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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHINESE PICTURES ***


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                            CHINESE PICTURES




                                                    Notes on Photographs
                                                           Made in China




    BY
    MRS. J. F. BISHOP
    F.R.G.S., etc.




                      CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED
                  London, Paris, New York & Melbourne
                       1900. All Rights Reserved


------------------------------------------------------------------------








[Illustration]








------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             INTRODUCTION.


THIS little book is the outcome of talks with Mrs. Bishop over some of
the photographs which were taken by her in one or other of her journeys
into and across China. Some of the photographs have already appeared in
her published works, “The Yangtze Valley and Beyond” and “Korea and Her
Neighbourhood” (2 vols., Murray). The notes were, in substance, dictated
by Mrs. Bishop. It is hoped they contain some real information on the
people, their surroundings, and habits which, though slight in form, may
be helpful to a better understanding of a very difficult problem.

According to our newspaper press to-day, the Chinese are simply cruel
barbarians. According to Mrs. Bishop, when you know them they are a
likeable people—and she has formed this opinion in spite of the fact
that, in their deeply-rooted hatred of the foreigners, they twice
attacked her with violence. A real understanding of the people is for
us, with our different modes of thought, most difficult to arrive at;
but we shall not advance towards it by accepting all the evil reports
and shutting our ears to the good ones. That the problem of China is,
and will for some time continue to be, the most interesting question to
the rest of the world is certain. The future of its people is all
unknown, but there are in it possibilities which make it a terror to all
other nations.


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                               _ERRATA._


The illustrations on p. 79 and p. 81 have been transposed. The former
represents “The Tablet of Confucius,” the latter, “The Altar of Heaven.”


CHINESE PICTURES.


                           ------------------


[Transcriber’s Note: this error has been corrected.]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                               CONTENTS.


                                                           PAGE

        THE PRIVATE ENTRANCE TO THE IMPERIAL PALACE,          8
        PEKING

        THE ENTRANCE TO THE BRITISH LEGATION                 10

        ENTRANCE TO THE COLLEGE OF THE STUDENT               12
        INTERPRETERS

        THE STATE CARRIAGE OF THE BRITISH LEGATION           14

        THE GREAT IMPERIAL STONE ROAD FROM PEKING TO         16
        CHENGTU, THE CAPITAL OF SZE CHUAN

        A MULE CART                                          18

        A MANCHURIAN FAMILY TRAVELLING                       20

        CARRIAGE BY BEARERS                                  22

        A TRAVELLER ARRIVING AT AN INN IN MANCHURIA          24

        CARRIAGE OF MERCHANDISE                              26

        THE MODE OF CARRYING OIL AND WINE                    28

        WHEELBARROW TRAFFIC ON THE CHENGTU PLAIN             30

        THE WHEELBARROW OF NORTH CHINA                       32

        A SMALL HOUSEBOAT ON THE YANGTZE KIANG               34

        A FOOT BOAT FOUND IN CENTRAL CHINA                   36

        HSIN TAN RAPID ON THE YANGTZE RIVER                  38

        A BOAT ON THE MIN RIVER, USED FOR RUNNING THE        40
        RAPIDS

        PART OF A FRINGE OF JUNKS OR RIVER BOATS AT WAN      42
        HSIEN

        THE BRIDGE OF TEN THOUSAND AGES, FOOCHOW             44

        A BRIDGE AT WAN HSIEN OF THE SINGLE ARCH TYPE        46

        THE BRIDGE OF MIEN CHUH SZE CHUAN                    48

        A SIMPLE COUNTRY BRIDGE                              50

        A DRAGON BRIDGE                                      52

        THE ZIG-ZAG BRIDGE OF SHANGHAI                       54

        THE GARDEN OF THE GUILD OF BENEVOLENCE, CHUNG KING   56

        A BURIAL CHARITY                                     58

        A BABY TOWER, FOOCHOW                                60

        BOTTLE SELLER AND HOSPITAL PATIENT                   62

        THE DYING COOLIE                                     64

        THE MODE OF SEPULCHRE THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN CHINA      66

        COFFINS KEPT ABOVE GROUND                            68

        THE TEMPLE OF THE GOD OF LITERATURE AT MUKDEN        70

        THE TEMPLE OF THE FOX, MUKDEN                        72

        WAYSIDE SHRINES                                      74

        THE FICUS RELIGIOSA                                  76

        THE ALTAR OF HEAVEN                                  78

        THE TABLET OF CONFUCIUS                              80

        A PORCELAIN-FRONTED TEMPLE ON THE YANGTZE            82

        CHILD EATING RICE WITH CHOPSTICKS                    84

        FORT ON THE PEKING WALL                              86

        ANOTHER FORT ON THE WALL OF PEKING                   88

        COLOSSAL ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS ON THE PEKING      90
        WALL

        CHIEN MUN GATE                                       92

        THE GATE OF VICTORY, MUKDEN                          94

        THE WEST GATE OF KIALING FU                          96

        THE WEST GATE OF HANGCHOW                            98

        THE GATE OF A FORBIDDEN CITY                        100

        SILK REELING                                        102

        A TYPICAL ENTRANCE TO A HOUSE                       104

        THE GUEST HALL IN A CHINESE HOUSE, WAN HSIEN, SZE   106
        CHUAN

        A CHINESE VILLAGE                                   108

        A FARMHOUSE IN THE HAKKA COUNTRY, SOUTHERN CHINA    110

        A MARKET PLACE OR MARKET STREET IN SZE CHUAN        112

        THE COBBLER                                         114

        CARRYING LIQUID MANURE TO THE FIELDS                116

        THE MARRIAGE CHAIR                                  118

        MODE OF CARRYING CASH AND BABIES                    120

        A PAI-FANG, OR WIDOW’S ARCH                         122

        TWO SOLDIERS OF SZE CHUAN                           124

        OPIUM CULTURE ENCROACHING ON THE RICE LANDS, SZE    126
        CHUAN


------------------------------------------------------------------------


                          THE PRIVATE ENTRANCE
                                 TO THE
                        IMPERIAL PALACE, PEKING.


A SUBJECT of considerable interest, owing to the mystery surrounding the
members of the Imperial Family. The photograph was taken from the wall
of the Purple or Forbidden City, in which only the Imperial Family and
their _entourage_ have the right to dwell. The building in the centre,
which is roofed with yellow tiles, is supposed to be the residence of
the Emperor, but where he does actually reside remains a mystery. The
entrance to the Palace is through the arches in the building on the
left.


------------------------------------------------------------------------




[Illustration:

  THE PRIVATE ENTRANCE
  TO THE
  IMPERIAL PALACE, PEKING
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          THE ENTRANCE TO THE
                           BRITISH LEGATION.


THE Legation is a fine old palace, which formerly belonged to a member
of the Imperial Family. The photograph shows the entrance to the first
courtyard. The Legation compound is very extensive, and contains several
courtyards with buildings round each. It is very highly decorated, the
designs shown in this picture being elaborately wrought in lacquered
work of gold and colours. This is the building recently attacked by the
Chinese in their attempt to destroy all foreigners, including the
members of the various European Legations who took refuge with Sir
Claude Macdonald.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE ENTRANCE TO THE
  BRITISH LEGATION
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                        ENTRANCE TO THE COLLEGE
                                 OF THE
                         STUDENT INTERPRETERS.


STUDENT interpreters are young Englishmen who enter the College to
prepare themselves for the Consular Service. At eighteen they have to
pass their entrance examination. They receive given posts in connection
with one of the various Chinese Consulates. All our Chinese Consuls are
drawn from this College. It stands within the grounds of the Legation,
which is the building shown on the right of the picture.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  ENTRANCE TO THE COLLEGE
  OF THE
  STUDENT INTERPRETERS
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           THE STATE CARRIAGE
                                 OF THE
                           BRITISH LEGATION.


THERE are practically no carriage roads in China, so that there is
virtually no carriage traffic. This rough, springless cart is the only
carriage drawn by animals at the disposal of the Legation.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE STATE CARRIAGE
  OF THE
  BRITISH LEGATION
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                        THE GREAT IMPERIAL STONE
                          ROAD FROM PEKING TO
                   CHENGTU, THE CAPITAL OF SZE CHUAN.


MADE more than a thousand years ago, it must have been a gigantic work
at the time of its construction. It was paved throughout with rough
stone flags for about eight feet, or about half its width, and planted
with cedars. It is now very much out of repair, as are most things in
China, the flags disappearing now and again for long distances; but it
is still the object of much official attention, and every year certain
magistrates inspect it and count the cedars, every one of which is
sealed with the Imperial seal. Many of the trees have died, but many
still survive and are grand objects by the roadside.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE GREAT IMPERIAL STONE
  ROAD FROM PEKING TO
  CHENGTU, THE CAPITAL OF
  SZE CHUAN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                              A MULE CART.


A TYPICAL mode of conveyance in Manchuria, the Northern Province. The
arrangement for carrying luggage is seen at the back of the cart. It is
very similar to the Legation state carriage in construction, being
entirely without springs. It is only possible to use such a conveyance
in such a roadless country, with any security from broken bones, by
adopting the precaution to pad the whole of the interior, bottom, top,
and sides with thick mattresses. In the course of a journey of three
miles only, Mrs. Bishop had the misfortune to be thrown into the top of
the cart in an upset with such violence that her arm was broken and her
head severely cut. In her case, unfortunately, the top of the cart was
not padded.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A MULE CART
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                              A MANCHURIAN
                           FAMILY TRAVELLING.


ALTHOUGH so risky to life and limb, the mule cart is the more
fashionable mode of moving from place to place in Manchuria. The poorer
people ride on asses, with their belongings slung about in the manner
shown in the picture.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A MANCHURIAN
  FAMILY TRAVELLING
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          CARRIAGE BY BEARERS.


OUT in the country there are practically no roads, as we understand
roads. It is necessary to cultivate every inch of available ground, and
the farmer begrudges anything taken from the fields for the paths, which
are but a foot or two wide. It is easy to understand that, under such
conditions, the almost universal mode of passenger transit is by chairs
and bearers. The narrowness of the paths is a source of trouble. When
two parties of bearers approach each other, there is much shouting to
induce one or other to return and make way; but when both come on, one
has to get off, or be pushed off, into the swamp by the sides. When one
is a foreigner his portion is invariably the swamp.

The bearers are patient, much-enduring people, who do their work
thoroughly and without complaining, in the face of mud, and rain, and
difficult roads. They will carry a traveller from twenty to twenty-five
miles a day. When a lady occupies the chair the curtains are rigidly
closed. It would be at the risk of her life to travel in an open chair.
There is much etiquette connected with the getting in and out of chairs,
which wise travellers never neglect. The photograph is of a lady’s
chair.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  CARRIAGE BY BEARERS
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          A TRAVELLER ARRIVING
                               AT AN INN
                             IN MANCHURIA.


THERE are various ways of carrying a traveller’s baggage. Sometimes it
is slung in the centre of bars and carried as the traveller’s own chair
is carried. More often a package is slung at each end of a bar, which is
placed across the shoulders of a coolie. Constant change of shoulder is
necessary, and the stopping to make this change becomes a serious matter
in a journey of any length. It is trying work, and the shoulders of the
coolies generally show it by the callositis produced by the constant
carrying of heavy burdens. The illustration shows Mrs. Bishop’s baggage
arriving after a day’s journey.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A TRAVELLER ARRIVING
  AT AN INN
  IN MANCHURIA
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                                CARRIAGE
                                   OF
                              MERCHANDISE.


IT will be seen that two coolies, by means of these bars, can carry a
great weight—as much as two hundred pounds is carried between them—and
they will cover with this weight twenty to twenty-five miles a day.
Chair-carriers will, with the attendant luggage-carriers, cover as much
as twenty-five miles, but their burdens are less heavy.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  CARRIAGE
  OF MERCHANDISE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          THE MODE OF CARRYING
                             OIL AND WINE.


IN wicker baskets lined with oiled paper of extraordinary toughness,
which is much used everywhere. The oil is obtained from various “oil
seeds,” the tough paper by macerating bamboo. Beneath the basket will be
noticed a long cylinder. This is the coolie’s purse, in which he carries
his “cash,” the small copper or brass coin of the country, which is of
such small value that nine pounds weight of copper cash is only worth
one English shilling.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE MODE OF CARRYING
  OIL AND WINE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          WHEELBARROW TRAFFIC
                                 ON THE
                             CHENGTU PLAIN.


THIS Chengtu Plain, with its 2,500 square miles of country and 4,000,000
population, is perhaps the best cultivated and most fertile spot in the
world. It owes its fertility to the work of two engineers, who, more
than two thousand years ago (250 years B.C.), designed and carried out
the most perfect system of irrigation. They were Li Ping, the father,
and his son, and are familiarly known to-day as the first and second
gentlemen of China. The land bears four crops in the year. With all this
produce and population, the traffic is enormous, and it is mainly
carried on by means of wheelbarrows, which are so contrived, by placing
the wheel in the centre and platforms at the side and behind it, as to
enable one man to wheel five hundredweight with ease. The narrow roads
of the plain are covered by an almost endless procession of these
wheelbarrows, which are often preceded by one man pulling in addition to
the man behind.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  WHEELBARROW TRAFFIC
  ON THE
  CHENGTU PLAIN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            THE WHEELBARROW
                            OF NORTH CHINA.


THIS is another form of the same baggage-carrier which is in use all
over the Empire. It is much larger than that in use on the Plain of
Chengtu, but is constructed on the same principle; by means of it one
man can wheel as much as half a ton. It is a vehicle well adapted to the
narrow roads of the country.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE WHEELBARROW
  OF NORTH CHINA
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           A SMALL HOUSEBOAT
                                 ON THE
                             YANGTZE KIANG.


IF China cannot boast of its roads, it may claim to be a country of
waterways, rivers and canals forming the chief means of communication.
The country being so large, travellers have to spend much time in going
from place to place, and living accommodation has to be provided on the
boats. It is very rough. The illustration gives a good specimen of a
small boat which may be hired for a journey. The mat roof is placed over
the open part at night. In the daytime this space is occupied by the
rowers. In the night they roll themselves up in their wadded quilts and
sleep there. In China there is no privacy, but much curiosity. No part
of your boat, although you have hired it, is sacred to you; the boatmen
pass in and out of what you may regard as your cabin without
consideration for you. Mrs. Bishop put up curtains around her cabin to
shut out prying eyes, and as far as they could the people respected her
evident desire to be alone.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A SMALL HOUSEBOAT
  ON THE
  YANGTZE KIANG
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           A FOOT BOAT FOUND
                           IN CENTRAL CHINA.


THE oars are worked by the feet instead of the arms. The sides of this
one are beautifully carved and lacquered, and protection from the sun
and rain is provided by a roof of mats, the universal form of shelter
and protection on the water.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A FOOT BOAT FOUND
  IN CENTRAL CHINA
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             HSIN TAN RAPID
                                 ON THE
                             YANGTZE RIVER.


THE rapids on the river give rise to a considerable amount of occupation
for men called Trackers, whose occupation is the dragging of boats
up-stream through the wild and dangerous waters of the rapids. These men
live in huts on the river banks as close to the water’s edge as
possible. A group of their huts is to be seen on the left of the
picture, and on the extreme left, almost too small to be visible, are
four hundred trackers dragging up a boat. At the top and foot of every
rapid on the Yangtze are to be found one or more Red Lifeboats, which
are most efficiently and admirably manned and maintained at the cost of
Benevolent Guilds—one of the many charitable guilds in the country—for
the purpose of assisting the crews of boats which get into difficulties.
Boats are frequently wrecked in their passage, and the Red Lifeboat has
saved the lives of many foreigners in the accidents attendant upon their
passage of the Rapids.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  HSIN TAN RAPID
  ON THE
  YANGTZE RIVER
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           A BOAT ON THE MIN
                            RIVER, USED FOR
                          RUNNING THE RAPIDS.


THE Min River, called also the Fu, is a western tributary of the Upper
Yangtze, but a great river in itself. Of the boat’s four sails the
lowest is of bamboo, and is let down at night to protect the boatman and
his family. The feature of the boat is its high prow, for protection
against the rocks and rushing water.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A BOAT ON THE MIN
  RIVER, USED FOR
  RUNNING THE RAPIDS
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            PART OF A FRINGE
                        OF JUNKS OR RIVER BOATS
                             AT WAN HSIEN.


ILLUSTRATING the enormous traffic on the Yangtze. This fringe of boats,
closely packed, extends for two miles along the river bank, and is an
evidence of the great trade and prosperity of Wan Hsien.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  PART OF A FRINGE
  OF JUNKS OR RIVER BOATS
  AT WAN HSIEN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             THE BRIDGE OF
                           TEN THOUSAND AGES,
                                FOOCHOW.


A COUNTRY of waterways must be a country of bridges, but the beauty of
the bridges in China is quite a surprise to the traveller. The straight
bridge of the illustration given here is built upon enormously solid
piers, which are often monoliths. The roadway is constructed of single
blocks thirty feet long. The balustrade, as well as the roadway, is
solid stone. This is the oldest form of bridge in the country, and the
bridge in the picture is one of the oldest bridges.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE BRIDGE OF
  TEN THOUSAND AGES,
  FOOCHOW
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                         A BRIDGE AT WAN HSIEN
                                 OF THE
                           SINGLE ARCH TYPE.


ONE enters almost every town or village, when travelling by water, under
a bridge of one arch, which may be anything from fifteen to thirty feet
high and of a most graceful form. These bridges are constructed of
blocks of granite cut to the curve of the bridge, and a flight of steps
leads to the crown of the arch. In the illustration the steps are
clearly shown leading to the house at the top. A most graceful and
beautiful bridge.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A BRIDGE AT WAN HSIEN
  OF THE
  SINGLE ARCH TYPE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             THE BRIDGE OF
                          MIEN CHUH SZE CHUAN.


WHEN a rich man or a company of rich men wish to benefit their province,
it is quite a common thing for them to let their generosity take the
form of the building of a bridge. This bridge was so built. It is a most
beautiful structure, both in form and colour. The roof is of green
tiles, the inside being lined with crimson lacquer, deeply incised in
gold with the names of the donors.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE BRIDGE OF
  MIEN CHUH SZE CHUAN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                                A SIMPLE
                            COUNTRY BRIDGE.


THE kind of bridge found on a secondary road in Sze Chuan, constructed
of wood roofed in with tiles, after the manner of Switzerland, to
protect it from the weather.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A SIMPLE
  COUNTRY BRIDGE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            A DRAGON BRIDGE.


QUITE a common form of stone bridge, in which every pier is surmounted
by a dragon, the national emblem.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A DRAGON BRIDGE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           THE ZIG-ZAG BRIDGE
                              OF SHANGHAI.


ITS name indicates its peculiar character. It makes nine zig-zags across
the water to the most celebrated tea house in Shanghai, and, perhaps,
the most fashionable tea house in China. It is the resort of mandarins
and people of the upper classes. Women are never seen at the tea houses.
They are patronised by men only. Women, indeed, are very little seen in
public at all. The absence of the female element is a marked feature in
Chinese life.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE ZIG-ZAG BRIDGE
  OF SHANGHAI
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           THE GARDEN OF THE
                   GUILD OF BENEVOLENCE, CHUNG KING.


CHINA is the country of guilds. All workmen and traders have their
guilds. To this rule there are but two exceptions—the water-carriers and
the trackers (men who drag the boats up the rapids); these alone have no
trade organisation. These guilds, or trade unions, are as complete and
as effective for good or harm as anything we know in this country. They
watch most jealously the interests of their craft. But the guild enters
into the life of the people at every turn. The charities of the Empire,
which are numerous, are conducted by guilds. There is, perhaps, little
personal charity and benevolence; it is safer to leave these to the
guilds. But there is scarcely a town of any size that has not its Guild
of Benevolence. Soup kitchens, clothing for the living, coffins and
burial for the dead, hospitals, free dispensaries, orphan and foundling
homes, life-boats, and many other charities are the outcome of these
Guilds of Benevolence.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE GARDEN OF THE
  GUILD OF BENEVOLENCE,
  CHUNG KING
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           A BURIAL CHARITY.


A CEMETERY, with temple attached, for the burial, with all sacred rites,
of strangers who may have died friendless. To a Chinaman the most
important event in his history is his burial. We can have no idea of
what decent burial means to him. He is thinking of it and arranging for
it all his life, and it is not to be wondered at that so large a part of
the operation of Chinese charity should connect itself with funerals. To
be suitably buried is the great hope and aim of every Chinaman.

This Cemetery, with its funeral rites, is one of the operations of a
Guild of Benevolence.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A BURIAL CHARITY
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             A BABY TOWER,
                                FOOCHOW.


WHEN a baby dies, and the parents are too poor to give it a decent
burial, they drop its poor little body into one of the openings in this
tower. A Guild of Benevolence charges itself with the task of clearing
out the tower every two or three days, burying the bodies with all
religious rites and ceremony.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A BABY TOWER,
  FOOCHOW
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             BOTTLE SELLER
                                  AND
                           HOSPITAL PATIENT.


THE hospitals of England and China have evidently many things in common.
Inside the compound of the English Presbyterian Medical Mission of
Swatow, the patients buy their bottles of the vendor as they if were
patients of Guy’s or St. Bartholomew’s. A similar incident is to be
witnessed in Smithfield any day of the week. It may be mentioned that
the hospital of this particular Medical Mission is nearly the largest in
the East. In times of stress it accommodates four hundred patients, and
in the proportion of its cures is one of the most successful in the
world.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  BOTTLE SELLER
  AND
  HOSPITAL PATIENT
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           THE DYING COOLIE.


PERHAPS because benevolence and charity are the objects of guilds, there
is very little of the personal element in either. Personal kindliness
and care for the sick and dying do not characterise the people of China.
If a man is sick to death he is of no more use, and why should time and
care be wasted on him? This coolie in the picture was one of Mrs.
Bishop’s carriers, who fell sick by the way, and though he had been a
companion of the other men for many days, they had no care for him when
he fell sick, and Mrs. Bishop was laughed at for taking the trouble to
wet a handkerchief to lay on the feverish forehead of a man who was of
“no more use.”


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE DYING COOLIE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                         THE MODE OF SEPULCHRE
                               THROUGHOUT
                            SOUTHERN CHINA.


A HORSESHOE-SHAPED excavation is made in a hillside facing south, the
whole construction being faced with stone. There is in this mode of
arranging graves a similarity to that adopted by the Etruscans.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE MODE OF SEPULCHRE
  THROUGHOUT
  SOUTHERN CHINA
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                              COFFINS KEPT
                             ABOVE GROUND.


SO careful is the Chinaman about his burial, that the date and place of
a funeral is not fixed until the geomancers have decided as to both.
Sometimes the coffins with their inmates remain above ground for months,
and even years, waiting for the professional decision as to a favourable
day. In such cases, where the friends are able, every care is taken of
them, incense being daily burned before them. It was no uncommon thing
for Mrs. Bishop, on her journey in Sze Chuan, to have to sleep in a room
where a coffin was stored, waiting the day of its interment, incense
burning and other religious rites being daily performed in front of it.
To prevent mischief owing to the retention of bodies above ground for so
long a time, the coffins are built of very thick wood, the bodies are
placed in lime, the joints of the coffin are cemented, and the whole
covered with varnish.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  COFFINS KEPT
  ABOVE GROUND
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             THE TEMPLE OF
                         THE GOD OF LITERATURE
                               AT MUKDEN.


MUKDEN is the capital of Manchuria, the Northern Province. In every
province of the Empire the God of Literature stands highest in the
Chinese Pantheon, and it is interesting to note that the God of War
stands low, though in China, as in other countries, we know women are
devoted to his worship. In no country of the world does literature stand
in such high estimation; by means of it the poorest man may climb to the
highest post in the Empire. Nothing so helps a man to a career as a
knowledge of the literature of his country. Reverence for it has become
a superstition, and societies exist for collecting waste paper and
saving any writing from indignity by burning it in furnaces erected for
the purpose in every town.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE TEMPLE OF
  THE GOD OF LITERATURE
  AT MUKDEN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             THE TEMPLE OF
                            THE FOX, MUKDEN.


ANOTHER temple at Mukden, greatly frequented by mandarins. A group of
them is seated in the centre. The temple is situated close to the city
wall, which is shown in process of decay, the descending roots of the
trees stripping off its facing, which lies and will continue to lie on
the ground. It is an admirable illustration of the way things are
allowed to go to ruin in China. The Chinese will undertake new works;
they seldom repair old ones, and an aspect of decay is consequently
frequently visible.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE TEMPLE OF
  THE FOX, MUKDEN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            WAYSIDE SHRINES.


FOUND all over the country, and commonly known as “Joss Houses.” There
is an idol in each of them. They are of interest as presenting a similar
feature to the shrine and wayside crucifixes found all over Catholic
countries in Europe.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A WAYSIDE SHRINE
]




[Illustration:

  A WAYSIDE SHRINE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          THE FICUS RELIGIOSA.


A KIND of banyan tree found in every village of the South and South
Central Provinces of China. Its foliage covers an enormous extent of
ground. The tree itself is an object of worship, and an altar for the
burning of incense is always found beneath it.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE FICUS RELIGIOSA
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                              THE ALTAR OF
                                HEAVEN.


A FINE picture of an open-air altar outside Foochow City.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE ALTAR OF
  HEAVEN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                               THE TABLET
                             OF CONFUCIUS.


WHEREVER there is a magistrate there is a temple to Confucius, in which
the magistrates do homage in memory of the Great Teacher. The tablet is
inscribed with a number of his most important sayings having a bearing
on the administration of justice. This great man has by his teaching
dominated the laws, the teaching, the literature, and the whole social
life of nearly half the human race for the last two thousand years.
These shrines are absolutely _taboo_ to the foreigner, a fact which was
learned by the traveller only after she had entered it and, finding it
absolutely empty, had made her photograph.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE TABLET
  OF CONFUCIUS
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          A PORCELAIN-FRONTED
                               TEMPLE ON
                              THE YANGTZE.


THE manufacture of porcelain has for centuries made China celebrated. It
may be of interest to refer to the fact that we owe the existence of our
Worcester porcelain works to the attempt made by a chemist to produce
porcelain in England similar to the Chinese. A great many temples in the
Empire province of Sze Chuan have their fronts and roofs of this
porcelain. They are most gorgeous in colour, and have the appearance of
being jewelled.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A PORCELAIN-FRONTED
  TEMPLE ON
  THE YANGTZE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           CHILD EATING RICE
                            WITH CHOPSTICKS.


THE Chinese eat an enormous number of things which the Western turns
from, or which he doesn’t know of. As a rule the Chinese are good cooks,
and the food is wholesome, steaming being the favourite method. Rice is
the staff of life to the masses, who eat it mixed with fried cabbage or
some other flavouring ingredient. It is seldom eaten alone. So common
and universal is rice eating that, while in French the equivalent of
“How do you do?” is “How do you carry yourself?” and in Italian “How do
you stay?” in Chinese the equivalent is “Have you eaten rice?”


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  CHILD EATING RICE
  WITH CHOPSTICKS
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                                FORT ON
                            THE PEKING WALL.


CITY walls are a great feature of the country. The illustration is of a
fort on one of the angles of the wall of Peking, the interest of it
lying in the fact that the guns showing in the embrasures are dummies,
being simply painted wood. Probably the cost of real guns went into the
pockets of some official entrusted with providing the armament of the
fort.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  FORT ON
  THE PEKING WALL
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            ANOTHER FORT ON
                          THE WALL OF PEKING.


THIS fort is filled with carronades, old guns still kept there, though
absolutely useless, being honeycombed with disuse and rust.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  ANOTHER FORT ON
  THE WALL OF PEKING
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                         COLOSSAL ASTRONOMICAL
                              INSTRUMENTS
                          ON THE PEKING WALL.


MANY hundred years old, but as bronze castings they are reckoned to be
amongst the finest in the world. And as astronomical instruments their
results differ very little from those obtained by astronomers from
appliances of the most modern construction.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  COLOSSAL ASTRONOMICAL
  INSTRUMENTS
  ON THE PEKING WALL
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            CHIEN MUN GATE.


PERHAPS the most interesting and picturesque feature of the country is
its city gates. There is a great family likeness between them, the usual
fort-like building surmounting the wall where it is pierced by the gate.
It is not a fort, however. In it are kept the gongs and other musical
instruments by means of which are announced the rising and the setting
of the sun. This is the gate which was blown up by the Japanese in their
recent attack on and entry into the city. It is the largest and most
important gate in Peking.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  CHIEN MUN GATE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                                  THE
                            GATE OF VICTORY,
                                MUKDEN.


MUKDEN, the capital of Manchuria, is officially the second city of the
Empire. In it are duplicated all the official boards, save one, that
exist in Peking, the capital of the Empire. Thus Mukden possesses its
Board of Rites and Ceremonies, of Punishments, etc., etc., just like
Peking. Close to Mukden are the ancestral graves of the Manchu dynasty.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE
  GATE OF VICTORY,
  MUKDEN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            THE WEST GATE OF
                              KIALING FU.


A MOST picturesque entrance to the city. These gates are closed at
sunset and opened at sunrise, the gongs and other instruments notifying
the hours of opening and closing.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE WEST GATE OF
  KIALING FU
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            THE WEST GATE OF
                               HANGCHOW.


ONE of the friendliest cities to the foreigner. The cry of “Foreign
devil!” is never heard within its walls. The people have had time to
learn how much they profit by the trade the foreigner brings, and by the
efforts of the missionaries to ameliorate the condition of the very poor
by their hospitals. Hangchow is a great centre of the silk trade. The
whole city, which has a population of 700,000, and the principal street
of which is five miles long, is surrounded by a wall faced with hewn
stone, such as is shown in the photograph. It is pierced by many gates.
It is a treaty port, two days’ journey from the great foreign settlement
of Shanghai.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE WEST GATE OF
  HANGCHOW
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                              THE GATE OF
                           A FORBIDDEN CITY.


IN contrast to Hangchow, though only two miles from a treaty port, it is
believed that no foreigner has ever had the foolhardiness to enter this
gate. It is a city of the fifth order only; but such is the hatred and
detestation in which the foreigner is held, it would be almost certain
death to him to enter it. This hatred of the foreigner is a very curious
characteristic of the country. No one can tell how it has arisen, for
though one can understand that the attempts of Western nations to force
open the ports of the country, and the seizure of territory by certain
of them, and perhaps the advent of the missionaries, are causes enough
to provoke opposition and hatred, they do not account for its ferocity.
The idea of the Chinaman and the Chinawoman is that the foreigner is a
child-eater, that no children are safe within his reach, that he kills
children that he may take their eyes and hearts to make into his
medicines. This belief is so deeply rooted, that when the cry of
“Foreigner!” is raised, in almost any city, the women will run into the
streets, snatch up their children, and carry them for safety into their
homes; and the cry raised is always “Foreign devil!” “Child-eater!” It
may be noted that a similar suspicion exists over a great part of
Central and Southern Europe towards the Jews, who are charged with
murdering children to mingle their blood with sacrifices.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE GATE OF
  A FORBIDDEN CITY
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             SILK REELING.


HANGCHOW is the city of silk, a wealthy and generally well-to-do city.
Everything speaks to the visitor of silk. The country is covered by the
mulberry tree, which grows in every available spot. There are thousands
of hand-looms. In the picture given, the silk is being wound into a
thread from the cocoons, which are thrown into a pan of hot water, kept
hot by a small furnace; the ends of the threads are disentangled from
the cocoon, four or five of them taken together are given a twist by the
right hand, whilst the left winds the thread on to the wheel. This is
the first step in, and the foundation of, all silk manufacture.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  SILK REELING
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           A TYPICAL ENTRANCE
                              TO A HOUSE.


THIS particular house was at Mukden, in Manchuria. The main building is
surrounded by a courtyard. The outer building contains the servants’
rooms. They live around the courtyard, the family occupying the central
building. The windows of the servants’ rooms may be seen in the outer
wall. The pillars of woodwork are highly decorated, and in the courtyard
itself there is always a flower-garden. Comparing this simple house with
a palace such as the English Legation, it will be seen that the latter
is but an amplification of the ordinary house, the number of courtyards
surrounding the chief dwelling being greater, but the principle of
construction being the same.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A TYPICAL ENTRANCE
  TO A HOUSE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          THE GUEST HALL IN A
                             CHINESE HOUSE,
                         WAN HSIEN, SZE CHUAN.


EVERY good house has its guest hall, and every invited guest knows his
place in it. A Chinaman is wretched in a foreign house because he does
not know his place in it. Etiquette prescribes everything in China, and
no matter who or what the visitor may be, he knows which chair to take.
No matter who may be present, he is never disturbed or distressed; and
when tea or pipes are introduced he enjoys them as though he were in his
own house, and both host and visitor are perfectly at their ease.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE GUEST HALL IN A
  CHINESE HOUSE,
  WAN HSIEN, SZE CHUAN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                           A CHINESE VILLAGE


ON the Min or Fu River, above the point where it runs into the Upper
Yangtze. The black-and-white architecture of the villages reminds one
constantly of Switzerland and the Tyrol. As to the village, it is by no
means lacking in organisation. Every village consists of a group or
groups of families with their head men, and over the head men are the
district magistrates. The family is the centre of everything. The
members are bound together by the strongest ties, and the family is
responsible for the individual. The people have quite a genius for
self-government, and every village is self-governing, having its
privileges, which no one dare interfere with.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A CHINESE VILLAGE
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             A FARMHOUSE IN
                           THE HAKKA COUNTRY,
                            SOUTHERN CHINA.


AN illustration of the Patriarchal system. When a son marries and brings
home his wife, he literally brings her _home_—that is, to his father’s
house; but a new gable is added to those in existence, and the house
increased for the accommodation of the new family, a custom which has
its counterpart in Italy and other parts of Europe to-day.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A FARMHOUSE IN
  THE HAKKA COUNTRY,
  SOUTHERN CHINA
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             A MARKET PLACE
                            OR MARKET STREET
                             IN SZE CHUAN.


ALL through the Empire province of Sze Chuan, the western province of
the Yangtze Basin, markets are held in the market street, specially
reserved for the purpose. On market days the street is crowded by
thousands of people, the tea and other shops are overflowing, and the
noise and shouts of the bargainers are deafening. The shops are
generally owned by farmers in the neighbourhood, who let them for the
use of merchants on market day. On other than market days they are like
deserted villages. No one is to be seen but the caretaker and his
family, who are shown in the photograph with the inevitable dog and pig
and buffalo. The building on the right is a temple.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A MARKET PLACE
  OR MARKET STREET
  IN SZE CHUAN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                              THE COBBLER.


A VERY important personage in China. He deals, however, with men’s shoes
only. The women wear tiny satin or brocaded things which they mostly
make and mend themselves. They are from two to three inches long, and
with hard-working women in the fields the feet never extend four inches.
The Chinese practice of binding the feet of girls is very old. It is, of
course, only a fashion, but it has the sanction of great antiquity. A
girl with her feet the normal shape would stand no chance of getting
married. The binding process begins very early—between four and five
generally, though sometimes it is postponed to a later date, when the
process is much more painful. The four toes are doubled under the foot,
and the large toe folded on the top. When bound together a sort of
club-foot or hoof results, but the women manage to walk in spite of
their deformity. To a western eye, the movement resembles a waddle
rather than a walk.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE COBBLER
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            CARRYING LIQUID
                                 MANURE
                             TO THE FIELDS,


IN the great fertile plain of Sze Chuan, where four crops a year are
taken off the ground, this is an enormous industry. The Chinese cannot
afford any waste; everything must go back to the ground. We seek to get
over the deterioration of the land by changing the crops. In China the
same crops have been grown on the land for a thousand years, and it
shows no signs of deterioration.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  CARRYING LIQUID
  MANURE
  TO THE FIELDS.

  _Photo: G. S. Haya._
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          THE MARRIAGE CHAIR.


IN which a bride of the upper classes is carried to her husband’s home.
It is often a very beautiful thing, gorgeous with its embroidery in silk
and colours. People who are not rich enough to have one of their own can
hire them for the occasion. In China large families are the rule. If a
mother dies, the women of the village suckle and bring up the child
between them, and children are not weaned until they are from three to
five years of age. Chinese women are very modest and kind-hearted, are
faithful wives, and, according to their own notions, good mothers. In
Sze Chuan there is no trace of infanticide, but it is practised in many
parts of the Empire.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE MARRIAGE CHAIR
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            MODE OF CARRYING
                            CASH AND BABIES.


IN travelling, the carriage of money is a great annoyance, owing to the
smallness of its value and the large number of coins or “cash” necessary
to make up an amount of any size. Exchanging eighteen shillings English
for brass cash, the weight of them amounted to seventy-two pounds, which
had to be carried by the coolies. These cash have a square hole in the
middle, and are strung together upon a piece of straw twist. Should the
straw break, the loss of time in getting up the pieces is much more than
the loss of the money. The Chinese are honest, very keen at a bargain,
but when the bargain is made the Chinaman may be depended on to keep it.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  MODE OF CARRYING
  CASH AND BABIES
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                              A PAI-FANG,
                            OR WIDOW’S ARCH.


THESE are often very fine structures in stone, wonderfully carved, or in
wood highly decorated. It is not uncommon to enter a town under quite a
succession of them. Very fine ones are often found at the entrance of
very squalid villages. They are erections put up to honour widows who,
faithful to the memory of their husbands, have remained widows, devoting
themselves to good works and to the service of their parents-in-law,
which is the great duty of every good wife. Permission of the Emperor
has to be obtained for their erection. The various towns and villages
take pride in their “widows’ arches.” It is not uncommon to find a
shrine for the burning of incense beside the arch.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  A PAI-FANG,
  OR WIDOW’S ARCH
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                            TWO SOLDIERS OF
                               SZE CHUAN.


THE military are usually dressed in picturesque but unserviceable, not
to say grotesque costumes, the carnation red, beloved of the Chinese,
and blue being the prevailing colours. They carry fans, and often paper
umbrellas. They are ill-trained and indolent, lounging about the gates
of the cities or the streets gambling and smoking. Their curse is that
they have nothing to do.


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  TWO SOLDIERS OF
  SZE CHUAN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             OPIUM CULTURE
                              ENCROACHING
                           ON THE RICE LANDS,
                               SZE CHUAN.


THE great system of irrigation at Sze Chuan was intended for the
cultivation of rice only; but the great and terrible growth in the
demand for opium has caused the cultivation of the poppy so to increase
that it is encroaching on the rice lands.

This may be regarded as the saddest and most terrible fact as regards
the future of China.

The use of opium is of comparatively recent date, but the growth and
spreading of the habit has been most rapid.

At the first, both local and government officials did their best to stop
it and to stamp out the culture of the poppy; but although laws were
passed making death the penalty for its cultivation they became a dead
letter, until to-day it is estimated that eighty per cent. of the men
and fifty per cent. of the women, in one or two populous provinces, are
opium smokers. They do not all smoke to excess. There are moderate
smokers as we have our moderate drinkers; but all through the province
of Sze Chuan the opium shops are as thick as the gin shops in the lower
parts of London.

It is not necessary to dilate on the effects of opium when freely
indulged in. They are too well known. China’s only hope is to emancipate
herself from the vice that is eating away her manhood. But will she be
able to do it?


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  OPIUM CULTURE
  ENCROACHING
  ON THE RICE LANDS,
  SZE CHUAN
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------








                               PRINTED BY
             CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE,
                              LONDON, E.C.








------------------------------------------------------------------------




 ● Transcriber’s Notes:
    ○ The Errata described on page iv has been fixed.
    ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
    ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
    ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
      when a predominant form was found in this book.
    ○ Text that:
      was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).





*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHINESE PICTURES ***