(SiOtmll Itttocratta ffithratg 
 
 atljara. New 5«k 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM WASON 
 
 COLLECTION 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE 
 
 THE GTFT OF 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM WASON, 
 
 CLASS OF 1875 
 
 1918 
 
Cornell University Library 
 DS 709.B58 
 
 3 1924 023 131 042 
 
The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924023131042 
 
S^-'^i.^^'/in^y^c.d^e^^ 
 
 '//L^ 
 
 A YEAR IN CHINA 
 
The \angtze Kiang Rapids. 
 
 [Frontispiece : 
 
A YEAR IN CHINA 
 
 1899-I900 
 
 BY 
 
 CLIVE BIGHAM, C.M.G. 
 
 {Late Hon. AttacM to H.M. Legation in Peking) 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited 
 
 NEW YORK : THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 I 901 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
%^ 
 
 Richard Clay and Sons, Limited, 
 London and Bungay. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This book only purports to be a record of the 
 personal experiences and impressions gained during 
 nearly eighteen months' stay in the Far East. Part 
 of this time was spent in travel, part in diplomacy, 
 and part in fighting. 
 
 High questions of statecraft, strategy and finance 
 have been avoided, nor has any attempt been 
 made to discuss the recent or to advise the future 
 policy of the British or any other Government. 
 But it is a pleasure to remember the courage, com- 
 petence and perseverance of those who work for 
 this country in China. 
 
 It was the author's privilege to serve under both 
 Sir Claude Macdonald and Sir Edward Seymour, 
 and to experience great kindness from many consuls, 
 naval officers, missionaries, and merchants, and also 
 from several native officials. He takes this oppor- 
 tunity of thanking them most heartily for their 
 hospitality and assistance, and of wishing them all 
 prosperity and success in the future. 
 
 C. C. B. 
 
 London, 
 March, \(;f3i- 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CANTON TO HANKOW I 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 HANKOW TO PKKING 23 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE BRITISH LEGATION • 39 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THROUGH MANCHURIA 51 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 EASTERN SIBERIA 69 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE KOREAN LITTORAL 80 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 SEOUL 92 
 
viii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER- VIII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 UP THE YANGTZE KIANG I03 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 WESTERN SZECHUAN 1^2 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 CHENTU TO SIANFU . 134 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 DOWN THE YELLOW RIVER 147 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 TIENTSIN AND PORT ARTHUR 159 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 168 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN ON THE AMUR 192 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE RAILWAY ACROSS ASIA 203 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 CONCLUSION , 213 
 
CONTENTS i 
 
 APPENDIX A 
 
 PAGE 
 
 LIST OF THE CHINESE PROVINCES > . . , 219 
 
 APPENDIX B 
 THE JOURNEY ACROSS ASIA 220 
 
 APPENDIX C 
 THE TRANS-MA NCHURI AN RAILWAY 222 
 
 Glossary of Words 223 
 
 Index 227 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 THE YANGTZE KIANG RAPIDS Frontispiece 
 
 THE CANTON RIVER To face page 4 
 
 FLOWER GARDENS AT CANTON „ „ 7 
 
 RICE FIELDS „ „ 16 
 
 DOWN STREAM „ „ 20 
 
 BUND AT HANKOW „ „ 1^ 
 
 BRITISH CONSULATE- GENERAL, HANKOW ... „ ,,27 
 
 STREET IN KAIFONG „ „ 3I 
 
 TARTAR CITY WALL, PEKING „ „ 37 
 
 HUNCHBACK BRIDGE NEAR PEKING „ „ 41 
 
 APPROACH TO THE MING TOMBS „ „ 49 
 
 A MANCHU FAMILY „ „ 52 
 
 CHINESE BANKERS AT MUKDEN „ „ 59 
 
 CROSSING THE RIVER SUNGARI „ ,,67 
 
 PEASANTS ON THE RIVER AMUR „ „ 7 1 
 
 CHINESE CART „ „ ^^ 
 
 KOREAN COOLIES „ „ 82 
 
 KOREAN HUTS „ „ 88 
 
 KOREAN GOLD MINES „ „ 88 
 
 STREET IN SEOUL „ „ 95 
 
 MARBLE PAGODA NEAR SEOUL , „ 98 
 
 BRITISH GUNBOAT „ „ 108 
 
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 CHINESE GUNBOATS To foce page io8 
 
 CHINESE CROWD ON BANKS OF YANGTZE ... „ „ m 
 
 POPPY FIELD (opium) „ » IH 
 
 BRIDGE IN SZECHUAN „ j, 119 
 
 TIBETAN TRIBESMAN „ „ 123 
 
 IRRIGATION WATERWHEEL „ j, 129 
 
 COOLIES CARRYING COTTON „ . ,; 137 
 
 THE CANGUE „ ji 142 
 
 TARTAR GENERAL AND HIS COURT „ „ H^ 
 
 MANDARIN WITH BUTTON AND FEATHER ... „ ,, 155 
 
 RUSSIAN RAILWAY AT NEWCHWANG „ ,, l6o 
 
 CHINESE SOLDIERS „ j, l65 
 
 REPAIRING THE LINE „ „ 174 
 
 GUN ON TRUCK „ ,,174 
 
 RUSSIAN SOLDIERS WITH PRISONERS „ „ l88 
 
 A RUSSIAN GENERAL „ ,,198 
 
 BURIATS OF THE AMUR „ „ 2o6 
 
 IRKUTSK „ „ 210 
 
 MAPS 
 
 COUNTRY BETWEEN PEKING AND TIENTSIN . . To face page 1 78 
 
 CHINA PROPER Atendqfbook 
 
 MANCHURIA AND KOREA „ „ 
 
 THE RAILWAYS OF ASIA „ 
 
A YEAR IN CHINA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 CANTON TO HANKOW 
 
 Early in April 1899 I arrived in Hongkong 
 after a rather lively run of five days from Singa- 
 pore. My destination was the British Legation at 
 Peking, to which I had been attached, and where 
 I contemplated spending some time. It was three 
 years since I had paid my first visit to China, and 
 this had been limited to the Turki city of Kashgar, 
 which lies at the extreme western verge of the 
 Empire on the lower slopes of the Pamir Plateau, 
 and contains only a limited number of Chinese 
 mandarins and a small garrison of soldiers. My 
 modest knowledge of the Celestials, of their country 
 and their customs, was therefore mainly derived 
 from books, and from what I had seen of them on 
 my journey out in Rangoon, Upper Burma, and the 
 Straits Settlements. There, although they are an 
 important and increasing factor in the population 
 
 B 
 
2 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 and wealth of the colonies, their political existence 
 has hardly as yet begun. 
 
 Hongkong was at that time mainly occupied 
 with the approaching annexation of the new 
 territory of Kowlung, which was to be formally 
 taken over by the British Government in a 
 fortnight. The executive of the island was already 
 engaged in erecting on the mainland barrack 
 accommodation for the troops and police, and in 
 generally preparing the natives for the change of 
 rule and the comparative civilisation that it would 
 entail. Within the last few days, however, a 
 considerable number of anti-foreign or "patriotic" 
 placards had been posted and disseminated in the 
 small market town and villages of Kowlung. As 
 this was calculated to cause trouble at the outset, 
 though it was presumably only the work of a few 
 ill-conditioned and irresponsible outlaws, Sir Henry 
 Blake, the Governor of Hongkong, determined to 
 personally visit at his Yamen in Canton the 
 Viceroy of the Two Kwangs (as the provinces of 
 the South China Littoral are called), and so 
 endeavour to nip any insurrection in the bud. His 
 Excellency, with whom I was staying, allowed me 
 to accompany his staff as extra A.D.C., and we 
 started early one morning on H.M.S. Fame, one of 
 the destroyers then in harbour. 
 
 From Hongkong to Canton, up the broad 
 estuary of the Pearl River, is little over eighty 
 miles, a distance which we accomplished in the 
 very respectable time of three hours and a half, 
 
CANTON TO HANKOW 
 
 Steaming at twenty-three knots. We scudded 
 across the narrow straits in among the green Httle 
 islands, and soon entered the river. Once past the 
 Bogue Forts the low banks begin to close in, and 
 some faint idea of the enormous traffic and floating 
 population of the vast Chinese city dawns on 
 one. Heavy stern-wheelers, junks of the most 
 grotesque design, gaudy flower boats and fragile 
 sampans underlie a regular forest of masts and 
 bunting, and are alive with swarms of half-naked 
 coolies, chattering traders, singing girls and sailors, 
 all with their families and children — a world whose 
 ancestors have probably been more or less am- 
 phibious for the last five centuries. As one nears 
 Canton, with its beautiful pagodas and terraced 
 gardens, a perfect babel of noise becomes incessant, 
 everybody screaming orders, advice or abuse at the 
 pitch of his or her voice, so that it is a marvel to 
 the callow European how anything ever progresses. 
 The secret seems to be that no one pays the 
 slightest attention to what any one else says, and the 
 rower, porter or skipper, while yelling derisive 
 directions to some other craft fifty or sixty yards 
 away, still manages to go on with his own work, 
 though he is always apparently just on the point of 
 deserting it in order to assist or assault some one 
 else who is absolutely unconscious of his existence. 
 
 To steer a path through such a turmoil would 
 ordinarily be a labour of hours, were it not that 
 Chinese courtesy, extraordinary luck or "beneficent 
 influences" (a safe and comprehensive term that 
 
 B 2 
 
A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 involves no " loss of face ") invariably opens, as if by 
 magic, a clear way for the foreign warship. So we 
 glided on and soon anchored off the British 
 Consulate with the usual celerity and accuracy that 
 distinguish H.M. Navy. The Consul's boat, flying 
 his blue ensign and manned by Chinese rowers, 
 came off for us, and we went on shore to get into 
 uniform for our state visit. 
 
 The Viceroy, Tan-chi-lin, had been warned of 
 our arrival, and had turned out all the available 
 troops in the city to line the two miles of streets 
 from the gates of the Settlement to his Yamen. 
 Many of these warriors however, promiscuously 
 armed with tridents, matchlocks, and modern rifles, 
 were only coolies dressed up for the day. The 
 practice of officers commanding Chinese regiments 
 is to keep their roster up to full strength (on 
 paper), and indeed to draw the equivalent pay and 
 rations for the benefit of their private pocket, but 
 not to curtail the liberty of the subject by enforcing 
 his attendance at parades or other duties except 
 on extraordinary occasions such as the present. 
 
 Our cortege started in ten four-bearer chairs, the 
 Governor wearing his G.C.M.G. collar and the 
 rest of us in full dress. " Even their buttons are 
 solid gold " murmured the rabble, and this spe- 
 cious affluence to a certain extent restrained those 
 •delicate or indelicate innuendoes with which the 
 passing foreigner is usually saluted in a Chinese 
 ■city. Our progress was necessarily slow as we 
 were carried through the narrow crowded streets 
 
CANTON TO HANKOW 
 
 between shops glittering with gorgeous sign-boards 
 and stacked with silks, ivory and drugs, or steaming 
 with hot food of all sorts. Numerous spectators of 
 every class, from mandarin to beggar, presented an 
 infinite variety of humanity, their countenances a 
 study of interest, apathy or dislike — but they gave 
 their feelings no hostile demonstration. 
 
 After nearly an hour's ride we at last arrived at 
 the double gates, emblazoned with the orthodox 
 dragons, of the Viceregal Yamen. The regulation 
 pause of two minutes ensued and then these were 
 flung open and a vista of courtyards was disclosed, 
 the central passage being lined with silk-clad 
 officials in red plumed hats, blue feathers and 
 crystal buttons, between whom we were borne up to 
 the steps of the audience chamber. 
 
 Here, the chairs being set down, the Dzungduh 
 or Viceroy, dressed in fur and satin and with his 
 red-buttoned hat on, received us surrounded by his 
 court, and then led us into a gilded and mirrored 
 hall. In this we took our seats at a long narrow 
 table, our host at the top, with Sir Henry Blake 
 and the British officers on the right, and his own 
 satellites on the left. The minor myrmidons and 
 such of the crowd as had been able to surge into the 
 outer precincts of the Yamen, were already packed 
 against the glass windows of the hall, whence for the 
 next two hours they devoured us with their eyes. 
 
 As soon as the first compliments had been 
 exchanged a cold collation was served, consisting 
 mainly of fruits and sweetmeats, accompanied by 
 
6 A YEAR IN CHINA cpAP. 
 
 the peculiar but inevitable champagne which is 
 known to all residents in China as Taotai Brand. 
 The same bottles, costing two shillings apiece, do 
 duty at many banquets, and though no European 
 has ever been daring enough to drink it, the liquor 
 presents a hospitable not to say a luxurious 
 appearance. The ice being thus broken a discussion 
 commenced with regard to the matters in hand, 
 during which I had my first experience of Chinese 
 diplomacy and its elusive obstinacy. The Governor 
 spoke, the Consul translated, and the Viceroy 
 replied. Occasionally a satellite concurred. Time 
 flew by. We endeavoured to look as impenetrable 
 asour vis a vis, and not to feel cold. At last the 
 unctuous arrogance of the Viceroy began to merge 
 into a valedictory geniality. There was a pause, an 
 official sighed, and tea appeared. The interview 
 was terminated. 
 
 With mutual deference the Governor and the 
 Viceroy carefully lifted and sipped their cups at 
 exactly the same moment to show their equal rank. 
 We followed suit ; and in an atmosphere of com- 
 parative warmth we took our leave and returned 
 the way we had come. 
 
 The garrison and the patient crowd, now con- 
 siderably augmented in numbers, were still at their 
 posts, consumed with curiosity, and hardly had we 
 got back to the Consulate when a return visit of two 
 Taotais arrived to present Sir Henry Blake with 
 the Viceroy's compliments and adieux. 
 
 The destroyer did not waste much time in getting 
 
CANTON TO HANKOW 
 
 back to Hongkong, its high rate of speed and 
 the resulting wash causing considerable excitement 
 along the river banks, where the junkmen evidently 
 looked on it as some new and highly dangerous 
 class of "devil boat," with which they had been 
 hitherto unacquainted. 
 
 I had now determined, instead of proceeding up 
 the coast by the ordinary mail steamer to Shanghai, 
 to make my way across the provinces of Kwangtung 
 and Kiangsi to Hankow on the Yangtze Kiang. This 
 southern part of China had recently been very little 
 travelled in, and promised from its dense population, 
 its fertile country, and its convenient waterways, to 
 afford a journey of interest and value. Accordingly 
 I returned in a day or two from Hongkong to Canton 
 and visited its famous temples and flower-gardens. 
 Having then with the assistance of the Consul 
 made my arrangements, I went on by a small steam 
 launch to Samshui, the Treaty Port at the junction of 
 the North and West Rivers. Here a junk was to meet 
 me, and from here the real start was to be made. 
 
 My preparations were on no large scale and did 
 not take very long. The most important question 
 was that of servants, the next that of food. 
 
 A reliable, bold, and more or less honest servant 
 is a prime necessity in any inland voyage in the 
 East. It is, I know, rather the fashion to run 
 ■down Chinese " Boys," as they are called, and to 
 accuse them of systematic peculation, indifference 
 to their master's interests, cowardice and lying, but 
 I am much inclined from my personal experience to 
 
8 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 disagree with most of this. Either I always had 
 exceptional luck, or else the average Chinese servant 
 is much better than he is painted. My first man, 
 who came from Hongkong and accompanied me 
 on the journey I am now describing, was perhaps a 
 cut too high for roughing it, and so did not enjoy 
 particularly good health, but otherwise he was 
 honest, hardworking and smart, a combination of 
 virtues which is not often met with. Subsequently 
 H. M. Consul at Newchwang found me a man 
 who was with me for all the rest of my time in 
 the Far East, and who displayed, in addition to 
 the qualities mentioned above, a very remarkable 
 degree of courage and loyalty, on more than one 
 occasion risking his life for his master. It would 
 therefore ill become me to decry a class that have 
 served me so well, and with whom as a rule I 
 have been well content. Responsibility and "face " 
 have of course a great deal to do with their conduct. 
 One can always count on one's head man — No. i 
 Boy as he is called — far more than on a subordinate. 
 He is more or less bound to see you through. He 
 has got some idea of the European way of looking 
 at things, and he as a rule identifies himself with 
 the interests of your dignity, your comfort and your 
 purse, quite as much from a queer Chinese code of 
 honour he possesses, as from the hope of personal 
 profit. 
 
 After servants comes food — also a very vital 
 question in the East, as on it to a great extent 
 depends one's health. In the present instance I 
 
CANTON TO HANKOW 
 
 was going to travel most of the way by boat, the 
 most expeditious and convenient method in the 
 south of China, where rivers are numerous and cart 
 roads non-existent. Accordingly it was possible to 
 carry more stores and baggage than is generally 
 advisable. I therefore laid in a stock of flour, 
 tinned meat and light wine — things which are almost 
 a necessity in a land where rice supplies the place 
 of corn, and where the water is nearly always unsafe 
 to drink. Some simple cooking things, a roll-up 
 bed, a^pith helmet, a carbine and cartridges and a 
 Union Jack completed my outfit. The last item 
 is of considerable value, as the various " likin," or 
 inland customs stations, which are dotted all over 
 the interior of China on the mountain passes and 
 chief waterways, at once recognise the foreign 
 ensign at the masthead, and your boat sails past 
 the office of the greedy but disappointed tax- 
 gatherer without opposition. It also brings home 
 to the lines of junks waiting their turn at the barrier, 
 and dismally speculating on how much they are 
 going to be robbed of by the "kwan," the fact that 
 the " flag covers the goods," and suggests to them 
 the utility of " transit passes," if not of British 
 nationality and free trade. 
 
 As regards the carbine, it was taken out of 
 deference to my "laoban " or skipper, and was only 
 once used to shoot (at) an eagle. Pirates of the 
 most bloodthirsty and invincible character were 
 said to be swarming on the North River. Any one's 
 life, especially a foreigner's, was said to be not worth 
 
lo A YEAR IN C'HINA CHAP. 
 
 three days' purchase, and though my junk's crew 
 of five men were (said to be, by themselves) the 
 bravest and most devoted Chinese in the province 
 of Kwangtung, the captain felt it incumbent on him 
 to emphasise the danger by refusing to proceed 
 under any circumstances. This necessitated his 
 having an interview, at the instance of the English 
 Commissioner of Customs who was my host and 
 mentor, with the civil magistrate. A transfer of 
 property at that official's Yamen (of five dollars or 
 forty blows with the bamboo, I did not inquire 
 which), resulted in the skipper's discovering that 
 the whole tale of the pirates was a mistake, and 
 that if the "Daren" took a gun (for "look see") 
 the journey to Shaochoufu at the head of the 
 river would be expeditious, secure, and even agree- 
 able. So everything was comfortably settled. 
 
 It only remained to get a coolie or second man 
 to help my servant, and here again my friend the 
 Commissioner came to my aid. In order not to lose 
 time he "borrowed" for me a soldier from the 
 detachment of the Imperial Chinese Army then 
 quartered at Samshui. His pay was to be twelve 
 Mexican dollars a month (twenty-four shillings), 
 allocated as follows : three dollars to the captain of 
 his company "not to know"; three dollars to his 
 sergeant " to let him go " ; and the remainder, with 
 his food, for himself. 
 
 At 2 p.m. on the afternoon of April 8th we 
 unmoored from the shore opposite the single 
 European house of the Treaty Port, exploded 
 
CANTON TO HANKOW 
 
 the customary fire-crackers to appease water-devils 
 and others, and to attract any "south beneficent 
 influences " that might be handy and disengaged, 
 and turned our bows to the north. 
 
 The junk was a small flat-bottomed wooden craft 
 drawing twenty-four inches, and about thirty feet 
 long and eight broad. There was a short open 
 deck forward, on which the men rowed or poled in 
 the day and slept at night ; amidships a cabin in 
 which I had a table, chair and bed ; with a smaller 
 cabin behind it in which my servants lived ; and aft 
 of that again the dwelling place of the skipper, his 
 wife and family, where also the cooking was done. 
 By extricating himself from this lair through a sort 
 of porthole arrangement, the skipper was able to 
 emerge on a two foot poop, whence he generally 
 directed the navigation, steering by a long tiller 
 that projected over the roof. The mast was im- 
 mediately in front of my door, and outside the 
 cabins along the gunwale ran a six inch footboard 
 which served as a gangway from stem to stern. 
 
 The usual method of progression was by tracking, 
 three men on the towpath, one piloting sounding 
 and fending off at the bows, and the laoban at the 
 helm ; but if the water was deep enough two big oars 
 or huloes slung on to stout posts on the foredeck 
 were used instead. When there was a propitious 
 wind we sailed, and if the water was exceptionally 
 shallow the men punted along the footboards. We 
 averaged thirty miles or so a day, going from dawn 
 to sunset with an occasional halt for food, and 
 
A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 invariably moored along the bank in the evening, 
 
 as nearly all Chinese are, or profess to be, mortally 
 afraid of travelling by night. The hire of the boat 
 
 was fifty dollars, and the two hundred miles up to 
 
 Shaochou took us seven days. 
 
 The country, which is mainly under rice varied 
 by occasional tea plantations and mulberry groves, 
 is at first rather flat, but as we ascended the river 
 we gradually got among the hills. The scenery 
 then became very attractive. High cliffs with 
 temples built into the rock, and dragon gods and 
 goddesses painted on the stone, hung over the 
 water. On every salient bluff or wooded hill stood 
 a storied pagoda, more or less ruinous but always 
 picturesque, and generally dominating some queer 
 little village or town. 
 
 This disposition of pagodas round a town is a 
 most important item in its prosperity. Their 
 function is not only to attract and direct healing and 
 rich "spirits," but also to ward off, if possible in the 
 direction of a rival community, evil, poor and 
 burning " influences." The science of Fengshui 
 (wind and water) appears to resemble billiards, as 
 angles, resistance and covering have all to be taken 
 into account. For instance, if you build a high and 
 expensive pagoda just opposite a hill that lies on 
 the southward aspect of a town, it would not only not 
 be beneficial to it, but might even do it considerable 
 harm. The good influence coming along from the 
 south would be deflected by the hill into some new 
 cross country direction, which would benefit nobody. 
 
CANTON TO HANKOW 13 
 
 while disaster hurrying down the current would first 
 be blocked by the hill and then thrown back on to 
 the town. The solution in this case would be, I 
 think (though I speak under correction), a stone wall 
 with two "terrifying war god" pictures, built to the 
 north of the town and at a higher altitude than the 
 bill, while a geometrical arrangement of two or more 
 pagodas in Echelon to the east would not only pro- 
 tect the flank from bad devils, but would decoy or 
 shunt good south influences into a sort of siding, and 
 bring them to rest in the town. The subject, as 
 also that of graves, is an abstruse and often an 
 <irbitrary one, but it affords an honourable livelihood 
 to a large tribe of priests and geomancers. Indeed 
 these gentlemen are not infrequently quite unable 
 to find a propitious burial spot for the defunct rich, 
 thus relegating the corpse to his heir's drawing- 
 room, until the latter meets their views as to 
 remuneration. 
 
 The first town of any importance which lay on 
 our road was Yen Hsien, where I landed to explore 
 and for the first time heard the expected but none 
 the less annoying cry of Fan-kwei. It is of course 
 the ordinary term by which the Chinaman in the 
 street designates the foreigner, and some sinologues 
 have even gone So far as to invest it with a com- 
 plimentary character, translating it " Ocean Spirit " 
 instead of "Foreign Devil." It has, I confess, 
 always struck me as rather the reverse, and 
 Europeans generally feel it their duty, when possible, 
 to emphasize this opinion to the Chinese. 
 
H A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP 
 
 As I entered the street one youth (at a safe dis- 
 tance) called to another : — 
 
 " Hey yah, it is a devil ! " 
 
 "A devil/ What sort?" 
 
 " Oh ! a/oretgn devil." 
 
 " Yes, a devil. A foreign devil ! " 
 
 " So it is. A foreign devil ! Heh yah, see the 
 foreign devil." 
 
 And so on. After a little time it becomes hack- 
 neyed and even offensive to the Aryan listener. 
 In this particular case active retaliation was pre- 
 cluded by distance, so I had to be content 
 with a look of dignified ignorance, which may or 
 may not have deceived. But it takes a long 
 time to tire a Chinaman. 
 
 A few miles beyond this place we descried the 
 British colours on an even smaller junk than 
 mine, and coming up alongside found a gentle- 
 man who was going to prospect for some mines 
 in the vicinity of Shaochou. We continued our 
 journey together for the remainder of the way to 
 the Fu city, and spent several very enjoyable 
 days examining the temples and occasionally pick- 
 ing up some small game. Going up stream one 
 can nearly always count on walking faster than 
 the boat, and accordingly little excursions into the 
 villages can be made, or corners cut off, as the river 
 always winds. Going down however, especially 
 with the wind behind, more care has to be exer- 
 cised, as otherwise there is a fair chance of being left 
 sans everything, out of sight and mind, on the bank. 
 
I CANTON TO HANKOW 15 
 
 We arrived at Shaochoufu on the seventh day 
 from Samshui, and I at once set about getting land 
 transport. The river can be ascended for another 
 fifty miles or so, but going is very uncertain, particu- 
 larly at that season of the year when the freshet had 
 not come down. My object now was to get across 
 the Nanling Mountains which separate the provinces 
 of Kwantung and Kiangsi, and form the water- 
 parting of the Canton and Yangtze river systems, 
 the Kan, one of the chief affluents of the latter, 
 being navigable directly the hills are crossed. 
 
 Without much trouble my servant chartered a 
 dozen coolies and cane-chair bearers for the 
 hundred miles that lie between Shaochou and 
 Nanan, and after a day spent in seeing the 
 walled city, which is a small, poor and dirty edi- 
 tion of Canton, I started in the early morning with 
 my first Chinese escort. This consisted of four 
 Yamen soldiers clad in straw hats, baggy red 
 sleeveless coats like tabards and decorated with 
 inspiring Chinese characters, blue cotton trousers 
 and pith sandals. Their arms were one snider, 
 one prong, one sword, and four parasols. Nomin- 
 ally these soldiers are supplied free of charge by 
 the Imperial Government, but in fact they have 
 to be paid 20 cents a day for their food, as other- 
 wise they would starve or pillage. As a rule 
 however they are well worth their hire, for they 
 will, short of actual fighting, assist and protect 
 their whilom employer, get him rooms at the inns, 
 groom his horses, and even carry his chair. The 
 
i6 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 so-called " hotels " in this part of the country are 
 very bad, but luckily I was more or less entertained 
 by the Chinese authorities the whole way. Every 
 night on arriving at the walled city which in these 
 populous provinces always marks the stage, we 
 found some old Yamen, temple or Examination Hall 
 set apart for us, where we were much more comfort- 
 able and quiet than at a , crowded inn. Whether 
 the places we stayed in were regular Kung Kuans 
 or " pavilions for travellers of distinction," I never 
 discovered, but I rather fancy they were not, and 
 ascribe the mandarins' care of me either to a 
 fictitious idea of my importance, or more probably 
 to a wise prevision that in view of any possible 
 trouble with such a rara avis as a foreign official, 
 he had better be kept as secret and apart as possible 
 during his stay. 
 
 At Nanhiung I found two German missionaries 
 who very kindly supplied me with bread, my flour 
 being finished, and later on at Kian I met some 
 French Catholic priests who showed me the 
 courteous hospitality for which they are deservedly 
 famous. With these exceptions I never saw a 
 European until I got to the Poyang Lake, which is 
 practically a part of the river Yangtze. 
 
 The coolies used to make excellent going, hurry- 
 ing along the narrow winding paths that are banked 
 up between the paddy fields, with their poles on 
 their shoulders and my baggage dangling at either 
 end over the slimy depths of mud in which a 
 buffalo, a peasant and a plough were generally 
 
Rice Fields. 
 
CANTON TO HANKOW 17 
 
 wallowing. Every hour or so we would come to 
 a wayside teashop, when they would halt to drink 
 some tea or swallow a bowl of rice, cheerfully going 
 on again in five or six minutes and solacing them- 
 selves the while with a pipe. Frequently we had 
 to cross the river by ferries and this was again 
 a little rest for them, while there was always an 
 organised mid-day meal of half an hour's duration 
 at which the loads were redisposed and shifted. 
 Personally I used my chair very little, except on 
 going into towns or when the sun became too hot, 
 and so was able to see a good deal of the country 
 and the people. There is a continual stream of 
 passengers, as the great land trade route from 
 Canton to Central China passes this way, and 
 though since the introduction of steam on the 
 Yangtze much of the through commerce has been 
 deflected to the river, the inter-provincial and local 
 traffic still follows the old road. 
 
 On the fourth day we reached the mountains. 
 The Nanling range here rises to little over 1,000 
 feet, and is easily crossed by the fine rock-hewn 
 causeway of the Meiling Pass. At its summit an 
 ancient arch marks the boundary between the two 
 provinces of Kwangtung and Kiangsi, and close 
 to the crest are the sources of the Pe and the Kan 
 rivers. The peasants about here are mainly Hak- 
 kas, speaking a dialect of their own, while their 
 women, like the boat population of Canton, do not 
 bind their feet. Closely adjacent on the west lies 
 the province of Hunan, bisected like Kiangsi by 
 
 c 
 
i8 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 a fine waterway (the Siang) that also drains to the 
 Yangtze through a great lake (the Tungting). 
 
 We got to Nanan the same day and were met 
 outside the city gates by an outrider from the 
 Yamen, who stated that a boat had already been 
 chartered by the Prefect for my conveyance down 
 the river, and was anxiously awaiting my arrival. 
 
 This message deceived us, and we followed the 
 ^'tingchai ;" but after we had been led by a circuit- 
 ous route outside the walls to the river bank and 
 had waited there for over an hour, an intimation 
 came that there had been a mistake and that the 
 boat would not be ready till next day. My servant, 
 who had alreadv been on two journeys to the 
 Yamen to see some one or other was still for 
 temporising, but as it was getting late and the 
 gates might now be shut at any minute, I felt that 
 a policy of deeds would be more effective than 
 further words. Accordingly I had the baggage 
 put on to a likely-looking boat of the light junk 
 type that had been " negotiating " for some time with 
 us and was, I strongly suspect, the craft that had 
 been detailed for the duty of transporting us south, 
 and then we ourselves embarked. I next paid off 
 my coolies, instructed my servants to prepare my 
 dinner and their own and to cease discussing the 
 question as to whether the skipper could or could 
 not go. I also advised my walking escort and some 
 Yamen cormorants who had appeared. to "assist" 
 me, that no gratuities would be disbursed until a 
 start was made. There was a certain amount of 
 
I CANTON TO HANKOW 19 
 
 outcry on the part of the boat's crew, but my people 
 were tired and hungry and not inclined to argue 
 much more, while direct appeals to myself I warded 
 off with the blessed words " Pu-tung " (I do not 
 understand). 
 
 Eventually a bargain was struck at a reason- 
 able enough price, and at last at eleven o'clock at 
 night we again started, both wind and stream being 
 with us. 
 
 From here onwards the run was delightful. The 
 scenery till far down the river was typical Chinese 
 willow-plate pattern — wooded cliffs, painted pagodas, 
 strings of straw-hatted, blue-coated coolies wheeling 
 barrows or carrying loads, and occasionally long 
 tent-roofed villages or bastion-walled towns, with 
 fleets of junks and sampans moored along their 
 embankments. We kept up a good pace for the 
 weather was unusually fair, and the monotony 
 of sailing was pleasantly enlivened by the number 
 of rapids that we had to shoot, most of them only 
 eight to ten inches fall, but swirling along with a 
 tremendous noise and always necessitating a large 
 fusillade of propitiatory fireworks. 
 
 At Kanchou we were boarded by a fresh escort 
 of two soldiers, and henceforward all the way down 
 to the capital, Nanchang, we were never without 
 "military protection," the relief being generally in 
 waiting at some unlikely headland, whence they had 
 to be rescued by us with great labour and difficulty. 
 They were I am sure quite needless, but as they 
 helped a good deal on the boat and often got us a 
 
 c 2 
 
20 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 "right of way" through the packed shipping in 
 front of a town, it seemed better to keep them. 
 
 Kian was the next big place, and here as we 
 arrived I saw a crucifix on the roof of a fairly large 
 house that faced the river. On going ashore I 
 found that this was a station of the Lazarist Fathers, 
 who entertained me with some very interesting 
 conversation and an excellent meal. They have 
 been established in this part of China for many 
 years and quite identify themselves with the people, 
 dressing in Chinese clothes and eating Chinese 
 food. The language they of course know as well 
 as any European can ever hope to and they are 
 very charitable, so that they are in sympathy with 
 many of the poorer families and have a considerable 
 number of converts. 
 
 It was ten days before we at last arrived at the 
 provincial capital of Nanchang, and during the last 
 hundred miles the country had become much flatter. 
 On debouching however on to the Poyang Lake a 
 fine range of hills comes into view, beyond which 
 lies the great Yangtze Kiang. Nanchang itself is a 
 large rambling city without any particularly striking 
 buildings and not too clean. It is noted mainly for 
 its modern porcelain, as Kintechin, the Imperial fac- 
 tory, is not far off on the eastern shore of the lake. 
 The inhabitants are said to be anti-foreign, but as 
 far as I was concerned they were quite well disposed. 
 Indeed most of them were so taken up with staring 
 at me, my clothes, hair and eyes that they had little 
 time to evince hostilities. In point of fact I doubt 
 

 < 
 
 ♦; 
 
 
 * 
 
CANTON TO HANKOW 
 
 whether they ever realised that I was a foreigner, 
 as in these parts the only foreigners ever seen are 
 missionaries, who wear queues and native dress, 
 and they probably looked on me as some rare, 
 unknown class of heaven-descended being. Outside 
 the town the paddy fields were nearly all under 
 water and in many cases full of fish, for in the 
 spring the thrifty and economical husbandman 
 collects spawn from the rivers and ponds, and rears 
 a second but finny crop while he cannot otherwise 
 employ his land. 
 
 At Nanchang began the most dangerous part of 
 the journey, for the one hundred and fifty miles run 
 across the Poyang Lake to Kiukiang, the nearest 
 Treaty Port on the Yangtze, had to be performed 
 on a native worked Chinese steam launch. My 
 servant contrived to get me a cabin as far removed 
 as possible from the engine-room, and by the dispen- 
 sation of Providence nothing untoward occurred, 
 but he muttered in a most mournful voice as we 
 steamed off : 
 
 " Engineer all same dam fool ; no savvy nothing. 
 I very fear must too big explosion." However, he 
 was a pessimist. 
 
 The lake itself is very pretty and dotted with tiny 
 ^reen islands, which are sometimes submerged and 
 sometimes attached to the mainland. One especially, 
 a high upstanding rock with a fortified temple on 
 its summit, recalls the castles of the Rhine and is 
 a striking landmark for many miles. Rounding this 
 in the afternoon we bore west into the broad turbid 
 
22 A YEAR IN CHINA CH. i 
 
 expanse of the Yangtze Kiang, and going forty miles- 
 up it from the mouth of the lake arrived at 
 Kiukiang before night. 
 
 Here I spent a night at the Consulate and then 
 caught the regular steamer on to Hankow, a 
 hundred and fifty miles further up the river and in 
 the province of Hupeh. Here my journey ended 
 for the time being. The distance from Canton by 
 this route is about i,ioo miles and had taken us 
 twenty-four days. 
 
 At Hankow I was most kindly entertained by 
 Mr. Pelham Warren, the British Consul-General,, 
 and here I spent some little time before going on 
 again to the north. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 HANKOW TO PEKING 
 
 Hankow is the chief Treaty Port of Central 
 China, and is the highest point on the Yangtze Kiang 
 to which large steamers can ascend. It stands at 
 the confluence of the Han with the Yangtze and is 
 the distributing mart of the tea trade. In the last 
 ten years its importance has increased enormously 
 and it seems probable that in another decade it will 
 be the largest city in the whole empire. 
 
 From a Chinese point of view however Hankow 
 itself is nothing, and Wuchang, the viceregal 
 capital on the opposite shore, is everything. 
 
 During the week I spent here I visited Wu- 
 chang, which it need hardly be said does not 
 compare for life, activity, wealth, and population 
 with Hankow. It is however an interesting place. 
 Although on this occasion I did not meet His 
 Excellency Chan-chi-tung, the celebrated Viceroy of 
 the Hukwang provinces, I was able to form some 
 idea of his enlightened and beneficent rule from 
 the progressive state of the local administration. 
 There was at Wuchang at that time an excellent 
 
24 A YEAR IN CHINA chap 
 
 college, directed by German officers, for the educa- 
 tion of the Chinese army cadets. Although the 
 inmates, strange as it may appear to us, have to be 
 paid and fed by the Imperial Government in order 
 to induce them to enter the institution at all, they 
 turn out smart and intelligent pupils. The mis- 
 fortune is that not a few of the best of them, 
 having learnt English, Western geography and 
 history and the principles of engineering, with a 
 view to becoming soldiers, are, on leaving the 
 establishment, attracted by the superior pay and 
 advantages offered them by a business life. In 
 consequence not a few of them on completing their 
 course of education at the expense of the State, 
 refuse their commissions as officers, and elect to 
 follow the more lucrative but less bellicose pro- 
 fession of a comprador or mercantile manager. 
 
 It must be remembered of course that the civiliza- 
 tion of China has been for centuries purely literary, 
 the military career being always held in contempt and 
 confined to the lower and illiterate classes. There 
 has been no chivalry as in Europe, and the warrior 
 caste, instead of being honoured as it has been and 
 still is among both Christian and Mohammedan 
 nations, has been immemorially identified with 
 brigands and boors, who are ignorant of the polite 
 arts — a necessary evil, but in no way comparable with 
 the great learned bureaucracy that is founded on the 
 teaching of Confucius and the sages. 
 
 Whether any rate of emolument or any access of 
 rank will ever be able to eradicate this idea it is 
 
II HANKOW TO PEKING 25 
 
 hard to say. But until soldiering generally is more 
 respectable and more respected in China, it will be 
 difficult to organise a practical army, and almost im- 
 possible to form a corps of officers. It may indeed 
 be said that European officers are what is wanted 
 for the Chinese, and not native ones, who might not 
 only be unreliable and peculating, but even at times 
 dangerous to the progress of European interests. 
 This may be so, but there must always be that 
 intermediate class, the Subadars and Jemadars of 
 India, the N.C.O's of England, who are of the 
 men and yet above them, and who keep in touch 
 and in sympathy both with their superiors and 
 with the rank and file. These can only be formed 
 from amongst the natives themselves and are an 
 absolutely essential factor for the well-being of any 
 disciplined force that is to be effective. Whatever 
 the solution is the question can hardly fail to be 
 of the greatest interest when the reformation of the 
 Chinese army is taken in hand, especially now that 
 we know that the material for good troops certainly 
 exists and only needs proper development. 
 
 Besides the college, where both the drill and 
 bearing of the cadets as well as their knowledge of 
 the subjects of education struck me as of a dis- 
 tinctly high standard, I saw some " foreign-drilled " 
 troops in Wuchang. These were chiefly from the 
 province of Hunan, which with Shantung produces 
 the most independent and bravest men and also 
 those of the best physique in the empire. Here the 
 comparison between the ordinary, slouching, dirty 
 
26 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 Chinese "brave" and these fine, tall fellows, well 
 set up and smartly dressed, was most remarkable. 
 Militarism had evidently come into fashion through- 
 out the whole quarter, for even the unclad infant 
 was parading the gutter with a flag and a drum, 
 and saluting the foreigner as he passed in correct 
 Teutonic fashion — a most unusual and unorthodox 
 pastime for the juvenile Celestial. Altogether I 
 was agreeably surprised by the capabilities shown 
 by the troops that were under foreign officers, and 
 when I subsequently fought beside the men of our 
 own Wei-hai-wei regiment, who are nearly all from 
 Shantung, I was still more impressed by their 
 discipline and daring. There is to my mind no 
 doubt whatever that, given the proper conditions, a 
 really efficient army could be raised and maintained 
 in China by a foreign Power. 
 
 The Viceroy however has by no means confined 
 his attention and organising faculties to his soldiers. 
 He has a first-class mint with modern apparatus, 
 turning out silver dollars and smaller coin which 
 have become deservedly popular in his provinces. 
 At Hanyang he has a large iron foundry and 
 arsenal, and at the Liu mines in Hunan he has 
 built a narrow gauge tramway to bring coal down 
 to the Siang river. He possesses quite a flotilla of 
 shallow draught steam launches which ply up the 
 Yangtze and across the Tungting Lake, and is 
 really doing his best to assist and encourage the 
 trade of his viceroyalty in every way. Neverthe- 
 less the little Treaty Port of Hankow, with its 
 
Bund at Hankow. 
 
 British Consulate-Ge.nerai., Hankow. 
 
 [/^ai\^ ^ • 27. 
 
11 HANKOW TO PEKING 27 
 
 splendid bund and its long line of magnificent red 
 brick houses, stands as an ever-present object lesson 
 of the power, the riches, and the advance of the 
 foreigner, even to the most progressive Chinaman. 
 To the retrogressive it is no doubt a hateful, 
 barbarian eyesore, and the only modern manu- 
 factures that he can tolerate are probably the new 
 cannon which he hopes will some day knock it 
 all down. 
 
 In Hankow I was considerably interested in 
 observing the commercial strides forward that the 
 Russians have made during the last few years. 
 Hankow is the central tea mart of the whole Empire, 
 and as the great mass of Chinese tea goes to Russia 
 it is perhaps natural that the Russians should be 
 very much in evidence. Their leading firms now 
 have branches established in Ceylon, and the Chinese 
 and Singalese teas are blended and so find their way 
 into the Western European market, where they are 
 again creating a demand. The Russo-Chinese Bank, 
 which has a good deal to do with the financing 
 of the Lu-Han Railway, the new line that is to 
 run from Hankow to Peking, has also a large and 
 prosperous agency here and is competing strongly 
 with the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Cor- 
 poration. The principal river steamboat companies, 
 which ply down to Shanghai and up to Ichang and 
 even to Chungking, remain English ; for the Ger- 
 man, Japanese, and American carrying trade is as 
 yet very small on the inland waters. The bulk of 
 the imports is also still British, though the three 
 
28 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 last-named nations are making yearly progress in 
 supplying China with cheap modern articles. 
 
 To attempt however to epitomise the trade or the 
 trading prospects of Hankow is not my intention. 
 Better and more copious information can be 
 discovered in those excellent Blue-books which are 
 so often published and so rarely read. But one 
 thing should not be forgotten. It is this. When 
 the trunk lines from Peking and Canton are 
 completed, their point of junction, Hankow, situ- 
 ated as it is at the centre of the chief waterway in 
 the Empire, will increase enormously in affluence 
 and importance. It is already the focus of the 
 markets of China, the seat of her most powerful 
 Viceroy, and one of her largest cities. When the 
 railways that connect it with the northern and 
 southern littorals are built, it will become the 
 commercial metropolis of the entire country. 
 
 There is another thing. The Manchu dynasty 
 may well decide in view of recent events to 
 permanently change the site of their capital — for 
 now that the effective possession of Manchuria has 
 gone from them the raison d'itre of Peking has 
 gone with it, and indeed its proximity to Manchuria 
 may even constitute a danger. 
 
 Should they so decide, Hankow would appear to 
 offer the best situation for a fresh seat of govern- 
 ment. Sianfu, remote and unapproachable from the 
 south and the east, lies strategically open to the 
 north-west, and isolated as it is can never attain to 
 any position by its trade. Chentu is in an almost 
 
11 HANKOW TO PEKING 29 
 
 unknown country, out of touch with the coast and 
 close to the frontiers of barbarian Tibet. Nanking 
 could always be threatened by the fleets of the 
 foreign Powers. 
 
 Hankow, however, is both far enough from and 
 near enough to the seaboard to be in communication 
 with but not in danger from it. It is already rich, 
 and it has the most brilliant prospects before it. It 
 is hard by the loyal province of Hunan. It is in 
 fact at the centre of resistance of China. As a 
 capital it would tempt the most reforming monarch 
 or the most reactionary court, and its selection should 
 promote not only the trade, but also the political 
 stability and civilisation of the whole Empire. 
 
 Beyond meeting officials and local specialists 
 there is little of China itself to be seen in a Treaty 
 Port, and after a week's stay in Hankow I prepared 
 to continue my land journey to Peking. The route 
 I had selected was roughly that to be followed by 
 the Lu-Han Railway ; straight over the great plain 
 to Kaifong the capital of Honan, across the Yellow 
 River to Weihui, and thence down the Wei Ho 
 to Tientsin and Peking — making another thousand 
 miles or so in all. 
 
 I started in scorching heat at the end of May, 
 travelling in a chair or on horseback myself, and 
 with my baggage in three cumbrous native wheel- 
 barrows. These machines are harnessed to one 
 coolie in front and pushed by another behind, and 
 bump over the primitive roads slowly and 
 ponderously, making a dreadful noise. Before two 
 
30 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 days had gone by I changed them for a small cart 
 drawn by three horses, which I found much lighter 
 and quicker, and much less trouble to look after. 
 
 We crossed the low hills that mark the northern 
 watershed of the Yangtze at a distance of a 
 hundred miles from Hankow, and the scenery then 
 became and continued for many days absolutely 
 monotonous. An unbroken, treeless plain of cracked 
 and dusty loess, parched white and brown with the 
 sun and very little watered ; the villages built 
 of mud, dirty and crowded ; the population poor, 
 hard-worked and heavy-eyed, and showing neither 
 intelligence nor energy. 
 
 The inns were wretched hovels for the most part, 
 a distinct change for the worse after the clean 
 stone temples and spacious halls I had lodged at 
 in the southern provinces. There were hardly any 
 buildings of note or beauty, and even the local 
 mandarin was generally housed in some dusty, 
 tumble-down old Yamen, with broken painted doors 
 and crumbling walls. 
 
 My escorts also became more and more ragged as 
 we proceeded, and the poverty of the country was 
 well exemplified by a small official who attached 
 himself to my people and begged me to pay for his 
 nourishment. After ten days' rather tedious but 
 solid marching we at last arrived at the substantial 
 city of Kaifongfu, interesting as having formerly 
 been the home of the Chinese Jews. It is not 
 known for certain when Judaism first made its entry 
 into China, but it was probably during the sixth or 
 
n HANKOW TO PEKING 31 
 
 seventh century, in the wake of Islam. The Jews 
 were called the " people who cut the sinew," alluding 
 to their habit of preparing food ; but as time went 
 on they got merged in the stronger religion of 
 Mohammedanism, and fifty years ago nothing but a 
 deserted synagogue and some forgotten scrolls of 
 the law attested their whilom existence. 
 
 Kaifongfu is the regular northern type of city, 
 with huge clay walls of twenty miles circuit, 
 massive battlements and beetling gates — like an 
 enormous factory — and inside vast empty spaces 
 that are often under water. The streets are broad 
 and deep, either in mud or dust ; the shops are 
 mere booths with few wares in them, and there is 
 a general air of neglect and decay about the whole 
 place. Life is much more stagnant here than in the 
 south, and one does not see the same comfort, the 
 same traffic or the same vitality as in Canton and 
 on the Yangtze. The people, though supposed to 
 be anti-foreign, chiefly I believe because very few 
 foreigners ever go to Kaifongfu, struck me as 
 much less inquisitive though more apathetic than 
 I had expected, and certainly did not trouble us 
 at all. 
 
 I was hurried on however almost at once, by the 
 news that the Yellow River was in flood and likely 
 to be difficult to cross, and accordingly I determined 
 to lose no more time on the road than was abso- 
 lutely necessary, especially as the summer heat was 
 now becoming intense. 
 
 The ten miles from the city down to the southern 
 
32 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 or right bank of the mighty Hoang Ho we easily 
 accomplished, but we were there disagreeably sur- 
 prised to find a packed mass of thirty or forty carts 
 waiting for a single ferry-boat that was barely 
 capable of accommodating two. We were now 
 informed that no craft had crossed for three days, 
 owing to the strong wind and current, and that 
 if one did make the attempt the chances were that 
 it might spend anything from ten to forty hours 
 en route. 
 
 By dint of money, exhortation, and the per- 
 suasive powers of my escort, who had no intention 
 of spending a night on the bank, we at last man- 
 aged to get the ferry-boat people to take us on 
 board at any rate. Some forty foot passengers 
 were also admitted, apparently as my guests, for 
 they did not pay. Most comprehensive prepara- 
 tions as if for a sea voyage were then made, and 
 finally we started across, punting in a diagonal 
 direction towards the opposite shore. 
 
 The Yellow River is here about a mile and a half 
 broad and averages three feet deep, with a four to 
 five knot current. There are practically no towing 
 paths, for the cliffs at the sides are eroded under- 
 neath and always falling in. The uncertain channel, 
 rapid freshets and general vagaries of the stream 
 render sailing up it a most laborious task, while 
 going down is very dangerous. This does not much 
 matter as there is nowhere to go to, and in thirty 
 miles or so the river becomes quite unnavigable. 
 Crossing it is however a necessity, and accordingly 
 
II HANKOW TO PEKING 33 
 
 huge lumbering ferry-boats are hauled, poled or 
 pushed over daily. 
 
 In our case we were, I suppose, lucky — at least 
 so my companions said. Personally I should not 
 care to experience an unlucky crossing if it is much 
 worse than ours was. First of all the crew stripped, 
 got into the water and began to drag the flat- 
 bottomed boat slowly along. After about three hours 
 of this, with a rushing current and wind against us 
 on the beam, we found ourselves nearly in mid- 
 stream. There was then a halt for tiffin and the 
 anchors were dropped, things apparently going on 
 as well as could be expected. 
 
 After an hour's wait, however, when I suggested 
 continuing, the skipper inform^ed me that his men 
 were too tired and were not sufficiently numerous 
 to work the boat over under such conditions. He 
 proposed, he said, waiting until dark, in the hope 
 that the wind would then abate. This did not suit- 
 me at all, and I pointed out that not only my party 
 but no one on board had any food. The skipper 
 said that did not matter and was not his business.. 
 An increase of pay was suggested, but met with no 
 response. There was then a dreary pause of half 
 an hour more, during which I took counsel with my 
 servants and soldiers. 
 
 The skipper was then approached again with a 
 view to his enlisting or impressing the other native 
 passengers to help to push the boat over, as his 
 own men were evidently not strong enough for the 
 job. This he flatly refused to do, and so we were. 
 
34 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 at last driven back to the ancient but convincing 
 argument of force. 
 
 My servant at my instance explained to the 
 passengers that it would be for the good of all that 
 they should assist in getting the boat across, and he 
 offered them a small honorarium for doing so. He 
 added, however, that should they demur to this 
 proposal the foreign Excellency would be compelled 
 to resort to other measures. As there was still 
 hesitation, not to say recalcitrancy, plainly visible, 
 while the sailors refused to move at all, I then took 
 the nearest and assisted him into the river, which 
 was here about thirty inches deep. The effect was 
 instantaneous, for in a few seconds every one from 
 on board was stripped and up to his waist in the 
 river, pushing the boat for dear life. By this 
 somewhat arbitrary way, often the only solution of 
 difficulties in China, we completed our crossing of 
 the Yellow River, arriving in the evening on the 
 northern shore after a seven hours' passage. As far 
 as I could discover no one of the impressed coolies 
 was particularly annoyed, most of them treated the 
 affair as a joke, and all were distinctly glad to be on 
 dry land in time for supper, and to get the few 
 strings of cash we gave them apiece as a reward 
 for their labour. 
 
 We ourselves pressed on and got to an inn some 
 miles from the river late that night, proceeding next 
 morning on our road to Weihui at the head of the 
 Wei River. 
 
 Wide grass embankments here protect the low- 
 
II HANKOW TO PEKING 35 
 
 lands from the devastating floods, and after these 
 are passed one enters a more fertile district, where 
 fruit, corn and millet are universally grown. Rice 
 has now become a rare and expensive luxury, 
 though as soon as one strikes the Grand Canal 
 it again gets cheaper, that being the route by which 
 all the tribute rice comes up to Peking from the 
 Yangtze and the southern provinces. The country 
 round is also rich in coal and iron fields, some of 
 which are included in the concessions of the Peking 
 Syndicate. About these I shall have occasion to 
 speak later on. Here there is in consequence con- 
 siderably more evidence of diffused prosperity than 
 south of the Yellow River, though, except for the 
 orchards, the scenery both of town and country is 
 unattractive. 
 
 In two days we came to Weihui, and the land 
 part of the journey was now over. The town is 
 small and mean, and only exists by reason of its 
 position at the navigation limit of the Wei Ho, but 
 we were very glad to see it. 
 
 I now engaged a narrow cramped boat of a new 
 pattern, "a Tientsin house-boat," not nearly so 
 comfortable as those on the southern waterways, 
 and started down the little river to the north. The 
 banks are steep, the country closely cultivated and 
 the flat fields interminably swept by dust storms 
 which often compel one to lie-to for a whole day 
 or more. 
 
 After some 250 miles we joined the Grand Canal 
 at a big likin station, where chains were slung 
 
 D 2 
 
36 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 across the river to prevent any boat from passing^ 
 without paying the inevitable tax. The flag by day, 
 however, or the cry of " Haikwan " (Sea Customs) 
 or " Yingkwo " (English) by night, speedily cuts the 
 Gordian knot in the case of a foreigner, while the 
 small official in charge, roused from his sleep ta 
 unlock the chain, looks down from his lair above 
 with disappointed avarice. We went on very late 
 every evening as there was a moon and made on 
 this journey very good time, so that by June 1 5th 
 we entered the immense press of boats which 
 crowds the canal entrance to Tientsin. 
 
 This enormous native city, with its million in- 
 habitants and its comprehensive trade, is one of the 
 most thriving places in the Empire. The Chinese 
 railways begin here, and the Treaty Port has always, 
 been an important commercial centre. Events which 
 are subsequently described brought Tientsin later 
 on into such prominence that it is not my intention 
 to do more here than briefly notice it. It is the 
 so-called port of Peking, though ships no longer 
 ascend the Pai Ho higher than Tongku, thirty 
 miles lower down, owing to the silting up of the 
 river during the last ten years. It is the only Treaty 
 Port of the metropolitan province of Chili, and the 
 actual seat of its Viceroy, who nominally resides at 
 Paotingfu. From it radiate the lines to Peking, 
 Shanhaikwan and Manchuria, and near it at Tong- 
 shan are situated the headquarters of the Imperial 
 Chinese Railways and the coal mines that first 
 initiated their construction. 
 
" HANKOW TO PEKING 37 
 
 It has a good settlement, divided into the 
 EngHsh, French, American and German quarters, 
 some fine streets and wharves and a very large and 
 Rowing trade. The chief foreign export is wool, 
 which comes down on camel back from Kalgan and 
 Kansu, and the main imports are piece goods and 
 fancy articles. Being contiguous to the capital, the 
 tribute rice, to which I have alluded above, is here 
 collected before being despatched to feed the Manchu 
 bannermen of Peking. Great masses of salt for the 
 province are also stored here, and the banks of the 
 Pai Ho are as crowded with bales as its waters are 
 blocked with junks. The inhabitants, like those of 
 Shantung, are tall and hardy, and are credited with 
 being " very courageous." They certainly under- 
 stand bluff very well, and in China that is often 
 -another word for courage. 
 
 The journey from Tientsin to Peking is accom- 
 plished in three hours by a fast train over a double 
 track line that follows more or less the course of the 
 river as far as Yangtsun, where the latter curves 
 away to the right. It is the work of Mr. Kinder 
 and his excellent staff of English engineers (in the 
 pay of the Chinese Government), and had at that 
 time only been running for a year or so. Already 
 it had become immensely popular with the country 
 folk and was paying a large dividend, the services 
 being quick and regular and the line and rolling 
 stock of the best. 
 
 Leaving in the morning and crossing over the 
 gentle upward slope of the plain, the hills beyond 
 
38 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. U 
 
 Peking soon come into view. The terminus at 
 Machiapu, two miles from the metropolis, lies by 
 the wall of the South Hunting Park, and a tram 
 line runs in from here to the south gate of the 
 Chinese city. (Since the Boxer rebellion and the 
 capture of Peking the railway is to be continued 
 to the city walls.) 
 
 Here I was met by one of my friends from the 
 Legation, shot, alas ! during the siege last year, and 
 we rode up by the Temple of Heaven to the great 
 Chen Mun or South Gate of the Tartar City. Close 
 inside these walls is situated the British Legation, 
 once the palace of the Manchu Duke Liang, and 
 here I now took up my quarters, not sorry to rest 
 a little after the dust, the heat, and the labour of 
 travelling over the Great Plain. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE BRITISH LEGATION 
 
 The work in one of His Majesty's Embassies or 
 Legations is, as a rule, most interesting, and as in 
 an Asiatic capital the calls of society are not great, 
 one can devote one's spare time to seeing some- 
 thing of Chinese life, as much as it is possible to 
 do so. 
 
 It is obvious that a public servant is unable to 
 discuss the subjects of his work except in the most 
 general manner, and as generalisations are never 
 particularly edifying or entertaining I do not propose 
 to deal with the matters that occupied us in the 
 Legation during the summer of 1899, beyond saying 
 that things were quiet for the most part and that no 
 very vital diplomatic questions were in progress. 
 To most of us indeed everything seemed to fade 
 in importance before the stupendous heat. The 
 thermometer used to rise regularly to 110° by three 
 o'clock in the afternoon, and on one or two occasions 
 even to 1 1 5°, about which we boasted by telegraph 
 in Canton. The new summer residence in the hills 
 
40 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 was not then completed, so that we had to pass 
 June, July and August in Peking itself. 
 
 Life, however, inside the high walls of the Lega- 
 tion, with its broad lawns and a comparatively pure 
 atmosphere, was far more supportable than outside 
 in the dusty malodorous streets. The curse of 
 Peking is that it is absolutely impossible to avoid 
 the foul sights and smells that infest it and make it 
 superlatively disgusting even for China. The 
 European eye may perhaps become more or less 
 callous after years of education, but the European 
 nose never. 
 
 Foreigners also are by no means popular in 
 Peking, a fact that is early made patent to the 
 new-comer. Even if one is not actually shouted at, 
 one is frequently followed by an ill-conditioned 
 rabble, and this makes going about unpleasant. In 
 one way it does not matter very much, for there is 
 little now to see in the way of sights. One by one the 
 objects of beauty or interest, such as the Temples 
 of Heaven and Earth, where the Emperor sacrifices 
 twice a year, and the great Llamaserai of the 
 Buddhist priests, have been closed to barbarian 
 visits, and one even has difficulty in walking on the 
 city wall. The society is no less limited, for there 
 is no " Treaty Port," and practically the Diplomatic 
 Corps, the Headquarters Staff of the Imperial 
 Maritime Customs and the missionaries, are the 
 only foreigners who reside in Peking. The buyer 
 of objets dart is much better and more comfortably 
 served in his own house than in a shop, for the 
 
1" THE BRITISH LEGATION 41 
 
 patient and unflagging vendor of curios brings his 
 best things — porcelain, ivory, silver or silks — to the 
 " Yinkgwo-fu," and prefers to exhibit them there 
 rather than surrounded by a crowd in the street. 
 Finally exercise can be got in the Legation, where 
 there are fives courts and tennis grounds, and even 
 an embryonic bicycle track. 
 
 Accordingly, it is quite possible to pass a summer 
 in Peking and never leave the precincts of civilisation, 
 for the Legations, the Club, the Bank and the 
 shops frequented by Europeans, all lie in a single 
 small corner of the Tartar City. 
 
 Excursions of course there are, to the temples in 
 the Western Hills, to the Great Wall and the Ming 
 Tombs, and to Kalgan or Jehol — the traditional 
 trips of the globe-trotter — but these are not Peking, 
 and they have been so often and so well described 
 that I do not propose to recount them here. 
 
 A visit to the Tsungli Yamen may perhaps amuse 
 the reader, for it is, with rare exceptions, open only 
 to officials. As we are now told that the Board 
 itself is to be abolished, it may in the future attain a 
 glamour of antiquity or interest which it certainly 
 lacks in actuality. 
 
 One goes in a green chair or a blue cart, according 
 to one's rank, with an escort of Chinese outriders or 
 tingchais curvetting round on skittish Mongol 
 ponies. After a clamorous ride through a filthy 
 street the chair is dumped down in a mean and 
 dirty courtyard, and its occupant ushered by an 
 underling into a broad barely furnished room full of 
 
42 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 windows and draughts, and divided into two by a 
 half screen. Down the centre of its upper portion 
 are a long table and some dingy chairs. 
 
 "Some of their Excellencies" (the Members) 
 and occasionally his Highness (the President, who 
 is a prince) then filter in and sit down, making 
 listless inquiries about the foreigner's health. 
 Servants flutter round with tea and pipes ; and 
 expectoration, sleep and private gossip go on freely 
 among the Chinese contingent. I remember once 
 sitting next to Shu Daren, who had been Chinese 
 Minister in St. Petersburg when I was at the 
 British Embassy there. I recalled it to him. 
 "Woachitou" (I know), he said. "You were an 
 " ah-tah-shey " (attache). At this remark his 
 colleagues contemplated him with pained surprise, 
 not to say displeasure, while he exhibited a pardon- 
 able pride at knowing even a word of the " devil 
 tongue." In point of fact I am convinced that the 
 poor old gentleman thought it was my family name, 
 and was as supremely innocent of French as he was 
 of English or Russian. But he was a progressive, 
 and lived the part, though it subsequently cost 
 him his life. At the Manchu Council held last 
 June, just before the siege of the Legations began, 
 he with one other high official alone dared to lift up 
 his voice against the foolhardy policy the Empress's 
 advisers were initiating. Then and there, like 
 another Lord Hastings, his head was cut off, his 
 death attesting a courage and patriotism which are 
 rarely found among the great mandarins. 
 
"I THE BRITISH LEGATION 
 
 43 
 
 To return to the Tsungli Yamen. After com- 
 pliments, as they say in despatches, the subject in 
 hand, whatever it is, is opened by the Minister or 
 Charge d' Affaires and translated aloud by his inter- 
 preter. One of the members may respond, and if 
 he does a long discussion on both sides ensues. 
 The Chinese arguments are usually an extraordinary 
 mixture of childish folly, abysmal diplomacy and 
 naked truth. 
 
 Suppose, for instance, the proposal of a British 
 company to build a railway from Peking to the 
 North Pole is under consideration. The Chinese 
 objections (for there always are objections) are 
 somewhat as follows : 
 
 (i) The south aspect of the Confucian gate at 
 Kalgan would be subjected to a hot, unbeneficial, 
 not to say blighting influence by the engines passing 
 near it. 
 
 (2) The Patagonian Envoy would be angry. 
 
 (3) The honourable inns in Peking would be so 
 crowded by poor ignorant people coming in to see 
 the new magnificent railway that there might be a 
 devastating famine. 
 
 (4) It would be necessary to obtain the consent 
 of all the Mongol princes along the route selected. 
 This would take time and cost money. Who would 
 pay for it ? 
 
 (5) The feelings of many other people (not 
 stated who) would certainly be hurt if they were 
 not asked to take a share in the construction (and 
 the profits). 
 
44 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 And so on. This is the usual class of opposition 
 one has to deal with. And as fast as one argument 
 is met another equally futile is advanced. Fre- 
 quently however the answer is that the particular 
 Minister who deals with such questions is away 
 worshipping his ancestors, and that therefore the 
 matter must stand over. Or if that will not satisfy 
 the foreigner, then an eifusive consent is given. 
 Next time however that the question is alluded 
 to, a week after, it is alleged that the consent was 
 a complete dissent and that the interpreter made a 
 mistake, or else the infallible card is played of " the 
 Throne." "The Throne regrets, but . . . "and 
 after that a fresh beginning had to be made. 
 
 The Throne is the mysterious and final deus ex 
 machina that the mandarins invariably fall back 
 on as a last resort. Barbarians do not often see 
 it. When they do at Imperial audiences they are 
 never quite certain that it really is it. It always 
 speaks in an unknown tongue (Manchu) that is 
 dubiously translated into high-flown Chinese by 
 his Highness, kneeling on his knees and shivering 
 in the cold, divine glare. Behind the Throne there 
 is the still more potent power that directs it. But 
 to this no decent or well-educated Chinese ever 
 alludes. 
 
 The European community is still almost entirely 
 ignorant of what passes inside the hallowed walls of 
 the Forbidden City. Probably a great deal less of 
 real political import and a great deal more of paltry 
 court intrigue occupies the time than is usually 
 
"I THE BRITISH LEGATION 45 
 
 supposed. The only foreigners who are really 
 at all in touch with Chinese native feeling are 
 the missionaries, and these only in the provinces 
 and with a small section of the lower classes. 
 
 So far the mandarinate has successfully opposed 
 the entry of Christianity into its own ranks, for 
 any mandarin who followed a Western religion 
 would at once lose his place. To some extent 
 the position is analogous to that occupied by the 
 Early Church in the Roman Empire during the 
 first century. A few staunch adherents, a few 
 vehement opponents, but the great mass ignorant 
 and indifferent. It is devoutly to be hoped that a 
 similarly victorious career lies before missionary 
 enterprise in the Eastern as it did in the Western 
 world. No social revolution and no intellectual 
 education could so thoroughly advance the moral 
 and material evolution of China as the willing 
 adoption of the Christian faith. 
 
 That the missionaries go about their work in 
 the right spirit few can doubt. That they always 
 adopt the best methods is more open to criticism, 
 at any rate from the political standpoint. But then 
 a utilitarian criticism has never been desired or 
 accepted by the Lutheran Church, and even the 
 proselytism of Rome cares little whether secular 
 opinion approves their propaganda, or whether they 
 are justified by results. 
 
 "These things," says the Church, "are too far- 
 reaching in their ends and too broad in their scope 
 for the generation of a day to judge of Nothing 
 
46 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 that statesmen or diplomatists can do will ever 
 now seriously check our attempts to spread the 
 faith, even though in certain cases they may be 
 modified or directed by national aspirations. We 
 can afford to disregard the outside public, to work 
 on our own wide lines. We believe we are doing 
 what is right, and in our eyes the high aims of 
 monarchs or the blind movements of peoples are 
 infinitely subordinate to the unalterable decrees of 
 Heaven, whose ministers and soldiers we are." 
 
 There is much truth in this. The missionary 
 body is a vast cosmopolitan force possessed of an 
 influence and an affluence that are yearly increasing. 
 Its servants are actuated by motives which hardly 
 enter into the narrow business purview of the 
 ordinary layman. They almost live in a different 
 plane of thought. But they are a political power 
 to be reckoned with, and it is better that they 
 should be with us than against us, for the Church 
 has always proved itself a puissant friend or a bitter 
 enemy. 
 
 In Peking and in the Treaty Ports the visitor 
 who inquires about missions and their work will 
 always hear a great deal about the rice Christians — 
 that is to say those Chinese converts whose 
 steadfastness depends mainly on the material 
 benefits that accrue to them from their religion. 
 No doubt there is reason for this imputation in 
 many instances ; but there is also a vast amount of 
 exaggeration. Any one who in the recent sieges of 
 the foreign quarters in Peking and Tientsin saw 
 
HI THE BRITISH LEGATION 47 
 
 the thousands of natives that stuck to their new 
 faith, who read of the thousands that were martyred 
 for it in the provinces, can hardly question their 
 honesty and single-heartedness. A year ago the 
 general European opinion in China was that the 
 Chinaman was a born indifferentist. The same 
 cynical attitude obtained as to his courage ; he was 
 a born coward. The events of 1 900 have convinced 
 most people who took part in them of the radical 
 error of these two views. Under his apathetic 
 exterior the Chinaman has after all a soul. He is 
 apparently capable of being a good Christian just 
 as he is of being a brave soldier, and the discovery 
 is as important for the ethical as it is for the 
 practical world. 
 
 Of the other two factors in the foreign society of 
 Peking the Customs are the smaller and the 
 diplomats the larger section. Both are cosmo- 
 politan bodies, though the English element is well 
 to the fore in both. Our trade naturally entitles us 
 to a preponderant proportion in the allocation of the 
 posts in the Customs service, which is also presided 
 over by a Britisher. Our Legation in like manner 
 is a bigger establishment than that of any other 
 country, owing to the fact that the British Consular 
 Corps in China has exceptionally large requirements. 
 In the Legation the Student Interpreters, who 
 subsequently become Consular Assistants and 
 Consuls, learn the language of their adopted 
 country and to some extent their future political, 
 judicial and commercial work. After two years at 
 
48 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 Peking they move on to a Treaty Port and begin to 
 put theory into practice. There are often as many 
 as twenty of them in Peking at a time, besides an 
 efficient staff of older men who act as the Chinese 
 Secretaries. So that the diplomatist who comes from 
 a European or other post to pass a year or two in 
 China is rather a superfluity in the presence of so 
 much expert knowledge. 
 
 Of the Chinese in the capital one sees very little. 
 It is the same with the Turks in Constantinople or 
 with the Persians in Teheran. No Chinaman, 
 whether an official or a private person, who is worth 
 knowing, will frequent the hous e of a ' foreign 
 devil ' — let alone a Legation. It would cause him 
 to be suspected by his friends and his superiors 
 and might easily cost him his position. And 
 besides the regular stereotyped contempt, which it 
 is the proper fashion for the mandarins to affect 
 towards us, there is also a good deal of real dislike, 
 not to say disgust, for our manners and customs. 
 They even say we smell unpleasant. 
 
 Conciliation, as in all Asiatic countries, is a bad 
 way of converting these opinions : the logical 
 faculty of the Chinese is not such as to grasp its 
 object or its advantages : they understand the iron 
 hand much better than the velvet glove. So that 
 generally speaking utility is best served by meeting 
 the insolent or arbitrary mandarin with his own 
 weapons and on his own ground. This is not the 
 practice of missionaries ; but then, as has been said, 
 the aims of missionaries are not so proximate nor 
 
Ill THE BRITISH LEGATION 49 
 
 their range so circumscribed as those of latter-day 
 politicians. 
 
 As a rule, however, the breeding and innate 
 conventions of an official will make him preserve 
 the outward forms of politeness even to the 
 foreigner he despises and hates. For a Chinese 
 mandarin to lose his temper or to err in civility, 
 even to a barbarian, would be to his mind dis- 
 graceful and ignominious to himself. But if he can 
 covertly show his contempt without the foreigner 
 perceiving it, then he has scored a triumph, though 
 this is not nearly so much the case as it used to be. 
 For the mandarin sees, even if his myrmidons do 
 not, that every slight on his guest belittles his own 
 dignity. 
 
 As regards the common people it is sufficient to say 
 that a large proportion of them are of the Manchu 
 stock, connected with or dependent on the Imperial 
 dynasty, and therefore averse to anything demo- 
 cratic or new. The Chinese of Peking are moved 
 by analogous feelings. They draw their livelihood 
 from the court and the capital, not from the intrinsi- 
 cally small foreign population. At Peking they see 
 no signs or evidence of foreign wealth or force. 
 Many of them doubt even the existence of those 
 warships and those soldiers of which they only oc- 
 casionally hear. And it is always the popular cry 
 to curse the " barbarian devil." 
 
 These of course are the impressions of a year ago. 
 Now the memory of recent events and the per- 
 petual presence of strong military guards may 
 
So A YEAR IN CHINA CH. in 
 
 appeal very forcibly to a nation that of all nations 
 respects most the powers that be. 
 
 Whether toleration or sympathy will in time 
 succeed to fear remains to be seen. The Chinese 
 as a race are essentially a law-abiding people, and 
 they are also materialists. Life is not long enough, 
 they say, for fighting, which is after all a dangerous 
 and uncivilised amusement. The probability is that 
 if they are not harassed or pillaged by those in 
 authority they will accept their existence and their 
 rule with comparative equanimity if not with con- 
 fidence, and once confidence is established stability 
 begins. 
 
 There is another quality that they respect besides 
 force. It is financial purity. Peculation has so 
 cankered the Chinese bureaucracy that an honest 
 official is to the ordinary citizen something almost 
 superhuman. Integrity accordingly is venerated as 
 the true hall-mark of the heaven-sent ruler who will 
 renew the golden age of classical history and restore 
 prosperity to China. 
 
 Force will no doubt always be a necessary factor 
 in the proper governing of the Chinese Empire and 
 its millions of souls, and more than one foreign nation 
 is capable of applying it. But real sympathy can 
 be achieved only by honest administration, and to 
 institute this will be the really hard task and will 
 tax the powers of the highest civilisation that has 
 yet been developed in Western Europe. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THROUGH MANCHURIA 
 
 About the middle of August I was sent on 
 a journey across Manchuria, the extreme north- 
 eastern portion of the Chinese Emperor's dominions. 
 The summer rains had practically finished and in 
 consequence the excessive heat had to some extent 
 abated. But the lowlands were for the most part 
 still a quagmire, while the rivers were in full flood, 
 making travelling no easy or pleasant task. The 
 first part of my journey however was performed by 
 rail, and when later on the hard work began it was 
 amply compensated for by the delightful climate and 
 continual interest of the country through which I 
 was moving. 
 
 Manchuria consists of the three provinces of 
 Mukden (Shingking or Fengtien), Kirin, and 
 Tsitsihar (Heilungkiang). It is the home and more 
 or less the appanage of the present Imperial family, 
 who call themselves in Chinese the "Ta-tsing" or 
 "Great Pure" dynasty. Early in the seventeenth 
 century Mukden city, the capital of the southern 
 province, was their seat of government, and to this 
 
 E 2 
 
52 A YEAR IN CHINA chap- 
 
 day all the Imperial boards and colleges exist there 
 as at Peking, though only for form's sake. 
 
 Since the Manchus have conquered China how- 
 ever they have practically disappeared from 
 Manchuria, emigrating to the Eighteen Provinces 
 or crushed out or assimilated by the vanquished 
 Chinese in the guise of peaceful colonists — a veritable 
 case of cedunt arma togae. 
 
 Fengtien and Kirin are already being rapidly 
 filled up by the Chinese agriculturists, who 
 multiply and prosper amazingly. Tsitsihar, the 
 northern and by far the largest of the three pro- 
 vinces, is as yet comparatively empty. It is a hilly 
 and wooded country, almost without roads, and in- 
 fested in many parts by brigands. Here alone can 
 the true Manchu be found and his language heard, 
 and here so far very few Chinese are installed, 
 though they are gradually making their way in. At 
 present it is looked upon as an unknown and almost 
 barbarian region, a sort of " Ultima Thule." 
 
 The chief geographical features in Manchuria 
 are its excellent waterways, its splendid forests and 
 its fertile soil. The Amur along the northern 
 frontier, the Sungari and the Nonni in the centre, 
 and the Liao and the Yalu to the south, supply 
 the place of roads. Wood, costing nothing and 
 plentiful everywhere, is an efficient substitute for 
 coal or other fuel, and crops of all sorts, including 
 wheat, millet, opium and beans, are raised on every 
 side with little labour or expense. 
 
 Up to now Manchuria has never been properly 
 
IV THROUGH MANCHURIA 53 
 
 appreciated by the Chinese nation as a whole. 
 Firstly through their ignorance of and distance 
 from it, and secondly because immigration has been 
 discouraged by the Manchu dynasty for political 
 reasons. Those colonists, however, who have 
 settled in its southern provinces fully realise its 
 value, and have turned out a hard-working and in 
 addition a hardy and progressive race. They 
 are, for instance, excellent marchers and fair shots, 
 they use dollars in preference to sycee, their 
 women do not bind their . feet, following the 
 Manchu practice, and quite a considerable pro- 
 portion of converts have been made among them 
 by the European missionaries in the last quarter 
 of a century. 
 
 Besides its other advantages Manchuria is dis- 
 tinctly rich in mineral wealth, not an El Dorado 
 perhaps, but furnished well above the average 
 with gold, silver and lead. Coal is much rarer ; 
 but in a land so thickly timbered this is not a 
 vital necessity. Indeed the Russians, who are now 
 the most interested parties in the mines, burn wood 
 along most of the Trans-Siberian Railway and also 
 on their Asiatic river steamboats. 
 
 From Peking to Tientsin and Shanhaikwan I 
 followed the Imperial Chinese Railway. At the 
 latter place, the frontier of Chili and Manchuria, 
 the line passes through the Great Wall, where 
 the latter runs down to the sea. It then con- 
 tinues along the western and northern coast of 
 the Gulf of Pechili to Kinchou and Newchwang, 
 
S4 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 where it terminates on the right bank of the Liao 
 River. In August 1899 regular trains were only 
 running as far as Chunghuso, forty miles north of 
 Shanhaikwan, and beyond that point I had to 
 journey by trolley as far as Kinchou. There for 
 the time being the rails ended, though the em- 
 bankment to Newchwang was nearly finished. 
 
 At Kinchou then I had to revert to the old 
 system of horseback travelling at twenty-five to 
 thirty miles a day. 
 
 It was some time, however, before I could manage 
 to engage a cart for my baggage, as the country all 
 round was up with brigands. This is not unusual 
 in July and August, before the crops have been 
 cut and when there is often a good deal of poverty 
 and unemployed labour. Bands of peasants, collected 
 and led by a few choice spirits who are confirmed 
 vagabonds and outlaws, raid the smaller towns and 
 villages, and when they are not supplied with food 
 or money kidnap children or women as hostages. 
 
 They are of course pursued by the authorities, but 
 only in a half-hearted way. No reliable information 
 can be got as to their whereabouts from the 
 terrorised or accessory villagers, while the soldiers 
 who are sent to catch them do not care to risk their 
 lives in a fight where there are few prospects of 
 loot, and indeed are often of the same way of 
 thinking as their enemies. 
 
 The mandarins know all this and are conscious of 
 the futility of those " strong repressive measures " 
 they are publicly enjoined to enforce, so that it i& 
 
IV THROUGH MANCHURIA 55 
 
 only when some very big official or some foreigner 
 suffers that they are really driven into effective 
 activity. The brigands on their side are aware of 
 their limits and accordingly abstain from molesting 
 influential people, confining their attentions to the 
 lower classes of travellers and residents, who can 
 neither make reprisals themselves nor initiate them 
 officially. When however a brigand really is caught 
 he is promptly executed, and the successful man- 
 darin is widely advertised and belauded by the 
 authorities at Peking. 
 
 We lost three days in palavering at Kinchou, 
 but at last, with the aid of two English mission- 
 aries and by dint of much blustering at the Yamen 
 and threatening to telegraph to the Viceroy, a cart 
 was found for my effects and a pony for myself. 
 An escort of picked braves was also detailed 
 to protect me on my " perilous " journey to 
 Newchwang. 
 
 At three in the afternoon we started, and rode 
 about ten miles that night, halting at an inn. Next 
 morning the escort had totally disappeared, and we 
 never saw them again ; so that for once in a way we 
 inferred that there was some danger, at any rate in 
 their eyes. As far as we were concerned however 
 the route was most uneventful, for we never saw any 
 signs of brigands, though judging from what we 
 heard the country can have been hardly large 
 enough to hold them. But the Chinese all over the 
 Empire have a proud disdain for small figures, and 
 ten is very rapidly multiplied into ten thousand. 
 
S6 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 Most of the plain, which slopes down to the sea, 
 was under the high kowliang, or millet, that grows 
 here to six or eight feet and sometimes increases 
 several inches in a day and a night. It affords 
 excellent cover and would bafifle any pursuit, even if 
 undertaken by the most energetic troops. Where 
 there were no crops, broad grassy expanses of 
 pasture land reminded one of the proximity of 
 Mongolia, while the comparatively few and sparsely 
 populated villages attested the fact that the 
 Eighteen Provinces were at last left behind. 
 
 Several deep rivers had to be crossed by ferries, 
 and the devious winding paths through the tall 
 millet and the muddy state of the roads made our 
 progress very tedious. All along the route gangs 
 of coolies, mostly from Shantung, were working at 
 the railway embankment, and the English engineers 
 expected to have the rails and temporary bridges 
 ready by Christmas. On the fourth day we crossed 
 the Liao River and came into Newchwang by the 
 Russian railway terminus on its left bank. No 
 project has yet been decided on for connecting the 
 two trunk systems by a bridge, though of course it 
 is bound to come eventually. The best point for 
 uniting the Port Arthur branch of the Trans- 
 Manchurian line to the (former) Imperial Chinese 
 Railway would be between Mukden and Sinmin- 
 ting, a hundred miles higher up the Liao, where 
 there is a much narrower and easier crossing than 
 at Newchwang. As the two gauges are different 
 bulk would have to be broken in any case for goods. 
 
IV THROUGH MANCHURIA 57 
 
 and accordingly the existing system of transporting 
 both passengers and cargo by boat may continue 
 for some little time. But now that the Russians 
 have taken over the Chinese line north of Shan- 
 haikwan they will probably get the track altered 
 quickly. 
 
 Newchwang, or more properly Yinko, is the only 
 Treaty Port in Manchuria and is the shipping place 
 for the bean-cake trade. This article, manufactured 
 throughout the two southern provinces, comes down 
 the river in hundreds of junks and is sent in large 
 quantities to South China, the Yangtze, Japan and 
 Korea. Skins, furs, cereals and timber are also 
 exported, though to no very great amount. The 
 total import trade is valued at about three millions 
 sterling, a proportion of which is in the hands of 
 the Americans and Japanese. The British have a 
 considerable share in the piece-goods business, and 
 the Germans here as everywhere are coming well to 
 the fore. The Russians, strange to say, do hardly 
 anything at all along the seaboard, though they 
 have practically the monopoly of the trade across 
 the land frontier of Manchuria, where they enjoy 
 special tariff rights. 
 
 The commercial society of Newchwang, both 
 European and native, was in 1899 not a little 
 disturbed at the turn things were likely to take 
 when Talienwan (or rather Dalny), at the foot of 
 the Liaotung Peninsula, was opened to trade by the 
 Russians as a free port. The Chinese indeed 
 were under the impression that it would entirely 
 
S8 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 supersede Newchwang, owing to its having a com- 
 modious anchorage and to its being ice-free in 
 winter. Up to date, however, no important change 
 seems to be imminent, for though wharves and 
 go-downs, besides a pier and other improvements, 
 are being built at Dalny on the southern shore of 
 the TaHenwan bay, there has been no corresponding 
 accession of population among the Chinese traders 
 and no appreciable increase of business. Without 
 prognosticating the future of Dalny this much seems 
 sufficiently clear. If it is really to be a free port it 
 will, no doubt, attract the best part of the Man- 
 churian trade. But it is highly doubtful that it ever 
 will be so. Even if there is no Customs frontier to 
 the Russian hinterland — and the Imperial Maritime 
 Customs authorities will certainly endeavour to have 
 one soon — there will be the extra charge for freight 
 entailed by a railway, always more expensive than 
 sea transport. Should differential rates be imposed 
 as well, the cost will be still heavier, and the great 
 mass of the importers, who are not Russians, will 
 stick to the old route. It may therefore be safely 
 surmised that unless Dalny is made a really free 
 port, as free as Hongkong, it will not compete 
 with Newchwang very seriously. But of course this 
 would not apply were a Russian tariff to be imposed 
 on all Manchuria. 
 
 For several days I remained at the Consulate, 
 where I was most kindly entertained by Mr. Hosie, 
 hoping to get on towards the north by that section 
 of the Trans- Manchurian Railway that was then in 
 
IV THROUGH MANCHURIA 59 
 
 working order. But floods, broken bridges and 
 Muscovite procrastination at last compelled me to 
 go by boat. 
 
 Five days tracking up the Liao River brought us 
 to Mukden. This is a large military depot and a 
 prosperous trade and missionary centre. There are 
 several big Chinese banks in the city, which have 
 a wide business all over Northern China. There 
 are also numerous interesting remains of the Manchu 
 kings in its environs. 
 
 Every one was then occupied with the new 
 Russian railway which had just been laid up to this 
 point, and the arrival of the "fire-wheel cart" daily 
 drew crowds of natives to see it. The track from 
 here to the north does not touch Kirin city, but 
 follows the Mongolian boundary to Kaiyuan, whence 
 it goes direct to Asheho and Harbin. But as it was 
 no good attempting to proceed by this way^ owing 
 to the floods, I chose the regular route, that is the 
 main road to Kirin, which lies two hundred and 
 fifty miles to the north-east. Having purchased a 
 horse for forty dollars {£4.) and hired a cart, we 
 again set out, escorted by the inevitable braves, and 
 soon entered the hilly wooded country that divides 
 the two provinces from one another. 
 
 For the first sixty miles going is very heavy, and 
 the roads are atrocious at this time of the year. 
 Afterwards one leaves the marshy lowlands and gets 
 on to a series of undulating ridges. Cultivation is 
 now much sparser, villages are fewer and less 
 thickly populated, and native traffic is much rarer. 
 
6o A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 We met, however, a considerable number of Cos- 
 sacks coming down by cart from Eastern Siberia, 
 some of them accompanied by their wives, all 
 going to take up their duties along the trace of 
 the new line. They appeared to get on amicably 
 enough with the country folk and to conduct them- 
 selves quite decently, though later on it appears that 
 serious grounds of complaint arose against them. 
 
 The task of building a new railway in a country 
 like China is not, it may be imagined, an easy or a 
 very grateful one. However honest and painstaking 
 the concessionaires may be, they have continually 
 to fight against the vested interests of both governors 
 and governed. Attempts to buy the land piecemeal 
 are very difficult. No sooner is the purchase of 
 one field arranged for and the price paid for it, 
 than a dozen other proprietors with equally good 
 title-deeds appear on the scene, and the position 
 becomes highly complicated. To obviate this the 
 Russians contract with the small local officials to 
 get all the land they want in a particular district for 
 a lump sum. The mandarin receives the money 
 and may or may not hand it over to the owners of 
 the soil. That is his business, say the Russians. 
 If the peasants are cheated they naturally consider 
 themselves wronged, and equally naturally they set it 
 down to the debit of the foreigner that the transaction 
 was ever initiated. 
 
 The interpreters and go-betweens are also a con- 
 tinual source of trouble both to their Russian 
 employers and to the native official and lower 
 
IV THROUGH MANCHURIA 61 
 
 classes. They insist on exorbitant " squeezes," 
 and, protected by the prestige and power of their 
 foreign masters, bully all with whom they come into 
 contact. On the other hand, once they have got 
 the money, the mandarins, who never welcome the 
 advent of foreign enterprise or control in any shape 
 or form, encourage the popular idea that the railway 
 will be disastrous to the Chinese, and only a first 
 step to the Russification of the entire country. 
 
 These are some of the obstacles which beset con- 
 cessions, and they are as a rule inherent in every 
 similar undertaking. But by tact, trouble and fair 
 treatment they can certainly be surmounted. The 
 Imperial Chinese Railway, which ran from New- 
 chwang to Peking, quite succeeded in conciliating 
 public opinion, and was up to the time of the Boxer 
 rebellion really looked upon by the native population 
 along its course as a benefit and a distinction to their 
 provinces. The European superintendents and 
 managers were respected and liked as much as any 
 foreigners can be, and the good sense of having 
 Cantonese in the smaller positions of trust and 
 profit, instead of local men, was fully recognised by 
 every one concerned. That matters took a different 
 turn in Manchuria must be set down firstly to the 
 fact that the people themselves, and notably the 
 Shantung coolies who were employed in large 
 bodies, are more inclined to be turbulent than the 
 inhabitants of Chili, and secondly to the arbitrary 
 treatment they no doubt experienced. 
 
 To criticise methods is perhaps invidious, and there 
 
62 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 is no doubt that in Asia fear is the father of peace. 
 But the question seems rather to be whether fear is 
 better inculcated by passive strength or by active 
 force. The English prefer " moral effect." It is 
 certainly the right method in theory, but it remains 
 to be seen whether the Chinese are sufficiently 
 civilised to appreciate it at its full value in practice. 
 
 As we approached Kir in the scenery became 
 much wilder, the hills more lofty, and the forests 
 more dense, while hours would go by without our 
 passing even a cottage. The inns were poor and 
 dirty, but the people always friendly, civil, and cheer- 
 ful, while the prices were wonderfully low even for 
 China. At Kirin I stayed several days with the 
 Presbyterian missionaries, always the hospitable 
 hosts of the traveller whatever his religion or race. 
 
 There is here an interesting Government arsenal, 
 where the Chinese were mainly occupied in making 
 native gingalls, the big smooth-bored blunder- 
 busses which take three men to carry and to shoot. 
 The Tartar General had recently recommended to 
 the Throne that the manufacture of European 
 firearms should be discontinued and that the army 
 should revert to the bows and arrows of mediaeval 
 Cathay (which are still used, at any rate for 
 ceremonial purposes, by the Imperial Guards at 
 Peking). His suggestion, though not accepted in 
 its entirety, had drawn forth an approving and 
 eulogistic edict on his patriotism and literary 
 eminence, and the gingall was presumably a half- 
 way concession to his ultra-toryism. 
 
IV THROUGH MANCHURIA 63 
 
 In the arsenal I saw eighteen Krupp 12-pounders 
 in clean enough condition, and an assortment of 
 rifles of various patterns, besides a quantity of other 
 war material. Hard by stood the provincial mint, 
 where Kirin dollars are struck, the plant of course 
 being European, but the employes and the manage- 
 ment native. 
 
 In the way of picturesque buildings there is little 
 to attract in Kirin. The houses are low and the 
 streets boarded over with wood, under which run 
 the sewers — a system not very conducive to sani- 
 tation. But the situation of the city among the 
 hills is so salubrious that the death-rate is small 
 and the population generally healthy. 
 
 Close by the city wall flows the Sungari River, 
 which rises in the Korean mountains to the south. 
 Beyond Kirin it describes a broad bend to the 
 -west, and then goes on to join the Amur in the 
 north-east. It first becomes really navigable here, 
 though only at certain times and for small boats. 
 But the Russians, who had a depot of two hundred 
 Cossacks to guard their wood yards at Kirin, had 
 just managed to get a small steam launch up from 
 Harbin, a hundred and fifty miles further down 
 stream, and this had aroused considerable interest 
 and speculation among the more progressive Chinese 
 merchants. There is, however, so little water for 
 most of the year between Harbin and Kirin, that 
 for all practical purposes the former may be taken as 
 the real limit for boats of even three feet draught. 
 This is not a matter of the first importance, for Kirin 
 
64 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 lies eighty miles away to the east of the line, and it 
 is doubtful whether a branch will be built to it, at 
 any rate for some time. Harbin, the great Russian 
 colony and railway junction that has sprung up in 
 the last two years in the very heart of Manchuria, 
 will without doubt soon attract all the trade and 
 labour of the three provinces, and will supersede 
 both Kirin and the other leading cities. 
 
 We crossed the Sungari by a ferry, and continuing 
 north arrived in three days at Asheho. Here at 
 last we were able to get on to a working section 
 of the line, and proceeded next morning to Harbin 
 on a goods truck. 
 
 It is not here my intention to describe in detail 
 the Trans- Man churian Railway, the statistics of 
 which will be found in Appendix C, but a rough 
 idea of its course can be gained from a glance at 
 the map. 
 
 Leaving the main Trans-Siberian line at Kaidal- 
 lovo, in the Trans- Baikal Province, and crossing 
 the river Ingoda, the new railway strikes south-east, 
 and enters Chinese territory near Hailar, whence it 
 runs through the province of Tsitsihar and the out- 
 skirts of Mongolia to Harbin on the Sungari. The 
 so-called main line then goes on to Asheho and Nin- 
 guta, and re-enters the Russian dominions near 
 Nikolsk in the Primorsk Province, where it joins 
 the existing Ussuri Railway to Vladivostock. 
 
 From Harbin another or branch line goes almost 
 due south to Kaiyuan, Mukden, and Newchwang, 
 and thence along the Liaotung Peninsula to Talien- 
 
IV THROUGH MANCHURIA 65 
 
 wan, Dalny, and Port Arthur. The Sungari itself 
 acts as a fourth highway from Harbin up to Kha- 
 barovsk on the Amur, so that a huge St. Andrew's 
 Cross has been drawn from corner to corner of 
 Manchuria, with its four extreme points on Russian 
 soil. The centre is at the Harbin junction, destined 
 in the opinion of many to be not only the com- 
 mercial focus of Manchuria, but also the political 
 and administrative capital of North- Eastern Asia. 
 Already — in two years from the date of its birth, for 
 before that it was a nameless hamlet — it has grown 
 into a thriving town with ten thousand inhabitants, 
 and its population augments every month. 
 
 Commodious red brick railway offices, a bank, a 
 club, a public garden, a bandstand, a church, shops 
 and electric light attest the regular and rapid advance 
 of Siberian civilisation. For a mile and a half along 
 the banks of the Sungari extend wharves, workshops 
 and forges, with hundreds of Russian and Chinese 
 artificers employed in them. Forty steel barges 
 and twenty steamers ply up and down the river, and 
 trains are now (1900), though they were not then 
 (Sept. 1899), running through from Vladivostock, 
 and right down to Port Arthur and Peking, leaving 
 only the northern section, which is however the 
 longest and most difficult, remaining to be built in 
 order to establish through connection with Europe. 
 
 The track of course is single and roughly laid, 
 the bridges for the most part are temporary wooden 
 structures and the stations are often merely converted 
 huts. The rails, sleepers, girders, locomotives and 
 
66 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 corrugated iron plant mostly come from the United 
 States (the Americans being able to compete success- 
 fully with the Japanese in laying down material 
 even in Central Manchuria). The rest of the 
 rolling stock and all the skilled labour is Russian, 
 hardly any other foreigners being employed as 
 engineers or surveyors. 
 
 The expense and waste along the railway seem 
 needlessly great, as indeed they always do in 
 Siberia. Officials are numerous, highly paid, and 
 not always very competent, and the line is not, 
 according to our standards, a first-class construction. 
 But when that is said the rest is all praise. 
 
 A colossal undertaking, worthy of the highest 
 traditions of the Government of the Czar, has been 
 successfully initiated, and is being rapidly brought 
 to a no less successful termination. It deserves, 
 and there is no doubt that it should realise, a 
 prosperity commensurate with its aims. As a 
 civilising power it will do much to develop this 
 vast and fertile portion of China, exploiting its 
 resources and educating its people. As a double 
 link between the continental and maritime posses- 
 sions of Russia, with a double outlet to the Pacific 
 Ocean and the Yellow Sea, it will thoroughly solidify 
 her position in the east of her enormous empire. 
 Comprehensive in its inception, patient and arduous 
 in its execution, its completion must assuredly give 
 a mighty impetus to the moral and material evolution 
 of Oriental Asia, and no one, however Russophobe, 
 can honestly hesitate to appreciate and sympathise 
 
IV THROUGH MANCHURIA 67 
 
 with such a magnificent and such a humanising 
 enterprise. 
 
 At Harbin I spent a most interesting and pleasant 
 week at the Russo-Chinese Bank. The vice- 
 president of the railway, the chief engineer, and 
 indeed all the authorities afforded me very con- 
 siderable information and assistance, with of course 
 that charming courtesy and hospitality which the 
 Russians know so well how to extend to their 
 visitors. I also met here another British officer, who 
 had come up from Newchwang by a more westerly 
 route, aud was equally impressed by what he had 
 seen on his road. We now arranged to continue 
 our journey together as far as the Amur, and ac- 
 cordingly, by the kindness of our hosts, we were 
 given a passage on one of the steamers that go 
 down the Sungari to Khabarovsk, a distance of 600 
 miles. This we accomplished in five days. The 
 pace is good, for considerable time is lost in 
 taking in wood. We were however able to travel 
 all night, for as regards lighting and buoying the 
 river is distinctly in advance of the Yangtze, where 
 such things, even under the auspices of the I.M.C., 
 are much inclined to stand still. 
 
 The lower basin of the Sungari is a desolate 
 tract of country covered with virgin forests and low 
 hills. Only one town of any size, Sansing, lies on 
 the route, and there are very few villages. On 
 entering the Amur, which marks the Siberian 
 frontier, we parted company, my friend going up 
 the larger river to join the Trans-Siberian Railway 
 
 r 2 
 
68 A YEAR IN CHINA 
 
 CHAP. IV 
 
 at Stretensk, on his way back to Europe, while I 
 continued down to Khabarovsk, which is the ter- 
 minus of the line to Vladivostock. The weather 
 remained fine and fairly warm, with a bright sun, 
 though the nights were now getting cold. The 
 journey from Peking had taken seven weeks, and 
 at the beginning of October I found myself once 
 again in the dominions of the Czar, which I had 
 not visited for nearly three years. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 EASTERN SIBERIA 
 
 The Amur is one of the longest and certainly 
 the most important waterway in Upper Asia. It 
 is called by the Chinese Heilungkiang, or Black 
 Dragon River, and now marks the northern frontier 
 of the Celestial dominions. From Stretensk, its 
 navigable limit in the Trans- Baikal Province, to 
 Nikolaievsk on the Sea of Okhotsk it is 2,000 
 miles, and for the major part of this distance there 
 are at least seven feet of water for as many months 
 in the year. During the winter the river is ice 
 bound, but its frozen surface supplies a sledge 
 track on which rates of speed can be attained quite 
 as high as those of a steamboat. The mountains 
 that fringe the Amur on either shore have hitherto 
 precluded the construction of any proper roads 
 contiguous to it, and the river itself has in conse- 
 quence been for centuries the single artery of 
 communication and of commerce between the 
 Pacific seaboard and the rich and fertile regions 
 of Central Siberia. Of its five main tributaries, the 
 Sungari, the Ussuri, the Zea, the Shilka and the 
 
70 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 Argun, the first and second are by far the most 
 considerable, the remaining three being, owing to 
 their shallow channels, of comparatively little value. 
 
 Khabarovsk, the seat of the Governor-General of 
 Eastern Siberia and the northern terminus of the 
 railway from Vladivostock, is situated on a promi- 
 nent bluff at the junction of the Amur and the 
 Ussuri, 600 miles from the sea. Despite its site it 
 is a poor enough place, with meagre wharves and 
 scanty shipping. Some of the official buildings 
 however are more pretentious, and in the public 
 garden on the cliffs above the river stands a fine 
 statue of Count Mouraviefif Amurski, the Cecil 
 Rhodes of Russia in the East fifty years ago. 
 
 The town itself is wild and straggling for the 
 most part, though it has one good straight road. 
 The other tracks run up and down gradients that 
 only a Russian isvostchick would attempt. Most 
 of the shops are kept by Chinese, but there is one 
 English and one German firm which supply Euro- 
 pean articles at moderate prices. Otherwise the 
 luxuries of Khabarovsk are very limited. The 
 Buriats and the Fishskin Tartars, who flock to it 
 from the surrounding countryside, certainly look 
 upon it as the zenith of civilisation and the Valhalla 
 of delight ; but the Russians appraise it at its 
 proper value, and do not care to live in it for longer 
 than they are obliged to. 
 
 It was with some little difficulty that we found 
 an inn to sleep in, though latterly a quite respect- 
 able hotel has sprung up. The train at that time 
 
Peasants on the River Amur. 
 
 \.Face p. 71. 
 
V EASTERN SIBERIA 71 
 
 only went to Vladivostock every other day, and 
 for this reason it was necessary to pass a night 
 in the town, for the boat went some miles further 
 on to the depot of the Trans- Manchurian Railway 
 Company, in order to take in cargo prior to its 
 return to Harbin. 
 
 My servant was very unhappy. He could not talk 
 the language, he was astonished at the prices, and 
 he felt that he did not come out of his bargaining 
 transactions nearly so well as usual. His "face" 
 accordingly suffered, and I think his pocket and 
 his stomach also. " This side Chinee alle same 
 dog," was his first remark. I improved the occasion 
 by a modest but not unfavourable reference to 
 Hongkong, and the comparison I think appealed 
 to him. Having to pay for the use of a samovar 
 was his next trouble. He came to me in great 
 perturbation. " Russian man ask money for hot 
 water. I say, ' No can pay.' He say, ' Must can. 
 Suppose no can pay, no can catch.' " 
 
 I explained that that was the custom of the 
 country. He submitted, but later on after con- 
 siderable cogitation he observed : " This side poor 
 man no can live — expense too great. Anything 
 must pay money." 
 
 At Vladivostock he found it much worse. The 
 idea of giving seven dollars a day for a room without 
 food and to have to give " kumshaw " as well, fairly 
 dumbfounded him. On the other hand the high 
 rate of wages aroused his cupidity. Hence there 
 arose in his brain a dim idea of supply and demand. 
 
72 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 and of the elements of political economy. His 
 logic was rapid and conclusive ,: " Suppose common 
 Chinee man come this side, catch a good pay, 
 must large expense, no can profit. Suppose no 
 got a work at all, must die. More better Shanghai 
 side, small pay, small expense. Chinee belong man, 
 no belong dog." 
 
 But the autocratic methods and the specious 
 affluence impressed him, and I know he fostered 
 henceforth a secret admiration for the Russians, 
 tempered however by a very wholesome fear. 
 
 The journey from Khabarovsk to Vladivostock 
 takes twenty-nine hours, the distance being 480 
 miles. The train is quite a good one, with a 
 restaurant car and sleeping berths, and the tariff 
 is very reasonable, 17 roubles (34^.) being the first- 
 class fare. The scenery along the route is most 
 attractive. Vistas of splendid trees, broad grassy 
 moorlands with occasional scraps of cultivation, 
 dotted with solitary little homesteads, and behind 
 them all the forest-clad mountains rising to the 
 clear blue sky. Few cattle and fewer human 
 beings are to be seen, but everywhere there is wood 
 and water, and the splendid signs of undeveloped 
 wealth. It recalls the western provinces of Canada 
 more than any other place, and the climate and 
 general conditions of life very much resemble 
 those of that country. 
 
 The view as one approaches Vladivostock, justly 
 called the Bosphorus of the East, is really delightful. 
 The land-locked harbour, the blue shining sea and 
 
EASTERN SIBERIA 73 
 
 the green hills beyond form a peaceful background 
 to the bustling little red town below. Only along 
 a few crests does the discerning eye catch a glimpse 
 of those white parapets or black guns which look so 
 little and which mean so much. 
 
 Vladivostock, the " Command of the East," is 
 now one of the strongest fortresses in the world. 
 Vast sums have been spent on rendering impreg- 
 nable a position that is by nature easily defensible. 
 The difficulty of the winter ice has been surmounted 
 by the most powerful types of ice-breaker. A 
 secure harbour for the Imperial Squadron in the 
 Extreme Orient has been constructed, and accommo- 
 dation for large bodies of troops has been provided 
 on the hills in the rear of the port itself, and at the 
 standing camp of Nikolsk seventy miles inland. 
 
 In 1899 the Russian forces in Eastern Asia 
 amounted all told to little over 50,000 men — while the 
 civilian population east of Irkutsk was so small that 
 there were few reserves to draw on in case of 
 emergency. Since the events of last year, however, 
 all this has been changed, and it may now be safely 
 assumed that at least 100,000 regulars and a 
 powerful fleet will be always available to meet 
 the attacks of Japan or of any other nation, 
 whether by land or sea. This is perhaps as it 
 should be, for there is no greater guarantee of 
 permanent peace than the maintenance of an equal 
 balance of power. 
 
 As regards its commerce Vladivostock is not 
 advancing quite so rapidly as is generally believed. 
 
74 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 and a good deal of the more lucrative and promising 
 trade is firmly established in the hands of foreigners 
 — particularly Americans and Germans. An English 
 firm collects and sells excellent furs. There are 
 considerable colonies of Koreans and of Chinese in 
 the city, but these are mainly engaged in small retail 
 business or as coolies. The European immigrants, 
 mainly from Little Russia, settle to a large extent in 
 the country on Cossack tenure, and do not show 
 any remarkable energy or progress. Timber felling 
 and mining occupy them most, for agriculture or 
 cattle rearing, though very necessary, do not return 
 sufficiently high profits to attract the avaricious mujik. 
 So much so is this the case that going along the Amur 
 one finds that both corn and sheep have to be 
 imported from Central Siberia or even from Russia 
 in Europe to meet the requirements of a population 
 that is too lazy to feed itself. 
 
 Political ideas, local self-government and elemental 
 democracy play a much more prominent part in 
 these regions than they do west of the Urals, and 
 the merits of a Governor- General, the efficiency of 
 a battalion, or even a Ukase of the Emperor, are 
 frequently discussed in the native press or in the 
 drawing room with a freedom that would astonish 
 and terrify a denizen of St. Petersburg or Moscow. 
 
 I stayed some days in Vladivostock, where the 
 United States Consular Agent took me round and 
 showed me the sights. One of the most interesting 
 episodes was a regatta, the races being between the 
 cutters of the various Russian battleships and 
 
EASTERN SIBERIA 75 
 
 cruisers in harbour. The rowing does not at all 
 correspond with what one is taught at Eton, as the 
 men "hoick" tremendously and pull a very short 
 stroke. Nor do the sailors seem to make anything 
 like the pace of our English bluejackets. Viewed, 
 however, on a bright day from the deck of a big iron- 
 clad, with the pleasant accompaniment of ladies' 
 society, a band and the inevitable champagne, it 
 was quite an attractive entertainment. 
 
 I had now determined to follow the old land road 
 from Vladivostock down the eastern shore of the 
 Korean Peninsula, as it had been but little travelled 
 of late and promised to afford information on several 
 questions of political and commercial interest. I 
 accordingly armed myself with an Imperial pada- 
 rojna, or posting order, which was to carry me the 
 eighty odd miles to the frontier ; with a Korean 
 passport which turned out to be as valueless as the 
 paper it was written on ; and with a Korean 
 myrmidon who professed to speak his own, the 
 Chinese and the Russian languages, and to be the 
 soul of honesty. The choice of this gentleman (who 
 discharged the combined duties of interpreter and 
 groom) I had left to my Chinese servant, as other- 
 wise I knew that there would be internal discord as 
 soon as we were started. But my foresight was of no 
 avail. My servant introduced him to me with the 
 following character : " This Kowli man belong very 
 bad man — I very fear must steal, must drink. Alle 
 same other man no can catch." So we had to be 
 satisfied with him, and though he came well up to my 
 
76 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 man's expectations he certainly had a hard time, 
 and therefore I am not disposed to blame him 
 too much for his venial offences. He must have 
 been a past master in " negotiation " if he really 
 got round my Chinese servant, and if so he fully 
 deserved the small profits he made. He always 
 had to bear the brunt of the hard words of, the 
 Korean local officials, which we did not understand, 
 and in addition our own vituperation, which we took 
 care he did. 
 
 Having bought a large assortment of provisions, 
 and procured a supply of dollars from the bank, we 
 started on October loth. A steamboat took us 
 across the bay to the opposite shore early one 
 autumn morning. Disembarking there at a rude 
 jetty we found a country cart waiting, and in this we 
 drove at a jolting trot to the nearest posting house. 
 There we got two tarantasses, the four-wheeled 
 vehicles that correspond in idea to an old English 
 post-chaise without springs, and in these we started 
 for Novokievsk. One night on the road brought us 
 to this town, which is the principal Russian outpost 
 on the Korean and Chinese frontiers and lies at the 
 head of Possiet Bay. It has a permanent garrison 
 of 5,000 troops, including two batteries of field 
 artillery, and possesses the regular red brick 
 buildings surrounded by dirty native huts. Other- 
 wise it is peculiarly uninteresting. 
 
 All along the coast there are little settlements of 
 Korean colonists from over the border, who have 
 come in to cultivate the land and under Russian 
 
V EASTERN SIBERIA 77 
 
 rule are progressing towards comparative civilisation. 
 They are quiet and well behaved people and not a 
 few have adopted the Orthodox faith, although very 
 little proselytising is done by the Russian priests. 
 
 Intermarriage goes on to a considerable extent, 
 and the Eurasian offspring almost invariably 
 follow the customs of their European parents and 
 become in the next generation regular Russians. 
 
 From Novokievsk the post route goes forty miles 
 further on to Hunchun, the Chinese frontier town, 
 where it finishes, and the traveller is then relegated 
 to the usual Manchurian road. In the Korean 
 direction, however, only a track leads over the 
 plain to the river Tumen, which marks the boundary 
 of the Hermit Kingdom. A narrow strip of Chinese 
 territory intervenes between Novokievsk and Kyong 
 Heung, the Korean outpost. This terminates about 
 fourteen miles from the sea, and for the remaining 
 distance the Russian and Korean frontiers march 
 together. 
 
 Without much difficulty we managed to hire a 
 native cart at Novokievsk to take us as far as the 
 Tumen, at which we arrived next day, after passing 
 the Chinese village of Yinza. Here a fair and a 
 theatre were in full swing, the latter doing most 
 business. It had been going on for three or four 
 days, and every one who could had come in to see 
 it. A high open stage is erected in the main street, 
 and on it the performers, all men and boys, strut 
 about dressed in fantastic clothes and ranting in 
 a conventional falsetto. A hideous cacophony of 
 
78 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 drums and cymbals supplies the place of an orchestra. 
 The plays are, as a rule, more or less historical, and 
 the acting at any rate is usually decent, though the 
 dialogue is frequently the reverse. The Imperial 
 troops, who are generally a leading feature, are also 
 always the victors in their fights with the rebels — a 
 noteworthy change from to-day. 
 
 Close beyond Yinza we came to the river^Tumen, 
 a broad and swift current flowing down through 
 wild gorges to the Sea of Japan. 
 
 Here there was no ferry of any kind and appar- 
 ently no boat either, so for a long time we were 
 delayed. At last, however, my servant discovered 
 a very small fishing sampan on which we piled the 
 baggage, and crowding in at considerable risk 
 ourselves we rowed across to the opposite shore, 
 where we landed about half a mile from Kyong 
 Heung. Here again there was no means of trans- 
 port for getting from the river bank to the town, so 
 that the Korean factotum, who looked peculiarly 
 dirty and slovenly that day, had to be sent up to 
 hire horses. 
 
 He returned after an hour with the news that 
 there were no horses or ponies at that moment 
 in Kyong Heung, but that some oxen were shortly 
 expected in from ploughing and that they would 
 then come down and assist us. This they eventually 
 did, but as they lacked saddles a great deal more 
 time was lost in tying the baggage on to their 
 backs. We did at last manage it however, and 
 arrived at the house which " took in strano-prs " 
 
V EASTERN SIBERIA 79 
 
 just at nightfall, having spent the whole day in 
 traversing a distance of barely ten miles. 
 
 None of the inhabitants understood any language 
 but that of Korea, and I now discovered that my 
 interpreter only knew about twenty Chinese and ten 
 Russian words, so that things generally looked 
 neither bright nor promising. 
 
 The so-called mandarin of the place sent round 
 his compliments with a message to say that there 
 were no horses and no road to the south, that no 
 one ever came that way, and that he had received 
 no news of our coming. Also that he strongly 
 advised us to go back, as the country was " dis- 
 turbed," and travelling for foreigners was dangerous. 
 
 These were, of course, the ordinary excuses of 
 the listless or anti-foreign official, and we treated 
 them as such. Sure enough next morning there 
 appeared pack horses, a road and a detachment of 
 Korean troops, who undertook to escort and protect 
 us (for a consideration) from Kyong Heung to the 
 next Fu. So without further ado we left the 
 straggling collection of mud-roofed huts and 
 crumbling stone walls that constituted the city, and 
 commenced our journey in a new country, little 
 guessing at the many tedious obstacles we should 
 have to surmount before we finally reached its 
 capital. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE KOREAN LITTORAL 
 
 We struck inland at once, and began to climb the 
 foot-hills that form the outskirts of the huge chain 
 of the Changpeishan, or Long White Mountains. 
 This range separates Korea from Manchuria, and 
 from its centre rise the two great rivers of Yalu and 
 Tumen, the former flowing west to the Gulf of 
 Pechili, and the latter east to the Sea of Japan. 
 
 The weather now grew suddenly colder, and on 
 the second day's march we had a heavy fall of snow. 
 The mule tracks we were following became almost 
 impassable, frozen slides in the morning or evening 
 and slushy mud streams in the middle of the day. 
 Hurricanes burst on us as we crossed the uplands, 
 with accompaniments of blinding sleet and tearing 
 wind, attaining on one occasion such violence that 
 we were obliged to take shelter in a hut and give 
 up all progress for the day. 
 
 There seemed to be no inns and no food, for the 
 invariable answer to all our questions was the single 
 word "Opuso," which means " There is not." 
 
 At first we found it very difficult to get on with 
 
CH. VI THE KOREAN LITTORAL 8i 
 
 the people ; probably chiefly through our own mis- 
 understanding of their ways and language. But as 
 time went on, and we got accustomed to Korean 
 methods, this was remedied, and we were soon able 
 to arrive at a modus vivendi. 
 
 The accommodation in the small villages was far 
 better than in the so-called towns. In the former, 
 where there was no inn, we were generally able to 
 put up in some peasant's cottage, clean and comfort- 
 able. In the latter the grooms always managed to 
 go to some filthy, tumble-down tavern, where they 
 found ready forage and stabling for their animals and 
 a sufficiency of drink for themselves. Drink they 
 seemed to look upon as of the first importance, 
 and for any one who spends his life in looking after 
 Korean horseflesh, some stimulant must, I should 
 think, be a necessary " pick-me-up." No description 
 can ever summarise all the remarkable characteristics 
 of the Korean horse, or rather pony. He is, to 
 begin with, only the size of a large Newfoundland 
 dog. He is a past master at buck-jumping. He 
 never fails to kick or bite any human being or other 
 animal that he can reach. This is so much the case 
 that at night he has to be slung up by girths under 
 his body, his hoofs just off the ground, while he 
 spends his time squealing and trying to savage 
 his stable companions, when not drinking the hot, 
 mashed-up bean gruel that forms his only subsist- 
 ence. In the daytime, however, he is a good beast 
 of burden, and does his thirty miles without a mid- 
 day meal ; but no amount of coaxing ever appears 
 
 G 
 
82 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 to change his disposition, and he is always equally 
 delighted to punish the leg that mounts or the hand 
 that feeds him. The European, after a very short 
 time, becomes as wary by bitter experience as the 
 Korean is by birth ; the pony therefore has to 
 exercise his temper on his own kind, and this he 
 rarely omits to do. Thus it may be imagined that 
 travelling with a Korean stud is rather lively work. 
 
 If the horses are small, however, the oxen are 
 extraordinarily large — the finest cattle of their sort 
 I have ever seen, with the methodical gait of a 
 tortoise and the enormous mild eyes of a Homeric 
 goddess. A white-clad Korean, smoking a long 
 pipe and wearing his ridiculous black gauze top hat 
 tied under his chin with ribbons, when seated astride 
 one of these ponderous monsters, presents a peculiar 
 picture, more resembling some old Japanese ivory 
 carving than a human being of to-day. But it is 
 thoroughly descriptive of " Korean progress." 
 
 Everything dates from several centuries back, 
 and though some of the primitive appliances one 
 sees, notably the self-adjusting wooden ladles that 
 tip the irrigation water down from field to field, are 
 remarkably ingenious, all of them are characteristic 
 of the leitmotif of the country, which is saving of 
 labour. This indeed is the keynote of Korean life, 
 to do nothing if possible, but at any rate to do as 
 little as possible. One wonders how the peasant 
 exists, for he never seems to be doing anything 
 beyond eating, smoking or sleeping. Probably the 
 country is so fertile and so little populated that the 
 
Korean Coolies. 
 
 [Face p. 82 
 
VI THE KOREAN LITTORAL 83 
 
 Golden Age has not yet finished, though the foreign 
 trader with competition and cheap goods is already 
 knocking at the door. 
 
 Our journey to the south was divided into two 
 parts ; the former over the inland mountains by a 
 rather circuitous route to the town of Kyong Song 
 on the sea coast, and the latter along the littoral 
 to the Treaty Port of Gensan ; in all about 500 
 miles. For half this distance we travelled with 
 post horses, which are supplied at extortionate 
 prices by the villagers and which always cost us 
 an infinity of trouble to procure ; but latterly we 
 managed to engage half-a-dozen animals to take 
 us right through to Gensan, when we got on far 
 more comfortably, and strange to say very much 
 quicker. A single instance of " post travelling " 
 will suffice to show its defects. 
 
 At Kyong Song, an embattled city with walls of 
 Cyclopean masonry but with dirty streets and 
 tumbledown mud cottages inside, I had sent to the 
 sub-prefect in the ordinary way, asking him to have 
 six horses ready for us next morning. The morning 
 came but no horses. We waited for hours, and 
 again and again we sent to Yamen after Yamen, 
 for there were many (the city being the capital of a 
 province), but with no better result. At last I 
 determined to beard the Governor himself in the 
 sanctity of his palace. Collecting my diminished 
 retinue I went there on my feet, having nothing 
 to ride, and successfully passed the first and 
 second gates, which my Chinese servant with great 
 
 G 2 
 
84 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 presence of mind and considerable though rapid 
 ceremony threw open for me. At the third portal 
 a few flustered attendants, taken by surprise and 
 not quite knowing whether they were deahng with 
 a local revolt or an extraordinary " barbarian visit," 
 endeavoured to stop us, but my man, by a skilful 
 combination of strategy and force, eluded them, and 
 ushered me by a coup de main into the high pre- 
 sence of the Governor. I mounted some stone 
 steps, passed under a curtained archway, and found 
 myself in a spacious room raised above the court, 
 on which it looked out by square glass windows. 
 
 The mandarin was seated on a cushion on the 
 floor, transacting business, and surrounded by obse- 
 quious clerks and officials. He did not get up or 
 ask me to sit down, but my eye lighted on a soli- 
 tary chair in a corner, and remembering the action 
 of a British Ambassador on a similar occasion I 
 seized it and immediately sat down on it, feeling 
 the relief that I had always hoped to experience 
 as a boy when playing at the exhilarating game of 
 "musical chairs." 
 
 The court was aghast at my temerity, but my 
 position was now a very good not to say com- 
 manding one, for I was at least two feet higher 
 than anybody else, including the mandarin himself. 
 
 For some time nothing was said, and I began to 
 seriously consider whether I should have to em- 
 phasise my attitude by sending round for my effects, 
 in order to convince his Excellency that I intended 
 staying in his Yamen until I got my horses. Luckily 
 
VI THE KOREAN LITTORAL 85 
 
 this was not needed. With a stoHd expression of 
 discontent the Governor at last asked what I wanted 
 (in Korean). My servant answered in very high 
 flown "guan hua " or mandarin talk, in which I 
 was casually alluded to as a " No. i button European 
 Viceroy." This had to be translated to the Governor, 
 which obviously annoyed him not a little, as he was 
 conscious of my servant's disdain for an " unlettered 
 mandarin." He heard the tale and frowned, and 
 we saw that somebody would have to suffer, as his 
 wounded dignity could only be soothed by a dis- 
 play of power. Imperative orders were now issued 
 for the instant attendance of the sub-prefect (the 
 official who had omitted to send the horses), and 
 we all awaited him in silence and expectation. 
 
 In a very short time we became aware of the 
 presence of an old gentleman outside the windows 
 in the courtyard below. He was surrounded by 
 lictors (with fasces), who were divesting him of his 
 trousers, and he appeared much agitated. From 
 the position he was unwillingly taking up personal 
 chastisement seemed imminent, and accordingly I 
 begged the Governor to administer a reproof and 
 not to " dishonour grey hairs " — at least that was, I 
 believe, the Confucian maxim in which my servant 
 chose to express my sentiments. 
 
 The bamboos were already waving in the air, and 
 the poor old gentleman was kowtow-ing vigorously, 
 when the irate Governor was at last moved to mercy. 
 He had impressed both the barbarian and his own 
 court, and was presumably satisfied. 
 
86 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 We entered into an amicable conversation, and in 
 ten minutes the horses appeared. There was then 
 an effusive leave-taking; the mandarin being as 
 pleased at my departure as I was. My servant 
 also was delighted with himself. " Must teach 
 Kowli man what for," he remarked as we rode off. 
 Certainly we had had all the honours of the day, 
 though we had lost half of it. But we were not 
 sorry to leave Kyong Song. 
 
 We now got into splendidly wooded country 
 watered by numerous streams. Pine, birch, ash, and 
 cedars, were thickly scattered over the undulating 
 hills that here fringe the coast, while below stretched 
 a glittering blue expanse of sea, dotted with rocky 
 islands. 
 
 The track we followed generally wound over the 
 uplands, within a mile or two of the shore ; but now 
 and again it climbed up precipitous cliffs to some 
 queer old shrine with a bell in it, where my people 
 used to kowtow with a great deal of ceremony ; and 
 occasionally we found ourselves right down on the 
 sandy beach, or even wading our way through the 
 waves if the tide was flowing in. At Kilju, a 
 recently opened " Treaty Port," where one or two 
 Japanese have set up shops, we were able to 
 hire some ponies to take us right on to Gensan, 
 and so to avoid the everlasting fights with officials 
 over post-horses. Kilju was a dirty little town, and 
 the foreign articles in it were limited to petroleum 
 tins from Philadelphia, which seem to have made 
 their way all over Asia, to a little Russian and 
 
VI THE KOREAN LITTORAL 87 
 
 Manchester cloth, and to a larger proportion of 
 white American drill. The Korean dearly loves to 
 array himself in smart-looking clothes and at first 
 sight seems quite clean, but his under garments 
 fully make up for his outward appearance, as they 
 are indescribably filthy ; indeed the average Korean 
 is said to be washed only twice in his life — at his 
 birth and at his death. 
 
 The country about here is thick with game, 
 particularly pheasants and wild geese, which the 
 modern Korean " army " endeavours (unsuccessfully) 
 to shoot with their rifles. In the mountains there 
 are tigers, which, with gold and ginseng, may be said 
 to constitute the specialities of Korea. Bread and 
 vegetables are the chief foodstuffs, for rice is not 
 much grown until one gets into the southern 
 provinces, and cotton is also very rarely seen. We 
 came across some near the town of Hamheung, 
 which may now be reckoned as almost within the 
 pale of civilisation, for they were even then extending 
 the telegraph line to it from Gensan. A large fair 
 was in progress there, and though little was being 
 sold when we passed beyond the ordinary local 
 produce the whole countryside seemed to have 
 come in for it. They were very quiet and orderly 
 however, and there was no abuse or shouting or 
 indeed much curiosity manifested as we rode 
 through. The town is picturesquely situated in a 
 ring of green hills with an old Confucian temple 
 perched up above it, and a very long and rickety 
 bridge spans the river outside the walls. Just here 
 
88 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 a Korean wedding met us and aroused considerable 
 attention among the natives. The bridegroom, 
 dressed in his best, was riding sedately in front, 
 while the bride, hidden in a hooded cart, lumbered 
 painfully in the rear. Flags and cymbals, but no 
 chair or umbrella as in China, came behind. Chair 
 travelling hardly exists in Korea, and the article 
 used by the mandarins and considered the height 
 of luxury, is an ugly and comfortless affair and 
 lands its occupant, when he is "set down," on the 
 ground itself. In fact the people seem content with 
 very little and altogether there are few signs of 
 wealth to be seen either in the diminutive villages or 
 in the clusters of wattle-roofed cottages that form 
 the towns. There are now no large country houses, 
 and the old yangban or landed proprietor seems 
 to have quite disappeared. The mandarins are the 
 only real yangbans, for they have kept up the time- 
 honoured custom of " squeezing " that their Chinese 
 traditions have taught them, and have thus acquired 
 some riches and influence. 
 
 Along the littoral there is no sea traffic and 
 fishing seems to be hardly recognised as a means of 
 livelihood. One or two badly worked coal shafts 
 afford fuel to the surrounding hamlets and there 
 are in the interior several excellent gold mines, but 
 life on the whole is so easy that there is no need for 
 the strenuous competition and struggle for existence 
 that one continually sees in the crowded provinces 
 of China. The rich man amuses himself by 
 smoking even more and working even less than 
 
Korean Huts. 
 
 [Fact: p. 
 
 Korean Gold Mines. 
 
VI THE KOREAN LITTORAL 89 
 
 the ordinary peasant ; occasionally he goes out 
 hawking, and no doubt he eats a considerably 
 larger dinner and takes a longer night's rest than 
 other folks. But there the distinction ends. He 
 knows no more as regards outward affairs, he very 
 rarely travels and then not for pleasure, and he is 
 thoroughly destitute of any desire for further 
 knowledge. 
 
 Nevertheless Korea is a very interesting land 
 to travel in, if only for its complete isolation from 
 even Asiatic civilisation. Placed as it is on a rocky 
 sea-bound peninsula between the populous and 
 fertile coasts of North China and Japan, it seems 
 remarkable that its inhabitants should have evinced 
 so little activity or initiative in commercial or politi- 
 cal development. One would have expected a race 
 of sailors, hardy fisher folk, independent moun- 
 taineers or pushing traders. Nothing of the sort 
 has been evolved. Certainly when a few years 
 ago the present monarch, who is a really enlight- 
 ened ruler, endeavoured to persuade his subjects 
 to cut off their topknots, they responded by a 
 revolution, and in the south there is nearly always 
 an intermittent insurrection going on. But this 
 is nothing more than the passive local resistance 
 to any attempt at a forward policy, the solid hatred 
 of new ideas which appears to be the only positive 
 feeling that animates Korea as a whole. There are 
 at Seoul and in the Treaty Ports numerous mission- 
 aries, and they have made quite a fair number of 
 converts. Whether these are capable of fighting 
 
go A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 for their religion it is hard to say, and it would 
 be dangerous to risk a forecast after the recent 
 examples of what Christians can do in China. But 
 the prevailing impression in the country and among 
 the people is one of intense inertia, an absolute 
 lack of interest in anything, coupled with a strong 
 distaste for novelty. The contrast between the 
 Koreans and the Chinese, and still more the Japan- 
 ese, who are rapidly establishing themselves in the 
 Korean sea-ports, is all the more vivid, and at the 
 present rate it seems probable that the natives will 
 very soon be reduced to the position of " hewers 
 of wood and drawers of water," and that the trade 
 and administration, if not the possession of their 
 kingdom, will entirely leave their hands. The 
 commercial interests already are and appear likely 
 to remain with the Japanese. The political future 
 is another question, as there is more than one nation 
 concerned in it. For the present the Japanese also 
 have the preponderance here, though they are not 
 popular with the Koreans ; but Russia and possibly 
 a reformed China are elements that will have to be 
 taken into account before a solution is arrived at. 
 This solution may be nearer than is believed ; for 
 though passive resistance and national inanition are 
 difficult forces to contend against in a huge empire 
 like China, they are quickly swamped and overcome 
 in a small country like Korea. 
 
 We pursued our way from Hamheung without 
 any further exciting incidents and at length arrived 
 after a long three weeks' journey at Gensan, the 
 
VI THE KOREAN LITTORAL 91 
 
 eastern Treaty Port. Here we again enjoyed the 
 cheerful sight of a European and heard some news 
 of the " barbarian West." I was very glad to get 
 to some more or less civilised place as the supply of 
 money I had taken with me from Vladivostock was 
 quite finished. In Korea there are no silver dollars, 
 though Japanese yen, which we had been carrying, 
 are taken in some of the larger places. There is 
 also apparently no sycee for ordinary currency, so 
 nearly everything has to be done by means of 
 cumbrous strings of cash, a few pounds' worth of 
 which makes a mule's load. 
 
 My clothes were also giving out. As a rule 1 
 wore field boots and breeches with a flannel shirt 
 and Norfolk jacket, and a sun helmet if it was 
 necessary. But after continuous travelling through 
 snow and rain these things soon get worn out, and, 
 as may be easily imagined, they cannot be replaced 
 in Korea. So we were not at all sorry to get to 
 a Treaty Port at last. As the winter was now 
 beginning, and as we still had 170 miles before 
 us to get to Seoul, the capital of the kingdom, I 
 decided to waste no more time but to hurry on 
 there at once. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 SEOUL 
 
 There is little to detain the traveller In Gensan 
 though it is a flourishing town (for Korea) with a 
 population of 12,000 souls and a thriving Japanese 
 colony. Separated from it by a rocky headland is 
 the famous Port Lazaref, which was at one time 
 chosen as the prospective terminus of the Trans- 
 Siberian Railway, but which is now only a deserted 
 roadstead. There are few Chinese to be met with 
 here or anywhere along the eastern coast of Korea, 
 though plenty of Japanese, and it is worth noting 
 that they both make use of the English language 
 for communication between themselves and with the 
 Koreans. As there is a certain amount of racial 
 antipathy already existing among the three nations, 
 their commercial transactions not infrequently evoke 
 an English which would certainly not pass in a 
 London merchant's office. 
 
 Our first march from Gensan brought us to the 
 famous monastery of Sakwansa in the hilly Anbyon 
 district. It was formerly the home of the reigning 
 dynasty, and has always been one of the most 
 
CH. VII SEOUL 93 
 
 sacred spots in the kingdom. Approached at night 
 through dark groves of pines and long vistas of 
 stone arches or "arrow gates," with hideous red 
 devil posts and sculptured tablets of dead abbots 
 on either side, the effect it produces, even on the 
 sceptical foreigner, is weird and awe inspiring. 
 The Korean it need hardly be said regards it 
 much as he would an entry to the infernal regions. 
 
 We were hospitably entertained here by the 
 monks, who make a practice of receiving guests that 
 can pay, and were comfortably lodged, the lattice- 
 work chambers and clean cane matting looking 
 more Japanese than Korean. A good many laymen 
 are attached to the monastery, which is territorially 
 rich, and these are generally employed in felling 
 timber, cultivation, and similar pursuits. The abbot, 
 who is the head of the foundation, is a very important 
 personage, both as a prelate and a landed magnate. 
 His business is mainly secular, but the priests, with 
 their shaven crowns and yellow Buddhist robes, are 
 supposed to be continually occupied with their devo- 
 tions, and all night one certainly hears their gongs 
 and drums beating and their lugubrious chants 
 being intoned. The architecture of the various 
 edifices is of the regular tent-roofed pattern, and 
 there are very few relics to be seen of much value 
 or sanctity, but the tout ensemble of the queer old 
 pile up under the cliffs, living its own isolated life 
 for century after century uninterrupted by the march 
 of time, is very impressive. 
 
 From here the road to Seoul strikes over the 
 
94 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 dividing range of the peninsula, leaving the Diamond 
 Mountains away to the left. We now threaded our 
 way along narrow ravines and up rocky torrent 
 beds until we eventually reached a broad plateau. 
 This marks the watershed, and for two days we 
 crossed a barren plain with hardly any inhabitants. 
 Descending along the winding river of the Han 
 whose clear and limpid waters run out to the 
 Yellow Sea at Chemulpo, we then soon entered the 
 fertile plain that surrounds the capital, where we 
 arrived on the sixth day out from Gensan. Here 
 Mr. Jordan, H.M. Charge d' Affaires, very kindly 
 put me up at the Legation and acted as my guide, 
 philosopher, and friend during my stay in Seoul. I 
 remained here for ten days, and was fully occupied 
 in seeing the place and the people, and in completing 
 some reports that I had to write. 
 
 The city of Seoul, which has a population of 
 nearly a quarter of a million souls and is three 
 times as large as any other town in the kingdom, 
 is also by far the most important and entertaining 
 to visit. It bears in some degree the same relation 
 to Korea that Paris does to France, for though the 
 voice of its people does not represent the voice of 
 the entire country, it is much the loudest. Here if 
 anywhere can be found some nascent germs of pro- 
 gress, and indeed the " independent party " is here 
 quite a factor in Korean politics, occasionally holding 
 mass meetings, at which " parliamentary representa- 
 tion and constitutional government " are advocated. 
 The citizens are sometimes, though not always. 
 
vii SEOUL 95 
 
 " appeased " by the Emperor's " personal eloquence," 
 and when this fails they are " dispersed " by the 
 "household troops." But the progress of Seoul is not 
 only abstract, for its streets show material evidence 
 of advance, and compare very favourably with those 
 of Peking. They are wide and fairly clean, not 
 encumbered by booths and tents, and boast of 
 an electric tram, sentries in foreign uniform, gas 
 lamps, and even a railway station. The better-class 
 shops are in the hands of Chinese or Japanese, 
 chiefly the latter, and are creditably managed, while 
 the palaces, which are picturesque and rather 
 gorgeous buildings, are open to visitors, and even 
 the Court itself is more or less accessible. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that there are many points in 
 which Seoul has outstripped Peking, and though 
 the influence of Japan and the pressure of outside 
 Powers have had much to do with this, much is also 
 due to the enlightened ideas of the monarch who at 
 present sits on the throne, and to those of several 
 of his leading ministers. 
 
 I had the good fortune while at Seoul to be 
 received in audience by His Majesty, who seemed 
 a most pleasant and sensible gentleman. He was 
 beautifully dressed in yellow satin, his son the 
 Crown Prince being in red, and both wore the 
 orthodox gauze cap and topknot, the latter de- 
 corated with a jewel of priceless value. The audi- 
 ence was chiefly confined to the ordinary inquiries 
 about travelling and the like, and there was little 
 opportunity of discussing wider subjects. But the 
 
96 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 Emperor of Korea is in fact a man who has seized 
 his opportunity and endeavours to march with the 
 times. Many of his various projects, such as electric 
 Hghting, sericulture and model farming, have not 
 succeeded, but he possesses the real spirit of pro- 
 gress, and in the thirty-six years of his reign has 
 survived many political changes, which he has 
 always tried to turn to the advantage of his people. 
 Although he is still to a great extent the Oriental 
 potentate, with absolute control over the national 
 finances, administration and diplomacy, he is well 
 aware of the utility of Western forms of govern- 
 ment, and he has, by an able choice of ministers, 
 many of whom have benefited by a European 
 education, applied much sound reorganisation to 
 his own land. 
 
 The then Foreign Minister, Mr. Pak, is also a 
 cultivated and liberal-minded man, and in an inter- 
 view that I had with him he showed that he also 
 had the good of his country well at heart. Inter- 
 national rivalry was at that time chiefly concerned 
 with the concessions of various gold mines, and Mr. 
 Pak was bringing his powers of finesse into play 
 in such a way as to ensure that the mineral wealth 
 of Korea should be exploited as much for the profit 
 of the native shareholders as for that of the foreign 
 companies. As may be imagined there is a good 
 deal of intrigue in a small Court like that of Seoul, 
 and in its Liliputian way it is no bad school for a 
 budding diplomatist. The leading feature of in- 
 ternal policy just then was the army, for the Russian 
 
vn SEOUL 97 
 
 drill instructors had been quite recently sent back 
 home, and the 5,000 Korean "foreign drilled" 
 troops were exulting in their newly acquired in- 
 dependence. The Emperor, in view of past 
 revolts and possibly of future contingencies, con- 
 tinually keeps a cordon of outposts and picquets 
 round his palace, so much so that the life of the 
 Korean foot-guardsman seems to be made up of 
 eternal sentry-go. However he is well clothed and 
 paid, and no doubt considers his profession as a 
 good business from a pecuniary point of view. His 
 main duties seem to consist in keeping back crowds 
 of townsfolk who try to see the monthly processions 
 called " kurbangs," the only episodes of excitement 
 that occur regularly, and on which the men of Seoul 
 are forbidden to gaze. For this task the soldier is 
 provided with two classes of bayonet, which fix on 
 to his old Berdan rifle. The one is rather short, and 
 is for summer use only, but the other is much longer 
 and is for service in the winter, when the Koreans 
 wear more and thicker clothes and are presumably 
 better protected against cold steel. 
 
 The drill of the troops is not so bad as might be 
 expected, but the officers are very amusing for they 
 have to be supported on their horses by numerous 
 attendants, rather, we were informed, on account of 
 their dignity than from an inability to ride. They 
 appear in great force at the processions alluded to 
 above, when the Emperor leaves the city to visit 
 tombs or to sacrifice. On his exit or return long 
 cavalcades of priests in yellow, ancient officials in 
 
 H 
 
98 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 fantastic hats, generals in glittering uniforms, a field 
 battery, and a huge empty state chair " to deceive 
 assassins " precede or surround him. If it is late 
 at night he is escorted by troops bearing torches, 
 the whole effect producing a most striking scene as 
 it enters the gates of the palace. 
 
 The actual building inhabited by the Emperor is 
 not shown to the ordinary sightseer, but the two 
 old palaces, which are very beautiful specimens of 
 Chinese architecture and decoration, can be viewed 
 and well repay a visit. The fretted roofs and gor- 
 geously painted walls, the lacquered panels, the 
 rose gardens and lattice-worked windows, and the 
 massive stone monsters at the gateways to some 
 extent recall Peking, except that they are on a 
 smaller and also a much cleaner scale. There is 
 also a remarkable old marble pagoda, one of the 
 best monuments in the kingdom. Everything regal 
 — or rather, as one should now say, imperial — is 
 borrowed from the Chinese Court, and until 1896 
 when the present occupant of the Korean throne 
 renounced the suzerainty of China, a yearly embassy 
 was sent by the Hwangti from Peking to receive 
 his vassal's homage. This mission was always 
 met by the King of Korea at a rock-hewn causeway 
 outside the western gate of Seoul, called the 
 Peking Pass, and a votive arch has now been set 
 up near it by the Korean radicals to commemorate 
 their emancipation. 
 
 There is also something of the modern idea to 
 be seen in and around the city. The Legations 
 
Makblk Pagoda near Seoul. 
 
 [Face />, 98. 
 
vn SEOUL 99 
 
 are of course all the conventional red brick class of 
 building, and the Emperor is now erecting himself 
 a new and rather rococo palace on similar lines in 
 the foreign quarter. Hard by the little electric 
 train with a great deal of bell-ringing bangs and 
 clanks its way in through the old stone wall, carry- 
 ing semi-Europeanised Japanese and their model 
 soldiers sitting next to wondering Korean peasants, 
 and presenting another sign of the old order 
 changing. 
 
 Perhaps the most important feature of novelty 
 is the railway, which was then (November, 1899) 
 almost completed, with the exception of a bridge 
 across the Han, just outside the city. It is a 
 forty-mile single line from Seoul to Chemulpo, 
 the Western Treaty Port, and was originally laid 
 down by an American company. Subsequently the 
 Japanese acquired the concession, and under 
 their management the line is now a thriving 
 concern. On the termination of my visit at Seoul 
 I went down by it to Chemulpo, where I had to 
 spend several days waiting for an uncertain steamer 
 that was to take me to Japan. 
 
 The port of Chemulpo, which is said to have a 
 population of 22,000 including a large Japanese 
 and a smaller Chinese colony, has a poor and 
 exposed roadstead, but still it is the chief outlet 
 and entry for the commerce of the country. All 
 loading and transport is done by human labour, and 
 it is a very strange sight to see the Korean coolies, 
 who are renowned for their strength, carrying 
 
 H 2 
 
ioo A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 gigantic bales of cotton on their backs with 
 apparently the greatest of ease. The boat work 
 is mainly done by the Japanese, as is the retail shop 
 business. Indeed nearly all the trade is in their 
 hands. There is a British Consul, who very kindly 
 asked me to his charming house, a British merchant, 
 and several missionaries, but otherwise we are not 
 very much to the fore. The Americans, Germans,^ 
 Russians and French are also represented, and the 
 first and second of these are making considerable 
 commercial progress by carefully pushing their goods 
 and generally fostering their trade wherever the 
 chance occurs. But as yet the figures attained are 
 not very large. 
 
 A day or two in Chemulpo suffice the ordinary 
 European, and when the Owari Maru steamer of 
 800 tons, flying the flag of the Nippon Yusen 
 Kaisha — the chief Japanese steamship company — 
 hove into sight one morning, I did not delay in 
 taking my passage on her for Nagasaki. She was 
 not remarkably steady, though we were told she 
 was a very good sea-boat whatever that may be, 
 but luckily the weather remained reasonably calm 
 during the voyage, so she was not put to the test. 
 The Japanese skippers however are first-class navi- 
 gators and the sailors really " handy men," and as 
 a rule one travels quickly, cheaply and comfortably 
 in any vessels of the big steamship lines. This 
 was a coasting steamer, and so we did not go direct, 
 but otherwise everything went well. 
 
 It takes four days to get to Japan by this route. 
 
VII SEOUL loi 
 
 sailing down among the rocky islets that fringe the 
 western littoral. We called at the small town of 
 Mokpo, newly opened to trade, then at Fusan, the 
 chief Treaty Port in the south and forty miles away 
 from Masampo, which is said to be the best harbour 
 in all the Far East, and finally at Tsusima, an island 
 belonging to Japan. From here it is less than a 
 hundred miles across to Nagasaki. 
 
 Fusan, which I again visited on my way home 
 nine months later, is a bigger and more populous 
 place than Chemulpo, but here again everything of 
 value is in the hands of the Japanese, and the 
 Korean seems to be rapidly being ousted from 
 his hereditary possessions. Indeed the colonising 
 and commercial powers of Japan obtrude them- 
 selves on one's eye all over Korea, the more so as 
 they are in such striking contrast to the extra- 
 ordinary apathy of the Korean himself The only 
 exception is the solitary instance of the capital, 
 where the influence of the Foreign Legations and 
 the reforming spirit of the Emperor have effected 
 some changes. But even with the best intentions 
 and the most fortunate results it seems clear that 
 Korea is not for the Koreans, though whom it is 
 for is not so easy to say. Mountainous and 
 sea-bound it has produced a people with neither 
 energy nor courage. Possessing neither literature 
 nor art it has given nothing to the outside world, 
 while the litde civilisation that it can show came to 
 it a thousand years ago from the Chinese. 
 
 Rightly was it called the Hermit Kingdom, for 
 
I02 A YEAR IN CHINA CH. vir 
 
 until twenty years ago it was as unknown to Europe 
 as the Steppes of Tibet are to-day, and it hoped na 
 doubt to go on Hving down the ages in similar 
 isolation. But suddenly it found itself crushed 
 between the upper and the nether millstone, the 
 very spot round or on which the mighty sea and 
 land Powers of Eastern Asia wished to fight their 
 battles. Of this the Koreans are already dimly 
 aware, but in their case forewarned is not forearmed, 
 for they have got to deal with neighbours so far 
 superior to them in strength, whether moral or 
 material, that they can only look to an altruistic 
 diplomacy or to the providence of events to save 
 them from national annihilation. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 
 
 The month of December I passed in Japan, 
 visiting the regulation sights and seeing at Tokio 
 something of the political and social life there. I 
 do not however propose to endeavour here to 
 describe a country or a people of which I know 
 nothing new, and where I passed such a short time. 
 
 At the end of the year 1899 I crossed over from 
 Nagasaki to Shanghai and there spent another 
 month at the hospitable house of Mr. Warren, who 
 was then acting as Consul-General. Several inter- 
 esting people were passing through at the time, and 
 what with hearing the opinions of Taotais and 
 travelling Members of Parliament, syndicate pro- 
 moters and Indian officers, one got an idea of the 
 variety of views that China can present under 
 different aspects. Shanghai is also the best place 
 to get some idea of the enormous volume of British 
 and foreign trade in the Far East. With its long 
 lines of wharves and go-downs, its well laid out 
 streets, gardens and embankments, and its numerous 
 public buildings, all due to European initiative, it 
 
I04 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 presents a striking object lesson of order and power. 
 But once past the gates of the native city one is 
 back again in the very vortex of Asiatic life, among 
 a seething crowd that might be a thousand miles 
 away from any Western influence at all. 
 
 The weather in Shanghai was at first fairly warm, 
 but it very soon changed and we had snow and ice, an 
 unusual phenomena in these latitudes, so that Christ- 
 mas quite reminded us of home. There was also 
 plenty of good cheer and gaiety, for the " Model 
 Settlement " grows every year larger and more 
 luxurious, and it will take time and strenuous compe- 
 tition before it is ousted from its position of the 
 commercial metropolis of the Extreme Orient. 
 
 It was rather too cold for much in the way of 
 excursions, but I managed to pay a visit to 
 Hangchow, the capital of the adjoining province 
 of Chekiang and one of the most populous and 
 richest places in the Empire. The route is by the 
 Suchow and Grand Canals, and nowadays one is 
 able to go in a comfortable little houseboat towed 
 by a Japanese steam launch, a very different method 
 of progress from the old times when it was a case 
 of sailing or tracking and took three or four days. 
 
 Hangchow is one of the new Treaty Ports, and a 
 foreign settlement has been laid out there, though 
 as yet there is very little on it beyond the Customs 
 buildings. As it is seven miles away from the 
 native city it is not so advantageous a site as it 
 might be, especially as the terminal tax or octroi, 
 called " loti shui," has to be paid by Chinese-owned 
 
VIII UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 105 
 
 goods entering the gates, though likin is of course 
 avoided. 
 
 Since the Anglo-German loan of 1898 the likin 
 (native Customs) of several of the ports in these 
 provinces have been hypothecated to the Imperial 
 Maritime Customs, and though so far there has 
 hardly been time to see whether the new arrange- 
 ment will act well, everything is being done to 
 ensure it. The local authorities are naturally not 
 particularly keen about assisting in the collection 
 of revenues that used to go into their own pockets 
 but will now be paid over to Peking, or, as they 
 say, to the foreigners. On the other hand the 
 native merchants and townsfolk generally along 
 the trade routes are already discovering that the 
 exactions now are much less than they used to be 
 and not nearly so arbitrary. From the economical 
 standpoint it need hardly be said that under 
 the new system a far greater sum is produced 
 both for Imperial and for provincial needs than 
 ever was before — the invariable difference between 
 a peculating Chinese and an honest European staff 
 
 Hangchow is famous for its silk and for its 
 equinoctial " bore" or inrush of water from the sea. 
 It suffered considerably during the Taiping rebellion 
 but is already recuperating from its losses and has 
 now a population of over 800,000. The people, 
 like most though not all of the inhabitants of the 
 Chinese littoral, are inclined to be soft, but they 
 have the commercial spirit well developed and still 
 outrival the Japanese in the manufacture of most 
 
io6 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 articles of local consumption. So far there are no 
 foreigners in the city with the exception of a few 
 missionary doctors and the British Consul. But in a 
 few years Hangchow will probably see considerable 
 changes for the better, especially if any of the 
 railway schemes for connecting it with Shanghai or 
 Canton succeed. 
 
 Outside the walls there are one or two rather 
 pretty pagodas and the whole aspect of the country 
 at that time of year, intersected with frozen canals 
 and buried in white snow, was quite picturesque. 
 The Chinaman however does not relish the cold, 
 and though at the beginning of winter he always 
 takes his warm clothes out of pawn and religiously 
 puts them all on, he never seems really happy or 
 comfortable in them, and no doubt ardently awaits 
 the return of spring, when he can revert to his simple 
 Adamite costume and at the same time raise some 
 more cash. 
 
 When I got back to Shanghai I found that some 
 letters and despatches I had been expecting had at 
 last arrived from Peking (which being ice-bound at 
 this time of year suffers from a very intermittent 
 post). It was accordingly possible to make a start 
 again, this time for the Far West. 
 
 The first part of the journey for any one going in 
 this direction is cut and dried. It is of course 
 steamer up the Yangtze Kiang, at any rate as far 
 as Hankow, and as there are excellent boats leaving 
 every night no delay was necessary. My personnel 
 was the same as before, except for a new second 
 
VIII UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 107 
 
 man, the Korean underling having been discarded 
 in Seoul. The usual supply of stores was laid in 
 and also some fresh books, as there was likely to 
 be a good deal of boat travelling at first. 
 
 We made the regular run up the river, passing 
 the Treaty Ports of Chinkiang, Nanking, Wuhu, 
 and Kiukiang. None of these towns are of much 
 interest except Nanking, and that is now bereft of its 
 porcelain pagoda and of much of its pristine splen- 
 dour. It has however some fine old stone tombs 
 of bygone dynasties, to which the centuries have 
 wrought little harm, and which well repay a visit. 
 
 On the fourth day we arrived at Hankow, which I 
 had last seen in May. The appearance of a port on 
 the River Yangtze in summer and in winter is very 
 different. The long bund which eight months before 
 had had the water almost flush with its coping, was 
 now a tall bare expanse of mud and stone work, tower- 
 ing thirty feet above us. Much less trade was going on 
 also than in May when the tea season is in full swing, 
 and of course the climate was materially altered. 
 
 During my stay at Hankow this time I had 
 occasion to visit the Viceroy Chang-chi-tung, who 
 was mentioned before in Chapter II. I found him 
 quite as clever and as sensible as I had expected, 
 though he did not impress me as being either so 
 strong a ruler or so pro-British as is usually 
 believed. He is however a fine old gentleman, very 
 courteous and with a considerable sense of humour, 
 and he certainly possesses the art of choosing most 
 capable subordinates. He is supposed to be very 
 
io8 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 honest and (in consequence) very poor, though 
 he had on when he received us a sable cloak 
 that would have made the mouth of a Moscow 
 merchant water. 
 
 There is no doubt that he recognises the general 
 utility and necessity of European reform in China. 
 He only wishes it to be for China and not for 
 Europe, and for this who can blame him? Pat- 
 riotism is not a common virtue among the Celestials 
 and his is all the more to his credit, while his 
 correct and laudable attitude during the recent 
 troubles has justified the confidence that was placed 
 in him. 
 
 There was little else to detain me in Hankow, and 
 by the kindness of the British Admiral I was soon 
 enabled to proceed to Yochow, the new Treaty Port 
 in Hunan and the next stage of my journey, on 
 board a British gunboat — one of those which do 
 the patrol service up and down the ri^er and protect 
 " British interests." This was H.M.S. Snipe (Lieut, 
 and Comdr. Oldham, R.N.), which draws about 
 two feet and steams twelve knots. Although she is 
 of a rather impracticable pattern her gallant skipper 
 made the most of her, and we did not waste any 
 time in getting up to Yochow, which lies at the 
 entrance to the Tungting Lake. It had been my 
 intention from here to get across to Changsha and 
 thence to march through the western hills of Hunan 
 to Chungking in Szechuan. But fate decreed other- 
 wise, and I found myself compelled to go on up 
 the main river by the ordinary route to Ichang. 
 
British Gu.nboat. 
 
 Chinese Gunhoats. 
 
 {Face /. io8. 
 
Viii UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 109 
 
 While we lay off Yochow the Taotai, a very 
 pleasant individual, entertained us at a magnificent 
 banquet, having previously boarded us with flags 
 and tomtoms and been treated to the regulation 
 brand of champagne. 
 
 Amongst other visitors we also had the pleasure 
 of receiving a " Naval Lieut. -Colonel," whatever 
 that may be. He was a delightful person and had 
 evidently somewhere in the course of his duties on 
 land or at sea acquired some knowledge of Westefn 
 ways, for he heralded his arrival by a large double 
 visiting card inscribed in both Chinese and English. 
 
 It was a beautiful document, a little florid and 
 detailed perhaps in diction, but otherwise an artistic 
 and inspiring composition. I subjoin it in full, 
 only changing the gentleman's name for sentimental 
 reasons. 
 
 Ta Hun Lung, Lan Poo (friendly calling). 
 
 General (Imperial title). 
 
 Colonel of a Regiment, 
 
 (Will soon be ordered by an Imperial Edict), 
 
 Wise and Brave Hero 
 
 (Admired by an Imperial Edict), 
 
 Temporarily being the Naval Lieut.-Colonel 
 
 of Yangtze Kiang. 
 
 Lived Yochow, Hunan. 
 
 This I think was hardly equalled by a Servian 
 gentleman travelling in Belgium who carried a 
 piece of pasteboard embellished with the words 
 
 "Voyageur autour du monde sans le sou." 
 Perhaps some day the two may meet in the 
 
no A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 Yemen or the Sandwich Islands, when they will 
 no doubt exchange their cards. 
 
 The country from Yochow on to Ichang is ex- 
 cessively flat and monotonous, and there is only 
 one town of any size, Kingchow, where there is 
 a large Manchu colony and a Tartar general. The 
 river winds interminably and has numerous sand- 
 banks, so that progress is both slow and difficult. 
 The riverine districts are fertile, the soil being the 
 regular loess of the Great Plain of China, and 
 it is not until one gets to the borders of the province 
 of Szechuan that the mountains really begin. 
 
 When we did eventually arrive at Ichang we 
 found that the fetes of the Chinese New Year had 
 just commenced, and that there was no chance of 
 getting a junk to take us on to Chungking for several 
 days. Every one, even the Consul's dog coolie 
 whose honorarium was only four dollars a month, 
 manages on this occasion to appear dressed in 
 silk, and there was a lavish display of lanterns, 
 fire crackers, bunting and gaudy signboards over 
 boats and houses. Three days were consumed in 
 negotiations, and then at last a bargain was struck 
 and we started off for Chungking in a small two- 
 roomed native junk. The festivities had evidently 
 begun to pall more on the pockets than on the 
 constitutions of my crew, for they worked astonish- 
 ingly well all along though they were always in a 
 state of bankruptcy. 
 
 The journey up the Yangtze gorges has been 
 frequently described by those who have done it 
 
UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 
 
 more than once. I need not quote Mr. Little, 
 Mrs. Bishop and many others. There was nothing 
 in our experiences particularly new, except that 
 we did the 400 miles in the very good time of 
 twenty days and only paid the comparatively 
 reasonable sum of 1 20 taels — all of which was due 
 to the kind offices of H.M. Consul at the point of 
 departure. We were escorted by a Chinese Govern- 
 ment " red boat," a small fast cutter, manned by 
 five soldiers, which helped us in many ways, 
 notably in securing us a right of way in front of 
 other native craft at the rapids. These "red 
 boats" are scattered up and down the river and 
 do good salvage and life-saving work besides 
 carrying despatches and " pursuing pirates." 
 
 The rapids form the really exciting part of the 
 journey as they are at times exceedingly difficult, 
 not to say dangerous. The junk has to be tracked 
 or towed over them by main force, and whereas 
 ordinarily my crew consisted of only sixteen men, 
 at a rapid it had to be augmented by as many as 
 fifty to eighty more, all pulling and yelling as the 
 boat tossed on the waves behind them. These 
 extra men live in huts on the banks at the various 
 points where they are required, and exist on the 
 small pittances they receive from each boat that 
 comes along. 
 
 The scene, however often it be repeated, is 
 always exhilarating. At big rapids (ta-tan) I 
 always used to stay on the boat, that being the 
 " post of danger " and also the surest way of keeping 
 
112 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 with one's baggage, in case, as not infrequently 
 happens, the ropes break and the boat is whirled 
 in an instant a mile or more down the river. At 
 the bows stood \}a.& ta-kung or "great work" man 
 with a long sweep, and by him was a wild, half 
 naked savage with a pole for fending us off the 
 rocks. These two screamed hoarsely all the time, 
 mainly at each other. Halfway up the mast I sat 
 myself, though I was more generally dangling 
 over the water, when the boat, as it frequently 
 did, heeled over and tried to capsize. Right 
 aft on the poop stood the owner or laoban steer- 
 ing, weeping and ejaculating vows for the safety 
 of his craft. On the roof sat huddled up the 
 boat's cook with a raucous drum, which he beat 
 madly from time to time " pour encourager les 
 autres." 
 
 On the bank were the fifty or more trackers, 
 straining every nerve at the ropes, with their backs 
 bowed and their heads almost on the ground. 
 Below us the waters raced and tore past, swirling 
 in huge eddies round the half sunken rocks and 
 making a deafening noise. Occasionally there 
 would be a shout from far up the river, and then 
 we would suddenly see a long down-stream boat 
 shoot past us, its mast unshipped and its crew 
 rowing for all they were worth to keep some com- 
 mand over the current. 
 
 For the first ten minutes or so we would seem to 
 remain absolutely stationary and then the critical 
 moment would come and we were battling with the 
 
VIII UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 113 
 
 whole force of the river at its strongest point. 
 This would last for perhaps ten minutes more, and 
 then again we suddenly found ourselves in compa- 
 ratively smooth water and the rapid was passed. 
 This of course is presuming that nothing untoward 
 occurred, for if anything "broke" we were carried 
 in a few seconds far down stream and had to waste 
 hours in painfully working our way back again. 
 
 Up the Yangtze Gorges at twenty miles a day 
 is very good going, though to one who has not 
 been there it may not seem so. The labour of 
 poling or tracking is very heavy and almost in- 
 cessant, for in the narrow winding canons one 
 cannot profit much by a fair wind. The men have 
 three meals a day, only of rice and vegetables, and 
 some of them smoke opium in the evening, but as a 
 rule they are a decent, hard-working lot and have by 
 no means a particularly pleasant life. Nevertheless 
 they are nearly always in a good temper, ready 
 enough when asked to go on for extra hours, and 
 not given to complaining. With the laoban or 
 skipper it is naturally rather different, for he risks 
 his whole livelihood on the venture, and if his 
 boat is wrecked or lost in a rapid all his worldly 
 possessions are gone in a moment. 
 
 The one or two small towns on the banks between 
 Ichang and Chungking are none of them very big 
 or imposing, though there are several " famous 
 temples." The country inland is for the most part 
 rocky and poor ; what wealth there is being con- 
 centrated along the river, which is the only artery of 
 
 I 
 
114 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP- 
 
 commerce. The natives are as rule peaceable and 
 friendly and not particularly inquisitive, though ap- 
 parently they used to be the reverse. 
 
 In the fulness of time we arrived at Chungking, 
 the solitary Treaty Port of Szechuan. It is built on 
 the steep left bank of the Yangtze at its confluence 
 with the Kialing, and is after Chentu the largest 
 and richest city in the province. This is saying a 
 good deal, for Szechuan is without doubt the most 
 important province in the Middle Kingdom. It has. 
 a population of at least forty- five millions, many 
 authorities say more, and its inhabitants are the most 
 industrious of all the Chinese. In the Red Basin, 
 which is roughly the central part of Szechuan, there is 
 very considerable mineral wealth, and by the genius 
 and labour of the people the soil has been made 
 exceedingly fertile. Tea, silk, opium and cotton are 
 produced in great quantities and exported to the 
 sea-board, while most of the metals of Kuichou and 
 Yunnan, as well as the wool and musk of Tibet,, 
 find their way to Chungking or Chentu before being 
 distributed over the rest of China. The fact that 
 the province is remote and isolated from the rest of 
 the Empire, being almost entirely surrounded by 
 mountains and only really approachable by the 
 Yangtze Kiang, has to some extent kept it virgin 
 ground for the outside trade. But the Szechuanese 
 are by no means hostile to foreigners, and with the 
 least energy and care there will be here a brilliant 
 commercial future both for the Chinese and for 
 the European market. During last year two of 
 
viii UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 115 
 
 H.M. gunboats managed to ascend the rapids to 
 Chungking, whence one of them easily got on to 
 Suchow (Suifu) and Kiating, and a regular pas- 
 senger and goods steamer has now been started by 
 a private company. When proper blasting opera- 
 tions have been executed there is no reason why the 
 existing arduous and expensive navigation should 
 not be materially altered for the better. 
 
 The cities in the west of China are quite different 
 from those in the north or south, though of the 
 two they rather resemble the latter. Narrow paved 
 streets, gilded and painted signboards, fat-faced in- 
 dividuals in silk, chairs and coolies instead of donkeys 
 and horses, with a tremendous amount of movement 
 and despatch. Chentu is the best example, and 
 also the most pleasant. Chungking is rather dirty, 
 and is a most awkward place to get about in, being 
 built on the side of a hill. When one is always 
 going up or down slippery and precipitous steps, 
 carried in a gimcrack chair by two tottering dotards, 
 life has its moments of excitement. Once I saw 
 a small mandarin toboggan, chair and all, for some 
 distance down the "Imperial Flight of Felicity," and 
 had I not been entirely wrapt up in my own security 
 as my bearers' feet slid about under them, I should 
 probably have been much amused by his accident. 
 However, he got up unhurt and smiling, though no 
 doubt very angry, and I opined from the peculiar 
 expression of injured innocence on the faces of his 
 coolies that the bamboo was in store for them. 
 
 From Chungking I had settled to go on to 
 
 I 2 
 
ii6 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 Chentu by road. One can of course continue the 
 ascent of the Yangtze and Min rivers by way of 
 Suifu and Kiating almost to the walls of the capital, 
 but it is a long and tedious job and besides we had 
 had quite enough of boat travelling. Going by land 
 one has the advantage of seeing the country, which 
 is always entertaining, and one travels much faster 
 and straighter. Were it a case of going east it would 
 be quite another thing, for the rate of the current 
 makes it possible to travel down stream at an almost 
 incredible speed. The ordinary run down from 
 Chungking to Ichang is five days, and it has even 
 been done in thirty hours by a sampan. 
 
 All transport in Szechuan is by coolie, for two 
 reasons. First of all there are a vast amount of 
 irrigation canals, and the ground is very expensive, 
 so that the narrowest possible tracks are made to 
 do duty as paths. Secondly there is very little 
 pasture land, and consequently very few horses. A 
 coolie costs about 400 cash (40 cents or a shilling) 
 a day — this is a high price — and for that he carries 
 his heavy load for thirty miles. Chair-bearers are 
 paid a little more and have an easier job. Both 
 are usually hired en masse from one of the hongs 
 or local companies in the cities, and are led by a 
 head man, who is responsible for their conduct. 
 They go the whole journey, and there appears to be 
 no system of relays analogous to that in Southern 
 China. 
 
 As I wished to see Tzeliojin, the headquarters of 
 the salt wells district, and also Kiating, where the 
 
VIII UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 117 
 
 white wax and silk trades centre, I had chosen a 
 route by way of these two towns in preference to 
 the direct highroad to Chentu, and the extra time 
 was not lost for both places were highly interesting 
 and well worth seeing. 
 
 Travelling in this province is by no means uncom- 
 fortable. The inns are spacious and clean, the people 
 are as a rule courteous, the prices are moderate, and 
 the coolies are expeditious. The scenery also is 
 extremely picturesque. Narrow stone paths climb- 
 ing over wooden heights by flights of hewn steps, 
 stately engraved archways and painted pagodas, half 
 hidden in groves of mulberries and pines, and below 
 the broad valleys chequered with fields of silver, 
 green, and red. Occasionally one comes to some 
 queer old country house, nestled in the cleft of a 
 hill, with a votive pillar or rustic temple up above 
 it, at other times to a crowded little walled town, 
 lined with steaming shops and full of jostling cus- 
 tomers and hurrying porters. The irrigation work 
 is marvellous, water being by some extraordinary 
 means conveyed almost everywhere — apparently 
 perfectly regardless of levels. The soil is by nature 
 red sandstone, but many of the fields are either 
 covered by crops or entirely under water, so that 
 very often on surmounting the ridge of a hill the 
 valley beyond appears to be a vast lake. 
 
 When we got to Tzeliojin however the landscape 
 was not nearly so attractive. For fifteen miles a 
 single, long, dirty street straggles on, while on 
 
ii8 A YEAR IN CHINA chap 
 
 every side rise the scaffoldings of the sulphurous 
 brine wells from which the salt is extracted. Some 
 of them are as much as 2,000 feet deep, and they 
 are worked by a very ingenious pumping arrange- 
 ment, the windlasses being turned by oxen. The 
 whole business is in the hands of a guild of mer- 
 chants who pay royalties to the State, salt being an 
 excisable article, and as many as half a million souls 
 are said to live round about and to be employed at 
 the wells. The navvies are rather disposed to be 
 turbulent and rude to strangers, and we had some 
 slight trouble at one place, but for the most part they 
 seem occupied with their own concerns and with 
 laboriously earning their livelihood. 
 
 One of the few nuisances is money. On the 
 lower Yangtze and in the best known parts of 
 Southern China, as well as in Manchuria, silver 
 dollars are generally taken and can be ex- 
 changed for the ordinary cash strings ; but in the 
 lesser known provinces the only currency is sycee. 
 This is ingot silver cut up into "shoes " of various 
 sizes. As the standard of weight and fineness, and 
 also the rate of exchange, varies at nearly every 
 large town the . difficulties attending on sycee can 
 be faintly imagined. This of course only applies to 
 daily expenses. For larger sums letters of credit from 
 one Chinese bank to another are usually reliable. 
 
 Three days after leaving Tzeliojin we came to 
 Kiating, situated on the further shore of the Min 
 which is really the main stream of the Yano-tze 
 
-vili UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 119 
 
 Kiang. Opposite the town a colossal Buddha is cut 
 into the white face of the cliff, and a " world-famous " 
 joss-house stands above it. Here can be bought 
 the best silks of Szechuan, amongst others the 
 so-called " crepe de Chine " for which the ladies of 
 Kiating have only to pay about tenpence a yard. 
 White wax, collected from a peculiar tree insect, is 
 also brought in from the Kienchang valley, before 
 being exported to Chungking and the seaboard. 
 
 Another point of interest about Kiating is that it 
 is on the main road to and only forty miles or so 
 distant from the Sacred Mountain of Omei, the 
 principal place of pilgrimage for Tibetan and 
 Mongolian Buddhists, who come here in large 
 numbers. At the highest point of the crest of 
 Omei Shan is built the holy shrine, and deep down 
 in the precipice below the outer parapet, can be 
 seen by the pious and fortunate the " glory of 
 Buddha," which is a peculiar reflection of the sun 
 shining from above on to the mountain clouds. 
 
 The road to Chentu now follows the Min, on 
 which in its upper course there is not much traffic. 
 To the left can be discerned the commencement of 
 the uplands that stretch away to the mighty ranges 
 of Tibet, while on the eastern bank there is always 
 close cultivation. 
 
 Salt and samshu (or native spirits), which had 
 been the chief articles in transit in the eastern 
 portion of the province, have now been replaced 
 by silk, cotton and bamboo goods, but between 
 
A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP„ 
 
 Kiating and Chentu there is not much trade of any 
 sort to be seen. The road is not a very important 
 one and the Min may be practically taken as the 
 limit of the central portion of Szechuan. Beyond 
 it going west one soon enters the wild lands of the 
 Sifan and Tibetan tribes, who live in regions of 
 virgin forest and almost inaccessible rocks, and are 
 nearly unknown even to the Chinese. 
 
 Near Chentu we joined the highway from 
 Ningyuen and Yujinan and again came across some 
 telegraph poles which we had not seen since 
 Chungking. The land wire from Burma to Peking 
 comes this way to Chungking, and goes on thence 
 to Shanghai, there being no through communication 
 from Chentu to Sianfu and the north-east coast 
 as yet. 
 
 We were still able to keep up a fair rate of 
 progress, as the weather which had hitherto been 
 rather cold and rainy now began to brighten up and 
 show signs of spring. Entering the rich plain of 
 Chentu we arrived next day at the capital itself, 
 the distance from Chungking by the Kiating route 
 being about four hundred miles, which had taken us 
 just over a fortnight. We were now quite beyond 
 the pale of civilisation, not only far west of the last 
 Treaty Port but also close to the confines of Tibet, 
 and relying entirely on the protection of the 
 Chinese Government. As the evening set in my 
 chair was carried under the towering gates and 
 through the crowded streets of Chentu to the 
 
vm UP THE YANGTZE KIANG 
 
 inn of " Prosperous Friendliness," which "foreigners 
 of distinction " were said to occasionally honour with 
 their high presence. But among the aristocratic 
 stoics of Chentu my arrival caused little excitement. 
 "Evidently," remarked the innkeeper, "it is one 
 of these trading excellencies, he carries so much 
 baggage." 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 WESTERN SZECHUAN 
 
 The journey from Shanghai up the Yangtze Kiang 
 to its head waters at Chentu is really a very long 
 one. Certainly it only takes one through eighteen 
 degrees of longitude or so, but the distance, owing 
 to the sinuous course that has to be followed, is 
 close on two thousand miles. It is practically going 
 from one side of China to the other. 
 
 West of Chentu no European can go very far, 
 for the borderland of the Tibetan tribes soon 
 begins and beyond that lies the frontier of Tibet 
 proper. One or two missionaries and one or two 
 great explorers, such as Mr. Rockhill and Prince 
 Henry of Orleans, have succeeded in penetrating a 
 short way into that mysterious country from its 
 eastern frontier, and English and Russian travellers 
 have crossed various portions of it from the north 
 and from the west. But for all practical purposes 
 it still remains a terra incognita, and so long as its 
 present system of misgovernment obtains it is 
 likely to remain so. 
 
 While I was in Chentu I had to pay a visit to the 
 
CH. IX WESTERN SZECHUAN 123 
 
 Viceroy of Szechuan, and with him I discussed the 
 question of Tibet, the position of the Chinese 
 officials there, and the chance that foreigners had 
 of getting inside. His Excellency, who was a 
 Manchu prince but very genial and friendly withal, 
 told me what the world knew already. 
 
 "We," he said, "profit very little from Tibet; 
 nearly every mandarin we send to Lhassa is robbed 
 or beaten on the road there. A foreigner would 
 probably be killed directly he entered the country 
 unless he took an army with him. They are 
 barbarians ! " He was without doubt speaking the 
 truth. The Abbe Hue was the last European who 
 got to Lhassa, and though since his day (1850) 
 many others have tried to reach the mysterious 
 home of the Dalai Llama no one has yet suc- 
 ceeded in doing so, though latterly one or two 
 Englishmen have been very near. A Russian 
 Embassy is now reported as having visited Lhassa 
 last year, but no account has been published. The 
 fact is that the natural difficulties of the country to 
 be traversed are stupendous — colossal mountains, 
 passes closed by snow and ice, wind-swept plateaux, 
 no vegetation, roads or villages and consequently 
 no supplies. Besides all this however there is a 
 bitterly hostile population firmly opposed to any 
 outsider ever entering their country. 
 
 The Tibetans thoroughly dislike the Chinese, 
 and they look on Europeans as a rarer, weaker, 
 and more disagreeable kind of Chinaman. Yet 
 they also fear them, being encouraged in this by 
 
124 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 their own llamas, who themselves strongly dread 
 the spread of knowledge, which they know will mean 
 the end of their own power. Yet at Darjiling, 
 where I saw something of the Tibetans, they seem 
 a quiet and simple folk, very different from the 
 fanatical warriors one hears of beyond the frontier. 
 At present the small trade between China and 
 Tibet hardly makes it worth the while of the Court 
 of Peking to press home its suzerain rights, even if 
 this could be done. But as foreign nations come 
 into the field a different state of things is bound to 
 arise, and the time is in all probability not far 
 distant when Tibet, like Korea, will have a 
 "progressive party." 
 
 The exports at present are limited to musk, 
 medicines and wool, and the imports to tea, silk and 
 a very few manufactured articles. Mongolian Bud- 
 dhists, Hindu traders and Chinese officials are the 
 only strangers who ever find their way to Lhassa, 
 and the visitors from Tibet to China are even rarer, 
 being entirely composed of the pilgrims who go to 
 Omei Shan and of the merchant caravans that come 
 to Kuan, the tribal market town that lies forty miles 
 west of Chentu. 
 
 I made an excursion to Kuan, not only to see 
 the Tibetans and their trading camp, but also be- 
 cause the place is noted as possessing the finest, 
 richest, and most beautiful temple in the whole 
 Empire. It reminded one a good deal of the 
 marvellous shrines of Nikko in Japan, with its gold, 
 its lacquer and its bronze, but it was not nearly 
 
IX WESTERN SZECHUAN 125 
 
 SO artistic, so gorgeous or so well kept. It also 
 lacked the marvellous groves of trees that make 
 Nikko a wonder of the world. Nevertheless the 
 Kuan temple, with its huge placid Buddhas, its 
 desolate courts and its colossal stone facades is a 
 sight not easily forgotten. 
 
 Kuan is also very interesting as being the head 
 of all the irrigation system of the Chentu plain. 
 The Min River is here confined by a remarkable 
 series of dams and sluices, which store up the waters 
 and then distribute them at the proper time of year 
 by various channels all over the surrounding districts. 
 Most of these public works are due to the foresight 
 and ingenuity of a hero called Li Ping, who lived in 
 the old times when there was an independent king- 
 dom of Szechuan, and to whom the glories of the 
 great temple are consecrated. But his name lives 
 best in the memory of all Szechuan and the fertile 
 fields are his finest monument. 
 
 The valley of the Min is here very picturesque, 
 and straight away from its right bank rise the foot- 
 hills of the massive range of the Kuen Lun, which 
 forms the eastern mountain barrier of Tibet. 
 Beyond this there are no more Chinese, only the 
 scattered hamlets of Sifan tribes, huntsmen and 
 shepherds, living perched up on crags, with a few 
 wretched lamaseries in which the priests are con- 
 gregated. A devious track goes over these moun- 
 tains into the Amdoa country, but the only real 
 highroad into Tibet strikes south-west from Chentu 
 and crosses the frontier at Batang. Kuan, how- 
 
126 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP 
 
 ever, as being close to the capital of Szechuan, 
 draws in a considerable floating population of small 
 traders, and is a rich and important outpost of 
 commerce. 
 
 While I was at Kuan I had a rather amusing 
 little adventure, illustrative of the way that the 
 Chinese mandarins conduct their administration. I 
 had been out at the Li Ping Temple and looking 
 over the waterworks, and my servant, who had 
 been left alone in the town, had somehow got into 
 difficulties with the innkeeper. On my return the 
 story was reported to me in long detail and certainly 
 looked very bad. My servant said that the innkeeper 
 had refused to have a foreign devil in his inn and 
 had thrown my baggage outside. The reverse side 
 of the medal was that my servant had been hectoring, 
 and had brought down just reprisals on his head, 
 or rather his back. Probably there was some truth 
 on both sides, but there was no doubt that eventually 
 my man had got beaten by some soldiers, had 
 generally " lost face," and was now very sorry for 
 himself. He had to be supported as much for my 
 sake as for his own, and accordingly I sent him 
 round to the mandarin of the town, with my Chinese 
 card and my compliments, to tell his own story. 
 
 The result was that in about half an hour some 
 ting-chais, or " yamen runners," arrived with orders 
 to bear the innkeeper away to instant punishment. 
 The innkeeper however solved this difficulty by a 
 present of one dollar to the lictors, who thereupon 
 returned to their master to say " they could not find 
 
IX WESTERN SZECHUAN 127 
 
 him." This performance was repeated three or four 
 times during the course of the evening, the inn- 
 keeper paying each time and the mandarin being 
 informed that he was "lost." At last I sent for 
 my servant, and when he came back from the 
 Yamen I told him to return and tell the mandarin 
 that while I had been eating my dinner I had had 
 the pleasure of seeing his commands patently dis- 
 obeyed before the whole town and his dignity set 
 at nought. This message I fancy rather vexed him, 
 for in another quarter of an hour mine host was 
 very effectually caught, carried off and bambooed. 
 My servant's punishment was to sit up half the 
 night and get no dinner. Probably they both 
 deserved what they got. 
 
 We crossed the Min next day to the opposite 
 shore, where there is a small village of tribesmen. 
 In appearance they are not unlike the Kachins, of 
 whom I had seen something when visiting the 
 Yunnan frontier near Bhamo. The bridge is 
 one of the well-known swinging arrangements, 
 which are I believe indigenous to Tibet. To 
 take a horse over it was of course very difficult 
 but still just possible, for it was a bridge with 
 a footway and side rails. As one gets further 
 into the mountains, however, the means of getting 
 over torrents and ravines is much less comfortable. 
 A single rope is slung across from one side of a 
 yawning gulf to the other. The passenger clasps 
 hold of it with two wooden grips, to prevent his 
 hands being cut to the skin, and slides down it. 
 
128 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 The impetus of the descent carries him about half 
 way up the opposite slope, but for the remainder of 
 the distance he has to painfully haul his own weight 
 up the rope, and this is the worst part of the busi- 
 ness. It certainly seems a "via dolorosa," but 
 women do it daily, and it is after all probably not 
 much more disconcerting to the unaccustomed than 
 being let down in a net from the Meteora monas- 
 teries in Thessaly. But I speak without experience, 
 for a bridge of the slack rope pattern never came 
 my way. 
 
 Having thoroughly digested Kuan, we returned 
 to Chentu, where I saw some of the minor officials. 
 My interview with the Viceroy had been much like 
 any other audience of a similar nature ; the same 
 cold collation, the same gorgeous raiment, the same 
 compliments and the same tea. But I was agree- 
 ably surprised by the comparative enlightenment of 
 the mandarins, for they admitted the utility of rail- 
 ways, discoursed on the "progress" of Korea, and 
 inquired why the military caste was honoured above 
 the civil in the continent of Europe. The " Foreign 
 Affairs " Taotai talked excellent French, and had 
 even been in Paris, whither he said he would like 
 to return. 
 
 As there were at that time several English people 
 in Chentu engaged in prospecting for various 
 mining syndicates, as well as quite a colony of 
 missionaries, chiefly American and Canadian, the 
 Chinese soon became inured to seeing our " blue 
 eyes and yellow hair " and ceased even to stare. 
 
IX WESTERN SZECHUAN 129 
 
 They were certainly extremely quiet and courteous 
 people, and there is no doubt that the inhabitants 
 of Szechuan taken all together are better mannered 
 and better dressed than the Chinese in any other 
 part of the empire. Their broad streets and neat 
 shops display a degree of wealth and cleanliness 
 that is rarely seen elsewhere, their architecture 
 shows solidity and elegance, and their general desire 
 for advancement is well typified by the fact that 
 they have already started jinrickshaws in the city, 
 and European machinery in some of the adjacent 
 mines. 
 
 Chentu has of course not always been such a 
 peaceable and well-governed place as it happened 
 to be just then. Three or four years ago there 
 were considerable anti-foreign riots in it, and the 
 premises of several missionary bodies were burnt 
 down, their owners having to flee for their lives 
 to the yamens. A heavy indemnity however was 
 exacted by the Foreign Powers concerned and a 
 stronger governor was forthwith despatched to 
 Szechuan, since when there has been a distinct 
 improvement in the state of affairs. 
 
 The city has a population, it is said, of nearly a 
 million. It concentrates most of the local wealth of 
 the Chentu plain, and attracts the commerce of the 
 entire Red Basin of Szechuan. Nearly all the 
 important trade routes from Kansu, Tibet, and 
 Yunnan converge here, so that Chentu is the princi- 
 pal emporium of the west of China. It is also of 
 political importance, both from its past history, 
 
 K 
 
130 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 when it was the capital of a kingdom, and as 
 being the residence of the Viceroy of the largest 
 Chinese province, with a jurisdiction extending 
 over Tibet. 
 
 Every three years the students' examinations are 
 held here, besides which all the pilgrims on their 
 way to and from Lhassa or Mongolia are almost 
 bound to stay here for some time. Indeed among 
 the most interesting sights that one sees are the 
 -extraordinary tribesmen and llamas that come in 
 from beyond the western mountains, and wander 
 down the streets gaping at the citizens and their 
 shops. 
 
 The city itself is a spacious and formidable strong- 
 hold, with massive walls and gates and a consider- 
 able Tartar garrison quartered in an inner enceinte. 
 Whether they would give much account of them- 
 selves against any but the most undisciplined enemy 
 is not very sure. There are of course no Consuls, 
 as the place is not a Treaty Port and is therefore 
 nominally closed to trade, except for goods coming 
 in under transit pass. It is however occasionally 
 visited by a consular official from Chungking, and 
 it is possible that in a short time the Chinese 
 Government will see their way to declaring not 
 only Chentu, but also Suifu and Kiating open 
 ports. 
 
 The people, as has been already observed, are by 
 no means hostile to foreigners or to foreign methods, 
 and as their commercial spirit is well developed it 
 appears almost certain that they would readily 
 
IX WESTERN SZECHUAN 131 
 
 admit and encourage any railway or other enter- 
 prise from which they themselves could derive 
 profit. A line from Chungking to Chentu direct, or 
 more preferably by way of Kiating and Tzeliojin, 
 would present very few engineering difficulties and 
 should pay from the very first. This and the im- 
 provement of the navigation of the River Yangtze 
 appear to be the two most pressing items in the 
 opening up of Szechuan, for the bettering of the 
 minor routes of communication, the increase of local 
 products for export and the consequent inrush of 
 foreign goods would follow naturally. 
 
 To build a railway into Szechuan from the eastern 
 seaboard of China or from British India are very 
 different and much more expensive speculations. 
 A line from the east could only come along the 
 rocky and precipitous cliffs of the Yangtze or up 
 the Han river and over the Tapashan. In either 
 case it would run through desolate and unpopulated 
 regions, and be by no means easy of construction. 
 The same objections, only very much more empha- 
 sised, apply to a line from Assam or Burma, or for 
 that matter from Tongking. Rugged plateaux 
 have to be surmounted, broad rivers must be 
 bridged, and in the two former cases a railway 
 would have to run counter to the entire mountain 
 and fluvial systems, which here run from north to 
 south. 
 
 Several expeditions have executed surveys be- 
 tween Burma and Chentu with a view to laying 
 down such a line, but no fixed decision as to the 
 
 K 2 
 
132 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 best route has yet been arrived at. Probably it 
 would be by way of Talifu and the Kienchang 
 Valley, where the richest mines are situated ; but 
 even this is over excessively rough and accentuated 
 country for nearly the whole distance, while not a 
 little of it goes through unsubdued tribal districts. 
 
 It would not be right to close a chapter on 
 Szechuan without a word or two about the Lolos^ 
 the only independent nation that now remains in 
 the fastnesses of Western China. The Lolos live 
 chiefly in the hills that lie to the west of Suifu and 
 the east of Ningyuen, and are surrounded by a 
 cordon of Chinese fortresses and troops, who how- 
 ever very rarely attack them. They are patriarchal 
 tribes, brave, but quite wild, and are rapidly dimin- 
 ishing in numbers, as they do not intermarry. The 
 curious point about them is that among them is 
 found that very " fair-haired and blue-eyed " type 
 that is always associated with the great Aryan 
 family ; and indeed there now appears little doubt 
 that they do belong to the Caucasian stock, and that 
 they formerly came into Yunnan from the Southern 
 Himalayas. According to the French Consul at 
 Chungking, M. Bons d'Anty, who is perhaps the 
 principal living authority on this queer people, they 
 are "le rameau brun de la race blanche." It is also 
 a salient fact that they are the only existing white 
 men who speak a "yellow" language, their tongue 
 being akin to Burman with no traceable Sanskrit 
 roots. They have however the regular Aryan 
 myths and legends, and though they possess no 
 
IX WESTERN SZECHUAN 133 
 
 written literature they have a copious collection 
 of old folk-songs and ballads. 
 
 But little is really known about the Lolos, 
 for the Chinese neither go into their country them- 
 selves nor permit Europeans to do so, though the 
 Lolos are said to be very friendly towards the latter, 
 regarding them as distant kinsmen of their own. 
 Whatever may be the truth of their origin, there is 
 no doubt that here is an untrodden field for the 
 explorer or the ethnologist, and one that will repay 
 him both with fame and knowledge. In the mean- 
 time we must be content to regard Lololand as an 
 " unsurveyed country inhabited by native tribes," 
 as the schoolroom atlas very discreetly describes it. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 CHENTU TO SIANFU 
 
 It was now late in March 1900, and I had to get 
 back to Peking as quickly as I could. A choice of 
 ways lay open to me. The first was down the Min 
 and the Yangtze, more or less by the way I had 
 come ; the second was south by land through 
 Yunnan, on into Burma and then by sea up the 
 coast to Hongkong ; the third was straight north- 
 east by the overland route to the capital. 
 
 The first of these was naturally the least attractive, 
 as I had already travelled over the greater part of 
 it. The same reasons applied to some extent to the 
 second, for I had been all through Burma, and had 
 even crossed the Chinese frontier to the north of 
 Bhamo. 
 
 So the last named was that which I finally elected 
 to follow. It was the shortest and most direct, it 
 had rarely been travelled by Europeans and was 
 consequently but little known, and it passed through 
 the highly interesting city of Sianfu. It would also 
 present over its whole course a fairly equable climate 
 at this time of year. 
 
CHAP. X CHENTU TO SIANFU 135 
 
 Accordingly chair-bearers, coolies and horses were 
 chartered to take us the six hundred and fifty miles 
 that lay between Chentu and Sianfu, which is the 
 capital of the adjoining province of Shensi. 
 
 There was some difficulty at first about getting 
 men, as the road is not a usual one, food is expensive 
 along it, and there is no certainty of finding a return 
 freight. However all was eventually arranged, 
 chiefly by the aid of my friend the " Foreign Affairs " 
 Taotai, and one fine afternoon we moved out of 
 Chentu in imposing procession, my servants on 
 horseback, myself in a "green chair," the received 
 method in these parts for any respectable official to 
 travel by, and finally a long string of porters 
 carrying baggage and provisions slung over their 
 shoulders. The escort, of the ordinary Chinese 
 pattern, hovered on the flanks and rear of the 
 cortege and lent it an extra solemnity. 
 
 For the first fifty miles or so outside the city the 
 country shows all the characteristics of the fertile, 
 cultivated and populous Chentu plain. Irrigated 
 fields, prosperous villages, crowded towns and 
 incessant traffic are to be seen on every side. But 
 all this changes very soon, and as one advances to 
 the north of Szechuan, wilder, barer and more 
 arduous regions open out before one. 
 
 The " Great North Road," for so it is termed, at 
 first trends slightly to the north-east, the tracks due 
 north leading to the well-nigh impassable mountains 
 of Kansu and the Koko Nor country. One has 
 in fact to get away from the right-angled corner 
 
136 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 made by the Kuen Lun and the Tsingling, and to 
 bear along the southern slopes of the latter range 
 before crossing it. All the massifs of Eastern 
 Asia radiate primarily from the " Great Divide " 
 of the Pamir Plateau and the Hindu Kush. From 
 that vast table-land three principal chains run out 
 to the Pacific seaboard. The most northern (suc- 
 cessively termed the Tian Shan, the Altai and the 
 Yablonoi) reaches the ocean near the mouth of the 
 Amur River. The central spur is the Altyn Tagh, 
 which merges into the Kuen Lun and the Tsingling. 
 The southern branch is the Himalayas with its 
 offshoots, the Burmese Mountains and the Nan- 
 lingshan. All of these systems as they approach the 
 Pacific become less and less accentuated, until at 
 last they vanish into the maritime plains that were 
 once the floor of the sea. 
 
 In Szechuan, one is always in more or less hilly 
 country and to the west this soon rises to majestic 
 peaks. There are also mountains to the north, 
 though the southern portion of the province of 
 Kansu is mainly pasture land where the Tibetan 
 nomads feed their flocks, exporting the wool to the 
 east by the very few practicable routes of communi- 
 cation that exist in that or any other direction. 
 
 The only river we had to cross was the Pai Shui, 
 which flows down to the Kialing and ultimately to 
 the Yangtze Kiang, and is navigable in its lower 
 course. With this exception we came on no real 
 waterways. Beyond the Pai Shui valley we got into 
 the Tapashan, the range that divides the tributaries 
 
X CHENTU TO SIANFU 137 
 
 that go down to the Upper Yangtze from those 
 that flow to the Han. Villages here are rare and 
 poor, but according to Richthofen the surrounding 
 districts are full of neolithic remains and of fossils 
 generally, while the inscriptions of a later age cut 
 into the scarped face of the cliffs that border the 
 stream testify to a former civilisation. 
 
 Few people are met on the road. Occasionally 
 one passes a local official travelling in his chair, or 
 perhaps an "Imperial courier" in red and yellow 
 with his escort galloping beside him hurries by 
 with despatches from Peking. But for the most 
 part only the peasants are to be seen carrying the 
 produce of their fields from some small hamlet to 
 the little market town. Food and inns are dearer 
 here than in any other part of the province owing 
 to a great extent to the intermittent famines 
 brought on by bad harvests. The populace, who 
 even to their own authorities are inclined to be 
 turbulent and hard to deal with, are especially 
 hostile to foreigners. Travelling altogether is a 
 difficult matter. Indeed as soon as I had crossed 
 the frontier and had entered Shensi, my troubles 
 commenced. 
 
 We had arrived late one night at a place called 
 Ningkiang, the residence of a sub-prefect, and here 
 we had to change the Szechuanese escort for a 
 fresh one which would take us to the city of 
 Sianfu, fourteen days' march further on. I sent 
 round my servant with my card to the Yamen in 
 the ordinary way asking for the relief to be 
 
138 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 detailed, and saying that I purposed starting at 
 seven o'clock next morning. The mandarin replied 
 in the orthodox fashion that everything would be 
 ready at the proper time, and things seemed to be 
 going as peaceably and quietly as usual. 
 
 Next morning however there was no escort, and 
 on his second visit to the Yamen my servant, 
 instead of receiving compliments and excuses, got 
 only blows ; the two coolies who had gone with him 
 rushing back to the inn to inform me of his 
 " murder." Opining that something extraordinary 
 was occurring I went at once to the Yamen and 
 finding the gates open made my way in to the 
 threshold of the inner door. Here I discovered 
 my servant whole and safe enough, occupied in 
 drinking tea and discussing his woes with consider- 
 able excitement. Apparently though he had not 
 been officially bambooed he had been beaten by 
 the mandarin's servants and at his express order. 
 This of course was against all the canons of Chinese 
 or any other law, and accordingly I told the 
 mandarin that unless he then and there apologised 
 and immediately had the offenders beaten in my 
 presence, I would carry the matter to the Provincial 
 Governor at Sianfu, and if I failed to get redress 
 there to Peking itself. This however was of no use 
 — threaten as I would he remained sarcastically 
 obdurate, and merely "regretted" that such an 
 untoward incident should have occurred. There 
 was a lot of palaver but nothing was done, and as 
 the big battalions were on his side we had to 
 
X CHENTU TO SIANFU 139 
 
 content ourselves with inward ^promises of retribu- 
 tion to come, as we were obviously unable to 
 retaliate on the spot. 
 
 So we moved off sadly enough, having lost both 
 " face " and time. But we did not forget, nor for the 
 matter of that will the mandarin ; for as the event 
 proved he suffered far more severely at the hands 
 of his own superiors than he would ever have done 
 at mine. This however was not until after our 
 arrival at the residence of the Governor. The end 
 of the tale will be told in its own due course. 
 
 Crossing the range of the Tapashan which does 
 not rise much above 4,000 feet we next came down 
 to the upper valley of the Han, which is fertile 
 and for this part of China fairly well populated. 
 The country still remains of the southern type, with 
 cotton, fruit gardens and some rice, but about here 
 is the limit of these products. From the town of 
 Hanchung a track leads in a north-easterly direc- 
 tion over the Tsingling Mountains to Sianfu, but 
 the regular route bears back slightly and goes 
 N.N.W. along the Kansu border, until it eventu- 
 ally strikes the Wei Valley and enters Northern 
 China. 
 
 In the Hanchung district we had another little 
 contretemps, this time of a rather more serious 
 nature. 
 
 We had halted for the night in a half deserted 
 village where a strong detachment of Hunanese 
 soldiers was quartered. They are as has been 
 said before the fiercest and the most independent 
 
I40 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 of all the Chinese, and are besides no likers of 
 foreigners. 
 
 In the usual way I had taken the big room at 
 the end of the furthest courtyard of the inn, and 
 as there were a good many of the crowd casually 
 walking in to inspect me and my belongings and 
 if possible to annex something, my servant had put 
 two of the escort at the second gate to prevent any 
 one coming beyond it. This had had the desired 
 effect, and I was contentedly writing my diary 
 when I observed two " braves " swagger in to the 
 outer court, roughly push aside my meek civilian 
 sentinels, lounge up to my door and calmly walk 
 inside, their entry being accompanied by some 
 facetious " devil " remark. I at once told them 
 very explicitly that their presence was not desired, 
 and ordered them to go. To this they responded 
 by beginning to smoke and make themselves other- 
 wise at home. As half measures are of no value 
 with barbarians I then promptly saluted one with 
 a blow on the nose and the other with a kick, on 
 which they both turned tail very much dismayed 
 and bolted for all they were worth. In the mean- 
 while I congratulated myself on my rapidity of action. 
 
 I found however that there was little cause for 
 congratulation. In less than ten minutes the street 
 was full of soldiers, armed with their rifles, which 
 they fired into the air, and shouting the well-known 
 cry of " Ta, ta, Sa, sa," " Beat, beat, kill, kill," 
 the usual precursor of an anti-foreign riot. My 
 servant hurried in to tell me that the whole place 
 
X CHENTU TO SIANFU 141 
 
 would very shortly be up and that we must make 
 our dispositions for a siege. On this occasion he 
 behaved extremely well, for there was not the 
 least sign of fear about him, though my cook, 
 groom and escort were trembling with terror, and 
 he proceeded to discuss the situation with an even 
 ostentatious sang-froid. There was however little 
 time to lay plans in or to take counsel, especially 
 as I had only one ally to look to. At his advice 
 one of the escort was despatched post haste to the 
 civil mandarin's Yamen to ask for assistance while 
 the rest were told off to close the inner doors and 
 pile up the loads behind them to form a barricade. 
 While this was in progress I took a couple of small 
 revolvers that I had and went out into the street, 
 my servant following in rear with my sword, which 
 he brandished in the " proper Peking fashion." 
 
 The appearance of the "devil" in their very 
 midst appeased the tumult for a minute or so and 
 this gave me my opportunity. Calling together 
 my scanty knowledge of the language, I shouted 
 out : " Ni yow sa, woa yow sa ; cher yo shipa ren," 
 which means, being literally translated, " You want 
 kill, I want kill ; here (meaning the revolvers) are 
 (the lives of) eighteen men " (a slight though 
 pardonable exaggeration, as one pistol was un- 
 loaded and the other had only five chambers). The 
 effect however was instantaneous and all that could 
 have been desired. An angry growling succeeded 
 the yells, and there was a vast amount of talking 
 and gesticulation, but no more attempt at advance. 
 
142 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 We remained at the doors on guard and in a 
 very few minutes more a posse of ting-chais under 
 a mandarin arrived from the Yamen and with- 
 out any delay several of the ringleaders of the 
 soldiery were seized and put into the cangue, a 
 wooden board that is fastened round the neck like a 
 sort of head pillory. Shortly afterwards the com- 
 manding officer of the troops appeared on the scene 
 armed with a short whip which he plied freely among 
 his men, and in another quarter of an hour the angry 
 crowd had disappeared and the place had resumed 
 its normal state of calm. 
 
 The affair had ceased as speedily as it had begun 
 and though there is no doubt that the whole thing 
 was my own fault, the incident is related to show 
 how quickly a riot can arise, and also how quickly 
 the authorities can, if they wish to, entirely quell it. 
 
 Nothing further occurred that night, except that 
 the mandarin of the town sent me a special " com- 
 plimentary dinner," for which I had to pay double 
 its value in " kumshaw " to the men who carried it. 
 Next day we went away in the usual style without 
 anything more than a rather hostile demonstration 
 as we passed the barracks. Altogether it was a 
 very lucky escape, and not a little due to the pluck 
 and common-sense of my servant at a moment 
 when most Chinese would simply have deserted. 
 
 We now entered the rugged gorges of the Tsing- 
 ling Mountains, through which we had to travel for 
 six days by a wild and difficult route before we 
 could reach the Wei Valley. The scenery, which 
 
The Caxgue. 
 
 [Fac£ f. 142. 
 
X CHENTU TO SIANFU 143 
 
 is always weird and solemn from its desolation, at 
 times becomes really grandiose. The sombre ravines 
 are rendered doubly impressive by their silence, and 
 even when a solitary hamlet is reached it appears to 
 to be almost uninhabited. These hamlets, or rather 
 military posts, are nearly always built at points of 
 strategic command and are as a rule garrisoned by 
 a few soldiers. Often however one goes for a 
 whole day without passing more than a shepherd's 
 hut. 
 
 At first we followed the " Black Dragon River " 
 until we came again to the Pai Shui, and then 
 leaving the head waters of this stream commenced 
 ascending the topmost ridges of the range. The 
 main pass that we had to cross, called the Tiencha- 
 ling, is over 6,000 feet high and was of course 
 covered with snow. We struggled over it in a 
 blizzard, and now the really hard work began. 
 Hitherto we had had good weather enough, but 
 as soon as we had surmounted the actual water- 
 parting and had got on to the northern face of the 
 mountains, incessant rain set in. The descent was 
 therefore much more tedious and trying than the 
 climb up had been, and for two days we progressed 
 very slowly. At last however, after several toilsome 
 marches in fog and sleet, we struck into a narrow 
 defile which led along the banks of a rushing stream, 
 and following this down a rapid declivity we gra- 
 dually got into more open country and soon found 
 ourselves in the broad Wei Valley. 
 
 The general aspect of the landscape and the chief 
 
144 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 agricultural and economic conditions are now entirely 
 changed. Loess supervenes on red sandstone, flat 
 treeless plains on undulating wooded hills, and barren 
 and under-populated districts on rich and crowded 
 towns. Shensi, though very large in extent, has 
 only nine millions of inhabitants, and it is certainly 
 the poorest and most backward province of China 
 that I have visited. Along the Wei Valleyj its 
 only trade route, is concentrated nearly all the little 
 wealth it possesses, and here alone can be seen any 
 signs of affluence. The Wei River itself is navi- 
 gable between Sianfu and Tungkuan, a distance of 
 about ninety miles, and a passable road exists along 
 its banks, but with this exception and that of the 
 so-called cart road that leads up into Kansu and 
 Central Asia, the whole province is destitute of any 
 communications. Its capital Sianfu, formerly the 
 metropolis of the Empire, still maintains something 
 of the prestige of its former days, and has even now 
 a population of close on half a million. But its im- 
 portance is almost solely due to the fact that it is 
 the meeting point of the roads from the seaboard 
 and the interior, and not to any local causes. 
 
 Before the present century it was a considerable 
 centre of Islam, but since the various rebellions that 
 have devastated Northern China during the last two 
 reigns this element has materially diminished, and 
 left quite to themselves the people have now allowed 
 all the disadvantages inherent on isolation to increase 
 unopposed. 
 
 Beyond the limits of the Wei Valley the country 
 
X CHENTU TO SIANFU 145 
 
 presents a most wretched and depressing appearance, 
 and since the recent advent of the Imperial Court it 
 has been suffering in addition from all the miseries 
 of a severe famine. 
 
 We crossed the river, here only a sluggish 
 stream, near Fengsiang, where the Kansu route 
 joins the main road. The latter now turns to the 
 east and continues along the left bank of the Wei 
 until within a few miles of the capital. The track 
 owing to the rain was in a very bad state, and the 
 coolies had frequently to halt, worn out with the 
 labour of toiling on in the sticky red mud. Each 
 inn we came to seemed worse than the last, and a 
 new spell of winter seemed to have burst on us 
 again. The villages were miserably deficient of the 
 most simple supplies, and bread, chickens and eggs 
 were often impossible to procure. As a natural 
 consequence prices were high and travelling pro- 
 portionately expensive. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth day after leaving our starting 
 point, Chentu, we again traversed the Wei River at 
 Hsienyang, being ferried over on a broad raft 
 against a rapid current. Riding on another fifteen 
 miles we came late in the day to Sianfu. The 
 distance according to my reckoning is close on 
 seven hundred miles, though some of the few other 
 travellers who have been this way before make it 
 slightly less. 
 
 Reviewing the journey it seems to me that 
 the road between Chentu and Sianfu can never be 
 a really important one, for the major portion of it 
 
 L 
 
146 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP, x 
 
 lies through a country that can never hope to 
 become really prosperous, while the natural diffi- 
 culties that have to be surmounted would render a 
 railway almost impossible of construction. Originally 
 built for strategic purposes which it has long since 
 ceased to serve, it has never been a trade route, 
 and is now merely the official road to the west. 
 But very few officials except those who are absolutely 
 obliged to do so ever elect to travel on it. Generally 
 speaking they wisely prefer to proceed to Szechuan 
 by way of Shanghai and the Yangtze, rather than 
 to attempt the dangers and fatigues of the "Great 
 North Road. ' 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 DOWN THE YELLOW RIVER 
 
 The approach to Sianfu reminds one of the 
 suburbs of some great city in Central Asia, though 
 there are fewer gardens. Vast square-walled 
 enclosures crowded with camels, mules and 
 donkeys, and surrounded by little open rooms ^ 
 for travellers and merchants, recall the caravan- 
 serais of Persia or of Turkestan. Inhabitants of 
 those far-distant regions are to be seen tending 
 their pack animals and selling their wares outside 
 the gates. Indeed the very air seems redolent 
 of the steppes and makes one remember that 
 Sianfu is only a stage on the long high road that 
 leads from Constantinople to Peking. 
 
 Inside the city all the characteristics of North 
 China are again prominent, though there are not 
 the same number of desolate spaces that one sees in 
 Peking. Hooded carts jolt over the stones, half- 
 clad beggars infest the bridges, and the Mongol or 
 Manchu features are often discerned amid the 
 sullen faces of the crowd. 
 
 We had hoped to find a Kung Kuan to lodge in 
 
 L 2 
 
148 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 but as the only two tolerable ones were occupied by 
 a retiring Tartar General and a Taxing Taotai, we 
 had to be content with a dirty and diminutive inn. 
 Here we were obliged to stay for three days, as I 
 had to get some money, to hire new transport and 
 to visit the Governor. 
 
 The latter magnate had only recently been 
 appointed to his post, having just been promoted 
 from that of Provincial Treasurer. He was, like the 
 Viceroy of Szechuan, a Manchu, but his name was 
 distinguished all over the Empire both for his 
 integrity and for his partiality to :^foreigners. To 
 which of these two virtues must be attributed the 
 success that attended my requests I do not know, 
 but I trust it was to the former. 
 
 I notified him of my arrival by a " complimentary 
 card " and begged him to indicate a time for me to 
 call on him. This he did, and I proceeded to 
 his Yamen in my chair and was received very 
 courteously. After the regular exchange of com- 
 pliments his Excellency inquired if my journey 
 from Chentu had been " cheering and felicitous." I 
 said that with one exception it had, and then 
 proceeded to detail the affair of Ningkiang. Of this 
 he had already heard, for the offending mandarin 
 had sent on a special courier with the news. His 
 Excellency however took a right view of the 
 matter, and after a little argument promised that 
 the sub-prefect should be reprimanded. But as a 
 Chinese official's promise is not always to be 
 absolutely relied on, I pressed for more than this 
 
XI DOWN THE YELLOW RIVER 149 
 
 saying that I should not wish to carry it further. 
 At first he demurred, but eventually it was settled 
 that the sub-prefect should be dismissed from his 
 position, and that an official notification to that 
 effect should be given me by the Governor. At 
 the same time the Governor intimated that an 
 honorific distinction should be conferred on my 
 servant as a kind of sop to his wounded dignity. 
 This seemed to us all a fair settlement. 
 
 Whether the mandarin was or was not actually 
 deprived of his office I do not know, but it is 
 certain that he had to pay for his insolence in 
 some way or other, probably by a heavy fine paid 
 into the Governor's own treasury ; so that it is 
 highly improbable that he will treat the next 
 oreigner who passes by his town as he did the last. 
 
 Later on in the day an imposing document 
 arrived at the inn in which the "incident" was 
 set down in very high-flown language, and soon 
 afterwards the Governor paid me a return visit 
 and my " honourable interpreter " received a patent 
 authorising him to wear behind his cap a Ian 
 ling, or blue feather, in recognition of long and 
 valuable services rendered alike to Chinese and 
 foreigners. 
 
 The missionaries in Sianfu were considerably 
 interested in the whole of this affair, and not a 
 little pleased at its result, for it appeared that some 
 of them had experienced similar treatment when 
 travelling in the interior. Nearly all of those who 
 were then in the city were Swedes, though they 
 
150 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 spoke English perfectly. They showed me the 
 greatest hospitality and kindness during my stay, 
 and gave me some very useful information. 
 
 The public buildings in Sianfu are ponderous 
 structures and for the most part in ruins, though the 
 main street that runs through the city from west to 
 east is a fine broad thoroughfare, with well-stocked 
 shops and plenty of traffic. Outside the western gate 
 is the famous " Nestorian tablet," dating from about 
 800 A.D., when that branch of the Christian religion 
 flourished in China. Half a day's march beyond 
 the east gate are the " hot springs " of the Hwashan, 
 which are renowned far and wide for their healing 
 powers. On our first stage from Sianfu we halted 
 here for the night at a remarkably picturesque 
 " Travellers' Pavilion," built under the cliffs of the 
 range. It was one of the last glimpses of the fine 
 mountain scenery that we had. 
 
 The road we now had to follow leads almost due 
 east until far into the province of Honan. First of 
 all it follows the right bank of the Wei until its 
 junction with the Hoang Ho or Yellow River near 
 the fortress of Tungkuan. The main Peking road 
 then crosses over and bears north-east through 
 Shansi to Taiyuen and Peking, but the route that 
 I intended going by continues along the south bank 
 of the Yellow River until it reaches the city of 
 Honanfu. It then strikes across north-east and 
 goes up to Weihui on the other Wei Ho, which 
 descends thence to the sea at Tientsin. 
 
 We started out from Sianfu by a poor and muddy 
 
XI DOWN THE YELLOW RIVER 151 
 
 track and in exceptionally bad weather, which 
 continued for most of the journey. On the fourth 
 day we arrived at the famous fort of Tungkuan. 
 Up to this point alluvial and cultivated plains border 
 the river stretching out to the left, while on the 
 right lie the orchards and fruit gardens that fringe 
 the slopes of the sacred Hwashan. 
 
 Tungkuan itself occupies a remarkable natural 
 position and deserves a particular description. The 
 mountainous conformation of Northern China is 
 such that there is practically only one approach 
 from the seaboard to the interior. This is that by 
 way of Tungkuan, where the three roads from 
 Peking, Honanfu, and Nanking unite. 
 
 Just below thfe fortress there is a defile, where 
 the Yellow River flowing down from the north 
 makes its great bend to the east, between the Shansi 
 and the Shensi Mountains. Through this defile 
 the road passes and then continues west to Sianfu, 
 where it bifurcates, one branch going up to Lan- 
 chou and Turkestan, and the other (the Great 
 North Road) to Chentu and Tibet. North of 
 Tungkuan the only routes from east to west lie 
 over the deserts of Mongolia. South there is no 
 parallel approach nearer than the Yangtze Gorges, 
 where narrow ravines and difficult rapids prevent 
 any advance on a large scale. Tungkuan thus 
 occupies a strategic point of considerable value, and 
 it has been called with some reason the " Gate of 
 Central Asia." 
 
 The town and fortress combined are built on the 
 
152 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 loess cliffs that here overhang the broad channel 
 of the Hoang Ho. The population is but little 
 over 5,000 souls, of which not one-fifth are garrison, 
 and though there is a large assortment of field guns 
 of various patterns in the arsenal, they are mostly 
 so antiquated and neglected as not to be very 
 formidable. 
 
 We stayed here a night, and leaving by the east 
 gate crossed next morning into the Honan Province. 
 The direct Peking road, which leaves Tungkuan 
 by the north or water gate, where the ferry lies, is 
 very bad and very long, as it goes over mountains 
 almost continuously. We however kept along the 
 Yellow River by an equally execrable but shorter 
 road in point of time, going due east. 
 
 The Yellow River is here considered more or less 
 navigable, and one occasionally sees a few heavy 
 lumbering barges, which more resemble rafts than 
 boats, gliding down the stream. Going up is a 
 much harder matter, for the banks are so undercut 
 that there is no towing path, and the current runs 
 so swiftly that the labour of tracking or poling is 
 tremendous. Lower down the channel becomes so 
 shallow that navigation is quite impracticable 
 until near Kaifong, when there is again a distance 
 of about a hundred miles over which boats can 
 travel. Below this the river expands into a flood of 
 enormous width with dangerous eddies, and so it 
 remains until it finally reaches the sea. All this 
 portion of its basin is continually exposed to the 
 disastrous inundations that have rightly earned for 
 
XI DOWN THE YELLOW RIVER 153 
 
 the Hoang Ho its well-known name of " China's 
 Sorrow." Embankments have been erected and all 
 sorts of provisions made against its encroachments, 
 but apparently in vain, for every few years whole dis- 
 tricts are submerged, and peasants, crops and villages 
 swept away by the rising waters. Indeed it is very 
 doubtful whether it will ever be possible to materially 
 improve the Yellow River, and the most that can 
 be hoped for is to check its widespread devastations. 
 
 Travelling through poor and very monotonous 
 country, much cut up into clayey nullahs, we reached 
 in six days the city of Honanfu, the chief cotton 
 mart of the province. Under the Sung dynasty it 
 was the metropolis of the Empire but it is now 
 of very small repute. In ordinary circumstances 
 the roads here should have been passable for 
 wheeled traffic, but their state at that time owing 
 to the rain made it difficult for even a foot passenger 
 to get along them. Carts would frequently take 
 a whole day toiling up the side of a single hill, and 
 riding was the only expeditious way of travelling. 
 
 From Honanfu we turned north-east and crossed 
 the Yellow River by a ferry. My previous recol- 
 lections had prepared me for all sorts of delays, but 
 providentially we had a fair passage and got over in 
 under two hours, both wind and current being with 
 us. Another day's march brought us to Huaiking, 
 situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Shansi 
 hills, and after three days' further journeying to the 
 east we at last arrived at Weihui, where I joined 
 my former route from Hankow to Peking. 
 
154 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 All this part of China is of the highest interest to 
 the English, for many railway, mining and other 
 commercial projects are bound to originate here. 
 Potentially it is the wealthiest known portion of the 
 Empire and it therefore merits careful consideration. 
 
 The southern part of Shansi and northern half of 
 Honan abound in coal and iron. The deposits lie 
 chiefly in the mountains that rise slightly to the north 
 of the left bank of the Yellow River, and also in 
 the hilly country to the south-west of Honanfu. 
 Some of these mines have been primitively worked 
 for centuries by the natives and produce excellent 
 anthracite in enormous blocks, but many remain 
 quite unopened. The total area of the coal beds is 
 now generally believed to be the largest yet dis- 
 covered in the world, and the depth of the seams 
 has never yet been gauged. Of the iron less is 
 known, but all the neighbouring districts are 
 renowned for their metal work, and knives and 
 other steel and iron implements go from here all 
 over the surrounding provinces. 
 
 The population round Huaiking and Honanfu is 
 very dense, and as the ground is naturally fertile 
 workmen are extremely cheap. In fact there appears 
 to be little doubt that in the near future this portion 
 of China will become the manufacturing centre of 
 the Empire. 
 
 Mineral wealth undoubtedly exists here in im- 
 mense quantities, the loess plains that descend to the 
 sea are extremely prolific, and labour is handy and 
 inexpensive. All that is needed is some reasonable 
 
Mandarin with Button and Feaihek. 
 
 [Fuce /. 155. 
 
XI DOWN THE YELLOW RIVER 155 
 
 means of transport to bring the products of the earth 
 to the seaboard or to the Yangtze. This done 
 enormous profits would be rapidly realised. To the 
 construction of a railway the flat country opposes 
 few obstacles, and the regions through which it 
 would pass on its way to the sea or the river lie 
 beyond the coalfields and only produce corn. They 
 could thus be simultaneously tapped for grain and 
 supplied with fuel. For its terminus there are 
 several good ports within easy distance, either on 
 the Gulf of Pechili or on the Lower Yangtze. The 
 only need seems to be sufficient enterprise to build 
 the line and to commence working the mines on 
 European methods. Once this was done agriculture 
 would soon develop itself. 
 
 The concessions of the mines are now in the 
 hands of the Peking Syndicate, who also possess 
 the right of building a railway to the nearest 
 and best navigable waterway. A rival company, 
 that of the Lu-Han Railway (under Belgian 
 auspices) has indeed secured the connection be- 
 tween Peking and Hankow by means of a line 
 which is already partially laid, but there is no 
 reason why both (and indeed many more) such 
 arteries of commerce should not be made, for the 
 country is populous and rich enough to support 
 them all. 
 
 Up to the present little has been done by the 
 British company beyond some surveys of the pro- 
 jected lines ; but it is to be hoped that as soon 
 as the existing condition of Northern China has 
 
156 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 been somewhat improved and the interior has 
 resumed its normal condition, no more time will 
 be lost. 
 
 These coalfields are the best known assets of the 
 entire Empire and any undertaking to exploit them 
 and to export their products has the most brilliant 
 prospects before it. Nor can the political value of 
 such a lucrative possession be overrated. For 
 though the economic strength of the position would 
 be materially augmented if the Lu-Han line were 
 in the same hands as the mines, the latter are in 
 any case its real key. 
 
 There is a still broader question. Rousseau be- 
 lieved that corn and iron were the two chief factors 
 in the civilisation of humanity. In this portion of 
 China all three abound, and if we accept the theory 
 it is here that we must look for the first social deve- 
 lopment. Control or influence over the population 
 would then be of the first importance to a com- 
 mercial Power interested in the future of China. 
 
 We passed strings and strings of coolies as we 
 slowly advanced along the road, all of them wheeling 
 their barrows, piled up with huge blocks of coal, on 
 their way to Huaiking which is the market town. 
 From here the coal goes out to the villages, but 
 only within a limited radius, as transport soon 
 doubles its price. Outside the walls begins the 
 upper stream of the Wei Ho, but at most seasons 
 of the year there is so little water in it that it is not 
 navigable. At Weihui however boats of passable 
 size, drawing eighteen inches or so, can as a rule be 
 
XI DOWN THE YELLOW RIVER 15 
 
 used, and on our arrival at this town we found no 
 difficulty in hiring one. 
 
 The rain had now finished and the weather was 
 getting extremely hot, for we were well on into 
 May. Having already experienced the parching 
 heat of an early summer on the Great Plain I did 
 not wish to undergo it again, besides which I was 
 anxious to get to Peking before June, in which 
 month I intended leaving for England. 
 
 We accordingly struck a bargain without much 
 ado and set off the next morning on our way to 
 Tientsin, following the same course as on the 
 journey from Hankow the year before. The 
 dust-storms were if possible even worse than they 
 had been then, and for two whole days we were 
 obliged to moor under the lee of the bank, being 
 quite unable to make any head against the blinding 
 wind. This was of course climatic, being due to the 
 exceptionally dry spring there had been in North 
 Eastern China. Indeed the long-continued drought 
 of 1900 was mainly instrumental in bringing on the 
 terrible Boxer revolution several months before its 
 leaders had arranged its outbreak. Of the Boxer 
 question I was at this time profoundly ignorant, 
 though we were now going right through their 
 country and hurrying post haste to the very heart 
 of their propaganda. Strange to say we saw no 
 signs whatever of the excited state of feeling in 
 Shantung and Southern Chili as we travelled along, 
 nor had we any idea of the universal national 
 upheaval that was then only too imminent. 
 
158 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. XI 
 
 The new Governor of Shantung, the celebrated 
 Yuen-shi-kai, had lately passed up to take over his 
 post at Tsinan, and we occasionally met some of his 
 " tail " of minor mandarins and hangers-on following 
 him up stream in small house boats. But every one 
 seemed very quiet, the Union Jack at our masthead 
 aroused no remark, and we even had no escort for 
 all the latter part of our route, a very unusual thing 
 for a foreigner in the interior of China nowadays. 
 Halfway from Weihui to Tientsin we entered the 
 Grand Canal, almost dry and with apparently no 
 traffic on it, and kept on our regular course down 
 the river doing about thirty miles a day. The winds 
 were as a rule against us and we did not make such 
 good time as we had done in the previous year, 
 when we had been particularly fortunate. At last 
 however we arrived at the city of Tientsin, the mass 
 of shipping outside seeming denser than ever. 
 
 The journey from Sianfu had taken us nearly a 
 month, and that from Shanghai just over four, so 
 that the prospect of getting back to the Legation at 
 Peking and seeing one's friends again was very 
 pleasant. But I was not to get there, and in a very 
 few weeks was to come the hardest, the most 
 interesting and the most exciting part of all my staj 
 in the Far East. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 TIENTSIN AND PORT ARTHUR 
 
 It is not my intention to discuss here the history 
 and gradual evolution of those dynastic or anti- 
 foreign feelings that led to the Boxer movement, or 
 to recapitulate in any detail the events that precipi- 
 tated its outbreak. Local experts and competent 
 critics have already dealt with both subjects, whilst 
 the heroic siege in the Chinese capital has been 
 graphically described by several of those who par- 
 ticipated in it. My own experiences were limited to 
 the first expedition to relieve the Foreign Legations 
 in Peking, to the military operations prior and sub- 
 sequent to it that took place round Tientsin in June 
 and July, and to a glimpse of the Russian campaign 
 in Manchuria. Before the first troubles began 
 however I had occasion to pay a visit to Port 
 Arthur, and it was this that prevented me from being 
 besieged in the British Legation, and caused me 
 to be attached to the Admiral's Expedition. 
 
 When I arrived by boat from my long journey in 
 the interior of China it was nearing the end of May. 
 I was obliged to stay in Tientsin for a few days in 
 
i6o A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 order to complete certain reports, and I then had to 
 go over to Port Arthur before finally returning to 
 Peking. I accordingly made my arrangements for 
 proceeding there by the new railway, and got off 
 about May 21st. The British engineers had now 
 got the rails laid right round the Gulf as far as 
 Newchwang, to which place a construction train ran 
 daily. Beyond that the Russian line down the 
 Liaotung Peninsula was also working, so that there 
 was through rail communication all the way from 
 Tientsin to Port Arthur, with the exception of the 
 ferry across the Liao River. 
 
 I started on a very hot morning, with my servant 
 and things for a few days only, and stayed the first 
 night at Shanhaikwan. The next day's run brought 
 us to Kowpanza, the junction for the new branch 
 to Sinminting, and the morning after we were at 
 Newchwang. 
 
 Here I spent two days more in getting per- 
 mission from my friends the Russians to travel 
 south by their railway, which had not yet been 
 officially opened. It was at last accorded me, and 
 in the company of the German Military Attache 
 at Tokio I now entrained for Port Arthur. This 
 journey again takes two days, for the trains go very 
 spasmodically and the halts are long and frequent. 
 
 We passed an uncomfortable night, at Hwafan- 
 tien, a small mining village where the Russians 
 have got some coal shafts, and arrived late the next 
 afternoon at Port Arthur, the maritime terminus 
 of the railway. The only advantage of the slow 
 
XU TIENTSIN AND PORT ARTHUR i6i 
 
 travelling was that we got an excellent view of 
 the country. 
 
 The general configuration of this southern part 
 of Manchuria is a backbone of mountains running 
 from north to south, and gradually decreasing in 
 height as they approach the sea. The land is not 
 particularly fertile and does not produce many 
 crops, nor is the population numerous or indus- 
 trious. There are no large rivers, and the only 
 important line of communication is the old high- 
 road which is now followed by the railway. There 
 is some mineral wealth, but not much, the coal being 
 of very poor quality. The Russian hinterland as 
 far as it is defined extends about half-way up the 
 peninsula, but at that time there was no official 
 frontier. The lie of the country and the relation of 
 the different localities can best be seen from the 
 map. About twenty miles from its extreme 
 southern point the peninsula narrows down to a 
 width of only four miles near the small town 
 of Kinchou, which was left in the possession of 
 the Chinese by the Port Arthur Convention, but 
 has now been taken over by the Russians. South 
 of this on the eastern coast a broad bay opens out, 
 having on its northern shore Talienwan and on its 
 southern the new commercial port of Dalny. To 
 both of these places short branches run from the 
 main line, which itself continues to the fortress of 
 Port Arthur. 
 
 This part of the railway was then practically com- 
 pleted, though the buildings and bridges were not 
 
 M 
 
i63 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 all up ; but otherwise the line was in fair working 
 order and a regular service had been established for 
 several months. (Details of the distances, &c., on 
 the Trans- Manchurian Railway will be found in 
 Appendix C.) 
 
 To me Port Arthur seemed a very disappointing 
 harbour, especially from -a military point of view. 
 To begin with it cannot accommodate more than four 
 first-class battleships with any manoeuvring room, 
 and most of the shipping has to lie in the roads 
 outside. Secondly it is an extremely unhealthy 
 spot in which to quarter troops, owing to the vast 
 expanse of mud that is daily uncovered by the ebb 
 tide. And thirdly it has to draw all its supplies 
 from Chefoo across the straits, while owing to the 
 configuration of the country it could be easily 
 blockaded both by land and by sea and so quickly 
 starved out. 
 
 We were told that there was considerable 
 mortality among the troops owing to typhus, and 
 that this had delayed the work on the forts. A 
 scheme however was on foot for improving the 
 harbour by cutting another entrance through the 
 south-western arm of the port and deepening the 
 anchorage on that side. It was thought that in this 
 way a continuous current would be let in from the 
 sea, which would be more sanitary, while ships 
 would also be able to find better protection from in- 
 direct fire from the outside, if they lay under the lee 
 of the high hills to the south-west. 
 
 So far I believe these projects have not been 
 
XII TIENTSIN AND PORT ARTHUR 163 
 
 put into practice, but there is no doubt that they are 
 very necessary if Port Arthur is to be rendered of 
 any real value. Indeed, comparing it with the 
 much maligned Wei-hai-wei, not a few naval 
 officers who knew both places prefer the latter. 
 Wei-hai-wei, with the Lu-kun-tao Island properly 
 fortified, needs but few land defences, and could 
 easily be made a strategical position of no mean 
 importance. 
 
 The town of Port Arthur is dirty, poor and 
 straggling, The garrison is said to amount to some 
 ten thousand and the Chinese inhabitants to as 
 many more, but there appears no prospect of the 
 latter increasing. There is no trade, the Russians 
 are not particularly popular, and native immigration 
 is not encouraged. 
 
 In Dalny on the other hand, whither I went on my 
 way back north again, every provision is being 
 made for a large commercial population. A good 
 pier and wharves, blocks of fine buildings and broad 
 streets and squares are being built, while the 
 situation of the town in the spacious Victoria Bay 
 has been excellently chosen. 
 
 Talienwan, which lies ten miles across the water, 
 still remains a little fishing village, and it is not ap- 
 parently the intention of the Russians to convert it 
 into anything more. So far the land forts in its 
 rear have not been rearmed nor have any new sea 
 defences been added, though there is need for both. 
 
 We sailed across from Dalny to Talienwan in a 
 small junk, and as the train, or rather the engine 
 
 M 2 
 
i64 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 and truck which does duty for one, had just left, we 
 chartered two rickshaws to get us to the junction in 
 time for the mail. This however they failed to do, 
 so, after waiting three or four hours in a Chinese 
 hut that figured as a Russian hotel, I managed by 
 the kind offices of a Cossack guard to get a passage 
 in a goods train. 
 
 On this I proceeded on my return journey alone, 
 my Teuton companion having gone off by sea to 
 Chemulpo. Another day brought me back to New- 
 chwang where for the first time I began to hear 
 really serious reports about the Boxers. Hitherto 
 most people had merely regarded them either as the 
 brigands and rebels who are the usual outcome of 
 drought and famine, or as one of those secret 
 societies which are always going to do so much but 
 which generally do nothing at all. On this occasion 
 however even my servant, who was always of a 
 sceptical disposition when the prowess of his own 
 countrymen was concerned, told me that " Must big 
 trouble ; I-Ho-Tuan belong sky man" ; from which I 
 inferred that the Boxers had convinced him of their 
 divine mission, their supernatural powers and their 
 wholesale intentions of exterminating foreigners. 
 Nevertheless among the Europeans in Newchwang 
 there was no particular excitement, though it was 
 now June ist, and few if any of the best informed 
 people really credited that there was danger to be 
 feared in any part of Northern China. 
 
 My train left next morning, carrying a lot of 
 Chinese coolies who were going back to their homes 
 
XII TIENTSIN AND PORT ARTHUR 165 
 
 in Chili and Shantung, being tired of working for 
 the Russians. Along the line we passed many 
 more gangs, all occupied as usual. At (the northern) 
 Kinchou however, where we arrived next morning, 
 an English railway superintendent told me that it 
 was rumoured that the Boxers had looted and burnt 
 the station at Fengtai, near Peking, and on getting 
 to Shanhaikwan that evening I found this confirmed. 
 Indeed it was said that the whole metropolitan pro- 
 vince was in a state of insurrection. 
 
 We left in the ordinary way early next day, June 
 4th, and I telegraphed to Peking for ponies to meet 
 me at Machiapu, two miles from the South Gate, 
 expecting to get in that night in time for an Eton 
 dinner. But as we went along the coast in the 
 direction of Taku it soon became obvious that some- 
 thing very unusual was taking place. First of all 
 the engine broke down, whereupon all the Chinese 
 on the train at once became panic stricken. This 
 delayed us for two hours. Next, at Lutai, the chief 
 camp and headquarters of General Nieh's " foreign- 
 drilled " division of the Imperial troops, we found a 
 thousand Chinese soldiers paraded in marching 
 order waiting for us, and these were packed into 
 trucks and tacked on behind us. This lost still 
 more time. Finally after we had at last got off 
 we were again stopped at Tongku in order to take 
 up a small detachment of German bluejackets, who 
 had just come in from the fleet, then riding at 
 anchor outside the bar. In this way we did not 
 get into Tientsin until after six o'clock in the evening. 
 
i66 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 and I then found that no train had gone to Peking 
 for two days, and that the intervening country was 
 in open revolt. Four hundred bluejackets and 
 marines had however been sent up to act as Legation 
 guards several days before. 
 
 In the Consulate there was a telegram from my 
 chief, Sir Claude Macdonald ordering me to wait a 
 few days and to help in the work there, which had 
 become very heavy in the last week. Accordingly 
 from the 5 th to the 9th I was occupied most of the 
 day and night. 
 
 Events now began to succeed each other very 
 rapidly, and it became more and more patent every 
 hour to us in Tientsin that the native feeling there 
 was becoming excessively hostile. Indeed it soon 
 became impossible to go and see the Viceroy, who 
 remained shut up in his Yamen, u iwilling or unable 
 to leave it or to receive visitors. In the meantime 
 a few European troops came up to Tientsin, though 
 only in very small detachments. Preparations how- 
 ever were made for accommodating larger forces, 
 should their presence become necessary. But for 
 a day or so there was a lull, and "here again seemed 
 a chance of the situation quieting down. 
 
 On the 7th June a further detachment of marines 
 was ordered to go up to Peking, and the officer 
 commanding them very kindly took me on as an 
 extra subaltern ; but after waiting all day on the 
 platform we 'were unable to start, as the Viceroy 
 refused to allow any trains to attempt to travel over 
 the line in its present dangerous and damaged con- 
 
XII TIENTSIN AND PORT ARTHUR 167 
 
 dition. During the next forty-eight hours matters 
 changed so much for the worse that on June 9th 
 it was decided to despatch the largest available 
 force from the fleet in order to relieve the Lega- 
 tions in Peking. The British Admiral, Sir Edward 
 Seymour, who led the expedition, was then good 
 enough to appoint me to his staff as Intelligence 
 Officer, and in this way, instead of being besieged 
 in the Legation, I found myself attached to the 
 Expedition to relieve it. 
 
 Of this first endeavour to raise the siege of 
 Peking little is known, and though it was un- 
 successful in its attempt it deserves a chapter to 
 itself. 
 
 At home it was soon forgotten, but those who 
 took part in it will, I think, remember it to the end 
 of their lives. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE admiral's EXPEDITION 
 
 For some days the Legations had been in corre- 
 spondence with the International Fleet at Taku, and 
 the telegrams received by the Admirals from the 
 Ministers in Peking had, during the 8th and 9th of 
 June, rapidly become more and more urgent. At 
 a hurried council of war held on board the British 
 flagship on the latter day it was decided to 
 despatch to their assistance a naval brigade 
 consisting of all the bluejackets and marines that 
 could be spared from the various squadrons. The 
 situation appeared too critical and the danger of a 
 wholesale massacre too imminent to justify delaying 
 until troops could be brought from Hongkong or 
 Port Arthur. 
 
 Collected at few hours' notice from the battleships 
 and cruisers of the eight nations then lying in the 
 Taku roads, and landed during the night by such 
 gunboats and torpedo destroyers as could cross the 
 bar and run in under the guns of the Chinese sea- 
 forts, the combined column amounted all told to 
 little over 2,000 men, 900 of whom were British. 
 
CH. XIII THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 169 
 
 In the small hours of Sunday morning (loth) the 
 men were disembarked at Tongku, whence they 
 proceeded by rail to Tientsin Settlement, thirty 
 miles higher up the Pai Ho or White River. Here 
 a short halt was made to enable them to breakfast, 
 and at ten o'clock the first train, containing most of 
 the British and the small American, Austrian, and 
 Italian contingents, left Tientsin for Peking, which 
 lies eighty miles to the north-west across the Chili 
 plain. Nine days had now elapsed since there had 
 been any through communication by rail with the 
 capital, but it was known that the line was intact as 
 far as Yangtsun, twenty miles from Tientsin and 
 the point where the railway crosses the river. 
 There was also no reliable news of any great 
 damage beyond. 
 
 A number of trucks with rails, sleepers and 
 repairing material, besides several English engineers 
 and drivers and seventy Chinese coolies, accom- 
 panied the first detachment of troops. The rest 
 of the British and all the Russians, French and 
 Japanese remained on the platform while the second 
 and third special trains were put together. The 
 Germans did not come up from Tongku until some 
 hours later, when they followed at once. 
 
 The parching heat of a North China summer was 
 now at its zenith, and we steamed off into the sun- 
 shine with the hot dusty plain spreading away before 
 us into haze, and the smart new station behind, 
 lined with our European comrades and packed with 
 the glowering native crowd. We looked forward to 
 
I70 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 a journey of a few hours perhaps, at the most of a 
 day, and then to an easy and successful march into 
 the Tartar City and the resumption of diplomacy. 
 Little did we think that we should never get to 
 Peking, and that when we struggled back to 
 Tientsin with a seventh of our force killed and 
 wounded, the station, the settlement, and the many 
 signs of civilisation that we now saw and took 
 pride in would be burnt and desolated ruins, 
 riddled with shot and shell and disfigured by 
 rotting corpses. 
 
 No one at the time of our departure from 
 Tientsin credited the rumour that the Imperial 
 troops were against us. After the murder of the 
 first two missionaries, Mr. Norman and Mr. 
 Robinson, General Nieh had engaged the Boxers 
 near Yangtsun and had sent into the Viceroy 
 seventy heads in baskets as "a guarantee of good 
 faith." He now lay there in camp, and on June 
 loth we passed him soon after midday, his soldiers 
 coming up to ours and fraternising to the best of 
 their ability. We crossed the Pai Ho by the fine 
 iron bridge that here spans it and moving slowly 
 on arrived almost at Lofa (30 miles) before finding 
 any signs of damage to the line. Only a few 
 sleepers and rails had been displaced and we were 
 able to make this good the next day, in the evening 
 of which we reached Langfang, half-way between 
 Tientsin and Peking. Here more serious mischief 
 had been done and the engineers and coolies, 
 assisted by fatigue parties of bluejackets, set to 
 
XIII THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 171 
 
 work in good earnest, using the rails of the one 
 track to repair the other. 
 
 The force was now in five trains, its eventual 
 disposition being as follows : No. i contained the 
 coolies and railway material, half the British force, 
 the Americans and the Austrians. In this train 
 lived the Admiral and his staff No. 2 held the 
 remainder of the British, the Japanese, and some 
 of the French. No. 3 the Germans. No. 4 the 
 Russians, the rest of the French and the Italians. 
 No. 5 was merely a supply train which ran to and 
 fro between the rail-head and Tientsin as long as 
 communication continued possible. The rolling 
 stock comprised altogether five locomotives and 
 over a hundred coaches and trucks. 
 
 The country through which we were moving was 
 the flat loess plain that constitutes the seaboard of 
 most of Northern China. It is watered by the 
 insignificant streams of the Red and White Rivers, 
 which, descending from the Shansi Mountains to 
 the west and east of Peking, unite with the Grand 
 Canal near Tientsin. Cultivation as soon as the 
 Taku marshes are left behind is general, corn, 
 millet, and maize being the principal crops. The 
 trees, with the exception of those that cluster round 
 the villages, have all been cut down, and the 
 landscape, unrelieved by hills, forests or lakes, 
 presents a monotonous and uninteresting aspect. 
 The climate at that season of the year, a month or 
 more before the earliest rains, was intensely dry 
 and hot, the sun at midday striking down with 
 
172 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 tremendous heat on the arid lowlands, while every 
 two or three days a dust-storm enveloped earth and 
 sky in a burning sandy whirlwind which robbed us 
 of sight, sound and almost of sense. 
 
 For the first two days the population lay low and 
 for all we saw of them we might have been travel- 
 ling through the Mongolian desert. An occasional 
 visit to a hamlet to get supplies usually produced a 
 dozen chickens and a few eggs, which we bargained 
 for with some solitary white-bearded elder, too 
 helpless or too avaricious to run away ; the rest 
 of the village, he would tell us, had " feared and 
 fled," though in point of fact they were probably 
 only a mile or so off, as we could often see them 
 from the track working in their fields. Their horses, 
 mules, and donkeys however had all gone, taken 
 no doubt by the rebels. 
 
 On the third day, when they had appraised our 
 true strength and we had almost ceased to believe 
 in their military existence, the Boxers attacked us. 
 It was, I remember, in the afternoon, and we were 
 solacing ourselves in the Admiral's carriage with a 
 little intellectual conversation, the subject being 
 how many quarts of Tansan water could be assimi- 
 lated per day by one individual in that heat 
 without bringing on dropsy, and whether an order 
 for sixty dozen more would create a corner or a 
 panic in Tientsin. It was never settled. A bugle, 
 sounding an unknown call from the German 
 picquets, acted like an electric shock, and the 
 speculation remains indefinitely unsolved. 
 
XIII THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 173 
 
 In a few minutes the foreigners of No. i train 
 were deployed to the right, the British to the left, 
 and before we ourselves had got to the working 
 party at the rail-head, where the attack was concen- 
 trated, the crackling fusillade and red turbans of the 
 Boxers saluted our ears and eyes. 
 
 They came on us in a ragged line, advancing 
 at the double from a village some quarter of a mile 
 to the left flank. Not more than a couple of hun- 
 dred, armed with swords, spears, gingalls and 
 rifles, many of them being quite boys. To any one 
 who had been some little time in China it was an 
 almost incredible sight, for there was no sign of fear 
 or hesitation, and these were not fanatical " braves," 
 or the trained soldiers of the Empress, but the 
 quiet peace-loving peasantry — the countryside in 
 arms against the foreigner. As they approached 
 they dropped on their knees, lifting up their hands 
 to heaven to invoke the God of War, the chief of 
 their Boxer freemasonry. Then they charged until 
 they dropped again as our volleys began to tell. 
 In twenty minutes they were in full retreat, leaving 
 some sixty dead on the field. 
 
 The five or six wounded they had not carried 
 away were brought in and laid in a truck, covered 
 with blood, almost naked, and two of them mere 
 children, a pitiful sight. I went to speak to them 
 and said to my Chinese servant, who had previously 
 freely expressed his doubts as to the powers of 
 foreigners against the rebels, " You see the Boxers 
 are not invulnerable." "No," he answered, "but 
 
174 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 these are not real Boxers, only make-believe ; or if 
 they are real," he added as a reserve argument, 
 "in a few days they will get up healed, disappear 
 miraculously, and then come and fight again." To 
 such sophistry there is no reply, and though a closer 
 acquaintance with them subsequently made him 
 discount a good deal of their claims, to the end of 
 the campaign he, like the great mass of the Chinese 
 people, believed that a "good" Boxer was super- 
 natural. Probably a "good" Boxer is. 
 
 We now knew that we were going to have 
 trouble, and on the 14th June communication with 
 Tientsin came to an end, the supply train failing 
 to get back past Yangtsun and returning to us next 
 day with the news that the line there was held, if 
 not destroyed, and that Nieh's camp had gone. 
 That morning we were attacked in considerable 
 numbers by the Boxers and lost five Italians, 
 killing about a hundred of the rebels. In the after- 
 noon Lieut. Colomb, R.N., who with thirty blue- 
 jackets was holding the station at Lofa (which had 
 been converted into a defensible position) was 
 invested by nearly a thousand. He managed 
 however to send up news to us, and before we 
 got back to his assistance he had managed to 
 drive off all his enemies. We deployed however 
 and pursued them with our Maxims. 
 
 The tactics of, the Boxers, both on this and 
 other occasions, were comparatively simple. They 
 attacked in rank entire, prefacing their charge by 
 volleys from firearms and making considerable use 
 
Rei'airing the Line. 
 
 Gun on Truck. 
 
 [/''ace p. 174. 
 
XIII THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 175 
 
 of cover. Their shooting was bad, and they 
 appeared to have no proper leaders or organisa- 
 tion. But what they lacked in drill they made up 
 for in courage and dash, their bravery in the face 
 of heavy odds continually convincing us that there 
 is much less cowardice and much more patriotism 
 or faith among the Chinese than has hitherto been 
 believed. The Imperial troops, with whom we 
 subsequently had continual fighting, did not show 
 up nearly so well. They never attacked except in 
 vastly superior force and rarely waited for close 
 quarters. Their artillery practice was certainly 
 good, but their cavalry seemed to understand the 
 great game of bluff better than that of cold steel. 
 Their retreats were always panicky and covered by 
 large discharges of fire-crackers. Yet on the whole 
 their tenacity of defence was remarkable, confirming 
 the theory that barbaric nations much exaggerate 
 the material value of earthworks and walls, and 
 underestimate those moral powers of discipline and 
 self-confidence on which civilisation chiefly relies. 
 It cannot be denied however that their mobility 
 was far greater than ours, and that it was a potent 
 force against us. 
 
 We were now making but slow progress, for the 
 line was badly torn about, rails and girders bent and 
 twisted, sleepers burnt and watering apparatus com- 
 pletely gutted. Four miles a day was all that could 
 be done, and the question of leaving the trains and 
 proceeding by march route was seriously debated. 
 
 From native couriers we knew that the Legations 
 
176 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 were still holding out, and that so far they, like 
 ourselves, had not been attacked by any Imperial 
 troops ; but we were disturbed by the fact that we 
 had had no news nor supplies from Tientsin for 
 several days, and that, in view of our laborious 
 advance, our ammunition and provisions could not 
 last for long. Peking we knew was in a better 
 state, and we understood that they were compara- 
 tively safe for another ten days, or until the Imperial 
 troops in the capital made a move. Accordingly 
 we stuck to the railway which alone could preserve 
 the direct line between Peking and the sea, expecting 
 that the Tientsin troops, who had plenty of rolling 
 stock and repairing material, would look after our 
 communications. On the i6th however we found 
 for certain that the line south of Yangtsun had been 
 damaged, and accordingly one train was sent back 
 to mend and if necessary to protect it. 
 
 Our force was now far more extended than was 
 consistent with its security, and it was clear that 
 fresh supplies from Tientsin alone could enable us 
 to get through to Peking, or to be of any service 
 when we got there. To arrive without food and 
 ammunition, and with a number of wounded, would 
 be of little help. Another train therefore moved 
 down to Yangtsun to hold that most important 
 point, where the railway crosses the river, and to 
 assist in the endeavour to restore connection with 
 Tientsin. An advance on Peking by marching 
 from Langfang was judged impracticable, as there 
 was no road, we were absolutely without transport. 
 
XIII THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 177 
 
 and directly in front of us lay the South Hunting 
 Park, which was packed with the camps of the 
 Peking Field Force. Behind them again and in 
 front of the south gate of the Chinese city lay, we 
 knew, most of General Tung-fuh-siang's Kansu 
 soldiery. 
 
 There remained however the Pai Ho, by which 
 the i860 Expedition had gone up, and though the 
 water was very low and there would be great 
 difficulty in collecting junks at Yangtsun, and later 
 on in marching from Tungchow to Peking without 
 transport, we still hoped to be able to approach the 
 capital by this route. But before this could be 
 attempted it was imperative to secure the Yangtsun 
 position and the line between that place and Tient- 
 sin, as otherwise we ran the risk of complete 
 isolation. 
 
 Early on Sunday morning, 17th June, a week 
 after we had started, the Taku Forts were taken by 
 the Allied Forces in order to relieve Tientsin. That 
 city was invested by the Boxers who began to 
 bombard it next day. Of this of course we were 
 quite ignorant. But the Court in Peking must have 
 received instant news of the fact, for on the afternoon 
 of the 1 8th Captain von Usedom, the German 
 officer in command of the troops left at Langfang, 
 was attacked by the Imperial forces belonging to 
 General Tung-fuh-siang's division. Their numbers 
 were estimated at 7,000 and they were well armed 
 with modern rifles which they used with effect, so 
 that we suffered considerable casualties. They 
 
 N 
 
178 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 were repulsed however with heavy slaughter by 
 the gallantry of the Allied troops, and retreated to 
 the north. 
 
 Our trains then all concentrated at Yangtsun, 
 where the bridge had been thoroughly wrecked and 
 the station completely destroyed. The big guns 
 booming from Tientsin made us aware that some- 
 thing untoward was going on in that direction, 
 though whether it was Imperial troops, Boxers or 
 Allies, or who was fighting whom, we could not 
 guess. The last train down from Langfang had 
 sighted a considerable force of Imperial cavalry in 
 pursuit, and with the troops against us in front and 
 behind, and the Boxers and the whole countryside 
 in arms all around us, it became vital to secure our 
 own safety before advancing again. To do this 
 fresh ammunition, provisions, and reinforcements 
 were a sine qua non, and to get them we must 
 communicate with Tientsin as quickly as possible. 
 To effect this communication we must also move as 
 a unit, our force being too small to divide. 
 
 Any chance of returning by the railway had long 
 since gone, for after a careful examination it was 
 found impracticable to get the trains across the 
 bridge in its present condition. We had therefore 
 only the river left, and on the i8th we seized four 
 junks, all we could find, and embarking the wounded 
 and our remaining supplies on them, left the trains 
 and commenced to march back on Tientsin along 
 the left bank. The distance by the river is barely 
 thirty miles, and it may seem an easy task to 
 
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xm THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 179 
 
 accomplish that in four days. It was the most 
 toilsome and disheartening work imaginable. 
 
 Starting at 4 a.m. and not halting for the night 
 until seven o'clock in the evening, we barely aver- 
 aged six miles a day. The junks, which had to be 
 tracked or towed, were continually grounding owing 
 to the shallow water, and the march of the column 
 had to be regulated by their pace. At every half 
 mile or so along the banks are situated straggling 
 wooded villages, surrounded by ploughed fields and 
 irrigation ditches, through which lay our only road. 
 Nearly every one of these villages was held by 
 Boxers in more or less force, but always sufficient 
 to make us halt the junks, deploy, and form firing 
 line. These positions, with their high mud-walled 
 houses, clusters of timber and treeless zone outside, 
 were easy to hold, and the first lesson we learnt was 
 that the attack must always be prepared to lose four 
 or five times as much as the defence. We had to 
 bring our machine and light field guns into action, 
 as the Boxers had three and six-pounders, pom- 
 poms, and large native gingalls, and were fre- 
 quently entrenched. We were also continually 
 being harassed on our left flank by masses of 
 Imperial cavalry accompanied by horse artillery 
 (12 and 1 5 -pounders), with which they regularly 
 shelled us from the railway embankment as soon as 
 we had again got into column. Being destitute of 
 any mounted force ourselves, we had to protect our 
 flank by a strong detachment of marines, who were 
 thus always exposed and suffered severely. In the 
 
 N 2 
 
i8o A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 evening we bivouacked in the open, and the out- 
 posts, who had been fighting and marching all day, 
 had to watch all night. The wounded, packed into 
 the close Chinese junks under a blazing sun and 
 with only three doctors and a very limited amount 
 of medical comforts, were in a still worse plight, 
 while the whole force had now been put on half 
 rations. 
 
 On the 2 1st we arrived outside the large town of 
 Peitsang, which we took after several hours' hard 
 fighting. Here the Admiral's flag captain, who 
 acted as chief of the staff, was badly hit. Our 
 casualties had now risen to 150, as we had 
 again been engaged with the Imperial troops, this 
 time from the south. But the worst was yet 
 to come. 
 
 That night, being about ten miles from our des- 
 tination, we halted at eight o'clock, intending to 
 resume the march at midnight and endeavour to 
 pass the Hsiku Arsenal in the dark and then make 
 a detour round the Chinese city of Tientsin to the 
 settlement. 
 
 The outlook was a gloomy one, and seemed to 
 most of us nearly as bad as it could be. We had 
 heard salvoes of heavy guns all day, and for aught 
 we knew Tientsin had already been captured, and 
 we might still have to cut our way through to Taku 
 and the sea. The enemy was increasing daily and 
 was supplied with an apparently inexhaustible stock 
 of ammunition, and with far bigger and longer 
 ranged cannon than we had, while in front of us 
 
XIII THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION i8i 
 
 lay the huge native city with its million inhabitants) 
 besides the thirty or forty thousand trained troops 
 that we now knew were also against us. Even the 
 Admiral, who had been the life and soul of the 
 expedition, and who, by his bravery, unselfishness, 
 and courtesy, had made himself as popular with the 
 foreigners as he already was with his own men, 
 seemed a little despondent. We started at mid- 
 night with heavy hearts. 
 
 The first village was captured by a charge of 
 marines in column of fours, deployment in the dark- 
 ness being found too slow. Its glare, for it had 
 caught fire, lighted up the sky and the black waters 
 of the river, and gave a weird effect to a scene that 
 few who saw it will ever forget. We hurried on. 
 Half a mile further down we found ourselves in 
 another and apparently deserted village, the narrow 
 towing path leading between the dead walls of the 
 houses and the high precipitous bank. Below us 
 came the junks, slowly floating down the current, 
 and on the opposite shore ran a long embrasured 
 parapet, the river face of the Hsiku Arsenal. 
 
 Almost before we knew it we were abreast of it, 
 Americans and Germans in front, British and 
 Russians in rear. In the semi-darkness two figures 
 could be seen advancing from the postern gate on to 
 the glacis, dressed in the red turbans, sashes, and 
 stockings which formed the regular Boxer uniform. 
 But they carried no arms. They hailed us across 
 the water : " Who are you, and whither go you ? " 
 We answered that we were foreign troops making 
 
i82 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 our way to Tientsin, and the reply came back, "It 
 is well." 
 
 Hardly had the words sounded before the stillness 
 was broken by a roar of musketry, and the whole 
 line of parapet flashed into a sheet of flame. We 
 were caught in a sort of death-trap and for an 
 instant all was confusion. Final disaster seemed 
 upon us, and indeed had we had trained troops 
 against us instead of Boxers, not a man would have 
 escaped alive. As it was, their first few volleys 
 were luckily too high, and we were able somehow 
 to take what cover there was, to lie down, and so to 
 return the fire. But the junks lay below us, almost 
 defenceless and absolutely exposed. I remember 
 then seeing a wounded German officer emerge on 
 to the deck of the leading barge, calmly adjust the 
 Maxim gun that had been placed on its poop, and 
 slewing it round, sit down behind it and begin 
 methodically to press the button and defend his 
 ship. He sat there all through the action under a 
 withering fire, and was not once hit ; but I regret 
 that I have forgotten his name. 
 
 The position however remained so critical for 
 some time that to most of us who thought about 
 it we seemed done for. A direct assault with our 
 scanty numbers and with the river to cross meant 
 annihilation, and we could only hope to take the 
 redoubt in flank. This is what eventually was 
 done. The British marines and a detachment of 
 bluejackets under Major Johnstone (now Brevet 
 Lieut. -Colonel and a C.B.), went back a quarter of 
 
xni THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 183 
 
 a mile up the river, bridged it with two stranded 
 junks, and coming down along the opposite bank 
 carried the [outer wall with a rush and quickly occu- 
 pied the interior. Almost at the same time the 
 Germans at the lower corner had crossed on a raft, 
 and now attacked the retreating Boxers as they 
 streamed out to the south. The Admiral, the flag- 
 lieutenant and myself had in the meantime rowed 
 over to the postern gate in a small boat and got on 
 to the further or land face of the redoubt. Here we 
 found several Krupp fifteen-pounders with their 
 ammunition boxes by them, and two of them, 
 which had their breech blocks left in, we turned 
 against the enemy. An attempt which was made 
 very shortly afterwards to retake the outer angle of 
 the work was easily repulsed by the marines. For 
 the moment things looked more hopeful. 
 
 We now found ourselves in possession of a forti- 
 fied position on the river, about five miles from 
 Tientsin native city and eight from the settlement 
 which lay beyond. As the men were all worn out, 
 the list of wounded heavy, and the Chinese troops 
 in front of us evidently both numerous and very 
 strongly posted, it was decided to halt for twenty- 
 four hours. In the course of the morning the whole 
 force was ferried across, and an inner compound, 
 which contained a storehouse and two or three huts, 
 was converted into a reduit and hospital. 
 
 The general plan of the work in which we were 
 was a rectangle, with its river and land faces each 
 about seven hundred yards long, the cross walls 
 
i84 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 being half that length. The parapet rose some 
 thirty feet above the glacis and had an almost per- 
 pendicular outer slope, with a broad banquette 
 inside. The space enclosed in these forty acres, 
 mostly overgrown with high reeds, included a large 
 stone arsenal, containing a great quantity of cannon, 
 rifles, ammunition, and other war material ; a number 
 of huts within a mud wall, which formed the barrack 
 accommodation of the ordinary Chinese garrison ; the 
 enclosure which we had made use of for our head- 
 quarters and hospital ; a detached pavilion for the 
 Chinese Governor, and finally a small Buddhist 
 temple. To adequately defend such a large area was 
 quite incompatible with our small numbers, and it 
 was at first proposed to hold only the hospital and the 
 stone arsenal, which together commanded the two 
 river gates. At 3 p.m. however we were compelled 
 to return to the outer walls, as we were attacked in 
 great force by the troops of General Nieh's division, 
 consisting of at least twenty camps or eight to ten 
 thousand men, with three field batteries. It seems 
 that the Imperial troops had previously handed over 
 the arsenal to the Boxers, and on the latter being 
 driven out of it by us had determined to regain the 
 valuable position they had lost at all costs. Their 
 attack was a most fierce one ; but after a long and 
 weary fight, in which we lost heavily (among others 
 the Commander of the German cruiser Hertha, a 
 brave soldier who was shot dead through the heart), 
 we were able to put this second horde to rout and 
 to confirm our former success. 
 
Xlll THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 185 
 
 Having had no sleep for nearly forty-eight hours 
 the men were incapable of lining the parapet all night, 
 and accordingly the French were put into the stone 
 arsenal, which could be closed by big iron doors 
 and was difficult to take by assault, while the rest of 
 the force bivouacked round the hospital, only small 
 picquets being put out at short distances. But at 
 3 o'clock in the morning we were again attacked by 
 masses of Boxers and troops combined. They had 
 got in over the outer walls during the night and had 
 concealed themselves in the long reeds, whence 
 they poured volleys into us. In the action that 
 resulted while clearing them out we again suffered 
 considerable losses, Captain Beyts, R.M.A., being 
 killed with several marines and bluejackets. 
 
 It was now obvious that not only would it be im- 
 possible for us to attempt to march into the settle- 
 ment without reinforcements, hampered as we were 
 by our wounded, but also that we must hold the 
 outer lines every night. Accordingly we put the 
 entire position into a regular state of defence. New 
 guns were got out from the arsenal and placed on 
 the walls, the Russians, who had run out of Berdan 
 ammunition, were rearmed with Mannlicher car- 
 bines, and a regular day and night system of reliefs 
 for the picquets and outposts was instituted. 
 
 At the same time we endeavoured by every means 
 available to communicate with the Tientsin settle- 
 ment, where we still hoped the garrison was holding 
 out as an incessant cannonade was heard in that 
 direction. We had already despatched several 
 
86 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 Chinese messengers, but all had failed as we after- 
 wards found out to get through, one or two of them 
 being caught and killed by the Boxers. On the 
 night of the 23rd a detachment of a hundred British 
 marines tried to cut their way in with a message, 
 but were surrounded and forced to fall back on the 
 arsenal before they had gone a mile, so closely were 
 we invested. The Chinese troops in Tientsin had 
 in the meantime got their siege guns into position 
 at the Water Fort by the city, and shelled us with 
 great effect. One or two of their field guns we 
 were able to knock out, but a long 4-inch, which we 
 called the " Empress Dowager," outranged and 
 harassed us always, as did a continual dropping 
 fusillade from the nearer villages. 
 
 On the 24th I sent in my Chinese servant with a 
 cipher message from the Admiral to the Consul, 
 which he was to eat if caught. He swam the river 
 in the early morning and went alone on his perilous 
 way. By the exercise of considerable ingenuity 
 and no little pluck he managed to get through in 
 the course of the day and to perform his task, though 
 he was first caught and interrogated by the Boxers, 
 and again later on by the Imperial troops, both of 
 whom he succeeded in outwitting. Arriving late in 
 the evening in the native city, he cautiously began 
 to inquire how the " foreign devils " were in the 
 settlement, and was told that nearly all were dead 
 or had fled. Gradually making his way towards it 
 he got into a deserted zone of houses, and soon 
 after came on the French outposts, who fired on 
 
Xin THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 187 
 
 him mistaking him for a Boxer. By semaphoring 
 with his arms he at last conveyed to them that he 
 had a message, and was then escorted to the British 
 Consulate. Here he told his story (having eaten 
 the paper), and preparations were at once made for 
 a force to come out and succour us. Tientsin itself 
 had only been relieved that morning by a mixed 
 column from Taku, and they were all as ignorant of 
 our existence, condition and whereabouts as we 
 were of theirs. 
 
 At the arsenal a dust-storm raged all day long, 
 and during it we enjoyed a short respite from attack. 
 But our spirits were not very high. Every morning 
 hurried burials with bullets flying over the common 
 grave ; every day renewed fears for our friends in 
 Peking and Tientsin ; every night the same forlorn 
 expectation of a returning messenger who never 
 came. We had long ago run out of rum and had 
 finished most of the ration beef and biscuit, but 
 having luckily found several tons of rice in the 
 Chinese barracks and occasionally picking up a 
 troop horse of the Imperial cavalry that we had 
 shot, we contrived to exist. The wounded now 
 numbered two hundred and thirty, and we had 
 besides sixty-four dead. These losses, with the 
 necessary deductions for defence, reduced our effect- 
 ive attacking strength so much that any sortie, 
 except for foraging purposes, was quite precluded. 
 
 But at last came the end, when we had almost 
 given up hope. 
 
 Early one morning the welcome cap and lance of 
 
i88 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 a Cossack were descried to the south, then a 
 European bugle was heard, and finally on the 
 opposite shore appeared the welcome relieving 
 force, some eighteen hundred strong. They were 
 chiefly Russians and British, under the command of 
 Colonel Sherinsky, and had marched out by night 
 under the railway embankment, guided by my 
 servant. With the exception of a single bridge 
 crossing they had got through without a shot fired, 
 and so had made rapid progress. We were truly 
 glad to see them. 
 
 With their assistance we now set about preparing 
 litters for the wounded who had all to be carried in 
 by road, for the river, running through the native 
 city, was not open to us. As we could not take 
 away the guns in the arsenal, having no horses, we 
 rendered them useless, and sank most of the other 
 war material in the creeks, while the ammunition 
 boxes were stacked into great piles in the courtyard 
 and surrounded with gunpowder. 
 
 During the night we crossed over to the opposite 
 side, and as soon as we had started on our final 
 march at 2 a.m. the huge mound of cartridges was 
 fired, the explosion destroying nearly all the supplies 
 that we were compelled to leave behind us. Our 
 march was slow and uneventful, and as we gradually 
 came round by the deserted railway into the suburbs 
 that stretched outside the city, we found the houses 
 burnt and pillaged, the station wrecked and dis- 
 mantled, and everywhere blackened ruins and 
 corpses — the smoking desolation of war. 
 
XIII THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 189 
 
 At nine o'clock in the morning we re-entered 
 Tientsin settlement, having been away in all seven- 
 teen days on fourteen of which we were fighting. 
 
 This concludes the expedition and there is little 
 more to say, for to criticise it is neither my province 
 nor my desire. A few personal impressions how- 
 ever from the international point of view, may 
 possibly interest the reader. 
 
 I have not had occasion to write very much about 
 the part taken by our foreign allies ; this is by no 
 means because that part was a small one. The 
 Americans as a whole struck me as about the 
 best practical and intelligent fighters it is possible 
 to imagine. Their commanding officer. Captain 
 McCalla, U.S.N., was untiring in energy and 
 courtesy, never wanting in resource, always pre- 
 pared for an emergency. Their bluejackets and 
 marines, mostly straight from Manila, were cheerful 
 workers, fine marchers, and excellent shots — good 
 men all. 
 
 The Germans were rather soldiers than sailors — 
 perfectly equipped, armed and provisioned, with 
 their woollen sleeping-bags, their aluminium water 
 buckets and their pith sun helmets all complete. 
 They averaged a higher standard of height and 
 chest measurement, and I am inclined to think of 
 education than any of the other troops, and could 
 work better and longer hours. Every one of their 
 officers spoke English and French, and they had 
 their men splendidly in hand. Everything they did 
 they did as one would expect from the best modern 
 
190 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 machine of the day, and their leader, Capt. von 
 Usedom, was a tower of strength. 
 
 The Russians on the contrary carried nothing — 
 except of course their rifles and cartridges — and 
 appeared to want nothing. In the blazing heat 
 they fought and marched in their thin drill forage 
 caps, in the cold nights they slept in their white 
 sailor clothes. For five days they lived on half a 
 ration of biscuit and filthy river water and were 
 never sick or sorry. For most of the expedition 
 they were also led by a single officer, all the rest 
 being wounded. Against Asiatics they are probably 
 the most successful troops in the world, for they do 
 not hesitate to apply in warfare the daring tactics 
 and Tartar mobility of Genghis, or in pacification 
 the "root and branch " policy and merciless justice 
 of Cromwell. 
 
 The Japanese, though in the subsequent opera- 
 tions I saw a good deal of them, were not in this 
 expedition very much to the fore owing to their 
 small numbers. Their transport arrangements and 
 their generally decentralised organisation struck me 
 as excellent, and their officers were certainly better 
 informed as to local matters than those of any other 
 nation. The men are hard workers, always appa- 
 rently in the highest of spirits, and possessed of 
 that indifference to wounds and death and that 
 ignorance of fear which distinguishes their congeners 
 the Turks. 
 
 Of the British it is sufficient to say that they 
 were British sailors, and did their work as such. 
 
XIII THE ADMIRAL'S EXPEDITION 191 
 
 Whether it was the Admiral — the kindest, the bravest, 
 and the most modest of chiefs — the midshipman of 
 fourteen, doing the work of a man and cheering on 
 his half-company with a heavy heart and an empty 
 stomach, or the bluejacket or marine marching 
 without boots to " save his feet," or hastening with 
 bullets and badinage the retreat of a military 
 mandarin's green chair, all were the same : they all 
 did their duty and they never said die. 
 
 Two lessons the expedition taught. It taught 
 the Court at Peking that even European diplomacy 
 has a breaking strain, and that when it does break 
 two thousand Aryans are worth a hundred thousand 
 Chinese. It taught the British that there are people 
 in the world called Americans and Germans who are 
 as good as they are, and that though their race may 
 not be on the decline, it is yet not a bad thing to 
 set their house in order. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN ON THE AMUR 
 
 We found when we got back to Tientsin that the 
 war, to which the so-called rebellion had rapidly 
 grown, was hardly yet begun. 
 
 While we had been away on our unsuccessful 
 attempt to relieve Peking the foreign settlement at 
 Tientsin had been fiercely besieged, first by the 
 Boxers and later by the Boxers and the Imperial 
 troops combined. Owing to the prompt action of 
 the Admirals commanding the united fleets at Taku 
 the siege of the settlement had at last been raised 
 by a flying column that had fought its way up the 
 Pai Ho, but the position in Tientsin itself still 
 remained very critical, while the way to Peking 
 was now more effectually closed than it had been 
 before. 
 
 It was also evident that the Imperial troops had 
 settled on permanently siding with the Boxers, and 
 from a military point of view it mattered little 
 whether this was the outcome of orders from 
 Peking, of local coercion, or of spontaneous desire. 
 The net result was that we had against us the 
 
CH. XIV THE CAMPAIGN ON THE AMUR 193 
 
 whole population of the Chili province, and first 
 and foremost the vast native city of Tientsin, where 
 a million fanatical Chinese, reinforced by Boxers 
 and foreign-drilled soldiery, were thirsting for our 
 blood. We were fully occupied for the next three 
 weeks in reducing this stronghold, which in addition 
 to a warlike and confident garrison was furnished 
 with excellent fortifications and with siege artil- 
 lery of the latest type. To oppose to this the 
 Allies had only the scanty troops that had arrived 
 from Port Arthur and Hongkong and those they 
 could muster from the ships, which could not of 
 course be entirely depleted of their men. The field 
 guns available were also of comparatively out- 
 of-date patterns. The Russians for instance sent 
 up a 15-pounder battery made in 1878, the French 
 and the Japanese had only 7 -pounders, and we our- 
 selves, though we had some long 12 -pounders, some 
 4-inch and some 47 guns, possessed no field artillery 
 that was at once mobile and far-ranged. 
 
 The difficulties of a divided command had also 
 to be taken into account, for though a willing and 
 honest spirit of accord animated the eight nations 
 for the most part, the numerous discrepancies of 
 training, language and method always rendered 
 combined action slow and uncertain. 
 
 Against us we had a hardy and arrogant foe, who 
 believed in their leaders and their cause and who 
 were encouraged by their recent achievements both 
 at Peking and in the field. 
 
 So the days dragged on and it was July 14th 
 
 o 
 
194 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 before we were strong enough to take the native 
 city by assault. 
 
 During this time three principal engagements 
 were fought, namely those that resulted in the 
 capture of the East and the West Arsenals, and 
 finally the storming of the enceinte itself 
 
 On each occasion we suffered considerable losses. 
 The worst part was the continual fusillade and 
 cannonade to which we were subjected day and 
 night from the enemy's walls and batteries, while 
 the incessant attacks they made on our outposts and 
 picquets, and the difficulty of keeping open our 
 lines of communication with Taku added much to 
 our labours. 
 
 Few people will ever know what hard and hope- 
 less work those three weeks comprised. The 
 casualties were far greater in proportion than those 
 of Ladysmith, and the mental strain, remembering 
 our feelings as regards our friends in Peking, was 
 also excessive. Food was generally short, the inse- 
 curity of our position and the lack of sufficient troops 
 was distressing, and the political situation remained 
 most critical. 
 
 The attitude of Yuen-shi-kai, the Governor of 
 Shantung, inspired us with the gravest anxiety. 
 He possessed powerful and well-armed native levies 
 and was himself the most influential man, outside of 
 Peking, in Northern China. As he lay on our left 
 flank, he could at any moment cut our lines of 
 communication with the sea, and so isolate us. 
 
 To our right was General Sung's division at 
 
XIV THE CAMPAIGN ON THE AMUR 195 
 
 Tongshan and Shanhaikwan, and beyond lay Man- 
 churia, the news from which became daily worse. 
 The Russians it seemed were being so hard pressed 
 there that they were compelled to commence with- 
 drawing their men from Chili, and it looked as if 
 there was every prospect of the conflagration spread- 
 ing over the whole Empire. From an international 
 point of view the fighting and the general experience 
 was of course highly instructive, and one learnt in 
 a very short time more about the real merits and 
 faults of foreign armies than the reading of books 
 could teach in a decade. It is not however my 
 intention to institute comparisons, which were fre- 
 quently only personal, between nations who were 
 for the time our comrades in arms. 
 
 The Chinese we also began to appreciate at their 
 true value, and to most Europeans it then became 
 patent for the first time that with good pay, good 
 food and good leading they are eminently capable 
 of being made brave and efficient soldiers. They 
 certainly possess a feeling of patriotism or altruism 
 that was never imputed to them before, as well as 
 distinct physical bravery, so that if some sort of 
 method and self-reliance were inculcated into them 
 (a comparatively easy task) they would have the 
 chief elemental requisites of a sound army. 
 
 On July 14th, after a two days' fight, the Allied 
 forces were able to capture the city of Tientsin, and 
 thus the first barrier on the road to Peking was 
 broken down. Before however any fresh expedition 
 could hope to start for the capital, more troops, 
 
 o 2 
 
196 A YEAR IN CHINA' CHAP. 
 
 more transport and more supplies would have to 
 be got together, while the route from Taku and the 
 newly captured city itself would have to be ade- 
 quately garrisoned. This was bound to take time, 
 a month or two it was then believed at the least, 
 and accordingly the Admiral now returned to the 
 fleet with his staff and a large proportion of the 
 British sailors. Personally I began to consider the 
 possibility of getting home, as no further military 
 operations seemed proximate. 
 
 My own original intention had been to ride across 
 Mongolia to Kiakta and Irkutsk, and I had arranged 
 to start from Peking in the middle of June, as the 
 limit of my projected stay in China had been reached. 
 This journey was now of course quite out of the 
 question, so I had to look out for another route. 
 As the campaign in Manchuria seemed to be just 
 entering on a critical and interesting phase I deter- 
 mined to travel home by that way. 
 
 Having obtained the necessary permission from 
 my own official superiors, I accordingly collected the 
 few things I had in Tientsin and went down the 
 Pai Ho in a barge to Taku. Thence I got across 
 to Chefoo in a coolie steamer, and after some delay 
 there I continued via Wei-hai-wei to Nagasaki in a 
 fine Japanese transport. 
 
 On arriving at Nagasaki however I found the 
 whole coasting service so thoroughly disorganised 
 that I had to wait some days before I could hope 
 to get a boat to take me up to Vladivostock, the 
 first point on my return journey. 
 
XIV THE CAMPAIGN ON THE AMUR i97 
 
 This time I occupied in going to Kobe through 
 the Inland Sea of Japan, enjoying on my way the 
 highly unpleasant ordeal of being for twelve hours 
 in a typhoon and a French mail steamer. The 
 Japanese, especially the country people, were not 
 very much taken up with the war, but the state of 
 feeling among the Chinese residents in the Hokaido 
 was really remarkable, the general belief being that 
 Prince Tuan, the head of the Boxer rebellion, had 
 driven all the " foreign devils " into the sea and 
 was shortly coming over in their fleet to take Japan. 
 
 On my return to Nagasaki I got a passage 
 on a small boat that was going to Vladivostock, 
 and sailing by the well-known route of Fusan 
 and Gensan along the eastern shore of Korea, 
 arrived at my destination after a five days' run. I 
 had armed myself, by the telegraphic assistance 
 of the British Ambassador in St. Petersburg, with 
 the necessary passports and posting orders, and 
 accordingly had not very much trouble in going on 
 by rail as far as Khabarovsk, the seat of the 
 Governor-General of Eastern Siberia. Here how- 
 ever I found that all ordinary means of progress 
 were at a standstill owing to the war. In such 
 contingencies a Russian gentleman informed me, 
 "on ne voyage que par exception," and indeed 
 from here right on to Irkutsk every stage of my 
 journey was achieved by means of some extraordinary 
 or special facility, the only reasonably rapid way of 
 travelling in Russia. 
 
 In the meanwhile I was most hospitably enter- 
 
198 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 tainedat Khabarovsk by Lieut. -General Grodekoff, 
 who was then in supreme military and civil command, 
 and by his courtesy I had the opportunity of seeing 
 a good deal of the Russian soldiers who were being 
 mobilised for the war. 
 
 The state of things in Manchuria was then 
 (August) as follows : — The garrison at Harbin, 
 about 2,000 strong, was closely besieged, and the 
 Russians had been forced to evacuate Mukden, 
 Kirin and Tsitsihar, leaving all their railway material 
 behind. Most of the line had also been abandoned , 
 to the Boxers, who were destroying it wholesale in 
 many places. On the northern frontier, that is to 
 say along the River Amur, the Chinese had attacked 
 the Siberian towns on the left-hand bank, and for 
 nearly three weeks had bombarded the town of 
 Blagoveschensk. This they had effectually isolated 
 by holding the waterway above and below it, and 
 so cutting its communications either to the east or 
 to the west. The siege was at last raised by a 
 small force under General Reinenkampf and the 
 Chinese town of Aigun on the opposite shore was 
 then taken. Two expeditions were now preparing 
 to move down south in the direction of Tsitsihar 
 and Harbin, one by road from Aigun and the other 
 by river from Khabarovsk. At the same time a 
 third column, after engaging the Chinese near 
 Hunchun on the Korean frontier, was advancing 
 from Vladivostock on Ninguta and Kirin. In this 
 way General Grodekoff hoped shortly to be able to 
 recover the whole of the railway line and to re- 
 
A Russian General. 
 
 [Face /. 19 
 
XIV THE CAMPAIGN ON THE AMUR 199 
 
 establish his strategical position in Manchuria. He 
 was only hampered by a want of troops, and this 
 was being made good as fast as possible by the 
 continual despatch of reinforcements from the interior 
 of Siberia and from European Russia. 
 
 In the south Admiral Alexieff had at last suc- 
 ceeded in reducing the native city of Newchwang, 
 and had also restored the railway connection between 
 that place and Port Arthur. He now was preparing 
 to march north on Mukden and to join hands with 
 General Grodekoff at the Manchurian capital. The 
 mobilisation had worked fairly well, though the 
 eastern provinces of Siberia had at first been in a most 
 critical condition owing to the lack of concentration 
 of the garrisons. At Blagoveschensk this had been 
 so pronounced that the Governor had doubted 
 whether he could hold the town against the enemy, 
 and the population becoming panic-stricken had in 
 a fit of terror or fury driven their Chinese em- 
 ployes across the river — where a large number 
 lost their lives. As soon however as things 
 had been got into shape a little the powers of 
 organisation and discipline again reasserted them- 
 selves, and it was now only a matter of time and 
 men to ensure the thorough defeat of the rebels and 
 the effective occupation of Manchuria. 
 
 There was not very much enthusiasm visible 
 amongst the Russian soldiery with regard to the 
 campaign, though the flags and cannon taken from 
 the Chinese were proudly paraded and the newly 
 captured territory formally blessed and annexed. 
 
200 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 On the other hand one could not fail to be 
 impressed by the enormous drafts of troops that 
 came floating along on rafts down the huge water- 
 way of the Amur. Battalion after battalion, 
 squadron after squadron, battery after battery, all 
 up to full strength, all with their horses and guns, 
 and all hardy well-grown soldiers. In two months 
 the forces of Russia in the Far East were increased 
 from 50,000 up to 100,000, and this without any 
 unusual pressure being brought to bear on the 
 reserves and without any extra acceleration of 
 transport. 
 
 Our own progress was more or less spasmodic. 
 Khabarovsk was of course full of many people of 
 various nationalities desirous of going one way or 
 another. My own companions for instance were 
 the editor of a Russian newspaper and his wife, the 
 inspector of an American oil company and his 
 wife, half a dozen San Francisco engineers going to 
 the gold mines near Kiakta, and the usual com- 
 plement of Russian officers, traders, and ladies whose 
 business or pleasure necessitated their travelling. 
 
 Naturally a very diminutive river steamboat 
 could not accommodate all these passengers, and 
 many were gradually left behind as we went along. 
 For the first part of the journey from Khabarovsk 
 to Blagoveschensk I was lucky enough to secure a 
 bed on the steamer by means of my special orders. 
 At Blagoveschensk, where we had to wait two days 
 more, the Governor very kindly gave the editor and 
 myself his own luxurious gunboat, and on this we 
 
XIV THE CAMPAIGN ON THE AMUR 
 
 Started, expecting to get quickly on to Stretensk 
 where we could take the railway. But alas ! we had 
 reckoned without our host, for hardly had the war- 
 vessel gone a hundred miles when its engines 
 broke down completely, and we found ourselves 
 deserted on the desolate banks of the river, close to 
 the borders of a hostile country and miles from any 
 proper road. 
 
 My American friends were no longer with us, 
 but the Russian journalist now put all the powers of 
 the press and of the telegraph into motion, and in 
 forty-eight hours a deus ex machind in the shape of 
 another small steamer arrived from somewhere or 
 other and took us on to a place called Pokrovsk, 
 which is the junction of the Argun and Shilka 
 rivers which there unite to form the Amur. 
 
 There was now another struggle to secure a fresh 
 boat and places in it, as the Shilka up which we 
 had to proceed had only about two feet of water in 
 it and was full of sand-banks. Again the passports, 
 the Imperial recommendations and the special 
 permits were called into play, and again by 
 some fortunate combination of circumstances we 
 were enabled to get off without much delay. Our 
 chief trouble now was getting enough to eat, for the 
 crew of our new craft appeared to live entirely on 
 soup unaccompanied even by bread, and after my 
 recent starving experiences in Chili I found this 
 a very insufficient diet. Luckily we found a shop 
 in a little posting village where we had 
 moored to take in wood, and here there were 
 
A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP, xiv 
 
 sardines, jam, biscuits, and other luxuries to be 
 bought, so that we managed to subsist in plenty 
 until we arrived at last at Stretensk. 
 
 Here, well within Russian territory, we came to 
 the actual terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway, 
 and here at last we could say good-bye to China 
 and turn our eyes away from the East to the distant 
 West. Things seemed to be looking brighter in 
 Manchuria, for we here got definite news of the 
 relief of ^Harbin and the arrival of the Russian 
 troops] at Kirin city. Peking had also been taken 
 by the Allied Forces, and the situation generally 
 had improved. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE RAILWAY ACROSS ASIA 
 
 So much delay had occurred along the route in 
 consequence of the disorganised state of things 
 resulting from the campaign in Manchuria, that it 
 was already September by the time we got to 
 Stretensk. From here however one could more 
 or less reckon the days that the remainder of the 
 journey would take, for with the single exception of 
 the crossing of the Baikal Lake the rail from here 
 to Moscow is continuous. 
 
 The weather remained fine and warm, though the 
 Siberian winter which begins early and suddenly 
 might be expected very shortly. But the autumn 
 is certainly the best season in these parts of Asia . 
 At sunset the colouring of the sky, reflected on 
 the wooded uplands and the placid waters of the 
 river, is really gorgeous. The air is soft and yet 
 invigorating, and the intense stillness of the un- 
 inhabited forests and vast prairies through which 
 one passes is wonderfully solemn and impressive. 
 
 The country in the Trans- Baikal province, that 
 is to say between Stretensk and the Baikal Lake, 
 
204 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 also comprises the finest scenery in Siberia, and 
 though from an agricultural point of view it is not 
 perhaps so fertile as the rolling steppes west of 
 Irkutsk, its mineral wealth is colossal. All round 
 Nerchinsk and Chita and in the spurs of the Altai, 
 Yablonoi and Khingan ranges, gold, silver, platinum, 
 lead and copper are found in rich seams. As yet 
 the mines have been but little exploited, but when 
 they are a most brilliant investment lies open to 
 Russian capitalists in this new El Dorado. 
 
 Within the Chinese border the northern frontiers 
 of Mongolia and Manchuria are hardly less plentifully 
 supplied with ore, and the ultimate destiny of the 
 deserts and mountains that Attila, Genghis and 
 Timur abandoned as profitless and inhospitable 
 wastes would surprise the shades of those avaricious 
 conquerors. Nevertheless, though there is no doubt 
 a splendid future for enterprise in these parts, the 
 time cannot yet be said to have come when 
 foreigners may hope for a fair field and no favour. 
 Russian rules and regulations reserve all rights to a 
 large extent to Russians, and even in those cases 
 where other nationals are admitted, it is their 
 money only and not their co-operation that is 
 desired, and they enjoy little chance of independ- 
 ence in their efforts. This is of course the usual 
 protectionist system and must be taken for granted. 
 
 There is still a certain amount of forced labour 
 in the mines in these districts, though nothing 
 compared to what there used to be, for political 
 prisoners are now all sent to Sakhalin Island, which 
 
XV THE RAILWAY ACROSS ASIA 205 
 
 lies off the North-Eastern coast of Asia opposite 
 the mouth of the Amur. We travelled for the latter 
 part of our long water journey in company with 
 a battalion of infantry who had been relegated to 
 this uncongenial task for insubordination to their 
 officers ; but it appeared that they would draw 
 extra pay in the mines, and that the actual hours 
 of labour would not very much exceed those of 
 their ordinary fatigue work on the roads or on 
 military defences in a garrison. 
 
 From Stretensk to Baikal the train takes nearly 
 four days, though the distance is only about seven 
 hundred miles. This service will be accelerated 
 as the line progresses, but at that time things were 
 in an abnormal condition owing to the continual 
 influx of troops from the west. 
 
 The passenger trains had of course to wait for the 
 military to pass them, and this on a single track 
 causes considerable delay. Under the circum- 
 stances however the traffic was very well managed, 
 and with comparatively little discomfort to civilians 
 travelling in such a bureaucratic country as Russia. 
 Between Stretensk and the Baikal Lake we certainly 
 passed five or six thousand troops, and yet we 
 came in to our destination only three or four hours 
 late and found a steamer ready waiting for us at 
 the pier. 
 
 Some eighty miles before we got to Chita we 
 had passed the junction railway station for the 
 Trans- Manchurian line. This is at a small place 
 called Kaidalovo, whence the track to Vladivostock 
 
2o6 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 and Port Arthur branches off in a south-easterly- 
 direction, and after crossing another three hundred 
 miles of alluvial land in the basin of the Ingoda 
 enters the Chinese dominions at Nagadan. From 
 here it goes on to Hailar, Tsitsihar and Harbin. 
 
 The rails are now (March 1901) laid from the 
 north as far as Hailar, and in the south from 
 Vladivostock and from Port Arthur to Tsitsihar. 
 All that remains to be built are the four hundred 
 miles between Hailar and Tsitsihar and it is ex- 
 pected that this will be complete in two months. 
 Details and distances are given in Appendix C. 
 
 The tribes west of the Baikal Lake are mainly 
 Buriats, akin to the Goldis, the Fishskin Tartars 
 and the other aboriginal races of Upper Asia. 
 There is a scheme on foot for making some corps 
 of irregular cavalry out of them and mounting them 
 on the wiry little Mongolian ponies that are so 
 successfully imported from the south. Whether 
 it will come to anything it is hard to say, for the 
 Buriats do not impress one as either an intelligent 
 or a particularly courageous people. But it would 
 save the expense and loss of time occasioned by 
 bringing Russian horses from across the Urals, and 
 as it was also a pet project of the late General 
 Skobelefs, whose famous name is still one to 
 conjure with in all military matters, it may have 
 some results. 
 
 When we arrived at the eastern shore of the 
 enormous inland lake, we found very luckily that 
 it was not yet frozen over. Accordingly there was 
 
liURIATS OF THE AmUR. 
 
 [Face p. 206. 
 
XV THE RAILWAY ACROSS ASIA 207 
 
 no need for us to be embarked in the hugfe ice- 
 breaking steamer made by Armstrong's that had 
 lately been brought out from England, and that 
 takes whole trains on board. 
 
 The weather however was so inclement, rapidly 
 developing into a regular storm, that we lost over 
 twelve hours whilst waiting for it to moderate. 
 When it at last did so we steamed across the lake, 
 here two thousand fathoms deep, in four hours. 
 Finding a train ready at the other side we quickly 
 covered the remaining forty miles to Irkutsk, where 
 we arrived early in the afternoon. 
 
 The ferry is of course only a temporary arrange- 
 ment as the rails are eventually to be laid round the 
 southern end of the lake, so as to get a through 
 connection between St. Petersburg and Vladivostock. 
 There is however a great deal of tunnelling and 
 blasting and other difficult and expensive work to 
 be done, so it may be a year or two before the loop 
 is completed. 
 
 From Irkutsk a post train runs to Moscow every 
 day, taking nine days over the journey. Twice a 
 week however there is a " Siberian train de luxe," 
 with a slightly higher fare and rate of speed. As 
 this has a bath of sorts, a restaurant car and a library 
 attached (besides the promise of a church and a 
 gymnasium) it is well worth waiting for. 
 
 There is a certain amount to be seen in Irkutsk 
 which is still the capital of Siberia, as far as that 
 huge country can be said to have one. It is an 
 important military and civil headquarters and also 
 
ao8 A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 has a considerable trade. The shops, the hotels and 
 several of the public buildings have some preten- 
 sions to size and elegance, and as there are always 
 plenty of people passing through from one cause 
 or another, business prospers and prices are not 
 quite so high as in the more isolated and distant 
 inland towns. 
 
 The caravan route to Peking by way of Kiakta 
 the Mongolian desert and Kalgan also starts from 
 here (this was the road I had at first intended to 
 return by). The Russians maintain a riding postal 
 service over it, carried by Cossacks, that leaves once 
 a fortnight. From Irkutsk to Peking the fastest 
 couriers can go in about twelve days, though camels 
 marching at an average of thirty miles a day take 
 nearly a month. There is no trade and practically 
 no population along the whole route, owing to the 
 lack of water and vegetation, but physically speaking 
 the country presents no difficulties to the construc- 
 tion of a railway. It seems unlikely however that 
 this will be attempted, at any rate for a long time, 
 in view of the excellent commercial prospects of the 
 new Trans- Manchurian line. 
 
 During our visit to Irkutsk the Governor-General, 
 who is the ruler of all Central Siberia, was absent 
 on a tour of inspection in his vast dominions ; but I 
 had interviewed so many officials, including generals, 
 archbishops, and civil governors, on my journey 
 though from Vladivostock that I was glad not to be 
 obliged to trouble him. 
 
 West of Irkutsk it is not particularly necessary to 
 
XV THE RAILWAY ACROSS ASIA 209 
 
 have "special orders," for here may be drawn the 
 border line between ordinary and extraordinary 
 Russia. Henceforward one has more or less to take 
 one's chance of getting on just like any one else, 
 and travelling " par exception " is limited to a few 
 very high personages indeed. 
 
 We had no difficulty in securing our seats or 
 rather coupes in a really excellent train, and 
 started for our week's journey at two o'clock one 
 afternoon in high spirits. 
 
 Our party now consisted of my two American 
 friends, the Russian editor and his wife, the captain 
 of a Russian battleship going home on leave, and a 
 Russian lady from Port Arthur taking her little 
 boy to school in St. Petersburg. Besides our own 
 carriage there were two second class, one restaurant 
 and one baggage car. 
 
 Our speed at first was slow, not averaging much 
 over fourteen miles an hour, and the halts were 
 long and frequent. But as we got on things im- 
 proved. We went faster and stopped less, and 
 once we had crossed the Urals we used often to run 
 over thirty miles an hour. When the distance, 
 which is over 3,000 miles, is considered this is very 
 fair going for a trans-continental express on a newly 
 laid single line, especially when wood has very often 
 to be burnt instead of coal. The service was also 
 wonderfully punctual and we were very seldom late. 
 The food was as a rule good, the attendants civil, 
 and the prices reasonable. 
 
 In Irkutsk I had seen my last Chinese, a rich 
 
 P 
 
2IO A YEAR IN CHINA chap. 
 
 looking overfed sort of comprador who was driving 
 about in a carriage, probably an agent of one of the 
 Kiakta merchants. Henceforward it was all pure 
 Russia and the word " Kitaiski " was hardly ever 
 heard. 
 
 The country west of Lake Baikal is for the most part 
 flat, treeless and to a large extent under cultivation, 
 and is not nearly so rich in mineral wealth as 
 Eastern Siberia. On the other hand there are 
 several big centres of population that have sprung 
 up in the last twenty years, during which time 
 the agricultural interest has also made considerable 
 progress. At Krasnoyarsk we came to the Yenisei, 
 the longest river (3,400 miles) in Asia. It is 
 traversed by a splendid bridge, which is a really 
 fine and well built piece of work with six steel 
 spans of 500 sajens, standing on six solid piers of 
 masonry. 
 
 The next great town was Tomsk, which is situ- 
 ated in an isolated gold mining district of some 
 importance. It lies sixty miles or so to the north 
 of the main line from which a branch runs to it. 
 Tomsk has latterly shown much power of advance- 
 ment, it possesses several remarkably fine public 
 buildings, and it is annually increasing rapidly in 
 wealth and influence. 
 
 Between Tomsk and Omsk we crossed the Obi, 
 and at the latter town the Irtish, which flows on to 
 Tobolsk. All these rivers drain into the Arctic 
 Sea and they are of course icebound for more than 
 half the year. From Omsk to Cheliabinsk, the 
 
XV THE RAILWAY ACROSS ASIA 211 
 
 frontier of European Russia in the Ural Mountains 
 it is only two days' run. 
 
 All this country I had previously travelled over 
 when returning from Kashgar and Central Asia in 
 1896, and I do not therefore propose endeavouring 
 to describe it again. I saw however on every side 
 material signs of improvement, and the people 
 seemed much more enlightened and prosperous 
 than they had been four years ago. In the small 
 towns in the Urals alone quite a large trade has 
 sprung up in the sale of ingenious little statues, made 
 out of the black Siberian stone that is quarried in 
 the mountains. 
 
 We passed the frontier of Europe in cold weather 
 and were soon at Samara, where we crossed the 
 River Volga by another fine bridge. At Tula, famous 
 for the best steel and iron in Russia, we joined the 
 main trunk line from Odessa and the south, and 
 turning here due north arrived late the same 
 evening in Moscow. 
 
 The distance from Irkutsk is just 3,400 miles, 
 and from Vladivostock by the route we had come 
 over 6,000 miles. Details of the actual distances, 
 the time occupied and the prices are given in 
 Appendix B. The latter (or railway) part of the 
 journey was cheap, expeditious and comfortable, 
 and all of it was highly interesting. 
 
 A very short stay in Moscow sufficed for me 
 after a rather long absence from England, and 
 continuing my journey by way of Warsaw and 
 Berlin I soon got back to London. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 A YEAR IN CHINA CH. xv. 
 
 This concludes the narrative of my eighteen 
 months stay in the Far East. Of that time over a 
 year was spent in China itself, and of that year 
 more than eight months were taken up with 
 travelling either officially or privately in various 
 parts of the Empire. 
 
 The distance I travelled in the Chinese Empire 
 was, as far as I can reckon, close upon 10,000 miles, 
 which, considering the slowness of transport and 
 the difficulty of getting about generally, represents 
 a fair amount of labour. Whether it represents 
 an equal amount of observation may be questioned. 
 But China is a large country and it requires 
 more than a year to learn very much about it that 
 is worth telling. Indeed it is an open question 
 whether the European has got a mind that really 
 can understand either China or the Chinese. But 
 still the attempt is worth making. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 It does not enter into the scope of a book that is 
 merely a record of travel to discuss the broad ques- 
 tions of politics, finance or commerce. And indeed 
 so much has latterly been written on these subjects 
 that there seems little call for more. I may say 
 however that my observations have as a rule con- 
 vinced me of the general accuracy of the common- 
 place dicta one hears nowadays about China. I 
 mean the necessity for the development of trade, 
 lower prices, improved communications and the like, 
 if we wish to keep ahead of our commercial rivals ; 
 and in the same way the urgent need of reform in 
 the Chinese administration, army and system of 
 learning, if that nation is to make any real progress 
 in civilisation. 
 
 For the most part H.M. Consuls, the British 
 missionaries and the merchants hold approximately 
 the same views on such matters as those at home do 
 who have taken the trouble to inform themselves 
 about the Far East by a study of the literature 
 bearing on it. 
 
214 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 There are one or two facts however, not always 
 stated in books, that the traveller, the reader or the 
 politician may well bear in mind. They can be 
 epitomised very shortly. 
 
 China as a country is not a homogeneous whole. 
 The differences, for instance, geological and econo- 
 mic, between the north and the south are immense. 
 The former, owing to its mountains, its loess forma- 
 tion, its lack of roads and similar causes, is to-day 
 isolated, decadent, under-populated and poverty- 
 stricken. The latter, well supplied with waterways 
 but endowed with a less fertile soil and therefore 
 needing more labour, has made far greater strides 
 in advance, especially during the last century, and 
 has now attained a considerable degree of prosperity 
 and wealth. 
 
 In the same way the people of the north differ 
 from those of the south, the former being indolent, 
 apathetic and inclined to fanaticism, while the latter 
 are energetic, intelligent and comparatively well 
 disposed to foreigners. 
 
 There is another point. The European in con- 
 sidering the Chinese character should recollect that 
 the Aryan and the Yellow races are physically and 
 mentally distinct. What would appear truth and 
 reason to the one often seems folly and lies to the 
 other. Our ideas of history, of ethics, of domestic 
 life and even our logic and system of reasoning 
 frequently run quite counter to what the Chinaman 
 respects and believes. And our victories do not 
 by any means convince him that he is wrong and 
 
XVI CONCLUSION 215 
 
 that we are right. One should therefore guard 
 against getting a wrong perspective of China and 
 of its people by endeavouring to apply to them 
 European standards of comparison. 
 
 Finally it should not be forgotten that the ultimate 
 success of British trade in China depends on the 
 efforts made by the manufacturers, and on the interest 
 taken by the working classes at home. The British 
 merchants or rather the commission agents out in 
 China can create neither supply nor demand ; they 
 are only middlemen, and can do little more than 
 feel the pulse of the market and tell buyer and 
 seller what the other wants. This they do at 
 present quite as well as the representatives of any 
 other nation, and they are in nowise to blame if our 
 trade is not progressing in the same proportion as 
 it used to do. It is not doing so, and we must not 
 be imposed upon by its great volume, which is 
 quite a different matter. The fault lies rather in 
 England, where unfortunately few of the needs of 
 China are studied or understood. This however 
 will probably correct itself, for with Americans, 
 Germans and Japanese to compete with, if not to 
 learn from, in commerce and many other fields, we 
 shall soon be forced to take pains and to put our- 
 selves on a proper business footing. Neither the 
 moral nor the material incentive is lacking, it is 
 only that we have not yet quite got the evTpoiria of 
 the age. The danger is that when we do get it we 
 may find ourselves a little behind in the race. 
 
 Beyond this I have nothing to say. Summarising 
 
2i6 A YEAR IN CHINA CHAP. 
 
 impressions on such vast subjects as the civiHsation 
 of China or its commercial future is of little profit, 
 and I am debarred from giving my opinion on 
 those matters where it might be of some value. 
 
 It has been suggested however that a short list 
 of useful books on China might be of some value 
 to that section of the public which, while interesting 
 itself in Far Eastern questions, has not hitherto had 
 the opportunity of studying them in detail. 
 
 The list here presented does not pretend to be a 
 complete bibliography but is merely a selection of 
 the books that I found of most help myself, and 
 such humble criticisms as are affixed to them are of 
 course purely personal. It is needless to say that 
 there are many other works that I have not read 
 that are no doubt equally excellent. 
 
 It has seemed best to make no selection from 
 the wide range of literature bearing on Missionary 
 enterprise, the opium trade, and the Chinese 
 language. 
 
 LIST OF BOOKS 
 
 The Middle Kingdom, by the Rev. S.iW. Williams. 1848. In 
 
 3 vols. Probably the best comprehensive account of the 
 
 Eighteen Provinces. 
 History of Ike Mongols, by Sir H. Howorth, K.C.I.E. 
 
 1888. 3 vols. Mongolian and Chinese history. 
 Letters to the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce, by the Baron 
 
 von Richthofen. 1871-2. Excellent topographical and 
 
 commercial study of certain provinces. 
 
XVI CONCLUSION 217 
 
 4. 1! Empire Chinois, by the Abb^ Hue. 1851. Very interest- 
 
 ing and realistic description of the Empire and of travelling 
 in it. 
 
 5. The Journeys of Marco Polo, by Colonel Yule. The Empire of 
 
 Cathay in the fifteenth century. 
 
 6. The Land of the Llamas, by W. W. Rockhill (U.S. Com- 
 
 missioner in Peking). 1897. Remarkable journey in Tibet. 
 
 7. The Long White Mountain, by H. James, I.C.S. 1888. 
 
 Careful account of Manchuria. 
 
 8. Journeys in Western China, by C. Baber, late H.M. Consular 
 
 Service. 1875. Szechuan and Yunnan. Good geogra- 
 phical information. 
 
 9. Five Months on the Yangtze, by Capt. Blakiston, R.A. 1862. 
 
 Ascent of the Yangtze to Suifu, with thorough survey 
 of the river. 
 
 10. An Australian in China, by Dr. G. Morrison {Times corre- 
 
 spondent). 1895. From Shanghai to Burma — a most 
 interesting journey. 
 
 11. Three Years in Western China, by Alexander Hosie, H.M. 
 
 Consular Service. 1897. Travel and commerce in the 
 West. 
 
 12. The Blackburn Mission, by F. S. A. Bourne, H.M. Consular 
 
 Service. 1898. Commerce in the South and West. 
 
 13. China. " Story of the Nations " Series. By Professor R. K. 
 
 Douglas, British Museum. 1900. Historical and general 
 account. 
 
 14. Chinese Characteristics, by A. H. Smith. 1895. The best 
 
 critical description of the Chinaman. 
 
 15. Notes on Chinese Literature, by A. Wylie. 1867. Full of 
 
 knowledge. 
 
 16. EArt Chinois. Paleologue. Paris, 1887. Good handbook. 
 
 17. China in Decay, by Alexis Krausse. 1900. Modern 
 
 politics. 
 
 18. China in Trans foi-mation, by A. R. Colquhoun. 1898. 
 
 Political account of the Eighteen Provinces. 
 
 19. Problems of the Far East, by Lord Curzon of Kedleston. 
 
 1896. Study of Eastern poUtics. Best description of 
 Peking known. 
 
 20. The Far East, by Henry Norman, M.P. Very accurate 
 
 political forecast of events. 1893. 
 
2i8 A YEAR IN CHINA CH. XVI 
 
 2\. The Far Eastern Question, \,^N.Q}s\vco\. 1896. Excellent 
 
 epitome of the political situation. 
 22. The Chino-JapaneseWar,\,^Y\2j^mm. 1895. Best existing 
 
 account of the War. 
 
 Finally the Annual Blue Books on China issued by the Foreign 
 Office. These contain the most varied, accurate and compre- 
 hensive information on the trade of the different Treaty Ports, 
 and of the provinces immediately adjoining them. Also the 
 Annual Yellow Books published by the Imperial Maritime Cus- 
 toms, which give all the commercial statistics of the Empire and 
 a complete summary of its trade. 
 
 The most useful maps are — 
 
 Stanford's. 1900. 
 
 Bretschneider's, with supplements. 1896. 
 Waeber's (in sheets). 1893. 
 Posdndef's (Manchuria). 1899. 
 
 The last three are Russian maps. 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 LIST OF THE CHINESE PROVINCES 
 
 Chili / Metropolitan^ f Capital, Peking. 
 
 ' \ Province / ' ' ' I Seat of Viceroy at Tientsin. 
 
 Shantung „ Governor at Tsinan. 
 
 Shansi „ Governor at Taiyuen. 
 
 Honan ,, Governor at Kaifong. 
 
 , . 'I Liangkiang 
 -.. •" I Viceroyalty .... „ Viceroy at Nanking. 
 
 Chekiang . ^ Mincheh 
 
 Fokien . . / Viceroy alty .... „ Viceroy at Fuchow. 
 
 Kwangtung^ Liangkwang 
 
 Kwangsi . / Viceroyalty .... „ Viceroy at Canton. 
 
 Hupeh . . \ Hukwang 
 
 Hunan . . / Viceroyalty .... „ Viceroy at Wuchang 
 
 (Hankow). 
 
 Szechuan ,, Viceroy at Chentu. 
 
 Kuichou . 1 Kuiyun 
 
 Yunnan . ' Viceroyalty .... „ Viceroy at Yunnan. 
 
 Shensi . . \ Shenkan 
 
 Kansu' . . / Viceroyalty .... „ Viceroy at Lanchou. 
 
 Manchuria (Manju), ( MuMen (Fengtien) , ^j^^^^ ^^^^^ 
 
 3 Provinces ) ^^P" ,^^ ., , . . ( Generals. 
 
 ^ ^ Tsitsihar (Heilungkiang) ' 
 
 Mongoha (Mongu) Amban (Resident) at Uliassutai. 
 
 Turkestan (Sinchiang) .... Governor at Kuldja. 
 
 Tibet (Shidzan) Amban (Resident) at Lhassa. 
 
APPENDIX B 
 THE JOURNEY ACROSS ASIA 
 
 
 Distance 
 
 -Time 
 
 
 From. j To. 
 
 in 
 
 in 
 
 'ist Class Fares. 
 
 1 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Days. 
 
 
 r Calais, 
 
 ] 
 
 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 London vial Berlin & 
 
 VMoscow (rail) . 
 
 1,940 
 
 3 
 
 II 
 
 IWarsaw 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 Moscow (z)id Chelia- 
 
 
 
 
 
 binsk) 
 
 Irkutsk (rail) . 
 
 3,400 
 
 8 
 
 8 12 
 
 Irkutsk (m'd Lake 
 
 Stretensk (rail 
 
 
 
 
 Baikal) 
 
 and ferry) . 
 
 780 
 
 4 
 
 280 
 
 Stretensk (md River 
 
 Blagoveschensk 
 
 
 
 
 Amur) 
 
 (boat) . . . 
 
 800 
 
 6 
 
 3 12 
 
 Blagoveschensk (vid 
 
 Khabarovsk 
 
 
 
 
 River Amur) . . 
 
 (boat) . . . 
 
 610 
 
 4 
 
 240 
 
 Khabarovsk .... 
 
 Vladivostock . 
 
 
 
 
 
 (rail) . . . 
 
 480 
 
 I 
 
 I 14 
 
 8,010 
 
 26 
 
 ^21^ 10 
 
 The time by boat is approximate only. 
 
 Notes. 
 
 On the above journey food has to be paid for extra. On the 
 boats the price is 2 roubles (4 shillings) a day ; on the trains 
 about 3 roubles (6 shillings) ; west of Russia 10 shillings. This 
 would cost an additional £,1 Zs. With wine and other expenses, 
 provided that there is no delay, say ^10. So that the entire 
 journey could be done for ;^4o. 
 
 Going east from Vladivostock to Moscow the time taken up 
 on the river journey is about twelve days instead of ten, and the 
 steamer connection is not so good. From St. Petersburg to 
 Moscow, a twelve-hours' run, the distance is 400 miles and the 
 fare £1 100. 
 
APP. B APPENDIX 
 
 From Vladivostock to Nagasaki the Nippon Yusen Kaisha runs 
 weekly boats. Distance 850 miles, direct in three days. 
 
 Nagasaki to Shanghai 400 miles, r| days. 
 Nagasaki to Tientsin 900 miles, 3 days direct. 
 Tientsin to Peking (rail) 80 miles, 3 hours. 
 
 The branch line of the Trans-Siberian Railway is to be 
 extended from Stretensk to Pokrovsk in a few years. In the 
 winter the river service along the Amur is entirely suspended 
 and travellers must go by sledge ; but when the railway through 
 Manchuria is completed trains will run from Irkutsk to Vladi- 
 vostock in eight, or to Peking in ten days, which should sub- 
 sequently be accelerated to five and seven days. The through 
 journey from London to Peking could then be performed under 
 the most favourable conditions in eighteen days, while even at 
 present it can be done in thirty-two days, which is less than the 
 mail steamer route by India and considerably less expensive. 
 
APPENDIX C 
 
 THE TRANS-MANCHURIAN RAILWAY 
 
 Main Line (will be completed in May). 
 
 Kaidalovo, on T. S. Ry. (about 150 miles w. of Stretensk), 
 to Nagadan (Chinese frontier), 280 miles. (Working.) 
 
 Nagadan to Harbin (Junction), 602 miles. 
 
 Harbin to Pogranitza (Eastern Siberian frontier), 340 miles. 
 (Working.) 
 
 Pogranitza to Vladivostock, 140 miles. (Working.) 
 
 Branch Line. (All working.) 
 
 Harbin to Newchwang, 408 miles. 
 Newchwang to Port Arthur, 200 miles. 
 
 Harbin to Peking {pid. Newchwang and Shanhaikwan), 880 
 miles. 
 
 The line south of Shanhaikwan belongs to the Imperial Chinese 
 Railway Company. 
 
 The part of the line completed is so shown in the map. The 
 total length of Russian railway in Chinese territory will now be 
 over 1,900 miles. 
 
GLOSSARY OF WORDS. 
 
 (Those marked C. are Chinese ; P., Pidgun English ; R., Russian 
 N. or S. signifies North or South pronunciation). 
 
 Belong. (P.) To be, the irregularities of the English auxiliary 
 
 being difficult for a Chinaman to master. 
 Boxers. The rebels of the " Great Knife Sect," their new Chinese 
 
 name being I-Ho-Tuan. They were first called Boxers from 
 
 their drilling and gymnastics. 
 Boy. Head servant. 
 
 Cash. The Chinese copper coin — strings of them threaded 
 together in hundreds are the regular small change of the 
 country. Nominally i,ooo cash go to the tael, but the 
 exchange varies at every large city. 
 
 Chop Chop. (P.) Quick — Chinese equivalent Kwei Kwei. 
 
 Chow. (P.) Food. 
 
 Ckungkwo. (C.) Chinese. 
 
 Comprador. (P.) A Chinese manager of a business. 
 
 Coolie. (C.) A porter, navvy or underservant. 
 
 Cossacks. (R.) Irregular cavalry who live under a special land 
 tenure. 
 
 Da (N.) or Ta. (S.) Great. 
 
 Daren (N.) or Tajen. (S.) Excellency— lit. great man. 
 
 Dollar. The Mexican or Chinese silver dollar, value 2s. — (800 
 
 cash). 
 Dzungduh. Viceroy (of one, two or more provinces). 
 
 Fankwei (S.) or Fan or Yangkweydza (N.) Foreign or ocean devil. 
 
 The term abusively applied to foreigners. 
 Fengshui. (C.) Geomancy — lit. wind and water. 
 
224 . GLOSSARY OF WORDS 
 
 Fu. (C.) The capital city of a province or prefecture, and always 
 the residence of a Taotai at the least Also a palace, e.g., 
 Yingkwofu = British Legation. 
 
 Futai. (C.) Governor of a province. 
 
 Gingall. The native blunderbuss, carried by three men and 
 fired from a tripod. It is a weapon almost as dangerous to 
 those who use it as to those against whom it is levelled. 
 
 Hai. Sea, e.g., Shan-hai-kwan = mountain sea barrier. 
 
 Hei (Hey). Black, e.g., Hei-lung-kiang = Black Dragon River. 
 
 Ho. (C.) River, e.g., Hoang Ho = Yellow River 
 
 Hong. (C.) A guild or company. 
 
 Hsien. (C.) District town. 
 
 Hu. (C.) Lake, e.g., Hunan = south of the lakes. 
 
 Huloe. (C.) A long oar, slung on a pole rowlock and used on 
 
 junks. 
 Hun. (C.) Red. 
 Hwangti. (C.) The Emperor, at present H.M. Kwangsu. 
 
 Isvostchik. (R.) A cabdriver. 
 
 Jo. (C.) A subprefectural (second-class) city. 
 
 Kiang. (C.) River — pronounced " Chiang " in the South. 
 
 Kitaiski. (R.) Chinese. 
 
 Kowli. (C.) Korea (also called Siao kwo). 
 
 Kowliang. (C.) Millet. 
 
 Kowtow. (C.) To salute by kneeling down and touching the 
 
 ground with the head. 
 Kumshaw. (C.) A gratuity : necessary word. 
 Rung Kuan. (C.) A Mandarin's lodging. 
 Kurbang. An official Korean procession either for State or 
 
 religious purposes. 
 Kwan. (C.) Barrier — hence customs, Haikwan = Imperial Mari 
 
 time Customs. 
 Kwang. (C.) Broad, e.g., Kwangtung = Broad East. 
 
 Lao. (C.) Old. 
 Laoban. Skipper. 
 
 Likin. (C.) Inland Customs, a pernicious Chinese institution. 
 Loii Shut. (C.) The terminal tax or "octroi" levied on goods 
 entering the gates of a Chinese city. 
 
GLOSSARY OF WORDS 225 
 
 Maskee. (P.) Never mind — a very useful word. 
 Mujik. (R.) A peasant. 
 
 Nan. (C.) South. 
 
 Padarojna. (R.) A posting order. 
 
 Pai. (C.) White, e.g., Pai Ho = White River. 
 
 Pey. (C.) North, e.g., Pey ching = Northern Capital. (Peking.) 
 
 Ren (N.) ox Jin. (S.) Man. 
 
 Rickshaw or Jinrickshaw. A hand carriage drawn by one or 
 more coolies and universal in the Treaty Ports. 
 
 Sajen. (R.) A Russian yard. 
 
 Samovar. (R.) A tea urn. 
 
 Sampan. (C.) A small native rowboat. 
 
 Savvy. (P.) To know, — the English verb being beyond the 
 Chinaman's conjugating powers. 
 
 SJmn. (C.) Mountain, e.g., Shantung = East of the mountains. 
 
 Si. (C.) West, e.g., Shansi = West of the mountains. 
 
 Sin. (C.) New, e.g.. Sin chiang = New Dominion. 
 
 Sycee. (C.) Lit. fine silver. Silver in ingots or " shoes," the ordi- 
 nary way money is carried in the interior. 
 
 Tael. The unit of Chinese finance. An imaginary coin varying 
 in value, at present about y. ^d. 
 
 Taotai. (C.) A Chinese prefect. 
 
 Tingchai. (C.) A subordinate official in a Yamen — carries mes- 
 sages, does escort duty, and lives on "squeezes." Also 
 called a "Yamen Runner." 
 
 Tung. (C.) East. 
 
 Vluss. (C.) Russian. 
 
 Yamen. (C) An official residence. 
 
 Yangbang. A Korean landed magnate. 
 
 Yapon. (C.) Japan. 
 
 Yen. The Japanese silver dollar (two shillings in value). 
 
 Yingkwo. (C.) English. 
 
Xondon: M&croiUan tSt. Co. .Ltd, 
 
 ■tan/brd's Geoq^Estoh'^Londori, 
 
London: Macmillan & Co.,L- . 
 
 Stanfbrd's Geog\I.stjo]^London,. 
 
^NNWt^Gi- ^ o' E.ist Ur. 
 
 London: Mor.millaJi & T-o^L- . 
 
 S\nn/briii.- Lrfi'g^I^Jrt.ihf 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abb£ Hue, 123 
 
 Admiral, British, 108, 167, 168, 
 
 &c., 196 
 Aigun, 198 
 Alexieff, Admiral, 199 
 Allied Forces, 177, 193, 195 
 Altai Mountains, 136, 204 
 Altyn Tagh, 136 
 Ambassador, British, at St. 
 
 Petersburg, 197 
 Amdoa country, 125 
 American trade, 27, 66, 74, 86, 
 
 100, 200, 215 
 American troops, 169, 171, 181, 
 
 189 
 Amur River, 52, 67, 69, 70, 74, 
 
 136, 198, 200, 201, 205 
 Anbyon, 92 
 
 Anglo-German Loan, 105 
 Arctic Sea, 210 
 Argun River, 70, 201 
 Armstrong's, 207 
 Army, Chinese, 4, 10, 24, 25, 
 
 165, 175, 180, 181, 184, 187, 
 
 192 
 Arsenal, Hsiku, 180, 181, 184, 
 
 187 
 Arsenals, Tientsin, 194 
 Asheho, 59, 64 
 Asia, Central, 144, 151, 211 
 Assam, 131 
 Attila, 204 
 Austrians, 169, 171 
 
 Baikal Lake, 203, 205, 206, 210 
 Bank, Hongkong and Shanghai, 
 
 27 
 Bank, Russo-Chinese, 27, 67 
 Bankers, Chinese, 59, 118 
 Bannermen, Peking, 37 
 Batang, 125 
 Belgians, 155 
 Berlin, 211 
 
 Beyts, Capt., R.M.A., 185 
 Bhamo, 127, 135 
 Bishop, Mrs. in, 
 Blagoveschensk, 198, 199, 200 ; 
 
 Governor of, 199, 200 
 Blake, Sir Henry, G.C.M.G., 2, 
 
 4. 5. 6 
 
 Bogue Forts, 3 
 
 Bons d'Anty, Monsieur, 132 
 
 Boxers, The, 157; 164, 170, 179, 
 181, 192, 193, 197, 198 
 
 British Admiral, 108, 167, 168, 
 &c., 196 (see also Sir Edward 
 Seymour) 
 
 British Ambassador at St. Peters- 
 burg, 197 
 
 British Consuls, 4, 47, 103, in, 
 130, 166, 187, 213 
 
 British Legation, i, 38, 39, 47, 
 
 159. 176 
 British Marines, 166, 182, 185, 
 
 190 
 British Navy, 4, 108, 166, 168, 
 
 171, 181, 182, 190 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 
 
 INDEX 
 
 British Trade, 27, 57, 87, 103, 
 
 IS4, i55> 2i3i 215 
 Buddha, Glory of, 119 
 Buddhists, 93, 119, 124 
 Buriats, 70, 206 
 Burma, i, 120, 131 
 Burmese Mountains, 136 
 
 Canada, 72, 128 
 
 Canal, Grand, 35, 104, 158, 171 
 
 Cangue, The, 142 
 
 Canton, 2, 3, 15, 17, 28, 61 ; 
 
 Viceroy of, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 (see 
 
 also Tan-chi-lin) 
 Catholics, Roman, 16, 45 
 Central Asia, 144, 151, 211 
 Ceylon, 27 
 Chan-chi-tung, H. E., 23, 26, 
 
 107, 108 (see also Viceroy of 
 
 Hukwang) 
 Changpaishan, 80 
 Changsha, 108 
 Chefoo, 162, 196 
 Chekiang, 104 
 Cheliabinsk, 210 
 Chemulpo, 98, 99, 164 
 Chentu, 28, 114, 115, 119, 122, 
 
 i29> 131. 151 
 Chili, 53, 157, 165, 193, 195; 
 
 Viceroy of, 36, 166, 170 
 China, 50, 90, 212, 213, 214 
 China Proper, 52, 56 (see also 
 
 Eighteen Provinces) 
 •Chinese, The, 48, 173, 195, 209, 
 
 214; Jews, 30, 31 
 Chinese Army, 4, 10, 24, 25, 
 
 165, 175, 192. 195 
 Chinese Servant, 8, 71, 84, 126, 
 
 138, 141, 164, 186 
 Chinkiang, 107 
 Chita, 204, 205 
 
 Christianity, 45, 46, 47, 90, 150 
 Chunghuso, 54 
 Chungking, 27, 108, 114, 115, 
 
 120, 130, 131 
 Colomb, Lieut., R.N., 174 
 Commissioner of Customs, 10, 
 
 105 
 
 Confucius, 24 
 Constantinople, 48, 147 
 Consuls, British, 4, 47, 103, m, 
 
 130, 166, 187, 213 
 Cossacks, 60, 63, 187, 208 
 Cromwell, 190 
 Customs, Imperial Maritime 
 
 (I.M.C.), 10, 40, 47, 58, 105 
 
 Dalai Llama, 123 
 Dalny, 57, 58, 65, 161, 163 
 Darjlling, 124 
 Diamond Mountains, 94 
 Diplomatic Corps, 40, 47 
 Duke Liang, 38 
 
 Eighteen Provinces, 52, 56 
 
 (see also China Proper) 
 Embassies and Legations, H.M., 
 
 39 
 Embassy at St. Petersburg, 42 
 Emperor of China, 44, 98 
 Emperor of Korea, 95, 96, 99 
 Empress of China, 44, 173 
 Escorts, Chinese, 15, 19 
 Escorts, Korean, 79 
 Eton, 75, 165 
 Expedition, Admiral Sir Edward 
 
 Seymour's, 159, 167, 168, &c. 
 Expedition of i860, 177 
 
 Fame, H.M.S., 2, 6, 7 
 
 Fengshui, 12, 13 
 
 Fengsiang, 145 
 
 Fengtai, 165 
 
 Fengtien, 51, 52 
 
 Fishskin Tartars, 70, 206 
 
 Fleet, International, 165, 168, 
 
 192 
 Forces, Allied, 177, 193, 195 
 Foreigners, 14, 40, 197 
 Foreign Legations, 42, 166, 176 
 Fort, Water, 186 
 Fortress, Tungkuan, 144, 150, 
 
 151 
 French, 16, 169, 171, 186, 193 
 Fusan, loi, 197 
 
INDEX 
 
 229 
 
 Genghis, 190, 204 
 Gensan, 83, 86, 87, 90, 92, 197 
 German officers, 24, 182, 189 
 German trade, 27, 57, 74, 100, 
 
 215 
 German troops, 165, 169, 171, 
 
 181, 183, 189 
 Glory of Buddha, 119 
 Gold mines, Korean, 88 ; Sibe- 
 rian, 204, 210 
 Goldis, 206 
 Governor of Hongkong, 2, 4, 5, 
 
 6 (see also Sir Henry Blake) 
 Governor General of Eastern 
 
 Siberia, 70, 197, 198 (see also 
 
 General Grodekoff) 
 Governor General of Irkutsk 
 
 (Central Siberia), 208 
 Grand Canal, 15, 158, 171 
 "Great Divide," 136 
 Great North Road, 135, 145, 
 
 146, 151 
 Great Plain, 29, 38, 157 
 Great Wall, 41. S3 
 Grodekoff, Lieut.-General, 198, 
 
 199 „ . 
 
 Gunboats, British, 108 ; Russian, 
 
 200, 201 
 
 Hailar, 64, 206 
 
 Hakkas, 17 
 
 Hamheung, 87, 90 
 
 Han River (China), 23, 131, 137, 
 
 139 
 Han River (Korea), 94, 99 
 
 Hanchung, 139 
 Hangchow, 104, 105, 106 
 Hankow, 7, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 
 
 107, 15s 
 Hanyang, 26 
 
 Harbin, 59, 63, 64, 198, 202, 206 
 Heaven, Temple of, 38, 40 
 Heilungkiang (province), 51 (see 
 
 also Tsitsihar) 
 Heilungkiang (river), 69 (see also 
 
 River Amur) 
 Henry of Orleans, Prince, 122 
 Bertha, German cruiser, 184 
 
 Himalayas, 132, 136 
 
 Hindu Kush, 136 
 
 Hoang Ho, 31, 32, 34, 150 (see 
 
 also Yellow River) 
 Hokaido, The, 197 
 Honan, 29, 152 
 Honanfu, 150, 151, 153, 154 
 Hongkong, i, 2, 6, 7, 58, 71, 168, 
 
 193 ; Governor of, 2, 4, 5, 6 
 Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, 
 
 27 
 Hosie, Mr. A., 58 
 Hsienyang, 145 
 Hsiku Arsenal, 180, 181, 187 
 Huaiking, 153, 154, 156 
 Hue, Abbd, 123 
 Hukwang Viceroyalty, 23, 26 
 Hunan, 17, 25, 26, 29, 108 
 Hunanese, 25, 139, 140 
 Hunchun, 77, 198 
 Hupeh, 22 
 Hwafantien, 160 
 Hwashan, 150, 151 
 
 IcHANG, 27, no 
 I-Ho-Tuan, 164 (see Boxers) 
 Imperial Chinese Railways, 36, 
 
 37, S3. 56, 61, 160 
 Imperial Maritime Customs, 10, 
 
 40, 47, 58, 105 
 India, 131 
 
 Indian officers, 25, 103 
 Ingoda River, 64 
 International Fleet, 165, 168, 192 
 Irkutsk, 196, 197, 207, 208, 211; 
 
 Governor-General of, 208 
 Irrigation, 117, 118, 210 
 Irtish River, 210 
 Islam, 31, 144 
 Italians, 169, 171 
 
 Japan, 57, 73, 9°. loi, i°3> ^97 
 Japanese trade, 27, 66, 100, loi, 
 
 171, 21S 
 Japanese troops, 169, 190, 193 
 
 Jehol, 41 
 
 Jews, Chinese, 30, 31 
 
230 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Johnston, Major, R.M.L.I., 182 
 Jordan, Mr. J. 94 
 Judaism, 30 
 
 Kachins, 127 
 
 Kaidalovo, 64, 205 
 
 Kaifong, 29, 30, 31, 152 
 
 Kaiyuan, 59, 64 
 
 Kalgan, 37, 41, 208 
 
 Kan River, 15, 17 
 
 Kanchou, 19 
 
 Kansu, 37, 129, 135, 136, 144, 
 
 177 
 Kashgar, i, 211 
 Khabarovsk, 64, 68, 70, 72, 197, 
 
 198, 200 
 Khingan Mountains, 204 
 Kiakta, 196, 200, 208, 210 
 Kialing River, 114, 136 
 Kian, 16, 20 
 Kiaiigsi, 7, 15, 17 
 Kiating, 115, 116, 118, 120, 130, 
 
 131 
 Kienchang Valley, 132 
 Kilju, 86 
 Kinchou (Northern), 54, 55, 
 
 .165 
 Kinchou (Southern), 161 
 Kinder, Mr. C, 37 
 Kingchow, no 
 Kintechin, 20 
 Kirin, 51, 52 
 
 Kirin City, 59, 62, 63, 198, 202 
 Kiukiang, 21, 22, 107 
 Kobe, 197 
 Koko Nor, 135 
 Korea, 57, 75, 80, 88, 89, 90, 
 
 94, loi, 197 
 Korean army, 87, 95, 97 
 Korean emperor, 95, 99 
 Korean trade, 88, 99 
 Kowliang (millet), 56 
 Kowlung, 2 
 Kowpanza, 160 
 Krasnoyarsk, 210 
 Kuan, 124, 125 
 Kuen Lun Mountains, 125, 136 
 
 Kuichou, 114 
 Kung kuans, 16, 147, 150 
 Kwantung, 7, 10, 15, 17 
 Kyong Heung, 77, 78, 79 
 Kyong Song, 83, 86 
 
 Ladysmith, 194 
 
 Lamaserai, 40, 125 
 
 Lanchou, 151 
 
 Langfang, 170, 176, 178 
 
 Lazaref, Port, 92 
 
 Lazarist Fathers, 20 
 
 Legation, British, i, 38, 39, 47, 
 
 159, 176 
 Legations, Foreign, 42, 166, 176 
 Lhassa, 123, 130 
 Liang, Duke, 38 
 Liao, River, 52, 54, 56, 59, 160 
 Liaotung Peninsula, 57, 64 
 Likin, 9, 105 
 Li Ping, 125 
 Little, Mr. A. J., in 
 Liu mines, 26 
 Llamas, 124 
 
 Loan, Anglo-German, 105 
 Lofa, 170, 174 
 Lolos, 132, 133 
 Lu-Han Railway, 27, 28, 29, 155, 
 
 156 
 Lukuntao, 163 
 Lutai, 165 
 
 Macdonald, Sir Claude, 
 
 G.C.M.G., 166 
 Machiapu, 38, 165 
 Manchuria, 28, 36, 51, 52, 53, 
 
 58, 64, 65, 80, 161, 195, 196, 
 
 198, 202, 204 
 Manchurian Railway, 56, 58, 64, 
 
 66, 160, 198, 205 (see also 
 
 Trans-Manchurian Railway) 
 Manchu dynasty, 28, 44, 53 (see 
 
 also Tatsing) 
 Manchus, 49. S 2. 53, 58, 1 10 
 Mandarins, 45, 49, 61, 84, 85, 
 
 126, 138, 148 
 
INDEX 
 
 231 
 
 Marines, British, 166, 186, 190 Nikko, 124, 125 
 
 Maritime Customs, Imperial, 10, Nikolaievsk, 6g 
 
 40, 47. 58, 105 Nikolsk, 73 
 
 Masapom, loi Ningkiang, 137, 148, 149 
 
 Maxims, 174, 182 Ninguta, 64, 198 
 
 McCalla, Capt, U.S.N., 189 Ningyuen, 120, 132 
 
 Meiling Pass, 17 Nippon Yusen Kaisha, 100 
 
 Meteora monasteries, 128 Nonni River, 52 
 
 Mexican dollars, 10, 91 Norman, Mr., 170 
 
 Min River, 116, 118, 119, 120, North River, 7, 9, 17 (see also 
 
 125 
 Mmes, coal, 26, 53, 88, 132, 154, 
 
 204; gold, S3, 88, 132, ^04 
 Ming tombs, 41 
 Missionaries, 16, 20, 45, 46, 47, 
 
 55, 62, 106, 128, 149, 213 
 Mohammedanism, 31, 144 
 Mokpo, loi 
 Money, Chinese, 26, 118; 
 
 Korean, 91 
 Mongolia, 56, 59, 64, 130, 151, 
 
 196, 204, 206, 208 
 Mongols, 119, 124, 206 
 Moscow, 74, 203, 207, 211 
 Mouravieff-Amurski, Count, 70 
 Mukden, 51 (see also Fengtien 
 
 and Shingking) 
 Mukden City, 51, 58, 64, 198, 
 
 199 
 Mussulmans, 31, 144 
 
 Nagadan, 206 
 
 Nagasaki, 100, loi, 103, 196, 
 
 197 
 Nanan, 15, 18 
 Nanchang, 19, 20, 21 
 Nanhiung, 16 
 Nanking, 29, 107, 151 
 Nanling Mountains, 15, 1 7; 136 
 Navy, British, 4, 166, 171, 181, 
 
 182, 190 
 Nerchinsk, 204 
 Nestorian tablet, 150 
 New Year, Chinese, no 
 Newchwang, 8, 54, 56, 57, 64, 
 
 160, 199 
 Nieh, General, 165, 170, i74> 
 
 184 
 
 Pe River) 
 Novokievsk, 76, 77 
 
 Obi River, 210 
 
 Odessa, 211 
 
 Okhotsk, Sea of, 69 
 
 Oldham, Lieut, and Comdr., 
 
 R.N., 108 
 Omei Shan, 119, 124 
 Omsk, 210 
 
 Orleans, Prince Henry of, 122 
 Orthodox Faith, 77 
 
 Pai Ho, 36, 37, 169, 171, 177. 
 
 196 
 Pai Shui, 136, 143 
 Pak, Mr., 96 
 Pamirs, i, 136 
 Paoting, 36 
 Pe River, 7, 9, 1 7 (see also North 
 
 River) 
 Pearl River, 2, 7, 15 
 Pechih, Gulf of, 53, 80, 155, 160 
 Peitsang, 180 
 Peking, i, 27, 28, 29, 36, 40, 41, 
 
 120, 147, 150, 176, 187, 192 
 Peking Pass, 98 
 Peking Field Force, 177 
 Peking Syndicate, 35, 155 
 Persia, 147 
 Persians, 48, 147 
 Petersburg, St., 42, 74, 197, 207 
 Philadelphia, 86 
 Pokrovsk, 201 
 Port Arthur, 56, 65, 159, 162, 
 
 168, 193, 199) 206 
 
232 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Port Arthur Convention, i6i 
 Possiet Bay, 76 
 Poyang Lake, 16, 20, 21 
 Primorsk Province, 64 
 
 Railways, Imperial Chinese, 36, 
 37, 53> 56, 61, 160; Lu-Han, 
 27, 28, 29, 155, 156; Korean, 
 99 ; Trans-Manchurian, 56, 
 58, 64, 66, 160, 198, 205 ; 
 Trans-Siberian, 53, 64, 67, 
 202, 205, &c. ; Ussuri, 64, 
 197 ; Yunnan (projected), 131 
 
 Rangoon, i 
 
 Red Basin, 114 
 
 Red Boats, in 
 
 Reinenkampf, General, 198 
 
 Rhine, 21 
 
 Richthofen, Baron von, 137 
 
 Robinson, Mr., 170 
 
 Rockhill, Mr., 122 
 
 Roman Catholics, 16, 45 
 
 Rousseau, 156 
 
 Russia, 66, 90, 197, 205, 207, 
 &c. 
 
 Russian trade, 27, 57, 73, 86, 
 204, 208, 210 
 
 Russian troops, 73, 169, 171, 
 181, 185, 187, 190, 193, 195, 
 198, 199, 200, 205 
 
 Russo-Chinese Bank, 27, 67 
 
 St. Petersburg, 42, 74, 197, 207 
 
 Sakhalin, 204 
 
 Sakwansa, 92 
 
 Salt Wells, 117, 118 
 
 Samara, 211 
 
 Samshu, 119 
 
 Samshui, 7, 10, 15 
 
 Sansing, 67 
 
 Seoul, 89J 91, 94, 98, 99 
 
 Servant, Chinese, 8, 71, 84, 126, 
 
 138, 141, 164, 173, 186 
 Seul (see Seoul) 
 Seymour, Vice Admiral Sir 
 
 Edward, G.C.B., 108, 167, 
 
 t8i, &c. 
 
 Shanghai, 7, 27, 103, 104, 106, 
 
 120 
 Shanhaikwan, 36, 53, 54, 160, 
 
 195 
 Shansi, 150, 154, 171 
 Shantung, 25, 56, 157 ; Governor 
 
 of, 158, 194 
 Shaochou, 10, 12, 14, 15 
 Shensi, 135, 137, 144 ; Governor 
 
 of, 138, 148, 149 
 Sherinsky, Colonel, 187 
 Shingking, 51 (see also Fengtien 
 
 and Mukden) 
 Shilka River, 69, 201 
 Shu Daren, 42 
 Sianfu, 28, 120, 135, 137, 144, 
 
 145, 147, &c. 
 Siang River, 18, 26 
 Siberia, 60, 70, 74, 197, 198, &c., 
 
 210 
 Siberian Railway, 53, 64, 67, 202, 
 
 205, &c. (see also Trans- 
 Siberian Railway) 
 Sifan, 120, 125 
 Singapore, i 
 Sinmingting, 56, 160 
 Skobelef, General, 206 
 Snipe, H.M.S., 108, 109 
 Straits Settlements, i 
 Stretensk, 68, 201, 203, 205 
 Suchow Canal, 104 (in Kiangsu) 
 Suchow (Suifu), 115, ri6, 130, 
 
 132 (in Szechuan) 
 Sung, General, 194 
 Sungari River, 52, 63, 64, 65, 
 
 67, 69, 198 
 Syndicate, Peking, 35, 155 
 Szechuan, 108, 114, 116, 129, 
 
 13s; Viceroy of, 123, 128, 
 
 130 
 Szechuanese, 129, 130, 131 
 
 Taiping Rebellion, 105 
 Taiyuen, 150 
 
 Taku, 165, 187, 192, 194, 196 
 Taku Forts, 168, 177 
 Talienwan, 57, 58, 64, 161, 163 
 
INDEX 
 
 233 
 
 Talifu, 132 
 
 Tan-chi-lin, H. E., 4, 5, 6 (see 
 
 also Viceroy of Canton) 
 Tapashan, 131, 136, ,39 
 Tartar City (Peking), 38, 41, 170 
 Tartar Generals, 62, no, 148 
 Tatsing Dynasty, 28, 51 
 Tea Trade, 23, 27 
 Teheran, 48 
 Telegraphs, 120 
 Temple of Heaven, 38, 40 
 Thessaly, 128 
 Tian Shan, 136 
 Tibet, 29, 114, 122, 123, 124, 
 
 125, 127, 129, 151 
 Tibetans, 119, 120, 122, r23, 
 124, 136 
 
 Tientsin, 29, 36, 37, 53, 150, 
 158, 165, 169, 178, 183, 195, 
 196 
 
 Tientsin Settlement, 37, 169, 
 183, r8s, 189 
 
 Timur Lang, 204 
 
 Tobolsk, 210 
 
 Tokio, 103 
 
 Tomsk, 210 
 
 Tongking, 131 
 
 Tongku, 36, 165, 169 
 
 Tongshan, 36, 195 
 
 Trade (see British, German, &c.) 
 
 Trade Routes, 17, 131, 132. 146, 
 
 156 
 Trans-Baikal Province, 64, 69, 
 
 203 
 Trans-Manchurian Railway, 56, 
 
 58, 64, 66, 160, 198, 206 
 Trans-Siberian Railway, 53, 64, 
 
 67, 202, 205, &c. 
 Treaty Ports, 7, 10, 29, 130 
 Tribes, 120, 122, 130 
 Tsinan, 158 
 Tsingling Mountains, 136, 139, 
 
 142 
 Tsitsihar, 51, 52, 64, 198, 206 
 
 (see also Heilungkiang) 
 Tsungh Yamen, 41. 43 
 Tsusima, loi 
 Tuan, Prince, 197 
 
 Tulu, 211 
 
 Tumen River, 77, 80 
 Tungchow, 177 
 Tungfuhsiang, General, 177 
 Tungkuan Fortress, 144, 150, 
 
 151 
 Tungting Lake, 18, 26, 108 
 
 Turkestan, 147, 151 
 
 Turks, 48, 190 
 
 Tzeliojin, 116, 117, 118, 131 
 
 Ukase, 74 
 
 Union Jack, 9, 158 
 
 Ural Mountains, 206, 209, 211 
 
 Usedom, Capt. von (I. G. N.), 
 
 177, 189 
 Ussuri Railway, 64, 197 
 Ussuri River, 69, 70 
 
 Viceroys : of Canton, 4, 5, 6 ; of 
 Chili, 36, 166, 170; of Huk- 
 wang, 23, 26, 107, 108 ; of 
 Szechuan, 123, 128, 130 
 
 Visiting cards, 109 
 
 Vladivostock, 64, 71, 72, 73, 196, 
 198, 205,207, 211 
 
 Volga River, 211 
 
 Wall, The Great, 41, 53 
 War, God of, 173 
 Warren, Mr. Pelham, 22, 103 
 Warsaw, 211 
 Water Fort, 186 
 Wei-hai-wei, 163, 196 
 Wei-hai-wei Regiment, 26, 195 
 Wei Ho (Chili), 29, 34, 35. ^5°' 
 
 156 
 Wei Ho (Shensi), 139, 142, i44. 
 
 Weihui, 29, 34, 35, 153. 156 
 West River, 3, 7, 15 
 White wax, 119 
 Wuchang, 23, 25 
 Wuhu, 107 
 
234 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Yablonoi Mountains, 136, 
 
 204 
 Yalu River, 52, 80 
 Yamen, The Tsungli, 41, 43 
 Yangbans, 88, 89 
 Yangtsun, 37, 169, 176, &c. 
 Yangtze Kiang, 7, 15, 17, 18, 
 
 20, 22, 23, 57, 106, III, 122, 
 
 136, 151, iss 
 Yellow River, 29, 31, 32, 34, 
 
 150, 151, &c. (see Hoang Ho) 
 
 Yen Hsiep, 13 
 
 Yenisei River, 210 
 
 Yinko (Ne^chwang), 57 
 
 Yinza, 77 ^ 
 
 Yochow, 1S8, 109, no 
 
 Yuen-shi-kai, H. E. 158, 194 
 (see also Governor of Shan- 
 tung) 
 
 Yunnan, 114, 120, 129, 132 
 
 Zea River, 69 
 
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