leading a man to win or lose L20,000. - -Ah! the good old days of China tea and silk are gone. Are there better -days yet to come in the new China that is to take the place of old -China, which is passing away even as we talk about it? - - -III. INSIDE A CHINESE CITY. - -One of the most exciting moments of all my life in China was when I -first found myself shut up within the walls and barred gates of -Wuchang, the provincial capital of Hupeh, one of the rowdiest -provinces of China. And of the three cities that meet together and -almost join--Hankow and Wuchang being separated by the there -three-quarter-mile wide Yangtse, and Hankow and Hanyang separated by -the boat-covered Han--Wuchang has the reputation of being the most -rowdy. It is there, of course, the Provincial Examinations are held; -and when men assemble in their thousands away from their families and -friends, they are in all countries apt to be unruly. - -Probably, of all the hundreds of foreign tea-men who visited Hankow, -barely one or two had been across the river to Wuchang. But a -missionary, who was living alone there, and seemed to feel his -loneliness, asked us to go over and spend the night with him; and with -many doubts as to what kind of accommodation he could give us, and -whether we should be inconveniencing him, we accepted. I have often -been to Wuchang since then. But I remember still the thrill with -which, when I went to bed that night, I stood at the window and -listened to the strange, unfamiliar sounds from the street beyond the -compound, or garden. There was the night-watchman crying the hours, -and clacking his pieces of bamboo together to warn evil-doers to keep -off. But he did it in a way I had not yet heard. Then there were such -curious long drawn-out street cries, all unknown, and sounds of people -calling to one another, and the buzz of a great city. And I suddenly -realised, with a choking sense of emotion, that the gates were shut, -and I was within there with a whole cityful of Chinese so hostile to -foreigners, and especially to foreign women, that it had not been -thought safe to let me walk through them to the missionary's house. -Even the curtain of my sedan-chair had been drawn down, so that I -might not be seen by any one. - -Wuchang has always been specially interesting to me, because it was my -first Chinese city. And it is so characteristic a one. Every Chinese -city is supposed to be placed on hills representing a serpent and a -tortoise, although the likeness has often to be helped out by a temple -on the tortoise's head, or a pagoda to connect the serpent's coils. -But at Wuchang the serpent and tortoise are very plainly visible. Then -all Chinese cities are apt to be rude. But the people at Wuchang are -so particularly rude. How often have not the gentlemen accompanying -me, when in subsequent years I have dared to walk through its streets, -had to separate themselves from me, and to walk backwards, exhorting -the oncoming crowd of roughs to propriety of behaviour! Curiously -enough, the roughest of Chinese roughs get red and uncomfortable, when -you tell them you fear they have never learnt politeness, do not -observe the rules of decorum, etc., etc. I learnt it as a patter -simply from hearing it said in my own defence, and have often raised a -blush since then by saying it myself. I doubt if the same results -would be obtained by ever so eloquent a paraphrase of the fourth -commandment down Whitechapel way. But Chinese, whether they follow -them or not, seem all to have been taught to hold in respect the dicta -of the ancients. To this day a quotation from Confucius will often -settle a moot point in weighty affairs of State. Would that it were so -among ourselves with a Christian text! - - -IV. SHANGHAI PUBLIC GARDENS. - -To those who have just arrived off a long sea voyage, as to those who -from time to time come down from some roadless, gasless, shopless, but -smell-ful up-country sojourn, there is one bit of Shanghai that is -exceptionally refreshing and delightsome; and that is the garden by -the river. At night, when the lamps are lit and mirrored in the water -in rows and garlands of light, when the sea-breeze blows in freshly, -and friends gather in the gardens, I have even heard it asserted by -its greatest detractors, "Shanghai is as good as any other place by -night." - - [Illustration: THE BUBBLING WELL.] - -But it is in the mornings in winter, or in the before-dinner hours in -summer, when the band plays, that you must go there, properly to know -what the Shanghai Gardens are like. First and foremost, they are full -of flowers--flowers with colours and scents. I do not know how many -other people may be thus constituted, but there are occasions when I -would as soon meet Keats' "Belle Dame Sans Merci" "alone and palely -loitering" as wander through such unmitigated greenery as the Botanic -Gardens at Singapore offer to the passing traveller, at least in the -month of April. Kew Gardens are all too often depressing after the -same fashion; though there one can always fall back upon the -greenhouses to see - - "How great Nature truly joys in red and green, - What sweet thoughts she thinks - In violets and pinks - And a thousand blushing hues made solely to be seen." - - [Illustration: SOOCHOW CREEK, SHANGHAI.] - -Hongkong Gardens are very fair to see, resembling those of Babylon in -being hanging gardens, gardens of terraces. But the way in which the -Shanghai Gardens are fitted in between the Bund and the Soochow -Creek, with the much-traversed Garden Bridge giving something definite -to look at, and the river girdling it all--the river with its -ever-moving panorama of swift ocean steamers and perky little -steam-launches, and yachts and junks of deeply dyed sails, and -brilliant coloured sanpans, all within a stone's-throw,--this -situation makes the Shanghai Gardens a place not easily to be matched -for passing away the after-sunshine hours. But flowers are the -Shanghai Gardens' _forte_. They should be seen when they are all -abloom with roses; or when lordly tulips dazzle the eye with their -scarlet and gold, till it is fain to seek relief among those blue and -white fairies dancing in the sunshine--sweet-scented hyacinths; or -when the chrysanthemums are in season. All these flowers are seen -against a background of glossy-leaved magnolias, with their pale -sweet-scented blossoms, and oleander-trees, and pomegranates and -acacias, all in their different seasons glorious with rose and scarlet -or feathery pink and white blossoms. - -At one season there is a borderful, but full to overflowing, as those -borders almost always are, of the Japanese _Lilium auratum_, a large, -almost arrogant, white lily, with a broad band of gold down each -petal. A little while before, people went to the far garden across the -road to see the fly-devouring flower, and inhale its fetid breath as -of dead men's--not bones, certainly--and all uncleanness. Next the -water-lilies claimed their attention, and the poetic rosy lotus -flowers, one of which grew so fast, and with such precision of -rectitude, that its bud forced its way right through the overshadowing -fleshy leaf, and there expanded into a beautiful blossom at its -leisure. - -The rarely visited fernery at the end of this garden well deserves -more frequent visits. There you will find that quaint _Asplenium -bulbiferum_, that drops off little plants, that happen to be growing -about its leaves like little accidents, and eventually develop into -big plants, that again do likewise. There are also fine specimens of -the Australian _Platycerium_, which you do not wonder to find called -_grande_, so solid and woolly-feeling are its great lumps of leaf. -That brown irregular mark underneath one of the abruptly broken-off -leaves is not decay, but spores of seed. This, with the name of -_Alicorne_, something like an inverted porcupine, reaching out all -round hands, some with three fingers, some with six, sometimes with -the fingers tipped underneath with seed, sometimes not, is said to -have arrived looking for all the world like a withered cabbage. Then -it sprouted and burgeoned; and now it is a thing of joy for ever, not -to be in the least dwarfed or put into the shade by Australian -tree-ferns of really treelike proportions growing close alongside. - -But the fernery has nothing of the charm for me possessed by the large -conservatory. There, after so many years, I met once again the friends -of my childhood. - - "The spirit culls - Unfaded amaranth, when wild it strays - Through the old garden ground of boyish days." - -And there, when first I saw it, were all the many varieties of fancy -geraniums, so seldom seen in England now, together with heliotropes, -and begonias, and rosellias, and cinerarias, all growing in loveliest -confusion, though not as I remember them, weighing each other down -with their prodigal luxuriance in a garden border, in far-away -Madeira, but intermixed with Chinese rockwork and ferns, and generally -massed so as to show themselves off to the greatest advantage. In -August that house is full of velvety gloxinias of richest hues, and -again mixed with waxen begonias. Outside the conservatory are two of -those very quaint Singapore cup-sponges, serving as flower-pots of -Nature's making. And near by, apparently the pride of the gardener, to -judge by its lavish supply of netting, is an apple-tree, with many -apples peeping from underneath the netting, as yet quite green! But -for all their greenness, one has been carried off by the birds -already. Hence the netting. - -But it is in the garden beside the river where the pleasantest sitting -and sauntering is done. No one puts on best clothes to go there in the -morning; only people who like to go are to be met there--none from a -sense of duty. There the nurses love to congregate whilst their -children play together, and add much life and animation to the scene. -The nurses introduce a Chinese element; for otherwise Chinese, were it -even Li Hung-chang himself, are excluded from the gardens, as now from -Australia, solely because they are Chinese. This never can seem quite -right. The Japanese nurses add an additional element of -picturesqueness, with their dark-coloured, clinging _kimonos_, and -curious gait, as do also Parsee merchants with their high, hard hats. - -Yet sometimes I have regretted we do not have more of the flowers of -China in Shanghai. What lovely bursts of blossom one sees at times in -the interior of China! One February I wrote from Chungking: - -"Camellias of infinite variety are to be seen already. It is -surprising to notice how many different kinds there are. Perhaps the -loveliest is more like a blush-rose than a camellia--delicate coral -pink, shading off into white round the edges of the somewhat crumpled -petals. Since the Chinese seem now to devote no care to them, nor at -all to know how many varieties there are, it is puzzling to think how -they arose." - - [Illustration: GUILD GARDEN AT KIANGPEI. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -Whilst on March 21st of another year, I wrote at the time: - -"The thermometer is now in the sixties. Our plum-trees done flowering; -orchids coming on victoriously; tree-tulips and magnolias like big -bouquets; and camellias only slowly waning. Probably nowhere could -camellias be seen in greater luxuriance than here, where there are -endless varieties; and a blossom of a peony-camellia, loose-petalled -and very double, on being measured the other day, revealed a -circumference of fifteen and a quarter inches. Great branches of -judas-tree and pink peach blossom adorn our rooms, together with a -bright-yellow flower that grows in great profusion, and that used to -be called New Zealand flax. From all this you can fancy how -hothouselike our atmosphere feels just now." - -Later in the summer the peonies are the great pride of the Chinese; -whilst the scarlet dragon-boat flower is, perhaps, the most remarkable -of all the Chinese flowers from being all scarlet together. But it is -useless to try to enumerate; for the highest authority in Kew Gardens -told me once that in no part of the world was there a more abundant -and varied flora than in the Ichang Gorges, which are also the land of -the butterfly. It is, however, a mistake, I believe, to think China is -called the flowery land from the number of its flowers, the Chinese -word translated "flowery" meaning also "varicoloured." - - -V. IN THE ROMANTIC EAST AT LAST! - -Mr. Tee San's garden is one of the most fascinating spots in China, -with the bright autumn sunshine glinting through the pretty bits of -trellis-work on to its fantastic rocks, and zigzag bridges, and pretty -pavilions, and lighting up the truly exquisite specimens of -chrysanthemums sometimes on show there. There is the spiky little -chrysanthemum, the tiger's moustache, and huge maroon blossoms fading -off into delicate cream in the centre, and many other uncommon -varieties, each in its appropriate pot, spacious, four-square, and -creamy, apparently just made to be painted, and each placed at exactly -the right elevation by means of its light wooden stand, sometimes -raising the pot an inch or two, sometimes about eight feet, and always -so slanted, that the flowers are tilted down towards the spectator, -thus showing themselves off in their entirety. But it is not so much -worth while to go to this garden in order to see the chrysanthemum, as -to admire the infinite variety of Chinese decoration crowded into what -is really a very confined space, but which is made to appear a garden -large enough to lose oneself in. Rows of bamboo stems of soft -blue-green china relieve the monotony of the walls, with their open -air-spaces in between, as do also various graceful interlacings of -tiles. There are doors of all sorts and sizes, like a horseshoe, like -a pentagon, like a leaf cut somewhat irregularly down the middle by -the leaf stem, and with outer edge fluted like a leaf. There are, of -course, artificial mounds made out of rockwork, and grottoes, and -quaint lumps of stone, looking as if they had been masses of molten -metal suddenly hardened in their grotesqueness; also, as a matter of -course, inside the pavilions there are various specimens of that -landscape stone--dear to the heart of the Chinaman, and said to come -from Yunnan--framed and hanging on the walls. There used to be also -a magnificent peacock; a mandarin duck, with its quaint, bright, -decisive colouring; golden pheasants; a scarlet-faced monkey, and a -pale-faced; a little company of white geese, and another of white -rabbits. But to enumerate the treasures of the garden gives no idea of -the artistic skill with which it has been laid out; so that every one -who sits down in it even in the most commonplace manner, and even -those most unpicturesque of human beings, Chinese men and women, -immediately becomes an integral part of a picture. - - [Illustration: PAVILION IN COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S GARDEN. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -There sit two Chinamen, with dark-purple silk outer jackets and long, -glowing blue undergowns. They sit on each side of a little square -black table, with their long pipes; behind them the sun slants across -the latticed paper window, a branch of Virginia creeper, already -yellow, pushing in through it. It needs not the addition of the -cream-coloured pot with its chrysanthemums planted well to the front -of it, as they all are, and on the usual slant. Without that bit of -autumn colouring behind them, there is already an autumn picture,--men -past their prime soothing the evening of their day in life with the -pipe, all nature attuned with its vivid fast-fleeting sunshine and its -orange-yellow leaves. In another pavilion sits one of those gorgeous -creatures who always recall the braveries of Sir Walter Scott's -descriptions, but who are hardly now to be seen out of China: his big -loose jacket, of brocaded golden satin, stiff and shimmering: his -long gown, only less brilliant, of violet satin. A gnarled and knotted -root served there as stand for a flower-pot, artificial streamlets -meandering round the pavilion. In the pavement was a stork in white, -all formed of little broken bits of tile. The lights and shades were -so entrancing, it was difficult to think of ever doing anything in -these picturesque retreats, which immediately suggest the Chinaman's -ideal--elegant leisure--and furnish most pleasant places to sit and -_meditate_, as one might say, but in reality probably idly to watch -the sunlight glorify this tint and soften that. - -Without the sunshine it is a different affair. The patterns in the -walls, in the fine pebble pavement, are still as complex, the -triangles in the latter still as cunningly arranged, the doorways as -surprising. There are still the same China drums of soft blue-green -and green-blue for garden-seats, and great egg-green vessels for -rain-water, as they say "very clear." But it all looks like a theatrical -stage by daylight. Even the row of changeable roses by the water, -which is really not so clear as it might be, looks uncomfortably pink -beneath a grey rain-sky. Only the hoarfrost-resisting flower, as the -Chinese call the chrysanthemum, is undimmed, the Chinamen's coats as -gay. Whilst Chinese ladies totter as gracefully--or ungracefully--as -before, with highly painted cheeks, gay garments, long elaborate -earrings, beringed and bebraceleted with soft pure gold unalloyed. - - [Illustration: STREET SCENE.] - -When we were last there, a dainty-looking Chinese dinner was laid out -in one of the pavilions; and before the guests sat down, girls arrived -to make merry with music. For studying Chinese manners and customs, -there could hardly be a more convenient place. Every one seemed very -smart and very friendlily disposed towards the foreigner. Those who -care for local colour can find it in this garden quite as well as in -the China town; and, after all, when one can find local colour without -local odours, it is a thing to make note of in China. It is true to -get there one must not only drive down the Fukien Road, with its -quaint dyers' drying-sheds high up against the sky, their blue -draperies streaming from them picturesquely, then across that very -fascinating bridge choked underneath with highly polished boats, piled -with all manner of merchandise, but also, alas! through a local Covent -Garden, full of colour enough, like its prototype in London, but, like -that, not smell-less. Once arrived, however, a bewildering sense comes -over one of having left prosaic Shanghai very far away, and of having -at last arrived at a bit of the _romantic East_! - - [Illustration: WHEELBARROW.] - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -_ON THE UPPER YANGTSE._ - - Boat-travel.--Vegetation.--Trackers.--Terrace of the - Sun.--Gold Diamond Mountain.--Meng Liang's Ladder.--Great - Szechuan Road.--Steamer Voyage.--Chinese Hades.--Caves. - - -Of all ways of travel, surely boat-travel is the most luxurious. For -one thing, it is accounted roughing it; and that means that there is -no bother about toilets: the easiest boots and gloves, the warmest and -most comfortable of clothes, are the appropriate wear. But that seems -to be the whole of the roughing of it. For naturally each -boat-traveller takes care to start with a favourite chair and a -comfortable bed; and it is his cook's business to provide the most -_recherche_ of little repasts whenever wanted. What else is he there -for? Nor do _souffles_ and pheasants taste any the worse because the -supply of fresh air is unlimited, and the cabin as cosy as nothing but -a perfectly well-built house, or a boat floating in water warmer than -the surrounding air, can be. The first time we went up to Chungking, -we had a sleeping-cabin and sitting-cabin, each 9 ft. 4 in. by 7 ft. 7 -in., the former well warmed by a most conveniently arranged kitchen -adjoining, with a plentiful supply of warm water for our -travelling-bath. Thus our only drawback was that the wind was always -favourable; and whereas our captain had been bound over to pay us six -shillings a day for every day over the agreed-upon twenty-two between -Ichang and Chungking, we were equally bound to pay him six shillings a -day extra for every day under. - - [Illustration: BOW OF TRAVELLING-BOAT. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - - [Illustration: ENTRANCE TO YANGTSE GORGES. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -My first trip up the Gorges was, however, very different. To give its -impressions in their freshness, I will quote from a letter written at -the time: - - - "_June 20th, 1887._ - -"It depends, I suppose, a good deal upon how much people like or -dislike the journey, whether it is worth while to come half round the -world, and then steam a thousand nautical miles into the interior of -China, in order to visit the Gorges of the Yangtse; but we have just -returned from a five-days' trip, and what I have seen far surpasses my -anticipations. Indeed, in all my travels, I know no country more -altogether delightful. Although it is June, one of the worst seasons -for going there, we have been able to walk about all day long, and -without getting tired too. The air felt fresh, and, oh! so fragrant -with delicious flowers. The feature of the region, of course, is the -precipices. I should guess the precipices at nothing under two -thousand feet, and perhaps not more than that sheer down, as far as I -have seen: sometimes dolomitic white limestone, which always reminds -me of dead men's bones, sometimes weathered a rich yellow-brown. The -grandeur and massiveness of the bastions, and towers of rock, and -overhanging pinnacles, and projecting isolated blocks, or pillars, -standing bolt upright in fine relief against the sky, are not -picturesque like the scenery round Meran, not exciting like some of -the Alpine scenery in Switzerland, but awe-inspiring and sublime. - -"Then the vegetation is enchanting. Nearly every flower, great big -glorious butterfly, and brilliantly coloured bird is unknown to me; -and till people have walked through a country where this is the case, -they cannot imagine what a zest it adds to an expedition. But just to -tell of those I recognise will show how charming it is. Fancy bamboos -in feathery tufts, and palms, everywhere, not tall, but very graceful; -chestnut-trees in full flower; plums laden with the rosiest fruit--but -very bitter we found them; walnut-trees with huge leaves and nuts; -orange-trees; most beautiful, perhaps, of all, the tallow-tree, rather -like the lilac in leaf, but each leaf set on a very long stalk, so -that the slightest breath sets it quivering, a light bright green in -colour, each shoot tipped at the end with almost scarlet young leaves, -and the whole tree, a tall well-grown tree too, covered with yellowish -tassel-like flowers. Most lovely is the general effect. And in the -autumn, they tell me, it is even finer, taking the same brilliant -tints as the maple in Canada. I never know if I like this tree or the -soap-tree best. The latter is like an oak in general effect, but more -graceful, and grows quite big. But I am keeping the best to the last. -Fancy blue larkspurs, and yellow jasmine, and glorious coloured -oleanders, and begonias, virgin lilies, and yet taller white lilies, -and gardenias, and sunflowers, all growing _wild_, and most -luxuriantly. I was quite excited when I first saw waxen-leaved -begonias cuddling into the crevices of a rock by the wayside; and -exclaimed aloud when a turn of the path revealed a whole bank of dwarf -sunflowers, golden in the sun. These, too, are only the flowers I can -name. There are numbers more, and so fragrant! And among them all -enormous swallow-tailed butterflies, and a very pretty breed of white -goats, with dear little kids, disport themselves. Grand though the -Gorges are, one does not feel saddened or depressed by them, as I was -afraid of being. It is like seeing a whole troop of graceful loving -grandchildren climbing up some grand old man's knee. - -"But the Yangtse certainly does appear a very wicked river, bristling -with rocks and whirlpools, just as its shores bristle with precipices. -We had a very light boat, and an absurdly large crew--eight men -besides the head man. And with all their exertions, they could only -get us up against the rushing, whirling current at the rate of a mile -an hour. But the river ran so fast, and the men worked so hard, and -the shores were so varied, ever opening out some new, narrow defile, -down which a torrent had cut its way--always cut quite deep--that one -had no sense at all of going slowly, but just the contrary. The men -had long bamboos with hooks at the end, and with these they would -hook on to the rocks, and claw us up against the current; for we -always kept quite close to the side, so as, as far as possible, to -keep out of the rush of the river, and profit by occasional eddies. -Then at other times they would bound on to the shore, scampering and -giving tongue like a pack of beagles let loose, and tow the boat -along, occasionally bending almost double in their efforts. - -"I thought at first I would walk along the path with the trackers. Oh -the foolish English idea! At times the trackers bounded along over -loose boulders, or over ledges of rock, where the limestone strata -made a fairly smooth surface; but at others they, with their bare -feet and hands well used, had all they could do to find a footing. -During these _mauvais pas_, or when they were ferried across in a -boat, or waded through the river, those left on board would claw the -rocks, or work the _yulohs_, very long and rather unmanageable oars. -The oddest thing was the intense delight the men seemed to take in -their work. But, of course, tracking our light boat was a very -different thing from dragging a heavily laden junk. Hundreds of men -are said to be lost in these rapids every year. And it really seems -too dangerous work to put men to year in year out. Think of the -tow-line breaking! During the little time we have been away, we saw -one junk wrecked, and two drifting down-stream unmanageable, their -tow-lines having broken, and nearly all their men being ashore. And -the farthest point we got to was only fifteen miles from Ichang; so we -got back down-stream in _two hours_. We did not go farther, because -our captain said it was just then too dangerous to take our house-boat -past the three terrible whirlpools of Nantor; and, of course, half the -pleasure of the trip was in landing every now and then, and walking up -the wild, narrow glens to different points of view. One day we walked -from ten to seven to the Terrace of the Sun, where there is a small -Taoist temple on a little ledge of rock just big enough to hold it, at -the top of a mountain quite two thousand feet high, and with a sheer -precipice on one side. Another day we walked from half-past six till -half-past five to the Gold Diamond Mountain, where there is a -Buddhist temple on a slightly larger plateau, with a spring on the top -of the mountain, and a wonderful panoramic view. It is over a thousand -feet higher than the other, and to get to it you walk along a quite -narrow path with precipices on both sides. Do you realise that in -China there are no railings and no roads, nothing but narrow paths -like English field-paths? I never really believed it till I came here. -And the agriculturists are always encroaching upon even the narrow -paths there are, planting Indian corn and a few beans or something, on -the chance that the passer-by will not tread upon them. - -"The people are greatly interested in seeing a European woman. The -women flock round, and beg me to take off my gloves and my hat, that -they may see how my hair is done, and the colour of my hands. Then -some old woman is sure to squeeze my feet, to see if there is really a -foot filling up all those big boots: for, of course, all the women -here have small feet--that is, they have them bandaged up; and -astonishingly well they get along upon their hoof-like feet. They are -very friendly, and bring out chairs and benches before their cottage -doors, and beg us to sit down, and offer us tea, or, if they have not -got that ready, hot water. But the children cry with terror if I touch -them or go too near; and one little boy in a school we went into -simply trembled with fear all the time I stood near him to hear him -read. Sometimes also the dogs run away without barking, they are so -afraid: a great comfort this is, for the barking of the dogs, and the -loathsome-looking pigs at each cottage, and the smells, are the great -objection to going through the often lovely-looking--from a -distance--villages. Hoang San Tung, on its terrace nearly a hundred -feet above the river, with all its curved roofs, looked really like a -flight of doves settled down there, the wings not quite folded yet; -and several of the others are very picturesque from a distance. But -the smells of Ping Shan Pa obliged us to change our anchorage, there -being no reason why we should endure them. There were fireflies there; -but not such glorious ones as at Shih Pai, where they cast long trails -of light upon the river, and were the most luminous I have ever seen. -I do hope there will be soon a steamer running to transport people -safely and easily to this delightful region. No boats were able to -come down while we were up the river; and of some machinery for the -Viceroy of Szechuan, that came up here on the previous voyage of the -steamer in which we travelled, we have heard already that two -boatloads are lost, and it is just as likely as not that the loss of -these may make the rest useless. - -"Seeing these ranges of mountains, across which it would, indeed, be -difficult to make roads, and across which there certainly are none, I -better realise how completely the rich and productive province of -Szechuan--the size of France--is cut off from the rest of the world. -Yet it will be sad if steamers introduce an unappreciative crowd to -the grand solitudes of the ravines and precipices, the rocks and -rapids of the Yangtse. Now one can pick one's hands full of flowers, -without thinking one is spoiling any one else's enjoyment. Now one is -away from letters and papers, from all the 'warstle and the wear o't,' -and can enjoy the health-giving breezes and the grandeur of the -scenery quite undisturbed. It does not require to have lived -perspiring and almost clotheless through the tea-season at Hankow to -enjoy such a trip; but now I begin to realise more than I did at the -time what Hankow is, with its willow-shaded Bund, and its painted -tea-chests flying along on the shoulders of coolies, and agitated -buyers and sellers, and no 'mountain and water' beauty, as the Chinese -call the beauty of landscape, only its mirages and its sunsets." - - - [Illustration: TRACKERS. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -It is always pleasant to sail before a wind, and boat-travel taken -thus is the delight of travel in essence divested of all its _ennuis_, -of tiresome fellow-travellers, dust, steam, rush! Yet there is rushing -enough in the Yangtse Rapids; but rushing of such another sort! We ran -upon a rock our first day, and were not able to find a leak that night -by the flickering light of a Chinese candle. But next day a bag of -damaged rice showed clearly where it was, and a little tangle of -cotton-yarn with some tallow made it all right. After that our mast -cracked so alarmingly that we shortened sail; but that also was soon -made right, the sole of an old shoe being nailed over the crack. Old -shoes seem to have _lasting_ power. And we sailed on again before the -favourable wind that had carried us from Ichang, all through the -Yangtse Gorges, in less than a week. Was some of our good fortune -owing to the three joss-sticks burning at the stern? They also were -stuck in an old shoe, or rather straw sandal this time. Perhaps old -shoes have a meaning, like so many other things in China, not -understood by people not imbued from their cradles with the profound -truths of _Fung shui_. - -Our voyage was like a dream of childhood realised, a dream inspired by -many readings of Sinbad's marvellous travels. At Ichang they were -making merry over a disappointed globe-trotter, who had been to see -the Gorges, and come back complaining they were not perpendicular! -Whether he insisted on their descending perpendicularly to their -winter water-line, or their summer water-line, not seldom sixty feet -apart, report said not. But if he had come on to the Bellows Gorge, -surely even he must have been satisfied. The great Szechuan Road, the -one _new_ road I have seen in China, is simply hewn out of the face of -the apparently perpendicular rock, so that the cliff arches over it. -There on the southern side are the square holes in the rock, memorial -of Chinese daring, which the celebrated General Meng Liang caused to -be made, so that in the night he could take his soldiers, on pieces of -wood stuck into these square holes, a rude but strong ladder, up the -face of the cliff, naturally supposed to be inaccessible, and surprise -the enemy, thereby conquering the kingdom of Shu. There also are the -caves, where men gather saltpetre at dizzy heights, climbing up to -them by paths that make one hot to look at. Farther on are the iron -pillars on one side, and opposite the holes in the rock, between -which chains were fastened so as to prevent those of the kingdom to -the west of the Gorges from coming down in their vessels to attack the -men of Hupeh, then the kingdom of Wei. And here, as we left the gorge, -we saw the temple to the memory of Liu Pei, who was there encamped, -and slain when Meng Liang made his marvellous night attack. This -borderland teems with memories, and the Chinese do not quickly forget. -In Kweichow there is still a tablet to the wife of Liu Pei, over the -well at the back of what is now the Prefect's official residence, -where she drowned herself when her husband was slain, nearly two -thousand years ago. - -But the day we were there was New Year's Eve, and even our man-servant -said it was impossible for me to go into the city to see it that day; -and on the next day's festival it would be cruel to trouble our good -soldiers to escort us. For we were travelling with that great luxury, -a gunboat, that is also a lifeboat; and the soldiers, as in all this -admirably organised lifeboat service, were excellent fellows, whether -for handling an oar or for keeping back the crowd. They seemed -positively to delight in carrying the camera, or in posing for a -foreground, evidently admiring their own clothes very much, and being -very wishful to know if we could read the characters upon their -jackets. But for this gunboat, which sailed faster than our -passenger-boat, and could put us ashore anywhere, we should have been -deprived of nearly all our interesting walks; for our boat sailed on -and on even into the night. Sailing through the never-ending -Witches' Gorge, ever following _White Wings_ before, a beautifully -appointed junk, that had kept just ahead of us all day, and seeing our -first sunset since we started, soft saffron in the west, had a very -magical effect. It seemed impossible ever to go back again to one's -friends. Why not sail on for ever, since one had for once discovered -the Ideal Life? - - [Illustration: POLING A BOAT UP A RAPID. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - - "We knew the merry world was round, - And we might sail for evermore." - -But there were other moments, and moments oft repeated, when all was -excitement and action. Wild shouts and waving of arms encouraged the -steaming trackers. The water boiled round the bows. The drum sounded. -A man sprang on to an almost impossible rock--it is climbed at least -twenty times nearly every day--and disengaged the tow-line, on which -our lives were depending. The camera was at full cock! And then a -sailor reached in front of it, and that moment was lost! But the boat -hung fire, and we tried again. At one rapid there were women -tracking--women with their hoof-like feet and loathly trousers, giving -delicate little pulls, that surely could not advance the boat much. -Then our soldiers were poling and hooking, with crimson faces and -straining arms! Now we are through that race, and flying along in the -eddy preparatory to the tug-of-war at the next rapid! The trackers are -running ahead like a pack of beagles. A side-ravine becomes visible, -with a grand gateway, irresistibly recalling Coleridge's "like cliffs -that have been rent asunder." Then we gaze at caves, squared, and with -fresh-looking ladders hanging from them, and understand they are -places of refuge for the husbandmen in the houses opposite to retire -into should danger threaten, and that it is not so very long since -they were used. Certainly, they would appear able to stand every siege -but that of hunger. - -We passed rocks fluted like organ-pipes, with the stones that had done -the fluting still held captive in them; rocks fretted almost into -lacework by the action of the water; rocks weathered red, and rocks -weathered grey; and one day we saw a black mass, which we were told -was harder than steel, yet it was gnarled and gnawn in rings. After -passing that black mass, the strata sloped from east to west, just as -on the other side of the Gorges they sloped from west to east; thus, -coming up-stream, the rocks no longer seemed so menacing as before. - -"But here are the far-famed singing girls of Kweichow, with reedlike -voices, and a man, very pale, with a face like Dante, for accompanist -on a pretty little viol; and the sound of merry-making increases. Our -soldiers have been cooking their pig's head nearly all day. A -mandarin's boat moored next to us has a regular witches' cauldron, -full of the cock that every one has been carrying about these last few -days, comb, legs, and all, a pig's head, and several more -uncanny-looking bits of meat. Evidently our trackers also are enjoying -a good feed outside. We have twenty lusty rogues, besides our boat's -crew. And we are all moored in a tangled mass; so that there does not -seem to be room for even one boat more to spend its New Year at -Kweichow Fu. There are joss-sticks burning at our cabin door. -Joss-sticks were burnt solemnly over our pig's head in the gorge in -the morning of that day, a cannon solemnly fired three times, and the -cook prostrated himself as he offered the burnt-offering. Now crackers -are going off all round; and every man who has a chance has asked me -if I do not think Szechuan the most beautiful country in the world. -Even the captain tried to hurry me in the morning into photographing -the entrance into the first Szechuan gorge. 'Szechuan is beautiful,' -he said. So say all the men with white handkerchiefs bound round their -brows, thus showing their Western origin." - -But it was all beautiful, all wild, all grand, after we entered the -Land of Promise through the gate of the Ichang Gorge. For those who do -not love Nature in her wilder moods this was not the time of year to -travel through the Gorges. They should wait till spring has garlanded -them with flowers like a Mayfair ballroom, and perfumed the breezes -with their fragrance. There is a certain sameness about the grandeur -of the scenery when seen always under a leaden sky with a north-easter -driving us on. But for those who admire precipice piled upon -precipice, and rocks rent asunder, every season is the season for the -Gorges, where the Niukan is perhaps the loveliest; but the Ping Shu -Gorge and that of the Fearsome Pool are certainly the most solemn and -impressive; while the Witches' Gorge offers the most variety, and the -Ichang Gorge, though perhaps only because it is best known, ever seems -the friendliest, and is certainly the most fantastic. - - [Illustration: IN THE NIUKAN GORGE. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -All China New Year's Day we wandered through the ruins of Liu Pei's -city. Bits of the wall remain, and the gateway under the old drum -tower; but it is a little hard to believe these date from A.D. 200, -although all the people declare they do, and our man-servant begged -that they might be photographed. We picnicked under a beautiful clump -of trees, looking down upon the grand rock mass, whose being -covered by the river is the signal for the Kweichow authorities to -forbid the passage of junks down-river as too dangerous. The days of -this grand rock mass standing in mid Yangtse must be numbered, -supported as it is on three pillars; thus there are two arches to be -seen beneath it, when the water is low enough. We wandered through a -lovely temple on the hill, commanding the most picturesque view we had -yet seen down the last Fearsome Gorge. Unlike most Chinese temples, -this, the first Szechuan temple I had seen, was really exquisitely -kept, clean, and well swept, with clean, bright windows of -many-coloured paper panes. The priests were polite, the images freshly -painted. We came down through a village, again all clean and fresh as -paint. Every one was in good clothes, of course, as it was New Year's -Day; but it was surprising to find that even the smartest women were -ready to be photographed, and not at all too frightened to look into -the camera themselves. - - [Illustration: WHITE EMPEROR'S TEMPLE, LOOKING DOWN THE GORGE OF THE - FEARSOME POOL, OR BELLOWS GORGE. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -We longed to walk along the great Szechuan Road, completed as far as -the Hupeh frontier, sixty miles, at a reputed cost of L52,000, and -really a road, though, as is usual in Szechuan, it is often long -flights of steps, and several of its crossings over streams looked -doubtful. The Chinese do not make roads sufficiently often to be good -road-makers. Hupeh was to have continued this road through its gorges -to Ichang; and the great Lo, the Marquis of Carabas of these parts, -had just been up to inspect and chalk O where the road was to go. If -it were ever finished and could last, it would rival the Corniche -Road for magnificence of scenery. - -But years have past since we first travelled on the Upper Yangtse, and -no steps have yet been taken to carry the road down-river; the funds -intended for this purpose are said all to have been absorbed in paying -compensation for damage done to foreigners' property in the riots of -one summer. Some day, perhaps, a railway will be cut out along the -river-channel. In the meantime, my husband has proved the long-doubted -practicability of steaming through the rapids, by himself taking a -little steamer up without any foreign assistance to help him, only -Ningpo engineers, who knew neither the Szechuan speech nor ways, and a -Szechuan pilot, who had never been on a steamer before. That voyage -will for ever rank among the most exciting experiences of my life; for -all the population along the river turned out to see the steamer, so -that the cities presented the appearance of having all their outlines -heavily underscored with a blue pencil; whilst sometimes as many as -five Chinese lifeboats and gunboats, with large pennants and burgees -flying, and occasionally firing their cannon, all wanted her to tow -them at once, since their mission was to protect her. And as the -little steamboat could at the outside go nine knots an hour, it was, -indeed, a business to get her up the rapids. In one case--the -worst--she steamed all she could, and three hundred men, harnessed to -tracking-lines, pulled all they could, till one great bamboo line -snapped. But she got up safely after seven minutes, in which one felt -as if one's hair turned white; for if she had once got her head round, -she must have been lost, and every man aboard her. A more powerful -steamer would make nothing of many of the rapids, and even that worst -one at some seasons of the year is barely noticeable. - - [Illustration: NEW AND GLORIOUS RAPID. - _By Mr. Cecil Hanbury._] - -The chief points of interest, after passing through the Gorges, are -Changfei's beautiful temple, a great place to spend a happy day at; -the singularly beautifully situated city of Wanhsien; Changchow, with -its graceful bamboo groves; and Fengtu, the Chinese Hades. - - [Illustration: TREE MOVED 100 YARDS BY LANDSLIP THAT FORMED NEW RAPID. - _By Mr. Cecil Hanbury._] - -To a Chinaman this last is the most interesting place along the river: -for the Emperor of the dead is supposed to live on the little hill -there, as the Emperor of the living does at Peking; and whenever a -Chinaman dies, all the world over, a letter ought to be written to -Fengtu announcing his death, and not dropped casually into the post, -but solemnly burnt by a Taoist priest. It is the one place Chinese -boatmen regard with awe, and they object to moving about at night near -Fengtu. Pilgrims come in great numbers to see the well that is reputed -bottomless; and every one burns a little paper and throws it in. So -that when I saw it the well appeared quite full up to the top. There -was an iron cover over it I longed to photograph; and as it was quite -dark by the well, I asked whether the soldiers accompanying me might -carry it outside into the daylight and to my surprise no objection -was made to their doing so; and when I set up the camera, a priest -said he would stand beside it with an incense-stick, as that would -look better. There is a great sword at Fengtu; but we did not learn -the legend about this. The whole hillside was covered with temples, -all crowded with pilgrims; and my husband said if I would go -photographing in Chinese places of pilgrimage, I really must not -expect him to accompany me. But I was new to China then, and -enthusiastic; so four soldiers linked their arms round me, and in that -manner I photographed. - - [Illustration: IRON COVER OF BOTTOMLESS WELL. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -On another voyage we stopped at Fengtu for the night as we were -proceeding up-river. It was when the chapels and houses throughout -Szechuan were being burnt down, and missionaries flying for their -lives, though no one was killed, happily. All the people on the -foreshore rushed down to look at our boat, brandishing bamboos; and -our servants said they had to shout very loud and very energetically -that we were not missionaries in order to save our lives. The -principal official sent down additional soldiers to guard us through -the night. But it was impossible to be frightened. For that, I think, -was really the very hottest night I have lived through; even lying on -the roof of the boat it was impossible to do anything but gasp. - - [Illustration: AT FENGTU. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -Beyond Fengtu are the colossal statues of the philanthropic -beancurd-seller and his wife, hewn out of the living rock, and sitting -in caves made in the rock out of which they are hewn. Beyond them, -again, comes a very pleasant country of farmsteads, and great -shade-trees, and caves in the rock-face, once inhabited, it is -believed, by the aborigines, who were there before the Chinese came. -But if so, how well and neatly they are shaped! And why did people who -could square doorways so neatly live in such uncomfortable, dark -places as caves? People all say to one another that these caves would -be very interesting subjects for study; but so far no one has studied -them. - -Thus, by many windings, and past great bridges, and up more rapids, at -last we arrive at terrible, long reaches of rocks; and then at -Chungking, the commercial capital of Szechuan, China's westernmost, -and one of its largest and richest provinces. But Chungking deserves a -chapter to itself, especially as it is the only Chinese city within -whose walls I have lived for years. Some people call thus living -"doing a term of fortress." A Chinese city is certainly very like a -prison. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -_A LAND JOURNEY._ - - Large Farmsteads.--Wedding Party.--Atoning for an - Insult.--Rowdy Lichuan.--Old-fashioned Inn.--Dog's - Triumphal Progress.--Free Fight.--Wicked - Music.--Poppy-fields.--Bamboo Stream. - - -It is very unusual to make the journey from Ichang to Chungking by -land; but one year in the spring-time the thought of the dog-roses and -the honeysuckle tempted us, as also the prospect of getting to our -destination a few days earlier; so we crossed the river at Ichang, and -set off over the mountains, at first all white and glittering with -new-fallen snow. How delicious oranges tasted, when we took alternate -bites of them and crisp mountain snow! - -Here and there were large farmsteads, where a whole clan lived -together, thus avoiding the loneliness of English country life, as -also the insecurity. How it works, and whether there is some natural -law by which no family increases beyond a certain number, or how it is -decided when the moment comes that some members have to go out into -the world to seek their fortunes, and who it should be, I do not know. -But it is obvious that the Chinese plan leads to a great deal of -pleasant sociability; and as it is always the eldest man of the -family whose authority is (nominally) absolute, this must lead to a -certain continuity of _regime_, very different from what it would be, -if, as with us, a young eldest son every now and then became the head. -It also leads to the erection of very large and very beautiful -homesteads, with generally a beautiful temple near at hand. - -It was a pretty sight one day to watch a wedding party behind us -winding up and down the mountainsides, seven men carrying flags, seven -or eight ponies with red cloth saddles, a red State umbrella carried -by itself, two sedan-chairs, and music, which last sounded quite -pleasantly in the fresh country air. They were going to fetch the -bride, we were told; but our last sight of them was sad. For, -encountering an opium caravan, one of the wedding party was saucy, and -a free fight ensued, branches being torn off the trees, whilst all the -cavaliers, now mounted, stood huddled together on a hill, declaring -they knew nothing about it instead of dashing in to the rescue. -Meanwhile, one at least of the wedding party was carried off prostrate -and bleeding, and the opium caravan, with its heavy carrying-poles, -was having it all its own way. - -Once we thought we were going to spend the night, as we always tried -to do, at a lonely inn; but there was a village just beyond it, and -the villagers came over, and were rather troublesome in their -curiosity. What was particularly annoying was that our room was only -partly boarded over at the top with loose, dirty boards; and when we -closed the door, all who could rushed up ladders into the rafters to -look down, or on to the loose boards above us, staring down at us, and -covering us and our dinner with dust. This had to be stopped; so we -opened the door again. And I got so tired of the people, I went -outside to walk up and down the road in the moonlight, though -certainly we had had quite enough walking; for our little pony had -lost two shoes, and with so many miles yet to go had to be spared a -good deal. Even in the moonlight, however, a growing crowd followed -me, staring and giggling, till impatiently I remonstrated. On which a -man stepped forward as spokesman. "We are nothing but mountain -people," he said, "and anything like you we have never seen before! So -we do just want to look." On this it was impossible not to show -oneself off answering beforehand all the questions I knew they would -otherwise ask, on which they laughed merrily, quite delighted. But we -really wanted to go to bed some time or other; and so far I had not -been able to wash at all except just my face and hands, which after a -long day across mountains is hardly satisfactory. So now we tried the -expedient of being exceedingly polite, and wishing them all -good-night. After this had been repeated two or three times, the door -being shut after each good-night, the people dispersed, some each time -taking the hint and going away. But, alas! it seemed some were going -to sleep up above us; and as there was nothing to prevent their -staring down at us as much as they liked over the ends of the loose -planks, I had to wait till my husband had undressed comfortably by -candle-light, and put the candle out, and then, as so often before, go -to bed in the dark. Certainly, a man has great advantages in -travelling. - -Another day one of our coolies had a fight with one of his substitutes -about pay. Every man we pay always sweats the work out to some one -else. The substitute boxed his ears. He called his substitute's mother -dreadful names. They were both from the same town, which made it -worse. In a second all our men had thrown down their loads, and were -flying down the hill to join in the fight. As we had just passed -through a little village, I thought, of course, my husband, who was -behind, had been attacked; whilst he came hurrying up to learn what -had been done to me. Meanwhile, our cook, the real fighting man of our -party, had rushed in to have his innings, just as ignorant as either -of us as to what had really occurred. Whatever it was, we felt sorry -for the poor substitute, overpowered by the members of our party; so -we at last succeeded in stopping the tail-pulling and cudgelling, but -not before the poor man's face was all bleeding. Some ten miles -farther on we came to a wayside house, with two venerable-looking -Chinamen sitting in the seat of justice, and the whole party had to go -in. It was decided our coolies were in the wrong. And I was delighted -to hear that such an insult as they had offered to the man's mother -could not be atoned for by money. They had publicly to _k'otow_ (bow -till they touched the ground with their foreheads), and to apologise. - -At Lichuan occurred our first mobbing, the more unfortunate as most of -our coolies came from there. Our cook had, as we thought, very -imprudently engaged rooms for us in an inn outside the walls, and -evidently not the best inn. To make it worse, it had an entrance back -and front, and the room assigned to us had three large windows. So -often we had no windows at all, it seemed particularly unfortunate we -should have three there; for in poured a howling crowd, and the -windows were at once a sea of faces. We thought it best to bolt the -door of the room, setting our soldier-coolie on guard over it. And the -only thing to do with the windows seemed to be to close the shutters -and wait inside in the darkness, hoping the crowd would go away when -there was nothing more to see. But there were eyes and fingers at -every crack--and the room was all cracks--and the people coughed to -attract our attention, and called to us to come out; while to judge by -the sounds--but one can never do this in China--there seemed to be -fierce fighting between some of them and our coolies. Presently my -husband went out, and tried to reason with them, telling them if it -was only himself they should be free to come into his room, and see -him all the time; but they knew themselves it was not proper to look -into women's apartments. They seemed too low and rude a crowd for -reasoning; so then he went to the landlord. And there were one or two -furious onslaughts, and then as many or more men as were driven out -from before came in from behind. And the landlord said he was -powerless. Once they broke the shutters open, and my husband really -frightened them, rushing out and asking who was trying to steal our -things, and saying he would have the thieves arrested and taken to the -_yamen_. This was an excellent idea, and quieted them for a little -while. But then it all began again. - -And meanwhile our combative cook, getting ready our dinner in the -midst of all the hurly-burly, was evidently with difficulty putting a -restraint on himself. We had to light a candle to dine by, and this -let Bedlam loose again. It was our first really hot day, and we were -very tired; but it was evident there was to be no rest for us that -evening. Then, just as in a very disconsolate state we were going to -bed, between twenty and thirty very smartly dressed women actually -came to call upon us, introduced, as it were, by a Christian from -Wanhsien, who was on a visit to her relations. She came in, shaking -hands very affectionately at once, and sitting down to talk, as if she -were our dearest friend; whilst she pronounced the people very bad -people, and said she was going away again directly. But whether she -was a real Christian or not we did not know, although we have since -heard all about her, and that she is a very enthusiastic convert. -There were not enough seats to offer the other women one each. It was -very late, and the noise pretty great; so, after we had admired their -large, hanging, silver earrings, and they had taken stock of us, as it -were, they went away again, and then--out with the lights and to bed! -But there were fingers feeling, feeling at the cracks, and rude -coughs, and noises for hours after that. - -Next day we took care to be off before daybreak, and it was from the -open country beyond we saw the sun rise over Lichuan; but the general -appearance of the town was as if it had long ago set. All the hazy -temples looked dilapidated, and the inhabitants had a decidedly -opium-eating air. And worst of all, there were no horseshoes to be -had. But the little pony still trotted bravely on with shoes on its -two fore feet. It is rice that specially flourishes round Lichuan, and -the reflections in the paddy-fields were very lovely all that day. -There was a thunderstorm in the evening; but nothing like so -magnificent as what we had a night or two before, when we took refuge -in a schoolhouse, where the master delighted my husband by his very -educated Chinese. - -But then came the question of putting up for the night again. Every -one seemed agitated, and kept hurrying on in front, as if not wanting -to be questioned; and meanwhile we never stopped! Yet every one was -complaining of not feeling well; and there were the barrier mountains -in front, and nothing now visible between us and them but one of those -large isolated farmhouses, of which we had seen so many. There was a -network of rice-fields in front of it, the whole river here being -spread out over the fields; and there, with a screen of gnarled -willows before it, the old farmhouse stood, raised on a little -platform, looking down on the waste of waters. Could it be possible -that we were going to ask hospitality of a private house? It seemed -so, for there was the Boy coming back from the house to greet us. -"Come in quickly, Mississy. No man must see you. And you no must say -anything. My have say all a mistakey, you no belong woman, you one -man." "But why is that? Why did you say I was a man?" "This belong -old-fashion Chinese inn--no can have one woman. The last inn say no -got any room, because no will have one woman. So my go on very fast, -and say you one man. The people no savee. Only come in quickly now." -Would a stricter moralist have thought it necessary to repudiate the -falsehood, and explain? It was late, and we were tired, and I went -quickly to the inner room. Then the Boy began to explain further. -According to him, it is in China the height of impropriety for a man -and a woman in travelling to share the same room. When a Chinese -mandarin travels, his wife goes into the women's quarter with the -other women. Unfortunately, in these inns there was no women's -quarter; so at Lichuan, where it seems the difficulty had begun, the -Boy had said if the landlord would give me another room I would occupy -it, but there had been none for me. The last inn had refused us -outright; and this being a regular old-fashioned inn and farmhouse, -the Boy had felt quite sure it would do likewise if it knew. All this -was a new idea to us. And as we saw all the women of the household -taking peeps at us from the window over the buffalo-stable opposite, -we fancied their suspicions had been aroused, and that after all they -knew I was a woman. All across the mountains there had been a great -wondering as to what I was, and I had often heard the country people -beseeching the coolies to tell them. When I sat in my chair in my long -fur coat, and my husband rode the pony, they had no doubt at all but -that I was a man, and a mandarin, and he my outrider; and they used to -ask about me in this spirit, and in one village all stood with bated -breath whilst I was carried by. But with the fur coat, which is -greatly worn by mandarins, my dignity departed, and, on foot or on -horseback, I was altogether an anomaly. The hair seemed to be the hair -of a woman; but, then, the feet were surely the feet of a man! - -Next day, however, our falsehood was revealed; for it poured pretty -well all day: the rain had streamed in on my husband's bed during the -night, and wet most of his things; one of the coolies was very ill -with cold, the cook pretty sick, my husband ditto; and we settled to -stop the day. And it being so chilly, we were but too thankful to -leave our very draughty, damp rooms, and to go and sit in one of the -family's rooms in the farmhouse part, where a fire of chaff and -shavings on the floor made a great smoke and a little warmth, and -where all the huge family interviewed us by turns, as we turned over -picture-books. The men of the family had a most lively game of cards -going on, and all our coolies likewise settled to cards. But some of -the family were reading the Yi King, which, as the head of the house -said, was the foundation of all wisdom, and is one of the most -difficult of all Chinese classics. This rather delighted me, just as -it did in the boat coming down to find our coolies and some -junk-owners going down with us all amusing themselves with puzzles I -had always known as Chinese, but never before seen in China, in -especial the complicated cross puzzle made roughly out of bits of -bamboo. - - [Illustration: FREE SCHOOL. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -One day we passed a beautiful free school, built by some wealthy man -for the advantage of his poorer neighbours in this remote region. - -It was after this began the little dog's triumphant progress. People -had enjoyed seeing him everywhere. But now, on the borderland between -the two provinces of Hupeh and Szechuan, they really revelled in him. -Mothers brought out their babies, who cooed with delight; boys danced -backwards down the street before him, clapping their hands. Not the -most advanced opium-smoker but his pallid face relaxed into a smile at -catching sight of our little Jack; and everywhere we moved to a chorus -of "Lion-dog! Lion-dog!" and general happy smiles. I could not but -recall how in one town, too dirty even to dine in, the crowd had -surveyed us, and at last one boy had said, "Well! their animals are -good-looking," then felt all that his speech implied, and looked -confounded. But we had again and again heard people admiring the -pony's condition, and saying, "At least foreigners know how to take -care of animals." So my husband was well satisfied, and I was too, -being again asked to sell little Jack, whom the people thought we must -be taking to market, or why did we take him along the road with us? A -Taoist priest had even come down from his temple to ask that the dog -might be presented to it. So we felt that at least our animals were -appreciated, whatever we might be. - -This was all very well when they did not pelt us. But they did -sometimes. And in one town out of the crowd came a really well-dressed -man, and seized hold of my foremost chair-coolie--I was always carried -through the towns--crying out, "You said it was a friend of yours!" -The coolies offered no resistance. Before that I had been vainly -urging them to carry me faster; they had appeared to be waiting for -something. But my husband now sprang forward, and seized the -well-dressed man, when, to his surprise, the latter showed fight. And -then all the people on the bank above us began to pelt, throwing -rather better than usual too. My husband was hit in several places. -Our fighting cook was hit too, but, I believe, flatters himself he -gave quite as good as he got. Even the decidedly non-fighting Boy's -pugnacious instincts were roused. "Only I thought it would be so -dleadful for you, Mississy," he said afterwards. So he did not fight. -As for me, I honestly own I never once looked behind, having a great -regard for my eyes when any earth-throwing begins. And the coolies now -hurried me away with a will, as my husband had dragged off their -assailant by his pigtail, and deposited him in a paddy-field. Several -of the onlookers, being unpleasantly hurt, now told our party the -whole thing had been got up by the well-dressed man and one or two -more, well known in the place, and regular bullies, who had -distributed cash among the crowd to get us pelted simply out of hatred -to foreigners. - -At the next town we were again a little pelted. But when we got back -to the main road, travelling along once more beside the -telegraph-wires, the people were what we call in China very civil; in -any other country it would be outrageously insolent and ill-mannered. -And before we got there we had to sleep one night in one of the most -stinking, dirty towns we ever passed through. We arrived late, so were -happily not well seen; and the people there, having a guilty -conscience, thought that we were officials sent to stop them from -gambling or some other bad practice. So we should have had a quiet -resting-time but for all night long the most dreadful sort of music -going on near at hand. It was the kind of music that Wagner might have -liked for a _motif_. But the Boy said it was horribly wicked, and not -even a thing to mention before a lady. As far as I could make out, it -was incantations over a sick person, not made by any priest, he said, -but by the people themselves, and with witches and dancing. But he -spoke of it with such horror, it seemed wrong to question him. It had -a weird, wicked sound; but it did not keep us awake. Only, whenever I -woke, I heard it still going on; and it seemed quite in character with -the general look of the place and the sweet sickly opium smell as we -entered the small town. We went away early next morning through a -regular thick fog; and directly we escaped from the filth of the town, -we were in the prosperous-looking, healthy poppy-fields again. - - [Illustration: POPPIES AND TERRACED RICE-FIELDS. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -For five days we travelled through a perfect flower-show of poppies, -not the wild field-poppy of England, but like those we have in our -gardens, standing up tall and stately about five feet high. Most were -white, a delicate, fair, frail blossom; others were white, with -fringed petals edged with pink; others altogether pink, or mauve, or -scarlet, or scarlet-and-black, or, perhaps best of all, crimson, -which, when looked up at on a bank standing out against the -brilliantly blue sky, made our eyes quite ache with colour-pleasure. -But how sad to hear in a letter from a friend in the Kweichow -Province: "Ten years ago the price of rice per basin was 7 cash. Now, -owing to the poppy taking the place of what ought to produce food for -the people, the price is 20 cash for the same quantity of rice. And -the people are wretchedly poor and ill-clad, whilst their poor bodies -are wasting away from the constant use of the drug." One whole day we -wandered along a pleasant path beside a limpid stream, beautiful, -tall, bending bamboos making a refreshing breeze over our heads, with -their cool green feathery foliage. If all the world could be traversed -by paths like that, who would ever travel but on foot? But in the end -we arrived at beautiful Chungking in a boat, as is usual with this -river-encircled city. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -_LIFE IN A CHINESE CITY._ - - Arrangement of a Chinese House.--Crowd in Streets.--My - First Walk in Chungking City.--Presents.--Cats, Rats, and - Eggs.--Paying a Call.--Ladies Affectionate.--Shocked at - European Indecency.--Cost of Freight.--Distance by - Post.--Children's Pleasures.--Precautions during - Drought.--Guild Gardens.--Pretty Environs.--Opium - Flowers, and Smokers.--Babble of Schools.--Chinese - Girlchild. - - -Chungking has been so fully described in my husband's volume _Through -the Yangtse Gorges_, I will not here enter upon a description of it -further than to say it is situated, like Quebec, at the junction of -two rivers. It a little recalls Edinburgh; it is about the size of -Lyons; has walls all round it; and its gates are shut at sunset, all -but two, which remain open an hour or two longer, except when the -country is in commotion. It is built upon a rock; and as the summer -progresses all the rock warms up, till the heat is very great indeed. -The streets are mostly covered over, both as a protection against the -sun, and the rain, which is very frequent. There is thus no -possibility of fresh air getting into its streets, short of a gale -occurring; and there is only very rarely any wind, as is shown by the -large shade-trees on the tops of the hills, and the awnings to keep -the sun off the houses, which are supported on bamboos, and which in -this windless region are taken up even over the roofs of the houses. - - [Illustration: CHUNGKING, COMMERCIAL CAPITAL OF WESTERN CHINA.] - -Now all the missions have built European houses; but a little while -ago all foreigners lived in Chinese houses within the walls of the -city. To describe one: You enter off a dirty alley by a large gateway, -the only opening in the lofty fire-proof walls that surround the whole -property; for fire is the great danger of a Chinese city, and a whole -quarter of Chungking has been burnt down since we have lived there. -You pass into a sort of courtyard; from that you proceed by a long -passage to another gateway, thence into a courtyard ornamentally laid -out with pots and flowers. The house door opens from this; and -entering by it, you find yourself in the lofty entrance hall, used by -Europeans as a dining-room. Passing through an ornamental screen with -open doorways, over which hang portieres, you find yourself in a -sitting-room, of which one wall and two half-walls consist of paper -windows, with occasional panes of glass. On either side of these two -principal rooms are long narrow ones, only thirteen feet wide, which -for convenience their English occupants had divided into two, the end -wall being in both cases again paper windows with occasional glass. -Paper ceilings had been put in to prevent the dust falling through -from the tiled roof above; but the sun would shine through this as -well as the tiles quite brilliantly at times. None of the partition -doors had handles or latches, and the outer walls, as well as the -inside partitions, were all alike of thin planks of wood, not -overlapping, and which would shrink in dry weather so as to leave -quite large openings between them. It will thus be realised that, -whatever was the temperature outside the house, the same was the -temperature inside, with the additional disadvantage of draughts on -rainy, wintry days; and in winter it generally rains in Chungking. -Europeans always took care to secure wooden floors for themselves; but -these floors were not uncommonly rotting away under their feet. And -picturesque though the houses are, with their lofty roofs, their -solid wooden pillars, black rafters, and white plaster, their highly -decorated exteriors, little pictures in black and white under the -eaves, richly carved and heavily gilded ends to the beams, etc., it -became increasingly evident each year that Europeans could not hope -for health in them. Chinese in winter wear heavily wadded and -fur-lined clothes, in which it is impossible to take exercise, and -inside of which they loll about in a semi-comatose condition, much as -if in bed. - - [Illustration: DINNER PARTY IN THE GARDEN OF A MEMBER OF THE HANLIN - COLLEGE,--WHITE CLOTH SPREAD IN COMPLIMENT TO EUROPEANS. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -The streets, although wide for a Chinese city, are very narrow in -comparison with English streets, being only eight feet at the widest, -and extraordinarily crowded. Passing through them is a continual -pushing through a crowd of foot-passengers; of sedan-chairs, carried -by coolies, with sometimes one or two men running before to clear the -way, and if it be necessary beat back the crowd; of mules, donkeys, or -ponies, with loads; and of numbers of carrying-coolies, a bamboo -across their shoulders, and from either end a basket hanging by -strings. Everything that can be done in the streets is done in them: -pedlars go by with great quantities of goods for sale; men are mending -broken china with little rivets after a fashion in which the Chinese -are great experts; here is a barber shaving a man's head, there are -two women menders, on little stools very neatly dressed, pursuing -their avocation; here is a man working at an embroidery-frame, there a -cobbler mending shoes; here some pigs, there some chickens; here a -baby in a hen-coop, there a pussy-cat tied to a shop-counter; and in -the evenings street preachers, in the afternoons vast crowds pouring -out from theatres. At night, in going out to dinner we used always to -pass at least three street preachers. These men wear official caps, -and are as a rule, I believe, reading or expounding the Sacred Edicts. -There is always a little crowd listening, though often a very small -one. In the better streets every attention is paid to decency; in the -lesser streets none is apparent. At the street corners there are often -large tanks full of water, as a precaution against fire. These are -invariably grown over with weed. A vast army of coolies is every day -going down the steep flights of steps to the river to bring water, -which drips from the buckets as it is carried along. Another army is -carrying out the sewage of the city to be used as manure. A very soft -coal is used for fuel; and baskets of coal are constantly being -carried in, two dangling from a pole across a coolie's shoulders. The -coal-dust, and the smoke, and the drippings, and the bustling crowd, -all make the streets rather an unpleasant place to walk in. Yet, -although every one told me it was impossible for an English lady to -walk in them, I felt it was impossible for me to live in Chungking -unless I did; for in summer no one could walk out till sunset, and -then the gates are closed; so after showing myself about as much as I -could in a sedan-chair with the curtains up--unlike the other ladies, -who all kept theirs down in those days--I determined to attempt a -walk, with my sedan-chair, of course, following behind to show I had -some claim to respectability. - - [Illustration: MORNING TOILETTE.] - -In a few minutes two or three hundred men and boys were following me. -As long as they kept behind and did not press upon me, it did not so -much matter; but the boys have a knack of clattering past, and then -turning round to stare into one's face in the most insulting and -annoying manner. And I felt I could not go back home with all this -rabble following, as of course they would all try to press into our -house after me, and then there would probably be a row. So I turned -into the official residence of the principal magistrate of the city, -hoping that the guardians of his gate might stop both me and my -following, as I supposed it would be their duty to do, and then I -might somehow detach myself. Into the first courtyard every one has a -right to go; but as we proceeded farther, soldiers came up and -remonstrated with me. "Well, do your duty--shut us out," I said. "Do -shut the people out, and then I won't go any farther." But they did -not do their duty; and so, not seeing what else to do, I set up the -camera and photographed the crowd and the soldiers, not doing their -duty and turning them out. After that I got into my chair; and the -people, curiously enough, satisfied that that was what I had come out -for, dispersed, and I arrived at home unattended. But many a walk -since then have I taken through these same streets; and the people -have got so accustomed to the sight of me, that they now do not turn -round to look. - -One of the most fatiguing things about Chinese life is the presents. -Whatever you do, you ought to take or send a present. Every lady who -goes out to dinner takes a present to the hostess; and at a certain -period of the dinner all sorts of things are done up in a -heterogeneous mass for each guest to take home to her children, if she -has any; whilst the hostess pays all her friends' chair-coolies, and -the guest tips the hostess's servants, especially the cook, who has a -great title of honour in China. If ladies care to call, they generally -bring presents too, rolled up in a handsome, coloured handkerchief. -The most curious present I have received at a dinner party was a white -cat, that could hardly see out of its eyes. The general present seems -to be sponge-cakes or fruit. - - [Illustration: OUTSIDE GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCE IN CHUNGKING. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -Cats are very much prized in a Chinese city, because of the fierce -depredations of the rats; and in Chungking cats are always kept -prisoners, and only occasionally let loose at night. It is sad to see -the poor things tied up; and we have never been able to make up our -minds to keep our cats thus chained. The consequence is they are -always stolen, and have a miserable life of it, tied up, and probably -far less well fed than they would have been with us. Fowls and pigs -are both kept in Chinese cities, and the eggs get a most unpleasing -flavour from the vile nature of the places where the poor hens have to -lay them. - -When I pay a call on a lady, my chair has to be carried over the -thresholds of the various courtyards, and set down quite close to the -guest-room, where the lady of the house receives, so that I may at -once step out of the chair into the house. A woman-servant, almost -certainly a slave, comes to offer her shoulder as a help to my -tottering footsteps, and I am conducted into the guest-room, round the -walls of which there are little tables, large carved wooden chairs -with straight backs being placed one on either side of each table -against the wall. The ladies bow after the Chinese lady's fashion, -placing the right hand on the top of the left against the chest, and -moving the right hand slowly up and down; the servants are ordered to -bring tea; and then conversation commences. It is never very -interesting. The floors are as often as not made of hard mud; the -walls whitewashed, with long-shaped pictures, or _kakemonos_, hanging -upon them, often with epigrammatic sentences in the decorative -Chinese character. At one end of the room is the altarlike table, -above which is the ancestral tablet, and on it stand generally -candlesticks made of pewter, flower-vases, an incense-burner, and a -small vase for incense-sticks. Embroideries are not hung over this -table and on the backs of the chairs, unless it is the Chinese New -Year time or a dinner party. When the tea is brought, little sugared -cakes accompany it; and men say the etiquette is to go away directly -you have sipped the tea. But I have never known ladies observe this -etiquette. Indeed, the chief fault in Chinese visits is that they are -interminable. As no one exerts herself to talk more than she feels -inclined, there is, indeed, no reason why they should ever come to an -end. - - [Illustration: COUNTRY HOUSE NEAR KIUKIANG.] - -Chinese ladies appear very affectionate, and are very caressing. -Whether they really do like me or not, they almost always succeed in -making me think they do; and I think other European ladies would say -the same. But as to whether the holding one's hand and occasionally -stroking it means anything, I really do not know. They never have -shown me anything, unless they wanted to sell it, except their -children. At an artist's house pictures are brought out; but they are -all carefully rolled up and put away again. And at other houses -embroideries worked by various brides of the family have been shown -me; but this was in order to see if I would buy them. It must be -recollected that to the Chinese a foreign woman's tight-fitting dress -showing her figure is very indecent. It also seems to them very -shocking for a lady to go about unattended by a woman; and for a woman -to stand up firmly on her feet and walk on them like a man seems far -more indelicate than it does in England to wear so-called rationals. -Thus there are great difficulties to be got over at first. They are, -indeed, greatly concerned about our indecency; for they have heard no -European woman wears trousers, and their first great anxiety is to -examine under our petticoats, and see whether this is really true. -Trousers are the one essential garment to a woman in China. Sometimes -they ask, "Do you really eat with your waist girt in like that? How do -you manage then?" But this they have only once had the opportunity of -asking of me; for knowing it to be considered objectionable, I avoid -wearing anything that shows the figure, in China, as far as I can. -After all, tea-jackets admit of many pretty varieties. A European -man's dress is, of course, a still greater scandal; and to Chinese, -the only explanation of it is that the poor fellow had not enough -cloth to cover himself properly. After spending any length of time -amongst Orientals, I think every one must feel that our European dress -is lacking in grace and elegance. - -It takes longer to get a letter the fifteen hundred miles from -Shanghai to Chungking than it does to get a letter the thirteen -thousand from England to Shanghai. Freight of goods is a great deal -higher; indeed, a ton of goods costs L6 from Shanghai to Chungking, -and L36 to get it to Talifu in Yunnan. Once I wrote to England on -Christmas Eve for stockings, saying I was in such need of them I -should like to have them sent out by post; and yet I never received -those stockings till the following spring year. In an ordinary way, -with good luck, you ought to get an answer to a letter from England in -four months; therefore, if you keep up a very animated correspondence -with an English friend, always answering every letter directly you -receive it, you write three letters a year. And curiously enough, -whatever you may do at Chungking, the sense of its being so very far -away deters other people from writing to you. Charles Lamb has written -a beautiful Elia essay upon this. He explains it by the suggestion -that the writer, thinking of the great distance the letter has to -travel, fancies it growing tired. Anyhow, the result tends to heighten -the sense of isolation, which is perhaps nowhere so much felt as among -Chinese. Whether it is their expressionlessness, their want of -sympathy, or the whole character of their civilisation being so -different from ours, very few Europeans can spend more than a year -amongst Chinese without suffering from it. Some go mad with it, and -all are accused of growing odd. There is no doubt that most of us -become somewhat self-centred and unduly impressed with the importance -of our own affairs; but the depression that often overtakes people, -women especially, is sadder to witness. In sending out missionaries, -this is a point that ought to be specially considered: Have they -enough strength of character to continue the work of an apostle -without any outside spiritual or inspiriting influences whatsoever? It -is not long since a man I had thought so ardent said to me: "I am -going away; and I never mean to return. I cannot go on giving out, and -having no spiritual help myself." Yet, just because they are trying to -live for others, missionaries stand this trial best. I have known -other men who from the moment they arrived in a Chinese town found no -pleasure but in counting the days. "One more spent here!--one less to -spend!" and this without even the least idea of when they would go -away. - -To Chinese children I always think life in a Chinese city must be very -pleasant. There are the great festivals: the Chinese New Year, with -all its countless crackers; the Dragon Boat Festival, when each -district of the city mans a boat shaped like a dragon, and all paddle -like mad, naked to the waist, and with a strange shout that must be -very dear to children. Then there are the visits to the graves, when -all the family goes out into the country together; and the long -processions, when the officials are carried through the city in open -chairs and long fur gowns, hundreds of umbrellas of gay colours going -before them, and their retainers also riding in pairs and in fur coats -of inferior quality. All the beggar-children of the city have a high -day then. With fancy dress of various sorts over their rags, they walk -or ride or are carried round the city, sometimes as living pictures, -sometimes representing conquered aborigines, sometimes even Englishmen -in short square coats and tight trousers. In the spring-time a -procession goes out to meet the spring, and sacrifice an ox in the -river-bed in its honour; and, strangely enough, the day in February on -which this is done is always the most genial springlike day, though -after it is over winter sets in with renewed severity. At other times -it is the image of the fire-god that is carried round, to show him the -buildings he is honoured to protect. Then, again, one evening there -will be about four miles of little lanterns sent floating down the -great river in honour of the dead. Or there will be the baking of the -glutinous rice-cakes, accompanied by many curious ceremonials. And in -it all the child takes his part; and his elders are very kind to him, -and never bother him with cleaning up or putting on clothes to go out. -He strips to the waist or beyond it in summer; then, as the winter -comes on, puts on ever another and another garment, till he becomes as -broad as he is long. At night-time, perhaps, he takes off some -clothes; but they are all the same shape, all quite loose and easy. -Then he never need be afraid of breaking anything or spoiling -anything; for most things are put away, and Chinese things are not -like European: the shining black polished table, for instance, can -have a hot kettle stood upon it, and be none the worse. No one ever -tells the Chinese child to hold himself up, or not to talk so loud, or -to keep still; so he shouts and wriggles to his heart's content. And -European children grow like him in this respect; and when readmitted -to European houses, their feet are for ever rubbing about, and their -hands fidgeting with something, which spoils, as European things will -spoil. - -Although there is so much rain in the west of China, and when it does -not rain the air is generally damp to saturation-point, yet sometimes -there is a long continuance of summer heat. One year, although -according to the Chinese calendar the ending of the great heat had -come--and, indeed, also the beginning of autumn, when, if it does not -rain, according to the saying, no rain will fall for forty days--yet -no rain fell, no thunder cooled the air. The ground was growing harder -and harder, and the hills acquiring the yellow baked look so familiar -down-river, but so unusual in Chungking. - -The south gate was not closed. The idea is, that heat comes in from -the south; therefore, when it is too hot, the south gate is always -closed. There was, however, too much traffic through it. But no meat, -fowls, nor eggs were allowed to go in thereat, and the various cooks -and coolies sent in on foraging excursions from the hills returned -disconsolate. If any one sold anything, it was with the air of a -thief, one man reported. Europeans were beginning to consider what -they would have to eat, if this prohibition were strictly enforced. -Already for two days the killing of pigs had been forbidden. Outside -most houses in the city stood a tub of water ready to be dashed over -the too dry woodwork. Already report had been busy destroying the -thriving and populous city of Luchou higher up the river by fire; but -on a telegram being sent to inquire, the report was found to have -arisen in people's own heated imaginations. The danger of fire is ever -with us in China, with our wooden houses all dry as tinder and our -closely packed opium-smoking population. As to the amount of dirt then -concentrated in Chungking, it was shocking to think of; for the place -had not been washed out for six weeks. - -There is an old saying that drought never wrought England harm. One -has the same feeling in Szechuan; and when day by day the beautiful -red-golden glow spreads along the range beyond range of mountain-tops, -and the sun arises upon a cloudy sky, we cannot help thinking these -clouds must gradually get lower, and rain come to cool the air and -refresh the country. At night, as we see the lightning flash on the -clouds south and west of us, and feel the cool breath of distant rain, -we again think it must be on its way. Only during the long hot day -there seems no prospect of it; the clouds reveal themselves as summer -clouds; the sun shines; and we think how hot it must be in that -southern region from which the hot wind comes to us, and wonder -whether it is in Tongking, or where, there has been a tremendous -rainfall. Has there been somewhere some great convulsion of nature? or -is it again all a case of sun-spots? When it is so very hot, what can -one think of but the weather? - -I never saw the thermometer mark higher than 120 deg. Fahr. in our -sitting-room; but then, when it got to that, I always went down into -the cellar, and did not come out again till evening. The Chinese have -cool, dark places dug out of the rock into which they retire to -_schwa_, i.e. enjoy themselves. All the guild gardens round Chungking -are provided with such places. The worst of them is, there is no air -in them. But, then, every one has a fan. Even the man heavily laden -like a beast of burden has his fan stuck into his waist-belt; the -soldier has his fan. It is not a luxury, but a necessary of life, in a -Chinese city in summer. - - [Illustration: A CHINESE COUNTRY CLUB, OR GUILD GARDEN. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -In the spring-time what can be prettier than the environs of a Chinese -city? The rape-fields are all fragrant with their bright-yellow -flowers; whilst the still sweeter scent of the bean blossom makes it a -real pleasure to walk along the narrow paths by the river-side. Every -one is walking about with a bunch of roseate peach blossom, and the -tangles of trees in the gardens are all flowering and all scented. -Then a little later the poppy-fields become gorgeous almost up to the -city gates, only shortly afterwards to give out a poisonous exhalation -most irritating to the mucous membrane. After that everything trembles -and glitters with the scorching sunshine, all the leaves droop, -gigantic sun-flowers are running to seed, and the large -pink-and-white lily flowers of the lotus float upon the waterside. -Every woman has a white gardenia flower stuck on the left side of her -glossy black hair. And all outside the city is inspiriting, when the -sun shines and the blue rivers laugh back at the blue sky. But inside -the city it is still all dark and dank, and all is pervaded by a -sickly sweet odour, the emanation from the opium-pipe; while the lean -ribs and yellow faces of the opium-smokers controvert without the need -of words all the scientific assertions about the non-volatilisation of -the opium poison. With opium-dens all over the place, with exquisite -opium-pipes and all the coquetries of opium-trays and other -accessories in the houses of the rich, how is it that we all give -warning to a servant when we hear that he has taken to opium? How is -it that the treasure on a journey is never confided to a coolie who -smokes? How is it that every man shrinks with horror from the idea of -an opium-smoking wife? And this in a land in which all important -business dealings are concluded over the opium-couch, where, indeed, -alone, with heads close together, is privacy to be obtained, and in -which all important military posts are confided to opium-smokers, not -to speak of most of the important civil offices! - - [Illustration: A HOT DAY. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -There is, it is true, an immense difference between the man who smokes -and him who has the _yin_, or craving, that must at all costs be -satisfied; just as there is at home between the moderate drinker and -the dipsomaniac. But in China people refuse to employ the moderate -smoker to sweep out their rooms for them. Yet they will confide an -army to him! These, however, are secrets of State, not to be got to -the bottom of simply by life in a Chinese city. - -There is one other matter, however, I must touch upon--the -all-pervading babble, row I had almost called it, of the boys in the -schools, here, there, and everywhere, so that it is almost impossible -to get out of earshot of them, all at the top of their boy voices -shouting out the classics, as they painstakingly day after day and -year after year commit them to memory. With the sickly sweet smell of -the opium, and to the sound of the vast ear-drum-splitting army of -China's schoolboys, all must for ever associate life in a Chinese -city. And through it all, and up and down its flights of stairs, -painfully hobbles the Chinese girl-child, the most ungraceful figure -of all girl-children,--poor little mutilated one, with her long stick -and dreadful dark lines under her sad young eyes! Whatever the men may -be, certainly the little girls of China are brought up as Spartans -even never were, and those who survive show it by their powers of -endurance. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -_HINDRANCES AND ANNOYANCES._ - - Sulphur Bath.--Rowdy Behaviour.--Fight in - Boat.--Imprisonment for letting to - Foreigners.--Book-keeper in Foreign Employ - beaten.--Customs Regulations.--Kimberley Legacy.--Happy - Consul.--Unjust _Likin_ Charges.--Foreigners - massacred.--Official Responsibility. - - -As an illustration of the position of Europeans up-country, I will -relate very briefly the trivial events of two days. First I must say -that nearly every woman in the place was ill--some very seriously so; -and as I thought I was not well either, on hearing that my husband and -another gentleman, who had gone for a cure to the sulphur baths about -thirteen miles from Chungking, found the people quiet, I decided I -would join my husband when his friend left him. The villagers, not the -priests, objected to my sleeping in the airy temple, where the -gentlemen had been allowed to put up their beds, amongst all the -gilded images; so my bed and I and a servant moved down to the inn, -where some twelve or fifteen persons assisted at the remaking of the -bed in an already sufficiently stuffy room--although, happily, most of -the dirty paper was gone from its one window--and being accustomed to -the ways up-country, I slept just as well in that filthy inn room as -I could have anywhere. - -Next day, with a chair and a variety of coolies and boys, we took -three photographs, and spent the morning under the shade of a -magnificent banyan-tree in a lonely valley, stuck over with palms as a -pincushion is with pins. The baths were so very hot, my husband -thought he would refresh himself by a swim in the limpid stream that -runs with many a beautiful cascade down the extremely picturesque -limestone valley of the Wentang. Meanwhile, though it was extremely -hot, so that it was an effort to move, especially after the hot -sulphur baths, yet, being like Frederick "a slave to duty," I took a -chair and five coolies to go a hundred yards across the bridge and -photograph that and the hot springs from the opposite side. - -Unfortunately, as is so often the case, about twenty little laughing -boys ran whooping along with me, joined as they went by some older -people. This is so usual, I was only bored by it as I got out, and, -studying the scene first from one point and then from another, was -telling the coolies to bring the camera to a grassy plot from which -the best view of the arches of the bridge and the deep pool and the -hills behind could be obtained, when some agriculturists rushed -forward, one lusty fellow violently threatening me with a stone, and -at once snatching my alpenstock out of my hand. I trust I did not move -an eyelid, certainly I did not budge a step, as I said: "Is this your -land? If so, you are master here; and if you do not wish me to -photograph, I certainly will not. But I am doing no harm." The head -coolie did his best to explain what other photographs I had taken, and -that photographing did not spoil crops. But the agriculturist first -listened, and then resumed his violence. Probably he was excited by -the prospect of all my following capering across an infinitesimal bit -of cultivation that he had squeezed out of the rocks below. He told -them not to do so. The coolie told them not to. They did not. But he -continued to be violent. The best plan seemed to be to get into the -chair and secure the camera; and as all the crowd began to get -uproarious, I thought I would be carried quickly away instead of back -through them. A very steep hill must, I thought, choke my following -off. But it did not. And I had either to return with them to the town, -in which case there was sure to be a row, or go to a distance of about -two hours up one side of the stream by a very pretty path, and back -again the other side by one of the most lonely of wild mountain roads. -I had done it all before, having enjoyed all these scenes two years -ago, when there was no thought of violence. However, my following kept -with me, and grew. So I tried my old plan, the only one I have ever -found effectual with a Chinese crowd, and, getting out of the chair, -standing quite still, looked solemnly and sadly at first one, then -another, till he wished the ground would cover him and retired. I -fancy glasses heighten the effect. Anyway, they all sat down, each one -hiding behind the other as far as he could. - - [Illustration: MARKET STREET OUTSIDE CITY.] - -We went on, and thus came near a very large Chinese house and garden, -with a queer tale of a dead magician, where we had been hospitably -entertained two years before. The people knew he had been a magician, -because he used to disappear every day at a certain hour; and some one -peeped through a crack one day, and saw him actually in a cold-water -bath like a fish. I thought it would be a pleasure to visit the garden -once more; but again a man shouting and gesticulating, this time armed -with one of those heavy hoes they use in digging, which he brandished -across my face! It seemed his master, who had entertained us, was -dead, and this rustic would have no photography. It was a long way -back by the other side of the river, so that it was quite dark when we -got back to the little town. This perhaps was just as well. - -Next day by daybreak we set off for Chungking. After five pretty but -surely very long miles, we came to a market town; and, alas! it was -market day. The coolies were desired to carry me to the best inn, and -take me in quickly. Of course, it was necessary for them to get some -refreshment, or we should not have stopped. I walked to the farthest -end of the huge room set out with tables; but the agitated innkeeper -asked me to come into a bedroom beyond, there were so many people. He -banged to the doors, and then there began a hurly-burly, everybody -wanting to get a sight of me. He begged me to go into a bedroom beyond -down a steep ladder, and again bolted the doors. This room was even -nastier than the first,--four beds with straw, no chair, and a frowsy -table. It was so good of him to tell me it was clean, for I should -never have imagined it otherwise. A young gentleman occupying an -adjacent bedroom began to look furious at the noise and the barring of -the doors. With a haughty air he unbarred them. I did not wonder he -did not like it. I did not either. Who wants to be barricaded in a -chairless, windowless bedroom on a hot day? - -It was a great relief when my husband quickly followed me, passing in -through the files of people gazing at closed doors. But no one could -serve us with tea, and the people got all round the room trying to -peep in through the cracks, as also to pull down one partition. -Meantime, there was what Germans call "scandal." At last our coolies -had fed, the chairs were ready, and, handsomely escorted, we passed -out through people in rows, to find the street outside and all the -houses one living mass of human heads all staring. It was easy enough -to get into the chair, but the coolies had to fight the crowd back to -get the poles on their shoulders; and so, amongst a chorus of the -usual soft Szechuan imprecations, we departed. I have composed a song -with it for the chorus; it sounds pretty, but I am told it is -untranslatable. One moves everywhere to the music of it. - - [Illustration: THE OLDEST OFFICIAL IN THE PROVINCE OF SZECHUAN. - _Lent by Mr. Willett._] - -Probably our coolies' temper was not improved by the hustling. For, a -mile and a half farther on, when we had to take a boat, and after the -usual amount of wearisome bargaining had secured one, they greeted -a boatman, who kept us waiting some time till he appeared with the -long pole iron-spiked used for poling the boat off rocks, with the -usual Szechuan oath, and a tag, that seemed to me harmless enough. But -the boatman, a tall, fine-looking man, said he could not stand that, -and immediately rolled one of our coolies in the mud. In a minute all -our gang together were on him. Vainly did my husband call them off. At -last, however, somehow they got into the boat again and pushed off; -and the great thing seemed to be to get away, for there was the -infuriated giant with his pole and his friends wildly springing from -rock to rock to get at us. But whether because we were caught in a -whirlpool, or whether the owner of the boat steered it back, or what, -there we were presently drifting round to the now assembled village, -all shrieking, and many armed with carrying-poles. The only thing to -do seemed to be to sit quite still; but I felt the more frightened, -because it was impossible even to speak to my husband for the uproar. -And, indeed, for a time mine was the silence of despair; for a tap -from one of those carrying-poles, and all would be over for me, whilst -the river was running so strongly, to get into that would be certain -drowning. The fight, however, was, after all, not so bad; for a -village elder appeared, and again and again collared the infuriated -giant and forced him off the boat. Meanwhile, every one shouted, and -the expressions of the crowd were something horrible to see, -especially those of some women, whose faces seemed to have passed -away and left nothing behind but concentrated rage. One of these -viragoes actually came on to our boat, and was proceeding herself to -capture the one of our coolies who may be said to have begun it all by -his inconsiderate language. This first gave me courage. If she, a -thin, weak-looking woman, could venture into the midst of these angry -men, she must know they were not really so violent as they appeared, I -argued. But she also was forced away by the elder. Then two spitfires -of boys became prominent, shrieking menaces and brandishing their -arms. - -At last there was a sufficient lull for my husband and the village -elder to exchange names, smiles, and courtesies, which they did with -as much ceremony and as pleasant expressions as if they had just met -in a London drawing-room. After a second row, the elder asked us to -get into another boat. This we did. It was much smaller; but a man -with cucumbers, who had been bent on getting a passage for nothing in -our boat, and had been ejected, managed now to establish himself in it -along with us. He was the only one who seemed to have gained anything -out of the whole transaction. We had grown too weak to eject him -again. We had been delayed a whole hour in a burning sun; and thanks -to this, and the delay in the market town, reached Chungking about -noon, both suffering from slight sunstroke. - -Each time the mail came in one winter we expected to hear that some -Shanghai Volunteers had gone on a little expedition, and somehow -managed to knock up against the prison in which the poor people were -shut up whose sole crime was having sold an estate near Kiukiang to an -Englishman. In the old days the young men of Kiukiang once had a -picnic, to which they invited blue-jackets from a man-of-war in port; -and that picnic gained for the place undisputed possession of the -bungalow where so many Europeans have since then regained health. -There was no fighting, no threat of fighting, no ultimatum; they just -went and did what had to be done themselves, their friends the -blue-jackets helping them. But by the last accounts Kiukiang was -occupied with private theatricals, whilst the men who sold their land -to Englishmen--nothing more, only had dealings with Englishmen--were -still in prison. Whilst that is so, whilst the man who allowed -Christian services to be held in his house near Wenchow is persecuted, -whilst our beautiful hills are all studded round with upright slabs of -stone forbidding Europeans to build upon any of the sites sold to -them, how can we expect as Englishmen to be respected in China? One -American and one Englishman had even begun building upon these hills. -There were the projected sites of the houses, with the hewn stones -lying round and the foundations laid. Round about the upright slabs -have been stood up, with the legends upon them forbidding any further -building within these charmed enclosures. - -No people like better to insult other people than the Chinese, in -spite of all the lovely adjectives Mr. Ralph showers upon them in the -pages of _Harper_,--"polite, patient, extremely shrewd, well dressed, -graceful, polished, generous, amiable"; while Dr. Morrison, the -"Australian in China," talks of "their uniform kindness and -hospitality and most charming courtesy," and says again, "Their -friendliness is charming, their courtesy and kindliness are a constant -delight to the traveller." In illustration of all this there were -these men in prison at Kiukiang and Wenchow. Do people at home realise -what was the crime of which they had been accused? Short of the Home -Government, it often seems as if the different European communities in -China could make themselves more respected, and protect those who -dealt fairly by them, with their own right hands. No Government could -urge them to do so. But, as even Sir John Walsham used to say, "There -are so _many_ things Englishmen might do even in Peking--if they only -would not come and ask me if they might." - -In 1897 a Chinese in foreign employ was had up about an alleged debt -of 500 taels. By a bribe his accuser had the matter brought before a -magistrate who was well known as anti-foreign, and who no sooner heard -he was in foreign employ than he ordered him to be beaten without -going into the case. This was contrary even to Chinese law. The -unfortunate bookkeeper was unable to do his work again for months; he -was disfigured past all recognition, and, indeed, too horrible to look -upon. His offence was "foreign employ." Can we wonder that the Chinese -are not very fond of us? The marvel to me is that they dare -associate with us at all. - - [Illustration: GIVING EVIDENCE IN A COURT OF JUSTICE. - _Lent by Mr. Willett._] - -Other nations seem to protect their nationals and those dependent upon -them far more vigorously than the British Government does. When -Chungking was first made a Treaty Port, the then British Consul, a -most able and energetic man, was not even advised from Peking that the -port was open. Consequently, he was absent from all public functions -instituted at the formal opening, took no part in the drawing up of -the regulations under which British trade was to be established there, -had no voice in the rules issued by the Chinese Customs. Subsequent -incumbents of the Consulate have not unnaturally employed any liberty -of action given them less in promoting British interests than in -keeping things quiet for the Chinese, and so have refrained from -endorsing the requests made from time to time to have the obstructive -Customs rules modified or the position of the port in any way -improved. The rules, issued in Chinese, were so impracticable that -successive Commissioners of Customs suspended their action from the -day they were published; but this suspension, it afterwards appeared, -was a privilege revocable at the arbitrary will of the Commissioner -for the time being, and an American Commissioner revoked them to the -detriment of the only _bona-fide_ European shipping firm as yet -established there, thus doing what lay in his power to take away -business from European firms and throw it into the hands of the -Chinese firms, which continued as before to enjoy a suspension of the -Customs rules. - -Business at Chungking is all carried on by so-called chartered junks. -They are not really chartered; but before they can clear the Customs, -they must fly a foreign house-flag and number. The permission to fly -this must be obtained by a foreigner through his Consul. The British -Consul, up till then the only one there, resided at the opposite end -of the city to the business quarter, where the Customs Office is -situated. This entailed some hours delay. And when it is considered -that one junk carries as a rule from fifty to a hundred packages only, -it "passeth the wit of man" to conceive why this red-tapeism was -allowed to continue. The China Merchants' Steamship Co., the largest -shippers in Chungking, were allowed to obtain their "passes" from the -Custom-house direct--a great convenience, as the Custom-house is in -one part of this city, the Customs' Bank in another, and the -examining-pontoon across the river at the head of a rapid. The junks -mostly lie in a reach below; and it is no exaggeration to say that it -takes a day for a man to get round to the three places. Yet the -Customs rules do not allow the duty to be paid until the cargo has -passed examination at the pontoon; nor is the cargo-boat allowed to -leave it until a duty-paid certificate is brought back and exhibited -at the pontoon. This necessitates the cargo being left in an open boat -all night at the head of a rapid, and much loss has resulted from the -delay that occurs there in any case. Consequently, this rule had -never been enforced, and the cargo-boat had been allowed to leave and -proceed to load the chartered junk in safety immediately after -examination. But an application to his Consul by the Britisher was met -by a "despatch" in the stereotyped language, "I cannot interfere with -the Customs regulations." - -The telegraph office, formerly situated in the business quarter of the -city, was then moved into the distant country enclosure which forms a -part of all Chinese cities, because the manager owned a piece of land -there, and thus rented it to advantage. Naturally here the foreign -merchant could not expect a remonstrance to be of any avail, as the -telegraph is a purely native concern. - -It would take too much space to enumerate the further difficulties to -which a foreigner is at present exposed. To enforce a claim for debt -he must apply to his Consul. A Chinaman unwilling to pay is never at a -loss to invent an excuse,--the papers are not in order, just as in -cases of sale the land was not really his. If the Consul is content to -become merely the translator of these Chinese excuses, which by -transmission he appears, indeed, even to accept, and to a certain -extent to endorse, we, as the farmer said, "seem to get no forrader." -How far the actions of Consuls in these matters, and with regard to -obstructions about buying land and renting houses, come from -individual action or from instructions from Peking, of course it is -not for a mere woman to decide. We used in China at one time to put -down everything that went wrong to Lord Kimberley. Now even sometimes -we fancy it is a Kimberley legacy. But very likely we are quite wrong. - -It will be obvious from the above how much depends upon the -disposition of the Consuls. Naturally they vary greatly. The theory -used to be that they were too apt to look upon themselves as -protectors of the Chinese against the encroachments of their -nationals. Having suffered severely under the most flagrant specimen -of this class, I am happy to add that I think it is dying out. Most of -the Consuls in China now seem only too able for the importance of -their posts. At the same time, one never knows when a crisis may -arise; and then the men, who as a rule have been foremost in all the -social life each of his own port, are admirably seconded by willing -communities, that rejoice to follow the lead of those who are -certainly generally in all things the opposite to the delightful -caricature sketch well known to have been written by a leading member -of the China Consular body: - -"THE HAPPY CONSUL. - - Who is the happy Consul? Who is he - That each aspiring sub. should wish to be? - He who, behind inhospitable door, - Plays, like Trafalgar founts, from ten to four; - Takes Rip Van Winkle as a type to follow, - And makes his Consulate a Sleepy Hollow, - Content to snooze his lazy hours away, - Sure of a pension and his monthly pay - So he can keep on good terms with his Chief, - Lets meaner interests come to utter grief; - Treats with smooth oil august Legation nerves, - With vinegar the public whom he serves. - Each case through native spectacles he sees, - Less Consul than Protector of Chinese; - Trembles at glances from Viceregal eyes, - And cowers before contemptuous Taotais; - But should mere nationals his aid implore, - Is quite the haughty personage once more. - Lives on the bounty of the public's purse, - Yet greets that public with a smothered curse; - With scowls that speak of anything but pleasure, - Daunts ill-advised invaders of his leisure; - From outward signs of courtesy exempt, - Treats their just protests with a fine contempt; - Does little, strives to make that little less, - And leads a life of cultured uselessness. - Such is the happy Consul. Such is he - That each aspiring sub. should wish to be." - -Even, however, where the Consul is all he should be--and probably no -body of men ever was more respected and trusted than the British -Consular Body in China--yet British subjects' interests must suffer, -if the British Minister will not support them. Nor can the British -Minister do much, if the permanent officials at the Foreign Office -wish him to do little. - -When two men were murdered at Wusueeh, the village ought, at least, to -have been razed to the ground. When the Kucheng massacre occurred, the -Viceroy and the Chinese officials, who _laughed_ about it all as they -talked with the British officials sent to settle about compensation -with them, ought one and all to have been degraded at the very least. -No one likes bloodshed. The Chinese only get on as they do without an -army or a police force by means of very exemplary punishments; they -understand slight punishment as a confession of weakness, or an -acknowledgment that the offender was not so much to blame after all. -Nor does any one who lives in China believe in Chinese peasantry ever -daring to murder foreigners except at the instigation of men in high -place. People in England often fancy missionaries are very much -disliked in China. As a rule, they seem greatly liked and respected -each in his own neighbourhood, although in the abstract officials and -old-fashioned literati may object to them. - -Whatever may be said about all these matters, an English subject -cannot but be pained on finding how little British Consuls are able to -effect in redressing serious grievances, such as inability to buy or -rent land in the surrounding country, whereby we were for many years -forcibly compelled to live in a Chinese house in a filthy street -inside the walls of an overcrowded Chinese city. Let a Frenchman or a -Russian be the aggrieved party, and instantly his Consul is on the -war-path, and the Chinese have to give way at once. Englishmen have -gone on paying _likin_ illegally, until a Frenchman, backed by his -Consul, successfully protested. British steamers are illegally -arrested and detained by the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs, and no -redress is obtainable; when a French steamer is only boycotted by -Chinese shippers, an indemnity is immediately claimed, and at once -paid. - -It is little things like these, for ever being repeated, that lead to -Englishmen in the west of China often saying they must take out -naturalisation papers as Frenchmen or Italians in order to get on. -Possibly the bitterness thereby engendered will do the British -Government no harm; but it paralyses commercial enterprise. And -Manchester will suffer from it, when it is too late to alter anything, -unless a more consistent and dignified policy be pursued in the Far -East. People have not been proud of England out in China lately. It -may be stupid of us all; but as a rule it takes a good deal to make -Englishmen ashamed of their country. And that point has been -unfortunately reached some time ago. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -_CURRENT COIN IN CHINA._ - - Taels.--Dollars.--Exchange.--Silver Shoes.--Foreign Mints. - - -She was not long out from England, and a _comprador_ order was as yet -an unnatural phenomenon to her. She supposed it was something like a -cheque upon a bank, or a circular note, with which Continental travel -had made her intimately acquainted. "What is the value of a dollar in -English money?" she had asked before starting on her tour from -Shanghai. "Oh yes, I understand it depends upon the exchange. I used -always to keep myself in gloves on what one gained in Italy. Now it is -horrid; one gains nothing. I don't quite know why it is. But how much -_about_ is the dollar worth, when exchange is--is--nothing -particular?" Then she had such long speeches made to her, and heard so -much conflicting information, she felt deafened, but ultimately -arrived at the conclusion that there were about--yes! _about_ six -dollars in an English pound, and there ought not to be so many. Now, -somewhat to her consternation, she discovered that her _comprador_ -orders had taels printed upon them; so she made out her order in -taels, secretly wondering what they were. She had never seen them. - -"Do you think I got the right exchange?" she asked of her Boy; then, -trying to suit herself to his needs, and speak English "as it is -spoke," "He pay my right money?" - -"My no savey what thing one taelee catchee Hankow side," said the Boy, -with flippancy but decision. He came from farther inside the province. - -She felt abashed, and supposed she must just take her money, hoping it -was right. Next time she would be wiser. Arrived at Ichang, she -scratched out taels, and was about to write in dollars. - -"Dollars! Dollars aren't known at Ichang," said the Captain. - -"What had I better do?" she asked of the oldest resident. Again she -was overwhelmed with words. But she gathered she ought to ask for -taels. - -"Taels don't exist," said the Captain. "I never saw a tael, did you? -He'll bring you your money in lumps of silver, if you don't take -care." - -"Yes," said the old resident, "you had better not get lumps of -silver." - -"They vary in value, according to the quality of the silver," -persisted the Captain. "You won't know what to do with them. You can't -break them up. You will have to weigh them. And what can you pay for -in lumps of silver? Nobody will take them for anything you want to -buy." - -They actually both talked to her as if _she_ wished for solid, -uncoined lumps of silver. She felt confounded! But, determined to -preserve her calm, she said, "I had better write, and say I want so -many strings of cash, then, had I? Ten thousand cash? Twenty thousand -cash? I can't carry them, you know; and I don't know where I can keep -them. But I must have at least so much money in hand, if it is only to -pay for my washing." - -"Pay for your washing!" they both burst out, as if that were a most -superfluous proceeding. - -"I wouldn't write for cash, I think," began a third adviser. "I would -write down how many taels you require, and say you'd take it in cash." - -"Then I shall never know if I get the right amount." - -"A--h!" they all said, waving their hands, as if no one ever did know -if he got the right amount in China. - -"It varies. It varies from day to day," said the oldest resident. - -Needless to relate, she never saw those cash, never heard how many she -had received, nor where they were stowed away. The Boy said he had -them, it was all right. He said also that at Ichang it was very -shocking how few cash they gave for the tael. - -She was determined she would learn Chinese, of course! Was she not -just out from home? And being just out from home, and anxious to be -polite to every one, it was a trouble to her mind that she did not -know how to greet her teacher when he came. She stood up, and rubbed -her hands together, which, she understood was the Chinese for a -curtsey; but it seemed feeble without a word, so she said, "Koom Shee! -Koom Shee!" as she had heard the country people say. - -"Oh! you should not say _Koom Shee! Koom Shee!_ Not to a teacher, who -comes every day," said a Sinologue. - -"He says it is quite right," said she. "I am sure I understand that -much. But he said I could also say _Tsao_!" - -"Oh no--no! Not _Tsao_," said the Sinologue; but he never made any -suggestion as to what she should say. - -"I could not think what I ought to say when he went away," she -continued. "But he says _Man man tso_." - -"_Oh no!_ that is a _great deal_ too much to a teacher who comes every -day." - - [Illustration: CHINESE MODE OF SALUTATION.] - -"Well, that is what he says," she repeated rather wearily, after -having waited a little to see if he would suggest any polite speech -for her. "I do want to say something polite." - -"It is very difficult to be polite in Chinese," said the Sinologue -solemnly. That seemed final. But she asked another Sinologue. "No, I -should not say _Man man tso_. Not _Man man tso_," said he dreamily. -"Not to a teacher--who comes every day." - -"But what do you say?" asked she in desperation. - -"Well, it is very polite to say _Shao pei_--I don't go to the door -with you, you know; I only go a few steps with you. That is the polite -thing to say after a call from a mandarin." - -"But surely it would be polite to go to the door?" - -"Oh yes--in China it would." - -"Well, I think anywhere it would be _polite_." - -"Yes, but not--not from a lady. It would not be expected." - -"A--h! yes! then I can say _Shao pei_." However, she did not feel -quite satisfied, and she watched her opportunity. - -Next time she heard a Sinologue converse with a Chinaman, she listened -to hear what he would say in parting. Alas! it was not _Man man tso_, -it was not _Shao pei_. - -"What was that you said to him in taking leave?" - -"Oh--I didn't say anything,"--with the instinctive horror of being -detected in possibly a false tone. - -"Yes--yes, you said something as you turned away and took leave. And I -do so want to know what it was, that I may know what to say." - -"Oh, I said----" mumbling very much, so that it was impossible to hear -what he said. "I don't think it was the thing to say to a man of his -station and quality. I think I should have said---- Let me see--I -really don't know what was the right thing for me to say." - -And so now she is giving it up--giving up being polite in Chinese, -giving up ever ascertaining the value of money or the price of -anything. For how can things have fixed prices where money has none? -There is only one comfort to her soul: if any one looks offended, or -if a too sensitive conscience makes her fear she has given cause of -offence, she promptly says _Tetsui_--"I am to blame, I apologise." No -one has yet made distinctly evident that he does not understand her, -nor has any Sinologue yet told her she is wrong. _Tetsui_ is therefore -the one golden word for her. And while she is in China she foresees -she must live in one constant state of being to blame. - -In this manner I at the time recorded my first impression of the -coinage and language of China. But the matter of payment is even more -complicated than I then fancied. The only coinage of China is copper -cash, of which about forty go to a penny. They are round, with a hole -in the middle, and generally about a thousand are strung on two -strings and tied together; and when carried, hanging over the -shoulder, they look like so many snakes. But I say about a thousand -advisedly; for there are generally a number of small and comparatively -worthless cash in every string, the average amount of these varying -in different parts. The lumps of silver with which my friends -threatened me are made up into what are called "shoes," but what look -like very large coarse thimbles. These are of various degrees of -purity, and their purity has to be tested before they are weighed or -broken up. In Chungking there were three different degrees of purity -in different parts of the city; therefore it made quite a considerable -difference whether you agreed to pay a sum of money in the upper, -lower, or middle town. And the result of so much difficulty about -payment is that every one is in debt to every one else, keeping a sort -of running account going. - -Of late years foreign mints have been started in several places; and -lest this chapter should seem altogether too frivolous, I here subjoin -the essay that gained the prize, when, at the Polytechnic Institution -in 1890, the Governor of Ningpo started an essay competition, giving -as his theme: - -"The south-eastern provinces now have much foreign money in -circulation, and the natives consider it a great convenience to trade. -Should China set about coining gold and silver money? Would it -circulate freely? Would it be advantageous to the country, or the -reverse?" - -The Governor himself looked over the essays, and awarded the palm to -the composition of Mr. Yang, a B.A. of Kwangtung Province, of which -the following is a translation: - -"Those who treat at the present time of the causes which are draining -away the wealth of China to foreign countries are, as a rule, in the -habit of confining their observations to two of these causes: the -importation of foreign opium, and the purchase of foreign ships and -munitions of war. They appear to be ignorant, indeed, for the most -part, that there is another cause at work, persistent, insidious, -whose effects are more far-reaching than either. - -"The first silver money brought to China from abroad was the so-called -'Luzon Dollar,' coined by the Spaniards from the product of the mines -which they had acquired in America, a new country first settled by -them. The Spanish dollar was followed by others, made in the same -style--first the American, and then the Japanese. From Kwangtung and -Fukien these invaders spread to Kiangsu and Chekiang, Kiangsi, Anhui, -and Hupeh, in the order named, with great rapidity. Their beauty and -convenience were soon in everybody's mouth, and the loss to the -country became heavier and heavier as their importation increased. - -"To speak of loss from the influx of foreign dollars may appear -paradoxical to those who have only eyes for the palpable loss to the -country caused by the importation of foreign opium and manufactures -and the purchase of foreign ships and cannon. Very little reflection, -indeed, suffices to show the disastrous tendency of exchanging for a -useless weed the bounteous produce of our harvests, of deluding with -new-fangled inventions the practical minds of our people, of spending -on a gun or a ship tens of thousands of taels. But I shall endeavour -to show that the proposition is no paradox, and that the loss to China -caused by the influx of foreign dollars is, if less visible on the -surface, at bottom none the less real. - -"During the reigns of Tao Kwang and Hien Feng (1821-1862), to buy each -of these dollars China parted with eighty-five tael cents; and as the -real value was seventy-two tael cents, on every dollar which she -purchased she lost thirteen tael cents. As, taking all the provinces -together, she must have been purchasing at least forty or fifty -million dollars every year, she must have been losing every year by -exchange the enormous sum of four or five million taels. - -"Times have changed; but vast numbers of dollars are yearly imported -from various countries, most of them composed of one-tenth alloy; and, -in payment of this silver blended with baser metal, our pure silver is -shipped away in heaps. Moreover, dollars which are worth at most -seventy-two or seventy-three tael cents are sold in market at one, -two, three, or four tael cents more than that. Such a drain will end -in exhausting our silver supply, even if we had mountains of it, if -not checked betimes. - -"We cannot prevent the importation of foreign dollars, nor prohibit -their use by the people; for the people wish for them, although they -are depleting the country of its wealth. There appears to me only one -way of checking this depletion, and that is by China coining dollars -herself. - -"Opponents will say, even if China coin them, they will not -circulate. They will point to two previous instances where such an -attempt was made and failed. The first was towards the end of the -reign of Tao Kwang (about 1850): two officials obtained permission -from the Governor of Chekiang to start a silver-mint, and everybody -looked at the coins, rung them, and declined to have anything to do -with them. The second experiment was made at Wusih by Mr. Lu -Sueh-tsun: he turned out dollars which compared favourably with -foreign dollars in every particular except one--namely, that nobody -would use them. The opponents of the measure point to these two -examples, and say the coinage of dollars in China will never succeed. - -"Some of these opponents do not go so far, but merely say that, even -if the Chinese Government is able to put home-made dollars into -circulation, it can only be in the southern and eastern provinces, as -in the north and west the people, accustomed to sycee and paper money, -would shrink from the manifold inconveniences involved in a sudden -change to a dollar medium of exchange. - -"This appears to me more the language of narrow-minded pedants than of -practical men of the world. Which one of all who stand under China's -sky and feed off China's fields but desires his country's exaltation -and the depression of foreigners? If to-day all love foreign money, it -is because there is as yet no Chinese money. Once let there be Chinese -money, and we shall see how many will leave it for foreign. The two -instances alleged above only show that the coins which people looked -at, rung, and rejected were false in look and false in ring. The -semi-private way in which they were coined in a village was in itself -enough to excite the suspicions of the great mass of the public. An -Imperial Mint, openly conducted and turning out good work, would -arouse no such suspicions; and its money would very soon be current, -not only in the provinces of the south and east, but also in those of -the north and west, for the following reasons: - -"The travelling merchant and trader of the north and west has now to -carry with him both silver sycee and copper cash. Copper cash is -heavy, and it is impossible to carry much value in that form; whilst -the carrying about of silver entails many and grievous losses in -exchange. It is natural to suppose that he would welcome as the -greatest boon a gold and silver currency which, by its portability and -uniformity of value, would relieve him of the obstacles which the -present system in vogue in the north and west spreads in the path of -commerce. - -"The opponents of an Imperial Chinese Mint for the precious metals -commonly adduce four dangers, the contemplation of which, they say, -should make China hesitate to incur them. Let us look them in the -face. They are, firstly, the facility of counterfeiting the new -coinage; secondly, the difficulty of coinage, if commenced; thirdly, -the loss to China's prestige by an imitation of foreign manufactures; -fourthly, the possible venality of officials and workmen in the Mint. - -"Would it not be the depth of pusillanimity, the extreme of -unreasonableness, for our great nation to give up, for fear of dangers -such as these, a plan which, carried out under the guidance and -control of well-selected men, will admittedly dam the outflow of our -wealth, and put an end to our impoverishment, which is now going on -year after year for the benefit of foreigners? - -"The impossibility of coining the precious metals without alloy will -no longer afford the foreigner a profit. This profit will go to our -own Government, who will not be taking it from the people for nothing, -but amply earning it by giving them a universal uniform medium of -exchange. Its universality and uniformity will relieve the honourable -merchant of the present uncertainty of exchange, and deprive the -shifty speculator of his present inducement to gambling in -time-bargains dependent on the rise and fall (_mai k'ung_). - -"I began this essay by enumerating various evils which are sapping the -wealth and power of China. How best to counteract these evils is a -problem which our statesmen and politicians are now devoting their -zealous endeavours to solve. The measures hitherto proposed involve, -when compared with that which I have advocated, a larger expenditure -at the outset, and do not seem to promise in any instance so speedy a -return of benefit to the nation. A gold and silver coinage by the -Imperial Government would, in all probability, in a very few years be -conferring on every province of the empire advantages in comparison -with which the initial inconveniences would hardly be worthy of -attention. It is, of course, an essential condition of the success of -the Mint that it should be organised in such a complete manner as to -leave no contingency unprovided for, and thus to ensure its stability -and permanence. I shall be happy if any of my humble remarks are -worthy to contribute to such a result." - - [Illustration: CHINESE AGRICULTURE--FIELDS OF OPIUM POPPIES IN - FLOWER.] - -Mr. Yang's essay seems already to have borne fruit, and nothing could -more check the little peculations so rife in China as a proper coinage -of the same value all through the country. Yet such is the innate -disorder and corruption attendant upon all Government undertakings in -China, that, without the supervision of the despised "foreigner," all -such schemes must fail in gaining the confidence of the people, as -they have notably failed hitherto. While we were in Chungking, the -Viceroy there introduced dollars coined by the Viceroy of Hupeh; but -as the local officials refused to take these dollars in payment of -taxes except at a discount of 3 per cent., nominally for "shroffage," -the people naturally refused them, and they are now no longer to be -seen. The Chinese prefer the Mexican dollar, firstly, because they are -familiar with it; secondly, because they can depend upon it. The -statement in Mr. Yang's jejune essay that the Chinese give pure silver -in exchange for foreign dollars containing 10 per cent. alloy is, of -course, absurd. Copper cash form the real currency of the masses in -China, and it is the fluctuations between this, the only current -coinage, of late years shamefully debased, and silver (amounting in -1897 to 30 per cent.) that seriously disturbs the equanimity of "the -honourable merchant." Unfortunately, so far each Viceroy seems to be -setting up his own mint, irrespective of others. The idea of a Central -Government, managing the customs, posts, coinage, or even the army and -navy, is altogether alien to the Chinese mind. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -_FOOTBINDING._ - - Not a Mark of Rank.--Golden Lilies.--Hinds' - Feet.--Bandages drawn tighter.--Breaking the Bones.--A - Cleft in which to hide Half a Crown.--Mothers sleep with - Sticks beside them.--How many die.--How many have all - their Toes.--Feet drop off.--Pain till Death.--Typical - Cases.--Eczema, Ulceration, Mortification.--General - Health affected. - - -It is a popular error in England to suppose that binding the feet is a -mark of rank in China. In the west of China women sit by the roadside -begging with their feet bound. In the far north, where women do -field-labour, they do it, poor things! kneeling on the heavy clay -soil, because they cannot stand upon their poor mutilated feet. -Another popular error in England is that the custom was introduced in -order to prevent women from gadding about. Never in all the many -conversations I have had with Chinese upon this subject have I heard -this reason alleged or even hinted at, nor is it ever alluded to in -any of the Chinese literature upon the subject. The popular idea in -China is that P'an-fei, a favourite of the Emperor Ho-ti, of the Chi -Dynasty, whose capital was Nanking, was so beautiful that golden -lilies sprang out of the ground wherever she stepped; hence the name -of "golden lilies" for the hideous goatlike feet Chinamen so strangely -admire. Ho-ti is said to have so loved P'an-fei as to have had golden -lotus flowers strewn on her path for her to walk on. But there is -another tradition that T'an-ki, the wife of the last Emperor of the -Shang Dynasty, who in despair burned himself in his palace with all -his treasures in 1120 B.C.--that T'an-ki was the introducer of these -strange feet. She seems to have been a semi-mythical character--a -changeling, with "hinds' feet" covered with hair. So she wound -bandages round them, and wore lovely little fairy shoes, and every one -else tried to follow suit. But to come to later and somewhat more -historic times, a King of the Sung Dynasty, A.D. 970, had a favourite -wife Niao-niang, whom he used to like to see posing or dancing upon -golden lotus flowers. And to make her feet look more lovely she used -to tie strips of coloured satin round them, till they resembled a -crescent moon or a bent bow; and thus the fashion began, some say. - - [Illustration: CHINESE ROMAN CATHOLICS OF MANY GENERATIONS. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -It is obvious, however, that a nation that has not stockings naturally -takes to bandaging its feet, and that so doing, quite without -intending it, it is very easy to alter the shape of the feet by -binding them ever a little tighter, as many a European lady has done -with her waist. Chinese civilisation being very ancient and -conservative, abuses there go on increasing, and become exceptionally -exaggerated. The Chinese are also as a nation curiously callous to -suffering either in themselves or others, not taking pleasure in the -infliction of it, as is the case with some more highly strung natures, -but strangely indifferent to it. In all probability at first women -simply bandaged their feet somewhat tightly. And just as a man in -Europe used a little while ago to attach especial importance to a -woman's being well shod and to the turn of her ankle, so did a Chinese -man, till in the course of a thousand years we have arrived at the -present abortions with a two-and-a-half-inch measurement, as also at -all these stories of long dead and gone empresses and lotus flowers. - -The method of binding and the period of beginning naturally differ -somewhat over the whole extent of this vast empire. In the west -binding seems generally to begin at six years old. In the east it is -generally from five to seven, or at the latest at eight, years of age. -Tsai, the good-natured Governor of Shanghai, when I met him there at a -dinner party at our Chief Justice's, looked across the table at me, -and said in his somewhat humorous, jerky voice, "I know what you want -to talk to me about. You want to talk to me about footbinding. It is -very hard, is it not? The poor little things have but two years to -run." So that it would seem as if in his part of the country or in his -own family binding began earlier. In the east of China the bandage is -said to be of strong white cotton-cloth, two yards long and about -three inches wide; and I have generally seen a two yards long bandage. -The cloth is drawn as tightly as the child can bear, leaving the great -toe free, but binding all the other toes under the sole of the foot, -so as to reduce the width as much as possible, and eventually to make -the toes of the left foot peep out at the right side and the toes of -the right foot at the left side of the foot, in both cases coming from -underneath the sole. Each succeeding day the bandage is tightened both -morning and night; and if the bones are refractory, and spring back -into their places on the removal of the bandage, sometimes a blow is -given with the heavy wooden mallet used in beating clothes; and -possibly it is, on the whole, kinder thus to hasten operations. -Directly after binding, the little girl is made to walk up and down on -her poor aching feet, for fear mortification should at once set in. -But all this is only during the first year. It is the next two years -that are the terrible time for the little girls of China; for then the -foot is no longer being narrowed, but shortened, by so winding the -bandages as to draw the fleshy part of the foot and the heel close -together, till it is possible to hide a half-crown piece between them. -It is, indeed, not till this can be done that a foot is considered -bound. During these three years the girlhood of China presents a most -melancholy spectacle. Instead of a hop, skip, and a jump, with rosy -cheeks like the little girls of England, the poor little things are -leaning heavily on a stick somewhat taller than themselves, or carried -on a man's back, or sitting sadly crying. They have great black lines -under their eyes, and a special curious paleness that I have never -seen except in connection with footbinding. Their mothers mostly sleep -with a big stick by the bedside, with which to get up and beat the -little girl should she disturb the household by her wails; but not -uncommonly she is put to sleep in an outhouse. The only relief she -gets is either from opium, or from hanging her feet over the edge of -her wooden bedstead, so as to stop the circulation. - - [Illustration: WOMAN'S NATURAL FOOT, AND ANOTHER WOMAN'S FEET BOUND TO - 6 INCHES. - _By Dr. E. Garner._] - - [Illustration: WOMAN'S NATURAL FOOT, AND ANOTHER WOMAN'S FEET BOUND TO - 41/2 INCHES. - _By Dr. E. Garner._] - -The Chinese saying is, "For each pair of bound feet there has been a -whole _kang_, or big bath, full of tears"; and they say that one girl -out of ten dies of footbinding or its after-effects. When I quoted -this to the Italian Mother Superior at Hankow, who has for years been -head of the great Girls' School and Foundling Establishment there, she -said, with tears in her eyes, "Oh no, no! that may be true of the -coast towns." I thought she was going to say it would be a gross -exaggeration in Central China; but to my horror she went on, "But more -here--more--more." Few people could be in a better position to judge -than herself; for until this year the little girls under her charge -have regularly had their feet bound. As I have understood, there the -bandages were only tightened once a week. The children were, of -course, exempted from all lessons on those days; and the Italian -Sister who had to be present suffered so much from witnessing the -little girls' sufferings that she had to be continually changed, no -Italian woman being able to endure the pain of it week after week. Of -course, the only reason they bound the children's feet was from -anxiety about finding husbands for them in after-life, and from fear -of parents not confiding their children to them unless they so far -conformed to Chinese custom. But this year the good Mother has at last -decided that public opinion has been sufficiently developed to make it -possible for her to dispense with these hateful bandages. "Do you -suppose I like them?" she said, the last time I saw her. "Always this -question of new shoes of different sizes, according as the feet are -made smaller; always more cotton-cloth being torn into bandages: the -trouble it all entails is endless--simply endless." This was a point -of view I had never considered. But it is a comfort to think the good -Mother is delivered from it; for she wrote to me in the spring of 1898 -that she knew I should be glad to hear fifty little girls had just -been unbound, and no more girls were to have their feet bound under -her care. - -Dr. Reifsnyder, the lady at the head of the Margaret Williamson -Hospital at Shanghai, says toes often drop off under binding, and not -uncommonly half the foot does likewise. She tells of a poor girl's -grief on undoing her bandage--"Why, there is half my foot gone!" and -how she herself had said to her that, with half her foot, and that -half in good condition, she would be much better off than those around -her. And so it has turned out. This girl walks better than most -others. Her feet had been bound by a cruel mother-in-law; and, -according to Dr. Reifsnyder, of all cruel people a Chinese -mother-in-law is the cruelest to the daughter-in-law under her -keeping. The foot of another daughter-in-law, she knew, dropped off -entirely under the process of binding. Another error, Dr. Reifnysder -points out, is that people often think that, after the first, binding -does not hurt. She had in her employ a woman fifty years old; and she -knew that, after standing more than usual, this woman's feet would -still bleed, as is not unnatural, when it is considered this woman, -weighing one hundred and forty pounds, stood up in shoes two and a -half inches long. - -Dr. Macklin of Nanking, on my asking him what sort of cases he had -come across, he having the reputation of thinking many things more -pressing than unbinding the feet of the women of China, at once told -me of a little child of a poor family brought to his hospital with an -ulcer that had begun at the heel, caused by the bandages. When he -first saw the child, the ulcer extended half-way up to the knee; and -the child would have died of blood-poisoning in a few days, if she had -not been brought to him. Another of his cases ended more sadly. The -poor little girl was the granddaughter of an official, her father a -teacher. When only between six and seven, she was brought to the -hospital, both her feet already black masses of corruption. Her -relations would not allow her feet to be amputated; so in a few months -they dropped off. The stumps were a long time in healing, as the skin -was drawn back from the bone. The child was taken home, gradually -became weaker and weaker, and after a year and a half of suffering -died. - -Dr. McCartney of Chungking mentions one case in which he was called in -to a little girl. When he removed the binding, he found both feet -hanging by the tendons only, with gangrene extending above the ankles. -Immediate amputation was at once necessary; but the unfortunate child -will have to go through life without feet. The mother of the child was -a confirmed opium-smoker, and her indifference had led to the result -indicated. The two greatest curses in China are, in his opinion, -opium-smoking and footbinding. Another case was an unmarried woman who -had paralysis in both legs. She was treated by removing the bandages -on her feet, by massage, and electric current. In less than a month -she was able to walk. Her trouble was caused by nothing more or less -than footbinding. He says the Chinese know nothing of the physiology -and anatomy of the human body; and this ignorance causes untold -suffering to the women and children of China. Footbinding has nothing -to recommend it but the dictates of a senseless fashion. Women with -small feet are unable to stand still, but are continually swaying and -taking short steps, like a person on tiptoe. He defies any Chinaman to -tell him there is not great pain and discomfort in footbinding. -Chinese women were disinclined to confess pain. To do so would be _pu -hao i-su_--indelicate. There is in a bound foot a space like that -between the closed fingers and the ball of the thumb. This space does -not touch the shoe, and is consequently soft and tender. Perspiration -gathers there, and, unless kept extremely clean, eczema results, and -finally ulceration and mortification. He had had several cases of -double amputation. From the time the feet were bound until death, -they caused pain and were liable to disease. Not only did these -serious local troubles exist, but others occurred in the internal -organs, and in many cases affected the offspring. - -It would require a medical work to describe the various maladies more -or less directly traceable to binding. Let it suffice here to point -out that when a Chinese woman walks it is on her heel entirely, and to -suggest that the consequent jar to the spine and the whole body is -very likely the cause of the internal maladies of women, so general, -if not universal, in those regions where binding is generally -practised. Lady doctors have already observed that in certain parts of -China where binding is universal, whatever disease a woman may come to -the hospital for, she is always afflicted with some severe internal -trouble; whereas in those parts where only a few bind, it is rare to -find these same maladies. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -_ANTI-FOOTBINDING._ - - Church Mission's Action.--American Mission's - Action.--T'ien Tsu Hui.--Chinese Ladies' Drawing-room - Meeting.--Suifu Appeal.--Kang, the Modern Sage.--Duke - Kung.--Appeal to the Chinese People. - - -To turn to a cheerfuller subject. Although the Roman Catholics, the -American Episcopal Church, and some other missionary bodies have in -former days thought it wiser to conform to Chinese custom in the -matter of binding, there have been other missionary bodies, that have -for twenty years or more refused to countenance it. One or two -examples of their methods of work will probably suffice. The Church -Mission at Hangchow opened a school for girls in 1867, and in 1896 Mr. -J. L. Stuart wrote: - -"The Mission undertook from the first to feed and clothe and care for -the girls for about ten years; and it was required that the feet of -the girls should be unbound, and that they should not be compelled to -marry against their own consent. The school opened with three -scholars; but the number soon increased to a dozen, and then to -twenty, and after a few years to thirty, and then to forty, and for -five years it has had fifty pupils. After the first few years, no -solicitations were ever made for pupils, and they were not taken -under eight or ten years of age; but there have always been more -applicants than can be accommodated. For ten years the pupils have -furnished their own clothing and bedding, and a few have paid for -their food. The superintendent of the school took the ground in the -beginning that, as the Mission undertook to support and train the -girls, it was not only a right but it was an obligation to require the -girls to conform to rules that were considered right and proper as far -as possible. The success of the school proves the wisdom of the stand -taken at the time. The girls have a good yard in which to play, and no -sprig of grass can make headway where their big feet go romping -about, and their rosy cheeks and happy faces are in marked contrast to -the average Chinese girl seen in the street and in their homes. As the -girls grow up and are ready to leave the school, in almost every case -they have been claimed by some Christian young man who is not ashamed -of their big feet. In the course of the past twenty-eight years many -pupils have been sent out from this school; but, so far as is known, -none of them have ever attempted to rebind their daughters' feet." - - [Illustration: CHINESE ROMAN CATHOLIC BURIAL-GROUND. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -A letter from Kalgan in the far north shows very quaintly the -difficulties encountered by an American lady missionary, evidently an -ardent anti-footbinder: - - - "KALGAN, CHINA, _September 24th_. -"Anti-footbinding seems to be very much entangled with match-making on -my part. I perhaps wrote about a little girl who came from four days' -distance here to school, and unbound her feet, because I was to help -the young man selected to be her husband, if he took a wife with large -feet. The engagement papers were not made out, because the family -wanted more betrothal money than I cared to give. I did not limit the -young man at all. He could give what additional sum he pleased; but I -would not give more than twenty-four tiao, about two pounds ten -shillings; and thought that a good deal for a little girl of fourteen. -The young man did not have any money, and rather wanted a small-footed -wife; but his elder brothers exhorted him, and he gave in: but no -additional money is to be expected from him. The little girl herself -admires her young man very much, and said if her father did not give -her to Yue Ch'ien (the young man) she would jump into the well when she -got home. I have just heard that the father is dead. He was an -opium-smoker, and wanted to betroth the girl where they could get the -most money; but the brothers said, 'Let our sister be happy, even if -the money is less.' His death may bring on the engagement, as they -wish the money for the funeral expenses, I suppose. Did you ever hear -of Chinese who had enough money on hand for funeral expenses? - -"One of our schoolboys, whose mother engaged him to a little girl -eight years old, told his mother he wanted his bride's feet unbound, -so she could enter our girls' school here. - -"I took the schoolgirls out for a pleasure-trip yesterday. They went -to the beautiful new Russian church and churchyard, prettily laid out -with trees, flower-beds, and a chime of bells in the bell-tower. -Afterwards we went to a temple in the city. One of the priests said, -'Why don't your girls bind their feet?' I said, 'Why don't you bind -your feet?' 'I! I'm a _man_!' I didn't talk further, as there was an -unpleasant crowd gathering to watch the girls. - -"Mr. McKee, of Ta-tung Fu, Shansi, is exercised over the future of his -schoolgirls. His wife has now the charge of a school of six girls. No -girls with bound feet can enter. Mr. McKee says no boy in Ta-tung will -engage himself to a large-footed girl, even if his parents are -willing; and if they are willing, he or his big brother is not. I -said, 'In Fenchou Fu, Shansi, there is a boys' school, and they can't -get Christian girls enough for their brides.' But he said, 'No, -Ta-tung has such a bad reputation for selling daughters, that no good -family will let its daughters be married outside of the city or very -near villages, for fear it will be said they have been sold.' The -girls are young yet, and there is no immediate necessity for their -marriage; so Mr. McKee trusts that Providence will provide bridegrooms -when the time comes." - - -In April, 1895, I was happy enough to start the T'ien Tsu Hui, or -Natural Feet Society. Up till then foreigners who were not -missionaries had done but little, if anything, to prevent footbinding. -It was, therefore, quite a joyful surprise to find that pretty well -all the Shanghai ladies whom I asked were willing and eager to serve -upon the committee. We began very timidly by republishing a poem -written by a Chinese lady of Hangchow, sent down by Bishop Moule, and -happily for us translated into English verse by Dr. Edkins, for one of -our initial difficulties was that not one of us could read Chinese. We -then ventured on another poem by another Chinese lady. After that we -published a tract written in English by Pastor Kranz, sat upon and -somewhat remodelled by the whole committee, then translated into -Chinese for us by the Rev. Timothy Richard's Chinese writer. It is -difficult for English people to understand what anguish of mind had -been suffered by all the ladies on the committee, before we could -decide into what sort of Chinese we would have our tract translated. -There were so many alternatives before us. Should it be into the -Shanghai dialect? and then, Should there be other translations into -the dialects of the other parts? The women would then understand it. -But, then, the women could not read. And were we appealing to the men -or the women? And would not our tract be thought very low and vulgar -in such common language? Should it be translated into ordinary -mandarin? But would not the learned even then despise it? We knew of -course--we all sat sadly weighted by the thought--that feet are the -most _risque_ subject of conversation in China, and no subject more -improper can be found there. And some of us felt as if we should blush -before those impassive blue-gowned, long-tailed Boys, who stand behind -our chairs and minister to our wants at tiffin and at dinner, when the -latter knew that we--we, their mistresses--were responsible for a book -upon footbinding, a book that any common man off the streets could -read. In the end we took refuge in the dignified Wenli of the Chinese -classics, confident that thus anti-footbinding would be brought with -as great decorum as possible before the Chinese public, and that at -least the literati must marvel at the beautiful style and learning of -the foreign ladies, who, alas! could not read one character of the -little booklet, whose type and red label we all examined so wistfully. -We circulated our books as well as we could; we encouraged each other -not to mind the burst of ridicule with which we were greeted by the -twenty-years-in-China-and-not-know-a-word-of-the-language men. Our one -French member was most comforting with her two quotations, "La -moquerie provient souvent d'indigence d'esprit," and "La moquerie est -l'esprit de ceux qui n'en ont point." But, to use the Chinese phrase, -our hearts were very small indeed; for we knew the custom was so old, -and the country so big. And what were we to fight against centuries -and millions? - -There was a drawing-room meeting held at Chungking, in the far west of -Szechuan; and it was a most brilliant affair. The wealth of -embroideries on the occasion was a thing to remember. One young lady -could look neither to the right nor to the left, so bejewelled was -she; indeed, altogether she was a masterpiece of art. But all the -Chinese ladies laughed so gaily, and were so brilliant in their -attire, that the few missionary ladies among them looked like sober -moths caught in a flight of broidered butterflies. Every one came, and -many brought friends; and all brought children, in their best clothes -too, like the most beautiful dolls. At first, in the middle of the -cakes and tea, the speeches seemed to bewilder the guests, who could -not make out what they were meant to do, when their hostess actually -stood up and addressed them through an interpreter. Then there was -such eager desire to corroborate the statements: "On the north bank of -the river near Nanking----" "Yes, yes!" exclaimed a lady from Nanking; -"they don't bind there! And they are strong--very." Then, when the -speaker went on to say that on the road to Chengtu there was a city -where a large part of the population all intermarried, and did not -bind their women's feet, being of Cantonese descent, Cantonese ladies -nodded and smiled, and moved dainty little hands with impetuous -movements, as if eager for interpreters in their turn to make -themselves understood by the great, jolly Szechuan dames round them. -And when the speaker further spoke of parts of Hunan where rich and -poor alike did not bind, the two solitary representatives of Hupeh, -the boastful, could bear it no more, but with quiet dignity rose, and -said, in their soft Hupeh voices, "In Hupeh, too, there are parts -where no woman binds--none." Next a missionary lady in fluent Chinese -explained the circulation of the blood, and with an indiarubber pipe -showed the effect of binding some part of it. There were no -interruptions then. This seemed to the Chinese ladies practical, and -it was quite striking to see how attentively they listened. This -speech was afterwards a good deal commented on. A Chinese lady then -related how she had been led to unbind, ceasing any longer to feel -delight in the little feet that had once been such a pride to her. -After which another English lady explained in the local dialect our -one tract in the classic language, the rather difficult Wenli. The -meeting was then thrown open, and at once the very smartest of the -Chinese ladies present came forward to make a speech in her turn. All -present were agreed that footbinding was of no use, but it could only -be given up by degrees. _Man man-ti_ (Little by little) was the -watchword. Then, just as at an English meeting, a number of ladies -went on to a dinner party. But the others stayed and talked. "Did you -see my little girls listening?" said one mother. "They are thinking -they will never have their feet bound again." And certainly the -expression of the little girls had been eager in the extreme--poor -little crippled creatures! with their faces all rouged to simulate the -roses of healthy exercise. - -But what did the men say? What they thought of the meeting we did not -know; for as the husband of one of the ladies said next day rather -crossly, "Oh, of course the women liked it! They don't want to bind -their feet!" It seemed a step, however, to have got a Chinaman even to -admit that. - -At an anti-footbinding meeting another day, when those opposed to -binding were asked to stand up, all the men present but six rose to -their feet, and a merchant among the audience began a speech against -binding. Some days afterwards a mandarin, calling, took up Pastor -Kranz's pamphlet lying on the table, and said: "Ah, I have the larger -copy of this book with pictures. No, I was not at the meeting the -other day, but my people were. As to unbinding, the elder women can't; -you see, their toes have dropped off. But my little girl of six is not -having her feet bound any more. She screamed out so directly she laid -her head upon her pillow, I could not bear to hear it. Besides, she -got no sleep." He was a man of means, and made no reference as to any -possible difficulty about marrying her. - -It was a little later on that we got our first great push forward. One -of the examiners at Peking lost his father, and being in mourning -could not, in accordance with Chinese usage, continue to hold office, -so returned to his home in the far west, and there found his little -daughter of seven crying over her footbinding. Whilst on the way he -had come across one of our tracts. First he had his child's feet -unbound; then he thought, Could not he write something better on the -subject--an appeal to his nation that would carry power? After many -days of thought, he wrote what we commonly call the Suifu Appeal; for -having signed it with his name and seal, and got five of his friends, -leading men of the neighbourhood, to add their testimony and names, -they proceeded to placard it over the walls of Suifu, against the -examinations that were just coming off there, that all the young men -might carry back the news of it to the different homes from which they -came. No sooner did we get a copy of this pamphlet--which, curiously -enough, was brought to me by Mr. Upcraft, then on his way down-river -to be married to the very lady who had first told me of the -missionaries' efforts against footbinding, and thus impelled me to try -to do what a simple lay woman could--than we at once began to reprint -and distribute this appeal to all the ten thousand students who were -coming up for examination to Chungking. We were more lavish of our -funds than they of Suifu, and tried to give each a copy to take home. -Then came a letter from the Shanghai manager of the great China -Merchants' Company, the one great commercial body of China, also -semi-official, saying he heard that there was a wonderful tract in the -west, and he would like a copy, that he might reprint it at his own -expense, and send it to be circulated through his native province of -Kwangtung. - -About a year afterwards we heard that the Pu Tsan Tsu Hui (No Bind -Feet Society) had been formed at Canton by Kang, the Modern Sage, the -adviser of the youthful Emperor, who has lately had to fly for his -life, and only done so in safety under an English man-of-war's -protection; that ten thousand fathers of families had thereby pledged -themselves not to bind their little girls' feet, nor to marry their -sons to bound-foot girls; that they had opened offices in Shanghai, -and were memorialising Viceroys and high officials on the subject. We -had ourselves memorialised the Emperor in characters of gold on white -satin enclosed in a beautiful silver casket; but although the American -Minister, the _doyen_ of the Diplomatic Corps, had done his best for -us, we had never been officially informed of our beautiful memorial, -signed by our President on behalf of nearly every European lady -residing in the East, even getting into the young Emperor's hands, the -Tsung-li Yamen preferring to keep it on their own shelves. This had -discouraged us from going on to memorialise Viceroys, as we had -originally intended. But now, to our delight, we heard of the Viceroys -responding to the Chinese society. Chang-chih-tung, the one -incorruptible Viceroy of Hupeh and Hunan, in that beautiful literary -Chinese, in which he is unrivalled condemned footbinding, and we -immediately proceeded to placard the cities of his two provinces with -his condemnation; whilst the Governor of Hunan, since degraded by the -Empress-Dowager, dared to go a step farther, and forbade binding. The -Viceroy of Nanking struck his breast; then lifted up his hands to -heaven, and said it was a good work, and he too would give a writing. -But he died shortly afterwards. The Viceroy of Chihli admonished all -his subordinate officials to discourage binding, each in their -separate districts. - -Meanwhile, another most unexpected adherent had come forward. Duke -Kung Hui-chung, one of the lineal descendants of Confucius, wrote: "I -have always had my unquiet thoughts about footbinding, and felt pity -for the many sufferers. Yet I could not venture to say so publicly. -Now there are happily certain benevolent gentlemen and virtuous -daughters of ability, wise daughters from foreign lands, who have -initiated a truly noble enterprise. They have addressed our women in -animated exhortations, and founded a society for the prohibition of -footbinding. They aim at extinguishing a pernicious custom." And he -applied for copies of all our tracts that he might compile a book out -of the best ones and circulate it. - - [Illustration: FAMILY OF LITERATI, LEADERS IN THE ANTI-FOOTBINDING - MOVEMENT IN THE WEST OF CHINA. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -We were naturally immensely pleased by his phrase "wise daughters from -foreign lands," and began to forget that any one had ever laughed at -us, as Chinese ladies now came forward to start a school for girls of -the upper classes, the first rule of which is that all who enter it -must mutually exhort one another to unbind their feet. Shanghai ladies -held drawing-room meetings, where they heard from Chinese ladies -themselves how they were never free from pain, admired their elegant -raiment, and shuddered over the size of their feet; whilst a meeting -was held at one of the principal silk factories, when about a thousand -Chinese women were addressed by European and Chinese ladies on the -subject. - -As showing the Chinese view of the matter, it may interest some to -read a rough sketch of the famous Suifu Appeal, that has had such an -awakening influence over China. It is not at all what English people -would write; but there is no doubt that it does appeal to the hearts -of Chinese. - -Recalling the anti-footbinding edict of the Emperor Shun Chih -(1644-1662), the immediate predecessor of Kang Hsi--an edict too much -ignored--and pronouncing footbinding actually illegal, Mr. Chou begins -without any preliminary flourish with the statement that "No crime is -more criminal than disobedience to the Emperor, no pain more injurious -than the breaking of the bones and sinews. Even the most stupid man -knows this." He dilates upon the wickedness of disobeying the Emperor -Shun Chih's edict, and disregarding the precepts of Confucius, who -taught that men should respect and not injure their own bodies. "But -now," he says, "they have their young daughters' feet bound tightly -till they bleed, and the bones and sinews are broken.... Manchus and -Mongols and Chinese bannermen do not bind their women's feet, upper -and lower classes alike.... The provinces of Chihli, Kwangtung, and -Kwangsi, after the Taiping rebellion was suppressed, acknowledged -footbinding was wrong, and the half of them abandoned the practice. In -Szechuan Province, in the cities of Pengchou and Peng-chi-hien, -Hung-ya, and Sa-chang, there are some wise men who have changed this -fashion of small feet into natural feet. Let other places do the -same." - -Then Mr. Chou refers to the countries beyond the seas--England, -France, Germany, America, etc. The women there are free from the pains -of footbinding. Only the Chinese voluntarily incur suffering and -injury; parents neglect teaching their daughters the five womanly -virtues; and teach them instead a bad custom, spoiling their feet. He -next points out that "distinctions of rank are not indicated by the -feet. Moreover, the laws of the empire ordain the punishment of the -wicked by cutting in pieces, beheading, and strangling; but there is -nothing about binding of the feet: the laws are too merciful for that. -When in a fight or quarrel people's limbs are injured, there is an -appointed punishment. But people have their young daughters' feet -broken on purpose, not heeding their cries and pain. And yet parents -are said to love their daughters. For what crime are these tender -children punished? Their parents cannot say. It makes the daughters -cry day and night, aching with pain. It is a hundred times as bad a -punishment as robbers get. If a man is beaten in the _yamen_, he can -get over it in a fortnight. But if a girl's feet are bound, she -suffers from it all her life long, and her feet can never regain their -natural shape." - -Mr. Chou has no patience with fathers who torture their little -daughters because their ancestors did it. "I do not think much," he -says, "of such respect for ancestors." Then he goes to the practical -side of the question, and shows how, if robbers come or a fire breaks -out, the men of the family have to leave the women behind (as they -actually do) to commit suicide, or suffer a still worse fate. Whereas, -if the women had natural feet, they could defend themselves, or -escape, as well as the men. Men should not despise girls with natural -feet. "In times of calamity the noble and rich are the first to -suffer, because their women, brought up in ease and luxury, cannot -escape. If any accident suddenly occurs, they can but sit and await -death; whilst those with unbound feet can carry heavy things or use -weapons, and need not fear being left behind or killed. They can even -be trained in military exercises, so as to defend themselves against -attack, and thus enjoy security. This is the happy course." - -It is a man's business, Mr. Chou says he hears foolish people say, to -defend women; but from ancient times to the present day even high -officials have not always succeeded in defending their wives. And the -inability of the women to escape leads to the death of the men who -stay to defend them, and so the family perishes. "I hope people will -be wise and intelligent, and give up this stupidity." - -"The present is no time of peace. Foreign women have natural feet; -they are daring, and can defend themselves; whilst Chinese women have -bound feet, and are too weak even to bear the weight of their own -clothes. They think it looks nice; but in reality it does not look -nice, and weakens their bodies, often causing their death. I am a -student, a man of no use in the world; but I must try to do people -some good, and I may be of some use by writing this. The people in -Szechuan Province are numerous and crowded together, and there are -many idlers and bad characters. Many unforeseen things may arise. Am I -right or wrong?" - -Many people ask whether it is possible for women to unbind. It is not -only possible, but many women have done so, and can not only walk now, -but declare they are free from suffering. It is, however, obvious that -their feet cannot regain their natural shape; and probably it is even -in some cases impossible to dispense with the bandages. In all cases -unbinding is a painful process, requiring much care. Cotton-wool has -to be pushed under the toes; massage is generally resorted to; and not -uncommonly the woman has to lie in bed for some days. But I have seen -many women who have unbound at forty, and one even at sixty. All those -I have seen have done so under direct Christian influence; but I have -heard of large groups of Chinese women unbinding quite apart from all -foreign influence. And so, with Chinese literati writing -anti-footbinding tracts; a Chinese Viceroy circulating one with a -preface of his own; a descendant of Confucius collating and -distributing our publications; the leading Chinese periodical -advocating our cause; an influential Chinese Anti-footbinding Society -established in Shanghai; and, best of all, Chinese ladies of -distinction coming forward to found a school for girls of the upper -classes,--it seems almost as if we had already set the women of China -on their feet again. But with this reaction set in at Peking, it may -be that the hardest and fiercest part of the fight is yet to come, and -that Chinese women may yet need more help from us before the custom of -a thousand years is for all time done away, and "golden lily" shoes -only to be found in the shape of Liberty pincushions. - - [Illustration: BRIDGE NEAR SOOCHOW.] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -_THE POSITION OF WOMEN._ - - Official Honours to Women.--Modesty.--Conjugal - Relations.--Business Knowledge.--Opium-smoking.--Typical - Women. - - -A man once quaintly said to me, "Whenever I want to know what men -really are, I consider what they have made of their women." We may -also learn something by considering what men say they admire in women. -And for this purpose a few extracts from the _Peking Gazette_, the -oldest newspaper in the world, and to this day the official organ of -China, will go farther than a hundred pages of hearsays. Let us -consider three cases from one year only. - -"_May 2nd, 1891._--The Viceroy at Canton submits an application which -he has received from the elders and gentry of the district of -Shun-teh, asking permission to erect a memorial arch to an old lady -who has seen seven generations of her family, and is at present living -under the same roof with four generations of her descendants. The -lady, whose maiden name was Lin, is the mother of the distinguished -General Fang Yao, and is in her eighty-second year. She has six sons, -forty grandsons, one hundred and twenty-one great-grandsons, and two -great-great-grandsons. Her life has been one of singular purity and -simplicity, fully entitling her to the honour bestowed by law upon -aged people of distinction.--_Referred to the consideration of the -Board of Rites._" - - [Illustration: MEMORIAL ARCH LEADING TO CONFUCIUS' GRAVE.] - -"_February 6th, 1891._--Li Hung-chang submits a case of filial piety -which was brought to his notice by Wu Fu-lun. An assistant deputy -magistrate on the Chihli expectant list had a daughter renowned for -her docile disposition and her filial piety. In the summer of the -present year her father was deputed to look after some work in -connection with the river embankments. While he was away, his wife -became dangerously ill, and was most tenderly nursed by her daughter, -who went the length of cutting off a piece of her flesh to make soup -for the invalid, and who offered to give up her own life should that -of her mother's be spared. When her elder brother proposed to go and -inform the father of the dangerous state of his wife's health, she -prevented his doing so by pointing out that her father had enough to -do looking after his own work, and to add to his anxiety by conveying -to him such news would serve but little purpose. Two days after -P'eng-chu's return his wife died, and the daughter refused to take any -food for several days. Seeing by so doing she was causing great grief -to her father, she forced herself to take a little gruel. Some time -after he was ordered away on river-work, and during his absence she -again refused to take any nourishment. While away he was taken ill, -and asked for leave to return home. On his arrival he was met by his -daughter, who informed him that she dared not die without first -telling him, but that now he had come back she wished to state that it -was her intention to go and wait on her mother in the shades below. In -spite of all entreaties she then resolutely abstained from all food, -and died some days after. Memorialist agrees in thinking that it -would be a thousand pities to pass over such a remarkable instance of -filial devotion without remark, and would ask that the Board be -directed to make out a scroll to her memory.--_Request granted. Let -the Board of Rites take note._" - -It will be noted, in both these cases, it is rather what may be called -the domestic virtues that have won attention. General Fang Yao's -mother is honoured for her numerous offspring, as also for the -singular purity and simplicity of her life; Wei P'eng-chu's daughter -for her devotion to her mother. But the next case is of quite a -different character, and shows once more how China is always the land -of the unexpected. In advanced America, have women ever yet received -decorations for heroism in war? Whilst here, in old-fashioned China, -in the _Peking Gazette_, we read: - -"_January 23rd, 1891._--In 1858 Liuchou, a city in Kwangsi, fell into -the hands of rebels. A great number of its inhabitants died in its -defence, or, preferring death to dishonour, committed suicide rather -than submit to their conquerors. Nor did the men alone show forth -their bravery in this respect; their example was largely followed by -the women. When the city was recaptured, orders were issued that a -list should be prepared of all those who had suffered, in order that -some steps might be taken to commemorate their self-sacrifice. At the -time when these orders were issued, every one's attention was -concentrated on suppressing the rebellion, and it was not easy to give -effect thereto. When peace was restored, instructions, however, were -again given that inquiries should be made from time to time as -originally directed. Ma Pi-yao, the Governor of Kwangsi, accordingly -submits a list drawn up by the Mah'ing District Magistrate of the -names of thirty-four women who died in those troublesome times, and -thus preserved their honour. Memorialist thinks that the memory of -these women is worthy of all honour, and would suggest that the Board -be instructed to prepare a posthumous testimonial of merit -commemorative of their action. Thus will their pure souls be set at -rest, and others be encouraged to follow in their footsteps.--_Request -granted. Let the Board of Rites take note._" - -It will be observed that several years had been allowed to elapse -before these thirty-four women received official honour. Yet is it not -the case that in most other countries they would have remained -unnoticed to all time? The wording is also noteworthy: "a posthumous -testimonial of merit commemorative of their action" is to be prepared. -"Thus will their pure souls be set at rest, and others be encouraged -to follow in their footsteps." - -It is the custom of most men to write of the mock modesty of the women -of China. They may have very good reasons for doing so of which I know -nothing. With regard to women, as with regard to everything else in -China, I can but write of them as I have found them. To establish the -truth of any fact or any series of facts needs an amount of research -and study I have not been able to give; nor does this book aim at -being a storehouse of learning and a book of reference for all time, -but rather at giving a picture, for those who know nothing of them, of -a people among whom I have at least lived on somewhat intimate terms -for the last eleven years. At the same time, in writing about Chinese -women I am burdened by the reflection that possibly I am in some ways -better able to express an opinion about the men, and men about the -women. To tell what I can, however: doubtless Chinese ladies' speak of -many subjects with the freedom of the days of Queen Elizabeth; but how -women can be called mock modest who always remain fully clad in such -damp heat as leads men to strip to the waist in all their shops, as -also at their dinner parties, when summer is at its height, I cannot -understand. The amount of suffering from heat that must be undergone -by women in consequence of their observance of decorum seems not at -all to have been sufficiently appreciated. I have never yet seen a -Chinese woman insufficiently clad, nor committing any act that could -possibly be considered indecent. The whole behaviour of Chinese ladies -would lead me to suppose that they would shrink from anything of the -kind. It is not in accordance with their etiquette that they should -talk to men--not their own relations; yet whenever I have seen them -brought into intercourse with foreign men, or even Chinese men, on -matters of business, I have been struck by both their ease of manner -and their quiet dignity. It is true they are rather given to rising -to address a man, as if he were a superior being; but, further than -that, they in nowise convey the impression that they are accustomed to -consider themselves as at the service or pleasure of men. It must be -understood I am here simply writing of the ladies, with whom I have -held friendly intercourse, not of poor peasant-women, nor of those -whose society European men in treaty ports most frequent. Although for -these last I must add that, however immodest their conduct may be, -their manners and behaviour have none of that repulsive disregard of -decency, that makes it to a woman so painful to hold intercourse with -those acting in a similar manner in London, New York, or, worse still, -Paris. It is not unnatural that this should be so. The women leading a -vicious life in China have for the most part been sold into slavery in -their childhood, their families not having enough rice to feed them; -and it is from no bad inclinations of their own that they are found in -the houses where foreign or Chinese men find them. Doubtless there are -in China, as in other countries, women who prefer vice to virtue; but -if I am any judge of expressions or manners, these last must be rarer -in China than in any other country with which I am acquainted. - -At a ladies' dinner party, the conversation turning upon a new -Governor, who had just arrived with several concubines, I found all -the ladies at table expressing a horror at the idea of being, or -letting any one of their relations become, the number two of any man; -whilst my hostess explained to me that concubines were, as a rule, -women of lower birth, or sprung from families fallen into indigence. -But what struck me most was that there was no tittering, nor -appearance of innuendo, whilst discussing the subject, which simply -came forward, because none of the ladies saw how they could -interchange visits with the ladies of the new Governor; and they also -thought an official of such habits of life was not likely to -administer the district well. The coarseness and directness of Chinese -women often shock European ladies very much. But whilst glad that we -have ourselves so far improved in this respect, I have never felt sure -that the fine ladies of Queen Elizabeth's time were not more modest -really than the fine ladies of Queen Victoria's. - -It is certainly true that all we European ladies who go up-country in -China have to alter our wardrobes very considerably, _if_ we mean to -be on friendly terms with Chinese ladies; whilst the wife of a French -Consul had to replace in its case an old master she had brought out to -China, such an outrage upon decency was it considered. The German wife -of a Commissioner of Customs, regardless of its effects upon her -husband's official visitors, amused herself by decorating her hall -with life-size pictures of nude female figures. She was rewarded by -her man-servant always pointing them out to visitors, when she was -out, as the pictures of herself and her various friends. Without -entering upon the vexed question as to the decency of the undraped, -it can be imagined that no pictures of the kind exist in a country -where no woman ever bares any part of her person in society. And far -from this indicating mock modesty, it appears to me the natural -outcome of a classic literature, every passage of which might be put -into the hands of the traditional young girl. When it is further -considered that, unlike the images of the two adjacent countries of -India and Tibet, the images of China are quite untainted by any -suggestion of impropriety, I think I have some grounds for saying -that, at all events, virtue is sufficiently in the ascendant in China -for vice to pay it the compliment of hypocrisy, if no more. And has -any nation yet got farther than this? - -It is, of course, well known that as a Chinaman gets richer he buys -more concubines. These do not take rank as his wife, and the whole -proceeding is considered rather as a concession to weakness than as a -practice to be admired. He is, however, careful to get them from as -respectable families as he can. A Chinaman also takes a concubine into -his house for life; he has no idea of enjoying the few fleeting years -of her youth and prettiness, and then setting her adrift with a little -sum of money. She becomes from the moment she enters his household as -much a charge to him as his wife is, and her children are just as much -his lawful children as his wife's are. At the same time, concessions -to weakness are said to open the floodgates to yet greater evils; and -it may be so in China. - -At a dinner party I was asking after the pretty, bright little -daughter of my host, who in company with another pretty doll of a girl -and an infant prodigy of a younger brother had paid me a visit the -year before, when a lady beside me, putting up a warning hand across -her lips, just after the fashion of a regular fine lady of Europe, -spoke in easy accents from behind it: "Best ask no questions. They are -by another woman. His wife has but this one daughter that you see." -The speech and the manner of it seemed to give me a new insight into -Chinese life. The year before the other woman had been living in his -house, his wife had herself brought the infant prodigy often to see -me. The little girls had come more than once. Now a time of financial -crisis had passed over the city, he had established his number two -with her children in a little shop near by, and the subject was not to -be mentioned in the hearing of his wife and daughter. Further inquiry -revealed that he had done a thing outrageous, not to be spoken of -except in a whisper. Under stress of poverty he had sent another -concubine into a convent to be a nun. This was atrocious, for by all -Chinese rules she was a member of his family, for whom he was bound to -provide for the rest of her days. - -What is the position of women when they are married? It is so hard to -describe this in any country. And the difficulty is increased in -China, because we are so prone to connect the idea of marriage with -love and love-making. There is nominally none in China, where as a -rule the young man does not see his bride until she is his wife. She -then becomes the household drudge, wears poor clothing in comparison -with the daughters of the house, and is the servant of her -mother-in-law. Often and often have I wished that it was not so, and -that in going to a house I could talk with the wistful young -daughters-in-law, who glance at me from under their eyelids, and look -as if they would be so receptive of new ideas, being, like most -ill-used people, quite ready for a revolt of some sort. But it is the -elder lady who does the honours, entertains the guests, and regulates -the household. And who more set in her ideas than a grandmother of -many grandchildren? - - [Illustration: A COUNTRY HOUSE PARTY. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - - [Illustration: FOOT SHUTTLECOCK. - _Lent by Scotch Presbyterian Mission._] - -There is one Chinese family that has for many years shown us -kindliness. We have assisted at its weddings and its funerals, and its -young men have spent long hours of the days, when they had nothing -else to do, at our house. One day the ladies announced they were -coming. And they came; but, alas! as is usual, in such numbers, and -with so many women attendants, it was difficult to find chairs enough -for all, much more conversation. How merry they were, as they looked -about at all our foreign things, all new to them! But their especial -delight was our battledore and shuttlecocks. They had been accustomed -to use the heels of their crippled feet for battledores, and were not -easily tired of playing in our pleasanter fashion. It was one of these -girls who afterwards at a dinner party consented to show me her foot. -For a year after that she was busy with preparations for her -trousseau, all apparently made at home under her own supervision; and, -to my great regret, I have seen nothing of her since her marriage. We -were away for a time, and since then she has had a child. A Chinese -lady never goes about whilst expecting, nor whilst her child is very -young--at least, those I know do not. Curiously enough, for a month -after child-birth Chinese coolies object to even carrying a woman in a -sedan-chair. There are in China many curious traces of the same idea, -that led to the service for the churching of women. There is some -objection to women sleeping upstairs in a house frequented by men; and -when a woman in our house was put to sleep in a room that happened to -be over the entrance, some Chinese considered it very damaging to my -husband's business. In China a husband and wife very rarely go out or -travel together. On one occasion, as I relate elsewhere, an -old-fashioned inn actually refused to receive us on that ground, and -we were nearly benighted before arriving at another village, where our -servant had the assurance to pass me off as a man. - -It must not, however, be assumed from all this that Chinese women take -no part in affairs. A Governor's wife is always supposed to be the -keeper of his official seal, and is therefore never expected to go out -and pay visits. When my husband was obliged to go to Shanghai on -business, it was his Chinese employes who immediately suggested that I -should keep the keys of the safe, and supervise the accounts in his -absence, this being what they said the wife of a Chinese man of -business would undertake. Nor is it unusual, my husband says, for a -business man to say to him, "I must go home and consult my wife before -concluding this bargain." When we first arrived in Chungking, the wife -of a formerly very wealthy merchant came at once to see me, begging -that some place might be found in my husband's business for her -husband, who had unfortunately become impoverished. I promised to -mention the matter; but as she proceeded to enter into details, and my -knowledge of Chinese was even less then than it is now, I called for -our cook to interpret, and to my amusement presently heard him say, "I -don't know why you trouble my mistress about all this. Foreign ladies -are not like our ladies; they don't understand anything about -business, and take no part in their husbands' affairs." This he said -in a tone as if explaining that we were ignorant, frivolous creatures; -and it must be remembered that, like most Chinese who go into foreign -employ, he had been uniformly in service with foreigners since his -earliest years. - -When a young man in my husband's business was taking to dissipated -courses, it was his mother who came off in her sedan-chair into the -country to interview my husband. And very definitely she knew what she -wanted,--that her son should be given employment at a distance, and -thus separated from the many undesirable acquaintances he had formed. -She begged my husband also to give him a talking to, and told him -exactly what she thought he had better say; then, having laid her -point of view very clearly before him, begged that her visit might be -kept a secret from her son, and so departed. I must add that, for all -her being a lady, she went on her knees to my husband on arrival, and -tried to do so again on going. But in conversation with him she was -anything but on her knees. - -Except among the poorest of the poor, who do field-work or carry -water, the women of China do little beyond suckling children and -making shoes, except in the treaty ports, where now large numbers of -them are employed in the factories lately started. They smoke and -gossip, give and go to dinner parties, and one of their great delights -is to go on pilgrimages to distant shrines. It is sometimes stipulated -before marriage that a woman shall go on so many pilgrimages during -the year. Even when nuns invite ladies to come and enjoy themselves -with them, it means drinking wine, smoking, and playing cards; and not -uncommonly, in the west of China at all events, smoking includes -opium-smoking. The ladies who are regular opium-smokers sit up late at -night, and do not get up till five or six in the evening. They mostly -have bad health, and generally say they have taken to opium-smoking -because of it. Whatever effect opium may have upon men, the various -ladies I have seen at ladies' dinners generally return from the -opium-couch with their eyes very bright, their cheeks very red, and -talking a great deal of nonsense very excitedly. But afterwards they -look yellow and unhealthy, mostly with sunken cheeks. They seem no -more ashamed of it than ladies are of taking wine in England. But -those who do not smoke seem to think it a rather disgraceful -proceeding. A lady will draw herself up, and say, "None of the members -of my family smoke opium--not one." But at a good many dinner parties -the opium-couch is prepared with all its elegant accessories. And at -the only Chinese country house, at which I have stayed, the ladies' -one idea was to ask me into their bedrooms to smoke opium. Naturally, -my acquaintance is rather with Szechuan ladies. Cantonese seem -altogether different. And I gather that there must be a much more -cultured set in some parts of China, judging from the ladies engaged -in starting the High School for Girls in Shanghai. Of those I know in -the west, only one young girl could read and write. She was talked of -with admiration by young men, who asked if I knew her, and if she were -not awfully clever. - -Foreign men often get the idea that women rule the roost in China, -because when they want to buy a house or bit of land the sale is often -delayed owing to some old woman of the family not agreeing to it. And -the scolding tongue of an old woman has before now proved too much for -a British Consul to withstand. But it must be remembered what a dull, -mulish obstinacy is that of the Chinese man, and that somehow or other -the Chinese woman has to get on with him. At Ichang, in one street at -least, the men were said to be constantly beating their wives; and I -recollect once seeing a woman, who, after a storm of invective against -her husband, threw herself down on the road there and kicked and -screamed. She was very red, as if she had been drinking too much wine; -and I still remember the sheepish air of the man, as he stood and -watched her kicking. He certainly did not attempt to lay a hand upon -her whilst we were by. But during all the years I have been in China -this is the only case of the kind I have seen. In a Chinese city one -does not at night hear the cries of women as one too often does in -London. And on the whole it would appear as if husbands and wives got -on very well together, if without very much affection. A woman who -kills her husband is still condemned to death by the lingering -process, namely, to being sliced to death; but though this shows the -horror entertained of so dastardly a deed, yet in reality, even for -such a crime as this, she is put to death first and cut in pieces -afterwards. - -Meng Kuang is one of the typical women of China. Contrary to the usual -custom, she seems to have chosen her own husband, and went to his -house dressed in all the splendour of a Chinese bride. For seven days -he did not speak to her, nor answer one of her questions. At last he -told her he did not like silks of various colours, nor a painted face, -nor blackened eyebrows. At once she transformed herself into a plainly -dressed, hard-working wife; she became noted for her virtues; and her -name is on the lips of all the people of China, somewhat after the -fashion of the patient Griselda of old. - -A prettier story is told of the wife of the Emperor Yuan-ti in the Han -Dynasty (about the third century A.D.). The Emperor was inspecting a -collection of wild animals, tigers and others, when a bear broke -loose. Climbing up the railing of the enclosed space, he was getting -to the top, and all the other women were running away, when Chao I. -advanced as if to meet the bear, standing fearlessly in front of him -with a determined air. The guards happily killed the bear, before he -could attack her; but the Emperor turned to Chao I., and asked her how -it was she was not afraid. Her reply is beautiful: "Wild animals are -generally content with one victim. I advanced to place myself as a -shield for you." For this she was greatly honoured in her lifetime, -and has ever since been held up as an example of womanly courage and -devotion. - -It only remains to add that whilst a roomful of Chinese ladies -presents a very pretty appearance, from the exquisite gradations of -colour of their embroidered skirts and jackets, the brilliancy of -their head ornaments, and their rouge, yet, taken individually, -probably no other nation is so deficient in charm. Their idea is that -is it indecorous to show the figure; therefore only their deformed -feet, cased, it is true, in beautifully embroidered little shoes, and -their faces, are seen; even the hands, which are small and very -elegantly shaped, with taper fingers and filbert nails, are concealed -in their large sleeves. Their faces at parties are often so rouged as -to look like masks, their lips coloured, their eyebrows darkened, and -their hair so anointed as to give a shining, semi-metallic setting to -the face. Their skirts are very prettily made, in a succession of tiny -pleats longitudinally down the skirt, and only loosely fastened -together over the hips, so as to feather round the feet when they move -in the balancing way that Chinese poets liken to the waving of the -willow. Their outer jackets in winter, often of plum-colour satin, -with gold-embroidered sleeves, are rather like old-fashioned spencers -and unobjectionable; but the under-jackets--at a party a lady often -wears three--are of an ugly cut, especially in the back, where they -are made so as to stick out instead of hanging flat over the -shoulders. And when the ladies divest themselves of their skirts--you -always ask a Chinese lady to lay aside her skirt, as in England you -ask her to lay aside her cloak--any dress more ugly could hardly be -imagined than the long, sloppy-looking under-jacket over rather full, -straight-cut trousers, possibly of red satin, gorgeously embroidered -with life-size butterflies. There is no single feature in the face -that we could call pretty, and in accordance with etiquette the face -is entirely devoid of expression. I have never been able to find -anything pretty about a Chinese woman except her hands and arms, both -of which are very prettily modelled. Doubtless her feet and legs -would be too, if let alone. Now her poor legs are like two sticks. - -Although often what one must call very well bred, there is nothing -pretty or taking about Chinese ladies' manners. But whether in spite -or because of this want of charm, the women of China give me the idea -that, if once set upon their feet again, they will become a great -power in the land--not witching men's hearts away, but guiding them in -childhood in the way in which they should go, and in after-years -pre-eminently calculated to be companions, counsellors, and friends. -Confucius and Mencius are both said to have had remarkable mothers; -and it is at least noteworthy that, since the Chinese have taken to -mutilating the feet of their women, there has not been one man whom -they reckon great born among them: so true it is that any injury to -the women of a nation always reacts upon the men with redoubled force. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -_BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND MARRIAGES._ - - Missing Bride.--Wedding Reception.--Proxy - Marriage.--Servants' Weddings.--Love for Wives.--Killing - a Husband.--Wifely Affection.--Chinese Babies.--Securing - a Funeral. - - -In China a bride usually rides in a richly embroidered red -sedan-chair, decorated with flowers, and hired for the occasion. Not -long ago in Canton city a man hired a chair to carry his bride to his -homestead in the suburbs. The distance was great, and the hour late. -When the four chair-coolies and the lantern-bearers arrived at their -destination, the chair containing the bride was deposited outside the -doorway to wait the auspicious hour selected for opening the door to -admit the bride, and the coolies adjourned to an opium-den; and as -they had travelled a long way and were tired, they soon fell asleep. -How long they dozed they knew not; but on awakening, they returned, -and found the bridal chair outside the doorway. They came to the not -unnatural conclusion that the bride had already entered the household, -and that the chair was left there for them to take back to the city. -Since they had all received their pay in advance, they did not stop to -make further inquiries, but hurried home with the chair, put it in a -loft, and, rolling themselves up in their beds, slept the sleep of the -just. In the meantime the bridegroom heard the bridal party arrive, -but had to wait the stroke of the auspicious hour before welcoming the -bride. At last the candles were lit, incense-sticks were lighted, the -new rice and viands for entertaining the bride were served, the -parents-in-law put on their best suits, and so did the bridegroom, and -with much pomp and ceremony the door was thrown wide open; but as far -as the lantern's light would reach, lo! there was not a trace of the -bridal chair, or bride, nor a single soul to be seen. Great was their -consternation, and it became greater still as they concluded that -bandits must have kidnapped the bride, and would hold her for ransom. -The district officer was aroused, the case was reported to the village -justice of the peace, and search parties were sent out in every -direction. The bridegroom, though distracted, had sense enough to rush -to the city and make inquiries of the chair-bearers. The coolies were -dumbfounded, and explained what they had done. Together they climbed -to the loft, opened the door of the chair, and found the -demure-looking bride, long imprisoned and half-starved, but still -appearing to her best advantage in her beautiful bridal gown. The -bride appeared to have known that she was being carried backwards and -forwards; but could not protest, because it is the custom for brides -not to open their lips till the marriage ceremony is performed. Hence -all the trouble. - - [Illustration: WEDDING PROCESSION. - _Lent by Scotch Presbyterian Mission._] - -This little story, taken almost verbatim from a Chinese newspaper, -shows how far a bride's silence is carried. During all the days of -reception after the wedding she is supposed to stand up to receive -each incoming guest, who may make what remarks he pleases, even of the -most personal nature, but never a word may she say; whilst attendant -maids pull back her skirts to show how small her feet are, etc. - -At one wedding I saw the poor bride grow so painfully crimson under -the comments of a very young man, that I took for granted he must be -some rude younger brother, and without thinking said so, and found I -had done quite the right thing; for the youth--who was no relation at -all--incontinently fled, feeling he had over-stepped the bounds of -propriety. Besides not speaking, the bride is supposed not to eat. At -the only wedding-feast I have attended--I have been to several -receptions--the unfortunate bride and bridegroom had to kneel and -touch the ground with their foreheads so often, that even if well -nourished one wondered how they could live through it. The bride had -to serve all the ladies with wine, the bridegroom to go round the -men's tables and do likewise. When the size of the bride's feet is -further considered, and the weight of the jewellery in her hair, one -wonders a little in what frame of mind the poor bride ultimately -approaches her groom. It must certainly be in an absolutely exhausted -condition of body. - -An amusing matrimonial incident may be worth repeating here. A young -fellow was to be married on a certain lucky date; but his business -having taken him away just before the event, he found it impossible to -get back in time. He wrote to his parents, begging them to get the -ceremony postponed. To this suggestion many objections were raised by -relatives and friends and invited guests, and a strong despatch was -forthwith prepared, peremptorily commanding his attendance on the -original date. Again the bridegroom pleaded business, and said that he -really could not come, whereupon the incensed father straightway took -his departure for regions unknown, leaving the mother to do as she -liked in the matter. The latter was a woman of original ideas, and, -finding herself thus left alone, resolved, for the honour of the -family, to resort to strategy. Giving out that the bridegroom had -actually returned, but would not be visible until the day of the -marriage, she cleverly dressed in male attire a buxom daughter, who is -said to have been at all times very like her brother, and made her act -the part of happy man throughout the ceremonial. When the latter was -finished and the deception was disclosed or discovered, the hymeneal -party is said to have broken up in fits of laughter, and in praise of -the mother whose genius had evolved so satisfactory a method of -overcoming a serious domestic difficulty. The proxy marriage will, it -is said, hold good, and, _nolens volens_, the son is now regarded by -his family and friends as a married man. - -When one of our many cooks once wanted a wife, he discussed the matter -in very businesslike style with my husband. "I can get a wife in -Szechuan for ten dollars," he said. "But, then, I can know nothing -about her family and habits, as I could if I took a wife from -Hupeh"--his own province. "It is true there I should have to pay more. -But here all the women drink wine and smoke, and many of them smoke -opium. And you never can know the truth beforehand. Now, if I find -after marriage that the woman I have chosen smokes opium, there will -be my ten dollars gone, and nothing to show for them. I shall wait -till I can go home to my own province. Aren't you going that way soon, -master? Promise you will take me when you do." However, after all -these wise sayings, he was over-persuaded by the account he heard of -some woman, married her, and was, I think, very fortunate in her, but -that the poor creature died of some painful internal disease two years -afterwards. - -Our water-coolie made such a fuss over his wedding, gave such a feast, -invited so many guests, and borrowed so much money to defray expenses, -that I do not see how it is possible in all the course of his life for -him to get out of debt again; for though he had made an elaborate -calculation that each wedding guest would give a present worth more -than his share of the feast would cost, and that he himself would thus -really make money by it, he found himself disappointed. It is curious -as, perhaps, indicating the mortality among the women of China that -all our servants, with the exception of one who has left our service, -have lost their wives at least once during the twelve years I have -been in China; and not one of the wives can have been over forty. - -The men seemed proud of their wives, and good to them according to -their ideas; but it certainly was extraordinary how little they seemed -to feel their loss when they died. Yet I suppose they care sometimes. -Whenever we visit in Chinese houses, my husband generally tries to -rejoin me when he can, knowing that my knowledge of Chinese cannot -carry me very far, and that consequently my intercourse with the -ladies of the house is apt to become rather fatiguing to both parties -after a time. On one occasion I was surprised to see him come in so -very soon, and with two young men. One of the young fellows said to me -in a good-humoured way, "We want him to enjoy himself, and we notice -he is never so happy as when he is with you. Oh, yes! we have husbands -like that too." One of the governors of Chungking was said, indeed, to -be so fond of his wife as to order naval reviews on the river for her -amusement. He built a specially pretty pavilion in the highest part of -the city for her to have dinner parties there, and possibly it may -have been partly grief over her loss--she died of the fright caused by -a very great fire that all but burnt their official residence--that -made him afterwards go out of his mind for a time. Another Chinese -official, ordered to take up high office in Tibet, was so determined -his wife should accompany him, that, as the Tibetans will not allow -Chinese women to pass a barrier a few miles beyond Tachienlu for fear -of the Chinese settling down and overrunning the country, he had her -dressed as a man and carried in a sedan-chair, which she never got out -of. So it seems some Chinese husbands value their wives beyond the -price they pay for them. But with our servants that last seemed to be -all they thought of. And yet I still hear the soft caressing tones in -which our head servant's wife used always to address him. She was a -very plain woman, but so quiet, and made so little demands for -herself, wanting always apparently only to be serviceable, that as her -husband rose in social position and wealth it always touched me to -see the way in which this honest, homely creature would look round on -the fine ladies she was brought in contact with, and who at first -tried to put her down, but were always in the end won over by her -perfectly unassuming manners. - -Another woman's husband was a man of violent temper, who insisted upon -her working very hard; and the result was continual bickering between -the couple, which frequently led to the interchange of blows and bad -language. The wife appealed on several occasions to her mother's -people for protection; but after trying to comfort her, they always -sent her back to her husband. About a month after the marriage the -husband ordered his wife one day to go and cut firewood on the hills; -but not having been accustomed to carry burdens, she declined to go, -and received in consequence a severe beating. A little later she was -again beaten and abused by her husband for not washing his clothes -clean enough. About the same time she made use of a sum of 400 cash -(not quite a shilling) belonging to her husband; and when he -discovered the fact, he gave her a sound thrashing with a stick, and -vowed that he would repeat the treatment on the following day if she -did not produce the money. A month passed, during which continued -squabbling occurred between the man and his wife, the latter having -frequently to go without food, and being threatened with a divorce for -her bad behaviour. At last the woman, exasperated by the treatment she -was receiving and dreading the disgrace of a divorce, determined to -make away with her husband. A year before, while still unmarried, she -had accompanied an old woman in the village on a herb-gathering -expedition on the hills, and remembered her companion pointing out to -her a poisonous plant, which, if eaten, cut asunder the intestines and -caused sudden death. Having gone on several occasions to gather -firewood, she kept careful watch for this particular plant, and -succeeded in collecting a handful, which she hid away until she could -find a favourable moment for making use of it. At last she found her -opportunity one day when her father-in-law, her husband's brothers, -and her sister-in-law all happened to be from home, and only she and -her husband were left in charge of the house. Shortly after noon she -began to prepare the evening meal, and poured over the vegetables the -infusion obtained by boiling the poisonous plant. She handed his -supper to her husband, left their portion for the remainder of the -family, and then went out on the excuse of having to make some -purchases. The father and his three sons returned shortly afterwards; -and being hungry after their day's work, they all partook heartily of -the poisoned food. Symptoms of poisoning very soon followed, and the -whole family was found by a neighbour lying on the floor in a state of -great agony. Two of them were saved by means of emetics; but the -father, the woman's husband, and a brother of the latter all died the -same night. The woman was found, and handed over to the authorities, -who, after a protracted trial, in which she declared her innocence, -found her guilty of the murder. She was condemned to death by the -lingering process on two different counts, and would, as the law -provides, receive some additional slashes of the knife at the time of -the execution. All the poisonous herbs in the district were ordered to -be removed, so as to prevent the repetition of such a crime in future. -When a parricide occurred in ancient times, the authorities used to -order that the whole city, where such a hideous crime had been -committed, should be razed to the ground; and on the Yangtse the -traveller sees the ancient site of the city of Chungchow on an island -without now a house upon it, because of such a crime, the city having -by order been moved to the river-bank, where it now stands among its -groves of waving bamboos. - - [Illustration: NEW KWEICHOW, BUILT BY ORDER. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -The following story tells again of wifely affection, and incidentally -throws a little light upon Chinese clairvoyance, a subject which seems -to attract more attention in England than in China now. - -A Nanking lady was sad, very sad. Her husband had left her for -business far away, and had sent home only a few letters. Many times -did she send word by his friends requesting him to return, but he did -not come. At last, in despair, she called in a fortune-teller, who was -supposed to be endowed with supernatural knowledge of everything past, -present, and future. After consulting his books, the fortune-teller's -face assumed a thoughtful and anxious expression. In trembling accents -he addressed the sad wife thus: "O lady, your husband has changed his -sphere of business many, many times. Ill-luck has pursued him -everywhere. Money he has now none; but, what is worse, he is lying -dangerously ill in a lonely inn, hundreds of miles from here." The -wretched lady was heartbroken, and began to weep copiously. The -fortune-teller comforted her, and rapidly turning over the leaves of -his mystic book, he joyously exclaimed, "Saved!" Then he explained -that a certain lucky star was obscured by a dark cloud; and that if it -could be made to shine again, her husband would rise from his bed of -sickness, and make a great deal of money. About two shillings was the -sum charged for working the miracle of dispelling the dark cloud. -While the fortune-teller was on his knees, earnestly praying his god -to deliver the absent husband from the clutches of the evil one, who -was obscuring the lucky star, the door was abruptly pushed open, and -there, standing on the threshold with a bag over his shoulder, full of -shoes of silver and gold bars, was the long-absent husband. The wife -gave a cry of joy and rushed forward. The confused fortune-teller, -terribly frightened, hurriedly sought an exit by the back door, but -slipped, fell, sprained his ankle, and broke his head. The husband did -not wish to mar the joy of his return by any harsh measures, and let -off the now thoroughly wretched fortune-teller with a reprimand. - -Births, marriages, and deaths follow each other in all our newspapers. -I will not say more about births than that the Chinese are all born -with a round black mark about the size of a penny at the base of the -spine. It disappears generally before they reach eight years old. - -As to deaths, all the money that is left from weddings may be said to -be spent upon funerals, which are the grand moment of a Chinaman's -life. Then Taoist priests are called in to officiate; for whilst every -one belongs to the three religions in China, each religion especially -takes certain parts of life for its care. The best sites are reserved -for graves; the best wood is used for coffins; the merriest music to -our ears is that heard at funerals. But of all funerals of which I -have heard, I think this one is the most amusing. A woman about fifty -years old, fearing that her son, a worthless spendthrift, would not -accord her a grand funeral after her death, hit upon the plan of -enjoying one before that event. She fixed a day, notified her friends -and relations to come dressed in mourning, hired many priests and -monks and all the paraphernalia usual at funerals, including a -splendid coffin and a green baize sedan-chair. Amidst much weeping and -praying she was carried all about the city in the sedan-chair, -followed by the coffin and surrounded by mourners. Can any one living, -ever before or since, have been so perfectly happy? For, as a rule, -attaining the highest earthly bliss, we fear its loss or diminution; -but this woman had nothing to fear. She had had her funeral. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -_CHINESE MORALS._ - - How Chinese look upon Shanghai.--A Viceroy's - Expedient.--Method of raising Subscriptions.--Deserving - Deities.--Trustworthiness.--Hunan-Hero.--Marrying English - Girls. - - -Missionaries generally say that the Chinese are frightfully immoral. -So do the Americans and Australians, excluding them as far as they can -from their respective countries. But, brought up on the English saying -that "Hypocrisy is the compliment vice pays to virtue," I always think -virtue must be in the ascendant in China for vice so to slink into -corners and hide its head before it. There certainly is not the -slightest outward appearance of vice in Chinese cities. And I have -always understood that everywhere, except in the foreign settlements, -where it is certainly not the case, very decided repressive measures -are used. Shanghai, once the Model Settlement, is looked upon as a -hotbed of corruption by Chinese fathers up-country, who say gravely -they would not dare to send their sons there, whatever business -advantages are offered, until their principles are quite firmly -established. Up-country it is European morals that Chinese find as -shocking as Australians find theirs. It is impossible for me to enter -into details here; but there are certain things, alas! too customary -among Europeans, which to every Chinaman are an abomination. It is -well to bear this in mind, perhaps; and it is to be hoped that -increased intercourse may lead Europeans to think disgraceful what -Chinese already think so, and Chinese to be bound by the European code -where, if anywhere, it is higher than their own, rather than, as so -often occurs, to lead each nation to accept the other's lower ideas. - -As new suggestions however, are always more interesting than trite -generalisms, I must mention the peculiar measure devised in 1891 by -his Excellency the Viceroy at Nanking to keep up the standard of -morality among his writers and the higher class of employes. Shortly -before, one of the composers of memorials had taken to leading a fast -life, frequenting places not over-respectable. One day he leaned out -of a wine-shop, and saw two men, dressed in black, standing quietly by -his horse. He took no notice of the matter, but kept on drinking. When -he left the place and walked up to his horse, the two strangers -retired a pace or two. Climbing into the saddle, he rode slowly along, -cooling himself in the evening breeze. He soon heard footsteps, and -perceived the men were following him. His heated brain imagined -fearful consequences. The mysterious personages might be bandits or -secret society men bent on assassination or plunder. He whipped up his -horse, and made for his official quarters in the residence; but his -pursuers were fleet of foot, and kept up with his not very fast pony. -On reaching the Viceregal residence, the writer called upon the guards -to arrest the two bold men, who came up breathless. But the guards did -not move to obey his orders, and the mysterious beings stepped up, -saluted, and said, "Sir, do not feel angry or apprehensive. We are -members of the Secret Police of his Excellency the Viceroy. We have -received instructions, to follow any and all the officials and -gentlemen connected with the office, and report to our master where -they go, their actions, behaviour, and conduct." Then they turned, -mingled with the crowd, and disappeared. Next day the writer's pony -was reported to be for sale, and since that memorable evening he has -not revisited his former haunts. Possibly this method might be adopted -with advantage by any high official in England, who was as solicitous -about the conduct of his subordinates as this Chinese Viceroy. - -Probably no one knows better than Li Hung-chang how to get hold of -other people's money. Here is an idea of his for collecting -contributions to a Famine Relief Fund. He furnishes a long list of -subscriptions, mostly of L150 each, from officials whose generosity -was due to the promptings of their parents or other relatives now -deceased. Each donor had been granted permission to erect an archway -(_pai fang_) to the memory of the person, who first inspired him with -the idea of contributing to the relief of suffering humanity. Among -those to whom this honour was accorded were the President and members -of the Chinese club at Yokohama, whose joint contributions amounted to -L300. - -The west of China is exceptionally decorated with these memorial -arches, generally erected to the memory of chaste widows and -incorruptible officials, who, to judge by the arches, seem more -numerous than one would otherwise have thought. I remember the -interest with which we approached one in course of construction. It -was a very hot day, and this _pai fang_ was being erected on a slight -eminence, where the people told us no rain had fallen for forty years, -although thunder-showers refreshed the country all round it. We ate -our luncheon under its shadow, and observed that it was one of Li -Hung-chang's arches, erected to the memory of a dead man, the inspirer -to an act of charity towards the famine-stricken. The Chinese are a -people altogether guided and animated by memories. In the same year -the Governor of Honan submitted a petition from the gentry and -inhabitants of the town of Wensiang, in which they prayed for -permission to erect a memorial temple to the late intendant of their -circuit. This town, it seems, borders upon the Yellow River, from the -ravages of which it had suffered terribly for a long succession of -years. Two years before a movement was started by the local magistrate -and the people for building a breakwater to serve as a barrier against -the floods. "The Taotai, in whose jurisdiction the place was situated, -took an active interest in the enterprise, and even went frequently in -person to superintend the progress of the work. The great -difficulty experienced was the want of sufficiently large stones. -Greatly to the astonishment of the whole community, a heavy storm of -wind and rain deluged the country, and brought down an endless -quantity of huge stones exactly suited to the purpose. The people -naturally regarded the strange occurrence as a direct manifestation of -divine power in aid of a great public undertaking, which they and -their forefathers had been unable to complete during several -centuries. The Taotai fell a victim to fatigue and over-exertion, and -his death was deeply bewailed by the whole district. The Governor, in -supporting the petition, mentioned a fact which proves the -supernatural origin of the phenomenon. One of the stones, which was as -large as a house, and shaped like a tortoise, was inscribed with seal -characters, only two of which, denoting 'work' and 'stone' -respectively, could be made out. The breakwater was completed, and the -safety of the district secured. As a token of their gratitude for the -services of the Taotai, the petitioners begged that they might be -permitted to erect a temple to his memory, at which the usual -sacrifices should be offered.--_Granted by Rescript._" - - [Illustration: MEMORIAL ARCH. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -But it is not only public benefactors and deserving officials who are -rewarded by memorials. Deserving deities or patron saints also meet -with recognition. Thus in 1891 an application was made to the Throne -for two Imperial tablets, bearing his Majesty's sign-manual, to be -suspended in the temples of the dragon-king and the god of fire at -Chiwan-chow. The latter district, consisting of six villages, which -contribute to the Exchequer some 10,000 taels, had no proper water -system, and was entirely dependent for its supply of that precious -commodity on the periodical rains. Of late years, whenever rain had -not fallen in due season, prayers offered up at these two shrines had -ever been graciously answered. Moreover, in the seventh moon of the -previous year, just when the crops were ready for harvesting, a heavy -fall of rain came on, and threatened to submerge the fields. But a -visit on the part of the gentry and people of the neighbourhood to the -temple of the god of fire had the effect of dissipating the clouds and -causing the rain to cease, so that the grain could be gathered in in -due season. Two months later, when about to sow the second crop, a -thorough soaking rain was necessary to prepare the ground for the -seed; but for days no rain fell, and the people greatly feared that -they would be unable to sow. A visit to the temple of the dragon-king, -however, had the desired effect, and dispelled all gloomy prospects of -a dearth of food. - -It was in recognition of these gracious favours of the gods that the -memorialist ventured to prefer this request, which was accordingly -granted. Many people may laugh at this. It seems to me rather an act -of faith of which we might find many parallels in Europe in the Middle -Ages, and of which individually I should be glad to find further -examples now. "Whom we ignorantly worship" will be a true description -of man's part as long as he lives upon this earth with darkened eyes. -But it is only when he ceases to worship that there seems to be little -hope for him. There is little enough of worship in China as it is, and -what there is naturally seems to us of Europe somewhat superstitious; -for the religions of China appear to have had their day, to have -effected what they could for China, and to be passing away. Is it true -that the youthful Emperor Kwang-shue was considering with his adviser -Kang whether Christianity should not be adopted as the national -religion, when he was precipitated from the throne by the woman who -rules China single-mindedly for her own advantage? - -That crime is not very rife in China is sufficiently shown by their -having no police force. Foreigners are sometimes shocked by the -severity of Chinese punishments, not realising that it is our -excellent police that enable us to mitigate our scale of punishments. -But the Chinese are like women in this respect also. They afford an -extraordinarily small percentage of criminals to the world's criminal -roll, and of these the most part are for petty theft. In business -dealings, unlike the Japanese, the Chinese keep to their word, even -when it is to their own disadvantage to do so. And merely saying, -"Puttee book," without any signed and sealed written entry, held good -as a legal transaction all through China, till, alas! an -old-established English firm, probably already foreboding the failure -that afterwards overwhelmed it, repudiated a transaction of which -there was no further record than the till then two sacred words. Since -then Chinese, like other nations, have recourse to written documents; -but so high always is the sense of business obligation among them, -that each China New Year many men, unable to discharge their -obligations, commit suicide rather than live disgraced. This is the -more remarkable among a nation that adulterates everything it knows -how to, resorts to every business subterfuge, thinks not to lie -foolish, and to be found out only stupid, not disgraceful. When, -however, we denounce Orientals for want of truth, do we realise how -untruthful we are ourselves, and that what shocks us is rather the -different kind of falsity from that to which we are accustomed? I have -yet to find the English bootmaker or worker in fur, who can be relied -upon to keep to his word as to the day on which he has promised -anything; whilst I have met with more than one Chinese tailor, who may -be relied upon to appear with his work finished to the very day and -hour, his given word being sacred to him. The English tradesman thinks -it wrong to lie about the past, the Chinese about the future. - - [Illustration: SHOES TO MEND.] - -One of the most remarkable things about Chinese is that, whilst of -course it is usual for people of other nationalities to denounce their -bad qualities as a nation, there is hardly a European living in China -who has not one or more Chinese whom he would trust with everything, -whom he would rely upon in sickness or in danger, and whom he -really--if he spoke out, as we so seldom do--regards as the embodiment -of all the virtues in a way in which he regards no European of his -acquaintance. We rarely believe in one another's Chinaman; but we are -each of us absolutely convinced of the fidelity, trustworthiness, -_and_ shrewdness of our own particular Chinaman. Whilst among -missionaries life in China is generally sweetened by the recollection -of some one Chinaman, at least, whose sincerity and holiness of life -shine out to them as a bright example and beautiful memory. - -The merchants look askance at the missionaries' saints, and -missionaries are very suspicious of the merchants' business employes -and butlers. But a nation, that all through the land produces men, who -so thoroughly satisfy their employers, cannot be called a decadent -race; nor, indeed, are any of the signs of decadence with which I am -acquainted to be discovered among the great Chinese people, who -appear always hard-working, good-humoured, kindly, thrifty, -law-abiding, contented, and in the performance of all duties laid upon -them astonishingly conscientious. I have never known a servant shirk -any task imposed upon him, because he was tired or ill, or because it -was late at night. Let unexpected guests arrive, the Chinese servant -always rises to the occasion, and the honour of the family is safe in -his hands. "Oh, but we have always heard Chinese were good servants," -some one remarks. Let me relate a story of another kind of virtue! - -A Hunan man living at Hankow, and a Christian, was greatly troubled -because his wife would bind their little girl's feet. At last he sent -the child away to an American mission-school at a distance. While she -was there, a great wave of anti-footbinding enthusiasm passed over the -school, and all the girls unbound their feet, his daughter among them. -When she came home, he was delighted to find her able to walk, and to -stand on her feet, and with healthy, rosy cheeks. After a while, -however, he became aware that each day she was walking worse, and that -it must be that once more her mother was inflicting the torture of -binding upon her, worse than ever now the girl was older. Yet they had -so often gone over the matter together with always the same result, -that he shrank from remonstrating with his wife, till one day in a -neighbouring cottage a woman said: "A nice one you are to talk, you -who are seeing your own daughter daily lamed before your eyes!" Then -he went home, and said to his wife: "This thing must have an end. Not -only have I the pain of seeing my daughter daily lamed, but I can no -longer speak out for God; my mouth is stopped by your handiwork." His -wife replied, as so often before: "If you will cut off your queue, I -will unbind our daughter's feet--yes, and my own too." "Do you mean -what you say?" he asked quietly. Again and again she repeated her -declaration that they must conform to custom if he did, and that if he -gave it up so would they; regarding it always as a thing impossible -that he should part with that glory of a Chinaman, his long, glossy, -plaited tail of hair. At last, when she had said it seven times, each -time with increasing vehemence, her husband took up the large pair of -Chinese scissors lying on the table, and there and then before her -astonished eyes cut off his queue. The neighbours, in horror at what -he had done, carried it off, and in high excitement proceeded to -unroll it like a great black serpent at the feet of one of the -missionaries, who at first thought the Hunan man must have been in -such violent anger as to lose all control over himself, or he would -never have done what he had. But the man explained that it was not in -anger, but because he saw no other way to save his child, having all -in vain tried argument and entreaty with his wife. "It is true it is -contrary to the law of the land," he said; "but it is better I should -offend against that than offend against my God." When I last saw him, -he had the shock of upstanding hair, that generally indicates in a -Chinaman a desire to add to his queue. His wife had unbound her feet, -and their daughter's feet had never been bound again. When last heard -of, the three had all been out for a walk together. But people must -have lived in China to know what heroism this sacrifice of a pigtail -really means. So far it has had no imitators, and other Chinese -hearing of it remain simply astounded. - -Before dismissing this subject of morals, it is as well to add that -any Englishwoman marrying a Chinaman in England would do well to -ascertain first that he was unmarried, which is most unlikely, as a -Chinese father considers it a disgrace not to find a wife for his son -so soon as he is marriageable. Further, that even where this is the -case, the life that would lie before an English girl married to a -Chinaman, if he were to take her into real Chinese life, is such as -one does not like to contemplate: she must in any case prepare to -become the servant of her mother-in-law. In December, 1898, there -were, however, four young English girls, the youngest only seventeen, -brought out by mail-steamers as the wives of Chinamen, and deserted in -Shanghai, all without money, one even without clothes. Whilst sorry -for the girls, I must own that in cases like this I feel more -indignation against their parents than against the Chinamen. There is -a degree of carelessness that seems worse than a crime. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -_SUPERSTITIONS._ - - _Fung shui._--Devastating Eggs.--Demon - Possession.--Sacred Trees.--Heavenly Silk.--Ladder of - Swords.--Preserving only Children.--God of Literature on - Ghosts.--God of War.--Reverence for Ancestors. - - -Directly that, leaving behind steamers, railways, _and_ Sundays, you -step ashore at Ichang, a thousand miles up the river Yangtse, you find -yourself in the land of superstition. Right opposite to Ichang, facing -it from across the river, stands a pyramidal mountain six hundred feet -high, in all its proportions resembling the Pyramid of Cheops. The -people of Ichang say it menaces them, and, according to their belief -in _Fung shui_, or climatic influences (literally, wind and water), -prevents their young men from passing their examinations, and makes -all their wealth pass into the pockets of strangers. Just before I -first arrived there in 1887, they had all taxed themselves, and built -a many-storied temple on the top of the very highest hill behind the -city, in order to keep the baleful pyramid in check; and the subject -of conversation amongst the peasants at that period, when not -discussing the price of something or their last bargain, was always -whether that temple had been built on quite the right spot. "I always -said it ought to be on that other knoll, and turned a little more -aslant," one would say. However, though they have not yet grown rich, -probably to be accounted for by some error of the kind, two of their -young men the very next year after the building of this temple took -their second degree--an event which had not gladdened the -neighbourhood for hundreds of years. - - [Illustration: ICHANG FROM THE CITY WALL, HALL OF LITERATURE, AND - PYRAMID HILL. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -It is very easy for us to laugh at _Fung shui_; but it often strikes -me that far more foolish than the Chinese belief is the absolute -disregard of climatic influences shown in England. When the huge block -of Queen Anne Mansions was building, I recollect applying for south -rooms; and noticing the late Mr. Hankey's expression as he jotted down -a memorandum, I asked him what he had been writing. "Oh, only about -five or six people have applied for south rooms," he said. "So I put -you down as one of the eccentric lot. You'll find them hot, you know, -in the season." I ventured to remark that the sun went northwards in -summer; but Mr. Hankey was incredulous. Applying to a house agent in -London for a small house with a south aspect, he said he really could -not tell me of any off-hand, as he had never been asked for such a -thing before, and had no notion how the houses on his list faced. But, -stranger than this, when house-hunting with friends in the lovely -Caterham district some years ago, we found that whenever we drove up -to a house in high hopes, seeing it was situated on such an eminence -as to command a really lovely view, we invariably found the house -turned its back on the view, which often could not be seen from any of -the windows. Although the Chinese in the course of centuries have made -_Fung shui_ into a superstition, surely their consideration of -aspects, soils, water, etc., is wiser than our disregard of all such -potent influences of nature? It is, however, always easier to laugh -than to learn; and I see that I noted at the time: - -"The other day, such a tumult here! It turned out that some of the -neighbours disapproved of the gable-end just added to the servants' -quarters of our new house. A number of old women insisted on dragging -my husband into their houses to see. 'Look!' they said, 'your new -gable points! and points straight at our shrine. It will ruin us.' -Greatly amused, he straightway said, 'It shall be curled in another -direction as soon as possible.' The old women were at once propitiated -and delighted. But so far it has not yet been curled, and they seem to -have forgotten all about it." - -In other countries besides China an assurance that a thing is to be -done quite satisfies people. - -_Fung shui_ was the great obstacle to the erection of telegraph-posts, -and is a difficulty in the making of railroads; but it seems to be -easily overcome by an official assurance that the interference with it -is of no consequence. The carefully chosen sites for houses show, -however, how deep-rooted it is in the national life, the most -unfortunate fact about it being that in their solicitude for the dead -the Chinese generally assign the very best spots to graves, which must -never be meddled with except at a change of dynasty; and, -unfortunately, when the Manchu Dynasty came in, they omitted to level -the graves. It would be almost worth while to have another change of -dynasty, if only for the purpose of restoring to the use of the living -much of the best ground in China. - -A stranger Chinese belief is that when the phnix and dragon of -fable come together an egg is laid which leads to the devastation of -the country. Such an egg was said to have been hatched at Matung, a -little way below Chungking on the river. Certainly, the city -magistrate went down to inspect the spot. It is the duty of all the -officials to destroy these eggs all over China, their whereabouts -being discoverable by the snow refusing to lie over them. But as we -have mostly no snow in Chungking, perhaps that was held as an excuse -for the officials; for we did not hear of any being beheaded or -otherwise punished for letting the egg be hatched. The magistrate, -indeed, refused to be drawn on the subject and say what he actually -saw. "All nonsense, all nonsense!" he said. One curious part of it was -that we never should have heard of his visit and its object but for -noting the extraordinarily heavy rain that seemed to pour and pour -over Matung. We were many of us dwellers on the hill-tops that -summer--though not at all after Mr. Grant Allen's fashion, I fancy; -and one of our daily entertainments was to watch the thunderstorms -marching along the lower country, investing first one mountain, then -another, dividing here, converging there. And one could not but notice -how the most awful thunderstorms passed by all obstacles to -concentrate themselves on Matung. Commenting upon this as we sat in -the starlight in the evening watching our other entertainment, the -play of the lightning, we remarked it might be worth while to go to -Matung to see what had happened there, and then were told of the -magistrate's visit to inspect the egg that had been hatched, and that -before all these great storms, which we had looked down upon at -intervals, in a small way being at times ourselves partakers. There -evidently must therefore have been some striking indication of coming -calamity to call for an official visit; and judging by what we saw -ourselves, that indication had been realised. "It is the people's own -fault, if they build their houses in a river-bed. Of course they are -washed away," said the magistrate. But how many were washed away we -never knew. One often regrets the absence of a newspaper in the -interior of China. Twice in one week we saw in the distance great -fires--saw the flames rise up, towering like a bonfire, spread, then -after some time die out, a blackness settling down on what one -imagines were once happy homesteads. In England, next morning we -should be reading all the particulars; next day would follow the -subscription list, after we had already sent our cast-off clothes, -etc., to the sufferers. Thus would our sympathies be called forth at -the same time that our interests were aroused. In China--nothing! No -more is heard of the conflagration we even ourselves witness, of the -inundation to which we also--at least, our hill-tops did their -part--may be said to have contributed. Is it not partly this that -makes life in China so dull? Is it possibly this also which leaves -denizens in China looking so much younger than their years, their -faces unmarked by the traces of emotion experienced, whether -pleasurable or the reverse? - - [Illustration: MONASTERY. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -Materialistic though our worthy _compradores_ (business managers) and -invaluable boys (butlers) appear to us, with their expressionless -faces and highly coloured explanations of popular beliefs in racy -pigeon English, yet in reality no people believe themselves more -surrounded by spirits than do the Chinese. Unfortunately, their -spirits are generally evil spirits, requiring cunning handling to -frustrate their designs--as when at New Year's time you stick on your -door a red paper announcing that some sage of old or other celebrity -lives in this house. In all countries the general belief seems to have -been that the devils are very easily outwitted. But it is noteworthy -how this belief in evil spirits gains upon the foreigners in their -midst. Dr. Nevius, one of the most high-minded and noblest -missionaries I have come across, a delightful man of apparently most -healthy mind in a healthy body, wrote a deeply interesting volume on -_Demon Possession_, giving instances to prove that this still exists -in all its old Biblical terrors in China. I have known another -missionary who is under the belief that by heartfelt prayer he himself -was instrumental in driving out a demon; also others, of good social -position and first-class English education, who felt their own powers -for good almost paralysed whilst in the west of China by the presence -of active evil spirits. Nor have I been able to divest myself in -certain temples of the belief that the air was full of them, though I -spent a long, long summer's day there once, alone, trying either to -dispel the idea or to determine that it was so. Matters like these, if -we believe, we none of us like to speak about. Certainly, it is during -residence in China--supposed generally to have such a materialising -effect--that I have become so convinced of spiritual agencies as to -believe this faith unshakable. Happily for me the spirits, of whose -presence and help I cannot doubt, have been uniformly good. And -believing in their care, it has been impossible for me to be afraid in -many circumstances with regard to which people often ask, "Were you -not frightened?" Yet I have been frightened, very much frightened -too, at other times. Probably, to many this confession will seem to -rob my account of all trustworthiness. But all through this volume I -try to write down what I have seen or think of things, always without -asserting the correctness of my views. Some day we shall know; -meanwhile, "It seems so to me" appears to be the truest phrase with -reference to things Chinese. - -To pass to lighter beliefs. In the west of China, at the foot of every -fine old hoangko-tree, _Ficus infectoria_, a kind of banyan, is a -little stone shrine, showing how at one time reverence was entertained -for the spirit of this very beautiful shade-tree, growing on the top -of so many hills in the windless province of Szechuan, always alone, -and often giving enough shade to shelter the whole village near it -under its branches in summer evenings; whilst in the autumn in the -east of China, when the air is full of floating masses of gossamer, -the Chinese say it is the "thread of _niang-niang_," or "heavenly -silk." By the wayside, everywhere throughout China, the traveller -comes upon pretty little shrines with one or two incense-sticks giving -out a sweet fragrance; and if ever the whole land is converted to a -higher, purer faith, I cannot but hope that these graceful little -shrines may not be done away with, but consecrated anew with a figure -of the Virgin Mother and Infant Saviour, or a crucifix, or a figure of -some high and holy man of old, an ensample to us of these latter days, -that so, like as in the neighbourhood of Meran, the peasant may feel -called to offer upon it his beautiful white gardenia flowers, or a -bunch of pink azaleas from the mountain-side, or a blossom of the -gorgeous red dragon-claw flower, or even a white tea blossom or wild -camellia, and, so doing, pray to Him above all, Whom they, as we, -believe even now to see all they do, and Who, whatever our belief -about Him, must for ever remain the same. - -But I am wandering again and again into the sacred groves of religion, -and must return into the devious paths of superstition. When a -cargo-boat of my husband's once became a complete wreck, he could not -help, even under the depressing influence of the news, being amused to -hear his Chinese manager saying: "They would do it. They would do it. -I told them not to. We must never again carry a cargo of dried -shrimps. Of course, their spirits spoke to the spirits of their -brother-fishes in the river, and they raised the waves that they might -jump up and release their imprisoned relations. Well, there's a good -deed done: a lot of lives set free. But we must not take shrimps -again. You see, it is a dead loss. And I said so from the first." - - [Illustration: THE 564 IMAGES OF HANGCHOW.] - -According to a Chinese paper, the inhabitants of Chaochow Fu, of which -Swatow is the seaport, are very superstitious. When one of them is -seriously ill, instead of getting a doctor to attend him, he invites a -certain set of priests to perform jugglers' feats and recite -mysterious incantations. Thereby, it is believed, a cure can be -effected. Ascending a ladder of swords is considered a very effectual -mode of treatment. Two thirty-feet poles are made to stand in an -upright position, fixed firmly in the ground parallel to each other. -One hundred and twenty sharp swords, with their keen edges upward, are -tied to the two poles like the rungs of a ladder. Some days before the -ceremonies are to be performed notices are freely distributed, and on -the given day thousands gather for the sight. A young priest, dressed -in a fantastic costume, advances to the foot of the ladder, chanting -incantations, and making passes with a knife which he holds in his -hand. Suddenly he steps on the sharp edges of the swords forming the -rungs of the ladder, and climbs rapidly. As the young priest has bare -feet, it is a wonder that he can step without being injured on the -edges of the swords. When he reaches the highest point, he -deliberately sits on a sword, and throws down a rope. The sick man's -clothing is tied to this, and is drawn up to the top. The young priest -then shakes the clothing to the winds, burns magical scrolls, and -recites incantations. He cries aloud the name of the patient, who is -called in such ceremonies, "Redeem the soul." After these -performances, the clothing is let down, and the patient puts it on. -Taking a piece of red cloth from his pocket, the young priest waves it -over his head like a flag, at the same time dancing and leaping from -one pole to another. He places several sheets of paper money on the -edges of the swords, steps on them, and the sheets fly in all -directions, cut in the centre. He thus shows that the weapons are -sharp, and that his position is by no means an enviable one. -Exhausting himself at last, he descends with all the agility at his -command. "Sometimes under such treatment the patient manages to -recover," adds the Chinese paper naively enough. - -In 1890 such a curious account was given in the _North China Daily -News_ of an incident that had just occurred in Western Shantung, the -province the Germans are now trying to make their own, that, as I know -nothing further of it, I think it is better to extract it from the -paper: - -"A certain man had a daughter, who was an only child, and for whose -life the parents entertained the greatest fears. A boy, to be sure, -would have been much more precious; but, as the saying runs, 'When -cinnabar is not to be had, even red earth is valuable.' Having a -neighbour named Chang who had many daughters, it occurred to the -parents of the solitary child that it would be a good plan to have her -'adopted' into the family of the man with several daughters as one of -them. This 'adoption,' it must be understood, is a pure fiction, and -consists in nothing more than in calling the adopted child by the -_surname_ of the family into which she is adopted. Thus, in this case, -the parents' surname being Liu, the girl, who was a mere infant, was -called 'Chang Four,' as a milk-name, denoting that she was technically -number four in the Chang family series of girls. The evil fates, -perceiving that the Chang family had such a supply of daughters, would -let her grow up in peace, and thus the Liu family would contrive to -outwit the malignant spirits! The Liu girl never went to the Chang -family to live, and had no relations with them of any kind, except -that the family exchanged presents and calls on feast days, as if the -conditions were those of a betrothal. In fact, the Chang family would -be styled by the Liu family as their 'adopted relatives by marriage.' -Devices of this kind, to cheat the fates in regard to boys, are very -common, the lads being called '_ya-t'ao_,' for girl, or sometimes -'_lao-p'o_,' to indicate that they are old married women. But these -cunning schemes cannot, however, always be regarded as complete -successes; for in this case the only daughter died, and so the 'dry -relationship' came to an end." - -Around the god of literature all kinds of legends have crystallised. -He is said to have lived through seventeen lives. He is also said in -his own person to have completed the perfection of the three religions -of China. He did all manner of marvellous things, besides driving away -a tiger that threatened a messenger, under promise from the latter to -distribute five thousand copies of the tract on rewards and -punishments. Perhaps the Psychical Society might learn something from -his chapter on ghosts: - -"A ghost is the corrupt part of man, and man is the pure part of a -ghost. - -"A man can be a ghost, and a ghost can be a man. The man and the ghost -are mutually related. Why separate man and ghost? - -"The ghost becomes a man, then man must become a ghost. - -"If a man does not become a ghost, he will surely be able to perfect -manhood. - -"It is difficult for a ghost to become a man, because it has fallen to -ghosthood, and because it has lost manhood. - -"A man is a ghost; a ghost is a man: but all men are not ghosts, -neither is every ghost a man. - -"Those who can be respectful without feeling ashamed, who can be -submissive without deception, who can obey to perfection the rule of -life, and are able to preserve their natural force unabated, -secretly cherishing growth, will become Buddhas or Genii, and not -ghosts." - - [Illustration: PAVILION OF THE MOON IN GROUNDS OF GOD OF WAR'S TEMPLE. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -Probably a great deal is lost in this translation; but the phrase to -be "submissive without deception" is certainly noteworthy. - -The god of war has not passed through so many vicissitudes; but it -seems that in his lifetime he was a merchant noted for probity and -liberality, and it is in this character that his picture is to be -found in all self-respecting business firms to this day as an example -of what a merchant should be. Then as the centuries passed by, he was -canonised as the god or guardian saint of war, and his last change was -being made the tutelary deity of the present dynasty. It is a great -question, however, whether the Chinese can properly be said to have -either gods or idols, or whether it would not be more correct to say -they make and set up images of men canonised as guardian saints, and -whose spirits are supposed to be present where proper reverence is -shown to their images. According to Dr. Edkins, at the feasts in -honour of the dead, whether simply ancestors or famous men of old, the -dead man is now represented by a tablet; but by ancient rules a living -representative was required, and preferably a grandson. In the time of -the Hia Dynasty he stood. Under the Shang Dynasty--from 1800 to 1200 -B.C.--he sat. Under the Chow Dynasty there would be six -representatives of the deceased ancestors, who were all treated as -guests, and partook of the feast. They had the strange idea that only -thus could the patriarch of the clan be kept from extinction; for -they thought of the soul as breath, liable to be dispersed as air. -They called such a representative of the dead "the corpse," or, more -correctly, "the image of the soul." It is hard to say whether such a -practice is more material or spiritual. - -Mencius describes images as at first made of grass and rushes, and -then of wood, "to be buried with the dead in order to provide the -deceased with servants to wait upon him in the other world." But not -in his writings, nor in any of the classics, are there any indications -of worshipping images or idolatry. Probably these images were a -survival of human sacrifices in more ancient times. Paper -representations of houses, servants, horses, money, are now burnt at -stated festivals, in order to supply the dead with all they need. And -for about a month before the appointed day, all through China, the -eldest grandson of each family may be seen busy making out lists of -all the ancestors entitled to such gifts, and writing letters to be -burnt with them. Then on the appointed day the feast is spread, -chopsticks are placed, wine-cups are filled, all for the dead dear -ones. Thus are the superstitions or religious observances of the -Chinese knit with their every-day life; for the living in the end eat -the feast, though the wine is commonly poured out upon the ground as a -libation. Then comes the great day when all the family goes out as a -great picnic party to the family graves. The best clothes are put on, -and a long day is spent in the country in junketing and gossip. All -the environs of a Chinese city--for the environs are always the -graveyards--are alive with gaily dressed parties of people, till the -appearance presented is that of a great fair; for naturally booths are -erected for the sale of eatables and drinkables as well as of -offerings all along by the wayside. The temples are crowded; the -priests receive offerings. Every one goes home at night with much the -same expression as English people after a Bank Holiday. On the whole, -the Chinese festival appears the holier and more fraught with -sentiment of the two. Naturally, this festival is the culminating-point -of ancestral worship. But it does not seem difficult to see how -reverence for ancestors might be made altogether Christian, the -natural outcome of the fourth commandment; nor how these feasts for -the dead might be made very much the same as the Jour des Morts in -Paris, or, indeed, something higher and yet more Christian. They are -inextricably knit with the belief that the dead father's spirit floats -round and watches over his children after death; and thus is the -principle of _noblesse oblige_, or respect for ancestors, carried into -every, even the poorest, household of China. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -_OUR MISSIONARIES._ - - European Prejudice.--French Fathers.--Italian - Sisters.--Prize-giving.--Anti-Christian Tracts.--Chinese - Saints and Martyrs. - - -People can hardly fairly discuss the question of missionaries without -deciding definitely first of all whether they wish the Chinese to -become Christians or not. And as I do not know what may be the views -of those who read this book, I think I had better here cite -impressions as to the prejudice against them, written after I had only -spent a few years in the East; for the prejudice against missionaries -is really one of the most amusing things in China. - -"They all hang about Chefoo. That is the sort of place that suits -them. A nice comfortable house, and nothing to do! Just about suit me -too! I'd like to find a merchant's clerk who did as little as one of -these _self-devoted_ men, who have given up everything," is a little -speech I heard one man make to three others one day, apparently -expressing the sentiments and experience of all. Yet take Chefoo, the -very place thus pointed out, and what do you find there? There is not -a Shanghai man who knows him who does not say: "Oh, Dr. Nevius! Oh! -but he's quite an exceptional man. He does more good than all the -others put together, I believe. You don't fancy other missionaries are -like him?" Or, "Oh, Dr. Williamson! Oh! but that's a man quite unlike -the common," or, as I heard another day, "That's a man one really -likes to hear talk about religion." - - [Illustration: MISSIONARY GROUP AT OUR HOUSE-WARMING. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -It is just the same, if you go up Hankow way. "Mr. Barber! Ah! but he -is a thorough gentleman! A University man! Seventeenth Wrangler, you -know, and a splendid all-round man--good at cricket, and football, and -everything." "Mr. Hill! You won't meet another man like him in a -hurry. Why, he is a man of independent means; doesn't draw a penny -from the Mission. There is hardly a good cause all over the world -which that man does not give to. He is wearing himself out, though"; -or if the speaker be a little enthusiastic--they are enthusiastic -sometimes in the outports: "That man is a real apostle." - -Then again: "You don't know who that man is? Why, he was the champion -wrestler till he came out here on mission work--wore the Border belt -for two years. Some of the young bloods in Shanghai thought a -missionary couldn't do much, and challenged him when he first came -out. Didn't he punish them, though, and said, 'You see I am trying not -to hurt you!' Why, he could have broken every bone in their bodies, if -he had let himself." - -Or again: "Mr. John! Now that man does real good. He has worked away -for years, and every one must respect him. His is real solid work." - -Then again, Mr. Baller of Ngankin. He is only to be named for every -one who knows him to burst out into a eulogy. Mr. Studd's cricket -renown is too widely spread not to make him exceptional from the -outset; but those who have come across him in China seem already to -have found out other things yet more noteworthy about him. - -Thus the conversation goes on about pretty well every missionary any -one knows anything about; and yet it winds up as it began: "But the -missionaries generally are quite different,--hang about and make -believe--and save money--and go home!" These typical missionaries no -one seems to have ever met; yet every one who has been to China must -agree one hears plenty about them. It begins on the voyage out, when -you are told about the poor girls--the enthusiastic, misguided young -girls they lure out to wretchedness, nobody knows where. "Clap them -into Chinese dress the moment they arrive, and send them off -up-country, where there is not a single European, in carts and all -sorts of miserable conveyances. That's what they do. Why, the poor -girls don't know themselves where they are going to." - -This is the oft-repeated tale. And it is certainly highly probable -that newly arrived missionaries, whether men or women, cannot -pronounce the name of the place they are going to, nor even at first -remember it. But there seemed some sound common sense in what an elder -missionary said the other day: "Youth enables women to bear many -hardships, under which they would break down in later life. And -youthful enthusiasm carries many a young missionary over the first two -years of Chinese life, where a woman of forty could not bear the -change of climate and food. Besides, if, as is most likely, they -become the wives of missionaries, there is a far more reasonable hope -of a happy married life when the wife is already well accustomed to -China and its ways before undertaking the cares and duties of a wife, -than when she is brought out fresh from England and has to face all -together." - -However, Shanghai so far keeps up its old character for gallantry, -that it never has a word to say against the lady missionaries, unless -sometimes in a grumbling tone: "Did you ever really see a pretty one?" -But, then, every one has. Captains speak rather sorrowfully of this, -that, and the other who came out with them. And young men who go to -church (young Shanghai does go to church a little; it is the men past -their prime who only "have seats"),--young Shanghai speaks -sentimentally of some fair apparition who looked so lovely in -loose-fitting white and blue, and begins to question whether Chinese -dress is not, after all, the most becoming. Certainly, fair hair looks -all the fairer and softer above the loose-fitting clothes more -generally associated with coarsest black. - -And all the while the missionaries come in increasing numbers. With -each freshly arriving steamer the cry is, "Still they come!" till -China promises fair to be the best spiritually seen after country -outside Christendom. Yet no missionary ever comes to the Europeans, -whose spirituality seems to have so withered for want of exercise, -that they resent nothing more than the idea that they could want a -missioner to minister to their spiritual necessities or perchance have -no spiritual wants. - -Yet no account of Shanghai would be other than most incomplete which -did not treat of the missionaries. They are a set apart, well known to -one another, unknown for the most part to other Europeans, full of -information about the China towns and Chinese generally, and abounding -in racy anecdotes. How much good they do, who can estimate? They are -certainly most refreshing to meet with, having a purpose in life, and -reminding us sometimes that, as Faber says, "There are souls in this -world that have the gift of finding joy everywhere." - -But not all. The climate is trying; Chinese society is not of the -liveliest; and there are--of course there always must be--a certain -number of missionaries who do not seem quite the right kind of persons -to have come out. How should it be otherwise? But it is a question -whether that is more the fault of those of the inferior sort who come, -or of those superior people who stay behind. But, setting aside this -vexed question, the Roman Catholic missionaries do not appear nearly -as cheerful and pleased with their surroundings as the Protestants. -Nor, indeed, does one quite see what they have to make them -happy--except, of course, always the love of God. - -One time going up-river, after Chinkiang the saloon presented a -picture of pigtailed Frenchmen--Jesuit Fathers in white Chinese -clothes. As Jesuits are not allowed to go up-country till after a long -preliminary training, and do not become full Jesuit Fathers till after -at the least eight and not uncommonly fifteen years of preparation, if -they are not far more skilled missionaries than those of the various -denominations of Protestants, it would seem to show that in spiritual, -unlike carnal, warfare training and discipline avail nothing. They -reckon some one hundred thousand converts in Kiangnan. In some -instances they have whole villages of Christians; but although -Christians, they say it must be remembered these villages are Chinese -still. - -How merrily the French Fathers chatted over their coffee! But at the -one word "France" every man waxed sorrowful! They say, however, they -do not suffer from _mal du pays_, as do the Italians, many of whom -have to go home, in consequence, sick with sorrowing. Not to be -forgotten, however, is that French priest at Peking who, just returned -from a long sojourn up-country, at the one word "France" broke down -completely, and could _not_ recover himself. And once more I felt a -tightening at the heart, thinking of that large house building at -Ichang to receive Italian Sisters--simple, loving-hearted women, who -for others' sins, not their own, will live and die so far away from -that loved Italy for which Filicaja wished: "Ah! wert thou but more -strong; or if not that, less fair!" The life of Italian Sisters in -China seems altogether too sad. They all get sick; they cannot love -the people; they long for Italy; and till now they have been obliged -to bind the feet of the little girls confided to them, yet unable to -bear the pain for them. But the French priests, too, seem to have -nothing to look forward to, and their lives are more comfortless than -certainly English people at home have any idea of. I recollect one -French priest in a most remote village showing me--half excusing -himself, half proudly--his one great luxury, a little window with -glass panes he had put in near his writing-desk, so as to see to read -and write till later in the evening. There was barely a chair of any -kind to sit down on in his large barracklike room. He showed me a set -of photographs of his native village in France; but I noticed he never -dared glance at it himself while we were there. We were the first -Europeans to visit the place during the three years he had been there, -with the exception of an old priest, who once a year came three days' -journey across the mountains to see how he was going on. By -comparison, the life of Protestant missionaries seems so joyous; -indeed, I have never been able to see why it should not be an -exceptionally pleasant one--barring illnesses always. - -The coming New Year was casting its shadow before it in Chungking in -the shape of gaudy pictures festooned about the streets, crackers of -rejoicing by night and by day, and sad-faced young men wanting to -realise on the family gold ornaments or picture-books by old masters -offered at impossible prices. It cast its shadow also in other ways. -The mission schools were breaking up, and the missionaries themselves -going out to _schwa_, i.e. enjoy themselves in the country. Having -been kindly invited to be present at the breaking up of the Friends' -Girls' School, I noticed one or two things that appear worth -recording. - -Of course, I know missionary labours are popularly supposed to be the -one kind of work on which we all of "the world outside" are qualified -to pass discriminating judgment without ourselves requiring any -preparation for so doing. A man may race across China as fast as he is -able, and it is he who knows whether the missionaries are wasting -their efforts on ungrateful soil, or whether opium does or does not -disagree with the Chinese constitution, although he would hesitate to -express an opinion on any such difficult question as whether a certain -soil were suited for growing opium, or whether a merchant would be -well advised to ship hides for the Shanghai market. Questions like -these require specific knowledge. Not so the question whether -missionaries in China are doing good. Notwithstanding which I must -further premise that, just as when the new railways begin I -individually should not feel in a position to say the navvies' work -was being wasted because I saw no rails, so I do not feel in a -position to say whether even the missionaries I know best are spending -ineffectual toil because I do not see many Christians. - -Judged by this test, indeed, what wanton extravagance might not the -Shanghai Cathedral be pronounced! To some follower in our friend Dr. -Morrison's footsteps I commend the calculation of the cost of its -services to be divided by the number of converts thereby made. The sum -would probably not be a difficult one, though the result might not be -gratifying. For it costs more to redeem souls, etc. - -But to return to twenty-six little girls, who were not converts. They -passed an examination in the Old Testament, as it appeared, most -creditably, although the eldest were thirteen. There was no hesitation -in the answers, as one heard them affirming Jezebel was not a good -woman, and telling about the hair by which Absalom was caught in the -tree. And, after all, Jezebel and Absalom lived nearer to them than -to us, and at least in their own quarter of the world. It is really -odder to hear village children in England telling about the Old -Testament kings, though it seems odder to hear Chinese children doing -so. The younger children were also examined. Five little round-about -bodies--for they were pretty well as thick as they were long--aged -only six, repeated a hymn. Other hymns were repeated by other little -detachments. All this was not surprising. But I was surprised when the -first class, being led up to an outline map of Africa without names, -called out Congoland, Madagascar, Natal, and the like as the examiner -pointed. They did the same by Asia, cheeringly shouting out Japan, and -equally readily indicating China. If into these little girls' heads it -really had penetrated that there were other kingdoms in the world -besides their own, they were in so far better taught than most of the -literati of the land, and no knowledge would seem more to be desired -for a Chinaman just now. After this the usual eye-trying needlework -was exhibited, under protests from the European teacher that any one's -eyes should be so tried, yet in this she felt obliged to conform to -the fashions of the country. - -But what struck me most (for it is the one matter on which I really -felt qualified to form an opinion) was the expressions of the -children. They were interesting, they were attractive, simply because -the mind in them evidently had been aroused, and was working. The -blank, dead-wall Chinese stolidity was gone. What may be the end of -those children, what may be the outcome of it all, it is not for me -to say; nor how far it is right to teach little girls who are not -Christians Christian hymns. There are plenty of beautiful hymns they -could learn, avoiding those about a Christ for whom they have no -reverence. But one thing is clear: for good or for evil those little -girls are with their awakened intelligences in a perfectly different -position from those around them; and if their education is carried -further forward--about which there are many difficulties in -China--they will be in an increasingly critical position. And then -seems to come the great danger. If they become Christians, well and -good; they will have the ethics of Christianity to guide their daily -life. But if not, removed from Buddhist influences, yet more in need -of a guide than those around them, because themselves more susceptible -of outside influences, one feels a certain uneasiness about them. - -The proceedings wound up with what certainly seemed to give great -pleasure: a gift of an article of clothing for every little girl from -one member of the Mission, and then the great ceremony of choosing. -Little collections of presents, sent out by the Missionary Helpers' -Union, had been carefully sorted out and arranged upon the table,--a -doll, a needle-book full of needles, an emery cushion, and a bag -perhaps on one; woollen muffettees and a picture-book on another; and -so on. The little girl who had most marks had first choice, and so on -to the last, who had no choice at all, said the kindly lady teacher in -great distress, her heart evidently aching for the little one, who -must sit by and see all the best things chosen from before her eyes. -"But she could have got more marks; it is her own fault," she added -indignantly, the severity of the teacher once more gaining the upper -hand; for this lady, young though she still was, was not a mere -novice, but was teaching in England in a large and well-known Friends' -School in the west country before ever she came to China, and came to -China with the distinct purpose to teach little girls; into which work -she appeared to put her whole heart, until ill-health forced her to -come home. Some of the little girls had evidently studied the presents -well beforehand, and came up to choose with their minds made up, -making the Chinese reverence all round and up and down, then off to -their mothers to put their treasures in safe keeping before going back -to their seats. But it was pretty to see the indecision on some -childish faces, growing redder and redder as first they pressed a -white wool doll to their little bosoms, then fondled lovingly one in -grey silk. All the dolls had been carefully dressed to suit Chinese -notions of etiquette, with sleeves well down to the wrist, and the -longest possible lace-trimmed drawers under their long dresses. But -one wondered if the little Chinese children would not have preferred -Chinese-clad dolls to nurse. - -Anyway, each year, being presented with such useful and -tempting-looking foreign gifts, although certainly not intended that -way, must predispose the little girls to wish to buy foreign things -when they grow up, recollecting the delight that foreign things gave -them as children. In this way all the trouble of the Missionary -Helpers' Union, formed of children at home, thus early trained to -interest themselves in missions by being led to work for them, may -have commercial results not dreamed of by the little workers. With its -reflections my account seems nearly as long as the little ceremony. -But I must not omit one feature of it. The Chinese mothers sat on -benches all round, flushing with pride as their children distinguished -themselves, and the Mission ladies sat in front behind the prizes. -Then in came all the Mission babies, with their faces so startlingly -clean by comparison with the Chinese as to look like beings from -another sphere, rosy, and kicking about their white fleecy shawls and -other pure whitenesses. Disdainful, indeed, the babies appeared, and -were themselves probably the crowning feature of the show; for the -Chinese certainly delight in foreign babies, and are never tired of -examining them. I cannot emulate _An Australian through China_, and -reckon up the cost per head; but I think the whole proceeding must -have resulted in a certain amount of friendly feeling, and some of -joy. Can we confidently say even as much of the Marlborough-Vanderbilt -wedding? - -There is, however, besides the climate, another sad element in life in -China, and that is the dislike of the Chinese to foreigners and -distrust of them. - - [Illustration: SOOCHOW, WITH MISSION CHURCH.] - -It was sad to hear, shortly after this prize-giving, that there were -again anti-foreign placards out on the walls of Chengtu, the capital -of the province, of a very violent description, and that the Canadian -Mission had already been more than once the object of hostilities in a -small way. Yet one would like to know whether in their new buildings -they were consulting Chinese taste, or building some hideous European -erection which must offend the aesthetic feelings of every Chinaman -that sees it. In this city of beautiful roof-curves a foreign house, -without any proportion being observed between its windows and wall -space, without any sweep of overhanging eaves, and built as no -architect, European or Chinese, would build it, strikes a dissonance -like a wrong note in music, and must be very irritating to those -attuned from childhood to the laws of beauty in architecture. Why we -should insist upon the Chinese swallowing our ugly clothes and ugly -houses before they receive our beautiful gospel of glad tidings, I -never can understand, except by reminding myself that that gospel -never came from Shanghai or New York, but from that very Asia where -still truth and beauty seem to Asiatics synonymous and interchangeable. - -The views of the Chinaman, who has done more than any man of this -generation to stir up anti-foreign feeling among his countrymen, are -more to the point, however, than any words of mine. Chou-han has for -years been circulating tracts of so offensive a nature against -Christians that I cannot further refer to them; but here is Chou-han's -own letter on the subject to T'an, the Governor of Hupeh. It is -interesting, in connection with this letter, to remember that it was -T'an's son who was among the first six beheaded by order of the -Empress-Dowager when she deposed her nephew, the Emperor, and that -T'an, the father, either died of grief or killed himself, heartbroken -on hearing of his son's death. - - [Illustration: TEMPLE TO GOD OF WAR, YUeNYANG. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -This is Chou-han's letter to him: - - - "_October 30th, 1891._ - - "VENERABLE AND RESPECTED SIR. - -"Multiplicity of affairs leaves me but little leisure for -letter-writing, and it is a long time since I have written to inquire -after your health. I would humbly congratulate you on the ten -thousand happinesses which attend your downsitting and uprising, and -on the abundance of your virtuous deeds and meritorious achievements. -With regard to the anti-heresy publications, let me state that they -are all of them printed and disseminated by myself, in concert with -the officials and gentry, both civil and military, who have the -management of affairs connected with the Benevolent Halls. Some time -ago a relative of mine, T'ang Chenpih, styled Mungliang, a native of -Siangtan, was going to Wuchang, and we unitedly entrusted him with a -hamperful of these publications for general distribution. After this a -special messenger was sent by T'ang to Siangtan, to inform us that he -was imprisoned on account of what he had been doing, and praying that -we would come to his rescue, etc., etc. This is amazing! If, indeed, -it be wrong to attack this depraved heresy, then I am, so far as the -matter of fabricating words and creating disturbances is concerned, -the chief culprit. In all reason, you ought to report me to the -Throne, deprive me of my official rank, and arrest me as a criminal. -What has my relative T'ang to do with the matter? And even should you -take off his head and hang it up as a warning to all, how could you by -so doing put a stop to the thing itself? - -"My special object in writing now is to beg of you to consult with the -Viceroy, and set at liberty my relative T'ang and every one of his -companions, who together with him are unjustly implicated; also to -return to them every article of property which may have been possibly -taken away from them. I beg of you to prepare a joint statement of -facts, and to impeach me in a memorial. I will respectfully wait my -punishment in the provincial capital; I will certainly not run away. -If however, your Excellencies will treat good and honest people like -fish and pork, and put me aside and not examine me, then I will go at -once to Peking, and cry at the gate of his Majesty's Palace. I swear -that I will with my own body requite the beneficence of Yau, Shun, Yu, -T'ang, Wen, Wu, Cheu-kung, Kung, and Meng, together with the -beneficence of his Majesty the Emperor, the Empress-Dowager, and all -the ancestors of the Great Dynasty. I shall certainly not allow my -relative T'ang and his injured companions to hand down a fragrant name -to all coming ages alone. I am anxiously looking for your reply, so as -to decide whether to proceed or to stop. It is for this I now write, -also wishing you exalted enjoyment. - -"Your younger brother and fellow-countryman Chou-han writes with -compliments. Chou-han, imperially honoured with the Second Rank, and -expectant Taotai in Shensi, a native of Ninghiang, now at his own -village recruiting his health." - - _Translated by the Rev. Dr. Griffith John._ - - -One cannot but admire Chou-han for his outspoken boldness, as also for -his persistence in opposing what he believes to be a depraved heresy. -On the other hand, turning to his tracts, it is difficult to believe -that any one could circulate them with a good intention. - -People who do not believe the Chinese would be any better for becoming -Christians can be but little interested in missionaries. Those who, on -the other hand, really believe we have glad tidings to tell to them -may doubt whether quite the right means are being taken to deliver the -message. If every one who went out to China lived as a Christian -should, it clearly would have a far more striking effect; but whilst -Europe remains what it is, that seems at least as unattainable as -converting the Chinese. Of those who are converted, I have come across -thousands of Roman Catholics who have borne the burning of their -houses and devastation of their property. There were four thousand -Roman Catholic refugees in Chungking in the summer of 1898. Not a few -have been killed. And in the west of China several cases have occurred -where men have been offered their lives if they would burn incense -upon Buddhist altars, and have refused and been martyred. I do not -know how converts could more prove their sincerity than by thus dying. -But of Protestant converts, too, I do not think the staunchness has at -all sufficiently been estimated. When riot after riot occurred all -along the Yangtse, in some cases all the foreigners went away, -leaving their converts to shift for themselves. Native evangelists -carried on the services, and there were the congregations just the -same when the missionaries came back. Whilst, to turn to lesser -persecutions, sometimes even harder to bear, how many Chinese -Christians have seen their business fall away from them, and from a -position of competence have been reduced to poverty! As long as Treaty -Ports exist in China, probably their common talk will be that Chinese -Christians are no good; for there of all places men of bad character -may be expected to join the Christian communities from interested -motives: but on the whole, though naturally they cannot attain to all -the Christian virtues at once--it will probably require a generation -or two to arrive at such an approximation even as we have ourselves -arrived at--yet in the matter of staunchness Chinese Christians stand -as high as the Christians of any nation at any age. - - [Illustration: COLOSSAL GILDED BUDDHA. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -If my opinion, however, be anything worth, and on this matter I am not -the least sure it is, it is not money so much our missionaries want in -the East as sympathetic upholding. Let them feel that their -countrymen, not missionaries in name, are wishing them more power, and -not taking account of their failures, and they will be upborne to do -greater deeds than those of old. Would, however, that missionaries may -also believe that those not nominally of their band may -notwithstanding be animated by quite as living a Christian zeal! - -As it is, the way in which missionaries and merchants eye each other -askance is often very painful. As to the differences between the -sects, I think these are as much and as needlessly exaggerated as -those between different kinds of Chinese. Chinese converts must be -further advanced in Christianity than is often the case now to be able -to appreciate the difference even between Roman Catholicism and -Congregationalism. They see there is a difference in ceremonial. But -to that Chinese are much too wise to attach much importance. They -fancy all are "good talkees" of different kinds. And are they far -wrong? The sincerer the Christian the less importance he always seems -to attach to differences of belief and form. - -It is sad to reflect that had there not been such fierce rivalries -between the cardinals in the thirteenth century, and a consequent -Papal interregnum of three years, Kublai Khan's request to the two -brothers Polo would have probably been acceded to, and the Chinese -become Christians then _en masse_, after the fashion of the kindred -Russian race. Kublai Khan had "begged the Pope would send as many as -one hundred persons of our Christian faith; intelligent men, -acquainted with the Seven Arts, well qualified to enter into -controversy, and able clearly to prove by force of argument to -idolaters and other kinds of folk, that the law of Christ was best, -and that all other religions were false and naught, and that if they -would prove this, he and all under him would become Christians and the -Church's liegemen. Finally, he charged his envoys to bring back to him -some of the oil of the Lamp which burns on the sepulchre of our Lord -at Jerusalem." There is a miniature of the fourteenth century of the -great Khan delivering a golden tablet to the brothers. They started -for Rome on this mission with a Tartar Baron, but he fell sick and -went back. They were three years upon the journey, then delayed, -waiting till a Pope, Gregory of Piacenza, was at last appointed. He -sent two learned Dominicans with them--two instead of a hundred--and -these two friars were terrified by a Saracen outbreak, and turned back -in their turn. Again, in the eighteenth century the Chinese would, it -seems, have become Christians, but that the Dominicans then came and -opposed the Jesuits, who had effected an entrance in 1580, and had -gained great influence over the Emperor and the nation. The Dominicans -and Franciscans condemned the Jesuit toleration of ancestral worship, -and for the second time China was thrown back. The Emperor and his -advisers were considering whether Christianity should not be -proclaimed the religion of the country, when the _coup d'etat_ came. -Those of the reformers who have survived, and the Emperor Kwang-shue -through them, have thus for the third time been holding out asking -hands to Christendom. - -In all these cases it has been European enlightenment, as embodied in -Christianity, that the Chinese through their Emperors have asked for. -But already we hear of governors and high officials actually becoming -Christians themselves individually. Up till now none had certainly -joined the Protestant Church, and I think none had been baptised into -the Roman Catholic Church, for I have always understood in China it -was doubted whether a man could become a Christian and retain official -place. - -China has appealed to Christendom for the third time. May it not be in -vain! Of all means for helping her, the Society for the Diffusion of -Christian and General Knowledge seems the most useful at the present -juncture, and L20 would bring a new city under its influence, while -L200 would enable this Society to permeate a whole new province with -its revivifying literature. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -_UP-COUNTRY SHOPPING AND UP-COUNTRY WAYS._ - - Buying Curios.--Being stoned.--Chinese New - Year.--Robbers.--Protesting Innocence.--Doing - Penance.--Medicines. - - -Before Chinese New Year bargains are to be picked up--in Shanghai -lovely embroidered satins, exquisite transparent tortoiseshell boxes, -or china of the Ming period. Up-country our buyings are of a different -order--a tiger-skin thirteen feet from head to tail, with grand -markings, though of course not so thick a fur as is to be had at -Newchwang. Head and tail and claws are all intact; and the man who -brings it exhibits also its terrible jaws, and points to the holes -where the spear entered before the man conquered the tiger. We have -besides stone slabs, with the shells of the orthoceras embedded in -them, sawn asunder and polished for screens or table-tops. What that -most remarkable animal did, with a shell like the horn of an unicorn, -not uncommonly over two feet long, and beautifully convoluted, it is -hard to think. These pagoda-stones, as they are called, arrive in -mass, all to realise money for New Year's debts. - -Rocks of various kinds are the special product of the Ichang -district, where we could supply all the rockeries of Shanghai with -disintegrated conglomerate. Only, unfortunately, at this season -fern-stones are not in sufficient beauty to play the part of the Irish -pig, and help to pay the rent. But one day an eagle was shown into the -drawing-room in splendid condition, with grand yellow beak, and -beautiful brown eyes, and neck of blended tints of brown and bronze. -The poor creature's feet were tightly tied together; but even as it -was, we were careful about admiring its beauties too closely. Eight -hundred cash was all that was even asked by its captor, who eventually -is said to have parted with the beautiful bird for five hundred cash, -or one shilling. - -A curious little animal with beautiful long-nailed feet and tiny tail, -and a fur so exquisitely thick and soft and feathery one quite longed -for a collar of it, had not such luck as the eagle, and died before -arriving here; but of these various luxuries--for none of these can -quite be reckoned among the necessaries of life--it is a little -difficult to choose on which to spend one's spare cash. The fur-shops -close before the New Year, which is the more to be regretted as they -offer the most fascinating footstool covers--intended for the seats of -roomy Chinese chairs--made out of two heads of what are called -seven-months' tigers, a thick fur of drab colour with an admixture of -rich brown. - - [Illustration: PUNCH AND JUDY. - _Lent by Scotch Presbyterian Mission._] - -Oranges are what colour the scene,--mandarin oranges, of delicious -flavour and thinnest possible skin; and other oranges, slightly -indented at either end, and of a flavour peculiar to the district, and -highly appreciated. But an attempt to examine the orange-market soon -roused a row, when mud and brickbats flew through the air, so well -hurled by some of the Hunan boatmen as to raise a lump like an egg on -the skull of one of the party before we fairly got away, with our hats -knocked over our eyes, and generally somewhat soiled. This stoning -experience becomes a little monotonous. I have had hot things thrown -at me in Hankow, hot things and stones in Itu, bricks and earth in -Ichang, and since then so many things in so many less well-known -places. There is a certain amount of excitement attached to it at -first; but the most passionate lover of excitement could buy it more -pleasurably otherwise. The people you look at always run away, if you -look firmly enough; but then those from behind come on, and the men on -the outskirts of the throng take the opportunity to throw things under -cover of the others. After all, the shrieking and shouting they keep -up is about the worst part of the proceeding, making one feel like a -mad dog. And to walk through the narrow streets of a Chinese town in -that character is not the pleasantest possible experience. We enjoyed -it to perfection at Itu, where the people consider they have conquered -the English; for a missionary, having taken a house there, was not -only persuaded by the British Consul into giving up the house, the -owner of which had as usual in such cases been thrown into prison, but -had even to pay something himself, instead of having compensation -given to him. - -Had it not been for the uproarious chorus of "Slay the foreigner!" the -tune to which we habitually walked about in remote parts of Hupeh -Province, the shops of Itu looked rather inviting. There were -beautiful sheep-skins in great profusion; and even in passing I was -struck by the delicate beauty of some of the fox-skins. Women's -embroidered petticoats were also hanging up for sale; but this was -probably a bad New Year's sign. In one of the temples at Itu report -says there is an inscription in European characters; but the hooting -crowd did not predispose us to research, the less so as over all down -fell the silent snow, in the midst of which stalked the most -formidable beggar I have ever yet seen, stripped to the waist, covered -with skin disease, his face plastered with mud of a livid green hue, -his hair wild, and his eyes fierce and shining. - -How comfortable the familiar house-boat looks, after one of these -raids upon the shore, with luncheon on the table, and the armchairs -all equally inviting! But we were stoned at Ichang with no pleasant -house-boat to make tracks to; and, what is worse, one of the party -wounded, which was a bad precedent, to say the least of it. And we -were met by a French gentleman, who said, "I was stoned for a whole -quarter of an hour yesterday." It seemed to him, as it did to us, that -these little breaches of the peace, acquiesced in, might easily lead -to serious consequences. The cry of "Slay the foreigner!" was a -novelty that year. It has become very common since then. - -But even without stoning, what a business it is shopping in a Chinese -city! If you go to a shop, and begin looking at things and asking -prices as you might in Europe, all the rabble of the street pours in -after you. You cannot make yourself heard, you cannot breathe, you -cannot see for the crowd, till the poor shopkeeper by his imploring -gestures at last succeeds in making you go away before his shop is -sacked, or at least half the things in it broken. The proper way is -to send to the shop. Then a young shopman comes, very chirpy and -self-satisfied, with a quantity of goods, but very likely nothing that -you quite fancy. Then he asks you to tell him what you want exactly. -Do you want brocade, or--or----Here follow names of silks you never -heard of, and never consciously saw. Do you want to make yourself a -skirt or a jacket? What!--neither! And do you not want a whole piece -of the silk either? He packs up his goods and goes off. Then you -decide to do the next most right thing--are carried to his shop in a -sedan-chair, plumped down at the door of it, and glide into it and -through into the sitting-room behind with wonderful celerity. The -troubled shopkeeper bars one or two gates behind you, and the curious -crowd is shut out. You sit down in peace, among round wooden columns, -upon one of the straight-backed chairs beside a little black table. -All is tranquil. Tea is brought. A pipe is offered. No one is in a -hurry to serve you. And when you begin to explain what you want, they -treat you like a silly sort of crazy creature that must be humoured, -and somehow induced to go away. If, however, you have the good sense -to begin by making one or two somewhat important purchases, everything -and everybody in the shop will be at your service. The Chinese like -buyers. But they object altogether to pricing after the American -fashion. - - [Illustration: STONE ANIMALS AT GENERAL'S GRAVE. A PEASANT SEATED ON - ONE WITH STRAW HAT. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -There is not much more to be bought in Chungking than in Ichang; but -there are bed-spreads of deep indigo-blue cotton, with an elaborate -pattern traced out on them in a kind of plaster before they are dyed, -which consequently become whiter each time the cloth is washed, and -which do well for tablecloths. And there are felt rugs, which have -been treated in the same way--the whole pattern traced by hand, -though, and then the rug dipped in a bright scarlet. Even in Chungking -we never can decide whether these rugs look handsome or the reverse. -But in the frontier town of Tibet, in the Roman Catholic Bishop's -palace, I thought one looked magnificent upon the floor. There are -embroideries, of course, to be bought--there are always embroideries -all over China. And there are wonderful straw hats from Chengtu, two -yards in circumference; and with the straw braid so fine in the -centre of the crown, that it has all to be sewn together standing -edgewise, not flat, as is usual with hats. - - [Illustration: ENTRANCE TO FAIRIES' TEMPLE, CHUNGKING. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -But China New Year is the great time in every Chinese city, and this -account of China New Year in Wuchang, the capital of Hupeh Province, -is so much the best I have ever heard, that I must borrow it from the -_North China Daily News_ of February 20th, 1891: - -"It requires a good conscience to get any sleep on Old Year Night in a -Chinese city; the whole population watches the Old Year out. Ask them -what they do all the time, they will say they enjoy themselves; again -ask them how, they will tell you that they sit and chat all night -long. No doubt the opium-pipe and game of chance help away the time. -Certainly, firing crackers seems to be a large part of the watch-night -service. From dark to dawn and everywhere they bang, bang, bang on the -startled air of night, being intended as a sort of greeting to the New -Year. All the first half of the night hurry and scurry fill the -streets; the city gates are left open, so that belated creditors may -not be hampered in the collection of their debts. Then towards -midnight the last door is shut, and the last lucky inscription pasted -up. This is a very important phase of the New Year. Every house in the -empire that can afford it buys antithetical inscriptions for the two -lintels of the door, and for the various other places of prominence on -the walls. The vocabulary of polite ornament is ransacked, and the -five happinesses, the points of the compass, rains, snows, winds, -sunshine, country and home, wealth and longevity, are woven into the -garlands of elegant phrases in every possible combination. On the -doors themselves are pasted new pictures of the 'Door-Gods', who once -in the fabled past delivered their monarch from the nightly visits of -wandering bogeys, and whose pictures have been found ever since -sufficient for a similar purpose throughout the empire. Across the -windows are pasted strips of paper--'Chieh, the Supreme Duke, is here; -bad spirits, get you gone,' for Chieh in his day, some two thousand -years ago, gained great power over spirits, and to-day, though they -have wit enough to read characters, they have not wit to know that -they are being taken in, and therefore sneak away abashed when they -find their old controller is within. Over the door-front is fixed a -little mirror, so that any foul fiend who wants to enter, seeing his -own ugly face reflected, will think another is there before him, and -will fear the consequences of poaching. The 'door of wealth' is then -closed, and the transactions of the year are ended. The door will in -due time be opened once more with great ceremony, and with proper -precautions to ensure that wealth shall flow in. - -"As the night passes on, the guests refresh themselves with the food -cooked in preparation; for cooking must not go on during the first day -or so of the year. A banquet is prepared, and with the first glimmer -of the dawn the head of the household goes out beneath the sky, and, -spreading a carpet and offering viands, bows down with head to the -ground towards the direction of the spirit of happiness. This spirit -is changeable; he alters his direction every year, and the high -authorities of Peking kindly act as his mouthpiece, giving notice -beforehand to the people in which direction to bow. This year the dawn -of the year saw many a pigtailed head bowed to the south-west; then -followed the worship of ancestors by the whole household; while -crackers and incense completed the welcome. At the same time the high -officials, from the Viceroy downwards, assemble within the red and -yellow walls of the Emperor's Temple. Great heaps of reeds are stacked -through the neglected courts, which have been hastily weeded, and as -the mandarins approach the whole scene is made ruddy with huge -bonfires. The great chair of State--somewhat rickety and of simple -local manufacture--acts as deputy for the Emperor, all the officials -_k'otow_ in unison, and then for a moment squat in the peculiar -fashion observed in the actual presence of their sovereign. The -temples of Confucius and the god of war are also visited for similar -brief acts of reverence. - -"By this time the day has well dawned, and shortly the round of calls -begins. Everybody dons his best attire; and the number of buttons of -gold on the top of juvenile or rarely respectable heads is marvellous. -Most careful must everybody be to utter no word of ill-omen; tiger, -death, devil, etc., etc., are all tabooed. For once in the year the -foreigner may go on the streets with a fair prospect of not being -greeted by the ordinary affectionate terms of abuse; for should any -unfortunate youngster in his wonder call out 'foreign devil,' summary -chastisement is sure to teach him that the luck of the family is not -to be sacrificed even for the pleasure of baiting an outside stranger. -The streets are filled with all the world paying calls; the world's -wife does not venture out these first few days. And the work-worn -city keeps its sabbaths for the whole year all in a fortnight." - - [Illustration: PLAY AT A DINNER PARTY IN A GUILDHALL. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - - [Illustration: AUDIENCE AT A PLAY IN A GUILDHALL.] - -Like our Easter, the Chinese New Year varies; but it generally comes -some time in February. - -In a small Chinese town, where there was no buying to be done, one -evening we had the gentleman in charge of the telegraph station to -tea. He brought his operator with him, a most determined young man of -fourteen, who to everything said, "Yes!" Between them they send two -messages a day, morning and evening, "Yes" and "All right," and that -is all they have to do. "And conceive," said the superior, "that I -spent L12 learning English, and therewith bought five thousand words, -and then am set down in a place like this, where there is not even -anything to eat." - -On many of the farmsteads round about Ichang may be seen a large -hieroglyph painted in white, the character "Fang," with "Shang" on the -top of it, in a circle. It is always very conspicuously placed, and -signifies, "This household pays its yearly tribute to the robbers, and -must not be molested." The village of Kolopei, just below the Tiger's -Teeth Gorge, is said to consist wholly of the class of whom it may be -said--as was said to me once of the inhabitants of a network of common -lodging-houses not far off Spitalfields, wondering at seeing them -dancing and making merry at two o'clock in the afternoon--"What do the -people here do? Why, they none of them _works_ for their living." - -A day or two after a great fire at Ichang a strange sight was to be -seen. A man, who had been accused of helping to steal away some poor -woman's child during the confusion, with a white calico placard pasted -on to his coat behind attesting his innocence, his pigtail hanging -unplaited, and wearing a crown of coarse paper cash, with long -streamers of paper cash hanging from it, was going round from shrine -to shrine, at each protesting his innocence. A man went before him -with a gong, shouting out the whole story. It is to be hoped he was -not one of the eight beheaded next day. What would be thought of eight -executions in one day in Stamford or Teignmouth? But not so long ago -England was equally bloodthirsty. We must remember that. - -Another year we saw a similar sight, only much more picturesque. As we -were going up-river, we met a boat coming down, and in the bow of it -there was a man kneeling quite upright, with hands held up as if -imploring. In the great beauty of a still reach in the Gorges it was a -very moving spectacle; but it was only a rough-and-ready way of -punishing a man accused of having tried to steal from his fellows. - -I see I have said nothing of medicines. You can buy rhubarb in bulk -quite fresh in Szechuan. It grows chiefly on the Tibetan border. Even -under the Sung Dynasty the Chinese had three hundred and sixty-five -kinds of drugs and one hundred and thirteen kinds of formulae. But they -use rough decoctions, and make tisanes from their drugs; they never -make extracts, nor use minute and accurate weights to dole them out. - -The ancient Chinese used metal models to exhibit man's inner -structure; and everything that is most rare and dear they think must -be useful for a medicine,--snakes, scorpions, the velvet off a deer's -horns, a dead caterpillar with grass growing out of its head, tigers' -bones, beautiful orchids, of which last whole boatloads float down -from Chungking to Ichang. A Chinaman loves medicine; nothing pleases -him better than to take it; and the European is always being asked for -remedies, not so much because he believes foreign remedies to be good, -but because he has found out to his delight and amazement that they -are to be had for nothing. One doctor, delighted at the great -reputation he thought he was acquiring amongst Chinese, was disgusted -to find that as soon as he ceased giving away bottles with his -medicines patients ceased to apply for them. But the benefits of -quinine are so striking, that a Chinaman is ready to ask for this, -even when you put it into his mouth for him. They suffer very much -from fever, poor people! and when one thinks how many years they have -stood the violent changes of their climate without ever a respite, and -how much we ourselves lose our energy when exposed to them, one begins -to feel more tolerance for a Chinaman's apparent inertia. Besides, -what has he to gain by exerting himself? If he become rich, is not the -life of a rich Chinaman so dull that only opium makes it possible to -endure it? Once let Chinamen get a taste of the enjoyment of life, and -they will be a different people. Now they suffer from fever as we do; -they dislike bad smells, too, it seems--for no nation more delights -in sweet-smelling flowers; they get depressed, and hipped as we do; -and they have no light literature, no sports, very little of a -newspaper press, no picture-galleries, no concerts, no bands, no -intercourse with women, except of the baser sort. No wonder they look -dull. And how they love to be amused! - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -_SOLDIERS._ - - Tiger Soldiers.--Woosung Drill.--General's - Gallantry.--Japanese War.--Admiral Ting.--Dominoes with a - Sentry.--Viceroy's Review. - - -At Ichang, a thousand miles up the river Yangtse, there is a regiment -of soldiers dressed as tigers; but I never could persuade any of the -foreign officials to escort me to see them manuvre, the European -opinion being that not even the presence of an inspecting general -would awe the Tiger soldiers sufficiently to make it safe to take a -foreign lady to see them. I was told that the Tigers were not really -soldiers at all, but that some officer drew pay for them as if they -existed; and then when the General came to inspect, all the beggars -and riff-raff of the city put on the Tiger uniform over their rags, -and turned out in so disorderly a condition that even their officers -were afraid of them. And so it turned out that, except from a passing -steamer, I never saw Chinese soldiers drill till I did so at Woosung, -the new Treaty Port, at the junction of the Whangpoo, on which -Shanghai is situated, with the great river Yangtse. - -It was a Sunday in autumn, and the early morning air felt keen as we -steamed down to Woosung, and landed at the fort. Eleven gunboats in a -row, all decorated with large flags, the biggest flag in each boat a -different arrangement of black, red, yellow, and white, had prepared -us for its being a gala day, but hardly for the pretty sight we found -upon the parade-ground, where five hundred men were being drilled with -a hundred banners among them, not to speak of bannerets, many of the -banners being ten feet square. The men formed in square, in rallying -groups, fired altogether, one after the other, all to the sound of a -bugle, without a single order being given. Drill sergeants in huge -straw hats stood before them, and inspected them; and the men's own -dress was picturesque enough--loose jackets with large characters upon -them behind and before placed in circles like targets, and large -loose-flapping leg-guards of decided colours. To the bugle's note the -men folded their banners round the spears they carried, to the bugle's -note they again flung them loose to the wind, executing both -manuvres with a singular adroitness. There was never a hitch, and -the drill appeared admirable, recalling that to be seen from Birdcage -Walk in a very curious fashion; for it was every now and again -diversified by a primitively savage jump forward with spears pointed, -to the sound of a terror-inspiring yell, and then a sort of goose-step -retreat, after which the banners that had been tightly wound round the -spears were shaken out again, and the men became civilised soldiers -once more, admirably drilled. - - [Illustration: JUNK. - _From a Picture by a Chinese Artist._] - -After this I saw no more of Chinese soldiers for some time, only -noticed that the one Chinese mandarin who showed anything approaching -to gallantry towards me was a Chinese general, who, calling upon the -Consul with whom we were staying in all his war-paint, was kind enough -to take off his necklace for me to admire, when I had broken the ice -by praising his embroideries; drew up his gown for me to admire his -boots, which, like his necklace, were insignia of his official -standing; and finally invited us, whenever we could succeed in -effecting a landing there, to spend a long and happy day at new -Kweichow. Unfortunately this city, built by order, is so situated, -with all the worst rocks in the river just at the foot of it, that -hardly any one ever can land there; and we never have succeeded in so -doing, which I the more regretted as he was kindly careful to inform -me that, though his own wife was dead, his daughter-in-law would do -the honours to me. I flattered myself at the time that I had made -quite an impression upon the General, who was over six feet one, and -fully broad in proportion, and who presented a most gorgeous -appearance in long brocade gown embroidered for about a foot round the -bottom with waves of the sea and other Chinese devices. He wore also a -long satin coat with embroidered breast-plate, and a similar square of -embroidery on the back, with the horseshoe cuffs, forced upon the -Chinese by the Manchus when the present dynasty came to the throne, -falling over his hands. High official boots, an amber necklace of very -large beads reaching to his waist, and aureole-shaped official cap -with large red tassel, completed his costume. And when he first -advanced into the room, and found me seated there with the British -Consul, on whom he was paying a visit of ceremony, the huge creature -turned back, growing crimson and giggling like a schoolgirl, as he -said to one of his attendants (a numerous retinue of pipe-bearers and -the like followed him), "Here is one of these foreign women. Whatever -am I to do? I never was in a room with one before, and have no notion -how to behave." Yet such is army training all the world over, that in -five minutes the General was doing the polite in the most finished -style. - -There must be something in being a soldier--even in being a Chinese -soldier. When we travelled with some thirty or so coolies and -attendants, it was of course necessary for me to decide upon one man -whose duty it was, whenever I got out of my sedan-chair, to follow me -with the camera, help me to set it up, and generally attend upon me. -Twice I picked out my man, without knowing anything of his -antecedents, and in each case found I had selected the one ex-soldier -of the company. It was idle for our man-servant to say they were -probably bad characters, for a man did not go away from home and -become a soldier for nothing. They were so handy and obliging, that, -though both, alas! have come to grief since then, I have still a soft -corner of my heart for my two Lao Liu's; for curiously enough both -rejoiced in the same name, and mightily jealous of each other they -were when they ultimately met. When it is considered that their -duties varied from carrying my little dog, the untiring companion of -all our wild travel, to carrying me myself pick-a-back across a -mountain torrent, and included choosing the picturesque view-points -for photographs (at least they both thought themselves mighty fine -judges on this point), as well as defending me from infuriate -peasantry when they rushed at me with mattocks, and regularly carrying -me in a sedan when that was the mode of progression, together with -collecting and caring for all my little odds and ends of wraps, boots, -and the like, it may be seen what a very handy creature a Chinese -soldier is, when he--shall we say is after a soft billet, or wants to -oblige a lady? - -Of course, we had unpleasant experiences with soldiers sometimes. On -the S.S. _Kuling_ they stole every portable bit of brass off the -steamer whilst making a little voyage in her. On the S.S. _Yling_ they -managed to eat up or carry off all the food that had been intended to -last for months, whilst their officers were being entertained by my -husband at a dinner party. - -Then came the Japanese War, and all the river between Ichang and -Hankow became gay with most picturesque junks laden with Chinese -soldiers going to the war. Their flags flew upon the breeze; they -themselves, in their motley and decorative uniforms, sat in groups -mounted up on top of the junks. Occasionally the old-world, almost -antediluvian music of their long, somewhat mournful trumpets sounded -across the water. "Nous allons a la boucherie, a la boucherie, a la -boucherie," sang the French recruits in their train-loads hurrying to -fight the Germans. These Chinese levies might well have sung the same. -But they sat impassive and yellow-faced beneath their high black -turbans, apparently in nowise excited or discontented with their lot. -How mercifully the future hides from us what may be in store for us on -the morrow! And how terrible would it be, could some - - "power the giftie gie us - To see oursels as others see us"! - - [Illustration: CAPTAIN OF CHINESE GUNBOAT. - _By Mr. Cecil Hanbury._] - -These Hunan soldiers evidently looked upon themselves as "braves," -sure of their rice; good, honest fellows they looked most of them, -well grown and well fed. But to us they appeared as victims upon the -altar of Chinese corruption and ineptitude. Yet is it our hearts -harden in China? There are so many victims in the world one -contemplates with more of sorrow than these Chinese soldiers as they -floated down the great river in their red and orange, with the black -kerchiefs of Hunan binding their yellow brows. To the butchery! To the -butchery! Float on, Chinese soldiers, all unconscious of your doom, -and convinced beyond the power of argument and canon that there is no -race like the Chinese race, and that all other nations are your -subjects born--rebellious, perhaps, but to be subject to the end! It -is a somewhat similar conviction which carries the Anglo-Saxon race -forward--indeed, each nation in turn, till it meets its destiny in the -God-appointed hour. - -The story of the Japanese War has been written for the Chinese by Dr. -Allen, and read with avidity by them. For the English public it has -not been written. Contradictory telegrams arrived till people began to -look in doubt upon any news emanating from Shanghai. But, indeed, the -truth was incredible. It was impossible to believe that the Empress -and Li Hung-chang between them had brought their nation to such a pass -that no regiment was properly armed. If they had got the guns, they -had not got the cartridges that fitted them; but generally speaking -they had not got the guns. The men stolidly appreciated the situation; -they made no complaint; but when they could they ran away, which was -about the only thing they could do under the circumstances. Did not -six generals bolt before one battle? Or was that one of the telegrams -that reached us in the west of China, where we were even less well -informed than people in England? People talked of the feats of Chinese -soldiery under Gordon, forgetting always that these feats were -performed by Chinese soldiers properly armed, and against soldiers who -were also Chinese, and not led by Gordons, nor properly armed. It is -still a question whether Chinese will ever stand against a European -army. They have the greatest contempt for their own soldiery, call -them by a title of contempt--Ping Ting!--regard fighting altogether as -barbarous, and long ago were of the opinion now enunciated to the -world by the Russian Czar. - - [Illustration: SOLDIER. - _By Mrs. Bishop._] - - [Illustration: SOLDIER. - _By Mrs. Bishop._] - -After the war was over, the poor soldiers were certainly as badly -treated as they could possibly deserve. Their officers pocketed their -pay, and then decamped, leaving their men in many cases completely -destitute, out at elbows, and far away from their homes. No wonder -that they misconducted themselves! Comical enough incidents occurred -during the war; as, for instance, when a company of Cantonese soldiers -stopped for food and rest at a little village. The villagers willingly -disposed of food at good prices; and the soldiers were about to leave, -when a village elder informed them that the Japanese were in the -neighbourhood, and he would advise them to leave their weapons and -ammunition in the village; for if the Japanese saw them armed, they -would think they had come to fight, and would kill them all. This -seemed good advice to the soldiers; so they requested that they might -be allowed to leave their weapons in the village till some future day. -The villagers consented, and the guns and cartridges were stacked -together; but no sooner had the soldiers started on their way, than -the villagers seized the guns, and commenced a deadly fire on the now -disarmed braves. Many were killed, and all were robbed of everything -about them, until their costume was scarcely as extensive as that -usually worn by a Swatow fisherman. - -Here is a sad little account of one detachment, taken from a Chinese -paper: - -"The first batch of Hunan men who are without occupation, property, or -income is three hundred and seventeen in number. H. E. ordered them to -be taken by gunboat to their homes. Those who belonged to Hengyang -were to receive $3 (6_s._) each as expenses for their land journey, -and those of Changsha $2 (4_s._) each. On the day of debarkation, they -were marched from the city to Shakuan; but on reaching that place -their number had diminished to one hundred and eighty, the others -having fallen out, complaining of sickness and fatigue, though the -distance they had traversed was only about six miles. These invalids -were handed over to the guardhouses along the road for safe keeping, -and will be deported with the next batch. The crusade is being -continued with great vigour, and no doubt the ultimate number of -deportees will amount to many thousands." - -When a general intended to review the four battalions of troops that -do duty on the Grand Canal, he found that, instead of numbering -sixteen hundred, as they ought to do, they practically did not exist, -and that, "as was universally the case in the army," the pay of the -skeleton force that was maintained was three months in arrear. Their -number was simply made up against the general in command holding a -review, and as soon as he left the old system of corruption was -resorted to. - -One of the few men who distinguished himself on the Chinese side in -the late war was Admiral Ting; and as illustrating the career of a -Chinese soldier, it may be as well to relate his history, for this -noble admiral was in reality a Chinese brave. Born of poor parents, -and having had to work hard for a living, he entered the army as a -private at the age of sixteen; but after a few years was promoted to -be an officer. In the war against the rebels in the Western provinces, -he fought as a captain in Li Hung-chang's cavalry, and after that was -promoted to be colonel of the same regiment. During the Taiping -rebellion, he again distinguished himself as an officer. - -But when China began to form a fleet in 1880, not having any naval -officers, she had to look for some one amongst the officers of the -army to take command of her squadron of alphabetical gunboats, and -Ting was ordered to fill this post by Imperial Decree. At first, in -all matters of navigation, he had to seek help from his subordinate -officers, some of whom had been brought up in foreign military and -naval schools, and by doing so lost much of his authority. But by -degrees he learnt to know as much about navigation and seamanship as -any of them; and when in 1884 some one was wanted to go to England to -bring out two new cruisers, it was again Ting who was selected. -Western civilisation seems to have made a real impression upon him; -and after returning from Europe, his great wish was always to form a -navy that might be sufficient to defend the Chinese coast, and with -this object in view he adopted as far as possible European customs. -Many Europeans came in contact with him whilst at Chefoo, and all seem -to have been most favourably impressed by him. When the Japanese War -began, Ting's views often differed from those of his Government; but -he knew that his duty was to obey, and so with resolution he awaited -the fate that he clearly saw must one day befall him. For he knew that -by the laws of his country his life would be forfeited by the loss of -his ships and Wei-hai-wei. After the fall of Port Arthur, he had been -deprived of his honours, and ordered to proceed to Peking and give -himself over to the Board of Punishment; but owing to the -remonstrances of all the European officers of the fleet, this edict -had been cancelled, and the brave old soldier reinstated as admiral in -command. After the fall of Wei-hai-wei, he knew there was nothing for -him but death, and he preferred to perish by his own hand, and thus -save his family from dishonour, rather than to be decapitated. All his -countrymen approved his action; and so this man, who had risen from -the lowliest position, died, as he had lived, respected. Kind and -fatherly to his soldiers as to his family, he had been greatly -beloved. But in the condition to which Li Hung-chang and the Empress -Tze Hsi had brought both fleet and army, what other end could there be -for a brave soldier? - -The army was, indeed, divided against itself. At Kiangyin, on the -Yangtse, where there were German instructors, the main powder magazine -on the left bank of the river blew up; it was never known whether by -accident or design, although it looked like the latter. Two hundred -lives were lost, and there were many wounded. The foreigners on the -right bank were afraid to cross, as the Anhui soldiers were in a state -of mutiny, holding their general prisoner, and intending to kill him. -They were decided, should the mutiny spread, to move over to the Hunan -men, on whom they could rely, and who would not assist the Anhui men. -They knew that the general was keeping back his men's pay; and -although the intervention of the Literary Chancellor had been asked, -no reliance was placed on his power of pacifying the soldiery, his -corruption was known to be so great. - -The German officer who had been acting as General at Woosung close to -Shanghai up to the spring of 1898 gave a most amusing, though somewhat -disheartening, account of his handing over his command. The Chinese -did not want to have German officers any more, so a Chinese General -was to take command; and first he did not arrive, although the men -were all drawn up under arms waiting for him, because he had suddenly -found out it was an unlucky day; so he had had his boats moored up a -creek, and was quietly waiting there. The German was indignant, and -required him once more to fix his day. A Sunday was appointed, and the -German sent to inform him that all the men would again be drawn up, -and that when he saw the Chinese General riding forward he would give -order, "Shoulder arms! Present arms!" then the Chinese General must -say, "Order arms!" and then the command would be given over. "But -surely I am not expected to ride? I cannot possibly ride," replied the -Chinese General. The German persisted he must ride. So on the -appointed day there appeared the Chinese General huddled on to a very -small pony, with two men holding it one on each side, and a third -holding an umbrella over him, for it was raining hard. He at once -shouted out his word of command; but as the previous order had not -been given, it could not be followed. The German tried to explain -this. "Oh," said the Chinese General, "I cannot believe it does any -one any good to be kept out in rain like this. Just tell the men they -can go away. This will do for to-day." So the men dispersed, and the -German cavalry officer felt there was the end of his efforts for many -years to uphold discipline. - - [Illustration: GUNBOAT SOLDIERS. - _By Mr. Cecil Hanbury._] - -Of course, the story is well known of Admiral Lang going off to a -Chinese man-of-war to see if discipline were well maintained, and -finding no sentry outside the Chinese Admiral's cabin. Going in to -protest, he found the Admiral and another playing dominoes. "Really, -Admiral," he began, "I thought you had promised me to maintain -discipline. How is it, then, I find no sentry outside your door?" "Oh, -well, I am very sorry," replied the Chinese Admiral. "But I really was -so dull, I just asked him in to play dominoes with me." - -The days of old-time Chinese reviews must be numbered, and so I will -conclude this chapter with an account of the one great one I have -seen. The Viceroy arrived the day before. Great was the show of flags, -and the whole city was in a white heat of excitement. We foreigners -were all going about, each guarded by two soldiers in front of us, -intelligent-seeming, very civil men, in beautiful new clothes, their -bright-red waistcoats giving them a very festive appearance. There -were besides numbers of men in orange coats, who seemed to have some -duty as regarded keeping order; whilst _tsaijen_ (messengers), with -pale, anxious-looking faces, sprang forward in dozens to protect me, -when I went to examine the parade-ground. All the houses had been -removed from it, and a mock city wall with five gates built across it -by means of dark-blue cotton, with white chalk lines to simulate the -joins of the blocks of stone. All the world (without his wife) had -been out drinking tea at tables there, and the scene was what -Chungking people call _reh-lau_, or "really jolly." - -The next day we were all to get up at five o'clock, we understood, and -dressed in Chinese clothes; for places had been arranged for the -foreigners to see the sight, but we were requested if possible not to -shock the populace by our queer foreign dress. The city was full of -strangers, many of them with very flushed faces--a great contrast in -their _insouciance_ to the stream of extremely grave, anxious-looking -mandarins in chairs coming back in full dress from waiting upon the -great man. The review was beautifully set upon the stage; the -Viceroy's entrance could hardly be improved upon: - - "Behind him march the halberdiers, - Before him sound the drums!" - -In the band there were men with long trumpets, such as those before -which the walls of Jericho fell down. They blew, and men advanced -through the gates of the city wall, built up of blue cotton, with -white chalk marks; other men carried boards with titles; others came -following after, and then stopped and stood in front of them, and so -on, and so on; executioners with conical scarlet caps, boys with long -Reeves' pheasant feathers in their caps, and all the curious insignia -so well known in China, till at last there was a long line of them on -either side all the way from the mock city wall to the tribune where -the Viceroy was to sit, on one side of which was the Chinese -bandstand, beside it again the box very politely set apart for -foreigners, all hung with green reed-blinds to shield us from the -people's stare. - - [Illustration: SOLDIERS. - _By Mrs. Bishop._] - -Some of us really had been there since 5 a.m.; but not till about 9.30 -did the trumpets sound. Then the great green Viceroy's chair with its -multitude of bearers appeared through the city gates, forty banner-men -all drooped their beautiful silken banners in the wet before him, -whilst the army as one man went on its knees. The Viceroy entered the -tribune, and the review began. But that entry could not have been -better, if so well done, at Drury Lane. And the rest, too, was -excellently staged. There was the usual extraordinary mixture of -foreign and native drill,--fours about, hollow squares with the -cavalry inside, the "thin red lines o' 'eroes," and volley-firing, -with, in between, wonderful advances of the banner-men, shaking the -long poles, round which their banners were rolled, and shouting -defiance at the foe. Then in and out and round about darted the -Tigers, in ochre-yellow cotton made almost in the foreign fashion, -coatees cut short, and trousers not baggy, and tucked in at the boot, -as it seemed, at first glance. Then they turned round, and revealed -the tiger stripings on their backs and on their ochre-yellow hoods. -They came on with long catlike strides, then leapt, then hid behind -shields painted to represent the tiger's open jaws, then strode -stealthily again, and went through many cotillion figures, their round -painted shields sometimes forming a tent for all the tigers, sometimes -a series of ladders. Then for a very long time men singly or in twos -danced before the Viceroy, showing their skill with two-pronged forks -made to catch the enemies' clothes, and rakes, and what in the end -looked like a highly painted japanned table-top. Then suddenly, from -opposite corners of the parade-ground, darted wild horsemen, each in -fantastic attire and on a dashing pony, representing an attacking -force of savages; and the army fired on every side at once. Then the -artillery appeared with the most marvellous of cannon, slight and -somewhat dragon-shaped, and muzzle-loading of course, requiring to be -laboriously wheeled round after each volley, and resting on some -strange, outlandish supports, that had puzzled us foreigners much -whilst carried round upon the shoulders of what now proved to be the -artillery. - -We all felt somewhat mockingly inclined, we Americans, English, and -Japanese, looking on from behind the blinds we so often pushed aside -to see better. But the worst of it all was, it was all well done; the -men appeared well drilled; and though, as the rain fell more and more, -the Tigers no longer bounded as at first, and even their stride lost -somewhat of its stealth in the general slipperiness, yet the -heartrending thought to all of us was, the thing was meant to be real. -As a spectacle it was so successful! But those poor men down there -would march in that style against modern weapons of precision, used in -accordance with modern tactics, and of course had _run away_! "Poor -old China! Poor old China!" rose like a chorus from the pitiful ones. -And we wondered, Did the Viceroy realise what he was looking on at? -Did his cheeks burn, as our own did? Or did he really know no better, -and think it a fine sight, as it was? - -The whole wound up with a display on the part of the archers. -Silken-clad young men with official red silk-tasselled caps, and the -corners of their long gowns tucked up, followed each by a -soldier-servant holding above the heads of the crowd a quiver full of -arrows, made their way up to the Viceregal tribune, and shot at a -target white and long-shaped with three red bulls'-eyes one above the -other. Each time they did so a big, very big drum was beaten, and a -man sprang forward, and picked up the arrow, holding it very -ostentatiously at arm's-length. The theatrical effect again was very -good; but as far as we could any of us see not one hit any of the -bulls'-eyes, and through opera-glasses the paper surface appeared -intact, when the Viceroy got into his chair and went off in much the -same state as he had come; only every one was wet through now, and the -poor little boys with the Reeves' feathers looked particularly -deplorable. On a rough computation, on this occasion at Chungking five -hundred soldiers turned out, three hundred of whom, including forty -banner-men, were versed in foreign drill and wore scarlet waistcoats. -The others were either tigers or orange-clad. - -As to the Viceroy, he must have been used to it; for was he not going -round the province from Fu city to Fu city reviewing troops? and did -it not always rain? He therefore must be accustomed to the archers' -consequent failures. But we wondered somewhat sorrowfully whether we -had had the great privilege of assisting at one of the last Viceregal -reviews of the kind, one of the last survivals of antediluvian -periods. All nations have passed through similar stages, as the -Scottish sword-dances, Highland flings, and English beefeaters remind -us. Or could it be that China is going to persist in living still -longer in the Middle Ages? In the one case--for we Europeans are -nothing, if we are not practical--let us at once buy up one of the -painted shields, and Tiger uniforms, and too often brandished banners -with their tribes of attended bannerets. In the other, let us stand -back, and look aside, lest our hearts should be too much torn by pity -when the great catastrophe comes, and China meets a foe who follows -his thrusts home, and is determined to reap the full fruit of his -victories. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -_CHINESE STUDENTS._ - - Number of Degrees.--Aged Bachelors.--Up for - Examination.--Necessary - Qualifications.--Crowding.--Scarcity of Posts.--Chinese - Dress. - - -Far more formidable than the soldiery are the literati of China. -Soldiering is despised in China; learning is esteemed. The literati -also are far more numerous; they arrive in great armies, nominally ten -thousand strong or more, and each young man of any standing has his -pipe-bearer and three or more servants, possibly in the case of -military students a horse or two and attendant grooms as well. In the -summer of 1897 at Chengtu there were fourteen thousand candidates, who -had already passed the first of the five examinations necessary before -entering the highest body in China, the Hanlin College. They were all -what is commonly Englished into B.A.'s; that is, Shiu Tsai, or Budding -Talent. _And there were ninety-six degrees to be conferred!_ Picture -the disappointment in a land where for twelve centuries no official -post of any kind has been conferred without preliminary examination. -Men go up year after year, year after year, in many cases collecting -contributions from friends and patrons towards travelling expenses. -Sometimes these contributions are given under promise that, if the -needy student do not pass this year, he will not try again. But this -is a promise made to be broken. And I believe it is really true, if a -man go on competing for his B.A. and failing, at the age of eighty he -is considered to have passed. - -In 1891 the Governor of Yunnan said that it was also permissible under -certain circumstances to bring to the notice of the Throne cases of -scholars well advanced in years who have failed to pass their -examinations for the degree of _chuejen_, and begged to recommend for -favourable consideration the case of Lien Hsiang-yang, a Bachelor of -over eighty years of age, who had failed to pass at the last -examination. He had obtained his degree of Bachelor only nine years -before, and in the eyes of the memorialist his praiseworthy endeavours -to scale the heights of Parnassus ought to meet with some recognition. - - [Illustration: TEMPLE OF GOD OF LITERATURE. - _By Rev. E. J. Piper._] - -It is a curious method, that of a Chinese examination. The Literary -Chancellor of the province travels round from city to city. Suddenly -there is an influx of new faces, and the streets are full of strangers -looking about them. Missionaries always say, "The students are -swaggering about." When the Consul does not send out a request for -Europeans to keep within-doors or to be careful, I straightway order -my sedan-chair, and pretend I want to buy something near the -examination-hall. Any one, who knows the monotony of always blue gowns -and a slouch, would understand that the idea of "some one swaggering" -is irresistible. But so far I have never succeeded in seeing even one -military student swagger. I know the mandarin swagger, and the -Tientsin swagger, which is the most audacious of all, and would make -every one in Bond Street turn round to look; and I know the young -merchant swagger, which is amusing, and not very unlike a very young -London clubman's swagger, when he does swagger. I am afraid it a -little went out when high collars came in. But the students I have -seen have mostly been pale, very anxious-looking young men, who drop -in at our luncheon-time, and look with great interest at our foreign -things, sitting on for ever, when they find we have actually specimens -of the books of that most useful Society for the Diffusion of -Christian and General Knowledge. Then they turn them over and are -happy, till they suddenly wake up sadly to the fact we have no more. -"And I wanted to take back copies to all my friends in the town of -----," said one student that I know. But then he did not pass. He is a -reformer, a dreamer, as the Secretaries of Legation at Peking dub all -of the party of progress in China; for that city seems to deaden the -very souls of the Diplomatic Corps, walled up inside it, away from all -their own nationals, and full of their parties and theatricals and -petty jealousies, unaware apparently that there is a great Chinese -nation throbbing across some two thousand miles of country south and -west. - -Then there are the brilliant students, who pass every time, and are -going up for the Hanlin College. They are very much afraid of turning -their attention away from the classics for a moment to look even at -histories of the Japanese War or of the nineteenth century. They know -all about the Roentgen rays, but they dare not be interested. They have -got to pass, and to get means to do so they must teach other young men -to pass preliminary examinations; and they have brought the latter up -with them from some small country town, and are responsible for them. -More than the weight of empire seems resting upon their young -shoulders; but the fact that they come to see us, and come again, -shows that they are interested in foreign affairs. To one I undertook -to teach English in a six weeks' holiday last Chinese New Year season. -He learnt the alphabet in two days; then he learnt easy words; but why -_c a t_ should spell _cat_, because _b a t_ spelt _bat_, he could not -imagine. The very idea of an alphabet is so strange to a Chinaman. He -thinks what you want him to do is to learn it by heart, and he -conscientiously learns it. Then when you dodge him he is mortified. As -to spelling, I know no way to make him understand it, until he has -learnt how to spell; till then it is a mystery to him. He was a most -brilliant young scholar, who had already passed his second examination -with great _eclat_, whom I essayed to teach, and every now and then I -seemed to see glimmerings of understanding, but then again all became -dark, as I tried desperately to teach him to read, so that he might go -on teaching himself in his distant country town. - -But when the examinations are really on, no more students, swaggering -or not swaggering, are seen about the streets. They are all shut up -for twenty-four hours, and they come out in batches, according as to -when they have done their essays, at the three watches of the night, -tired out and hungry. They go up for this preliminary according to -their district; then those who are most successful of the different -districts are shut up to compete against one another. At each -examination a poem must be written in addition to two essays. Not -uncommonly students die at these examinations. But the marvel to me is -that the Literary Chancellor survives, for he _keeps on at it_ pretty -well all the time. Sometimes he is accused of being very much -influenced by money bribes as to those he passes; sometimes he is -reputed honest. - - [Illustration: MAP OF CHINA, SHOWING CHIEF EXAMINATION CENTRES.] - -When the second of two brothers passed in the same year his -examination as _chuejen_ (or M.A.), he was carried round Chungking in -triumph in a sedan-chair; and a favourite subject of embroidery is -the triumphal return of the successful student, with a silk official -umbrella borne over his head, himself mounted on a spotted pony, and -all the village in its best clothes come out to do him honour. - -There are very strict rules as to who may compete at examinations. -Barbers are not allowed to go up; and a barber's son having passed -brilliantly in Hupeh province a few years ago, his degree was taken -from him because of his father's business. On this all the barbers of -the principal cities of Hupeh struck work--a terrible position, for no -Chinaman can endure life without frequent resort to a barber to shave -afresh the front part of his head, and comb and plait his long queue. - -But not only must your father not be of low occupation, but you must -most emphatically be native born. - -The _Peking Gazette_ of February 20th, 1891, records that "the number -of provincial graduates being limited, and the right to compete for -the degree of _chuejen_ being strictly confined in each province to -those, who have attained the standing of natives thereof either -through birth or domicile, the intrusion of outsiders is jealously -resented, and much contention frequently takes place as to the origin -of a successful candidate. The Censorate recently received a petition -numerously signed by graduates from Kweichow, in which they -represented that a number of persons had attained degrees in their -province under circumstances which urgently called for an -investigation. The Governor, from whom a report was called for on the -subject, admits that the graduates to whom exception had been taken -are not natives of the province, although they are, he adds, either -domiciled there, or the descendants of officials who have not been -able to return to their native places. The province, he explains, was -originally the home of the aborigines, and strictly speaking contains -no native population of Chinese. The first provincial examination was -held in the year 1537, but even then the number of Chinese settlers -was very small. During the beneficent rule of the present dynasty -influential families have flocked in from other provinces, and -literature has received a marked impetus; but the formality of -becoming domiciled subjects has very rarely been attended to. Indeed, -had a hard-and-fast rule been adopted in the matter, there is good -reason for believing that Kweichow would never have emerged from its -state of barbarism. The last quarter of a century has witnessed -repeated disturbances in the province, which interfered seriously with -the regular conduct of the examinations. A great change has recently -taken place for the better; but still there are numerous cases where -people have become domiciled and have completed the necessary term of -residence without having made a formal report of the circumstances to -the authorities. The memorialist concludes by suggesting that five of -the accused graduates should be debarred from competing next time at -the higher examinations, and that the law respecting property -qualification and a term of residence extending over twenty years -should be strictly enforced for the future." - -Again, on April 10th, 1891, "the Governor of Fengt'ien brings forward -a grievance on the part of the farmers attached to the Collectorate of -Rent Department, a branch of the Imperial household at Moukden. These -farmers have hitherto been debarred from competing at the examinations -on what would seem to be insufficient grounds, and have asked that -their status be thoroughly gone into and definitely established. It -appears there are four classes of employes attached to the -Collectorate of Rent; namely, the foremen of agricultural labourers, -the agricultural labourers themselves, labourers attached to the -households of the foremen in a menial capacity, and foundlings brought -up in what presumably is an orphanage. The two classes first -enumerated are borne on the regular banner-roll by themselves. In a -memorial presented to the Throne in 1862 it was requested that -permission be given to the foremen to compete and that menials and -foundlings be debarred. Nothing was said about the agricultural -labourers, and the authorities did not in consequence feel justified -in allowing them to enter. These latter have, however, produced -regular stamped title-deeds showing that they are the _bona-fide_ -holders of banner-land. Strictly speaking, such title-deeds ought -never to have been issued to them; but as they bear date as far back -as 1791, and as it has been proved that they are actually borne on the -same roll as the foremen, it would seem as if there were no -distinction between them and the ordinary bannermen. Memorialist would -point out that in 1825 the same question was raised with regard to the -labourers tilling ecclesiastical lands under the Moukden Board of -Revenue, and that it was then decided that all such, who were borne on -the regular banner-roll, and whose record was without stain, should be -allowed to compete. They accordingly would request that the matter be -referred to the Board of Rites for consideration, and they trust the -Board will see its way to remove the present restriction.--_Let the -Board of Rites consider and report._" - -Yet in spite of all these restrictions "while the students were -rushing into the Wuchang examination-hall for a recent competition an -errand-boy nine years old was trampled to death and horribly -mutilated. The crowd was so dense that it was impossible to extricate -the body until the space was cleared." - -The literati are generally charged with being the most reactionary -body in China. Yet we find "Chang-chih-tung and the Provincial -Examiner of Hupeh asking for permission to allow the latter to proceed -by steamer to conduct the examinations at Chingchow and Ichang. They -describe very graphically the extreme inconvenience and discomfort of -the native modes of conveyance, the long delays beating up against the -stream, and the risk their papers and other belongings run of being -lost or damaged by water. The Examiner mentions that on former trips, -when the roads have been flooded, several of his coolies have been -drowned by mistaking the paths, and all the inhabitants having fled -before the water no accommodation was to be had for man or beast. To -proceed by steamer would in every way be a saving, no risk would be -run, the journey would be accomplished in two or three days, and the -students be saved the vexatious delays they have had to undergo in -former years while awaiting the arrival of the Examiner, who has met -with delays and difficulties on the road.--_Granted._" - - [Illustration: OUTSIDE CONFUCIUS' GRAVE.] - -Alas! when all is over, when men have got the right to compete and -have competed successfully--are, for instance, among the ninety-six -chosen out of fourteen thousand--what then? According to the _Peking -Gazette_ of September 22nd, "ten years ago the Governor of Honan -asked that no expectant officials should be sent to the province for a -period of two years, in order to relieve the stagnation which -prevailed in the lower ranks of the Civil Service. The present -Governor states that immediately after the expiration of the above -period crowds of expectant officers again began to pour into the -province, the evil having been greatly intensified by the renewal of -the system of purchasing office. At the present moment there are 60 -expectant candidates for the posts of Taotai, Prefect, and Senior -Magistrate; over 70 for those of Sub-Prefect and Assistant -Sub-Prefect; more than 300 aspiring to be Department and District -Magistrates; and 1,020 waiting for minor appointments in the Civil -Service. The stream of arrivals continues month after month, and utter -congestion is the natural result. Considerable retrenchment is being -carried out in the provincial administration, and the great majority -of these expectants have little prospect of temporary and much less of -permanent employment. A process of weeding out the less meritorious -could not fail to be attended with invidious consequences, and all the -memorialist can suggest is that the measure introduced by his -predecessor should be reinforced for a further term of two years. This -will, he hopes, work off to some extent the present redundant supply -of official aspirants, and, being applicable only to Honan, will not -materially interfere with the funds raised for coast-defence purposes -from the sale of the office.--_Referred to the consideration of the -Board of Civil Office._" - -Whilst, according to a Chinese newspaper in 1891, "there were over two -thousand expectant military officials in Nanking alone, all offices -were filled, and these expectants have scarcely any hope of obtaining -one. A monthly examination in rifle-shooting, with rewards for skilful -marksmen, is the only means to afford them a precarious livelihood. On -the arrival of the new Viceroy Liu, the _yamen_ was daily crowded by -those, who had formerly fought against the Taipings, petitioning for -some office or commission." - -About fourteen thousand Bachelors are added to the list every year. -There are probably close on seven hundred thousand Chinese graduates -now living. It is the expectants of office, who are one of China's -greatest dangers, men embittered by feeling that they have themselves -been unjustly passed over, who have never been given opportunity to -show what they could do, and who are incapable of doing what alone -lies before them; although in the west of China we have come across -one man who had taken a high degree keeping a wayside inn in a very -lonely place, believed by our coolies, as it happens, to be the resort -of robbers. - -Yet notwithstanding all this the desire to learn and the honour for -learning seem almost to overtop the desire for money in a Chinaman's -breast, and it is difficult to see that there is not some special -significance in the curious fact, in regard to the worship of -Confucius, that he was once worshipped as a duke, at another time as a -prince, then as an emperor, after which his rank was, what we should -call, lowered, and he was honoured as "the most wise ancestral -teacher Confucius." - -Confucius is still their master in preference to Laotze, whom -Confucius himself compared to a dragon, and whose writings are so -spiritual as to approach closer to the Gospel of St. John than -anything else. Both write about "The Way," or, as Laotze calls it, -_Tao_, on which word alone whole volumes have been written. Yet I see, -in a note made at the time of a visit, I wrote: "A party of young -Chinese called to-day, all ready for their degrees, preparing for the -mandarinate, and in the meantime _schwa_-ing for a few days in a -neighbouring guild garden. They had seen the newly arrived Japanese -consular officials. One of them said he had read the _Tao-teh-ching_, -Laotze's great book, and praised it as very beautiful. But the nearest -they got to a sensible remark was: 'We do not like our women to walk -about. Do women with you study equally with men? With us very few can -read. I think it is a good thing they should study.' This last clause, -though, said timorously, rather more as a feeler than as a decided -expression of the speaker's convictions. They went away with some -copies of Pastor Kranz's admirable pamphlet against footbinding, which -they at once looked into, and pronounced very good. But it was curious -to notice how eager they were to learn who the writer was." - - [Illustration: APPROACH TO CONFUCIUS' GRAVE.] - -And now how can one dismiss the literati without a remark upon Chinese -dress? Louis le Comte, Jesuit and Confessor to the Duchess of -Burgundy, makes such quaint comments upon it in his letters, -written in 1687, I prefer to quote from them; for although they are -steadily shortening their jackets and narrowing their sleeves, thus -approximating more and more to the European style, the Chinese, having -once thought out the best style of dress for their habits and climate, -adhere to it still. Father le Comte, writing of their caps, says: -"They add also a great flake of red silk, which, hanging irregularly, -gives a particularly pleasing grace as the head moves." I have never -quite seen it in this way, but, thanks to the good Father, I hope to -notice this "pleasing grace" when I return to China. "In riding they -wear a sort of long hair, dyed of a brisk shining red, which rain will -not deface. It grows white upon the legs of cows in Szechuan, and, -receiving this tincture, is dearer than the finest silk." This must -evidently be off Tibetan yaks' legs, and is very familiar to me, and -also I think very effective. "In summer their neck appears bare, and -is no good sight." I quite agree with the Father here; in fact, the -more a Chinaman's person is covered up the better, I always think. -Their brocades and furs are a "very good sight." "They wear boots -always; and when any person visits them, if they have not their boots -on, they will make them wait till they go and fetch them." But this -probably is rather true of officials than of literati. - -In conclusion, I must say I like the young literati of China. They -seem to me very much like the young men of other nations, except that -they are more easily amused, and amuse me less. I am told they hate -foreigners and are very dissipated. It may be so, but they seem to me -very good-humoured and easy-going. They love fine clothes, and are -sometimes very smartly dressed; and they are on the whole cleaner and -somewhat nicer in their ways than the rest of the community. The hope -of China, I think, is in the young literati. But I can quite -understand that they do not show their best side to missionaries, any -more than rather arrogant young agnostics, fresh from the learning of -the schools, would to hard-working Evangelical curates, if such -curates exist still in England. I have no doubt, however, they are not -really quite as nice as they seem to be. Perhaps, however, that is -true of all young men. - - * * * * * - -NOTE.--Those who wish to see an enlightened Chinaman's views on -education may like to refer to Prince Kung's Memorial on the following -page. - - MEMORIAL OF PRINCE KUNG ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COLLEGE - FOR THE CULTIVATION OF WESTERN SCIENCE (1887). - -Your Majesty's servant and other Ministers of the Council for Foreign -Affairs on their knees present this memorial in regard to regulations -for teaching Astronomy and the selection of students. - -The sciences being indispensable to the understanding of machinery and -the manufacture of firearms, we have resolved on erecting for this -purpose a special department in the Tung-wen College, to which -scholars of a high grade may be admitted, and in which men from the -West shall be invited to give instruction. - -The scheme having met with your Majesty's approval, we beg to state -that it did not originate in a fondness for novelties, or in -admiration for the abstract subtleties of Western science, but solely -from the consideration that the mechanical arts of the West all have -their source in the science of Mathematics. Now, if the Chinese -Government desires to introduce the building of steamers and -construction of machinery, and yet declines to borrow instruction from -the men of the West, there is danger lest, following our own ideas, we -should squander funds to no purpose. - -We have weighed the matter maturely before laying it before the -Throne. But among persons who are unacquainted with the subject there -are some who will regard this matter as unimportant; some who will -censure us as wrong in abandoning the methods of China for those of -the West; and some who will even denounce the proposal that Chinese -should submit to be instructed by people of the West as shameful in -the extreme. Those who urge such objections are ignorant of the -demands of the times. - -In the first place it is high time that some plan should be devised -for infusing new elements of strength into the government of China. -Those who understand the times are of opinion that the only way of -effecting this is to introduce the learning and mechanical arts of -Western nations. Provincial governors, such as Tso Tsung-tang and Li -Hung-chang, are firm in this conviction, and constantly presenting it -in their addresses to the Throne. The last-mentioned officer last year -opened an arsenal for the manufacture of arms, and invited men and -officers from the metropolitan garrison to go there for instruction; -while the other established in Foochow a school for the study of -foreign languages and arts, with a view to the instruction of young -men in ship-building and the manufacture of engines. The urgency of -such studies is, therefore, an opinion which is not confined to us, -your servants. - -Should it be said that the purchase of firearms and steamers has been -tried, and found to be both cheap and convenient, so that we may spare -ourselves the trouble and expense of home production, we reply that it -is not merely the manufacture of arms and the construction of ships -that China needs to learn. But in respect to these two objects, which -is the wiser course, in view of the future--to content ourselves with -purchase, and leave the source of supply in the hands of others, or -to render ourselves independent by making ourselves masters of their -arts--it is hardly necessary to inquire. - -As to the imputation of abandoning the methods of China, is it not -altogether a fictitious charge? For, on inquiry, it will be found that -Western science had its root in the astronomy of China, which Western -scholars confess themselves to have derived from Eastern lands. They -have minds adapted to reasoning and abstruse study, so that they were -able to deduce from it new arts which shed a lustre on those nations; -but, in reality, the original belonged to China, and Europeans learned -it from us. If, therefore, we apply ourselves to those studies, our -future progress will be built on our own foundation. Having the root -in our possession, we shall not need to look to others for assistance, -an advantage which it is impossible to over-estimate. - -As to the value to be set on the science of the West, your illustrious -ancestor, Kang Hsi, gave it his hearty approbation, promoting its -teachers to offices of conspicuous dignity, and employing them to -prepare the Imperial calendar; thus setting an example of liberality -equalled only by the vastness of his all-comprehending wisdom. Our -dynasty ought not to forget its own precedents, especially in relation -to a matter which occupied the first place among the studies of the -ancients. - -In olden times yeomen and common soldiers were all acquainted with -Astronomy; but in later ages an interdict was put upon it, and those -who cultivated this branch of science became few. In the reign of -Kang Hsi the prohibition was removed, and astronomical science once -more began to flourish. Mathematics were studied together with the -classics, the evidence of which we find in the published works of -several schools. A proverb says, "A thing unknown is a scholar's -shame." Now, when a man of letters, on stepping from his door, raises -his eyes to the stars, and is unable to tell what they are, is not -this enough to make him blush? Even if no schools were established, -the educated ought to apply themselves to such studies. How much more -so when a goal is proposed for them to aim at? - -As to the allegation that it is a shame to learn from the people of -the West, this is the absurdest charge of all. For, under the whole -heaven, the deepest disgrace is that of being content to lag in the -rear of others. For some tens of years the nations of the West have -applied themselves to the study of steam navigation, each imitating -the others, and daily producing some new improvement. Recently, too, -the Government of Japan has sent men to England for the purpose of -acquiring the language and science of Great Britain. This was with a -view to the building of steamers, and it will not be many years before -they succeed. - -Of the jealous rivalry among the nations of the Western Ocean it is -unnecessary to speak; but when so small a country as Japan is putting -forth all its energies, if China alone continues to tread indolently -in the beaten track, without a single effort in the way of -improvement, what can be more disgraceful than this? Now, not to be -ashamed of our inferiority, but when a measure is proposed by which -we may equal or even surpass our neighbours, to object to the shame of -learning from them, and for ever refusing to learn, to be content with -our inferiority--is not such meanness of spirit itself an indelible -reproach? - -If it be said that machinery belongs to artisans, and that scholars -should not condescend to such employments, in answer to this we have a -word to say. Why is it that the book in the _Chao-li_, on the -structure of chariots, has for some thousands of years been a -recognised text-book in all the schools? Is it not because, while -mechanics do the work, scholars understand the principles? When -principles are understood, their application can be extended. The -object which we propose for study to-day is the principles of things. -To invite educated men to enlarge the sphere of their knowledge by -investigating the laws of nature is a very different thing from -compelling them to take hold of the tools of the working man. What -other point of doubt is left for us to clear up? - -In conclusion we would say that the object of study is utility, and -its value must be judged by its adaptation to the wants of the times. -Outsiders may vent their doubts and criticisms, but this measure is -one that calls for decisive action. Your servants have considered it -maturely. As the enterprise is a new one, its principles ought to be -carefully examined. To stimulate candidates to enter in earnest on the -proposed curriculum, they ought to have a liberal allowance from the -public treasury to defray their current expenses, and have the door of -promotion set wide open before them. We have accordingly agreed on six -regulations, which we herewith submit to the eye of your Majesty, and -wait reverently for the Imperial sanction. - -We are of opinion that the junior members of the Hanlin Institute, -being men of superior attainments, while their duties are not onerous, -if they were appointed to study Astronomy and Mathematics, would find -those sciences an easy acquisition. With regard to scholars of the -second and third grades, as also mandarins of the lower ranks, we -request your Majesty to open the portals and admit them to be examined -as candidates, that we may have a larger number from whom to select -men of ability for the public service. - -Laying this memorial before the Throne, we beseech the -Empresses-Regent and the Emperor to cast on it their sacred glance, -and to give us their instructions. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -_A FATHER'S ADVICE TO HIS SON._ - - Tseng Kuo Fan.--"Neither envious nor fawning."--Repose of - Manner.--Cultivation of Land.--Early Rising, Diligence in - Business, and Perseverance.--Dignity.--Family - Worship.--Reading. - - -Some extracts from a Chinese father's letters to his son will probably -do more to explain what is thought admirable in a Chinese young man -than pages of commentary. The son in this case was the late Marquis -Tseng, during many years Chinese Minister in London. The writer was -his father, the celebrated Tseng Kuo Fan, in whose honour a temple has -been put up at Wuchang opposite Hankow. Grandson of a Hunan farmer, -son of a humble scholar, this Chinese Chesterfield passed his first -examination at twenty-one; and continuing steadily to pass -examinations, he was a Hanlin student at twenty-eight, Chief Examiner -for the Province of Szechuan at thirty-two, Deputy-Supervisor of -Instruction in Peking, and nominally in charge of the education of the -future Emperor at thirty-four. During the Taiping rebellion he had to -become a General; and it was during all the troubles of this rebellion -his letters were written. It was his devoted brother, then a Viceroy, -who published the Life and Writings of Tseng Kuo Fan. The latter, -just as his son was becoming a man, wrote to him as follows: - -"From my earliest years I have been a student of the ancient sages. -Among their thousand words and myriad sayings there is no sentence -more striking or suggestive than the little phrase of four characters, -_pu chi, pu ch'in_ (neither envious nor fawning). _Chi_ means to be -envious of the virtuous, and malignant towards the influential. The -fact that any one lacks the spirit or the ambition to walk in the path -of rectitude is no reason why he should be afraid of the success of -others. _Ch'in_ means that you will sink all to gain name and wealth, -and then be in a constant state of unrest lest these treasures should -be lost. Such a disposition as either the former or the latter is the -characteristic of the 'small man.' As Viceroy of Chihli I constantly -see men of equal rank and abilities manifesting a spirit of envy, -animated only by the spirit of self-seeking and suspicion. If you -desire to secure happiness in this life, you must get rid of the -spirit of envy. If you desire to act properly and set a good example, -you must abhor the character of the sycophant. The one leads to the -other's injury, and the other is the spirit of the robber. I dare not -affirm that I have swept my heart of these two evils; but I wish, -nevertheless, to warn you and your brothers of these deformities." - -Here is a characteristic bit of Chinese advice: - -"With regard to your walking, I observe that your manner is too -animated. Are you more quiet now? Your utterance is also far too rapid -for clearness of pronunciation. You should cultivate more repose of -manner. Are you improving in these two respects? These two cautions -you are to keep constantly in mind, and see if you cannot make a -change for the better." - - [Illustration: FORTRESS OF REFUGE, COUNTRY HOUSE, AND MEMORIAL ARCH. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -One has constantly to remind oneself in China that the stolidity one -sees around one is assumed in accordance with etiquette, and that in -reality far more emotion is felt than shown in a land where only -street arabs dare to be altogether natural and smile when they see -one. - -In all the throes of the revolution the busy statesman yet had time to -think, like Mr. Gladstone, of _la petite culture_: - -"I think it would be well for you to select several plots of land, and -devote them exclusively to the raising of vegetables. At our -cantonments I have turned many of our braves into gardeners. The land -has been laid out in beds thirty feet by five, separated by paths and -little water-ways, so that the vegetables should not be drowned after -heavy rains. In the province of Szechuan I first saw gardening of this -kind. The processes of irrigation are there carried to great -perfection; and they seem certainly to have caught the ideas and -practice of the ancients. In our region of the country very little -land is set aside for the cultivation of vegetables. I wish my family -to set the precedent of taking seemingly sterile tracts of mountainous -land or wet, marshy places, and making them useful in raising fruit -and vegetables. Though the cultivation of tea may yield greater profit -in some of the valleys, yet I am convinced if my scheme is carried -out no one need complain of poverty in all that region. All that is -needed is to be judicious and persevering." - -But his letter on hearing of his son's marriage is more striking. It -will be observed there is no comment on either the looks or character -of the new bride, no hope ever expressed that she may be such as to -conduce to his son's happiness. Any such idea would be strange to a -Chinaman: - -"Your letter containing an account of your marriage has been duly -received. It will be a great pleasure to your mother to have a -daughter-in-law. I am also greatly rejoiced that the affair is so -happily ended. Now that your household is established, it behoves you -to follow the example of successful men in regulating your domestic -affairs. One habit to be especially cultivated is that of early -rising. In summer and winter alike in our family our ancestors were -never in bed after four o'clock in the morning. My great-grandfather, -Ching Hsi-kung, and grandfather, Hsing Kang-kung, usually arose before -daylight in all seasons of the year. My father, Chu T'ing-kung, if he -had any important business on hand, would often rise once or twice -during the night, and begin operations often before dawn. You yourself -can bear witness to that fact. I trust that these family habits, which -have been conserved with such good effects these many generations, -will not be discontinued. You should set an example of early rising, -diligence in business, and perseverance before your wife, and thus -lead her to cultivate the same virtues. Here, as in all things, -practice makes perfect. As to myself, I have found that when I lacked -in perseverance nothing was completed, and character as well as -business suffered. This I consider disgraceful in the extreme. -Afterwards, when appointed to military command, I made up my mind to -execute my sovereign's will to the best of my abilities. However, even -in this good purpose I regret that I have so often lagged, much to my -shame and discomfiture. - -"I observe with respect to your general deportment that you are too -frivolous by far. This is a most grievous defect. If there is one -virtue more than another which our ancestors emulated, it was that of -dignity. In everything it is proper that one observe a decorous and -dignified behaviour. - -"These three admonitions, then, you are to keep constantly in -mind--namely, early rising, perseverance, and decorum. Thus you will -preserve the traditions of the family, establish your own character, -and that of your household. Lack of perseverance is my crowning -defect, as levity is yours. By diligence in the correction of these -blemishes, we shall sustain the habits and traditions of our -ancestors, cover up my past deficiencies, and complete your own -character, which is my highest desire for you. By thus setting an -example before your younger brother, you will do more to bring good -fortune to the family than in any other way. - -"In view of the removal of your uncle to another place, you are now -in the responsible position of head of the family. Our ancestor, Hsing -Kang, was very particular in the management of his family. There were -four things which he insisted upon as of prime importance--namely, -early rising, cleanliness, the continuance of the practice of -ancestral worship, and, fourthly, wisdom in intercourse with our -relatives and neighbours. If they are in trouble, you are always to be -ready to lend assistance, and also to rejoice with them in their joy. -If they are estranged, you are to act the part of peacemaker. In -sickness you are to manifest sympathetic interest, and at funerals you -are to offer condolences. These four things, together with your -studies and the cultivation of the garden, are to be kept constantly -before your mind, and diligently observed. If because of your studies -you cannot attend to these various duties, you are still to keep a -general oversight, and be well informed as to what is going on. - -"With reference to family worship, your mother is to be specially -careful to reserve the best utensils in the house for that purpose; -also the best of the food and drink are to be used. No family can -expect long continuance of prosperity or life which neglects these -important particulars." - -It should be borne in mind this is the letter of a follower of -Confucius and a member of China's most learned Hanlin College; yet he -does not treat family worship and the utensils to be used for it as -otherwise than "most important." - -It might be a busy London lawyer writing this advice to his son on -study: - -"The present will be a good time for you to read extensively in -miscellaneous literature, and add to your general information on all -subjects. It is most difficult in this busy and confused world to get -time for quiet study and meditation. When the opportunity is given -you, you should by no means allow it to pass unheeded. On the 16th of -next month I expect to start from Nanking on a tour of inspection up -and down the river, and may not return till the end of the month. It -will give me the greatest pleasure to hear of your perseverance in -study, and I trust you will continuously put forth your powers in the -line of intellectual advancement." - -After noticing the simplicity of spirit and careful attention to -details in these letters, it is touching to read this later one: - - "TO MY SON CHI-TSE,-- - -"For successive years I have had my memorials to the Throne copied and -filed away. I am now selecting the more important ones to be carefully -copied for your use. Together with my letters I trust you will have -them carefully deposited at home, so that they can be handed down from -generation to generation of our descendants. But the letters to you -and your brothers especially are on no account to be cut in boards or -printed for the perusal of others. Very few of these letters or -memorials are worthy of public notice. The series of essays and poems -which I have written after the style of the ancient worthies, and -collected in a volume entitled _Li T'uan Chai_, has been copied, and -can be given to others for inspection. It will soon be printed, and -disposed of for general circulation. But the letters, memorials, and -essays outside of that volume are to be sacredly preserved. Some of -these were written when I was a young man, and my style was unformed. -Their publication would bring no glory to the family. If any of our -friends should crave their perusal, you will in courteous language -decline to allow them to be seen." - -His directions were disregarded, or we should not have these letters. -There is a whole book full of them; but these few extracts will give -some insight into the nature of a very exemplary Chinese father's -admonitions, perhaps even more from what he leaves out than from what -he says. The son thus carefully trained seems in every way to have -done credit to his father. One of his sons, again a lad of singular -charm and great promise, died early; another seems more pleasant than -distinguished. His nephew and adopted son is one of the prominent, -though possibly not leading, members of the party of progress in -Shanghai. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -_BUDDHIST MONASTERIES._ - - Monastery near Ichang.--For the Dead.--Near - Ningpo.--Buddhist Service--T'ien Dong.--Omi Temples.--Sai - King Shan.--Monastery of the Particoloured Cliff. - - -The country round Ichang has always some special beauty, and in autumn -it is the tints, shown to especial advantage on the tallow-trees. But -one day we gathered by the wayside lovely anemones, still lingering on -in sheltered spots; large gentians, with their edges picked out into -delicate feathery streamers such as one finds in picotees, the little -yellow originator of all the garden chrysanthemums; China asters; -China daisies; the cunningly placed red berries of the spindle-tree; -and branches crowded with the fairylike red berries of the Chinese -hawthorn. And yet we were in the weird, arid, conglomerate region, -where, as the botanist of the party said, no flower would dream of -growing that could grow anywhere else. The Cherokee roses were no -longer in bloom. Are these innocent, white, large roses at the bottom -of the American horror of Chinese immigration? It may be remembered -that, originating from China, they spread over America with such -rapidity that it was assumed they must be of native origin, and from -their aggressive nature they were given the name, by which they are -still known, of Cherokee. - -We made our way to my first monastery, so conspicuous an object to -every visitor to these regions, planted on a rocky spur of about -fifteen hundred feet high, that not only overhangs precipitously the -country beneath, but is separated by a chasm of some one thousand feet -from the adjoining hills. Crossing this chasm on a rock bridge about -three feet wide, and, as usual in China, railless, required more nerve -than one of our party possessed, and the subsequent climb was more -trying still up the steps cut out of the steep rock on to the Buddhist -temple, that appropriately crowns the whole summit, and which, were it -in any more accessible region, would have been "photographed like this -and photographed like that," like any professional beauty. As it was, -I had never seen a picture of it, and was quite eager to take my -camera to photograph the mountain-top, as also the massive wall of -conglomerate rock that builds up the _col_ one has to climb in -ascending, and from which one obtains one of those extraordinary -desolate views characteristic of conglomerate country--a valley ending -in an abrupt gully with dry waterbed, and dry waterfalls down -precipices marked with pudding-holes, all scoring parallel horizontal -lines across their stern surfaces. We came across brecciated -conglomerate in which there were some bits of most exquisite -glistening marble, and in which we again noticed the peculiarity, that -at every fracture it was the marble and stones, of which it was -formed, that were cleft through the middle, as evidently more -breakable than the apparently soft-looking red cement that bound them -together. - -The way up was beautiful. We passed by picturesque farmsteads nestling -in hollows, elegant shrines, and the grove the Reeves' pheasants -particularly love. It is of pendulous cypress, called _funebris_, but -suggesting anything but funereal associations by its pleasing grace. -Palm-trees grew on the hillside, also bamboo, cunninghamia, ilex, and -beautiful soap-trees, with the great long pods from which the soap is -made, and tree-like thorns projecting from their stems, such as must -effectually baffle any monkey-climbers. In four examples we saw these -thorn branches had again other thorns projecting from them. The path -is an easy one, carefully laid out by the priests for the convenience -of pilgrims; and although there must be over five hundred steps, they -do not come all together; so that few climbs of equal height can be so -easily managed as that to the monastery of Yuen Ti Kuan, whose site, -if paralleled, could hardly be surpassed. It is like that of some wild -eyrie on which an eagle might be expected to build its nest, but where -we should hardly expect practical, prosaic (so called) Chinamen to -build a place of worship, simply to give themselves the further -additional trouble of climbing so high. It seems that after all the -Chinese have a religion of their own, which they deem holy, though it -is often convenient to ignore this. There are many Shansi men in -these parts, and one of our fellow-travellers, a man from Shansi, -being asked why this was, when his province used formerly to be the -granary of the empire, replied at once, "The hearts of the people have -become corrupted." - -As we came back, there were about four miles of little lanterns -floating down the great river, sped in honour of the dead by a rich -Chinese in mourning for his parents. Talleyrand's somewhat brutal "Il -faut oublier les morts, et s'occuper des vivants" often recurs to me -in China, where there are more grave-mounds round the city than living -men inside it. The very handsome old Italian Bishop used to hate these -grave-mounds, which he said oppressed him the more the longer he -looked at them, and among which, alas! he was doomed to live and die. - -It was near Ningpo I first assisted at a Chinese Buddhist service. We -had been straying over hills pink and red and orange and mauve with -azaleas in their full delicate bloom and perfect beauty. The most -exquisite bush of pink azaleas hung over the great waterfall there, -and caught some of the spray upon its blossoms, as the stream turned -over the edge for its first leap, the flowers constantly wavering with -the breeze the rushing waters brought. Wandering by lovely -Windermere's side in the English Lake District, I had read Miss Gordon -Cumming's description of hillsides striped and banded in colour with -azaleas, and thought some day I too must see them. The seasons had -rolled round but twice, and now here was I already tired of pink -azaleas, which I decided looked too smart on a mountain-side, and -preferring the big orange flowers or the deep red, or revelling in the -long clusters of sweet-scented wistaria, that hung about like lovely -ringlets; looking with exultation at osmundias curving their opening -fronds with the full vigour and health imparted to them by the spring, -and delighting in the clumps of feathery bamboos, golden stemmed old -friends of my childhood; yet admiring almost equally _Cunninghamia -sinensis_ on its native heath. We plant little saplings of this last -in our gardens, and boast with them even then. Here they were tall and -vigorous, and everywhere giving an Oriental character to the ferns and -the azaleas, the bamboos and fan-palms. - - [Illustration: NEAR NINGPO.] - -Then the rich, sweet tones of the Buddhist bell summoned us, and we -slept, as it were prisoned, within the dark precincts of the -monastery, not even through latticed windows catching any glimpse of -outside glories, till solemn sounds roused me in the early dawning, -and I stole in at the back of the dark temple, and could hardly -believe I was not in one of the Portuguese churches of my childhood. -There knelt the priests, with close-shaven heads, and long cloaks -broached across the left breast, leaving the right arm bare, and -formed of little oblong bits of old gold or ashen grey linen, neatly -stitched together, thus symbolising at some expenditure of pains the -poverty of rags. They prostrated themselves three times, touching -their foreheads to the ground--before the altar, was it not? They -bowed and knelt before the _altar_! They elevated the Host, or at -least a cup, one ringing a bell meanwhile, the others prostrate in -adoration. Could the resemblance be more perfect? They chanted a -monotonous chant--it sounded to me just like a Gregorian--and after -many bowings and prostrations and beatings of a dull wooden gong in -the form of a skull, processioned round and round before the altar, -bowing as they passed, each a rosary at his side, and solemnly -chanting. There seemed to be no doubt about the words; I heard them -quite distinctly: "Domine, ora pro nobis, ora, ora." Then "Gloria! -gloria!" swelled out. And meanwhile, though passing me at intervals so -closely I almost felt the _frou-frou_ of their robes, not a priest -there seemed to perceive my presence, but all went by with eyes on the -ground, fingers and palms close pressed together. A strange feeling -came over me, as if I were dreaming. Had the azaleas intoxicated me? -Was I in far-away Madeira of my childhood? Were those not Portuguese -Roman Catholic priests, not Chinese Buddhists? Were they praying -really? To our Father in heaven? Or are there more gods than one? If -not, they were worshipping, and I was not. And had this worship gone -on after this fashion for thousands of years, before even Christ -walked the earth, and lived and died for man? I knelt in prayer behind -the Buddhist priests. And then I saw the figure of the Virgin with the -Holy Child upon her knee. They call her Kwanyin (Goddess of Mercy). - - [Illustration: SALISBURIA ADIANTIFOLIA. - _From Picture by Chinese Artist._] - -Outside the door stood two beautiful _Salisburia adiantifolia_, the -sacred tree of the Japanese. The breeze rustled through their -graceful leaves, resembling the lobes of the maidenhair, and I felt -that they could tell me all about it, if they pleased, for they had -grown up amongst it. The blue sky overhead tells no tales, and the -azaleas were of yesterday. Then a young priest came up to question me, -and to ask me if I could say "Omito Fo." "Blessed is Buddha" I took it -to mean; and assuredly he must be blessed, if ever man were, for the -good that he has done for his kind. But since then I hear that learned -men attribute various meanings to the phrase, and their meanings I do -not understand. Nor, I am sure, would those priests. They did not look -so very clever. I meant what they meant. "Our temple wants new tiles, -Omito Fo." "We are very poor, Omito Fo." Praise God Barebones meant -the same, I fancy, by his "Praise God." "But Buddha was a man," I hear -some one say. Well! then go to Tibet, and tell me what the -uninstructed but beautiful Tibetan means, as he walks along the street -murmuring, "Om Mani Padmi Hum." "The Jewel is in the Lotus?" What does -he mean by saying it, wise man? I do not ask what you think the words -may originally have signified or symbolised. Is it not now simply a -"Praise the Lord of Life"? - -The next monastery we visited was the stately T'ien Dong. Avenues of -magnificent trees led up to squares with giant trees enclosing them, -terraces, and ponds covered with the sacred lotus. The entrance and -approach prepared one for more than man could ever realise inside. The -Parthenon would have looked small and the Pantheon empty after that -approach. As it was, I certainly did not think much of the temples, -and the guest-rooms were dark. But the trees behind were beautiful, -and had enticing paths leading on into the wood. There was a very -well-dressed Chinaman going in. He turned out to be the captain of a -man-of-war. I have often pleased myself since by believing he was -Captain, afterwards Admiral, Ting. He asked if we should like to be -introduced to his particular friend the chief priest. Within the inner -courts there was a blush-rose peony-plant covered with blossom. Before -this the post-captain stood in rapt adoration. It was evident that he -had really brought us to show us this, as one of the wonders of the -world. The Chinese especially esteem peonies of this shade of colour. -And it was indeed a lovely sight, and must have carried off the prize -at any show at which it was exhibited, so carefully had it been grown, -and so completely was it covered with blossom. But I had seen flowers -before, never a Buddhist high-priest, nor a Chinese post-captain. The -latter led us into the pleasant reception-room. On the couch sulked a -mandarin we had met several times already, always wearing a scowl, and -a magnificent gown of cream satin richly embossed. He scowled now, and -without a feint of courtesy of any kind at once seated himself in the -seat of honour. Then the chief priest came in, with nothing to -indicate his grandeur beyond particularly civil manners. He had also a -bustling cheeriness, which was probably all his own, not belonging to -his office, as he begged us to sit at the round table, and partake of -the various sweets with which it was spread. Delicious tea was brought -in, of a kind very costly even in China, scented with jasmine flowers. -Then, having dispensed hospitalities, pointed out the peony, and -generally made us welcome, the chief priest bustled away, carrying off -the post-captain into some inner apartment. And a comfortable-looking -Ningpo merchant, spending a few days at the temple with his family, -with that geniality that seems to be a Ningpo characteristic, began to -introduce the various members of his family, and generally make -friends. But the cream-coated gentleman still sat and scowled. It was -disagreeable; and so, though every one says one cannot, I determined -to treat this scornful mandarin as if he were after all a human being. -And looking round with a bow and a smile, as if I had never noticed -his rudeness, I took the seat indicated to me at the table, at which -he had already seated himself. After all a mandarin is human. He -looked surprised of course, but smiled too; and after that we saw his -scowl no more, but received a very polite bow and smile, when after a -little while he in his turn went away. - -Years passed, and I saw no more of monasteries till we went to Omi's -sacred mountain in the far, far west of China. - -At one temple, at which we tried to spend the night, we were met by -point-blank refusal. The priests said their rooms were full. We might -have believed them, had they risen to receive us and offered us tea. -But meeting with cold incivility, we believed rather the Temple of the -Elephants' Pool was too rich to be beguiled by foreign offerings into -receiving heretics, as we pushed on through the gathering night and -rising mist up and up along a _col_-like knife-edge and by beautiful -trees to a little temple, where they did their best to make us -comfortable according to our to them most strange tastes, and then -begged like beggars for some of my husband's clothes, because the -young priest in charge of the temple had set his foolish fancy on -trying foreign clothes, and like a child could not be turned from his -point. - -At the top of the mountain we spent a fortnight in the Golden -Monastery. The priest whose especial duty it was to entertain -strangers received us from the first with great courtesy, but he -informed us that anything we ate must be eaten in the privacy of our -own apartment. And as at first we had none (for we could not, till we -had tried all round and failed, resign ourselves to one room giving on -to the mountain-side, out of which it had been dug, and with only one -window, that did not open), this resulted in our taking our first meal -upon the mountain-top _al fresco_ on the grass, the monastery, -however, very kindly supplying us with hot water for our tea. Then, -finding no other temple could or would receive us, we promised to take -no life whilst upon the sacred mountain, and only to eat our shocking -foreign food in the one room assigned to us, having it cooked in the -adjoining one, given over to our two servants and eight coolies. The -priests used to come in and out all day, and offer us tea and -sweetmeats; but they never would even drink tea out of our cups, for -fear of any defilement of previous milk still clinging round them. -That monastery struck us as both strict and carefully managed, the -chief priest, who had the air and bearing of a saint, spending hours -in solitary devotion in the temple on the verge of the great -precipice. - -All the temples on the mountain's top were burnt down a few years ago. -But the exquisite Bronze Temple, on the edge of the precipice, to -which every province in the empire contributed, has never been rebuilt -after its sad destruction, beautiful fragments alone remaining; and -the rough pine-wood temples round it appeared all at daggers drawn. -Our Golden Temple was bringing an action against another for placing a -golden pinnacle as the centre ornament of its roof, thus building up a -pretext to filch from it its immemorial golden title; whilst another -temple accused ours of having intentionally lit the fire that consumed -it. We did not believe this of our temple, for even its boy priests -were hard-working, good little boys, who knelt and burnt incense with -reverence too; whilst the young priests of the adjoining temples were -bold, bad youths, of ribald laughter, importunate curiosity, and great -effrontery. There was, however, one temple where the priests appeared -always wrapped in devotion, whenever I looked in. They had not yet -begun rebuilding, perhaps were still praying for funds, as they knelt -among their burnt and charred images. - -There were outlying temples on distant points of vantage, each -inhabited by a solitary priest. One had long attracted us by its -exquisite neatness, and the propriety and cleanliness of its -arrangements. Its occupant was away on a pilgrimage, but he returned -before we left the mountain, and we were not surprised to find him a -young man of great gravity and much courtesy. We had already studied -his kitchen, with its kettle hanging from the rafters by a chain and a -jointed stick; also observed his closet-bed, which, in accordance with -the stricter rule, was but a wooden seat, so that neither day nor -night could he lie down. We now saw how carefully washed were the feet -in his straw sandals; also what superior straw sandals he had brought -up to sell to pilgrims who had worn out theirs; and how particular he -was to make no profit upon the transaction, when we bought a pair, and -inadvertently slightly overpaid for them. But our acquaintance was not -long or intimate enough to arrive at anything of the spiritual life -beneath that exterior propriety. He it was who told us there was a way -down the back of the mountain into the Wilderness, where the wild -cattle roam, and that, though bad, he could not say other than that it -was possible, seeing he had just passed along it--this though he could -see our coolies' imploring gestures, and hear their rather audibly -muttered curses. They had every one of them sworn there was no path. -But there was, and the young hermit could not say otherwise. We often -thought of him, as we all fell headlong going down that path, that -certainly did exist, and enabled us to proceed to our next sacred -mountain without descending into the burning, cholera-stricken -country. - -There were only three priests at the temple on the Sai King Shan. One -was old and useless; one was shivering with ague, which seemed -strangely out of place on the mountain; but we did not learn how long -he had been there--only relieved him with quinine. And the whole work -and administration seemed to be carried on by the young priest, who -had led us up the mountain, and who by various begging excursions had -amassed enough money to buy it for four hundred gold dollars, so as to -save it from the havoc of the wood-cutters, who had for years past -been cutting down all the trees. This young priest took care of the -potatoes, collected the mushrooms that made such an exquisite symphony -in cream and brown when spread out in the sunshine to dry, and did -everything, it seemed, that was done. But we could not find out that -religious services were among the number. It was the aged priest who -lit sticks of incense before the images in the morning. - -Since then, however, we have stayed in a monastery with which his and -the Golden Temple on Omi both are associated. The Monastery of the -Particoloured Cliff is only about fifteen miles from Chungking. The -entrance is at once striking, from the perspective of the carefully -planted shrubs, the flights of steps, the carvings, and careful -adjusting of the path, with sudden corners, so that it never leads -straight onward, admitting free access to evil spirits. This is a -prevalent Chinese superstition, leading to the almost universal -practice of placing screens across their entrances either within or -without. It is a part of their _Fung shui_, their wind and water -religion. - - [Illustration: ENTRANCE TO MONASTERY. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -Much etiquette was observed in the method of our admission into Hoa -Ngai. We brought gifts, as we were told was the usage. And polite -monks received us, and bade us wait first in one reception-room, then -in another, whilst higher and higher dignitaries were brought to -parley with us. Finally we were conducted through a long outlying -wing, the strangers' quarter, and led through one or two bedrooms, all -full of beds, carefully curtained, and each bed with rolls of most -comfortable-looking wadded quilts, evidently quite new and fresh, from -the brightness of their scarlet colour--a gift from some recent -wealthy guest, we were informed. The floors were clean; everything was -in order--no dust anywhere; and the attendants at once swift and quiet -in making all those last final arrangements, that must be deferred -till the arrival of guests. But best of all was the view from the -window--the peaceful sunset framed in a setting of trees, the -chastened lights and shadows, with the fresh country air coming in so -clean and pure through the open window. But one must have lived in a -Chinese city to appreciate that as we did. The priests came to and fro -to inquire if we were content. Only after some time did they signify -that by their rules I must not share that room with the wide-open -window and the peaceful outlook, but retire to the women's quarter, -all along the long corridor again, down an outside staircase, along -the corridor below, then through a great door with many bolts into one -bedroom leading on into another, both full of beds, but otherwise -untenanted, and as clean as the rooms above, only without a view, and -with the dank smell of the earth outside, instead of the fresh country -air. Presently we were asked to take tea with the priests--tea and -many sweets. A few priests were told off each day to prepare special -food for the guests--generally, of course, pious pilgrims, come to -pray. There were over fifty priests in all, and we saw the orders for -the day hung up on the wall, as if for a regiment. We also saw all the -others sitting at their severely simple meal, never occupying opposite -sides of the same table, but always the same side of several tables; -and in the midst to the back on a raised seat the chief priest, not -eating with the others--he always ate apart--but sitting there whilst -they ate. - -In the early dawning we had been each day wakened by the call to -prayers and the solemn chanting. One day I sprang out of bed, and -followed the sound, which seemed to come from farther down the -corridor beyond my room, out of a side temple. Only a few had -assembled already, but priests continued to come in till the chapel -was full. None but a few of the priest-boys paid any heed to my -unaccustomed presence, excepting the chief priest, when he came in. He -was an old man of over seventy, and had now sat by at our evening meal -more than once, and talked with us--a great mark of condescension, we -were told, only shown to honoured guests. Presently he came forward -with a kindly smile, and, taking me by the two shoulders, very kindly -but firmly pressed me into the place he desired me to occupy. And the -next minute I saw the reason of this. For, still chanting, the monks -began to procession round and round the chapel, and in and out among -the seats, forming the most curious figures, and ever quicker and -quicker, ever with bowed heads, and fingers and palms pressed close -together. The wild, simple chant rose and waned as they processioned, -close on fifty Chinese Buddhist priests, moving as fast as ordinary -people when they dance the Caledonians, all chanting and not looking -up. At last I felt as if I could bear no more. It may have been the -early hour, the strange chant, the quick moving to and fro. Anyhow, I -tried to go to my husband's room, and fell insensible on the stone -passage just as I reached the top of his staircase. I recovered -consciousness in an agony as to what Buddhist priests might think -suitable treatment for a fainting lady, if they any of them found me -there; and that gave me strength to drag myself along to my husband's -room. They were chanting still, the sweet, wild music of the chant -softened by distance now, or I might have thought it was all a dream, -as I looked out upon the gentle hills and sky framed in their setting -of trees, and breathed the fresh country air again. - -They were very strict in that monastery; they would not hear of our -cooking anything for ourselves in our own room, beyond boiling water -for tea; but their vegetarian diet quite satisfied all our wants. -There was some sort of chanting all day in the principal temple--a -droning kind of chanting, from certain priests told off for the -purpose. We often looked in; for, uncommon enough, the central image -was beautiful, with a certain grave serenity. It was very ancient, -they told us. And we believed this. For the images of to-day are made -for money, and lack the air of sanctity. This image recalled Byzantine -pictures in Russian churches--very set, very firm, yet withal so -kind, and above all so holy. - - [Illustration: BUDDHIST IMAGES CUT IN CLIFFS ON THE RIVER YA. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -But the really ancient temple was under the over-hanging cliff, from -which the whole place is named, with the water from that cliff -dripping over it, and making the steps by which one ascends so -slippery one had to walk warily. There the images were of the true -Indian type, with supple, graceful figures, erect carriage, sloping -shoulders, and small waists, all as unlike the Chinese figure as -possible. But perhaps the figure of Puhsien differed from the Chinese -type as much as anything by the seraphic smile, that seemed to -illumine even the dark cavern in which it was shrined. Afterwards we -saw Indian divinities, with low-necked dresses and bare arms, an -abomination in China, carved on a headland of the Ya, by their Indian -type showing their great antiquity. Close by was the place where the -priests, when dead, are cremated. It seemed to have been recently -rebuilt. We also visited the chief priest's grave, solemn by reason of -its surrounding trees rather than from its architectural adornments. -But the most striking feature of the whole place was its exquisite -cleanliness and propriety, and the perfect order in all the land -around, that belonged to the monastery, and that might have been a -model farm, so carefully was it weeded and watered and tended. The -chief priest, as far as we could ascertain, was elected for three -years only, and our chief priest's time was nearly drawing to an end; -but before it did so he would have the yearly ordination. - -The monastery was exquisitely situated, partly on a little knoll, -partly on the more sloping side of the hill. It and its outbuildings -must have covered about six or seven acres. And the sound of worship -seemed never silent there. But it was when we considered how great -must be the force religion brought to bear, before out of such a -slatternly, untidy, filth-loving race as the Chinese it produced this -spotless, orderly, exemplary establishment, that we were perhaps most -impressed. And as we sat within those peaceful precincts, listening -to the rich, deep sounds of Buddhist bells, so far more musical than -those of Europe, with the hum of chanting penetrating to us, softened -by distance, and realised that this ancient worship dated from ages -ago, having been only reformed by Gautama--that prince who gave up his -father's throne, and the love of father, wife, and child, to spend and -be spent for the people--it was impossible for us to believe that for -all those centuries God had left these people, trying after it, -without a way to approach Him, or that this long-continued worship -could be altogether unpleasing to the Most High. - - "The old faiths, grown more wide, - Purer, and glorified, - Are still our lifelong guide." - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -_A CHINESE ORDINATION._ - - Crowd.--Nuns.--Final Shaving.--Woven Paces.--Burning - Heads.--Relationships.--A Living Picture. - - -I have attended an ordination in St. John Lateran's at Rome, of which -my principal recollection is how the Italian young men wriggled as -they all lay flat upon the marble floor whilst something was sung over -them. Was it a _Te Deum_? It certainly was very long. The whole -service, indeed, seemed very long drawn out. I have also a remembrance -of nearly fainting from weariness at an ordination in Exeter -Cathedral; and can still recall the thrill of awestruck admiration -with which I regarded the reader of the gospel on that occasion, who, -as I understood, had passed first, and who yet was overcome by -emotion, so far was he from esteeming himself worthy of this honour, -in thinking of the work that lay before him. Certainly, long though -the proceedings were--and they must have been very long if they seemed -so to me, for in those days I was an enthusiast about cathedral -services--yet never for a second did reverence of the highest quality -cease to brood over all the scene. Thus, when invited by the abbot -himself to assist at an ordination in one of the strictest of Chinese -monasteries, there was some element of wonder mixed with the fortitude -with which I prepared for a barbarous burning rite, and _soupe maigre_ -to see it on. Nor was that flask of whisky forgotten that is such a -support to the traveller, remaining always full under all emergencies -because never wanted. It was not in this case. But as the only -European, whose account of such a ceremony I had heard, reported two -or three monks carried away fainting, and a general odour of burning -flesh, I thought it might be. - - [Illustration: AT FENGTU, CHINESE HADES. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -The large beautifully situated monastery was already full when I -arrived; and my husband, who had transmitted the abbot's invitation, -and himself had been there two days, informed me his was the only bed -with one man in it. "They sleep head and feet," he said, as if this -added to the comfort of it. "I can't think where they will put you. -They are very, very full; and they are playing cards or smoking opium -all the time in my room. But they are very polite,--some one is -always 'keeping me company.' I cannot read a word." Indeed, he wore -the dazed air of being too much kept company with. At the head of a -flight of steps, at the entrance to the women's quarter, a dark den -with two beds was, however, found for me; and though several ladies -most obligingly offered to occupy the other bed, and "keep me company" -all night, I retained undisturbed possession of the two, whenever the -door was barred. When it was not, people "kept me company" (_pei_); -ladies, priests, young men friends, and young men who were not -friends, but might become such, all crowded in together with some -young monks, whose behaviour somewhat surprised me. - -Attending meals of an abundant, yet meagre, description with the other -ladies, and returning the ladies' calls, I was again and again -surprised by the easy behaviour of these young monks, who were -apparently especially taken by my gloves, and would feel my hand -gloved and feel my hand ungloved, and generally _hang around_. One -seemed very well brought up, and began every sentence with "Omito!" -generally finishing it in that way too, and accompanying every remark -by a set little bow. We thought perhaps he was a lad--a child--and my -husband positively screamed when, on being asked his age, he answered -twenty-six. "Did you ever see a young man of twenty-six with such an -innocent countenance?" he asked. "Well, I don't know," I said -evasively, "I suppose it is all right; but I may as well tell you that -never in all my life have I had my hand squeezed as since I came into -this monastery. They all do it, every one of them; so I suppose it -means nothing." I hastened to add, "But they are in all the ladies' -rooms too." "What! in the Chinese ladies' too?" "Yes!" I persisted. -"Oh, well, well!" We resigned ourselves to the ways of the country. It -was not till two days later the truth dawned upon us that this -innocent-faced young man, and some others, who were older and could -hardly be described in that way, were nuns, guests like ourselves, and -that there were besides sixteen young women going to be made nuns, -together with the fifty-two young men who were going to be made -priests. We were so glad we found out. - -All the day through there were invitations to tea and sugar-plums with -the abbot and past abbots (each only rules for three years, and then -retires into a picturesque suite of rooms and garden to himself), and -all the while again and again sounds of gongs and drums and chanting, -and peeps at strange novices, young people with shaven heads, clad in -"Liberty-tinted" gowns--dull red, ruddy brown, old gold, -cream--kneeling, or prostrating themselves quite flat, or winding in -and out with pacings and slow and quick movements. On the morning of -_the_ day, after many services in the night and dawning, there was the -final shaving. Then each knelt in turn, and had his head felt all over -the front, and with great care, by a seated priest with immovable -countenance of the Indian type, and long taper, talonlike fingers. If -a hair could be felt, back to the barber! If quite smooth, little -circles were traced with Indian ink upon the polled pate--this was -done by the eye, and often one had to be effaced and retraced; then a -tiny packet was handed to the kneeling one. It was some time after -this ceremony the abbot, in dull cream, with over-gown of rich red -satin, like the others, all made of tiny bits sewn together to -simulate rags and poverty, and passed under the right arm, but clasped -over the left breast, black-hooded, and bearing in lifted hand before -his face a golden _jui_, or sceptre, entered the large principal -temple, and sat on a chair placed upon the altar, a scourge borne -behind him, draped with red silk, being placed to his left, and what -looked like a censer to his right. Then four priests, with many -kneelings and flat prostrations, stood before the altar, seven of the -novices following in like fashion, and joining the long line, seven at -either end. Each carried a long piece of cloth to spread upon the -floor on which to lie prostrate; and as the two lines stood facing -each other before the altar, the two in the centre raised the -kneeling-cloth to their eyes, and with it solemnly _tso-i'd_ to each -other; then each, turning quickly to the right, went through the same -ceremony with the man he now found himself confronted with; and so all -along the line, only the reverence growing less and less, till the -last man hardly got the cloth up as high as his shoulders, for they -had to be very quick. The wooden gong was being beaten faster and -faster. And now the priests led off; and each set of nine, keeping to -its own side of the temple, went through the quickest "woven paces" I -have yet seen, curving in and round upon one another, and round the -huge stone monoliths that support the vast graceful temple roof, whose -erection still remains a mystery, so lofty is it and so large its -span, so ample its unsupported roof-curves. It was like the quickest -possible follow-my-leader, so that the end of the tail came up always -smiling all over, and breathlessly trying to get through the figure. -Meanwhile, at the side, towards the back, another dignitary sat in -state, and two novices knelt, and went flat, and came forward, and -practised taking incense-sticks from the altar with fingers widely -spread after a fashion that does not look easy and does look mystic. -But what was the meaning of it, or the dance, no one seemed able to -say. - -No number of inquiries, not even a direct letter and special messenger -to the monastery, had been able to elicit even the day of the great -ceremony, much less the hour; but, since the evening before, we had -heard of two o'clock, and at two o'clock precisely in they came. We -ladies were crowding on to the few seats in one corner; the male -guests, silken-clad, fur-lined, were swelling it about at the sides of -the temple, the centre of which appeared already quite filled up by -the priests of the monastery, and other priests and men guests, who -were all greeting one another, going about, standing in groups, and -generally wearing a pleased, excited appearance. Meanwhile, the -populace, in serried mass, were looking in through all the many -half-doors on all sides, the tops of all the doors being thrown wide -open. There was music. Was it the wooden gong or the drum? It was -quick, near. It seemed to throb with the intense excitement pervading -the building. And in twenty minutes all was over. Every one had come -in, the abbot clad as before, all the novices in over-gowns clasped -over the left shoulder--both over- and under-gowns of what we call art -colours. All had spread out their cloths and knelt and prostrated -themselves, before a priest took up his position standing behind each, -and extended both hands to hold the novice's head quite steady, -fingers wide dispread, so as especially to shield the eyes, all of -course closed. Some adhesive mixture was applied to the Indian ink -circles; then a priest, standing in front of each novice, took out of -the packet previously given him nice little cones of charred -sandalwood and saltpetre, and stuck them on the places indicated; and -some one else set them alight; and there were sixty-eight young men -and women, all kneeling, with their eyes closed, their faces turned up -to heaven, and with nine little charcoal cones smouldering on each of -their bare pates, whilst they prayed one and all, as it seemed, with -all their hearts. For if the heart is pure, you do not suffer, is the -saying. My husband says he kept his eyes fixed on the three nearest -him, and never saw them wince, or blanch, or utter a sound, or move a -muscle. But my place was by the nuns, and one moved, so that one of -the smouldering cones fell off and into her bosom, and had to be -replaced; and another did not cry out, but roared--roared like a -child. Yet such was the din made by the excitingly discordant music, -that when I stepped but two off I could not hear a sound from her; so -there may have been many others crying out also. I saw one nun press a -cloth again and again to her eyes, and take it away apparently soaked -by her tears; but her face was steady and upturned, and her expression -was that of very earnest prayer. Meanwhile, the cones smouldered down -till they just charred those marks with which we are familiar on -priests' heads; then they went out, though all that day and on into -the next several little unburnt lumps were still adhering to the poor -consecrated heads. - -We went away to tea and sugar-plums, leaving the new-made monks and -nuns still praying; and when we came out, they had only adjourned to -another temple to pray. At ten o'clock at night they were calling on -Sergiafu (Buddha, Sakyamuni, what you will), thirty-four standing up -quite straight, chanting, whilst the other thirty-four were lying -prostrate, then going down in their turn whilst the others rose up and -chanted. This they did at the rate of three prostrations and uprisings -a minute. They are supposed to make ten thousand in the twenty days. -It seemed to make me drowsy; so, having twice fallen off asleep whilst -they prayed and rose and fell, I went to bed, leaving them still at -it, to be thrice awakened by the gong calling to fresh prayers, and, -when I arose the following morning, to find the whole set -processioning from one dead abbot's grave to the other, praying at -each. One of our Chinese gentleman friends we left in the temple at -night. At eleven o'clock he was turning in. Then some one proposed -ten more rounds of cards, and they played till daybreak. It was only -the week before we had been invited to the funeral feast of his -grandmother, when, with the coffin in the guest-room, a light -underneath it, the ladies of the family played cards all night in a -bedroom opening out of the guest-room, though their eyes were dilated -either from tears or want of sleep, their heads bound with white -mourning-cloths of the same coarse texture as those worn by the -peasant. Was it not something like this at one time in our own country -at a funeral feast? - -Whilst in this monastery, we discovered another mistake we had fallen -into. We had long known this friend as the honourable member of a -certain mandarin family, and often mused over the condition of affairs -it revealed,--that we knew, as we thought, six young men of much the -same age, all sons of one father, but of different mothers. We had -known them for years, and had photographed the different mothers with -their sons, had assisted at their weddings and their funerals, dined -with them, and been dined by them, and often speculated as to the -character of the dead father and the previous social status of his -various wives. Now Squire No. 4 proposed to take us to a breakfast -party at the country seat of Squire No. 2 in that neighbourhood, on -which a stiff cross-questioning arose; and at last we discovered that -the numbers indicated daughters as well as sons, and amongst what we -believed to be brothers were three sets of cousins. "But we make no -distinction," said our friend suavely. "And you make no distinction -between elder brother and younger? Strange, we do." So it goes on. -Years in China only serve to show one one's mistakes. - - [Illustration: BEGGING PRIEST, ONCE A GENERAL. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -"Pray come back, and bring any of your friends who would like to spend -a happy time here," were the parting words of the priests; whilst the -nuns assured us there was going to be a much grander ceremony on the -morrow, if only we would stay for it, and we must and should. But we -had gone through our purgatory of intervening day and night with a -certain object, which happily we had gained, and could endure no more. -The lady guests had been very kind to us. They assured me they were -strict vegetarians at home as well as there, and were certainly devout -and greatly interested in the nuns, some coming forward to hold their -heads during the ordination ceremony. Two at least, however, appeared -to be regular opium-smokers--they said on account of illness. But it -was impossible to detect that they were in the least ashamed of -smoking opium, or that any one else, nun or priest or any one, thought -they had any reason to be. Yet this was a very strict monastery, where -neither wine nor flesh meat was allowed. We noticed, moreover, that -the abbey lands were bright with healthy-looking opium poppy-plants. - -One further memory I have carried away. The temple treasures were all -set out for show on tables in the men's guests' dining-hall, which -looked out on to a tiny shut-in garden, the walls of which were -brightened by tufts of Chinese primroses in full fragrant flower. -Gowns of many rich soft tints were hanging on racks at one end, and -the sun was streaming in upon embroideries and satin vestments they -were showing me, when a dignitary, again of Indian type--long face, -very sad dreamy eyes, and high narrow forehead--came in and arrayed -himself in a gown of the most brilliant orange silk; then, -black-hooded, paused by a table, and, bending slightly, referred to a -large volume lying upon it. The pose, the colouring, and the lighting -made one of those perfect little pictures that one treasures in memory -for years; and now, when people denounce Buddhism to me, my mental eye -sees once more that living picture in vivid orange and sunset-lit -shadows, to which not the most consummate artist could have added one -touch without injury. - - "How strange are the freaks of memory! - The lessons of life we forget, - While a trifle, a trick of colour, - In the wonderful web is set." - -There may be many lessons to be learnt from a Buddhist ordination; -many deep meanings are doubtless signified by its ritual: I only -attempt here to recall the colouring. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -_THE SACRED MOUNTAIN OF OMI._ - - Luncheon with a Chief Priest.--Tigers.--Mysterious - Lights.--The View of a Lifetime.--Pilgrims.--Glory of - Buddha.--Unburied Priests. - - -It was very hot in Chungking in 1892--too hot, we feared, for us to -bear, worn out as we were by the emotions and excessive heat of the -river journey, entered upon too late in the summer. So, while we yet -could, we secured four bearer sedan-chairs, with blue cotton awnings -six yards long, after the fashion of this windless province, and, with -bath-towels to bind round our heads, and sun-hats, and dark glasses, -and all that following necessary for a land journey of between twenty -and thirty men, were carried for a fortnight through a rich -agricultural district, a region of salt wells and petroleum springs, -on through the white-wax country to the foot of sacred Omi. A letter -written at the time to a cousin, with whom I had two years before -driven through our own lovely Lake country, and who I knew shared my -delight in strange surroundings and the unexpected, will best -reproduce the exhilaration consequent on emerging from the green -luxuriance of semi-tropical vegetation with its steamy hothouse air. -It was written from our first resting-place upon the romantic -mountain-side. - - - "WAN NIEN SZE, _July 26th, 1892_. - -"With whom do you think we have been lunching to-day? I have had tea -with gold-miners in Alaska, and luncheon in a lumber camp in British -Columbia, and dinner with a party of Chinese merchants in Chungking; -but to-day, of all people in the world, it was with the chief priest -of a Buddhist monastery on the sacred mountain of Omi! And very good -the luncheon was! I really felt _fed_--always a matter of question -when one is living upon tinned things. He did not sit down with us; -but he entertained us by his conversation, and we had our own -tablecloth and forks and spoons, and our own servant to wait upon us. -The room was all set out with red cloths beautifully embroidered in -pale blue, hanging on the front of the side-table, over the backs of -the chairs, and down from the seats, on which were cool summer -cushions. There were twelve courses besides the rice; and quite a -number of monks and pilgrims assembled to see us eat. Our room opened -into the temple, where Puhsien (gigantic) sat upon the altar on a sort -of leopard. I believe some people say Puhsien was the son of Sakyamuni -or of Gautama, pronounce them how we will. But the high-priest says, -'Omito Fo!' (Blessed is Fu, or Buddha!) as a greeting, and interlards -all his talk with it: 'I am so glad you like your dinner, Omito!' 'We -are very poor; we want two hundred thousand tiles to roof the temples, -Omito!' etc., etc. We found _beignets_ of pumpkin flowers in dough -perfectly delicious. But our man-servant says, 'Yes, but you put in a -catty [1-1/3 lb.] of flour, and you get only three ounces.' - -"It was a regular charity lunch; for directly it was over the -high-priest entered into further details,--how the rooms we were -lodging in wanted repairing, and how everything did (which is quite -true), and how we could see every one who came to worship was very -poor, and the last Europeans who lodged there gave about L15, and he -thought it would be so nice if we gave L25. And he brought the -subscription list out, and the brush to write with; and positively -would _not_ let our Boy write down L2 10_s._--twice as large a sum as -I thought necessary. Then another priest begged too. They begged and -begged, till I said at last, determined to interrupt them, 'There is a -Tibetan image in the temple behind I do so want you to come and show -me.' Then every one burst out laughing at such a very palpable attempt -to change the conversation. However, our modest sum got written down, -and the chief priest nearly wept. He came to show us the Tibetan -image, and he seemed to find it absolutely uninteresting. It holds a -little white rabbit in one hand, and a rosary with very large beads in -the other, and looks as conceited as it is possible to look. But as he -said it was made on the mountain and not in Tibet, we did not -photograph it and him together. - -"As far as we can make out, this mountain was sacred long before -Buddhism; and every day crowds of pilgrims come--numbers of Chinese -women, with their bandaged feet wrapped up in husks of Indian corn to -make it easier to walk up the steep flights of steps that lead up ten -thousand feet to the top of the mountain. How they manage it, I cannot -think. The saying is, 'If you are a bad man with sins unrepented, and -go up the mountain, you die.' Six men are said to have thus died this -year. There is a wonderful bronze Puhsien riding on a colossal bronze -elephant, beautifully made, each of its feet standing on a lotus -flower. This is in a temple just behind ours, with a dome, and made of -bricks, both very unusual in China, and said here never to have been -built, but to have come in a single night. - -"But I cannot tell you how I wish to get away from all these temples. -They begin to oppress me so,--all the people prostrating themselves, -and then offering incense before each image in turn (and there are so -many!), and lighting a candle before each. They arrive with great -baskets full. And they come out of the temple with a rapt expression. -And then our white long-haired terrier springs out on them, and they -start so! We do not know what to do; because they call him a lion-dog -(he is the Chinese idea of a lion), and seem to regard him as a -semi-sacred thing. I do not want him to go into the temples at all. -And the thresholds are so high he cannot get over; but there is -always some one who will hand him over, and then the conceited dog -shakes his sides and frisks about among the worshippers. This worship -has been going on for thousands of years; and yet I do not believe any -one has an idea about Puhsien! - -"Then there is Kwanyin over and over again, like a Byzantine Virgin -and Child, with a very sweet face on this mountain, and a child on her -knee. And women come and pray for children, and carry away little -dolls. The more I think of it, the less I know what I believe about it -all. Nara, where they had worshipped for so many years in Japan, -seemed to be haunted. But this mountain does not feel haunted, nor as -yet does it feel sacred. But so far we are only up three thousand -feet, with mosquitoes all alive about us, and scissor-grinders -shrilling their souls out in just, I should think, the highest note -possible for the human ear to hear, besides others more like other -scissor-grinders. - -"Then, though this temple seemed clean on first arrival by comparison -with Chinese inns, its dirt now has a very materialising effect upon -one's susceptibilities. It is beautifully situated on a spur of the -mountain, with an amphitheatre of mountain-peaks girdling it in except -on one side, where it looks down on the lesser hills and rivers we -came up from. There are trees, and, we are assured, tigers, a man -having been eaten by one ten days ago. But as I am also told eight men -together were going up a peak not far from here, and of the eight five -were killed by tigers, I am not quite sure whether one can believe -everything one is told on Omi-shan. At all events, the tiger-mosquitoes -seem a more real danger at present. We had sixteen nights in Chinese -inns to get here from Chungking, travelling always westward; so I -cannot think many Europeans will come, till there are steamers running -to Chungking, and Cook has organised through-tickets. But the chief -priest thinks if he could only do these rooms up many foreigners would -come, and all give him many taels, and then the temples could all be -restored." - - - [Illustration: JACK (LONG-HAIRED SHANTUNG TERRIER). - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - - [Illustration: SACRED TIGER. - _By Mr. Upcraft._] - -There are many wonders upon this sacred mountain, one the so-called -Glory of Buddha, which we saw every afternoon during the fortnight in -August we spent on its summit. Another, more puzzling to me, we only -saw once. We were called out about nine o'clock on a keen, frosty -night to see the lamps of Kiating, the city ten thousand feet below -us, that had come up to be lighted. Some rich donor has given the -lamps of Kiating particularly high lamp-posts to facilitate this -miracle. Certainly, on each out-jutting spur of the mountain, as we -looked down from the edge of the great precipice, we saw a large -luminous light apparently quite stationary, and in effect recalling -the lamps of Piccadilly at night. Some people say this must be caused -by electricity. Certainly, on Mount Omi we always seemed to look down -upon the storms of thunder and lightning that evening after evening -cooled the hot country below us. But the most beautiful sight was to -turn away from the grand views as far as the eye could reach over the -rivers and hills and cities of China, and, standing on the verge of -the precipice, look just in the other direction, across the sea of -mountains with serrated edges or slanting-backs, two flat-topped -table-mountains conspicuous among them, till there at last up in the -sky, "as if stood upon a table for us to look at," as some Chinaman -said centuries ago, stood the long range of the snowy giants of Tibet, -with great glaciers clinging to their sides, and catching the first -rosy light of morning, whilst all the other intervening mountains were -still wrapped in their blankets of mist and night. - - [Illustration: GREAT PRECIPICE OF MOUNT OMI. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -Many beautiful descriptions have been written of Mount Omi, that -mountain that stands alone in its sacredness in the far west of China, -with an all-round view from its summit, where the beholder stands on -the verge of one of the most gigantic precipices in the world, said by -Mr. Baber to be a mile deep. But it would be hard to surpass that of -Fan Yue-tsz, of the Ming Dynasty, who tells how he saw the Wa-wu, and -the snowy mountains "running athwart like a long city wall," and -India, and the mountains of Karakorum, together with all the -barbarous kingdoms, the great Min River, and the rivers of Kiating, -the Tung, and the Ya; and winds up by saying: "The advocate and I -clapped our palms, and cried out, 'The grandest view of a lifetime!'" -The cloud effects from Fujiyama's top are different, but not finer; -and Fuji has no snowy mountains of Tibet to look out upon. The -all-round view from the ever popular and most beloved Rigi seems a -plaything sort of pretty pigmy view by comparison. - -And day after day, year after year, all the year round, pilgrims come -and prostrate themselves on the different out-jutting bastions of the -cliff upon boards laid in the wet grass for their convenience while -they venerate Puhsien, who, they say, came up from India on his -elephant and settled here; just as their ancestors probably came, -before ever Buddha was, to venerate the sun-god, as we call him now, -we not apparently having even yet learnt enough to say simply God, as -if there were, or could be, God this and God that,--not one God, the -Father of All--to use the simple comprehensive Chinese phrase, "The -Above All!" The men and women of the province come in great numbers: -the men with their brows bound with the white Szechuan handkerchief -like Dante, and with mouths like the old Greek gods, with rich, -regular curves; the women with their skirts only to their knees, and -feet of the natural size or only slightly deformed, and in each case -bound with Indian corn-husks, the better to contend with the steep -stone steps that lead up and down the ten thousand feet of -mountain-side. Men from Yunnan come too, with extraordinarily heavy -and knotted young trees for walking-sticks, shod, not with iron -points, but small iron spades, that they may if need be re-make the -road as they go along. Military dandies even from far Ningpo are -carried up the mountain in sedan-chairs (this last a work of great -difficulty); whilst old men and very weak women manage to get up in a -sort of basket carried on a man's back, their feet holding on round -his waist after the fashion that children are carried pick-a-back. And -in the winter the Tibetans come, men and women all together, all in -furs, and saying, "Om Mani Padmi Hum!" instead of the familiar, "Omito -Fo," the habitual greeting on the mountain-side. Some of the wild -tribes also come, without pigtails, like decent people, but with their -hair strangely sticking out in front of their heads, as if they wore -their tails in front. And all prostrate themselves, and do -reverence--_unless_ it be the few Europeans who have strayed so far -west through China--as they look over the edge of the great precipice, -and there on the mist below see the circular halo of three primary -colours, very brilliant, and in its central brightness the shadow of -their own head and shoulders, or, if their heart be such, Puhsien -himself riding on his elephant, as he came from India more than two -thousand years ago. Where the pilgrims most do congregate some pious -donor has had strong iron chains fastened between iron supports; and -in another place there is a low stone wall: but so great is the -indifference to its depth that so lofty a precipice inspires,--we -ourselves once resided on a fifth story, and found many of our -visitors unable to look out, and ourselves suffered somewhat from -dizziness; but on moving to the eleventh floor of the same building -felt nothing of the kind,--so great is the indifference to its danger -that this great precipice inspires, that not a day passes but people -are getting outside the chains, or standing on the top of the low -wall, the better to see down below. - - [Illustration: PRIEST AND PILGRIMS ON EDGE OF OMI PRECIPICE. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -And there, as we look down upon the beautiful trees far beneath us, -and the flowers finding here and there a foothold, we become aware of -a cave, that looks quite inaccessible now, although it may not always -have been so; and below the cave, just a little way farther down the -precipice, something--we cannot quite make out what. We saw it from -the first, and then turned away to look at the city of Kiating, -picturesquely situated at the junction of its three rivers, or to -notice how swollen the rivers are with the recent heavy rains, or to -catch a distant glimpse of the one Taoist monastery on the mountain, -perched like an eyrie on its most picturesque out-jutting spur, or, as -so often, to watch the mist roll up. Oftenest it comes flying up from -the hot lowlands at our feet; but at times it crawls up like a great -white bear, lifting first one paw, then another, yet always securing -its foothold even on the sheerest edge of the precipice. At other -times it comes up like a sinuous serpent; and sometimes, enfolding all -the landscape, it flows over the precipice from the top like a Niagara -of mist. But always as the mist lifts, and we lean over the precipice, -scanning closely, we see that cave, which surely no man could ever -reach, and, below, something curious lying aslant on an edge of the -cliff; yet never is our curiosity sufficiently awakened to lift an -opera-glass, and see what it may be: it looks so small and -insignificant--just something out of place in the vast landscape, that -is all. - -Then we see other caves, and hear wild talk of aborigines, who live, -or lived, in them. The coolies talk of nothing but aborigines and the -unconquered Lolos. One of them has been two years among the latter as -a soldier; and he tells how his general's wife was taken prisoner by -them, and put upon an ox to ride, since she could not walk, and -describes them as a sort of Highlanders, wearing a skirt and a wrap, -and not rude at all to those they carry off--only wanting to get -ransom-money. Then we meet a pilgrim, who is standing staring at some -caves far below with protruding eyes; and he says, "There are tigers -in there!" then stands speechless. But on our laughing we are told -again of six men already this year eaten by tigers. It is a comfort to -laugh even over tigers; for the high, rare air affects the nerves even -of our coolies, and every one is asking for quinine as a cure for -neuralgia. For foreign medicines are known in the West, and "They -never cost anything," as some women with a sick child said with great -energy, and confidence that we must be able to cure the child, and for -nothing, as missionaries or foreigners (here the two words are treated -as synonymous) always did. Then, as one coolie after another sickened, -and we ourselves could hardly breathe or bear the aching of our heads, -we were told a very dangerous air came up over the precipice, and how -a Taoist priest, who was going to live in a cave on the mountain, -dropped down dead of it. And none of our Chinese would hear of a cave -being possibly full of gas, or that the air on the top of the mountain -was so much lighter than that below that a little time is needed to -get accustomed to it. - -And whilst explaining scraps of modern science, we forgot all about -the Taoist priest who died, till one day again we were hanging over -the cliff, watching for the Glory of Buddha below, when we noted a -Chinaman gazing down more intently than devoutly. "Do you see him?" he -asked. "I could not find him this morning; and I would not believe -what they all said, that a Taoist priest lay there. But what else can -it be? Do you look through your far-seeing glass, and say what you -see." So we looked at that something out of place, that had at once -caught short-sighted eyes intently scanning, yet without arresting our -attention sufficiently even to wonder what it might be. Yes! certainly -there lay, across a fallen tree, what looked like a man with a hood -on, like that the chief priest here wore, with an old basket at his -feet. "Yes, that's it--that's it. All the Taoists wear that! With his -feet in a basket! That is how they say he lies. He has lain there two -years, they say; and last year his clothes looked blue, and now they -look whitey-brown. Next year, I suppose, they will all fall to pieces. -I suppose it must be a man. I would not believe it at first." "No, no; -it is not a Taoist priest," said the young Buddhist, whose duty it was -to be agreeable to visitors. "It is just some clothes people have -thrown down." But, in the first place, no human hand could throw -clothes so far. They must long before have, fluttering, caught upon -some rugged edge. Next, nothing thrown could so exactly take the -semblance of a man,--the hood worn just as the chief priest wears his, -only the head fallen forward somewhat, and the lower part of the -person in dust-coloured clothes evidently fast approaching decay, but -even yet lingering on just where they would be if a man lay there -wearing them. The idea of clothes thrown down certainly would not hold -water. The idea of a sort of Guy Fawkes figure did at one time present -itself; but whilst it seemed possible that some enthusiast might -attempt to climb to that inaccessible cave, and so climbing fall and -perish, it did not seem possible that any one would be foolhardy -enough to climb there for the purpose merely of placing a lay figure -there, or could do so, carrying a lay figure. Yet, not wishing to be -too credulous, we approached the chief priest the next time his -picturesque figure in grey silk gown and black hood appeared beside -the parapet, and propounded the theory of clothes. His dark eyes grew -luminous with a sad smile; his is a face in which a painter would -delight, with its rich dark shades, well-marked features, and general -air of an Oriental saint of the early Christian era. "Those are no -clothes," he said, sadly smiling. "A Taoist priest lies there." - - [Illustration: CLOUD EFFECTS ON MOUNT OMI. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -And could there be a grander grave for a dead man,--the great white -mists of Omi his winding-sheet, the Glory of Buddha floating above him -his memorial cross, the bosom of Omi's inaccessible precipice his last -resting-place? Year by year, day by day, pilgrims kneel, and knock -their foreheads on the ground, then hold out hands of supplication -over his prostrate form; the bells are struck, the prayers are -chanted, the incense burns, above the unburied priest's last -resting-place. Never now will hand of man touch him more. He lies -secure. He sought to pass away from the contamination of the world, -and in pure ecstasy of devotion pass his days in an untrodden cave. -And it seems that God--our God, his God, the Lord and Father of us -all--accepted the offering without requiring the year-long daily -sacrifice. There are no signs of struggle in the orderly disposed -garments. It seems as if his spirit passed away as his foot stumbled, -and he fell across the fallen tree. - -And to make it grander still, he has won no immortal name thereby. The -young priest in the temple on the summit says, "That is no unburied -saint lies there--only clothes!" He takes us to a neighbouring shrine -of his own faith to see a real unburied saint. As we ascended the -mountain, we were struck by an image upon an altar from its likeness -to a man in its little human imperfections, all covered with gilding -though it was, as well as decked out in somewhat tawdry bright -embroidered satins. We only noticed, and passed on, repelled by a -large and really rather offensively ugly representation of Puhsien -standing behind it. The front figure was seated on a large lotus -flower, with its legs tucked up underneath it, just as the chief -priest at our temple tucked up his legs when he sat to have his -photograph taken, putting on his best vestments for the purpose, and -looking no longer like an early Christian, without his hood, and with -his bald shining head. "There! that was a priest here in the time of -Kang Hsi," said the young priest. "It is his very body, not embalmed. -It would not decay, and so he was----" Now, did he say _canonised_? -"Few foreigners know of this----" Now, did he say God or saint? So -much turns upon a word sometimes, and so few foreigners know Chinese -well enough to be clear about these delicate distinctions. - -A set of dandies in rich-coloured silks from Kiating, with yellow -incense-bags and double purses, invaded the temple, not for the -purpose of staring, as we were doing, but to worship. They prostrated -themselves, burnt their joss-sticks, and struck the gong before the -gilded old man upon the altar just in the same way that they did -before the other images. And they looked so picturesque doing this, it -seemed a pity to wait to set up the camera till they had gone, and -then only to photograph the gilded old man upon the altar and the -priest of seventy-one of to-day who ministers before it. The living -old man was quite excited by the proceeding, and completely unaware -that photography demanded the posture, generally most congenial to a -Chinaman, of repose. - -Even through all his gilding, the face of the other old man upon the -altar gave an idea of holiness, and this in spite of his having as -typically slanting eyes as any Chinaman living. Some of his teeth were -gone, and his mouth had a little helpless sort of crookedness about it -that was very touching. It seemed impossible then and there to hear -anything of his history; but it seemed equally impossible, looking at -him, to doubt that he had been a good man, a Vicar of Wakefield simple -sort of good man, and probably deserved as well to have his body set -upon an altar and worshipped as any mere man might. But the place of -sepulture of the unburied Taoist priest strikes the imagination as far -finer, recalling the grand lines upon the burial of Moses. Angels bore -Moses to his sepulchre, we are told. No one has borne the Taoist -priest. Even the winds of heaven cannot touch him, as he lies -sheltered by the great precipice on which he perished. - - "Stars silent rest o'er him, - Graves under him silent. - - * * * * * - - Here eyes do regard him - In eternity's stillness." - -Thus, at but a little distance from each other, on the summit of the -sacred mountain of Omi, in this land where more importance is attached -to burial than in any other, two Chinamen await unburied the -consummation of all things,--the one a disciple of Buddha; the other, -of that even less known Laotze, Buddha's Chinese contemporary: the one -covered over with gilding, raised upon an altar, and certainly -apparently worshipped as a god; the other lying prone upon the -mountain-side, his poor perishable garments growing threadbare in the -snow and rain. But when the mists gather round the mountain-top, and -the sun shines slanting from the west, it is above the ardent disciple -of Laotze that the Glory of Buddha floats--the man who sought the -grimmest possible retreat from the snares of this world, and, thus -seeking, found, we trust, the joys of Paradise. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -_CHINESE SENTIMENT._ - - In Memory of a Dead Wife.--Of a Dear Friend.--Farewell - Verses.--AEsthetic Feeling.--Drinking - Song.--Music.--Justice to Rats. - - -It is so much our habit in China to think the Chinese have no -sentiment, that I have thought it might be interesting to gather -together what indications I have observed during eleven years' -residence among them, leaving the reader, if of a judicial frame of -mind, to sum up and formulate his own conclusions. - -One of the most poetic events in history used to seem to me in -childhood that crowning of his dead Queen by King Pedro, to which Mrs. -Hemans consecrated some of her most pathetic verses. To this day I -cannot think of the beautiful dead Inez de Castro in all the grandeur -of her coronation robes, seated upon her throne, without feeling -something of the faint, cold shuddering which the poetess imagines. -Yet when I went for the first time to a grand Chinese house in the -Arsenal at Shanghai, and found it all dressed out with signs of -mourning, white cloths, and balls of twisted white cotton, people all -in their best dresses, and preparations complete for three days of -theatrical performance, though I was startled to find that all this -was to commemorate the birthday of the wife of the master of the -house, lying quiet in her grave already these twenty years, the -twenty-years-in-China-and-not-know-a-word-of-the-language men all said -it was quite usual, and seemed surprised and annoyed that I should -find it affecting. Alas! to this day I have never learned whether he -loved her very much, nor quite satisfied myself whether it was really -her birthday or the day of her death they were thus celebrating. But, -interpret it all after whatever fashion, there was surely in this -some indication of sentiment. - - [Illustration: GUARD-HOUSE NEAR THE ARSENAL.] - -Again, there are many suicides in China, and habit seems to make both -Europeans and Chinese callous. Yet when a German who had returned to -China happy in the belief a girl he knew would follow and marry him, -and on hearing she had changed her mind, or for some other reason -would not come, thought it better to leave a life that for him held no -promise, the following poem appeared in a Shanghai paper: - -"AVE ATQUE VALE! - -In memory of the late ----. - - 'Es lebe, - wer sich tapfer halt!' - - --_Goethe's 'Faust.'_ - - The wild prunes blossom, red and white, - In wintry air.[1] - Heavy with orange, in sunlight, - The groves are fair. - - The pearl-like river, silent, sure, - Glides to the sea: - A spirit, mutinous but pure, - Sets itself free. - - Love, flowers, and music erst were thine; - But love, to thee - A blight, was bitter as the brine - Of the salt sea. - - From these thy noble spirit yearned - Towards nobler schemes; - Dreams of a nobler age returned, - Alas! but dreams. - - Last on the river-girdled spot-- - Thy spacious home, - Spacious but lone, for one was not - That should have come-- - - We sat and talked of modern creed - And ancient lore; - Of modern gospel--gush and greed, - Now to the fore. - - Thy fervent hope it was to join - The best with best; - To break down the dividing-line - Of East and West. - - O friend! albeit of alien race, - For evermore - Shall be with me thy noble face, - Too sicklied o'er - - With a world-sorrow e'en too great - For thy great heart, - Since from us, who still serve and wait, - Thou wouldst depart. - - Farewell! The swift-wheeled ship will bring - To thy far West - The tidings, while I, grieving, sing - Thee to thy rest. - - KU HUNG MING. - - VICEROY'S YAMEN, - WUCHANG, _December 4th, 1893_." - -The Englishman who could write as good a poem in Chinese has not yet -been born; but I quote it because of the sentiment it expresses. - -The young Chinese to whom I tried to teach English took leave of me, -when I left for England, in very elegant Chinese verse, to which I -wish I could do justice by translation. The sentiment of it was very -appropriate. He regretted my departure, wondering what he should do -without me; for to him I had been like the snow, which, by covering up -and protecting the plants, makes the young shoots grow, as I had made -his intelligence burgeon. This struck me as a very happy expression of -sentiment, and, as I was assured by Chinese scholars, equally -felicitously expressed. - - [Illustration: ROOF AND ROOF-END AT CHUNGKING. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -The Chinese love of beautiful curves, spending time and money on the -roof-cornices and outside ornaments of even quite a poor cottage, -indicates a deep-seated sentiment for the beautiful, as do also the -trees in their towns, some of which have almost as many trees as -houses, as also their love of flowers. In the flowering season a bough -of blossom may be seen in a vase on the counter of even the darkest -little shop; whilst no literary man would think his writing-table -complete without a vase for one lovely blossom, and no woman would -think herself dressed until she had stuck a flower on one side of her -glossy hair. But every one probably would acknowledge that the Chinese -have a very strong aesthetic sentiment. Here, however, is an adieu to -the Old Year much resembling one of Burns' songs in its sentiment, or -want of it: - -"ADIEU TO THE OLD YEAR. - - The voice of the cricket is heard in the hall; - The leaves of the forest are withered and sere; - My spirits they droop at those chirruping notes - So thoughtlessly sounding the knell of the year. - - Yet why should we sigh at the change of a date, - When life's flowing on in a full steady tide? - Come, let us be merry with those that we love; - For pleasure in measure there's no one to chide." - - _Translated by W. A. P. M._ - - [Illustration: BRIDGE AT HANGCHOW.] - -But this Chinese drinking-song, which could without exciting any -special comment appear upon a New Year's card of to-day, was published -in the Chinese Book of Odes 500 B.C. Twelve centuries later we find a -decidedly prettier sentiment and finer touch in Li-tao-po, one of -China's favourite poets A.D. 720. It is interesting to notice that -four of China's poets, Tze-ma-hsiang-yu, Yang-hsiung, Li-tao-po, and -_Su-tung-po_, were all born and spent their earliest years in -Szechuan, on the borderland of Tibet, and the yet unconquered Lolo -country, like our own English Border country, China's cradle of legend -and song. - -This is an attempt to render the best-known ode of China's favourite -bard, A.D. 720: - -"ON DRINKING ALONE BY MOONLIGHT. - - Here are flowers, and here is wine; - But where's a friend with me to join - Hand to hand and heart to heart - In one full cup before we part? - - Rather than to drink alone, - I'll make bold to ask the moon - To condescend to lend her face - To grace the hour and the place. - - Lo! she answers, and she brings - My shadow on her silver wings; - That makes three, and we shall be, - I ween, a merry company. - - The modest moon declines the cup, - But shadow promptly takes it up; - And when I dance, my shadow fleet - Keeps measure with my flying feet. - - Yet though the moon declines to tipple, - She dances in yon shining ripple; - And when I sing, my festive song - The echoes of the moon prolong. - - Say, when shall we next meet together? - Surely not in cloudy weather; - For you, my boon companions dear, - Come only when the sky is clear." - - _Translated by W. A. P. M._ - -The fancy if not the sentiment of this song is so pretty, that it is -hard to see how the nation that produced it can be rebuked for want -of sentiment by the nation that to this day sings, "Drink, puppies, -drink." Indeed, I think this Chinese drinking-song dating from the -eighth century A.D. the very prettiest I have ever met with in any -literature. It has three if not four of such graceful conceits as -would alone make the success of a modern bard. But they are old, very -old. And China, too, is old; and is said to produce nothing of the -kind now. - -To turn to comparatively more modern days, _Lu-pe-Ya's Lute_, -Englished and reduced into poetry by Mrs. Augusta Webster, shows a -sentiment for friendship and for music deep in the Chinese breast. It -is, I suppose, because I am so very unmusical that I rather enjoy -Chinese music. It seems to me very merry, especially its funereal -chants. - -People often wonder if the Chinese enjoy European music. Two -Englishmen were invited not long ago to a military mandarin's house to -hear one of his sons, a great musician, play. The latter could only -perform if perfect silence were observed by the audience and a vase of -flowers and lighted incense before him to help his inspiration. -Unfortunately, after all these preparations, it appeared his was a -stringed instrument, to be laid upon the table and played with the -nails--the most difficult instrument to play upon that the Chinese -possess; and the melody, if it were a melody, was so low, the -Englishmen came away quite unable to judge of its beauty. "Heard -melodies are sweet, but those unheard----" However, some other young -military mandarins had played a duet on flutes, and another performed -on a flageolet, both very agreeably. - -It may interest those interested--and who of us in China are not?--in -the great opium question to hear that a young lad of sixteen went away -from the dinner-table to smoke opium. "How dreadful!" said one of the -Europeans. "A lad of sixteen to smoke opium! He will never live!" -"Why, look at my five sons, all born since I smoked," said the host; -"I began when I was twenty. But, indeed, his family are rather glad he -smokes. You see, my guest is a very rich young fellow from up the -river, who has no father; and if he did not smoke opium, he would be -sure to be getting into mischief with women or gambling. Now, smoking -opium, they think, will keep him at home." Is not this rather a novel -view of the question? - -The old legend of the Fairy Foxes, which I Englished some years ago, -and brought out in Mr. Hasegawa's very pretty _crepe_ paper series, -shows a sentiment of kindness for animals with which some people are -unwilling to credit a nation that emphatically does not say, "What a -beautiful day! Let us go out and kill something." Both that and _The -Rat's Plaint_, translated from the original Chinese and rendered into -verse by my husband, and very beautifully illustrated as well as -reproduced on _crepe_ paper by Mr. Hasegawa, might be circulated by -the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The latter's -quaintness--it is a very old Chinese legend--alone makes the reader -pass over the very nice sentiment for poor pussy, as well as the -homely Chinese sense of justice, stating the rat's case in the first -instance so very plainly as almost to make the reader incline to his -side. - -There is an easy-going live-and-let-live character about the Chinese, -which makes them very pleasant employers, as all steamship captains -will testify, and which, perhaps, accounts for their not hurrying off -the face of the earth the rats that are such a great pest in a Chinese -city. An English Consul, on undoing a not yet used camera, found that -to get at the gum used they had eaten through each fold of its dark -chamber. One year in Chungking they made a hole through a strong -wooden case we thought safely closed down, opened the tins of milk -just as we should have done ourselves, and evidently dipped their -tails in, and fished out all the milk those tails could reach. We have -often thought this worthy to be a _Spectator_ story. But, however -incredible it may sound, it is true; and when we opened the case, we -found all the top layer out of two dozen tins of milk opened and half -emptied in this way. Worse still, that same year--there was famine in -the land, and human beings were dropping down dead of hunger every day -by the river-side--there was a hole one morning in our dear little -pony's back, said to be caused by the wicked rats. - -The Chinese easy-going liberal disposition and sense of justice have -been immortalised in _The Rat's Plaint_, translated by my husband, -where the poor rat's case is made out as I never saw it till I read it -there; though in the end the rat is awarded punishment, and pussy-cat -installed in her high place as favoured friend in every homestead. And -so herewith an end of Chinese sentiment. - - [Illustration: BRIDGE AND CAUSEWAY ON WEST LAKE.] - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] The imagery is taken from a line in Chinese poetry-- - -"In November the wild prunes first blossom on the mountain-pass"--as -the death of Mr. ---- took place in that month. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -A SUMMER TRIP TO CHINESE TIBET.[2] - - Drying Prayerbooks Mountain.--Boys' Paradise.--Lolo - Women.--Salt-carriers.--Great Rains.--Brick-tea - Carriers.--Suspension Bridge.--Granite - Mountains.--Tibetan Bridge.--Lamas.--Tibetan - Women.--Caravanserai at Tachienlu.--Beautiful Young - Men.--_Lamaserai._--Prayers?--Fierce - Dogs.--Dress.--Trying for a Boat. - - -There are many summer trips that are a joy in the remembering, but a -trip to Chinese Tibet had never fallen to the lot of any European -woman before. And it was the more delightful, perhaps, because we -never thought of anything of the kind when we started. But there is a -drawback to living on a mountain-summit that it is such a climb to -come back again when you go out; and our quarters on Mount Omi were -not too comfortable! Only one small room for living and sleeping in, -like a back room in a Canadian log-hut, and without a window to open, -makes one restless after a time. So we thought we would gently stroll -on to another sacred mountain, whose flat top was a very striking -feature in the landscape. And we went down into what is called the -Wilderness, where there are wild cattle and wild men, and for about a -week wandered on, passing along by the boundary of the unconquered -Lolos, and up the most magnificent ravine I have seen or can imagine, -down which a torrent had swept but a week before from the Sai King, or -Drying Prayerbooks Mountain, to which we were bound, drowning -twenty-six people in one hamlet alone. - - [Illustration: SACRED SAI KING MOUNTAIN. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -Climbing the Sai King was rather a formidable affair. But for the -guidance of a young priest, returning from one of those begging -excursions by means of which he had bought the whole mountain-summit, -we never should have reached the top before darkness set in; and in -the dark no man would dare to move upon the Sai King. For not only are -there all manner of wild beasts, but the path leads along the narrow -edge of a _col_, and then up staircases, till at last you arrive at -three ladders, one of twenty-seven rungs, before you find yourself at -the top of the awful precipices that girdle it all round, in a sort of -park with firs and rhododendrons, the latter at least twenty feet -high, moss hanging from them in garlands, as well as a foot deep upon -the ground. It is a veritable boys' paradise (and as such I have -described it at length in the _Nineteenth Century_ of January, 1896), -with squirrels and deer and birds innumerable, large very sweet white -strawberries in the greatest profusion, raspberries abundant, currants -plentiful, mushrooms in bushels. There are glorious views from the -brink of precipices, when you can break your way through the -rhododendrons and look over, hearing the rivers murmuring some five or -six thousand feet below, and seeing the Tibetan summits like a sea of -mountains. - -But I have mentioned nearly all there was to eat on the Sai King Shan, -and our room was almost more cracks than room, so that we shivered -inside it even when almost blinded by wood smoke. And when the wind -howled and the rain poured in like a waterspout, it did occur to us to -wonder what we should do if one of the ladders were carried away. -Besides, by dint of thinking about it, the going down those ladders -became increasingly terrible. I had paused in the middle of coming up, -and, looking between my feet, had seen the mists moving and the -cataract falling four thousand feet sheer below me, and through a rift -in the clouds had caught a sight of the great precipice to the north, -greater even than that on Omi. We found ourselves wondering whether it -would be wise to look down and gaze on everything, if clear, when -descending. When we had got as far as that, it seemed more prudent to -go down at once. And it was then we saw from the bottom the great -north precipice, that is the most glorious east end of a world's -cathedral. Looked at from where one will, one could not but feel in -comparison how poor was a temple made with hands. Yet there in the -valley six thousand feet below was the chapel and priests' house, -built by their own hands with their own money by the people of the -wholly Christian village of Tatientze. And here, close to the summit -of the mountain, where a cord used to hang over the precipice to get -down by, was the cave where two Buddhist sisters, till last year, -lived seven years "to purify their souls." There was a little platform -in front of the cave where they could stand and look out upon the -glories of the Creator's handiwork, if so minded. Did they stand -there, those two sisters? Did they worship there? Did they in the end -purify their souls? Or did they find it was a mistake, thus retiring -from their kind? Their father used to send them rice, which was let -down to them by the cord, and a stream poured over the precipice in a -sort of waterfall hard by. And they only went away the year before -because the tidings had come of their mother's death. - -Again we wandered on, or rather walked hard, for one day across the -mountains, till we came to a village full of conquered Lolos, women -fearless and frank as American girls, riding and walking with a grace -I have never seen equalled; their men with elaborate ceremonial of -politeness, but, alas! too much given to the delights of drink. We -would gladly have learned more about them. But now we heard six days -more would bring us to Tachienlu, in Chinese Tibet, and all our -following were wild to get there, and to get fur coats, the Chinaman's -ambition. As for ourselves, we wondered if it were worth while to go -on, but we were certainly in no hurry as yet to get back to Chungking. -Our last news from there was that it was 100 deg. in the shade, and -cholera worse than ever. Thirty thousand people, we learnt afterwards, -died of it in the course of the summer, and it was worse still at -Chengtu, the capital of the province, by which we had purposed -returning. - -Not at all particularly anxious for fur coats, not at all distinctly -remembering what we had read of Tachienlu, we decided to go on if we -could get ponies, and thus decide for ourselves if it were worth -while. But now came the difficulty. With ponies grazing all round, we -never could succeed in hiring one. Certainly they were very small, and -we very big by comparison. Every one told us we must get ponies at -Fulin. So to Fulin we pushed on. But this was thirty-six miles, over -any number of passes, one seven thousand feet high, so we were obliged -to stop a little short of it that night. Next day, however, we got -there for breakfast. We had formed high expectations with regard to -Fulin. For six days we had seen men staggering along under crushing -weights of salt, two hundred pounds to each man, too much exhausted by -their burdens even to look up. And they had all been bound for Fulin. -People may not want to be missionaries in China, but I do not think -any European could travel there and not wish to undo the heavy -burdens, and I have seen no beasts of burthen whose sufferings have so -moved my heart to pity as these salt-carriers. Salt is such a hard, -uncompromising load, and it was so pitiful to notice how they had to -protect it from being melted by the sweat that streamed down their -poor backs. Then the passes were so high, and the paths so narrow and -so wild, and the heat so great. It seemed as if any human heart must -break, if it contemplated beforehand all it would have to undergo to -carry one load of salt from Kiating to Fulin. Then, however often we -calculated it, what they were paid, how many days they spent upon the -journey, how many days going empty-handed back, we never could make -out that the poor carriers were any the better off at the end of all -their exertions. Of course they must be, or they would not make them; -but it must be by a miserable pittance indeed. It appeared now, too, -that Fulin, though well-to-do enough, was but the distributing centre -for two very rich prosperous valleys and the country beyond, and there -were no ponies to be had there. Later on in the day, however, when we -really did succeed in hiring capital ponies, we no longer wondered -that it had been difficult to get any for such a journey as we were -undertaking. For what road there had ever been had been carried away -in several places, and so had the bridges. The mountains looked -exactly as if, according to the Chinese saying, a dragon had really -turned round at the top, and clawed and scored and gashed the -mountain-sides. All the people were going to market, as they always -are in Szechuan, and in one place was a crowd busy remaking a bridge -in order to get over, whilst farther on three of the strongest men of -the company had stripped, and, holding hands, were cautiously trying -fording. Then the others followed their example, and for a moment or -two were carried off their legs by the furious stream. The hills were -terrible, and, clambering up one, a mule in our company failed to -establish its footing, and, turning over and over, reached the bottom -dead. Just the moment before I had been wondering whether my tiny pony -could make the final effort necessary to attain the top of that hill. - - [Illustration: BRICK-TEA CARRIERS ON THE GREAT BRICK-TEA ROAD. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -After Nitou, which proclaims on a stone tablet that it is the western -boundary of the black-haired or Chinese race, Tibet seems to begin. We -climbed a pass nine thousand feet high, then descended again for five -miles, always in uninhabited country, full of flowers. Especially -lovely in that September weather was the small but very luxuriant -deep purple convolvulus twining round the acacia mimosas. Just as we -passed out of the mist--it was unfortunately always misty at the tops -of the passes--we met a Lama quite resplendent in crimson and old -gold, and then passed troops of men carrying brick tea. One man -carried seventeen bars, each weighing twenty pounds; others fifteen, -thirteen, or eleven. A boy of fourteen, of ten, even one of seven, was -carrying, the latter four half-bars, poor wee child! Just as we were -sorrowing over the children, trees glorious with coral flowers flashed -upon our sight. And on the second day after leaving Nitou we once more -came upon the great Tung river, by the side of which we had before -travelled for one whole afternoon, separated only by it from the -unconquered Lolo country. Never a boat nor raft upon the Tung, except -one to take people back into Lololand from a great theatrical -performance, at which all the countryside had mustered. And once we -saw a boat by the side of it, but hauled up high and dry. It was a -round skin-boat, for all the world just like the coracles the ancient -Britons used. We came also upon a terrible gully, descending by a -severe slant directly into the river. A shower of stones was almost -continuously rattling down, mixed with a little water; every now and -then the shower slackened somewhat, and then first one and then -another large stone would come down, wildly bounding from side to -side; after that, the shower would be stronger than ever. When the -erratic blocks came bounding down, no one put his feet in the -footprints left by some one else across the shifting torrent of -stones, that here constituted the whole of the great brick-tea road, -the great main road between Peking and Lassa. At other times they -paused behind a projecting rock, to watch for a good opportunity, and -then ran for it. And the usual thing seemed to be to laugh. Our little -dog had its misgivings in the middle, and paused, to be half kicked, -half thrown across. For it was an anxious moment for our carrying -coolies and the heavily laden brick-tea men. Meanwhile, our cook -amused himself by pitching stones into the air, and it was eerie to -observe that, wherever thrown, and however often they bounded, they -all ended by falling into the deep, swift waters of the unnavigable -Tung. - -The next wonder was the celebrated bridge, three hundred feet long, -and with hardly any drop in the nine iron chains of which it is -composed. Planks were laid loosely upon the chains, starting up at -each of the ponies' steps, and the whole bridge swayed like a ship at -sea. Two guardians of the bridge at once rushed forward, and placed -their arms under mine to support me across, taking for granted that I -should be frightened. But looked upon as a yacht pitching and tossing, -the bridge really did not make bad weather of it, so I preferred to -walk alone and to notice how sea-sick our coolies looked. Just at that -point the Tung vividly recalled the Rhine at Basle, but with probably -a greater volume of water. That afternoon the scenery began to be as -wild and gloomy as we had anticipated, granite mountains increasing in -size and narrowing in upon us, the road taking sudden drops down -precipitous gorges of four or five hundred feet, and then at once up -again. There were prickly pears all about, and pomegranate-trees in -hedges, the air full of thyme and peppermint and aromatic scents. -Tibetan villages, just like the pictures, were visible on the far left -bank of the Tung,--two-storied houses, with tiny holes for windows, -and door uncomfortably high up, so that no one could get in, if once -the entrance ladder were drawn up; roofs set so as apparently to let -in a free current of air. Not a tree visible, not a man moving: there -never is in the pictures! Impossible, however, to get across the Tung -to look at them; and when isolated houses were visible on our side, it -was always in inaccessible eyries. - -The little pony I rode, not one of those excellent ponies we hired the -first day for a few hours only, had come down twice on both knees with -me on its back. It was evident its little legs might have been -stronger. And as I rode along these granite precipices, my hands were -hot with terror, until at last I could bear no more. For some time -beforehand I had been looking at the road in front, curving round two -headlands--granite precipice above, granite precipice below--the road -overarched by the rock, and had wondered how all our party would get -by. "We met one hundred and fifty people coming from that direction -before our luncheon," I said to myself. "I know it because I counted -them. And if anything, I left out some, when the road was too -alarming. They must all have got by alive! And all these brick-tea men -now coming along with us, of course they are all intending to get by -alive. It can't be so bad!" But it was of no use! I could not ride -along that road, with the pony slipping and stumbling among the -stones, and sliding down the little descents at the corners with both -its hind feet together. Yet the road was good for those parts, being -all of granite and painfully chiselled out; so the pony-boy, a most -lively youth of fifteen, was greatly shocked at my dismounting. - -We slept that night where the Lu joins the Tung, cutting a granite -mountain in half to do so, the half that is left standing towering -some three or four thousand feet above our heads. The Lu is the -fullest glacier stream I have ever seen. It has a great deal more -water to carry than the Thames at Richmond, and sometimes it is -compressed into a width of six yards, with a tremendous fall, coming -straight, we are told, from a lake at the foot of the great glacier -we saw first with such delight from the summit of sacred Omi, about a -hundred miles away as the crow flies. All day we rode or walked up the -defile, that would have been too solemn but for this rollicking -glacier stream tumbling head over heels all the way down it, with side -cataracts leaping down, equally overfull of foaming water, equally in -hot haste to reach the Tung. The road was all the way so bad that at -last my only surprise was to find that there were places the ponies -could not manage, and that on one occasion they had, twice in five -minutes, to ford a stream with the water well up to my feet, as they -stumbled among the big boulders in order to avoid a bit of road that -all the heavily laden brick-tea men had managed. It seemed too absurd -that those ponies could not, they had done so much already. But at -last the pony-boy waved his arm, as if to say, "There's Tachienlu! -I've got you there at last! You can't get into trouble now, I think, -along what we call the bit of smooth road in front. And I wash my -hands of you!" - -We rode on, past our last Tibetan bridge. How often they had haunted -my childhood's dreams! And now I saw a woman seat herself astride the -stick hanging from the cord drawn taut across the stream, and, resting -one arm upon a very smooth piece of bamboo that runs along the cord, -hold with the other hand a series of loops of cords hanging from it, -and allow herself to be pulled across. I longed to do likewise, and -went the length of seating myself on the stick; but the foaming -torrent below meant certain death if one could not hold on, nor did I -know at all what reception the Tibetan men on the other side might -give me, so I got off again. People say it is easy enough to go as far -as the slope of the cord is downwards, but very hard to pull oneself -up the other side, and that just at the centre the impulse to let go -is almost overmastering. We passed flagstaffs with lettered pieces of -cloth hanging from them inscribed with prayers, passed rocks with -prayers chiselled on their smooth surfaces, into the little frontier -town at the junction of three valleys, with granite mountains hemming -it in all round, one terminating in a sharp little granite pyramid, -quite a feature in the view, and in what looked exactly like a -fortress with three big cannon pointed in different directions. - -We had already met one most exciting party of Tibetans, the men -fine-looking, one even more than that, the women rosy and -pleasant-faced and very short-skirted, but evidently all thinking it -an excellent joke not to let me look at them, and such fleet -mountaineers that, though I ran, I could not keep up with them, and -they were all out of sight, merrily laughing, before we had half seen -them. But now at Tachienlu far more wonderful people became visible. -It was as if every wild tribe on the borders of China were -represented, and a piece of the garment of each patched into the -garment of every other. And in and out among them strode the Lamas, -right arm and shoulder bared, like Roman senators in dull-red togas, -their arms folded and their attitude defiant. A beggar passed -singing, with a face like Irving's, only glorified. He had bare feet, -but his face was sublime. Then strode by what looked like a tall -Highlander, with a striped garment of many colours draped round him, -boots of soft woollen coming to the knee, and edged with a coarse -stuff of brilliant red and yellow. Next, two wild-looking men, with -blue hats, that were hats and hoods all in one, slouched upon their -heads, a red disc in the centre of each, their most luxuriant hair, in -innumerable very fine plaits, twisted round and round, and fastened at -one side with large red and yellow rings. Tibetan women, with fine, -rather Irish features, black eyes and hair, and rosy cheeks, were -smiling on us from the doorsteps, their hair plaited with a red cord, -and twisted in a most becoming coronal round their heads. They had -large silver earrings with red coral drops, red cloth collars fastened -by large silver clasps, always a lump of coral in the centre of the -middle one, and a large turquoise in that on either side. They had -silver chatelaines hanging from their waists, though often only a -needlebook on the chatelaine, large silver bracelets and strings of -coral beads on their arms, and their fingers covered with enormous -rings. - -Every one looked at us and smiled. Could anything be more different -from the reception we were accustomed to in a Chinese city? Every one -looked at us as if to say, "Are not you glad to have got here?" We -felt more and more glad every minute, but a little bewildered too. It -was all so strange; the streets were so full of corners and of -strange-looking people, all looking and smiling at us. And they seemed -to go on for ever. When were we going really to arrive? - - [Illustration: CARAVANSERAI AT TACHIENLU. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -But when we reached the caravanserai, or inn, where Baber stayed and -Mr. Rockhill and all the foreigners, where Prince Henry of Orleans and -Mr. Pratt were shut up as it were, the place looked so forbidding we -hesitated to enter, till reassured by hearing the strident tones of -our Chinese butler inside. The rooms actually upstairs--after we had -gone up the staircase, embedded in filth and hair--were a most -agreeable surprise, almost as good as an attic in a London East-End -lodging-house at first sight. Buttered tea was served at once, and -before many minutes were over the lady of the inn, a very handsome -Tibetan, had invited me to a little repast in her private room: tea -buttered, of course--and really very good--Tibetan cheese like very -fresh cream-cheese, and _tsamba_, a kind of barley-meal, and -excellent when kneaded into a ball with buttered tea. Lamas strode in -and out of the courtyard, and stared, swinging praying-wheels. All -manner of men and women looked in. It was quite enough to sit at the -window and look down at the kaleidoscope below, for every one came in -and gave us a glance. And that was just what we wanted to do to them. -But they would not sell their praying-wheels, and the Lamas would not -let me look at the amulets which they carry on their breasts in square -cases, sometimes crusted with turquoises. Surely never was there a -people more bejewelled. The dirtiest man we saw would have a jewel or -two stuck in his hair, and as likely as not a huge ring on his finger. - -There were five flagstaffs hung with prayers on our inn, besides a -long cord, hung with them, stretched across the roof. People were -muttering "Om Mani Padmi Hum" as they passed along the street; and as -the last sound at night was the Lamas' trumpets calling to prayers, so -we were roused before dawn by the men in the room below us reciting -continuously "Om Mani Padmi Hum" over and over again for two hours at -least. One began to say it oneself: "The jewel is in the lotus,"--a -pretty saying enough, which might mean anything. But, alas! we could -see no more of the Tibetans at their devotions. At the first -_lamaserai_ we visited the temple doors were closed, and the Lamas -signified by gestures that no key could be found to open them. They -were not uncivil there, although rather peremptorily forbidding me to -use my eyeglass till they had themselves examined it, to see what -effect it might have on the brilliantly coloured pictures in the -temple porch. They also forbade me to photograph, yet allowed me to do -so in the end, and acquiesced in my going upstairs to get a better -place for the camera. There I saw that the door of each Lama's room, -giving on the colonnade running round the courtyard, was locked and -padlocked with a padlock of such portentous size as to suggest many -thoughts. Only one door downstairs had been open, where a very small -Lama was repeating his lessons out of what looked like a most -beautifully written and illuminated book; for, the paper in the window -being torn out, we could see all over the room, which looked like a -particularly dirty, dilapidated little stable. But when I asked the -small boy's leave to go in, wishing to examine his book, he sprang to -the doorway, and the attitude into which he threw himself, forbidding -me to enter, was superb. It said "Avaunt, Satanas!" and indicated that -all the lightnings of heaven would fall, if I took but one step -forward. And, though amused, I could not but admire the little boy for -so pluckily standing his ground. But when another little Lama, on our -coolies somewhat roughly ordering him to keep clear of the camera, -threw himself into an attitude of boxing, it seemed so ridiculous -that, just to test him, I laughed, then clenched my fist, and made as -if I would fight too; on which he laughed heartily, showing he could -quite understand a joke. - -Most of the buildings at Tachienlu appeared in the last stage of -decay, especially the temples. One was so full of birds' droppings -that we imagined they could never have been cleared away since the day -it was built. Two fierce dogs were chained across the threshold; and -though I found I could just squeeze myself in out of reach of either, -I noticed none of our Chinese coolies cared to follow. Tibetan dogs -are noted for their fierceness, and are one of the great difficulties -of travel in Tibet. There were boys burning something that had a -horrible smell in the great incense-burner in front, while a priest, -attended by a boy, was beating a gong and chanting within. This was -the only sign of worship we came across. But the passageway between -the back and front temple was all hung with oblong bits of paper, on -which prayers were written. One day we met two very wild-looking -Tibetans, each bent under a load of three huge pieces of slate -inscribed with prayers; and presently we met a string of Tibetan -women, bent more than double under loads of five, six, or even as many -as seven bars of brick tea, each weighing twenty pounds. The world -often seems rather topsy-turvy to a traveller. - -A dark door like a house door, a dark passage merely partitioned off -from a shop, then an alley-way that seemed to be used as a -slaughter-house, led up to Kwanyin's temple, a very conspicuous and -rather coquettish building on a hill overlooking the town. When we got -there, followed by a crowd of the usual tiresome little Chinese boys, -and also by two most beautiful Tibetans, on pushing open the door we -found numbers of neglected prayers hanging from the rafters, old -broken beams lying in a heap, a staircase so rickety that no one liked -to go up it, and, at the top of it, a barred door, sufficiently saying -"Not at home." One of the Tibetans had such a quantity of hair, and -such ringlets, that one of our coolies, with Chinese insolence, -touched it to see if it was real. The Tibetan was elderly, and -evidently well seasoned to the world, and only laughed at the liberty. -But his companion--a beautiful youth, with a face of that feminine -type that one only sees now in old books of beauty, arched eyebrows -delicately pencilled, aquiline nose, features all too delicate for -this workaday world--blushed vividly, and looked so unutterably pained -that I longed to apologise, only we lacked a mutual language. He had -himself a yet more inordinate quantity of hair, some of which must -have been horse-hair, frizzed and raised so as to simulate the high -pompadour style; but I think the ringlets that shadowed his -translucent complexion must have been his own. - -Then we went on to the great _lamaserai_, some distance from the town -upon the Lassa road. We walked between walls of prayer-slates on -either hand, with prayers streaming to the wind on all the hilltops -and on every point of vantage; and having crossed the Chinese -parade-ground, with a very beautiful weeping-willow and an avenue of -specially fine alders of a local variety, saw a temple all golden -points and golden balls outside, and attached to it a long melancholy -building rather like a workhouse, but for tall, narrow baskets in all -the windows ablaze with Tibetan Glory--a brilliant orange marigold. -Several little boy Lamas sat on the doorstep playing with a dead rat, -which they were pulling about by a string, one little crimson-clad boy -screaming with delight at the dead creature's antics. We had just been -warned to take up our little dog because of the fierce dogs inside, -and the little Lamas now laughed and cried out at the sight of a dog -being carried. - -There were many coloured cylinders on each side of the entrance -gate--prayer-wheels--and it was curious to notice the expression of -one of these children, when, thinking I was imitating him, I turned -one of the cylinders the wrong way. He shrieked, and the expression of -concentrated rage in his knotted eyebrows was a revelation to me. I -hastened to turn the cylinder the right way with a smile, and the -little fellow was pacified, while all the children set off running--as -it appeared afterwards--to announce our coming, and have their own -fierce dogs shut up. - -We found ourselves in a very large courtyard--a long -parallelogram--handsomely, indeed gorgeously, painted. Opposite to the -entrance gate were the closed doors of the temple, with no way of -opening them visible, brilliantly coloured pictures on either side of -them. The summits of the temple were so heavily gilded as to look like -solid gold, so also were two deer about the size of collie dogs, -sitting one on each side of a large golden disc, curiously worked, -placed on the temple front above the door. On the top of the temple -were several of those curious Tibetan ornaments of which I neither -know the name nor the purpose. Two looked like very tall, narrow, -golden flower-pots, handsomely ornamented; two like sticks with ropes -hanging down all round them, girt transversely with white paper bands. -Could they possibly be meant for state umbrellas? The cords were -black, and looked as if made of hair. The front of the temple was of -stone, painted red, but the top of it looked as if it consisted of -billets of wood all laid close together, of a dull red-brown. There -was a brilliantly painted colonnade, with outside staircase leading at -intervals to an upper verandah, all round the courtyard, excepting -just where stood the temple; and to its left a specially gaudy house. -In front of this latter was again a collection of black hanging ropes, -and on the top of this a _human skull_! - -While I was noticing all these details, Lamas all in crimson, each -with the right arm bare, continued to troop into the courtyard and -into the verandah above, from which at first they looked down, making -eyes and smiling the Lama's smile upon a woman. But suddenly, as a -loud voice, with the tone of authority, became audible in the -distance, the smiles vanished, and the Lamas stood round quite -expressionless with folded arms. I had just stepped forward to examine -more carefully that human skull, startled by the horror of it amidst -all the gorgeous colouring around, when the blood rushed to my heart, -as there came a sound, and close upon the sound two large Tibetan -dogs sprang out through an inner gateway and made straight for me. - -It passed through my mind at once, that it was useless to try to quell -Tibetan dogs, as one so often quells Chinese dogs. I remembered that -they are said never to let go, and I knew now at once that voice in -authority had been ordering the dogs to be loosed. Sick with terror, I -yet thrust the iron point of my alpenstock into the jaws of the -foremost dog; but the fierce creature, although with such tremendous -leverage against it, tore it from my grasp, and shook the long stick -in its teeth as if it had been a straw. My husband sprang forward to -the rescue, though still holding our own little dog in his arms. One -of our coolies, a really brave, strong ex-soldier, followed him, and -together the two managed somehow to beat off the dogs, and then we all -ran for it. My recollection is that to the last not a Lama--and there -must have been at least forty of them standing round, all draped in -crimson--moved a muscle even of his countenance. We had bowed politely -on entering, and asked leave; but we did not bow as we came away thus -hurriedly to the sound of more and more dogs baying in the distance. - -There were shrines full of little clay pyramids covered with images of -Buddha; there were more and finer prayer-slates by the principal -entrance, by which we came out. But whether the Lamas ever pray, God -knows, I don't! - -As we passed back into the town again, from the shop from which a -handsome woman, beautifully bejewelled, had gone out that morning with -her handmaid to do her own washing in the pure glacier stream, we -heard a jolly laugh ring out from the same jovial Lama we had left -there talking to my handsome friend as we passed out. - -The Roman Catholic priests here say that the people believe in nothing -except their Lamas, and we feel a little inclined to think, if they -believe in them, it is no wonder that they believe in nothing else. -Whatever any one may think of missions in China--and I am grieved as -well as greatly surprised to find how little interest people generally -take in them--every one must wish well to missionaries to Tibet; for -the priesthood must have an extraordinarily paralysing effect, that -this physically gifted people, still with princes of their own, should -have sunk under Chinese control, in spite of the impregnable natural -fastnesses of their mountains, and the defence established by their -climate. Whilst we were there, in September, the thermometer varied -from 56 deg. to 60 deg., but the winds blew so keenly off the glaciers that -many people were wearing heavy furs, and the price of them had already -gone up. - -Buying, indeed, we found most exhausting work at Tachienlu. At home, -when one feels like buying, one goes to the shops; but the people who -have anything to sell drop in at Tachienlu from early morning till -late, late at night, merry rosy little maidens with a keen eye to -business, or wonderfully withered old crones. They ask any price at -first; then just as they are going away say quietly, "What would you -like to give?" after which they stand out by the hour for an -additional half-rupee for themselves, to give which a rupee has to be -carefully cut in two. An aged chieftain, with a most beautiful -prayer-wheel and rosary, both of which, he says, are heirlooms and -cannot be sold, brings a beautifully embroidered red leather -saddle-cloth for sale; while a Tibetan from the interior brings first -a Lama's bell, then cymbals, then woollen clothes of soft, rich -colours, and little serving-maids appear with cast-off clothes, -expecting us to buy them all. It is interesting to notice how very -fashionable is a Tibetan lady's dress--a sleeveless gown, that opens -down the front like a tea-gown, a skirt with box pleats so tiny and so -near together as to be almost on the top of one another, carefully -fastened down so as to lie quite flat, and lined at the bottom with a -broad false hem of coarse linen, so as to avoid unnecessary weight. -Yet even as it is, the weight of this silk skirt is prodigious. Over -this is worn a jacket, and over this an apron girt round rather below -the waist with a variety of girdles. But it is hard to say what a -Tibetan girl really does wear, for the seventeen-year-old daughter of -the inn, finding herself rather coming to pieces, began rectifying her -toilette in my presence, and I lost count of the garment below garment -that appeared in the process, all girdled rather below the waist. The -finish of the toilette, even in ordinary life, seems to be an -unlimited supply of jewellery and dirt, the finger-nails, besides -being deeply grimed, being also tinged with red. The men wear -turquoises in their hair, and often one gigantic earring, besides -rosaries and big amulet-cases. And the general effect is so brilliant -one rather loses sight of the dirt. But indeed, after travelling -through China, it would be difficult to be much struck by dirt -anywhere. - -It is very trying that they have such a very quick perception of a -camera. I have spent hours with a detective half hidden behind a pile -of woollens at our window, and tried every expedient. But they are -said to think the photographer gets their soul from them, and then has -two to enjoy, whilst they themselves are left soulless. At last, -however, after a great deal of coaxing, six Tibetan women stood up in -a row, encouraged to do so by the elder daughter of the inn, who is -married--though probably after the Tibetan fashion--to a rich Yunnan -merchant, who occupied one wing of the courtyard, filling it with -beautiful wild men, but himself absorbed in his opium-pipe. I was -afraid to place them, or do anything beyond asking the aged chieftain -to leave off turning his prayer-wheel for the one second while I took -them, although I longed to arrange them a little, and was disappointed -that the daughter of the inn had not put on any of the grand clothes -and jewellery she had exhibited to me. - -The last day or two the yaks were coming into town in droves to fetch -the brick tea away. All those we saw were black, although the yaks' -tails for sale were white. They were rather like Highland cattle for -size, and seemed very quiet, although looking so fierce, with long -bushy manes and tails, and long shaggy hair down their front legs. The -last day we were at Tachienlu we got a perfectly clear view of the -snowy mountains and glacier to the south, as we stood outside the -north gate beyond the magnificent alders there. All that day we rode -down the narrow granite defile that leads up from the Tung, and then -we heard it really would be possible to cross the river and see the -Tibetan villages on its left bank, if we could walk for two miles -higher up to where there was a boat. - -My husband was suffering from neuralgia, but he very heroically -consented to my going without him, a proceeding which our Chinese -servant so highly condemned, that he became almost violent before I -started early next day with all four of the _yamen_ runners, sent by -the Chinese Government to protect us, and one of our soldier coolies -to protect me from the _yamen_ runners. As the Tung would not be -passable again till we reached the city of the great chain bridge, I -had thus a long day to look forward to through unknown country; and -knowing how the Tibetans feel about photography, there was a certain -amount of anxiety about the proceeding. But what a disappointment -awaited me! We walked the longest two miles ever human being walked, -till we came to the place where the boat was on the _other_ side of -the river. The coolie had run on ahead to hail it. But in spite of his -shouting no one moved in the village opposite. We had been warned that -nothing would induce the people to come across with the boat till -they had breakfasted, so we sat down and waited. - -We saw a man and boy come out to till the ground. The boy lay on his -back, and looked at us and sang to himself. All four _yamen_ runners -shouted, and waved strings of cash. A shepherd came out with a herd of -goats, another with cows and goats. We judged by the smoke that -breakfasts were preparing. We even saw one man come out upon his flat -roof with what we decided to be an after-breakfast pipe. We thought he -must come now. Yes! Surely there was some one coming to the boat! No, -it was a man with a basket on his back, evidently wanting to cross to -our side. He sat down and waited. Presently another man came out and -sat down beside him. They became quite happy, those two--setting to at -once in what probably is a never-ending occupation for them, hunting -'mid their rags for vermin! Two other moving bundles of rags came -slowly down and joined them--one apparently a man, the other looking -rather like a woman. They also sat and hunted! At last the boy moved; -he went to the village, we thought, to call some one. Our hopes rose. -All my men shouted together. A man came to the water's edge! Another! -They looked at us. They looked at the boat. They felt the boat, but -they did not push it into the water; and they went away. We were in -despair. We made feints of going, and then came back again. At last -there was nothing for it but to go really. The beggars in their rags -on the other side got uneasy then. They even shouted to us, begging -us to stop; but it was of no use. Hours afterwards, as we coasted a -granite headland, we saw that boat still high and dry. I would so -gladly have risked my life in it. - -But now, besides retracing our long two miles--now under a burning -sun--we had twenty-two miles to get over in order to join the rest of -our party and get shelter for the night. It was a comfort to find some -more coolies with lanterns sent to meet us before we had to cross the -chain bridge, for there are often planks missing in it and others with -great holes in them. We went across in a phalanx. I held on to the -coolie on my left, he reached an arm out to secure the man with the -light, and the coolie on my other side supported my elbow. It seemed -we got on best when we all went in step together, although I should -not have thought so. On arriving, we found that, when our carrying -coolies had crossed, some _yamen_ runners had attacked them, and in -the scuffle that ensued the fur coat of the coolie, who had gone with -me, had been stolen out of a basket. So my husband was just starting -for the _yamen_ to tell the tale. "I know all about it," said the -magistrate, "and it is quite true they were _yamen_ runners, who acted -very wrongly. You want them punished? Behold!" And the curtain behind -him was drawn back, and there were two men with their heads in -_cangues_. But the coolie from whom the coat had been stolen stood up -before the magistrate, and stoutly maintained those were not the men. -"How could you know in the confusion?" asked the magistrate. "Can you -identify the men? If so, and these are not the right ones, I will -punish the others also." - -So there we were, but not the fur coat! What a comfort it was, though, -to rest after that long, hot day! And how luxurious to be carried next -day in a sedan-chair along the beautiful banks of the swift-flowing -Tung! Then six days' travelling, against time now, along the great -brick-tea road, through scenes of varying beauty, among gigantic ferns -and waxen begonias nestling into the walls, past long ranges of -black-and-white farm-buildings, shadowed by large, beautiful -shade-trees; a day and a half on a bamboo raft down the exceedingly -pretty but turbulent Ya, with the waves washing up to our knees at all -the bad rapids; after which five days down the conjoined rivers Ya, -Tung, and Yangtse; and then home in Chungking again, after the most -adventurous and by far the most varied and interesting summer outing -that it has yet fallen to my lot to make. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[2] Reproduced from the _Cornhill Magazine_ by the kind permission of -the Editor. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -_ARTS AND INDUSTRIES._ - - Porcelain.--Bronzes.--Silver-work.--Pictures.--Architecture.-- - Tea.--Silk.--White Wax.--Grass cloth.--Ivory Fans.--Embroidery. - - -Even if I had the knowledge, it would be useless to attempt to write -exhaustively of Chinese porcelain in one chapter; but a few shreds of -information about it may be new to the general reader. Julien's theory -that it was first made between the years 185 B.C. and A.D. 87 is set -aside by Dr. Hirth, the greatest living authority upon ancient Chinese -porcelain. The latter believes it was first made during the T'ang -Dynasty, which lasted to A.D. 907; but there are no specimens of -porcelain extant before the Sung Dynasty, which ended in 1259, the -majority even then being of the class known as "celadons," which -survived owing to their thickness and strength. The prevailing colour -of these celadons is green, the colour of jade; and yellow is -mentioned as one of the ingredients used for producing this colour. -They were mostly made in the south-west of the province of Chekiang, -taken by river to the Amoy waters, and thence distributed by Arab -traders to Japan, Borneo, Sumatra, the west of Asia, and the east -coast of Africa, in which last, curiously enough, large numbers have -been discovered. They have been freely imitated at King-teh-chen, the -great porcelain factory of China, as well as in Japan; but collectors -should, it seems, have no difficulty in distinguishing the genuine -articles, from their extreme hardness. - -The safest guide to Chinese porcelain is Hsiang-tse-ching, who was -collecting and cataloguing it whilst Shakespeare was writing his early -poems, and whose richly illustrated catalogue has been translated. The -most exquisite Chinese porcelain seems to have perished from its -fragility, and the extraordinarily large demands of the Imperial -Palace had apparently in old days the same effect European demands are -said to have now. When the Palace ordered a hundred thousand pairs of -cups or vases--the Chinese always want pairs--naturally the Government -factories were obliged to supplement the most expensive and rare -colours by others less costly and more simple, whilst the highest -order of artistic excellence had to give way to mechanical repetition. -Modern collectors get the bulk of their specimens from the dispersion -of articles furnished to meet such vast orders; and the Ming porcelain -is naturally somewhat coarse in make, faulty in shape, and decorated -with paintings which, though characterised by boldness of design, have -usually been executed without much care. - -The ancient bronzes of China only became an object of interest to -Chinese collectors about eight centuries ago. From that date on great -attention has been paid to the inscriptions upon ancient vases, and it -is very difficult to deceive Chinese archaeologists, from their -thorough knowledge of their own past history. A vase dating from the -Chow Dynasty, and preserved at Silver Island near Chinkiang, has -attracted especial attention. A former Viceroy of Kwangtung, -Yuen-yuen, writing at the beginning of this century, describes his -visit to Silver Island to see this vase. He examined it critically, -and described it minutely in his four-volume archaeological collection. -He studied its colour, shape, and dimensions, and especially the -inscriptions of forty characters. He was himself a scholar of the -highest attainments, and his judgment in regard to the epoch to which -this valuable relic of former ages belongs has been accepted and -endorsed by succeeding scholars. The vase was much coveted by the -notorious Yen-sung, an unprincipled statesman, who made great efforts -to add it to his private collection in Peking in the Ming Dynasty. -Yuen-yuen refers to these abortive designs, because, Yen-sung being a -good judge of all relics of old times, this is an additional testimony -to the genuine antiquity of the vase, and it indicates the deep -interest felt in it by the archaeologists of the Ming Dynasty. Beside -the descriptions of it in the ordinary works which give details on -bells and vases generally, monographs have been published on this -particular vase showing that the best-informed native scholars are at -one in the regard felt for it as genuine. - -Twenty years ago the _Chin Shih So_ was published, and this work with -its profuse illustrations helped to spread the knowledge both of the -new-found Han Dynasty sculptures and of the earlier bronze vessels. -Rich men and scholars became sensible of the great pleasure to be -derived from archaeological research. And this has become a real -feature of modern Chinese life. Men of means and leisure visit all -celebrated monuments to study them for themselves, and take back with -them rubbings to preserve at home. The large demand that there is in -China for rubbings of ancient inscriptions is very remarkable. The -bells and vases have now, like the stone drums, after much cautious -inquiry and no little collision of opinion, secured a place stronger -than ever in the judgment of the well informed in the Chinese reading -class. - -"It was about A.D. 166 that a king of Rome sent an embassy which -arrived from the borders of Annam, bringing tribute of ivory, -rhinoceros-horn, and tortoise-shell. From that time began the direct -intercourse with that country. The fact that no jewels were found -among the articles of tribute must be accounted for by the supposition -that the ambassadors retained them for themselves." In the following -century, the third, Western traders resorted to Canton; so that it -appears the Cantonese have been afflicted by the presence of -barbarians for no less than sixteen hundred years. Possibly this -explains how the Maeander pattern on old Chinese bronzes so resembles -the Greek "key" pattern, and why the lions' heads at the approach to -the tomb of the first Ming Emperor at Nanking have rings in their -mouths, thus exactly resembling the lions' heads so often to be seen -on the mahogany cellarettes of our grandfathers, possibly also why -the Chinese Buddhist ritual and that of Roman Catholics are so -strikingly similar. - -According to Dr. Hirth, paper already existed in China in the second -century. But to leave these ancient researches and come down to modern -times. - -It was a real pleasure to me at Kiukiang to see Chinamen hammering -away at silver ornaments exactly after the method advocated in Mr. -Leland's (Hans Breitmann's) excellent volume in the Art at Home -Series, and just as so many amateurs are now making admirable -brasswork at home--laying a thin sheet of metal on pitch, and working -at the background with a hammer and sharpened nail or punch, thus -making the pattern, previously traced out, start into high relief. The -more roughly this work is done, the handsomer is its effect; so that -it seems better suited for brass sconces for candles or doorplates -than for silver hair ornaments. But it was pleasant to find these -Chinamen in their little shops provided with a plentiful supply of -sharpened nails, together with the familiar punches. - -It is not an equal pleasure to study modern Chinese paintings. -Centuries have passed since they were what we must imagine from the -story of Wu Taotze, the Chinese Giotto, who flourished in the eighth -century. It is related that, when he was commanded to paint a -landscape upon the walls of the great Hall of Audience at the Palace, -he begged that he might work alone and undisturbed. When he announced -that all was ready, the Emperor and the Court, on entering, found the -artist standing alone in front of a great curtain. "As the folds of -drapery rolled away, a marvellous and living scene was spread out -before the amazed spectators,--a vast perspective of glade and forest, -hill and valley, with peaceful lakes and winding streams, stretching -away to a far horizon closed in by azure mountain-peaks; and in a -wild, rocky foreground, in the very front of the picture, stood a -grotto, its entrance closed by a gateway. 'All this, sire, is as -naught,' said the painter, 'to that which is concealed from mortal -gaze within.' Then at a sign the gate opened, and he passed through, -beckoning his royal master. But in a moment, before the entranced -Emperor could move a step, the whole eerie prospect faded away, -leaving the blank and solid wall. And Wu Taotze was never seen again." - -"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard----" The pictures that -never were painted, the poems that never were written!--the Chinese -thought it all out long ago, how those that were only imagined were -the best. And yet we think them a people without sentiment or artistic -sensibility--we, with our fairest scenes disfigured by coarse -advertisements, every silken detail in our theatres given us by Mr. -So-and-so, only the acting left out. - - [Illustration: IN A CHUNGKING GUILD-HOUSE. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little_] - -The glorious white falcon attributed to the Emperor Hui Tsung at the -beginning of the twelfth century and the exquisite pictures of flowers -and birds to be seen at the British Museum show whence the Japanese -borrowed their art inspiration; but in China, its birthplace, it is -wanting now, though probably in many rich official residences -glorious specimens are still to be found such as I have myself been -delighted by in Japan, where alone and at the British Museum I have -seen Chinese masterpieces of painting. Before Giotto was born the -Chinese were painting living human figures such as they cannot paint -now. It is, however, true that in Chungking, the only Chinese city I -know really well, there is to this day an artist who paints flowers as -a connoisseur, the head of an English technical school, pronounced -only one man in England could. And how does this poor artist sell his -pictures? Of course, it will never be believed in England that he is -an artist at all, when I tell the sad truth--he sells them by the -square foot! And when you decide to buy a picture, he--measures it! - -The popularly received opinion is that there is no architecture in -China. Houses and temples alike are built with wooden pillars, raised -off the ground upon stone bases. The roofs are placed upon the -pillars, and only when the roofs are finished are the walls built up -like screens. The proportions often strike me as very beautiful; and -the cunningly contrived perspectives add much to their dignity. But, -as in Japan, whilst moved to admiration by the approach, one often has -a disappointed feeling of not arriving at anything in the end. At the -same time, the conception of a Chinese house, like the design of -Peking, strikes me as very lordly; the courtyards are extremely -graceful and elegant, whilst the beautiful sweep of the roofs makes -European roofs painfully mean by comparison. Indeed, a European house -now usually gives me the same effect as a face would divested of -eye-lashes. The Chinese roofs in the west of China and at Peking are, -however, far more beautiful than those generally to be seen along the -east coast. - -To turn to Chinese industries. When tea was first discovered, all -sorts of medicinal properties were attributed to it. It is to be hoped -the virtue lay rather, as we are told now it does with whisky-and-water, - in the hot water; for if not, what does the poor Tibetan get out of -the _L_150,000 he is said to spend on tea at Tachienlu, the frontier -city--for 65 per cent. of wild scrub leaves, scrub oak, etc., are said -to be mixed up in the brick tea he receives? And the cost of the tea -in the Tachienlu market is nearly doubled before the Tibetan receives -it at Batang; at Lassa it has quadrupled its price. It is only for the -last four centuries the Tibetans have had silver to exchange for tea; -till then it was exchanged for horses, a good horse being valued at -240 lb. of tea. Even to this day the tea trade is much too limited for -the four million of Tibetans; and the many thousand Tibetans who -cannot afford tea use oak bark instead, astringency being the quality -they desire to relieve them from headache and excessive meat-eating. -The tea trade with Russia still thrives; but that with Europe has been -killed by the much more carefully grown and prepared tea of Ceylon and -India--though melancholy experience must ere long teach people that -this tea has altogether other and more undesirable properties than the -soothing, refreshing beverage of China. - - [Illustration: PACKING TEA.] - -It is, however, no wonder that the China tea trade has languished. -Home industries are universal in China, and each peasant who farms a -bit of land grows his tea, picks it and dries it, according to his own -ideas. To introduce any improvement it would be therefore necessary to -educate the great mass of peasant cultivators. European tea-buyers' -exhortations have so far proved fruitless; and it is distressing to -see the utter want of care with which the tea-plant, with its glossy -green leaves and delicate white blossom, is treated, compared with the -untiring labour expended upon the poisonous poppy-plant. The latter is -carefully weeded, planted in regular lines, with the earth mounded -round its roots, and presents an appearance of the most perfect -vigorous health, with its erect stalk over five feet high, its -blue-green leaves, and beautiful blossoms. Sometimes it stands out -brilliant crimson against a transcendently blue sky, making the eyes -ache with the gorgeous colour contrast; at others it is white, -delicately fringed and pink-tipped, or pink, or scarlet, or scarlet -and black, or with the purple of the purple iris, or oftenest of -all--and perhaps, after all, most beautiful--white of that frail fair -whiteness that makes it impossible to think of crime or vice as -connected with it--impossible even to believe in the existence of so -foul a weed as vice being able to exist in a world that produces so -frail and pure a flower, able to stand upright in the full heat of a -China noonday sun and remain unwilted. The tea-shrubs, on the other -hand, are old and gnarled, planted irregularly just anywhere, and -never by any chance weeded. The same want of care is shown in the -drying of the young leaves, picked just as they are opening out off -their young shoots. At the same time, if Scotland would take to China -tea, there would not be so many cases of tea-poisoning as there now -are in Glasgow; but the beverage is a mild one, that must seem -tasteless to whisky-drinkers. It has the further apparent disadvantage -that an equal amount of leaf will not make anything like the same -strength of decoction that Indian tea will. - -China silk is also in a bad way; but, indeed, all over the world now -it seems difficult to get healthy silkworm eggs. To turn, however, to -an especially Chinese industry, and one which still seems to me even, -after seeing it, to border on the marvellous--the white or vegetable -wax of China. The processes essential to its use began about six -centuries ago. The tree which produces the white wax insect grows in -the Chienchang valley, on the far or western side of the unconquered -Lolos, a valley about five thousand feet above the level of the sea. -The Kew authorities pronounce that this tree is the _Ligustrum -lucidum_, or large-leaved privet, an evergreen with very thick -dark-green glossy foliage, bearing clusters of white flowers in May -and June, succeeded afterwards by fruit of a dark-purple colour. In -March brown excrescences become visible, attached to the branches; and -if these be opened, a crowd of minute insects, looking like flour, -will be discovered. Two or three months later these develop into a -brown insect with six legs. And as the Chinese have discovered that -these insects would not continue to flourish on the trees, their -birthplace, they make them up into paper packets of about sixteen -ounces each; and porters, each carrying sixty of these packets, hurry -by night along the dangerous mountain paths to Kiating, a city about -two hundred miles to north and east, and place them there on severely -pollarded trees of the _Fraxinus chinensis_. It is this flight by -night that has always fascinated my imagination, even before I -traversed the successive high mountain passes, descending into the -valleys over-grown by ferns and lit up every here and there by waxy -clusters of the beautiful begonia flower that there flourishes as a -wallflower. But it would be impossible to carry the insects through -the noonday heat, as it would develop them too fast. Therefore, at the -season of the carriage of the insect, all the city gates along the -route have to be left open at night to facilitate the passage of the -army of running porters. And to think of the rough, rocky ascents and -descents those poor porters have to stumble along! The packages of -insects are each wrapped in a leaf of the wood-oil tree; rice straw is -used to suspend the packet under the branches of the ash-tree; rough -holes are drilled in the leaf with a blunt needle, so that the insects -may find their way out; and they creep rapidly up to the leaves of the -ash-tree, where they nestle for about thirteen days. They then descend -to the branches, and the females begin to develop scales on which to -deposit their eggs, and the males to excrete what looks like snow as -it coats the under side of the boughs and twigs, till at the end of -three months it is a quarter of an inch thick. The branches are then -lopped off, and the wax removed, chiefly by hand, and placed in an -iron pot of boiling water, where it rises to the surface, is skimmed -off, and deposited in a rough mould. This is then the extraordinary -hard white wax of commerce, used to coat the ordinary tallow candles, -and give the tallow greater consistence, thus enabling the Chinese to -carry tallow candles about in the paper lanterns that supply still the -place of lamps, gas, and electric lighting for the greater part of -China. It is used also to size paper and cotton goods, as furniture -polish, and to impart a gloss to silk. - - [Illustration: CHINESE HYDRAULIC APPARATUS.] - -There is a tribute of white wax sent every year to Peking; and to see -it going down-river in native junks, or being trans-shipped from that -more romantic mode of travel into an ordinary steamer, has a certain -fascination for me: but the real romance about the white wax is that -hurried midnight journey across the Szechuan mountains before it has -ever come into the world at all. And it rather spoils the interest -than otherwise to be told such dry facts as that from Hankow every -year fifteen thousand piculs of white vegetable wax are exported, -Chinkiang, Tientsin, Canton, and Swatow each requiring one thousand -piculs, Shanghai absorbing seven thousand, and exporting four thousand -more to other places. But any one who has been benighted on a lonely -hillside or on the banks of some unknown river knows the transport of -delight with which a light in the distance is recognised. With what -joy one gradually convinces oneself it is coming towards one, and in -the end has to restrain oneself from embracing the always -sympathetically joyful lantern-bearer; and so in those twinkling -lights along little-trodden paths, or in scattered Chinese homesteads -of many curves and courtyards, once more the romance attaching to the -white wax reasserts itself. - -Grass-cloth is another very interesting Chinese industry. It is -produced from a nettle, and with large wooden things like butter-pats -and a rough bamboo thumb-protector the women beat out the fibre on the -threshing- or drying-floor in front of the farmsteads. I often wonder -grass-cloth is not more common in England. Perhaps it lasts too long -to pay to import. It is very cool, and like a glossy kind of linen, -but far more durable. Cotton goods are made at home. They do not -crease as our cottons do; they let the air through like cellular -goods, and are therefore very wholesome wear in summer; and they last -for ever. - -Ningpo carvings, fanciful and rich, but in rather perishable wood, -Canton ivory carvings, and silks generally, are too well known to -need description. Only, till I went to China, I had no idea new -patterns of silks came out nearly every year even in that most -conservative country, and are much sought after. Fans are recorded as -having been used to keep the dust from the wheels of the chariots as -far back as the Chow Dynasty, 1106 B.C. Ivory fans were invented by -the Chinese 991 B.C.; but it was not till the fifteenth century the -folding-fan, long before invented by the Japanese, found its way into -China. In the west of China it is, however, still not etiquette to -carry such a fan to a party; for it looks as if you had no servant to -stand behind your chair and hold it for you when you do not want it. -The Chinese ivory fans are carved all over right through till the -whole looks like lace, the part not taken up by the design being very -delicately cut in short perpendicular lines. - -But probably the art and industry carried to the greatest perfection -in China is that of embroidery. English people do not appreciate what -Chinese embroideries really are, because such a quantity of work is -done by men working at frames, and merely for so much a day. The best -has always been done by ladies, working at home, and putting all the -fancy of a lifetime into a portiere, or bed-hanging. One of the most -fairylike pieces of embroidery I have ever seen was mosquito-curtains -worked all over with clusters of wistaria for either the Emperor or -Empress, and somehow or other bought, before being used, out of the -Imperial Palace by a European collector. The rich yet delicate work -upon the very fine silky material made these mosquito-curtains a thing -to haunt the dreams of all one's after-life. - -Whilst, however, the handiwork of the Chinese appears to me -unsurpassed, and their colour arrangements in old days, before the -introduction from Europe of aniline dyes, are much more agreeable to -me than those of Japan, there seems to be nothing to satisfy the soul -in Chinese artistic work, which gratifies the senses, but appeals to -none of the higher part of man. I should, however, say quite the same -of that of Japan, which got all its art originally from China, and has -never, I think, quite arrived at the ancient dignity of Chinese art, -although at the present day Japan's artistic work is certainly far -more graceful and pleasing. - -One day in the neighbourhood of Shanghai we walked along a path where, -marvellous for China, two people could walk abreast, and, crossing a -variety of creeks in a variety of ways, came upon the ruins of a camp, -finally reaching two tall chimneys, a landmark in the scene. Our -puzzle was what fuel they could possibly find to burn inside those -tall chimneys. It turned out to be rice husks. A man sat on the -ground, and with one hand worked a bellows, thus making forced -draught, while with the other he threw on a tiny handful of rice -husks, not enough to choke the bright flame roused by the draught. -Another man weighed out crushed cotton seeds into a little basket, -emptied them into a vessel on the fire till it just boiled, then -emptied them again into another vessel--if you can call it such--a -sort of frame of split bamboo twisted, kneaded it, all hot as it was, -with his feet, and then piled it up ready to be pressed, always with a -bit of basket-work flattening it on the top. We waited to see the -cakes pressed. They were like cheeses, each with their twisted bamboo -rings round them. When as many as could be were fitted into the -trough, then by putting in wedges the bulk was reduced to rather less -than half what it at first appeared, during which time a constant -stream of oil was flowing through the trough. A man hammered the -wedges, towards the end using a stone hammer so heavy I could only -just lift it. It was rather amusing to see the politeness of these -men. One of them wanted to smoke. But before doing so he offered his -pipe both to my husband and to myself, quite with the air of expecting -his offer to be accepted. I had an ulster, and they all admired the -material of it very much, saying each in turn they were quite sure it -was _pi chi_ (long ells). There were buffaloes crushing the cotton -seeds, walking round and round with basket-work blinkers over their -poor eyes. Curiously enough, the heavy millstones they wheeled round, -all of hardest granite as they were, yet were decorated with carvings. -One had the key pattern, or a slightly different scroll; also -characters, very carefully carved, to the effect that it was the fairy -carriage and the dragon's wheel. - -It seemed strange to come upon this touch of aestheticism in this very -homely sort of factory, whose whole plant must have cost so very -little, and which was in consequence, though so well adapted for its -purpose, yet so simple that it might well serve as an illustration for -an elementary primer in mechanics. Indeed, this factory at home, and -in the fresh air, was the very ideal Ruskin writes about, and that the -Village Industries Society at home has lately been formed to realise, -if yet it may be, in England. It has been realised during long -centuries in China, and yet the millennium has not arrived. - -We went back through a long, crowded, flourishing street. At an open -doorway there were young priests sitting inside, chanting. They had -musical instruments and gongs. A man behind a table was very busy -stamping envelopes such as Chinese officials use, very large and -covered with characters. He was good enough to pause, and show us the -letters these envelopes were to contain, very long and beautifully -written, and most neatly and cunningly folded. There was some one very -ill in the house, and these letters were addressed to heaven, -describing circumstantially his sad case. They were presently to be -burnt, and thus delivered. The lanterns with which this house was -decorated were blue for semi-mourning. Only a few doors farther off, -curiously enough, we came upon a wedding. The doors stood wide open, -and we saw a long vista of courtyards and _ting-tzes_, all with open -doors, and at the end what I fancied were a number of smartly dressed -servants standing. There was a band in the first courtyard, with the -quaint, pretty-looking instruments of crocodile-skin which I had -before so much admired in Shanghai Chinese city. Every one seemed so -obliging, I asked to look inside the wedding-chair. It was remarkably -smart, really beautifully embroidered all over outside. But, to my -intense disgust, the cushion on which the bride was to sit was an old -common red cushion, worn at the corners, and actually dirty, and the -inside of the chair had not even been swept out. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -_A LITTLE PEKING PUG._ - - Enjoyment.--Anticipation.--Regret. - - -He was only six months old when we first knew him, with long silky -ears, and a little head covered with delicate yellow down, undeveloped -puppy body, but a grand white chest, and black muzzle; he had fine -long moustachios and long black eyelashes, from between which looked -out engaging lustrous eyes of a singularly intelligent expression. He -weighed just about three pounds at his utmost; and when he stretched -himself to his greatest length, he was only a hand and a half long. -But his port and his attitudes were those of a lion, or, when engaged -in worrying a piece of cord dangled invitingly before him, for all the -world just like those of a Chinese monster, only in miniature. In some -ways he was like a kitten rather than a puppy, so graceful and gentle -in his movements, with long claws, too, at the tips of his little -feathery feet, and a way of purring when he was pleased. He made many -little plaintive sounds, as if he were talking to himself; and -sometimes it almost seemed as if he were talking to other people too, -so articulate were they. His tail was his weak point--it was too -long. But some people said, that as he grew older it would curl up and -look shorter. We do not know if this would have been so, nor whether -his body might have developed into being too long or too thin, or -something. In size he was like a puppy, and his head and chest were -lovely. It was very difficult to avoid treading upon him, he was so -small and noiseless in his movements. So he wore three little rattles -round his throat, for he was too small to wear real Peking bells. And -it was extraordinary the genius the little creature had for crying out -before he was hurt, and as if he had been half killed too. But no one -ever saw little Shing-erh--Little Apricot, as he was called, from his -colour--put out, or angry about being hurt. He was always pleased, -always full of life, ready to fall off fast asleep, or spring up wide -awake, without a moment's notice, and never afraid of any person or -thing. - - [Illustration: PEKING PUG (SHORT-HAIRED). - _Property of Mrs. Claude Rees_] - -When bought of a Chinaman in the streets of Peking, he showed no -distrust, but nestled at once into European arms, went home in them, -and growled when strangers approached his master's door, or sprang up -delighted to welcome his master himself. He was carried about in a -coat pocket, or sat in an office drawer, gravely watching the writing -of manifests by the hour together; or at times trotted gaily through -the streets, ever and anon stopping to sniff out some to him perfectly -delicious bit of nastiness. Who so delighted as little Shing-erh, when -he found out he could actually run up the stairs to the dining-room? -And from that moment he was always fancying it luncheon-time or -dinner-time; for there was no doubt of one thing--the little -sleeve-dog did enjoy being fed. He enjoyed caresses also. If he would -not come when he was called, there was always one way to secure his -attention, and that was to pet Wong, our other dog, a Shantung pug, -about five times Shing-erh's size. Then the little one would come at -once. Poor Wong! He had been used to being called 'Little Wong,' and -treated accordingly, and at first he growled, and even bit the -new-comer. After that he looked heartbroken for a day or two, went -home by himself when taken out walking, and resisted all the little -one's efforts to draw him into a game of romps, till an idea struck -him, and he began to jump on to sofas and armchairs; for did he not -see the little one on them made much of? Once he even jumped right up -into my lap, and tried to nestle there. And he tried to bite bits of -cord, or our hands. But his teeth were very different from the tender -milk-teeth of the little sleeve-dog, who could not bite any one if he -tried. So these advances of his had to be summarily repelled. And -gradually, though somewhat sadly, Wong reconciled himself to the -situation; submitted to everyone's offering the little one crumbs of -delicacy, while he sat up on his hind legs unnoticed, although -chin-chinning beautifully with his two front paws; submitted when the -little one bit his ears, or flew at his eyes, or pulled his tail, in -order to attract his attention; and even condescended to be played -with occasionally. - -It was a great affair taking little Shing-erh out; for he found the -world so full of interest, and would look round with intelligent eyes, -wagging his tail, as much as to say, "All right! but look what a -delightful place I find myself in." It was impossible to be angry with -him, though it made progress through the streets very slow at times. -Then when one took him up and carried him as a sort of punishment--for -he did dearly love to run--he would look so grave and serious, one -longed to see him frolicking once more. The only way was to walk very -fast; then the four little feet would go galloping along, the tiny -puppy bent on showing he could run as fast as other people. He was -never afraid of any dog, but quite big dogs used to run away from him, -he was so lionlike in his advances; and when he went to pay a visit to -any other dog, he always first drove his host into a corner with his -tail between his legs. Then only would the little one make up to him, -and gradually they would have a game of romps together. But just -because we were so fond of him he was a great anxiety; for any -Chinaman could put him up his sleeve and run away with him quite -easily. And every one took a fancy to him; though not every one, like -two sweet little children, asked first if they might carry him, next -if they might kiss puppy-dog, and finally if they might exchange a -baby-sister of the same age for him. - -One day, holding him up for a child to stroke, I noticed that the -little one's breath, till then always so sweet, smelt a little. It had -been very cold coming up-river in the winter weather, and it was still -colder going on, damp and raw; and we hardly knew how to keep -ourselves warm, much less the little puppy-dog. So it seemed hard to -prevent him from lying close to the stove; but possibly it was that -which made him ill. Or it may have been the little bones people gave -him on the steamers. Every one used to ask deferentially, "May I give -the little dog this? There is no meat on it." But there was a little -meat sometimes, and all the while there was poor Wong begging -unnoticed. But, then, Wong was very particular what he ate--he liked -some things, disliked others; while as to little Shing-erh, we never -found out what he did not like to eat whilst he was well. But now we -noticed he no longer cared to play. He would take a run outside for a -little while, he dearly loved to forage under the dinner-table, and -pick up stray crumbs; otherwise he wanted always to be nursed, making -little cooing sounds of satisfaction as he curled himself up on one's -lap, his little feathery head and long ears showing off to great -advantage as he did so. He was learning to sit up like Wong and beg -too, and even did so sometimes without anything to lean his feeble -puppy back against; and he had almost learnt to give a paw when asked. -We used to talk of all we were going to teach him, believing firmly -that nothing was beyond our puppy's capacity. We used to think how -pleasant it would be when our new house was built and the garden laid -out, and the little one could run freely about in it without anxiety -as to his being stolen. But from the day we arrived up-country, it -became increasingly evident that something was amiss with our tiny -dog. He could not eat biscuit soaked in milk, his regular food whilst -in Shanghai. He refused rice, unless fish were mixed with it. He -showed himself ravenous for fish. Perhaps it would have been wiser to -have been guided by the little creature's preferences. But bones and -meat were always very attractive to him, and they could hardly have -been the best food. He did not want to run after the first few days, -sitting down upon his haunches, looking very serious when set down. -How the country people admired him, when we carried him about, calling -him, "Little sleeve-dog," "Cat-dog," "Little lion," and asking leave -to stroke him, or stroking him without leave. "He comes from Peking," -they would say; and they looked at him with pride and pleasure. - - [Illustration: PEKING LION DOG (LONG-HAIRED). - _Property of Mr. George Brown, H.B.M. Consul._] - -At last a day came when we despaired of his life. A Chinaman said, -"Let me take him, and nurse him. I think I can cure him. You see, he -is a Chinese dog, and you do not understand how to treat him. I can be -with him all the while." So from our great love for him we let him go -in his little quilted basket, with his quilted coverlet of gay -patchwork, and little red pillow made expressly for himself, because -he was so fond of making a pillow of an arm or a hand. - -But in an hour or two he was brought back. He had thrown in his lot -with Europeans, and the little Chinese dog would not eat from the -hands of strange Chinamen, nor do anything they wished. His eyes were -already glazed, and he seemed already half dead when he was brought -back. So because all seemed over, and as if it did not matter what we -did now, we held him quite close to the stove and poured port-wine -down his throat. The little glazed eyes became limpid once more, and -he looked up, content to be with us. Then I sat with him on my lap, -thinking still of him as dead, and only waiting for the end. But the -little dog rallied so, that that night, when taken upstairs, he -struggled out of his basket on to the bed, where he had always loved -best to sleep. He liked to lie there, with his little black-and-tan -head looking so droll on the white pillow. Put down on the floor, for -fear he should fall off--for, alas! his little legs gave way under -him, and he tottered once as he tried to cross the bed--he actually -ran about the room, till he found the water-jug, stood up on his hind -legs, and deliberately dipped his pretty head into it and drank. - -Perhaps that draught injured him, for the Chinese declared cold water -must be fatal to him. Anyway, after that his rallying power appeared -to have abandoned him. But even then he still used to look up and -listen with great intensity when he heard his master's step upon the -stair, recognising that to the very last. But though he lingered on -all the next day and night, and on into the next morning, he was -always growing weaker, till at last he could not swallow the spoonfuls -we gave him every two hours. Once or twice he had fits of barking; but -as he lay quite still and barked, we hoped he was quite happy, -thinking he was fighting and vanquishing some other dog rather than -suffering pain. Yet after such long drawn out dying it was a relief in -the end when on the twelfth day up-country we saw the little thing lie -quite still and stiff; though, as we looked at the graceful little -head curled round with its two silky ears, our eyes filled with tears, -and we felt almost as if we had lost a child. - - [Illustration: ON A MOUNTAIN ROAD. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -The little dog had been of no use, and required much looking after; -yet he had endeared himself to all who knew him. His dainty ways, his -bright good humour, and intense pleasure in the society of his friends -perhaps accounted for this. And yet our hearts smote us as, after the -little one was taken from us, and we stooped to caress poor faithful -Wong with a warmth to which of late he had been unaccustomed, the -honest creature sprang on to the seat beside me with extraordinary -effusiveness, and began leaping about and catching at our hands with -the exuberance of long-repressed affection. Next night, though -provided with a beautiful kennel full of straw downstairs, Wong slept -out in the cold and rain in the courtyard outside our door, as he had -been used to do in the old days. We tried to pet him, and make up for -our loss by being additionally kind to all other dogs we saw. But when -I see the pencil I once gave Shing-erh to gnaw, with all the marks of -his little teeth, or his little rattles, the aching comes again to my -heart, thinking of what might have been, and how if we had known -better we might perhaps have preserved the life of the pretty pet, who -so implicitly trusted and relied upon us. - -As the intensest feelings ever become less intense if spoken about, so -that in all ages the greatest danger has been for teachers of -religious faith lest they should themselves cease to feel whilst -infusing faith in others, so I have sought to take the edge off my -grief by writing some account of little Shing-erh, aged twelve months -when he died. Anyhow, whenever we leave China behind us, there will be -a tenderer feeling in our hearts whilst thinking of the blue-gowned -race, because of this little creature born and bred amongst Chinamen, -and yet so engaging, so fastidious in all his ways, and so entirely -without any fear. - -Since then Wong is dead; and Jack, our faithful friend, and constant -companion during nine years of travel, a beautiful long-haired terrier -from Shantung, he too lies in a little grave, though his lustrous, -intelligent eyes haunt me still. Let no one lightly enter on a Chinese -dog as companion; they make themselves too much beloved, become too -completely members of the family. Even Nigger, the black Chow dog that -my husband kept before our marriage, and whose greeting he looked -forward to all the long voyage out to China--even Nigger seems like a -living personality to me, and I can hardly believe I never saw him. -Beloved dogs, companions of a life too solitary, because amongst an -uncompanionable race, Requiescant in pace! Good-bye, Shing-erh! -good-bye, Jack! Others may, but I can never look upon your like -again. There must be some subtle unnoticed quality in the Chinaman to -breed such dogs; and the sweet little Szechuan ponies, miniature -race-horses in form, and almost human in their intelligence, are -fitting companions for the dogs, and doglike in their faithful, -cheerful friendliness. - - [Illustration: A WHEELBARROW STAND.] - - - - -_AFFAIRS OF STATE._ - - - - -PRELUDE. - -PART I.--GETTING TO PEKING. - - House-boat on the Peiho.--Tientsin.--Chefoo.--A Peking - Cart.--Camels.--British Embassy.--Walking on the - Walls.--Beautiful Perspectives. - - -It was in 1888 we first arrived in Peking, and we felt at once -convinced that, whatever wonders it might have to offer, nothing--no! -nothing could surpass the wonder of the journey. And when it is -considered that every high official throughout the empire had to -travel this same way in order to be confirmed in each appointment, the -wonder of it is enhanced. From Tientsin you could always ride to -Peking, if you were strong enough. Sir Harry Parkes did it in the day, -the year before he died. But if not equal to riding eighty miles at a -stretch, or eighty miles relieved (?) by nights at Chinese inns, you -had in 1888 to travel the way we did, taking boat up the Peiho as far -as Tungchow. - -We left Tientsin at two o'clock on Thursday, and reached Tungchow at 9 -p.m. on Sunday, having been very lucky, as it appeared. We had a -south-west wind all Friday, spinning us along certain reaches of the -ever wriggling, rather than winding Peiho. Along the reverse reaches -the men had to tow or pole us. On Saturday the wind was so high that -we had to lie to in the middle of the day, the men being unable to -make any way against it by towing. And we only made a very few miles -that day. In the afternoon it rained, and was altogether cheerless. -But on Sunday we had a fine westerly wind blowing us on. Although a -river, the Peiho in this part of its course is decidedly more -canal-like and uninteresting than the English canal down which I had -had some thought of travelling the year before, till I decided it -would be too tedious. But after all there is a charm about this -exceedingly slow method of progression. The world does not really -stand still with you, but you feel as if it did. You get interested in -the boats you pass and meet; some coming down stream, laden with -plants in pots--two dwarf orange-trees, with oranges on them, I saw -once--or bringing down straw braid, or taking up brick tea--such -quantities of brick tea, which had, I suppose, come all the way down -the Yangtse from poor water-beleaguered Hankow of the willow avenues -and ravening mosquitoes, and round farther by sea from Shanghai to -Tientsin, and whose progress on strings and strings of dignified -camels Siberiawards we subsequently saw. What brick tea costs in the -original instance I do not know. But when I think of the labour -expended on its transport I feel it ought to be precious indeed to the -Siberians. - - [Illustration: INTERIOR OF GOVERNOR'S OFFICIAL RESIDENCE AT HANGCHOW.] - -Every now and then we got out and walked along the banks, looking -backwards at the long zigzagging procession of boats behind us, each -with one large sail, or at times each with a bare mast, looking like a -long line of telegraph-poles. And beside us was the line of real -telegraph-poles, forerunners of the coming railway that has since been -opened; and we knew that the foreigners who would approach Peking in -the old historic manner were already numbered. For there will be -nothing to tempt people to provide themselves with all the necessaries -of life for a three or four days' trip, now that the railroad is open -and you can book direct. There is nothing to be seen upon the road -that cannot be seen as well elsewhere,--mudbanks, sandhills, millet- -and sorghum-fields with poor crops, fairly nice trees, fences gay with -convolvulus flowers, mud houses, mud roofs, and level mudbanks crowded -with all the disreputable refuse of a poor Chinese village; then -wood-cutters (one or two substantial coffins stood out prominently -alongside of them; wood seems too precious for anything but coffins in -those parts), a mule and a pony ploughing, or a donkey or an ox, never -a pair of animals of the same kind. All these one looks at with a -pleasant interest as one saunters or floats by. But you can see them -elsewhere; or you can never see them, and yet be none the worse for -the miss. - -It is true that by the old method you could shut yourself into the -boat cabin, and study colloquial Chinese according to Sir Thomas Wade, -or write letters home to say how you were enjoying yourself, or drink -tea, or smoke, just as your previous way of life disposed you to act, -there being no restraining influence further than the size of the -cabin. A native boat is not quite as luxurious as a Shanghai -house-boat, though it is well enough, except in the matter of its -being impossible to open the cabin door from the inside. So that when -we were shut in, I always thought how, if the boat should heel over, -we should be drowned inside like mice in a trap. Another exception -must be made--not in favour of the cracks which grow portentously -larger, as the boards shrink with the increasing dryness of the air, -and which must let in an inordinate draught in winter, when the air is -more cold than kindly. Even towards the end of September we found it -hard enough to keep warm at night. We had two cabins, but one was -pretty well all bedstead, being a raised ottoman sort of a place, -under which boxes could be put, and on which mattresses were laid. We -had to provide ourselves with everything we wanted, even to a -cooking-stove. But then we paid only nine and a half dollars for our -boat, including drink money. This at the then rate of exchange was -under thirty shillings. The men fed themselves. So did we. It is -tiresome that, travelling in China, nothing is to be bought by the -way, beyond chickens and eggs, and sweet potatoes (delicious!) and -cabbage (horrible!). It is tiresome, also, that the makers of tinned -things do not put dates upon their tins; therefore in the -outports--which Shanghai fine ladies always pronounce as if they were -only peopled by "outcasts"--people have to put up with the tinned milk -that somehow did not sell at Shanghai. It is a pity that the local -representatives of the Army and Navy Stores do not see to this, and -put dates on their tins. It would be well worth the "outcasts'" while -to pay extra for recently tinned butter and milk, if they could rely -upon the dates. As it was, our milk was very nearly butter, though it -could not quite be used for that, and it certainly was not milk. - -The Concession at Tientsin is either so far away from the Chinese -town, or so satisfactory to its inhabitants, that they never stray -away among the Chinese. On landing at the bridge of boats in the -native city, while our servants made a few purchases, I found I -excited as much interest as if there had not been a European colony -within a thousand miles. It was, however, a particularly friendly -crowd that accompanied me. A boy danced in front, clapping his hands, -as if to bid the people in the street make way; another boy was very -eager to point out all the sweet cakes he thought nicest; two old -women and an old man went down on their knees to beg; an old man was -washing very old shoes upon the bridge; another was selling odds and -ends of old things, that looked as if they never had been new. There -were sweet potatoes cooking; there were various other buyers and -sellers, and crowds passing by, both on foot and in boats. Sometimes -the bridge would be opened, sometimes closed to let the foot -passengers go by. There was always a crowd; whichever way of progress -was open, people were always progressing by it before it was ready for -them. Nobody pushed, nobody was rude; every one appeared pleasant. But -there, looking down the long straight reach of the river, was the tall -tower of the ruined Roman Catholic Cathedral, recalling the massacre -of 1870--a massacre that might so easily have embraced all the -Europeans in the Concession, had not the rain mercifully come down in -torrents and dispersed the mob. It did not seem possible, when we were -there, to think of any danger of the kind threatening the -exceptionally thriving-looking settlement. - -I have not seen any Concession yet I liked the look of so well as that -of Tientsin. There is a go-ahead look about the place, with all its -goods stored in heaps on the Bund with only matting over them, instead -of, as elsewhere, in warehouses; which makes it contrast especially -with Chefoo, that sleeping beauty, whom no fairy prince has yet -awakened. Perhaps, when he does, the merry wives of China, who used to -resort there every summer, may find it hardly as charming as it was in -its tranquillity and freedom from all restraint. But it was so -tranquil, so absolutely uneventful, that our summer month there seemed -only like a dream to look back upon. Its coast-line is beautiful; but -it is a coast-line with nothing behind it, as it were--like the cat's -smile in _Alice in Wonderland_, a grin and nothing more. - -But it was at Tungchow in the old days that the tug of war in getting -to Peking used to begin. You had bought all your stores, and -furnished your boat, and spent days and nights in it; but all that was -nothing to the great business of getting to Peking. There were -thirteen miles yet to do, and the question was, How did you mean to -try to get over them? My own firm conviction now is that the easiest -way would have been to get up very early in the morning and walk. But -as it was, I came into Peking in the traditional style, feet foremost -in a springless cart, holding on hard to either side. We started at -eleven in the morning from Tungchow, paused for an hour at a wayside -inn to eat and rest, and did not reach Peking till six, only just -before the gates were closed. At first starting I thought the accounts -of the road had been exaggerated. It is true it was so dusty at -intervals I was more reminded of a London fog than anything else. It -is true I could not leave go with either hand without getting a -tremendous bump on the head. But still I did not think the road was -quite as bad as I had expected. Alas! the road was so bad we had not -started by it at all, but were simply getting along by a way the carts -had made for themselves. At Pa-li Chiao we came upon the real grand -stone road, with the grand bridge made by the Ming Dynasty--when they -moved their capital from Nanking to Peking, in order better to repel -invading Tartar hordes--and never in the centuries since repaired by -the Tartar horde of Manchus, who at once conquered them, when they -thus obligingly put themselves within easy reach at the very extreme -limit of their vast empire. - - [Illustration: FARMER AND WATER BUFFALOES. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -There was the road, with huge blocks of stone, some of them five feet -long, and wide and thick in proportion, but sometimes worn away, -sometimes clean gone. Now to hold on like grim death! How the smartly -varnished little carts with their blue tops kept together at all I -cannot imagine. But I know I immensely respected the mule that could -pull us into and out of the holes and ruts, into which we dropped with -a veritable concussion, not a jolt. Of course it was a new -sensation--but a new sensation it can do no one any good to -experience; and before I had had half an hour of it I had had enough, -and asked for a donkey. However, the donkey brought was so tiny that, -after a rest on its poor little thin back, I tried the cart again. The -road did not seem quite so bad as before, until we got nearer the -capital. Then--then I got out and walked. There was no help for it. -And walking was decidedly less fatiguing. But an increasing crowd -followed me. Every one spoke to me--I hope complimentarily. Men -selling clothes waved them at me, and sang to invite purchase. It was -hard work to avoid the carts, and donkeys, and mules, and camels, and -men carrying things, and Manchu women with feet of the natural size, -violently rouged faces, and hair made up into teapot handles, sticking -out quite six inches behind their heads, or made into stiff wings, -projecting about three inches on either side, and always with flowers -stuck into their hair. It was hard work to avoid all these, and to -keep up with the carts, and disagreeable to be choked and smothered in -dust, and to feel oneself all the while appearing to every one as an -escaped lunatic--ploughing through dust on one's own feet, instead of -being driven along properly. But anything was better than jolting -along that road till the great mock fortress came into view. We were -about to enter the gates. The crowd there was too great to try to -press through; so I climbed into the cart once more, and thus entered -Peking _comme il faut_, in a springless cart. - - [Illustration: PAPER-BURNING TEMPLES. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -It is the custom to say the road to Peking from Tungchow is -desperately uninteresting. It may be so. I feel I ought hardly to -hazard an opinion, for I was afraid to leave my eyeglasses dangling, -and thus only once or twice managed both to get them out and up to my -eyes sufficiently steadily to see through them; but to my shortsighted -gaze there appeared to be a constant series of interesting graves and -gateways and monsters, which I longed to examine more closely. Then -the long procession of camels carrying brick tea northwards, or -coming south empty to fetch it, did not become monotonous, even after -I had seen some thousands or more of them. The men riding upon them -had handkerchiefs tied in a very simple way, which, however, I at once -saw was the original of the old homely English sun-bonnet. The men -walking by their sides had conical oil-paper hats, which were equally -evidently the original of the Nice hats of my youth. They had even red -linings to them, such as I had so often worn myself in Europe, and -three little spots of black, whose nature I could not quite make out, -but which on my hats used to be represented by three little stars of -black velvet. I had always thought a Nice hat looked Chinese, and, -since I came to China, that it would be the very thing to wear in -summer; and now here I found these camel-drivers wearing the old -original model, which probably the Jesuits carried over long ago to -North Italy. - -The camels placed their springy hoofs softly on the hard, stony road. -Those that wore bells carried their arched necks high. Their grave -eyes looked down kindly on the clouds of dust. Between their two humps -rode a man, as in a natural saddle. Their yellow necks shone in the -slanting rays of the sun, while the great tufts of hair at the tops of -their legs stood out darkly. I thought I should grow tired of them, -but I had not even by the time we had reached the gate of Peking, at -the end of our long day's travel of _thirteen_ miles. - -"Is this inside the city or outside the city?" I asked at last of my -stout carter, when we seemed to have been travelling an interminable -distance through roads rather like Clapham Common, if there were no -grass upon it, and two rows of booths cutting it into three -divisions--two of booths and one of road--so wide and uncared for and -wildernesslike was this last. "Inside the city," answered he -haughtily. I felt as if I had been very rude to ask, and longed to -apologise, if I had hurt his feelings. But the road was so unlike a -city street. It was like a large caravanserai, or like the encampment -of a savage tribe. The shops that skirted the road had gaily gilded -fronts, and every now and then a shopkeeper sent out men to scoop up -the liquid filth at either side, and sprinkle it upon the dust by way -of somewhat keeping it down. The smell resulting left nothing to be -desired. Long before we reached Peking I had decided that the Chinese -were a docile, peaceable nation of traders, overrun by a northern -horde so incurably barbarous, that not even centuries of contact with -the Chinese had been able to civilise them, though it might have made -them so effeminate that they would soon become effete. I now began to -wonder how long Peking could go on accumulating filth within its walls -without breeding a Black Death or other awful pestilence. - -We drove on and on. At last we turned down a very disreputable, -dilapidated sort of mews; and there was the French Embassy to the -right, very smart in fresh paint; the Japanese Embassy, very perky, -with a European gateway; the German Embassy, dignified and fresh -painted. Round the corner stood the English Embassy, with a massive -but somewhat jail-like portal. - -In the Middle Ages it often seems as if it must have been very -pleasant for the lords and ladies. And in Peking it is very pleasant -to live in a ducal palace. From the moment the Embassy servant stepped -forward with a fly-flap, and courteously flapped the dust off our -boots, everything was charming. We never wished to go outside again to -face that vile mews, with its holes, its dust, its smells. We forgot -all about it, as we looked at the stately perspective of the inner -entrance of the Palace,--its ceilings richest blue and brilliant -green, relieved by golden pomegranates and dragons; its mortised beams -projecting, all highly painted, green, red--green, red. Not a sound -penetrated within its sheltered courtyards. The wood-carvings were -beautiful, the galleries long enough to satisfy all desire for -walking. The Chinese decorations satisfied our eyes. At last--at last -we had come upon something Oriental in China, aesthetic, -eye-satisfying. At the same time we were surrounded by every English -comfort, enjoying delightful English society! Why ever go outside the -Embassy compound? Could Peking possibly have anything to show worth -encountering such horrors as those of its entry, a survival from those -Middle Ages so agreeable to read about, so disagreeable to live in? - - [Illustration: APPROACH TO MING EMPERORS' TOMBS, PEKING. - _By Mr. Stratford Dugdale._] - -But one evening we took the one Peking walk, along the summit of the -walls. There was something pathetic, as well as ludicrous, in thinking -of European attaches and their wives, European diplomatists and their -families, having for a pleasure-walk the walls of Peking. The horrors -of the approach to them can only be realised by those who know what -the _entourage_ of the walls of a Chinese city is generally like. They -cannot be described in a book, that may lie on an English drawing-room -table. Arrived at the top, you find a wilderness of thorns and plants -and trees, and there in and out amongst them a narrow way, along which -a lady can barely manage to walk without tearing her dress. From the -walls you see the yellow roofs of the Imperial Palace buildings within -the inner wall, inside the Forbidden City. And you wonder what it must -be like to be a Chinese Emperor, brought up under one of those yellow -roofs, and never allowed outside that Forbidden City, except for a -ceremonial visit to a temple, to pray for rain or fine weather. You -see the green-tiled roofs of the princely ducal buildings, far more -effective than the yellow by the evening light. On the one side you -look at the "Outside City," the China town; on the other the "Inside -City," the Tartar town, where the Embassies, etc., are. In the centre -of this last, four-square, is placed the Forbidden Imperial City. Then -you look out into the distance upon the western hills, beautiful in -the sunset light. But it is fast growing dark. As we came out, the sun -was still too hot to be pleasant. Now already it is too dark to -discern distant objects. We turn back to that oasis in the wilderness -of Peking, that fairy palace, the Ying-kuo Fu. We reach once more the -beautiful perspective, that makes us long for the British Minister to -stand in state with his following, holding a reception of Chinese -mandarins, that we might see them all grouped according to their -dignities against such a picturesque background. Then looking at the -blue and green and golden dragon beams, at the sunshine and the -stillness of the courtyards, we feel inclined, like Germans, to evolve -the rest of Peking out of our own inner consciousness. Oh, rest ye, -brother-mariners, we will not wander more! - - -PART II.--THE SIGHTS OF PEKING. - - Tibetan Buddhism.--Yellow Temple.--Confucian - Temple.--Hall of the Classics.--Disgraceful - Behaviour.--Observatory.--Roman Catholic - Cathedral.--Street Sights.--British - Embassy.--Bribes.--Shams.--Saviour of Society.--Sir - Robert Hart. - -The "sights" of Peking have not been on view of late years. It seems a -pity, considering how many people have travelled thither hoping to see -them. And yet I am not sure that it is not a relief. It seems a duty -one owes oneself to go and see those one can, and the people even at -those behave with an insolence and indecorum such as I am not quite -sure if even seeing the sight makes up for. Anyway, the Temple of -Heaven has been closed of late years--that Temple in which to this day -worship is offered by the Emperor on behalf of his people, in -accordance with a ritual more ancient than any other still in use. The -Temple of Agriculture is closed; ditto the Clock Tower and the Bell -Tower; ditto, they say, all that remains of the Summer Palace. Even -the Examination Hall we could not succeed in getting into. Whilst his -one great friend advised us not to attempt the Lamaserai, where the -living Buddha in Peking resides, such a set of rowdies are the Lamas. -They demand exorbitant sums for opening each fresh gate; they lay -forcible hands upon visitors, and finally demand what they please for -letting them out again. That very thrilling tale of horrors "The -Swallows' Wing" is only a little heightened version of what a -traveller who went in might have to undergo. We rode up to the gate, -and the expression of the Lamas outside, who thought we were coming -in, was enough for me. I have studied the expressions of Neapolitan -priests, but they do not compare for vileness with those of these -Lamas: the Lamas, too, look fierce--fierce, coarse, and insolent. They -of course redouble their demands and insolence, when ladies are among -the visitors. The living Buddha himself can only be approached in the -guise of a tribute-bearer bringing offerings: a bottle of brandy, a -pound of sugar, and a tin of Huntley & Palmer's mixed biscuits, -sugared, are said to be the most acceptable. And we considered sending -this information to Messrs. Huntley & Palmer for advertising purposes. -But even with the biscuits and the brandy there has to be a good deal -of arrangement, all of which demands time. And, after all, the living -Buddha is only occasionally _en statue_; at other times he receives -like any other Tibetan. And whether one cares to associate with -Tibetans at all, except for missionary purposes, is a question. That -Buddhism, which with the Chinese is so pure and humane a religion, -they have transformed into something so gross, it seems their very -gods are unfit to look upon; the God of Happy Marriage impossible to -show to a lady, as said the Russian gentleman who had made a -collection of images, Chinese, Indian, and Tibetan! Chinese images are -all fit for any one to see, as their classics are fit for any one to -read; Indian images are questionable; but about Tibetan there seems no -question at all, and he simply asked me to advance no farther into his -museum, as my husband examined them. It was impossible for me even -then not to think that living surrounded by those horrible emblems of -divinity, his whole drawing-room full of them, must have some effect -upon the unhappy man's character. As I stood among them, an evil -influence seemed to emanate from them, and the subsequent career of -their unhappy collector confirms the theory; for but a few years later -he was dismissed from the Chinese Customs for some crime too bad to -mention, dying shortly afterwards. The collection has been bought by a -German museum. Let us hope those dreadful Tibetan images are not now -poisoning the minds of blue-eyed Germans. - -Tibetan musical instruments for sacred purposes are made of virgins' -bones (the virgins killed expressly, we were told, but I doubt this); -their sacred pledge-cups, of human skulls. They prefer necklaces each -bead of which is made out of a tiny portion of a human skull, thus -each bone representing a human life. Their idols are represented as -wearing human skins, with girdles hung with human heads. So much as -this I was allowed to see in this wonderful collection of gods and -praying-machines, where meekly pious or coarsely jocund Chinese images -sit cheek-by-jowl with graceful, slender Indian deities, and cruel, -devilish Tibetan images. After all, no nation's conception of God can -be higher than the nation; but it is at least, as a rule, supposed to -be as high. Judging them by their idols, it was better, I thought -then, to keep out of the way of Tibetan Lamas--little thinking it was -to be my good fortune in subsequent years to penetrate into Tibet -itself, nor how rudely there I should find the Lamas treat me. - -Even the tomb erected to the Banjin Lama at the Hoang Ssu (Yellow -Temple) repelled me, in spite of intricate marble carvings, considered -well worth the seeing. The workmanship was good, but the outline was -simply hideous. Not even purple-blue sky, and golden sunshine, and old -fir-trees, with golden-balled persimmons nestling beside them, -relieved it from its native ugliness. But alongside of it was a great -two-storied building in true Chinese style, that we indeed admired. It -stood four-square, with a grandly massive _porte-cochere_, answering -all the purposes of a verandah, so vast was it. We looked at the -simple, graceful curves of its two stories of roofs, the upper -definitely but only slightly smaller than the lower, and wished that, -when it fell to our lot to own a house in China, it might be after -this model. For two stories seem advisable for health, and nothing -could surpass in roof-grace those grand curves, modelled, it is said, -upon the upturning boughs of forest trees, though more probably upon -the tent of former ages. - - [Illustration: TOMB OVER BANJIN LAMA'S CLOTHES, BUILT AFTER TIBETAN - MODEL OF MARBLE. BELL-LIKE CUPOLA AND UPPER ORNAMENTS OF GOLD. - INSCRIPTIONS IN DEVANAGARI CHARACTER, SANSCRIT, AND CHINESE.] - -The Confucian Temple, where there are tablets to Confucius and his -four great followers, may be called a satisfactory sight, and has -remained open of late years. Viewed as a picnic place, it is -delightful. The vast courts, with their old, old fir-trees, gave me -far more pleasure even than the marble balustrades, or the ancient -granite so-called drums we had gone to see. But even there the -behaviour of the people was what anywhere else one would call insolent -in the extreme. The importunity, sores, and dirt of the Peking gamins -render them also a detestable _entourage_. Things reached their -climax, however, at the Hall of the Classics. The open door was as -usual banged to in our faces, as we came near; and we were then asked -through the closed door how much we would give to get in. Then as soon -as we got in, all the detestable rabble following us were let in too, -much though I begged they might be kept out. I do not think I had up -to that time seen anything so neglected and dilapidated as the Hall of -the Classics, the building in all China which one would most expect to -see kept in good order, nothing being so much esteemed in China as -learning, and especially the learning of the ancients. Some workmen, -with almost no clothing, were apparently employed in making it -dirtier; but directly we entered they left off doing whatever it was, -and devoted themselves to horse-play of the coarsest description, -standing upright on their hands, pirouetting their feet over the heads -of the crowd who came in with us, knocking some of them down, and -rolling them in the dust. They even went so far as to sit down in -their more than semi-nude condition on the same bench on which I was -sitting, and as near me as possible; whilst all the while there was -such a shouting and noise, it was impossible for my husband and me to -speak to one another. - -It is all very well to remind oneself one is in the presence of a -great work, and to try and feast one's soul upon proportions and -perspectives in the presence of such lewd behaviour of people of the -baser sort. To put it prettily, I was distracted by a great pity for -people whose chances in life seemed to have been so small; in plainer -English, my temper began to rise. The porcelain arch we had come to -see was certainly beautiful, a masterpiece, but not soul-satisfying. -We duly noticed the elaborate eaves, protected by netting from the -birds. But then came the usual question: How much would we pay to get -out? They locked the door in our faces, demanding more money before -they would let us out. My husband could stand no more. He was just -recovering from a dangerous illness; but he took up a big beam, and -smashed open the door. It fell, lintel and all, and the latter so -nearly killed a child in its fall the crowd was awed. This just gave -us time to get on our donkeys. Then Babel broke loose again, and the -storm continued till we had ridden half an hour away, our donkey-men -nearly indulging in a stand-up fight in the end, one of them -brandishing at the other a very gracefully carved sceptre, that I had -just picked up at a fair, to my intense delight. "A nice fellow you -are," shouted one to the other. "You ate up all the biscuits, and now -you don't know the road. You are worth nothing at all." So that was -the way the biscuits had disappeared: the donkey-men had levied toll -on our luncheons, and we had suspected the Peking gamins. As there are -other porcelain arches in Peking, it might be as well for other -visitors to avoid the Hall of the Classics altogether, we thought. - -It is horrible to write expressing so much dissatisfaction in the -presence of the far-famed masterpieces of a great empire, and the more -so as we were very sorry to be leaving Peking, and should much have -liked to spend a winter there, studying it all more thoroughly. But -Sir Harry Parkes, when he came back to it, said it was returning to -"Dirt! Dust! and Disdain!" and the only objection the passing -traveller would be likely to make to this sentence is that it might -contain a few more D's. - -The Observatory is a delightful sight--always barring the behaviour of -the custodian, the most loathsome wretch I had yet encountered. And he -wanted to feel me all over; did feel all over the Legation Secretary -who kindly accompanied us, finally ransacking his pockets for more -money than he had thought needful to bestow upon him. The weird, -writhing bronze stands of the old instruments, with their redundancy -of carving, will be for ever imprinted on my brain. Both those that -stand below in a neglected courtyard, and those high above the wall, -standing out against the sky, commanding the great granaries and the -lovely mountains of the west, with the whole city of Peking lying in -between, its courtyards filled with fine trees, giving the whole the -aspect of a vast park rather than a populous city--all are beautiful. -These wonderful instruments were made under the instructions of the -old Jesuits, who so nearly won China to Christianity (would have done -so, probably, but for the jealousy of the other religious orders), and -who were for years the guides and counsellors of the Chinese Emperors. -As to the outside of the pavilions within the Forbidden City, all one -was allowed to see of them then, the glittering yellow Imperial roofs -are like my childish idea of a fairy palace. There they stand upon -their hills, dotted about among the trees, so glittering and graceful, -I thought I should never tire of riding past the Green Hill, across -the Marble Bridge. - - [Illustration: LOTUS POND AND DAGOBA IN EMPEROR'S GARDEN. - _Lent by Mr. Willett._] - -The Roman Catholic Fathers, who have for centuries lived under the -shadow of the Imperial Palace, were having then to turn out before the -New Year, as also the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, with their -innumerable foundling children. For it was said that the Empress -herself intended to reside in the Fathers' European house. It was she -who originally so objected to the high towers of the church, as -destructive of _Fung shui_. Then she was saying she observed ever -since they were built she had been particularly fortunate, and she -begged that church and towers and organ might be handed to her intact, -together with Pere Armand David's valuable collection of birds. -Fortunately, there are counterparts of these in Paris, for it was -feared she might give one specimen to one favoured courtier and one to -another, and thus destroy the whole value of the collection. For the -shrewd Father, observing the extraordinary pride of the Chinese heart, -beside their own somewhat demure-coloured birds and butterflies, had -placed a collection of the most gorgeous specimens from Brazil and -Java, that he might say drily, when showing Chinese officials round, -"See how favoured are the other nations of the earth!" From the towers -the Empress may possibly intend to look down upon the Palace garden, -as no one hitherto has been allowed to do. For the Fathers were only -allowed to retain their cathedral on condition that no one ever -mounted the towers, from which a bird's-eye view can be obtained of -nearly the whole Palace garden. The church, it was then announced, she -would use as an audience hall, and, it was added, receive foreigners -in it. But such great changes as this have not yet come about in -Peking. No people better than Chinese understand saying they will do a -thing, and yet not doing it. - -But, whatever happens in it, Peking, as long as it exists, can never -lose its character of a great caravanserai, in which one is always -coming upon the unexpected. For instance, a Red Button's funeral, as -we saw it one day, with about a hundred of the greatest ruffians, -misshapen, patched, tattered or naked, hideous, yet rejoicing in being -employed, each with a long red feather stuck strangely upright in the -oldest-looking Jim Crow sort of felt hat, carrying a banneret or a -parasol; the red chair of the official carried aloft; then afterwards -paper images of his wives, etc.! Or, if not a dignitary's funeral, one -comes across a bird market, every man with a well-trained, -red-throated bird sitting on a stick, crooked like a magnified note of -interrogation, or a hooded hawk. Then a street row--filth unutterable! -Perhaps a hundred camels sitting in little rings round their baggage, -and not obstructing traffic in the least; elegant curios laid out in -the dust of the street for sale; three carts all at once stuck in the -same rut, all their horses and mules resting, panting, after vain -efforts to get them out; Manchu women, with natural feet, very long -silk gowns of the most villainously tawdry hue; or mandarins in -exquisitely coloured silks, with only two wheels to their carts, and -those far behind it, so as to indicate their dignity, twenty gaily -clad retainers trotting after them on ponies! At one moment squalor -and filth, such as to make one think of St. Giles's as cleanly by -comparison; at the next or at the same moment gorgeous shop-fronts, -all of the finest carving, with most brilliant gilding. - -But of all the sights on view in Peking, the finest sight to my mind -was the British Legation--a grand old Chinese palace, at that time -perfectly kept up, and gorgeous in colouring, deepest blue, pure -green, golden-dragoned, and lighted up with vermilion touches. Whether -one looked at the mortised beams, projecting outside as well as -inside, and thus forming the most complex, highly coloured eaves, or -at the decorated beams in the reception-rooms, each one a revelation -of colour to a London art-decorator, the eye was alike perfectly -satisfied. And at that time, owing to the exquisite taste of the then -British Minister's wife, as also probably to the liberality of Sir -John Walsham himself, the decorations of the Embassy thoroughly -harmonised with its architecture and colouring. If Peking outside was -an embarrassment of D's, the Legation was then all cleanliness, -comfort, and charm. - -One cannot help reflecting sadly on what an object-lesson the capital -conveys to all the innumerable officials who have to travel thither, -as also to the crowds of young men who go there year after year to -compete for the highest honour to be obtained by competition--admission -to the Hanlin College. When the distances are considered in an empire -about as big as Europe, and also the difficulties of travel in a -country without roads and without railways, it is the more astonishing -this custom was ever started and can still be kept up. Each expectant -is mulcted in a heavy sum, as bribes to the officials about the -Palace. Thus the rabble of Peking live by tribute from the whole -empire. And so rooted is the custom, even the gatekeeper at the -British Legation would demand his toll, whilst the sums that have been -paid to get into the Imperial Palace often run into six figures. And -all who come to Peking know how things are administered there by -bribery and corruption, and see for themselves that nothing there is -cleaned, nothing ever put in order. As Sir Robert Hart himself says, -but for the clouds of dust continually kept in movement by the winds, -and brought in from the ever-increasingly impoverished country round, -they must have been all dead men in Peking long ago. The dust serves -as a great disinfectant, whilst it so permeates all clothing worn -there, that no dress in which one has once gone out in Peking seems -fit ever to put on again for any other purpose. - -Peking is probably the only large city in the whole world where no -arrangements whatever are made for sanitation or even for common -decency. The result is alike startling and disgusting to the -traveller. But on inquiry it becomes even worse. There were -drains--sewers--in the time of the Ming Emperors, and it is now the -duty of a special official to report upon their condition every year, -and see that they are kept in order. But the drains are all closed up; -and though a boy in peculiar clothing is let down into them each year, -as it were at one end, it is another boy, though in the same peculiar -clothing, who is taken out at the other end. - - [Illustration: MOUNTAIN VILLAGE, WITH SHAM BEACON FIRES TO LEFT, - FOOCHOW SEDAN-CHAIR IN FRONT. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -China is the land of shams and middle-men, and the official from the -country sees all this, and, sore with the undue lightening of his own -purse, goes home, having learnt his lesson to exact bribes himself, -and himself rest satisfied with shams, and report all in order, when -he knows that it is not so. Far from feeling ashamed of the state the -roads in his own province have got into, he remembers those of Peking, -that are so much worse. Indeed, through all the country, since the -incoming of the Manchu Dynasty, it has been the deliberate official -intention to neglect the roads, thus making it the more difficult for -the people to assemble together and revolt against their alien rulers. -Probably, too, he sees the Tsung-li Yamen, the office created of late -years in order to transact business with European nations. Tsung-li -Yamen sounds well, but the building is a dirty, dilapidated shed, -that might pass muster for a cowhouse on an English gentleman's -estate, _if_ it were cleaned and fresh painted. To the Chinese mind -this building being set apart to hold interviews with the -representatives of Foreign Powers sufficiently indicates in what -esteem they are held by his Government, and what amount of courtesy he -is intended to mete out to them. - -The foreigner, on the other hand, travels away, having learnt his -lesson too, if he be of a reflective mind, and that is, very briefly, -that there is no hope for China under the present dynasty. The Manchus -may have been a very fine people when they first entered China; but -since then they have lived _like gentlemen_, according to the common -saying, not earning their living, but as pensioners of the State, -nominally ready to be called out to fight, if wanted, in time of war. -They do not enter into business, they do not study, and they have lost -their martial qualities and become as effeminate as Chinamen. The -Chinese Empire has been decaying ever since it came into their hands; -and ever since I have known China the Chinese have been saying the -Manchu Dynasty has ruled its appointed number of years, and that it is -now high time for what they call a Saviour of Society to appear, as so -often in the past. - -This Saviour of Society would probably have appeared long ago, but for -the help the nations of Europe, and especially England, have given -towards the centralisation of China. In the old days it is true the -Viceroys were appointed from Peking; but each Viceroy ruled pretty -well as he pleased in his own province, with his own exchequer, his -own army, and his own navy. We found it inconvenient to deal with so -heterogeneous a mass without any definite head, and threw our weight -into the scale of the Chinese Empire. First we helped to crush the -Taiping rebellion, which but for our intervention would probably have -succeeded, and by force have made the Chinese people at least nominal -Christians. Then through Sir Robert Hart the different Viceroys have -been impoverished; the money that in former times would have gone to -their private purses or to the administration of their provinces has -been diverted to Peking. The theory was that it would be used for the -good of the nation. But probably we shall some day know how much the -Empress has used for her private pleasures, according to the recent -indictment of her by the one great incorruptible Viceroy, -Chang-chih-tung, and how much has been absorbed by Li Hung-chang, and -all the army of Palace eunuchs and hangers-on. - -The Chinese are a people of traders, and patient; they look on, and -say mentally, "No belong my pigeon," that is, "Politics are not my -business." But they dislike the Empress; they know the young Emperor -has been used merely as a puppet; and as to the idea of a Chinese -Empire, it is one that has never made its way into their heads. And -thus it is a grave question, when in the last Chino-Japanese war all -the great Yangtse was a moving procession of junks piled high with -human braves, their pigtails coiled about their heads, and their black -head kerchiefs giving them somewhat a piratical air, whether these men -of Hunan ever meant to fight the Japanese. They would have been ready -enough to fight the men of Anhui; and when the European settlement of -Shanghai found itself between a regiment of either force, the position -was so evidently critical, that very urgent remonstrances had to be -addressed to the Chinese authorities to move away either one force or -the other. But the Hunan men never fought the Japanese, and it remains -a question whether they ever intended doing so. - -Even the passing foreigner must feel at Peking that it is not the -throbbing heart of a great country, as London is, as Paris is; but the -remains of the magnificent camp of a nomad race, that has settled -down, and built in stone after the fashion in which in its wanderings -it used to build in wood. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -_THE CHINESE EMPEROR'S MAGNIFICENCE._ - - The Emperor at the Temple of Heaven.--Mongol Princes - wrestling.--Imperial Porcelain Manufactory.--Imperial - Silk Manufactory.--Maids of Honour.--Spring - Sacrifices.--Court of Feasting.--Hunting - Preserves.--Strikes.--Rowdies.--Young Men to be prayed - for. - - -Almost all we can know of the Emperor of China is by hearsay. He lives -in his Palace inside the Forbidden City, which again is inside the -Manchu City, separated from the Chinese City, where are the lovely, -gilded curio shops. When he goes abroad, which he never does, except -to worship at the temples, all the people are ordered to keep -within-doors, and the most any outsider can do is to peep at him -through the crack of a door or from behind a curtain. But as I think -some details of his State may be interesting to the general reader, -and indeed would well repay thinking over, I have extracted an -abridged translation from a Chinese newspaper's account of the present -Emperor Kwang-shue's visit to the Temple of Heaven in 1888, when, it -must be remembered, he was only a boy between sixteen and seventeen. -Those who do not care for the accounts of pageants can easily skip -it. Those who read it will, however, learn much of Chinese usage -therefrom, and will perhaps better realise how remarkable must be the -character of the lad who, brought up from the age of four as the -central figure in such ceremonies, yet dared to place himself at the -head of the party of progress, and to introduce innovations. People in -England, angry with him for being overcome, think he must be a young -man of weak character. But contrast him with one of our European -princes, read what he has attempted, which I hope to describe in a -following chapter, and then decide which is the stronger character. -Kwang-shue has always been of weak physique--not unnaturally, -considering that he has never known what it is to go out into the -country, and take free, healthy exercise. But probably this has been -his salvation. Had he been a young man of strong physique, he could -never, probably, have withstood the promptings of his own nature, -together with those temptations of wine and women, by which he has -been surrounded from his earliest years. That he should not have taken -proper precautions for his own protection and that of his supporters -is hardly wonderful, considering that from babyhood he has been -treated as too august a personage even to be seen. Probably he had -learnt to believe his will was law, and must be executed. It is little -wonder if he now looks ill and his wife sorrowful, even if the -suspicions of poison be unfounded. - - [Illustration: - SHAN CH'ING. PRINCE CH'UeN. LI HUNG-CHANG. - Son of general (Tartar). Emperor's father (Manchu). (Chinese.)] - -"On February 20th, 1888, the Emperor of China went in person to the -Temple of Heaven to pray for the harvest, with the usual ceremonies. -The day before his Majesty passed in the Hall of Abstinence, in -prayer, fasting, and meditation. - -"On February 19th, at the fifth drum (the fifth watch, before -daylight), the T'ai Ch'ang Sze (a high bureau entrusted with the -arrangement of such ceremonials) placed a Yellow Table (the Imperial -colour) in the Hall of Great Harmony, the T'ai-hwo Tien. South of the -Emperor's seat was placed an incense-burner, shaped like a small -pavilion; and in another similar erection, east of the left-hand -pillars, stood a scroll, on which a sentence of prayer was painted in -the choicest caligraphy. To the west of the right-hand pillars of the -building stood yet another pavilion, to contain the mounted rolls of -silk, which were painted with similar inscriptions. The Masters of -Rites and the Readers of Prayers stood respectfully waiting outside -the gate of the Hall of Great Harmony, holding in front of them the -silken scrolls in baskets and the incense in bronze censers. - -"The Chief of the Ceremonial Bureau, already mentioned, called by Mr. -Mayers the Court of Sacrificial Worship, accompanied by other officers -of the Bureau, was waiting inside the Hall; and when the time arrived, -he proceeded, with the Imperial Astronomer, to the Gate of Pure -Heaven, to announce to the Emperor that it was two quarters of the -Hour of the Hare (_i.e._ 6.30 a.m.), and his Majesty issued from the -above-named gate, riding in a sedan-chair, passed through the back -left gate, and thus to the Hall of Great Harmony, where his -sedan-chair was deposited at the northern steps, and he entered the -building and stood in front of the left pillars, facing the west. - -"Four officials of the Hanlin, or Imperial Academy of Literature, were -standing outside the right-hand door of the building, facing east. The -Readers of Prayers now issued from the inner cabinet, holding in front -of them, respectfully elevated, prayers written on scrolls of paper, -and entered the middle gate of the Hall of Great Harmony, the silken -scrolls and incense being borne after them into the Hall. In front of -them were borne a pair of incense-burners. The Masters of Rites, ten -in number, conducted them, preceding them, and mounted the central -steps as far as to the Vermilion Dais. The Readers of Prayers, those -who bore the prayer-scrolls, and the bearers of silken scrolls and -incense, having entered the central gate of the Hall, reverently laid -down their burdens one by one on the Yellow Table, and retired after -three _k'otows_ (prostrations), touching the ground with the forehead. - -"The Chief of the Court of Sacrifice then opened a prayer-scroll, and -the Master of Rites spread a cushion on the ground. The Emperor -advanced in front of the Yellow Table, and reverentially inspected the -objects lying on it, after which he performed the genuflection called -'once kneel and thrice _k'otow_,' and then took up his position again, -standing as before. The Chief of the Court of Sacrifice rolled up the -prayer-scroll again, and the cushion on which the Emperor had just -knelt was removed. - -"The Readers of Prayers now advanced to the Yellow Table, and made -three _k'otows_. They respectfully took from the table and bore aloft -the prayer-scrolls, the silken scrolls, and the incense, which they -deposited one by one in the graceful pavilionlike stand meant to -receive them. With three more _k'otows_, they retired. - -"The mandarin in charge of the incense now carried a box full of -incense to the incense-stand, placed it gently there, and withdrew. - -"The bearers of the prayer-scrolls then left the edifice by the -central door, the stand containing the incense preceding them, and -that which contains the silken scrolls following behind. The Chief of -the Court of Sacrifice, kneeling, informed the Emperor that this part -of the solemn rite was over. - -"His Majesty mounted his sedan-chair again, and returned to the -Palace. - -"The clock struck 9 a.m., and the Emperor, in dragon robe and a cap of -ermine surmounted by a knob of crimson velvet, issued from the Palace -gate called the Pure Heaven Gate, seated in a summer chair borne by -eight men. Passing successively through the back left gate, the centre -left gate, and the Gate of Great Harmony, he arrived at the Mid-day -Gate, where he descended from his sedan-chair, and ascended his great -jade palanquin, borne on the shoulders of thirty-two men. As he -mounted, the equerries-in-waiting held a vermilion ladder or flight -of steps, leading up to the palanquin, to assist him in getting in. -All the bearers were dressed in outer robes of red silk and inner -robes of ash-coloured linen. On their feet were fast-walking boots of -the same grey material, with thin soles, the upper part round the -ankles being of black fur. They wore caps of leopard-skins, dappled as -if with coins of gold, with red velvet plumes, kept in position by -gold filigree plates, from which floated yellow feathers down their -backs. The palanquin is eight feet high, and weighs about 1 ton 16 -cwt.; but the bearers walked swiftly under its weight, like -lightning-flashes or shooting stars rushing across the sky, and at -every five hundred yards they were relieved by a fresh set of -thirty-two men. - -"When the Emperor ascended the great jade palanquin, the sedan with -its eight bearers still followed him. Beside the palanquin walked two -of the Chief Equerries to support it. - -"Ahead of this stately procession rolled the five gigantic cars, -ordinarily drawn by elephants, which animals were this year absent -from the fete by permission of the Emperor, to whom the danger of -their suddenly getting ungovernable had been pointed out. - -"Behind the Imperial palanquin were marching ten men armed with spears -hung with leopards' tails, ten men with swords, and a dozen men -carrying bows and arrows, all representatives of the Tartar corps of -the Body-guard. - -"Behind them came walking about a hundred of the highest Manchu -nobility, Princes, Emirs, sons of Emirs, Dukes, Marquises, and Earls, -Assistant Chamberlains (who command in turn the Palace Guard), General -Officers of the Brigade of Imperial Guards, the Comptroller of the -Household, and the Prince of the Imperial blood who, as President of -the Clan Court, preserves the Genealogical Record or Family Roll of -the Ta Tsing Dynasty, all armed either with bows and arrows or with -large swords. As soon as this noble company arrived outside of the -Middle Gate, they all mounted their chargers, having before that been -obliged to walk on foot. - -"The rear was brought up by two Assistant Chamberlains, with their -suite, bearing two immense yellow dragon standards. - -"Outside the Mid-day Gate were kneeling a great number of civil and -military mandarins in Court dresses, who may not accompany the -procession, being not of sufficiently high rank, and so pay their -respects to it thus as it defiles past. - -"The stone road to the Temple of Heaven, which is about two and a half -miles long, although not yet mended with stones as intended, looked -neat, with all its inequalities hidden under a uniform covering of -yellow soil. At the mouth of every road or street, whether within the -wall of Peking or outside it, which ran into the route of the -procession at right angles to its course, were mat sheds, draped -outside with blue cloth, serving as tents for Chinese infantry (Green -Standard), who mounted guard at each corner, armed with whips, to -keep order and silence amongst the people in these streets. At every -five paces of the road along which the procession passed stood a -guardsman of the vanguard, in full uniform, sword by his side and whip -in hand. The gates and doors of every house and shop were closed, and -red silk decorations hung in festoons in front of them, all along the -route; and in front of every sentry station were displayed bows and -arrows, swords and spears, arranged in symmetrical order, with -decorative lanterns and satin hangings. The Emperor, having arrived at -the left gate of the brick wall of the Temple, exchanged his great -jade palanquin for a sedan-chair with eight bearers only, and, on -entering the west side of the sacred path inside the Left Gate of -Prayers for the Year, descended, and on foot walked up to the Chamber -of Imperial Heaven, holding a stick of incense burning in his hand in -the prescribed manner, after which he inspected the victims (oxen, -etc.) laid out there, the sacrificial vessels of bamboo and wood, and, -returning to the west side of the sacred road, got into his -sedan-chair again, went out at the Gate of Prayers for the Year, and -repaired to the Hall of Abstinence, to pass a season in holy -contemplation in the Immeasurable Chamber. - -"The duty of patrolling the Temple of Heaven, etc., devolves upon the -Princes of the Blood on these occasions. But Princes descended from -chiefs of the Manchu Dynasty before their conquest of China, -accompanied by the Emperor's aide-de-camp, the Chief of the Eunuchs, -and other officers, kept patrol outside the apartment, when the -Emperor, in the Immeasurable Chamber of his Hall of Abstinence, at -four o'clock in the morning, commanded supper, which was duly served -by the gentlemen-in-waiting, whilst the bronze statue bearing on its -head the inscription 'Abstinence' was set up, fronting his Majesty as -he sat. - -"The Chief of the Court of Sacrifice, already mentioned, had arranged -a prayer-mat on the ground outside the Chamber of Prayers for the -Year, and had set up the Tablet of Shang Ti (the Supreme God) in the -interior of the Chamber, facing south, with, on the right and left, -the Tablets of the Emperor's Ancestors, facing east and west -respectively. A great curtain had been hung up outside the door of the -Chamber. - -"The Emperor, in his sacrificial vestments embroidered with the golden -dragon, a Court cap of white ermine on his head, surmounted with an -immense pearl set in a gold ornament representing nine dragons, and a -necklace of one hundred and eight precious pearls round his neck, -issued from the Hall of Abstinence at the appointed hour, riding in a -summer sedan-chair borne by eight men, entered the Temple, and reached -the Left Gate of Prayers for the Year through the west gate of the -brick wall of the Temple. Here alighting, he walked into the Chamber -of Prayers for the Year, and adored Shang Ti (Supreme Ruler) and his -own august ancestors. The animal victims and the sacrificial vessels -of various sorts were here already laid out in the prescribed order. - -"The Reader of Prayers knelt in front of his Majesty, holding up the -prayer-scroll in both hands, and reverentially recited the prayer. As -it was still dark inside the building, another official of the Court -of Sacrifice knelt beside him with a candle to throw a clear light on -the written words of the prayer. When the prayer had been read, the -Emperor knelt three times, nine times _k'otowing_, then rose again to -his feet. The incense-bearer brought the incense, the winecup-bearer -brought the cup, the silk-bearer the silk, and the official with the -cushion spread it on the floor. The Master of the Ceremonies then -ushered his Majesty to his place. The Emperor knelt again thrice, and -_k'otowed_ nine times, and when he rose again the musicians played -three antique airs. - -"The paper ingots and the offerings of food from the carcases of the -animal victims were held up and presented, as prescribed by ancient -forms. Officers of the Board of Ceremonies, of the Court of -Sacrificial Worship, and of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, -holding respectively in both hands the prayer-scroll, the silken -prayer-scrolls, and the incense-case, advanced to the great -incense-burner, and solemnly burned all these objects to ashes. The -Chief of the Court of Sacrificial Worship then knelt, and announced to -the Emperor that the ceremony was finished. - -"His Majesty, ascending the summer sedan-chair, returned to his -chamber in the Hall of Abstinence, to change his attire and have some -repose. Then getting into his palanquin again, he was carried through -the inner and the outer gates of the Temple, the State musicians -performing an ancient melody. The _cortege_, in the same order as -before, passed through the Cheng Yang Gate, and the Emperor burned -incense in the Buddhist Temple and the Temple of Kwan Ti (the God of -War). There Taoist priests in full attire knelt to receive him at the -left of the entrance. When this ceremony was finished, the Emperor -passed through the Ta Tsing Gate, the music ceasing as the bell tolled -out from over the Mid-day Gate. Passing through the T'ien Ngan Gate, -the Tuan Gate, the Mid-day and the T'ai Hwo Gates, and the Chien Tsing -Gate, he returned to his Palace in Peking, and the procession -dispersed. - -"The Emperor entered the Palace, paid his respects to the aged -Empress, and went to his Cabinet. - -"The knowledge that our Emperor thus worships the gods and reveres his -ancestors so devoutly, and prays for the people that they may be fed -and clothed, well protected, and happy all over the land, must surely -fill us with loyalty and admiration for his august person." - - [Illustration: LATE VICEROY TSO TSUNG-TANG.] - -On March 2nd of the same year it is recorded that "the Emperor went at -2.20 p.m. in a sedan-chair to the Pavilion of Purple Light, where, -seated under a yellow silken canopy, he enjoyed the sight of the -Mongol Princes partaking of the banquet which had been laid out for -them by his orders, including milk-wine (_koumis_) and milk-tea. Eight -champion wrestlers then had a few bouts at this sport, the winners -obtaining prizes of silk and meats and wine. The soldiers' trained -horses and camels then were put through some circus tricks, and there -was fencing with sword and spear. After this the visitors were -entertained with Mahomedan songs by the Mahomedan camp, and with an -exhibition of pole-climbing and tightrope-walking, music by a trained -band, horseraces, and singing-boys, concluding with a fine display of -fireworks. The Mongol Princes, rising from their places at the end, -respectfully thanked his Majesty for his kindness to them, and the -Emperor returned to his Palace in his chair at about a quarter to -five. - -"When the Mongol Princes come to Court at Peking from their country -every year, they are presented by the Emperor with several hundreds of -rolls of silk, and also with a sum of about L685 for travelling -expenses, issued from the Board of Revenue through the Colonial -Office. In case the Board of Revenue does not issue this money in -time for the strangers to receive it before they start, the Colonial -Office is empowered to issue it in advance, sending in an account to -the Board of how it was distributed, as a mark of consideration for -men from afar." - -In 1891 a Chinese paper gives us a list of the china sent from the -great porcelain works at King-teh-chen, near Kiukiang, for the -Imperial household: "The usual supply for the year comprised 80 pieces -of the finest quality and 1,204 round articles of a high-class kind. -In addition to this there was a special indent for 1,414 plates, -dishes, cups, and vases, to be distributed as presents on the occasion -of the Emperor's birthday. The total cost amounted to L4,000; and as -the yearly allowance is L1,500, there is a debit balance of L2,500, -which will be deducted from the surplus remaining over from previous -years." - -In 1890 the _Peking Gazette_ tells us that "Yu Hsiu, the director of -the Imperial silk factories at Nanking, etc., applies for an extension -of the time originally allowed him wherein to execute a special order -for certain goods which the Emperor intends to distribute as presents. -He states that in the eighth moon he received an order through the -Office of Supernumeraries for embroidered robes, large and small rolls -of satin and silk gauze, amounting in all to 4,183 pieces, to be ready -for delivery in two months' time. As these are intended for presents, -he naturally must devote all his time and attention thereto, and -endeavour to have them ready as soon as possible; but he would point -out that, of the embroidered robes, there are 210 requiring very -careful fine work, and of the other articles 3,970 pieces of different -patterns, forming a very large total, to complete which his machinery -is inadequate. Under these circumstances, and considering that the -appointed time for delivery is close at hand, he is afraid he will be -unable to execute the order by the end of the tenth moon. - -"The necessary funds for carrying on the work he estimates at L19,500, -and he will, in concert with the Governor of the province, take -measures to have this amount collected as soon as possible. He -proposes, in the first instance, to raise the sum of L10,000, and at -once set to work on the ceremonial robes; and some of the satin, -together with the silk, he hopes to be able to deliver within the year -as a first instalment. The remainder of the order he trusts will be -ready by the spring. By this means he will have adequate funds to -carry on the work as required, and greater care can be devoted to the -finish of the various articles. As, however, he dare not do this on -his own responsibility, he would ask the Imperial sanction to execute -the order in the manner proposed.--_Granted. Let the Yamen concerned -take note._" - -In 1891 it is again the _Peking Gazette_ that tells us on May 1st: "Of -the one hundred and thirteen Manchu ladies presented to the -Empress-Dowager to be selected as maids of honour, thirty-three were -chosen and distributed about the Palace to learn their duties. Thirty -were ordered to be placed on the list of expectants. The rest were -sent back to their families, carrying with them gifts of much value." - -Again the _Peking Gazette_ tells us in 1891: "It is a long-standing -custom of China in the spring of each year for the Emperor to perform -the ceremony of offering a sacrifice to the Patron Saint of -Agriculture, and for the Empress to offer a similar one to the Patron -Saint of Silkworms. By these means it is intended to encourage -agriculture and sericulture in the empire. The first sacrifice to the -Patron Saint of Agriculture since the death of the Emperor Tung Chih -was offered last spring by the present Emperor, who had not until that -time taken over the reins of government. The fourth day of the third -moon of the present year was appointed for offering a sacrifice to the -Patron Saint of Sericulture. As her Majesty was wearing mourning for -the late Prince Ch'uen, two maids of honour of the first grade were -ordered to act on her behalf." - -Prince Ch'uen was the father of the Emperor, a man held in high esteem; -and of him the _Peking Gazette_ says in 1891: "His innate humility and -modesty made him receive such favours with ever-increasing awe and -respect. He never once availed himself of the privilege which we -granted him of using an apricot-yellow chair and, quoting the -precedent established in the case of the Palace of Perpetual Harmony, -he reverentially begged that his Palace, which had the good fortune to -be the birthplace of an Emperor, should be reclaimed by the State." - -In the photographs extant it may be noticed the youthful Emperor -greatly resembles his father in appearance. - -As giving a little further insight into the mediaeval usages still -observed in the Court at Peking, it may be interesting to notice that -in 1891, "after the Clear-Bright Festival, the Court of Feasting, in -accordance with the usual custom, presented forty different kinds of -vegetables, such as cucumbers, French beans, cabbages, etc., to the -Throne, for the use of the Imperial tables"; whilst the following -extracts from different Chinese newspapers show some of the troubles -of the Palace. - -In 1891 the _Hupao_ records: "The Imperial hunting preserves are -outside the Yungting Gate of Peking. The park is twelve miles in -extent, and contains trees of great size, hundreds of years old. It is -stocked with wild animals of varied descriptions; predominating among -them is the red-deer. As for the last twenty years no hunt has been -organised [poor young Emperor never allowed to go out!], the game have -greatly increased in numbers. The soldiers who keep guard over the -place daily poach on the preserves, and of late the inhabitants round -about the place have managed somehow to get within the walls and trap -the deer. The market is full of red-deer meat, which the dealers term -donkey flesh or beef, to evade inquiries on the part of the police. -The authorities have finally got wind of the matter, and by strict -watching caught three poachers, who have been handed over to the Board -of Punishments. The guards have received a severe reprimand and -stringent orders to prevent further poaching." - -In old days the Manchus were a great hunting race, but they seem to -have lost all manliness, all the men now vegetating upon the pensions -assigned them since the conquest of China. But the Empress-Dowager, -whom Chang-chih-tung, the incorruptible Viceroy of Hupeh, has openly -accused of intercepting and appropriating to her own uses the money -voted for the army and navy, continues to enjoy herself. And again a -Chinese newspaper records: "The Empress-Dowager lately paid a visit to -the garden built for her by the present Emperor, and took a trip on -the Kun-ming Lake in a steam-launch." Whilst the _Shenpao_ relates: -"More than twenty large firms have taken over contracts for finishing -the Eho Palace gardens, which have been built by the Emperor as a -place of recreation for the Empress-Dowager, after her retirement from -managing the arduous affairs of State. Her Majesty prefers to visit -and stay in them during the summer, and the time appointed to have the -gardens in a complete state for her reception is very near. More than -ten thousand workmen have been engaged to hasten the work. Of these, -three thousand or more are carvers, who have caused much trouble while -working in other portions of the Imperial Palace ere this. Knowing -that the date for completing the gardens was near at hand, they struck -for higher wages, and in this demand all the carpenters joined. They -were receiving individually three meals and about eightpence per -diem. They demanded half a crown a day. On their employers refusing to -comply with this exorbitant request, a signal gun, previously agreed -upon, was fired, and thousands of workmen, carvers, carpenters, and -masons began to make threatening demonstrations. The officials on -guard, finding the police unable to cope with the multitude, -especially as the carpenters were armed with axes, quickly sounded the -alarm, calling on the rifle brigade, Yuen-ming-yuen guards, and -cavalry for assistance. These came with all speed and surrounded the -strikers. The officials and the head firms now began to negotiate, and -all parties were satisfied with an increase of 8_d._ a day for each -man." - -Strikes and riots, indeed, it seems of late years have not been -infrequent in Peking; and this account of Tientsin workmen may well -follow here, as showing what has to be contended with: - -"The Tientsin workmen engaged in the manufacture of iron rice-pans -are, as a rule, desperate and lawless characters. They are divided -into clans, and fighting seems to be their only pastime. When a row or -a fire occurs, they are the first to be on the spot, quarrelling and -fighting. Laws are inadequate to restrain them. Their motto is 'Death -before cowardice,' and to their credit it must be said that even under -the most harrowing tortures none of them have ever been known to cry -for mercy. Any one showing weakness under physical suffering is -boycotted by the rest of the gang; and he being a rowdy, and knowing -no better, feels abjectly humiliated thereby, and considers life but -a void when burdened by the curses of his sworn brethren. The -authorities take great pains in putting down such lawlessness, but -their efforts so far have not resulted in much success, as will be -seen from the following occurrence. Some time during last winter a -quarrel broke out between the patrolmen on one side and the rice-pan -workmen on the other or east side of the river. The quarrel did not at -first produce a fight, but sowed the seeds of hatred and thought of -vengeance on the part of the rowdies. The New Year festivities seemed -to reconcile all parties; but soon mistrust and suspicion again -revived, and both sides prepared for battle. Great vigilance was -observed, and they slept, as it were, with swords and spears ready by -their sides. Such a state of things could not continue long. About a -week ago, one cold and stormy night, about twelve o'clock, a band of -rowdies five hundred strong, fully equipped, marched by stealth to the -quarters of the guards, who were then all out on duty. The rowdies had -the whole place to themselves. They tore down the barracks, seized the -arms, and destroyed all personal effects. Leaving ruin and devastation -in their wake, they turned their steps homewards, but were pursued and -overtaken by the guards, who gathered to the number of several -hundreds. A skirmish followed, resulting in the utter rout of the -rowdies. Two of them were captured and several were wounded. The -guards suffered also to some extent. When the soldiers from the -garrison camps came upon the scene, both parties had disappeared." - -The Tientsin men throughout the empire are known as rowdies, but the -rowdies of the streets of Peking (possibly originally from Tientsin) -are certainly the worst. - -There are only two other men, who can be compared in position with the -Emperor of China. One is the Emperor of Russia, also now a young man; -the other is the Dalai Lama, popularly reputed to be never allowed to -live beyond a certain very youthful age. The _Peking Gazette_ of July -5th, 1891, says: "Sheng-tai, the Resident in Tibet, reports the fact -that on the fifth day of the first moon of the present year the Dalai -Lama did, in accordance with immemorial usage, descend from the -mountain, and, accompanied by a large body of priests, proceed to the -great shrine and offer up prayers for the welfare of the nation. -Memorialist furnished him with a body-guard for his protection. The -Dalai Lama appears to be able to keep his men well under control, and -it is satisfactory to be able to report that throughout Tibet -everything is in a peaceful condition." - -Considering the case of these exalted personages, we may easily -indulge in the somewhat hackneyed thankfulness that our lot has placed -us in some humbler sphere. But just as it often seems to me in -England, the poor rich get left out by all teachers, preachers, or -other apostles of glad tidings; so let us at least not pass by on the -other side, like the Pharisee of old, but pause to breathe a prayer -for the three young men appointed, not by themselves, Emperor of -Russia, Emperor of China, and Dalai Lama of Tibet! - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -_THE EMPRESS, THE EMPEROR, AND THE AUDIENCE._ - - A Concubine no Empress.--Sudden - Deaths.--Suspicions.--Prince Ch'uen.--Emperor's - Education.--His Sadness.--His Features.--Foreign - Ministers' Audience.--Another Audience.--Crowding of the - Rabble.--Peking's Effect on Foreign Representatives. - - -According to Chinese usage or unwritten law, the concubine of an -Emperor can never become Empress-Dowager; yet Tze Hsi, the concubine -of the Emperor Hien Feng, and mother of the late Emperor Tung Chih, -has ruled over China in this capacity since 1871. For a time she -nominally shared the power with Tze An, the childless widow of the -Emperor Hien Feng. In like manner for a while the youthful Kwang-shue, -her step-sister's son, has been nominal Emperor. But the ease with -which she resumed the reins in September, 1898, sufficiently shows -that she had never really let go of them. Tze, which was also the name -of the late Empress Tze An, means "parental love," whilst An means -"peace." Hsi, the second name of the present Empress, means "joy," and -is pronounced _she_. Tze Hsi is undoubtedly a remarkable woman. -Besides having directed the destinies of China for twenty-seven -years, without being in the least entitled to do so, she is said to be -a brilliant artist, often giving away her pictures; and she also -writes poetry, having even presented six hundred stanzas of her poetry -to the Hanlin College. Some people suspect her of having been -instrumental in causing the death of the Emperor Hien Feng, as also of -his and her son Tung Chih. She is more than suspected of having caused -the death of her sister, the mother of the Emperor Kwang-shue. The two -ladies had a violent altercation about the upbringing of the child, -and two days after his mother died--of pent-up anger in the heart, it -was announced. The beautiful Aleute, widow of her son Tung Chih, -certainly died by her own hand, which is considered a very righteous -act on the part of a widow; but had her mother-in-law, the Empress Tze -Hsi, not thought that she might become a dangerous rival, probably -Aleute would not have killed herself. - - [Illustration: EMPEROR KWANG-SHUe, 1875. - _Lent by Society for Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge in - China._] - -It is of course well known that Kwang-shue was not the natural -successor to Tung Chih. He was simply chosen as Emperor by his -ambitious aunt because he was the very youngest person who had any -claim, and she thus secured to herself a longer lease of power. Her -sister was notoriously averse to it, and the little Kwang-shue was -stolen by the Empress Tze Hsi from his cradle to bear the burden of an -honour unto which he was not born. The child is reported to have -cried. He was then four years old. His father was the poetical Prince -Ch'uen, who made one great tour, and wrote a collection of poems on the -novel objects he saw during his travels. An Englishman, who knew him, -describes him as rather jovial than otherwise, but his portrait hardly -confirms this description. He was certainly respected during his -lifetime, and after his death, as before mentioned, he was extolled in -the _Peking Gazette_ for the meekness with which he had abstained from -arrogating to himself high place, in spite of being the father of an -Emperor. Probably, however, his life would have ended sooner if he -had, and he knew it. As it was, there were suspicious circumstances -about his death, as some people thought there were about that of the -Marquis Tseng, a former Chinese Minister very popular in England, -whilst he resided here. Dr. Dudgeon, years ago a member of the London -Mission, was his medical adviser, and he himself relates how Li -Hung-chang, celebrated for his abrupt speeches, accosted him with, -"Well, and how much did you get for poisoning the Marquis Tseng?" "I -poison the Marquis Tseng! That was very foolish of me, considering he -was my best-paying patient." Then, after a pause, "But if I did, how -much was it your Excellency paid me to put him out of the way?" Li -Hung-chang lay back in his chair and chuckled, not offended but -delighted with the retort. But although the Marquis Tseng, there is -every reason to suppose, died of illness, it seems impossible to say -so of Prince Kung, who opposed the policy of the Empress Tze Hsi, and -died almost directly afterwards, as was again said, of pent-up anger. - -The quarrel between the Empress and her sister was about the method of -education of the youthful Kwang-shue. The former is openly accused of -having taught him to play cards and drink wine. And the marvel is, not -that Kwang-shue is a young man of weak physique, and lacking in the -characteristics of a Cromwell or a Bismarck, but that he is, in spite -of all, a young man with aspirations and a real wish for his country's -good. During all my stay in China I have never heard one single story -to his disadvantage, except that at one time people had an idea he was -subject to epileptic fits, which seems not to have been true, and that -ten or twelve years ago I have heard it said that at times he had -ungovernable fits of rage, during which he would throw anything that -came handy at the heads of those who opposed him. This may have been -true--he was but a boy at the time--but the story has never been -confirmed, nor were those who told it the least confident that it was -true. From Chinese I have heard but one account: "The Emperor is good. -But what can he do?" Of the Empress, on the other hand, there seems -but one opinion--that she loves money. Sometimes people add that she -has taken with ardour to gambling. But never have I heard any -Chinaman suggest that she had the least care of any sort for the -interests of China or the Chinese. They do not speak of her as clever. -They speak of her generally in connection with Li Hung-chang, the -unscrupulous; and they shake their heads over them both. According to -report, she has a piercing eye. But a lady, who had been some years in -the Palace embroidering, seemed surprised at hearing this, and implied -that she had never noticed it. - -I have heard many descriptions of the young Kwang-shue. They all agree -on one point--that he looks sorrowful. "Very sorrowful?" I asked the -other day of an Englishman, who had seen him just before his -deposition. "Yes, very sorrowful." "Sick and sorrowful? or more -sorrowful than sick?" "More sorrowful than sick." A private letter I -once saw, written by a man fresh from being present at an audience, -gave the impression of his being altogether overcome by the youthful -Emperor's sadness, which, as far as I remember, was described as a -cloud, that seemed to envelop him, and remove him from the rest of the -world. This sadness seemed to be heightened by an extreme sweetness of -disposition. The youthful Emperor smiled on seeing the beautifully -illuminated book in which the German address of congratulation was -presented, looked at it for a moment, then laid it down, and once more -was so full of sorrow it was impossible to contemplate him without -emotion. If my memory serves me, the writer used stronger, more -high-flown expressions than I am daring to make use of. Repeating -them at the time to the Secretary who had accompanied the British -Minister, I asked him if the Emperor had made at all the same -impression upon him. He paused a moment, looking grave; then said -firmly, "Yes, I think quite the same." - -Here is an extract from an account written on the occasion of the -audience of the Diplomatic Corps in 1891: - -"All interest, however, centred in the Emperor himself. He looks -younger even than he is, not more than sixteen or seventeen. Although -his features are essentially Chinese, or rather Manchu, they wear a -particular air of personal distinction. Rather pale and dark, with a -well-shaped forehead, long, black, arched eyebrows, large, mournful, -dark eyes, a sensitive mouth, and an unusually long chin, the young -Emperor, together with an air of great gentleness and intelligence, -wore an expression of melancholy, due, naturally enough, to the -deprivation of nearly all the pleasures of his age and to the strict -life which the hard and complicated duties of his high position force -him to lead. As he sat cross-legged, the table in front hid the lower -part of his person. In addressing Prince Ch'uen, he spoke in Manchu -rather low and rapidly, being perhaps a little nervous." - -And now it may be well to give a translation of the best account I -know, that of the _Ost Asiatische Lloyd_, of the audience of the -Foreign Ministers in Peking at the celebration of the sixtieth -birthday of the Empress-Dowager. - -"Early in the present month the Representatives of the Treaty Powers -in Peking were officially informed by Prince Kung, the new President -of the Tsung-li Yamen, that the Emperor desired to receive the Foreign -Ministers in audience in celebration of the sixtieth birthday of the -Empress ex-Regent; and, further, that, as a special mark of good-will, -the audience would be held within the precincts of the Inner -Palace--_i.e._ in the so-called 'Forbidden City.' This audience took -place on Monday, November 12th. - -"The theatre of this solemn function of State was the Hall of Blooming -Literature, a somewhat ancient building in the south-east quarter of -the Palace, which is used for the annual Festival of Literature, held -in the second month, on which occasion the Emperor receives addresses -on the Classics from distinguished members of the Hanlin College. -According to a Japanese work, entitled _A Description of Famous Places -in the Land of Tang_ (_i.e._ China), which gives an illustrated -description of the ceremony, all the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of -the different Ministries in Peking, as well as high office-bearers, -have then to be present. - -"On the present occasion the Representatives of the Foreign Powers and -their suites entered by the Eastern Flowery Gate, which is the sole -entrance in the east wall of the Inner Palace. The sedans were left -there, and the visitors proceeded on foot through a wide walled-in -courtyard, past the Palace garden, to the Hall of Manifested -Benevolence, a smaller threefold building in which formerly offerings -were made to the mythical Emperors and to the ancient worthies, and -which was utilised on this occasion as waiting-room for the -Ambassadors. These were now received by the Princes and Ministers of -the Tsung-li Yamen, and thence conducted, after a short delay, through -the Wen-hua pavilion. From there the Envoys and their suites were -conducted to the audience chamber by two Palace officials, and then -led to the throne by two Ministers of the Tsung-li Yamen. At twenty -minutes before twelve o'clock the _doyen_ of the Diplomatic Corps, the -Ambassador of the United States, was presented, while the others -followed in order of seniority. The remainder of the ceremony was -carried out as at previous audiences. The Ambassador, followed by his -suite, approached the dais with three bows, and saluted the Emperor -seated thereon at the top of a flight of steps: he then spoke a few -words commemorating the solemn occasion. The letter of felicitation -from his sovereign was then handed in, after each respective Embassy -interpreter had translated it into Chinese; it was then taken by -Prince Kung or Prince Ch'ing, who stood at the Emperor's side and -acted alternately with each presentation, and translated by them into -Manchu. The Prince in question then laid the letter on a table covered -with yellow silk before the Emperor. The monarch inclined his head as -he received it, then spoke a few sentences in an audible tone to the -Prince kneeling at his left, in which he expressed his delight and -satisfaction. The Prince, after leaving the dais, repeated the -Emperor's words in Chinese to the interpreter, who again repeated -them in the language of his country to the Ambassador. - -"This completed the audience: the Ambassador left the hall bowing, -with the same ceremonies, and conducted as on entering. Oriental -ceremonial was thus conspicuously and worthily maintained. - -"The Wen-hua-tien has three entrances in its southern wall, led up to -by three flights of stone steps: as long as the Ambassador was the -bearer of the Imperial handwriting, he was given the most honoured way -of approach, that is, the great central staircase and the centre door, -which otherwise are only made use of by the Emperor in person; the -exits were made through the side door on the left. - -"The proceedings were characterised by a distinct majesty of -demeanour. As mentioned above, the Emperor was seated on a raised -dais at a table hung with yellow silk; behind him were the customary -paraphernalia--the screen and the peacock fan; at his right stood two -Princes of the Imperial House; at his left the Prince of Ke Chin and -Prince Kung or Prince Ch'ing. In the hall itself two lines of guards -carrying swords were formed up, behind which stood eunuchs and Palace -officers. The most interesting feature in the whole ceremony was of -course the person of the youthful monarch, clad in a sable robe and -wearing the hat of State. His unusually large brilliant black eyes -gave a wonderfully sympathetic aspect to his mild, almost childish -countenance, increased, if anything, by the pallor due to a recent -fever. - -"Upon leaving the hall of audience, a strikingly picturesque scene -disclosed itself. On either side (_i.e._ east and west, from the open -staircase leading south) were displayed the long rows of the Palace -gardens in form of a hollow bow. In front and rear swarms of officials -were moving about, clad in long robes, with the square, many-coloured -emblems of their respective ranks embroidered on them behind and -before; with all their air of business no haste or hurry could be -perceived. Everything was being done in the solemn and majestic manner -characteristic of the Chinese official style. Turning to the right, -one noticed, at the extreme edge of the wide court, the high wall -covered with glazed yellow tiles which encloses the long row of the -central halls of the Palace, and again to the south of these the -threefold Tso-yi-men, or 'Left Gate of Righteousness,' and beyond -that, but towering far above it, the mighty construction of the Tai-ho -Hall, which by its architectural features is the most conspicuous -building in the whole Imperial City. As in everything Chinese, the -effect was produced not so much by the execution of the details as by -the vastness of the proportions and the majesty of the surroundings. - -"The Wen-hua-tien itself is an old building, sixty or more feet in -width and of almost the same depth, which had been arranged as well as -might be for the occasion. The entrance was adorned with silken -hangings and rosettes, and pillars had been erected on the stone -staircases adorned with dragons, with yellow silk wound round them; -the centre steps and the floor were carpeted. It cannot, however, be -denied that the Wen-hua-tien is not comparable either with the -Cheng-kuang-tien or the Tze-kuang-ko, the two halls in which the -former audiences were held, either in size or in its internal -arrangements. On the other hand, we cannot sufficiently congratulate -ourselves on the fact of the Chinese Court having at last resolved to -open the door of the 'Inner Palace' to the Foreign Representatives. -These doors have been so long and anxiously guarded, that it was a -hard matter for the Court to give way in the weary discussions over -the audience question--how hard may be inferred from the number of -years it has taken to bring about this final solution." - - [Illustration: PRINCE KUNG. - _By Mr. J. Thomson._] - -An account of another audience, given at the time in the _Chinese -Times_, since defunct, but then published at Tientsin, the nearest -Treaty Port to Peking, gives a few details that are perhaps the more -interesting from their contrast with the very careful account above -quoted, obviously written by a gentleman connected with Diplomacy: - -"When the procession reached the North Gate, leading into the garden -near the Marble Bridge, the Ministers and others left their chairs and -proceeded on foot to a kind of small pavilion, where a collation was -served, and where the party waited an hour surrounded by mandarins and -a crowd of roughs--chair-coolies (not those of the Legations, who had -been left outside), workmen, gardeners, porters, and coolies--who -peered in at the windows, and even allowed themselves to make digital -examination of the uniforms and decorations of the Ministers. After a -lapse of an hour the party were conducted into three tents erected at -the foot of the steps of the Tze-kuang-ko, where, divided into three -groups--Ministers, attaches, and interpreters--they remained half an -hour. Then the Emperor arrived, and M. Von Brandt was the first to -enter the presence, where he remained exactly five minutes, all -ceremonies included. He was followed by the other Ministers in turn, -the audience occupying barely five minutes for each. Then the suites -of the Ministers entered, in three ranks. Three salvoes were given on -entrance and three on retiring, backwards. - -"The audience itself was conducted as follows: M. Von Brandt, the -German Minister, delivered a very short speech in English, which M. -Popoff, Russian, translated into Chinese; Prince Ch'ing repeated it, -kneeling, in Manchu, at the foot of the throne. The Emperor said a few -prepared words in reply, which were translated in the reverse order, -and the Ministers retired. The Emperor was at a distance of seven or -eight yards from the Europeans, raised on a dais with a table in front -of him. Behind him stood the Pao-wang and the Ko-wang; at the foot of -the dais Prince Ch'ing; and on either side soldiers with side arms. -The hall was not a large one; the Europeans were placed near the -centre, between two pillars. The rabble crowded up the steps of the -Tze-kuang-ko, and no order was kept." - -This crowding of the rabble is eminently Chinese, as also that no -steps were taken to save the Representatives of the various countries -of Europe from the impertinent and dirty hands of workmen and coolies. -It is extraordinary to think of European diplomatists submitting to -it. Of course they would not have done so, but for the mutual -jealousies among themselves. It is this that always gives China her -advantage. It is also remarkable that Herr von Brandt should have -spoken in English, a fact ignored in German newspapers, although it -must have been prearranged, and doubtless after much consideration. -But the fact that all this assemblage of Ministers Plenipotentiary -with attendant secretaries allowed a Chinese rabble thus to insult -them in their official capacity will perhaps make intelligible in -England, why our hearts often grow hot within us, while sojourning in -China, and our cheeks sometimes burn with shame for our country, -which we know to be so strong, and which allows itself at times to be -so humiliated by a nation, that naturally becomes more arrogant, -seeing itself allowed thus to act. I do not know who the writer of the -following poem is; but he expresses my feelings with more calm and -dignity than I could myself; therefore I hope he will not be -displeased by my quoting it. - - [Illustration: THE GREAT WALL. - _By Mr. Stratford Dugdale._] - - - - -"SIC TRANSIT." - - _March 6th, 1897._ - -I. - - 'Tis said it was the spirit of the land - That grew upon them--they were mostly men - Of birth and culture, whom their native states - Had chosen to send forth, ambassadors! - From many a favoured shore where truth and light - Had made their home, where peaceful arts had shed - Their brightest rays; from fields of classic song - Whose softening accents ring from age to age, - They came to far Cathay--a little band - Prepared to bear the torch of progress on - And carry it throughout that heathen land. - 'Twas with the noblest purpose they had left - Such shores as none could leave without regret, - Where every passing day can stir the pulse - With throbs unknown to Oriental sloth: - So all their peers had bade them speed and give - Fair promise of the deeds that they should do; - How, like their forbears, they should help to clear - A way through ignorance and vicious pride - To harmony--and better thus the world. - -II. - - But to each one it fell (we know not how; - 'Tis said it was the spirit of that land) - That soon his pristine ardour died away; - It seemed almost as if the mouldering walls - Of that Peking, which typifies decay, - Shut out all purpose, shutting in the man-- - As if each roof, in that foul street, where lodge - The envoys of proud states, had thrown the shade - Of apathy on those, who dwelt below, - To rob them of their power and their will. - It was as though o'er all the city's gates all hope - Of fruitful work left those, who entered there; - It was a piteous thing to see the ebb - Of energy and zeal, to mark the growth - Of passive rust on minds, that once were keen. - As pebbles taken from the running brook - Lose all their brightness 'neath th' insidious moss, - So, 'neath the flagstaffs of the greatest powers, - In men (who loved these flags for all they told - Of chivalry and honour, right and truth) - Grew up a tolerance of ways Chinese, - A certain toying with the flight of Time, - With jugglery of words, and willingness - To let things right themselves; then later still - It seemed as if the mind of petty trade, - Haggling and bargains (which be as the breath - Of China's nostrils), crept into their souls, - So that, forgetting all their nobler aims, - Each sought to introduce cheap cloth and iron nails. - -III. - - 'Twas to this weak, ignoble end they lost - Their unity, competing one and all, - While Chinese "diplomats" were still and smiled, - And China's monarch held them all to be - Barbarians, unfit to see his face. - 'Twas pitiful to see the highest aims - Give way before base purposes of greed, - To watch the little path, that had been won - By sturdy valour of the foremost few, - Grow thick and tangled by the many weeds - Of late diplomacy: to see the loss - Of early treaties in these latter days. - -IV. - - Meanwhile, the people of that heathen land, - Like sparrows that have found a blinded hawk, - Grew insolent apace, and year by year - Respect and wholesome fear gave way to scorn. - The common herd, not slow to ape the moods - Of those above them, met with sullen looks, - Hustlings, and jeers the strangers in their midst; - Then, as it seemed, the passive spirit grew - With every insult, words gave place to deeds, - Till fire and plunder were the common lot - Of unprotected merchants and their wares. - And still their leaders slept; at times it seemed - (When some new outrage made the country ring) - As if the spell must break and wrath be roused - With strength to crush all China at a blow. - But well the wily Mongol played his game - With honeyed speech and temporising gifts: - And ever came the necessary sop-- - Some contract, loan, monopoly, or pact-- - At sight of which all wrongs were laid aside, - And men who had "full powers" used them not, - Forgetting the traditions of their race. - And thus things went from bad to worse, while men - Sat sadly wondering what the end would be, - And at their parlous state, of which no cause - They knew, except the spirit of the land. - But of those latter days, and what befell - Leaders and led, not mine to-day to tell. - Q. - - [Illustration: INCENSE-BURNER.] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -_SOLIDARITY, CO-OPERATION, AND IMPERIAL FEDERATION._ - - Everybody Guaranteed by Somebody Else.--Buying back - Office.--Family Responsibilities.--Guilds.--All Employes - Partners.--Antiquity of Chinese Reforms.--To each - Province so many Posts.--Laotze's Protest against - Unnecessary Laws.--Experiment in Socialism.--College of - Censors.--Tribunal of History.--Ideal in Theory. - - -Possibly that state of society in which the individual is the unit is -a more advanced form of civilisation; but it is impossible to -understand China unless it be first realised that the individual life -is nothing there, and that the family is the unit; and yet further, -that no one stands alone in China, as is so painfully the case in -England, but that every one is responsible for some one else, -guaranteed by some one else. And here, to those who wish to read a -really exact, circumstantial account of the Chinese and their ways, -let me recommend _John Chinaman_, by the Rev. George Cockburn, quite -the best book I have read on the subject, and one that deserves a -wider circulation than it has attained, being written in terse, -epigrammatic English, with a flavour of Tacitus about it. Alas! the -writer is no more,--a silent, reserved, black-browed Scotchman, with a -fervour of missionary zeal glowing under a most impassive exterior. -The riot, in which all our own worldly goods in China were destroyed, -wrecked for ever the nervous system of his strong, handsome, brave -young wife. And what with that and the details of daily life, all laid -upon the shoulders of a man by nature a student and a visionary, he -left China, and soon after passed away beyond the veil, where, if we -share the Chinese belief, let us trust his spirit is gladdened by -words of appreciation of the one little volume in which he embodied -the fruits of years of work and thought in China, dying, as far as I -remember, almost as it appeared. The wreckage of missionary lives and -hopes is one of the tragedies of European life in China, and one which -a little more understanding and sympathy on the part of missionary -boards at home might often, it would seem, avert. - -But to return to the Chinese. If you engage a servant, he is _secured_ -by some one to a certain amount, and all you have to do is to -ascertain whether the security is in a position to pay should the -other decamp with your property, also whether a higher value is likely -to be at his disposition. If yours is a well-arranged household, this -head man engages the other servants and secures them, reprimanding and -discharging them at his pleasure. He, of course, gets a certain amount -of the wages you think you are paying them. This, in China, the land -of it, is called a "squeeze." But it seems perfectly legitimate, as -indeed all squeezes seem legitimate from the Chinese point of view, -only sometimes carried to excess. It is the same in business. It is -not quite the same in official positions, because there the Viceroy of -a province pays so much to get his post, and so do the lesser -officials under him. The theory in China is that superior men will -always act as such, whatever their pay may be. Therefore a Chinese -Viceroy of to-day receives theoretically the living wage of centuries -ago. Practically he receives squeezes from every one with whom he is -brought in contact, and has paid so much down to acquire the post that -unless he holds it for a term of years he is out of pocket. The post -of Taotai, or Governor of Shanghai, is one of the most lucrative in -China. Tsai, who has made friends with all of us Europeans as no -Taotai ever did before--dining out and giving dinner parties, and even -balls--Tsai is known to have paid so much to obtain the post as would -represent all he could hope to get in every way during two years of -office: about L20,000. He was dismissed from his post November, 1898; -but possibly may be able to bribe heavily enough to get it back. Li -Hung-chang and his two particular dependants of former days, the late -Viceroy of Szechuan, degraded because of the anti-foreign riots there, -and Sheng, Chief of Telegraphs and Railways, etc., etc., have all done -this again and again. When English people were laughing over Li's -yellow jacket and peacock feather being taken from him, certain -eunuchs of the Palace were growing rich over the process of getting -them back again. The eunuch in the closest confidence of the Empress -is always said to charge about L1,000 for an interview, and till -lately none could be obtained but through him. When a man has enormous -wealth, and is degraded, every one naturally feels it is a pity -nothing should be got out of him, and he equally naturally is willing -to pay much in order to be reinstated in a position to make more. -Until the officials of China are properly paid, it is unreasonable to -expect them to be honest. And yet some are so even now: not only -Chang-chih-tung, the incorruptible Viceroy of Hupeh and Hunan, who, it -may be noticed, is constantly being invited to Peking, but--_never_ -goes. But others in subordinate positions are pointed out by Chinese: -"That is one of the good old school of Chinamen. He takes no bribes, -and is the terror of the other officials." - -In family life Chinese solidarity has its inconveniences, but it -altogether prevents that painful spectacle to which people seem to -have hardened their hearts in England, of sending their aged relatives -to the workhouse instead of carefully tending them at home as the -Chinese do, or of one brother or sister surrounded by every luxury, -another haunted by the horror of creditors and with barely the -necessaries of life. If you are to help your brother, you must, of -course, claim a certain amount of authority over his way of life. In -China the father does so; and when he dies, the elder brother sees -after _and_ orders his younger brother about; and the younger brother, -as a rule, submits. In each of those large and beautiful homesteads -in which Chinese live in the country, adding only an additional -graceful roof-curve, another courtyard, as more sons bring home more -young women to be wives in name, but in reality to be the -servants-of-all-work of their mothers, and the mothers of their -children--in each of these harmonious agglomerations of courtyards, it -is the eldest man who directs the family councils. Thus, when a man -dies, the deciding voice is for his eldest brother, not for his eldest -son; than which probably no custom could tend more to conservatism, -for there never comes a time when the voice of youth makes itself -heard with authority. - -Not only are all the members of a family thus knit together by mutual -responsibilities, but families are again thus knit. It is the village -elders who are responsible if any crime is committed in the district. -It is they who have to discover and bring back stolen articles; it is -they who have to quiet disturbances and settle disputes about -boundaries. The principle of local self-government has in the course -of centuries been perfected in China, where all that Mr. Ruskin aims -at appears to have been attained centuries ago: village industries, -local self-government, no railways, no machinery, hand labour, and -each village, as far as possible each self-sufficing family, growing -its own silk or cotton, weaving at home its own cloth, eating its own -rice and beans, and Indian corn and pork. Schools are established by -little collections of families, or tutors engaged, as the case may be. -In either case the teacher is poorly paid, but meets with a respect -altogether out of proportion to his salary. It is all very ideal; but -the result is not perfect, human nature being what it is. In many -ways, however, it appears a much happier system than our English -system, and perhaps in consequence the people of China appear very -contented. As a rule in the country each family tills its own bit of -ground, and--where opium has not spread its poisonous influence--has -held the same for centuries. The family tree is well known, and -Chinese will tell you quietly "We are Cantonese," or "We are from -Hunan," and only careful inquiry will elicit that their branch of the -family came thence some three centuries ago. - - [Illustration: COUNTRY HOUSE IN YANGTSE GORGES. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -In the towns the guilds represent family life on a larger scale. A man -comes from Kiangsi, let us say, to Chungking, over a thousand miles -away, and having probably spent months on the journey. He has brought -no letters of introduction, but he straightway goes to the guild-house -of his province, with its particularly beautiful green-tiled pagoda -overlooking the river, a pale-pink lantern hanging from the upturned -end of each delightful roof-curve, and there, making due reverence, he -relates how he is So-and-so, the son of So-and-so, and straightway -every one there knows all about him, and can easily ascertain if his -story be correct. Here are friends found for him at once, a free -employment agency, if that is what he is after, or a bureau of -information about the various businesses of the city, their solvency -and the like. Here is a lovely club-house, where he can dine or be -dined, have private and confidential conversations in retired nooks, -or sit with all the men of his province sipping tea and eating cakes, -while a play is performed before them by their own special troupe of -actors, who act after the manner of their province. I do not know who -first started the legend that Chinese plays last for days, if not -weeks. But it is not true, any more than that green tea is rendered -green by being fired in copper pans and is poison to the nerves. Tea -is green by nature, though it may be rendered black by fermentation, -and is always fired in iron pans; and weak green tea as drunk in China -is like balm to the nerves compared to Indian tannin-strong -decoctions. In like manner Chinese plays are really short, though they -make up in noise for what they lack in length. - - [Illustration: KIANGSI GUILD-HOUSE IN CHUNGKING. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -If occasion needed, the guild would see after the newcomers funeral, -even give him free burial if the worst came to the worst. And though -we reckon the Chinese people such an irreligious race, and the -guild-houses are naturally only frequented by men, chiefly by -merchants (for the Chinese are a nation of traders), yet in every -guild-house there is a temple. And before every great banquet part of -the ceremony of marshalling the guests to their seats (and a very -stately ceremony it is) is pouring a libation of wine before an altar -in the banqueting-hall, before which also each guest bows in turn as -he passes to the place assigned him. - -But probably the custom that has the greatest effect upon Chinese life -is that, just as twelve centuries ago they introduced competitive -examinations, to which we have now in our nineteenth century of -Christianity turned as to a sheet-anchor, so centuries ago the Chinese -resorted to the principle of co-operation. In a Chinese business, be -it large or be it small, pretty well every man in the business has -his share; so that you are sometimes astonished when a merchant -introduces to you as his partners a set of young men, who in England -would be junior clerks. Even the coolie wrappering the tea-boxes says -"_We_ are doing well this year," and works with a will through the -night, knowing he too will have his portion in the increased business -this increased work signifies. The way, indeed, in which Chinese work -through the night is most remarkable. Men will row a boat day and -night for four or five days, knowing that the sum of money gained will -thus be quicker earned, and only pausing one at a time to take a whiff -at a pipe or to eat. They will press wool all through the night to -oblige their employer without a murmur, if only given free meals -whilst doing this additional work. The truth is, the habit of industry -has been so engendered in Chinese as to be second nature, their whole -system tending to encourage it, whilst ours, with our free poor-houses -and licensed public-houses, tends rather in the other direction; our -Trades Unions seem trying all they can to further diminish the -incentives to good work on the part of skilled workmen by denying them -any higher wage than that obtained by the incompetent. Co-operation -after the Chinese model will, it is to be hoped, eventually put this -right again. There is so much we might learn from the Chinese; but we -have never followed the system we press upon Oriental nations, of -sending out clever young students to other countries to see what they -can learn that would be advantageous among our own people. In some -ways China would serve as a warning. But a civilisation, that reached -its acme while William the Norman was conquering England, and that yet -survives intact, must surely have many a lesson to teach. - -Besides all this mutual support and responsibility, Chinese customs -are such that, as people often say somewhat sadly, you cannot alter -one without altering all. The people here referred to are not the -twenty-years-in-China-and-not-speak-a-word-of-the-language men, but -Europeans who have tried to study the Chinese sympathetically. As it -is, if you were to alter their houses and make them less draughty and -damp, then all their clothing must be altered. That is again the case -if you try to encourage them to play cricket--for which there is no -sufficient level space in the west of China--or take part in other -sports. But if you were to attempt to alter their clothing before you -had rebuilt their houses, they would all be dying of dysentery or -fever. In like manner, if you attempted to dragoon the Chinese into -greater cleanliness, or into taking certain sanitary precautions, you -would require a police force, which does not exist. But how to obtain -that until you have got this self-respecting, self-governing people to -see any advantage in being dragooned? - -The solidarity of the Chinese race is one of the reasons it has lasted -so long upon the earth, and its civilisation remained the same. It is -twenty-one centuries since the Emperor Tze Hoang-ti said "Good -government is impossible under a multiplicity of masters," and did -away with the feudal system. It is twelve centuries since the Chinese -found out what Burns only taught us the other day, that "A man's a man -for a' that," and, giving up the idea of rank, began to fill posts by -competitive examinations. Another of their most remarkable methods we -shall probably copy whenever we begin seriously to consider Imperial -Federation. They never send any man to be an official in his own -province. Thus we should have Canadian officials in places of trust -here or in Australia, and Australians in England or Canada. _And to -each province in China so many Government posts, civil and military, -are assigned._ If England had followed this method, there might be the -United States of England now instead of America, for no system is -better calculated to knit closely together the outlying regions of a -great empire, than that in accordance with which every official in -turn has to be examined as to his qualifications for office at the -capital, and to return there to pay his respects to his sovereign -before entering upon each new office. - -The contemplation of China is discouraging: to think it got so far so -long ago, and yet has got no farther! The Emperor Hoang-ti, who lived -200 B.C., may be supposed to have foreseen the deadening effect that -government by literary men has upon a nation, for he burnt all their -books except those that treat of practical arts. He was even as -advanced as Mr Auberon Herbert, and warned rulers against the -multiplication of unnecessary laws. Laotze, China's greatest sage, -although too spiritually-minded a man to have gained such a following -as was afterwards obtained by Confucius, again insists that the -spiritual weapons of this world cannot be formed by laws and -regulations: "Prohibitory enactments, and too constant intermeddling -in political and social matters, merely produce the evils they are -intended to avert. The ruler is above all things to practise _wu-wei_, -or inaction." - -The Chinese, it seems, experimented in socialism eight centuries ago. -The Emperor Chin-tsung II., at a very early age, and led thereto by -Wu-gan-chi, the compiler of a vast encyclopaedia, conceived the idea -that "the State should take the entire management of commerce, -industry, and agriculture into its own hands, with the view of -succouring the working classes and preventing their being ground to -the dust by the rich." To quote again from W. D. Babington's -_Fallacies of Race Theories_: "The poor were to be exempt from -taxation, land was to be assigned to them, and seed-corn provided. -Every one was to have a sufficiency; there were to be no poor and no -over-rich. The literati in vain resisted the innovations, the fallacy -of which they demonstrated from their standpoint. The specious -arguments of the would-be reformer convinced the young Emperor and -gained the favour of the people. Wu-gan-chi triumphed. The vast -province of Shensi was chosen as the theatre for the display of the -great social experiment that was to regenerate mankind. The result was -failure, complete and disastrous. The people, neither driven by want -nor incited by the hope of gain, ceased to labour; and the province -was soon in a fair way to become a desert." Mencius, Confucius' -greatest follower, taught that "the people are the most important -element in the country, and the ruler is the least." Mencius openly -said that if a ruler did not rule for his people's good it was a duty -to resist his authority and depose him. - -Whilst other nations have vaguely asked _Quis custodiet custodes?_ the -Chinese invented the College of Censors and the Tribunal of History, -both selected from their most distinguished scholars. It is the duty -of Censors to remonstrate with the Emperor when necessary, as well as -to report to the College, or to the Emperor himself, any breach of -propriety in courts of justice or elsewhere. They have no especial -office but to notice the doings of other officials. The Tribunal of -History is busy recording the events of each Emperor's reign; but no -Emperor has ever seen what is written about him, nor is any history -published till the dynasty of which it treats is at an end. Chinese -history is full of examples of the courage and adherence to truth with -which the members of this tribunal have been inspired. - -It is all so beautiful in description, one sighs in thinking it over. -But it must be remembered that it was yet more beautiful, startlingly -beautiful, at the period of the world's history when it was all -originated, and that to this day the Chinese peasant enjoys a degree -of liberty and immunity from Government interference unknown on the -Continent of Europe. There is no passport system; he can travel where -he pleases; he can form and join any kind of association; his Press -was free till the Empress Tze Hsi, probably inspired by Russian -influence, issued her edict against it in 1898; his right of public -meeting and free speech are still unquestioned. Public readers and -trained orators travel about the country instructing the people. The -system of appealing to the people by placarding the walls has been -very far developed in China. There is there complete liberty of -conscience. And at the same time, as all people who know China will -testify, the moral conscience of the people is so educated that an -appeal to it never falls flat, as it often would in England. Try to -stop two men fighting, saying it is wrong to fight, and you will hear -no one say in China, "Oh, let them fight it out!" Appeal to the -teaching of Confucius, and every Chinaman will treat you with respect, -and at least try to appear guided by it. How far in Europe would this -be the case with a citation from the Bible? - -The system of education, the crippling of the women by footbinding, -and consequent enfeebling of the race, together with the subsequent -resort to opium-smoking, are the three apparent evil influences that -spoil what otherwise seems so ideal a system of civilisation. Possibly -we should add to this, that the system of Confucius--China's great -teacher--is merely a system of ethics, and that thus for generations -the cultured portion of the nation has tried to do without a religion, -although falling back upon Taoism and Buddhism to meet the needs of -the human heart. That any civilisation should have lasted so long -without a living religion is surprising. But Buddhism has evidently -had an enormous influence upon China, though its temples are crumbling -now, its priests rarely knowing even its first elements. The good that -it could do for China it has done. And now another influence is -needed. - - [Illustration: DOWNWARD-BOUND CARGO-BOAT. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - - - - - [Illustration: BRIDGE AT SOOCHOW.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -_BEGINNINGS OF REFORM._ - - Reform Club.--Chinese Ladies' Public Dinner.--High School - for Girls.--Chinese Lady Doctors insisting on Religious - Liberty.--Reformers' Dinner.--The Emperor at the Head of - the Reform Party.--Revising Examination Papers.--Unaware - of Coming Danger.--Russian Minister's Reported Advice. - - -On February 12th, 1896, a newspaper correspondent wrote from Peking: -"The Reform Club established a few months ago, which gave such promise -of good things to come, and which has been referred to frequently in -the public prints in China, has burst. It has been denounced by one of -the Censors, and the Society has collapsed at once. The Club has been -searched, the members, some fifty or more Hanlin scholars, have -absconded, and the printers have been imprisoned. Such is the end, for -the present at least, of what promised to be the awakening of China. -It was initiated and supported largely at least by three well-known -foreigners, two of them well-known missionaries, and it met with much -support and encouragement from all classes. Its little _Gazette_ was -latterly enlarged and its name changed. One or more translators were -engaged to translate the best articles from the English newspapers and -magazines, of which some two dozen or more were ordered for the Club. -The members contributed liberally, we understand, towards its -expenses; and if ever there was hope of new life being instilled into -the old dry bones of China, it was certainly confidently looked for -from this young, healthy, and vigorous Society. It has been conducted, -we believe, with great ability; differences among the leaders have -cropped up, but after discussions the affairs of the Club have each -time been placed on a more secure and lasting basis. Foreign dinners -at a native hotel have been part of the programme; and this element is -not to be despised by any means. The Chinese transact nearly all their -important business at the tea-shops and restaurants, and certainly a -good dinner and a glass of champagne help wonderfully to smooth -matters. We regret exceedingly the decease of the Reform Club." - -People in general laughed about it a little. There had before been the -short statement: "A Censor has impeached the new Hanlin Reform Club, -and it has been closed by Imperial rescript." - -Thomas Huxley once wrote that "with wisdom and uprightness even a -small nation might make its way worthily; no sight in the world is -more saddening and revolting than is offered by men sunk in ignorance -of everything except what other men have written, and seemingly devoid -of moral belief and guidance, yet with their sense of literary beauty -so keen and their power of expression so cultivated that they mistake -their own caterwauling for the music of the spheres." - -It was in this strain Europeans in the East meditated. But on -returning to China in the autumn of 1897, I found in Shanghai -evidences of progress and reform on all sides. A Chinese newspaper, -generally spoken of in English as _Chinese Progress_, was being issued -regularly, and newspapers edited by friends of its editor were coming -out in Hunan and even in far-away Szechuan. The Chinese -"Do-not-bind-feet" Society of Canton had opened an office in one of -the principal streets of Shanghai, and was memorialising Viceroys, as -also the Superintendents of Northern and Southern trade. Directly on -arrival I received an invitation to a public dinner in the name of ten -Chinese ladies, of whom I had never heard before. It was to be in the -large dining-hall in a Chinese garden in the Bubbling Well Road, the -fashionable drive of Shanghai, and by degrees I found all my most -intimate friends were invited. We agreed with one another to go, -though wondering a good deal what the real meaning of the invitation -was, and why we were selected. The hall is a very large one, sometimes -used for big balls, with rooms opening off it on either side; and -after the English ladies had laid aside their wraps in a room to the -right--one or two Chinese gentlemen, who had evidently been -superintending the arrangement of the dinner, encouraging them to do -so--we asked where our Chinese hostesses were. They were already -assembled in the rooms opening off the hall to the left, and I still -remember the expression of intense anxiety on the Chinese gentlemen's -faces as they saw us leave them and advance to join their womenkind, -none of whom spoke any English, nor knew anything of English ways and -manners. At first the Chinese ladies did not exactly receive us; but -when we began to go round and bow to each lady in turn, after the -Chinese fashion, one after another stood up and smilingly greeted us. -Then those of us who could talked Chinese, and one or two of the -Chinese ladies began to move about, exhibiting the ground-plan of a -proposed school for the higher education of Chinese young ladies. And -thus gradually we began to understand what it was all about. But on -that occasion it was the English ladies who were frivolous, the -Chinese who were serious. For they were so elaborately dressed, so -covered with ornaments, English ladies were always breaking off and -saying, "Oh, do allow me to admire that bracelet!" or "What lovely -embroidery!" whilst the Chinese ladies very earnestly pointed at their -ground-plan, and looked interrogations. It gradually came out that it -was the Manager of the Telegraph Company and his friends who were bent -upon starting this school; that this being a new departure they -thought it well for the ladies interested to confer with the ladies of -other nations accustomed to education; and that, considering who was -likely to be helpful, they had asked a few missionary ladies, and all -the officers and committee of the T'ien Tsu Hui ("Natural Feet -Society"), thinking that the foreign ladies, who had started that, -must be interested in helping Chinese women. - -Presently we were summoned to dinner by an intimation, "Chinese ladies -to the left, foreign ladies to the right!" "Because of the fire," was -added _sotto voce_, for Chinese, in their often triple furs, have -naturally a horror of fires; but we refused to be thus summarily -separated, as we sat down about two hundred women to a dinner served -in the foreign style, with champagne, etc., and were rather alarmed to -find our hostesses allowing their little children to drink as freely -of champagne as of their own light Chinese wines. - - [Illustration: MR. KING, MANAGER OF THE CHINESE TELEGRAPH COMPANY AND - FOUNDER OF HIGH SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS.] - -That dinner was the beginning of an interchange of civilities between -foreign and Chinese ladies such as had never occurred before. The -daughter of Kang, commonly called the Modern Sage, after the title -given to Confucius, was naturally one of these ladies. She wore Manchu -dress, which puzzled us, as she is Cantonese. Her father had never -allowed her feet to be bound, and she had herself written an article -against binding, which had appeared in a Chinese newspaper; thus she, -like several other Chinese ladies, considered the dress of the -Manchus, who never bind feet, the most convenient. The relations of -Mr. Liang, editor of _Chinese Progress_, were also present. At the -subsequent meetings some of the Chinese ladies pleaded earnestly that -Europeans should take shares in the school. They did not want their -money, they said, but feared that unless there were European -shareholders their Government might seize all the funds. The European -ladies, however, could never quite satisfy themselves as to the -various guarantees necessary. There were, indeed, many difficulties -about starting this new school, as may be seen by the following -letter, written by two Chinese lady doctors, who had been asked in the -first instance to undertake its management. They had been educated in -America, where they had passed all the necessary examinations very -brilliantly; and it was the idea of the lustre they had thus conferred -upon their own nation in a foreign land, that had first led a wealthy -ship-owner, running steamers on the Poyang Lake, to conceive the idea -of a school for girls. It had been warmly taken up by the late tutor -of the ladies of the Imperial Household, who had been dismissed from -his post because of his radical notions, and was thus free to devote -himself to advancing education generally. The Manager of the Telegraph -Company then became the leader, and the prospectus of the school was -published in the _North China Herald_, with the names of the two -Chinese lady doctors as its managers. On which they wrote the -following letter to the editor, which, as I afterwards ascertained, -was _bona fide_ written by themselves, not at foreign instigation. -They even refused to accept any corrections, saying if they wrote it -at all it must be their own letter. It is so striking as the -composition of Chinese women, that I am sure I shall be pardoned for -giving it _in extenso_. - - -"SIR,--In your issue of December 24th appeared a translation of the -prospectus of a school in Shanghai for Chinese girls; and since our -names were given to the public as would-be teachers, we hope you will -permit a word of much-needed explanation. If you, Mr. Editor, give -such welcome to this sign of progress as is expressed in your -editorial, then much more should those of our own people, who may be -prepared to appreciate its possibilities. Yet the joy might not be -without alloy. - -"Several months ago the prospectus was brought to us as yet in an -unfinished state, and parts of the first and last clauses referring to -the establishment of Confucianism did not appear. Had these been -there, we should not have allowed our names to go down as teachers. In -making this statement, we realise that we only escape the charge of -'narrow-mindness' by the fact that we decidedly are not foreigners. We -love our native China too much to fail to realise the truth in your -admission 'that a slavish adherence to Confucianism alone has done far -too much to limit and confine the Chinese mind for centuries,' and it -is because we are not hopeful of the result 'when reverence for -Confucianism is to be combined with the study of Western languages and -sciences' that we cannot lend ourselves to the project as it seems to -be drifting. It was with the express understanding that there should -be entire religious liberty, that we consented to take up this work, -and religious liberty would admit all who found moral and spiritual -support in Confucianism to avail themselves of it. The tablets, that -Confucianism cherished, might be set up by its supporters near the -school, but not in the grounds: as might Christian churches be opened, -if friends were found to build them. Such a course would conserve -liberty of conscience. - -"Now, according to the prospectus published in that very excellent -Chinese journal _The Progress_, twice a year sacrifices are to be made -in this school to posthumous tablets of Confucius and such worthy -patrons of the school as may be honoured by a place in its pantheon. -Had the statement been made that twice a year days would be set apart -as memorial days to these distinguished personages, upon which -occasions their lives should be reviewed to us in a manner to inspire -young girls by their examples, no one would join more heartily in -paying honour to their memory than ourselves. But the idea of -sacrifice to human beings seems too blind in the light of this -nineteenth century for any participation on our part. We have seen -other countries, and learned of the sages of other lands; and although -it may be only because of prejudice, yet we can truly say that we -honour none as we do our own Confucius. But honour to the best of -human beings is not unmixed blessing when it creates an idol and holds -the eyes of the devotees down to earth. We do not think it the -sentiment that will make the education of women successful or even -safe. The educational institutions for women during the time of the -Three Dynasties were not of the excellent things that Confucius sought -to reestablish. Had he done so, how could he have uttered such words -as these?--'Of all people girls and servants are the most difficult to -behave to. If you are familiar to them, they lose their humility. If -you maintain your reserve, they are discontented' (see _Legge's -Classics_). Alas that we have no record that the Master ever turned -his attention to a remedy for such a sad state of affairs! - -"One there was who never spoke in disparaging tone to or of women. -Only His sustaining counsel could give us courage to start out upon -the pathway, slippery as it must needs be in the present stage of -China's civilisation, along which educated women must needs pick their -way. We do not feel that we should be doing our country-women best -service in starting them out with only a Confucian outfit. - -"This prospectus is, no doubt, intended to be a working-plan that will -carry the co-operation of the largest number. We realise it is easier -to see its inconsistencies than to unite opposing factions. Doubtless -it embraces a truly progressive element in the land which has -compromised under the proposed cult. The articles at first brought to -us contained two sections aimed against concubinage and girl-slavery. -When we reflect upon these destroyers that have fixed upon the vitals -of Chinese home life, and then read the substitution of the words -referring to Shanghai girls, 'especially in the Settlements,' Mencius' -words recur to us (see _Legge's Classics_): 'Here is a man whose -fourth finger is bent and cannot be stretched out straight.... If -there be any one who can make it straight, he will not think the way -from Tsin to Ts'oo far to go.... When a man's finger is not like that -of other people, he knows he feels dissatisfied; but if his mind -differs, he feels no dissatisfaction. This is called "Ignorance of the -relative importance of things!"' We fear the day of our Chinese -deliverance is not quite at hand. - -"The Spirit that can mould the hearts of men has been abroad and -wrought in the hearts of many, or they would not so ardently desire -something progressive; but we regret to see it quenched even in a -reviving flood of Confucianism. Let us intreat you, friends of China's -progress, to lend your influence to the leaders of our people, that -they strive not to bottle the new wine (spirit) of progress in old -bottles, 'else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the -bottles perish.' - - "MARY STONE, of Hupeh, - "IDA KAHN, of Kiangsi. - - "KIUKIANG, _December 27th, 1897_." - - -Somehow, however, all difficulties were surmounted, and in June, 1898, -I had the pleasure of writing the following account of the first high -school for girls opened in China: - -"Turning off to the left from the long green avenue but a few minutes -before arriving at the Arsenal, the visitor comes upon the pretty -conglomeration of buildings in which the much-talked-of Chinese young -ladies' school has now actually been opened. There are the usual -Chinese courtyards, with somewhat more than the usual fantastic -Chinese decoration, ornamental tiles making open screens rather than -walls, through which the wind can blow freely, yet at the same time -giving a feeling of privacy; as also writhing dragons and birds and -beasts. It is quite Chinese, and very pretty and aesthetic. But the -windows are foreign, and there is no house in the European settlement -more airy, nor perhaps so clean. - -"But the matter of interest is not the building, nor the furniture, -but the teachers and the taught. There they stood, the sixteen young -girls, who are the first promise of the regeneration of China; and -judged as young girls they certainly promised remarkably well. It is -natural to suppose that several of them are the children of parents -of more than ordinary enlightenment. But whether they are or not, they -certainly looked it. Their manners were naturally very superior to -those of the girls one is accustomed to see in Chinese schools. They -were readier to laugh and see a joke. But if some of those girls do -not decidedly distinguish themselves in the years to come, it will be -the fault of their instructors, or I am no physiognomist. They were -busy with reading-books, and the teacher, a nice quiet-looking Chinese -woman, had not the least idea of showing them off, so it was hard to -test them. She said she could not say yet herself which were the -brightest girls. Several had natural feet, and most of the others were -eager to state they had "let out" their feet. None were the least -smartly dressed, but several had very well-dressed hair, and were very -neatly shod. One girl had the Manchu shoe without that objectionable -heel in the middle, that must make walking on it like walking upon -stilts. - -"The bedrooms were all upstairs, four girls in a room, and nothing -could have looked cleaner and neater than the arrangements: white -mosquito curtains round the bed, a box under each for the girl's -clothes, a stool for her to sit upon; one shining wardrobe amongst the -four; a washstand with rail at the back on which to hang towels, and a -looking-glass in the centre. The teachers had rooms to themselves. The -teacher of sewing was upstairs, with only too exquisitely fine work -all ready to spoil the poor girls' eyes and exercise their patience. -There was another lady, who has been teaching drawing in the Imperial -Palace, painting for the Empress there. Whether she is only on a visit -to recover her health, or is now teaching drawing in this school--they -have a drawing mistress--I did not quite make out. But she is the sort -of woman whom one seems to know, by her clever, thoughtful, extremely -observant face, before ever speaking to her; and when I found she was -from Yunnan, we sat and chatted about 'Mount Omi and Beyond' in quite -a friendly way. One of Miss Heygood's Chinese pupils is to come in on -Monday and begin teaching English, as they think a Chinese teacher -will do for a beginning. Probably she will understand Chinese -difficulties better than any of us could. But it is a question whether -her pronunciation can be quite satisfactory. - -"A good deal of the furniture was foreign, and it seemed to be all -foreign in the long reception-room, to be eventually used as a -class-room, where on Wednesday, June 1st, a large company of foreign -ladies sat down to a most excellent Chinese dinner, with knives and -forks for those who wanted, and champagne served freely. The two -previous days gentlemen had been received, and June 2nd was to be -exclusively for Chinese ladies. One of the daughters of Mr. King, -Manager of the Telegraphs, presided at one end of the table at which I -was, and his daughter-in-law sat at the other end. There was another -table in an adjoining room. Mrs. Shen Tun-ho and Mrs. King Lien-shan -had cards printed in English with 'Chinese Girl School Committee' in -the corner. Mrs. Mei Shen-in had on hers, 'Native Director of Chinese -Female School.' - -"It is difficult for ladies to decide what guarantee is obtainable -that any money they may contribute will be well used, and not diverted -from the purpose for which it is intended. But if some of the active -business men of Shanghai can make the necessary inquiries on these -heads, certainly what was to be seen on June 1st sufficiently spoke -for the great energy and care displayed by the Ladies' Committee, and -Mr. King, who is understood to be the prime mover in the matter. Every -detail seemed to have been well seen after. Even baths and a bath-room -are provided. Each girl is only to pay six shillings a month; and this -being so, it is not to be wondered at that already another house is -being secured, and there are promises of sufficient girl pupils -already to fill it. There is also talk of opening another girls' -school." - -And now in 1899 I hear that already a third school for girls has been -started by Mr. King, whose energy in the matter is the more to be -admired when it is considered that he is so deaf all communication -with him has to be carried on in writing. But, alas for China! Mr. -Timothy Richard, the inspiring secretary of the Society for the -Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge, has had to take over the -schools and put in a European manager, to save them from the Empress -Tze Hsi's grasping fingers. - - [Illustration: WEN TING-SHIH, THE REFORMER, LATE TUTOR TO THE LADIES - OF THE IMPERIAL HOUSEHOLD. - _Lent by Rev. Gilbert Reid._] - -But a few days after the ladies' dinner--a very merry one--we were -invited by three Chinese gentlemen to meet the Mr. Wen before -mentioned as late tutor to the ladies of the Imperial Household. There -were only four other Europeans, and a little party of Chinese men, all -members of the Reform party. It is perhaps as well not to give their -names, two of that little company being at this moment under sentence -of death themselves, together with all their relations. When last -heard of they were hiding, but some of their relations had been -seized. The dinner was a very sad one. They had evidently invited -Europeans as a drowning man catches at a straw, to see if they could -devise anything to save the Chinese people. But to each suggestion -made they said it was impossible. There was nothing--nothing to be -done at Peking. Corruption prevailed over everything there. There was -nothing--nothing to be done with the various Viceroys. There was -nothing to be done by an appeal to the people. The only thing was to -go on writing and writing, translating from foreign languages, and -thus gradually educating the people in what might be useful to them. -The memory of that dinner cannot easily pass from those present. Some -of us walked away together too sad for words, and all that evening a -great cloud of depression rested over us. For we felt we had witnessed -despair; and when a Chinaman, usually so impassive, gives way, it -makes the more impression. - -But then happened the astonishing, as always occurs in China; and when -next heard of, the Emperor of China himself, the youthful Kwang-shue, -was at the head of the Progress party. All that has been told of -Kwang-shue has always been very interesting and pleasing. Chinese -people all speak well of him, and say he wishes for his country's -good. But then they shrug their shoulders, for they have always -maintained he has no power. At one time he was said to be studying -English, at another reading Shakespeare in translation. On the -occasion of the Empress Tze Hsi's sixtieth birthday all Christian -women in China were invited to subscribe for a handsome copy of the -New Testament, which was eventually presented to her in a silver -casket beautifully chased with a fine relief of bamboo-trees. The -Chinese version was specially revised for this presentation, in which -Christian Chinese women took the greatest interest. No sooner had the -book been presented than the Emperor sent an eunuch round to ask for a -copy of the same volume. There was not as yet any copy of quite the -same version, and the one sent was in the course of a few hours -returned with several comments, understood to be in the Emperors own -handwriting, pointing out the differences, and asking that the same -version might be sent to him. He at the same time applied for copies -of the other books prepared by Europeans for the instruction of -Chinese. - -In 1894 he took one of those sudden steps that a little recall some -actions of the German Emperor, and signified his intention to look -over each essay and poem himself, and place the competitors at the -Peking examination according to their excellence. It may be imagined -what was the astonishment and consternation of the examining board of -high Ministers of State, who had just examined them, and marked out -the standing of each man according to their own inclinations. There -were two hundred and eight competitors, and it took the Emperor three -whole days to look over the papers. At the end of that time the list -was turned nearly upside-down, for three men placed amongst the last -by the examining board were now marked out by the Emperor as among -the six entitled to the highest honours. Amongst the competitors was -the lately returned Minister to the United States, Spain, and Peru. He -had a brevet button of the second rank; and having lately received the -post of Senior Deputy Supervisor of Instruction to the Heir Apparent, -he had to present himself as a competitor--notwithstanding his years -and previous services abroad. In the list of the examining board he -stood amongst the first thirty, and was recommended to a higher post -of honour. In the Emperor's list he was placed in the third class; and -in the decree classifying the essayists, in which the Emperor stated -definitely that he had done so after himself looking over each paper, -this ex-Minister was ordered to take off his brevet second-rank -button, being degraded from the post of Deputy Supervisor to that of -Junior Secretary of the Supervisorate. There were many other changes -made of the same nature. - -Naturally such an action did not tend to establish the youthful -Emperor in the good graces of the more corrupt of his counsellors. But -it showed energy and initiative, uncommon in Chinamen, also a desire -to do his duty and right wrongs. It is certainly unfortunate for -himself that he did not from the outset set to work to make to himself -friends of the mammon of unrighteousness. But brought up from his -earliest years as an Emperor, it is not unnatural that he should have -expected all people to bow down before his will as soon as he asserted -it. And it is a little unreasonable to expect from a young man, palace -born and bred, who never even once had taken a country walk or ride, -or enjoyed liberty of any kind, the character of a Bismarck or a -Napoleon. That his advisers were equally unaware of the dangers -awaiting him is shown by their having taken no precautions even to -save themselves. It was indeed Kwang-shue who advised Kang to fly from -Peking, not Kang who advised Kwang-shue to be careful. And that the -plot that dethroned the young Emperor was kept carefully secret is -also shown by the British Minister, a man of experience, and who has -travelled about the world, and is of course amply provided with all -the necessary means for obtaining information, being actually absent -from Peking at the time, which naturally he never would have been had -he known the crisis was imminent. The German and American Ministers -were also absent, and, more remarkable still, Sir Robert Hart, -Inspector-General of Chinese Imperial Customs. The moment was indeed -probably chosen in consequence by the Empress. - -Surrounded by temptations--his aunt and adopted mother is openly -accused of having tried to teach him to take delight in cards and -wine, and it is one of her duties both to select a wife for him and to -surround him with concubines--the young man seems to show rather the -disposition of an anchorite. All testimonies agree that he is not of a -vigorous physique: indeed, bred and nurtured as he has been, how could -he be? In health, as in many other ways, he always recalls to me our -own Prince Leopold, the late Duke of Albany. - -It is greatly to be regretted that when that very amiable, -gentle-looking young man, now Czar of Russia, was in China, he and the -young Emperor of China did not meet. Both apparently have aspirations, -both are weighted by a weight of empire no one man can sustain -single-handed, both surrounded by powerful, unscrupulous men, who will -not hesitate to wield their well-intentioned and apparently sincere -nominal rulers to their own advantage, as also possibly to the -destruction of those nominal sovereigns. - -There is a curious tale told that a late Russian Minister at Peking -acquired a great influence over the Chinese Emperor by speaking to him -after this style: "There are but few countries now that are regulated -in accordance with the principles of decorum. In England and Germany -it is true there are emperors, but in England it is six-tenths the -people's will and only four-tenths the sovereign's. In Germany it is -rather better: there it is six-tenths the Emperor and four-tenths the -people. As to France and America--dreadful--dreadful! Only China and -Russia are properly constituted countries, where the Emperor governs -and the people obey, according to the will of Heaven. What friends, -then, ought not these two countries to be, and how terrible for Russia -it would be if China were to fall, for then she would stand alone, the -one properly constituted empire in the world! Equally, how dreadful it -would be for China if Russia were to fall away! As for us, we cannot -feel easy about China. We remember that after all your Imperial -Majesty's is an alien dynasty, governing over a people of another -race, the Chinese, and your capital is so near the frontier you could -easily be pushed over the border. Your Imperial Majesty should really -take precautions to establish yourself more safely. Now, all positions -of high honour are in the hands of Chinese, who might easily band -together and depose the reigning dynasty. As each high position falls -vacant, Chinese should be replaced by Manchus; then alone would you be -safely established on the throne of your ancestors, and Russia could -feel safe, knowing China to be so." - -Thus and much more. Such conversations can be easily overheard and -repeated by the crowds of attendants always present at interviews in -China. It was repeated to me in June, 1898. I did not know if -correctly or not. I do not know now. But for the last year high post -after high post has been conferred upon Manchus, than which no policy -could be more unwise, for it is calculated to exasperate the Chinese; -nor have the Manchus, who have long ago lost their manliness, living -as pensioners of the Court, any longer the capacity for government. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -_THE COUP D'ETAT._ - - Kang Yue-wei.--_China Mail's_ Interview.--Beheading of - Reformers.--Relatives sentenced to Death.--Kang's - Indictment of Empress.--Empress's Reprisals.--Emperor's - Attempt at Escape.--Cantonese Gratitude to Great - Britain.--List of Emperor's Attempted Reforms.--Men now - in Power.--Lord Salisbury's Policy in China. - - -In considering the recent bolt from the blue, as it seemed to the -outside world, at Peking, it is necessary to say a few words more -about the Reform leaders. Kang Yue-wei, commonly called the Modern -Sage, is a Cantonese. He has brought out a new edition of the ancient -Classics, which he contends have been so glossed over by numbers of -commentators as to have lost their original significance. In especial -he says the personality of God was originally clearly stated in them, -that it is the commentators who have hidden this, and that only by a -return to the belief in a living God can China once more take her -proper place among the nations. He also insists upon the brotherhood -of man. Missionaries, who know him, dwell upon his learning and -enthusiasm. The only British Consul I have heard speak of him, dwelt -rather upon his want of practicality, and described him as a -visionary of about forty and impracticable. He saw him, however, at -the most agitating moment of his career, during his flight from -Peking. When it is considered that he is a man of not large means, who -has no official post, who must have devoted his time mainly to study -to have passed the examinations he has and revised the Classics, and -that at this comparatively early age he is the undoubted leader of the -army of youthful literati of China, a man in whom those I have spoken -with seem to have unbounded confidence, it is clear that this account -of him must be a little overdrawn. Probably he is not a practical man. -But that he has evidently an extraordinary gift for winning and -guiding adherents cannot be denied. A representative of the _China -Mail_ describes him as "an intelligent-looking Chinese of medium -height, but not of unusually striking appearance. For a native who -does not speak any Western language, Kang has imbibed a wonderful -amount of ideas" [this is only a rather amusing instance of European -superciliousness], and the impression he left upon his interviewer was -that he has a firmer grasp of the situation than the majority of his -compatriots. It may be considered that some of his views are those of -a visionary, but there can be no doubt of his earnestness; and it must -be borne in mind that there never yet was a reformer in any country -whose views were not at first believed to be outside the range of -practical politics. For those who are interested in the present crisis -in China, it is better to give the _China Mail's_ interview with Kang -Yue-wei, to be followed by his own open letter to the papers. - -"Before proceeding with the interview, Kang wished to thank the -British people for the kind protection they had afforded him, and for -the interest the English people were taking in the advancement of the -political and social status of China and the emancipation of the -Emperor. He also wished to explain that the reason why he had not -consented to an interview before was that he was very much distressed -upon learning that his brother had been decapitated and that the -Emperor was reported to be murdered. The excitement and anxiety of the -past fortnight had unnerved him, and he was disinclined to see any one -or to discuss the events which had led up to his flight from Peking. - -"After this preliminary statement, Kang Yue-wei proceeded with his -story. - -"'You all know,' he said, 'that the Empress-Dowager is not educated, -that she is very conservative, that she has been very reluctant to -give the Emperor any real power in managing the affairs of the empire. -In the year 1887 it was decided to set aside thirty million taels for -the creation of a navy. After the battleships _Tingyuen_, _Weiyuen_, -_Chihyuen_, _Chenyuen_, and _Kingyuen_ had been ordered, and after -providing for their payment, the Empress-Dowager appropriated the -balance of the money for the repair of the Eho Park Gardens. Later on, -when it was decided to set aside or raise thirty million taels for the -construction of railways, she misappropriated a large portion of the -money. The first intention had been to construct the railway to -Moukden, but it was never carried farther than Shanhai-kuan, the -remainder of the money being used for the decoration of the Imperial -Gardens. Every sensible man knows that railways and a navy are -essential for the well-being of a country. But in spite of the advice -of one or two of her counsellors the Empress-Dowager refused to carry -on these schemes, and thought only of her personal gratification. She -has been steadily opposed to the introduction of Western civilisation. -She has never seen many outside people--only a few eunuchs in the -Palace and a few Ministers of State who have access to her.' - -"'Through whom does she conduct the affairs of State?' - -"'Before the Japanese War Li Hung-chang was the man she had most -confidence in. After the war Li Hung-chang was discarded, and she -seemed to repose most confidence in Prince Kung and Jung Lu. As a -rule, however, she retains absolute control in her own hands. There is -a sham eunuch in the Palace, who has practically more power than any -of the Ministers. Li Luen-yen is the sham eunuch's name. He is a -native of Chihli. Nothing could be done without first bribing him. All -the Viceroys have got their official positions through bribing this -man, who is immensely wealthy. Li Hung-chang is not to be compared -with him. Before she handed over the reins of government to the -Emperor, a year or two ago, the Empress-Dowager used to see many -Ministers, but since then she has only seen eunuchs and officials -belonging to the inner department. I have seen her myself. She is of -medium height and commanding presence, rather imperious in manner. She -has a dark, sallow complexion, long almond eyes, high nose, is fairly -intelligent-looking, and has expressive eyes.' - -"In answer to a query, 'Who inspired the new policy at Peking?' Kang -replied: 'About two years ago two officials, Chang Lin and Wang -Ming-luan, sent a memorial to the Emperor advising him to take the -power into his own hands, stating that the Empress-Dowager was only -the concubine of his uncle, the Emperor Hien Feng; therefore according -to Chinese law she could not be recognised as the proper -Empress-Dowager. The result of this memorial was that the two -officials were dismissed for ever. They were Vice-Presidents of -Boards, one being a Manchu and the other a Soochow man. The Emperor -recognises that the Empress-Dowager is not his real mother. Since the -Emperor began to display an interest in affairs of State, the -Empress-Dowager has been scheming his deposition. She used to play -cards with him, and gave him intoxicating drinks, in order to prevent -him from attending to State affairs. For the greater part of the last -two years the Emperor has been practically a figure-head against his -own wishes. After the occupation of Kiaochou by the Germans, the -Emperor was very furious, and said to the Empress-Dowager, "Unless I -have the power, I will not take my seat as Emperor; I will abdicate." -The result was that the Empress-Dowager gave in to him to a certain -extent, telling him that he could do as he liked; but although she -said this with her lips her heart was different.' - -"'How do you know this?' asked the interviewer. 'Did you hear it -yourself?'" - -"Kang's reply was: 'No, I heard it from other officials.' - -"'Who recommended you to the notice of the Emperor?' - -"'I was recommended to the Emperor by Kao Hsi-tseng, one of the -Censors, a native of Hupeh. Then Weng Tung-ho, the Emperor's tutor, -who is supposed to be one of the most conservative officials in -China, but is not actually so, devoted some attention to me, and Li -Tuan-fen, President of the Board of Rites. These officials wished to -introduce me to the Emperor, to give me some responsible office, and -to put me beside the Emperor as his adviser. The Emperor ordered me to -hold a conference with the Ministers of the Tsung-li Yamen. On January -3rd last the conference took place. All the members of the Yamen were -present; I was received with all respect as their guest. The -conference lasted about three hours. - -"'I had to say that everything in China must be reformed and follow -Western civilisation.' - -"'How were your suggestions received?' - -"'They did not say openly. I could see that the majority of them were -against reform. The Viceroy Jung Lu made the remark, "Why should we -change the manners and customs of our ancestors?" To this I replied: -"Our ancestors never had a Tsung-li Yamen [Board to deal with -foreigners and foreign affairs]. Is not this a change?" The first -thing I suggested was that China should have a properly constituted -judicial system--that a foreigner should be engaged to work conjointly -with myself and some others to revise the laws and the Government -administrative departments. That I hold to be the most important -change. This must be the basis on which all other changes and reforms -must rest. The construction of railways, the creation of a navy, the -revision of the educational system, every other reform will follow; -but unless we can change the laws and administration all other -changes will be next to useless. Unfortunately, the Emperor has been -pushing on the other reforms before preparing the way for them. That -has contributed to bring about the present crisis. - -"'The following morning Prince Kung and Weng Tung-ho reported the -conference to the Emperor. Prince Kung was against me, although I have -heard it said that he admired my abilities, and thought me clever and -able. But he said of me: "He is talking nonsense; he speaks about -changing the ways of our ancestors!" Weng Tung-ho gave my proposals -his support. - -"'The outcome of the conference was that I was ordered by the Emperor -to submit my proposals to him in the form of a memorial. The gist of -my memorial was as follows. I told the Emperor that all the customs -and ways and manners of his ancestors must be renewed. Nothing could -be usefully followed so far as Chinese history was concerned. I -advised the Emperor to follow in the footsteps of Japan, or in the -footsteps of Peter the Great. As a preliminary step I advised the -Emperor to command all his Ministers of State and all the high -officials in Peking to go before the places where they worshipped the -gods, and also to the Ancestral Halls, there to make an oath that they -were determined to introduce reforms. My second suggestion was to have -the laws and administration revised; my third, that he should open a -Communication or Despatch Department, through which any one would be -able to memorialise the Throne. To illustrate what I considered -lacking in the Chinese system, I pointed out to the Emperor that the -Ministers of the Grand Council were the tongue, the Viceroys and -Governors of Provinces the hands and feet, the Censors the eyes, and -the Emperor the brain. I said: "You have no heart, no motive power, no -proper law, no means of finding out the desires and opinions of your -people. The responsibility is too widely diffused; you cannot carry -things through effectively. When you want to know anything, you refer -to your Ministers and Viceroys, who represent the tongue and feet; but -these are not thinking organs--they can only act upon orders given -them." I advised the Emperor to select young, intelligent men, well -imbued with Western ideas, to assist in the regeneration of the -empire, irrespective of their position, whether they were lowly born -or of high degree; that they should confer with the Emperor every day -and discuss the measures for reform, first devoting their energies to -a revision of the laws and administration. The old officials must be -dispensed with. I advised him to appoint twelve new Departments:--(1) -Law Department; (2) Treasury; (3) Education (engaging foreign -teachers); (4) Legislative Department; (5) Agriculture; (6) Commercial -Department; (7) Mechanical Department; (8) Railway Department; (9) -Postal; (10) Mining; (11) Army; (12) Navy,--all the twelve Departments -to be modelled on Western lines, and foreigners to be engaged to -advise and assist. Throughout the provinces, in every two prefectures, -I suggested the establishment of a sort of Legislative Council, whose -chief duty would be to give effect to the instructions of the twelve -Departments, to police the country, to introduce sanitary measures, to -construct roads, to induce the people to cultivate the land under -modern methods, and to spread commerce. Each of these Councils should -have a President, appointed by the Emperor himself, irrespective of -birth, degree, or position; and each President should have the liberty -to memorialise the Emperor direct, in the same manner as Viceroys and -Governors of the Provinces, to whom he was not to be subject. In -effect these Presidents were to have the same social rank as the -Viceroys. The President was also to have the power to recommend a man -to go to each district to co-operate with the gentry and merchant -classes in giving effect to the new reforms. My memorial also showed -how funds were to be raised. I pointed out the enormous loss of -revenue that occurred yearly. Taking the magistracy of Nanhai (which -is my native district), I informed the Emperor that the total revenue -derived from that district was $240,000 per year, but the actual -amount going into the Imperial Purse was only something over $20,000. -I recommended a complete change of the system, under which the whole -of the revenues of the country would go into the Imperial Purse. -Comparing China with India, and adducing from the experience of India -the financial resources of China, I told the Emperor that from -ordinary taxes the sum of four hundred million taels could be raised -annually, and if the _likin_ were abolished and a tariff properly -adjusted, banknotes issued, stamp duty established, and other -financial reforms adopted, at least another three hundred million -taels could be raised, making in all seven hundred million taels. With -this money in hand it would be an easy thing to get a navy to protect -our coast and to establish naval colleges for the training of -officers. State railways could also be constructed and other necessary -reforms effected. - -"'I was told that the Emperor was highly pleased, and said that he had -never seen a better memorial nor such a good system as I proposed. He -recommended the memorial to the consideration of the Tsung-li Yamen -for report. Prince Kung, Jung Lu, and Hsue Ying-kuei were against it; -but the Emperor pressed for a reply, which was never given in detail. -All the Ministers would report was that the memorial was so sweeping, -that it practically meant the abolition of the present great -Ministers, and therefore they did not like to report upon it -themselves. You will have seen in the newspapers that the Emperor had -already adopted many of the recommendations contained in my memorial. - -"'I also sent to the Emperor two books written by myself, one entitled -_The Reform of Japan_ and the other _The Reform of Russia by Peter the -Great_. Subsequently I sent another memorial, advising the Emperor to -be determined and not to dally with the proposals for reform. - -"'To this memorial the Emperor replied with an Edict. On June 16th I -was granted an audience with the Emperor. It lasted for two hours. I -was received at 5 a.m. in the Jenshow Throne-hall. Port Arthur and -Talienwan had just been taken over by Russia, and the Emperor wore an -anxious, careworn expression. The Emperor was thin, but apparently in -good health. He has a straight nose, round forehead, pleasant eyes, is -clean-shaven, and has a pale complexion. He is of medium height. His -hands are long and thin. He looked very intelligent, and had a kindly -expression, altogether uncommon amongst the Manchus or even amongst -the Chinese. He wore the usual official dress, but instead of the -large square of embroidery on the breast worn by the high officials -the embroidery in his case was round, encircling a dragon, and there -were two smaller embroideries on his shoulders. He wore the usual -official cap. He was led in by eunuchs, and took his seat on a dais on -a large yellow cushion, with his feet folded beneath him. He sent his -attendants away, and we were left alone; but all the time we were -conversing his eyes were watching the windows, as if to see that no -one was eavesdropping. There was a long table in front of him with two -large candlesticks. I knelt at one of the corners of the table, and -not on the cushions in front of the table which are reserved for the -high officials. I remained kneeling during the whole of the audience. -We conversed in the Mandarin dialect. - -"'The Emperor said to me: "Your books are very useful and very -instructive." - -"'I practically repeated what I said in my memorial about the weakness -of China being owing to the lack of progress. - -"'The Emperor said: "Yes, all these Conservative Ministers have ruined -me." - -"'I said to him, "China is very weak now, but it is not yet too late -to amend." I gave him the example of France after the Franco-Prussian -War. In that case the indemnity was much greater than China has paid -to Japan. The territory lost was greater, because France had lost two -provinces and China had only lost one (Formosa). I asked him how it -was that France had been able to recuperate so rapidly, whereas China -had done practically nothing during the three years since the close of -the war. - -"'The Emperor listened very attentively, and asked me to give the -reason. - -"'I replied that the reason was that M. Thiers issued proclamations to -the people of France advising the abolition of corrupt methods and -asking their co-operation for the rehabilitation of the country, at -once instituting reforms which would enable the country to recover the -ground it had lost. The outcome was that the whole population of -France was as one man working for one single object. Hence its quick -recovery. In China, however, we have still the old Conservative -Ministers, who put every obstruction in the way of reform; and I told -the Emperor that that was the main reason why the country was now in -its present sad condition, worse off than it was three years ago, at -the close of the China-Japan War. - -"'I asked him to look at the difficulties Japan had to overcome before -she could reform on modern lines. There the military or feudal party -had more power than our present Conservative Ministers, but the Mikado -adopted the proper course by selecting young and intelligent men, -junior officials, some of whom he set to work out the reforms in the -country, whilst others went abroad to learn foreign methods, and -returned to make Japan the powerful country which it is to-day. I -repeated to him what Peter the Great did to make Russia powerful, -saying, "You, the Emperor, I would ask you to remove yourself from the -seclusion in which you live. Come boldly forward and employ young and -intelligent officials. Follow in the footsteps of the three rulers of -whom I have spoken to you, and you will find that the reforms will be -more easily carried out than you at present imagine. In case China is -unable to produce a sufficient number of intelligent men to give -effect to the reforms you initiate, I strongly advocate the employment -of foreigners, particularly Englishmen and Americans." - - [Illustration: HEAD EUNUCH OF THE EMPRESS-DOWAGER. - _Lent by Rev. Gilbert Reid._] - - [Illustration: KIAOCHOU, SEIZED BY GERMANY.] - -"'I said to him: "You must cut your coat according to your cloth,' and -advised him to approach the matter carefully and deliberately. To -illustrate what I meant, I pointed out that if he wished to build a -palace he must obtain plans, then buy the bricks to build the palace -according to design. "You may be told that China has reformed during -the last few years. In my opinion nothing has been reformed. China has -simply done what I have advised you not to do. She has been buying -bricks to build a house before deciding on the plan or design; she is -attempting to make a big coat out of an insufficient quantity of -cloth." I told the Emperor: "Your present Government is just like a -building with a leaky roof; the joists are rotten and have been eaten -by white ants. It is absolutely dangerous to remain longer in the -building. Not only must you take off the roof, but you must take down -the whole building, and even raze the foundation. How could you expect -your present old Ministers to reform? They have never had any Western -education. They have never studied anything thoroughly about Western -civilisation, and they could not study now if you asked them. They -have no energy left. To instruct them to carry out reforms is like -asking your cook to become your tailor, your tailor to become your -cook, or your barber to become your chair-coolie and your chair-coolie -to shave you. The result of that would be that you would not get a -good coat, you would get nothing good to eat, your head would be -hacked. Your Majesty is careful to select a proper tailor, a proper -cook, a proper barber, and a proper chair-coolie. But in the -administration of your empire, which is far more important, you do not -take so much care as in your own personal affairs." - -"'To this the Emperor replied: "I am very sorry; I have practically no -power to remove any high Ministers. The Empress-Dowager wants to -reserve this power in her own hands.' - -"'I said: "If your Majesty has no power to remove Ministers, what you -can do is to employ young and intelligent officials about you. That -would be a step better than nothing." - -"'The Emperor said: "I know it perfectly well that all the Ministers -have paid no proper attention to Western ideas and do not care to -study the progress of the world." - -"'I said to the Emperor: "Perhaps it is their wish to get a knowledge -of Western ideas, but they have too much to do under the present -system, and they are much too old. Their energy is gone. Even if they -are willing they cannot do it. The chief education of China in the -study of the Classics is useless, and the first thing the Emperor must -do is to abolish these examinations and establish a system of -education on the lines of Western countries." I asked the Emperor: -"Can you do away with this kind of examination?" - -"'The Emperor said: "I have realised that whatever is learned in -Western countries is useful, but whatever is learned in China is -practically useless, and I will carry out your recommendations"; which -he did. I advised the Emperor to send his own relations to travel in -foreign countries in order to learn from them, and that he might be -surrounded by men who had experience of the world. In conclusion, I -said: "There are many other things I should like to say, but I can -memorialise you from time to time." I advised him strongly to cement -his relations with foreign countries. - -"'The Emperor replied that the foreign countries nowadays were not -like the insignificant states of former times. They appeared to be -highly civilised countries, and it was a pity his own Ministers did -not realise that as he did. A good deal of the trouble seemed to arise -from their failure to recognise this fact. - -"'In December last I had advised his Majesty to form an alliance with -Great Britain. Before parting I said to him: "You have given -decorations to Li Hung-chang and Chang Yin-huan. That is a Western -act. Why do not you put in your Edicts that you intend to introduce -Western customs?" - -"'The Emperor only smiled. - -"'From June until I left Peking, I have sent many memorials to the -Emperor, but have never had another audience. I was allowed to -memorialise him direct. This is the first time in the present dynasty -that an individual in my position has been allowed to memorialise the -Throne direct.' - -"In answer to a question, Kang stated that Chang Yin-huan was not -associated with him in the proposed reforms. He was pleased with the -programme of the Reformers, but he did not take any active part in -promoting the reforms. All the men arrested were junior officials in -the various secretariats in Peking, all interested in reform. - -"Asked when the first symptoms of trouble appeared, Kang stated that -the signs of opposition were raised when the Emperor issued his Edict -dismissing two Presidents and four Vice-Presidents. One of these -Presidents is a relative of the Empress-Dowager--Huai Ta-pu, President -of the Board of Rites. On the following day Li Hung-chang and Ching -Hsin were removed from the Tsung-li Yamen. These dismissed officials -went in a body and knelt before the Empress-Dowager and asked for her -assistance, saying that if she allowed the Emperor to go on in this -way the whole of the old officials would soon be dismissed. Then these -officials went to Tientsin and saw Jung Lu, who may be said to be the -best friend of the Empress-Dowager. Rumours got about that the Emperor -intended to dispose of the Empress-Dowager, and she then determined -that Jung Lu should take the first step. That was on or about -September 14th or 15th. On September 17th an open Edict was issued by -the Emperor, asking why Kang Yue-wei was still in Peking and did not -proceed to Shanghai at once to attend to the establishment of the -official organ. 'That was a hint to me to go away. An Edict of this -sort is generally issued to a Viceroy or a Chief General, and not to -men of my rank. The morning I saw this Edict I was highly astonished. -On that evening a special private message was sent to me by the -Emperor. The message was sent in writing. Part of it appeared in the -_China Mail_ last night. I happened to be out, and did not receive the -message till the morning of September 18th. - -"'On the morning of the 18th I received two special messages from the -Emperor, one dated September 16th and the other September 17th. The -first one read: - -"'"We know that the empire is in very troublous times. Unless we adopt -Western methods it is impossible to save our empire; unless we remove -the old-fashioned Conservative Ministers and put in their stead young -and intelligent men, possessed of a knowledge of Western affairs, it -is impossible to carry out the reforms we had intended. But the -Empress-Dowager does not agree with me: I have repeatedly advised her -Majesty, but she becomes enraged. Now I am afraid I shall not be able -to protect my throne. You are hereby commanded to consult your -colleagues and see what assistance you can give to save me. I am very -anxious and distressed. I am anxiously waiting for your assistance. -Respect this." - -"'The second message was as follows: "I have commanded you to -superintend the establishment of the official organ. It is strongly -against my wish. I have very great sorrow in my heart, which cannot be -described with pen and ink. You must proceed at once outside (abroad), -and devise means to save me without a moment's delay. I am deeply -affected with your loyalty and faithfulness. Please take great care of -your health and body. I hope that before long you will be able to -assist me again in reorganising my empire, and to put everything upon -a proper basis. This is my earnest wish." - -"'After I received these letters, I had a meeting with my colleagues -as to the best thing to be done. I saw Mr. Timothy Richard, the -English missionary, and asked him to see the British Minister at once. -Unfortunately Sir Claude Macdonald was at Pehtaiho. Then I sent to the -American Legation, but was told that the American Minister had gone to -the Western Hills. If Sir Claude Macdonald had been at the British -Legation, I believe measures could have been devised to avoid this -crisis. - -"'In the city everything was quiet. There was no sign of an impending -crisis. Nobody anticipated trouble; nobody was in fear of his life. On -the 19th I heard from my friends that the position was getting more -serious. Up to this time I had remained in my quarters in the Canton -Club. At four o'clock on the morning of the 20th I left the city, -passing through the gates, leaving all my baggage behind in the care -of my brother. I retained a compartment in the railway carriage, and -travelled direct to Tangku by rail. At Tientsin I boarded the -Indo-China steamer _Lienshing_ and asked for a cabin. When the people -on board saw I had so little baggage they said: "You must go and get a -ticket at the office before we can allow you to come on board." I went -back to Tientsin again and went into an hotel--not an hotel of my own -countrymen, but the hotel of another province. I had been advised to -shave my moustache off and to change my dress, but I left myself to -fate. I stayed overnight at Tientsin, and early in the morning went on -board the _Chungking_. I had to go as an ordinary Chinese passenger, -because I was afraid if I asked for a cabin I should again be refused -a passage on account of the absence of baggage. Mr. Timothy Richard -offered me an asylum at his house, but as I had received instructions -from the Emperor to proceed abroad I thought it best to leave the -capital. I got no letter from the British Legation; I had no -communication with the British Legation. The steamer called at Chefoo, -where nothing unusual happened. When I arrived at Woosung, the British -Consul was kind enough to offer me a place of safety on board H.M.S. -_Esk_. I believe Mr. Richard must have gone to the Legation at Peking, -and that instructions were given to the British Consul to be on the -look-out for me. I was surprised at this, but I am very grateful to -Messrs. Brenan and Bourne (British Consuls) and to the captain of the -ship for the kindness they showed to me during my stay at Woosung.' - -"'What do you intend to do?' - -"'The Emperor has instructed me to go abroad and procure assistance -for him. My intention is to approach England in the first instance. -England is well known to be the most just nation in the world. England -has twice saved Turkey, once at the sacrifice of twenty thousand men -and a large sum of money, and I think England will come to the -assistance of the Emperor of China now. While I was in Shanghai, I -requested the British Consul to wire to the Foreign Office at home -asking for this assistance to his Majesty. Personally, I think it is -to England's interest to take this opportunity to support the Emperor -and the party of progress, for by so doing they will be helping the -people of China as well, and the people of China will consider England -as their best and truest friend. If England does not take steps now, I -am afraid that when the Siberian Railway is finished Russian influence -will predominate throughout the whole of China. If England succeeds in -replacing the Emperor on the throne, I have no hesitation in saying -that the Emperor and the Reform leaders will not forget her kindness. -When I left Peking, the Emperor was still in good health.' - -"Before leaving Kang was asked if he had anything further to add to -the interview--anything he had forgotten. - -"He replied: 'I should like it to be stated that when I saw the -Emperor I said I did not go to Peking for money or position. I simply -went there to try to do my best to save the four hundred millions of -China. I told him I would not take any high position until I had been -instrumental in carrying through the proposals for reform I had made -to him; then I would accept anything his Majesty was pleased to give -me. Had he given me position then, it would simply have created -jealousy among the old Ministers; besides, I did not feel that I had -done anything to warrant such elevation. The Emperor was good enough -to send me two thousand taels as a special reward--a thing, I believe, -which has never been done in the history of the present dynasty.' - -"The interview concluded with a request on the part of Kang to urge -the English people to take steps for the protection of the relatives -of Liang, who had been arrested by the officials in the district of -Canton. These relatives, we understand, consist of his foster-mother, -aunt, uncle, brother, and his nephew and two others." - - [Illustration: BRITISH AND CHINESE FLAGS, JUNE 15TH, 1898: TOWN OF - WEI-HAI-WEI IN DISTANCE. - _By Mr. Stratford Dugdale._] - -This interview was on October 7th. It was on September 22nd that -Kang's six colleagues had been summarily beheaded in Peking. Three -were members of the Hanlin College, the highest body in China--namely, -Lin Hsio, Yang, and Lin Kuang-ti. One was a Censor--Yang. The others -were Kang's younger brother, and Tan Tze-tung, son of the ex-Governor -of Hupeh. It is Tan who went to his death saying, "They may kill my -body, but my spirit will live in the lives of others," and again, "My -country will yet be freed from the tyrants that now enthral her in -their grasp of ignorance and corruption." - -A newspaper correspondent wrote from Hupeh: "Nothing but sympathy is -felt for poor old Tan, our ex-Governor, the father of Tan Tze-tung, -who was beheaded in Peking. It is said that for a long time the news -of his son's death was kept from him, and was finally told him by our -Viceroy, Chang-chih-tung himself, when the latter went on board his -ship to bid him farewell on his departure from Wuchang." And again, a -few days later: "Our late Governor, H.E. Tan, is reported dead. The -native story is that he took the execution of his son at Peking and -his own degradation so much to heart, that he committed suicide on his -way home." - -It is related that none of the victims conducted themselves otherwise -than as heroes, excepting only the Censor, who was so utterly -astounded at the fate befalling him as to plead with his executioners. -He had never known Kang, said he had taken part in no plot, and wept -bitterly as he was hurried through the streets. It is related also -that all were given decent burial with the exception of Kang's own -young brother, whose body no man dared touch. - -Kang Yue-wei's ancestral home is in the small village of Fangchun, -right opposite the walls of Canton City, and separated from it by the -Pearl River. Late on the night of September 23rd the quiet village -was all excitement at the sudden disappearance of all the members of -Kang's clan, leaving no trace of their whereabouts. Explanations came, -however, the next morning, when a force of runners from the district -magistrate made their appearance in the village, and, surrounding the -old Kang homestead, began searching for the inmates. Only four persons -were found in the place, consisting of farm-hands, and these were -taken across the river into the city by the runners for want of more -important prisoners. - -Kang's uncle, who kept a large grain shop in Canton, had a narrow -escape from arrest, the warning to get away arriving only a few -minutes before the police made their appearance, while his employes -also got away in the nick of time. The premises were then sealed up, -as also was the ancestral hall of the Kang clan in their native -village of Fangchun. A flourishing school established by Kang in the -old city temple of Canton was also sealed by the local authorities, -but fortunately for the twenty-odd scholars there they received -warning and escaped before the _yamen_ runners made their appearance. - -Mr. Liang, the editor of _Chinese Progress_, was warned by Kang in -time to fly himself, but four of his relatives had been captured. It -was under the agitation of all these events that Kang Yue-wei wrote the -following letter, which only one Chinese newspaper had the courage to -publish. Perhaps, considering what has followed, it is kinder to -suppress its name. - - -AN OPEN LETTER FROM KANG YUe-WEI. - - "RESPECTED SENIORS,-- - -"The overpowering calamity which fell from Heaven on the fatal 5th day -of the 8th moon (20th September), bringing such unexpected and fearful -changes over the empire by the usurpation of the Imperial power by the -antitype of those vile and licentious ancient Empresses Lue and Wu, -followed by the deposition and imprisonment of our true Sovereign, -causing thereby heaven and earth to change places and obliterating the -lights of the sun and moon from his Majesty's loyal subjects, have, I -know, filled with universal indignation the hearts of the people. - -"Our youthful Emperor's intelligence and enthusiasm made him bend his -energies to inaugurate new measures of reform for the country, to be -put into practice in due time one after the other, and all who owed -his Majesty loyalty and allegiance learning this raised our hands to -our heads with pleasure and danced with joy. The False One [or -Usurper] attempted to introduce avarice and licentiousness into the -Palace, in order to tempt our Sovereign to destruction; but his -Majesty spurned them with scorn, and these evils were unable to defile -the Palace atmosphere. Then one or two traitors of the Conservative -element, finding their objects prevented, threw themselves prostrate -around the Usurper and besought her to resume the reins of power. -(_Note._--Owing to the cashiering of Huai Ta-pu, President of the -Board of Rites, and his colleagues, Huai and Jung Lu were at the -bottom of the whole plot.) The False One then, contrary to all rights -of heaven and earth, seized the reins of power and issued a forged -edict calling for physicians for his Majesty, thereby foreshadowing -that the Emperor would be poisoned. To-day, therefore, we know not -whether his Majesty be alive or dead. This indeed is that which makes -gods and men indignant and feel that heaven and earth will never -pardon nor allow such to triumph long. - -"This Usurper, when she came into power in former years, poisoned the -Eastern Empress-Consort of Hien Feng; she murdered with poisoned wine -the Empress of Tung Chih; and by her acts made the late Emperor Hien -Feng die of spleen and indignation. And now she has dared to depose -and imprison our true Sovereign. Her crime is great and extreme in its -wickedness. There has never been a worse deed. Although the writer, -your humble servant, and Lin, Yang, Tan, and Liu [four of the six -martyrs] all received his Majesty's commands in his last extremity, -we, alas! have not the power and strength of Hsue Chin-yi [who restored -the Emperor Tsung-chung to the throne after deposing the Empress Wu -Tseh-tien of the T'ang Dynasty], but can only emulate the example of -Shen Pao-sue in weeping. [This was a minister of Ts'u (Hunan), who over -two thousand years ago went weeping to beseech the powerful King of -Chin (Shensi) to avenge the deposition of his master the King of Ts'u, -and by his importunity succeeded in carrying his point.] - -"I, therefore, now send you copies of his Majesty's two secret edicts -to me, and crave your assistance in publishing them to the whole world -either in the Chinese or foreign newspapers. This will, I earnestly -trust, bring strong arms to our Sovereign's rescue. His Majesty has -always accepted the fiat of his ancestors in recognising the mother -who bore him as his own mother, and not an Imperial concubine as his -mother. The False One in relation to the Emperor Tung Chih was the -latter's mother; but as regards his Majesty Kwang-shue, our Sovereign, -she is but a former Emperor's concubine-relict [Hien Feng's]. -According to the tenets of the _Spring and Autumn Records_ (written by -Confucius), although Queen Wen Chiang was the mother of King Chuang of -Lu, yet that did not save her from being imprisoned by her own son on -account of her licentious conduct; much more in the present case, -then, should punishment be administered to one who was but merely a -Palace concubine. What right had this woman to depose our bright and -sagacious Emperor? If this could be clearly set forth in the Chinese -and foreign newspapers and be published to the world, I verily believe -that from Peking to Yunnan and the sixteen ancient divisions of China -some hero must surely arise to avenge our Sovereign. With my humble -compliments, - - "(Signed) KANG YUe-WEI." - - - [Illustration: FERRY AT ICHANG. - _By Mrs. Archibald Little._] - -It is hardly necessary to comment upon the extreme pathos of the -letters of this young man of twenty-seven, for twenty-three years -nominal Emperor of China, but now, at the first attempt to take the -power into his own hands, summarily deposed. It is believed that it -was his attempt to summon soldiery to his aid that led to the -Empress's _coup d'etat_. Some say the Reform party were advising that -the Empress-Dowager should be asked to retire to a palace in the -country. - -"The following is the list of the proposed 'Council of Ten' who were -to have assembled daily in the Maoching Throne-hall to advise the -Emperor on reform measures, as given by the _Sinwenpao_: - -"1. Li Tuan-fen (President of the Board of Rites to be President of -the Council). - -"2. Hsue Chih-ching (Senior Reader of the Hanlin Academy, and at the -time of his disgrace acting Vice-President of the Board of Rites). - -"3. Kang Yue-wei (Junior Secretary of the Board of Works and a -Secretary of the Tsung-li Yamen). - -"4. Yang Shen-hsiu (Censor of the Kiangnan Circuit). - -"5. Sung Peh-lu (Censor of the Shantung Circuit). - -"6. Hsue Jen-chu (Literary Chancellor of Hunan). - -"7. Chang Yuan-chi (Hanlin Compiler). - -"8. Liang Chi-chao (M.A., ex-editor of _Chinese Progress_). - -"9. Kang Kuang-jen (M.A., and younger brother of Kang Yue-wei). - -"10. Hsue Jen-ching (Hanlin Bachelor, son of Hsue Chih-ching and brother -of Hsue Jen-chu). - -"With reference to the punishments meted out to the above-noted ten: -(1) Li Tuan-fen was cashiered and banished to Kashgaria for ever; (2) -Hsue Chih-ching, imprisoned in the dungeons of the Board of Punishments -for life; (3) Kang Yue-wei, proscribed and ordered to be sliced to -pieces at moment of capture; his family to suffer death, together -with his uncles, aunts, and cousins, and their ancestral graves to be -razed; (4) Vang Shen-hsiu, one of the Martyred Six; (5) Sung Peh-lu, -disappeared the day he was cashiered and dismissed for ever--September -23rd--but is reported to have been captured afterwards while -travelling overland for the South; (6) Hsue Jen-chu, cashiered and -dismissed for ever; (7) Chang Yuan-chi, a man of great wealth, also -cashiered and dismissed for ever; (8) Liang Chi-chao, proscribed and -now a refugee in Japan; (9) Kang Kuang-jen, one of the Martyred Six; -and (10) Hsue Jen-ching, also cashiered and dismissed for ever. As for -Li and Hsue, the first and second of the list given above, their place -would also have been by the side of the Martyred Six on the fatal -evening of the 28th ultimo, had they not been aged men, high in rank. - -"It is reported from reliable sources at Peking that on the day of the -Empress-Dowager's _coup d'etat_ (September 22nd) no less than fourteen -eunuchs who were the Emperor's own personal attendants, and on whose -devotion he was in the habit of relying, were ordered to execution by -the Empress-Dowager. The reason given why this sanguinary deed has not -become widely known is that the executions took place in the courtyard -of the chief eunuch's office, inside the Palace grounds, where -refractory and rebellious eunuchs are always attended to, unknown to -the outside world." - -It is not surprising that, according to the Peking correspondent of -the _Sinwenpao_, in October, 1898, a great fear of some impending -disaster seemed to have fallen over the capital, and numbers of houses -had the words "_Speak not of State Affairs_" written on slips of red -paper posted over the lintels of each household; the idea being that -something must have very recently happened in the Palace at Eho Park, -which the powers that be desired to keep secret from the world for the -time being. - -The railway had been crowded the past week with officials from the -provinces returning to their homes. They were afraid to remain where -every word they uttered was liable to be considered treason. When they -reached their homes, we may expect their reports to their friends and -adherents would not increase their loyalty to the Manchu Dynasty. - -And yet, in spite of all this, people are surprised that the young man -of twenty-seven, without funds, without an army, did not assert -himself more. The silence of Kwang-shue is perhaps the noblest action -of a much-enduring life. - -There was a pathetic story current in Peking that he contrived once to -escape from his prison in the island at the Southern Lakes, Eho Park, -where he had been confined by the Empress-Dowager since the _coup -d'etat_; but that when he got to the Park gates, the Imperial guards, -all creatures of the Empress-Dowager, shut the great gates in his -face. A crowd of eunuchs, who dared not offer his person any violence -or attempt to use force in preventing his walking to the Park gates, -followed him in a body, and upon the gates being closed they all -knelt in front of the Emperor beseeching him with tears to have mercy -on them and not attempt to escape, for it would mean the death of all -of them as well as of the guardsmen at the gates were he to do so. The -guardsmen also _k'otowed_ and joined in the general prayer, while on -the other hand they sent one of their number to apprise the -Empress-Dowager of the matter. The Emperor finally took pity on his -suppliant subjects, and quietly returned to his prison. - -To Europeans this may seem too strange to be true; to those who know -China it is so Chinese as to seem probable. That an Emperor should be -moved by the tears of his subjects is what Chinese would expect. - -It must be remembered that Kang escaped through the intervention of -British Consuls, by the protection of a British man-of-war, and was -lodged for safety in the gaol at Hongkong at first. Thence he -proceeded to Japan, where other Chinese reformers had preceded him, -under Japanese protection. The _North China Herald_ of October 3rd, -1898, publishes the following tribute of gratitude from the -fellow-provincials of Kang Yue-wei to the Consuls, Admiral, and people -of the "Great Empire of Great Britain," for saving Kang from the -clutches of the opponents of reform, purporting to represent the -sentiments of the Shanghai Cantonese:--The contents of the post -envelope were (1) a red card with the words, "Presented with bowed -heads by the people of Kwangtung (Canton) Province"; (2) another red -card bearing the words, "The people of Kwangtung Province -reverentially beg to present their united thanks to the people of the -great, unequalled Empire of Great Britain for this proof of loyalty, -kindness, majesty, courage, and love of strict justice"; and (3) a -sheet of letter paper containing the words, "We, the people of -Kwangtung Province, crave permission to express our deep gratitude to -their Excellencies the Consuls and the Admiral of the Great Empire of -Great Britain for their great kindness to us. - - - "Reverentially presented by the people of Kwangtung - Province. - -"We further beg the editor of the _North China Daily News_ to give -publicity to the above in its valuable columns, and hope personally to -give thanks therefor." - -Since then, on October 31st, 1898, the following memorial was -presented to the British Consul-General, Mr. Brenan. He could not, as -an official, receive it, but the pathetic document cannot but be read -with interest. - -"SIR,--The avarice and extortions of the mandarins of China and their -underlings were the cause of the Emperor's estrangement from his -people; and it was this estrangement that has led to his present -weakness and their distress. - -"Recognising the need for reform, the Emperor in his wisdom and good -judgment began, during the fifth moon of the present year, to issue -edicts, having for their object the complete renovation of the -Empire. The main subjects dealt with were as follows: - -"1. The substitution of men of modern ideas and learning for old and -useless officials. - -"2. The establishment of colleges and technical schools for the -advancement of scientific knowledge, after the most approved methods -of Western nations. - -"3. Conferring the right to memorialise the Throne direct upon all -officials throughout the empire, without distinction of rank. - -"4. The abrogation of the classical essay system of examinations for -degrees and offices. - -"The above edicts caused much rejoicing among the people, who -recognised in them a great power for the immediate uplifting of the -empire, and its future prosperity. - -"We, your memorialists, are firmly convinced that if the reforms -embodied in the Imperial Edicts could have been put into operation for -twenty or thirty years, great and beneficial changes would have been -brought about, which would have resulted in the entire change of the -customs of the land, and establishment of better relations with the -West. Thus we could have looked forward confidently to the -inauguration of an era of universal peace. - -"But now, through the machinations of evil men and the short-sighted -policy of the Empress-Dowager, our Emperor has been imprisoned, the -lives of many faithful officers have been ruthlessly taken, and all -the Imperial Edicts calling for reform have been revoked. All -educational societies have been interdicted, and the native newspapers -have been suppressed. Moreover, the lives of all those favourable to -reform are in the gravest danger. - -"We, your memorialists, being loyal Chinese subjects, regard with -great indignation such unwarrantable action on the part of the -Empress-Dowager; but we have no power to rectify this unhappy state of -affairs. - -"Therefore we pray you, sir, according to that equity which is -recognised among all nations, to pity China in her distress, by -sending a cablegram to the Government, urging your people to assist us -by restoring the Emperor to his rightful throne, and by filling the -offices of State with faithful and enlightened men. - -"Thus will the renovation of China be due to the favour of your -Sovereign Ruler, and to you, sir, who forwarded the memorial. - -"_P.S._--Chinese officialdom is at present divided into two classes, -the old and new--Conservatives and Reformers. The former have placed -their reliance on Russia to help them, in return for which Russia will -gain enlarged territory. The Reformers look to Great Britain and the -United States for help, knowing that the policy of these two nations -is to keep the Chinese Empire intact. Should the reactionists triumph -in their present schemes, there is no power that will prevent the -division of China among all the nations of the earth. The Reformers -have no power. They can only weep at their country's distress, while -they present this memorial asking for your honourable country's -assistance. The first thing to be done is to liberate the Emperor and -to restore him to power, and to remove the Empress-Dowager. A -proclamation from the Emperor calling his people to his protection -would be loyally responded to by all his faithful subjects throughout -the land. - -"A joint memorial from the scholars--_literati_--of China. - - "24th Year of H.M. Kwang-shue, - "9th moon, 17th day. - - "(October 31st, 1898)." - - -An attempt has been made to show that the Reform party, with the young -Emperor Kwang-shue at their head, brought on themselves all that has -happened by urging foolish reforms, and moving too fast. A slight -summary of the Emperor's decrees will show that all he had done was -for China's good. - - [Illustration: APPROACH TO MING EMPEROR'S TOMB, NANKING.] - -_June 13th, 1898._--The Emperor issued a decree commanding the -establishment of a University at Peking, and also ordered Kang Yue-wei -to appear at a special audience. - -_June 15th._--He dismissed his tutor, Weng Tung-ho, and announced his -intention of sending some of the Imperial Clansmen and Princes to -travel abroad and learn. - -_June 20th._--He ordered the Tsung-li Yamen to report on the necessity -of encouraging art, science, and modern agriculture. It was ordered -that the construction of the Lu-han railway should be expedited. - -_June 23rd._--The classical essays were abolished as a necessary part -of examinations. - -_June 27th._--The Ministers and Princes were ordered to report on the -proposal to adopt Western arms and drill for all the Tartar troops. - -_July 4th._--The establishment of agricultural schools in the -provinces to teach the farmers improved methods of agriculture was -commanded; and on the same day the liberal-minded Sun Chia-nai was -appointed President of the Peking University. - -_July 5th._--The Emperor ordered the introduction of patent and -copyright laws. - -_July 6th._--The Board of War and the Tsung-li Yamen were ordered to -report on the proposed reform of military examinations. - -_July 7th._--Special rewards were promised to inventors and authors. - -_July 14th._--Officials were ordered to do all in their power to -encourage trade and assist merchants. - -_July 29th._--On the recommendation of Li Tuan-fen, since banished to -Kashgaria by the Empress Tze Hsi, the establishment of educational -boards was ordered in every city throughout the empire. - -_August 2nd._--The Bureau of Mines and Railways was established. - -_August 9th._--Journalists were encouraged to write on political -subjects for the enlightenment of the authorities. - -_August 10th._--Jung Lu and Lin Kun-yi were directed to consult on the -establishment of naval academies and training-ships. - -_August 22nd._--It was ordered that schools should be established in -connection with Chinese Legations abroad, for the benefit of the sons -of Chinese settled in foreign countries. - -_August 24th._--Ministers and Provincial Authorities were urged to -assist the Emperor in his work of reform. - -_August 28th._--The Viceroys Lin Kun-yi and Chang-chih-tung were -ordered to establish commercial bureaux for the encouragement of trade -in Shanghai and Hankow. - -_September 1st._--Six minor and useless boards in Peking were -abolished. - -_September 7th._--Li Hung-chang and Ching Hsin were dismissed from the -Tsung-li Yamen, and the issue of _chao-hsin_ bonds was stopped, -because the provincial authorities had used them to squeeze the -people. - -_September 8th._--The governorships of Hupeh, Kwangtung, and Yunnan -were abolished as a useless expense. - -_September 11th._--The establishment of schools of instruction in the -preparation of tea and silk was approved. - -_September 12th._--The Tsung-li Yamen and Board of War were ordered to -report on the suggestion that the Imperial Courier posts should be -abolished in favour of the Imperial Customs post; and the -establishment of newspapers was encouraged. - -_September 13th._--The general right to memorialise the Throne by -closed memorials was granted; and on the same date Manchus who had no -taste for civil or military office were allowed to take up trades or -professions. - -_September 14th._--The two Presidents and four Vice-Presidents of the -Board of Rites were dismissed for disobeying the Emperor's order that -memorials should be sent to him unopened, whatever their source. - -_September 15th._--The system of budgets as in Western countries was -approved. - -It will be at once evident that the Emperor and his party had raised -up many powerful enemies, and should--had they been wise--have secured -the assistance of the army in the first instance. It was when they -attempted to secure troops that the end came. It is also evident that -several of the reforms were what every one would agree are absolutely -necessary for China; and although they may have made too many at once, -the exact rate at which reforms can be successfully carried has never -been calculated. Nor is there any evidence even yet that they were -going too fast for the country. They would always have moved too fast -for the officials whose offices they abolished. At the same time there -is a certain sort of _doctrinaire_ flavour about this multiplicity of -schools started at once, and encouragement given to newspaper writers. - -Since then the Empress-Dowager has in her own name gone rather further -in the opposite direction--and raised up a yet larger number of -enemies--forbidding the establishment of societies of any sort, and -ordering the officials to arrest the members and punish them according -to their responsibilities. The chiefs are to be executed summarily, -and the less responsible banished into perpetual exile. This affects -the Patriotic Association, as also the new societies that were formed -for the engaging of teachers and purchase of scientific books after -the Emperor's decree doing away with the five-chapter essay, and -ordering that mathematics should be an essential subject in -examination. The Empress has also suppressed all newspapers, and -summarily sentenced their editors to death. She has also ordered that -no further steps should be taken to drill or arm the soldiery -according to Western methods, but that they should revert to bows and -arrows, and to the contests in running and lifting heavy weights of -ancient usage. The Emperor had signified his intention of presiding at -the next military examinations, which were to have been in -target-shooting with modern weapons of precision. The Empress has now -announced that, instead of this, not even the candidates need present -themselves at Court. And all the promising schemes for opening lower -and middle schools of Western learning are nipped in the bud--those -for girls, as before mentioned, in Shanghai, having for safety been -put under foreign management. - -The most powerful man in China for the moment seems to be Jung Lu, a -Manchu who has spent most of his life in military offices at Peking, -but was at one time general in Shensi, and as Viceroy of Chihli--the -office so long held by Li Hung-chang--was much liked by foreigners at -Tientsin. He is reported, however, not to have slept for two nights -with anxiety as to what the British fleet was doing at Pehtaiho just -before the _coup d'etat_; and if that is the case, he is not a man of -that iron stuff that his mistress will long be able to lean upon. The -real power behind the Throne, according to Kang, is a sham eunuch, Li -Luen-yen, the man whom every one who wants an audience has for years -past had to bribe heavily. Li Hung-chang, the Empress's firm adherent -during all her long tenure of power, is beginning to be known in -England. Of Sheng, once his creature, but who managed during Li's -absence in Europe to attain such lucrative posts as to look down upon -his former patron, the following story is told. His health never being -very good, Sheng had been accustomed to get leave of absence from -Tientsin in winter, and go to enjoy himself in his native city of -Soochow, the Paris of China, and with also a much softer climate. -During the Japanese War it was felt impossible to give a man in such -high place leave of absence. But he was dispensed from regular -official work, and allowed therefore to close the public offices under -his control. This was done, and they were reopened by him as -gambling-houses, where every man of business in Tientsin must lose his -money if he hoped to put through a job or a contract under the corrupt -administration of Sheng. It may be remembered the British Government -demanded the latter's head a few years ago; but, as in the case of -Chou Han, who disseminated the vile anti-Christian publications from -Hunan, their demands were put off by being told he was either not to -be found, or mad, or something or other. It is men like this that -must corrupt any nation in which they hold high power. It is men like -this who are always ready to receive high bribes from foreign powers. -The countries that wish to see China decadent, feeble, torn by -internal divisions, and under their control, have a direct interest in -supporting the late Dowager, now usurping Empress, Tze Hsi, and the -men who rally round her. - -But those who do not wish to appropriate Chinese territory, but rather -that both the Chinese and themselves should enjoy tranquillity, so as -to develop each their own territories to their highest capacity, must -wish to see in power men like Chang-chih-tung, the one Viceroy never -even accused of peculation, and _who never visits Peking_, and other -men of high aims and upright conduct--making mistakes possibly, but at -least trying their best to elevate and guide the most peace-loving and -law abiding people that ever existed. The Chinese may, as Lord -Wolseley has predicted, make good soldiers some day. But from time -immemorial they have despised war. And as in our men-of-war I have -heard that in battles in old days mattresses would be hung over the -ships' sides to protect them, so we might do worse than interpose -between fiery, mysterious India and the other nations of Asia the -impenetrable, apparently yielding, but never really yielding, big -feather-bed of vigorous, healthy China, relieved from her corrupt and -disastrous Mandarin system, with her men's minds freed from the -cramping influence of a too ancient system of education, and her women -set upon their feet so as to be once more able to bear noble sons. -With all the nations of the West contending who is to have its bones -to pick, it is necessary that some nation or nations should in the -first instance stand by China. But once let some great Western nation -make it plain to the world that he who attacks China attacks her, and -there will be no attack. And let China's feet but once be set firmly -in the ways of progress, and there will be no going back. - -I conclude with the words of the man whom I believe to be the wisest -statesman of the day, although to my mind he too often lacks the -decision to act in accordance with his own judgment. Lord Salisbury in -June, 1898, said: "If I am asked what our policy in China is, my -answer is very simple. It is to maintain the Chinese Empire, to -prevent it from falling into ruins, to invite it into paths of reform, -and to give it every assistance which we are able to give it, to -perfect its defence or to increase its commercial prosperity. By so -doing we shall be aiding its cause and our own." Excepting through the -Victoria College, years ago established in Hongkong, where and when, -may I ask, has the British Government acted on this policy laid down -by the Prime Minister with the strongest following of any Minister of -modern times? - - -_Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury._ - - - - -Books Connected with China - -BY - -MR. and MRS. ARCHIBALD LITTLE. - - -A MARRIAGE IN CHINA. - -By MRS. ARCHIBALD LITTLE. - -Popular 3_s._ 6_d._ Novel. - -WM. HEINEMANN, 21, Bedford Street, London, W. - - -MY DIARY IN A CHINESE FARM. - -BY MRS. ARCHIBALD LITTLE. - -With seven full-page collotypes and numerous photo engravings by K. -OGAWA of Tokyo. 4to, with a specially designed cover in colour, 2_s._ -6_d._ net. - -The work has been produced throughout in Japan, and five hundred -copies only of the book have been printed, of which number but a few -remain. - - -FAIRY FOXES. - -A Chinese Legend told in English. - -BY MRS. ARCHIBALD LITTLE. - -Printed in Japan on Japanese crepe. Illustrated in colour. Third -Edition. 1_s._ 6_d._ - -GAY & BIRD, 22, Bedford Street, Strand, London, W.C. - - -THROUGH THE YANGTSE GORGES. - -Trade and Travel in Western China. - -BY ARCHIBALD J. LITTLE, F.R.G.S. - -Third Edition, Illustrated. 8vo, 6_s._ - - -THE RAT'S PLAINT. An Old Legend. - -Translated from the Original Chinese by ARCHIBALD J. LITTLE, F.R.G.S. -Printed in Japan on Japanese crepe paper. 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