Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/tenthousandchine00dunn_0 Tv TEN THOUSAND CHINESE THINGS.’ A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THB CHINESE COLLECTION, IN Eftfimijpftfa. WITH MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS UPON THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, TRADE, AND GOVERNMENT OF THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE. PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR. 1839. Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by Nathan Dunn, (The proprietor of the Chinese Collection,) in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. CONTENTS. Pag# General View of the Interior of the Saloon - - 3 Screen separating the Vestibule from the Saloon 4 Case I. - - - - - - - - 5 Case II. - -- -- -- 8 Case III. - - - - - - - -II Case IV. - -- -- -- 14 Case V. - - - - - - - -16 Case VI. 19 Case VII. - - - - - - - 22 Case VIII. ------- 25 Case IX. - - - - - - -28 Case X. - » 29 Case XI. - - - - - - -30 Case XII. ------- ib. Case XIII. - - - - - - -35 Case XIV. 38 Case XV. 41 Case XVI. -------43 Case XVII. - - - - - - -46 Case XVIII. ib. Case XIX. - - - - - - -47 Cases XX., XXII., & XXIII. - - - - 49 Case XXI. - ib. Case XXIV. 50 Case XXV. 51 Case XXVI. - 52 Case XXVII. ib. Case XXVIII. 53 Case XXIX. ib. Case XXX. - — — — — -« 55 Case XXXI. - - • - - - -57 Case XXXII. 59 1 2 Case XXXIII. Cases XXXIV., XXXV., or Budha , in full canonicals. 13. Priest of the Taou sect , in full dress. 14. Gentleman in full mourning apparel. Servant of the above , also in mourning dress . Two Women with a child , of the middle class . The two sects whose ministers are here represented, are, properly speaking, the only religious sects in China. There is, indeed, a third — the Confucian — but its doctrines con- stitute a system rather of philosophy than of theology. It has no priesthood but the Emperor and his civil mandarins, no temples, and no regular worship. The Taou, or Ra- tional religion, is indigenous in China. Laoutzc, the founder of the sect, has been called the Epicurus of China; and, in some points, there would seem to be a resemblance between the doctrines of the Chinese sage and the Grecian philoso- pher. The intelligible part of his system consists in the inculcation of a contempt of riches, fame, pleasure, and all worldly distinctions. He placed the chief good in tran- quillity and self-enjoyment. Along with these dogmas, there is mixed up much that is mystical, puerile, and silly. The priests of the Taou sect pretend to a knowledge of alchymy, practise magic, and seem, in fact, to be a set of mere cheats and jugglers. 20 Budhism, or the worship of Fo, was imported from India about the middle of the first century of our era. With the exception of Christianity and Mohammedanism, this reli- gion is more widely disseminated than any other. It pre- vails in Thibet, Siam, Ava, Tartary, Japan, Cochin-China, and, to a considerable extent, in China Proper. The lead- ing dogma of the Budhists is the metempsychosis ; and the consummation of felicity held out to devotees, is annihila- tion. Their five principal moral rules are: — 1. Do not kill any living creature. 2 . Do not marry. 3. Do not steal. 4. Speak not falsely. 5. Drink no wine. The priests of this sect live in a kind of monasteries, connected with the temple of F o, practise celibacy, fast, pray for the souls of the dead, use holy water, count beads in saying their prayers, worship relics, and pray in an unknown tongue. The Bud- hists, and many of the Chinese not belonging to this sect, keep what may be called an account current with heaven, upon a system of double entry. Every good act is set down at so much on the credit side ; every bad one, at an established valuation, on the debtor side ; and the books are balanced, like other account books, annually. This sect does not flourish under the present dynasty. Its mi- nisters are veritable mendicants, ignorant, grovelling, lazy, and without influence. The only religious community in China which seems en- titled to any portion of our respect, is that which attaches itself to the doctrines of Confucius ; and this, as already hinted, is rather a sect in philosophy than religion. The doctrines of the Confucians are embodied in nine classical or sacred books, called “ The Four Books,” and “The Five Canonical Works.” These contain a complete body of rules, first, for the government of one’s self, and the regulation of social intercourse ; secondly, for the govern- ment of a family, and the education of a community ; and, thirdly, for the government of an empire, and the manage- ment of its complex machinery. The sententious brevity 21 of style that characterizes these celebrated productions, renders the meaning often obscure, and has induced a mass of commentaries, of formidable bulk; but it cannot be doubted that they contain many maxims just in sentiment, wise in policy, and admirably suited to the genius of the people, — maxims which have conferred merited immortality upon the memory of their author, and done more for the stability of the empire than all other causes combined. Confucius, however, avoided, almost entirely, strictly reli- gious subjects. Dr. Morrison says that he admitted he did not understand much concerning the gods; and he adds, that his most celebrated commentator, Choo-footszc, affirmed that sufficient knowledge was not possessed to say positively that they existed. The system of Confucius is the state religion. The emperor is Pontifex Maximus, the mandarins form the only priesthood, and the whole body of literati are its adherents. The figure in this case, representing a mourner, is habited in coarse sackcloth, the universal mourning apparel in China. The shoes are white ; the hair and beard are permitted to grow unshaven ; and an odd species of head- gear surmounts the cranium. The full period of mourning for a parent is three years, but this is commonly reduced in practice to twenty-seven months; a shorter period is allotted for other relations. Three years must elapse after the death of a parent before a child is permitted to marry. On the death of an emperor, his hundreds of millions of subjects mourn for him exactly as children do for a parent. All officers of government take the ball and crimson silk from their caps. 22 CASE VII. No. 16. Itinerant Barber , plying his craft , with his whole apparatus. 17. Itinerant Shoemaker , at his work , with work - bench , basket , foo/s, 18. Travelling Blacksmith , with anvil , furnace , bel- lows , 4-c. 19. Chinese Boatwoman , carrying a child on her back in the usual mode. 20. Another Boatwoman , with pipe , mother of the above. On the wall several specimens of bamboo and rush hats , worn the lower class. This case offers to the visiter’s observation some odd specimens of Chinese life. We have in it an itinerant barber, shoemaker, and blacksmith, and two boatwomen, one of whom is carrying an infant on her back. The barbers in China are a numerous class. Every town is thronged with them. The reason is, that, as the head, as well as the face, is shaved : no Chinaman ever shaves him- self. The barbers are all ambulatory. Each carries his shop on his back, and performs his operations tonsorial in the open street. The usual implements are a stool, pro- vided with a case of drawers, and a kind of tub, with a small charcoal furnace and a basin. We have the appa- ratus here complete. The operation is usually performed in perfect silence, a fact meriting the attention of our own practitioners in this line. The razor is a clumsy-looking affair, but is said to shave sufficiently well. It is sharpen- ed on iron. No soap is used, the beard being softened 23 by the application of hot water alone. The compensation is left entirely to the employer’s generosity ; it is com- monly from five to ten cash. The ambulatory shoemaker, with his rude instruments, and his spectacles, resembling those with which idle boys in school are sometimes punished, is a study for a painter. He carries with him in a basket wherever he goes, all his implements, together with his whole stock in trade. A fan and a pipe, without which, it would almost seem, a China- man could not exist, complete his equipment. The visiter will notice the novel manner in which our shoemaker’s spectacles are kept in their place. This is effected by no greater expenditure of ingenuity than is involved in passing a loop fastened to the ends of the spec- tacles round each ear. They are sometimes retained in their position by silver cords slung over the ears, to which small weights are attached, to preserve the equilibrium. The glasses, or rather crystals, (for rock crystal, ground with the powder of corundum, supplies the place of glass,) are perfectly circular in shape, and of enormous dimen- sions, which gives the wearer a very sapient appearance. By the side of the honest cobbler, we have an itinerant blacksmith , — par nobile fratrum. He also, when inclined to try his fortune in a new place, stows forge, bellows, anvil, tools, &c., into a basket, which he slings on his shoulder, and thus takes up his line of march. This figure, with the implements and appliances that surround it, will attract special notice. The anvil, instead of having a flat surface, is slightly rounded on the top, which causes the iron to extend more readily under the hammer. The bel- lows is a hollow cylinder with a piston so contrived that the blast produced by it is continuous. The Chinese have the art of repairing cast iron vessels when injured,- — an art, so far as we know, not possessed by any other nation. The female figures in this case represent a large class in China, viz. the boatwomen. One of them has an infant 2 4 on her back, who finds a convenient handle to hold by in her long plaited cue. She carries also a painted block of wood, which it is usual to attach to the waist of young children who live in the boats, to prevent them from sink- ing in case of falling overboard, till help can be afforded. The huge bamboo hats suspended on the wall of this case, deserve to be noticed. They are a capital article for a hot or rainy day, but would not be so convenient in a whirlwind. The bamboo is as useful to the Chinese as the reindeer is to the Laplander. Of this gigantic grass, or reed, there are numerous varieties, and the uses to which it has been put are quite as various. Hats, baskets, shields, umbrellas, ornamental furniture, ropes, paper, poles for scaffolding, temporary theatres, &c., are con- structed from it. The young shoots are used for food, being boiled or stewed, like asparagus; and sweetmeats are sometimes made of them. The tubes serve as pipe- stems, and for every purpose wherein strength, combined with lightness, is required, they are admirably suited, being formed upon the same principle as the bones of birds. Farmers make great use of the bamboo, many of their implements being formed of it; and a silicious concre- tion, found in the joints, is an item in the Chinese materia medica. 25 CASE VIII. No. 21. Chinese Gentleman . 22. Beggar ashing alms. 23. Servant preparing breakfast. 24. Purchaser. 25. Do. examining a piece of black silk. The Proprietor behind the counter making calcula -' tions on his counting-board. Clerk entering goods. Circular Table , with breakfast furniture. This is the north-east corner of the saloon. It is much larger than any of the cases hitherto noticed, and has been arranged so as to afford an exact idea of a Chinese retail establishment. The scene which it offers to our view, is, to our taste, more life-like than any thing else in the col- lection. Two purchasers have been placed at the counter, one of whom is scrutinizing a piece of silk that lies before him. The owner, behind the counter, is carelessly leaning forward, and intent on casting an account on the “ calcu- lating dish,” while his clerk is busy making entries in the hook, in doing which he shows us the Chinese mode of holding a pen, or rather brush, which is perpendicularly between the thumb and all the fingers. A servant is pre- paring breakfast. A circular, eight-legged table, very similar to those used by our great-grandfathers, is spread in the centre of the shop. Among its furniture, the ivory chop-sticks are the most novel. On the visiter’s right hand sits a gentleman with a pipe, apparently a chance- comer, “just dropped in” about meal time; on the left, a blind beggar stands beating two bamboo sticks against each 4 C 26 other, an operation with which he continues to annoy all whom he visits, till he is relieved by some trifling gratuity, usually a single cash. A gilt image of Fo is inserted in the front part of the counter, and a small covered tub filled with tea, with a few cups near by, stands on the counter, from which customers are always invited to help themselves. The merchants and shopkeepers of Canton, are prompt, active, obliging, and able. They can do an immense deal of business in a short time, and all without noise, bustle, or disorder. Their goods are arranged in the most per- fect manner, and nothing is ever out of its place. These traits assimilate them to the more enterprising of the western nations, and place them in prominent contrast with the rest of the Asiatics. It is confidently asserted, by those who have had the best opportunities of judging, that, as business men, they are in advance of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese merchants. There is a variety of amusing inscriptions on the scrolls hung up in the interior of some of the shops, which serve at the same time to mark the thrifty habits of the traders. A few specimens are subjoined : — “ Gossiping and long sitting injure business.” “ Former customers have in- spired caution — no credit given.” “ A small stream always flowing.” “Goods genuine, prices true.” “Trade cir- cling like a wheel,” &c. The sight of the breakfast table induces naturally a few observations on the articles of food and drink used by this people. The wealthier Chinese are much addicted to gas- tronomic pleasures, and are as delicate in their tastes as any other epicures ; but pinching poverty makes the mass as little fastidious as can well be conceived. They make little use of beef or mutton, owing to the scarcity of pas- turage. Of animal food, the most universal is pork. Their maxim is, “ The scholar forsakes not his books, nor the poor man his pig.” Immense quantities of fish are con- sumed. Ducks are reared in large numbers, and wild 21 fowl, of various species, are abundant. The flesh of dogs, cats, rats, and mice, enters into the bill of fare of the Chinese poor. The larvae of the sphinx-moth and a grub bred in the sugar-cane are much relished, as also sharks’ fins, the flesh of wild horses, the sea-slug, and a soup made of a species of birds’-nests. At an imperial feast given to the last British embassy, a soup concocted of mares’ milk and blood was among the dishes ! Of vegetables they have a large variety, not needful to mention. Rice is the most esteemed and the most abundant. This is the chief thing for which they wish and work. Certain sailors once asked Gutzlaff, whether the western barbarians used rice, and, as he was rather slow in replying, they exclaimed, “ O, the sterile regions of bar- barians, which produce not the necessaries of life : strange that the inhabitants have not long ago died of hunger !” The Chinese are not at all addicted to water-drinking. They distil from rice certain liquors resembling our beer, wines, and whisky. The grape, though abundant, is not used for any such purpose. The universal national beverage is tea. This is drunk in unstinted quantities by all classes of the people, from the self-styled 44 Son of Heaven,” to the occupant of the meanest hovel or sanpan. So enormous is the consumption of tea by the natives, that McCartney is of opinion that, if the whole foreign demand should, by some accident, suddenly cease, the price of the article would not be materially affected. Many of the wealthier natives are exceedingly fastidious in their taste, which they gratify by the use of teas obtained at prices that would startle us by their enormity. It is, however, only the very rich and the very luxurious who indulge habitually in such extra- vagance. 28 CASE IX. Adjoining the mercantile establishment is a passage, five feet broad, — about the average width of a Canton street, which it is intended to represent. It is nearly filled by a sedan, in which the owner is comfortably seated, while he is borne gently along by a couple of coolies. A body servant is in attendance, who walks by the side of the lordly chair. The interior is just large enough for the convenient reception of a single occupant. Instead of pannels, the sides are covered with a woollen cloth for lightness, and there is an additional covering of oil-cloth, to be used in case of rain. Two bearers place the light, elastic pole upon their shoulders, and move, sometimes at considerable speed, with measured tread, and a scarcely perceptible motion. The sedan looks like the very home of comfort and repose. The illustrious Falstaff never took “mine ease in mine inn” more luxuriously, than the rich Chinaman in his vaunted sedan. This vehicle is much used by the wealthy, and affords almost the only mode of land-travelling known, the horse being rarely, though sometimes, employed. Private gentlemen are allowed only two bearers ; the herd of civil officers, four ; viceroys, eight : while the emperor’s dignity requires sixteen. The sedan has often been a bone of contention between the foreign merchants and the native authorities. The former have, again and again, demanded earnestly the pri- vilege of using it ; the latter have as vigorously resisted the demand, and hitherto with success. CASE X. This is a large apartment, forming the eastern termina tion of the saloon, from which it is separated by what may be called a species of carved net-work. The carving pene- trates entirely through the wood, and represents figures of animals, birds, flowers, fruits, &c. The colours of this open work are as gay, rich, and even gorgeous, as gilding and paint can make them ; yet so skilfully are they disposed, so well do they blend and harmonize, that their effect is altogether agreeable. The room thus enclosed is a perfect fac-simile of an apartment in a wealthy Chinaman’s palace. The visiter will be not less struck by the quantity than by the kind and disposition of its furniture and decorations. There is a book-case in one corner, a long high table for the reception of ornaments in the back part of the room, upon which are placed two exceedingly beautiful paintings on glass enclosed in ornamental frames or stands of hard wood, highly polished. Between the latter is a porcelain vase containing a large fan of peacock’s feathers — there is also a large square carved table with marble top at each end of this, with another of smaller dimensions in front of it, two tea-stands, two rows of chairs, facing each other on opposite sides of the apartment, with a footstool for every chair, besides flower-pots, spittoons, porcelain stools, lamps, &c. &c. The walls are hung with a variety of decorations, chiefly long silken scrolls, with maxims, as before described ; and the tables are covered with charac- teristic ornamental articles. There are six figures in the pavilion, intended to repre- sent the mode of paying and receiving visits. Tea and pipes are always served on these occasions, and frequently sweetmeats or dried fruits. The common mode of saluta- c 2 30 tion is to join the closed hands, and lift them twice or thrice towards the head, saying, Haou — tsing, tsing ; that is, “ Are you well ?— Hail, hail !” CASE XI. This case contains two beautiful specimens of screen- work used in ornamenting the walls of summer-houses, &c. Also, specimens of figured tiles, of clay, with which wealthy gentlemen are accustomed to pave the court-yards of their houses. CASE XII. A buffalo attached, to a plough , with a husbandman guid- ing it. This buffalo was actually employed in plough- ing near Whampoa , called by the Chinese , “ Shuey- new,” “ water ox.” A husbandman at work with his mattock , dressed in a ; rush coat , such as are worn in rainy weather. A cooley bearing two chests of tea. These men carry from 200 to 300 lbs. burden , and trot along with it a,t the rate of four or five miles an hour. A splendid Chinese peacock. Specimens of ploughs, harrows , axes , hoes , rakes , forks , shovels , spades , flails , mattocks , $c. $c. These imple- ments are for the most part simple and rude. They are made chiefly of wood , and merely shod with iron. On the 7vall are also displayed two fishing nets , made of a peculiar kind of hemp , also fish scoops. The most cursory account of the Celestial Empire, should include some notice of its agriculture. Of all 31 classes who labour with their hands, the husbandman is there the most honoured, being accounted second only to the literati of the realm. Nothing appears so strongly to have roused the wonder of the early missionaries to China, as the agricultural skill of the natives; and in nothing, perhaps, did they so much indulge in exaggeration, as in their accounts of it. But whatever abatements truth may require to be made from their glowing descriptions, there can hardly be a doubt that the Chinese manage to get more out of an acre of ground than any other nation, the Eng- lish alone excepted. It is stated on the authority of Amiot, that the culti vated lands of the country amount to about 596,172,500 English acres. This immense territory is divided into patches of a few acres each, generally owned by the occu- pants. A rigid economy of soil is practised. With the exception of the royal gardens at Peking, no land in the empire is taken up with parks and pleasure-grounds. Of meadows there are none ; of pasture-grounds, scarcely any. The few ruminating animals, scattered thinly over the country, gather a scanty subsistence, as best they may, on mountains and marshes, unfit for cultivation. As wheel carriages are not used, the highways are but a few feet wide, and nothing is thrown away there. No fences are allowed to encumber the soil, no hedges to prey upon its strength. Sepulchres are always on hills too barren for cultivation. A narrow foot-path separates neighbouring farms, and porcelain landmarks define more permanently their respective limits. Even the sterile mountains are terraced into fertility, and glow with ripening harvests, intermingled with the brilliant foliage of clustering fruit trees. But their economizing of the soil is not more rigid, than the methods by which they seek to preserve or to renovate its strength are new and various. Necessity may here truly he said to have been the mother of invention. Every 32 conceivable substance, possessing any enriching qualities, has been converted into a manure. Not only lime, ashes, dung of animals, &c., but hair of all kinds, barber’s shav- ings, horns and bones reduced to powder, soot, night soil, the cakes that remain after the expression of their vegetable oil, the plaster of old kitchens, and all kinds of vegetable and animal refuse, are among the substances used as manures. These are all carefully collected and husbanded, being frequently kept in cisterns constructed for the pur- pose, or in earthen tubs sunk in the ground, where, covered with straw to prevent evaporation, and diluted with a suffi- cient quantity of water, they are left to undergo the putre- factive fermentation, after which they are applied to the land. The Chinese understand well the enriching effect of fre- quent ploughings.* Horses or oxen are rarely attached to their ploughs ; more commonly a small species of buf- falo; and oftener still, men and women. Frequently the plough is not used at all, the spade and hoe supplying its place. In the irrigation of their lands, they display great ingenuity and diligence. Their numerous rivers are here of essential utility. Rice is their staple grain. They always get two crops a year out of their land ; sometimes three. When a third is not raised, the soil is, nevertheless, again taxed in the production of pulse, greens, potatoes, and other vegetables. Millet is extensively cultivated. Women labour on the farms equally with the men. A stout and healthy wife is therefore a great desideratum with a Chinaman, and the “ working wives of Kiang-see” are said to be held in high estimation throughout the provinces. Notwithstanding the immensity of labour bestowed on the cultivation of the earth — and the Chinese agriculturists * Sir Joseph Banks expresses his surprise that this principle is not turned to greater account by the Europeans. Repeated ploughings are almost the only fertilizing process known among the Hindoos. 33 are like ants or bees in respect to both their number and industry — it seems incapable of sustaining the swarming population of the empire. Hence every harbour, lake, river, and stream of whatever description, are literally thronged and darkened by fishermen, who resort to the most ingenious and novel methods of alluring and entrap- ping their victims. Nor do they forget or omit to take care that the waters be not, as it were, depopulated by these ceaseless ravages. They take the utmost pains to collect the spawns of fishes, and to deposit them in con- venient places for breeding. “ Such is their toil, and such their busy pains, As exercise the bees in flowery plains, When winter past, and summer scarce begun, Invites them forth to labour in the sun.” Here terminate the cases that contain representations of men and women. The figures are modelled out of a pe- culiar species of clay, admirably adapted for the purpose. They are highly creditable to the taste and ingenuity of the Chinese, who, though not good sculptors, are excellent modellers, and they afford specimens of a style of art alto- gether novel to an American. The attentive observer will have noticed a remarkable sameness of feature and ex- pression running through the whole collection, though all are accurate likenesses of originals, most of whom are now living. High cheek bones, flat noses, small black eyes, a yellowish complexion, and a rather dull, heavy expression of countenance, are the general characteristics. Chinese physical nature is said to be cast, as it were, in the same mould, throughout the whole empire, notwithstanding its various provinces differ so widely in soil and climate. And this characteristic sameness extends to the mind as well as body. The phenomenon has been ingeniously explained by the author of “ Egypt and Mohammed Ali,” who traces it to despotism as its primary cause ; for he reasons, the 5 34 multitude, all reduced to the same level, urged by the same wants, engaged in the same pursuits, actuated by the same passions, through a long succession of ages, necessarily assimilate, both mentally and physically. Corpulency, and small, delicate, taper fingers, are also much esteemed as indications of gentility. There is a goodly rotundity of person in most of the figures in this collection, but the attentive observer will be particularly struck with the characteristic smallness and delicacy of the hands. The carefully cultivated and well braided pigtails, so long in some instances as almost to trail upon the ground, and affording admirable handles to an antagonist in a passion, form a curious subject of observation. The history of this singular appendage affords a remarkable illustration of those revolutions which sometimes occur in national taste and manners. Previous to the conquest of their country by the Tartars, the Chinese permitted the hair to grow over the whole head. Shunche, the first of the Tartar emperors, issued an imperial edict requiring the conquered people to conform in this particular to the custom of their victors. So stoutly was this decree at first resisted, that many of the nobles preferred death to obedience, and actually perished by the command of the conqueror. At the present day, however, the loss of this very badge of servitude is considered one of the greatest of calamities, scarcely less dreaded than death itself. To be deprived of it is one of the most opprobrious brands put upon convicts and criminals. Those to whom nature has been sparing in respect to the natural covering of the head, supply her deficiencies by the artificial introduction and intermingling of other hair with their own, thus seek- ing to “ increase it to a reputably fashionable size.” Chinese put faith in the external developments of the skull, and are, therefore, to a certain extent, phrenologists. They look for the principal characteristics of a man in his forehead, and of a woman on tne back of the cranium. 35 CASE XIII. No. 127. Five specimens of carved bamboo roots. This is a kind of ornament highly esteemed by the na- tives. The more distorted the roots, and the more hideous the figures wrought upon them, the greater is the pleasure they afford. “ Gorgons, hydras, and chimeras dire,” the wildest forms that nature has revealed or imagination invented, please best the superstitious fancy of this marvel- loving people. 128. Elastic pillow made of bamboo, and covered with glazed leather. 129. Pewter vessel for holding the su-hing or hot wine at dinners. 130. Candlestick of the same material. 131. A vessel to contain the ashes of jhos-sticks (composed of powdered sandal wood) burnt before idols. 132. Curious root of the bamboo, as 127. 133. A grotesque figure carved from a section of the bamboo. 134. Two pillows of leather (pig’s skin) embossed. 135. Antique incense vessel of china ware. 136. Antique porcelain figures. 137. Curious root resembling a bird perched on a tree. 138. Metallic incense vessel. 139. Carved section of bamboo, used as pen-holder. 140. Bronzed copper hand-furnace, for keeping the fingers* warm when walking in the streets in cold weather, no gloves being ever worn. 36 141. .Ancient porcelain incense vessel. 142. Scales and weights, very accurate. 143. Rack for jhos-stick, which is generally burned in every house day and night, the drawers are to hold tobacco and tinder for pipes. 144. Compass and sun-dial combined. 145. Gentleman’s dressing case. 147. China vessel, with stand and cover, for incense. 148. Lamp in general use of white copper, commonly at- tached to the wall. 149. Ancient, as 147. 150. Hollow watchman’s rattle, cut from a solid piece of wood, and struck by a piece of bamboo, for the pur- pose of giving an alarm, and capable of producing a loud noise. 151. Curious root representing a beggar or lazzarone. 152. Sung-pan, or counting board. 153. Lamp, as 148. 154. Cuspador or spittoon of white copper. 155. Ancient metallic mirror, used in China prior to the introduction of glass. The back is here presented to the visiter, being ornamented with numerous hieroglyphical figures. The opposite side is highly polished. 156. A gentleman’s dressing-case and glass. 157. Ancient mirror, as 155, of large size. 158. Cuspador, as 154. 159 and 162. Specimens of common ware, garden seats, &c. 160 and 161. Flower pots of a peculiar ware, resembling cast iron. 163. Curiously shaped bamboo root. 164. Specimen of carving from the root of the bamboo tree. 165. Porcelain pen-holder. 166. Curious root — beautiful and rare specimen. 167. Carving from the root of the bamboo, as 164. 168. Specimen of sculpture in marble, with ebony stand. 37 169. Five marble idols. 170. Three idols of Budha or Fo. 171. As 167. 172. Image of a beggar in clay. 178. Antique enamelled vessel for holding the su-hing, or hot wine, at feasts, of which the Chinese are re- markably fond. 174. Ancient porcelain incense vessel, with wooden stand and top. 175. Enamelled vase for holding flowers. 176. Elaborate piece of carving from the root of the bamboo. 177. China incense vessel, in imitation of bronze. 178. Antique bronze tripod, with a monkey, in cornelian, for handle. 179. A root having the form of a dog’s head, and the feet and tail of a bird. 180 and 182. Specimens of painted marble in stands, placed on tables, as ornaments. 181. Antique china incense vessel. 183. Small clay model of Lob creek pagoda, on the Canton river. 184. Porcelain garden railing. 185. Carved bamboo root of curious device. 186 and 188. Two figures in papier mache, representing priests. 187. A distorted root of the bamboo, resembling a man, &c. These curious specimens are highly valued in China, and aflord a good example of the peculiar national tastes. 189. Image in clay. 199. Bronzed clay figures. 200. Porcelain tripod. 201. Two specimens of china ware, on stands, resembling Wedgwood. 202. Three ancient idols, in white marble. 208. Two grotesque lions, in porcelain. D 38 204. Root in form of a bird. 205. Singular specimen of sculpture, in coloured marble. 207 — 209. Three porcelain figures. 210. Coloured marble Budha. 211. China plate and stand. 212. Richly veined marble in stand. 213. Bronzed incense vessel and stand, used in temples. 214. Splendid cameo, presented to Mr. Dunn by Houqua, the Hong merchant. This cameo is of extraordi- nary size. It represents an extended landscape, including earth and sky, and embracing various rural scenes and objects. 215. Jhos-bell and stand, used in temples, and accompa- nies 213, 216. Metallic mirror, as before. 217 and 220. Flower-pots of common ware. 218 and 219. As 160 and 161. CASE XIV. 221. Leather case (pig’s skin) for mandarin’s cap. 222. Lacquered box used for carrying fruit, &c. from market. They are hung in a red net, composed of the fibres of a thistle, and carried suspended from a bamboo thrown across the shoulder. 223. Common pillow of ratten. 224. Lacquered case, with several compartments. 225 — 229. Boxes for various uses. 230. Box for holding writing pencils. The panels are of white marble, bearing moral maxims. 231. Three lacquered boxes for travelling purposes. 232. Lady’s dressing-case, containing rouge, dice, sung- pan, snuff, writing materials, looking-glass, &c. &c. 39 233. Paint box of lacquered ware, with pillow of em- bossed leather on top. 2 34. Mariner’s compass. 235. Box, richly lacquered. 236. Lacquered wash-bowl. 237. Sweet-meat box. 238. Lady’s box of colours. 239 and 241. Curious sun-dial and compass, 240. As 237. 242. Model of a Chinese coffin. The slabs of wood are sometimes of enormous pieces, being, frequently, of some domestic or foreign odoriferous wood, &c. In these huge coffins the dead are frequently kept many years above ground, from superstitious motives, such as the selection of a fortunate spot for burial, a particular season, &c. Cedar is the usual material ; the thickness of the slabs accord- ing with the means of the purchaser. 243. Small tablets of marble painted, &c. 244. Elegantly lacquered box to contain paper, &c. 245. Cameo in stand, &c. 246. Lacquered box. 247. Lacquered writing desk, inlaid with mother-o’-pearl. 248. Ornament of common ware to adorn the roof of dwellings, temples, &c. 249. A Chinese merchant’s sign — suspended at the door post, or the interior of his store. 250. Lacquered box, richly inlaid with pearl shell. 251 and 253. A pair of lacquered cases, made from the sec- tion of bamboo, with painting of the parent tree in gold, &c. 252. Large and curious root of fanciful design. 254. Small lacquered box, for trinkets. 255. Carved sign, as 249. 256 and 257. A full tea service, of lacquered ware, of great beauty, and extremely light. Sixty or seventy 40 coats of varnish are frequently put upon the finer articles of wooden ware. 258, 26 0 — 262. Lacquered cases of various shapes — each containing smaller boxes of singular forms, &c. 259. Ancient bronze vase. 263. Garden railing of common ware. 264. Lacquered case, of singular form, to contain the tea- service, No. 256 and 257. 265. Small case of drawers, of iron wood. 266. A gentleman’s travelling wardrobe, of lacquered ware. 267. Sung-pan, or reckoning board, on which all calcula- tions are made in China. 268. Long lacquered case, in which rolls of silks are sent to friends and newly married acquaintances. 269. A box used by ladies for needle-work, embroidery, &c. 270. Compass and perpetual almanac. 271 and 272. Carved sections of bamboo, for pen-holders. 273 and 279. Pillows used in summer — the bamboo slats on the top being elastic. 274. Compass and dial. 275 and 277. Carved bamboo sections. 278. As 274. 280. Lacquered case, inlaid with pearl shell, to contain cakes of ink. 281. Very curiously carved and lacquered box. 282 and 283. Lacquered boxes, having several compart- ments in each. 284. Writing desk, in gold lacquer, &c. 285. Cameo in stand. 286. Lacquered tea-caddy, with white copper, do. for the inside. 287. Cap stand, in form of a tripod. 288. Cuspadors of white copper. The lacquered, or japanned ware of China is well 41 known. All substances that are dry and rigid, as woods, metals, and prepared paper, admit of being japanned. The fine varnish used for this purpose is obtained from a shrub, called atsie-shoo , a species of rhus, from which it distils like gum. It is poisonous in a liquid state, and hence great caution is used both by those who gather and those who work in it, to shield themselves from its noxious qualities. It is capable of receiving all colours, though black is the most common. More than fifty coats of var- nish are sometimes put on. CASE XY. China Ware. 290. Pair of cushions, used for supporting the arms on couches. 291 — 293. Flower-pots. 294. Three vases. 295. Three ancient idols. 296. Curious vase, very ancient. 297. Porcelain vessel for rice. 298. Common vase. 299. Ancient and very beautiful vase. 300. Yase, in imitation of marble, on stand. 301. Pair of square vases. 302. Sweetmeat vessel. 303. Yessel used for snuff. 304. Ancient vase, with surface purposely cracked in burning. 305. Antique vase, in imitation of metal. 306 — 309. Yases of various form. 6 D o 42 810. Unglazed vessel, for burning jhos-sticks. 311. Large ornamental vase, from Nankin. 312 and 314. Specimens of garden seats. 313. Very curious porcelain box, in form of a crab, with moveable eyes and feet. 315. Three ancient and beautiful vases, ornamented with lizards. 316 and 318. Vases. 317. Do., in form of a cabbage. 319, 321, 323, and 325. Flower-vases of recent make. 320. An ancient jar, cracked in burning. 322. Antique bottle-shaped vase from the northern pro- vinces. The style and painting of this vase is greatly esteemed by the Chinese. Its age is over three hundred years. 324. Ancient metallic vase. 326. Rare and curious vase from Nankin. 327 — 329. Pair of richly painted and gilted sugar-jars. 328. Ancient porcelain jar, discoloured by time. Its age is above two hundred and fifty years. 330. Pair of white copper euspadors. 331. Curious jar, cracked in the burning. 332. Ancient China image, representing a mandarin bear- ing the joo-ee or sceptre. 334. Do., representing a Chinese sage. 336. Ancient figure, emblematical of old age and infancy. 333 and 335. Pair of beautiful flower-jars. 337 — 341. Vases of different sizes and forms. 342. Ancient jar of singular form : age unknown 343. Set of china ornaments. 344. Ancient ornament of curious form. 345. Flower-vase, with three orifices for one flower each. 346. Antique porcelain vessel or cage, on stand, for con- taining sweet scented flowers, emitting an agree- able perfume. 347. 34§ 350, and 351. Ancient jars, on stands. 43 349. Specimen of painting on porcelain, on stand. 3 52. Do. very old. 353 and 354. Porcelain garden seats, richly painted. CASE XVI. China Ware. 355. Beautiful flower-pot. 356. Three ancient vases, of curious form, on stands. 357. Curious flower-pot, with figures, &c. representing a besieged castle, in the interstices of which flowers are planted. 358. Two vases of different forms. 359. As 355. 360. Ancient and beautiful yellow vase, on stand, orna- mented with a raised green dragon ; a mythological emblem of the great dragon attempting to swallow the moon ; believed, by the Chinese, to be the cause of the eclipse of that nocturnal luminary. 361— 365. Vases of different forms and sizes: some of them very beautiful on account of the colour and glazing. 366 and 367. Porcelain garden seats. 368. Ancient earthen jar. 369. Square vase. 370. Part of a porcelain balustrade. 371 and 373. Pair of porcelain pipe stands from Nankin : these are used in the houses of the wealthy, and are placed near the doors, from which guests are sup- plied with pipes. 372. Model of the porcelain tower at Nankin. 374 and 378. Pair of very large and rich vases, from Nankin. 375 and 377. Pair of smaller do. 44 376. Very ancient and beautiful square jar, on stand, from the interior. 380 and 383. Ancient vases, very beautiful. 381 and 382. Pair of rich china jars, for powdered sugar. 384. Two sections of porcelain balustrade. 385. Vase from the interior, more than five hundred years old. As the Chinese attach great veneration to antiques, its value was in proportion. 386 — 330. Vases of different forms. 391. Beautiful yellow vase, elegantly ornamented with raised figures. 392. Elegant porcelain candlestick. 393. 395, and 396. Vases cracked in the burning, of great beauty. 394. Ancient jar and stand. 397. Porcelain vase, in imitation of metal. 398. Garden seats. 399 and 400. Porcelain landmarks, to designate the bound- aries of adjoining estates. The owner’s name is inscribed, and they are placed in some convenient spot. 401. As 398. The porcelain manufacture undoubtedly had its origin in China, and we must, therefore, hold ourselves indebted to the Chinese for all that rich variety of useful and orna- mental china w T are articles, which load our tables, and adorn our parlours and cabinets. It was introduced to the knowledge of Europeans by that famous Venetian travel- ler, Marco Polo. The first furnace on record was in Keang-sy, which dates as far back as the commencement of the seventh century of our era. King-tse-ching, a place near the Poyang lake, is now the most celebrated for this manufacture. The factories were commenced there about a. D. 1000, and have increased to the number of several hundred. Staunton says that the flames which issue from them cause the place to appear at night like a 4 5 vast city enveloped in a general conflagration. The spec- tacle is terrific and sublime. The furnaces give employ- ment to the male working portion of a population said to amount to a million. The division of labour is carried to its acme. A tea-cup, from the time when it lies embedded in its native quarries, till it comes forth in its perfection from the furnace, passes through more than fifty different hands. The painting alone is divided between a half dozen persons, one of whom sketches the outline of a bird, an- other of a plant, a third of some other figure, while a fourth fills in the colours. The brilliancy of their colouring has never been surpassed ; but the designing is not, as a general thing, to be commended. The reason probably is, that no higher wages are paid to those who labour in this department of the manufacture, than to those who perform the coarser operations. It is perfectly obvious from an inspection of the articles embraced in this collection, that the excellence of the porcelain manufacture has been on the decline for the last three centuries. The deterioration, as well as the high degree of perfection it had then attained, are easily explained. The emperors who flourished about that pe- riod encouraged the manufacture by munificent premiums on the most beautiful specimens, and by large annual orders for the finer wares. A premium of 15,000 tael, or more than $20,000, was bestowed on the manufacturer of the best specimen ; 10,000 tael on him who produced the second-best ; while third-rate excellence received a reward of 5,000. The emperors no longer bestow any special encouragement, and hence the decline of competition, and consequently of excellence. The origin of the word porcelain, or porcellana , may not be generally known. Marsden, as quoted by Davis, shows that it was- applied by the Europeans to the ware of China, from the resemblance of its finely polished surface to that of the univalve shell so named ; while the shell 46 itself derived its appellation from the curved shape of its upper surface, which was thought to resemble the raised back of a porcella , or little hog. CASE XVII. No. 402 — 404. Three models of summer-houses, usual in the gardens of the wealthy, in the southern pro- vinces of China. 405. Model of a two story summer-house, in the north- ern provinces, of exquisite workmanship, and completely furnished. This affords a good spe- cimen of mother-of-pearl windows. The sum- mer-houses often stand in the midst of a sheet of water, and are approached by bridges. 406. A domestic shrine, with three golden images, candle- sticks, and incense burner. These are found in every house and boat in China, and are of various sizes and devices, according to the means of the occupants. 407. Model of a bridge of one arch, near Canton. CASE XVIII. Chinese Boats . No. 408. Model of a boat used on the canals near Pekin, for the conveyance of grain, forming a part of the government revenue derived from a tax on Ian . 47 409. Chop-boat, employed as a lighter in transporting car- goes up and down the river, to and from foreign vessels at Whampoa. 410. Sanpan, a family boat. Of this description there are estimated to be upwards of 40,000 on the Canton river near the city, containing a population of more than 200,000 souls. These boats are regularly licensed by government. The husband finds em- ployment on shore, while the wife has charge of the floating domicil. These women seek a main- tenance in carrying passengers to the neighbouring places. The cleanliness of their boats is remark- able, rivalling the whiteness of a milk-pail in the Philadelphia market. 411. Model of a pagoda near Whampoa, nine stories, and about one hundred and seventy feet high. 412. Bridge at Honam, near Canton, built of granite. CASE XIX. No. 414. Canal boat of the smaller size. 415. Do., of the largest class, capable of carrying several hundred tons. These boats are employed in trans- porting teas and other merchandise on the canals and rivers. 416. Model of a bridge at Fathon near Canton, built of granite, and of excellent workmanship. Bridges in the vicinity of the city, are constructed as foot- ways, though horses are sometimes taken over. 417. Mandarin boat, or revenue cutter, for the prevention of smuggling. The immense variety of boats that literally crowd the waters of China, maybe divided into two classes; those that 48 have eyes and those without them. To the former class belong the military and trading junks, that navigate the •‘great sea.” Of these we have no model in this Col- lection, but there is an exact representation of them in a painting on one of the panels of the screen-work, before noticed. They are nearly in the shape of a new moon, and as clumsy a craft as could well be contrived. The emperor not only affords no encouragement to improvement, but actually puts a price on the opposite, in the exaction of foreign port-duties from junks constructed on improved principles. These vessels have always a great eye painted on each side of the bows. This usage had its origin pro- bably in some superstition. If a Chinese is questioned as to its cause, his reply is,- — “ Have eye, can see ; can see, can saavez : no have eye, no can see ; no can see, no can saavez.” The variety of craft used upon the inland waters of China is very great. Of most of the different kinds we have models in the two cases before us. These all appear well contrived for the purpose to which they are applied, and are by no means destitute of beauty. They are pro- vided with bamboo sails, used only occasionally, and the rudders are universally perforated with small holes, which may be set down as a wonder for the wise. They are ge- nerally propelled by sculling, a method which is made ab- solutely necessary by the number of boats always in mo- tion. The skill with which the Chinese perform this operation confirms the old proverb, that “ practice makes perfect;” for the boat is made to dart forward at a rapid rate, and in a line as direct as any well-managed sail ves- sel could describe. The foreign sailors sometimes try their skill, but make a sorry business of it : “no can do.” 49 CASES XX., XXII., & XXIII. These cases are filled with specimens of shells and co- rals from the Chinese seas, which are labelled. CASE XXL The different specimens of silks and other manufac- tures exhibited in this case, and also in No. 52, are made expressly for native use, the style and quality being pecu- liarly their own, and are not exported as merchandise. No. 447. Specimens of silks, used principally for linings of winter dresses, and sometimes forming part of the summer costume of the wealthy. 448. Specimens of grass-cloth, made of a species of hemp, much used in China; the coarser kind for the poorer orders, the finer for the rich. This is a cooler article than the French cambric. 449. Cotton check, in extensive use in China, which, it will be seen, bears a strong resemblance to our own manufacture. 450. Specimens of linen and cotton goods, used for bed covers. 451. Crimson cotton for lining. 452. Black silk velvet, used for facing winter felt caps. 453 and 454. Silks as 447. 455. Dyed grass-cloths. 456. Common brown cotton, resembling American manu- facture — about 16 inches wide, and costs from 4 to 5 cents per yard. 7 E 50 457. Cotton musquito bar. 458. Coarsest kind of grass cloth, used by the poorest classes, and sometimes by the rich for mourning. 459. Striped buglapoore, used for gentlemen’s summer dresses in China. 460. Dyed cottons for linings. 461. Damasked striped silk, for edges of gentlemen’s dresses. CASE XXIV. No. 428 and 429. Chinese candles, made from the tallow tree, used in temples and the houses of the wealthy in the celebration of the new year, a moveable feast, which occurs on the second new moon after the winter solstice. 430. A military officer’s saddle, bridle, &c. It is of the most expensive kind, and such as are but seldom seen. Those used by inferior officers are gene- rally of leather and nankeen. 431. Lamp carried on the shoulders of a bearer in mar- riage processions. 432. Lamp pole for the above. 433 and 434. Candles, as Nos. 428 and 429. 435. Lamp used in theatrical representations, of exquisite beauty. 438. Splendid specimen of embroidery, used in theatrical representations, worked by men, as is often the case in China. The Chinese excel all other na- tions in the art of embroidery. 439. Specimen of Chinese woollen manufacture. 440. Specimen of fruit in enamel. 441. do. do. in clay. Splendid state lamp suspended from the ceiling. 51 CASE XXV. No. 427. Pleasure boat of the largest size, frequently oc- cupied by the wealthy classes in the summer even- ings. 418. Bridge of five arches, at Fahtee, built of granite. 419. Long duck gun, with matchlock. 420. Small priming horn. 421. Powder horns. 422. Match rope. 423. Gunpowder. 424. Small iron shot, used by sportsmen as a matter of economy. 425. Air-gun, (wooden barrel.) 426. Leaden balls for air-gun. 442. Specimens of stones of which the above bridge is built. 443. Specimens of brick, one of which was taken from the ancient pagoda on Lob creek. 444. Pair of swords, to be used by both hands, but having one sheath. The object in using this weapon is to hamstring the enemy. 445. An ivory ball, containing seven concentric spheres, cut from a solid block. 446. Another ivory ball, with seventeen balls within, each one being carved of different pattern. The average time consumed in carving each ball, is one month. Specimens of fruits in clay. Numerous opium and tobacco pipes Two ornamental stands, with carved figures on them. On the top of this case is placed a model of a Chinese Water-wheel, worked by men in a similar way, to a tread- mill. 52 CASE XXVI. N o. 4 62 . Specimens of Chinese books, with the titles on the ends, showing the mode of binding with the en- velope. 463. Printing block of wood, resembling, in its use, our stereotype plates All printing in China is executed from blocks of this kind. 464. Very small book, used as an amulet. Another of the same kind is exhibited below, open. 465. Budhist book, filled with pictures, representing their future punishments. Drawings of their punish- ments are frequently seen in this and other coun- tries, and are erroneously supposed to represent the punishments actually inflicted upon criminals by the Chinese laws. 466. Book of architectural drawings, with silk margin, and wooden covers. 467. Book of ancient seal characters. 468. Representations of the religious ceremonies of the Budhists. The lower section is filled with books of various kinds. CASE XXVII. No. 469. Shoes for ladies having large feet, of which a great variety is exhibited in this case. The lower part of the soles is formed of dressed pig’s skin, the rest of compressed paper. 53 470. Shoes for ladies having small feet, called by the Chinese, “Golden lilies.” 471. As 469. 472. Gentlemen’s shoes, of various patterns. 473. Children’s do. 474. Gentlemen’s shoes for wet weather, the upper part being of satin, the lower of wood. CASE XXVIII. No. 475. Black satin cap, worn by the Budhist priests. 476. Summer caps, worn by private gentlemen. 477. Winter caps, made of crape, worn as above. 479. Embroidered canonical headdress. 480. A gentleman’s cap, made of a sort of felt, and worn in winter. 481. A pair of gentlemen’s long leather boots, for wet weather. 482. Ladies’ small leather boots, with wooden soles. 483. Ladies’ small leather boots for wet weather. 484. Women’s leather shoes with wooden soles. CASE XXIX. No. 485. Beautiful fan for ladies’ use, made in part of pea- cocks’ feathers, and in part of elegantly embroidered work. 486. Carved ivory stamp or seal, having several concentric spheres in the handle. e 2 54 487. A gentleman’s embroidered knee-pan, for protecting the knee in case of falling. 488. Wine cup of pressed glass. 489. Miniature painting of a Chinese lady on ivory. 490. An ivory puzzle. 491. Small ebony boxes, inlaid with pearl shell, and con- taining flint, steel, and punk. 492. A lady’s fan, elegantly painted on silk with ivory handle. 493. Painting brush, composed of dyed horse-hair. 494. As 487— for ladies’ use. 495. Gentlemen’s embroidered pocket. 496. do. do. fan case. 497. do. do. watch-pocket and purse. 498. Embroidered silk spectacle case. 499. Silk bags, having a maxim embroidered on the side ; for tobacco, and attached to the pipe. 500. Silk garters. 501. A silk girdle to confine the dress, which every gen- tleman in China wears. 502. Silk ornaments worn by ladies. 503. A beautifbl sculptured marble vase, having for its handle a representation of a lion drinking from the vessel. 504. A Chinese printed book of maxims. 505. Embroidered pocket, worn by gentlemen. 506. Beautiful beads, turned from fragments of the mala- chite , or green copper ore, from near Nankin ; they are used in necklaces for mandarins. 507. Richly ornamented flower vase. 508. Very elegant porcelain vessel or stand for burning odoriferous wood. 509. Rosary of sandal wood. 510. Embroidered spectacle case. 511. An article made of copper, and used for the same purpose as our flat-irons. The smooth surface is 55 here exhibited ; the body is hollow, and receives the ignited coals. 512. Gaming cards. 513. Ornamental rose-wood stand, with several amulets on the top. 514. As 499. 515. Hand furnace of white copper, for warming the fin- gers, as before described. 516. Gentlemen’s embroidered memorandum cases. 517. do. do. pockets. 518. Gentlemen’s embroidered sash, with a pair of tobacco pouches, worn on each side. 519. A gentleman’s shirt, worn next the skin in warm weather, made of the twig of the bamboo tree. 520. A gentleman’s fan, with embroidered case, and two crimson silk sashes, as 518. 521. As 519. On the bottom of the case are several gentlemen’s fans. CASE XXX. No. 522. Coral bead necklace, worn by mandarins and gentlemen of rank. 523. Ancient metallic idol. 524. Curiously sculptured stone pen rests. 525. A travelling apparatus, containing a knife, and pair of chopsticks, with which every gentleman is pro- vided. 526. Beautiful carved ornamental stand of hard wood, with a marble image of Budha in the centre, inlaid metallic tripod on the right, and a dormant lion on the left. 56 527. Curious piece of sculpture, representing a bird attack- ed by a monster of the lizard species. 528. Ornamental stand, with three metallic idols. 529. Carved wooden figure and stand. 530. A pair of ornamental barrel-shaped stands, the left hand one supporting a metallic censer ; that on the right a vessel with shovel, &c., for arranging the ashes of the odoriferous matches. 531. Marble figure and stand. 532. Ornamental stand with metallic Budha idol. 533. Grotesque metallic image on stand. 534. Glass wine-cup, cast, in imitation of those cut out of valuable stones. 535. Curiously distorted root, which, by the assistance of a little art, has the appearance of a bird. 536. Ornamental stand and vessel. 537. Very ancient sculptured dog. 538. Ornamental stand, with marble pen rest. 540. do. with fine bamboo carving. 541. Grotesque metallic lion on stand. 542. A root on stand, resembling a deer. 543. Polished cornelian in carved frame, intended to sup- port a cake of ink. 544. Joo-ee, a sort of staff or sceptre. It is thus described by Mr. Davis : This ornament, which has some- times, for want of a better name, been called a sceptre, is, in fact, an emblem of amity and good will, of a shape less bent than the letter S, about eighteen inches in length, and cut from the jade or yu stone. It is called joo-ee, “ as you wish,” and is simply exchanged as a costly mark of friendship ; but that it had a religious origin seems indicated by the sacred flower of the lotus (Nymphaea ne- lumbo) being generally carved on the superior end. 545. Curious root, resembling a bird. 546. As 541. 57 547, 548, 550, 552, and 553. As 540. 549. Grotesque metallic lion on stand. 551. Metallic figure representing a female divinity on re- cumbent elephant. 554 and 556. A pair of very beautiful ornamental stands, with marble tops, on which are grotesque sculp- tured figures, and elegantly wrought baskets of bamboo. 555. Ornamental stand, with variegated marble top, on which is placed a stone in a frame formed from the root of a tree. This is covered with sculptured hieroglyphics, and is held by the Chinese in religious veneration. CASE XXXI. No. 557. A gentleman’s pocket mirror, the back of which is of ivory, with beautifully carved figures. 558. Do., with back of sandal wood carved in a similai manner. 559. Ornamental stand with two specimens of beautiful carvings in ivory. 560. Carved mother-of-pearl ornament, attached to the neck of the outer garment. 561. Sculptured stone, as 555. 562. Ornamental stand, with imitations of fruit in silver wire, beautifully executed. 564. A signet or hand seal placed upon official documents, on the top of which is a representation of a lion and whelp. 565. Glass box used for holding the red ink for do. 566. Ornamental stand with specimens of carving in ivory, of men, cattle, birds, &c. 567. Ancient marble figure on stand. 8 58 568. Richly carved ivory case, to contain a gentleman's snuff bottle. 569. Small metallic candlestick. 570. Pair of pearl oyster-shells richly carved, on one of which there is a bee, ingeniously wrought out of gold wire, a novel and brilliant imitation of that useful insect. 571. Bamboo rosary, composed of beads, each of which is carved in imitation of a portly priest. 512. Beads of odoriferous wood, from the seed vessel of a plant, sometimes used as buttons. 573. An ornamental stand, in which is an apparatus in silver, consisting of a tongue-scraper, tooth-pick, and ear-pick : these are generally appended to the girdle of the dress, attached by a chain of the same metal. 574. Pair of chopsticks and knife in case of sandal wood. 575 and 576. Odoriferous beads covered with silk, usually suspended at the neck of the outer coat or jacket of Chinese women when fully dressed. 577. Small ornamental stand, with porcelain vessel. 578. Stand with sculptured stone, as described in 555. 579. Model of a mandarin’s couch, richly carved, with foot- stools in front ; in the centre is a low table for resting the arm, and for taking tea. 580. Small stand, with porcelain vessel. 581. As 578. 582. Beautiful specimen of variegated marble, with rude natural resemblances of birds and animals, in a richly carved frame. 583. Copper cast of Fo or Budha, worshipped by a reli- gious sect in China, on stand of hard wood. 584. Specimen of painting on glass, with astrological de- vice, in richly carved frame. 59 CASE XXXII. The two upper sections of this case contain specimens of fishes of various kinds, from the Chinese waters. The lower section contains several specimens of the feathered tribe : also a female scaly lizard or pangolin, (manis pentadactyla. ) The short-tailed manis, taken near Canton, where it burrows under ground, and is common in the spring. The male rolls itself up as represented, when alarmed. CASE XXXIII. No. 585. Gentleman’s silk embroidered tobacco-pouch. 586. Lady’s do. 587. Sung-pan, or calculating board. 588. Lady’s work-basket, ingeniously wrought from bam- boo. 589. Pair of spectacles with tortoise-shell frame, and em- broidered case. 590. Ornamental stand, with grotesque sculptured human figure. 591. Pair of spectacles of different construction. 592 . Pair of washed metallic rings, put on. the arms of females when young, and never taken off; also a washed metallic pin for the hair. 593 and 595. Buttons worn on mandarins’ caps to denote their rank. 594. Ancient Chinese coins of different reigns. The in- scriptions on them are in the antique seal character, which is a species of black letter in China. There are few persons who are well versed in it. 60 596. Mariner’s compass, called by the Chinese “ The needle pointing to the south.” 597. Ladies’ earrings of coloured glass. 598. Mandarin’s clasp, to fasten the girdle of the dress. 599. Model of a couch, the panels and seat of which are of marble. 600. Rings of the jade stone, as 592. 601. Do. do. hair pins. 602. Gentlemen's embroidered pockets. 603. Ornamental stand, with marble top, on which is a plate of wax fruit, and several coloured glass snuff bottles. 604. Lady’s fancy pincushion. 605. Stand, with porcelain bowl resembling Wedgwood, amber-coloured beads, snulf bottles, &c. 606. Richly carved and lacquered box for jewellery. 607. Stand with grotesque figure, and antique copper ves- sel in form of a duck, used to contain water for diluting the China ink. 608. Stone medallions, with hieroglyphics, used as amulets or charms. 609. Stand, with fancy bamboo basket. 610. Pen-holder, made of the bark of a tree. 611. Pallet and cover, for mixing India ink. 612. Winnowing machine, used in sifting tea, having two spouts, to ascertain the proportion of dust, called “ fung-kwei” CASES XXXIV., XXXV., & XXXVI. These cases contain numerous specimens in natural history ; serpents, lizards, toads, and fishes, some of which are of exceedingly tiny dimensions. 61 CASE XXXVII. The two upper sections of this case contain many mineralogical specimens, (labelled.) No. 613. Chinese gong, a musical instrument used in temples, and at private theatrical entertainments, &c. 614. Another gong, smaller than the above, but of louder sound. 615. Kind of kettle drum, made of pig’s hide, on stand. 616. Musical instrument used in temples, having the sound of a bell. 617. Small gong, called lo-tseih. CASE XXXVIII. No. 618. Implements used in splitting wood. 619. Cleavers used by butchers. 620. Tailors’ scissors, the blades of which are hollowed on the inside. 621. Iron skewers for stringing fish. 622. Large fish knife. 623. Reaping hook. 624. An iron shoe, attached to hoes. 625. Whetstone. 626. Pruning hooks. 627. Sickles for rice. 628. Meat knives. 629. Knife for cutting leather. 630. A wood chopper. 631. Knife for cutting up meat. 62 632. Bricklayer’s trowel. 633. Portable anvil, carried by itinerant blacksmiths. 634. Cast iron vessel for cooking rice, very thin. 635. Vessel of cast iron, for various uses. 636. Stonecutter’s hammer. 637. Rat trap, of common but rude construction 638. Cast iron mortar and pestle. CASE XXXIX. No. 639. Chinese flute, called sew. 640. Guitar, called sam-yeen. 641. Musical instrument, Called yuen-cum, strongly resem- bling the harmonican ; the tones being remarkably clear and melodious. The small slips of bamboo are used to strike the strings. 642. Guitar of ebony ; the ball is covered with part of a snake’s skin : the name in Chinese is ou-pa. 643. A wind instrument, called sung. The tones emitted by this instrument are very similar to the music of the Scotch bagpipes. 644. Guitar, called yue-kin , or “moon-lyre,” in allusion to its circular form. 645. Kind of musical pipe. 646. Kind of drum, called hvrey-koo. 647. Musical cups, a part of every Chinese band of music. 648. Guitar, called peih-ya , an instrument in very common use. 649. Plates of hard wood, on which time is beaten. They are also used by beggars to produce a loud noise at shop doors, and thus compel the inmates to be- stow a small sum of money on them in charity. The Chinese name is tcha-pan. 63 650. Violin, denominated y e-yin. 651. Brass trumpets. 652. A species of harp, called tchung. 653. Brass horns that pull out as a telescope. 654. Cymbals, called sou-tchow. 655. A framework of metallic plates, each producing a dif- ferent sound, and struck with the small bamboo sticks. 656. Trumpets, as 651. 657. Smaller cymbals. 658. Musical pipe, as 645. 659. Musical instrument, cut out of a solid block and hol- low, giving a peculiar sound when beaten with a stick. They are struck to mark the intervals of the religious services in temples, &c., and to beat time in music. CASE XL. The upper and middle sections of this case are filled with smaller articles of porcelain ; their uses being appa- rent, it is not necessary to enumerate them. No. 660. Two large ornamental frames of common clay, a sort of figured brick work, used in the decoration of houses of the wealthier classes. 661. Sections of figured porcelain columns, to support the verandas of summer-houses. CASE XLI. No. 662. Specimens of wrought iron nails, spikes, &c. 663. Three padlocks of curious construction. In this case 64 is a complete set of carpenters’ and joiners’ tools, from the rough jack-plane to the smaller tools for the execution of the finest carving. In China the building of a house and the beautiful embellish- ments are both executed by the same workman. CASE XLII. The upper and middle sections of this case are filled with small articles of porcelain, as in case 40. In the lower part is a section of ornamented porcelain, represent- ing the exterior of a summer-house, with several figures in front. A series of these designs are intended as a capping to walls of houses, gardens, &c. Also two grotesque lions. CASE XLIII. •>£., , 'i The upper and middle sections of this case contain a great variety of specimens of the smaller kinds of porce- lain articles, which it is not needful to specify. These articles are all manufactured for home use exclusively, and are in accordance with the peculiar national taste of the Chinese. In the lower section are two beautiful China bowls, richly painted and gilt. Between these is a porcelain flower-pot and stand, also painted and gilt. It is not cus- tomary to place the mould in these costly articles, but in a flower-pot of coarser ware, which is placed in them, as here represented. 65 CASE XLIV. No. 664. Small metallic vase, inlaid with silver. 665. Vessel of white porcelain, for holding sweet scented flowers, representing a grotesque animal, the head of which is so formed that it can be taken off The flowers are placed in the body, and the odour is exhaled through the mouth. 666. Broad rings worn upon the thumb by archers, in shooting the bow, to prevent chafing. 667. A lady’s opium pipe. 668. Paper weight, of hard stone, sculptured. 669. A grotesque lion (on stand) of white porcelain. This kind of porcelain is held in higher esteem by the Chinese than any other. As a proof of this, it may be stated that the value of this small lion in China was fifteen dollars. 670. Ornamental stand with gilt Budha. 671. Small copper box, of peculiar shape, to contain the lime which is used for chewing with areka nut and betel leaf. 672. Figure of a camel, in white porcelain, with a dog on his back. 673. Chinese combs, with maxims. 674. Metallic pipe, the lower part of which is filled with water, and is smoked on the principle of the hookah of Bengal, &c. ; tobacco being used, scraped into very fine shreds, and the pipe filled at every in- halation by a servant, who stands behind the smoker. 675. Ornamental stand with odoriferous matches, which are burned in the houses of the Chinese night stnd day. 9 F 2 66 676. Pair of spectacles, of curious construction. 677. Small pillows, used by the Chinese when reclining on any hard substance. 678. Brushes used by house painters, with the hair insert- ed deep into the handles. When worn down, the wood is cut away to expose the bristles, and the operation is repeated until the brush is worn out. 679. Small boxes of stained wood, opening with a spring, and covered with coloured straw, made at Loo- chow, the capital of F o-kien province. 680. Small cases of coloured horse-hair, intended to hold sweet scented flowers, and carried in the hand. 681 . Brush used by printers to apply the ink to the wood- en blocks, on which is a smaller brush, made of vegetable fibres, and used for various purposes. 68 2 . Leather purses used by the lower classes. 683. Curious root. 684. Writing pencils. The better kinds are protected by a brass case, it being essential to have a fine point in writing. 685. Curiously shaped root. 686. Leather (dog’s skin) tobacco pouch. In the middle section of this case are various specimens of fish, so prepared and preserved as to need only their natural element, to give them the appearance of life. 687. Model of a machine for pounding rice, sugar, &c. It is put in operation by a cooley standing on the frame, and moving the lever with one foot. 688. Model of a hand mill for grinding rice, &c. 689. Earthen vessel in frame-work of bamboo, used as hand furnaces. 67 CASE XLY. The porcelain articles in this case are similar to those in XLIII. Their uses being apparent, it is not necessary to point them out particularly. Many of the articles are of rare beauty, as will be seen on examination. CASE XLYI. No. 690. Porcelain vessel, for holding rice or soup, of beautiful texture. 691. Yery ancient porcelain vessel, to hold soy, &c. 69 2 . Beautifully enamelled vessel, (on copper,) to hold flowers. 693. Enamelled tea-cup, cover, and stand ; curious, and but rarely used. In the lower part of this case are three large dishes, being beautiful specimens of enamel on copper. These are used at marriage entertainments of the wealthy. There are also two large China ware tea-buckets, used by la- bourers, &c. while engaged at their work. CASE XL VII. No. 694. Three tea-pots and sundry cups. The inside is of porcelain, the outside of white copper. The handles and spouts are of valuable stone. The teapots are covered with sentences, expressive of the excellencies of good tea. 68 695. Porcelain snuff bottle, of great beauty, with stopper of red cornelian, attached to which is a tortoise- shell spoon. 696. Perforated porcelain vessel, for sweet scented flowers. 697. Do. do., resembling an orange. 698. Brown porcelain pen-holder. 699. Singular and ancient tea-pot, having no lid. The tea is put in at the bottom, and the orifice is then stopped, the object of which is to prevent the es- cape of the aroma of the tea. 700. Very small tea-pot of brown porcelain. This is not a toy, as it is sometimes supposed to be ; but is used in making the finest and most expensive kinds of tea ; teas in that country being sold at prices vary- ing from a few cents to several dollars per catty. The most costly kinds are never exported, as they would not bear the exposures of a distant voyage. 701. Vessel to contain su-hing, or hot wine, at dinners. 70 2 . Very ancient tea-pot, but similar to the more modern, except in the handle; the outer surface being cracked in the burning. There is also in the middle section of this case a great variety of brown porcelain tea-pots, a kind of ware to which . the Chinese are very partial. In the lower section are two beautiful China bowls, as in Case XLV. Also a figured tile, used for paving court- yards ; a small portable furnace, of a fine kind of fire-clay, and two tea-pots of common ware. 69 CASE XL VIII. Export Case. No. 703. A lady’s lacquered work-stand. The interior furniture is of elaborately carved ivory. This stand and furniture afford a beautiful specimen of the skill and taste of the Chinese in several of the mechanic arts. 704. A set of ladies’ work-tables, (four in number,) so made as to admit of being placed together one within the other. 705. A lady’s lacquered work-table of different construc- tion. 706. As 703, but of different pattern. 707. Beautiful lacquered writing-desk. 708. Elegant lacquered box, for holding loose papers. 709. Very elegant porcelain howl of enormous dimensions. On either side of this bowl are arranged numerous porcelain articles of great beauty- 710. Foreign vessel’s chop. This is a port-clearance from the Viceroy and Hoppoo.* It states the captain’s name, the tonnage and cargo of the vessel, and the compliance, on the part of the former, with the cus- tomary port requisitions. It requires the com- mander of the fort to allow the ship to pass un- molested, and, in case of accident befalling her any- where on Chinese waters, it enjoins upon the man- darins to render every aid in their power, free of all charges. This must certainly be regarded as a liberal policy. Before a chop can be obtained, the Hong merchant to whom the vessel has been * The hoppoo is the chief custom-house officer, or collector of the port. 70 consigned, must certify to the proper officers that all the necessary conditions have been complied with on the part of her officers, and that no debts remain unpaid. 71 0J. Wooden bellows, worked with a piston, and so con- structed as to produce a continuous blast. CASE XLIX. This case, with the one on the opposite side of the room corresponding to it, is about fifteen feet high, and is co- vered with an exact fac-simile of a Chinese roof, each cor- ner of which terminates in a golden dragon, from whose fiery mouth depends a bell, such as we see in pictures and models of pagodas. The dragon is an imperial emblem in China, and this fact explains the frequency with which we see the figure in their various works of art. It contains, and is nearly filled by a superb lamp, used only upon oc- casions of state. This lamp is about ten feet in height, and four feet in diameter at the two extremities. The frame is richly carved and gilt, and is covered with crimson and white silk, adorned with the most costly and beautiful em- broidery. The trappings which depend from the bottom, and from a projecting portion of each corner of the upper part, are in keeping with the rest. There are no less than two hundred and fifty-eight crimson silk tassels, pendent from various parts. In short, this national lamp is as magnificent as carving, gilding, silks, embroidery, and bead- work can make it. The bottom of the case is covered with numerous speci- mens of fans, an article in universal use. Gentlemen as well as ladies carry it, not laying it aside even in cold weather. 71 CASE L. Natural History. No. 711. Black and white thrush. 712. Superb kingfisher. 713. Owl — near Canton. 714. Least egret. 715. Hina teal. 716. Kingfisher. 717. Common quail, of Europe and Asia. 718. Lark. 719. Wry-neck. 720. Chinese goldfinch. 721. Rufus-headed duck. 722. Green-winged teal. 723. Crested duck. 724. Oriole. 725. Badger Weasel. 726. Weasel. 727. Chinese fox. CASE LI. Natural History. No. 728. Finch, male and female. 729. Silver pheasant, (male,) from the northern provinces. 730. Wa-mee, of the Chinese. This bird is much prized for its vocal powers. 72 731. Partridge, (male and female.) 73 2 . Chinese black thrush. 733. Young manis. 734. Shrike. 735. Rail, shot near Canton. 736. Hawfinch, male and female. 737. Pin-tail duck, (male.) 738. Gallinule. 739. Porcupine. 740. Civet. CASE LII. No. 742. Specimens of coloured satins, made near Canton. 743. Coloured figured crapes, for spring and fall wear. 744. Figured satins, used for lining, &c. 745. Beautiful specimen of silk manufacture — a piece of coloured satin, having two faces, the one crimson, and the other green. 746. Light coloured silks, for summer wear. 747. Raw silk. 748. Coloured silks, for linings. 749. Damask silk, for winter wear. 750. Figured silk, for edgings of garments. 751. Figured silk, for winter wear. 752. Figured summer silk. 753. do. do. do. 73 CASE LIII. Natural History . No. 754. Dial bird. 755. Ring pheasants, (male and female.) 756. Partridge, (male.) 757. Oriole. 758. Quail. 759. Black and white kingfisher. 760. Species of cuckoo. 761. Chinese shrike, a very ferocious bird, and very com- mon. 162. Gallinule. 763. Quail. 764. White bellied duck. 765. Mandarin duck. This bird deserves special notice, from the brilliancy of its plumage and the singular- ity of its wings. Its disposition, too, is as remark- able as its beauty. The female never mates a second time. An interesting anecdote, illustrative of this fact, is related by Davis. Of a pair of these birds in Mr. Beal’s aviary at Macao, the drake happened one night to be stolen. The duck was perfectly inconsolable, like Calypso after the departure of Ulysses. She retired into a corner, neglected her food and person, refused all society, and rejected with disdain the proffer of a second love. In a few days, the purloined drake was recovered and brought back. The mutual de- monstrations of joy were excessive, and, what is more singular, the true husband, as if informed by his partner of what had happened in his absence, 10 G 74 pounced upon the would-be lover, tore out his eyes, and injured him so much that he soon after died of his wounds. 766. Boa constrictor, 13 feet long, and wild cat of China. Lamps and Lanterns . These depend from the ceiling in all parts of the saloon, and are of almost every imaginable form and size. In scarcely any thing do the taste and ingenuity of the Chi- nese appear to better advantage than in the manufacture of these curious and characteristic articles. They are made of horn, silk, glass, paper, and sometimes of a netting of fine thread overspread with a thick coating of varnish. The frame-work is often carved in the richest manner ; the silk which covers it is elegantly embroidered or painted with landscapes representing nature in her gayest moods, and the various decorations lavished upon them are in a corresponding style. As a national ornament, peculiar to the Chinese, the lantern does not give place to any thing found in any other country. The fondness of the Chinese for lamps and lanterns, and the universal use of them, constitutes one of the marked peculiarities in the customs of the race. The “ Stranger in China'’ remarks, that a Chinaman and his lantern seem wedded together, and the former is rarely found without the latter. They are placed in the streets, temples, boats, &c., and are always to be seen in the hands of the pedes- trians after dark. The same writer relates the following amusing anecdote, as affording a striking and original ex- emplification of both the power of habit and the national peculiarity above referred to. When Captain Maxwell passed the Bogue in the Alceste frigate, as he came up 75 with the battery of Annahoy, the fort appeared well light- ed, and a brisk cannonade was commenced upon the ship. However, after the first broadside had been fired upon the fortress, and when the vessel was scarcely a half musket- shot from it, the whole place was deserted, and the embra- sures were quickly as dark as before. The Chinese were thoroughly frightened, and ran off with a most edifying precipitation. At the same time, instead of concealing their flight in the darkness of the night, each man seized his lantern, as he had done a hundred times before, and clambered with it up the steep side of the hill immediately behind the fort. The sight of so many bald-pated soldiers, with their long pig-tails dangling at their back, each with a great painted balloon in his hand, was extremely ludi- crous* and took away any slight inclination the marines might have had to get a shot with their muskets at such excellent marks. The lamp oil in common use is extracted from the ground-nut, so abundant among us, which grows luxuri- antly in China. The same kind is used for culinary pur- poses^ and supplies almost entirely the place of butter. It is said to be of a very good quality, burning freely, and with but little smoke. Maxims on the Entablatures. The visiter will observe that over the capital of each pillar is a piece of carving of circular form, gilt and paint ed vermilion and green alternately. There are ten of these on each side of the saloon. Each has a Chinese character carved in the centre. The characters on the right to a person entering, form the following maxim : — Kwa tien po na ly : ly hia po ching kwan. The interpre- 76 tation of which is, In a field of melons, do not pull up your shoe : under a plum tree, do not adjust your cap : i. e., be very careful of your actions under circumstances of sus- picion. The characters on the opposite side of the room, com- mencing from the lower end, form the following maxim : Loo yaou chy ma lie : je kew kien jin sin. The interpre- tation of which is, By a long journey we know a horse’s strength ; so length of days shows a man’s heart. Between these circular carvings are maxims placed hori- zontally, and extending around the whole entablature. As is customary in China, the maxims here placed opposite to each other, are embellished exactly alike, though the maxims themselves are not the same. It is unnecessary to give the interpretation of all these, as there are so many. A few are subjoined as a specimen. “ As the scream of the eagle is heard when she has passed over: so a man’s name remains after his death.” — “Though a tree be a thousand change in height, its leaves must fall down, and return to its root.” — -“Following virtue is like ascending a steep : following vice like rushing down a precipice.” — “ Man perishes in the pursuit of wealth, as a bird meets with destruction in search of its food.” — “The cure of ig- norance is study, as meat is that of hunger.” — “ Unsullied poverty is always happy ; while impure wealth brings with it many sorrows.” — “ Petty distinctions are injurious to rectitude; quibbling words violate right reason.”— “ Those who respect themselves will be honourable ; but he who thinks lightly of himself, will be held cheap by the world.” — “ Virtue is the surest road to longevity; but vice meets with an early doom.” * A chang is ten Chinese cubits, each fourteen and a half inches. 77 Fainting s. [The enumeration of pictures in the collection com- mences with No. 780, which the visiter will find under the portrait of the reigning Empress of China, on the first pil- lar to the left, on entering the saloon.] The fine arts in China are undoubtedly far from having reached the perfection that belongs to them in the enlight- ened nations of Christendom ; yet an examination of the paintings in this collection, will satisfy every candid mind that great injustice has been done to Chinese artists, in the notions hitherto entertained respecting their want of ability and skill. They paint insects, birds, fishes, fruits, flowers, and the like, with great correctness and beauty ; and the brilliancy and variety of their colours cannot be surpassed. They group with considerable taste and effect; and their perspective, a department of the art in which they have been thought totally deficient, is often very good. Shad- ing they do not well understand, and they positively object to the introduction of shadows in pictures. Barrow, as quoted by Davis, says, that “ when several portraits by the best European artists, intended as presents for the em- peror, were exposed to view, the mandarins, observing the variety of tints occasioned by the light and shade, asked whether the originals had the two sides of different colours. They considered the shadow of the nose as a great imper- fection in the figure, and some supposed it to have been placed there by accident.” No. 780. Birds beautifully painted on rice paper. This paper is the pith of a tree growing in China, simi lar to the elder. 781. Six boats of different kinds, on rice paper. 78 2. Stands, with vases. g 2 78 783 and 784. Two views of Ponkeiqua’s grounds. 785. Six boats, on rice paper. 786. View of Whampoa Reach, and Village. The point from which this view is taken, is French island, a small portion of which appears in the foreground. Supposing the visiter to occupy this position : immediately before him is Whampoa Reach, in which several foreign vessels are riding at anchor, and Whampoa island, with its walled town, its plantations of rice, sugar-cane, &c., its orange groves, and its picturesque and lofty pagoda crown- ing a distant eminence. Beyond appear the winding chan- nel called Junk River, the level coast, and the far-off mountains, that swell out, in undulating outline, to the northward of Canton. The view represented in this pic- ture is extensive and beautiful, and the execution of the painting is creditable to the skill of the artist. Whampoa Reach, the southern channel, is the anchorage of all foreign shipping. It is twelve miles from Canton. The cargoes imported are here unladed, and taken up to the factories in a kind of lighter, called chops ; and what- ever is to be exported is brought down in the same way. 787. View of the city of Canton. A glance at this production will correct a prevalent error respecting the inability of Chinese painters to produce per- spective. Though light and shade are certainly a good deal neglected here, and the perspective is not perfect, yet the picture is by no means deficient in this regard ; and the drawings of individual objects are extremely accurate. The point from which the view has been taken is the bank of the river opposite Canton, directly in front of the foreign factories, which occupy about one-half the canvass. The scene, particularly upon the surface of the intervening river, is altogether novel to American eyes, and highly characteristic. The national boats, of which there is a 79 very great variety, have all their representatives here, from the gaudy flower barge, in which large parties are borne gayly over the waters, to the tiny sanpan, whose contracted dimensions will admit only a single navigator. This part of the view is peculiarly animated and interesting. The foreign factories occupy the central part of the picture, and the English, French, and American ensigns float gayly above them. On each side of these is a view of a small portion of Canton bordering upon the river ; but as the city is built upon low and flat ground, almost the whole of it is invisible from our present point of observation. 788 — 791. Four views in water-colours, representing the interior of gentlemen’s country seats, in one of which (790) is presented a specimen of their pri- vate theatrical entertainments. 79 2 . View of Honam, a village on the south side of Pearl river, over against Canton. This village is chiefly celebrated for its extensive and magnificent temple of Budha, the richest religious establishment in this part of the empire. No part of the splendid structure is visible in the painting, which is mainly interesting as affording the best view of river life in the collection. This is a mode of existence pe- culiar to the Chinese. The people of other nations resort to the water for purposes of gain, warfare, health, or pleasure, for a season, but they never cease to regard the land as their natural and per- manent dwelling-place. They would be miserable if they believed themselves confined for life to floating habitations, whatever temporary attractions these might possess. But millions on millions of people in China are born, vegetate, and die, upon the bosom of its numerous streams. They occasionally make a “ cruise on shore,” but they return to the water as their natural home and element. It is com- 80 puted that there are not less than 40,000 dwelling boats within the immediate neighbourhood of Can- ton. These are arranged in regular streets, which are lighted up at night. Besides the boats used as habitations, the river is covered with innumerable craft in perpetual motion ; yet such is the skill with which they are managed, and the peaceable- ness of the boatmen, that jostlings rarely occur, and quarrels are almost unknown. The visiter will observe, on the window-sill in this corner of the saloon, two specimens of Chinese windows. The substance used for transmitting the light is mother-of-pearl. A variety of other substances is employed for the same purpose, as mica, horn, paper, silk gauze, &c. Glass windows are seldom seen. There is a frame-work in front of the translucent substance, dividing it into small panes of various shapes. This is the general style of Chinese windows, but the passion of the people for variety leads them to adopt an endless diversity of patterns, as any one may easily assure himself by examining divers of the paintings in this collection. 793. Six specimens of fishes, beautifully painted. 794. Lady of rank in sedan, carried by bearers. 795. Stands with ornaments. 796. Portrait of Houqua, principal of the Hong merchants. 797. Chinese furniture. 798. Splendid specimen of flowers in water colours. 799. Section of the Great Wall separating China from Tartary. 800. Imperial hall of audience, at Peking. 801. Ornamental stands, vases, &c. 802. Warrior, in full dress, with bow, quiver, &c. 803. The first of a series of coloured drawings (twenty-four in number) representing the several stages of the tea process, as practised in Fokien, a province in 81 the interior of China. These paintings are in the recesses of this and the five windows next in or- der, there being four in each recess. They com- prehend the following numbers : — 803, 804, 808, 809, 821, 822, 8 26 , 827 , 841, 842, 846, 847, 857 , 858 , 862, 863, 874, 875, 879, 880, 890, 891, 895, 896. 805 — 807. Interior views of temples. 810. Six fishes, beautifully painted. 811. Mandarin in chair, with eight bearers and other at- tendants. 812. Stands with ornaments. 813. Portrait of Tingqua Ponkeiqua, a Hong merchant. 814. Furniture and maxims. 815. Splendid specimen of flowers. 816. The first of a series of twelve paintings, representing the tea process in the province of Keang-nan, in the interior of China. This is a view of the pre- paration of the ground for sowing. 817. Second view of the above tea process, representing labourers sowing the seed. 818. Stands, vases, &c. 819. Lady in walking dress, with small feet. 820. Mandarin of the 1st class, and wife. 823 — *8 25. Views of the exterior of temples. 828. Six fishes. 829. Sedan, with lady of rank, and bearers. 830. Cabinet, table, &c. 831. Furniture of various kinds. 832. Mandarin of the imperial household. 833. Furniture and maxims. 834. Basket of flowers, exquisitely coloured. 835. Third view of the Keang-nan tea process, representing the irrigation of the trees. 836. Fourth view: women picking the leaves. 837. Mandarin in full costume, bearing the joo-ee, or sceptre 11 82 838. Warrior in winter dress, with despatches or chop in his hand. 839. Warrior, fully equipped, with lady. 840. Lady of rank in rich dress. 843 and 844. Exterior views of temples. 845. Out building of a temple at Honam, in which the sacred pigs are kept. 848. Fishes. 849. Mandarin in sedan, with bearers and attendants. 850 and 851. Furniture. 852. Flowers. 853. Fifth view of the Keang-nan tea process: females twist- ing the leaves, preparatory to firing. 854. Sixth view as above. Females sorting leaves. 855. Mandarin in splendid costume. 856. Lady smoking. 859, 860, and 861. Interior of temples. 864. Fish. 865. Lady of rank in palanquin, and bearers, &c. 866. Furniture. 867. Portrait of Shonshing, an eminent merchant of Can- ton. 868. Chinese bedstead, furniture, &c. 869. Basket of flowers. 870. Seventh view of the Keang-nan tea process : coolies bringing in the leaves from the trees. 871 . Eighth view as above : — sifting and sorting the leaves. 872. Ornamental stands, &c. 873. Mandarin. 876 — 878. Views of Chinese buildings. 881. Specimens of fishes. 882. Government officer, with bearers. 883. Furniture. 884. Imperial mandarin. 885. Furniture. 886. Flowers. 83 887. Ninth view of the Keang-nan tea process preparation of samples. 888. Tenth view, as above : — drying the leaves on plates of iron, and not of copper, as is erroneously sup- posed. 889. Lady of rank, with small feet. 892 — 894. Views of various buildings, in the centre one of which are dwarf trees, for which the Chi- nese are so celebrated. 897. Fishes. 898. Furniture. 899. Lady superbly dressed. 900. Furniture. 901. Flowers. 902. Eleventh view of the Keang-nan tea process : arrival of the city merchant in the interior of the country for the purchase of teas for foreign markets. 903. Twelfth view as above : interior of a Hong in Can- * ton : packing, weighing, and shipping teas for Whampoa. 904. Fishes. 905. Six specimens of paintings on glass, representing va- rious scenes. 906. Small screen, with pannels of a species of marble, called rice stone, painted and adorned with max- ims. 907 — 909. Three views of temples. 910. View of the interior of the Consoo House, with the court in session, for the final decision of the charge of piracy committed by the crew of a Chinese junk, on a French captain and sailors, at a short dis- from Macao. The French ship Navigatre, put into Cochin-China in distress. Having disposed of her to the government, the captain, with his crew, took passage for Macao, in a Chi- nese junk, belonging to the province of Fokien. Part of 84 their valuables consisted of about 8100,000 in specie. Four Chinese passengers bound for Macao, and one for F olden, were also on board. This last apprized the Frenchmen, in the best way he could, that the crew of the junk had entered into a conspiracy to take their lives, and seize their treasure. He urged that an armed watch should be kept. On making the Ladrone Islands, the four Macao passengers left the junk. Here the Frenchmen believed themselves out of danger, and, exhausted by sickness and long watching, yielded to a fatal repose. They were all massacred but one, a youth of about nineteen years of age, who escaped by leaping into the sea, after receiving several wounds. A fishing boat picked him up, and landed him at Macao, where information was given to the officers of government ; and the crew of the junk, with their ill-gotten gains, were seized on arriving at their port of destination in Fokien. Having been found guilty by the court in their own district, they were sent down to Canton by order of the emperor, to the Unchat-see , (criminal judge,) to be con- fronted with the young F rench sailor. This trial is repre- sented in the painting. The prisoners were taken out of their cages, as seen in the foreground. The Frenchman recognised seventeen out of the twenty-four, but when the passenger who had been his friend was brought in, the two eagerly embraced each other, which scene is also portrayed in the painting. An explanation of this extraordinary act was made to the judge, and the man forthwith set at liberty. A purse was made up for him by the Chinese and foreigners, and he was soon on his way homeward. The seventeen were decapitated in a few days, in the presence of the foreigners; the captain was put to a “.lingering death,” the punishment of traitors ; and the stolen trea- sures were restored. 911 and 912. Paintings on “ rice paper” representing the twelve stages of the silk process, from the egg to the weaving of the silk. 85 913 and 914. Views of temples. 915. Flowers. 916. View of the entrance to Ponkeiqua’s grounds at Honam. 917. View of a Chinese dwelling. 918. Stands with fruit, flowers, &c., on rice paper. 919. Interior of an apartment in Monqua’s country-seat at Honam. 920. Warrior and lady, in full costume. 921. Four drawings on rice paper, representing mandarins and their ladies. 922. Flowers and fruit. 923. Birds. 924. Fruit, flowers, &c. (tea-plant.) 925. Variety of birds on rice paper. 926. Stands, with fruit, flowers, &c., on rice paper. 927. View of an apartment in Monqua’s country-seat. 928. Mandarin and lady, superbly dressed. 929. Mandarins and ladies. 930. Flowers. 931. Shells, on rice paper. 932. Beautiful specimen of embroidery on satin, worked by men. 933. Birds and boats, on rice paper. 934 — 937. Four views representing a funeral procession. The visiter will observe that the corpse is placed in the rear, contrary to the practice with us. 938. Marble screen, as 906. 939. F our pictures, representing lamps of various patterns. 940. Chinese landscape. 941. Interior of temple at Honam, with Budha priests at worship. The three idols in this temple are twenty feet in height. 942 and 943. Fishes. 944. Furniture, maxims, &c. 945. Flowers. 946 and 947. Officers and ladies. H 86 948. Furniture. 949. Mandarin in full dress. 950. River view, with fort in the distance. 951. Do. do., with chop-house, for the examination of chops or passports. 952. View of an engagement by moonlight, between re- venue officers and smugglers. 953. Vessel in a “ typhoon,” or great wind. 954. Mandarins and ladies superbly dressed, painted on rice paper. 955. Birds. 956. Native map of China. 957. Landscape. 958. Exterior of Budha temple, at Honam. 959. Flowers. 960. Mandarin in winter dress, with bearers, &c. 961. Lady smoking. 962. Elegant chair and screen. 963. Flowers. 964. Warrior with quiver, &c. with lady, seated on port- able chairs. 965. Mandarins and ladies. 966. Furniture. 967. Lady of rank, with small feet. 968 and 969. Two winter pieces. 970. Ladies at play. 971. Lady’s boudoir and bed-room. 971 \ . Mandarins in state dresses, painted on rice paper. 972. Banyan tree. 973. Party of ladies, Sec. 974. Winter piece. 975 — 977. Female pastimes. 978. Landscape. 979. Second gateway to the temple at Honam. 980. Flowers and fruit. 981. Lady of rank in palanquin, with bearers, Sec. 87 982. Stands, with ornaments. 983. Old lady, superbly dressed. 984. Couch, fruit stand, &c. 985. Flowers. 986. Mandarin and lady. 987. Two mandarins, with ladies. 988. Furniture. 989. Portrait of a celebrated Chinese beauty. 990. Portrait of a noted money-broker at Canton. 991 and 992. Landscapes. 993. River view. 994. Do., and fort in the distance. 995 and 997. Two river views. 996 and 998. Beautiful specimens of painting on glass. 999. Bridge near Canton. 1000. First gateway to the temple at Honam. 1001. Flowers and fruit. 1002. Emperor of China, borne by sixteen officers. 1003. Mandarin in splendid costume. 1004. Lady in splendid costume, with large feet. 1005. Furniture, lamps, &c. 1006. Flowers. 1007. Nobleman and his wife in winter costume, the latter with a hand furnace. 1008. Two mandarins and ladies. 1009. Furniture. 1010. River scene. 1011. View of a gentleman’s summer residence and gardens. 1012. Two Indian ink drawings, representing a military review by the emperor. 1013. Four views, representing military evolutions. 1014. Chinese bridge. 1015. View on Lob creek, near Whampoa. 1016. Flowers and fruit. 1017. Empress of China in a car, drawn by two horses, and attended by female musicians. 88 1018. Mandarin in state dress, bearing the joo-ee. 1019. Lady in walking habit. 1020. Mandarin and lady. 1021. Do. of the first class, in fur dress. 1022. Furniture, &c. 1023. Flowers. 1024. Mandarin and lady in state chairs, with beautiful screens. 1025. Officers and their wives. 1026 and 1027. Furniture and stands, &c. 1028. Mandarin bearing imperial despatches in a yellow silk envelope, at his back. 1029. Chinese pleasure-grounds. 1030. Landscape, with summer-houses. 1031. Inundation of rice-grounds. 1032. Four water pieces. 1033. Water view, with bridge. 1034. Scene near the second bar on the Canton river, with pagoda in the distance. 1035. Flowers. 1036. Lady of rank on horseback, with military attend- ants. 1037. Furniture, &c. 1038. Lady with small feet. 1039. Mandarin bearing the imperial despatches, and lady. 1040. Table, Chinese candles, screen, &c. 1041. Flowers. 1042. Golden island in the Yang-tse Kiang. 1043. View of the grand canal, where it is divided by an embankment from Lake Pao-Yng. 1044. Stands, fruits, &c. 1045. Portrait of Tingqua, merchant of Canton. 1046. Chinese pleasure garden, &c. 1047. Representation of the Feast of Lanterns, by moon- light. 1048 and 1049. Chinese summer-houses, grounds, &c. 89 1050. Four river views. 1051. View of the great wall dividing China from Tar- tary. 1052. View of Pinckou, near Canton. 1053. Flowers. 1054. Imperial mandarin and suite. 1055. Stands, ornaments, &c. 1056. Mandarin saluting. 1057. State chair, screen, &c. 1058. Flowers. 1059. Mandarin on horseback, bearing despatches from the emperor. 1060. Entrance to the city of Pekin on the west. 1061. Furniture, ornaments, &c. 1062. Budha high-priest, officiating at the temple at Ho- nam. 1063. Picture of a marriage procession. The bride is carried in a gaudy chair, adorned with flowers, and preceded by a lengthened train of attendants, clad in garments of various colours. There are not less than a dozen sedan chairs in the proces- sion, filled with presents to the bride. These constitute her whole marriage dowry. The per- sons composing the train are hired for the occa- sion. There are large establishments in China, provided with men, chairs, and dresses, to be hired out for escorts of this kind. The dresses and sedans range through all the de- grees of costliness and elegance. Articles of this kind, more or less expensive, and a more or less numerous train of attendants, are employed, according to the rank and wealth of the parties to be united. Houqua, the rich Hong merchant, expended over $50,000 on a daughter’s wedding, including the bridal presents. Live geese are always among the presents, and they are carried in the procession, being considered, apparently without any good foundation, 12 h 2 90 patterns of concord and fidelity in the married state. The beautiful mandarin duck, already described, would be a fitter emblem. When the bride reaches the residence of her lord, she is lifted by matrons over a pan of charcoal, — a usage the exact import of which is not understood. Va- rious ceremonies follow, which end in the husband unveil- ing his bride, whom he now sees for the first time, and drinking with her the cup of alliance. Marriages are promoted by every consideration that can act upon the human mind. The national maxim is, that “ there are three great acts of disregard to parents, and to die without progeny is the chief.” The barrenness of a wife is therefore regarded as a great calamity, and is one of the seven grounds of divorce allowed to a Chinese hus- band, notwithstanding there would seem to he an all-suffi- cient remedy in legal concubinage. The six other causes of separation are, adultery, talkativeness, thieving, ill- temper, and inveterate infirmities. A lucky day for the marriage rites is considered impor- tant. On this point, recourse is had to astrology, and the horoscopes of the parties are diligently compared. Some- times the ceremony is postponed for months, because the stars are not propitious. 1064 — -1067. Four drawings of the interior of gentlemen’s summer residences in China. 1068. Picture of the Bocca Tigris. The Bocca Tigris is the entrance of the Canton river, and is so called from the appearance of one of the islands in front of it. It is, as described by Weddel, the first Englishman who approached it, “a goodly inlet,” flanked on each side by mountains and fortresses. The latter appear formidable, but, owing to an entire want, on the part of the Chinese, of a knowledge of gunnery, and to other causes, they are without any real efficiency. They have been 91 repeatedly passed without difficulty by English men-of-war. 1069. Picture of Macao. This is by the same artist, and of the same dimensions, as the Picture of Canton, already described. It is a view of Macao, as it appears from the harbour. The town is hand- somely situated on a steep declivity, and protect- ed, as it were, in the rear by a mountain wall. One of the neighbouring summits is crowned with a Portuguese church, which shows like a fortress in the distance. The effect must be imposing in approaching by sea, as nearly the whole city is visible, and of a prepossessing appearance. Macao is a place of some importance ; and interesting on several accounts. It belongs nominally to the Portuguese, to whom the privilege of building a town there was granted about two hundred and fifty years ago, in consideration of services ren- dered in clearing the Chinese waters of a des- perate gang of pirates; but the government is really in the hands of the viceroy at Canton. Here all foreign merchantmen, bound to Canton, have to procure a chop , or permit to pass the forts, and take on board an inside pilot. This is the utmost limit to which European or American ladies are ever permitted to intrude into the Celes- tial Empire. Most of the foreign merchants resi- dent at Canton* rusticate at Macao during the sum- mer months. — Lintin, that paradise of smugglers, lies to the left of the view contained in this picture. 1070. Ornamental stands, flowers, &c. 1071 and 1072. Interior views of Ponkeiqua’s grounds at Honam. 1073. Six paintings of boats, on rice paper. 1074. Flowers, on rice paper. 1075. Six boats, on rice paper. 9 2 [Here terminates the enumeration of articles in this Col- lection. A very large number have been omitted in the catalogue, as, if all had been introduced, it would have swelled the pamphlet to an inconvenient size.] Description of the City of Canton. Canton stands upon the north bank of the Chookeang or Pearl river, about sixty miles inland from the “ great sea.” It is one of the oldest cities in the southern pro- vinces, and second in importance to no other in the em- pire, except Peking, where the emperor holds his court. It is the great commercial emporium of China, and the only port where foreign trade is permitted. It is not very large in extent, the whole circuit of the walls not exceeding pro- bably six miles ; but it is densely peopled, and the sub- urbs, including the river population, contain as many in- habitants as the city proper. The streets of Canton are very numerous, being over six hundred. Their names sound oddly to us, and have rather an ambitious air. “ Dragon street,” “ Flying-dra- gon street,” “ Martial-dragon street,” “ Flower street,” “Golden street,” “Golden-flower street,” &c. are high- sounding enough ; but some of them, it is said, have names which would hardly bear to be translated for “ ears po- lite.” The Rev. Mr. Bridgman states that they vary in width from two to sixteen feet, and gives it as his opinion that the general average is from six to eight feet. Mr. Dunn thinks this an over estimate by one or two feet. They are all paved with large flag stones, chiefly granite. Wheel carriages are never used. Those who can afford to ride are borne in sedan chairs on the shoulders of coo- lies, and all heavy burdens are carried by porters. The 93 streets are generally crowded, and present a busy, bustling, animated appearance. They all have gates at each end, which are closed at night, and guarded by a sentinel. The houses are but one story high. A few of them are of wood or stone ; many, belonging to the poorer classes, of mud, and with but a single apartment ; but the largest portion of bricks. The dwellings of those in easy circum- stances contain various well-furnished apartments, the walls of which are generally ornamented with carving, pic- tures, and various scrolls, inscribed with moral maxims from Confucius and other sages. The houses of the wealthy are often furnished in a style of great magnificence, and the occupants indulge in the most luxurious habits. Official personages, however, for the most part set a com- mendable example of simplicity and economy in their man- ner of living. The doors have no plates to tell who the occupant of the mansion is, but cylindrical lanterns are hung up by the sides of the gates of all houses of conse- quence, with the names and titles of the owners inscribed so as to be read either by day, or at night, when the lan- terns are lighted. Canton is a large manufacturing as well as commercial town. Mr. Bridgman informs us that there are no less than 17,000 persons engaged in weaving silk, and 50,000 in manufacturing cloth of all kinds ; that there are 4,200 shoemakers ; and, what will startle and astound every one, that there is an army of barbers amounting to 7,300 ! The important office of tonsor can be held only by license of government. Why the number is so great, has al- ready been explained. The manufacture of books is exten- sively carried on in this city, but we are not in possession of the exact statistics. “ Those likewise,” says Bridgman, “ who work in wood, brass, iron, stone, and various other materials, are numerous ; and they who engage in each of these respective occupations, form, to a certain degree, a 94 separate community, and have each their own laws and rules for the regulation of their business. Both operatives and tradesmen are very much in the habit of herding together. Entire streets are devoted to the same kind of business. There is even a street occu- pied almost exclusively by professors of the healing art, and is thence called by the Fanquis,* “ Doctor Street.” The signs, gayly painted and lettered on each side, and hung out like tavern signs among us, give the business streets a lively and brilliant appearance. The population of Canton is a difficult subject. No cer- tain data exist for an accurate estimate. The author above quoted enters into conjectures and calculations, which give him a result of nearly a million and a quarter, including the suburbs and river. It seems probable that this estimate is considerably beyond the mark. The river population is an interesting subject, to which we have already alluded. General Remarks on the Government and People of China . The Chinese government is, nominally, at least, patri- archal. The authority of a parent over his children is the type of the imperial rule. The emperor claims to be the father of his subjects. As such, he exercises supreme, absolute, unchecked power over more than one-third of the human race He has but to sign the decree, and any one of three hundred and fifty millions of human beings is in- stantly deprived of rank, possessions, liberty, or life itself. This is a stupendous system, a phenomenon unmatched in * Foreigners. 95 the annals of time, and worthy to engage the profound attention of statesmen and philosophers. The subjects of the Macedonian were but as a handful compared with the teeming millions of Eastern Asia; the Roman Empire when at its widest extent, numbered not more than one third of the present population of China ; and the throne of the Caesars was, in the power it conferred upon its oc- cupant, but as a child’s elevation in comparison with that on which the Tartar sits. We can but glance at a few of the details of this system, and the causes which have given it stability. At the head of the system stands, of course, the empe- ror. His titles are, the “ Son of Heaven,” and the “ Ten Thousand Years.” Ubiquity is considered as among his attributes ; temples are erected to him in every part of the empire : and he is worshipped as a god. Yet he some- times styles himself “ the imperfect man,” and his ordinary dress is far from splendid. While the grand mandarins that compose his court, glitter in gold and diamonds, he appears in a plain and simple garb. Nevertheless, no means are omitted to keep up the prestige of his majesty. The outer gate of the imperial palace cannot be passed by any person whatsoever, in a carriage or on horseback. There is a road between Peking and the emperor’s sum- mer residence in Tartary, wide, smooth, level, and always cleanly swept, on which no one but himself is permitted to travel. At the palace, a paved walk leads to the principal hall of audience, which is never pressed but by imperial feet. Despatches from the emperor are received in the provinces with prostrations and the burning of incense. The succession is at the absolute disposal of the emperor. Instances have occurred, though they are rare, in which persons not connected with the imperial family have been named. The immediate assistants of the emperor are — I. The Nuy-ko. This is the great council of state. The chief counsellors are four, two Tartars and two Chinese. 96 Besides these, there are several others, of inferior rank, who, in conjunction with them, constitute the council. Al- most all the members of the Nuy-ko are selected from the imperial college of the Hanlin. II. The Keun-ky-ta-chin. This is a body of privy coun- cillors. III. The Lew-poo, or six boards for conducting the details of public business. They are, 1. The Board of Appointments, having cognizance of the conduct of all civil officers; 2. The Board of Revenue, whose duties extend to all fiscal matters ; 3. The Board of Rites and Ceremonies, which keeps watch and ward over the public morals, and is the only setter of the fashions in China ; 4. The Military Board, charged with the affairs of the army and navy ; 5. The Supreme Court of Criminal Jurisdic- tion; and, 6. The Board of Public Works. IV. The Lyfan-yuen, or Office for F oreign Affairs. Its duties embrace all the external relations of the empire. The members of the Lyfan-yuen are always Mongol or Manchow Tartars. Y. The Too-cha-yuen. This is a body of censors, forty or fifty in number. They are sent into different parts of the empire as imperial inspectors, which means spies. By an ancient custom, they are at liberty to give any advice to their master without the hazard of losing their life ; but blunt honesty is not often relished by the great from any quarter, and unpalatable remonstrances have not seldom cost their authors the favour in which they had before basked. The provinces are governed each by a chief magistrate, entitled foo-yuen, or two together are under the govern- ment of a tsoong-to, who has foo-yuens under him. Can- ton and Kuang-sy are subject to a tsoong-to, called by Europeans, viceroy of Canton. The governors of the provinces have, subordinate to them, an army of civil ma- gistrates amounting to fourteen thousand. No individual 97 is permitted to hold office in the province where he was born ; and public functionaries interchange places periodi- cally, to prevent the formation of too intimate connexions with the people under their government. A quarterly pub- lication is made, by authority, of the name, birth-place, &c., of every official person in the empire; and once in three years, a report is sent up to the board of official ap- pointments, by the foo-yuen of each province, containing the names of all the officers in his government, and a full statement concerning their conduct and character, received from the immediate superiors of each. Every officer is held to a strict responsibility for the good behaviour and fidelity of all who are under him. Letters are held in higher esteem than arms, and the civil officers of course outrank the military. This may be set down to their cre- dit, as it is certainly a mark of social advancement. No man in China inherits office, nor does hereditary rank enjoy much consideration or influence. This fact is placed in a strong light by the following anecdote, related by Sir George Staunton, secretary to Lord Macartney’s embassy. Among the presents for the emperor was a volume of portraits of the British nobility. That the in- spection of them might he more satisfactory to his majesty, a mandarin was employed to mark, in Chinese characters, on the margin, the names and rank of the persons repre- sented. When he came to the print of an English duke, from a portrait taken in childhood, and was told that the original w r as a ta-zhin , or great man, of very high rank, he had so little conception of a child’s being qualified, by hereditary right, to be possessed of such a dignity, that lie gave a look of surprise, and laying down his pencil, ex- claimed, that he could not venture to describe him in that manner, for the emperor knew very well how to distinguish a great man from a boy. The penal code of China is an interesting subject. If we go upon the principle of judging the tree by its fruits, 13 I 98 and look at this code in connexion with its results, we shall be compelled to allow that it is wisely framed and effi- ciently administered. It is lucidly arranged under six principal divisions, corresponding to the six boards above described. It is not needful to enumerate the several heads of chapters embraced in these divisions. The principal defects of the code, in the opinion of Mr. Davis, are, 1. A constant meddling with those relative duties which had better be left to other sanctions than positive laws ; 2. A minute attention to trifles, contrary to the European max- im, de minimis non curat lex ; and, 3. An occasional in- dulgence in those vague generalities, by which the benefits of a written code are in a great measure annulled. A prominent feature of the Chinese criminal law is the mark- ed and unrelenting severity with which it punishes treason, not only in the person of the traitor, but in those of his unoffending offspring, even the suckling at the breast. The whole are cut off at one fell blow. It is impossible to read the recital of some of these punishments, so abhor- rent to humanity and justice, without a sentiment of indig- nation as well as of sympathy. “ The most common instrument of punishment is the bamboo, whose dimensions are exactly defined. The number of blows, attached gradatim with such precision to every individual offence, answers the purpose of a scale or measurement of the degrees of crime ; and this punish- ment being often commutable for fine or otherwise, the ap- parent quantity of flagellation is of course greater than the real. The next punishment is the kea , or cangue, which has been called the wooden collar, being a species of walk- ing pillory, in which the prisoner is paraded, with his offence inscribed. It is sometimes worn for a month to- gether, and as the hand cannot be put to the mouth, the wearer must be fed by other s.”* After this comes banish- * Davis. 99 ment to some place in China, and then exile beyond the Chinese frontier, either for a term of years or for life. There are three kinds of capital punishment, — strangula- tion, decollation, and, for treason, lingchy , “ a disgraceful and lingering death,” styled by Europeans, cutting into ten thousand pieces. A debtor who does not “pay up,” after the expiration of a certain specified period, becomes liable to the bamboo. :.We will close this very imperfect notice of the Chinese criminal law, with the following testimony of an able writer in the Edinburgh Review. He says : — “ The most re- markable thing in this code is its great reasonableness, clearness, and consistency ; the business-like brevity and directness of the various provisions, and the plainness and moderation of the language in which they are expressed. It is a clear, concise, and distinct series of enactments, sa- vouring throughout of practical judgment and European good sense. When we turn from the ravings of the Zen- davesta, or the Puranas, to the tone of sense and of busi- ness of this Chinese collection, we seem to be passing from darkness to light — from the drivellings of dotage to the exercise of an improved understanding : and, redundant and minute as these laws are in many particulars, we scarcely know any European code that is at once so copi- ous and so consistent, or that is nearly so free from intri- cacy, bigotry, and fiction.” It is generally supposed that the Chinese claim to have authentic annals extending back to a date anterior to the period usually assigned to the creation of the world. This, however, is an erroneous supposition. It is true that they have a fabulous history which pretends to relate events occurring we know not how many thousand ages ago ; but intelligent Chinese scholars consider and admit this to be a pure invention. They claim, indeed, a high antiquity, and there can be no doubt that the claim is well founded. It is probable, that Alexander might have spared his tears, 100 and saved himself the perpetration of an egregious folly, had he known that, far beyond the Ganges, there lay an empire vaster and mightier than any with whose power he had grappled ; — an empire flourishing in the arts of civil- ized life, and destined to survive, in a green and vigorous old age, long after the last vestiges of his ill-gotten power had disappeared from the earth. A full development of the causes which have given strength and stability to the Chinese empire, which have matured and perpetuated its institutions, would be an in- teresting and instructive labour. We cannot pretend to attempt it, but may, in passing, throw out a few hints upon the subject. There can be no doubt, that the sea and the mountain barriers by which China is surrounded, the un- warlike character of her neighbours, her almost total isola- tion from the rest of the world, her vigilant police, the eligibility of all classes to the trusts and dignities of office, and the rigid system of responsibility enforced upon her officers, have all had their share in the result. But these causes are insufficient to explain the phenomenon. The most powerful agent, beyond all question, is the education of her people. We speak here not so much of the educa- tion received in schools, as of that which consists in an early, constant, vigorous, and efficient training of the dis- position, manners, judgment, and habits both of thought and conduct. This most efficient department of education is almost wholly overlooked and neglected by us ; but it seems to be well understood and faithfully attended to by the Chinese. With us, instruction is the chief part of education, with them training ; let the wise judge between the wisdom of the two methods. The sentiments held to be appropriate to man in society, are imbibed with the milk of infancy, and iterated and reiterated through the whole of subsequent life ; the manners considered becom- ing in adults, are sedulously imparted in childhood ; the habits regarded as conducive to individual advancement, 101 social happiness, and national repose and prosperity, are cultivated with the utmost diligence ; and, in short, the whole channel of thought and feeling for each generation, is scooped out by that which preceded it, and the stream always fills but rarely overflows its embankments. The greatest pains are taken to acquaint the people with their personal and political duties, wherein they again set us an example worthy of imitation. “ Our rights/ 7 is a phrase in everybody’s mouth, hut our duties engage hut a com- paratively small share of our thoughts. Volumes are written on the former where pages are on the latter. The sixteen discourses of the emperor Yong-tching, on the six- teen sacred institutes of Kang-hy, the most accomplished and virtuous of Chinese sovereigns, are read twice every moon to the whole empire. We subjoin the texts of these discourses as curious, and at the same time highly illustra- tive of Chinese character. 1. “ Be strenuous in filial piety and fraternal respect, that you may thus duly perform the social duties.-— 2. Be firmly attached to your kindred and parentage, that your union and concord may be conspicuous.— 3. Agree with your countrymen and neighbours, in order that disputes and litigation may be prevented. — 4. Attend to your farms and mulberry trees, that you may have sufficient food and clothing.— 5. Observe moderation and economy, that your property may not be wasted.— 6. Extend your schools of instruction, that learning may be duly cultivated. — 7. Re- ject all false doctrines, in order that you may duly honour true learning. — 8. Declare the laws and their penalties, for a warning to the foolish and ignorant- — 9. Let humility and propriety of behaviour be duly manifested, for the preservation of good habits and laudable customs. — 10. Attend each to your proper employments, that the people may he fixed in their purposes. — 1 1 . Attend to the educa tion of youth, in order to guard them from doing evil. — 12. Abstain from false accusing, that the good and honest i 2 102 may be in safety. — 13. Dissuade from the concealment of deserters, that others be not involved in their guilt. — 14. Duly pay your taxes and customs, to spare the necessity of enforcing them. — 15. Let the tithings and hundreds unite, for the suppression of thieves and robbers. — 16. Re- concile animosities, that your lives be not lightly hazard- ed.” The discourses founded on these excellent maxims are clear, direct, and simple in their style, and are character- ized by nervous thought and practical sense. They might be taken as a model for didactic compositions. The im- perial pen deals summarily and rather cavalierly with the ministers of the Budhist and Taou sects. We offer a few specimens from the “ Book of Sacred Instructions.” The curious will find them interesting. “ This filial piety is a doctrine from Heaven, the con- summation of earthly justice, the grand principle of action among mankind. The man who knows not piety to pa- rents, can surely not have considered the affectionate hearts of parents towards their children. When still infants in arms, hungry, they could not feed themselves ; cold, they could not clothe themselves ; but they had then parents who watched the sounds of their voice, and studied the traits of their countenance ; who were joyful when they smiled ; afflicted when they wept ; who followed them, step by step, when they moved ; who, when they were sick or in pain, refused food and sleep on their account. Thus were they nursed and educated until they grew up to manhood.” — “ Formerly, in the family of Chang-kung- ze, nine generations lived together under the same roof. In the family of Chang-she of Kiang-cheu seven hundred partook of the same daily repast. Thus ought all those who are of the same name to bear in remembrance their common ancestry and parentage.” — “ Economy should, therefore, be held in estimation. A store is like a stream of water, and moderation and economy are like the dams 103 which confine it. If the course of the water is not stopped by the dam, the water will be constantly running out, and the channel at length will be dry. If the use of the store is not restricted by moderation and economy, it will be consumed without stint, and at length will be wholly ex- hausted.” — “ Wisdom should precede, and letters follow.” — “ He who pretends to profound learning, without re- garding first himself, and his own duties ; fame indeed he may acquire, but when he is examined, he will be found to possess no solidity.” — “ These wandering and mendicant sectaries* are glad to disguise their views, because of the corruption of their practises. Their chief pursuit is to diffuse false auguries, and omens of good and bad fortune; and they thus make a livelihood by the sale of their idle tales and vain predictions. At first they go no farther than to delude the people out of their money, to enrich themselves ; but, by degrees, they lead the people of both sexes to meet indecorously together ; and burning incense, they initiate them into their sect. — Husbandmen and arti- sans desert their respective callings, and flock after these vain and deceitful talkers.” Such, then, are the constitution, laws, and education of China. The conclusion of the whole matter, the grand results secured, are a stable throne ; a country enjoying an extraordinary degree of internal quiet ; a population, mild, peaceful, obedient, cheerful, and industrious ; and a perpetuity of national existence unequalled in the world’s history. The population of China has been variously estimated. L ord Macartney states the number of inhabitants at 333,000,000; Dr. Morrison’s son at 360,000,000. It is well known that the learned doctor’s own estimate was only 150,000,000, but he stated to Mr. Dunn, two years before his death, that he was then convinced that the high- * The Taou and Budhist priests. 104 est number ever given did not exceed the true one. Wher- ever the truth may lie, it is certain that every part of the empire teems with life. The whole policy of the govern- ment, and all the tendencies of the empire, that can at all bear upon the matter, are in favour of multiplication. Children are obliged to provide for the old age of their parents ; and the want of offspring, who may pay the cus- tomary honours at the family tombs and in the hall of an- cestors, is considered the most grievous of calamities. These considerations are vigorous stimulants to marriage, and, coming in aid of the natural instincts of the race, leave fewer bachelors and maids in China than in any other country on the globe. The owners of slaves, who do not procure husbands for their females, are liable to prosecu- tion. Three generations, and more, often live under the same roof, and eat at the same board ; a system of club- bing, which by diminishing the expenses of living, tends strongly to the increase of population. Again, the laws of the empire, and all the prejudices and sentiments of the people, are against emigration, which prevents that drain- age by means of which other civilized and trading nations are relieved of their surplus inhabitants. The government of so extensive an empire, swarming with its hundreds of millions, must be an expensive affair. Du Halde, apparently, however, without the means of ex- act accuracy, sets down the total expenses of the imperial government in the round sum of 200,000,000 taels, or con- siderably over $250,000,000 ; of which only 40,000,000 reach Peking, the balance being expended in the provinces. The sources whence these moneys come are, a land tax, for which the land-owners, and not the tenants, are re- sponsible ; a tax on salt, which is a government monopoly ; certain revenues derived from tea and alum, which are also monopolies to a limited extent ; taxes on the transit of goods within the empire : and customs on imports and ex- ports. The government at this moment appears to be 105 hard pressed for means, and the difficulty of fixing upon modes of increasing the revenue, is a pretty clear indication that there are practical checks to the exercise of imperial authority, which it is not thought prudent to disregard. In whatever else a difference of opinion may exist re- specting the Chinese, all must agree that they are an ori- ginal people. Their marked peculiarities in manners and customs, the frame-work and administration of their govern- ment, the idiosyncrasy of their education and educational institutions, and their modes and implements of agricultu- ral and mechanical labour, — all proclaim their originality beyond doubt or cavil. Whoever attentively examines the immense collection of Chinese curiosities, of which we have given but a comparatively meager sketch, will need no further proof of the ingenuity of the Chinese in arts and manufactures. In several branches of labour, both agricultural and mechanical, which evidently originated with themselves, they have never been surpassed ; and in some, they are unequalled by any other people. Without any claims to be considered a scientific nation, the various contrivances by which they economize labour, and force nature to become their handmaid, are many of them equally simple, ingenious, and efficient. The three inventions and discoveries which, in their re- sults, have contributed more powerfully than all other causes combined to give to modern society its peculiar form and fashioning, and which are destined, instrumentally, to carry forward, to its utmost limit of perfection, the civili- zation of the human race, first started into being in the Celestial Empire ; and, whatever mortification the state- ment may inflict upon our vanity, there is much reason to suppose that those who, throughout Christendom, are ge- nerally considered as the inventors of the art of printing, the composition of gunpowder, and the magnetic needle and mariner’s compass, received their first promptings, and had their genius quickened into activity, by information 14 106 flowing, through different channels, from the springs of Eastern Asia. Foreign intercourse with China . The ancients may be said to have had no knowledge of China ; for, though a few scattered gleams appear to have reached them from that remote region, and one or two fee- ble efforts were made to obtain information concerning its inhabitants, they were not sufficient to produce any prac- tical results. Yet, when Rome was still an infant, and the Grecian philosophy among the things to be, China had produced a sage, second only, in the long catalogue of hea- then philosophers, to the illustrious and pure minded So- crates. Some Nestorians appear to have introduced Christianity into China, in the year 635, but the world is indebted to them for no account of the country, either in its physical or moral aspects. Two Arabians, in the ninth century, visited and described it with considerable fulness. Much contained in their itineraries is applicable to the Chinese of the present day. Commercial relations of some impor- tance existed then, and subsequently, between China and Arabia. The Chinese appear to have sought, in those early ages, commercial liaisons with several of the neigh- bouring nations. Carpini, the first Catholic missionary to China, was sent thither in 1246. He was kindly received, and sent back with a friendly letter. Another missionary was sent in 1253, who met with a like - reception. About the same time the two Polos, Nicholas and Matthew, reached the court of the Mongol conqueror, Coblai Khan, by whom they were most graciously received, and, at their 107 departure, invited to return. They accordingly, in 1274, went back, taking young Marco with them. This young man became a great favourite with the Khan, and resided at his court seventeen years. He was the first European who gave the world an account of China. His book was long considered little more than a pleasant romance, but has since been proven to be remarkably faithful and accu- rate. Its glowing pictures kindled the imagination of the young Columbus, and fed for years his soaring hopes. The pen of the noble Venetian did much to nurse that lofty en- thusiasm and indomitable perseverance, which at length revealed to Europe, not indeed a new passage to the rich empire of Cathay, but a new world, the destined refuge of the oppressed of every clime, designed by Providence to become the theatre of new and sublime experiments in government, where human nature, relieved from the pres- sure imposed upon it by the abuses of ancient dynasties, might start afresh, with unimpeded and elastic step, on the race of improvement. May the same Almighty arm thal shielded from a thousand dangers the leading actor in the opening scene of this great drama, continue, through com- ing ages, to spread the aegis of its protection over these broad domains, and thus cause the fulfilment of the pro- phecy of the rapt bard, who sang, “ Time’s noblest empire is the last !” The next Catholic missionary to China was Corvino. He went to Peking, was kindly received by the emperor, built a church by imperial permission, and baptized several thousand converts. The missions continued to flourish, and the missionaries were unmolested in their labours, till they began to meddle with the government, and thus be- came politically obnoxious. The Portuguese were the first Europeans who traded to China. They made their appearance there early in the sixteenth century. They were followed by the Spaniards, 108 Dutch, French, &c. The Russians have an over-land commerce with China, hut are not allowed to use ships. Their dealings are restricted to the frontier station at Ki- ackta, in Tartary. The earliest attempt made by the Eng- lish to establish a trade with China, was under Elizabeth, in 1596. The three ships, fitted out for this purpose, were all wrecked on their outward voyage. About forty years later, a somewhat more successful effort was made by a fleet under the command of Capt. Weddel ; but the main object was defeated through the jealousy and misrepresen- tations of the “ Portugals.” Numerous attempts followed, with various success ; but it was not until the beginning of the last century that permission was obtained for esta- blishing a factory, and the trade fixed upon a permanent basis. The first American vessel that went on a trading voyage to China, sailed from New York, in 1784; but so rapidly did the trade thus opened increase, that in 1789, there w r ere fifteen American vessels at Canton ; a larger number than from any other country, except Great Britain. Du- ring twenty-eight years, between 1805 and 1833 inclusive, the whole number of arrivals of American vessels at the port of Canton, was 896, giving an annual average of 3 2 . The total estimated measurement tonnage of these vessels was 500,000, averaging, therefore, 17,857 per annum. The entire value of the China trade, during the above-mentioned period, may be stated, in round numbers, at $150,000,000, or over five millions and a quarter yearly, Rather more than a hundred millions of this sum have been paid in dol- lars and bills of exchange. The bulk of the trade is in teas. Of these, twelve kinds are known to the foreign commerce, six of black, and as many of green. A great variety of other articles enter into the trade, but they form a comparatively unimportant part of it. Opium is the chief import into China. Mr. Bridgman, in his “ Description of Canton,” esti- 109 mates the whole number of vessels employed in the China trade, belonging to all the different nations, at 140. “ But the trade,” he adds, “has always been carried on under circumstances peculiar to itself. It is secured by no com- mercial treaties; it is regulated by no stipulated rules. Mandates and edicts not a few there are on record ; but they all emanate from one party : still the trade lives, and, by that imperial favour which extends to the 1 four seas,’ flourishes and enjoys no small degree of protection.” The foreign commerce with China, the land trade car- ried on by the Russians alone excepted, is restricted to the port of Canton, and is conducted, so far as the Chinese themselves are concerned, by a body of licensed traders, called “Hong merchants.” This body is called the Co- hong, and its members pay roundly for the privilege of entering it. It is not a joint stock company ; each Hong enjoys his individual gains, yet the whole Co-hong is made responsible for the debts of every member, so far as they consist of government dues and obligations to foreigners. These merchants generally amass large fortunes, and live like princes. Houqua, the present head of the Co-hong, is supposed to be the richest commoner in the world. The wealth of Girard was small in comparison with that which he possesses. His annual expenses exceed half a million of dollars. There are very few of the English nobility, rich as they are, who have a rent-roll equal to this. The factories , as the warehouses and residences of the foreign merchants are called, are built on a plot of ground, in part reclaimed from the river, having not more than 660 feet of frontage, with about 1000 feet of depth. Within these narrow limits is conducted the whole foreign trade of the Celestial Empire, amounting to from jg 30,000,000 to $40,000,000 annually. The factories are all of granite or brick, and present a handsome and substantial front. The ground on which they stand, as also most of the build ings themselves, are owned by the Hong merchants. K 110 The Chinese have been, repeatedly, denounced in terms savouring little of Christian forbearance and charity. In their business transactions, they have been presented to our imagination as a nation of cheats ; in their bearing to- wards foreigners, as scornful and repulsive to the last de- gree of supercilious self-complacency ; and in their own social relations, as bereft of every noble sentiment and generous sympathy. The policy, especially of excluding foreign traders from all but a single port of the empire, has been made the subject of the most acrimonious denun- ciations. F ar be it from us to enter the lists in defence of this policy ; nor will we take up the proffered gauntlet on the general question of Chinese respectability and worth. But truth and justice are suitors at the bar, and demand a few words in explanation of one or two points, which seem not to be generally understood. We have already seen that this people, at an early day, sought commercial con- nexions with various of the neighbouring nations; that the Arabians traded freely with them, wherever they pleased ; that the earliest European visiters were received with marked kindness, and treated with extraordinary hospitali- ty ; and that the Catholic missionaries had free admission to all parts, and made and baptized converts without let or hinderance. These zealous and able sectaries, were frequently promoted to the highest dignities of the empire. They founded churches at their will ; and hundreds of thousands of Chinese were, nominally at least, through their exertions, converted to the Christian faith. They continued in favour till they indiscreetly began to tamper with government affairs, and attempted to undermine the ancient institutions of the realm. No restrictions of place were imposed upon those western merchants who first fre- quented the shores of China. Every port was open to their enterprise, and they were not required to confine their dealings to any defined spot or particular class of merchants. But the burning jealousies and fierce wran- Ill glings perpetually kept up between the subjects of the differ- ent European governments that sought to share in the rich gains of the China trade, roused the suspicions of the Chinese, and inspired no very favourable opinion of their character. The abominable arts to which the foreigners, under the stings of a base cupidity, resorted to injure each other, would seem almost to justify the epithet Fanquis , or “ foreign demons,” applied to them by the natives. These circumstances, together with various positive abuses of the liberties of trade at first freely granted, caused the government to commence at length the work of abridging the privileges of the foreigners, and the result appears in the rigid system of restrictions now in force. If European and American traders may fairly blame the illiberality of the Chinese, these have certainly just ground of complaint against the former, in the illegal practices to which their cupidity tempts them. Fifteen to twenty mil- lions worth of opium is, in defiance of the laws and known wishes of the government, every year emptied upon the shores of China by Christian merchants ! Since the first edition of this pamphlet was published, the Chinese government has taken vigorous measures for the total suppression of the opium trade. The emperor last spring appointed an officer, under the title of “ High Imperial Commissioner of the Celestial Court,” to proceed to Canton to make a thorough investigation of the whole matter, and to remain there till the evil, so long complained of, should be utterly exterminated. A few days after his arrival, viz. on the 18th March, 1839, the commissioner issued the following 11 EDICT- “ From the Imperial Commissioner to Foreigners of all nations. “ Lin, High Imperial Commissioner of the Celestial Court, a director of the Board of War, and Governor of 112 Hookwang, issues his commands to the foreigners of every nation, requiring of all full acquaintance with the tenor thereof. “ It is known that the foreign vessels, which come for a reciprocal trade to Kwantung, have derived from that trade very large profits. This is evidenced by the facts, — that, whereas the vessels annually resorting hither were for- merly reckoned hardly by tens, their number has of late years amounted to a hundred and several times ten : and that whatever commodities they may have brought, none have failed to find a full consumption ; whatever they may have sought to purchase, never have they been unable rea- dily to do so. Let them but ask themselves whether, be- tween heaven and earth, any place affording so advanta- geous a commercial mart is elsewhere to be found. It is because our great emperors, in their universal benevo- lence, have granted you commercial privileges, that you have been favoured with these advantages. Let our ports once be closed against you, and for what profits can your several nations any longer look? Yet more, — our tea and our rhubarb — seeing that, should you foreigners be de- prived of them, you therein lose the means of preserving life, — -are without stint or grudge granted to you for ex- portation, year by year, beyond the seas. Favours never have been greater ! “ Are you grateful for these favours? You must then fear the laws, and in seeking profit for yourselves, must not do hurt to others. Why do you bring to our land the opium, which in your own lands is not made use of, by it defrauding men of their property, and causing injury to their lives ? I find that with this thing you have seduced and deluded the people of China for tens of years past : and countless are the unjust hoards that you have thus acquired. Such conduct rouses indignation in every hu- man heart, and is utterly inexcusable in the eye of celes- tial reason. 113 “ The prohibitions formerly enacted by the celestial court against opium were comparatively lax, and it was yet pos- sible to smuggle the drug into the various ports. Of this the great emperor having now heard, his wrath has been fearfully aroused, nor will it rest till the evil be utterly ex- tirpated. Whoever among the people of this inner land deal in opium, or establish houses for the smoking of it, shall be instantly visited with the extreme penalty of the laws ; and it is in contemplation to render capital also the crime of smoking the drug. “ Having come into the terrritory of the celestial court, you should pay obedience to its laws and statutes, equally with the natives of the land. I, the High Commissioner, having my home in the maritime province of Fuhkeen, and consequently having early had intimate acquaintance with all the arts and shifts of the outer foreigners, for this rea- son, have been honoured by the great emperor with the full powers and privileges of 1 a High Imperial Commissioner, who, having repeatedly performed meritorious services, is sent to settle the affairs of the outer frontier.’ “ Should I search closely into the offences of these fo- reigners in forcing for a number of years the sale of opium, they would be found already beyond the bounds of indul- gence. But, reflecting that they are men from distant lands, and that they have not before been aware that the prohibition of opium is so severe, I cannot bear, in the present plain enforcement of the laws and restrictions, to cut them off without instructive monition. “ I find that on board the warehousing vessels which you now have lying at anchor in the Lintin and other offings, there are stored up several times ten thousand chests of opium, which it is your purpose and desire illi- citly to dispose of by sale. You do not consider, however, the present severity of the measures in operation for seiz- ure of it at the ports. Wheie will you again find any that will dare to give it escort ? And similar measures 15 K 114 for the seizure of it are in operation also in every pro- vince. Where else then will you yet find opportunity of disposing of it ? At the present time the dealings in opium are brought utterly to a stand, and all men are convinced that it is a nauseous poison. Why will you be at the pains then of laying it up on board your foreign store-ships, and of keeping them long anchored on the face of the open sea, — not only spending to no purpose your labour and your wealth, but exposed also to unforeseen dangers from storms or from fire ? “ I proceed to issue my commands. When these com- mands reach the said foreign merchants, let them with all haste pay obedience thereto. Let them deliver up to go- vernment every particle of the opium on board their store- ships. Let it be ascertained by the Hong merchants, who are the parties so delivering it up, and what number of chests, as also what total quantity in catties and taels, is delivered up under each name. Let these particulars be brought together in a clear tabular form, and be presented to government, in order that the opium may all be received in plain conformity thereto, that it may be burnt and de- stroyed, and that thus the evil may be entirely extirpated. There must not be the smallest atom concealed or with- held. “ At the same time let these foreigners give a bond, written jointly in the foreign and Chinese languages, mak- ing a declaration to this effect : 4 That their vessels which shall hereafter resort hither will never again dare to bring opium with them ; and that should any be brought, as soon as discovery shall be made of it, the goods shall be for- feited to government, and the parties shall suffer the ex- treme penalties of the law : and that such punishment will be willingly submitted to.’ 44 1 have heard that you foreigners are used to attach great importance to the word 4 good faith.’ If then you will really do as I, the High Commissioner, have com 115 manded, — will deliver up every particle of the opium that is already here, and will stay altogether its future introduc- tion, — as this will prove also that you are capable of feel- ing contrition for your offences, and of entertaining a salutary dread of punishment, the past may yet be left un- noticed, I, the High Commissioner, will in that case, in conjunction with the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, address the throne, imploring the great emperor to vouchsafe extraordinary favour, and not alone to remit the punish- ment of your past errors, but also — as we will further request — to devise some mode of bestowing on you his imperial rewards, as an encouragement of the spirit of con- trition and wholesome dread thus manifested by you. After this, you will continue to enjoy the advantages of commercial intercourse ; and you will not lose the charac- ter of being ‘good foreigners,’ and will be enabled to ac- quire profits and get wealth by an honest trade : will you not indeed stand in a most honourable position ? “ If, however, you obstinately adhere to your folly and refuse to awake, — if you think to make up a tale covering over your illicit dealings,— -or to set up as a pretext that the opium is brought by foreign seamen, and the foreign merchants have nothing to do with it, — or to pretend craftily that you will carry it back to your countries, or will throw it into the sea,— or to take occasion to go to other provinces in search of a door of consumption, — or to stifle inquiry by delivering up only one or two tenths of the whole quantity : in any of these cases, it will be evi- dent that you retain a spirit of contumacy and disobe- dience, that you uphold vice and will not reform. Then, although it is the maxim of the celestial court to treat with tenderness and great mildness men from afar, yet as it cannot suffer them to indulge in scornful and contemptuous trifling with it, it will become requisite to comprehend you in the severe course of punishment prescribed by the new law. 116 “ On this occasion, I, the High Commissioner, having come from the capital, have personally received the sacred commands, that wherever a law exists, it is to be fully en- forced. And as I have brought these full powers and pri- vileges, enabling me to perform whatever seems to me right, — powers with which those ordinarily given, for in- quiring and acting in regard to o er matters, are by no means comparable, — so long as the opium traffic remains unexterminated, so long will I delay my return. I swear that I will progress with this matter from its beginning to its ending, and that not a thought of stopping halfway shall for a moment be indulged. “Furthermore, observing the present condition of the popular mind, I find so universal a spirit of indignation aroused, that, should you foreigners remain dead to a sense of contrition and amendment, and continue to make gain your sole object, there will not only be arrayed against you the martial terrors and powerful energies of our naval and military forces ; — it will be but necessary to call on the able bodies of the people, [the militia or posse comitatus,] and these alone will be more than adequate to the placing all your lives within my power. Besides, either by the temporary stoppage of your trade, or by the permanent closing of the ports against you, what difficulty can there be in effectually cutting off your intercourse ? Our central empire, comprising a territory of many thousands of miles, and possessing in rich abundance all the products of the ground, has no benefit to derive from the purchase of your foreign commodities, and you may therefore well fear, that from the moment such measures are taken, the livelihood of your several nations must come to an end. You, who have travelled so far to conduct your commercial business, how is it that you are not yet alive to the great difference between the condition of vigorous exertion and that of easy repose — the wide distance between the power of the few and the power of the many ? 117 “As to those crafty foreigners who, residing in the fo- reign factories, have been in the habit of dealing in opium, I, the High Commissioner, have early been provided with a list of them by name. At the same time those good foreign- ers who have not sold opium must also not fail to be dis- tinguished. Such of them as will point out their depraved fellow-foreigners, will compel them to deliver up their opium, and will step forth among the foremost to give the required bonds, — these shall be regarded as the good fo- reigners. And I, the High Commissioner, will at once for their encouragement reward them liberally. It rests with yourselves alone to choose whether you will have weal or wo, honour or disgrace. “Iam now about to command the Hong merchants to proceed to your factories, to instruct and admonish you. A term of three days is prescribed for an address to be sent in reply to me. And at the same time let your duly attested and faithful bonds be given, waiting for me in con- junction with the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor to appoint a time for the opium to be delivered up. Do not indulge in idle expectations or seek to postpone matters, deferring to repent until its lateness renders it ineffectual. “A special edict. “ Taoukwang, 19th year, 2d month, 4th day. (“ March 18th, 1839.) f “ True Translation.] J. Rob. Morrison. “ Chinese Secretary and Interpreter to the Super- intendents of British Trade in China.” This proclamation is, on several accounts, a curious and interesting paper. It is true that a smile is ex- cited by the overweening national vanity it betrays, yet none will deny that, bating this weakness, it is a straight- forward, business-like, well-written, and able production ; and, taken in connexion with the action which has since been had in the premises, it shows conclusively that the 118 Chinese government has the power, and will use it, cost what it may, to put a stop to the abominable traffic in opium, hitherto carried on in defiance of the laws of China, by men calling themselves Christians. By advices from Canton more recent than those which brought the commis- sioner’s edict, we learn that all the British residents, on their refusal to comply with the demands of the Chinese authorities, had been seized and confined in prison, with Captain Elliot, President of the Foreign Board of Trade, who holds a commission from the government of Great Britain, at their head. Captain Elliot had advised the giving up of the opium agreeably to the demand made in the edict, and had promised indemnification to the owners from the British government. In accordance with this counsel, the opium had been surrendered ; but, by the latest accounts, the foreigners were still kept in confine- ment, probably in consequence of refusing to execute the required bond for future good behaviour. Whether any Americans have been imprisoned, we are not informed ; but the foreign trade has been entirely closed for the pre- sent, and several vessels, due for some time, have not yet made their appearance. Their detention has doubtless been occasioned by the recent difficulties. These difficul- ties have already occasioned a considerable rise in the price of teas ; and what the end will be, or when, it is impossi- ble to foresee. We believe that the authorities of China have the power to suppress the traffic in opium, and that they are determined to exercise it at whatever hazard; and we heartily wish them success in their undertakings. It is true the trade has become very valuable, amount- ing to about $20,000,000 annually. The principal part of this sum was brought away from China in bullion, and ultimately found its way to London. This large in- flux of the precious metals from China has probably been one of the principal causes which has kept specie in Eng- land from seven to nine per cent, below par. The stoppage 119 of so considerable an amount cannot but have a great effect upon the currency of Great Britain and the United States; and the banking institutions of both countries must feel it. Yet if the sum were ten times as great as it is, it could not affect the question in its moral bearings. No amount of pecuniary advantage can make that right which is wrong in itself. Opium is a poison, destructive alike of the health and morals of those who use it habitually, and, therefore, the traffic in it, under any circumstances, is nothing less than making merchandise of the bodies and souls of men. But there are circumstances which give to the wrong in question a character of peculiar malignity. The introduc- tion of opium into China is contrary to the laws of the land, and consequently can he effected only by an act of public and gross dishonesty. And this injustice is com- mitted against a heathen country, which the countrymen of the offending individuals are seeking to convert to Chris- tianity ; but their benevolent designs are, and must con- tinue to be, in a great measure thwarted by the iniquitous commerce upon which we are animadverting. The opium smuggled into the celestial empire is for the most part raised on the lands of the British East India Company in India ; and the whole trade is winked at, if not directly encouraged, by the British government. This is a foul stain upon the British name ; and it is to be hoped that there are many individual members of the company who do not understand its operations ; and who, if they did, would heartily disapprove of the wholesale wrong prac- tised by it upon the Chinese people. But it is not England alone that is to blame in this matter ; most of our own merchants at Canton are guilty in the same way, and to an equal extent. Alas for missionary effort, so long as the grasping avarice of the countries whence the missionaries go, sets at naught every Christian obligation before the very eyes of the people whom it is sought to convert! Most devoutly do we long for the auspicious day, when the 120 pure religion, that distilled from the heart and was imbo- died in the life of Jesus, shall shed its sacred influences on every human being ; but in our inmost soul, we believe it will not come, till the principles of that religion shall take a firmer hold upon the affections of those who profess to receive it, and rear a mightier embankment around their sordid and stormy passions. When the missionary shall find an auxiliary in the stainless life of every compatriot who visits the scene of his labours for purposes of pleasure or of gain, — when he can point not only to the pure max- ims and sublime doctrines proclaimed by the F ounder of his faith, but to the clustering graces that adorn its pro- fessors, — then indeed will the day dawn, and the day-star of the millennium arise upon the world ! THE END- , // , i • '-,*11 , Is ■■■"'- ij - ' > m* rzfat v&v .}/■-. ••:•;. >/■ : M is ■ ••' • r .. .. V . 4* V:-> , V'V, - '• H/ f 4?0m- . - / 'jH ' r • jipp * J^r '' ^ 1 ^ ' - Y f/ : ' Y' ■ . "v - " • / - ?*.y, •; v/- . , < •* > ♦, , s ^ - / mm