'MF '"' G^ OF THE ' ^ '"> ■-'^ V <;- L '1 .tl»HIHIIIItlUIIIIIIIIIIIIII{1llllllllllinillllllIlllllllllllll!{!l!!ll!Jiilllli GTBcHai^ M A CORNELL a^oY) UNIVERSITY j)o^ LIBRARY IB Cornell University Library DS 13.B56 The teeming millions of the East :being 3 1924 006 564 920 ..^^^ e.^^^.^-^ *^^^^ 0^ .^^'h :0 ^# e,o^^^^ :,.^^^ »^' ^' er Cornell University Library The original of tliis 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/details/cu31924006564920 THE TEEMING MILLIONS OF THE EAST: BEING A POPVLAR ACGOVNT OF THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. THE HISTORY OF EXISTING AND EXTINCT NATIONS, TIIEIR ETHNOLOGY, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS. G. T. BETTANY, M.A., B.Sc, F.L.S. it]; iitang JIhtsttatiDns. WAED, LOCK AND CO., LONDON, NEW YORK, AN!) MELBOURNE. 1889. [All rights reserved."] / /o/ INTEODUCTION. TD EYOND all otlier continents, Asia is full of varied in- -*—' terest to the inquiring and reflective mind. By its vast extent, its diversity of climates and physical features, its variety of population, its scattered tribes, its mighty empires and their wonderful history, its strange supersti- tions, its profound moral teachers, and its powerful reli- gions, the Orient continent appeals in succession or in combination to the most far-reaching of our faculties and sympathies. Its historic records go back farther than those of any continent, unless perhaps Egyptian records may claim something like equality in this respect, and Egypt may almost be regarded as an annex of Asia. The prehistoric remains of Asia are as yet little known, but from what we already know of them early man in Asia passed through the same stages of using rough and polished stone implements for long ages as in Europe ; and it may be inferred from the great age of historic re- cords in Asia that the first men lived in Asia at an earlier period even than in Europe. Instead of displaying the almost exclusive sway and progress of a single group of peoples, like Europe, Asia has been the theatre in which the Semite, the Aryan, and the Mongol have developed, have varied, have struggled with one another, and have thrown off" branches which, as peaceful emigrants or conquering hordes, have vi INTRODUCTION. invaded more or less all the other continents and islands. What the ancestors of the American Indians, the Poly- nesians, the Malays, and the Finns probably did long ages ago, the Turks, the Jews, the Arabs, the Hindus, and the Chinese are doing in various ways in our own day. The last three in particular are so prolific and hardy, that they seem capable of supplying a population for the entire globe, and their spread in many regions has excited keen hostility. As Asia has been the cradle of peoples, so it has been the cradle of religions. In many respects the Asiatic is more religious than the European, and profoundly be- heves in the existence of superior and invisible powers. We are compelled to allow that nearly all great religions have arisen in Asia. Ancestor-worship and reverence for the spirits of the dead, combined with nature worship, are at the bottom of the varied developments of Confu- cianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Vedism, and Hinduism, while on them profound philosophers have grafted many of the most important moral teachings known to man- kind. Buddhism and Zoroastrianism are extremes of • divergence from primitive Aryan beliefs. It is remark- able that in Asia there have arisen the three great reli- gions which have spread far beyond the confines of the race which gave them birth. Buddhism, a Hindu pro- duct, has made its home among such divergent people as the Japanese and the Tibetans. Christianity, at first purely Semitic, is professed by multitudes of Aryans, besides large numbers of Negroes, Polynesians, Melane,- sians, and a considerable number of Asiatics. Mahomet- anism, equally Semitic in origin, is the religion of Turks, Persians, many Negroes and North Africans, Hindus, and Malays, It is evident, therefore, that nothing is more INTRODUCTION. vii interesting and indeed necessary for the intelligent mind than a study of Asia and its peoples. To add to all this, there is the vast subject of extinct civilisations. Greatly as Greece and Eome predominate with many minds, it can at least be said that Nineveh and Babylon and other sites in Asia present almost as remarkable results of human skill, energy, and invention, and show that peoples who were great long before Greece and Eome have left monuments as enduring as any. The full value of these remains cannot be gathered so long as the Turk blocks the way ; but what is already known makes us marvel at the engineering and archi- tectural skill, the astronomical knowledge, and the governing power displayed by early races in Persia and Syria. Their libraries, only partially exhumed and deci- phered, have afforded us history and legend of first-rate value, and have shown that a primitive record on baked clay can outlast any manuscript ; whether our books will endure as long may be questioned. The historical student can never be satisfied until everything possible has been ascertained about these mighty races of bygone days. Then, too, we find in scattered localities, as in Cam- bodia and Japan, remnants of races still living, who by their Aryan and Caucasian features startle the tra- veller, and seem to indicate that the Aryans once pervaded Asia as they have since conquered all Europe. Survivors of a still earlier time are multitudes of tribes in the hill countries of India, Further India, China, and on the inhospitable steppes of Siberia. While, on the one hand, they excite melancholy when we think of their low organisation, their superstitions beliefs, their brutish habits ; on the other they may inspire us with cheerful- ness when we reflect how far other portions of the human vhi INTRODUCTION. race have risen above them, and how much possibility there is for mankind, "Why more people have not risen higher, why so many remain degraded, we must leave to the moral philosopher to determine if he can. What is the future outloot for Asia, is a more practical subject for consideration. In modern times Russia has spread with marvellous energy over the whole north and much of the west of the continent, and has shown great colonising ability. With an energy and determination equal to that of British and American pioneers, her soldiers have traversed deserts and overcome obstacles which the proud and fierce natives of Turkestan and other lands deemed impregnable ; her travellers have by their voyages and travels raised their country to a high rank in scientific exploration ; her engineers have carried a railway from the Caspian to Bokhara and Samarcand, once sealed to all but Moslems. The British power has steadily extended throughout and beyond Hindustan, dominating Afghanistan and Beluchistan, and conquering Assam and Burmah. The French have begun to control and develop Tonkin, Cochin-China, Annam, and Cam- bodia. The spread of these nations and the decay of the Persian and Turkish powers suggest that at no distant date much of south-western Asia may fall under Euro- pean influence, if not direct administration. Only the Arab appears to have sufficient energy, independence and resolution, aided by the nature of his domain, with its heat and frequent deserts, to successfully withstand the foreigner. But in Eastern Asia matters are very diff"erent. Boih China and Japan appear very unlikely to fall under the control of foreign powers, however much they may in time yield to foreign influence, Their old and tenacious INTRODUCTION. ix civilisations are so firmly establislied in some things, that they present the utmost contrast to Europe. In others they are so far similar or superior to Europe, that they have nothing to gain by adopting "Western methods. In intelhgence and flexibility of power the Japanese are un- like any people who have come in contact with Europeans. They have shown a celerity in adopting new ideas only paralleled by the United States. They have plunged at once from aristocratic and monarchical rule into consti- tutional government, from Orientalism into the life of western Europe. "Whether the pace is not too rapid to last, or whether originality will survive when imitation has done its utmost, is what may be feared as to Japan. China presents a different problem. The most rooted of all nations in ancient observances and mental attitudes, this people by its extraordinary multitude seems to defy outsiders to make an impression. The money of the outsiders however has come to be exceedingly valuable to the Chinese, and ultimately no doubt will prove to them the value of railways and telegrams. But we may expect that whatever the Chinese do will be marked by that originality of impress which stamps their language, their literature, their examination system, and their general procedure. If Europeans will be content to regard Asiatics as fellow human beings, with a history behind them which ac- counts for their peculiarities, and will remember that the Asiatic has as good grounds for surveying with astonish- ment or scorn the special features which characterise Europeans in face, mode of thought, and conduct as they have for so regarding the Asiatic ; if they will believe that they may have as much to learn from the Oriental as he from them, — the greatest benefits may flow from their X INTRODUCTION. intercourse. Already Europe lias conferred the blessings of peace and increased numbers and wealth on vast regions of Asia, and has progressed to an appreciable extent in the path towards understanding and sympa- thising with Asiatic needs and feelings. Thus it is hoped that a cordial welcome may be given to this volume dealing with so large a portion of " the "World's Inhabitants." CONTJliNTS. I. Tjie Early Inhabitaxts and History or Ixdm . 1 II. The Eueopeaxs is Ixdia 18 III. TuE Deavidi.vx Peoples op Ixdlv .... 2D lY. TuE Kolaeian Peoples op India .... 4-j V. TuE INHABITANTS OP CeYLOX, ETC 54 "VI. TuE Hindus G7 YII. The Hindus {continued) 01 VIII. The Tibeio-Burjiese and Tibetans . . . .110 IX. The Siamese, Cochin Chinese, Cambodians, i.ic . 137 X. The Chinese 104 XI. The Japanese 198 XIT. The Mongolians, Kashgaeians, etc. . . . 227 XIII. The Inhabitants op Siberia .... 235 XIV. The Inhabitants op Turkestan .... 255 XV. The Peesians 270 XVI. The Afghans, Baluchis, etc. ..... 287 XVIL The Caucasians, Geoegians, Lesoiiians, etc. . . 301 XVIII. The Inhabitants op Turkey in Asia— I. . . 321 XIX. The Iniivbitants op Turkey in Asia— If. , . 342 XX. The Arabs • 35G XXI. Distribution op Asiatic Kaces .... 3G7 THE TBBMINa MILLIONS OF THE EAST. CHAPTER I. €\)t ®aiip Jnftalji'tants! antr W^tovv of InUia* India a museum of races— PreMstorlc races— Arrival of the Aryans —The aborigines they found there— Faculties and possessions of the Aryans — Progress of the Aryans— The Aryan organisation and beliefs — Their view of a future state— Callings and castes— Influence of the priests- Rise of castes — Supremacy of the Brahmans— Code of Manu— Rights and duties defined— Adaptation to lower classes— Rise of Buddhism- Story of Gautama— Mission of Gautama— Spread of Buddhism— Asoka's council— Buddhist fluctuations — Decline of Buddhism In India — Alex- ander the Great and India— Alexander's retirement — Seleucus and Chandra Gupta— Megasthenes— Western influence on India— MongoUau conquerors— The Jats— First Mahometan Invasion— Sultan Mahmoud— Mohammed Ghori — Allah-ud-din-KhilJl — Tamerlane — Baber — King dom of Madura — Empire of Vija- yanaga — Conquests of Baber — Reign of Akbar— Akbar's civil and religious policy — Shah Jahan— The Ta] Mahal— Conquests of Aurung- zebe— Rise of the Mahrattas— Nadir Shah— The Nawabs and Maharajahs. • TNDIA," says Sir W. W. _L Hunter, " forms a great museum of races, in wliich we can study man from his lowest to his i^^ia a highest stages of museum of culture." So, ''^''^^■ also, the history of India is Uke an epitome of history, for it has successively passed stages, through nearly all 2 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. and come in contact witli nearly all great conquering po-wers. The Eussian is still held back, but who can say how near the attack may be ? When we first discern anything of human life in India, we find remains of a palseolithic people in the Nerbuddah PreMstoric Valley, where their agate knives and rough races. flint implements have been unearthed, together with remains of extinct species of elephant and hippo- potamus. Neolithic tribes, using polished flint imple- ments, succeeded them, destitute of all metals. Then later, approaching the historic period, there are rude stone circles, upright slabs, and mounds, all of them sepulchral, the remains in which show that the makers had iron weapons and earthenware vessels, and wore ornaments both of copper and gold. Some of the later of these burial-places have yielded Roman coins. These peoples have left no other sign of their existence ; and it is impossible now to be certain to which of the now remaining aborigines of India they were related. The earhest traces of India in history or hterature indicate to us the arrival in India of the Aryan fair- Arrivaiof skinned races from Central Asia, entering by tue Aryans, the north-west. Then arose a fierce and long- continued struggle, animated by strong race-antagonism ; for the new comers represented the stock which has proved itself highest throughout the world, the compar- atively fair-skinned, constructive, poetic Aryans. They were proud of their finely-shaped features and fair com- plexion, so much so that their Sanscrit word for colour (vama) came to mean race, or caste. Their efiic, the iiig Veda, terms the Indian aborigines Dasyas (enemies), and Dasas (slaves). They evidently could not endure the ugly features of their predecessors, whom they termed noseless or flat-nosed, and whom they contemned as gross feeders on flesh, raw-eaters, without'sgods and without THe abort- i^ites. Yet notwithstanding such contempt, gtnes tuey the aboriginal peoples were" numerous enough and persistent enough to remain in large num- bers, to mingle extensively with the conquerors, — so much so that five-sixths of the present population are of EARLY HISTORY OF INDIA. 3 mixed origin, — to ultimately form alliances in some cases with tlie Aryan invaders, and even to furnisli rulers for powerful Indian kingdoms. But many of them have never put on even a superficial civihsation. They have been driven into the hills, forests, and jungles, and have successfully resisted all attempts to civilise them. They form the most interesting and varied collection of primi- tive races, perhaps, which can be found on the globe. But they have httle part in history, and must be de- scribed after the general history of India has been reviewed. The Aryans brought to India a more powerful physique, nurtured on the lofty table-lands of Central Asia, and much greater intellectual attainments than„ „. ° T 1 . T 1 ii 1 Facilities and were possessed by those whom they conquered, possessions They had many cattle, cultivated grains, were of tiie acquainted with cooking, and preferred cooked ^^^' food to raw, wore clothes, which they wove and sewed themselves, and had some metals and metallic imple- ments. The extent of their affinity to modern Europeans may be partly indicated by the fact that the important words "father," "mother," "brother," "sister," "widow," and several numerals are essentially the same in Sanscrit and in most European languages. The immigration of the Aryans into India was a gradual process, to be measured by centuries, long before the Christian era. They conquered, settled, progress of and multiphed ; and as their numbers or their ^^^ Aryans, enterprise increased, they pressed onwards, in time mastering the Punjab, the base of the Himalayas, and then extending to the Ganges valley. The Eig Veda, their ancient hymnal, in its successive portions, exhibits the stages of their settlements, from their first entry into India to their arrival, before 300 B.C., at the delta of the Ganges. By the second century a.d. they were estab- lished at the extreme south of India. At the period of the Vedas, caste in its modern sense was unknown. The father of each family was its priest ; and the chieftain was the priest of his tribe, only on special occasions calling in some one specially skilled to 4 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. conduct the sacrifice. Marriage was sacred, and ■women The Aryan "were honoured ; widows were not burned on organisation their husbands' funeral piles. They believed andbeuefs. -^^ divinities which represented the great powers of nature, such as the Father-heaven (Dyaush- pitar), equivalent to Zeus and Jupiter ; as well as Mother- earth; the Encompassing Sky (Varuna); and Indra, the aqueous vapour bringing fertihsing rains ; Aghi, the god of fire ; the storm gods, and many others. A conspicuous feature of these gods was their friendly propitious nature. The fierce gods of the later Brahmanism were unknown in the Rig Veda. The Aryans introduced cremation on the funeral pile, as their mode not merely of getting rid of a decaying body, but as accomplishing the liberation of man's immortal part from the body. "As for his unborn part," they sang, "do thou, Agni, quicken it with thy heat ; let thy flame and thy brightness quicken Their view ^^ ! convey it to the world of the righteous." of a future In beheving in the soul's immediate passage state. ^Q ^ g^j^^g q£ blessedness and reunion with those loved ones who had preceded it, they anticipated the widely prevalent behef and aspiration of their kin in Europe. The Veda represents to us the Aryans as divided into numerous callings : husbandmen, carpenters, blacksmiths, cauings coppersmiths, goldsmiths even. Cattle formed and castes, their principal wealth, and they ate beef and drank fermented liquor, offering also the same to their gods. Although skilled in the use of the plough, and already forming villages and towns rather than encamp- ments, the taste for wandering was still on them, and impelled them to travel. As they went on conquering, they became changed from groups of loosely-connected tribes into nations under kings and priests ; and the great system of caste was developed. Some castes no doubt owed their origin to the priests. The great sacrifices being conducted by those specially Influence of skilled, famihes of such priests arose, among the priests, whom the hymns and sacrificial rites were transmitted from father to son, and they became of EARLY HISTORY OF IISDIA. 5 special importance to the tribes. " That king," says the Veda, " before -whom marches the priest, he alone dwells ■well-established in his own house ; to him the people bow down. The king who gives wealth to the priest, he will conquer ; him the gods will protect." The potent prayer was termed "brahma," and he who offered it, "brahman." It is easy to understand that the brahmans magnified their office, developed their ritual, and acquired varied assistants, who, from their functions becoming stereotyped and their offices hereditary, formed castes. But other castes simultaneously grew up. The superior warriors, who were Kshattriyas, " companions of the king," and have now come to be called " Rajput," or of royal descent, became markedly distinct from Kige of the husbandmen, or Vaisyas ; and the two castes, classes ceased to intermarry. But both these were far superior to the Dasas, or black slaves, whom they con- temned as " once-born," whereas they themselves were " twice-born," and alone might attend the religious festivals. As time went on, there was a remarkable struggle for supremacy between the warrior caste and the Brahmans, who claimed that only members of their families could be priests, and taught that they were divinely supremacy appointed priests from the beginning, having of the come forth from the mouth of God. In some Brahmans. tribes the Brahmans gained undisputed supremacy, espe- cially in the land of the great river valleys of the (ianges and Jumna, and were regarded as divinely inspired ; and when a king or ruler gained admission to their fraternity, they explained it as the reward of penances or as a mark of special divine favour. They developed a remarkable hterature, and concentrated in their hands aU rehgion and philosophy, with the principal arts and sciences as subsidiary spheres of activity. By their abihty and skill they succeeded in elevating themselves to the positions of highest influence, and impressed their language, their rehgion, and their laws throughout India. That the Brahman system had in it a wonderful suitability to the people it controlled, is evident from the fact that it has 6 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. lasted in various forms for tliree tliousand years, and now exhibits no signs of speedy downfall. It lias survived the assaults of Buddhism, of Greek, Mongolian, Ma- hometan, and British conquests, and it stUl supplies advisers to Hindu princes and teachers to the people. The Brahmans early saw the importance of codes of law, and of ascribing to them a divine origin; and in the Code of code of Manu, dating from about the fifth cen- Manu. - tury B.C., though portions are probably much older, and in the Yajna-Valkya, dating from the early times of Buddhism, they laid down rules to guide almost the whole of the cu-cumstances of life. No opportunity was lost of inculcating mental cultivation on Brahmans, and of insisting on the reverence, obedience, and honour to be shown to all educated Brahmans. No slight amount of skill was evinced in the way in which the usages of the Aryans were thus gathered into fixed codes. Domestic and civU rights and duties were defined, the adminis- Kigiitsaiici tration of justice regulated, and systems of duties purification and penance laid down. The defined, permissible employments of the various castes were distinctly presented, and strict rules laid down about non-intermixture of the castes, the higher being forbidden to eat, drink, or hold social intercourse with the lower, who were punished heavily for even touching those of higher caste. Yet even at this early period a vast multitude of people of mixed origin had arisen, who had to be assigned to special castes ; and this has continued to the present day, when there are at least three hu.ndred distinct castes. While thus founded on intellectual power sanctioned by supposed divine authority, the Brahman system really Adaptation appealed intensely to individual prejudices and to lower exclusiveness, while yet capable of recognising classes, changes in time and space. The Brahman ■^ti legislators beheved in preserving local and tribal laws and customs. The higher castes estabhshed and pre- served themselves as peoples within peoples, by obeying laws addressed to higher intelligence, while they carefully concihated people in lower stages of civilisation. EARLY HISTORY OF INDIA. 7 Nevertlieless Brahman exclusiveness and severity be- came too oppressive to retain undisputed sway ; and the occurrence of able rehgious and social teachers Eisa of in other castes than theirs was at last most Buaanism. conspicuously signalised in the person of the great origin- ator of Buddhism. "We can only briefly refer here to the marvellous career of Gautama, born about 560 B.C., the son of the ruler or rajah of the tribe called Sakya, in the district of Gorakhpur (Oude). At the age of story of twenty-nine he went into a seven years' retire- Kautama. ment, which became known as " The great renunciation." He first studied under able Brahmans and then went into the jungle on the north of the Yindhya range, and with five companions, practised the severest asceticism for seven years. At last he learnt, as he beheved, the true way to secure a pure heart, through overcoming impurity, envy, and hatred. Self-righteousness was the last enemy to be conquered, and universal charity was to crown the whole. Gautama, thus charged with truth, felt that he had become the Buddha, the Enhghtened One ; and he issued forth to proclaim this truth to a world largely dis- satisfied wi^h the Brahmans, and ready to be elevated. His commanding presence, noble countenance, Mission of and deep, thrilling voice were in his favour ; Gautama, and his earnestness gained multitudes of converts. He was able to caU to his side multitudes of women, by offering to the young widow, the neglected wife, and the cast-off mistress an honourable career as nuns. We cannot detail here the resulting doctrines of Buddhism, but simply trace their general and pohtical influence on the Indian peoples. It is well known that Buddha, after his death, in 481 B.C., was deified, and his birth was alleged to be a voluntary incarnation. The Hindus now regard him as an incarnation of Vishnu ; and the Eoman and Greek Churches have admitted him as a saint to their calendars. At present Buddhism is professed by one-third of the human race. During the two hundred years following his death, Buddhism spread widely over Northern India. About 244 B.C., Asoka, king of Maghada, or Behar, adopted 8 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Buddhism as a state religion, supported 64,000 Buddhist priests, founded many monasteries, and sent Buddiism. out many missionaries. He held a great council Asoka's to settle the doctrines of Buddhism, and form an authoritative collection of the sacred books. Multitudes of his edicts, engraved on rocks or pillars, were spread throughout India, Thus Buddhism became a great system. Asoka was almost its second founder, and to him its greatest missions were due. Here it must suffice to say that Buddhism never entirely superseded Brahmanism in any large district of India ; rather, the two existed side by side. Buddhism having the greater number of followers, for at least a thousand years. Cer- tain kings — such as Kanishka (about a.d. 40), who reigned over North-western India and adjoining countries, Irom Yarkand and Khokand to Agra and Sind ; Siladitya, in the seventh century, who reigned from the Punjab to EuddMst North-eastern Bengal, and from the Himalayas fluctuations, to the Nerbudda— Were especially Buddhistic ; while, at times, reaction or stagnation occurred. A pre- dominant feature of Buddhism — its spread by peaceful persuasion only — may have led to its ultimate decline in India, when we consider how Mahometanism was intro- duced and spread by the sword; but it is more likely Decline of ^^^^ corruptions of practice and decline of faith Buddiism were the causes. Yet again and again we hear in India. q£ monarchs giving up their treasures and their royal garments for general distribution, by way of ful- filling the Buddhist injunctions to almsgiving. But from the seventh to the ninth centuries, Brahmanism again became predominant. Europeans did not early learn much about India. Homer knew tin by an Indian name (G-reek, 'kassit§ros; Sanscrit, kastira) ; Herodotus knew something of the Alexander Indus ; but the first authentic information was the Great obtained by the learned companions of Alex- and India, j^j^^g^, ^j^g Q^^g^^^ ^q27 b.c), and some portion of it is repeated by Strabo, Pliny, and Arrian. Alexander, it is well known, penetrated into India, reaching the Hydaspes (now the Jhelum), finding the Punjab divided EARLY HISTORY OF INDIA into petty kingdoms. Porus, tlie most warlike of tke kings, opposed liim at a bend of the Jhelum, fourteen miles -west of Chilianwallah, but was defeated and re- duced to submission. Later, Alexander marched to the Hyphasis (now the Beas), not fai' from Sobraon, where he halted, finding his troops worn out and their spirits WOMEN OF TABIOnS CASIJSS : MiDBiS. broken. He had to give up his idea of reaching the Ganges, and retrace his steps, having subjugated no pro- vince, although he had founded several cities, some of which, as Patala, the modern Hyderabad, the AiexaDder-a capital of Sind, remain to this day. But he left retirement, garrisons and satraps behind him; and the alliances he 16 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. had made, and ttie rulers he had set tip in various states and towns, preserved his influence ; so that, from this time, the West always had influence in India. Soon after Alexander's departure, Chandra Gupta, an adventurer exiled from the Granges valley, managed to Seieuous found a kingdom in Magadha, or Behar, with and Chandra its capital at Pataliputra (now Patna), and ulti- Gupta. mately extended his sway to the North-west. Seieuous, Alexander's sticcessor in Syria, having consoh- dated his power, aimed at subduing Chandra Gupta," and recovering the Punjab. But after a fruitless war, he made peace, for five hundred elephants resigning his Indian claims, and giving his daughter in marriage to Chandra Gupta, and sending an ambassador, eg s enes, ]y;gga^g|;]^gjj^gg^ ^q ^}^q court of Patna (b.o. 306- 298). To him we are indebted for the best account of the Indians of his time. The castes, the large ntimber of kingdoms ; the village system, with its almost re- publican features, producing peace and order ; the valour, industry, honesty, truthfulness of the people ; the chastity of the women ; the absence of slavery ; all these the Greek, — not hereditarily disposed to speak well of for- eigners, — describes with admiration. In succeeding centuries the Syrian and Bactrian monarchs continued to exert considerable influence upon Western North-western India, either sending expeditions Influence or making treaties with local rulers. Not the on India. \q^^>^ important effects were those exercised upon Indian science and the arts ; Brahma?i astronomy and sculpture owing much to Greek teaching and ex- amples. But, before the Christian era, a new influence was brought to bear on India from the North. The doubtful, but probably Mongolian, Scythian, began to Mongouan advance southwards, and established a king- conquerors. (Jom in the Punjab in the second century b.c. These Scythians became prominent disciples of Buddha ; and their king, Kanishka, held the fourth Buddhist council, about a.d. 40; and a tradition developed that Buddha himself was of Scythian origin. He ruled from Yarkand to Agra. Numerous other Scythian conquerors EARLY HISTORY OF INdIA. li are related to have arisen ; and there seems to be no doubt that tlieir influence extended down to ™j, j ts the central provinces. It is even beheved by many that the Jats, who constitute nearly one-half of the inhabitants of the Punjab, are the same as the Getas, a well-known division of the Scythians. The invaders, however, suffered numerous reverses, and were never accepted with cordiahty by the Aryan or the aboriginal inhabitants. The unsettled condition of things, however, gave occasion to the aborigines in various localities to recover lost ground, and to set up again kingdoms which the Aryan invaders had destroyed. In fact, throughout vast territories, they were never displaced en masse, any more than the English were displaced by the Norman invaders. Before any nations professing Christianity could in- fluence India, the later religion of Mahometanism was destined to act most powerfully on the country. pjj.gt Mahomet only died in a.d. 632, and already in Mahometan 664 the first Mahometan invasion of the Punjab i^^asion. took place. Sind was conquered in 711 by an Arab army owing allegiance to the Caliph of Damascus ; biit their power did not last at this time longer than 760, when the Hindus drove them out. Sultan Mahmoud was the first great Mahometan con- queror of India. He succeeded as ruler of Afghanistan and Khorassan, at Ghuznee, in 997 ; and in suitan successive campaigns he led his armies seven- Mahmoud. teen times into the plains of India. The great battle of Peshawur rendered the Punjab a Mussulman province for nearly 800 years. In 1021, he marched into Grujerat, and plundered the celebrated temple of Siva at Somnath, himself destroying the idol. In the twelfth century, the last of his descendants was overthrown by an Afghan Mussulman leader, Allah-ud-din, whose nephew, Mohammed Mohammed Ghori, was the second great Ma- o^iori. hometan conqueror in India. He extended his sway from the Indus to the Brahmaputra, driving the Rajputs into the modern Rajputana. His viceroy, Kutab-ud-din, es- tabhshed himself as the first Sultan of Delhi. In 1294, THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. AUah-ud-din Khilji, the third great Mahometan cou- AUah-ud-din queror, raised himself to the throne of Delhi, KWijt and carried his conquests throughout India. He gained many victories in Eajputana,- and thoroughly subdued the Deccan and Gujerat. At the end of the next century, the Mongolian, or Mogul, empire — still Mahometan — was preluded by the advent of the famous invader Timor, or amer ane. ^^■^q-^\^t^q_ The Afghan rulers had worn out their power by misgovernment, and Timor found India comparatively an easy conquest. Yet he did not remain, being probably too restless. It was not till 1525 that Baber, the fifth Mahometan con- queror, invaded India, and founded the Mogul empire, which endured, though only in partial vigour, till 1867. Referring briefly to the condition of Southern India during the Mahometan invasions of the North, we find Kingdom of the powerful kingdom of Pandya seated at Madura. Madura, not far from Cape Comorin, and main- taining an uninterrupted succession of sovereigns for nearly a thousand years. The numerous Dravidian EARLY HISTORY OF INDIA. 13 peoples, speating Tamil or allied languages, were long little troubled by Mahometan invasions. The Hindu empire of Vijayanagar held general sway over Empire of the south Deccan from the twelfth to the Vijayanagar. sixteenth centuries ; but the capital city of that name was at last captured and destroyed, in 1565, by the united Mahometans of the Deccan, who had founded several kingdoms within it. Vast ruins still exist at Vijayanagar of temples, fortifications, and bridges, show- ing how great it once was. The Mahometan, sultans of the Deccan did not acknowledge the sovereignty of the Afghan line seated at Agra and Delhi, and remained independent till conquered by Aurungzebe, in the seven- teenth century. In referring to the empire of Timor, Baber, Akbar, etc., it is best to use the term Mogul,* or Moghul, by which it is so widely known, although we do not insist on the special MongoKan origin of these conquerors. Baber was bom in 1482, at Farghana (Khokand), on the Jaxartes, and at the age of twelve became, by his father's death, successor to his share of Abu Said's dominions in Turkes- tan. At fifteen, he had already taken Samarcand, only * The " Cyolopsedia of India" (by Surgeon- General Edward Balfour), third edition, 1885, states that the term Moghul, derived from Mongol, was especially applied to the sovereigns of Delhi of the house of Timor, although they were equally at least of Turk descent, and presented in their appearance entirely Turkish cha- racteristics. But Hindus apply this term, as also " Turk," to all Mahometans except the Afghans, whom they designate Pathans ; and Moghulai is used to distinguish Mahometan laws and territories from those of the Hindus and the British. Each of the successive Emperors of Hiudostan was known to Europe as the Grand Moghul; nevertheless, the father of Baber was a C'hagtai Turk, who spoke and wrote in Ohagtai Turki, and never alluded to the Moghuls but with contempt and aversion. His mother is said to have been a Moghul woman ; but he said that the horde of Moghuls had uniformly been the authors of every kind of mischief and devastation. Moghul, in India, is at present applied to, and is indifferently used by, persons of Persian or Turk descent, though the former race assume also the title of Mirza, while the descend- ants of the civilians and soldiery from High Asia, whom Baber and others brought into India, have the tribal title of Beg, also that of Agha or Aga. 14 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. to lose it again in one hundred days. After a most Conquests adventurous career, and many reverses, in 1504 of Baber. lie took Cabul ; but in 1514 he had lost all his possessions but Bactria, and began to turn his attention to India, claiming the Punjab as part of the conquests of his ancestor Timor. In 1526 he totally defeated the army of the last Afghan Sultan of Agra, at Panipat, soon taking Delhi, Agra, and Gwahor. He extended his empire considerably over Northern and Central India, but died in 1530. In spite of his predominantly warlike character, Baber found time to keep a diary, and to com- pose many poems. He also largely occupied himself in making roads, reservoirs, and aqueducts, and paid much attention to the introduction of new fruits. Akbar, the celebrated grandson of Baber, was born in 1542, and succeeded his father, Humayun, in 1556. His Reign of reign (1556-1605) just overlapped that of our Akbar. own Queen Elizabeth. He gradually extended his dominion over the whole of North India, then into Eajputana, Orissa, and Berar, thus ruling over a larger Akbai'B civil portion of India than had ever before been and religious ruled absolutely by one man. But Akbar's policy, fame rests largely on his successful civil ad- ministration, by which he combined his own soldier leaders and the native Hindu princes into one nobility, and extracted a larger revenue from the land than the British do now. This was due to his adopting a gradu- ated tax, according to the value of the land ; but it is surprising that he should have been able to exact one- third of the gross produce. Akbar's favourite wife was a Eajput ; another wife is said to have been a Christian. This indicates that he had learned religious toleration ; and, in fact, he went so far as to doubt the truth of his Mahometan faith, and to introduce a new eclectic religion of his own, formed of the best features of the religions known to him. "In this strange faith," says Sir W. W. Hunter, " Akbar himseli was the prophet, or rather, the head of the church. Every morning he worshipped the sun in public, as being the representative of the Divine Soul that animates the universe, while' he was himself INDIAN GIBLS DAHOINO BBFOBE A MAHAEAJAH, 15 i6 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. worsliipped by the ignorant multitude." He died on the 13th. October, 1605, and was buried in the magnificent mausoleum he had buUt at Sikandra, near Agra. Shah Jahan, grandson of Akbar, was the next notable ruler of the Mogul empire ; he reigned from 1628 tiU 1658, when he was deposed by his son, Aurung- ShahJaJian. ^g^^_ Shah Jahan was the founder of the modem city of Delhi, where he erected the celebrated throne in the form of a peacock with a spread tail, at a The Taj cost of six milHons sterling. At Agra he bixilt Mahal the marvellous Taj Mahal, a mausoleum of white marble for his favourite wife Mahal, at which twenty thousand workmen worked for twenty years ; also the Palace and the Pearl Mosque of Agra, and many other magnificent public works. Aurungzebe, who reigned from 1658 to 1707, was the first of the Mogul emperors who conquered the extreme Conquests of South of India, after numerous campaigns Aurungzehe. against the Mahometan Sultans of Bijapur, which fell in 1686, and Golconda, taken in 1687. Aurung- zebe's capital was at Delhi, where it remained till the fall of the empire. During his time the Mahratta con- Eiseofthe federacy first began to attain importance. Mahrattas. They were a numerous Hindu race, of com- paratively low caste, centreing about Poonah, and ex- tending considerably along the west coast of Bombay, from Surat to Canara. Though always more or less independent, they did not become united until the seven- teenth century, under Sivaji, who was of Brahman descent, and who showed a remarkable power of uniting the Mahrattas and of making head against Aurungzebe ; and in the next century his successors, the Peshwas, extended their rule over the greater part of India, with governments at Grwalior, Kolapore, Nagpore, Indore, Gujerat, and Tanjore. We must only mention the in- vasion of Nadir Shah, from Persia, the sixth Nadir s a . gj^g^^^ Mahometan conqueror of India, in 1739. The Mogul army was defeated at Karnal, Delhi was sacked, and Muhammad Shah, the Mogul emperor, sub- mitted to Nadir. After this, the governors under the EARLV History of India. i'/ Moguls became more independent, and we liear more and more of the nawabs or nabobs (Mahometans), and the maharajahs (Hindus) ; while the Mahrattas held the western and central parts of the Deccan. CHAPTEB II. Vasco da Gama — Portuguese conquests— Albuquerque— Invasion of the Dutcli— Tie first Englishmen in India — First charter of the East India Company— Settlements in Surat and Bengal— Bombay ceded by Portu- guese—Presidencies formed— Dark prospects in 1686-89— Resolution to gain territorial sovereignty- The French in India— Duplets and Cllve— Siege of Aroot— Vicissitudes of Pondioherry— Calcutta formed— Tragedy of the Black Hole— Battle of Plassey— CUve's conquests and reforms— Rule of Warren Hastings— First Mysore war— ComwaUis— Second My- sore war — The Marquis WeUesley — The Mahratta wars— Wax with the Ghoorkhas— Lord William Bentlnck's governorship— Sind and Sikh wars —Second Sikh war -Introduction of railways, etc.- Hindu suspicions aroused— The Mutiny of 1857— East India Company abolished— Victoria, Empress of India. THE sea was tlie avenue tlirougli "whicli the Europeans ap- proached India; and the tardiness of maritime conquest long delayed their advent. Until Vasco da after the voyage of Gama. Yasco da Gama, the Indies remained for Euro- peans a vague and exciting region of fabulous riches and wonders, although Ibn Batuta, the celebrated Arab traveller of Tangier (ISO-i- 78), had lived in Delhi eight years, and had given an ac- count of it in liis travels, which however have not been published till the present THE EUROPEANS IN INDIA. 19 century. Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut, on the Mala- bar coast, on May 20, 1498, when Afghan Mahometans were ruling at Delhi and in Bengal, when there were five independent Mahometan kingdoms in the Deccan, and the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar was in the height of. its power. The Portuguese were not slow to form ideas of a great Indian empire ; and in 1500 they sent out an expedition under Cabral, the sum of whose instructions Portuguese was, " to begin with preaching, and, if that conquests, failed, to proceed to the sharp determination of the sword." Cabral established factories at Calicut and Cochin ; and in 1502 the King of Portugal procured from Pope Alexander II. a bull appointing him "lord of the navigation, conquests, and trade of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India." In 1509, Albuquerque became Portu- guese governor in India, and seized Goa, which Y ■ ■ ^ ■ l.^ ■ i? J.1 Alljuquerque. has ever since remamed m the possession 01 the Portuguese. Albuquerque also took Malacca, and opened up trade with Siam and the Spice Islands ; and from this period down to 1600 the Portuguese held the Indian and Oriental trade of Europe in their possession. Albuquerque endeavoured to gain the friendship of the Indian princes ; but in general the bigoted Catholicism of the Portuguese, and their hatred of Mahometans, led them to behave most tja'annicaUy and cruelly to the natives. The Dutch, before the close of the sixteenth century, successfully invaded the Oriental supremacy of the Portu- guese, and gradually expelled them from all invasion of their possessions but Goa. But the Dutch no ^'^^ Duton. more than the Portuguese were destined to maintain their sway ; indeed, they had no higher aim than securing monopolies, especially of spices ; and the English in turn supplanted them. The iirst Englishman apparently who visited India was Thomas Stephens, in 1679. jne first He was a Jesuit, and his letters to his father EngUshiuen greatly stimulated people to trade' with India i^i"y her side the skull of her late husband, and uses it as a treasure box. The Andamanese have no idea of a god, except that of an evil spirit that spreads disease. The natives of Little Andaman are still quite inaccessible to inter- course with strangers, showing unconquerable hostility. The Andaman language appears to approach some Dravi- dian and Burman dialects, but it is very poor in expres- sions, having no numerals. The inhabitants of Little Andaman do not understand those of South Andaman. Their total number is perhaps now scarcely more than five thousand ; but they are of much importance as relics of an old and peculiar type of humanity. 64 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. The Nicobar Islands, lying between tlie Andamans and the North of Sumatra, have had a very chequered history. NICOBAK ISLiNDEKS. Again and again, from the time of the French Jesuit missionaries, Faure and Bounet (1711), European powers THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDERS. 65 have attempted to hold or to colonise them ; but their efforts were frustrated by the unhealthy climate The Nicouax or by the hostility of the natives. French, islanders. Danes, English, and Germans in succession failed, until, in 1869, the islands were added by the British to their Andaman Islands settlement. The Nicobar Islanders are not at all of the same race as the Andamanese. They are of middle height, and bronze or copper coloured. They neither tattoo nor paint their bodies, and do not smear themselves with ochre or clay. Their bodies are well proportioned, with slightly oblique eyes, small flat noses, large mouths, thick hps, and straight black hair. Thus it is evident that they are of Mon- goloid affinities, and are related to the Malays or to the Chinese. Their teeth and lips are blackened by excessive betel-chewing. The women flat- ten the heads of their infants. The men wear their hair long, the women shave their heads. The people are intensely vain, and greedy of European clothing. The English black silk hat is an almost price- less possession. They are lazy, cowardly, treacherous, and drunken. Their chief occupation is fishing; but they have plenty of other food, such as poultry, turtle, and many fruits. Their houses are built close to the shore, and raised upon pillars, being entered by a trap- door and ladder, the latter being drawn up at night. Each house is inhabited by a score or more of people ; it is beehive-shaped, thatched, and without windows. The Nicobarese greatly dread evil spirits, and are very NIOOBAE GIBLS. 66 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. superstitious. They have some idea of life after death, and imagine that the soul of the dead remains for a time near where it had Kved. They bury their dead, erecting over each grave a post on which the deceased's utensils are placed. They only have one wife, though she may be dismissed very readily. CHAPTER VI. Hindu religiousness — Mixed character— Great religious originators— The Brahmans and Rajputs— Lowered character of Brahmans— Priestcraft — Changes, with permanence— Physical characters of Brahmans— Distinct tribes— Varied employments— Keligious rites— Brahman dresS-Women's dress — The poor housewife — Low position of women— Early marriages — Widows— Female influence— Seclusion of women due to Mahometan- ism— Abolition of Suttee by the British— The Rajputs- A feudal aris- tocracy — The Hindu masses— Eclecticism of Hindu religion — Multitude of castes— Hindu village communities — VUlage organisation — Various village functionaries — Castes in towns — Hindu manipulation — Masterly worlcmanship — Intro- duction of factories — Criminal castes — Caste rules — Boycotting — Polluting glances — Caste a general Aryan feature— Character of Hindu villagers — Discordant views about Hindus — Village temples— Goddess worship— Self- immolation — Idol-festivals — Drowning and burying alive — Self-torture. IN considering the Hindu people generally, our first and our most per- manent impression should be, that the Hindus are extraordinarily rehgious in many ways, Hindu that their re- religiousness, ligions in their pure forms include many of the highest conceptions and A BAJPUl'S GBAYE. C7 68 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. principles, and tliat "multitudes of their peculiarities and practices are inseparably bound up with rehgion. A Mixed mixed people, compounded of pre-Aryans of character, more than one type, of Mongoloids to a cer- tain extent, and of Aryans and Semites of several different stocks, they have, in spite of numerous permu- tations, preserved among them by caste distinctions many comparatively pure specimens of ancient races, while yet being a people externally impressed with marked common characteristics of Orientalism. Their rehgious tempera- ment, their readiness to devote themselves to worship, Qjgg^t expensive, self-sacrificing, devout, and serious, religious is shown by their having originated such great originators, religions as Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Hindu- ism, with their many modifications, and their having so widely accepted Mahometanism. Although we cannot here dwell fully on the various Hindu religions, our remarks must have some reference to religions ; and first we will describe briefly the purer THe Aryans — the Brahmans and Eajputs. "We may Brahmans name Agni, the heat-giving god, as originally and Rajputs. |.j^Q most invoked of their gods, giving place to Indra, the rain-giver, as the Aryans progressed south- wards ; while in the Ganges valley the great Brahmanical triad became prominent — Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Siva the destroyer and reproducer. Originally, however, the Brahman creed was both a lofty and a bright one : even their sense of sin found a corre- sponding assurance of pardon on repentance. Many Hindus of the present day recognise Brahma as supreme creator, preserver, and destroyer of the universe, from whom all souls come, and to whom all return — infinite, eternal, incomprehensible. Yet among the mass of the people he is the least important of the deities. The Brahmans of the present day are the descendants of those in whom priestly functions became concentrated Lowered ^^ early times, or of others who, as a great character of privilege, obtained admission to their number. Brahmans. Notwithstanding the lofty theoretical religion which they have inherited, they have very largely lent THE HINDUS. 69 tliemselves to tlie superstitions and tlie abuses of Hindu- ism, mtli absurd mythologies and revolting rites. They undertake the conduct of sacrifices, the reading and teaching of the Yedas, and the making and accepting of gifts — a most important function in Oriental courtesy ; and Tvhere these occupations fail, they may occupy them- selves in certain trades. As has so often happened. THE HOLY CITY Or BEXAKES. however, the "craft" has gained upon the sacred pro- fession ; and, while abating no jot of their j^ggtcraft. sacred pretensions, the Brahmans engaged in money-making far outnumber those occupied in the temples, and the former look down upon the latter. So far is it from being true, that the Orientals never change ; they do change most vitally, only they pretend not to 7<5 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. know it; and by keeping up some external forms and Changes customs, tliey appear at first sight to be as un- witu ' ctanged as the lancelet or the lamp-sliell from permanence, ^^^^ immemorial. The brief history of India that we have given is a record of continual and niighty changes ; and whoever takes up the idea that Orientals do not change, will make a disastrous mistake. The Brahmans, as a rule, are tail, well-made men, of a Hght-yeUow colour. Very many of them are incapable of conversing in Sanscrit, and use the vernacular of the people among whom they are. Sir W. W. Hunter ("Indian Empire," 2nd edition, p. 96) well describes them as " the result of nearly 3,000 years of hereditary educa- tion and self-restraint ; and they have evolved a type of mankind quite distinct from the surrounding population. Even the passing traveller in India marks them out, alike from the bronze-cheeked, large-limbed, leisure-loving Physical E^jput or warrior caste of Aryan descent, and characters of from the dark-skinned, flat-nosed, thick-lipped Brahmans. j^^ castes of non- Aryan origin, with their short bodies and bullet heads. The Brahman stands apart from both; tall and shm, with finely-modelled lips and nose, fair complexion, high forehead, and somewhat cocoa-nut shaped skull — the man of self-centred refine- ment. He is an example of a class becoming the ruhng power in a country, not by force of arms, but by the vigour of hereditary culture and temperance. For their own Aryan countrymen they developed a noble language and hterature. The Brahmans were not only the priests and philosophers, they were also the lawgivers, the states- men, the administrators, the men of science, and the poets of their race. Their influence on the aboriginal peoples, the hill and forest races of India, was not less important. To these rude remnants of the fliat and bronze ages, they brought in ancient times a knowledge of the metals and of the gods. Within the historical period, the Brahmans have incorporated the mass of the backward races into the social and religious organisation of Hinduism." Brahmanical tribes are as much separated from one another as any other castes. Although some of them THE HIS D US. 71 may eat together, they may not intermarry. They are perhaps most niimerous in Kashmir, where Distinct the popnlation is most purely Aryan, and the tribes. Brahman pundits form an educated aristocracy, occupying all important offices in the State. They eat meat, and BBAHMANS. are excluded from the regular ten tribes of Indian Brah- mans. They are, it is confessed, much more secular and loose in their observances than the priestly Brahmans. They make their way, and show their cleverness, versa- tility, and energy all over North India. Indeed, in some 72 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. parts the Brahmans condescend to menial and servile Varied employments, saving their caste by refusing employments, something or abstaining from certain kinds of contact. They may, for instance, refuse to put their HIMALAYA TVOMEN. hands to the plough, while performing every other kind of agricultural labour. In Bengal they are largely em- ployed as clerks and accountants, in learned professions, as merchants and bankers, and show themselves acute, but not often energetic. THE HINDUS. 73 A modern orthodox Brahman wiU even now, according to Sir Monier AYilliams ("Religious Thought and Life in India"), devote several hours a day to rehgious Religious forms, including bathing, worship, and medita- ^*^^- tion at two services, worship by the repetition of the first words of every sacred book, oblation of water to the secondary gods, sages, etc., sacrifice to fire by fuel, rice, clarified bu.tter, etc., and worship of the gods in the domestic sanctuary. There is also a service before the midday meal, with offerings of food to all beings, in- cluding animals ; daily homage to men, by the oflering of food to guests and beggars ; daily visiting of the neighbouring temple, to bow to the idol; solemn fasts are kept twice a month ; a pilgrimage is made, whenever practicable, to some holy shrine ; and the last sacrifice is the burning of the body by the sacred fire originally lighted by husband and wife on the domestic hearth. The good Brahman always rises before sunrise ; but his wife rises long before him, looks after the children, prepares fuel, and pays attention to the family Braiiman clothing. The orthodox garments are of white ^^5^- caKco, an under or waistcloth tucked round the waist and reaching to the feet, the outer a shawl-like upper garment without seam from top to bottom. The turban is only worn by the better classes, the rest doing without any head-covering. In AVestern and Northern India the turban-cloth may be from twenty to fifty yards long, folded according to caste. The great majority never use shoes or stockings. The women's dress is a sort of bodice, covered with a garment often ten or fifteen yards long, and first tucked round the waist with many folds in fi-ont, then brought gracefully over the shoulder and frequently women's over the head. It is in jewellery of all kinds dress, that both men and women in India display most extrava- gance. Nose-rings, ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, or bangles, armlets, finger-rings, anklets, and toe-rings are worn in great profusion and variety. The children of the rich go naked till about the third year, while the poorer classes are naked tiU six or seven years old. 74 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. The poor housewife has to bruise rice for her family, or to grind some kind of grain. She attends personally TiG poor to the kitchen, making it a model of cleanliness iiouse\vife. ^nd purity — one of the features in "vvhich the Indians so markedly excel the Africans. A somewhat strange function of wives, is to keep all bad omens out A ' ZEBU CAEEIAGE. of the husband's way, or to contrive to make him look at something lucky in the early morning. Besides keeping the home, the chief function of an Low position Indian high-caste woman, is to give birth to of women, male children, who are desired more ardently perhaps than anywhere. To have no boys, is a shame THE HINDUS. 75 and_ a disgrace ; to have girls, is a misfortune. Tkis feeling results in the existence of one hundred millions of Indian women unable to read, deepl}' ignorant. A feeling exists, says Sir Monier AVilliams, in most Hindu families, that a girl who has learnt to read and write, has committed a sin which is sure to bring down a judgment upon herself and her husband. She will probably have to atone for her crime by early widowhood — the greatest possible misfortune. As a rule, girls are betrothed at three or four years old, sometimes earher ; married at six or seven to boys of whom thej' know nothing ; and they are Early taken to their future homes at the age of ten marriages, or eleven, often becoming mothers at twelve. They cease to have any but the smallest domestic interests or im- portance, being not even allowed to pronounce their husbands' names. All upper-caste women are practically prisoners in their zenanas, have no companionship with men, and lack every means or incentive to improvement or to a healthy moral tone. Can it be wondered at that a Hindu woman is often worn out and decrepit at thirty ? We have abolished the long-standing custom of suttee — the widow being burnt on the funeral pile of her dead husband. The widow with a family now ^j^o^g has a tolerable existence. But we have not abolished, the blank existence of the childless widow, forbidden to re-marry, and treated as a household drudge, with much contumely, so that often she would cheerfully resign herself to be burnt, if the law permitted. This same system gives rise to the opposite extreme of excessive female influence in numerous cases. The woman's craftiness and desire of power exist Female in India as elsewhere ; and, where the husband "i^iuence. is well-to-do, and a numerous family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren grows up around the heads of the family, there is scope for great exertion of influence by the female head, though she may have lost all per- sonal charms. Scheming has its full play in her proceed- ings ; superstition and caste observances find a stronghold in her ; and this secret life of the zenanas, closed to all 76 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. but the family, is an almost impregnable barrier to im- provement. Many English women tiirn their eyes to obtaining access to the zenanas, as affording the most hopeful chance of conferring education on and emanci- pating Indian women from the chains in which they are bound, too much with their own consent. It must be acknowledged, too, that not a few Indian women have THE EAO OF CUTOH (A EAJPUT). shown remarkable skill in management, even of the higher political order, and have wielded, and still wield, great power in many States. Strange as it may appear, the seclusion and isolation of women in India are no part of original Brahmanism. The laws of Manu, dating from about 500 B.C., show a THE HINDUS. 77 diminution of Kberty and social consequence, woman being declared unfit for independence. Even up to the Christian era women had many rights and privileges from THE THAKOKE SAHIB OF MORTI, GUJEKAT (a EAJPOT). which they were excluded at a later period ; and they were certainly not secluded nor veiled. It was the introduction of Mahometanism which gave the strongest 78 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. impulse in this downward direction. The practices in Seclusion of fS'Shion among the conquering race had a stamp women due of authority which propagated them exten- *" ''^ism ^*" sively among those who never became Ma- hometans ; and finally it came to be laid down that " a man both day and night must keep his wife so much in subjection that she by no means be mistress of her own actions. If the wife have her own free will, she will behave amiss. A woman must never go out without the consent of her husband. She must never hold con- verse with a strange man ; she must not stand at the door ; she must never look out at the window ; she must not eat till she has served her husband and his guests with food. She may, however, take physic before they eat. It is proper for a woman, after her htisband's death, to burn herself in the fire with his corpse." So deep was the feeling that the latter practice rested on insph'ed Abolition of authority, that the British for many years suttee by dared not forbid it. It was happily abolished the Britisb. in British India in 1829; but, even up to recent years, it has occasionally been repeated in native princi- pahties. Its abolition was facilitated by the discovery that some Brahman pundits had falsified a verse of the liig Veda, which was supposed to inculcate suttee, by inserting the word " fire " for a closely similar one mean- ing " first." The Eajputs, literally sons of rajahs or princes, repre- sent the warrior caste of the invading Aryans, and in numerous tribes extend very widely through India, being The EaiDuts ^°^^ numerous, however, in Eajputana. But ' their race origin is obscured at present by the fact that almost all Hindus who have taken to soldiering, whether Mahrattas, Jats, or aborigines, claim a Eajput origin. The advent of the Mussulmans was a great blow to the Rajputs, driving them from their ancient seats of power on the Ganges, to the much less attractive and valuable lands of Eajputana; and even here the Mahrattas gained predominance over them in the last century. Since the decline of the Mahratta power, the Eajputs have emerged into comparative brilliancy ; and in Eaj- THE HIXDVS. 79 putana at anj' rate constitute a powerful feudal aris- tocracy, -as also in the Xortli-east Punjab. In a feudal the Ganges valley they still form a considerable aristocracy, proportion of the cultivators of the soil, biit are verj- little distinguishable physically from the Brahmans. The modern Rajput is quite as strict a Hindu, and eveu more prejudiced, thau many Brahmans ; and many of them took a ■^-iolent part in the re- bellion of 1S57-S. Even the humbler Eajputs have a fine, dignified look, and their women are very handsome. The Rajptit is very proud of his warlike reputation and of his noble ancestry. Each clan marries into some other, marriage in the same clan being regarded as inces- tuous. There is much cehbacy and infanticide among them. As a speci- men of then' subdivisions, we may note, that in Oudh alone, in 1S71, there were found 439 Rajput clans or divisions of clans, some divisions having only one or two Kving members. Their great desire is to marry their daughters into a higher clan, and to avoid misalHances. In connection with the Rajptits, we may here refer to the Aiyan people of Cashmere (or Kashmh-), which is in many respects most interesting, both for its exquisite scenery and for its manufactures and people. After NATIVE OF OUDH. So THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. having been ruled by a Naga dynasty for a long period, it was annexed to the MognJ empire by Akbar in 1586. Later it was ruled over by Afghan chiefs, and in 1819 was taken by Eunjeet Singh. When we conquered the KAJPUT WOMEK, Sikhs, Ave appointed a Maharajah of Cashmere who was already ruler of the adjacent district of Jummoo, and who was of Eajpufc descent. The majority of the people of Cashmere have long been Mahometans. The Aryan in- THE HINDUS. 8t Habitants are among the finest and most Eviropean-look- ing of the Hindu races, their features lacking the pro- minent cheek-bones, thick lips, and other unpleasing elements of many Hindus. The women are also in many- cases beautiful, with something of a JeAvish appearance. In fact, those of the well-to-do classes are little darker than Italians. A large infusion of them are of Brahman descent, and retain their religion, while excluded from the Indian Brahman tribes, and distinguished from them by eating meat. Their pundits are extremely clever, and are known all over Northern India as an energetic race of of&ce-seekers. In and around Jummoo the Rajputs are the predominant race, of a slender type, with high shoulders, curiously bow-legged, and with turned-in toes. They are light-brown in complexion, with small features and frequently hooked nose. They are very particular in caste observances, conceited, avaricious, and grasping. They do not work at any trade, totiching a plough being considered a disgrace. Very many of the Brahmans, however, are cultivators. The mass of the Indian people, — something approaching two hundred millions, — are Hindus by religion, me Hindu with local and racial variations which priest- masses, craft has most skilfully adapted or has itself suggested. On the whole, the Hindu people may be said to be divided between the worship of the two gods — Vishnu, with other personal deities, faith in whom secures salvation, and Siva, a sterner deity, propitiated by works, penances, and austerities. But what is most remarkable in Hindu religion, is the extent to which it has absorbed and toler- ated almost all forms of religious ideas. Yet, Eclecticism with aU its inolusiveness, and notwithstanding of Hindu the long predominance of Buddhism, with its rsii6:io°- anti-caste doctrines, nothing is more remarkable than the extent to which caste regained its ground and increased its domination on the decline of Buddhism, showing that it rested on some basis very deeply seated in the Indian nature. Instead of the four early castes already referred to, a multitude of castes has arisen, partly through the inter- G 82 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. marriage of men of tlie liiglier castes -witli women of tlie Multitude lower, to whom distinctive occupations liave of castes, "been assigned, and partly by a tendency to form trades' guilds, which was almost equally influential in Europe in the middle ages, and has by no means died out among ourselves. Why it should have gained such remarkable ascendency in India we cannot teh. It may be simply because the struggle for existence was so keen, that each group protected itself as far as possible, and jealously excluded others. No doubt the skill acquired by those who exclusively devoted themselves to particular crafts, and whose sons showed special and increasing aptitude for the same pursuit, aided this powerfully. The word caste was a Portuguese term, indicating the divisions or creeds they found among the Indians. The Hindu word for caste is ' jat,' or ' birth,' which, however, has become identified with occupation ; and castes in this sense are now innumerable, and constantly being formed. Of course the vast majority of the Hindus are agri- culturists, and, according to some, castes have arisen essentially out of the primitive constitution of village Hindu communities. The Indian village or township, vuiage extending over three or four square miles of communities, territory, is in many respects a little republic ; and its organisation has lasted practically for more than two thousand years, testifying to the excellent elements it contains. If the agriculturist's implements are rude, his social system is complex and very satisfactory. The community has little to do with Government, beyond paying a joint produce-tax and obeying general vmage laws. It elects its own headman, or president, organisation, -^^q ^g the paid chairman and magistrate, pre- siding at the sittings of the local council, which often assembles under a large tree. He settles labour questions, payments, disputes, etc. Of course a notary and a priest are high in office in the village ; and the latter abates no jot of the pretensions of the priesthood. A schoolmaster is found in many villages, though the instruction he gives is very rudimentary ; but he has a good stock of punishments, at command for his scholars, such as stand- THE HINDUS. 83 ing on one foot for a long period, sitting on the floor with one leg turned up behind the neck, hanging head downwards from a branch of a tree, knocking various heads together, etc. The barber, who shaves viuage everj' man most regularly, cuts nails, cleans^'^°*'°''^^®^" ears, cracks joints, etc. ; the carpenter, sawing with both feet and hands ; the blacksmith, dairyman (who never makes cheese), weaver, shoemaker, potter — all are found in the villages, being regularly appointed or hereditary, and paid jointly by the council out of the village contri- butions. But it is in the towns that caste institutions present themselves in all their variety and rigour. There, all who practise a trade live in the same quarter of the town ; and it is possible to find whole streets castes in devoted to particular trades, and known as towns, bazaars. The shops are open to the street, the owners being seated on the ground among their commodities, and by no means resembhng English shopkeepers in their eagerness to sell their wares. At the same time the workers are to be seen plying their occupations in open workshops. The patience, perseverance, and endurance of these native workmen is simply marvellous. Hera they reap the full advantage of their fine, lithe, Hindu mani- supple fingers. If their manipulation is slow, puiation. it is also first-rate, though only in a few cases are modern scientific improvements introduced. Perhaps it is the European machine which is destined to brealv up caste more than any other cause. The steam-engine and the railway have already opened the eyes of the Hindu marv-ellously. He has taken to travelling as one of his gi-eatest enjoyments, and thus has learnt to migrate easily and cheaply in search of work. In spite of caste, he crowds the third-class carriages. The Indian workman's mastery over his materials is marvellous. English people are now famihar, through exhibitions, with the exquisite carvings, fihgree work, gold and silver weaving, inlaid-work, gold and masterly silver plate, embroidery, needlework, muslin, wonunansMp. and other manufactures of India. In architecture, in 84 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. clay-modelling, in miniature paintings on wood, talc, and ivory, tke Indians have shown mastery in forms quite original. But we cannot explain why they should not have shown similar tendencies to sculpture and painting in the forms generally known to us ; nor is it easily com- prehensible why there should be so little fine furniture \ — HINDU WOnSHIPPING THE 0ANGE3. in India. It is not for want of perseverance or ingenuity. In Benares Sir Monier Williams found a man making a set of twenty toy boxes, some lacquered, some coloured, all neatly constructed and furnished with lids, and fitting one inside the other, so that the smallest box in the in- terior of all was not bigger than the head of a knitting THE HINDUS. 85 needle. The price of the wHole nest of twenty boxes was not more than sixpence, although twenty-three different manipulations were needed to complete each box. In Benares the most exquisite patterns are graven on brass with no other tools than a hammer and a nail • and purchasers always weigh the articles and only pay a ti-iiie more than the cost of the brass ; and indeed, most things are made to order ; the keeping of large stocks is almost unknown. Nowadays, however, factories with Enghsh machinery have been established in introduction India ; and it is possible that Indian frugahty °^ factories, and low wages may revolutionise the cotton industry, and lead to oiu- being surpassed in cheapness of production by Eastern manufacturers, producing a similar effect on our cotton industries to that which cheap corn has produced upon farming in England. At any rate, the English must not send worthless and rotten goods to India, if it is desired to keep a hold on the Indian market ; for the Hindus have found them out. So far does the idea of caste, depending on birth, pre- vail in India, that there are certain criminal castes organised to prey on others. The thugs and criminal dacoits belong to these, with professed poisoners castes, and thie^'es. Most of the crime in India is committed by these criminal castes. There are even reHgious men- dicants who accept alms only from certain castes. Contact with certaia castes or people gives rise to ceremonial uncleanness, only to be purged by complex rites. A Hindu visitor to a European house ^^^ changes all his clothes on his return home, and purifies himself in a prescribed manner very repulsive to us. Every workman is clean in his own trade, that is, the actions necessary in his trade do not render him un- clean ; but no Hindu will use an article of earthenware which an English barbarian has touched. Such vessels are at once broken, and brass or copper utensils scoured with sand. Small brass pots are kept at roadside water- ing-places for people of caste ; but the out-caste people, or pariahs, must catch in their mouths the water that has passed through a bamboo, not daring to put their lips 86 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. close to it. Not one of the out-castes can enter tlie house of a Hindu ; but he stands at a distance and shouts any message he may have. If a man of caste offends against the rules of his caste, a meeting of the members, or of the council, is called, and, on proof of the offence, the offender is punished by a severe form of boycotting, which proves that the Irish were very late in the field in putting into practice that form of persuasion. Sir Monier Williams gives an instance that came under his own notice in 1875, of a man, a cloth Boycotting. ^?^°^,a^*'^^^o ^ad com- mitted the crime of marrying a widow of his own caste, who was sentenced to excommuni- cation. No one of his own or any other caste was to associate with him, eat with him, deal with him, or marry any of his children. No temple was to receive him as a worshipper ; if he died, no one was to carry his body to the burying- ground. The day after the sentence, he had the hardihood to go into the bazaar, but found, it impossible to transact business ; not even his debtors would pay him what they owed, nor would any one give evi- dence before the courts to support his claims. He was a ruined man, and had to leave the country. It is held, theoretically, that a Brahman is polluted if even the shadow of a low-caste man falls upon him, or if he even glances into his superior's pot. A Pouuting Brahman wiU turn aside and spit, if a low-caste glances, ^an passes him in the street ; but the low-caste man has his advantage in the unimportance to him of any BENGALI WOMAN. THE HINDUS. 87 such occurrences ; and if he accumulates a httle money, he can even hhe a high-caste man to work for him. Many a Braliman is thtis engaged as cooh. Instead of decrying caste as an odious Orientalism, we should recognise that it is a general Aryan feature, which has attained its greatest development in India, It is one of man's devices for preserving that which he caste an has gained in the struggle for existence — a Aryan conservative expedient. But, like all other of ^^'^^^s- man's devices, it may be abused and carried to extremes which are evil and retard progress. It readily becomes a tyranny; and those whose great care is to preserve caste, irrespective of merit, are really self-condemned to extinc- tion. However, caste in India is really giving way before European institutions and the spread of free thought ; but it may long continue to exercise a more or less real sway. All impressions of Hindu character must be founded on local and limited knowledge ; but the following is worth considering as the experience of an officer of long residence in Incha — Lieut.-Colonel Monier cuaraoter of "Williams, father of the distinguished Oxford Hindu professor who has given his life to making ■'^^n^^^'^s- India kno-vyn in this country. About sixty years ago, he recorded that he found the villagers in Western India, of every caste, simple and temperate in habits, quiet and peaceful in disposition, and obedient and faithful in the fulfilment of duty. They had no conspicuous vices ; the parents were aifectionate and tender, the children habi- tually dutiful. Hospitality towards strangers was care- fully observed. There were no beggars, except those who were religious mendicants by profession. The indi- gent and diseased were always provided for by internal village arrangements. No written documents were re- quired in transactions involving money payments. No receipts were given or needed for rents. Money and vakiables were deposited v/ithout any security. On the occasion of a great rehgiotis assemblage on the banks of the Nerbuddah, where two hundred thousand people assembled, there was no rioting, no quarrelling, no 88 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. drunkenness, nor disorder of any kind. Under the pro- tection of the village -watchmen, the Indian survey officers were never rohbed, nor was the smallest article even pil- fered from their tents. It would be taking too rosy a view to apply this picture universally ; yet much of it is true. The Hindus among Discordant themselves are habitually just and honourable. views about In our courts they appear as constantly guilty ™ ^'' of deception, concealment, and false swearing, much as too many Europeans conduct themselves towards tax-gatherers and magistrates. And he who thinks evil of the Hindus will probably find sufficient justification for his thoughts in his experience ; while those who look at the best side, and seek the good features, always find much to commend and admire. Every village in India has its temple or temples, rude though they may be, either to Siva in his character of Father of all beings, Dissolver and Eegenerator, with his son Ganesa, lord of demons ; to Vishnu, the god who shows viuage his sympathy with human suffering and his temples, interest in human affairs by numerous avatars, or descents upon earth, among whoni Krishna and Eama are very important; or to some one of the numerous classes of goddesses, mostly impersonations of the female energy of Siva, such as Kali, the terrible destroyer, the Matris, or mothers of the universe, including Vaishnari and Lakshmi. While the worship of Siva and Vishnu includes many comparatively good features, it is in con- nection with the worship of goddesses that the most degrading and licentious rites are practised. If, on the Goddess One hand, the elevation of Hindu religion may worsbip. be sought by laying emphasis on the pure doctrines embodied in it and found in the sacred books, there can be no elevation for those who practise most of the forms of goddess worship, except by total abandon- ment of such degrading superstitions. No doubt British influence is gradually breaking up a great deal of super- stition ; and infanticide, fanatical murder, and human sacrifice are far less common than they were. Even the practice of self-immolation under cars of the gods has THE HINDUS. 89 greatly decreased. Such cars are attaclied to every large temple, and are drawn forth, on particular days by large numbers of devotees. Although now and again seif- people are crushed under the wheels, this is immolation, often accidental, owing to the great crowd, and anxiety to get near the sacred god. Our rule may be said to have increased the attendances at rehgious festivals, by largely facilitating communication ; and accidents not unfrequently happen in most large assembhes. It is well known that the most celebrated of these assembhes is that of Juggernaut (properly Jagan-nath, or Krishna), at Puri in Orissa. There is no doubt that self-immolation is discouraged in Vishnu worship. Accidental death within the temple renders the whole place un- idol clean. " The ritual suddenly stops, and the festivals. poUuted oiFerings are hurried away from the sight of the offended god." Self-immolation by drowning was formerly very com- mon at Benares. The Ganges is the sacred river beyond all others ; and to end one's days in it was the most certain of all modes of securing salvation. Drowning and Often Hindus would paddle into the stream ^^irying aUve. between two large empty pots, which they would then fin with water, and so sink themselves. Burying alive was another practice we have succeeded in putting down, though even up to recent years it has been occasionahy practised. Voluntary self-torture is another considerable feature of Indian life. Many forms of it have been prohibited by law, such as swinging in the air, fixed by a rope and hook passed through the muscles of the back seif- and attached to a lofty pole, boring the tongue torture, with a red-hot iron, etc. Some infatuated men would formerly sit for years over a hot fire, or with eyes open looking at the sun, or stand Avith heavy weights sus- pended to their naked bodies, or hold their hands closed till the nails pierced through them, or keep their arms vertically raised tiU the joints became fixed, or lie on beds with iron spikes. Sir Monier Williams saw a man at Allahabad who had sat in one position for fifty years 90 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. on a stone pedestal, exposed to siin, wind, and rain, never moving except once a day, when he was led to the Ganges. Of course he was an object of veneration. He also saw a man prostrating himself and measuring every inch of his body round a mountain, and apparently in- tending to go on till he had completed a circuit of twenty miles one htmdred and eight times. Such are a few of the acts which show how intense is the rehgious and self- sacrificing spirit of the Hindu. CHAPTEB YII. COe ImtlllS (continued). Buddhist influence on Hinduism— The Jains — Jain temples and pilgrimages — Ttie Parsees expeUed from Persia — The towers of sUence— Moslem attitude to the British— Various Moslem races— Mahometan soldiers — Rise of the Sikhs— The Gurus— Theistio religionists — Eammohun Roy— Keshuh Chunder Sen— Christians— Eurasians — Variety of languages— Hindustani- Sanskrit — Pali — The prakrits and modem vernaculars — Native literature— Forms of marriage— Polygamy — Essentials of Hindu marriage— Torchlight processions— Desire of male ofTspring- Property laws — The ryot, or cultivator — Modes of agriculture — In- dian sports — Jugglers and snake charmers — Results of British rule. BUDDHISM has, as we liave said, almost disappeared from India, surviving only in Ceylon, where it flourislies. But there is no doubt Buddhist that it exerted influences on great influence Hinduism, on Hinduism itself, "in bringing forward the prin- ciple of the brotherhood of man, with the reasser- tion of which, each new revival of Hinduism starts ; in the asylum which the great Hindu sects afford to women who have fallen victims to caste rules, to the widow, and to the out- 1>.IMCIMG GlEL ; HXDEltADAll. 92 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. caste ; in tliat gentleness and charity to all men, wliicli take the place of a poor-law in India, and give a high significance to the half-satirical epithet of the " mild Hindu." Buddhism is also represented in India by the Jains, a The Jains ^®"^^ ^-^ over a million, differing from Buddhism in recognising in the Jina Pati, or Adi Buddha, a divine personal ruler of all, denying the divine origin of the Vedas, and distinguished by an extreme tenderness for animal hfe. Their holy men of the past are admitted as true deities. They beHeve in a sort of pantheism ; and spirits are condemned to continual migration. There are many Jains in Eajputana, in Benares, in Gujerat, and the Mysore ; and they possess a large share of "wealth and influence, so extensive that it is said one half the mercan- tile wealth of India passes through their hands. Their tenderness to animal life, however, is against many of their enterprises, for they will undertake nothing by Jain temples which animal life may be destroyed. Some of and the noblest architectural remains in India were pilgrimages, gj-gc^ed by the Jains in the past; and they stiU make pilgrimages to five holy hills where they have shrines — pilgrimages being, according to them, the only means by which the devotee may attain to their heaven of complete annihilation. The Parsees of India, though few in number, not more than seventy thousand, — of whom fifty thousand are in THe Parsees '^^ ^^^7 °^ Bombay alone, — are a most impor- expeued tant and influential group of people, possessing from Persia, jj^-^q]! -wealth, and following European practices to a large extent. They are Aryans of Persian descent, whose ancestors were expelled from Persia by the Maho- metan conquerors in the seventh and eighth centuries. They speak the Gujerati vernacular, but all also speak English. Yet they maintain the observances of the Zoro- astrian religion. Their mode of " burial " in the " Towers The towers of Silence " on Malabar Hill at Bombay, is most of sUence. peculiar. They proceed on the principle that every effort must be made to protect mother earth from the pollution which would result if putrefying coi-pses THE HINDUS. 93 94 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. were allowed to accumulate in the ground. Hence they build solid and massive circular stone platforms, or low towers, on whicli the dead are exposed, and speedily de- voured by vultures, which always surround the parapet of the towers. The Parsees defend this practice on the highest sanitary grounds. On the whole, however, the Parsees are more important as a caste of civilised traders than as religionists, for they do not proselytise. They have but one wife, who enjoys a degree of freedom un- known to Hindus or Mahometans. They neither eat beef, pork, nor ham, nor do they eat food cooked by a person of another religion. The Moslem, or Mahometan, population of India, though by no means homogeneous in race, constitute a vast popu- lation of over fifty millions, whose political attitude is a most important factor in our Eastern dominion ; for by their religious faith they naturally feel hostility to Chris- tianity and its professors, while the attitude of the latter has been for the most part equally hostile, not admitting the good features in the Moslem faith. It is not suffi- ciently remembered, moreover, that the advent of the British has practically expelled the Mahometans from the Moslem '^^^^ share they formerly possessed in the ad- attitudeto ministration of Hindu as well as Mahometan the British, states. It is asserted by Sir Eichard Temple that the Mussulmans nowadays find themselves beaten by Hindus in the open competition of mind with mind. Consequently there is amongst them a considerable disgust at the results of British rule ; and this requ.ires continual watchfulness on our part not to offend their prejudices, nor to do anything which might give them a pretext for hoisting the standard of a religious war. The Mahometans are most numerous in Bengal, the North- Western Provinces, and the Punjab, although they are largely distributed aU over India, and include people of Arab, Persian, Scythian, Tartar, Mongol, Turk, and Various Afghan descent, with many converts from the Moslem races. Eajputs, Jats, and pre- Aryan tribes. Many of these races keep distinct, religiously as well as racially ; but all are liable to be united under the standard of Allah. THE HINDUS. 95 Tlie Moguls, or descendants of tlie last conquering race, do not number a quarter of a million. The Afghans, la^o-ff-n as Pathans, approach two millions. The Sayyids, who claim lineal descent from Mahomet, are over three- quarters of a million ; while the Shaikhs, or those of Arab descent, number nearly five millions. The Bohra of Gujerat, Cutch, Sind, and the Rajput states, represent HINDUS BATHING IN THE GAKGtb. themselves as the followers of the Shaikh-ul-Jabl, or Old 3Ian of the Mountain. They are chiefly mercantile in pursuits, and are active and intelligent people. In Ben- gal the vast proportion of the Mahometans plainly are of the same race as the low-caste Hindus. They have be- come subdivided into many classes with hereditary occu- pations, much resembling the Hindu castes, and having many polytheistic customs and festivals. In the Punjab 96 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. too tte Mussulman, is not strongly marked out from tte Hindu racially. In the Deccan, tlie ruUng power at Hyderabad is Mahometan, depending on a mixed, Arab, Negro, Abyssinian, and Northern Hindu soldiery. In Southern India they are divided into three distinct races. (1) Labbai, tall and well made, deep bronze in colour, merchants and pedlars, using the Tamil alphabet, having the Koran in Tamil, and only speaking and reading Tamil. They, like (2) the Moplah, are said to have originated from trading or sailor Arabs and Indian women. The Moplah of South-western India and Ceylon are of a more restless disposition, and have had various agrarian disputes with us. The Moplah of North Malabar foUow the local practice of descent of property in the female line. (3) The Nao-aiti (or new comers), a small slender almost fair race with handsome women, are Arab immigrants, and are not inilitary, but exclusively en- gaged in trade. The Mahometans furnish something Hke one-fourth of the British army in India; and they have shown both steadiness and dash in warfare. The bulk of them may be said to hope for a return of their former glories, and Manometan dwell with pride on their past successes. They soldiers, usually speak Hindustani, although the edu- cated speak Persian. They are far less characterised by learning than the Hindus. The great Mahometan capitals are Gaur, Eajmahal, Dacca, and Moorshedabad ; but it is not around them that the Moslem faith is most professed, but in thickly peopled agricultural districts, where the equalising creed of Mahometanism has made many con- verts among those who otherwise had the lowest social position as out-castes. The Sikhs form another religious group, often in Eng- land supposed to represent a nationality, but in reality a theistic sect founded by Nanak, a Hindu; born in 1469. The word Sikh means " disciple." Nanak's great idea Else of the was, to bring about a union of Hindus and Ma- sikha. hometans on the basis of a common belief in one God ; but his teaching was also largely pantheistic. He denounced caste and prohibited image worship, but THE HINDUS. 97 attaclied great sanctity to cows, like the Hindus. Under Nanak and liis successors many converts were made ; and tke Siklis began to be influential in a worldly sense and to develop military abilities. This led the Mahometans to fiercely oppose them ; the Sikhs gradually grew stronger, and formed powerful bands under independent chiefs. HINDU LADY OF HIGH BANK, WITH PET ANIMALS. As they grew more powerful they purchased the tank called Umritsur, where they built the famous lake temple and established their chief centre. Gradually the sayings and teachings of their leading teachers (Gurus) ^^^ ^^^^ were collected, and they formed a sort of Bible, or Granth. The ninth Guru was imprisoned and tortured by Aurungzebe, and induced a fellow-prisoner to put an 98 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. end to Ms sufferings. From this time tlie Siklis became actively warlike, and under tlie tenth Guru, Govind, were organised on principles of hostility to Mahometanism, and of active propagation of the Sikh faith by the sword. Aurungzebe was more than a match for the Sikhs ; but after his death they became more powerful, and in 1767 they were masters of the country between the Jumna and Eawul Pindi. We have already referred to the achievements of Runjeet Singh, who stiH further moulded the Sikhs into a nation. Since their successive defeats by the British, they have settled down quietly, entered our military service, and stood loyally by us in the great crisis of 1857. They now number nearly two milhons. Many of them, however, adopt caste, wear the Brahmanical thread, keep Hindu festivals, and even make offerings in Hindu temples. Thus they are being drawn back into Hinduism. A slight mention must here suffice for the Theistic rehgionists who have arisen within the last century in India, many of whom take the pure teachings of the Theistic Vedas for their guide, and believe in the abo- reiigionists. Htien of caste rules, the cessation of child marriages, and the remarriage of widows, and have given up Hindu domestic ceremonies. Eammohun Roy, who died at Bristol in 1833, was one of the most notable reformers. He was the real founder of the Brahmo Kammoilun Somaj, or Theistic Churches, of Bengal, Keshub Koy- Chunder Sen, who died in 1884, being equally eminent. Although the Native Marriage Act of 1872, obtained largely by his influence, introduced civil mar- riage at a proper age into India, legahsed marriage be- ' tween different castes, and permitted the remarriage of widows, it has not as yet been largely taken advantage Kesnub of. Keshub Chunder Sen's doctrine cannot be Chunder Sen. -be^tej. described than as "the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man." It represents the daily growing ferment of disbelief in and rejection of Hindu idolatry which is permeating Indian society as it becomes more educated, and is a sign of hopefulness for India's future, if it do nqt degenerate into mere neg^' THE Ir/NDUS. 99 tion of all religion, a feeling which is also growing in India. The Christians of India must not be left out of account. They are variously estimated at from one to two millions, being most numerous in Southern India. A cnrisUana considerable number of these are however Euro- peans or descendants of Europeans. The Roman Catholics report the largest number of converts ; but their tolerant inclusiveness makes the reality of their claim doubtful. Tinnevelly is a centre round which the largest „ j^ numbers of Protestants are found. Very many of the Christians are Eurasians, of mixed European and Asiatic blood, a large number being Indo-Portuguese. The Eurasians, however, do not yet manifest the solid quahties of either Europeans or Hindus ; and the problem whether a permanent European cross can be established in India is yet unsolved. It appears certain that pure- blooded Europeans cannot become acclimatised in India. The great number of spoken languages in India is a bar to unity of feeling in India. It may perhaps be created in the futm'e by the diffusion either of EngHsh or of Hindustani, a mixed dialect first used by variety of the Mahometans of India, and since widely Languages, employed as a sort of lingua franca. It is essentially Hindi, or the vernacular of the North- West Provinces, with many words of Sanscrit, Persian, and Arabic origin. It has been a great question whether pure ^jjiaugtani. Sanscrit was ever a spoken language; but authorities of eminence beheve that it was, and that it was once a vernacular language, giving way later to various dialects, called Prakrits. Others, however, regard Sanscrit as the sum of the Vedic dialects, con- gj^ggpit structed by the labour and zeal of grammarians, and pohshed by the skill of learned men. Modern in- vestigation seems to have shown that the vernaculars are not derived directly from Sanscrit, but from an Aryan speech older than Sanscrit. By degrees the main Prakrits became subdivided into local vernaculars, each j,^^ spoken in a limited area. Pali, the literary language of Buddhism, is a development of the spoken 100 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Prakrit of the Grangetic kingdom of Magadha (Beiar) ; ■while similarly the Jains used the Maharashtri Prakrit of "Western India for their sacred books ; and these are very EENJABI (WANDEBING lEADEES) ON A JOUENEY. valuable for comparison with their present representatives in the vernaculars of Behar and the Mahratta country. The change that has occurred in the interval is of the following nature. The Prakrits had synthetic inflections ; THE HINDUS. lot the modern vernaciilars are analytical, kave disjointed particles to indicate time, place, and relation, ^-^^ prakrits and post-positions where we have prepositions, and modem They have incorporated a considerable number '^emaouiars. of non-Aryan or aboriginal words, and also many words from the Persian court language of their Mahometan conquerors. The principal Aryan vernaculars are Sindi, towards the north-west frontier ; Punjabi, in the valleys of the Indus and its tributaries ; Gujerati, south of the Punjab ; Hindi, east of Punjabi ; Marathi, south-east of Gujerati ; Bengali, east Bengal and delta of Ganges ; Urija, Maha- nudy delta to northern parts of Madras. Each of these vernaculars has a literature of its own, as yet very par- tially investigated. In Eajputana the poetry and hymno- logy of a single sect are said to amount to 540,000 lines. Most of these literatures find their main impulse in reUgious movements. Bengali appears in Native modern times to have most vitahty, and has literature, both drama and fiction, as weU as periodical Hterature, now firmly estabhshed and growing. We have already referred to the languages of the Dravidian peoples. Four of these have considerable literatures — the Tamil, Telugu, Kanarese, and MalayaHm. The Tamil owed many excellent works to the activity of the Jain Buddhists from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries. The Sanscrit epic Eamayana was also para- phrased or imitated in Tamil. There are two encyclo- paedic collections of Tamil hymns, in praise of Siva and Vishnu respectively. The printing press has greatly stimulated Tamil literature. In 1882 no fewer than 658 vernacular works were printed in Madras, the great majority being in Tamil. The forms of marriage and ideas respecting it natu- rally constitute one of the richest fields of study in India, with its variety of races and castes. We can Forms of only refer to the subject briefly. Marriage in Marriage. India is essentially based on the idea of the father's right to dispose of his daughter in marriage, while the husband purchases her. Mahometanism modifies this to 103 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. tHe extent that tlie bridegroom purctases the bride from herself, by means of the dower he offers. Marriages usually take place between persons of different tribes or sections of tribes ; although Brahman girls may only marry with those of their own caste. Although polygamy is lawful both to Mussulmans and Hindus, it is only practised by the richer classes, and especially by the princes. The results, in intrigue and murder, have too frequently been scandalous. Among Indian Mahometans a man can only marry one wife with full rejoicings and ceremonial, and she receives full deference, although the Polygamy children of first and subsequent marriages are on an equality in their father's home ; yet the offspring of the latter are not similarly dowered, nor equally regarded with those of the first marriage outside their home. Among Hindus in general, it is rare to find more than one wife in a house ; but the very numerous female devotees of the temples are almost always immoral. These temple women are not held by the Hiudtis to pursue a disgraceful vocation ; indeed, all classes of Hindus, in time of trouble or in the hope of offspring, have been known to vow their daughters to the temples. Until lately they included almost the only educated women in India, and were often very accomplished. This is but a melancholy instance of the low estate of women in India, far below their ancient position. The whole ritual of their marriages, indeed, is based on a high idea of woman. Five things are considered essential in the Hindu mar- riage ceremony — the betrothal, the gift of the girl, the Essentials acceptance, the seizure of the girl, and the of Hindu seven steps, or Sapti-padi. The giving away marriage. q£ i^^ g^j ^^ j^^j. father or guardian, in the presence of the Brahmans, to the bridegroom's father, is in these words: "I give you, for your son, my beautiful virgin daughter, accept her therefore." The bridegroom's father replies: "With my mind, with my voice, and with my body I joyfully accept thy daughter for my son, and rehgiously receive her among my own kindred." The girl's father then declares his tribe, and gives the bride- SEKPENT CHAllMEES IN INDIA. l(i:5 104 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. groom grains of rice tinged with red and betel leaves, declaring again that lie gives him his daughter, and pro- mising to pay the marriage expenses. The girl's father next declares : " Brahmans, to this youth, very learned in the Vedas, the son of N., to him I give my daughter, dressed in gay apparel, and adorned with gems." The Brahmans answer, " So let it be." The girl's father now puts her hand into the bridegroom's, and pours over them water sacred to Vishnu, making the gift irrevocable. The wooden yoke of a ploughing bullock is then laid lightly upon the bride's head, signifying her subjection. A veil being now held up between the pair, the eight auspicious verses are recited, calhng upon the gods, the saints, the trees, the hills, and the rivers to witness and bless the union. The veil being then let fall, the bride- groom binds the TaU, a golden ornament, .round the bride's neck, never to be removed unless she becomes a widow. Then follows a sacrifice to Agni, in which the wedded pair take the Sapti-padi, or seven steps, together, amid loud chanting of the Vedas. Next, grains of parched rice are eaten. On the fourth night after the marriage, a torchlight procession sets out ; and the newly- TorcMiffht married pair are carried round the village in a processions, palanquin with music and dancing. The de- tails and cost of these processions vary much, according to the ideas and wealth of the relatives. They may even include .camels and elephants. At sunrise the pair are conducted home, being received at the threshold by some married woman ; when seated, a lamp is waved round their heads, to avert the evil eye. Wedding cards are represented by the distribution of betel leaves with areca nuts and grains of rice coloured red. This may serve to give an idea of marriage in India, but the details and local customs vary greatly. A whole series of religious forms was formerly gone through by Hindu women before the birth of their off- Desire of sp^ii^g) ^0 secure the due purification of the male child ; and these were largely connected with offspring. :^^ desire for male offspring, which we can understand when it is considered that the well-being of THE HINDUS. 105 tile parent's soul after deatli is believed to depend on the proper performance of certain ceremonies by a son. Tlie Eig Veda says, " When a father sees the face of a living son, he paj's a debt in him, and gains immortaUty. The pleasure which a father has ia his son exceeds aR other enjoyments. His wife is a friend, his daughter an object of compassion, his son shines as his light in the highest world." The birth and name-giving ceremonies are still important and solemn functions, succeeded by food- giving, tonsure, and ear-boring. Children are suckled sometimes to the age of five or six years. So far is entail Irom being a Teutonic invention, that the Hindu's boy from birth has a vested in- Property terest in his father's property ; and the son, i^'^^- when he comes of age, can compel him to give him his share of the property. Cremation is almost invariable, except among the Par- sees, or when drowning is voluntarily preferred. Dyiug people are frequently taken to the banks of the Ganges or other sacred river, and the last settlement of affahs takes place upon its banks ; and the dying person re- peatedly calls upon his gods by name. Agriculture is so important in India, that some farther description of it may be permitted. Mr. Clements Mark- ham describes the Bombay cultivator, or ryot, me ryot, or as " a lean man, with prominent muscles, and cultivator, small hands and feet, with eyes full and black, cheek- bones high, and teeth stained with betel. He forms one in a population of 600 to 1,000, which cultivates some 4,000 acres, and hves in a village surrounded by a mud wall, with two gates. The 150 to 200 houses are of sun- dried bricks, with terraced roofs, and there are open porticoes along their fronts ; but the few small dark in- terior rooms have no windows. The furniture of a culti- vator's house consists of a copper boiler and a few other copper vessels, about twenty earthen pots, to hold stores of grain and other food, a large wooden dish for kneading dough, a flat stone and rohing-pin for powdering spices, two iron lamps, and two beds laced with rope. The whole will not cost much more than forty shilhngs. But his io6 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. agricultural implements and buUocks are liis most valuable possessions. The plougli, consisting of beam-head and handle, but having no share, and leaving a mere scratch, is made of babool wood {Acacia Arabica), and costs only a few rupees. The cart is a rude frame on two solid BENJAKI WOMAN. wooden wheels, and there are also a harrow with wooden teeth and a driU plough. A pair of good oxen is indis- pensable." The arable land includes that of which the crops depend on rains, irrigated lands, and garden ground with fruit-trees and vegetables. There are two crops in THE HINDUS. 107 tlie year ; for tlie one, spiked millet and two kinds of pulse are sown ; for the other, wheat and grains. The land is ploughed only once in two years, having first been drag-hoed. At the beginning of harvest. Modes of a level place is chosen for the threshing-floor agriculture, and made dry and hard. " A pole five feet high is stuck in the middle, the grains are stacked round the floor, and the women break off the ears and throw them in. Six or eight bullocks are then tied to each other, and to the post, and driven round to tread out the grain ; and the winno'tt'ing is done by a man standing on a high stool, and submitting the grain and chaff" to the wind from a basket. The cultivator requires but Httle food. It con- sists of cakes made of millet flour, with water and salt, baked on a plate of iron; green pods or fruits cut in pieces, boiled and mixed with salt, pepper, or turmeric, and then fried in oil ; and porridge of coarsely ground millet and salt." "We can do no more than glance at the amusements by which the Indians vary their life. Naturally surrounded as they are by jungles containing great quadrupeds, by poisonous snakes, such as the cobra di capello, Indian which do not keep to the jungles, but invade sports, the privacy of homes, and by rivers in which crocodiles abound — hunting must be a somewhat serious amuse- ment ; and it is pursued, frequently under the auspices of Europeans, with an ardour and a pomp of circum- stance which partake of the nature of real war. Ele- phant hunting and catching ahve, tiger and panther- hunting, are among the most notable forms of sport ; while the cheetah, or tame leopard, is made use of as a hunting animal in piu'suit of antelopes. In those pur- suits the Hindu often shows himself very daring and courageous. The other side of the Hindu character is exemplified in his devotion to chess ; while gambling finds as many devotees as in our own favoured land, tor in- jugglers stance among the Rajputs. The performances and snaite- of jugglers, who are marvellously skilful, aff'ord *^^'^™®^^- great amusement to the Hindus ; while allied to these loS THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. are the snake-charmers, who by music and various arts sometimes attain a remarkable command over snakes, even without their fangs being extracted. It often happens, however, that the snake-charmer meets with his death from a snake which he has long charmed. Music, of a kind too noisy to be quite appreciated by a "Western audience, cock-fighting, athletics, wrestling, danciug, — often of an indecent character, according to our ideas, — all find many votaries among the Hindus, who are neither deficient in intelligence nor in capacity of amusing themselves, though they do not show their amusement by the same facial expressions which we employ. Altogether, India has prospered greatly under British rule, has increased largely in popiHation and wealth, and Results of has ceased to suffer from endless wars and fear British rule, of -svars, with their attendant devastation and death. Tyranny, too, has been very largely done away with ; and the fives and hberties of the people are now safe, instead of being, as at most former periods, pre- carious, and depending on the wiU of despots and the intrigues of self-interested persons. The manner in which local peculiarities are studied, local interests are guarded, and native ability is utihsed under British rule, is on the whole admirable. Although much remains to be done before the natives of India can be extensively admitted to government offices, large advances in this direction have been made. Railways and irrigation works have greatly diminished the risks of famine, which, however, are still very considerable ; but the popiilation increases faster than the means of irrigation or of distribution of food s^ipphes. India, we have shown, is a most interesting field of study, a perfect storehouse of novelty', the result of a panoramic succession of influences, and a motley com- bination of races such as the world cannot parallel else- where. The Queen's reign, as an able writer has said, found the people of India a collection of heterogeneous races. It has moulded them into the beginnings of a nation. " We have taken the young princes of India out THE HINDUS. log ■ of tlie seraglio, and placed them under high-minded Eng- lish officers or in schools of chiefs. For the perpetual flattery of women, we have substituted a training in manly sports and in manly arts." Hence it has come about that many of the native Indian princes of the present day are among our most devoted supporters. CHAPTEE VIII. Races of Mongoloid stock — Inhabitants of Ladakh and Baltiatan — The Nepalese— Growth of Ghoorkha power — Jung Bahadur— The Ehas, Gurung, and Magar tribes— Tibetan tribes of Nepal— The Lepchas of Sikkim— Dress— Habits— Character of the Lepohas— The Bhutanese — The Lhopas— The Assam tribes — The Khasias — Dolmen and cromlech builders— The Garrow tribes— Female property and privileges— Human sacriflces- Festival dances— Witchcraft and demonology— The Kukis — Dress and habits — Marriage customs — Ideas of Heaven— The Naga tribes— Physical characters and habits— Skulls and scalps — Women and marriage— War-whoop and hoo-hoo— Naga Agriculture — The Ahom of Assam— Burmah— The Burmese— Influence of Hindu thought — Bravery — Dacoits— The Burmese women — Marriage— Burial — The late despotic government— The Burmese language— Injurious influence of Buddhism — Amusements— The Talaings, or Mens- The Karens of Burmah— White, Eed, and Black Karens— Eeligion and funeral customs— Marriage cere- monies— WUl-making— Karen dwellings— Mode of government— Karen war-song— Food— Introduction of Buddhism— The Grand Lama — Lamasseries — Dress of Lamas — The Prayer cylinders— Uni- versality of the prayer machine —Wealth of the Lamas — Physi- cal aspect- Clothing — Food- Cattle — Tibetan jewellery — Tibetan houses— Exposure of the dead— Chinese authority. WELLma in the Hima- layan valleys and up- lands, and the slopes on both sides, are races Races of which in the Mongoloid main belong to ^^"^ the great Mon- goloid stock, with which we shall presently deal. From Cashmere to As- sam and Burmah, the majoritj'' of the people THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. Ill belong to tlie same type, which may be called Tibeto- JBurman. A great number of the inhabitants of Cashmere es- pecially m the extensive districts of Ladakh and Baltistan a,re of Mongoloid origin, belonging to the Bhot T„h,wt,.t division of the Tibetans. They are strong, oEIda^°aL'd hardy, short and square built, with the charac- baltistan. teristic Mongol features, flat faces, broad cheeks, snub noses, large ears, obHcLue narrow eyes, and black hair. Most of them are Buddhists. Agriculture is their principal occupation. Polyandry, or one woman having several husbands, — usually bro- thers, — is quite common among them ; and the children recog- nise all the hus- bands as father. The men do not average more than five feet two inches in height, the women four feet nine inches. The population is scanty, except in Baltistan, where the people have be- come Mahometans, have adopted polygamy, and are in- creasing in numbers. In Nepal there is a great mixture of races ; but the Tibetans have penetrated into most parts. The The warlike Ghoorkhas, who are the ruling Nepaiese. class in Nepal, are a mixed Tibetan people, but have con- formed to Hindu speech and rehgion. During erowth of the last century they grew rapidly in numbers Ghoorkha and power, and extended their dominion widely ; t^"^^^- A GUEUNG (NEPAL). 112 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. and in 1814, their repeated inroads on British territory made it necessary to attack them. They fought very bravely, and were reduced -with difficulty, a British resi- jung dent being received at Khatmandu, the capital ; Bahadur, ijut there were frequent occasions on which the rulers of Nepal helped our enemies, until Jung Baha- dur seized power in 1845, and ever after supported British influence, greatly assisting us dtiring the Mutiay of 1857. SAMWAB WOMAN, NEPAL. Besides the Aryan immigrants from India, the bulk of the population of Nepal consists of Tibetan (Mongoloid) tribes. The Khas tribe, which includes many of the TheKhas dominant people, are descended from Hindu Gurung, and rajputs and Nepal women, and are tall, robust, MagarTriijea.g^jj^ energetic, with many Aryan character- istics. The Gurung and Magar tribes, sharing with the Khas the name of Ghoorkha, are much more Mongoloid THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. 113 in type and feature, with, broad Cliinese face, small eyes, flat nose, and meagre wliiskers. Their energy and martial character has made them very acceptable in the British Indian army. The in- ferior Tibetan tribes of Nepal are Tibatan tribes chiefly agri- of Nepal, cultural and pastoral, and are mostly Buddhists; but the Hindu caste system has taken root consider- ably, and Buddhism is strangely combined -n-ith bloody sacrifices and poly- theism. There are many peculiar languages and dialects in Nepal, and some of the hill-tribes are still very imperfectly known. Sikkim is a small native State east of Nepal, sub- ject to British control, containing the interest- ing Tibetan (or THe Lepchas Bhot) Lepchas, ofsikimn. markedly Mongoloid in feature, and short of stature, rarely exceeding five feet, small-boned but muscular. They have a cheerful expression and laughing eye, unusual among Mongoloid races. The total absence of LEPCHA WiTEK CABBIEB, SIKKIM. beard, parting the hair in the middle, and dress- ing in a loose bedgown sort of jacket, add to -^^^^^ the womanly look of the men ; the women dress in silk skirts with a sleeveless woollen cloak. Brides are 1 114 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. purcliased by money or service before maturity. The men carry a long, heavy,, straight knife, which they use for all purposes possible. Although the Lepcha men are not industrious, leaving that department to the women, they are of an inquiring mind, and have considerable intelligence. They are pretty good marksmen with bow and arrow, but use poisoned arrows ; they are also expert in catching birds and fish. A dis- pleasing quahty is their dirtiness of person, for they seldom wash; but they take great pride in their hair, the women often dressing the men's hair, " Thus," says a distinguished traveller, " one may often see, the last thing at night, a damsel of discreet port demurely go behind a young man, unplait his pig-tail, tease the hair, thin it of some of its lively inmates, braid it up for him, and retire." The women always wear two braided pigtails. Dr. Campbell says of the Lepchas, " They are wonder- fully honest, theft being scarcely known among them ; they rarely quarrel among themselves. I have never Character of known them to draw their knives on one the Lepchas. another, although they always wear them. They fly bad government rather than, resist it, and used to prefer digging for yams in the jungle, and eating wretchedly innutritious vegetables, to endmring any in- justice or harsh treatment. They are singularly forgiving of injuries, when time is given them, after hasty loss of temper. Although they were ready enough to lodge com- plaints before the magistrate against one another in cases of assault and other offences, they rarely prosecuted to a decision, generally preferring to submit to arbitration, or making mutmal amends and concessions. They are averse to soldiering, and cannot be induced to enlist in our army, even for local service in the Hills." So far as they have any religion, they are Buddliists, and bury their dead. -They are gross feeders, eating all kinds of animal food, including monkey, elephant, rhinoceros, be- sides many uncommon vegetables and roots. Tea is a favourite beverage, and they had no native distiUod liquor. Still less known than the people of Sikkim are the THE TIBETO-BURMESE AXD TIBETANS. 115 natives of Bhutan, tlie large mountainous tract lying east of Sikldm, nortli of Assam, and south of Tibet. The population is somewhat scanty, under a tern- THe poral ruler, the Deb raja, and a spiritual rviler, Bhutanese. the Dharma raja, who is supposed to be an incarnation of Buddha ; under these are a spiritual council of Buddhist monks, and a secular council. There is an appearance of systematic government, which has been sufficiently active to occasion much trouble to us in deahng with them since we annexed Assam. After finding the Bhu- tanese to be quite untrustworthy, we were compelled to annex the borderland between Assam and Bhutan, caUed the Doars, in 1865. The upper classes and rulers are described as shameless beggars, bullies, and sycophants, while the lower classes bear a much better character. They weave a coarse cloth, make a kind of paper from bark, distil spirit from various grains, and drink it freely. Marriage is a very loose ordinance ; brothers usually have one wife between them ; and the women have no sense of delicacy. The Lhopas form a considerable portion of the Bhuta- nese. They are tall, and quarrelsome and cruel rather than brave. Their ej-es and hair are black, mj-.Tj. and their broad flat face approximates very considerably to the Chinese. Assam is remarkable for the number and variety of the races it contains ; and Httle more than a summary account of them can be attempted. Assam The Assam was annexed by the British in 1829, after the tribes, first Bmrmese war ; and many traces of Burmese domina- tion remain. Indeed, many of the people are of the Shan (or Siamese) race. Half the population have adopted the Hindu religion, including the Shans, wliile one-fourth are Mahometans. The Khasias, inhabiting the Khasia and Jaintia Hills of Southern Assam, are a peaceable tribe, numbermg 170,000 at the census of 1881. Although Mongols, they approach to a fan- complexion, having, liow- ^j^^ j^^^^j^^^ ever, the straight black Mongolian hair. They are honest and truthful, though superstitious. They ii6 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. deem a twin birtli unlucky and degrading, and used to kill one of the twins. They have a great belief in omens ; MISHHI WOMAN, ASSAM. one of their methods is, to break eggs on a board, and divine coming events from the way in which the yolk and the pieces of shell arrange themselves. They raise THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. 117 remarkable cromlechs, dolmens, etc., as memorials of their dead, of great events, etc. In some cases noimen and these rise to thirty feet high in a single block, cromlech The mode in -which they cut these blocks from '"^^^^rs. the mass is very ingenious. They cut grooves, along which fires are hghted, and into which, when heated, cold water is run, causing the rock to fissure along the groove. Levers and ropes are their simple means of transplanting the blocks to the required situation. Their marriage ceremonies are of a very simple character, merely consisting in the couple sitting on one seat and receiving their friends at a marriage feast. It is not surprising that such a union is very readily dissolved. The house belongs to the woman, who retains it if sepa- rated fi;om her husband, or if he dies. To these women proprietors naturally falls the greater part of the work, both domestic and agricultural ; yet they are not devoid of feminine vanity, and wear gold ear-rings and neck- laces, and heavy silver bracelets (not anklets). Both sexes chew a mixture of betel-nut and lime, which swells and colours the Hps, making them hideous. The men are expert at fishing, often catching large numbers by poison- ing the fish. They are courageous and fight well, some of them having great muscular development. The Garo or Grarrow tribes (about 100,000 in number) inhabit the hills in South-western Assam. Some of them have habits like the Khasias. They build large The Garrow houses, with a bamboo floor from four to ten tribes, feet above the ground. The lower chamber serves for the cattle. It need hardly be said that such houses are filthy. Only the girls remain at home with the parents, one comer of the house being reserved as a bedroom ; while the boys and bachelors sleep in a bachelors' haU. The men are lively, good-natured, hospitable, and truth- ful. Women are the holders of property, and pemaie make the first advances towards marriage, the property and bridegroom being taken to the bride's home, pn^eges. The divisions or clans of the people are so many mother- hoods. The man who marries the favourite daughter of a house must also marry her mother on the death of her ii8 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA father. The Garrows till recent times had many slaves ; and it is to be doubted whether the practice is yet extinct. Cotton is the chief crop of the Garrows ; but they also rear cattle, goats, pigs, dogs, cats, and fowls. Among their food are tortoises and dried fish, deer, wild hogs, frogs, and snakes ; but they dislike milk, believing it to be a product of disease. In the past they have been very Human turbulent, being very difficult to persuade of sacrifices. '(\^q excellence of civilised ways. They were very unwilling to give up human sacrifices, and only in 1848 consented to discontinue hanging human skulls in their houses. Their, mania for human skulls, to appease the spirits of their mountains, and even for use as a sort of currency, has with difficulty been repressed. In 1871 they were greatly disturbed by the census arrangements, and in 1872-3 had to be forcibly put down. Somewhat like the Khasias, the Garrows erect carved posts as monu- ments. The feasts of the Garrows are occasions of much drunkenness, combined with dancing. " Twenty or thirty Festival men, standing behind one another in a row, dances, j^old each other by the sides of their belts, and then go round in a circle, hopping first on one foot and then on the other, singing and keeping time with the music, which is animating, though harsh and inharmo- nious. The women likewise dance in rows, but hold out their hands, at the same time lowering one and raising the other, as the music beats, and occasionally turning round with great rapidity." Religiously, the Garrows are chiefly believers in witches and demons, combined with the idea that the souls of Witchcraft certain persons can leave their bodies and take and up their abode in the body of a tiger or other demonoiogy. animal. But they have adopted a number of practices and gods from the Hindus, who have largely influenced them. The Kukis, of the Chittagong Hills, south of the Gar- rows and Khasias, and adjacent to the Nagas of Assam, ^re also known as Tiperah on the eastern frontier. They THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. 119 The KuklB. resemble tlie Kliasia tribes, being much more muscular than the Bengali, and nearly as fair as ar average dark European. Many of tliem have only adopted clothing dimng this century. Their endur- ance of fatigue is something marvelloiis. " I have seen a [Kuki] boy of not more than ten years of age," says Stewart, " c ar r ying a burden weighing about thirty pounds for a long march of some fif- teen or six- teen miles, on a footpath rugged and difficult, over country where high mountains had to be as- cended and descended, lifting his legs as light- ly as a cat, never mak- ing a false step, and his skin being perfectly dry and free from perspiration. Nor was this done only for one day, but for ten, one after the other ; and I believe any other Kuki boy could do the same." As in others of these tribes, the boys and young men sleep in a bachelors' chamber ; but each family, indepen- dent of the unmarried males, has its own house. The men KHANTI : ASSAM FHONTIEB. I20 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. wear a large clotli wrapped loosely round the body, and Dress and hanging from the shoulder to the knee ; the habits, -svonien wear a short striped petticoat, and un- married girls, in addition, wear a cloth round their chests. These garments are made by the Kukis. Like the last tribe, they are very fond of skulls, which they use in the funeral ceremonies of their chiefs, whose bodies they smoke dry and keep for two months before burial. The Kuki chiefs exact the entire labour of their people for four days a year on their private land, besides a percentage of their crops and of aU game caught. They migrate to new pastures and fields whenever they con- sider the old ones exhausted. Marriage does not take place in childhood ; and near relatives, even cousius, cannot marry. The chief may Marriage have as many wives and concubines as he can customs, keep. Wives are purchased either by cash or by service for a term of years in the house of the wife's parents. The wedding ceremony is performed by the chief of the village. The pair place their feet together on a large stone, the chief sprinkles both with water, exhorts them to fidelity, and blesses them, after which a grand feast follows. Property does not descend to or through women. Like most of the hiQ people, the Kukis are pre-eminently dirty, washing being an operation un- known to them. The Kukis have very vague ideas of religion, ascribing all evils to the anger of gods or demons, whom they Ideas of endeavour to propitiate. Their Heaven is for Heaven, themselves alone, for they beheve other peoples have heavens for themselves. They think they shall assume their old forms after death, and inhabit a world of shades. They have numerous beliefs, not constituting a formal religious system, which we cannot recount here. The Naga tribes inhabit the hills of that name in the eastern border of Assam, and really include a large num- The Naga ber of peoples with different dialects ; but, tribes, being practically of one Mongoloid or Tibeto- Chinese race, we must speak of them together. They have become unfavourably known to the British in con- THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. 121 sequence of their frequent destructive incursions into the plains ihey are described as brave and martial, but vindictive and treacherous. In 1875 they treacherously f {-y'^^^r*^ ^^^^^- Holeombe and his followers, and in 1879 ivilled Mr. Damant, our deputy commissioner. ihe Nagas are a short, active, large-legged race, with OROnr OF BADTPAHi NAGAS, ASSAM. Tartar faces, wonderfully long-winded, sure-footed, and strong-backed. They have brown complexions, lar^e mouths, flat noses, high cheek-bones, and a p^ . cunning, severe expression. They eat every cSSs kind ot flesh, but do not drink milk. Their a^^iiabits. houses, though of considerable size, have very small 122 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. rooms, allotted to women, little cliildren, pigs, fowls, etc. In addition to a youths' house, each village has a girls' house, in which the girls live till married. The young people, however, take their meals with their parents, and work for them during the day, returning at night to their respective houses. The Nagas have bloody quarrels between different villages, in which they display much treachery and cruelty. Contrary to the Kukis, they have a love for the particular villages they inhabit, and retain them permanently. They bury their dead at the very doors of their houses. Scalps or skulls are held in high esteem, Skuna and and they are not particular as to liow they are scalps, obtained. The number of people killed gives the men their chief claim to distinction. The warrior wears round his neck a collar reaching to the waist, made of goats' hair dyed red, mixed with long locks of the persons he has killed, and bedecked with cowrie shells. Naturally, among such fire-eaters, the women do all the work, while the men lie idly in the sun, unless they do a little work in the fields. Marriage is a very simple womeaand arrangement, without any ceremony except a marriage, feast; the family of the bride, also, is presented with cows, pigs, fowls, or spirits. Naga cries are very extraordinary. The war-whoop is something indescribable, fearfully shrill and prolonged. War-whoop with variations. A more peaceful cry is the and "hoo-hoo," a mode of honouring an individual "hoo-hoo." Q^ a village. From ten to fifty natives cry in chorus, making only the sounds " hoi " and " hou " alter- nately, with the full force of the lungs, about a hundred times, and finished off with a "howh": this is the Naga way of hurrahing. But it is done with a strict eye to business. Every person or village thus honoured is ex- pected to give a liberal present in retvirn ; and woe to the deficient giver ! The Nagas cultivate rice, cotton, and tobacco, as well as the more common Indian vegetables. They cut down the jungle, leaving the roots and stumps, and setting the THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. cut wood on fire. After the wood is biu'iit, the soil is scratched with a hoe, to mix the ashes with it. Naga Seeds are then dropped in indiscriminately, agriculture. The results of such agriculture, combined with their habit of only culti- vating the same patch of ground for two years fol- lowing, are of course very in- ferior. Both sexes among the N a g a s wear ear- rings, btit not nose- rings. of brass wire ; but they often wear flowers as ear - rings, as well as coloured pieces of paper or cloth, a blue beetle wing, or even a blade of green grass or a leaf. Assam owes its name to its former possessors, the Ahom (the A being readily interchangeable with ss in The AHom Burmese), a branch of the Tai, which include of Assam, the Siamese people. Intermarrying with the natives, ANQAMl NAGA. 124 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. their features became mucli improved, and they adopted Hinduism. They were subsequently conqiiered in 1810 by the Burmese, from whom we took Assam in 1829. The people largely speak Assamese, a vernacular closely allied to Bengali. They have responded very satisfactorily to efforts lor improving their education and social condition, and have become largely assimilated to the Bengali. Burmah, or Barmah, is now entirely under the govern- ment of British India, the kingdom of Ava having been conquered in 1885, and added to the large ^^™ ■ portion, including Pegu, Arakan, and Tenas- serim, which had been annexed in 1826 and 1853. The large increase of popula- tion under British rule is almost a sufficient justi- fication for the successive annexations. The total population of Burmah may be estimated at 7,000,000, the old-estab- lished British provinces counting for four millions. Eangoon and Moulmein, in the Gulf of Martaban, are rapidly growing sea- ports, with four active vernacular presses at which is a A cyclopsedia DUliaiESE "YOUNG LADY. Rangoon, Baddhist as well as a commercial centre, of Burmese knowledge is even published at one of these presses. The Burmese people show considerable distinctness from the Siamese, having come as a conquering people from north to south. They are stouter and darker ■ than their Eastern neighbours, and their head is oval rather than ovoid, the forehead being broad. Al- together their head has many resemblances to the coarse Malayo-Polynesian type. The Burmese have been very largely influenced by Indian thought and culture, as must be evident from THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. their liavmg become zealous Buddhists ; but their build- ings also bear evident marks of Indian origin, influence of They have great figures of Buddha (G-autama) Hindu in every pagoda, and believe in the presence *'i°"&''*- of a spirit (La) in every animal, plant, or thing. Al- though so advanced in s-ome respects, the Burmese tattoo themselves extensively, being perhaps the most civilised people who do so. They have no surnames, their single name having the prefix " Moung " signifying brother, or Nga, Koh, or Poh. In sahitation, they bend three times to the ground. Oiu" troops have recently been compelled to realise once more the amazing muscular- ity, coui- age, and stamina of the Bur- mese. For true brav- ery and endurance of priva- tion thej are quite remark- able ; and they are equally famous for ambushes and stratagems. The daring and the skill of the dacoits or bandits and murder- ous classes have been made unfortunately too familiar to us by the many deaths they have occasioned among our officers and men. When the late subjects of the King of Burmah have become as familiar with the benefit of British rule as their fellows in lower Burmah, it is probable that they may rauk among our most intelUgent and progressive subjects. The Burmese women are not kept in seclusion, but BUBMESE AOTOBS. Bravery. Dacoits. 126 THR INHABITANTS OF ASIA. mingle freely witli the other sex, though treated as Burmese inferiors. Marriages are not arranged till the women, parties are grown np ; and the negotiation is undertaken by the young man's nearest female relative. The bridegroom's present to his wife is three skirts, three . sashes, three pieces of white mushn, and such amage. jg-^gjg ^g ]^q ^^^^ afford ; then, at the marriage feast, which is the only ceremony, the pair eat out of the same dish. "Widows receive one-fourth of their husband's property, the rest being divided between the children. The higher ranks burn their dead, the lower bury them or throw them into a river. Priests' corpses are treated with especial ceremony, being embalmed with costly spices, and reserved for a grand cere- monial, the body being placed on an immense car, which is pulled in diverse directions by the multitude, towards water or fire, victory being to the strongest, and deter- mining the mode of disposing of the body. The government of the Burmese king and court was very despotic and tyrannic, and the cause of much op- The late pression. The life and property of all subjects despotic were at the king's disposal. White umbrellas government. ^^^ white elephants were among the special attributes of royalty ; but our soldiers found the white elephants a mere sham, very little lighter than ordinary ones, and in no way worthy of the fuss made about them. The characters of the Burmese language are formed of circles and segments of chcles ; there are thirty-three The Burmese simple sounds or characters. Native books language, have formerly been made of pieces of prepared palm-leaf fastened together. For their religious rites and books the Buddhist priests use Pali, like their brethren in Ceylon. In general accomplishments and intelligence, the Bur- mese are far behind the Hindus. Their manufactures are Injurious liniited in number and are not highly advanced, Influence of although the possibilities for their development Buddhism. ^^^ considerable. The preponderating influence of Buddhism, with the exorbitant demands of its priests for their maintenance, and for the btiilding and support 128 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. of the temples, is responsible for mucL. of tlie backward state of our new kingdom. To raise it to tbe level of Pegu and Tenasserim, still more to that of Calcutta and Bombay, will task the best endeavours of even the British government. The Burmese are far more attached to religious processions, exhibitions, and feasting, than to good government and industry ; the latter they usemen s. j^gg^-^e to the women. Puppets and marionettes, loud and coarse music, boat-racing and horse-racing, athletics, gambling, and cockfighting, are among the popular amusements. The Talaings, or Mons, of the Irrawaddy delta are essentially of the same race as the Burmese, but preceded The Talaings, them in time, and speak a distinct language, or Mons. founded on the Pah, and with considerable affinity to the Kolarian languages of India. They are of somewhat lighter colour and more delicate features than the Burmese, but are becoming more and more amalgamated with and assimilated to them. Among the Mongolian peoples, few are more interest- ing for study than the Karens, who are widely spread The Karens in Burmah, especially in Tenasserim and Siam, of Burmah. Ibut describe themselves as having originally come from the North. However, they inhabited their present territories long before the advent of the Burmese. They are divided into a number of distinct tribes, and vary considerably in physique and character according to the district in which they live — mountainous or lowland. They are of smaller stature than Europeans, but well pro- portioned and muscular, capable of much endurance. As with so many Mongolians, dirt, drunkenness, and deceit abound among them ; but they are industrious, attached to home and family, and their women have a better moral character than some of their neighbours. Revenge is a cardinal idea with them. A father on his death-bed will charge his sons to avenge him on his enemies. They are very imitative, and can readily learn the use of tools, though they originate nothing. Various subdivisions of these people are known, as the white, red, and black Karens, from the colour of their THE TIBETO-BVRMESE AND TIBETANS. 129 clothes. The red Karens, however, now wear some black clothing. Thev inhabit some of the best land WMte, red. in the interior of Burmah, and in times past and black issued from their table-lands to plunder and ^^^"i^- kidnap in all directions, selling most of their captives — the Burmese to the Siamese, and r/ce i-ersd. Every man had a short knife ; those who had not guns had swords or spears ; with these, riding on their active ponies, they were sufficiently formidable as cavalry. Their character A BUU31ESE GENTLEMAN, WITH ATTENDANTS. is further shown by the considerable amount of comfort in which they live. Their food is good, they have many implements, better than those of the Burmese, and they formerly made them all themselves. Some of the Karen tribes are Buddhists, but others are Pagan. They bum their dead, but reserve a portion of the skull to hang from a tree, together with Religion the clothing, armour, and ornaments of the ajid funeral deceased. Eound these they dance and_ siiig, after which the remains are buried K customs. The Pagans have 13° THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. a sort of spirit worship, reverencing tlie nats, or good and evil spirits of rivers, hills, plains, and trees, and sacrificing to tliem buffaloes, hogs, and fowls. Some of them also worship the spirits of their ancestors. The Karens usually marry within their own limited tribes, and second cousins are preferred. Children, especially girls, are be- trothed early. A go- between often arranges marriages ; open courting is considered discredit- Marriage able. When ceremonies. t]ie marriage takes place, the bride is led by her relatives, with a procession blowing trumpets, to the bride- groom's parents' house, where, while ascending the ladder to its entrance, she receives an abundant douche of water, and then takes a meal with her new relatives. The bride and bridegroom then give drink to one another, each saying to the other, "Be faithful to thy covenant." This is the essential part of the marriage ceremony. Polygamy is unknown, though divorces not un- frequently occur, the wife retaining the domestic hearth and most of the property. Before Dr. Mason visited them, now many years ago, a Karen of note made his Will w '^'^ ^'^ ^'^ following manner, written wills -ma ng. ^^gj^^g ^nij^own. He invited every inhabitant of the village to a feast, at which he solemnly declared HILL KAIIENS. THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. Lis wislies as to tlie disposal of his property, and begged that his wishes might be carried out after his death. A number of the Karen tribes have only one great building, built of bamboo, to accommodate an entire \illage. This has an enclosed square or hall Karen in the centre, and a walk extending round the dweiungs. four sides, with rooms opening into it on either side. The central hall is common property, but each married couple have a room and hearth of their own. Round the hall is a raised platform, which forms the sleeping quar- ters of the young men. This entire building is raised some eight or ten feet above the ground, pig-sties being arranged beneath. From this it may be expected, as is the fact, that the Karens very dirty. If they are could be cleansed, they would show a hgh.ter skin, and the women would ex- hibit a capacity of blush- ing which would give them some attractiveness. G-overnment, among the Karens, is very indefinite. The strongest or most self- assertive man is chief of a village or district ; but he loses his foUowing when a stronger arises. The elders have considerable iniiuence ; but, on the whole. Mole of , every man is a law to himself, and retahation ffovermnent. is looked upon as perfectly just. Cursing is a serious mode of treating evildoers ; and selling them iuto slavery is a rather frequent practice. Villages are very often at war with their neighbom's, and in proceeding to hostili- ties they give no quarter. As an illustration of war feeUng among the Karens, we wiU give a war song recorded by Mr. Mason. " I go to war, I am sent ; I go to fight, I am sent. Clothe me with the iron breast-plate, eai;ex chief. 132 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Give me the iron sMeld. I am not strong, may I make myself strong, I am weak, may I make myself powerful. I go witli a multitude, many persons ; We will go to the house, the foot of the steps ; We will fire muskets and holloa. The people come with wives and children ; Unsheath the spear, draw the sword ; Smite the neok, spear the side, The blood flows purple. I go to war, I am employed ; I go to fight, I am employed. i Employer, give me whisky to drink ; I drink till I am dizzy. We march in order, like white ants ; We cross a stream, and trample it dry : We arrive at the foot of the house, We reach the foot of the ladder : We go up into the bedrooms ; Blood flows like a stream of water ; The blood flows down under the house. The mother cries herself to death. The great hawk flies over the house. Pounces down on the chief's red cook ; The great hawk sweeps around the house, Carries off its prey at the foot of the steps ; Seizes the chief's white cock. The great hawk flies away. Leaving the chief behind weeping." From this it is very evident how deeply the Karens are interested in their feuds and warlike affairs. The same author who has preserved this song teUs us "^ ■ that the Karens eat every quadruped, from a rat to an elephant, excepting fehnes ; and that reptiles are equally acceptable. AH kinds of birds and fish and grubs are welcome in their bill of fare ; while every plant serves as a vegetable. TB.E TIBETANS. This people, one of the most isolated and little known in the world, is also one of the most interesting. Like the Chinese, long their racial antagonists, they afforded ft home to Buddhism when it was almost expelled from the land of its origin ; and Tibet now stands as the central THE TIBETO-BUR.MESE A\D TIBETANS. 133 al)ode of that religion, mucli as the States of the Church did till recently for Romanism. Buddhism mtro^^oygn was not introdiiced into Tibet until the seventh of century, a.d., by a king of Sakya descent, ^^^d^^^sm. whose dynasty ruled over the country for many centuries. Gradually the Buddhist priests increased theh claims to influence and authority, and in the eleventh century were almost paramount. Until the fifteenth century marriage prevailed among the priesthood; and this party is still predominant in Ladakh, Bhutan, and Sikkini ; while a celibate reformation gained possession of Tibet, the priests adopting the yellow robes, whose wearers are still predominant and are acknowledged by the Chinese emperor as practical rulers of Tibet. The Grand Lama of Tibet The Grand is reverenced as an incar- Lama, nation of Buddha, and holds swa}" at Lassa. At his death search is made for a child bearing certain signs or marks known to the Lamas, which identify him as the succeeding in- carnation of Buddha. The lamas, — corresponding to some extent with Western monks, — exist in vast numbers in Tibet, congregated in hundreds ' and even thousands in huge " lamas- series." According to Captain Gill, who visited Eastern Tibet in 1877,* the lamas shave their heads, are filthy in their person, ,and dress in a piece rather than a garment of coarse red serge thrown over one shoulder, and another length wound round the waist and forming a sorb of skirt. Many are bare-footed, while Dress of others wear high boots of leather and red cloth, lamas. A string of beads and a prayer-cyhnder complete the costume. " The prayer-cylinder, or prayer- The prayer, wheel, as it is often most inappropriately called, cylinders, is usually," says Captain Gill, " about three or four inches * " The Eirer of Goiaen Saud," by Capt. ^Y. Gill, IWSO, , ' Lamasseries. 134 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. in diameter and in length ; the mystical invocation, ' Om Ma-ni Pe-mi Hom ' (0 the Jewel in the Lotus ! Amen.), is written on the outside, whilst a small weight at the end of a short string keeps the affair in rotation ; and all day long, not only the Lamas, but the people may be seen muttering the universal praj^er, and twisting their cyhnders, invariably in the same direction with the hands of a clock. One or more great cylinders, inscribed with this sentence, stand at the entrance to every house in Tibet ; and a member of the household or a guest who passes is always expected to give the cylinder a twist for the welfare of the establishment. At almost every rivulet the eye is arrested by a little building that is at first mistaken for a water mill, but which on close in- spection is found to contain a cylinder, turning by the force of the stream, and ceaselessly sending up pious univeraauty ejaculations to heaven; for every turn of a of the prayer- cylinder On which the prayer is written is sup- macnine. posed to convey an invocation to the deity. Sometimes enormous barns are filled with these cylinders, gorgeously painted, and with the prayer repeated on them many times ; and at every turn and every step in Tibet this sentence is forced upon the traveller's notice in some form or another." It is in accordance with the reverence paid to them that the lamas are rich, some lamasseries being enor- weaituof mously so. They own half the country, and tue lamas, constantly receive legacies, and grow rich by usury. They are untaxed ; they scarcely ever do any work, the agriculture of the lamasseries being performed by large numbers of slaves ; and they are generally profli- gates, though professedly celibates. They leave their retreats when they choose, and pray just as much or as little as they choose. Consequently recruits to their or- ganisation are always forthcoming. Idlers and criminals are constantly entering them. It is said that the common people detest the lamas for their oppression, and that the country is getting depopulated by emigration to Yunnan. The Tibetans may perhaps be regarded as typical Mongols. In their own and surrounding districts they THE TIBETO-BURMESE AND TIBETANS. 135 are known as Bot or Bliot, tlie same name which appears in Bhutan. Their ordinary complexion is tawny physical yellow ; but the tipper class are said to be al- aspect, most as fair as Europeans, with the usual Mongol small black eyes, high cheek-bones, and snub nose. Their cloth- ing is much more important to them than to Indians and Burmese, because of the great altitude of their „, table-land and mountains, the majority of the people Kving at a height of nine to eleven thousand feet above the sea level. Those who can afford them, wear Chinese satins in the warm season, and the same lined with fur in colder weather. The poorer people wear woollen, sheepskins, and any furs they can get. Ablution is as rare among them as with many Mongols ; and their clothing is worn in an indescribably dirty and greasy condition, rendering proximity to them very disagreeable. The principal food of a Tibetan is a kind of oatmeal porridge mixed with much butter. Their tea is taken with large lumps of butter in it. Sour cream, cm-ds, and cheese are also eaten ; but the milk, being kept p in dirty vessels, turns iDad very quickly. Mutton is their principal meat ; and the long wool of the Tibetan sheep is well known to be excellent in quality. The Yak, or Tibetan hump-backed ox, is of course the most trea- sured animal, being the source of their abundant supplies of butter and milk. A man with three or four _ hundred head of cattle is rich, while one who has only twenty or thirty is poor. The richest people possess two or three thousand head, and let them out to cattle-keepers. The Tibetan women, however poor, have large quantities of jewellery, often of solid gold. Not unfrequently they wear on each side of the head disks of chased Tiuetan silver about the size of a saucer, meeting above, JeweUory. and a third smaller one behind, all loaded with coral and turquoise. Necklaces and chains of beads, and elaborate charm boxes containing the mystical prayer, are frequent and abundant adornments. Another article almost uni- versally carried is the polished wooden cup from which porridge or tea is drunk. 135 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Tibetan houses are rarely congregated, but are scattered over the country, often at intervals of two or three hundred Tibetan yards. They are frequently very inferior and houses, gloomy, with flat roofs and little windows. The lower area is a stable ; a ladder leads to the upper storey, all being of wood. The idea of good fires does not seem to have occurred to them, for they are content in their cold weather with miserable wood or charcoal fires in pans giving far more smoke than warmth. The bodies of the dead are disposed of mostly by ex- posure ; and not only are birds of prey admitted to the Exposure of death enclosures, but also dogs and other beasts the dead, of prey. The bodies of Lamas and other lead- ing people are however burnt, with a vast amount of ceremonial. We must not omit mention of the suzerainty claimed, and indeed exercised, by the Emperor of China over Chinese Tibet. There are two Chinese residents at authority. Lassa ; and whether they interfere with local government or not, they keep alive the idea of Pekin authority, which is exercised to keep out foreigners who may not be palatable to them, and to claim a certain amount of tribute. A conversation between a Tibetan Lama and a Euro- pean traveller in 1886, gives the reason of their reluctance to welcome Europeans. The Lamas say that " Europeans have a good rehgion which they do not generally practise, and yet wish to force on others whose religion is as good and is practised. They are believed to be full of greed, for, living in a rich country, they always acquire other countries ; and while they talk of their benevolent pur- poses, they destroy animal life every day for their own food, thus becoming clouded in intellect and in the per- ception of true morality. If they merely wanted to culti- vate friendly relations, why not do so by letters? or would not one envoy be sufficient to propose trade arrangements ? " In fact, the past ways of Europeans seem very evidently to forebode new conquests. CHAPTEE IX. CfK J)iante§r, Cotftut CftmrSe, Cambotiinng, tU, The Kingdom of Siam— The Tai, or Thai — Chinese immigrants —Four dynasties of kings— Constantino Phaulcon— Burmese attacks— The late king Monk- gut— King Chulalonkorn — Abolition of prostration and slavery— Slave - debtors— Physical characters of Siamese- Lao physical characters— Dress of both sexes almost alike— Jewellery — Tattooing— Ear ornaments of Laos — Work and habits— Siamese and Lao character— Houses and furniture — Reception of visitors— Marriage cere-monies- Education— New-bom chil- dren — Treatment of mothers— Siamese temples— Cremation— Albino or "white" elephants— Siamese processions— Manufactures and produc- tions—Language—The Cochln-Chlnese— Physical characters and dress- Food and driuk—Marriage-Rellglon-Sorcerers— Christian missionarlea — The Tonktnese— Language— The Cambodian kingdom- Former civlllsa- tlon— The Khmer— A Caucasian people— The Malays— Negritos. THE kingdom of Siam includes several racial elements, mostly- Mongol, but also, according to recent researclies, a distinct infusion of a The kingdom Caucasian stock, more of Slam, abundant in Cambodia. Our knowledge of Siam is still rather imperfect owing to the unwillingness of the people to admit foreigners, even as travellers. Bangkok, the capital, near the mouth of the river Menam, is the only place where Europeans are permitted to reside. The Siamese people form a distinct Mongolian group, the Tai, or Thai, the dominant people who throng the Menam valley. The Laos are a variety less numerous, 137 '^ ' 138 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. occupying chiefly tlie valley of tlie Meikong, or Cambodia TneTai, river. The Shans are another variety in or Thai. Northern Siam and Eastern Burmah. Siam also includes many Mons, or Peguans, and Malays ; also a large number of Karens and other mountain tribes. But next to the Siamese or Tai proper, the most numerous of all the inhabitants are Chinese, who have so insinuated themselves as to gain a large proportion of the trade of the country. They are constantly immigrating, and never cuinese bring Chinese wives, but marry Siamese women. immigrants, jf they return to China, their Siamese wives and children remain behind. They have their own temples, and worship Buddha according to the Chinese fashion. In ancient times Siam appears to have been an appen- dage of Cambodia ; but there are records of four dynasties Four of Siamese kings, extending from a.d. 1350. dynasties of The seat of government was formerly Ayu- '^^^^^ thia, a few miles further up the Menam than Bangkok, which is quite modern ; a large portion of its population indeed living on the river in boats, Chinese- fashion. In the sixteenth century the Burmese king of Pegu conquered Ayuthia, but did not retain his capture many years. In the reign of the enlightened king Narai (1657-1683), many Exoropean merchants established them- Constantine selves in trade in the country, one of whom Phauioon. -^as the remarkable adventurer Constantine Phaulcon, Venetian in origin, his father being the son of a governor of Cephalonia, his mother a native of that island. Phaulcon, having visited Siam to trade, became a great favourite with the king, through his mechanical and business skill, and his introduction of many European novelties, such as telescopes. He erected forts for the king, selecting the site which Bangkok now occupies. He induced the king to repair the old city of Louvo, and construct a palace there in European style ; near which Phaulcon built a palace for himself, as well as a Romish chm'ch. His innovations were so far-reaching that accu- sations were made against him, and he was assassinated by order of a rebel prince. Many of Phaulcon's works are still to be seen in ruins. THE LATE KINa OF SIAM, MONOKCT. 139 140 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. The Burmese again attacked the Siamese in the middle of the last century, and took and burnt Ayuthia in 1767. Burmese Finding it difficult to retain full authority in attacks. Siam, the Burmese contented themselves with plundering and murdering for some years, till an extra- ordinary man of Chinese origin, named Pin Tat, estab- lished himself as king at Bangkok under the name of Phya Tak. The present dynasty is descended from a notable Siamese general under Phya Tak, who became The late King king in 1782. The late King Mongkut (1851- Mongkut. 1868) was a most enlightened monarch in many ways. Like not a few of his predecessors, he had decided literary tastes ; he could speak and write English, and had many English surroundings and tastes. He was especially fond of scientific instruments and mechanical devices. The present King Chulalonkorn continues the intelli- gent traditions of his father and predecessor. His palace King cirnia- is a mixture of different forms of Eiiropean lonkom. architecture with the characteristic Siamese roof. In his library are to be found the leading English and American periodicals and newspapers ; and he works as hard as any European monarch, supervising the affairs of the entire kingdom. One of his first acts was to abolish the old etiquette which required every one to Aijoiition of appi^oa'^t^ ^11® king in extreme prostration, and prostration forbade any subject to see his face. All classes and slavery, may now have audience of the king, and ap- proach him standing. - He has also abolished slavery (the order taking effect gradually) in the tracts under his immediate control; but this does not apply to northern Siam, with which his relations are indirect. But slave- debtors are very numerous, namely, debtors siave-debtors.^jjQ are in service tiU a debt is worked off. As Carl Book says, in his " Temples and Elephants," 1884, giving an account of a journey through Upper Siam and Lao, the king is a century in advance of his people, encouraging education and research in every way. At his own expense he has sent a considerable number of young Siamese noblemen to England, France, and (jer- THE SIAMESE, COCHIN CHINESE, CAMBODIANS. 141 manj-, to be educated and improved by contact with AYestern civilisation. A European doctor is one of liis intimate fiiends ; and in every matter in which, he can employ Europeans without arousing too much jealousy among his subjects, he does so. The Siamese, or Tai proper, are intermediate in colour between the Chinese and the Malays, the upper classes being decidedly light yellow, the hair and eyespj^y^j^^ ^j^g^. being black, and the latter small and somewhat raoters of dull-looking. The nose is smaU, and the teeth Siamese, are often dyed black, the lips being deep red from the universal habit of chewing betel. It cannot be said that the face has any beauty in our eyes, though the children are better looking. A considerable number of the people of Bangkok, influenced by the example of the king, now wear their hair all over the head, and cut short in both sexes ; but the majority of Siamese men, especially away from the coast, retain the fashion of shaving it all off except a small tuft on the crown, while the women do not shave, but cut the hair short, and are 'also addicted to painting their eyebrows and eyelids. The Laos are of a lighter complexion than the Siamese, and much more exclusive. They are decidedly better looking, with high foreheads and well-shaped noses. Often the young women have fat round faces, and the lips are Lao physical somewhat protruding. Many of the Lao cnaracters. women are able to bend their forearm and wrist out- wards, so that the back of the hand touches the upper arm ; this is acquired by early practice and the use of some force. Perhaps it is among the Siamese that the least dif- ference of dress between the sexes is discernible ; but no, we were forgetting the Esquimaux. Their principal gar- ment is similar, namely, a long piece of cotton -q^q^s of both cloth or silk worn round the waist and passed sexes almost between the thighs, one end being fastened in ^'^®" front and the other behind, thus producing the effect of a pair of short trousers. The upper part of the body is girt with a long scarf passed round the chest _ and over one shoulder in a variety of fashions. Under this the 142 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. more advanced now wear a close-fitting white jacket, and even wldte stockings and dress shoes. The Siamese women are very fond of jewellery, though little partial to ear-rings. Rings and gold chains are abundant ; and even children, though otherwise quite undressed, wear heavy bracelets and anklets. SIAMESE WOMEN AT DINNEK. The western Laos for the most part content themselves with a much more limited garb, often only a small metal . plate, while the appearance of clothing is given to the male by very elaborate tattooing. This extends from the waist down to the knees, and represents a variety of birds and other animals, including peacocks, SIAMESE, COCHIN CHINESE, CAMBODIANS, ETC. 143 pigeons, vultures, lions, tigers, elephants, as well as some fabulous creatiu'es or monsters, the interspaces being filled in by wavy lines. The pigment used is the soot from burning lard, mixed with bile, and pricked into the skin. The operation is very painful. Both sexes in Lao have their ears pierced and the aperture stretched to a remarkable extent, by pieces of wood, ivory, or metal successively inserted. Ear oma- The men either wear a fresh flower in the ear, merits of Laos, or use it as a convenient place for carrying a cigarette or cigar, tobacco being universally smoked by both sexes and young children. The women's ear-ornament is a rolled plate of gold, or, among the poor, a thin cylinder of gold filled up with lead. Throughout a great part of Siam and its dependencies the women do the principal part of the work, even in the fields. The men are on the whole idle, dis- work and posed to sports and amusements, without ideas nawts. of improvement or even enriching themselves except by hoarding secretly what they can keep from the chiefs eyes. The Siamese character has been described as " gentle, cheerful, timid, careless, and almost passionless " ; bu-t this does not apply to the northern people, who are mostly mean, selfish, and untruthful, and hate and dis- trust foreigners to an absurd degree. Credit must, how- ever, be given to them for more than average Siamese and morahty between the sexes . They are certainly ^^° character. very expressionless in countenance, seldom laughing or crying ; when roused, however, they can show anger or irritation as plainly as most people, but largely by move- ments other than those of the face. Both Siamese houses and furniture are very slight, being built of bamboo, usually raised some feet above the ground, unless built out of the reach of inundations. "An. ordinary Lao householder," says Bock, Houses and " thinks his dwelling well appointed if he has furniture, a few plaited rattan or bamboo mats and cushions ready to spread, upon the floor ; for, when not actually in use, they are kept piled up in a heap in some convenient corner. The best mats are edged with a red border; 144 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. and the cusliions, wliicL. are either oblong or three-sided, have their ends embroidered in silk or gold. "When a visitor enters, a mat is spread on the floor, with a cushion either behind to lean against or at the side as a support to, the arm — the quality of the cushions and mats selected depending entirely upon the rank of the visitor. The Reception of Chows (chiefs) have, as a rule, a table and a visitors, fg-yy chairs, but seldom use the latter except ■when visited by ' distinguished strangers,' when they look very uncomfortable as they sit cross-legged on the seat. Of bedsteads there are none, the people sleeping on home-made mattresses stuffed with cotton-wool, and surrounded by a mosquito-ciTrtain." The utensils are limited to a few earthenware pots and pans, with wooden spoons. The better houses have lamps, and even clocks and looking-glasses ; the poorer have cotton wicks to burn in vessels of oil. The infant's cradle is a sort of basket swung from the roof by long cords. Both Siamese and Laos employ go-betweens in arrang- ing marriages, about which there is much palaver. The astrologers are usually consulted as to favourable ages Marriage and other compatibihties. Dowries are given ceremonies, from both sides in equal proportion, and large presents, which are taken in stately processions to the bride. The priests read an extract from the Buddhist Scriptures, and pray for a blessing on the couple. After this, the curtain which has concealed the bride is hfted, and the pair, seated near each other, are sprinkled with holy water. After further prayers, followed by two days of feasting, the marriage is complete. UntH the birth of the first child, the newly-married pair live with the parents of the bride. It is the Siamese rule to have but one wife; but the upper classes keep as many subordinate wives or concu- bines as they can afford. The duly married wife has a Education. S^o*^ ^'^^ '^^ influence, though little or no education ; but the male sex are little better educated, except in Bangkok, their education being con- fined to imperfect reading and writing and the precepts . and legends of Buddha. SIAMESE, COCHIN CHINESE, CAMBODIANS, ETC. 145 The Laos believe that children are the offspring of the spirits ; and when newly born they are placed on the top of the ladder leading to the house, and the spirits are called to take away the child at once or not Newborn to molest it afterwards. Various offerings to cwidren. the spirits are made ; and on the second day the child is considered out of their power, and is nominally sold to some relative for a trifle, it being supposed that the spii'its would not take what has been thus sold. The mother un- fortunately is sub- mitted meanwhile to hor- Treatment of r i b 1 e niotliers. torture, being sur- rounded by bam- boos and twigs, which are set on fire, hterally roast- ing her. This is supposed to be a means of recovery, but often ensures death ; the king even lost his wife in this way, being imable to over- come the prejudices of his officials. As this performance is repeated for some days, — among the Siamese for a month, in the case of a first-born child, — the woman is fortunate who escapes. Children are suckled for three years, and after receiving their natural food, they fre- quently have a cigarette to smoke. "We have left till now two of the most notable features J- SIAMESE DANCINa OIUL. 146 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. of Siam, namely, temples and elephants. Both are cer- siamese tainly numerous, the temples of course belonging temples, -to the dominant Buddhist religion. The great temple, "Wat Poh,"in Bangkok, contains an enormous gilt figure of the dying Buddha, about 160 feet long, constructed of bricks, lacquered and heavily gilt. The hiige foot-soles are inlaid with mother of pearl figures illustrating stories of Buddha's life. The floor is of tesse- lated marble. Another great temple, — the "Wat Chang," or Elephant Temple, — has a lofty spire with external decoration in remarkable patterns which at a distance look like mosaics of precious stones, but are in truth no- thing but a mixture of broken glass, crockery, and shells. A representation of the three-headed elephant is promi- nently placed on each of the four fa5ades of this temple. Cremation is the usual mode of disposing of the dead. Priests pray day and night in the house until the body ation. ^'^ removed to the temple-grounds. The inter- val between death and burial varies according to the rank and wealth of the family; it may even be protracted for months, during which the prayers go on continuously, the coffin being covered with flowers. But the devouring of bodies by vultures and dogs is not at all uncommon. From the prolonged keeping of dead bodies, it is not surprising that cholera is rile. The people are not by any means educated up to the king's standard, and persist in ascribing diseases to spirits, and in hinder- ing sanitary reform. Elephants are very numerotis — so much so that to ride on a female elephant is esteemed a disgrace. Albino Albino or elephants are thought much of; and the more "wnit'e" they approach perfection in that respect, the eiepnants. jj^qj-q they are valued and claimed for the king. Many of those called white are simply a little lighter than the average, or have uncoloured areas on the body or on the ears. Whenever a lighter one than usual is found, an extraordinary festival is held in his honour, at which the king is present. The most perfect discovered in late years is pale reddish-brown aU over the body, with a few white hairs on the. back, and eyes a pale yellow. SIAMESE, COCHIN CHINESE, CAMBODIANS, ETC. 147 The reception of a white elephant furnishes a grand opportunity for a pageant. Brass bands, Siamese bands playing on tom-toms, conch shells, etc., and artillery grace the occasion, with many processions of princes Siamese and nobles. " No Siamese," says Mr. Bock, processions. " moves from his house, whether for a walk, or to make an offering at the temple, or to pay a visit, without two or more — it may be a dozen or more — 'slave-debtors,' according to his rank, carrying, as the indispensable insignia of office, or ot social rank, not only his iimbrellas, but his betel and tobacco- boxes, tea- pot, etc., and I believe, al- ways in one of the betel or tobacco- boxes, his seal, for the Siamese at- tach great importance to seals, which take the place ot signatures in Western civilisation. These seals are mostly made of ivory, the devices representing an angel or a lotus-flower, etc. No sealing-wax is used with these seals, but always a vermilion-red dye. If the master stops on the road, his cavalcade, with their betel-boxes, umbrellas, etc., all sit down on the ground on their haunches at a respectful distance ; and when he enters a house, these servants sit outside on the ground, or on the steps, or even on the verandah, some of them always quite near enough to overhear the conversation." SHAN OUTTINO TOBACCO. 148 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. , Tlie Siamese are chiefly occupied in agriculture — ■jewellery, though largely manufactured, being principally Manufactures i^ ^^ hands of Chinese settlers. Sculpture and is very fairly represented, chiefly by the figures productions, of Buddha, and of elephants and other animals. Many Siamese are employed in inlaid mother-of-pearl and lacquer work, in which they are well skilled. Bam- boo work employs very many. The most abundant agricuHural products, in addition to rice and tobacco, are teak, rose, and other kinds of wood, sugar, pepper, and other spices and aromatics, cotton, resins and gums, and beeswax. Of the latter many beautiful models of flowers, figures, and buildings are made, and offered at the temples. The minerals of Siam are abundant — gold, copper, tin, iron, and lead being among them. Precious stones, too, are by no means lacking. The maniifacture of figm^es of Buddha is very extensive, there being a constant de- mand ; they are made to suit aU purchasers. The Siamese language belongs to the same group as the Chinese, or the monosyllabic non-inflecting group ; and tones and vowels have a preponderating ffuage. ^jjg^gjj^ge -y^ determining the special meaning of the root words. Many modified Sanscrit words have been introduced, and Pah, in the Buddhist scriptures, has considerably influenced the language. There is no article, and no distinction of number, gender, or case. The order of words is most important in determining the meaning. There is little literature in the language. Some metrical legends and romances, and a number of books of laws, are the chief books known. The eastern and south-eastern portion of Further India, known as Tonkin, Cochin-China, Annam, and Cambodia, The Cochin- is inhabited by people of a more and more Chinese. Chinese type, intermixed with Siamese and Shan or Tai elements. A large portion of these terri- tories has in recent years been brought more or less under French domination. "We may, perhaps, best speak of the inhabitants as Cochin-Chinese, giving separate mention to any sections needing it. The Cochin-Chinese we comparatively fair Mongoloids NATIVES OF ANNAil. U9 Ijo THE INHABITANTS' OF ASIA. ■ — the men short, but active ; the ■women fairer than the Physical men, and well formed'. Their faces are not so characters large and straight, their mouths are not so and dress. sjjj^a,ll, nor their eyes so hard and staring as is seen in the Siamese. They are much more merry, lively, and talkative. The loose Chinese trousers and frock with large sleeves, made of cotton or silk, are worn by both sexes. The hair is not cut short, but worn of its natural length, and coiled at the back of the head. The highlanders, known as Moi, are taller, lighter, and less peaceable, but have a good name for truthfulness and honesty, which the inhabitants of the plain have not. Tea is the national drink here, as in China ; and spirits are little in vogue. Rice and fish are the chief articles Food and of diet; but nothing comes amiss — dogs, cats, drink ra,ts, tigers, snakes, earth-worms, etc., bping devoured with gusto. Betel-chewing and tobacco-smok- ing are practised by all. Polygamy is largely in vogue ; but the first wife has a special position. Purchase is the form preceding mar- . riage ; and adultery may be punished by death. amage. ji^qjj^^ ^]^^g ^^ ^^ ^g inferred that women are not well treated by their husbands, who not unfrequently beat them. Slavery for debt here includes possession of the wives and family of the debtor, who may also be sold. Buddhism in a rather loose form is the predominant religion ; but with it flourishes much paganism, includ- ing ancestor-worship. Indeed, much of their e gion. religion differs little from the Shamanism of Siberian natives. Exorcists and astrologers abound. Burial rites are very complex, great respect being paid to the dead. The greatest care is taken to prevent desecration of the body, which is placed in a coffin as rich as can be afforded, and often kept for months before burial. The charms of sorcerers are considered orcerers. all-powerful, and are largely bought ; the de- tails of their practices are most elaborate. Tigers or serpents are, among others, beasts of ill-omen ; and ghosts and spirits are beheved to be universally present. It is in accordance with this state of superstition that Christian SIAMESE, COCHIN CHINESE, CAMBODIANS, ETC. 151 missionaries have been greatly persecuted. In recent years, however, the Romanist priests have curistian gained better treatment, even beyond the miBsionaries. French border, in consequence of the threats of the French authorities, as to punishment in case of any harm befalling the priests. In the districts approaching China, Chinese influence is naturally greater, and a large proportion of the Tonkinese people are a cross between Cochin-Chinese, or AnnamesOj Cambodian. AiiT.a'niese, WOMEN OP FUIiTnEB INDIA. and Chinese. They partake of the defects of both, lack- ing the Chinese stability and industry. They Tie do not cut or shave their hair, which they fix Tonkiaese. behind the head with a pin. Their cheek-bones project more than the Cochin-Chinese proper, and the nose is more prominent than that of the Chinese ; they are also far more slender, and not prone to fatness. The Cochin-Chinese language may almost be called an early dialect of Chinese, being monosyllabic, and much 153 THE MHABITANTS OF ASIA. of the meaning depending on the tone in wMcli the words Language ^^® pronounced. There is but Kttle literary character in the language. Cambodia, formerly a kingdom extending over a very "wide extent of Further India, is now a small kingdom rpjja occupying only a small tract between Siam and camtpodian Cochin-China, bounded on the north-east by the Mngdom. ]y[e.j^ong, or Cambodia river, -which also flows through it, but not extending into the delta. After suffer- ing much at the hands of the Siamese, it has subsided into a French protectorate. It was formerly a great Buddhist kingdom ; and vast ruins of temples, both in Cambodia and in Siamese provinces conquered from Cam- bodia, show the ancient wealth of the kingdom. Some of the remains, however, of great extent, have been shown Former to describe the exploits of Eama and Vishnu, civilisation, ^nd must have been due to Brahmanism. The ancient palace of the Khmer kings (the national name of the Cambodians) has been explored, and is full of magnifi- cent sculptures, the enormous three-headed elephant being there enthroned in all places of honour.* The Cambodians, who do not now number more than a million, are remarkable for their Caucasic or Aryan features, which also correspond with the figures on their The Khmer ^i^^i®^^ sculptures. They also have a poly- ' syllabic language, quite distinct from Mongo- loid forms. Much remains to be known about them and their related tribes in the hills, some of whom show marked superiority in morals, taste, and character. Their dress, ornaments, implements, etc., exhibit a degree of A Caucasian taste not often met with ; and it may be that people, long ago they were a branch of the same Aryans ■who conquered India, but have been themselves conquered and subdued, hke the Hindus, by the invading Mongols, and have been unable, hke the BtLndus, to assimilate their conquerors. They seem now to be gradually getting absorbed by the combined Siamese, Cochin-Chinese, and Malay elements. * Full details are given by Lieutenant Delaporte in his " Voyage au Cambodge," a magnificent volume published in Paris in 1880. SIAMESE, COCHIN CHINESE, CAMBODIANS, ETC. 153 The Malay peninsula must be briefly dismissed here. A great part of the inhabitants are Malays, whom we can discuss better in their main home, the Malay ^^ Malays Archipelago. The Chinese are largely immi- grating, and may become the majority. A number of Siamese are also in the peninsula, becoming mixed with the Malays, and serving to uphold the Siamese power in the northern part of the peninsula. But besides these, there are some aboriginal tribes, numbering about ten thousand, who belong to the Negrito type, found also in the Andamans and the Phihppines. They are in a very low state of life, and live u^g^jtog entirely on the chase, using poisoned arrows. Their hair is short and curly (not frizzed), and their skins are nearly black. Very little is known of them, as they shun intercourse with others. ^ CHAPTER X. Chinese antagoniam to Western ideas— Effects of trade— Modem breaking down of barriers— The Seres— Cathay— The Mongol empire— Cessation of European Intercourse— Early Chinese history— Era of Confucius— Else of Tartar power— The great wall of China— Introduction of Budd- hism—Three Chinese kingdoms— An antl-reUglous emperor— Growing Tartar power— Jenghlz Khan— Kubla Khan— The Ming dynasty— Great, disasters and laaurrections— The Manchu Tartars subdue China— Literary and warlike emperors— British embassies— War with British— The great Tal-ping rebellion— Another war with Britain— Chinese Gordon— Prince Chun— The Chinese examination system — Rank conferred by examination —Severity of the tests— Graduated examinations— The highest tests— The Chinese classics— Strict fairness observed— The empire a patriarchal despotism— The kotow— Chinese princes do not travel— Prince Chun's journey— Poetical records— Visit to the British fleet— System of govern- ment— Mandarins-Peace and prosperity— Chinese punishments— Earity of personal violence— Offences of women and children— Physical charac- ters—Children and education— Chinese pecuUaiitles— Food and drink— Chopsticks— Dress— Unchanging fashions— The pig-tail— Women's hair, dressing— Oplum-smoking—A great opium den— Houses and travelog — Lantern festival — Imperial ceremonies — Marriage— Divorce— Death — Ancestor- worship— Funeral ceremonies- A Chinese funeral in England —Mourning— Division of property— Buddhism— Confucianism— Taoism —Fatalism — Remarkable inventions — Neglect of theory— Dislike of ma- chtnery— Manufactures— The Chinese language— Tones— Pigeon English- Chinese poetry— The Book of Kites— The classics — Encyclopaedias — The streets of Canton— Shop-signs— Pri- vate houses— The Manchus— Diversity among Chinese— The hUl tribes— The Formosans- The Coreans— Character of the people— The government -Long sleeves and long pipes. HINA and Japan are, next to I India and Syria (including tlie Holy Land), the Asiatic coun- tries most interesting and im- portant, commercially and pHlosopliically, to Europeans. Although the Caucasian stock includes the vast majority of the inhabitants of 154 THE CHINESE. 155 India, Europeans nevertheless find among the Hindu people a great contrast to Western ideas and practices in very many particulars ; while in antagoSsm China and Japan a widely different stock, the to western Mongolian, is encountered, which has developed ^^^' civilisations of extraordinary power, on principles an- CHINESE MEEOHANTS ON THE BIVEE TIEN-ISIN. tagonistic to our own. Long entrenched behind almost impenetrable barriers, they have resisted with fanatical repugnance the slightest contact with Western barbarians, manifesting the very spirit of the old Jews, Greeks, and Eomans as to barbarians and heathens, and of some Eng- lishmen as to " niggers." We may trace to merchandise;, especially tea, the one indispensable article which China 156 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. had to supply to the British, and to cotton cloth, the Effects of one great fabric which we could supply to trade. China, the impulse which has led to the break- ing down of many of the barriers between East and West; and now that India has begun to overtop China in exports of tea to this country, we may expect the persevering Chinaman, who has appreciated the money brought to his land by the Briton, to develop some other article into greater prominence, that he may retain his chief customer. Even the victories of the British -in India are not so great in their significance as those which are signalised by the gradual breaking down of prejudice and breaking the adoption of Western practices in Japan and down of China. When China has a whole fleet of war- amers. gj^pg '\Qyy;-^\^ \^ Europe and commanded by an English of&cer, when Japan estabhshes a university on the British model, we feel as if any wonder might take place, even the development of the Central African into something better than he is. Chinese history extends back to a period far beyond Etiropean records ; and yet China was only vaguely known to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Tbe erea. j^Qj^r^ans. They heard of the Chinese as the Seres, approached from Central Asia, a vast people, civil- ised and peaceful, aheady famous for silks. The Arabs seem to have known the country as Sin, a corruption of Chin, or China. The Europeans of the middle ages knew China under the name of Cathay, derived from Kitai, still the Russian and Central Asian name for China. This, Cat ay. jj^owledge was connected with the remarkable growth of the Mongol empire of Jenghiz Khan, leading TUe Mongol to numerous enterprises of travellers into the empire, far East, including many Dominican and Fran- ciscan missionaries. Marco Polo was, however, the first European who visited China itself (in the 13th century) ; and his narra- tive did much to familiarise Europe with Cathay. At the end of the thirteenth century other Romish mis- THE CHINESE. 157 slonaries penetrated Southern China, and many converts were made. Trade, too, developed with the great Italian marts, Florence and Genoa. It is not a little remarkable, that after this period European intercom'se with China should have so far ceased, that no intelligence for centuries cessation of reached Europe directly from thence. In fact, European when the Spanish and Portuguese, in the J^teroourae. sixteenth century, lighted upon China, they regarded it as an unknown country, and gave new renderings of old names, so that for a long time it was not believed that China and Cathay were the same. The fact is, that Mahometanism had regained control over Central Asia, and China passed under rulers whose instinct was to keep foreigners out. Thus old maps of Asia, in the 16th and 17th centuries, placed Cathay as a large country to the north of China. Chinese history speaks of the early inhabitants of Chinese race as immigrants from the North and North- west ; but they soon developed into a settled Early cuinese and agricultural people, cultivating rice and mstory. other grain, flax, and silk. If is undoubted that they long ago had the art of writing and some knowledge of astronomy, and it is probable that Chinese civilisation is older than any in Europe. There are some records by Confucius which may be considerably trusted for at least 2000 years b.c. They detail the gradual progress of the Chinese empire and vicissitudes of dynasties, until, in 936 B.C., we find the Tartars becoming in- Era of vaders only shaken off with difficulty. The Confucius, era of Confucius (551-475 b.c), of Lao-tze, and Mencius, was one of wisdom crying aloud, but vmheeded ; and a gradual decadence of the Chinese power took place. The Tsin State on the North-west, in which we must recognise a Tartar people, gained the chief Rise of Tar- power in China about 255 b.c. Che-Hwang-te tar power. (246-210 B.C.) was the first great ruler of his line, ex- tending his power widely, making roads and The great canals, building cities, driving back invading wall of Tartars. He started the building of the great °'^'"*- I5S THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. wall of China in 214 b.-c. to keep back tlie Tartars. As a reformer, lie was unpopular ; and in consequence of the authority of the ancients being always quoted against him, he ordered all books relating to ancient Chinese history to be burnt, and put to death all scholars who attempted to conceal them. Such actions were not likely to make his Hne permanent, and it came to an end with his son, a short time after his death. The succeeding dynasty of Han recovered as many. of the old books as possible, and very many were found. The next dynastj', CHINESE. SOUTH CHINESE. that of the Eastern Han, added greatly to the Chinese Introduction domains in Tartary and Turkestan. Buddhism of Buddhism, -^ras introduced in a.d. 65. For a good while China was divided into three king- doms — northern, middle, and southern ; which state of Three Chinese things led to constant wars. A succession of kingdoms, dynasties followed, some of which united the whole empire into one, and enlarged its borders ; while others were marked by crime, profligacy, and decay. lii the seventh century a.d. the frontier was said to extend to the Caspian and Eastern Persia; and ambassadors from THE CHINESE. 159 Nepaul, Magadha (India), Persia, and Rome came to China. In 650 the emperor's -wife, Woo How, gained practical supreme power, -which became absolute on the death of her husband in 683. Her government was certainly vigorous and successful. The emperor Woo- Tsung, in the ninth century, found temples, ^ monasteries, nunneries, etc., too numerous, and anti-reugioua by decree abohshed them all, and subjected ^^P^'^or- priests of all kinds to oppressive treatment. But on his death Buddhism revived in great force. A period of great weakness of the imperial power followed, and China appeared hkely to break up into independent States. The Tartars were extending more and more Growing Tax- towards China proper, and were again and tar power, again bought oif by tribute, which acted as an en- couragement to come again. The result was, that they estabhshed themselves more and more in North China, especially as the Neu-che, or Kins. In the twelfth century the Mongol power was growing, and from 1212 onwards Jenghiz Khan overran a great part of China. His descendants continued the jengMz conquest of China until, about 1232, Ogdai, son KHan. of Jenghiz, destroyed the Kin dynasty of North China. His nephew, Kubla Khan, became in 1259 practically the first Mongol emperor of China, though his power was not fuUy established till 1279. This ^'^^'^^ ^^°- was the great Khan whom Marco Polo visited. The dynasty lasted only till 1368, when, after much bad government, it was displaced by Choo-Yuen- The Ming Chang, a Buddhist priest, son of a Chinese dynasty, working-man, who showed great discernment in the measures he took to gain and keep the supreme power. His name was changed to Hung-woo, and his dynasty was known as the Ming, or " Bright." In the fifteenth century the Ming emperors began by losing the province of Cochin-China. Later, one of the emperors was defeated and imprisoned by a £.j.gj^j Tartar chief. A serious insurrection occurred disasters and early in the sixteenth century, which was -with^^"'-'''"'*''"^ difficulty suppressed. The Tartars devastated a large i6o THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. province in 1B42, and soon afterwards a Japanese fleet ravaged the sea-coast. Tlie Tartars were bribed to depart in several reigns. In 1B92 the Japanese defeated the Chinese army in Corea, and destroyed the Chinese fleet ; but for some reason they failed to foUow up their con- quest. The Manchu Tartars now grew stronger, and in 1616 and 1619 were so successful against the Chinese that they The Manoiiu kept possession of the north-eastern province of Tartars Leaou-tung. Meanwhile civil war arose in subdue ciiina.Qj^j^^^ and became so fierce that one party called in the Manchus, who, when they had defeated the rebels, were unwilling to retire again. They took posses- sion of Pekin, and proclaimed an emperor of their own in 1644. Nankin was soon after taken without a blow ; and the Tartars confirmed the mandarins in their ofiices, and gave an amnesty to all who would lay down their arms. Thus was established the modern Chinese dynasty. It is generally asserted that it is descended from that known as the Kins in earlier history. Kang-he (1661-1721) was one of the most notable emperors. He was a great student ; and a great Chinese Literary and dictionary was published under his superinten- wariike em- dence. Tibet was subdued during his reign ; perors. ^^^ q£ j^-g successors. Keen-lung, added Eastern Turkestan to the empire, and rivalled Kang-he as a student and author. He even marched to Nepaul and defeated the Ghoorkhas in 1792 ; but he failed in Further India and Formosa. Meanwhile, the East India Company had been coming in contact with the Chinese, who treated English sub- British jects with gross injustice. Lord Macartney embassies, -^as sent as British ambassador to China, but gained Kttle. Lord Amherst's embassy followed in 1816 ; but he refused to kotow before the emperor, and was quickly dismissed. The conduct of the Chinese to for- eigners became more and more unbearable, and they War with endeavoured to stop all foreign trade, par- British, ticularly the opium traffic. In 1840 the British declared war against China; with the result that Can' THE CHINESE. 161 CHINESE STUCENTa. i62 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. ton, Amoy, Slianghai, and other ports were taken by Sii' Hugt Gougli, and Nankin was threatened. In 1842 the Chinese found themselves compelled 'to cede Hong Kong, to open five principal ports, including Canton and Shang- hai, to foreign trade, and pay a large indemnity. Such a defeat was particularly disastrous to Chinese prestige, and rebellions were rife. The emperors were in- competent, and officials mostly corrupt. After the middle of the century, popular discontent found an energetic The great leader in Hung-Seu-tseuen, who aimed at Tai-ping founding a new Chinese dynasty, the Tai-ping, reDeiuon. ^^^^ expelling the Tartar rulers. He professed Christianity, and denounced the sins of -the age with great vigour. So successful was he, that, in 1852, he took Nankin itself. His power extended yearly, and the weakened empire was still further threatened by the Another war English declaration of war in 1857, in con- with Britain, sequence of the "Arrow" outrage on, British subjects. Canton was taken, and Lord Elgin determined to make his way to Pekin, and treat with the emperor in person. Having penetrated to Tien-tsin, where the Chinese made a treaty with him, a further attack fol- lowed, which led to a campaign in which the French joined us. Pekin was reached by the alhed forces in 1860, and a fresh peace made, which was of great benefit Chinese to the Chinese rulers in opening the way for Gordon. Major (the late lamented General) Crordon to take the command of their forces against the Taipings. His victorious career is well known, ending by the cap- ture of Nankin in 1864 : with it the Taiping cause fell. In 1873, when the emperor Tung-che assumed power, after his long minority, the right of personal audience with him, and " gazing on the sacred countenance," was claimed by and granted to the foreign ministers. Since this period, China has made much progress, and increased its foreign trade very largely. The present emperor, Kwang-sen, has been guided in his long minority by his father. Prince Chun, who is prime minister, '^^ ^"^ and has shown much enlightenment. The existence of an emperor's father, nominally subordinate THE CHINESE. 163 to his son, comes about from the fact that by Chinese law the heir must be younger than the person from whom he inherits ; and since the emperor Tung-che died young, without issue, the succession passed by his will to a son of one of his father's younger brothers. To a large extent, China may be studied as represent- ing the extreme development of an exam in a- ^g cwneBe tion system — in fact, almost its worship. The examination respect we too often pay to mere wealth, or to sy=*«™- powers of speech, impudent self-assertion, rank, or owner- CHI^ESE OHILDEEN. ship of land, the Chinese pay to success in examinations. So much is thought of them, that an unsuccessful candi- date has been known to go on competing till grey hairs have crowned him, and the emperor has given him an honorary degree. Europeans may almost be accused of having adopted a Chinese idea, in attaching so much importance sxci^ to competitive examinations ; and it is at least conferred by our duty to study carefully the system adopted ®^'*™'^"°°- by the nation which has carried these tests to the highest 1 64 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. perfection, in some respects, in order tliat we may learn what errors to avoid and wliat plans to imitate. We can scarcely conceive wliat a sweeping change would be caused by our full adoption of the Chinese system. Imagine the rank of a duke to be conferred on the senior wrangler or senior classic; imagine the prime minister being selected as Indian civil service candidates are now ; and, what is more important, imagine the respect given to titled and wealthy people transferred to the successful examinees, and we should have some idea of the possible effects of a further rise in the import- ance of the "great god, competitive examination," While we have learnt to groan over the misfor- tunes of the " plucked " man, Severity of he is met the tests, ^ith far more abundantly in China. Succes- sive tests exclude far more candi- dates than with us. Scarcely one per cent, are suc- cessful in the first, or local examination. The depart- mental examination, which is much as if a sttident went up to his county town, after having passed in his native place, cuts out many more ; and then an Imperial ex- amination takes place, beyond which the majority do Graduated not proceed ; for the Imperial degree they gain examinations, gives them many privileges, including the much-valued exemption from corporal punishment if they chance to offend against the laws. Those who aspire to CHINESE COIEFnUB. THE CHINESE. 165 CHIKESE liADV: SHANOHAI. I66 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. higher successes pass on to the triennial examinations, held, as London University examinations are largely held, at important local capitals, like Birmingham and Man- chester ; again the total number of candidates, sifted though they have been, is very large, and only about one out of every hundred is successful. Most of those who succeed have reached the mature age of from thirty to fifty. Those who have succeeded so far, must, if they wish to proceed further, go to Pekin, where a few attain a The highest Doctor's degree, and gain good posts in the tests. administration. Finally, the Han-lin College is the limited body who have passed the last severe test, and are held competent to fill the highest ministerial posts. How competent these may be, all Europeans who have been brought into contact with them can testify, if only through the skill they can exhibit in foihng their wishes or finding reasons for non-comphance. The Marquis Tseng, who became so well known in Europe as the special Chinese envoy, is an instance of high appreciation of Western advantages, combined with the most admirable skill in Chinese matters. The great evil of these examinations, judged from our point of view, is, that they are founded so largely upon The Chinese a knowledge of the ancient Chinese classics, classics, such as those of Confucius, Mencius, and oth'er sacred writings. Yet we British do not stand in a position to blame them, for our Universities long gave credit to scarcely anything but a minute study of the " classical " dead languages. Taken as examinations in Chinese' knowledge, the native examination papers are in many respects admirable, and succeed in drawing out ability in addition to " cram," or book-work. Of course, no examination can discover tact, business ability, skill in ruling, or honesty ; and as we fail in this quite as much as the Chinese, we are not entitled to cast a. stone at them on that account The utmost care is taken by the Chinese authorities to prevent tampering with the questions or the papers of the candidates, or the employment of illicit means of THE CHINESE. 167 answering. Double-walled examination halls, guarded by strict sentries; searching of candidates to strict fairness discover books or any ilKcit helps ; no per- observed, mission to go out till the examination is concluded, food being taken in by the candidates ; the examiners know- ing nothing of the candidates, whose names are kept from them till the adjudication has been made ; these are some of the precautions adopted. Of course, examinees are sometimes found who are daring enough to attempt any- thing ; and a story is even told of a secret tunnel being made into an examination-cell (for each candidate is se- cluded in a separate cell), by means of which books and other assistance were conveyed to a candidate. Though the administration, and consequently the whole system of government, is carried on by successful exa- minees, the theory of the empire is an absolute tt,„ „„„,„. „ , .' -.-•'. . r , T . The empire a despotism, which aims however at being as patriarchal beneficial though as arbitrary as that of a parent despotism, over a child. The members of the Imperial family itself, who are now very numerous, do not gain or exercise authority by virtue of their descent. They do not even secure wealth, for many of them are very poor. There is no hereditary nobility ; titles of rank are ofEcial only. It must be recorded, however, that notwithstanding the prevalence of examinations, corruption exists throughout Chinese official ranks almost to the samor extent as in Turkey. The divinity that " doth hedge a king " has nowhere been more evident than in China, Avhere the emperor has ranked as a divinity, and has been accustomed q^^ ^ * to receive honours elsewhere paid to the gods. Even now, the amount of reverential " kotowing," or prostration, kneehng, etc., which subjects have to undergo in gaining an audience of his Majesty, is extreme ; but the English and the Russian envoys have never bent their bodies to such signs of homage, and gradually they have ceased to be exacted of foreign ambassadors generally. Up to recent times it has been recognised as incon- ceivable, and of course improper, that any prince of China, much less the sovereign, should travel extensively i68 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. through the vast country, or quit the sacred dominions to CMnese enlarge his experience in foreign travel. Ex- princesdonotternal things were insignificant or barbarian, traveL ^^^ could afford no true benefit to a Celestial. But in 1886 the almost incredible event happened ; and the father of the Chinese Emperor, Prince Chun, who is Prince Chun's also Prime Minister and Lord High Admiral, journey, made a sea voyage along part of the coast of the empire. Notwithstanding the unfavourable pro- phecies indulged in by many Chinese as to the result of his journey, it certainly had a good effect in opening his eyes ; and the sight of a fine British squadron taught him a good deal. So excited and interested was the prince in what he saw and heard, that he was constrained to write a series Poetical of poems which have been published, and of records, ^yfiich some account was given in The Times of August 22, 1887. " What a change has taken place with the course of fate," he says ; " during five reigns the sad- ness of our dynasty has been un dispelled." He laments the decay of the old forms of submission to the emperor, and was very unfavourably impressed on hearing the mixed languages of the foreign consuls at Tien-tsin. But his reflections at this point are worth quoting. "Jabber, jabber, what a clatter of unooutli sounds to the ear ! One cannot accept all that General Tih said of the ends of the earth. But, except a doffing of the hat, they have no other courtesies ! And what on earth is the history of this clipping of the hair ? Our gallant Tartar G-eneral stands here in his plumes. There stands our Grrand Secretary (Littung Chang) of eight-bearer quality. It is really too ridiculous, this interpretation scene ! And then each man is followed by a walking-stick ! " The " walking-stick," apparently, is the small-sword worn by the consuls when in uniform. Admiral Hamilton, with his ten British men-of-war, received from the prince the sentiment that China and Visit to the England must both perfect their driU and culti- British fleet, y^te the blessings of peace, so as to preserve a good state of things in Asia. His poetic address to the Admiral is another interesting effusion : THE CHINESE. 169 " From ancient times diplomatic intercourse has been our pride ; Let us not make our pride in exhibition of warlike power ! Thanks for coming so far, the bearer of your country's behests, And for your conversation relating to untutored lands. Be genuine, and you will reach the genuine hearts of others ! If you have hidden motives, you cause men to stand aloof." The reference to hidden motives in the last Hne looks CniXESE LADIES HIDING. Hke a dignified rebuke which diplomatists generally might take to heart. Altogether, the prince's journey and his comments are very significant. Unlike the English practice, all Chinese laws are pro- perly digested and framed into a code, which is system of capable of alteration only by the Imperial Edict, eovemment The criminal law, which is said to have lasted substan- I70 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. tially tlie same for two thousand years, is published at a very low price. Each, of the eighteen provinces of the empire constitutes a complete government in itself. It is not generally known that the term Europeans use to _ designate Chinese officials, "mandarins," is a word brought " to us by the Portuguese from the Malay " mantrin," a counsellor, this being also found in the Sanskrit : Tcwan-fu is the Chinese term. The button on the top of their hats is the mandarins' sign of rank, various colours denoting the several grades, the red coral one being the highest. Of course there is an appropriately rich dress for each grade ; and a peacock's feather at the side of the hat is also a sign of high rank ; while only those near the emperor can wear a feather with three eyes. Such as it is, the Chinese system has produced a state of comparative peace and prosperity among the people. Peace and which has been rivalled by no empire with so prosperity, large a population. The Chinese certainly aim at governing by moral rather than physical force to a larger extent than some European governments; and they recognise the importance of securing and rewarding ability wherever it may be found. This last feature in it- self removes many causes of discontent. An able man is practically certain to make his way to the front. Of course abuses occur in the system, but they are inherent to humanity in its present state of advancement. The Chinese criminal law cannot be considered nuld. Flogging with bamboos is a very ordinary punishment. ciiineae The cangue is much more severe, involving punishments, confinement of the body in a sort of cage, through which the head, neck, and hands alone are allowed to protrude. The prisoner is thus unable to feed himself, and is entirely dependent on others. Ankle and finger squeezing, kneeling on chains, and banishment, are among their severe punishments ; and the prisons are so objectionable as places of residence that prisoners not in- frequently prefer death to a long term of imprisonment. Capital punishment is practised in several fashions rather too horrible to particularise. THE CHINESE. 171 It is undoubtedly to the credit of tlie Chinese and of their primitive sj'stem, that personal violence is very rare among them, whether in private or in public. Karity of The fact is, the people in general take an in- personal terest in preventing it, and do not remain '^°i8nce. callous lookers-on or pass by on the other side when a quarrel is proceeding. Thus they become very skilful in quarreUing by means of words and gesticulations, and can continue a wordy war for a long time without coming to blows. AYomen are not usually imprisoned, except for the gravest offences ; but when they commit minor offences are placed in the custody of their relatives, offences of who are responsible for their good behaviour, women and Parents have great authority over their chil- '^^^'i^s'i- dren, and may use considerable violence towards them ; even killing them is not treated as murder, especially if the child has struck the parent. Physically, the Chinese scarcely need describing ; we are all familiar with the shaven face and head, with only a portion of the black hair allowed to grow and physical form a pig-tail, the thick lips, and projecting characters, ears, and the imperturbable gravity of their demeanour; the smaU feet and thin calves of the Chinese ladies, mark- ing them off from the poorer classes as not needing to use them in labour or for walking ; the extremely long finger-nails worn by both sexes, another sign of elevated position; the slenderness judged beautiful in women, while corpulence is equally the proper thing for a man Avho is valued. Children, notwithstanding the severity with which their offences may be punished, are well cared chUdren and for and show much fiUal affection. The infanti- education, cide which occurs among the poorer classes is not more common than in countries that are supposed to be among the most advanced. That children do not grow up with any dislike of their homes is shown by the constancy with which they return to their native place late in life, or when they have a competency. They are taught to aid their parents in every possible way, to keep them in old 1/2 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. age, and perform due rites after tkeir death. Scliools are abundant, and under State direction ; their chief fault is, the unvarying character of their teaching. After some very juvenile studies, the pupils learn by heart the writings of Confucius, and spend years in studying and writing exercises on them. The series known as the " Five Classics" follows. Of course reading and writing are carefully taught. Sir John Davis, in his work on " The Chinese," quotes the following from a work printed at Macao, in which a Chinese peou- foreigner's perplexities on arriving in China are liarities. detailed. " On inquiring of the boatmah in which direction Macao lay, I was answered, ' in the west- north ; ' the wind, as I was informed, being east-south. ' We do not say so in Europe,' thought I ; but imagine my surprise when, in explaining the utility of the com- pass, the boatman added that the needle pointed to the south ! Desirous to change the subject, I remarked that I concluded he was about to proceed to some high festival, or merrymaking, as his dress was completely white. He told me, with a look of much dejection, that his only brother had died the week before, and that he was in the deepest mourning for him. On my landing, the first object that attracted my attention was a military man- darin, who wore an embroidered petticoat, with a string of beads round his neck, and who besides carried a fan ; and it was with some dismay that I observed him mount on the right side of his horse. . . . My attention was drawn to several old Chinese, some of whom had grey beards, and nearly all of them huge goggling spectacles. A few of them were chirruping and chuckhng to singing birds, which they carried in bamboo cages, or perched on a stick ; others were catching flies to feed the birds ; the remainder of the party seemed to be dehghtedly em- ployed in flying paper kites, while a grotip of boys were gravely looking on, and regarding these innocent occupa- tions of their seniors with the most serious and gratified attention." Eice is by far the most important food and crop in China, With the poorer classes it constitutes almost the CHINESE STEEEI-SIALL. 173 174 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. sole food. Tliose who can get tliem, however, eat pork, Food and game, birds, and fish freely. Beef is little drmk. eaten, owing to rehgions scruples. Both wine and spirits are made from rice ; but tea is the national drink. Some extraordinary dishes are in vogue among the richer folk, but they are by no means to be despised, especially birds'-nest soup, well-fed cats and dogs, deer's sinews, and sharks' fins. Salted provisions are largely eaten. Chopsticks are the proverbial Chinese implements for eating ; they are a pair of slender wooden, ivory, bone, or Ciionstioks ^^^^^^ rods, about ten inches long, held in the right hand — one between the ends of the second and third fingers, the other between the thumb and fore- finger, and capable of being rapidly worked against the other. The use of these chopsticks, in which they are wonderfully quick, is connected with the custom of bring- ing all food to table ready carved. Dress in China is largely made of cotton cloth ; but silk is much used by those who can afford it. In winter, furs Dress ^^^ cotton wadding are worn for warmth. In- deed, it is singular how little the people employ fires simply to warm themselves ; their notion is, to put on more clothes till they are warm enough. Loose trousers, with a loose overgarment reaching below the knees, constitute the most usual dress of the men, finished off with felt-soled cotton shoes, leather being little in vogue. The women's dress, as far as it is seen, often looks like a long cassock surmounted by a mantle extend- ing to the knees. The Chinese have the advantage in dress of unchang- ing fashions, ceremonial dresses being all ordained by an official board ; thus the prevalence of handsome dress for great occasions is accounted for by the care taken of it, Unchanging and the fact that the same may be used again fashions, ^s long as it will hold together. Gay fans and umbrellas, as in Japan, are important articles of cos- tume : the art displayed in their manufacture and decora- tion is very considerable. A few adventurous Chinese have sometimes adopted European costume ; but such a THE CHINESE. 175 change is very hard to make, and it cannot be said that it is altogether to he desired. We might say that the Chinese women have all the advantage of their handsome hair, while the men get rid of the greater part of it, and indeed are slaves ^^ pigtau to fashion. It is beheved that the Manchu Tartars first compelled Chinamen to wear the pigtail, as CHINESE GIRLS. a mark of inferiority; but what was once a badge cf servitude is now a national pride — a Chinaman would feel disgraced without it. Of course a lot of shaving of the head has to be done to keep the rest of the Hair- scalp free from hair, and barbers consequently dressing, are in great request. Beards are but slight, and very generally shaved off. Women wear their hair lonp,-, 176 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. often with other hair added ; it is elaborately dressed, in various fashions, often making a great circular and hoUow projection behind the head. The evils of opium-smoking, as practised by the Chi- nese, have often been enlarged upon ; no doubt with Opium- many great harm results, and the character is smowng. enervated. It cannot be said that it is so with aU ; and some doctors maintain that it is a craving like that for alcoholic drink in Europe, which may be and is greatly abused, but is not necessarily so harmful as many think. Anyhow, a large portion of the people have a great passion for it, and we cannot do better than give A great an account of the Nan-gin-tsin, in Shanghai, opium den. th.e greatest opium den in China, as given by the North China Herald. It is known throughout the length and breadth of the empire to the Chinese ; and it helps to make Shanghai regarded as a city affording the same opportunities for pleasure and dissipation that Paris does the typical Frenchman. It is situated in the French Concession in Shanghai, within a stone's throw of the wall of the native city, within which no opium shops are supposed to exist. The character of the place could not be guessed from its external appearance, although the air of the people passing in and out might suggest it. The throngs visiting it represent all stations of life, from the coolie to the wealthy merchant or the small mandarin. It is with difficulty that one gets inside through the crowds of people hanging round the door. Those who have not the requisite number of copper cash to procure the baneful pipe, walch with horrible wistfulness each of the more affluent pass in with a nervous, hurried step, or totter out wearing that peculiar dazed expression which comes after the smoker's craving has been satisfied and his transient pleasure has passed away. One requires a strong stomach to stand the sickerdng fumes with which the air inside is thickened. The clouds of smoke, the dim light from the numerous coloured lamps, the num- bers of reclining forms with distorted faces bent over the small flames at which the pipes are lighted, cause the novice a sickening sensation. But as soon as .the eye A BTKEEI BAUBER IN CHINA. 177 178 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. becomes accustomed to xlie scene, it is noticed that tlie place is got up on an expensive scale. In the centre of the lower room hangs one of the finest of Chinese lamps ; the ceiluig is of richly-carved wood, while the painted walls are thickly inlaid with a peculiarly-marked marble, which gives the idea of unfinished landscape sketches. Numerous doors on all sides lead to the smokers' apart- ■ ments. In the outer portion of the building stands a counter covered with little boxes of the drug ready for smoking, which a dozen assistants are kept busy handing out to the servants who wait upon the habitues of the place. The average daily receipts are said to be about £200. The smoking apartments are divided into four classes. In the cheapest are coolies, who pay about four- pence for their smoke. In the dearest the smoke costs about sevenpence. The drug supplied in each class is much the same both in quality and quantity; it is the difference in the pipes that regulates the price. The best kinds are made of ivory, the stem being often inlaid with stones and rendered more costly by reason of elaborate carving; the cheapest kinds are made simply of hard wood. The rooms also are furnished according to class. In the most expensive the lounge upon which the smoker reclines is of fine velvet, with pillows of the same material ; the frames of each couch are inlaid with mother-of-pearl and jade ; and the whole air of these rooms is one of sensuous luxury. There are also a number of private rooms. In the poorer section will be seen many wearers of the tattered yellow and grey robes of Buddhist and Taoist priests. Women form a fair proportion of the smokers. The common belief is, that the opium sleep is attended by a mild, pleasurable delirium, with brief glances of Elysium ^ but this is the exception, not the rule. People smoke to satisfy the craving begotten of previous indulgence. There is accommodation for 150 smokers at a time, and there is seldom a vacancy very long. The stream of smokers goes on from early morning till midnight, when the place closes ; the clouds of smoke go up incessantly all day long. Europeans do not often visit the place ; but the seamen of American men-of- THE CHINESE. 179 war visiting Shanghai sometimes seek solace in the drug. The houses of the Chinese are not much to boast of, being chieiiy of one or two storeys, and of wood. Their furniture is very simple, matting and sofas or Houses and low beds being the principal varieties. Travel- travelling, ling is largely done by means of rivers and canals, which abound. The introduction of railways meets with much official opposition, but they are gradually being intro- duced. Horses are comparatively little used. Sedan- chairs carried by bearers, as well as covered carriages, are however not infrequent. Any one going out after dark is compelled by law to carry a lantern. Lanterns form a considerable element in one of the great Chinese festivals, that of the Lantern, held at the first full moon of the year, when a vast variety of lanterns of various colours and materials are lighted. Lantern The New Year is another great festival, whereat festival, debt-paying is not forgotten, and many entertainments and presents are given. One of the grand imperial ceremonies, in which the emperor takes a part, ceremonies, is connected with agriculture; he actually ploughs a furrow or two in. a field near the Temple of the Earth, and sows several sorts of grain. Similarly, the empress gives her patronage to sUk-weaving, going through several of the processes of manufacture, and sacrificing to the inventor of silk-weaving. Early marriages are much in vogue ; and complex arrangements generally precede the ceremony, that the fitting wife may be selected. People of the Carriage, same surname may not marry, being assumed to be related ; near relationship between those of different name is also a barrier to marriage. Polgamy is not legal, but many of the richer have secondary wives, or concu- bines, who do not rank much above servants ; but their male children are recognised, supposing the legitimate wife has no son — a disgrace of deep dye. The emperor has but one wife, who is empress ; but he may have any number of Tartar concubines. It cannot be said that Chinese women are very accom- i8o THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. plished. The poorer womeii have the great virtues of being hardworking and domesticated; the richer learn embroidery, painting on silk, and perhaps a little music ; but possibly there is " a good time coming " for them, as for their neighbours in Japan. A wife may be divorced for adultery, thieving, ill-temper, inveterate infirmities, disobedience to the husband's parents, talkativeness, and even barrenness ; though this is rare, owing to the secondary marriages being always available. A widow does not usually marry a second time. The phlegmatic Chinaman is not appalled by death, and is only too ready to commit suicide ; he knows that his descendants will perform the proper rites for him, and Deatn heep his memory green. The regard which the people pay to their deceased parents and relatives is really hke ancestor-worship. White is the Ancestor- mourning colour ; and dressed in white the worsMp. family sit weeping around the corpse of a father, which is washed by the eldest son, then dressed as in life, and placed in a massive cof&n with plenty of quicklime, and carefully made air-tight and varnished. Funeral Usually after three weeks the funeral procession ceremonies, ig carried to the cemetery, which is mostly in an out-of-the-way place in the hills. Offerings are carried for the deceased, and bands of music attend. In many cases paper is made to do duty for valuables in the burn- ing which follows. The rites of the dead are repeated twice a year, especially in spring. As a specimen of Chinese funerals, one performed in 1887, in England, may be described. A sailor belonging A Chinese ^° ^^® -^^^ l^few, One of the ships of the Chinese funeral squadron anchored at Spithead, having died, in England. ^|^g body was buried at the Portsmouth Ceme- tery. The deceased was named Chin Pit Luo, and de- scribed by his shipmates as the finest sailor in the Chinese navy. The corpse, which was contained in a leaden cof&n encased in two wooden ones, and covered with the yellow ensign, was followed to the grave by a party of stolid-looking Chinese seamen under the command of a THE CHINESE. i8i petty officer. Arrived at the cemetery gates, the body was carried to the grave in the usual way, biit without any ceremony. After the coffin had been lowered into the grave, four sailors, stationed at the foot of the grave, produced in succession a tin pail, a parcel of matches, a number of fagots, and various pieces of brown paper. A fii-e ha'^ing been kindled, out of the pail were brought forth several plates, which were disposed round the lire, a lump of pork, various pieces of meat, a few eggs, and a quantity of salt and sand. These having been divided into fives, were cooked and placed on the plates, and on the consummation of the sacrifice they were all gathered together and returned to the pail. A sailor now partly filled in the grave, after which the captain of the ship and a couple of subordinate officers came forward and prostrated themselves three times, uttering a prayer at each genuflexion. This completed the ceremony. Great attention is paid to the selection of the right place of burial, although those who can afford it are carried to their native place ; yet the exact spot for burial is a subject for learned study by the astrologers. jinunHng. A parent is mourned for three years, during which period none of his children may marry. The eldest son gets two shares of the property, the Division of rest being divided in equal shares ; but so property, strong is family feeling that the children often remain together after the father's death. The bones of China- men who die in America and other places abroad, are often carried home for final burial, a service for which paj'ment is made beforehand to the emigrant companies. The rites of burial are, as we have said, more con- nected with ancestor-worship than with national rehgion. Buddhism is known to have gained great hold guddMsm. in China; but its adherents cannot be accurately reckoned, because a Chinaman, as a rule, is so tolerant that he may be called a Confucian, a Taoist, and a Bud- dhist, all at the same time, without shocking him. Con- fucius, whose system we cannot here say much confucian- about, was born in the sixth century before "™- Christ, and after long study drew up a code of morals 1 82 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. and politics wliic]! has becom© the chief standard of Chinese civilisation. Many of his doctrines appear to have anticipated those of Christ, especially in the incul- CHINESE DEATH PUNISIIJIENT IN A CAGE. cation of control over the thoughts, and of doing to others as we would be done by. His descendants have carefully preserved the purity of their line, if their genealogies are to be believed, and high hereditary honours are theirs. THE CHINESE. 183 The emperor does them special honour, and every city- has a temple to Confucius. The doctrines of Confucius gained such influence partly because he professed simply to revive the pure doctrines of past ages, and did not come forward as a novelty- monger. He taught that in former generations the obK- gations between rrder and people, father and son, husband and wife, friend and friend, were scrupulously fulfilled. He set out what he considered right methods of restoring these days, by individual training, self-restraint, and re- gard for duty. His teaching was seen by the ruling classes to be a most efficient support of their authority. Enlarging on these precepts, Mencius taught that it was the duty of the people to dethrone an e\Til ruler ; and this maxim has almost rivalled those of Confucius in the extent of its adoption by the Chinese. Taoism, which has a large and undefined influence, has been called the rationalism of China ; but has degenerated into a system of superstition. It was founded .jaoism by Lao-tsze, a contemporary of Confucius, whose philosophy was a sort of quietism, the control of desires and passions ; but he added to this a conception of a spirit named Tao, in which, by which, for which aU things exist, and to which all return ; a sort of Pantheism, in fact. But his followers have sought for the philosopher's stone, have great beliefs in charms and amulets, and claim to be able to exorcise spirits of all kinds ; so that their practice is little better than Shamanism. It may be questioned whether fatalism is not the actual religion of a majority of Chinese. What will be, jataUgm will be ; why take precautions ? Anything that is to happen will happen just the same. This behef is evidenced in many ways. When we consider that printing from fixed blocks was invented in China long before its invention in Europe, dating at least back to the tenth century a.d. ; Remarkable that gunpoAvder and cannon were used by the inventionB. Chinese six centuries ago ; that the mariner's compass was known to them at a very early date, as well as its deviation from the actual North Pole ; that we have taken i84 THE inhabitant's 'dp AS/A. the name of their country as the title of our chief modem porcelain ware ; that the steelyard and spectacles equally rank among their inventions, we shall be ready to concede that they deserve to rank high among inventive nations. But two things have kept them from completing their inventions, or gaining full advantage from them ; the Neglect of system of instruction, the sole regard for old theory, knowledge ; and their neglect of theoretical studies, the proper cultivation of which has enabled Western people to gain their modern ascendency. It is the practical in which they delight ; but while practice can repeat, it can rarely invent new principles. Thus Dislike of they have long rejected modern machinery, macuinery. whether for weaving or porcelain ; but we can- not doubt that the next hundred years will witness start- ling changes in China. With the development of the enormous deposits of coal, and the opening out of mineral treasures, China must change, though probably the Chi- Manu- nese individuality will impress itself deeply on faotures. the transformation. For silk-weaving, ivory- carving, the making of ornaments, and other manufac- tures, the Chinese, with their patient industry and excellent workmanship, are among the foremost peoples of the world, and no doubt will continue so as long as they are frugal and industrious. We must not linger long over the Chinese language and literature. The language is monosyllabic to the last The Chinese degree, and has no inflexion, no alphabet, no lauguage. declensions or conjugations. Its written char- acters are thousands of distinct symbols, derived at first from natural objects ; but one sound often represents a hundred 'different words, according to the characters in which it is written. The difficulty of learning the language is increased by the use of various tones in speaking, which have great influence on the meaning ; and it is not surprising that where the British come in contact with the Chinese, a new sort of language Pigeon has developed, called "pigeon EngKsh," per- Engiish. haps the most infantile and ludicrous ever in- vented ; but it gains ground, and will probably do so still THE CHINESE. 1S5 more, for tlie Englisli are proverbially intolerant of foreign languages, and make foreigners learn theirs, or at least some parody of it. To take an example from Miss Bird (now Mrs. Biskop) in ''The Golden Chersonese," "if you order a fire, you say something like this : ' Fire makee, chop chop, here, makee fire number one ' ; chop being EECEPIION KOOM IN A CHINESE HOUSE. quick, and number one good, or 'first-class.' If a servant tells you that some one has called, he says, ' One piecey manee here speak missey,' and if one asks who he is, he very likely answers, ' No sabe,' or else, ' Number one, tink,' by which he implies that the visitor is, in his opinion, a gentleman." iS6 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. True poetry is not likely to be greatly developed in so fixed a language as Chinese ; and the most valuable parts Chinese of their literature are those which deal with poetry, facts. Still, their Book of Odes includes com- positions dating back earher than any other works, and breathing, as Professor Douglas says (" Encyclopaedia Britannica," Vol. V.), " a quiet calm and patriarchal simplicity of thought and life. . . . "We have brought before the mind's eye the lowly cottage where dwell a family united by the bonds of affection and of duty." Even where oppression is hinted at, the remedy sought is flight, not rebelhon; and the essence of the people seems to have been, then as now, a strict subordination and patience. In later poetry, after the time of Confucius, superstition takes the place of monotheism, turbulence of subordination. Later, when the Chinese arms spread far in conquest, there was another flourishing period of poetry ; but, after all, it does not reach any true great- ness. Neither epic nor dramatic poetry has flourished among them ; but plays are written in prose, and are very abundant. The stories are rarely such as we find interesting, and are not illustrated by scenery. Only two actors occupy the stage at one time. Chinese religious and philosophical books are on the whole disappointing, mostly composed of disjointed senti- ments or statements ; and some of them may be summed The Book of up in the sentence, " "Walk in the old paths." Kites. The Book of Rites prescribes behaviour and ceremony for every minute circumstance of life ; and one of the chief Boards at Pekin is occupied with seeing that its directions are faithfully carried out. Indeed, it has been said that the Book of Eites is the most exact and complete monograph the Chinese nation can give of itself. "Its affections are satisfied by ceremonial; its duties are fulfilled by ceremonial. Its vntues and vices are recognised by ceremonial ; in a word, for it cere- monial is man." Confucius's Book of History is perhaps the next most influential work to the Book of Rites. It develops the patriarchal system of government in a series of conversations between Idngs and their minis- THE CHINESE. 187 ters. Commentaries on the works of Confucius and his followers, particularly the Nine Classics, are ^^ caassics numbered by thousands ; but they are as devoid of original value and as servile to tradition as the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees. Finally, it is in the historical and topographical records of their own nation Enoyoio- that Chinese hterature is most prolific and most P^iias. useful; and encyclopaedias of all their knowledge have been compiled with astonishing completeness. One of them extends to 6,109 volumes. It might damp the ardour of those who believe in reading alone as a suffi- cient means of education, to see how much Chinese read, and to reflect how their intellect has been cramped and conventionalised by it. Griving ourselves space for just one glimpse at a Chi- nese city. Canton is replete with interest, whether in its water-habitations, in which a vast poprdation is crowded, or in its closely-packed narrow streets. A The streets strange contrast they present to "Western streets, °^ canton, being often less than eight feet wide, and covered in at the level of the tops of the houses by boards or matting. A city without carriage ways, paved with granite; the streets all barricaded and blocked up at night ; watchmen on the look-out for fires in elevated watch houses — a very necessary precaution when so many houses are buUt of wood. " In the streets,'" says Mrs. Bishop, in " The Gol- den Chersonese, and the Way Thither," " the roofs of the houses and shops are rarely, if ever, regular, nor are the houses themselves arranged in a direct hne. This queer effect results from queer causes. Every Chinese house is bunt on the principles of geomancy, which do not admit of straight lines ; and were these to be disregarded, the astrologers and soothsayers, under whose auspices all houses are erected, predict fearful evils to the impious builders. " There are few open spaces in Canton, and these are decorated, not with statues, but with monumental arches of brick, red sandstone, or grey granite, which are put up as memorials of virtuous men and women, learned or aged men, and specially dutiful sons or daughters. The i88 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. public buildings and temples are extremely ugly, and are the subjects of slow but manifest decay, while the streets of shops exceed in picturesqueness everything I have ever seen. Much of this is given by the perpendicular SLop signs, sign-boards, fixed or hanging, upon which are painted, on an appropriate background, im- mense Chinese characters in gold, vermilion, or black. Two or three of these belong to each shop, and set forth its name and the nature of the goods which are to be purchased at it. The effect of these boards, as the sun's rays fall upon them here and there, is fascinating. The interiors of the shops are lofty, glass lamps hang from the ceilings, and large lanterns above every door, and both are painted in bright colours, with the characters signifying happiness, or with birds, butterflies, flowers,' or landscapes. The shop wall which faces the door in- variably has upon it a gigantic fresco or portrait of the tutelary god of the building, or a sheet of red paper on which the characters forming his name are placed, or the character Shan, which implies all gods ; and these and the altars below are seen from the street." " As there are streets of shops and trades, so there are streets of dwelhng-houses; but even the finest of these present a miserable appearance to the passers-by, for aU Private one can see is a lofty and dimly-lighted stone houses, vestibule, furnished with carved ebony chairs with marble seats and backs, and not infrequently with gigantic coffins placed on end, the gift of pious juniors to their seniors. Many Chinese mansions contain six or seven courtyards, each with its colonnade, drawing, dining, and reception rooms ; and at the back of all there is a flower- garden adorned with rockeries, fish-ponds, dwarf trees, and miniature pagodas and bridges." We have said little of the dominant class in China — the Manchu Tartars ; but their supremacy is still real. The because of their physical vigour. In many manohus. ijv'ays the Chinese mandarins, with their intel- lectual cultivation, have influenced them ; but they keep flrm hold of power, being far more determined and capable soldiers than Chinese proper, and forming a great THE CHINESE. 189 part of the imperial armies. It is a strauge instance ot the change of circumstances, that the Chinese now occupy Manchuria, from which their conquerors came, and that the Tartars scarcely have any part in it. The separation A CHINESE SCHOOL. between the peoples is still so marked that most Chinese cities have a separate Tartar quarter, strictly closed at night, and often walled round. Although our very natural idea is, that the Chinese igo THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. constitute a very distinct and homogeneous people, the Diversity ^^^'^ ^^i ^■'^^^ "^^ might almost regard them as a among group of nations, presenting more diversity cniaese. ^j^a,n the varied populations of the United States of America. The southern Chinese not only do not mingle freely with the inhabitants of the northern provinces ; they actually show considerable hostihty to them. It is not an uncommon thing for the mandarins in power in a given province to require interpreters in intercourse with the provincials. In fact, the Chinese nation, consists of a mixture of peoples in which every neighbouring Mongoloid nation or stock is included ; and the mixture is in varying proportions in different regions. The whole is kept together by the official dialect, the uniform educa- tion of the educated classes, and the strong hand of the Manchus. Much remains to be known of the hill-tribes who abound in different parts of China and in the islands of Hainan and Formosa, more isolated than many of the The Mil hill-tribes of India, and governed in much the tribes, same miscellaneous way. It cannot be safely stated that all these people are of the Mongoloid stock, though many are probably related to them ; but we be- lieve no specimens of them have been carefully examined by European men of science. They do not intermarry with the Chinese, who hold them in contempt and abhor- rence. For the most part they present a striking con- trast to the conventionality and ceremonial of the Chinese, being Hvely, noisy, fond of the open air, passionate, and convivial. The aborigines of the province of Kwei-chow have the curious custom of the couvade; the mother gets up at once after the birth of a child, and performs her usual work, while the father takes to l)ed for a month with the baby, thus giving expression to the idea that the hfe of a father is inseparably bound up with that of the child. Formosa is inhabited in the western regions by Chinese, The who steadily but slowly augment their terri- Fonnosans. -^Qj-y j \)^\, nearly all the mountainous tract of the east and south is occupied by aborigines, or rather THE CHINESE. 191 natives sprung from Malay stock, for it is doubtful whether these may not be successors of a race now ex- tinct. Their languages belong to the Malayo-Polynesian group. A small proportion of these tribes are settled, and acknowledge the authority of the Chinese, and both inter- marry with them and adopt their customs. These are known as Pepo-hoan (savages of the plain). But by far the larger proportion of the natives remain wild and in- tractable, instantly slaughtering any stranger. For the most part they are of small proportions, with long limbs and short bodies ; but taller and finer men are not want- ing, and it is possible that two races may be here mixed. Some of the women in the settled villages are of a clear CHINESE CniiST. olive colour, while others are as dark and coarse as Malays. Their eyes are large, round, and full. The cheek-bones are all high; but some have thick and others very thin lips. The hair is long, straight, and jet black. The women's ears are pierced in five places for rings worn on ceremonial occasions. Both men and women wear the tunic and short loose trousers of the Chinese. The savages proper, or " sheng-fan," include the smaller people, who intermarry very closely and are very inferior in physique. Very low foi'eheads predominate, and the whole expression is unintelligent, with a peculiar sinister dogged look. The men wear ear-rings a quarter of an inch thick, and the women wear two in each ear, of hollow bamboo tubes, through which strings of beads are 192 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA: tung. The women are very short aiLcl thick-set, accus- tomed to carry heavy burdens. Their being tattooed with dark blue lines with indigo adds greatly to their ugliness ; the men are tattooed in the same way, to a more moderate extent. The men wear usually only a long piece of cloth wound about the loins ; but the chiefs are more fully dressed, and adorned with disks of bone and tassels of beads. The women have, as a peculiar indispensable garment, a small piece of cloth tied around the leg just below the knee. Many of the men wear a profusion of brass wire rings on their fingers and bracelets on their arms. The canine teeth are knocked out of all children, with the idea of strengthening speed and wind in hunting. These savages live chiefly by hunting small deer with spears, bows and arrows, knives, etc. Their spear and knife sheaths are usuallj'' ornamented with tassels of hair from the heads of Chinese they ■have killed.^ On their hunting expeditions they bivouac at night round a fire, lying head to head and feet to feet in a circle, on bundles of grass, sometimes building rude huts as a shelter. Some of the savages also cultivate sweet potatoes, yams, etc., and weave good mats. They barter a good deal of their produce to the Chinese for knife-blades, powder and shot, pans, cloth, etc. Their huts are constructed by fixing two upright poles in the ground, and laying others sloping from the tops of Huts these, then others again lengthwise over these; and covering the whole with coarse dry grass. A few stones in the middle of the hut form the fireplace. Grass spread on the ground serves for beds. The most acceptable present to these people is a pig, which they cook whole for about a quarter of an hour only ; then it is cut up, and many save their shares for special occa- sions. They are very prone to intoxication; and the Chinese frequently take advantage of this to get from them whatever they wish. ' See Mr. E. 0. Tainfcor's paper on " The Aborigines of Northern rormosa," in the Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. No. IX. Shanghai, 1875, THE CHINESE. 193 Blood revenge is in full force among these savages. The murder of a relative is bound to be avenged by his kindred. Tins adds zest to the pursuit of Cliinese who have killed Formosans ; but, independently of this, a savage who has not killed and beheaded a Chinaman is not respected, and he rises in position with the num- ber of Chinese heads he can count. They are said to have no idea of the year or of the seasons, and to be unable to tell then' own ages. They bury then- dead standing upright without coffins, and their weapons and utensils with them. They pledge friendship by each man put- ting his arm round the other's neck and then, placing their heads and mouths close to- gether, they both drink at the same time from one cup. Chinese ideas about these trou- blesome subjects may be gathered from the following • i r FonuosiN (pepo-hoan) wojiam and child. extract from an ^ ' official account of the island, " To govern them is impos- sible ; to exterminate them not to be thought An official of; and so nothing can be done with them. ■'■^^'"■• The only thing left is to establish troops with cannon at all the passes through which they issue on their raids, and so overawe them by military display, from coming out of their fastnesses. The savage tracks lie only through the dense forests, thick with underbrush, where hiding is 194 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. easy. When they cut off a head, they boil it to separate the flesh, adorn the skull with various ornaments, and hang it up in their huts as evidence of their valour. Even if any attempts were made to keep them within bounds, it must sooner or later end in failure. If it is asked, then, "What shall be done ? the reply is. Murders must be punished in kind, and friendly aborigines must be used to gradually reclaim and civilise them. They must be conquered, to make them fear, and then they can be controlled, to make them obedient. Their country must be opened up and Chinese settlers introduced, and then the harm done by them will gradually cease. Later they will become tamed, and finally they may be enrolled as subjects, and pay tribute." The peninsula of Corea, to the north-east of China, is occupied by a race in several respects intermediate be- The coreans ^^^^^^^ '^'^ Chinese and the Japanese, both 'having frequently invaded it, and compelled its kings to pay tribute and do homage. For a long time they have been greatly isolated from the rest of the world, and have had very little intercourse with Euro- peans. In 1883 the old barriers were at last broken through, and European diplomatists and consuls were admitted. The Coreans have the usual Mongohan characteristics, black coarse hair, oblique eyes, flat faces, broad cheek- bones, yellow to tawny complexion, and slight beard. They are of a vigorous muscular tjrpe. In language they resemble the Japanese more than the Chinese, having, however, their own peculiar vocabulary, but writing in Chinese characters. From the seventh to the thirteenth centuries of our era was the period of Corea's prime. It was about this time that Buddhism was introduced ; and the remains of Buddhist temples of that date are still found. Corea was then in communication with Arabia and Persia, and many Persian ornaments have been found as relics of this period, during which the ceramic art was supposed to be introduced into Corea from these countries. Few antiquarian or historical remains are to be found in the KAXnjSS OF COREA. 135 196 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. peninsula ; the great Japanese invasion destroyed almost every vestige of art in the country. The people are exceedingly peaceful and civil to strangers. The women are kept in strict confinement cuaraoter of all day, and are only allowed to walk abroad the people. \^ ^}^g evening, when all the men retire in- doors, and go out after nightfall under penalty of im- prisonment. All classes are decent and orderly in their dress and demeanour. The country is so primitive that the people have almost no wants ; and the difficulty of trading with them is, that they have nothing to supply, for the reason that they want nothing. The houses have no furniture except a mat, a pillow, and a screen. There is no great desire to make money, beyond what wUl last through the winter ; there is nothing to invest money in, and if a man has more than he urgently needs, it is generally taken from him by the officials. The men are greatly addicted to drink ; and it is a common thing to see them rolling helplessly drunk about the streets, and nobody appears to take the least notice of them. The prevailing colour of the dress is white. The proper names are nearly all Chinese, pure and simple. The country is about the size of England, "Wales, and Scot- land, while the population is about one-third of that of Great Britain. The government is monarchical, and the king keeps up great state. All the people have to work for the king three months a year. Every king receives his title from the emperor of China, to whom his ambassadors have to ko-tow. The land is all held to be the king's The property, and the nobles hold it of him by goveiTunent. feudal tenure. Great regard is paid to learn- ing, which, however, consists chieHy of Confucianism. Learned men have a special rank and precedence assigned to them. Buddhism is prevalent, but Taoism is also much in vogue. Tobacco is to Corea what opium is to China. The Corean goes about with his pipe, about three feet long, held in one hand, while with the other he tries to do whatever work he is at, whether it is digging with a THE JAPANESE. 197 spade or any other employment. The result is, that fifteen men can only do the work of three; for Long sleeves nothing -will induce a Corean to relinquish his and pipe for a moment. Another great impediment ^°^^ v'>-v^^- to work is their dress, on account of their long, loose sleeves, into which they cram everything they want to carry. This has been recognised as such a nuisance by the king, that he issued a proclamation against long sleeves, ordering his subjects to adopt short, tight sleeves, which he wore himself ; but the order was utterly dis- regarded, and the people still keep their long pipes and their long sleeves. The people are said to have an in- tense admiration for the natural beauties of their country, which are very great. Just recently Corea has been again coming more under Japanese influence, and .making efforts to be completely independent of China. The Chinese resident has had a very unpleasant time of it for some years. The Corean king has decided to send representatives to several European courts. IS. this be successfully done, Corean independence is asserted ; but at present the whole foreign trade of the country would not support five en- voys abroad. Such independent action is a fitting con- sequence of the long vacillation of China about Corea. m ^ ^ ^ CniNKSE Or.KAJIENTS. CHAPTEE XI. Japan compared with Great Britain— Early history— Tlie MiSado— Else of the Shoguns— Mongol Invasion- Development of feudal system- The revolution of 1868— The new constitution- Early European visitors— Kecent treaties with foreigners— Modern changes— Japanese physical features— Mental capacity and character— Imitation of Europeans- The happy despatch — Japanese ladies — Muscular peasantry— Acrobats- Tattooing— Dress— The kimono— Hair-dressing— The chignon— Powder and paint— Eough country dress— Wedding ceremonies— Delight in chil- dren—Their obedience, good temper, and dooUity— Schools— Teaching of girls- The public baths— Houses and furniture — Religion— The Ainos of Japan— Distinct from Mongol type— Hairiness- Physical character— Aino women's looks — Children — Clothing— Jewellery— Houses— Food— Sak6— Curios— Himting— Notions of religion— Marriage— Good qualities —The Loo-choo islanders— Physical characters. EVEN more than China, Japan bespeaks and commands our in- terest. She occupies in several re- spects a parallel position to Great To^.« ,.«™ Britain — as an insular Japan com- _ . . pared with power, as having de- Great Britain, ^eloped to her present condition through an elaborate feudal system, as having great mineral wealth and manufacturing skill, as including the flower of the Mongo- loid people, and especially as having lately thrown off ancient traditions to a very large extent, and adopted many features of the civilisation of western Europe. Japanese history cannot be relied on so far back as Chinese. This is perhaps due to the insular position, and * 138 - THE JAPANESE. 199 to the succession of destructive invasions to -wiiicli islands, especially fertile and rich ones, are mostly ex- Eaxiy posed. We can look back to a period when History, tribes resembling the remaining Ainos of Yezo, inhabited such parts of the islands as -were redeemed from fbrests. These were gradually driven northwards by the ancestors of the present Japanese. That these were in part of JAPANESE WELL-TO-DO FAMILY. Chinese origin cannot be doubted ; but how far the Man- chus, Coreans, Malays, and Papuans may have a claim to share in the Japanese ancestry, cannot yet be settled. Eaoto was early the capital and chief seat of Japanese power. The emperor has long been termed the Mikado, 2O0 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. a word meaning mticli the same as " Sublime Porte," Tne Mikado ^^® emperor being too sublime a being to bo ' spoken of directly or in other than a figurative way. He became surrounded by a noble class, chiefly descended from the imperial family, called " Kuge." Gradually, in order to repress the aborigines, or to expel invaders from the mainland, a military system was or- ganised, and placed under a Shogun^ or general. This office in time became hereditary; and around the Shogun Kise of the a military caste arose, quite distinct from the Shoguns. peasantry. As the Shogun increased in power, the Mikado was of less practical importance. In the tenth and eleventh centuries the office of Shogun was alternately held by members of two powerful clans, the Taira and Minamoto, who between them ruled the whole country. After fierce civil wars they succeeded in anni- hilating each other ; and several other families in succes- sion held the Shogunate, not without many civil wars, till the accession in 1603 of the Tokugawa family, which Mongol held power till 1867. The chief event in invasion. Japanese history during the earlier period of the Shogunate was the repulse of the great Mongol in- vasion in 1281, in the time of Kubla Khan. The first Shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, lyeyasu, and his grandson, lyemitsu, must be credited with the ' Development ^^"^-'^ development of the remarkable feudal sys- of feudal tern which lasted till 1868. Under them, too,' system. Yedo grew to great political and maauifacturing importance. They subjected and grouped around them all the daimios or territorial nobles, and the military clan by which lyeyasu gained his power, and whom ho created a nobility known as hatamofo. The daimios ruled over the eighteen provinces of Japan, and within their territories were practically supreme, each having a han, or governing clan, under him. Usages, laws, cur- rency, etc., differed in adjacent provinces, and rendered intermixture of the population very difficult. Altogether, though the nation as a whole was at peace, the peasantry suffered greatly under the exactions of the han. The shoguns kept up a strict authority over the daimios, and THE JAPANESE. :oi JATAMESE GIIILS WITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. ■when they were not at Yedo, detained their wives and families there. Meanwhile the Mikado was always the titular sovereign, invested each Shogun with his office, and kept his court of nohles at Kioto, though retaining no real power ; but the Shogun never assumed to be supreme sovereign. The title of Tycoon (or taikun), formerly supposed by Euro- peans to be that of the " temporal ruler " of Japan, is a Chinese word, meaning " great Lord," and was often used by the Japanese. During later periods of Japanese history, instead of the earlier mari- time enterprises being repeated, the people were for- The revolu. bidden tionofi868. -to leave the country with- out express per- mission ; and very few foreignerswere permitted to enter it. The peasantry grew impatient of the yoke of the daimios, while the latter equally re- Finally, the people's ,he Mikado as sole UAKtIKO, EMPBESS OE JAPAN. sented the yoke of the Shoguns minds turned towards the revival of sovereign, as offering a hope of an improved state of things. The last Shogun resigned in 1867, and in 1868 the Mikado's authority was fully re-established, after comparatively little fighting. The Mikado removed his court from Kioto to Yedo in 1869, and changed the name of Yedo to Tokio (meaning eastern capital). Thus quietly THE JAPANESE. 203 was brought about a more important revolution than our own of 1688. In 1873 the Mikado granted his subjects a representative constitution ; and in 1875 a senate was ap- The new- pointed, as well as a supreme council and <'™^*i*"*'°"- college of ministers. In 1878 assemblies were constituted for the provinces and departments, and the representative JAPASEBE BEDnOOM. system is to be completed by a national assembly, which will meet for the first time in 1890. In the sixteenth century Portuguese traders visited Japan; and Portuguese missionaries under St. Francis Xavier landed about the middle of the century ^gjj at Kagosima. But in consequence, it would European seem, of the possibility of their attempting the ^'^"o'^s. subji:^ation of Japan, the Portuguese were expelled in 1639, The Dutch arrived in 1610, and though strictly 204 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. limited to Nagasaki, maintained almost a monopoly of Japanese foreign trade till recent times. An Englishman named William Adams, from Kent, reached Japan early in the seventeenth century, as pilot to a Dutch vessel, and gave the Japanese instruction in ship-building. But no English factories were established in consequence. The United States, as represented by Commodore Perry, Eecent must be credited with having broken the ice treaties with between the Anglo-Saxons and the Japanese, foreigners, although in a somewhat high-handed manner. Several ports were thenceforth opened to American trade. England soon followed suit ; and now, eighteen foreign nations have treaties with Japan, obtained by persevering insistence. Before 1868, all foreign powers treated with the Shogun or Tycoon; but in that year the British, French, and Dutch ministers went to Kioto and obtained the Mikado's direct sanction to the treaties already con- cluded. It must not be imagined that foreigners brought about the revolution of 1868 ; it had been long in pre- paration, and they have simply reaped many of its ad- vantages. Since 1868 Japan has made more rapid progress than perhaps any other cottntry in ancient or modern times. Modem Universities, railways, telegraphs, light-houses, changes, dockyards, steamship hues, postal communica- tion, macliine manufactures, newspapers, and other Euro- pean and American notions have been introdticed ; and even the picturesque and appropriate native costume bids fair to disappear in favour of much less charming Euro- pean fashions. Although considerably modified from the typical Mon- goloid form, the Japanese show plainly theu- relationship by their yellow or yellowish complexion, prominent cheek- bones, black hair and eyes, small nose, scanty beard, and Japanese slightly oblique eyes. The nobles and military physical caste are fairer, with longer heads and higher features, foreheads, an aquiline nose, thin lips. The peasantry are much more Asiatic in appearance, more muscular, flat and broad in face, low-browed, thicker- lipped. THE JAPANESE. 20 j There is no question tliat tlie higlier classes in Japan have high mental capacity and are quick to Mental learn. They love knowledge and are enthusi- capacity and astic for progress. Yet they can scarcely be "^^^'"^ ^^• denominated philanthropists. Keenly appreciating the advantages of that intercourse Avith the rest of the world which has so long been denied to them, and realising 2o6 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. that wealth, importance, elevation in the mental and material scale, have come to Europeans in consequence of their wide intercourse and broad education, they are eager to secure for themselves a good share of all advan- tages to be obtained by following their example ; and they have thrown themselves headlong into an imitative and Imitation of assimilative career, which may not be the most Europeans, fruitful they could pursue. Yet they must not be blamed if they make mistakes or meet with disap- pointments in tMs endeavour. Until the results of Wes- tern culture have been tested, they cannot find out its defects, or know what to avoid. Perhaps it is hope- less to expect the Japanese as yet to attain a healthy independence of thought and action; still , the court and the government have shown a resolution to take rank as independent and equal with the European powers, which argues well for the future of the country. It will be greatly to be regretted if, in their haste to become Europeanised, the Japanese throw aside elements of their own, either in dress or thought, in habits or in manufactures, which are the product of cen- turies of adaptation to their surroundings. "We must hope that, as in other cases, nature will be too strong for the Japanese, and will recur under new conditions, pre- JAPANE3E LACE-MAKEK. THE JAPANESE. 207 serving the best features of tlie past and carrying tliem to new perfection. Japanese art deserves much detailed notice, lor which we cannot find space. In textile fabrics, in bronzes and inlaid and lacquered work, in pottery, porcelain, and wood-carving, the native Japanese work is as distinctive and special as that of any country ever was. Decorative work is their speci- ality, for their de- signs are always treated flatly. The Japanese on the whole must be described as highly courteous and anxious to please, brave and warUke, having a sense of per- The happy s n a 1 despatciL honour almost like that prevailing among the French. Indeed, duels are not infrequent among them ; and the hai-akiri, or "happy despatch," is another form of sacrifice to the same sentiment of honour. The happy despatch used to be in vogue, to avoid imperial censure or condemnation, the unfortunate offender as- sembhng his friends to witness his own action of cutting Irimself in the lower part of the stomach, followed by liis decapitation by a skilled executant. Japanese ladies must be acknowledged to have numer- ous charms, if the possession of beauty can hardly be granted them, according to Western ideas. They have JAPANESE GIBL AT BEK lOlLEI. 208 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. miTcli grace, ingenuousness, simplicity, naive curiosity, Japanese and sweetness of smile and expression; and ladies, ij^ some cases their complexion approaches not japan: peesenting new-bokn babe in shihto temple. (T/ie arcTiwjai/ in front is the general syniftol of Shinto.) a little to a European style, and the hps alone, the artificially blackened teeth, and the peculiar style of the head-dress, remain to remind us of the contrast of types. Then their small slight figures seem puny in comparison THE JAPANESE. 209 witli the robuster Europeans. Even the men are of quite low stature, seldom rising beyond five feet four inches. The muscularity of the peasantry is in strong contrast to the shghtness of the aristocracy. They can endure a surprising amount of fatigue, bearing heavy Muscular burdens. And as for skill in muscular actions, peasantry, those who have seen Japanese acrobats do not need to be reminded of their extraordinary agility and suppleness of limb. With all this, old age comes on early j^gj-ouats in Japan, to women as well as men. At thirty both sexes are often wrinkled and worn. Of course the hideous fashion of blackening the women's teeth aids in producing this appearance of age. It is hardly safe to say from year to year what is the prevailing costume of parts of Japan, since Tattooine European modes have been introduced. It is ' likely that tattooing will become more and more uncom- mon, but in the past it prevailed extensively, even among high-class women. Now-a-days the " runners " who act the part of cab-horses exhibit some of the showiest patterns, extending over almost their entire body, and displaying not unfrequently great richness of design. Birds, dragons, and flowers in red, white, and blue, elaborately arranged, supply the main ideas. Notwithstanding the spread of European clothing, which needs no description, the mass of the Japanese, especially at a distance from the capital and the trade routes, have by no means as yet dis- carded their old vestments. Formerly every rank had its appropriate cut and colour ; but the universal garment for both sexes was the Icimono, commonly of .j. j^^ cotton, among the rich of silk. This is an un- trimmed narrow tunic reaching to the feet, with huge baggy sleeves, often used as pockets, and containing, among other necessaries, rolls of paper which serve as pocket-handkerchiefs and table-napkins. The better classes wear an under skirt, the poorer wear trousers. For cold weather, additional garments of similar type are •worn; in rain, straw mantles, and waterproofs made of layers of waxed or oiled paper. A great girdle surrounds 2IO THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. the waist. High -wooden sabots complete the costume. JAPANESE LADT, A peculiar kind of straw slippers, often needing to be renewed, is worn by porters and runners. THE JAPANESE. 211 Hair-dressing is an elaborate piece of work. Men shave tlie front of their scalps, and coil the remainder of their hair at the back. Women wear all their hair, nair- which is partly raised in front, and partly dressing, dressed in an elaborate chignon, secured by great pins, and made smooth by bandoline. There are two uniform partings on the right and left. The women's head is never covered out of doors, and the hair re-„ ..„ mams dressed lor a week or more, being pre- served at night by using a wooden pillow, not to lay the head on, but the neck, leaving the hair and skull projec- ting behind (fig. p. 203). Married women at once, or soon after marriage, remove every hair of the eyebrows, as well as blacken the teeth with a sort of ink. The face, ears, and neck are literally covered with white powder and powder ; and the Kps being artificially reddened, p^^*- a Japanese married woman becomes most unpleasing in countenance. It is very remarkable that jewellery is not worn by Japanese women. Elaborate and good costume is not, however, to be found everywhere in Japan ; and Miss Bird in particular found many locahties where the men com- Rough monly wear scarcely anything, and the women cimtry dress, only put on a short, tight petticoat, or wretched tight blue cotton trousers, with a loose vest of the same material tucked into the band. In these cases it was often diffi- cult to distinguish men from women, except by the eye- brows and teeth. The women usually carry naked babies on their backs. Marriages take place early, but by no means in infancy ; bridegrooms are usually from twenty to twenty-one years old, brides sixteen or seventeen. It is only in modern times that the couple are allowed to meet before marriage. On the wedding day the bride's trousseau is laid out for inspection in her new home, where the wedding wedding is celebrated at an improvised altar decked with ceremonies, flowers, and with images of the gods in front. The bride is veiled in white, which also is the colour of the wed- ding robe; and she arrives at her new home led by her two bridesmaids and a richly-dressed assembly of rela- 212 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. tives and friends. The bridesmaids, who are supposed to represent the male and female butterfly, the favourite patterns for married life, have a number of important lunctions. Several of the ceremonies represent a sort of solemn eating together by the bride and bridegroom, who also drink alternately, out of a vessel with two mouths, nine small cups of sake, the Japanese favourite liquor (fig. p. 205). The bride now puts on the dress she has received from the bridegroom, who in his turn puts on a special dress given him by the bride, and a full meal is JAPANESE OHILDEEN AT PLAY. taken. Various ceremonies between the newly-wedded couple and the visitors follow, including the drinking of nine cups of sake by every one present. Their attention to and affection for their children is a striking feature among the Japanese. "I never saw people take so much delight in their offspring," says Miss Bird in "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," " carrying them about, or holding their hands in walking, watching and entering into their games, supplying them constantly with new toys, taking them to picnics and festivals, never being content to be without them, and Deliglit In chUdren. THE JAPANESE. iij treating otlier people's cHldren also with a suitable measiire of affection and attention. Both fathers and mothers take a pride in then- children. It is most amus- ing, about six every morning, to see twelve or fourteen men sitting on a low wall, each with a child under two years in his arms^fondling and playing with it, and showing off its physique and intelligence. At night, after the houses are shut iip,* looking through the long fringe of rope or rattan which conceals the sliding door, you see the father, who wears nothing but a mavo (loin- JAPAXESj) CniLDKEN AT PLAY. cloth), in the bosom of his family, bending his ugly, kindly face over a gentle-looking baby, and the mother, who more often than not has dropped the Iciinono from her shoulders, enfolding two children, destitute of cloth- ing, in her arms. For some reason they prefer boys ; but certainly girls are equally petted and loved. ^^^ The children, though for our ideas too gentle obedience, and formal, are very prepossessing in looks andloo^'J^t^e^'JPer. behaviour. They are so perfectly docile and obedient, so ready to help their parents, so good to the 214 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. little ones ; and in the many hours wMcli I have spent in -watching them at play, I have never heard an angry word or seen a sour look or act. But they are little men and women rather than children, and their old-fashioned JAPANESE SINGINO GIEL. appearance is greatly aided by their dress, which is the same as that of adults." The children' perhaps gain excessive gravity owing to sitting up with their parents and constantly being with them. Boys up to three years old have their heads shaved THE JAPANESE. 2IS alogetker, giving tliem an appearance of abnormal size. Then the hair is allowed to grow in three tufts — one over each ear, the other at the back of the neck. At ten, the crown alone is shaved ; at fifteen, boys assume the manly fashion of hair ; girls, though their hair grows long and JAPANEaK LADY OF EANK. is elaborately dressed, have minor peculiarities according to their age. Even village schools are now being modified after the European pattern. The schools have good apparatus, maps, etc. The pupils are taught by excellent ^^-^^^-^^ object-lessons; and, in fact, "the usual branches o± a modern education" are imparted. Some of the Chi- 2i6 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. jiese classics are studied, in order that CMnese writing may be acquired. So intense is the regard for parents and teachers, that punishments are rarely needed, and are not severe. Much of the children's play is of a grave .nature ; but it interests them greatly, especially the variety of mechanical devices applied to running water. Girls are carefully taught household accomphshments, embroidery, cooking, etc., and all learn to make their own TeaoMng of clothes — a really simple task. For recreation girls. there are circulating libraries, well supphed with Japanese love-stories or histories of heroes. The arrangement of flowers and of rooms is part of every girl's education, and is really exquisitely done. The bath is greatly in vogue in Japan ; but, contrary to our ideas, it is taken very much in public, the sexes being usually not separated. The people have no idea of The pubUc shame at the custom, and are astonished that baths, -^ye should be shocked at it. As Sir Rutherford Alcock says : " It is a custom of the country. Fathers, mothers, and husbands all sanction it; and from child- hood the feeling must grow up, as effectually shielding them from self-reproach or shame as their sisters ia Europe in adopting low dresses in the ballroom." Japanese houses are almost invariably of one storey — Houses and or at most of two, and built of wood — usually furniture, bamboo. The roofs are high-peaked, and pro- ject beyond the walls. The rooms are often large, and only divided by movable partitions of wood or paper. Mica and oiled paper are largely used for windows, and paper is also the only protection for lamps and lanterns, which accounts for the frequent fires in Japanese towns. Furniture is of the simplest, mats and quilts being the principal items. How easy it is to set up housekeeping, where chairs, tables, sofas, and bedsteads are not wanted! A few mats and quilts, a box of clothes, a pan to cook rice, a few cups and trays, a bath tub, — there you have a household almost equipped. To go to bed, it is simply necessary to put on a bulky, wadded garment of full length, and lie down under a quilt, the head resting on ,.a box covered with a paper pillow. THE JAPANESE. 217 The religions of Japan are somewhat pecuhar, inasmuch as it is possible to profess several without incon- jjeUeion sistency. The primitive religion, possibly native in origin, is Shintoism, meaning " the way of the gods." It has no code of doctrines, but includes a vague belief in a universal deity, too distant from mortals to be prayed to ; a sort of ancestor- and hero-worship ; and a nature- worship, which sees spirits in all natural phenomena, and reckons theu' number at eight millions. The salient fact of pohtical importance is, that the Mikado is held to be a descendant of the Sun-goddess, and that he must there- fore be implicitly obeyed. No further moral system is laid down, except the necessity of purity of mind and soul. Offerings are made to the spirits at simple shrines throughout the country, not containing images to be wor- shipped, although there is usually some object in them in which a spirit is believed to reside. Formerly there were great human sacrifices at the burial of princes and nobles. The dead are either buried or their ashes deposited in cemeteries distinguished for natural beauty. Confucianism was introduced from China about the sixth century, and gained a great influence over the social and political systems ; but at present it is rather a philosophy than a religion, and its largest hall at Tokio is a library of European, Chinese, and Japanese works. This philosophy has however largely given way in recent years before the so-called "English philosophy" of Mill, ibarwin, and Herbert Spencer, many of whose works have been translated into Japanese. Buddhism found its way to Japan in the sixth century also, but gained no great influence until the ninth, when the priest Kukai, or Kobo Daishi, showed how to adapt Shintoism to Buddhism by asserting that the Shinto deities were transmigrations of the Buddhistic ones. Thus explained. Buddhism gained great ascendency. In the seventeenth century a philosophical awakening took place, under which every man was taught to long for perfection, to believe in successive transmigrations of souls, and to look forward to the perfect reward of absorp- tion into Buddha. A very great number of Buddhist 2l8 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. JAPANESE LADY. shrines and temples exist, vastly more ornate and "wealthy than those of the Shinto, containing images of extraordinary variety for adoration, supporting till lately a numerous priesthood, who took care to attract the people in every possible way, by spec- tacles, games, lotteries, and even shooting galleries. The recent revolution, however, has been attended with a great spoliation of Buddhism, suppression of temples and monasteries, melting of beUs for coinage, etc. ; and the religion now only exists on suffer- ance, and has already put forth renewed efforts to gain spiritual influence over the people. It now has to meet the additional competition of mission- aries of various Christian Churches — Protestant, Eoman Catholic, and Grreek, who, especially the last, are making a fair amount of progress. The Japanese language has a certain amount of affinity to the Chi- nese, but the most important features of resemblance have been bor- rowed from Chi- nese in recent cen- turies. The people speak in a musical tone, which is as pleasing as Italian pronunciation. There are forty- seven primary jArANEss. THE JAPANESE. 219 syllables, wHcli by certain modifications become seventy- two. As in Cliiaese, slight shades of pronunciation are very important. There are no ordinary inflexions, these being indicated by prefixed or affixed particles. There are different modes of speech for addressing equals, superiors, and inferiors. One of the great difficulties of the language, is the difference of the inflexion particles in written and in spoken language. It is written with Chinese ideographic symbols combined with two varieties of the phonetic system. It is a question whether Eng- lish may not ultimately supplant Japanese, so many of the people have in late years learnt it. JAPANESE FDENIIURE. Japanese, like Chinese, books begin where ours end ; the lines of writing and print are perpendicular, the first being to the right. Owing to the former use of wooden blocks for printing, old books are very few, and are largely in the form of ancient histories, local geographies and guide books, and books of short poems, none of high rank. Novels, fairy tales, and children's toy books are abundant ; newspapers are becoming numerous, subject, however, to severe government restrictions, one of them being, that if any one complains of a false statement being made about him, his denial shall be published in fuU, in the same column and type as the original state- ment. 526 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. THE AINOS OF JAPAN. One of the most interesting aboriginal races anywhere to be found, is that known as the Aino — literally, " the men," or "the people," in their own language. They Distinct from formerly spread over the whole of the Japan- Mongoi type, ese and Kurile Islands, and Saghalien. The Japanese and Manchus have for many centuries been restricting their range, till they are now only to be found in Northern Yezo, Southern Saghalien, and some of the Kurile Islands. What renders them so interesting is, that their physical characters are very different lirom JAPANESa MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. those of the Mongoloid peoples, and their language is fundamentally distinct. Miss Bird, in " Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," describes the Ainos as " about the middle height, broad- chested, broad - shouldered, thick-set, very strongly built, the arms and legs short, thick, and muscu' lar, the hands and feet large. The bodies, and especially the limbs, of many are covered with short' bristly hair. I have seen two boys whose backs are covered with fur as fine and soft as that of a cat. The heads and faces are very striking. The foreheads are very high, broad, and prominent, and at first sight give one the im- pression of an unusual capacity for intellectual develop- THE JAPANESE. 221 jnent; tlie ears are small and set low, the noses are AINOS OF JAPAN. (Ill o^cioX stoffl di-c-ss tcJicji risifiiig (7i(j Jnpan^so Governor of Ho^-odaiti, Tcso, 1867.) (Fjom o p)io(o<7i'(i]>)i 10116 !>ii Db, Bzdsoe, F.R.S.) stxaiglit but sliort, and broad at tlie nostrils; the mouths 222 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. are wide, but well-formed; and tlie lips rarely show a Physical tendency to fulness. The neck is short, the characters, cranium rounded, the cheek-bones low. . , . The eyebrows are full, and form a straight line nearly across the face. The eyes are large, tolerably deeply set, and very beatitiful, the colour a rich liquid brown, the expression singularly soft, and the eyelashes long, sUky, and abundant. The skin has the Italian olive tint, but in most cases is thin, and light enough to show the changes of colour in the cheeks. The teeth are small, regular, and very white; the incisors and ' eye-teeth ' are not disproportionately large, as is usually the case among the Japanese ; there is no tendency to prognathism. The features, expression, and aspect are European rather than Asiatic." Other accounts describe the forehead as low, the brow ridges promineni, the nose thick and rounded at the end, the eyes not oblique, and intensely black. The abundant development of the hair and beard is their most con- spicuous character. It is black, coarse, straight, and shaggy, that on the head worn long, down to the shoulders and mingling with the beard. The women are much inferior in looks to the men, ageing soon, owing to the hard work they have to do, and to their heavy tattooing. This is done on the forearm, lips, and cheeks, of an ugly Aino light blue hue. Miss Bu-d was of opinion that women's their ugliness was due to art and dirt. They looks. g^^g seldom more than five feet and half an inch high, but are well formed and lithe, with small feet and hands, well-arched insteps, well-developed busts, and a firm gait. They have superb teeth, and use them liberally in smiling. Miss Bird says, " that one girl whom she saw, who had not been tattooed, was the most beauti- ful creature in features, colouring, and natural grace of form she had seen for a long time." Tattooing is performed in childhood, in successive stages from five years of age till marriage. The Japanese government has now forbidden the practice, at which the Ainos are greatly distressed, saying that tattooing of girls is part of their religion ; they can't be married without it. THE JAPANESE. 223 Tlie children are miicli loved and caressed. They do not receive names till they are four or five years old. They are carried on journeys on the ^^ mother's back in a net or loose garment^ supported by a band round the forehead. No clothing is worn till eight years old, and the younger children's hair is completely shaven ; from five to fifteen the boys are partially shaven, while the girls grow their hair. In winter the Ainos wear one or more coats of skins, with hoods. Their summer garb is a sort of kimono, or loose coat of cloth, which they weave from dotj^jjig bark. Both sexes wear tight leggings of bark- cloth or skin, without shoes or sandals. The women will not change one garment for another except alone or in the dark. '' Lately," says Miss Bhd, " a Japanese woman took an Aino woman into her house, and insisted on her taking a bath, which she absolutely refused to do till the bath-house had been made quite private by means of screens. On the Japanese going back a httle later to see what had become of her, she found her sitting in the water in her clothes, and on being remonstrated with, she said that the gods would be angry if they saw her with- out clothes ! " Their hoHday garments are handsome, with geometrical patterns in blue cotton with scarlet and white braiding. The women wear a good deal of jewellery, including large silver or pewter ear-rings, hoop-shaped neck-ornaments, etc., and they are passionately fond of anything red-coloured. The Aino houses are simple but interesting, having doorways, windows, central fireplaces, and raised sleeping benches, unlike the Japanese, and more like primitive Europeans. They are built of a framework of posts, neatly covered with reeds in close bundles, and are very capacious, sometimes forty feet square, but with low walls and a high-pitched roof. Long poles, crossing from wall to wall, serve as shelves. Mats carefully made of reeds supply bedding, and small stiff bolsters are also used. The oblong fireplace has hanging over it a black mat, from which the soot is collected for tattooing, and which diffuses the smoke 2 24 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. over tlie house. The great cooking-pot hangs from the same framework as the mat. Aino food is very varied and not dainty, including all kinds of fish, seaweed, slugs, wild vegetables and berries. Food. and venison and bear's flesh. They have and drink, -^ooden spoons for stirring, and use chop-sticks in eating. Sake is their great drink, to which they are immoderately and banefully addicted. For it they will sell anything but the Japanese curios they have acquired by inheritance or gift. These are sometimes richly covered with gold, or fine specimens of Japanese -art. The men spend all the year except summer in hunting deer and bears, which they obtain by arrows, arrowtraps „ . poisoned with monkshood, and pitfalls, but the Japanese have lately forbidden the use of poison and traps, as dangerous to travellers. The Ainos have a very simple kind of worship, without temples or priests, a sort of vague nature worship. They Notions of pay reverence as gods to wands and posts of religion, peeled wood with the ctirled shavings attached. The only act of sacrifice they perform is to place a dead bird near one of their gods tiU. it decays. " Drinking for the god " is their chief religious act, so that drunkenness is part of their religion such as it is. They also have a crude reverence for the bear. They have a great dread of snakes and of death. The Aino women are very faithful ; girls marry at seventeen, men at twenty-one. Miss Bird says, " When a man wishes to marry, he thinks of some arrage. pg^j,j.|Q^jg^j. gj^j.j^ ^^^ g^gj-g i^^ chief if he may ask for her. If leave is given, either through a go-be- tween or personally, he asks her father for her, and if he consents, the bridegroom gives him a present, usually a Japanese curio. This constitutes betrothal ; and the marriage, which immediately follows, is celebrated by carousals and the drinking of much sake. The bride receives as her dowry her ear-rings and a highly orna- mented kimono. It is an essential that the husband provides a house to which to take his wife. Each couple THE JAPANESE. 225 live separately," only tlie cMef may have three wives, each in a separate house. A very few, with childless wives, tahe a second wife. These people live in village communities, and are very simply governed, each by its own chief, whose power is permanent. Miss Bii-d concludes, from her experience, that the Aino must be ranked high among uncivilised peoples, being charming in many ways, especially for their courtesy. They have some real idea of Good home, and a word for husband which comes qiauties. very near to " house-band." They value truth, revere and treat kindly the aged, and infanticide is unknown. Yet they seem to show no capacity for elevation at present, and as regards education, are stupid and apa- thetic. Their good physique is in favour of their con- tinuing to exist ; and it is to be hoped that some way may be found of raising them to a higher state. Probably there are not more than ten thousand of them now sur- viving, and unless some change occurs, they may be extinct in another century. 1B.-E LOO-CHOO Oil LIU-KIU ISLANDERS. The Loo-choo islands, stretching between Formosa and Japan, were long subject to China, to whom the Loo-choo king paid tribute. GraduaUy, in late years, the hold of China relaxed and that of Japan grew ; and in 1879, the Japanese deposed the Loo-choo king, and set up their own government. This change has been rendered easy by the manifest relationship of the people to the Japanese, though they are eashy distinguishable from them, having less flattened faces, more deeply-set eyes, and physical noses more prominent at the base. The fore- characters, head is also high, and the cheek-bones less prominent than in the Japanese, and they are shorter but better proportioned. Those who work in the fields are nearly as dark as Malays ; but the upper classes are much fairer, and without the yellow tinge of the Chinaman. They have long, black, rather thin beards, sometimes plaited. All the people, of both sexes, have a space shaven on the Q 226 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. crown of the head ; and tlie rest of the long hair is gathered up and twisted into a knot over the bald spot, and transfixed with two peculiar pins, the metal of which varies with rank. The women have the backs of their hands tattooed. The expression of the people is almost always gentle and pleasing, though somewhat sad. Napha-kiang, the seat of government, is pecuhar in structure, the houses being built in little enclosures, separ- ated from the street and one another by massive hme- stone walls from eight to fourteen feet high ; but in other respects it is like a Japanese town. The climate is almost tropical, though the chief vegetation is of a temperate character. Rice, wheat, and sweet-potatoes are the prin- cipal crops ; and tobacco is largely grown. A more happy and laughter-loving people, says a recent visitor, Dr. Gruillemard, can scarcely be found. 1 ^^^B^^P w^ W ^R B ^fcA Br ^tmkk MWb '^ y^^y y K^S^Bn^fe^ ^- t'jRiK n^ KALMUCK lABIABS. CHAPTEE XII. Clje ilonsolians, iiasiljsai-ians, tiu The Mongol empire— Jenghlz Khan— Ogdal— Eubla Khan— Tbe Modem Mongolians — Marco Polo's account— Scattered tribes— The Ehallcas— Introduced customs— Chinese rule— Mongol religion — Language — The Tanguts- Chinese Turkestan— Great mixture of races. GEOGEAPHICALLY limited at tlie present day to tlie nortlierrL portion of the Chinese empire, and of comparatively small importance, the Mongols in the middle ages ruled a great empire, and produced The Mongol remarkable leaders. The greatest of these was empire. G-enghis or Jenghiz Khan, born, in 1162, in a tent on the banks of the river Onon, being the son of jenghiz Yesukai, who ruled over a considerable king- Khan. dom in Mongolia. At first his name was Temuchin. He succeeded his father at the age of thirteen, and early showed his prowess. By the year 1206 his power was widely estabhshed, and he took the name of Jenghiz Khan (meaning perfect warrior). He never ceased his conquering career, — subduing all Mongolia, China, north of the Yellow River or Hoang-ho, Turkestan, Herat, the 227 228 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Punjab, G-eorgia, and Circassia, — even routing tlie Eus- sians on the banks of the Dnieper in 1222. When Jenghiz died, in 1227, his kingdom was divided among his sons — Ogdai, the second surviving son, being named' chief Khan. Ogdai completed the ruin Ogdai. ^£ ^^ 'Kin, or Golden dynasty of North China, in 1234, and then, destroying Jelal-al-din, the subject ruler of Kharezm, on his way, overran Mesopotamia, Khelat, Georgia, Armenia, and other districts of Western Asia, committing frightful cruelties. In 1235 his power was so great that he was able to despatch three great expeditions— one into Corea, another against the Sung empire (South China), and a third into Eastern Europe. The latter conquered the early Bulgarian state on the Volga, destroyed Eiazan, Moscow, and Kief, and then reached Pesth and conquered the Magyars, pursuing them to the Adriatic in 1241. Another army conquered and devastated Poland. But at this time Ogdai died of a disease due to drink and licentiousness. Under his successor Asia Minor and Syria were brought under subjection. For another century the Mongol emperors continued supreme in war throughout Asia, performing such exploits as the capture of Bagdad, in 1263, followed by u a an. ^-j^^ capture and sack of Aleppo and Damascus, and the conquest of South China. Kubla Khan was the first Mongol emperor of China ; and in 1264 he founded Pekin to be the capital of his empire. It was not till 1276 that the Sung dynasty in South China was con- quered ; and in 1279 Kublai was ruler over all China. He was much more advanced in ideas than any of his predecessors : he forbade massacres, — till then inseparable from Mongol conquests, — encouraged literature, science, Christianity, and Buddhism. His expeditions against Jfapan, Cochin China, Burmah, and Java were unsuccess- ful; but others to Southern India, Eastern Africa, and Madagascar brought back at least professions of homage. His long reign ended in 1294, and no great man followed him on his throne. Although some of his successors were tolerant and enlightened, and made some progress in THE MONGOLIANS, KASHGARIANS, ETC. TUItKISn QUAED AT KASnOAB. 230 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. administration, as a rule they were incapable of con- solidating their empire, or gaining the allegiance of con- quered peoples. The Mongol troops became enervated in the softer climate of China; and in 136B-58 the Buddhist priest, Choo Yuen-Chang, was able to drive them out, and iDecome the first Chinese emperor of the Ming dynasty, under the title Hung- Woo. After this period the Mongols ceased to have a power- ful centre, and they gradually became merely a number of scattered tribes, and a considerable number of them yielded submission to the (Manchu) Chinese empire. They became, to a large extent, Buddhists. Their many changes of grouping and wandering expeditions are so complex that we cannot here detail them. The Mongolians of the present day, occupying MongoUa from Siberia to the great wall of China, from Manchuria The modem to the Altai mountains, and extending south- MongoUans. -w^ards over the great wall to the Blue Lake (Kuku-nor), and over the northern border of Tibet, arc characterised by an agglutinative form of language hke the Finns and Magyars. The order of words in sen- tences is almost the reverse of our own. A single sentence sometimes fills several pages. The account of the Mongols given by Marco Polo is one of the best, and shows that six hundred years ago Marco Polo's they hved very much as at present. " The account. Tartar (i.e. Mongol) custom," he says, accgrd- ing to Col. Yule's translation, " is to spend the winter ia warm plains, where they find good pasture for their cattle, whilst in summer they betake themselves to a cool climate among the mountains and valleys where water is to be found as weU as woods and pastures. Their houses are circular, and are made of wands covered with felts. These are carried along with them whither- soever they go. , . . They also have waggons, covered with black felt so efficaciously that no rain can get in. These are drawn by oxen and camels, and the women and children travel in them. The women do the buying and selling, and whatever is necessary to provide for the husband and household ; for the men all lead the THE MONGOLIANS, KASHGARIANS, ETC. 2ji life of gentlemen, troubling themselves about nothing but hunting and hawking, and looking after their goshawks and falcons, unless it be the practice of warlike exercises. They live on the milk and meat which their herds supply, and on the produce of the chase ; and they eat all kinds of flesh, including that of horses and dogs, and ' Pharaoh's rats ' (i.e. jerboas), of which last there are great numbers in burrows on those plains. Their drink is mare's milk. . . Any man may take a himdred wives an he so please, and if he be able to keep them. But the first wife is ever held most in honour, and as the most legiti- mate. The husband gives a marriage payment to his wife's mother, and the wife brings nothing to her hus- band. They have more children than other people, be- cause they have so many wives. They may marry their cousins ; and if a father dies, his son may take any of the wives, his own mother always excepted ; that is to say, — the eldest son may do this, but no other. A man may also take the wife of his own brother after the latter's death. Their weddings are celebrated with great ado." At present their condition may be summed up in one sentence : they are subject to and divided between the Russian and the Chinese empires. They are scattered without any national cohesion, being divided tnues. into scattered tribes. The Khalkas inhabit the northern steppes, not far from the Buriats, a kindred people now under Russian rule. The Chakars, or Khakars, occupy the southern steppes, nearer to China. The Ordos, much diminished in numbers, dwell within the northern bend of the Hoang-ho. The Eleuts (Kalmucks) occupy Wes- tern Mongolia, forming the Altai and Thian-Shan hordes. The Khalkas, who claim to be the purest Mongols of the present day, are rather brown than yellow in com- plexion, and have not oblique eyes. The face, ^^ Khalkas. however, is wide and flat, the cheek-bones are prominent, the hair is black, and the beard scanty. Of medium height, but vigorous physique, the Mongols are framed to endure hardship and resist fatigue, and will perform wonders of horse or camel riding, though not 232 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. good at marcliing. The horse is their favourite mount, over which they have a complete mastery ; their skill in managing their steeds is surprising, yet they have now very little of their ancient valour and audacity. Their virtues are those of feebleness. They treat strangers with hospitality, but they are idle, — except in regard to riding, — dirty, and gluttonous. As far as possible, they get slaves to look after their flocks, which are their chief property. The women look after the well-being of the animals, while they talk about and admire them. Every manufactLired article they buy from the Eiissians or Chi- nese, the latter furnishing them with the indispensable tea, to which they often add brandy. Their diet is al- most exckisively animal, but they dishke birds and fish. The customs of the Mongols reflect in various ways the foreign influences to which they have been subjected. Introduced Thus, the men shave their heads, excepting the customs, pig-tail. The Manchus likewise introduced monogamy in the seventeenth century. Parents arrange the marriages of their children by the aid of astrologers ; but a price is paid, as among the Kirghiz, and a form of capture is gone through, as among the Turcomans. The bodies of chiefs and their wives are buried in tombs, be- fore wliich the family offer sacrifices at fixed intervals. The bodies of superior priests are burnt, and their ashes covered with heaps of stones, while the common people are simply exposed to be devoured by beasts and birds. Dogs follow the burial processions, and crows are always in attendance on Mongol settlements. The Chinese government has known how to keep the Mongols well in subjection by dividing them carefully Chinese rule ^^'^'^ hostile tribes and assigning them military ' functions. Their chiefs, pensioned, honoured with titles and by marriages into the imperial Chinese family, are but shadows, having to refer every important matter to Pekin. More important still, the industrious Chinese population is penetrating gradually into every fertile part of Mongolia, though only slowly assimilating the Mongols themselves. But, like so many other peoples, they seem doomed to assimilation or extinction. THE MOXGOLIANS, KASHGARIANS, ETC. 233 Most of the Mongols are de^-oted Buddhists, deriving their sacred books from Tibet, and reverencing the grand Lama most higlilj-, though they have a Lama Mongouan of their own, whose seat is Ourga, in Northern religion. Mongoha ; but the government of Pekin takes care to have a voice in the selection of the Lama. Other divi- nities of the Mongolians are Yamandaga, or the Ox-face, "svearing a crown of human skulls, and various domestic spirits, often mere wooden images. The Mongolians are exceedingly zealous in their religious performances, being almost equal to the Tibetans in that respect. The Mongolian languages are distinct forms of the Ural-Altaic or Finno-Tartar group. Each main group speaks a different dialect not understood by 1,^™^— the others, but they are really closely related. Many Manchu, Chinese, Tibetan, and Turldsh words have been adopted. For over two thousand years the MongoHan language has been a written one, having first borrowed the Chinese characters. Later a Turkish alpha- bet was taken up, and afterwards supplanted by a native alphabet of peculiar construction. Further west, in Xansu and Kuku-nor, the Mongols are oppressed by a more powerful, fierce, and hardy people of Tibetan race, the Tanguts, who are black- ^j^^ Tanguts eyed, oval-faced, without prominent cheeks, black-bearded, and with straight or aquiline noses. They are withal a trading, bargaining people, but do not hesi- tate to rob and plunder. Their wives are purchased, but the men go through a form of capture ; polygamy is practised by those who can afford it. Herds of Yak are kept by the Tanguts, who cover their tents with their skins. They are zealous Buddhists. Chinese Turkestan includes a mixture of peoples, some being Galchas, allied to those to be described subsequently in the chapter on the Afghans. I\Iany fair Chinese people are met with in Yarkand, of typical Turkestan. Aryan appearance, recalling the features of Englishmen. Besides these, Persians, Arabs, Tibetans, I-Cirghiz, Kal- mucks, Mongols and Turks, Hindus and Chinese Great mix- are represented in this central tract of country. *'*^« "^ ''^'Oes. 234 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. The settled agriculturists of the plains are very different from the pastoral and often bandit tribes of the hiUs, who are mostly Kirghiz or Kalmucks. The townspeople call themselves after their place of residence, Khotani, Yark- andi, Kashgari, Tarimtze, etc. Urumtzi is the present seat of (Chinese) government, thotigh Yarkand is stdl the largest centre of trade and population. Owing to the abundance of blinding dust, blind people, or those witlj bad eyes, are numerous. One out of every three in Yark- and has a goitre. Most of the people are Mahometans, and speak a Turkish language like that of Russian Turke- stan, although numerous Chinese and Tartar words are used. The houses are of beaten earth, and dust is every- where. The streets open on to small squares containing open tanks, the only water supply. A few extracts from Surgeon-Major Bellew's narrative of his visit to Yarkand during the last Mussulman rebellion against China, will give an idea of a city of Chinese Tartary. " To the traveller coming from India, and mixing in the scene, the change is complete, and he al- most fancies himself in some country town of Eastern Europe. In place of the dark skins, lithe forms, and airy drapery on the south of the passes, he finds a people of so light a complexion that an Indian in their crowd shows like a black sheep in the fold ; he sees bulky frames that do not lose in height what they gain in breadth ; and his eyes meet, in place of the delicate folds of muslin and gauze, or the close shapes of calico and print, the loose robes of buckram and frieze, or the capacious wraps of bold-coloured silks and heavy fur." The restaurants contain familiar dishes at a low price. The shops are crowded and varied. There are as many persons mounted as on foot. In the cattle market one may see horses exchanged for cows, or cows for sheep, or a Kalmuck youth for a fur coat, or a girl for a silk robe. Minstrels, fortune-tellers, and dancing dervishes abound. Tanning is very successfully carried on, and Yarkand boots and shoes, furs and hats, are famous in all the adjacent territories. CHAPTER XIII. €l)t JuOabitants of Liberia. Modem Immigration from Russia— Former Inhabitants— The Ehagassea— The Mongol empire— Russian conquests— ExUes— Colonists— Agriculture and hunting— Modlflcatlon of Siberian Russians— Abundance of food — The Buriats— The Tunguses— The Yakuts— Expert artisans and traders — Their good qualities— The Samoyedes— Primitive habits— The Ostlaks — Religion and morals— Musical Instruments— The Voguls— The Tchulcchl — The Koriaks— A happy release— The Kamchadales— Picturesque vil- lages— The Gillaks- Aspect and character— Decaying types. SIBEEIA is a great ex- ample of the converse process to tlie old one of Asiatic immigration into Europe, for thejiodemimmi- present popula-grationfrom tion is nearly ^^^^^^ six-sevenths of European (Russian) descent. But this is a phenomenon which two centuries have sufficed to bring about. Changes of population have been com- paratively rapid in Siberia. luNGus. Many remains on the bor- ders of the lakes show that a busy population occupied the country in the neolithic or polished stone period ; and it appears probable that successive populations, worsted in the strife for domi- 236 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. nance, were driven constantly northward ; and more than one race of the past may have wasted and perished in Former the inhospitable regions of Northern Siberia, iniiaijitants. ^\q name of Yeniseans has been given to an early race of Siberians ; but little is known of them. The Qgro-Samoyedes apparently followed them north, some time before the Christian era, and estabhshed a bronze period and a much higher grade of civilisation than that The of the preceding race. From about the fifth to KHagasses. ^q thirteenth centuries a Turkish stock (the Khagasses) migrated into the same region, subjugating the native population, introducing iron, employing bronze for artistic purposes, and manufacturing pottery of very good design. Many remains of them are preserved in THE INHABITANTS OF SIBERIA. 237 the Hermitage Museum at St. Petersburg. In the 13th centiiry the advancing Mongolian empire, under me Mongol Jenghiz Khan, conquered these Turkish people, Empire, and in destroying their civilisation did not bring in any- thing better. The country underwent continuous decline, until the Russians, in the sixteenth century, having established their empu-e in Europe firmly, began to turn Russian their attention eastwards. Various Tartar in- conquests, vaders gained an ascendency over the tribes east of the Urals, and there came into collision with the Russian colonists. In 1B6B, Khan Ediger promised to send to Moscow every year a thousand sables as tribute. A tendency to form invading expeditions into Siberia now began ; and soldiers, hunters, and other adventurers ad- vanced in various directions, built forts, and organised supplies. They easily conquered the Tartar and Turkish populations, and by 1650 they had reached the Pacific and the Eiver Amur. The surplus population of Russia has since been gradu- ally settling in Siberia; and in addition, the system of severe repression which the empire has always maintained has served to people many districts ^^' with political exiles as well as convicts. In many years the exiles have approached or exceeded 20,000 in number. Of course many have died, owing to the hardships they have endured, and it is not probable that the exiles in Siberia exceed 200,000. To a large extent the Russian government has also peopled Siberia by sending Cossacks to occupy the frontiers, and by subsidising colonists of various descriptions. Yet, after ° ° ^ ^■ such great attempts at colonisation by government, it is by unaided immigration that far the greater part of the Siberian population has arrived. Fur hunting, escape from serfdom, from rehgious persecutions, and from con- scription have been the main incentives to tins great exodus. It has been not unusual ±'or entire villages to migrate ; and it is estimated that sometlring like 40,000 persons per annum thus seek a new land. Such an un- interrupted stream indicates that something not to be 233 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. despised may be found in Siberia; and truly tbere are large tracts in Southern Siberia whose climate is good and son fertile ; there are also vast forests and gold- mining districts of no slight value. Agriculture is the main occupation, and cereals afford the chief crops ; in many regions also there are large Agriculture herds of cattle, sheep, and horses. Fur animals and hunting, are still hunted with profit in some districts, though man has here, as elsewhere, rendered scarce that which he values, but does not take measures to preserve, in good supply. But everything is backward, and might be improved by good administration. At present business is still largely conducted at great fairs, as that of Irbit, THE INHABITANTS OF SIBERIA. 239 where more than five millioris sterling are annually turned over. Residence in Siberia has affected Russians considerably in some parts, though not so much by intermixture -with the natives as by the influence of changed jmaugatioji habits and cHmate. The natural increase of of Siberian population has not yet become nearly equal to ^"=^1*°°- that of Russia, owing to the great loss of child life. Several of the towns and districts on the outskirts show striking variations from the ordinary Russian type. At YAKUT MAN AND WOMAN. Irkutsk, the Tunguses and Buriats have exercised a strong iniiuence over the Russian settlers, leading them largely to adopt their language. Yakutsk has similarly a strong native population, and the Russians have married freely with the Yakuts. In some parts also the Tartar influence stm predominates. The Rev. H. Lansdell, a well-known Siberian traveller, found in the southern Yenisei district in ISTQAbundanos of a state of things almost paradise-like in the ^'"'*- abundance of provisions. He was offered "live ducks for 240 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. five farthings each, large fish, called yass^ for \\d. a pair, and pike for a farthing each. Milk cost 'i\d. a bottle, but young calves in remote villages could be purchased for 6c^. each. The belt of rich black earth in the region immediately north of the Altai lets for 3|cZ. per acre, and from it wheat may be purchased for about one-twentieth its cost in England. Still farther north, in the forest region, rich in excellent timber and fur-bearing animals, meat was bought up wholesale in 1877 at less than a halfpenny a pound ; whilst in the Tundras the rivers are so full of fish that one of the ordinary difficulties of the natives is to avoid breaking their nets with the weight of the draught." "We will now deal in turn with the principal non- Eussian peoples and tribes of Siberia, the first being of . Mongolian stock. The Buriats now existing ■ around Lake Baikal are variously estimated at from 125,000 to 250,000. They are a dull, lazy, phlegm- atic people, markedly Mongolian in tjrpe, and their want of vigorous qualities is shown by their readiness to change their rehgion. Part of them still retain the old Shamanistic religion, or wizardry; but many have be- come Buddhists, while others have joined the Greek Church. It cannot be said that their Christianity ■ has penetrated very deeply. Drink and tobacco are their great delights. In other respects they are fairly good and peaceful subjects of the Russians, who interfere little with them. They have been advancing in agriculture in late years. In the south-eastern districts they are largely under Chinese and Tartar influence, and the men wear the pig-tad, the rest of their heads being shaven. More to the west they have become Eussianised, and speak a Russian dialect. The Tunguses, although fewer than' the Buriats, are much more widely spread and a much more energetic The people. In race they are closely allied to the Tunguses, Manchu Tartars. They occupy a great terri- tory north and east of the Buriats, extending north to the Arctic Ocean and east to the Amur. They also show Chinese influence, especially in dress, houses, and agri- as 241 the THE INHABITANTS OF SIBERIA. culture. The various tribes occupy themselves, locality may fa- vour, in fishing, hunting, a g r i c u 1- ture, some being na- medHorse, Reindeer, or Dog tribes, ac- cordiag to the animal of which they make most use. "Where they have not been lowered by con- tact with cheating and lying Russians, Yakuts, and other merchants, they dis- play many noble cha- racteris- tics. Their cheerful- ness, per- severance, eOOd faith BAMOYEDE op lower ItENISEI. courage, and independence are lauded by every one who 242 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. has come in contact ■with them. They avoid the Rus- sians, and refuse to enter their service. Many of them, like the Buriats, have conformed to the Greek Church, but are still at heart Shamanists. They are very fond of animals, and even keep bears, wolves, and foxes, eagles, and other creatures in captivity. The stone age has not long ceased to exist among these peoples. The affinity of the Yakuts of the Lena basin is mainly with the Turki branch of the Mongoloids, though they The have so considerably mingled with the Tun- Yakuts, guses and the Russians that their type is much modified. Many of them have features of a very Mon- golian type. Probably it is owing to this intermixture that they are the most thriving of the Siberian natives. They have been called the Jews of Siberia, being ex- tremely persevering and clever traders when they like, duping even the Cossacks ; but frequently they give up work for pleasure, till forced by want. They have a very hardy constitution, which enables them to endure ex- treme cold with very little clothing. By their adapta- bility they have thriven remarkably of late, and the Russians have eagerly sought their daughters in mar- riage. They shine as industrious artisans, making excel- lent tools plated with gold and silver ; they also extract Expert i^o^ from its ores with great skill. At Yakutsk artisans aad they beat the Russians out of the field in many traders, occupations. They take Russian, Polish, or German names. Most of them are baptized into the Greek Church, but Shamanism is still largely believed in, many additions to their evil spirits being made from the Greek Church lists. They may be taken as numbering about 200,000. In many ways the Yakuts possess good qualities. Their women are modest and chaste, and never allow the head or feet to be seen uncovered ; they honour their parents, who choose wives for their children, and are Their good implicitly obeyed. Hospitality is greatly prac- quauties. tised among them. They make their own boats of planks or birch bark, and are expert in navi- gating the numerous rivers,. On land they use the horse, THE INHABITANTS OF SIBERIA. 243 SAMOyEDB WOMAN OF LOWEB lENISEI, 244 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. reindeer, and dog for draught. Planks and bark form the material of their houses. As' to burial, they seem divided between simple interment, with some of their property, and elevating the coffin on upright posts, and leaving it merely covered with ox hides. The Samoyedes of Northern and Western Siberia bring us to quite a different stock of the Mongoloid peoples,— the Ural-Altaic or THe Finnish- Samoyedes. "(Jgrian, TJgria having been formerly the name of a tract on both sides of the Ural Mountains. They are a dwindling people at present, not more than 25,000, dispersed in small groups or tribes from the Altai Mountains along the basins of the Obi and Yenisei, and from the Khatanga Eiver to the White Sea. In the south they have inter- mingled with Tar- tars to some ex- tent; in the east with Ostiaks. The Samoyedes have a flatter face than most of the Finnish groups, most approaching the Mongolian. They Primitive have narrower eyes and darker complexions habits, than the Finns ; thick lips, little beard, and black stiff hair. They probably emigrated northward from the Altai Mountains, and this process still continues. They were no doubt once much more numerous, and still s #^^' '*'^- w^^ ^^'^' p^% ^W v^. \ xl, B-v ;\ ^1^^ jLtJ# <■ ^ Jl^l^ ^^■T- \ if^ T^M ^^^HKiH^ '' J*i*^BM W I^P BAMOYEDE WOMAN. THE INHABITANTS OF SIBERIA. 24S ^ k 1 J m^ J w 111 p^ appear to live in a condi- tion like that of the age of stone and bone weapons, hunting and eating beasts of prey, and clothing them- selves in 'skins. Smallpox and spirits, introduced by the Russians, are fast lessen- ing their numbers. Many good qualities are attributed to them by some travellers, especially honesty, courage, independence, and hospi- tality. Some of them who can accumulate their cap- tures, take reindeer and osTiAK. other skins to the Russian towns in winter, and buy meal, powder, shot, etc. Their tents are made of great poles and birch bark, and in many cases they are kept very clean. The people, however, look sad and depressed. Shamanism is their religion, mixed with some degree of Fetish- ism, al- though some have been bap- t i z 6 d. They ima- gine that their gods are flesh- eaters, and raw flesh is peri- odically placed be- t w e e n their teeth. _ —~ =- ■=^ ^^i-=_- - -~- 1 - — — ^^ 1^ '''^^'^^ ^' '■\|/ - K^^ tt '1 W^^^Sm^m. _>* ^51 b^ ^^^^^^^=^^^^^^^r iML BpfsS ^iL^^ u " «C ^PlQr \w iW':. ff Xt'V^Ha " T^R ^ftij^ ftF^wtt-£r:= |f^m. Bta^^ ffijjj ^^3a«^^i^*Tr|K^UL [y^g ""wi^n^gbfl. R^ffii t ttojmSMK^'^-~_'^'^^ s<£ ^'^ mg^^^^^m p ^W^B^^S: ^^^^^s ^ ^^^^^B -—■ ~j TT^i^^ES^ y^^S^— *=-'- _ - ....^.aB*— ;v*>^ -..^ — -i=-f "'^^*' — -- 246 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. The language of tlie Samoyedes is pleasant-sounding and sonorous, and lias several dialects and sub-dialects through its wide range. It is agglutiuative, like the Fin- nish languages generally, but has numerous peculiarities. It is difficult to say whether the Ostiaks of the Obi basin are more closely allied to the Finns than to j;he Samoyedes. They were formerly much more numerous, The Ostiaks ^^*^ ^^ ^^y '■^^^ inhabited a considerable part ' of the old " Ugria " of the Russians. They are now reduced to about 20,000. Many of them are still quite nomadic, readdy removing from place to place with their herds of reindeer. They are rather below the middle size, with small feet and hands, and are round- headed. Some describe them as red-haired, but such individuals are rare, dark features predominating; the hair is dark, but soft, the women wearing it in two long plaits down the back. A flat and broad nose, large mouth, thick lips, and scanty beard are further Mongoloid fea- tures. In some parts they are very much Eussianised, and live chiefly by fishing. They can carve well in wood or bone, tan skins, make implements from birch bark, etc. They still use bows and arrows, only a few having guns. They eat raw flesh of carnivora, as well as other animals. EeUgion and They are more or less Christianised, but Sha- morais. manism has more power over them, and they have not done much more than borrow St. Nicholas from the Russians, as so many Siberian natives have done. They only show degradation of morals where corrupted by Eiissians ; they hate theft and disturbances, and are both kind and gentle. If they are dirty, according to our ideas, they are like most of the less civilised and some Musical of the so-called civilised peoples. Their stringed instruments, musical instruments are worthy of notice. One of them, the domhra, is boat-like and has five strings. The Hungarian Magyars, it will be remembered, have just such an instrument, the tombora, in itself a powerful con- firmation of the relationship of the peoples. Their lan- guage too is, of all Finnish forms, that which approaches most closely the Magyar. Their inordinate consumption of spirits seems likely soon to make an end of the Ostiaks. 248 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. The Voguls of the Ural ridges, -who are closely allied in race to the Ostiaks, perhaps represent the primitive stock from which the Magyars sprang. They are an undersized hunting people, not more than 5,000 in num- THeVopuis ^®^" "^ith their thick furs," says M. Reclus, ' the " hoods decked to right and left with ani- mals' ears, they at a distance look Hke wild animals ; but their countenance is timid, even frightened." They shave off their hair and moustaches. They have conformed to the Greek Church and been baptized, but they still have' their family totems, — bows and arrows, circles, etc., — tattooed on their heads, arms, and legs. Their tribes are very isolated, reduced almost to families, and they are but little united. Wives are left on very slight provoca- tion ; and instances are known of the hunter hving soK- tary after such a divorce, Avith only his reindeer and his dog for company. Their burials are very simple ; a hole dug in the ground when a member died suffices, in which is placed, with the deceased's weapons, some tobacco and spirits. The Voguls are pecuhar in not using salt. The meat which they do not eat at once, they dry in strips in the air. They are very slight vegetable eaters, living chiefly upon the flesh of the elk. The fur of the sable is one of their principal objects of trade ; but they pay their tribute by means of elk skins. Coming now to the north-eastern part of Siberia, we find a few remnants of ancient peoples whose relationship it is by no means easy to settle, and who are probably doomed to extinction. A large tract of the north-east is The Tciiukciit o^^cupied by the Tchukchi, whom some con- sider merely a branch of the Esquimaux, while others regard them as more nearly related to the Koriaks, who occupy the country between them and the Kamcha- dales. The Tchukchi are a hardy race, who long success- fully withstood the Russians, and still number twelve thousand. They formerly depended chiefly upon reindeer, of which they still possess large herds ; but many of them are expert whale and seal-fishers and wahus-hunters. They are, on the whole, of Mongolian type, round-headed. THE INHABITANTS OF SIBERIA. 249 ■wide and flat-faced, with sunk noses and thick lips. They are muscular and tliick-necked, and in many points re- semble the Esquimaux. In disposition they are peaceful and good-humoured, -with much family affection. Many have been to some extent Christianised, but they still burn their dead or expose them on piles to the crows, and sacrifice to numerous nature-gods. They marry more than one wife when they are rich enough ; and their wives are faithful, industrious, and in many ways sldlful. In language they differ considerably from, the Tartar, Turki, or Finnish groups of Mongoloids. Many of the women are tattooed like the Tunguses. Formerly the men passed 250 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. a walrus's tootli througli a liole in their cheeks ; now they who have been baptized have a black cross painted on the cheek. If it were not for brandy introduced by American traders, with whom they deal most, the Tchukchi might hope to last long, from their evident fitness for their in- hospitable chmate. The Koriaks occtipy the Eastern comitry intervening between the peninsula of Behring and Southern Kamt- The Koriaks schatka, and appear to be both less numerous 'and less hardy and respectable in character. In fact, travellers give them quite a bad character for drunkenness, lying, and thieving. This is more the case with those who have lost their reindeer from one cause or another, and have only fishing and hunting to depend on. Those who are still nomadic, with large herds of reindeer, retain much dignity and independence, a few famiHes only living in company. Mr. Kennan, the author of " Tent Life in Siberia," during a residence of two years and a half among them, never saw a nomad Koriak strike his wife or children. They will not sell a reindeer alive at any price, such is their attachment to them. The Shamans are in full force among the Koriaks, THE IXHABITANTS OF SIBERIA. 251 sacrificing to evil spirits, and executing remarkable feats of wizardry. It is perhaps among these "A happy tribes that the practice of killing old and release." infirm people is most in vogue. The hardships of the nomadic life get to be unendurable, and the infirm readily consent to this mode of putting them out of their misery. In fact, it is considered a part of filial duty to expedite their release in this "way, and it is a sort of official cere- monj^. Immediately after death the corpse is burnt and the ashes are scattered. Wives are pm'chased by one or more j-ear's labour of the bridegroom for the girl's father, and meanwhile the gM is carefully guarded, and the youth kept ofi", if necessary, by whips and sticks. The marriage ceremony is a form of capture. The Kamchadales present a similar combination to the Koriaks, of Mongoloid features, with a distinct language. They are of short stature, have prominent TneKam- cheeks, small sunken eyes, flat noses, black hair, ciiadaies. and a tawny complexion. Their language is of diflferent grammatical structure from that of the Koriaks, and has unchanging roots modified by various prefixes. In some parts the people have become Russianised, and have adopted the Greek faith. Under the influence of spirits and disease they have diminished to three thousand. They become violently intoxicated by eating a dried fun- gus — a species of mushroom. A trifle, says the traveller Steller, will make them go mad or commit suicide. Despite their excitability, they have a reputation for honesty and truthfulness, and are very hospitable. They are rather weak-minded than vicious, and have little of the heroic temperament of the Koriaks. They have some popular poetry, dealing with love, hunting, and travel- ling, the plaintive chanting of which is mixed with wild animals' cries, and imitations of their movements and actions. In the winter these people are dressed in furs, in the summer in shirts of calico, and the Avomen have adopted the Russian head-dress. They do not Icani to accumulate wealth. Their draught-dogs, much resembling wolves, are of the first importance to them, but they have re- 252 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. cently been suffering greatly frora disease. Some of tlie Picturesque Kamcliadales have learnt a little agriculture, vuiages. and have settled down and built comfortable dwellings. Mr. Kennan says : "The village is permeated ■with a peculiar, ancient, and iish-hke smell, eloquent of the occupation of the villagers and the food on which they subsist. High square frames of horizontal poles stand beside every house, filled with thousands of drying salmon, and on the beach dug-out canoes lie bottom up- wards, covered with large, neatly tied seines ; two or three long narrow dog-sledges stand upon their ends against every house, and a hundred or more sharp-eared, wolfish dogs, tied at intervals to long heavy poles, lie panting in the sun, snapping viciously at the flies and mosquitoes which disturb their rest. But what is most characteristic of such a hamlet is the Greek church, glorious in red paint and glittering dome, contrasting strangely with the rude log-houses over which it extends the spiritual pro- tection of its resplendent gilded cross. If you can imagine a rough American backwoods settlement of low log-houses, clustered round a gaily coloured Turkish mosque ; half a dozen small haystacks mounted on high vertical posts; fifteen or twenty titanic wooden gridirons simila,rly ele- vated, and hung full of drying fish; a few dog-sledges and canoes lying carelessly around, and a hundred or more grey wolves tied here and there between the houses to long heavy poles, you will have a general but tolerably accurate idea of a Kamchadale settlement of the better class." The Giliaks, now restricted to the southern shores of the Okhotsk Sea and the northern part of Saghalien, are by TheGUiaks ^°™-® thought to be related to the Ainos of Japan ; but there can be little doubt that they are Mongoloids of a primitive type, and are the last rehcs of a people who once overspread a much larger territory. They long resisted oivihsing infiuences, and showed many savage quahties. Yet they have some skilled artisans. They have generally proved treacherous and revengeful ; but this may spring chiefiy from their great love of their own freedom, and dislike of submitting to any civihsed THE INHABITANTS OF SIBERIA. =53 restraints. Among them wives are bouglit at an early age, and brought up in the house of their future father- in-law. The dead are either burnt or exposed on scaffold- ings. The favourite dog, fattened, is sacrificed on his master's tomb, it being imagined that the soul of the latter has taken refuge in the body of the dog. Fire is among the most sacred objects to the Giliak. It must never be carried from one hut to another, or be removed from the hearth. The bear is worshipped as well as eaten, being fattened in captivity, and killed on a feast-day with much ceremony. The Griliaks also keep eagles in cages, but they do not hunt the wolf. M. Niemojowski, a Polish traveller, was much impressed 254 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. by the Giliak countenance and physical appearance. Aspect and "Tall and thin," lie writes, "there is something cuaracter. (Jiabolical in the aspect of their slanting eyes, shaded by bushy eyebrows. No smile of mirth ever breaks over their lips, and on their features appears only a sneer. Seeing them walk, one fancies they are ghosts ; their smothered voices have a hollow, unearthly sound. In the most ordinary relations with them one does not know how to act or what to do. The shrewdest man, seeing their long, stiff, bony, almost inhuman forms, is lost in speculation, and unable to solve this living sphinx riddle." Patriarchal government prevails among them; communities can scarcely be said to exist. Some of the elders are more influential than others, and are appealed to on important occasions. It is said that the imperturb- ability of these stony elders is so great that a father has been known to receive a chance visitor with the most perfect coolness when his own son has just suffered death at his hands, and hes at his feet still warm, though covered from view. Such are the principal types of people whom Russian influence in Siberia will certainly extinguish before long. Decaying peoples who have faied in the struggle for types. existence, and have succumbed to vices, to wars, to pestilences, to the lack of moral stamina. Less fortu- nate than the hill-tribes of India, perhaps, they must pass out of existence, doomed by the contact of stronger races. Let us never think of them with contempt or levity ; let us respect human nature, even in its lowest types, recollecting that the least human among them shows a higher than human handiwork, even though much marred by evil. CHAPTEE XIV. Cfje jfiifjabi'tantd of CuilteiStaiu The true Turks of Turkestan— Their subjugratlon— The Uabeg's— Costume— The Kirghiz— The Turcomans— A Kirghiz nomad family— Encamping— Houses— Food— PUau— A meal with Turcomans— The height of polite- ness—Jewellery and ornaments— Betrothal and marriage— The jester — Birth and youth— Burial— Turcoman tribes. WE are too apt to think of the Turks of Con- stantinople as the typical Turks ; but they are The true in re- Turks of ality T^i^e^t^ very much modified from the original stock, chiefly by inter- marriage ' with Circas- KIKGHIZ. . r^ sians, (jreorgi- ans, Greeks, Albanians, etc., until some authorities incline to the view that they are now more Caucasian than Mon- goloid. In Europe, too, the Turk has gained a pohsh and a savoir-faire which make him, in the eyes of many, the finest gentleman in Europe — that is, when viewed in good specimens. But still we may say of many a Turk ?56 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. what lias been applied to Russians also, " Scratcli a Turk, and you find a Tartar underneath." And if we want to know the kind of people from whom the Turks sprang originally, we must go to their home in Turkestan, and study the Turcoman or true Turk. The term Tartar, which has been applied so widely and vaguely, is perhaps best dropped, or only applied to the more eastern group — the Mongol and Manchu Tartars. From Lake Baikal to Southern Eussia, from South-Western Siberia to south of the Oxus, Turks are to be found, and are generally THeir subju- predominant. The greater part of them now gation. acknowledge the supremacy of Russia ; some are feudatories of China. Thus the powerful race which once threatened to subjugate all Europe has lost the political sceptre, except so far as that is wielded by the decaying power of the Porte. The chief Turkish people of Turkestan may be divided into Usbegs, Kirghiz, and Turcomans. The Usbegs are regarded as the most civilised ; and, perhaps The s egs. Q^^j^g ^Q their intermixture with the Mongols and other Tartars, they gained and kept the predomi- THE INHABITANTS OF TURKESTAN. 257 nance on the break-up of Jenghiz Khan's empire. They gradually abandoned a wandering life, and became settled and flourishing agriculturists in Khiva and Bokhara, and formed a centre round which Tajiks, Galchas, and other Iranian and Aryan people were attracted. In process of time these have largely intermingled with and modified the race. They are Mahometans of the Sunni division, although some heathen and Parsee observances are re- tained. They have a Hterary language or dialect — the Jaghatai. The Usbegs, wherever settled, are almost as proud of their nationality and tribes as the Jews, al- though their mixed origin is testified by their flat faces and oblique eyes, combined with long flowing beards like the Persians. Their nomad and predatory ancestry still manifests itself in the habits of not a few, who prefer the brigand life of the hills to the settled life of the plains and oases ; and it is a saying that almost all the brigands, as well as the saints of the country, are Usbegs. Prof. Vambery, the unrivalled student of these races, in his "Travels in Central Asia," describes the Usbeg as walking about in summer, clad, as to the body, merely in a long skirt, although wearing a high round fur hat on his head, and great thick leather boots. The women wear lofty globular turbans, made of nearly a score of Russian kerchiefs, large heavy gowns and coarse boots ; and in this hot garb they drag to their houses heavy pitchers of water. The Kirghiz are a much more numerous division of the Turks, being found aU over the Steppes from Lake Balkash to the Volga ; but they are divided into a very large number of tribes or hordes. Like the Usbegs, they have some affinity to the Mongolian Tartars ; mj^e Kir m but their language is purely Turkish. Acknow- ledging no superiors among themselves, every Kirghiz horseman is an aristocrat. When two Kirghiz meet, their first question is, " Who are thy seven ancestors ? " and not a tribesman will be found who cannot recite his lineage. They are of a somewhat sullen, morose, and fierce dis- position, and incredibly idle. The women, on the con- trary, have to toil unceasingly, although they are not s 258 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. without their holidays, when they decorate themselves with rouge and white powder, and abundance of jewellery and false hair. They are less strictly hept in seclusion KICGHIZ, WITIE DHOMEDAEIES. than the Usbeg women, for the Mahometan yoke, though nominally adopted, sits lightly on the Kirghiz. Agricul- ture and pasturing cattle are the chief occupations, and THE INHABITANTS OF TURKESTAN. 259 koumiss, or fermented mare's milk, is tlie principal drink. Wliat the Ivirgliiz will do now that their diversion of brigandage is checked by the Eussians cannot yet be foreseen. They may die out from inanition, or they may develop new qualities under settled and peaceful condi- tions. The Turcomans make up the remainder of the Turkish stock in Turkestan. They are divided into as numerotis EIBGHIZ WOMEN MILKIXG MAKES. tribes as the rest ; and when they are not agriculturists or brigands, they are nothing ; the women do The Turco- all the work. They are remarkable for their mans, bright, sparkling, fiery eyes, but are much fairer than the Mongoloid type usually is ; and the women are fre- quently good-looking, and almost European-like when young. But the majority have the wide flat face, small oblique eyes, small firm nose, large lips, outstanding ears, and thick, short, black hair of the Mongoloids. 25o THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. The Persians, Tajiks, and Galcha tribes, who, to the number of at least a million, permeate Turkestan, will be left to be described with the Persians and Afghans, to whom they have af&nity. Prof. Vambery, penetrating into the inmost life of Turkestan before it had yielded to Eussian influence, has KALMDCK WOMEN IN TENT. given us the most graphic descriptions of the people a few AKirgiiiz J^ars ago, under conditions which can never nomad be repeated. Take his description of a Kirghiz famUy. family in its wanderings ("Sketches of Cen- tral Asia"): "A Kirghiz family, which has packed house and household furniture on tho backs of a few camels, THE INHABITANTS OF TURKESTAN. 261 moves slowly over the desert towards a spot indicated to them by the raised lance of a distant horseman. The caravan rests, according to nomad notions of rest, while thus on the march, to become lively and busy when they settle themselves down to repose according to our ideas. Nevertheless, the elder women seated on the humps of IUKCO.MAN WEDDING. camels (for the younger ones travel on foot) grudge them- selves repose even then, and occupy their time in spinning a sort of yarn for sacks out of the coarser camels' hair. Only the marriageable daughter of the family enjoys the privilege of being completely at leisure on her shambling beast. She is polishing her necklace of coins — Eussian, 262 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. ancient Bactrian, Mongolian, or CHnese — ■wMch. hangs down to ter waist. So engrossed is she in her employ- ment, that a European numismatist might take her for a fellow-connoisseur ; nevertheless, not a movement of the young Kirghizes, who seek to distingmsh themselves by all manner of equestrian gymnastics, as they caracole around the caravan, escapes her notice." When the group has arrived at its camping-place, the utmost order is observed. " While the paterfamilias un- saddles his cooled horse and lets him loose on ' the pasture, the younger lads collect, with frightful clamour, the sheep and the camels, which are only too disposed to wander. They must stay to be milked. Meanwhile the tent has been taken down. The old matron seizes on the latticed framework and fixes it in its place, spitting wildly right and left as she does so. Another makes fast the bent rods which form the vaulting of the roof. A third sets on the top of all a sort of round cover or lid, which serves the double purpose of chimney and window. While they are covering the woodwork with curtains of felt, the children inside have already hung up the provision-sacks, and placed the enor- mous tripod on the crackling fire. This is all done in a few moments. Magical is the erection, and as magical is the disappearance of the nomads' habitation." Women here, as throughout Turkestan, perform every fragment of menial or domestic duty. Accustomed to this free life, it is not to be wondered at that the Tm'ks who build fixed houses are in a minority, ' and that houses are looked upon as gloomy places. The Usbegs have more houses than the rest. Mud forms the floor, and the walls are built of clay or stone and wooden laths. The ceiling is of closely-fitted planks ; small holes are left for windows, closed by oiled paper in winter. The number of rooms (on one floor only) varies with wealth. Carpets, felt coverlets, chests, and pots and pans form the chief furni- ture. Meal is the principal food, mutton, goat, beef, and horse and camel's flesh being valued in the order in which they THE INHABITANTS OF TURKESTAN. 263 are named. Horseflesli, boiled soft witli carrots, ^^^^ onions, and dumplings, is very popular. Pilau is, however, the favourite dish — pieces of meat boiled in fat, with pepper, carrots, and rice in abundance. It is 264 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Pilau. tlie almost universal disli ; but numerous others are to be met witli in Turkish, houses, most of them being highly seasoned. These are usually served up in a huge dish laid on the floor. Describing a meal with Turcomans, Mr. O'Donovan, in his "Merv Oasis," says : " The entire company sat round, and fished out each a handful. Con- trary to ordinary Mussulman hab- its, there was no preparatory washingof hands, and especiahy in AmealwltU the Turcomans, case of our acting host, ' the hand that mingled in the meal ' might have been more scru- pulously cleun. Each person boldly grasped a handful of rice, squeezed it into a ball in the palm of his hand, and then clapped it into his mouth by a movement similar to that of a conjuror swal- lowing a table knife. Our host, who seemed to have taken an especial liking to me, from time to time scraped pieces of mutton off the bones with his dirty thumb-nail, and threw them into my part of the dish, expressing his wonder at my small appetite for animal food. After dinner there was no more washing than before it. The guests stuck their fingers one after the other into their mouths, thus removing the excess EALMUCK SHAMANESS. THE INHABITANTS OF TURKESTAN. 265 of rice and grease adhering to tliem. The meal conclnded, tea was served again. As is usnal all over this part of the East, the tea was served in porcelain bowls or glass tumblers. It is drunk in prodigious quantities, very weak, over-sweetened, and without milk or cream. My attentive host, noticing that half a dozen flies were swim-Tue heigut of ming in my tea, immediately plunged two of pouteness. his great unwashed fingers up to the knuckles into my glass to fish out the intruders, and on each similar and oft-repeated bath on the part of the insects, it was only my own prompt action that pre- vented a repetition of the attention. On his part it was meant in the kindliest possible spirit, and the act was one of genuine politeness." Nearly the en- tire capital of a Turcoman famUy is invested in jewellery and ornaments for the women. Here is a description of a woman of about forty, according to Mr. O'Donovan. " Her only garments were a dark purple silk one, which we can only describe as a shirt reaching nearly to the ankles, and jewellery close-fitting trousers drawn tightly round the ana ankles. On her head was a bright crimson silk handkerchief arranged turban-like, and one end falling on her left shoulder. But her ornaments were sufficient KOKHAKD \Y01IAN. 266 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. in quantity to deck a shop-window. On lier neck was a massive silver collar about an incli and a half deep, and a third of an inch thick. At intervals around it were set flat oval cornelians and lozenge-shaped panels of em- bossed gold. From its front there hung a score of silver chains, halfway down which were lozenge-shaped pieces of silver embossed with gold, supporting a silver cylinder hanging down below the waist, and containing talismanic writings for defence against evil spirits. On either side of her bosom hung so many silver coins, Russian and Persian, as to resemble a cuirass. Each shoulder bore a flat silver box, a cylinder of four inches diameter, with a cornelian in the centre. Her long, coarse hair, plaited in two tails reaching below her waist, was also richly studded with silver coins. On her wrists were enormous silver bracelets with more gold panels and cornehans." Contrary to the practice of many other Moslem coun- Betrothai tries, the people of Tiurkestan are ardent lovers and before marriage ; and the young people them marriage, gg^ygg iiiform their parents when they have formed an attachment. Female go-betweens are then employed to arrange the affair and discuss the marriage portion. The question always is, how many times nine sheep, cows,' camels, horses, or ducats the father of the bride is to receive for her. The price ranges from once nine, to nine times nine, which the Khan alone pays. The future bridegroom also has to present a complete set of ornaments to the bride, including eight rings, a tiara and a semi-tiara, a bracelet, ear-rings, nose-rings, and neck ornaments, of gold or silver. After these proceed- ings, the betrothal festivities last several days, with music, dancing, and horse-racing, an inseparable accompaniment. The bridegroom even provides the. food for the wedding festivities, in enormous quantities ; and during the pre- paratory cooking the young men carry on lively flirta- tions with the girls. " Men and women gather round the fire-place in groups, laughing, talking, joking, and shrieking, whilst musicians play and sing and children shout and yell. These noises are mingled with the bleat- ing of sheep, barking of dogs, neighing of horses, and THE INHABITANTS OF TURKESTAN. 267 braying of donkeys; wHle loud above the general hubbub IS heard the clown's stentorian voice in coarse ™, . sallies of Usbeg wit and humour. . . . Now ™*^*'*^''- he mimics this person or that, now he teUs of some droll prank or merry adventure, or whistles like a bird and mews like a cat ; and thus he has to continue without in- terruption, al- though from sheer exertion the perspiration runs down his face in streams " (Vambery). During the last few days before the wedding, the young man is not allowed to leave his tent. The marriage ceremony isper- formed by a mollah, neither party appearing in person, both being repre- sented by two witnesses. After it is over, the bridegroom appears, but only approaches a few steps from the door. After much feasting, the bride leaves her home for that of the bridegroom, in a procession protracted by a circuitous route. The birth of children, especially boys, is celebrated by much feasting and amusement. During early sirtii and years they are carefuUy guarded against evil youth. FEIIALE SLAVE IN EOKHAEA. 268 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. spirits by talismans of various kinds hung round the head. Girls are early taught to be useful in the household; while boys take to Jiorseback at five, and are skilled jockeys at ten. The corpses of the dead are only kept about twelve Burial '^^ fifteen hours, and are then buried in ceme- teries in settled parts, and singly in the desert among the nomads. A large mound is raised over the grave if the deceased was an important personage. Nu- merous funeral feasts follow a burial at stated intervals. The Salor Turcomans are the oldest tribe, as far as records go, and formerly possessed Merv, until displaced Turcoman by the Tekke. They, as well as the Sariks, tribes, ^^.q renowned for their bravery. The latter are the well-known marauders of Pendjeh. The Tekke, till their subjugation by the Russians, were the most im- portant and powerful tribe, divided into the Akhal, east of Tejend, and the Mervi. Their marauding liffe now finds itself under severe restraint, much to the comfort of the neighbouring Persians, Afghans, etc. A considerable number of Turcoman tribes yield subjection to the Shah of Persia, such as the Goklen of the Gurgan region, etc. As far as the picturesqueness of life is concerned, we cannot but regret the conquest of Turkestan by the Eussians ; btit peace, order, and prosperity are indefinitely promoted by the rule of the new masters of these fiercest, most intractable, most hostile (to strangers) of Asiatic races. A vivid account of a great portion of Turkestan will be found in Dr. Lansdell's " Russian Central Asia," 1885. At Aulie-Aba, where Kirghiz predominate, he was much struck by the habits and manners of the people. " Here was a man striving to allay the dust, not with a water-cart, but by carrying a skin of water, and sputter- ing it out of the aperture. Behind the charcoal fire of a Kirghiz smith sat an unfortunate individual, whose call- ing in life was to blow the bellows, consisting of two leather bags he had to press alternately for twelve hours a day, for which he was paid 2s. a week. At many of the stalls they exhibited in cages, for 8c^. each, quails or other small birds caught by hawks. They teach them to sing and to fight. THE INHABITANTS OF TURKESTAN. 269 '■ Everything had to be purchased, of course, by hag- ghng, fixed prices being unknown ; and I observed in the course of my purchases an illustration of a custom as old as the time of Job — that of ' striking hands ' in connection with suretyship or agreement. A man had asked me too much for an article ; and the Russian officer who accom- panied me offered a second price, and then, after the Kirghiz custom, held out his hand, whereupon the sales- man, hesitatiug a moment, raised his hand, and, in token that he agreed to the bargain, brought it down with a slap on the officer's palm." .«A£^;i^^Vb*^.- s^ff^ lUIiCOlIAN OBNAMEXTS. CHAPTER XV. Persia and Iran— Tbe great monarchies— Tbe IVIedian kingdom— The con- quests of Cjrrus— Darius tlie Great— Alexander and the Seleuolds— The Parthian empire— The Sassanlau dynasty — The Eastern Caliphate— The Mong'ols and Turcomans — The Sufi dynasty — Shah Abbas- Nadir Shah— Aga Muhammad— Persia a great battle-ground— Various races — Cau- casians and Mongoloids — Physical characters of Persians — Moral charac- ter—Slavery—Vices and virtues— Men's clothing — Women's faces— Paint- ing — Hair — Women's dress— Marriage— Astrology— The bazaar manufac- tures— Food— Houses— Dervishes — Future of Persia — Iranian languages — Flrdosi and epic poetry— Omar ben Khayyam— Sadi—Haflz— The Gue- bres— The Kurds and Luris— Arabs, Armenians, and Jews— Nestorians— Turcomans— Iliats. ynOMING to the South-west VJ of Asia, we find ourselves again in contact with the Cau- casian peoples, or " whites." A Persia and section of them pos- iran. sess sufficiently- marked characteristics to he set apart as a group, known as Iranian, distinct in language and to some extent in physical features from the Aryans and the Semites ; but they origin- ally shared with the Brahman race the name of Aryans. The name Persia, which originally belonged only to the limited district now known as Fars, or Farsistan, is now extended 870 THE PERSIANS. 271 over a great territory properly known as Iran, the term still used by the Persians for their country. The history of Persia is bewildering from its extent and PEIiSIAN DEKVISn, importance, as well as from the uncertainty surrounding much of it. The great Achsemenian and Sassanian em- pires, the rule of Alexander and his successors, the 272 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Parthian empire, the Eastern caliphate, the Mogul domi- The great nation, the modern empire, include a great monarchies, variety of dramatic incident, and belong to im- portant periods and movements of the world's history. It is manifestly impossible even to sketch these great mon- archies here. The authentic history of Persia begins with a period of domination by rulers issuing from the high lands of me Median Media, north of Persia proper. Their capital was kingdom. Ecbatana (now Hamadan). Deioces is the first king of whom we have any certainty; he reigned at the end of the eighth and well in- to the seventh century B.C. His son Phaortes appears to have ex- tended his sway over Persia proper, but was slain in attacking Nineveh. His son Cyaxares, at the end of the seventh cen- tury, raised the empire to great power, being successful both against the Assyrians and the Scythians, and carry- ing his arms into Ar- menia and Cappadocia, which he subjugated by the aid of an opportune total eclipse on the 28th of May, b.c. 585. This Median empire attained a considerable degree of civilisation, such indeed as to impress its institutions, both The oonquestspolitical and military, upon the succeeding of Cyrus. Persian empire. Already the Zoroastrian re- ligion was probably adopted as the state religion, for the Magi, the priestly caste, are stated by Herodotus to have been a Median tribe. The Persian empire, founded by Cyrus, the descendant of Ach^menes, was rather the TDKCOHAN. THE PERSIANS. 273 successor than tlie supplanter of the Median. A genuine inscribed cylinder of Cyrus, found at Babylon, gives an account of bis ancestry and conquests. He was tlie beir of tbe provincial rulers of Persia proper, wbo, under Cyrus, revolted from tbe control of Media, and took Ecbatana, about b.c. 550. His conquest of Crcesus king of Lydia, and of tbe Greek cities of Ionia, of Babylon (about 539 B.C.), of Syria, and of niucb of Turkestan and Afghanistan, mark him as one of the greatest conquerors. He died in B.C. 629. His tyrannical and blood-thirsty son Cambyses added Tyre, Cyprus, and Egypt to the Persian dominions ; but he put an end to himself in b.c. 521, "while marching against the usurper the false Smerdis. The great Darius (the son of Hystaspes), a leader of the conspiracy ■which destroyed the false Smerdis, was a descendant of a younger branch of the Achse- Darius tie menians. He conquered Thrace and Mace- oreat. donia, and attempted the conqtiest of Grreece ; but his army was defeated at Marathon in 490 b.c. He even conquered a portion of north-western India ; but Darius's distinction is derived as much from his government as his arms. He developed the system of satrapies or pro- vincial governments, reducing them to proper control and limiting taxation. Every one knows of the great army assembled by Darius's son Xerxes for the conquest of Grreece, and of his defeat at Salamis and Platsese. These events led to the gradual advance of the Greeks eastward, culminating in Alexander the Great's Alexander conquest of Persia in 331-330. Some years and the after his death Persia became a dependency of Ssis"<=i ^Q ASIA. (The numbers on the Map indicate the regions inhabited by the different races and peoples.) GrEEEKS ;— ( Asiatic Turkey and \ the Levant . „ Tir J • • i J ( Russians and Poles - Slavs :-Modern imimgrantsand \ (g^j^g^j^ ^^^ j^^^. political exiles from Eussia. | V^^ Turkestan) . 2,000,000 6,500,000 VISTRIBUTION OF ASIATIC RACES. Settlers in India, I China, &c., in- Te DIONS: — J eluding Eurasians or half breeds •with Hindus . 500,000 Total 203,300,000 IRANIANS. Tall, bold, handsome people of South-west Asia ; many of them formerly fire-worshippers, now mostly \Mahome- tans. 6,300,000 3,000,000 300,000 Persiajjs asd Tajiks : — In Afghanistan and neighbour' ing countries .... Kurds : — Kurdistan, Persia, &c., partly subject to Per sia and Turkey .... BiLircnis : — Baluchistan Galchas : — Afghanistan, Oxus Valley, and Hindoo Koosh Mountains . . . 500,000 Armesians : — Partly under Russia, mostly under Turkey, professing Christianity . 4,000,000 Total 14,100,000 CIECASSIAXS. A group of many races with different languages and dialects, inhabitants of the Caucasus Provinces and Georgia. Georgians, Mikgrelians, axd Circassians . . . 1,500,000 Lesghiaxs (Daghestan) 500,000 Other Groups 300,00 Total 2,300,000 SEMITES. Aramjeans: — Modern Syrians, including inhabitants ot HolyLand and parts of Asia Minor 2,250,000 Je^s . —Widely distributed 200,000 Arabs :— Arabia, Palestine, Asia Minor, Persia, India . 8,000,000 Total 10,450,000 Asia is the great stronghold of the — MONQOLOIBS. Chinese 390,000,000 Cobeans 10,500,000 B B 370 THE INHABITANTS OF ASIA. Javanese Annamese :— Tonkin, Cochin China .... Siamese : — The Tai group, including the Laos (Budd- hists) of Siam and the Shans of Bur- mah, &c. . . Tibetans (Buddhists) . . .... TtBETO-BuiiMESE : — Including many aboriginal tribes of the Himalayas, Assam, and Burmah ' Anatolian Turks — Asia Minor, &c Usbegs — Bokhara, &c. . Kirghiz — Independent Tartary & Eussian Tartary ' . Turcomans, &c. — Turkestan & Bussian Empire . Yakuts — Siberia (river Lena) Manchu Tamahs (Manchuria and China) Kashgakiaks (Kashgar, Central Asia) .... Mongolians (Central Asia) .... Malays (Malacca, &c.) . BuRiATS and Tungtjses (Siberia) Finns (Samotedes, Ostiaks, &c.) ... TuRKi Group (mostly Mahometans) : — 38,000,000 20,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000 8,700,000 11,500,000 2,000,000 C,000,000 3,000,000 200,000 8,000,000 750,000 3,000,000 1,000,000 350,000 50,000 Total 509,050,000 TRE AUiSTKALUlUti, A not very well defined group, include — / Tamil (Car Dratidians (Southern India) : — The Indian Coolies, very dark' brown in complexion : mixed more or less with Aryan Hindus, but speaking distinct languages. KoLARlANS: — Aboriginal Hill Tribes of India, chiefly in Central Provinces and Orissa, speaking a distinct group of languages. Tamil (Carnatic, Travancore, My- sore, North Cey- lon) . Telugu (Hyderabad, Mysore) Canarese (Mysore, Canara) Malayalim (Mala- bar) Others, including Hill Tribes . Santhals' (Orissa, '\ Bengal) Bhils (Vindhya Mountains) Kol (Chota Xag- pore) . 20,000,000 16,000,000 10,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 Total 57,000,000 DISTRIBUTION OF ASIATIC RACES. 37' In addition to the above are the Ainos, the aboriginal hairy people of Japan, some of the Kurile Isles and part of the adjacent mainland, the Kamohadales, inhabiting Kamtschatka, the Koriaks and Tchukchi of Siberia, etc., ■which may perhaps all belong to a group of Palse- Asiatics or primitive Asiatics, who have been driven North and East by the more successful Mongols, and now are but few in number. There are also a few thousand Negritos in the peninsula of Malacca. Thus, of the nearly eight hundred millions of estimated inhabitants of Asia, one half are Chinese, and another hundred millions belong to closely related stocks. The races more akin to Europeans do not number 250 millions, and they include nearly all the main subdivisions of the Caucasians, or fair and dark whites. The precise relationship of the darker peoples in India who have descended from the aboriginal inhabitants has not yet been determined, and if we term them Australoids, that must only be taken as a provisional name. Some are of opinion that they are the mix.ed product of Negritos and dark whites. THE END.